LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, 
439 
just to put those questions to him, which are intended to elicit 
an answer favorable to his cause; and, in some instances, the 
questions are so decidedly of that kind, denominated amongst the 
lawyers as leading ones, that it is scarcely possible to divest 
the mind of the idea, that the routine of catechetical inquiry 
had been previously arranged, and that Capt. Ross was per¬ 
fectly prepared for the questions, that would be put to him. 
We will take for example, the following questions, and who 
will then dispute, that Capt. Ross is not an excellent fencer. 
The members of the committee were naturally desirous to know 
the exact scientific objects, which had been attained by the expe¬ 
dition; accordingly the 53rd question runs—What are the scien¬ 
tific objects, which you conceive to have been attained by your 
expedition?—and we doubt not that the members were sitting 
amrectis auribus, to hear the statement of all the objects so 
attained, and on which the claim of Capt. Ross, for remunera¬ 
tion from the country, was partly founded. We can, however, 
imagine them looking at each other, with no little tokens of 
surprise, when the answer was given as follows: “When near 
the magnetic pole, we were then in a position, where the hori¬ 
zontal compass has no power of traversing to any particular 
point.” Now, this answer has as much reference to the question, 
and must have been as satisfactory to the propounder of it, as 
the answer, which was given by the Frenchman, who, on meet¬ 
ing one of his countrymen in Piccadilly, and wishing to show 
his knowledge of the English language, politely accosted him, 
saying “Good a morning, Sare, did it rain to-morrow?” to which 
he received the most significant answer of “Yes, it vas.” What 
the Frenchman could make of the answer of his countryman, 
we know not,—nor do we know, what the members of the com¬ 
mittee could make of the answer of Capt. Ross—it certainly 
had not any reference to the question, that was put to him, but 
the committee were satisfied, that the scientific objects, which 
he had attained, consisted in telling them of a particular cir¬ 
cumstance, which every tyro in science must have *mown 
would be the case, were he ever to arrive at the position, which 
Capt. Ross describes. 
