'GANS AT SEA

by Lucille D'ecoupage

I never felt so strongly the vanity, uncertainty and comparative unimportance of everything this world can give and the paramount necessity of preparation for another and a better life than this...

- William Edward Parry

Chapter One

In the spring of 1823, a group of London's military and social elite were gathered at Admiral Lord Terrence of Gate's Chelsea home to mark the occasion of the sailing of an expedition to chart the route of the fabled Northwest Passage. The Passage would in theory provide a shipping lane through the frozen wilds of North America, a trade route offering control and relative safety to the spoils of Asia...

It was paramount for the burgeoning trade with India and the relatively new markets of China and Japan. The man chose to lead this expedition was no stranger to adventure - yet he stood near the back of the room with his wife and quietly trembled with what his physician had described as, "the trepidation of crowds". Fifty feet away at an ornate mantle stood another Great Man, the Lord of the Admiralty, and he banged his knuckles hard against the mahogany and brought the assembled guests to attention, "Ladies and Gentlemen, if I might have your considered attention for one brief moment... I would like to propose a toast to our friend and confidante Sir Richard Farthing and also to the attending Officers of his crew."

Whatever conversation that had been taking place seemed to fade in an invisible wave toward the back of the room, ending with the downcast face of Sir Richard; leader of two previous assaults on the Passage and decorated veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. Lord Terrence of Gate continued, "Three years ago, upon having returned from the sort of predicament I should think no man would be eager to return, Sir Richard convinced me, emaciated as he was, that a successful route through the North of the Americas could be achieved given three things. Modification of His Majesty's ships. The timely departure of a competent crew and the happy co-operation of our Father's temperamental weather. To this end, he has spent uncounted hours coordinating the efforts of many... assembled the finest Officers and crew I have ever laid eyes upon and has continued to oversee the efforts of the minutest detail! Details which we can assume will make his ships as safe and pleasant to ride as a cabriolet in the sweet summer sun."

There was a round of polite bemusement, as the Lord Admiral considered himself to be somewhat of a showman. The effect of this speech was evident in an exchange of glances between Sir Richard and his ship's Surgeon, the Phrenologist, Dr Thomas Dickinson. Both had endured many hours of the Lord Admiral's hospitality and they knew his grandstanding to be extraordinary and long.