for? Captain MacClure had discovered it in 1853, and his lieutenant,
Cresswell, had the honor of first skirting the American continent from
Behring Strait to Davis Strait.

It was nevertheless absolutely certain to all competent observers that
the _Forward_ was preparing for a voyage to icy regions. Was it going
to push towards the South Pole, farther than the whaler Wedell,
farther than Captain James Ross? But what was the use, and with what
intention?

It is easy to see that, although the field for conjecture was very
limited, the imagination could easily lose itself.

The day after the launching of the brig her machinery arrived from the
foundry of R. Hawthorn at Newcastle.

The engine, of one hundred and twenty horse-power, with oscillating
cylinders, took up but little space; its force was large for a vessel
of one hundred and seventy tons, which carried a great deal of sail,
and was, besides, remarkably swift. Of her speed the trial trips left
no doubt, and even the boatswain, Johnson, had seen fit to express his
opinion to the friend of Clifton in these terms,--

"When the _Forward_ is under both steam and sail, she gets the most
speed from her sails."

Clifton's friend had not understood this proposition, but he
considered anything possible in a ship commanded by a dog.

After the engines had been placed on board, the stowage of provisions
began; and that was no light task, for she carried enough for six
years. They consisted of salted and dried meats, smoked fish, biscuit,
and flour; mountains of coffee and tea were deposited in the
store-room. Richard Shandon superintended the arrangement of this
precious cargo with the air of a man who perfectly understood his
business; everything was put in its place, labelled, and numbered with
perfect precision; at the same time there was stowed away a large
quantity of pemmican, an Indian preparation, which contains a great
deal of nutriment in a small compass.

This sort of supply left no doubt as to the length of the cruise; but
an experienced observer would have known at once that the _Forward_
was to sail in polar waters, from the barrels of lime-juice, of lime
lozenges, of bundles of mustard, sorrel, and of cochlearia,--in a
word, from the abundance of powerful antiscorbutics, which are so
necessary in journeys in the regions of the far north and south.
Shandon had doubtless received word to take particular care about this
part of the cargo, for he gave t