33° Arctic and Antarctic Exploration [part i 
ness. In his last letter to his wife he wrote : "I feel my 
responsibility, and I hope I appreciate the delicate position 
I am placed in, of leading and directing so many people 
of my own age. I hope God will aid me in what I have 
undertaken, and will bring me through it in safety and 
with credit." Mrs De Long resolved to publish the whole 
of her husband's copious journals, and she acted wisely, 
for they form one of the most interesting of Arctic books. 
She wrote to me — what every reader will endorse — "the 
journals show so convincingly the zeal, perseverance, and 
devotion of the leader, that I am anxious that they should 
have as large a circulation as possible." 
De Long's expedition, though unfortunate, was not 
without useful results. The history of the drift, so 
carefully and accurately recorded, is valuable geographi- 
cally and will always be of assistance to future explorers. 
