last
came the summer of 1833, but the _Victory_ was still fast in her winter
quarters, and all attempts to release her had failed. They now decided
to abandon her and to drag their boats over the ice to the wreck of
the _Fury_, replenishing their stores and trusting to some whaler to
take them home. We get a pathetic picture. "The colours were hoisted,"
says Ross, "and nailed to the mast, we drank a parting glass to our
poor old ship, and, having seen every man out, I took my own adieu
of the _Victory_ in the evening. She had deserved a better fate. It
was like parting with an old friend."

On 23rd April the weary explorers began dragging their boats and the
last month's provisions over the ice in the face of wind and snow.
The journey was painful and distressing. They found Barrow's Strait
full of impenetrable ice, and resolved to pass the winter on Fury beach,
which seemed almost like home to the half-starved men. Erecting a house
which they called "Somerset House," they prepared for a fourth winter.
For severity it was unequalled, the crew developed scurvy, and all
were suffering sorely when, in the following August, the unfortunate
party was rescued by the whaler, "_Isabella_ of Hull, once commanded
by Captain Ross." It was the ship in which Ross had made his first
Arctic exploration. At first the mate refused to believe the story
of these "bear-like" men. The explorers and Ross had been lost these
two years. But, almost frantic with delight, the explorers climbed
on board the _Isabella_ to be received with the heartiest of cheers
when their identity was disclosed. "That we were a repulsive-looking
people, none could doubt," says poor Ross, "unshaven since I know not
when, dirty, dressed in rags of wild beasts, and starved to the very
bones, our gaunt and grim looks, when contrasted with those of the
well-dressed and well-fed men around us, made us all feel what we really
were, as well as what we seemed to others." Then followed a wild scene
of "washing, dressing, shaving, eating, all intermingled," while in
the midst of all there were questions to be asked and the news from
England to be heard. Long accustomed to a cold bed on the hard snow
or the bare rock, few of them could sleep that night in the comfort
of the new accommodation.

They were soon safely back in England, large crowds collecting to get
a glimpse of Captain Ross. His own words best end the account of his
travels. "On my arrival in London," he say