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THE
ALPHEUS FELCH HISTORICAL LIBRARY
BEQUEATHED
TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BY THE
HON. ALPHEUS FELCH.
1896.
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From M.Claudet's Photograph.
Engraved by J.B.Hmt.
REV W SCORESBY D.D. F.R.S.
Fretit.Reg:So. Paris. Correspo
Minn Scoresby

LIFE
OF
WILLIAM SCORESBY, MA,D.D.F.R.S.S.L.&E.
ATMOSPHERICAL PHENOMENON SEEN JULY 24, 1822.
Page 193
T. NELSON AND SONS
LONDON
EDINBURGH
AND
NEW YORK.
THE LIFE
69197
OF
WILLIAM SCORESBY ,
M.A., D.D., F.R.S.S.L. & E.,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.
11-111
BY HIS NEPHEW,
R. E. SCORESBY-JACKSON, M.D., F.R.C.S.E.
They that go down to the sca in ships, that do business in great waters: These sce toe porKS
of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep."-Ps. cvii. 233, 24.
“And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after vic, and I will make you to become fishers of men."
-MARK i. 17.
LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGII ; AYD YEW YORK.
JVCCCI.XI.
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE EARL OF ROSSE, LL.D., K.P.,
EX-PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
ETC., ETC., ETC.,
W10,
NOT MORE BY HIS DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIFIC ATTAINMENTS THAN BY
HAN
HIS DOMESTIC VIRTUES, WON THE HIGHEST ESTEEM OF THE
SUBJECT OF THESE DEMOIRS,
THIS VOLUME IS, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY HIS LORDSHIP'S MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT,
The Author.
PREFACE.
To compress the memoirs of Dr. Scoresby into one
volume, and, at the same time, to make that volume
generally interesting, appeared on first consideration to
be a formidable task. But after a careful examination of
the materials available for the work, there seemed to be
so many remarkable incidents in each department of his
varied life, as to give rise to a hope that a book replete
with interest and instruction might be compiled without
entering minutely into anyone of the particular
branches.
Dr. Scoresby has left us a very valuable autobiogra-
phical sketch of his early days, written in the Greenland
Seas between the years 1821 and 1823. Since that
period, however, much of what it contains has appeared
in his published works, whilst in some points it is slightly
deficient; it has, therefore, been deemed advisable to
break it up into fragments, interspersed with brief anno-
tations. And it has been the author's aim to continue
the work, as much as possible, in the very words of the
subject of the memoirs.
The object of the book is to place concisely before the
vi
PREFACE.
reader the history of an individual of a singularly active
and observant mind, who was ever careful to record and
preserve his observations; who in early life enlarged the
sphere of his researches by repeated voyages; was the
first to make an accurate survey of the east coast of
Greenland, and who penetrated further north than any of
his contemporaries ; who devoted the latter half of his
life to the moral instruction and amelioration of his fellow-
creatures ; a philosopher whose acute intellect embraced
some of the subtlest subjects of physical science ; a sin-
cere believer and earnest advocate of religious truth, and
withal a zealous and indefatigable practical philan-
thropist.
The author begs to offer his best thanks to many kind
friends who have contributed much valuable information,
and have otherwise assisted him by their advice. And
he tenders his acknowledgments to the members of the
Literary and Philosophical Society of Whitby, who, at a
special meeting, resolved to place Dr. Scoresby's scientific
papers at his disposal previous to their deposition in the
archives of the Society, in accordance with Dr. Scoresby's
last will, as transcribed in the Appendix.
EDINBURGH, 18 QUEEN STREET.
14th November 1860.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
1789-1802.
Page
Ancestry-William Scoresby (senior) –His early agricultural pursuits-Seafaring life
-Imprisonment in Spain-Greenland trade-William Scoresby-Early childhood-
First voyage to Greenland at the age of ten years— Alarming prospect of a sea-fight
-School days.......
9
CHAPTER II.
1803-1807.
Apprentice with nis father-Advanced to the rank of chief officer-High latitude-A
sailor's "privilege” and “consolation"-First session at the University of Edinburgh
-Surveys.
27
CHAPTER III.
1807.
Story of his voyage to Copenhagen..........
36
CHAPTER IV.
1808-1810.
Introduction to Sir Joseph Banks–Voyages of 1898-1809–Examination of snow
crystals-Alarming incident-Second session at Edinburgh-The tide-waiter out-
witted--Introduction to Professor Jameson-Voyage of 1810-Accident--Tour in
Scotland-Hazardous voyage in a Leith smack-Promotion to the command of the
Resolution
66
CHAPTER V.
1811-1815.
Marriage-Religious reflections—Birth of a son-Anecdote-Interval between voy-
ages of 1812–1813–Marriage of his sister-Change from Resolution to Esk-Danger-
ous besetment—"Marine Diver"-Religious reflections-Ice-shoes-Laughable in-
cident-Letter from Baron von Buch to Gay Lussac-First failure-Reflections......
79
vü
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Tage
1815–1817.
Visit to London-To Scotland-A travelling companion-Disastrous voyage-The
rising of the day-star-Sixteenth voyage-Reflections....
95
CHAPTER VII.
1817-1818.
Revival of the Arctic expeditions-Correspondence with Sir Joseph Banks-Voyage of
1818—Spitzbergen--The colour of the Greenland sea-Birth of his second son........
118
CHAPTER VIII.
1819-1820.
Commences his work on the Arctic Regions- Removal to Edinburgh-Letters to his
sister- Royal Society of Edinburgh-Death of his mother-Removal to Liverpool
“Baffin "-Curious atmospheric phenomena--Sabbaths in the Arctic Regions-Pub-
lication of “Arctic Regions"-Reviews
146
CHAPTER IX.
1821-1822.
Voyage of 1821-Captain Manby-Prayer at the commencement of a Greenland voy-
age-Failure of Captain Manby's scheme-Cause-Directions to harpooneers.-
Religious services on board the Baffin-Magnetic researches-Memorial to the
Board of Trade-Results—Sir Humphrey Davy.....
168
CHAPTER X.
1822.
Retreat of the whale to the east coast of Greenland-Inaccuracies of the Greenland
charts-History of the Norwegian colonies-Loss of harpooneer-Greenland-Curi-
ous appearance of his father's slip-Researches in Greenland-Homeward voyage
Loss of harpooneer-Arrival at Liverpool-Death of his wife...
185
CHAPTER XI.
1824.
Sir Walter Scott-Voyage of 1823—Leaves the sea-Letter to Mr. Hodgson-Note from
Professor Traill-Enters at Queen's College, Cambridge--Visit to Paris.................. 205
CHAPTER XII.
1824-1827.
Obstacles-Letter to Archdeacon Wrangham-Stray-leaf-Letter to Mrs. Clark-
F.R.S.-Memoranda-Ordination-Curate of Bessingby-Floating Church...........
220
CONTENTS
ix
CHAPTER XIII.
1827-1838.
Page
Mariner's Church-Rammohun Roy-Death of Mr. Huskisson-Extracts from sermons
--Death of his father--Origin of British Association-Cause of his removal from
Liverpool--Bedford Chapel, Exeter - Testimonial-Epidemic of Cholera, 1832—
Degree of B.D.- Frederick's letters, illness, and death-Scientific pursuits--William
goes to Edinburgh; his illness and death-Mr. Scoresby resumes his scientific inves-
tigations-Severe accident-"Admiralty compass".
249
CHAPTER XIV.
1839-1847.
Degree of D.D.-Plea for the Unity of the Church, Removal to Bradford—“Deficien-
cies” and “difficulties "_Threatening Letter—“Plan" submitted to and approved
by the Bishop of Ripon-Question of Fees-Disturbed state of the Manufacturing
Districts-Encounter with disaffected operatives_Visit to America—The Factory
operatives of Lowell-Lord Rosse's telescope-Resigns the Vicarage of Bradford-
Serious illness-Factory girls' first social gathering–Testimonials..............
285
CHAPTER XV.
1847-1853.
Second Visit to America-Mrs. Scoresby's death-Return to England, " Atlantic
waves"-Honorary election to the Athenæum Club- Residence in Torquay-Liter-
ary and scientific pursuits-Severe accident-Lectureship in Upton Church..
313
CHAPTER XVI.
(Various Years.)
Magnetical Investigations....
330
CHAPTER XVII.
1855-1857.
Voyage to Australia for Magnetic Research-His return to England-Visit to Whitby
-Course of Lectures at Edinburgh-His last illness and death....
364
APPENDIX..........
401
I

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July 1827
South Waigat
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OF THE
COAST OF GREENLAND,
with the discoveries
OF W. SCORESBY JUNR
Discoveries coloured Red Original Surveys coloured Green
NOTE_Outline of the Ice in the Year 1806, including a remarkable open Sea, thus
The Eastern Coast or Outline of the Greenland Ice in July 1818.
Outline formed by the Greenland Ice in July 1817
Most usual outline of the Ice in Suormeralso in the Spring in Open Seasons
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LIFE OF WILLIAM SCORESBY, D.D.
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY-WILLIAM SCORESBY (SENIOR)-HIS EARLY AGRICULTURAL PUR-
SUITS SEAFARING LIFE-IMPRISONMENT IN SPAIN-GREENLAND TRADE
-WILLIAM SCORESBY-EARLY CHILDHOOD—FIRST VOYAGE TO GREEN-
LAND AT THE AGE OF TEN YEARS-ALARMING PROSPECT OF A SEA FIGHT
-SCHOOL DAYS.
1789-1802.
.
THE name of SCORESBY, under various orthographic modi-
fications, but in direct line from the subject of these
memoirs, has been traced as far back as the commence-
ment of the fourteenth century. WALTER DE SCOURBY,
we are told,* enjoyed the dignity of “bayliffe of York”
in the year 1312; again, NICHOLAS DE SCOREBY repre-
sented that ancient city in the Parliament of Edward
III. ; whilst THOMAS SCAWSBY Occupied the civic chair in
the same city in 1463.
The immediate progenitors of him the story of whose
life it is the object of these pages to portray, moved in
a humbler walk of life-one only being of a liberal pro-
* Drake's “ History of York.”
10
1780.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
fession, and he was a clergyman. The rest, so far as is
known, belonged to the class of yeomen.
WILLIAM SCORESBY, the father of Dr. Scoresby, was
born at Cropton, near Whitby, in Yorkshire, on the
3d of May 1760. His parents, who farmed a small
estate, counted upon the services of their son to assist in
the culture of the land, to which occupation the child at
first inclined, and, after a somewhat limited course of
education, achieved in a village school, commenced his
agricultural pursuits at the tender age of nine years. A
laudable desire to fulfil the wishes of his parents kept
him in this condition of daily drudgery until he arrived
at man's estate, when, being no longer able to restrain his
longings after a more active and enterprising avocation,
he determined to abandon his uncongenial calling, and
push his fortunes in a different sphere. With this view
he proceeded to Whitby, the nearest sea-port, where he
apprenticed himself to a shipowner, and sailed on his first
voyage in April 1780.
Although comparatively advanced in years when he
entered the sea service, Scoresby nevertheless acquired
with considerable facility the elements of his new profes-
sion; and whilst, by a rapid display of seaman-like talent
and address, he gained the confidence and esteem of his
superiors, he, at the same time, secured, by his good-
natured disposition, strengthened by the general aspect of
his moral character, the affectionate respect of his mess-
mates. He suffered many hardships during the first years
of his seafaring life, the most tedious of which was his
confinement, as prisoner of war, at St. Lucar la Major, a
ESCAPE FORM A SPANISH PRISON.
11
small town of Andalusia, whence he effected his escape
in a manner bordering upon romance.
An anecdote is re-
lated in connection with this escape which, since it was the
means in a great measure of establishing his reputation
as an active, clever, and thoroughly practical sailor, is
worth mentioning. After several days of anxious fear,
coupled with great fatiguem-hiding by day and travelling
by night--Mr. Scoresby, accompanied by a fellow-adven-
turer, arrived, hungry and penniless, on the Spanish shore.
Providentially an English vessel, engaged in the exchange
of prisoners of war, lay before them, into which, having,
by the connivance of the sympathizing crew, contrived to
elude the vigilance of the Spanish guard, they effected a
safe retreat. When fairly at sea they made their appear-
ance on deck, hoping to satisfy the captain by the offer
of their services on the homeward voyage ; but, much to
their surprise, his anger at their intrusion was not to be
appeased, and he even threatened, in a most unfeeling
manner, either to return and put them on shore, or to
make them over to the first man-of-war that might
happen to cross their course. In great trepidation for
their safety, they pleaded the hardships they had already
endured, and represented their poverty. The captain
was inexorable. To the offer of their services he replied,
“The crew is sufficient.” At length, however, he was
moved to the proposition of a mercenary condition,
whereby the fugitives were bound, by a written agree-
ment, to pay him most exorbitant passage-money on
their arrival in England. The Bay of Biscay turned the
tables. A fierce storm having overtaken them, the ship
12
1784.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
became unmanageable, and the annihilation of the crew
seemed inevitable. The captain in his extremity taunted
the two intruders with their heedlessness of the threaten-
ing danger, to which they coolly replied that they under-
stood " the crew was sufficient,” besides which they were
merely" passengers.” Quickly the bond was scattered in
fragments before the gale; the passengers, by this act con-
verted into ordinary seamen, lent their cheerful aid to the
navigating of the ship; their superior talents and ability
in seamanship were cordially acknowledged by the admir-
ing crew, as, by their exertions, the vessel was speedily
made snug under close-reefed top-sails, and, with her head
before the wind, accomplished a quick and prosperous
voyage.
By this adventure, Mr. Scoresby appears almost to have
acquired a distaste for the sea, and we find he spent the
years 1783 and 1784 in the peaceful retreat of his
native village. During this period he married, his choice
having fallen upon the eldest daughter of Mr. John
Smith, a landed proprietor in a small way, a native of
Cropton. His desire for active service, however, speedily
revived; but the ordinary voyages for international com-
merce not having proved altogether congenial to his spirit
of enterprise, he determined to enter upon a more hazard-
ous employment, and with this view selected the Green-
land trade.
It is difficult, even impossible, to state with authority
who were the originators of that trade which, at the
period when Mr. Scoresby entered upon it, was yielding
so large a return for the capital employed by this country
ORIGIN OF THE GREENLAND TRADE.
13
in its prosecution. To his translation of Orosius, Alfred
the Great supplemented an account of a voyage by Ohthere,
a wealthy native of Helgoland, who, from motives of
curiosity, visited that part in the north where the Nor-
wegians were then in the habit of seal-fishing; he speaks,
however, of a whale-fishery, and describes the magnitude
of the object of their pursuit, in the capture of which he
himself successfully joined. The description of this
voyage, which occurred in 890, is probably the first
reliable account of such a fishery. The Biscayans have
generally enjoyed the reputation of being the early
founders of this important trade; and undoubtedly they
prosecuted it with great vigour and enterprise so far
back as the middle of the sixteenth century, and were in
subsequent years much in request among speculators
from other nations, in whose vessels they held most im-
portant offices
The precise period at which England
entered upon the whale-fishery is not authenticated.
