THE LAST ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1874, 5 January 1875, Page 2

THE LAST ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Austria ifr proud of her explbjrers/ \Tlie members* of her Arctic expedition, ",who had been compelled to abandon their good ship Tegethoff to the ice, arrived home last.wceki and were received as heroes should be. Never, before had travellers such an ovation. When rescued in their, attempt to reach a habitable region by sledges they were in rags, and for. a fortnight had been short of provisions and firing. From Christiansund they crossed to Hamburg, where they were received by the Geographical Society and the townsfolk with due honours ; but it was reserved to Vienna to give them a welcome such as is usually accorded only to soldiers returning from aj battle-field. " They were met and congratulated at the Northern Railway Station by the municipal authorities, by the admiralty officials and by officers from all the Vienna regiments. The streets for three miles were crowded with spectators, and there was vociferous cheering all along the line of route. Everywhere flags were displayed and bells were rung." And these men had sustained a combat* with the inhospitable forces of nature .ai severe as any struggle on a field of war. The Tegethoff sailed from Bremerhaven in June, 1872, a small ship of about 200 tons, with an screw, t« find a north-easterly passage towards the coast of Siberia. For months together it was a daily struggle with the great ice masses that bore, down on either side. Set fast not far beyond Nova Zembla, she was in constant* danger of being crushed, but gradually drifted in a massive bed of ice towards the north-east. The winter was passed in disheartening circumstances, but in the August following they-were rewarded by the discovery of land. Towards the end of October the ship drifted to about three miles-off an island which lay before, the mainland. There the second winter was passed, and with the return of the sun expeditions were organised for exploring the new territory, henceforth |o be added to the known globe. The newly - discovered land as far as seen is about the size of Spitzbergen, and consists of several large masses intersected by fjords and sur- ! rounded by islands. A large passage called the Austria Sound separates these masses and forks under 82 ° N. lat. into a north-easterly.arm, which could be folio wed up to Cape Pest in the further north. "The mountains are doloinitic. Their middle elevation is from 2,000 ft. to 3,000 ft., only towards the south they riiay rise up to 5,000 ft., All the depressions between the summits are occupied by glaciers of gigantic size, as they only occur in Arctic .regions..- The vegetation is much poorer than that pf Greenland, Spitzbergen, or Nova Zembla, and in the south, except for Polar bears, it is devoid of animal life too. ; Several attempts were made to pass through the country, but they were found impossible ; mountains barred the road, so progress was tried along the coast line, and the more the explorers penetrated north by west the more the temperature rose, and the coasts of Crown-Prince Rodolf Land were found to be tenanted by myriads of birds, elks, &c.; traces .of bears, foxes and hares appeared, and seals lay on the ice. In spite of. the treacherous nature of the road,' it was continued to 82 deg. Smin., where at Cape Fligley a wide expanse of water, only covered with ice of recent formation was seen. In spite of this the explorers ,think the open Polar sea a delusion. Without raising a theory about the possible connexion of this land with Gillis Land in the south-west, the opinion is that it bears out up to a certain point Peterman's assumption of an inner Arctic archipelago."'. After setting up a flag and cairn with documents inside on the northernmost point, the way was made back over 160 miles to the ship, which had ultimately to be abandoned. It may especially interest cvpie Australians to know that these gajffiknt explorers report that " preserved meats in tins contributed not a little to keep up health and strength." Sir Henry Rawlinson has sent a congratulatory letter to the Vienna Geographical Society. He says that the members of Ihe Austrian Arctic expedition will now " take the first rank among Polar explorers, and that nowhere will their great service to science and their personal gallantry be more highly appreciated than in England.

An-Atlanta man wants the thief who stole his well-bucket and rope to come back and get the well, as it is of no present use to him, - ■

THE SPREAD OF SHORTHAND.

