Part 3 (1/2)

But the best comparisons of my Father's successes are with those of the Greenland whalers fro rendered most satisfactory because of the ample records before me of the whale fishery of that port The records referred to are comprised in an elaborate and carefully kept manuscript, kindly entrusted toto Mr James Simpson, painter, of Hull, in which an ad enterprise of the port during a consecutive period of fifty-nine years, from 1772 to 1830 inclusive

Froned, we obtain the following inforrepeated voyages) sailed froether, an a 3525 tuns a voyage for each shi+p In the six years _before_ ross ae And in the next six years, corresponding exactly with those of my Father's successful enterprise in the Henrietta,-1792 to 1797,-ninety-two Greenland whalers, from Hull, procured 5464 tuns of oil, or 594 tuns per shi+p a year

My Father's average success, taken in coather, was about _four tireat as the ordinary success (within the lienerally It was also _four tie of the _Whitby_ whalers; in like proportion above the average of the _Hull_ whalers during the previous twenty years; and e for the same actual period!

But to institute the most _severe_ comparison with the successes of his competitors in this important field of co the period of his coned, the first year only), the aoes exceeded, by 151 tuns of oil, that of the st er even than the aoes of the most successful shi+p out of the whole of the whalers from the port, taken year by year! And, it is believed, could the comparison have beenfrom Britain to the Greenland fishery, my Father, under this severest possible test of coainst hi the captains of the Whitby fleet, no one, I believe, at all approached his successes; and a the Greenland whalers of Hull none came at all near him, except one-Captain Allan,-whose name I feel it but justice to record as the most successful fisherus Sadler, whose remarkable successes we hereafter notice, did not commence until 1796 And Captain John Marshall, who afterwards beca towards superiority; besides, his enterprises, after he becanally successful, were conducted in Davis' Strait,-a branch of the fishery to which our comparison may not fairly extend

The result of the enterprise of the other captains of this period was, in each case, so far below that of the subject of these memorials, as only, in two or three cases, to reach one-half his success Captain Taylor, of the fanny, brought home 400 tuns of oil within those six years, and Captain Wilson, of the Caroline, 318; but my Father's catch, as above stated, yielded no less an amount than 729 tuns! And when it is understood that the Henrietta was of but se, (254 tons,) whilst many of the Hull shi+ps were froer, the comparison instituted becomes the more remarkable

In these successes ofinterest, for e body of those in the middle and lower classes, were, more or less, directly or indirectly, participators in the gains of the whale-fishery

But whilst all were astonished at the results of enterprises so unquestionably due to an individual guidance, no ss of jealousy in consequence of successes, to which the fruits of their personal ventures in other shi+ps bore no reasonable proportion Thetowards my Father was evinced, were as various as they were so At first, the extraordinary results were ascribed to ”luck;” and, subsequently, whenphantom of superstition was resorted to in order to escape the coment of superior merit Some persons there were of an order of mind so simple, as actually to believe as jocosely told, that he ”knee-banded” a portion of fish in one year to facilitate the success of the next Jeers and lampoons were made use of as outlets for the expression of narrow and jealous selfishness,-annoyances which the substantiality of es enabled him very well to bear, but which were often keenly felt when played off against the less stern materials of his a fa of this principle, in envious , presents a painfully characteristic fruit of huinal perfectness And theyield very characteristic instruction on the nature of the deteriorated enerous frankness, successful enterprise in _other_ departe concession of the secret mind, when under a disposition to withhold the meed of praise in the department which trenches on self-interest, or self-consequence, we find ant measure of adulation, where it may be popular to do so, on individuals and enterprises distinctly separate and remote fro in the saent research; let the admired results of the labour of one but stand out on the sculptured tablet of faroundwork surface of the other explorers of like mysteries; or let the profitable fruits of the industry of one contrast with the sad failures or ed in the self-same species of enterprise, and then we shall find,the many whose efforts have been overtopped and eclipsed, and a the multitudes, perhaps, associated relatively or interestedly with the s of envy and jealousy, sometimes of hatred and malice, most sadly conspicuous and dominant