Some of the smaller species of whales, together with the
walrus and seal, formed the object of a fishery in the
neighbourhood of North Cape and Cherie Island, about
the end of the sixteenth century, at a time when the
Russia and East India Companies were sending frequent
discovery ships in the same direction. In following up
the retreat of these creatures, their pursuers were drawn
towards the coast of Spitzbergen, soon after its re-dis-
covery by Hudson in 1607, where, falling into the
habitat of the larger whales, they relinquished their for-
mer pursuits, and attacked the more important prey.
Expeditions were sent out by the Russia Company con-
14
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
jointly with the East India Company, with, at first, but
indifferent success. In these the Biscayans were exten-
sively employed as essential to the prosperity of the
fishery. The Russia Company disputed the right of the
Dutch and Spaniards, who quickly followed their steps
in the enterprise, to participate in that trade which they
had established at an immense cost. They equally dis-
puted the right of the French and Danes. Having, in
1613, obtained, by royal charter, a right to monopolize
the trade, they protected their rights by an armed fleet,
and drove all intruders off the grounds, not even permit-
ting their own countrymen to enjoy the privilege of fish-
ing In 1618 the Dutch also entered the field with a
naval armament, and successfully contested the mono-
poly, in which great mischief befell the English fleet.
Perceiving the evil effects of these serious contentions, an
agreement was made whereby the vast fishing station
was divided amongst the contending powers, the English
obtaining the first choice of position, and after them the
Dutch, the Danes, the Hamburghers, and the Biscayans.
Whilst the Dutch, however, continued yearly to improve
their fishery, and carried it on with singular energy
and enterprise, the English gradually lost ground, so
much so that in 1619 the Russia Company withdrew
from it. A few individual members carried on the trade
until 1623, when, from indifferent success, they too aban-
doned it. The royal charter was renewed to the Russia
Company in 1635 by Charles I., but they did not avail
themselves of it. In 1672 the government made an
effort to rouse the trade by allowing the importation of
ORIGIN OF THE GREENLAND TRADE.
15
Greenland produce free of duty, as well as other boons,
but still it did not thrive. Towards the end of the seven-
teenth century, a joint-stock company entered into the trade,
but, after spending £82,000, they gave it up.* In 1725
the South Sea Company entered into the speculation,
but, after eight years of unprofitable enterprise, they left
it. In 1733 the government of this country made an-
other and at length a successful attempt to revive the
trade, by adding to other privileges already offered a
bounty on the tonnage of the vessels employed, at the
rate of 20 shillings per ton. By this means the trade
increased a little ; but still, not being in a very thriving
condition, the bounty was, at the end of seven years, in-
creased to 30 shillings, and again, in 1749, to £2,
whereby the trade was so fully established, that the
government was able without injury to withdraw the
bounty gradually, until but 20 shillings per ton remained
at the period of which we now write. Whitby ships
were first employed in 1753, from which time the num-
bers gradually increased from season to season, until, in
1786 and the two subsequent years, no less than twenty
vessels were annually. despatched from that port. Mr.
Scoresby made his first trial in the ship Henrietta, on
her voyage to Greenland in 1785.
His future brilliant successes in this employment were
well earned by the toil which he underwent during the
* “ About the time that the English joint-stock company sunk a capital of
£82,000, the Dutch, in the course of ten years, included between 1699 and 1708,
equipped 1652 ships, which caught 8537 whales, the produce whereof sold for
26,385,120 forins, of which the sum of 4,727,120 florins was clear gain."--Arctic
Regions, vol. ii. p. 105.
16
1789.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
1
*-be-
years of his servitude.
Marrying,” says his son,
fore he was well able to support a wife, he was occasion-
ally subjected to considerable inconvenience, and it was
not until after he was appointed to the command of a
whale-fishing ship—the Henrietta of Whitby, in the year
1791--that he was relieved from the occasional embarrass-
ments incident to a precarious and not very profitable pro-
fession. I have heard him say that in the six years'
training which he underwent in the Greenland services
during which period he acted as seaman, boat-steerer,
harpooneer, &c.,—the amount of receipts for the whole of
the voyages was only £60! and out of this sum chiefly
he had to support a wife and family increasing to three
children.”
WILLIAM SCORESBY, the subject of these memoirs, was
the third of the children here referred to. He was born
on the 5th of October, 1789, just two years before his
father attained that position in his profession whereby he
was raised above the importunities of a straitened income.
Of his earliest years nothing is recorded of importance.
Physically, he was tall, weak, and delicate in constitu-
tion; mentally, he was timid, anxious, and scrupulously
conscientious. He was blessed with a mother of eminent
piety, who desired for her children the inheritance of the
riches of the abiding pleasantness and peace of true re-
ligion. Her counsels, which, like bread cast upon the
waters, were to be found after many days, produced a
lasting impression on William's susceptible mind; but
* MS. Autobiography.
EARLY VENERATION FOR THE SABBATH.
17
though their influence was in a manner persistent, they
served only at the time as incentives to a stricter obsery-
ance of those outward forms and ceremonies which he
subsequently learned to regard as the mere sentimentalism
of religion. Referring to this period, he says:
My veneration for the Sabbath was such, that I not
only declined play, but even scarcely dared to pick up any
trifling article that I might happen to find without an
owner on the street or field on that day, and was not a
little surprised at greater boys than myself appropriating
them to their own use as soon as ever they discovered
them I recollect one Sunday having found a penknife
with six blades, quite new, and to me a great treasure.
No owner appearing to claim it, I was tempted to pick it
up. After carrying it about me a week, being no longer
able to bear the pain of conscience it gave me, I threw it
into the river near to the place where I found it. I also
recollect on another occasion, when proceeding to purchase
some trifling article at a country house where it was wont
to be kept for sale, I asked some boys whom I met by
the way whether there was any to be got. They de-
clared it was all sold, they themselves having purchased
the last. I advanced, however, to make personal inquiry
at the house, and found to my astonishment that the boys
had told me a wilful untruth. The remark I made on the
occasion was expressive of the abhorrence I felt at such
great boys telling lies ; and I was greatly astonished that
they should so wantonly sport with the favour of the
* MS. Autobiography.
B
18
1800.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Almighty, who, I was taught to believe, would not love
a liar. These impressions, however, I found from later
experience were merely the effects of education and of a
tender natural conscience, for they grew weaker and
weaker as I began to see more of life, and to associate
with persons less scrupulous than myself.”
The mere rudiments of learning he acquired from “an
elderly dame of mild and amiable manners;" but so soon
as he was of an age to enter upon the usual course of
education, he was removed to a boys' school, where he
was terrified by the severity of the discipline under
which the pupils were taught. Speaking of the school-
master, he says : *_-
“He not only had recourse to the ordinary means of
punishment, such as the cane or the ferule--both of
which he was in the habit of applying with terror-
awakening dexterity, and they were of unusual magni-
tude --but he also was in the habit of locking the offend-
ing boys in the school, and keeping them several hours in
darkness after the rest of the scholars had departed—of
strapping the little culprits to a bench, and keeping them
immovably fixed for half a day together-and, at other
times, of fastening a cord to their thumbs, an inquisition-
like torture, and then passing it through a pulley above
them, hoisted them up so as to leave only their toes on
the ground. In this cruel posture, with their arms above
their heads, and with their thumbs almost disjointed, he
* MS. Autobiography.
Æt. 10.
19
FIRST VOYAGE TO GREENLAND.
was known to detain those who seriously offended him
during the absence of the school at dinner!"
The routine of his scholastic duties received its first
interruption in the spring of 1800, when he was only ten
years of age, in rather a singular manner. His father
commanded the Henrietta from 1791 to 1797 inclusive,
but in the latter year circumstances arose out of which it
resulted that Captain Scoresby, having resigned his com-
mand of this vessel, undertook the charge of a ship sail-
ing from the Thames—the Dundee of London. In the
voyage of 1800—the third of his new command-he
called in “Whitby Roads” as usual for the purpose of
taking leave of his wife and family, who still continued to
reside in that port. On this occasion, William accepted
his father's invitation to visit the vessel during her stay
in the roads, designing to return to shore with the pilot.
Delighted and excited by the novelties which met his
gaze at every turn, he quickly conceived the idea of going
the voyage, and in order to test the practicability of his
designs he hid himself at the time when the pilot was
anxious to depart. There was no response to the cry for
“Master William," until at length a peremptory call
brought the little fellow to the top of the companion,
where he stood bare-headed, leaving it to those who
might observe the circumstance to infer the impossibility
of leaving the vessel without his hat, which they were at
liberty to imagine he had lost. His father, perceiving
the drift of the device, resolved to take him with him to
Greenland ; and the sailors, having been furnished with
20
1800.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the necessary materials by the captain, soon equipped
“ Master William ” with a complete wardrobe. A circum-
stance occurred a few days after leaving the roads which
I give in his own words :
My joy at finding myself at sea received a solemniz-
ing influence two or three days after sailing. The
weather being fine, with a brisk and favourable wind,
and the ship going steadily and swiftly under her ample
and well-trimmed sails, all hands were set to work,
my father superintending, in clearing the 'tween decks
of a variety of stores hastily taken in, and confusedly
scattered about, in order to make all snug and secure for
the North Sea passage. So much were all hands—men
and officers—occupied by this important labour of clear-
ance and order, that, somehow or other, the 'look out'
had been for a while neglected, when suddenly it was
announced by a voice calling out from the deck at one of
the hatchways, ' A ship bearing down close upon us !
“It being a time of war, and the North Sea abounding
with ships of war and privateers of the enemy, the
announcement produced an instant suspension of the work
going on, and drew universal attention to a circumstance
which might possibly involve the safety of life and pro-
perty in the ship.
“My father's quick eye and sure telescopic glance dis-
covered at once the characteristic marks of an enemy and
'
* Vide “My Father: being Records of the Adventurous Life of William
Scoresby, Esq." By bis Son, the Rev. William Scoresby, D.D., F.R.S.S.L. and
E. London: Longman & Co.
Æt. 10.
21
ALARMING PROSPECT OF A SEA FIGHT.
vessel of war. She was bearing down, steering easterly,
exactly so as to intercept our track, but not on any of the
courses usually steered either for England, France, or
Denmark.
Already she had approached within little
more than a mile of our position, and so that in about a
quarter of an hour we must be within hailing distance.
“ With the promptness and coolness characteristic of
the Dundee's commander, measures for self-defence and
skilful strategy were arranged, and progress commenced.
These measures, I conceive, are worthy of some particular
notice.
Fortunately, had the extremity required, he was
in a position calculated for a brave defence. The Dundee
was as well armed as she was well manned, carrying
twelve guns, eighteen-pounders, I believe, with a crew of
betwixt fifty and sixty men. The guns were already
loaded, and in every way fit for immediate service.
“The strategy in this case contemplated, was to give to
the threatening assailant the surprise of a concealed
armament, and the impression as of a designed deception
in the class of ship assumed.
“ And fortunate it was that there were circumstances
connected with the qualifications of the crew, and the
construction of the ship, admirably adapted for the ex-
periment proposed. For, contemplating such a risk as
that now threatening him, my father had selected, out
of the variety of hands offering themselves for the voyage,
two men of rather unusual qualifications,—one who was
an adept in beating the drum, the other 'in winding
a boatswain's call.' These qualities, amongst seafaring
22
1800.
LIFE OF SCORESBY
men, being almost peculiar to classes employed in vessels
of war, induced a preference, in respect to them, over
others, though the drummer might by no means be equal
to some who were rejected, in regard to general seaman-
like attainments.
“ The construction of the ship, too, was well adapted
for the execution of the proposed surprise, being deep-
waisted,' with a high quarter-deck, and having her guns
entirely below, with no outward indication, at a distance,
of either ports or armament.
“ On the first alarm the hands, with one accord, had
begun to swarm upon the deck, but their retirement was
promptly commanded, The men required for the guns
were sent to their quarters, with orders to make all ready
for action, but to lift no port. The hands above, whilst
requiring to move about, were kept as much as possible
on the lee-side of the deck, where, from the heeling of the
ship and the enemy's windward position, they were in
sufficient concealment. The drummer and boatswain,
now most important elements in the plan, had their
special instructions; whilst the crew thus became gene-
rally sensible, by means of the orders given, of the in-
genious device of their commander, so as to be well pre-
pared to give to it its utmost impression.
“ Short as the time was the coolness of the com-
mander being communicated to the men, so as to relieve
the urgent haste from any embarrassing confusion,all
arrangements had been completed before the enemy came
within hailing distance. At that period (as apparently from
the first) everything visible on board the Dundee indicated
Et. 10.
23
SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM.
an unconcerned quietness, and utter unconsciousness of
danger from the stranger's approach. The men on deck
were laid down flat on their faces. My father coolly
walking the quarter-deck, and the helmsman engaged in
his office of steering, were the only living beings who
could be discerned from the deck of the assailant,
“Without showing any colours in answer to our Eng-
lish ensign waving at the mizzen-peak, the stranger came
down to within short musket-shot distance, when a loud
and unintelligible roar of the captain, through his speak-
ing-trumpet, indicated the usual demands of the nation or
denomination of our ship. A significant wave of my
father's hand served instead of a reply. The drum beats
to quarters, and while the roll yet reverberates around,
the shrill sound of the boatswain's pipe is heard above all.
And whilst the hoarse voice of this officer is yet giving
forth the consequent orders, the apparently plain sides of
the ship become suddenly pierced ; six ports on a side
are simultaneously raised, and as many untompioned
cannon, threatening a more serious bellowing than that of
the now astonished captain's trumpet-aided voice, are run
out, pointing ominously towards the enemy's broadside.
“The stratagem was complete ; its impression quite
perfect. The adversary seemed electrified. Men on the
enemy's deck, some with lighted matches in their hands,
and plainly visible to us by reason of her heeling position
whilst descending obliquely from the windward, were
seen to fall flat, as if prostrated by our shot; the guns, ,
pointed threateningly at us, remained silent; the helm
flew to port, and the yards to the wind, on our opposite
24
1800.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
tack; and without waiting for an answer to his summons,
or venturing to renew his attempt on such a formidable
looking opponent, he suddenly bauled off, under full sail,
in a direction differing, by some six points, from that in
which he had previously intercepted our track !
During the interval of suspense, I was in a condition
of strange perplexity and excitement, in being so suddenly
and unexpectedly thrown from the singularly unadven-
turous life of a school-boy, into that of a threatened par-
ticipator in the perils of deadly conflict in actual warfare !
The danger passed, however, I enjoyed the voyage exceed-
ingly; and, not being subject to sea-sickness,--the bane of
most young adventurers, -I experienced little of what I
conceived to be hardship, and was in general not only con-
tented with my situation, but lively, active, and happy.”
