on the afternoon of the same day; four of the Warspite's men were drowned,) and the Masters Assistant fortunately got off the reef to leeward, on board a droger which brought him to Port Royal the same evening. At daylight the Acorn steamer, towed one of the dock yard vessels (that I had fitted out in the event of vessels getting on shore on the reefs) down to her assistance, and when we arrived at the reef her main-mast had been cut away, and the crew with the exception of two men had left her. Fortunately a canoe with some black men had come over, in which I ventured to get on board, and after having been capsized twice in the surf succeeded in getting on board, when we got a hawser to the shore, and after getting more people on board, commenced to land the stores, &c., and although the coral reefs are so irregular that the men can scarcely stand, we succeeded in loading a vessel with stores, clothing, &c. the following day, which we took to Port Royal and returned again, and have continued up to this time. But every thing in the shape of wearing apparel, is completely spoiled, having been obliged to throw it into the surf to get it on shore. a part of the Engine has been landed, but the hull of the vessel cannot be removed she had thrown herself broadside on, and the starboard side being perfectly stove.

The survey of this place, Bare Bush Key, &c., by Mr. Leard, 1791 is excellent, and I assure you that although we had what was considered the principal pilot at Port Royal, yet he could not give us half the information the Chart did, as we have been enabled to anchor the vessels on the edge of the reef, under

the Island in 4 fathoms about half a mile off shore.

March 20th, 1843.

I remain, &c.,

G BIDDLECOMBE.

A Court-Martial was held on the 16th and 17th March, on board H.M.S. Imaum, on Lieut. George Oldmixen, the officers and ships company of H.M. late steam frigate Megara, recently wrecked on Bare Bush Cay. It appeared by the evidence adduced, that the wreck of the vessel was caused by an extraordinary current, which was setting inshore on the night of the unfortunate disaster; and the Court adjudged Lieut. Oldmixen to be admonished and the second master to be severely reprimanded; the other officers and ship's company to be acquitted.

It appears that in the great gale in the Gulf of Mexico, in September last, three vessels of war were lost, as they were in the gulf at the time, and have not since been heard of. They were the English brig-of-war Victor, the French brig-of-war Dunois, and the Texan schooner-of-war San Antonio. Nearly or quite three hundred men perished with these vessels.

ADMIRALTY Order.

Admiralty, April 11th, 1843. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having had under their consideration the importance of carefully preserving the Standard Compasses supplied to Her Majesty's ships and vessels from the Compass Department, are pleased to direct, that in future they shall be placed under the charge of the Captain, or Commanding officer, similarly to chronometers, who will be required to certify on the Master's final bill for full-pay, "that the Standard Compass has been properly attended to, and duly returned to the dock-yard atby the Master."

Whenever it shall be found requisite to move the said Instrument to or from the shore, or from ship to ship, it is always to be done in the presence of the Master or a Commissioned officer.

The Master Attendants of the Dock-yards or their assistants have been directed minutely to inspect each Compass, immediately on its return from the ship or vessel to which it has

been supplied, and to report to the Superinten dent of the Compass Department, its state and condition, the number of Cards, Azimuth Cir cles, &c., in order that he may be advertised of any unusual or unaccounted for dilapidation, and take the necessary steps to ascertain the cause from the Captain or Commanding officer before the certificate for its return shall be given, which certificate from the Superintendent of the Compass Department will be required to be produced by the Captain or Commanding officer, before he can recieve his final bill for full-pay,-the same to be lodged in the Hydrographer's office.

Where Marine barometers shall have been issued to Her Majesty's Ships, the charge and return of these Instruments are to be subject to the same regulation, and to be issued with the certificate for Chronometers and Charts. By command of their Lordships, SIDNEY HERBERT.

