After an absence of 61 days the boats reached Hecla Cove on the 21st August, and the ship arrived in the Thames on the 6th of October, 1827. If Parry had wintered in Hecla Cove and started in February he would have probably reached a much higher latitude. But success was not possible owing to the southerly drift of the polar ice. The weight of 264 lb. per man was much too great to drag for a lengthened period, and the daily allowance of food was too small. Experience would have corrected these details, and Sir Edward Parry, it should be remembered, was the pioneer of Arctic travelling without the mistakes of others to guide him. Parry returned to his work as Hydrographer. Of his companions, James Ross, Crozier, and Bird afterwards won renown as Antarctic discoverers. Parry was knighted on the 29th of April, 1829. Although his Arctic work was over, he was hard at work and in harness for the rest of his life. In 1829 he was offered the difficult post of Agent to the Australian Agricultural Company. Its affairs had been neglected and mismanaged, and the Directors turned to Parry, as a most able organiser, to restore their affairs to a proper footing. He was appointed Commissioner to the Agricultural Company in New South Wales, receiving also the D.C.L. at Oxford. He held the appointment for several years, returning to England in June, 1834. In 1839 he organised the Holyhead Packet Service, and in the same year became Comptroller of Steam Machinery. During Parry’s time as Comptroller an immense advance was made in the use of steam, and it was due to his strong advocacy that the screw propeller was adopted for naval ships. In 1846 he was appointed Captain Superintendent of Haslar Hospital and Clarence Yard, a position which he occupied for five years, retiring in 1851. Sir Edward took the warmest interest in the searches for his intimate and dear friend Franklin. His visit to the _Assistance_ at Greenhithe was ever a sacred memory to us all. In 1853 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and began to reside in January, 1854. He died at Ems on the 8th of July, 1855, and was buried at Greenwich. Sir Edward Parry, as we have said, must be ranked as one of the greatest of polar explorers. No one else had so many and such great qualifications. His life was wholly devoted first to his country and next to the good of his fellow men. It has been the privilege of few men to have done so much good in his generation. His life story has been beautifully told by his son, and should be read by all. CHAPTER XXIV DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH COAST OF AMERICA. FRANKLIN--RICHARDSON--BACK--DEASE--SIMPSON--RAE