و
Captain Scoresby, on contemplating the risk to which
he was about to expose his child by conveying him to
Greenland at so early an age, entertained the idea of
leaving him in Shetland until his return ; and with this
intent arranged for his accommodation in a school at
Lerwick. This design, though covertly planned, was
frustrated by the boy's intelligence ; for, perceiving that
preparations were being effected for the speedy departure
of the vessel, he chartered a boat at an extravagant price
and reached the ship just as she was leaving the harbour.
By this voyage his health was neither promoted nor
injured, and, with the exception of some little knowledge
which he acquired in marine tactics, it was probably alto-
gether unprofitable.
1
At. 12.
25
MR. STOCK'S ACADEMY.
During the half-dozen years following, William was
kept almost constantly at school, where he made progress
so rapidly as quite to have exhausted the learning of his
teachers in Whitby. His last year of regular scholastic ex-
ercise was more advantageously employed. He says:*—
“In the autumn of 1802, my father having called in
Whitby Roads on his homeward voyage, I accompanied
my mother on board the Dundee, and again visited the
metropolis. Soon after my arrival,—the ship lying in
Blackwall Dock, —I was put to an excellent school
in the neighbourhood, superintended by Mr. Stock. This
was the first instance in which my faculties were brought
into exercise. Mr. Stock was a rigid disciplinarian, but
a teacher of the first order. His system, which was
founded on emulation and the distribution of rewards,
the result of small subscriptions and fines, possessed a
stimulus which awakened the energies of the most
unambitious; and his plans being uniform and metho-
dical, and ably supported and enforced by his numer-
ous assistants, the result in many instances was most
brilliant. For my own part, the advantage I gained
was incalculable. In grammar I attained uncommon
proficiency; in calculation much facility; in writing
much improvement. On the first weekly examination
of exercise copies I was almost at the bottom of the
list, my number being below seventy: at the conclu-
sion of a quarter of a year I stood number two. In the
exercises for calculation and in the division of the
* MS. Autobiography.
26
1802.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
weekly funds—I gained many prizes. The exertion,
however, on a delicate frame was severe. I had to
rise at five in the morning and to pursue the routine
of the seminary until the same hour in the evening,
with the usual intervals for refreshment, after which,
I never failed to have some exercise for my employment
at home; and sometimes, which was optional, attended
the familiar lectures of Mr. Stock, on interesting branches
of science, in the evening.”
Æt. 16.
27
APPRENTICE WITH HIS FATHER.
CHAPTER II.
APPRENTICE WITH HIS FATHER-ADVANCED TO THE RANK OF CHIEF OFFICER
--HIGH LATITUDEGA SAILOR's “ PRIVILEGE AND CONSOLATION
FIRST SESSION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH-SURVEYS.
1803-1807.
|
In the year 1803, Captain Scoresby changed from the
Dundee to the Resolution, a Whitby ship, and thus again
enjoyed the opportunity of sailing from the port where
his family was stationed. Desirous of training his son
to the profession in which he had himself experienced
remarkable success, he made him, from this date, the
constant companion of his voyages.
William, though
still very young, manifested considerable skill and apti-
tude for his calling, and on several occasions, even in this
his first voyage in the capacity of apprentice, made
hazardous personal attempts at the capture of the mighty
leviathan. Nothing of interest occurred during the three
following years; 1806 was an eventful year in his life.
Although not more than sixteen years of age, he was
deemed equal to the duties of a chief officer, and in this
honourable capacity he sailed, still under his father's
command, in the month of April. In commercial interest
this voyage was equally successful with the rest; in other
circumstances it was still more remarkable.
review them.
Many years subsequent to this date, in a letter to Mr.
Let us
28
1806.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
so."
Scoresby—as we shall now designate the subject of these
memoirs, to distinguish him from his father, Captain
Scoresby-Captain Basil Hall remarked, after inquiring
the project of his voyage, “I trust you mean to attempt
the pole ; it will immortalize you, and very deservedly
Mr. Scoresby was never nearer accomplishing the
pole than in his voyage of 1806. It was a voyage
which, for the display of consummate skill, ingenuity, and
boldness of enterprise, could scarcely be excelled by a
private undertaking. The approach to the ordinary
fishing-grounds was on this occasion occupied by ice of
extraordinary density; but the Resolution was forced
through it, and speedily left the rest of the whaling fleet
behind her. Whilst occupying a position in parallel
78° 46', it occurred to Captain Scoresby to push further
forward towards the north, under the belief that an open
sea existed nearer the pole; but the compact and appar-
ently impenetrable state of the ice rendered this a diffi-
cult and hazardous undertaking; for not only was there
the risk of not attaining the supposed sea, but also the
danger of being cut off in the rear. The energies of the
crew were taxed to their utmost; every device which the
fertile genius of the captain could suggest was brought to
bear upon the progress of the ship, and in the end their
efforts were crowned with success. Mr. Scoresby says : *
“ After passing an icy barrier of extraordinary tena-
ciousness and compactness, we reached a region in the
80th parallel, of incomparably greater openness than wo
* MS. Autobiography. See also “My father," p. 152, et seq.
Æt. 16.
29
HIGH LATITUDE.
1
could have anticipated—'a sea of water,' to which we
could see no bounds but the ice we had passed through
on the south side, and the land to the eastward.” Again
he says, this region, “as far as conclusive records go, has
not, before or since, been navigated.* . We con-
tinued our progress until we had reached the longitude of
19° east, when our latitude, as estimated from the recent
observation, was 81° 30' north. This was our furthest
advance northward, in which we had gained a position
within about five hundred and ten miles of the pole. Even
then the navigation was still quite open to the E.N.E.
(true), and from that point round to the southeast, so open
that, as we could certainly gather from the appearance of
the sky, we could have easily advanced many, many leagues
further in the direction we had so extensively pursued.
“Our situation, at our furthest advance, was singular
and solitary indeed. No ship, no human being, it was
believed, was within three hundred or three hundred and
fifty miles of us. Unquestionably the crew of the Re-
solution now occupied the most northern position of any
individuals in the world. The sea began to freeze, and
threatened our detention.”
A second circumstance of interest which occurred
during this year was his first interview with the lady
who afterwards became his wife. In relating this inci-
dent, he says:
* Captain Parry went seventy or eighty miles beyond this in his journey
across the ice in 1827. The above account bears reference to sailing.-"My
Father," p. 162.
+ MS. Autobiography.
30
1808,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
as
“There is no class of men that enjoys and ap-
preciates so much the society of the softer sex
sailors. Deprived of all intercourse with females for
perhaps half their lives, they esteem the enjoyment a
privilege, and value it as a benefit. This is the sailor's
consolation under all his privations; he anticipates the
hour that shall restore him to the society of that sex
whose prerogative it is to lessen and soothe the cares and
anxieties of life, and to bestow happiness in the midst of
natural evils, which, while it affords a stimulus to the
exercise of manly exertions, gives refinement to our
manners, delicacy to our sensibilities, and exercise to our
best affections, Even at this age I was not insensible to
the charins of female society; I sought it, and, where I
found along with it refinement, frankness, and amiability,
I greatly enjoyed it.”
A third occurrence which tended to render this a
memorable year was the commencement of his studies at
the University of Edinburgh, of which he gives the fol-
lowing narrative :-
“After I left Mr. Stock's admirable academy in 1802,
no opportunity was afforded me of improving myself in
scholastic knowledge, excepting what little was within
my reach at the school in Whitby, conducted by Mr.
Routh. Here, in the intervals of the fishery, I at-
tended to geometry (plain and spherical), algebra, naviga-
tion, and other branches of mathematics; but having, in
every branch, run the teachers beyond their usual practice,
At. 16.
31
“ LEARNING IS NEVER A BURTHEN.
I found their explanations of any difficulties that occurred
neither satisfactory nor intelligible. Hence, what I
learned perfectly was merely the rudiments of each divi-
sion of the science. In the classics I had a better chance,
had I had the taste, having a tolerably skilful tutor of
the literary class; but this study was to me complete
drudgery, and I made no progress excepting in the first
two or three books usually employed in teaching Latin.
Drawing and music I was better pleased with, and made
some progress in both, as well as in several mechanical
arts ; but imagining I had no genius for painting, I did
not persevere in it.
“In justice, as well as praise of my father, I must
not omit to observe, that he always evinced the greatest
desire for my obtaining information in every kind of
useful knowledge. And it was only the want of suitable
establishments in the neighbourhood that prevented my
having the benefit of the best education. My father
spared no expense ; nor did he spare any pains to urge
me to get information of every description. If I asked
what use it could be to learn such an art, he would
answer, ‘No one can tell whether it may not hereafter
be useful—besides, learning is never a burthen.' This
principle, indeed, he carried so far, that he would have
me taught to beat the drum, believing that this noisy
instrument, sounded in a warlike manner, might be effi-
cacious in alarming an enemy in case of an attack at
sea ; as such, I was ordered to attend the instruction of
a bombadier for some time during the winter ; but my
fingers being daily starved and severely blistered, I,
32
1806.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
against all authority, abandoned the uncongenial pur-
suit.
Towards the close of the autumn of this year (1806),
a school-fellow of mine made preparation for a journey
to Edinburgh, with a view of studying physic. Stimu-
lated by this example, I became desirous of attending
some university, for the purpose of acquiring that know-
ledge which I in vain sought for at home. Encouraged
by my father's usual wishes with regard to my improve-
ment, I wrote to him (he being then in London), request-
ing his permission, and the grant of supplies, for me to
accompany my friend to college. My father did not
immediately answer my letter, and the time for the
opening of the session was at hand; presuming upon his
concurrence, I, therefore, set out on my journey, support-
ing myself, in the first instance, with a small sum of
money I saved from the bonuses of my voyages, &c., and
afterwards, having received his approbation to the step,
I also was furnished with ample means for rendering the
visit comfortable and profitable.
“A youth of seventeen entering the university of
Edinburgh, where such numerous subjects for study pre-
sent themselves, and all alike attainable, without a
friend to direct his studies, or any particular object to
assist his choice, must necessarily be liable to make a
selection far from judicious. But I was, perhaps, more
than commonly fortunate; the classes I attended being
chemistry (Dr. Hope, professor), natural philosophy (Pro-
fessor Playfair), with occasional lectures on anatomy, and
a French school. I was strongly impressed, by what
kt. 17.
33
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH,
means I do not recollect, that most young students com-
mitted an error in attending too many classes at once,
which not only rendered the pursuit extremely laborious,
but created such confusion in running from one room
immediately to another, and from one subject to an-
other, that nothing was learnt effectually. This error I
avoided, and, under the eminent teachers I attended, so
strengthened and improved the bias of my mind for
philosophical pursuits, that the taste continued ever after
to increase.
“In Edinburgh I was an entire stranger--and as
strangers, not introduced, are received with extreme
caution by the inhabitants, I formed very few acquaint-
ances.
My extreme diffidence, amounting, indeed, to
bashfulness, made me rather avoid than court society.
This arose, partly, from the want of mixing more with
mankind, but more particularly from a most humiliating
sensibility to my own deficiencies. There was a family,
however, resident at Leith, who, from being in the habit
of transacting commercial concerns with my father, I
was desired to call upon ; from them-Messrs. P. and C.
Wood—I received the most gratifying civilities. I dined
with Mr Peter Wood at least once a week, and received
a general invitation to be a guest at his table. The
innumerable marks of kindness experienced under his
roof were truly parental.
« On one occasion I was invited to breakfast with
Professor Playfair. His modest, affable, and unassuming
manners gave me much encouragement, and induced me
to venture on some observations on the peculiarities of
34
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the polar seas, which so far excited his attention as to
lead to a future correspondence.
“ The season passed away happily and rapidly. I
took full notes of both classes I attended in the univer-
sity, and on my return to my lodgings extended them.
I wrote partly in short hand-an art in which I was
self-taught-and, more frequently, in an abridged running
hand. A prominent word or two in a sentence was gener-
ally sufficient to recall it to memory; and proper names and
figures being always put down, brought with the review
of them the associations which had previously been con-
nected with them. Thus I found my notes daily extend,
until at length the writing of them out used to occupy
me three or four hours. By this exercise each subject
was more particularly fixed on my memory than it could
have been by an extensive course of reading—an em-
ployment to which I felt considerable aversion--and I
was necessarily led, at the same time, into babits of com-
position ; for, although I often took down the words of the
lecturer, yet more frequently the ideas only were preserved.
“In my fellow-student, whom I accompanied from
Whitby (Mr. John Mewburn), I had an agreeable and
intelligent companion ; but, as his object in attending
the lectures was for a profession, mine merely for im-
provement, we had few subjects of mutual interest on
which to converse.
“The whale-fishery, to which I was training up as an
occupation, called me away, greatly to my regret, in the
middle of March, two months previous to the conclusion
of the session, and just when Professor Playfair was
Æt. 17.
35
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
entering on astronomy—a subject which, to me, had
uncommon attractions. The mandate of my father,
however, was peremptory, and I reluctantly quitted my
liberal pursuit for the hardy and unrefined duties of
chief officer of a Greenland ship.”
In the progress of this voyage, whilst the vessel was
delayed in Balta Sound, Mr. Scoresby employed his time
in "making a survey of the harbour, of which there was
no chart, and in drawing up directions for the naviga-
tion.” “The original map,” he continues,* “and six
views of the land, with observations on Brassa Sound,
Lerwick, Balta Sound, and the Zetland Islands in
general, I inserted in my journal of this voyage.
This
survey I accomplished by means of an azimuth com-
pass, quadrant, and Gunter's chain.
I afterwards proved
it by means of a theodolite, but found it so accurate that
I could make no alteration in it. The extent of coast
which I traced and trigonometrically examined was fifteen
miles. This voyage proved as prosperous as we could
have desired. We procured thirteen very large whales,
two and a half of which were in excess of the capacity
of our casks, and were taken home in bulk."
A singular change in the order of his occupation
occurred after his return from this voyage, the circum-
stances of which appear to be, in their kind, so generally
interesting as to warrant the insertion of the episode in
its original terms.
* MS. Autobiography.
36
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER III.
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
1807.
A CURSORY review of the state of Europe in the summer
of 1807 will form a necessary prelude to the narrative
we are about to relate. Passing over the shocking de-
tails of Eylau, Heilsberg, and the memorable battle of
Friedland, let us hasten to the consideration of the events
which followed these sanguinary conflicts. Harassed by
the long and active campaigns which he had sustained
almost single-handed against Napoleon, Alexander was
compelled, after his retreat from Friedland, to propose a
cessation of hostilities, on the banks of the Niemen. His
army had performed prodigies of valour, and, although
forced to retreat, it fell back in consummate order, and
with a bold front towards the enemy. Prussia, lying
prostrate beneath the incubus of a foreign army, spread
throughout the length and breadth of her dominions,
could afford but little assistance to her ally. Austria
stood aloof; and Great Britain, through the saving policy
of her government, neglected the opportunity when her
arms might have struck a decisive blow in behoof of
European liberty. Before the successors of this govern-
ment could administer to the necessities of the allied
armies, the opportunity had vanished. Whilst Napoleon
Æt. 17.