To all Captains, &c.,

82, Strand, 23rd March, 1843. MR. EDITOR.-Having had the honour of supplying through the highest recommendation, of those acquainted with chronometers, a chronometer to His Royal Highness Prince Adalbert of Prussia, I send you in the Prince's own hand writing, the inscription which he commanded to be engraved on it. I should not consider such a communication of any importance beyond that of announcing the Prince's great liberality and attachment to Science; but, Sir, there is a point connected with it, requiring immediate and extensive publicity, which is, the average value of chronometers at the present period. The Prince wished his present to extend to the best, and for which he was desirous of paying one hundred pounds. Now, Sir, you are aware that chronometers which were bought for the Service of the Royal Navy some years since, cost £105 each, even silver pocket chronometers; and it is generally supposed, and particularly among foreigners, that this is still about the cost of a very, very, superior chronometer.

Perhaps, Sir, you will through your valuable pages inform the world of the actual average value of chronometers, paid by Government, and that after nearly twelve months trial at the Royal Observatory.

I believe the case is as follows: Some years since £105 was paid by the Government, to the maker without any trial. At present they are subjected to nearly twelve months trial at the Royal Observatory, and if 30 are purchased out of 100 deposited, 25 are bought at forty guineas, the remaining five receiving from five to ten pounds extra as a reward for superior performance. This is the fact, and the sooner the information is spread through every country, the sooner Commerce and Science will be extended. The price paid by His Royal Highness was fortyfive guineas, it having my improvements, and fitted up with thermometer, &c.

Now, Mr. Editor, I firmly believe that had not my recommendation to the Prince been as I have before said, of the highest character, I should have lost the sale for the reason that I charged so reasonable a price. I say so with confidence, because I totally lost the supplying of an extensive order to a foreign Government, because I would not charge a higher price, and was even told "that good chronometers could not be purchased at 40 or 45 guineas"; ultimately the order was executed at a higher price, while the maker was charging the Government considerably less.

I am, &c., E. J. DENT.

"Presented by Prince Adalbert of Prussia, to Captain Buckle, R.N., in remembrance of his attention during the voyage on board H.M. Steam Vessel the Growler, along the Coast of Brazils, 1842 and 1843,"

NEW BOOKS.

A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE, performed in H.M. Ships Dorothea and Trent, under the command of Captain David Buchan, R.Ñ., 1818. To which is added a summary of all the early attempts to reach the Pacific by way of the Pole.-By Captain F. W. Beechey, R.N., (one of the Lieutenants of the Expedition.)-R. Bentley.

In submitting to the public the voyage of Captain Buchan towards the North ENLARGED SERIES.-NO. 5.-vol. for 1843. 21

Pole in the year 1818, Captain Beechey states that he should not have given it his attention at this late period, had it not been from a sense of duty, which, as one of the individuals employed upon the service in question, he owes to the public, who naturally expect from the Officers engaged in any national undertaking some account of the manner in which that service has been performed; and he further informs us that, "it appears to him incumbent on the Officers engaged in this expedition to take care that this voyage, which was conducted with great zeal and perseverance, and attended with a result, if not successful, at least honorable to the nation, should be handed down to posterity with the records of others of a similar kind."

Most cordially do we agree with Captain Beechey in these his sentiments, and truly rejoice that he has, though at a late period, placed on record the important voyage of the Dorothea and Trent towards the North Pole, thus completing the series of Northern Voyages; a relation of which through the industry of Hackluyt and others has fortunately been handed down to us, and carefully arranged (in the year in which the expedition sailed,) into a Chronological History," by Sir John Barrow, to whom Captain Beechey, with much propriety, dedicates his volume, as the originator and promoter of Modern Arctic Discovery."

Of the enterprise in question, "it may be truly characterized," observes the above author of the Chronological History, " as one of the most liberal and disinterested that was ever undertaken, and every way worthy of a great, a prosperous, and an enlightened nation, having for its primary object that of the advancement of science, for its own sake, without any selfish or interested views. On this account," he continues, "it has justly excited the attention, and called forth the approbation of maritime Europe; for it is well known that whatever new discoveries may be made, will be for the general benefit of mankind, and that if a practicable passage should be found to exist from the Northern Atlantic into the Northern Pacific, the maritime nations of Europe, will equally partake of the advantages, without having incurred either the expense, or the risk of exploring it."