In my Father's case, where sometimes the owners, captains, and crews of near a dozen shi+ps sailing from the saether eclipsed by his superior success,-and where, by reason of relative or interested association, the majority of a town's population beca coht possibly have their existence and iined to have been very extensive That it was so in an extraordinary degree in the early progress of ular prosperity, every member of his family had too painful evidence

But as to the observant and intelligent classes separate fronified st parties ere personally interested in whale-fishi+ng concerns, the character and merits of the subject of these records were sufficiently appreciated and acknowledged

The fahout the commercial ports of the real nature cauidance and energies to other associates in Arctic enterprise, with encouraging promise of far more profitable results

My Mother, as much attached to Whitby, as a place of residence, viewed these repeated offers witha com Whitby, or in the great inconvenience of a much more considerable period of severance than the e required, of the family circle

For awhile her objections prevailed; but ultimately, as in another chapter we shall have to record, these objections sunk under the advantages elsewhere proffered

SECTION IV-_Episodical Incident-the Rescue of endangered Pleasurers_

Before carrying forward the records offield for his personal prosperity, I shall introduce an incident of a very peculiar and interesting description, belonging to the period, though not to the business of the fishery, whilst he still held his coood shi+p” Henrietta It occurred whilst the shi+p lay at anchor, incidentally, in the river Tees, on one of her es, hoh I was but a child, I re taken on shi+pboard by my Father, when, a few days before, he had been on shore at Whitby, and the interesting circumstance, to me, of the capture of a small sand-bird, which I anxiously fed and endeavoured to keep alive, made an indelible impression on my youthful recollection The incident, however, constituting the present story, I did not well understand till long afterward, but which I now record withsubstantially correct in every detail, fro it repeatedly related in after-life

The incident consisted in the interesting and gratifying circu in an upper sphere in society, by my Father's habitual facility and accuracy in the use of the pocket telescope, and by the infor etic proe had been such that the largest aress of the fishery, being twenty-five in nule adventure Beyond the capacity of the _casks_ taken out for the reception of the cargo, a large quantity of blubber ”in bulk,” or in ht of water of the shi+p, thus unusually loaded, was found on their arrival in Whitby Roads, which was just after the spring-tides had passed off, to be too great for the flow in the harbour Whilst waiting the advance of the succeeding spring-tides, therefore, the shi+p was taken northward to the river Tees, the nearest accessible port, and a supply of empty casks sent thither by a sly occupied throughout the interval in chopping up the loose blubber, fro out, and securing it from further waste in the auxiliary casks

Whilst this operation was still in active and _greasy_ progress, e patch of sand, about a entle pleasantly up and down The day was fine, and the recreation of driving on a sularly firhtest impression, was very enjoyable But, as it soon appeared, and as my Father providentially anticipated, it was by no means-on the place selected-a _safe_ recreation

The bank of sand referred to, of which there are many such within the wide extent of the Tees, appeared uncovered at about half ebb, and becahtly depressed channel lying betwixt it and the shore Previous to this ti nearer the fields; but tempted by the fine sed by its admirable fir to the breadth of the continuous surface, and continued to enjoy themselves in this recreation and their social converse, unconscious of danger, till after the tide had long been rising

My Father, who continued observing the of the tide, which he soon found was entering the channel, and separating therossed as they seemed in their pleasant recreation, he inferred, and that justly, that their lives would soon be ier, he ordered a boat to be got ready to push off at ainattention of the strangers continue At length he saw that they had beco their vehicle into the narrow channel into which the tide had recently flowed With palpitating anxiety he perceived that the water was deeper than they had irated by the action of the tide, had turned into the treacherous quicksand He then saw the horse take alar sink down to the axles of its wheels, and the lady and gentleain the broad surface of the yet dry, and, happily for them, firm sandbank

Promptly he summoned the crew of the boat, whom he had previously advised of the probable result of this adventure, and sent the command, ”Pull as for your lives, or they will be lost!”

Bravely and humanely did the sailors perform their cheerfully undertaken task: every nerve was strained to give speed to the boat, whilst the steersed their nervous and energetic efforts by the oft-reiterated cry ”Give way! Give way, or they will be lost!”