37
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
was luxuriating in the rich produce of the German
States, and maintaining his army by imposts on his
newly acquired territories, Alexander had been supporting
his forces solely at the expense of the imperial exchequer;
and so great was his chagrin at the persistence of these
disadvantages, that on the banks of the Niemen he was
induced to sheathe his sword, and tender the hand of
friendship to his foe. Napoleon rejoiced at the opportu-
nity thus afforded of a friendly intrigue with Russia.
The emperors met upon
« the raft of Tilsit
on the 26th
of June; in two hours the basis of a treaty was agreed
upon, in a few days it was ratified-Frederick of Prussia,
as if in hollow mockery of his misfortunes, completing
the triumvirate. From this treaty Prussia emerged the
shadow of her former self; but, though deprived of half,
and crippled in the rest of her possessions, she still main-
tained a noble bearing in the midst of her distress. The
mightier powers, however, were united by a stronger
bond-a common hatred of Great Britain. Jealous - of
her maritime power, they effected a second treaty, to
which their impotent ally was not invited. The “ secret
treaty of Tilsit,” by turning the full tide of continental
war against Great Britain, aimed at the destruction of
her commerce and the annihilation of her navy. Sweden,
Denmark, and Portugal were to be pressed into the ser-
vice, and the combined fleets of the two latter were
designed to form part of the naval coalition against this
country. Gustavus of Sweden-aided by the British
forces, proceeding, at too late an hour, to the assistance of
Russia and Prussia-made a bold stand against the haughty
38
1807,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
dictates of Napoleon ; but in the end was obliged to
retreat, though he never succumbed. Thus threatened,
what was England's duty ? Aware that the Danes were
ready and willing to yield their powerful fleet to the ser-
vice of Napoleon, and that every hour of delay exposed
this country more imminently to the danger of the arma-
inent falling into the enemy's hands-was that a moment
to hesitate upon the legality of dispossessing a neutral
country of her sea force ? The government then in
power, notwithstanding the grave doubts which were
raised against the proceeding, concluded it was not. By
the beginning of August, a British fleet, consisting of
twenty-five sail of the line, and an army comprising
twenty-seven thousand British troops, were approaching
the capital of Denmark. But whilst England desired to
prevent the acquirement of the Danish navy by the
enemy, she had no wish for spoil. All this country asked
was the safe keeping of the fleet until the danger should
be overpast; and with this view propositions were made
to the crown prince—both before the despatch of the
British fleet, and again, after its arrival on the Danish
shores—for its temporary surrender. These overtures being
declined, however, the forces were compelled in self-defence
to proceed to a passage of arms. The bombardment of Co-
penhagen began on the 2d of September, and lasted almost
without interruption for seventy-two hours, when after
a brave, though fruitless resistance, the town capitulated.
Of the appearance of the town immediately afterwards
we have a vivid description in Mr. Scoreshy's story of
:
his voyage.
He says:
Et. 17.
39
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
“In the autumn of this year (1807) there was a call
made upon all seamen, especially upon those engaged in
the Greenland trade, by the government, for assisting in
bringing the fleet captured from the Danes into a British
port. Without reflecting on the merits of the cause or
the justice of the step by which the fleet of a nation at
peace was demanded, to prevent its falling into the hands
of an enemy, and on being refused was seized by force of
arms—but rather considering that whatever government
did must be right, an opinion I had been taught to hold,
I was the first to offer my services in the national cause.
All the sailors of the port, indeed, previous to my taking
this step, and which was a powerful reason for it, refused
their assistance, from the foolish persuasion that it was a
scheme for impressing them ; but on my name being
given in as a volunteer they came forward to the amount
of fifty-four in one day; and afterwards a number more
engaged in the service.
I rejoiced in the opportunity of varying my voyage,
and of witnessing the discipline of the navy, which, for
many branches of seamanship, I was persuaded must be
the best school in the world ; though the Greenland
trade, I afterwards found, for practical navigation, was
the best theatre of exercise that could be visited.
'Two sloops being fitted out for carrying us to Leith,
the place of rendezvous, I embarked in one of them on
the 23d of September 1807, and arrived on board the
Texel, Rear-Admiral Vashan, which was appointed as a
receiving ship for the occasion.
"Here I had the first taste of painful inconvenience.
40
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
As there was no place adapted for our hammocks, I was
obliged to spread my bed on the deck, where six of us
were crowded between two guns. I was dreadfully
squeezed ; the truck of a gun-carriage formed my pillow,
and my situation was so uncomfortable that I never
closed my eyes all night. It was a great relief to me,
therefore, when the boatswain's mate piped all hands at
day-break. I arose and felt refreshed by walking the
deck.
“ Towards noon, myself and some of my companions
were drafted on board a merchant ship, where, being
joined by a number of the Leith Greenland-men and sea-
fencibles, we made sail for Copenhagen. Mr. Gourley,
flag-lieutenant to Admiral Vashan, was appointed our
officer; who, having letters from the admiral to the
commander-in-chief of the fleet at Copenhagen, expected
to be intrusted with the charge of one of the Danish
prizes.
“I had not been many hours on board of this vessel
before Mr. Gourley distinguished me from my compa-
nions, and requested my assistance in serving out the
provisions—an office I readily undertook, He at the
same time invited me to join him at his meals in the
cabin, and during the whole of the passage showed me the
most friendly and pleasing attention. I had great occa-
sion to be delighted with his character ; his amiable and
unostentatious manners, his officer-like conduct, and,
above all, his distinguished piety, commanded respect from
every class of society. Though at this time I was far
from being pious myself, yet, being taught to regard reli-
Ft. 17.
41
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
gion as the most important concern of life, I reverenced
the sanctity of Mr. Gourley's character, and was almost
stimulated to emulation. He was not religious for him-
self alone, he was anxious for promoting the glory of God,
and unwearied in his exertions to further the cause of
Christianity among the sailors committed to his charge.
Hence he was charitable and humane. In his profes-
sional duties he was for some time employed in the
repugnant and obnoxious service of impressment. In this
he found a severe conflict between his high sense of duty
and his natural humanity. On the former he acted-on
the latter he wished to act. He boarded, among other
vessels, one of the Greenland ships, of Whitby, on its
homeward passage, for the purpose of impressing some of
the crew; but he found that all the men liable to serve
his Majesty had quitted the ship in a boat, and rowed
out to sea. The boat was yet in sight, but in place of
chasing it, he earnestly inquired whether these men had a
compass and provisions? Finding they were ill provided, he
ordered the master to hoist a signal of recall for them.
'For,' he added in conclusion, if I chase these men they
will row further off shore and perish-my duty is to
impress men, not to drown them !' with this he returned
to his ship, and stood away out of sight.
“A pious character, especially in the navy, was at this
period almost certain of persecution. Mr. Gourley's reli-
gious habits and conversation gave rise to innumerable
gibes and affronts. One example, in which his perse-
cutors, however, were disappointed of their expected
enjoyment, deserves to be recorded. Being invited to
42
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
visit Admiral Vashan, while on the Leith station, he met
at the dinner table a number of naval officers of principles
very widely different from his own. He, it has been
premised, was decidedly pious ;; they were decidedly
scoffers of religion. In various indirect attacks, in the
course of conversation, they attempted to ridicule his
sanctity-his reading of his Bible-his prayers--his
practice of teaching and endeavouring to reform seamen
under his direction—and his other pious practices of a
similar nature. These insinuations he bore with great
patience and forbearance. Afterwards becoming more
bold and personal in their attacks, the admiral, who had
hitherto been a silent observer of what passed, unexpect-
edly interrupted them, and addressed the company to the
following effect : 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'I think your
remarks ill-placed, ill-mannered, and unjust. I acknow-
ledge with you that Mr. Gourley has not the talent that
some of you have before now manifested in my hearing
in profane swearing—obscene wit-—ridiculing of religion
or in the general excellences of a bottle-companion,
neither do I believe he possesses that peculiar kind of des-
peration you call COURAGE, which should induce him first
to offend his brother-officer, and then, by way of repara-
tion, shoot him in the qualified way of honour. But
place him in the tumult of battle-set him amid the car-
nage of war, with death in a thousand shapes around
him, or place him on a leeward shore, where the bravest
are almost paralyzed with their awful situation, and you
will find him cool, courageous, and collected. I venture
to say there is not a man among you who would be so
Æt. 18.
43
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
well able to do his duty. The company was silenced by
this seasonable reproof, and Mr. Gourley found the benefit
of his admiral's good opinion.
“ Under convoy of the Amaranthe, sloop of war, we
arrived safely and without adventure in Copenhagen
Roads on the 9th of October, where we anchored in the
midst of a fleet of near a thousand sail of ships of war
and transports.
“ A short time after our arrival Mr. Gourley waited on
the commander-in-chief, Admiral Lord Gambier, who
carried his flag on board the Prince of Wales, ninety-eight.
His application, however, for the command of a vessel was
not successful, arrangements having already been made
for putting them under the charge of the lieutenants
belonging to the fleet. My disappointment was as great
as Mr Gourley's. He had encouraged me to expect that
I should still accompany him in whatever command he
obtained, and be employed in the class of officers—an
event to which I looked forward with considerable
interest, since it promised me the opportunity of culti-
vating the friendship of so excellent a man, as well as the
prospect of an excursion of a pleasant rather than a dis-
agreeable nature.
“The evening was so tempestuous that there was no
possibility of communicating either with the fleet or the
shore ; but about noon of the 10th, the weather having
somewhat moderated, we were ordered under the stern of
the admiral's ship, and taken on board in three launches ;
it yet, however, blew so hard that we were three hours in
rowing a distance not exceeding two hundred yards !
4+
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“I had now an opportunity of examining, when on
service, a first-rate British man-of-war, and an admiral's
ship. The magnitude of the vessel the great number
of men—the numerous decks—yet the order, quietness,
cleanliness of the whole, excited my surprise and admira-
tion. Rambling about and exploring every place to
which I could gain admission, I traced six different
decks, three of which, besides forecastle and poop, were
occupied by the guns, the number of which on board were
upwards of a hundred,
“When all hands were called in the morning, I quitted
my hammock, and after strolling about the decks for a
few minutes, being still weary, uncomfortable, and unre-
freshed, I sat down upon a gun in the waist. While in-
volved in thought, and unconscious of what was passing
around me, the rising of the sun above the verge of the
horizon notified the time for the daylight gun. The
gun immediately behind me was selected for this purpose,
and the preparations being intentionally made with great
silence, it was fired before I was aware of it. I almost
tumbled backwards with the surprise ; and the noise in
that confined place of a long two-and-thirty pounder
was so deafening, that I did not recover my perfect hear-
ing for some hours afterwards.
“ The weather being moderate, in the morning we
were carried in launches to a small cutter, which imme-
diately made sail and took us into the harbour or mole,
and placed us on board of the Rosamond, sloop of war,
there to await our final appointment and distribution.
The demand for volunteer sailors, throughout Bri-
Æt. 18.
45
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
tain, for the Copenhagen service, was so liberally answered,
especially by the ports extensively engaged in the Green-
land trade, that, with the proportion allowed by each of
the men-of-war, there was found a surplus beyond what
was deemed necessary for navigating the Danish fleet. As
such, at the suggestion of an officer of rank (Sir Samuel
Hood, promoted to the rank of admiral during the stay
of the fleet before Copenhagen), it was deemed practicable
to preserve a number of the enemy's gun-boats, which it
had previously been designed to destroy. To the com-
mand of one of these gun-boats I was now appointed,
and had the choice of six men out of one hundred and
twenty-four, to assist in navigating it to England. I now
quitted the Rosamond to take charge of the gun-boat ;
but as it was neither decked nor in any way fitted, I
sought lodgings along with my little crew on board of
another gun-boat that was in a greater state of forward-
ness, until ours should be capable of affording us accom-
modation and shelter. I was by no means satisfied with
my appointment to one of these vessels ; for, besides dis-
appointing my expectation of learning the discipline and
management of the navy, I was satisfied that these ves-
sels could not be made seaworthy ; and that the attempt
to take them to England, at a season when stormy
weather might be expected, was a scheme replete with
the utmost peril to the persons who should embark in
them.
These gun-boats were about seventy feet in length,
sixteen or eighteen in breadth, and about five feet deep;
and were adapted for plying in shallows, only drawing
46
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
three, or three and a half feet water. They carried a
long twenty-four pounder at each end, and were rowed by
thirty-two oars, under the management of sixty-four men,
exclusive of those having the direction of the guns. They
were intended to annoy the enemy's commerce, by attack-
ing their ships during calms, in their passage of the Belts
a system of warfare in which they were very often suc-
cessful.
“During the ensuing week we were employed in get-
ting the guns on shore, rigging masts, fitting sails, and
taking in stores, while some carpenters completed the
deck.
“ The mole is a fine basin of water, communicating by
canals with the city, capable of containing the whole of
the naval and part of the merchant shipping of the king-
dom. It is divided by a floating bridge which separates
the king's ships from the merchantmen. On the king's
side is an extensive quay with a fine range of store-
houses, well arranged, and, previous to this time, well
provided with every article needful for the equipment of
the fleet. But now the most important stores were con-
veyed on board the British transports; whilst we, with
the crews of the other gun-boats and transports, were per-
mitted the free range of the whole arsenal. After all this
drainage, an immense quantity of masts, yards, guns,
mortars, howitzers, shot, shells, wads, and other naval
stores still remained, which it was impossible to take
away.
Thuugh the British, excepting those furnished with
passes from some principal naval or military officer, were
Æt. 18.
47
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
not permitted to communicate with the Danes, I was
very anxious to visit the city, and determined to make
the trial at any risk. Accordingly, on the 13th of
October, I hired a boat and rowed into the city, but
on every attempt to land was repulsed by cavalry sta-
tioned at every hundred yards along the quay. At
length, going on board a vessel discharging fruit, I mixed
with the crowd and evaded the guard.
“Copenhagen struck me as being most remarkable for
its churches, rendered conspicuous by their gilded or orna-
mented spires. The houses are chiefly built of brick,
the streets well paved, but somewhat narrow.
The city
is said to be five miles in circumference; the number of
inhabitants are rated at 100,000.* The royal palac,
called Christianburg, was destroyed by fire in the year
1794 ; it was now in progress of being rebuilt on an
extended plan. The streets being variously intersected
by canals, the means of landing stores and merchandise
are extremely convenient.
“The highest interest I experienced in this visit was
in contemplating the effects of the bombardment, by
which, chiefly, the Danes had been induced to capitulate.