One of the most prominent and impressive features in tbe general advancement of the present age is the ever increasing use of shorthand as a department of literature. Its universal use is a tacit but deep acknowledgement of its intrinsic value. Like most great innovations in civilization — innovations which are antagonistic to preconceived notions of things—the beaut^l system of shorthand introduced and el JRrated by Mr Isaac Pitman, at first made slow progressV ' This is not to be wondered at when it is recollected the old systems of '' shorthand, or Stenography, were then in general use, and were accepted as the acme of perfection by those who, while writing them, were not promptedto seek for a more complete ' system. But the virtues of Mr Pitman's phonor graphy —a true system of writing by * .sound —could not long occupy the position .of : the Concealed Diamond. Its virtues were discovered by enquiring minds, and its progress aj-i an art, unequalled of its kind, has been astoundingly rapid. Phonetic journals have long been in existence,, and their influence is increasing daily. In a late number of Mr Pitman's Phonetic Journal, a weekly publication, it is notified (in notices to subscribers) that the editor proposes to enlarge the paper to double its present size without increasing the price, Id. The present circulation of this journal is i 6,500, and it is hoped that it will largely in-". crease on the sheet being enlarged. PhonE etic Shorthand is now adopted by almost all reporters, though there are* few who even'now adhere to Mtavor's and Taylor's systems, which are acknowledged to possess great superiority ever all those which preceded them. These conservatives are. but few, however, and the spread of/ phonetic shorthand has become so universal that to do without it, once having been introduced; ,would seem an impos- "legibility. Just in the same manner as aT'.* poor man raised to affluence : will wonder ;. how he subsisted without the delicacies of life. In every part of the civilized world, or to speak less sweepingly, in all English speaking countries phonography has be-* come necessitous to the progress of en- - lightenment, and its usefulness/is' not confined to reporting purposes—for. the conveyance to us of the thoughts and expressions of the leaders of men ; but is being acknowledged of by all who can see the advantage of time saving in the expression of their thoughts upon paper. The question as to whether phonetic spelling and writing will supersede the present method, elaborated through generations, is one whichris open to a great deal of discussion, and upon which much has been already written. Though" ? much has been written and spoken in -■ advance of this idea, there seems-little • probability of such a radical reformation in our language taking place— not at least to be within the experience- of any of the present generation. Such a reform will have-to-jbe as gradual?—more »o, indeed, than have other reforms in the condition of things, as there are great and insuperable obstacles in the way of such a : - tremendous metamorphosis. Time alone, which proves all things else/ can settle this question, which, though making less stir in the thinking world than other : questions at present agitating the minds of men, is none the less of such vast importance as to demand recognition. One great disadvantage in the system of phonography as at present adopted is, that there is no universally recognised system, Mr Pitman having made successive improvements and reconstructions- in the art, which came out in the form of editions, and thus by some one edition is used and by others another. The difference between them is sometimes so important as to render the student of the 10th edition quite incapable of deciphering the characters of a writer in the 12th. This is often the subject of regret among phonetic writers. It is indeed a pity that one general system cannot be adopted, by which tbe art .would become simplified, and extend its usefulness, the which of course will be more apparent to those who ■ are acquainted with the study. The use of these various systems of phonography is to be attributed to the astonishing growth of the great idea originated in the mind of Mr Pitman. Improvement has succeeded improvement, and those who have learned the earlier'systems naturally adhere to the system they have learned, since the pursuit of another would in a measure be travelling over fresh ground, the ence between the editions, as K^ote stated, being so material. This objection will of course be remedied by time, and . the, memory of Mr Pitman will be cherished by future generations as a great and glorious benefactor to his race. Phono.

The rector of a rural parish in a western English county was much annoyed by a ■ harmless, half-witted 'fellow., named Edwin, in his congregation, who during service indulged in a series of antics with * large bright-colouredpocket-handlrerchief —rolling it up, folding and unfolding it, mopping his lace, and blowings his nose ; with great energy during the time of worship. Meeting him one day, the rector remonstrated with him on the impropriety of his conduct. Edwin replied .that " when he came to church he thought he should have liberty to do as he liked." "3ut," said the minister, " other people who come to church don't do as they like, or at least do not annoy their neighbours with such unseemly •- performances as yours." To which Edwin replied with great gravity, '-' 3xx% perhaps they don't carry pockethandkerchers like me." . .A French wit said of a man who was exceedingly fat that nature only made him to show how far the human skin would stretch without breaking. .