18th of March, 1826. Upon the recommendation of the teacher of the elementary school at which he was first placed, the municipality of Rochefort granted him a demibourse, at the college of that city, and his parents, with a generosity which manifestly kindled in his mind the most lively and enduring gratitude, taxed their slender resources to defray the other moiety of the expenses of his education. The sacrifices made to this end were richly compensated. The boy's heart lent strength to his intellect, and year after year he obtained such distinctions as it was in the power of the college to bestow. At the age of fifteen years he was admitted into the naval school, being again assisted by a grant of a demibourse from the municipality. For two years longer his parents struggled to make up the cost of his maintenance, until, in 1843, he was enrolled as a naval aspirant, and stationed in the port of Brest, from whence, in the ensuing year, he was shipped in the corvette Berceau, as an élève de marine, and sailed upon his first cruise. A sentence or two from the early pages of the journal which he then began to keep, contain the key-note of his character, and indicate the qualities that fashioned the course of his short life, and struck out from the hearts of the strangers among whom he died those sympathies which have so remarkably distinguished his memory:

"We sail (he writes) this morning from Mayette. My negligence and apathy are extreme; I have not had the courage to write home; so here is an opportunity lost to me, through my own fault.

I

ought, however, to show more firmness in the position in which I stand, and bethink me that I must absolutely arrive at something. The desire of showing gratitude for all that has been done for me, ought, of itself, to constitute a very sufficient motive for me. Ought I not also to reflect, that I am destined to support a numerous and beloved family, of whom I am the sole hope? I am considered ambitious, I am sure, and it is true; but is there a nobler aim than that for the ambition of a young man? This laudable feeling, I well know, is not the only one that makes me thus contemplate all my projects of glory and advancement; perhaps even there is too much self-love in all my schemes; but these two motives together must make me desirous of prompt advancement. I must work to win a good reputation, instead of lapping myself to sleep in ease and supineI ought to consider, that in VOL. XLVI.-NO. CCLXXVI.

ness.

these moments of forgetfulness, in which I lavish my money as if I was habituated to abundance, my poor mother is, perhaps, at her wits' end to provide for the necessities of the family."

There is here evidence enough, and it is corroborated in every subsequent page of his journal, that Bellot was a good and true-hearted Frenchman; and those who have the happiness to be acquainted with living specimens of the character, will not deny that, with all its peculiarities, it is eminent among the most amiable and the best our frail humanity can produce. Glowing with family love, on fire for fame, the young man shrank not, as an English sailorboy would have done, from exposing the inmost motives of his heart, or the sharpest struggles of his conscience and his pride; but, if there was no delicate reserve in his manners, neither was there hypocrisy, and the truth of his emotions was as little obnoxious to suspicion as if they had been kept strictly concealed within his own breast. His sincerity was no more doubted or doubtful when he recorded his intent to keep a journal, in order that he might teach his brother and nephews, by his example, to devote themselves for their families, science, and humanity, or when, in innocent vanity, he sent his portrait to Mr. Barrow of the Admiralty, than it was when he allotted a portion of his pay to his family, or "maintained the dignity of his character," by refusing to allow Lady Franklin to eke out his insufficient allowances by paying the expenses of his outfit."

The Berceau was destined for an expedition to Madagascar, and there, in an affair at Tamatave, Bellot, to use his own words, received the baptism of fire. The rite was administered in the form of a ball in the thigh, and he characteristically tells his family, "it was an ordeal from which I think I have come off not amiss. I knew well that in case I felt fear, my pride and sense of duty would never have forsaken me; but I am delighted that I have had the trial." For this service the élève was promoted to the first class, and decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honour, he being then under twenty years old. Shortly af terwards he returned to France, and having passed the necessary examination, was made enseigne de vaisseau, in which rank he served on board the 3 B