To witness hundreds of houses in ruins-o-numbers which
had been perforated by the cannon, some that had
been set on fire smouldering in ashes, to observe edi-
fices, distinguished by their splendid domes and spires
as set apart for the worship of God, partaking of
similar demolition, and one reduced to a pile of rub-
bish --while it made me sympathize with the feelings
* The population in 1855 was 143,591.--Universal Gazettecr.
48
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
of the homeless inhabitants, and regret the calamities of
war, it excited my thankfulness to a merciful Providence
that my country, of all the kingdoms of the globe, was
almost the only one which had escaped the ravages of
conflicting armies. These feelings, acute and lively as
they certainly were, received considerable augmentation
when I was informed of events connected with the
devastation. Here, I was told, a respectable house.
holder, neglecting the cautions of his more timid neigh-
bours, hoped to make his house his castle and defence ;
but an irresistible shot penetrated the wall, struck the
too secure inmate, and put a period to his life. There,
pointing to the site of the church, I was informed, a num-
ber of the outcast inhabitants, whose houses had been
demolished and their property buried in the ruins, took
refuge, trusting that in the house of their God they
should not only obtain shelter from the elements, but
sanctuary from the destructive effects of the missiles of
But their hopes were vain, and their confidence
proved their destruction. A shot, as if directed by the
demon of battle, struck an arch of the tower and dis-
lodged one of the stones; immediately the proud cross of
the mighty edifice, owing to the loss of balance, sank
through the interior of the building with a tremendous
crash, and crushed in its fall those who sought refuge in
its shelter !
“ Turning my eyes from the desolate and ghastly spec-
tacle of smouldering ruins, I expected to find in every
countenance I met, that woeful and mourning expression
of which I experienced the lively sympathy, and that
war.
29t. 18.
49
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
the justly indignant patriot would wear on his brow the
marks of determined and revengeful hatred towards the
authors of these calamities. But my surmises were not
well founded ; the prevailing physiognomy indicated
rather gaiety, carelessness, or phlegmatic indifference.
Everything I saw seemed to express insensibility. The
shops were filled with customers, the portals of the
exchange were invitingly open, the quays bore the
marks of business, and the taverns were filled with the
gay and the mirthful ; and if, after all, there might be
a doubt remaining as to the singular apathy of the Danes
at a period of national calamity, I may mention, in further
proof, that I saw in the very heart of the city the draw-
ing of a lottery in the public street.
Having furnished myself with such stores as I wanted,
namely, tea, sugar, &c., I returned to my quarters at the
mole.
" The commander of a Scotch transport, with whom I
met by accident and accosted for information, offered me a
copy of a regular passport, signed by himself, John
Macdonald, captain,' which he assured me would be of
the same service to me, if I again went into the city, as
a real one. Being deficient in many articles requisite for
the navigation of the North Sea, which the Danish arse-
nal did not furnish, I was wishful again to visit the city
that I might procure them. Accordingly, on the 16th, ,
I landed in the face of the horse guards, with whom my
pass was received as genuine, and secured me against
interruption. At the exchange, I was enabled to procure
the principal articles I needed, and after loitering
D
50
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
about the streets for an hour or two, I returned, along
with two companions, to the place were we landed ; but
to our great mortification we found the boat was gone.
The evening was approaching, and we knew that we could
not remain during the night in the city without great
personal danger, for, notwithstanding the general apathy
which prevailed, there were men, especially among the
soldiery, who esteemed the destruction of an Englishman,
when it could be done secretly, as a meritorious act of
patriotism. The malice of the cavalry was several times
experienced Among our comrades one had his arm
wounded by the sword of a Danish horse guard ; and
another, not having a pass, was seized by two of the
infantry, who endeavoured to take him to confinement,
and escaped only by throwing them both over the quay
into the harbour, and immediately leaping after them :
being a good swimmer he reached a boat that was pass-
ing down the mole and thus made his escape.
These
circumstances, combined with the imprisonment of one
of my own crew who was caught in the street in the
evening, and who escaped by bribing the jailor, rendered
any longer stay in the city extremely hazardous. Yet
no means of reaching our station presented itself. One
line of streets towards the south, appearing to us to lead
to the arsenal, we traced it for some distance, went over
a drawbridge where a guard demanded our passport, and
entered the gates of a basin where a number of vessels
were laid up. Here our progress was stopped by a range
of buildings. Not knowing the language our inquiries
were fruitless, and being warned by the setting sun and
Æt. 18.
51
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
the ringing of bells, of the approach of night, we became
more and more anxious to reach the mole. The apparent
hazard of our situation was a sufficient temptation to
induce us to embrace the only chance that seemed to be
left to us, that was, to take possession of an old boat
lying by the side of the quay, and endeavour in it to
make the passage down the harbour. We embarked, and
with a piece of wood in place of oars, made way as far
as the mouth of the basin, where we found a boom
chained across for the security of the property. At this
moment of perplexity, a man approached us in one of the
adjoining vessels, bawling and menacing us with a blud-
geon which he carried in his hand. Being obliged to
return, he met us at the landing-place, and presently
raised a crowd round us, who threatened to seize us; we,
endeavouring to escape, hurried towards the gateway of
the basin that we had entered—but, being past the hour
of sunset, it was closed, and the sentry refused to let us
through. The vociferations of the Dane became more and
more clamorous; the people surrounded us, and made us
understand that we should be taken to prison. At this
critical juncture, a gentleman, who appeared to be of some
consequence, rung for admittance; inquiring the cause of
the uproar, he received from the boisterous Dane an
account of the circumstances, Turning to us, he asked
in tolerable English, why we had trespassed in the
‘Danish Liberty'-a place containing only private pro-
perty, which, by the articles of capitulation, was to be
kept from the intrusion of the British)—and why we had
presumed to take possession of a Dane's boat ? After
52
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
making the best excuse I could, which being far from
satisfactory, the clamours of the populace, and the desire
to imprison us rather augmented than diminished, -I
fortunately remembered my pass, and instantly producing
it, requested to be released. The gentleman carefully
examined it, whilst we were trembling for fear of detec-
tion, and after some minutes' silence, spoke in an authori-
tative manner to the guard, on which the gates were
opened to us, and, after thanking our benefactor for his
interference in our behalf, we happily escaped.
“ We now retraced our steps to the original landing-
place, where, on our arrival, a boat belonging to a trans-
port was just putting off. The captain was not willing to
give us a passage; but we were not to be refused, and
first leaping in from the quay, we then begged permission
to be landed at the arsenal, or the floating bridge, one of
which points the boat must needs pass. Leave at length
was good-temperedly given us, and we arrived safely at
our quarters, after a very narrow escape from a Danish
prison. Our danger was the more imminent, as in two
days the mole was to be cleared of British shipping, and
within a week the whole place was to be evacuated.
“ The next day (17th of October), having made all the
preparations our opportunities would admit, and having
received from Admiral Hood, who occasionally came to
inspect our progress, such stores as he deemed our neces-
sities would require, as far as they could be supplied, we
were ordered to proceed into the roads.
· By this time the whole of the enemy's fleet, in a con-
dition for service, was rigged, provisioned, and manned;
t. 18.
53
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
and-such ships as were building, but not sufficiently ad-
vanced to be capable of removal, were destroyed, together
with floating batteries and other disposable apparatus of
war.
“One ship, a seventy-four, that was completely
timbered and well advanced, was cut in the keel in
several places, in the floorings and beams, and then all
the shores, or supports on one side being removed, it was
hauled over and destroyed. I witnessed this extraordi-
nary launch; the noise of the cracking materials was equal
to the loudest thunder I ever heard.
" To guard against any surprise or retaliation from an
exasperated enemy on the evacuation of the arsenal and
mole, some of the gun-boats, armed and manned, were
stationed along with certain, ships of war to protect the
rear of the fleet and the embarkation of the troops.
"As we quitted the mole, we received orders to pro-
ceed to the beach, and assist in embarking the army. We
carried several companies of riflemen to different ships of
war in the course of the day, and in the night came to an
anchor. But the day did not pass without danger—it
was a time of most imminent peril
. Among other stores
which we had on board was a large quantity of gun-
powder in boxes. Directly over the place in which it
was stored was our fire hearth, consisting of a match-tub
lined with brick (the contrivance, I believe, of Admiral
Hood). During one of our passages from the beach, when
loaded with soldiers, the vessel was discovered to be on
fire ! The heat of the fire, penetrating the bricks, had
already consumed the bottom of the tub, and set fire to
54
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the deck. The crowded state of the vessel greatly
cramped our exertions, but by the good providence of
God we got it extinguished, when there was scarcely an
inch of deal between the fire and the gunpowder!
“In the trials we had with the vessel in the roads,
we found it very ill-calculated for the sea.
Besides being
deficient in many most important stores, such as quad-
rant, log, candles, fire-hearth, &c., the bow and stern of
the boat were very insecure. For permitting the action
of the guns as near the level of the water as possible, the
bow and stern were cut down to the water's edge, and
the opening, without stern-post or stem, filled up with
posts two inches thick. These, nailed together with a
few small nails, and caulked, were all the security we had
against the entrance of the sea in pitching.
“ The danger of proceeding in the gun-boats being more
and more formidable, I was requested by our little fleet
to make application to Admiral Gambier for our release
from the service. This I did by letter, enclosing a
memorial signed by a number of the masters.
quest was not complied with (I am not sure, indeed, that
it was delivered), though measures, we afterwards found,
had been taken to protect us, as far as practicable with
the completion of the design of taking the gun-boats to
England.
“At day-break on the 20th, we were ordered by a boat
from H.M.S. Alfred, Captain Bligh, to get under way and
proceed down the Sound. Having neither windlass nor
capstan, this was a work of some labour to us.
preceded the fleet out of the Grounds, steered down the
The re-
We now
Æt. 18.
55
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
Categat, and lay to off the Koll for orders. Captain
Bligh, hailing us, ordered us under his stern, and took us
in tow. At 5 P.M. he made sail before the wind. We
passed the night pretty well, burning slips of fat pork, in
place of candles, lighted by means of a little gunpowder
and tow in the pan of an old gun-lock.
“The following day we had strong gales with a high
sea. Having passed the Scaw in the morning, the Alfred
hauled up W.N.W., with the wind a-beam.
Hitherto we
had towed pretty easily, but now the sea made a free
passage over the deck, washed out the little fire we had
ventured to make, and kept the watch continually
drenched. But this was the least evil ; the vessel plung-
ing into the sea started the bow-port, and admitted such
a quantity of water that the pump was kept continually
going. Our great fear now was that the posts might be
driven in, in which case the boat must have been dragged
under water in a moment.
The whole of the day we were towed at the rate of
nine or ten knots. As we could not get anything
cooked, we could only eat bread and raw pork, and as
our clothes could not be dried, we were obliged to remain
continually wet. Those on deck (one man at the wheel
and another at the pump) we frequently relieved—secur-
ing ourselves from being washed overboard by ropes
fastened to ring-bolts in the deck.
Night again approached, and it appeared to be the
intention of Captain Bligh to continue us in danger. As
the water now gained rapidly on the pump, and as it was
impossible we should survive through the night, we made
56
1807
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
a signal (a blanket in the rigging, having no flag), which
was observed by the sentry on the Alfred's poop. The
ship now made more sail, and after running us almost
under water for two hours, to get ahead of the fleet, she
hove to. We immediately set our sails and ran under her
lee. We had previously taken our clothes upon deck,
which were readily taken on board of the Alfred, and we
quickly followed, thankful to a gracious God for another
instance of his preserving goodness. The vessel was by
this time so nearly filled with water that the sailors were
unable to get below to save any of the stores !
As soon
as I had taken a little refreshment, I slung my hammock
between two guns, and retiring to rest, slept more soundly
than I had done before since leaving home.
Captain Bligh treated us with great civility, and ex-
cused us from all duty; and as the boatswain invited me
to mess with him, I found myself very comfortable.
From the 21st, the day I entered the Alfred, until the
29th, when she anchored in Yarmouth Roads, I had an
admirable opportunity of observing and learning the dis-
cipline of a line-of-battle ship. The method that was
observed in every proceeding was new to me and instruc-
tive; and the order and comfort in the internal arrange-
ments were highly pleasing. Two things, however, of
frequent occurrence were, on the contrary, not a little
painful--the horrid blasphemies and general wickedness
of the crew, and daily instances of punishment.
“Captain Bligh, I could perceive, was an active,
superior, and zealous officer; but he was a very severe
disciplinarian. The morning after the gun-boat was
At. 18.
57
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
more.
abandoned, “Al hands to [witness] punishment, was
the boatswain's summons. Among the rest, I approached
the gangway, where I perceived a man stripped to the skin,
and about to be flogged. A boatswain's mate with a hard
cord, separated into nine things, began the punishment
by swinging it behind his own back, and with all his
might applying it to the poor wretch's shoulders. Every
thong produced a red bar across his back, and after a few
lashes the blood sprang from the lacerated parts. Mean-
while, when the poor fellow was writhing and groaning
in the greatest agony, the officers were looking on with
the most calm and placid indifference. I sickened at the
sight, and hastened away from the spot. This man re-
ceived, I believe, only a dozen lashes—others received
His crime was drunkenness.
Captain Bligh, I should observe, though severe, was
always just, according to his opinion of naval discipline,
in his punishments; but the power, so unlimited and so
arbitrary, is not always wielded with the same discretion.
I myself witnessed several most daring and unrelenting
violations of every principle of justice and humanity.
Lieutenant
who commanded the Seyeren,
a Danish prize, to which I was subsequently transferred,
usurped an arbitrary and unjustifiable authority in the
daily exercise of an unfeeling-—nay, a barbarous disposi-
tion. Men were flogged without a specific fault—some
without the shadow of a crime. One man received three
dozen lashes because a rope in his hand ran foul-an-
other two dozen because he could not lie out on the top-
sail-yard without being thrown off by the top-sail, which
58
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
was not properly secured—and a third was flogged in three
successive weeks because the men under his charge, but
over whom he could exercise no control, were not active
in their duty! In the latter case the punishment was so
aggravated that the man became indifferent about his life
he told his messmates that his life was a burthen to
him; and shortly after his last punishment, which I my-
self witnessed, he fell from the foretop on the deck
(through carelessness, if not by design), and was killed on
the spot. Such tyrannies loudly called for reform. It is
needful to discipline that the captain of a man-of-war
should have every reasonable means of enforcing his
authority; but that unlimited power with which he is
usually endowed is too dangerous to be intrusted in
general hands. Besides, does it not break the spirit of
our seamen to be punished with such severity for faults
scarcely worth naming, and sometimes for no fault at all?