The instructions addressed by the Board of Admiralty to Captain Buchan state that, the Prince Regent having signified his pleasure to Viscount Melville that an attempt should be made to discover a Northern passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, their Lordships, in consequence thereof had caused four ships or vessels to be fitted out and appropriated for that purpose, two of which, the Isabella and Alexander, were intended to proceed together by the north-westward, and through Davis Straits, and two the Dorothea and Trent in a direction as due north as might be practicable through the Spitzbergen sea.

On the 15th of January, 1818, Captain Buchan was appointed to the command of the Polar Expedition, and hoisted his pendant on board the Dorothea of 370 tons burthen; and Lieutenant Franklin (now Captain Sir John Franklin,) was placed under his orders in command of the Trent, a brig of 250 tons.

The expedition having been liberally equipped, proceeded down the river on the 25th of April, and arrived at the Shetland Islands on the 1st of May. "We were hardly clear of the river," says Captain Beechey, "before we had the mortification to find that a leak in the Trent, which had scarcely shewn itself before, now increased to such a degree as to become an object of serious moment. The brig was placed on shore at high water, and thoroughly examined. Some rents in the planks were found to be open, and were caulked, but the leak still continued, and baffled all their efforts to discover its immediate cause. "Fortunately it was not of such magnitude as to endanger the safety of the brig, or the expedition must have suffered considerable detention, still it was of sufficient importance to keep the seamen employed nearly half their watch at the pumps; an evil, it must be admitted, sufficiently great under any circumstances, and one, which, in our case in particular, was likely to be increased." On the 10th May, the Expedition left the Shetland Islands, and standing

towards Spitzbergen, crossed the Arctic Circle on the 14th. On the 24th of May saw Cherie Island "deeply buried in snow, and shortly after observed an extensive accumulation of ice, connected with its northern extremity, sweeping round the horizon in the direction of Spitzbergen in so compact a body as to preclude the possibility of passing between the two islands, had such a measure been required."

Taking advantage of an easterly wind, they stood towards the south cape of Spitzbergen, through a wide belt of loose ice. "The progress of a vessel through such a labyrinth of huge masses is one of the most interesting sights that offer in the Arctic Seas," the endless variety of forms assumed by the ice, seem to offer an endless amusement to those unaccustomed to the navigation of a icy sea. "In directing the route of the vessel from aloft" (says Captain Beechey) "we for a while deviated from our Nautical phraseology, and shaped our course for a Church, a tower, a bridge, or some similar structure instead of for lumps of ice, which were usually designated by less elegant appellations." On the 26th they came within sight of Spitzbergen, and on the 3rd of June, after encountering a heavy gale of wind, in which the ships parted company, anchored in Magdalena Bay.

Magdalena Bay was the first port in which we had anchored in the Polar Regions, and there were of course many objects to engage our attention. We were particularly struck with the brilliancy of the atmosphere, the peaceful novelty of the scene, and the grandeur of the various objects with which nature has stored these unfrequented regions. The anchorage is bounded by rugged mountains, which rise precipitously to the height of above 3000 feet. Deep valleys and glens occur between the ranges, the greater part of which are either filled with immense beds of snow, or with glaciers, sloping from the summits of the mountainous margin to the very edge of the sea.'

It is impossible in our limited space to give anything but a brief outline of the voyage, and for the numerous interesting anecdotes in Natural History, we must refer our readers to the book itself.

Leaving Magdalena Bay the Expedition made many attempts to get to the northward, but were again and again repulsed, and the highest latitude obtained was 80° 34′ N.

Captain Buchan now determined to examine the ice towards Greenland, and in the event of finding it equally impracticable, then to proceed round the south cape of Spitzbergen, and make an attempt between that Island and Nova Zembla, but a tremendous gale of wind springing up, forced the ships to take the ice," the only alternative being either to permit the brig to be drifted broadside against the ice and so take her chance, or of endeavouring to force fairly into it by putting before the wind as the Dorothea had done," they chose the latter and the frightful concussion is well described.