Triomphante, in South America, until the end of 1850, when he was removed from that ship and attached to the depôt company at Rochefort, where he soon became weary of an inactive and inglorious life. "What (asks his biographer) can a young unmarried naval officer do who is employed in a port? When he has finished his day's duty, which generally occupies but few hours, and partaken of the family meals, he has still a great deal of time on hand, which he may spend in study, or in the salons of some of the townspeople who receive visitors, or in the cercle, or in the cafe." None of these modes of whiling away life suited Bellot. He was evidently not a closet-student, and although "passionately fond of dancing, it must be confessed (says M. Lemer) this man, so intrepid in presence of danger, so bold in thought, so ready of speech, always manifesting such promptitude and presence of mind before assembled men, was excessively modest in all that concerned his renown, and bashful in the presence of women, for whom he professed, too, a truly chivalric admiration and respect. He was small of stature, and shrank from exhibiting himself in a quadrille; nor was he more at home in cercle or cafe, where, "in the beginning one remains an hour, drinks a glass of beer, and chats. By-and-bye the sittings are insensibly prolonged, play takes the place of conversation, liqueurs of beer; and what was at first but a pastime, soon becomes a habit, then a want, and often an irresistible passion." At last, in the beginning of 1851, Bellot made up his mind to offer to take a part in the expedition which Lady Franklin was then preparing to send out in search of her husband; and having entered into a correspondence with that lady, he solicited and obtained the permission of the French minister of marine, and repaired to London in May of that year. The time was favourable; the Great Exhibition was flourishing in all its freshness, universal peace and philanthropy were the fashion, and the young enseigne de vaisseau, impersonating, to some extent, the grand idea of international union, became a sort of lion of the hour. The prospect of an arctic voyage in the Prince Albert, a little schooner of ninety tons, with a crew of eighteen men,

including captain and officers, and sailing on teetotal principles, was not very agreeable; "but would it have been possible for a French offi. cer to draw back on account of a few dangers to be incurred?" Evidently not; the honour of the uniform was concerned, and the warmth of the thanks and the sympathies of which the volunteer was the object, redonbled his enthusiam and devotion to the hallowed enterprise. The sojourn in London during those few days was, in truth, a sort of ovation, in the course of which the amiable vanity of the young man was fully gratified, and the gal lantry and heartiness of his kindly, happy nature were displayed in all their attractive freshness. ***Who is that young officer of the French navy, with an air of such decision, and who wears his precocious decoration so jauntily?" said Jules Janin to somebody. That is,' replied the person addressed, M. Bellot, the enseigne de vaisseau, who has volunteered to take part in the new expedition which is about to sail in search of Franklin.' Instantly Janin runs up to him, and says, Ma foi, monsieur, I had a grest wish to know you; you are a inve man; allow me to clasp your hand' I loved him at once, the charming it, whom I saw but for two or three hours, said Janin, in relating the incident.”

The Prince Albert sailed from Aberdeen on the 22nd of May, 1851, and she re-entered that port on the 7th of October, 1852, not having es caped from the ice, in which she was set fast for three hundred and thirty days, until the 6th of August. During the whole of this period, with the exception of a few weeks, Bellot kept a journal, from day to day, which his biographer has now given to the public, and which cannot be read without deep interest. It is true it contains nothing novel in science or in adventure for those versed in arctic-voyage literature, but as the reflex of a simple, loyal, religious, and brave heart, and as a faithful record of the social life of the little company of true. hearted seamen into which he was adopted, every page of it is a study of the pleasantest side of our common nature. In a letter to M. Marmier, Bellot thus describes his companions:

tions of Rae, Richardson, and Franklin, or tried by numerous voyages in search of whales, form a chosen crew. Mr. John Hepburn, who followed Franklin in his examination of the Coppermine and Mackenzie rivers, has arrived in all haste from Van Diemen's Land, to furnish a fresh proof of his devotion to his old captain. Mr. Leask, pilot of the North Star, who knows the Baffin and Barrow Straits, as well as you do your library, is our ice-master. At our head is Captain Kennedy, a captain in the Hudson's Company's service, a man of an ancient stock; a scion of those Puritans, whose dauntless courage has its source in the most lively faith; one of those models from whom Cooper has taken his Pathfinder.' Alone, in the midst of these men, tried by incredible sufferings, I bring, instead of experience, a boundless ardour; but I have confidence. Have we not the justice of our cause to back us up?"

It was truly a strange companionship, as he elsewhere observes in his diary, in which he found himself—

"Commanding men of a foreign nation; an officer of a military-marine service, among men bound solely by a civil engagement; a Catholic, endeavouring to keep alive in their minds a different religion, in which they have been educated, and the precepts of which I deliver to them in a tongue which is not my own. Nevertheless (he adds) there is not one of these men who does not regard me as a countryman, and obey me as if I were really so."