Is it not most trying for manhood to be struck, or per-
haps kicked as well as cursed, for an idle scoundrel, by a
boyish midshipman of neither years nor discretion ? And
if the man, conscious of his integrity and his own irre-
proachable conduct and acknowledged seamanship, ven-
tures to give way to his indignation by a rash word, is
it not painful to humanity for him to be lashed to a gun
and flogged? And, perhaps, if he be brought before a
superior officer, and dares, in the manliness of his heart,
to look undaunted instead of cringing, is it not destruction
to every principle of natural dignity and courage to flog
him for looking contemptuous ? Yet such things were of
almost daily occurrence in one or other of his majesty's ships !
Æt. 18.
59
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
“On the 2d of November, the Alfred then being at
anchor in Yarmouth Roads, I was sent for by Captain
Bligh, and informed that the admiral had directed us (my-
self and gun-boat crew) to be put on board the Seyeren,
seventy-four (a prize under the orders of the Alfred),
after the arrival of which ship at Portsmouth we should
be discharged.
"Leaving this orderly and comfortable ship we arrived
alongside of the Seyeren about four in the afternoon. The
vessel was commanded by Lieutenant —-
first
of the Alfred, whose severe and ill-judged conduct I have
already mentioned, and navigated by fifty seamen only,
with eighty pikemen, and five hundred soldiers. There
were also about fifty women and several children on
board.
'In this vessel-in which we were excessively uncom.
fortable, ill-treated, insulted, robbed by the crew, and
refused redress by the officers—we endured continual hard-
ships.
“On the 6th we weighed for Portsmouth. On the
8th a man, named John White, who had been severely
flogged by the commander, fell from the fore-top and was
killed. So little attention was paid to this accident,
that I was not aware of it until two hours afterwards,
although on deck at the time. A few minutes after the
death of White, the fore-top-mast was carried away. All
hands being called to clear the wreck, the ship was
anchored, the sails furled, and the reparation of the
damage immediately commenced. In the course of
twelve or fourteen hours the ship was re-equipped with
60
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
jury-sail forward, and new fore-top-mast. We then
made an attempt to beat to the south-westward ; but,
finding our efforts unavailing, the ship was again
brought up.
“ The 10th was a day of peril—we encountered the
most alarining hazard of shipwreck, and that of the most
perilous kind that I had ever been threatened with or
had ever witnessed. The wind blowing strong from the
west, almost directly against our course, we remained at
anchor all the day, in nineteen fathoms water, about two
miles to windward of Galliper, a dangerous sand which
lies at the distance of twenty-seven miles from Orford-
ness, the nearest land, and thirty from the North Foreland.
Towards night the wind freshened, and at dusk blew a
dismal gale. The commander at this time of danger,
supposing the ship safe (or, as was judged probable, a
habit of inebriety he had long practised about this period
of the day, rendered him incapable of determining),
ordered all hands below' to enjoy themselves on the
remnant of their rations, such as had any, consisting of
coarse biscuit and water. I, among the rest, retired, and
being wearied with previous exertion, lay down on the
bitts and fell into a slumber. About eight I was roused
by a cry of the pilot, 'For God's sake cut the cable,'
seconded by the more unhallowed vociferations of the
commander. I instantly rushed upon deck, and to my
inconceivable horror observed broken water within a
hundred yards of our lee ! All was in the greatest con-
fusion; the cable being cut, the fore-storm-stay-sail was
hoisted and instantly blown to pieces ; the main-stay-sail
At. 18,
61
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
shared the same fate. Happily the fore-sail, being reefed,
withstood the violence of the gale, and gave head-way to
the ship. The danger seemed to recede. This circum-
stance, while it raised our hopes, only prepared us for
higher degrees of alarm, breakers being presently seen on
the weather-bow, which it was impossible to clear.
Nothing short of actual annihilation could exceed the
awfulness of our situation; the heavens poured down
torrents of rain; the wind seemed loosened for destruction;
the sea was thrown into prodigious turbulence, while the
darkness was such that nothing was visible save the
luminous breakers which shone with phosphorescent and
terrifying lustre. The people now waited in palpitating
silence for their inevitable fate; not so the pilots-
they ran about the decks with the meanest and most con-
temptible cowardice, wringing their hands, and deploring
their hard fate in perishing after years of service! For
my own part I was calm and collected. Death seemed
inevitable, yet I had a sort of vague and inexplicable
confidence that a merciful God would save us for the sake
of so large a number of immortal souls.
The ship now
entered the breakers—the sea raging and foaming around
us with awful vehemence—and instantly struck! 'She
strikes, she strikes!' was the involuntary and universal
shout-the effect was appalling. A repetition of the
shock made the ship quiver from end to end; while men,
women, and children, by piercing screams announced the
awful circumstance, and anticipated a horrid catastrophe.
But, notwithstanding the shocking profaneness which
existed—both crew, officers, and passengers practising such
62
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
refinements in wickedness as converted the ship into a
resemblance of hell itself--yet the Lord, whose goodness
is infinite, remembered us in mercy, and directed us across
the sand into deep water. All was in a moment joy and
gladness—the pilots, finding the ship safe under the lee
of the sand, retired to enjoy themselves over a glass of
grog; and the crew returned to their habits of blas-
phemy! For my own part, I felt a degree of thankful-
ness to Almighty God for the deliverance ; but it was far
from the sanctified thankfulness experienced by the true
disciple of Christ Since then I felt fully convinced that
had we perished in this danger, I, as well as hundreds
more, must have awoke from the sleep of death for the
enduring of eternal torments!
“In retiring to my hammock, which I was obliged to
hang in the cable tier (the lower deck in the ship), a
place where no light was allowed, I stumbled over a person
rolled in a blanket; urging him to remove from a situa-
tion where he must be continually liable to be trampled
upon, I accidently laid my hand on the marble-like face
of a corpse ! It was the body of the man who was killed.
Shuddering at the circumstance, and shrinking back from
an object so repugnant to youthful sensibilities, I re-
treated too far, and fell down the open hatch into the
hold. Mercifully the depth was not great; but falling
on the chine of a cask with my shin, I stripped off the
skin and broke the small bone of the leg! I lay for
some time motionless, but aroused by a sentry above me
crying out, ‘Hollo, there; are you killed ?' I crawled
out of the place, and with difficulty found the way to my
Et. 18.
63
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
hammock, where I lay in great pain till day-light, and
then applied to the surgeon for assistance.
During my stay in this vessel, which was fifty days,
I experienced the most painful privations,—hunger, cold,
and severity of discipline. The hardships, indeed, that
we endured were such that my companions became insen-
sible to both moral feeling and personal safety. I have
seen them take a lighted candle to the door of the
magazine (which in this ship was unguarded) in search
of any trifle they wanted, and on my cautioning them of
the danger, they would reply, "What matter?'—they cared
not if the ship were blown up and we were all destroyed
together!! At other times they would daringly and blas-
phemously utter a desire that the ship might sink, or that
lightning might strike her and send us all to perdition !
Such horrid imprecations were frequent. Yet they were the
effect only of unexpected and protracted detention, short
allowance of provisions, and deficiency of clothing. In all
of these grievances, although I partook in common with
them, yet I felt an unaccountable serenity and contented-
ness which I have ever reviewed with surprise.
“While a small sum of money, which I had taken out
with me, lasted, I did not feel the want of any of the
necessaries of life ; but when, by frequent purchases, for
supplying myself with stores in which the allowance of the
ship was deficient, and by frequently contributing to the
wants of my messmates, I had exhausted my fund to the
last shilling, I began to feel really destitute. But I
suffered the most from cold ; the whole of my bed-clothes
were those furnished by the navy—consisting of a single
64
1807.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
small blanket and a flock bed. Wrapped only in this
blanket, and exposed to a current of frosty air entering
by an open stern port close by which I lay, I was almost
frozen every night, and took such a severe cold as con-
tributed not a little to increase the consumptive symptoms
which for some years had threatened me.
Having made my want of cash known to my father,
I took the first opportunity of landing after our arrival
at Portsmouth, expecting a remittance. Unfortunately,
however, that remittance was only an order on his banker
in London, and was not negotiable. Without a farthing
in my pocket, I wandered up and down the town the
whole day in a truly pitiable state of disappointment.
“ At length, almost exhausted by hunger and fatigue,
I entered a tavern, meaning to offer my watch for secu-
rity until I could pay for my refreshment.
But as I
entered the door my courage failed me; my eyes became
dim with rising tears ; and I hurried from the bold, in-
quisitive gaze of the waiter who approached to receive me.
Never before had I known the want of a shilling ; now
I personally felt what the anxieties of one must be, who
knows not where he shall satisfy the cravings of hunger,
or where he can be permitted to rest his wearied frame.
I had not been reduced to this dilemma, but I did not
know how to get back to the ship. At length, long after
the evening had closed upon me, and I found myself in
danger of ranging the streets throughout the night, I fell
in with a waterman, and solicited him to take me on
board the Seyeren. With some persuasion and the pro-
mise of a good fee, he was induced to consent; and I
Æt. 18.
65
STORY OF HIS VOYAGE TO COPENHAGEN.
>
once more entered with joy a place I before deemed the
counterpart of the abode of the wicked in eternity!
“The 21st December was the joyous day of my eman-
cipation. All hands were ordered on shore to the Clerk
of the Cheque's Office, to be paid and discharged. Here
I received £11, 19s. 2d., the amount of bounty, travel-
ling money, and wages for three months' service.
“The port-admiral (Coffin) was present at our dis-
charge. Mr.
who had favoured me with some
civilities, and had ascertained the cause of my embarking,
introduced me to the admiral, and warmly commended
the patriotic zeal which had impelled me to the service.
After treating my messmates (the late crew of the
gun-boat) with a dinner and other refreshments, I took
my place in a coach just about to leave Gosport, and
arrived in London on the following morning.
“ Thus ended an adventurous and trying voyage-
voyage in which I voluntarily submitted to every service
and privation of the commonest sailors, though being
furnished with introductory letters from naval officers
of some consideration, I might probably have fared better
had I made use of them ; but I was wishful to take my
chance in the ordinary way, that I might have a better
opportunity, by personal experience, of learning the dis-
cipline of the navy, and the duties expected from a sea-
man in that service.
Having exchanged my sailor's garb for a dress more
suited to the refinements of the metropolis, İ indulged
myself in a few days of enjoyment in visiting the most
popular objects of curiosity and interest.”
a
E
66
1808.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER IV.
INTRODUCTION TO SIR JOSEPH BANKS—VOYAGES OF 1808-1809--EXAMINA-
TIONS OF SNOW CRYSTALS-ALARMING INCIDENT-SECOND SESSION AT
EDINBURGH-THE TIDE-WAITER OUTWITTED-INTRODUCTION TO PRO-
FESSOR JAMESON-VOYAGE OF 1810-ACCIDENT-TOUR IN SCOTLAND
HAZARDOUS VOYAGE IN A LEITE SMACK-PROMOTION TO THE COM-
66
MAND OF THE RESOLUTION."
1808–1810.
WHILST in London, Mr. Scoresby, at the request of his
father, who had long enjoyed his acquaintance, called
upon Sir Joseph Banks, whom he speaks of as a “liberal
and enthusiastic promoter of everything generous and
scientific.” His journal continues :-
“To overcome my natural diffidence, and call upon a
person to whom I was an entire stranger, was to me an
extraordinary trial. «Having, however, prepared the way
by a note which I delivered to the porter, I was shown
into Sir Joseph's study, and received by the benevolent
man with that frankness and cordiality for which he was
so remarkable. His freedom of manners soon dissipated
the timidity I felt on being first introduced, and I was
enabled to converse very freely on the phenomena of the
Arctic regions which have no parallel in any other country.
The worthy baronet was exceedingly kind; he invited me
to his weekly breakfast on the ensuing Thursday morning,
Æt. 19.
67
SNOW CRYSTALS.
when I was introduced to Mr. (afterwards Sir Everard)
Home, Professor Carlisle, and several other gentlemen.
“ These interviews led to a correspondence which was
continued pretty regularly, until within a few weeks of
his lamented death; and gave rise to a personal inter-
course at every opportunity, from which I derived very
great mental advantages.”
During the voyages of 1808 and 1809, Mr. Scoresby
began to exhibit that talent for observation, which after-
wards rendered him so conspicuous among Arctic navi-
gators; in the latter voyage especially, when he employed
his leisure time in studying the natural history of the
Polar regions, and collected many specimens of plants
which were until then quite unknown. He also made cor-
rect and regular meteorological observations, “whereby,"
he says,* "I obtained some unexpected results on the
temperature of the higher latitudes; the mean cold
appearing to be upwards of 15° lower than that usually
attributed to the same parallel by modern meteoro-
logists." But the most curious and altogether original
observations which he made were in reference to the
forms of snow crystals. He says, “Having discovered
that the snow flakes which fell in severe colds were
beautifully crystallized, I examined the different forms
with a microscope, made drawings of about forty figures,
and accompanied them with a brief general descrip-
tion and a table of the state of the atmosphere, as
to temperature, pressure, &c., when each crystal was
* MS. Autobiography.
68
1809.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
seen.' Of the beauty of these crystals, he remarks else-
where:*
“The extreme beauty and endless variety of the
microscopic objects procured in the animal and vege-
table kingdoms, are perhaps fully equalled, if not sur-
passed, in both the particulars of beauty and variety,
by the crystals of snow. The principal configurations
are the stelliform and hexagonal; though almost every
shape of which the generating angles of 60° and 120° are
susceptible, may, in the course of a few years' observa-
tions, be discovered. Some of the general varieties in
the figures of the crystals may be referred to the temper-
ature of the air; but the particular and endless modifica-
tions of similar classes of crystals, can only be referred to
the will and pleasure of the Great First Cause, whose
works, even the most minute and evanescent, and in
regions the most remote from human observation, are
altogether admirable.'
A somewhat alarming incident occurred at the outset
of the fishery of 1809. He relates it thus :
“One of our harpooneers, during a fresh gale of wind,
having struck a sucking whale that was under maternal
guidance, the other boats were dispersed about with the
hope of entangling the mother. It pursued a circular route
round its cub, followed by the boats; but its velocity was
so considerable that they were not able to keep pace with
*"Arctic Regions,” vol. i. p. 427.

X
**
SNOW CRYSTALS.
"The extreme beauty and endless variety of the microscopic objects
procured in the animal and vegetable kingdomy, are perhaps fully
equalled, if not surpassed, in both the particulai's of beauty and variety,
by the crystals of snow." - Page 68.
Æt. 20.
69
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
it. After some time I also engaged in the chase, and,
having marked the proceedings of the fish, selected a situa-
tion where I conceived it was likely to make its appear-
ance; it rose in the very spot, and, though unperceived
by us, struck the boat such a terrible blow that the
bottom was driven in, and it sank in a moment. Assist-
ance was not very distant, and after a few minutes of
peril, we were happily rescued without having sustained
any particular injury."
