y chronometers is
91 deg. 50' 05"; the dip of the magnetic needle, 88 deg. 19' 22"; and the
variation 129 deg. 25' westerly.'

There now remains little more to be told--the accident that befel the
Fury, the lateness of the season, and the crowded state of the Hecla,
deprived Sir Edward Parry of all hopes of being able that season of
accomplishing the object for which the expedition had been despatched.

Under all these untoward circumstances, he determined to return to
England, and on the 2nd of September the crew of the Fury were taken
on board the Hecla, the boats hoisted up, the anchor stowed, and the
ship's head put to the north-eastward.

After a prosperous voyage, the whole of the Hecla and Fury's crews,
with but two exceptions, returned in safety to their native country,
arriving at Sheerness on the 20th of October, in as good health as
when they quitted England eighteen months before.

Lieutenant, now Captain Austin has, since these pages were written,
been appointed to the command of an expedition in search of Sir John
Franklin and his brave companions.

Captain Sir Edward Parry at present holds the appointment of
Superintendent of the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, and Haslar
Hospital, Portsmouth.

FOOTNOTES:

[17] The loss of the Fury is taken from Sir Edward Parry's _Voyage to
the North Pole_, published by Mr. Murray, who has kindly allowed it to
be inserted in this work.

THE MAGPIE.

It is a common and no less apposite remark that truth is stranger than
fiction, and the longer we live, the more are we convinced of the
force of the above axiom.

The story which we are about to relate is one of the most remarkable
incidents in a sailor's life, and, as a tale of horror, cannot be
exceeded even in the pages of romance.

In the year 1826, the Magpie, a small schooner under the command of
Lieutenant Edward Smith, had been despatched in search of a piratical
vessel, which had committed serious depredations on the western shores
of the Island of Cuba.

In the prosecution of this object, she was cruizing on the 27th of
August, off the Colorados Roads, at the western extremity of the
Island. The day had been extremely sultry, and towards the evening the
schooner lay becalmed, awaiting the springing up of the land breeze, a
blessing which only those can appreciate who have enjoyed its
refreshing coolness after passing many hours beneath the burning rays
of a tropical sun.

About eight o'c