Among the notables of the crew, with whom the journal brings us into close acquaintance, there were, besides these named above, the doctor, Cowie, who seems to have been a special worthy; Mr. Anderson, the second officer; Mr. Smith, the steward; and Mr. Grate, the boatswain. And never, so far as can be learned from the journal, did a more harmonious or cheerful party dwell together for seventeen months. Their carousals indeed were few and far between. At starting, a few bottles of porter, remaining from the last voyage, were consumed, to wet the first watch of the foreign shipmate; a ration of brandy was now and then conceded to the petitions of the forecastle, when teetotalism could no longer be endured; and the birthday of the old Rochefort blacksmith was celebrated by a grand symposium, when the doctor, having casually become acquainted with the circumstance of the anniversary, had a little collation prepared

after dinner, and the whole crew drank a glass of grog to the health of the family Bellot. But then, each day brought its festival of prayer and praise. No sooner had Captain Kennedy recovered a little from the seasickness, to which the rough seas of the Orkneys consigned almost every one on board, than he mustered all hands to prayers on deck, and this practice was continued morning and evening during the entire voyage, Few narratives we have ever read have seemed to us more touching than the entries in the journal incidentally alluding to these ministrations, and to the part taken in them by the young French Roman Catholic. Of a na ture deeply impressed with the reli gious sentiment, he had manifestly thought but little of these things before chance brought him within the influence of English habits:

"On Sunday (he writes to a friend, in reference to his first arrival in London) I went to the Protestant Church. The officer who had goodnaturedly made himself my cicerone, said to me, with so natural an air, What church shall we go to?' that I durst not tell him how long it was since I had left off going to mass; and I went as much to avoid giving him a bad opinion of me as from any real inclination."

The first impression was strengthened during his short stay at Stromness, when the following entries were made in his diary:

"Sunday, 25th May, 1851.-We moored in the morning in Stromness roads. At two o'clock we go on shore with the crew, and repair to the Free Church. Prayers are said for us, and the congregation are called upon to put up vows for our prosperous voyage.

"1st June. As usual, Sabbath day. This time I go not to the Free Church, but to the United Presbyterian. At Stromness, a town of twelve hundred inhabitants, there is also a third church. The apparent unity which subsists among us proceeds after all only from the indifference which Lamennais speaks of. If our ministers are charged with being declaimers and actors, the contrary reproach may be addressed to the ministers here. The minister who officiated to-day is a radical, Miss C. tells me, for he says that Jesus Christ owed his sanctity to his labour. After church I take a walk with the ladies. Sup with Mr. B.; Bible reading and family prayer the domestics are present at it."

From a hearer, Bellot soon became a minister of the word; and as he does

not seem to have ever formally abandoned the creed in which he was educated, the progress of his views, and the mutual tolerance with which he and his companions merged the peculiarities of their respective opinions in a common practical Christianity, are real curiosities of polemical literature:

"Several American officers," [of whalers] he writes, "came to Divine Service on board us this morning, with some of their men. Poor Captain Kennedy was quite affected when he prayed to God for the safety of those from whom we are about to part, perhaps for ever. Is not this one of the good sides of their religion, that every man of character may officiate without having taken holy orders ?"

Again

The

"As always, on Sunday we have Divine Service, and, as usual, I read the sermon. It seems I do not pronounce ill, and especially that my accent is not too bad. service consists in reading some psalms, a chapter of the Bible, and prayers, morning and evening. On Sunday there is, in addition, the reading of a sermon, and then of fragments of numerous works which have been given to us. If the piety of our men is not very enlightened, at least it appears sincere; and even were it but a matter of habit with them, the influence of that habit upon them is excellent. I know no spectacle more suggestive of thought than the sight of those few men singing the praises of the Lord amidst the solitude of the vast ocean; I think of the convents of the East, lying like a point amidst the desert. What, in fact, is our life on board, with its regularity, but the convent minus inactivity, and minus the selfishness of the man who seeks in prayer only his own salvation? O yes! the exercise of prayer is salutary; it is, above all, useful and indispensable to one who is animated by true piety. I used to think myself religious when I contented myself with recognising the existence of a God; I now understand how much this exercise of prayer facilitates for us the accomplishment of duties, which without it we are disposed to pass over very lightly."

It is not to be supposed, however, that this tolerance in practice covered any latitudinarianism of doctrine or indifference to the questions of dogmatic theology. Many sharp religious discussions took place, when the disputants plied each other so hard, that they ended in very bad humour, for the moment; and the solemn hours of the night-watch were occasionally

passed in disquisitions worthy of the Byzantine schoolmen. Thus

"Mr. Grate [the boatswain] comes me," writes Bellot, "during my watch, ni confides to me his doubts as to the som with which Judas Iscariot is regarded; sin Jesus Christ was to be betrayed by su body, it was God's will! Oh,' says 'formerly people were not educated as the are now. I should like to know two r guages, French and Hebrew.' When I him why the latter, 'In order to make new translation of the Bible,' he replies; cable, and not a camel, to pass through eye of a needle.'