In the autumn of 1809 Mr. Scoresby again visited
Edinburgh. He says:*—
“My father had been so well satisfied with the im-
provement I derived from my visit to Edinburgh, in the
year 1806, that he not only permitted, but even requested
me to renew my studies at the University. Accordingly
I set out early in the month of November, and having
taken comfortable lodgings, began to make arrangements
for the course I was to pursue. To a person educating
for a profession there is no difficulty in the choice of
classes, for he must know what branches of study belong
to his profession; but to one who has only general know-
ledge to seek, the plan of a course of study is more diffi-
cult, and the choice equally important. At length I
decided. Having for some time cultivated a habit of
observation and inquiry, and by occasional reading (very
occasional and very excursive, for as yet I had never
read a book of science through) made myself tolerably
* MS. Autobiography.
70
1809.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
For years I
acquainted with the rudiments of general knowledge-
the attendance to several branches of learning was now
to me a matter of comparative ease to what it was on
first entering college.
I therefore entered upon
my
an extensive field of inquiry, and took out tickets for
natural history, two classes of mathematics, and logic; in
all, four daily classes. These, with anatomy and some
gymnastic exercises, completed the routine of my studies;
which, with the extending of my notes in natural history,
and mathematical and occasional logical exercises, almost
entirely filled up my time. But the exertion proved too
great for the delicacy of my constitution.
had been of a consumptive habit. For years my appetite
was so bad that I knew not what it was to enjoy a
dinner; and for the same period I was liable to severe
colds. I had frequently hectic symptoms, and sensible
perspiration altogether ceased. I was so enervated when
in Edinburgh, that the exertion of running up a dozen of
the College steps would cause my heart to palpitate with
such a violence that I could distinctly hear it, and would
raise my pulse from ninety or ninety-five—its most
usual rate-to one hundred and twenty or one hun-
dred and thirty vibrations in a minute! Yet I never
applied for advice ; but pursuing a system of great
abstemiousness and regularity of living, and avoiding
every kind of excess, for which, indeed, I had no taste,
I was graciously upheld, and enabled to go through
with my studies in the most effectual and uninterrupted
manner.
Excepting a little deficiency in cleanliness, an article
Æt. 20.
71
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
for which lodging-houses in Edinburgh are* not famous,
and abating a small want of conscientiousness in my
hostess respecting her right to my stores, I found my
quarters at Mr. Schearer's exceedingly comfortable.
Schearer, who was a German, followed the occupation of
a maker of wooden clocks. An anecdote respecting him
may be recorded.
In the manufacture of the so-called
wooden-clocks, the principal wheel work and some of the
pinions are of brass. Castings of these, on a cheap and
extensive scale, being made abroad, Schearer was in the
habit of supplying himself from Germany. A box had
recently been imported at Leith, containing these mate-
rials, addressed to my host, which, being an article not
specified in the schedule of duties in goods of foreign
manufacture, was to be charged ad valorem.
valued at £5. The officer who inspected the box,
perceiving that its contents were entirely machinery,
conceived it must be vastly underrated, and accordingly
made a seizure of it; and advertised a public sale, hav-
ing first, according to law, paid the importer £5, the
nominal value, together with a certain additional sum per
cent, which the act expresses. Schearer attended the sale.
After the auctioneer had sufficiently described the article,
and set forth with vociferous eloquence the multitude of
clocks that could be made of the machinery, the probable
value of each, and the sum total that might reasonably
be calculated as the value of the whole contents, Schearer
stepping up to the rostrum, begged to undeceive him, as
he was under a mistake as to the completeness of the
It was
* Half a century ago.
72
1809.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
machinery,—For, gentlemen,' said he, 'I wish you to
take notice dat dare is not one perfect clock in de
whole box; dare is only one-half of de machinery here!'
This piece of information so depressed the audience, that
Schearer himself became the purchaser for the reduced
sum of fifty shillings, being the value as old brass, and
carried off the box in triumph. After he had obtained
secure possession he exclaimed,-'Gentlemen, de oder half
of de machinery is on its passage; be so obliging as to
seize dat too !'
“In taking out my ticket for admission to the natural
history class, Professor Jameson inquired my object in
attending the University; and the profession for which I
was designed. He was surprised when I announced
myself as a sailor (being, I daresay, the only one in the
College), and still more so when he understood my usual
voyage was to the whale fishery of Spitzbergen. This
led him to make many inquiries respecting the natural
history of the Polar Sea, and especially of the whale.
When I informed him that I had drawn up descriptions
of the whale, and had kept regular meteorological journals
for two or three years, he expressed such an interest in
these things that I ventured to offer for his inspection
the book in which my observation were recorded, an offer
which he seemed eager to embrace.
“Soon after the manuscript was put into his hands I
received a card inviting me to dinner. My extreme diffi-
dence rendered my introduction into a party, consisting
of scientific men of eminence, with accomplished and in-
telligent women, at first inconceivably painful. I felt
Æt. 20.
73
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
such a degrading sense of my own inferiority, that I could
not summon vanity enough to imagine that I could be
the object of any attention. The free and encouraging
manners of the professor and his friends, however, and the
frankness of the ladies, soon dissipated every painful feel-
ing, and enabled me at length to enjoy the uncommon
treat that such a party presented.
“To my great surprise the civilities of the kind pro-
fessor and his family did not terminate here. I was re-
peatedly invited to dine with him, and invariably met
that kind of refined and intelligent society for which
Edinburgh is so eminent, and from which I derived in-
calculable advantages. My natural timidity, or even
bashfulness, wore off, and I could eventually enter these
august societies without fear; so that my high rever-
ence for men of talent became moderated by repeated
intercourse, until I was perfectly at my ease, and always
retired from these parties benefited and refined; and
having a taste for music, an accomplishment in which
the Misses Jameson * and their visitors excelled, I
never failed to be delighted. Among the different
intelligent characters I met at Professor Jameson's, there
were some whose acquaintance ripened into friendship,
and who became valuable acquisitions to me in after
life.
“ Professor Leslie, two of whose classes in mathematics
I attended, showed me several civilities. I twice break-
fasted and once or twice dined with him. I generally
found him alone, absorbed almost in those abstruse and
* Nieces of the professor.
74
1810.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
original investigations that have greatly contributed to
render his name eminent in science.
" Professor Jameson, approving of my observations on
the Polar Seas committed to his care, caused several parts
of the manuscript to be laid before the Wernerian So-
ciety, a young but thriving scientific society of which he
was the president. *
“The first articles, consisting of meteorological observa-
tions made in voyages to Greenland in 1807, 1808, and
1809, and an account, with figures, of snow crystals, were
read 13th of January, 1810; and on the 3d of February
following, the secretary read my journal of a voyage to
latitude 81° 30' north, with remarks on the common
whale, and exhibited my original drawings of this
animal. The first of the above papers—the meteoro-
logical journal—was afterwards published in the Wer-
nerian Memoirs, vol. i., pp. 249-257; and the account of
the whale in the same volume, pp. 578-586.
“These papers procured for me an honour of which I
conceived myself altogether unworthy — namely, the
membership of this now eminent society; and the
manner in which it was bestowed was to me more
flattering than the honour itself. The mode of intro-
duction to the society, according to the laws, is similar
to that of other learned bodies. A person wishing to be-
come a member must be proposed by two or three fel-
lows, and his name and certificate of the introducing
members must be suspended in the society's apartment
during several meetings; the candidate is then chosen or
* This society has now merged into the Royal Physical Society.
Æt. 20.
75
WERNERIAN SOCIETY.
rejected by ballot. But in my case the rule was dis-
pensed with, and on being proposed by the president, I
was elected viva voce, nem. con., at the same meeting in
which my account of the whale was read.
“My friendship with Professor Jameson was fully con-
firmed before I left Edinburgh; while his amiable,
friendly manner, and his great intelligence, won my
highest esteem, his disinterested hospitality, and his
anxiety to bring me forward and to encourage me to per-
severe in scientific pursuits, excited my lively gratitude.
“The calls of my profession obliged me to proceed to
Whitby before the end of February, a considerable time
prior to the conclusion of the session. I took leave of Edin-
burgh with regret. Not four months before this I had
entered it without a single literary acquaintance in the place
-I quitted it enriched by the friendship of some of the
most eminent men of science in the Scottish metropolis.”
The succeeding voyage proved one of ordinary interest,
and as usual very successful in its main enterprise. А.
serious accident occurred to Mr. Scoresby about the
middle of the voyage-a heavy fall into the hold of the
vessel, whereby a renewal of chest symptoms was
threatened. In order to allay these he spent the summer
of 1810 in uninterrupted repose ; and when, at length,
his health was moderately re-established, he undertook a
pleasure tour into Scotland. He says, in his MS. Auto-
biography:
“I received from my friend Dr. Wright a letter of in-
76
1810,
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
troduction to Dr. Stuart of Luss- a beautiful village
situated on the borders of Loch Lomond. The manse is
the general house of call for all the literati of Britain who
visit this part of the Highlands. Walter Scott, Dr. Her-
schel, and the Rev. Mr. Gisbonne had only left the house
a few days before I arrived. From Dr. Stuart, his ami-
able and hospitable wife, and interesting daughter, I re-
ceived the kindest attention. I prolonged my stay at
this beautiful spot to nine days, during which I wandered
over the romantic hills, across the silvery waters, and
traversed the enchanting glens with which this quarter of
the island abounds."
Another entry in the same record continues :
“From hence, under the guidance of my friend,
Quentin Leitch, Esq., I visited Mount Stewart in the Isle
of Bute, and the interesting and well-contrived observatory
of Colonel [afterwards General] Sir Thomas Macdougall
Brisbane of Brisbane, near Largs. In the company of
this brave officer and zealous, acute astronomer, we re-
mained two days, and were present during the taking of
some important observations with a fine circular instru-
ment by Twightar on the plan of the magnificent one in
the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.”
Mr. Scoresby returned to London in a Leith smack-a
usual conveyance in those days. A storm of great vio-
lence came over them whilst crossing the estuary of the
Tees, and continued with unabated vehemence until they
Æt. 21.
77
DANGEROUS VOYAGE.
reached the Nore. The dangerous coast along which they
were scudding was strewed with dismantled vessels and
fragments of shipwrecks. The passengers
about
twenty, mostly women and the crew of the smack were
in momentary anticipation of a watery grave; the former
would undoubtedly have perished but for the timely inter-
position of authority by Mr. Scoresby, when the crew, in
unparalleled selfishness, finding a depth of water in the
hold, were about to leave the vessel in the only available
boat.
This attempt at unmanly desertion was happily
frustrated ; and, by the exertions of the few male passen-
gers, the water being kept under by the pumps, the vessel
was run ashore in a safe retreat, whereby the lives of all
on board were mercifully preserved.
“During my stay in London,” his journal tells us, “I
visited Sir Joseph Banks weekly, was constantly present
at his conversaziones on the Sabbath evenings! and
sometimes attended his public breakfasts. I also visited
Dr. Home, Mr. Carlisle, &c., and attended the meetings of
the Royal Society.”
On the 5th of October, 1810, Mr. Scoresby attained
his majority, and on the same day, by the unanimous
consent of the owners of the vessel, was promoted to the
command of the Resolution. Captain Scoresby—as we
shall continue, for the sake of distinction, to call the
father-retired in favour of his son, and entered, in
partnership with several gentlemen of Greenock, into a
new whale-fishing speculation. “Notwithstanding,” says
Mr. Scoresby in his autobiography, “the encouragement I
had experienced from men of science, and the flattering
78
1810
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
reception I had met with from the various respectable
families I visited during the preceding eight months, I
was still extremely diffident of my acquirements, and
entirely unconscious of any superiority over the most
ordinary capacities; and, having no confidence either in
my talents or experience as a fisherman, I entered on the
command of a ship with much apprehension for the
result.”
The result of the voyage we gather from the same
source. “The prosperous issue exceeded my highest
hopes. We obtained a full cargo, consisting of thirty
whales, which produced about 220 tuns of oil, the largest
quantity that had ever been taken into the port in one
vessel
The voyage was without much adventure.”
Æt. 21.
79
HIS MARRIAGE.
CHAPTER V.
MARRIAGE-RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS-BIRTH OF A SON-ANECDOTE-IN-
TERVAL BETWEEN VOYAGES OF 1812-13-MARRIAGE OF HIS SISTER-
CHANGE FROM " RESOLUTION” TO " ESK”-DANGEROUS BESETMENT
MARINE DIVER -RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS-ICE-SHOES-LAUGHABLE
INCIDENT-LETTER FROM BARON VON BUCH TO GAY LUSSAO-FIRST
FAILURE-REFLECTIONS.
1811-1815.
THREE circumstances were mentioned as giving promin-
ence, in the life of Mr. Scoresby, to the year 1806. One
of these--matured during an interval of five years--we
come again to consider. He tells us * respecting it :
"Being now [September, 1811] in a situation capable,
with tolerable success, of enabling me to support myself
in a moderate establishment independent of my parents,
I became wishful to enter the marriage state. I could
conceive of no real enjoyment independent of domestic
and connubial happiness. The object of my choice was
Mary Eliza, second daughter of the late excellent Mr.
Richard Lockwood, ship and insurance broker. Our
acquaintance commenced in the year 1806.
1806. For the
next two years our intercourse was only occasional, but it
afterwards so increased that we met almost daily when-
ever I was at home. Early admiration for this young
lady, by repeated intercourse and the discovery of new
* MS. Autobiography.
80
1811.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
excellences of character, naturally ripened into esteem,
and this eventually into the warmest affection. Her deli-
cacy, refinement, and sensibility, her congeniality of
temper and taste with my own, but, above all, her recti-
tude of conduct and exemplary piety, confirmed me in
the persuasion that my affections were well bestowed, and
that a nearer relation with her was essential to my happi-
Accordingly, having obtained my father's concur-
rence, our nuptial rites were solemnized on the 25th of
September, 1811. .. My wife's property being in-
considerable, this alliance was one of disinterested affec-
tion; nor had I occasion to regret the choice, for every day
more and more convinced me that my happiness was her
chief study."
ness.
After referring to some domestic arrangements of minor
importance, the record proceeds :-
“At this time I knew nothing of the power of reli-
gion; but, on the contrary, was deeply ensnared with
the dangerous temptations of the world and the flesh.
In
my external conduct, indeed, I was considered moral
and exemplary, but to the spirit of piety I was an utter
stranger.
“Frequent intercourse with persons of eminent sanctity,
whose friendship I sincerely reverenced, proved to me, in
connection with the declarations of Scripture, that to be
in a state of safety for eternity, some renovation of heart,
some change of principle, some alteration in my prevail-
ing unholy desires must be necessary. I, therefore, made
Æt. 21.