After about four hours of the most anxious solicitude, the gale moderated, and the ships getting released made the best of their way in a leaky state to Fair Harbour in Spitzbergen.

All further attempts to accomplish the object of the Expedition being now abandoned as hopeless, from the state of the ice, the conditions of the ships, and the lateness of the season, the Expedition returned to England, where it arrived on the 22nd October.

"Thus terminated," says Captain Beechey "the third endeavour, made under the auspices of the British Government to reach the Pole, an attempt in which was accomplished every thing that human skill, zeal, and perseverance, under the circumstances could have effected, and in which dangers, difficulties, and hardships were endured, such as have rarely been met with in any preceding or subsequent voyage."

We hope to be able to give some extracts, as well as the concluding remarks of Captain Beechey on the subject of any future attempts to reach the Pole, in

our next.

MASTERMAN READY; or, the wreck of the Pacific, written for Young People.By Captain Marryat, Vols. 2 and 3.-Longman, 1842.

The opinion we gave of the first of these volumes has been amply confirmed. The sound Instruction, conveyed in an interesting form, combined with a proper principle of religion met with in every page, renders it a work admirably adapted for young people. It is a pity, however, that Old Ready had not lived to learn that a lightning-conductor does not attract lightning. No doubt such was the common opinion of the time in which he lived; but those who have paid any attention to the subject now-a-days, know very well that attraction has nothing at all to do with it! This should be corrected in a future edition, and ample apology made for Old Ready's want of information. The work forms a useful and valuable little present.

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE ROUND TPE WORLD.-Performed in H.M.S. Sulphur, during the years 1836-1842. By Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., F.R.A.S., &c.-Colburn, Marlborough Street, London.

PORT OF MANZANILLA.-"This port has a good anchorage, and is well protected against the southerly winds prevalent during the rainy season; but, on account of a very considerable lake of stagnant water in its immediate neighbourhood, is very unhealthy during the summer. Infested by myriads of mosquitoes and sand flies, even in the dry season, it is nearly impossible to reside there.

"This port has been open to foreign commerce for several years, but has not been able to make much progress. The port itself has not a single house, and the first adjacent town is Colima, formerly the capital of the territory bearing the same name, now embodied with the deparment of Michoacan.

Colima, it is true, is a large town, of considerable consumption, containing about thirty thousand inhabitants; but the distance from the port (thirty leagues) and the difficulty of communication, the roads being passable in the dry season only, naturally augment the expenses on any mercantile transaction, to such a degree that it scarcely pays, as any cargo which could be introduced, would be merely to supply the district of Colima. Such drawbacks, added to the detention, deter vessels from touching at Manzanilla.

"Another cause which must divert the maritime trade from Colima, and Manzanilla, is the preferable market at the capital of Guadalaxara for its produce of sugar, maize, coffee, cocoa, indigo, &c., and as these articles are not eligible for exportation, on account of the high cost prices, the foreign merchants could only deal in cash payments, whilst Guadalaxara, which is generally overstocked with goods, via, Tampico on the east, and San Blas on the west, can supply Colima with the necessary merchandize by barter.

"The articles saleable at Colima are linsey, cotton goods, woollens, and a little hardware; but, as already stated, in small quantities, calculated perhaps for the consumption of about ten to fifteen thousand souls."

NEW CHARTS.

(Published by the Admiralty, and sold by R. B. Bate, 21, Poultry.)

THE RIVER CAMEROON, with the Ambas Islands :-By Capt. W. Allen, H.M.S. Wilberforce,

An important portion of the African Coast is included on this little sheet, besides adding considerably as it does to our knowledge of that deceptive river the Came

roon.

LOWESTOFT ROADS.-An important correction has been made to the Chart of these roads, by Capt. Washington, H.M.S. Blazer, which affords an interesting instance of the changes continually going forward on some portions of our coast by the action of prevailing winds and sea.