Neither had the religion of the of the Prince Albert anything as in its nature. Captain Kennedy self sang sweet French-Canadian chr sons; and reading, dancing, Smith's violin, and the organ given Prince Albert, constituted the evening amusements. Notwithstanding t total principles, also, high days holidays were, as we have seen, brated with a cheerful glass, and was "pleasant to see what a deg of merriment could be produc easily." The result of the whole tem seems to have been a very state of discipline, the most p mutual confidence between officers men, the truest and loyalest ship among all, and a general te ness and affection for the foreign who had fallen into their comp instances of which it is scarcely po to read with a dry eye. In c of extreme peril, the crew were tered and taken into council, " much to cover responsibility, if any one man could suggest anyth better than what was proposed;" this confidence seems never to by been abused. Under the most try circumstances, the opinion of each was pronounced honestly, and with single view to the common good; when a plan of action was determi upon by the proper authority, e one put forth his best energies to c it into execution. When a boat e taining the captain and four men separated from the ship, it was bo resolved to adopt a course which w take them away forty miles farti from their friends, and the resoluti as promising the greatest benefit P the greatest number, was man acquiesced in by the whole crew, cluding "poor Mr. Smith," the ste

as to

ard, whose brother was in the boat. When the doctor wished to accompany a party despatched in search of their missing companions, although his assisAztance would have been of great value, he was refused, " 'considering that his cares might be more precious on board in case they return by sea;" A and the doctor at once gave way. In this very expedition Bellot alone added a little biscuit to his meal of pemmican, the men having slipped a few pieces into the provision-bag, in spite of his prohibition, because they thought that, not being accustomed to an exclusively meat diet, it might disagree with him :

"Many a time," he adds, "in this short trip, I had reason to be inwardly grateful for such delicate attentions, which are always the more touching when they are offered by 5 persons apparently rough; and the first night, when I was half asleep, I saw them, one after another, come and wrap me up, and make sure that my feet were not frozen."

And so it was throughout. Truly, Steven if the voyage of the Prince Albert has added no new fact to science, and although it failed to accomplish the objects of its promoters, it yet opened springs of human feeling, whose merciful streams, blessing as they did those among whom they rose, will surely, in their further course, fertilise many a withered heart.

D

"On their return," says M. de la Roquette, in a memoir read before the Geographical Society of Paris, "Captain Kennedy, as well as all the crew of the Prince Albert, spoke with so much admiration of the services rendered by Bellot, and of his exemplary conduct during the whole course of the expedition, that he was everywhere received in England with genuine enthusiasm. The British Government made known officially to that of France how well satisfied it was with the zealous and intelligent cooperation of the young officer, and Lady Franklin personally expressed her gratitude to him in the most touching terms. The Geographical Society of London, an illustrious body, which has already rendered so many services to science, conferred on him the title of Foreign Corresponding Membera favour which acquired still more value in his eyes from the flattering words of the 13 President, Sir Roderick Murchison, and from the presence and approbation of the most distinguished personages of England."

In his own country, too, he was not unhonoured. He had been promoted

to the rank of lieutenant during his absence; the time he had passed on board the British private ship was counted to him as service at sea, and, in order to give him time for repose, and the arrangement of his papers, he was placed on the footing of being called on duty to Paris, from the date of his return to France. This dignified ease did not, however, long continue to content his adventurous spirit. Shortly after his return, he began to press upon the attention of the ministry of marine a proposal for a French expedition in search of Sir John Franklin; and while this application was pending, he refused an offer made to him by Captain Kane, of the post of second in command of an American expedition with the same object. He also declined the still more flattering tender of the command and ownership of the Isabella steamer, which Lady Franklin was preparing specially for an expedition to Behring's Straits, and in which Captain Kennedy, his former commander, was willing to serve under his orders. "You know," wrote Lady Franklin, when making this generous proposal, "that the crew of the Prince Albert are ready to go with you wherever you choose to lead them. However, you shall be free to choose your own men; and even, if you like, to take with you in this expedition two or three of your own countrymen in whom you have confidence."

The grounds of Bellot's refusal was no less noble and touching than the motive of the offer. "He was afraid lest this extreme confidence should produce a bad effect in England, and weaken the sympathy with which Lady Franklin inspired her countrymen."

At length, finding that he could not communicate his own enthusiasm to the minister of marine, and resolved not to let a season pass by without making another visit to the Arctic regions, Bellot asked and received permission to embark in H.M.S. Phoenix, Captain Inglefield, and upon the 10th of May, 1853, he was received on board that vessel as a volunteer for the expedition she was then about to proceed on. This was the young seaman's last voyage, and the closing scene of it we shall relate in the words of his countryman, M. Lemer. On the 12th of August he left the Phoenix and her companion, the North Star, in Erebus