81
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
1
feeble efforts to discover the way of salvation. I was un-
remitting in my attendance on public worship, and I sel-
dom omitted to say my prayers; but my love of the plea-
sures of the world and my reserve of sin effectually pre-
vented any fruit from my hypocritical and pharisaical
duties, I sincerely wished to be religious, but I was not
willing to make the sacrifices it requires. It appeared to
me that in giving myself up to religion I must be de-
prived of many of the pleasures that were essential to
my happiness, not being aware that the grace which could
enable me to choose the one thing needful' would also
overcome the unsanctified desires, and give me a taste for
more pure enjoyments. I wanted, therefore, to serve two
masters—God and mammon. When I prayed that God
would give me purity of heart, I almost feared that he
would concede to my request ! Yet, convinced that there
was no true happiness in time, nor any glory in eternity
without holiness, I was frequently struggling between the
convictions of conscience and the power of sin. Though
the power of divine grace was needful to a successful de-
termination, I was unconscious of anything being wanted
for obtaining holiness but my own choice; and as that
choice was influenced by the power of my darling trans-
gressions, that were dear to me as a right hand or a right
eye, I had little chance of choosing aright. My prevail-
ing wish was, nevertheless, to become religious; and in
my union with Miss Lockwood, who was not only of
pious habits, but had a deep knowledge and experience in
religion, and was a member of a dissenting congregation,
I was not without hopes that through her assistance and
F
82
1811.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
example I might be reclaimed from the love and practice
of sin, and be brought into the knowledge and obedience
of the Lord. So that while I habitually lived in sin,
knew myself to be in an unconverted state, and at enmity
with God—and was aware of my dangerous situation-
I sought by every means in my power, save the abandon-
ment of worldly joys, to become a follower of Jesus
Christ, and be reconciled to God. But the growth of
holiness is incompatible with a life of indulgence and
worldly-mindedness. Hence, my anxiety for earthly
gratifications and temporal prosperity became augmented,
and in like proportion my spiritual desires declined; and
it was not until some years afterwards that God by his
irresistible grace, working by his providence, subdued my
unsanctified pursuits, and turned my heart from the
vanities of the world to the enjoyment of communion with
himself.
“The father of my wife was a man of such intelligence
and exemplary piety as to demand from me more atten-
tion than a mere notice. He married early in life a
beautiful woman of the name of Richardson. A family
rapidly resulted from this union, consisting of three
daughters and four sons--all of whom were living at the
time of my marriage.
Mrs. Lockwood died young, soon after the birth of
her fourth son. Mr. Lockwood then devoted himself in
every interval that business allowed him to the rearing of
his family in habits of propriety, refinement, virtue, and
religion. Nor was he unsuccessful. After his death the
charge of the family devolved on his second daughter, the
Et. 21.
83
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
partner of my happiness, his eldest daughter having been
for some time a wife. Mr. Lockwood was by profession
a Dissenter; but originally, from principle, an Episcopa-
lian. His sanctity not being of an ordinary or ostenta-
tious kind, he sought in vain for that food in the Church,
where the clergymen were teachers void of religion them-
selves, which was required for his spiritual wants. He
was, therefore, impelled to join a society of Dissenters
whose practice and whose preaching were more con-
genial with his desires. Thus it is that the practice
of dissenting from the Church is promoted. The Dis-
senters take care to appoint only godly men as their
ministers, while among Churchmen the piety of the ap-
plicant is often a hindrance rather than a furtherance to
his admission as a clergyman. A great number, there-
fore, of those who should be the messengers of Christ are
ungodly men; nay, some are notoriously wicked charac-
ters, who, by their profaneness, bring a reproach upon the
work in which they are engaged. I will venture to
assert that such men are the means of making more
Dissenters, than the combined influence of most of
their ministers put together. It is true, a man who re-
gards not the internal nature of religion, may sit under a
worldly preacher of dry morality as comfortably, and, in-
deed, more so than under any other class; but when a
man becomes enlightened by the regenerating power
of
the Spirit of God, he can no longer endure the unsanc-
tified declamations of an unsanctified preacher. If, there-
fore, there be but one church within his reach, or if the
84
1812.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
whole be supplied alike with irreligious men, he of ne-
cessity joins the Dissenters.”*
In a marriage tour of some months' duration, Mr.
Scoresby visited his parents who were then resident in
Greenock. The voyage of 1812 added to his previous
successes,“ being again," he says, "the largest cargo
brought into the port that season.
On the 5th of September their first child was born.
He was named William, a name which had long been
given to the first-born of the family. An incident in
reference to this, though it did not occur until two years
later, may be mentioned. Mr. Scoresby records it thus:t-
A visit was proposed to my paternal grandfather who
was in a very infirm and declining state of health. As
there was little hope of our seeing him alive another
year, my father wished my son to be presented to him
before he died; and, accordingly, accompanied by my
wife, we proceeded to his residence and remained with
him a day or two. On this occasion, four persons of the
name of William Scoresby, of four successive generations,
and in direct line of descent, and each of them first-born
sons, sat round his table."
Of the interval between the voyages of 1812-13, he
says,1–
* He had, at all times, a deep veneration for the Church, and in after years
gave himself entirely to her service. Vide post, p. 285.
+ M.S. Autobiography,
# Ibid.
Æt. 22.
85
MARRIAGE OF HIS SISTER.
" This appears to have been a year of such marked in-
dolence that I cannot now ascertain how my leisure on
shore was occupied. In science, I seem to have done
little or nothing; and in the higher knowledge of the
gospel I made no advancement. Outward forms of re-
ligion were kept up, and family prayer in the morning
was occasionally attempted, in which my wife, though
naturally receding, took a leading share; but on my part
it was a business of formality and a mere soother of con-
science. My only communications to any literary or
scientific society were two meteorological journals kept
in my Greenland voyages of 1811 and 1812. The for-
mer was laid before the Wernerian Society on the 22d
of November, and published in the second volume of the
Societies' Memoirs, page 155. The latter, including some
curious particulars respecting the polar bear, was read
on the 16th of January following."
The autobiography proceeds,-
“ The only passing event of the year 1812, of a per-
sonal or family nature, that remains to be noticed, was
the marriage of my third and youngest sister, Arabella,
with Captain Thomas Jackson, Merchant-navy, of Whitby.
This marriage took place about the end of March. Mr.
Jackson was an old school companion and play-fellow
of mine in our days of childhood and youth. I had a
great respect for his bold and manly spirit, and for his
conduct to me on several particular occasions, which was
generous and praiseworthy. One instance I shall men-
86
1812.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
tion. In some of our boyish sports I was once inter-
rupted and greatly insulted by a young man whose age
and strength were too formidable for me to justify myself
by that appeal to blows, which was our usual practice in
extremities. Jackson took my part, and on a challenge
from the angry youth to fight us both, undertook (being
my senior, and much stouter in person than myself)
voluntarily to try the matter first himself, and then, in
case of defeat, to turn it over to me. He retired to the
fields with a crowd of idle persons in company, and the
proposed combatants set to; but after several severely
contested rounds of mere hard blows, no defence being
attempted, Jackson, though greatly the inferior of his
antagonist, both in age and weight, gained a complete
victory for himself, and obtained for me a most ample
revenge.
“ Another circumstance, of a different nature (not per-
sonal to me) deserves to be recorded as a manly and
benevolent trait and not a little courageous.
Soon after
Mr. Jackson entered upon the sea service, he was on a
voyage to Archangel with an uncle of his, when a boy
fell overboard. The ship was going under all sail before
a moderate breeze of wind, and instantly left the helpless
youth astern. As all the boats were stowed on deck,
there was little hope of his being saved by this means;
but the captain addressing Jackson, cried Tom, can you
swim?' on which he instantly took the hint, threw oft
his jacket, leapt overboard, and swam to the lad who
was just in the act of sinking. He seized him with one
hand, and swimming with the other, continued for a little
t. 22.
87
CHANGE OF COMMAND.
time to keep himself above water; but the boy beginning
to cling about him interrupted his exertions, and they
both began to sink. On this, Jackson getting his foot
against the boy and exerting all his strength, pushed him
off and kept him beyond his reach until he began again
to sink. He then seized him by the hair of his head and
supported him as before. Meanwhile, although every
exertion had been made on board of the ship to get out
the boat, it was so long before this could be accomplished,
lashed and encumbered as it was, that the vessel had
drifted far from the floating lads, and they could no
longer be seen. As the boat pushed off, the captain ex-
claimed it was of no use, they were both lost; but when
it approached the spot the crew observed a head above
water, and being enabled to grasp him before he sunk,
found it was Jackson yet retaining his hold of the now
apparently lifeless boy. The boy, however, happily re-
covered, and Jackson suffered no material injury from
the length of time, supposed to be near twenty minutes,
that he was in the water, and employed in such power-
ful exertions."
After ten years' sailing in the Resolution,* Mr Scoresby
* The following note, retrospective of the Resolution's career, is not without
interest:—“Before finally closing my remarks on the Resolution I may mention
two or three particulars respecting this ship which are remarkable. During the ten
years of her reign (eight years commanded by my father, and two by myself) she
never met with any accident nor suffered the least damage. She never failed
each year to return a large profit to the owners (with the exception of one season,
when there was a great depression in the oil market),--and she never failed in
one instance to exceed all the other ships in the port, averaging seven or eight
in number, in her catch of whales, bringing each year the best cargo in the fleet
destined for the same port! In these ten voyages we obtained no less than 249
88
1813.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
was induced, in 1813, to change to the Esk, a fine newly
built vessel of the same port. My reasons for chang-
ing my ship were, I now perceive,” he says in his auto-
biography, “not absolutely justifiable. I was partly in-
fluenced by private pique towards one of the owners of
the Resolution, partly by ambitious motives to obtain
the command of such a large and finely equipped ship
as the Esk, and partly by an increase in my wages which,
however, had previously been as good as were paid to
any captain from the port, and had returned me £912
for my two voyages as commander."
The Esk sailed on her first voyage in March 1813.
Commercially, the enterprise was again strikingly suc-
cessful. Mr. Scoresby writes, * “ The fishery was in
general very indifferent, but I was again favoured with
the best success of the port, our fishing being fifteen stout
whales, which produced 176 tuns of oil, and yielding the
highest freight by near £2000, owing to the deficiency
of the catch, that was ever brought into port. The pro-
duce of the voyage realized about £10,000, of which
about £5500 or perhaps £6000 was profit!”
The accompanying sketch, by Mr. Scoresby, represents
the dangerous situation of the Esk during her besetment
from the 10th to the 13th of June : the dotted line
marks the intricate passage by which she made her
whales, yielding 2034 tuns of oil, which, with the whalebone, bounty, and pre-
mium on capital, produced £70,077, 12s. 3d. The expenses during the same
period, including all charges on the ship, with interest of capital invested,
amounted to £49,358, 18s. 1d., leaving a clear profit for the proprietor (for an
original advance of £8000) of £20,718, 14s. 2d. I"-MS. Autobiography.
* MS. Autobiography.

Part of a heavy
Floe alout four miles
in diameter.
A PLAN SHOWING
THE SITUATION OF THE FLOES AND LOOSE ICE,
AMIDST WHICH THE ESK WAS BESET, AND PROVIDENTIALLY
ESCAPED 13ru JUNE, 1813.
Part of a Floe of heavy ice, extending about six miles in a direction east and
west, and four miles north and south; elevated in many places upwards of thirty
feet above the surface of the water, and was supposed to descend to four times
that depth beneath in some parts.
A. Point end of a Floe against which the Est Jay about forty hours; the ice
was higher than the chain and deeper than the ship's keel. It consisted of the
hardest ice, firm and perpendicular as the side of a pier.
A Floe, from off which was broken the piece marked B, by the
pressure of the neighbouring ice against the point A.
காமாகதையானவாமாக
TYTI
Scale of 500 fathoms, or half mile
Æt. 22.
89
MARINE DIVER.
escape. In his log-book he remarks, « Thus we provia
dentially had egress from a most dangerous and anxious
situation. I say providentially, because in every move-
ment we made, the places closed which we left, and were
not observed to slacken again, but became highly more
dangerous quarters. The first spot we quitted was met
by the heavy windward floe in two hours time, and with
such a force that had the ship been there, she must have
been crushed to pieces.”
The results of a curious series of experiments—which Mr.
Scoresby had, from time to time, been making for the pur-
pose of ascertaining the difference of temperature between
the water at the surface, and that met with at great
depths in these regions-were substantiated during this
voyage by a fresh set of experiments made with a beau-
tiful and accurate instrument, provided for the purpose,
and named by Mr. Scoresby a MARINE DIVER. The
apparatus was so arranged that in lowering it to great
depths, the water passed through it freely by means of
valves opening upwards, one at each end. It was allowed
to remain about half an hour at the required depth, in
order that it might assume the temperature of the medium
in which it floated ; then, by hauling rapidly on the line
to which it was attached, the apparatus was brought to
the surface, containing-in consequence of the pressure
of the column of water above it forcing down the valves
during its ascent-only the deep-sea water. The tem-
perature was ascertained immediately on its arrival at the
surface, excepting in the latter instances in which a Six's
self-registering thermometer was sunk with the apparatus.
90
1814.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“ By these means," he says, “I obtained the very extra-
ordinary result of a warmer temperature below than at
the surface, which was the reverse of all former experi-
ments performed in other parts of the globe. The result-
ing temperature at the depth of 738 feet was 33° 8',
whilst at the surface it was 28° 8'. Subsequent experi-
ments at depths of 2400, 4380, and 4566 feet showed
a difference of 8°, the surface being in all cases the
coldest."*
Before sailing on his next voyage, Mr. Scoresby made
proposals to the owners of the Esk for the purchase of a
share of the vessel. Instead of such an arrangement,
however, a considerable increase of wages, with a pre-
mium of five per cent. upon the value of the oil obtained,
was accepted. Of the condition of his mind with respect
to a desire after things spiritual, at the time of his setting
out on the following voyage of 1814, he speaks very
despondingly. His autobiography relates :
« On this occasion there was a sensible diminution
in my desire after the favour of God, and, in con-
sequence, a great falling off of even my former at-
* A full account of these interesting experiments is given in the “ Arctic
Regions," vol. i. p. 187.
The facts here first clearly enunciated have since led to the elucidation of
that singular and anomalous phenomenon of the freezing of salt water, whereby
it is ascertained that, after it reaches the temperature of 39° 5' F. it expands in
volume till it reaches its freezing point 28° 5' F. In this way the coldest stratum
of water in the frigid zone always mounts to the surface, the temperature increas-
ing in descending. This forms a beautiful arrangement in nature. In these
seas the surface alone freezes, and thus forming a thick covering of ice, the
water below is protected from the cold air, and prevented from forming a
great solid mass, which it otherwise would do did water at a certain point
increase in gravity as the temperature decreased.
Pst. 23.
91
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
tention to religious ordinances. Worldly things had
obtained a great hold on my attention. My prosperity,
so far, had excited the hope of a speedy independence, and
encouraged me to think that with a due regard to the
improvement of my little property, I might in a few
years be able to relinquish an occupation so full of dan-
gers and privations, and for which I had no very decided
preference or regard. Hence my chief aim was that of
the major part of the world—to get wealth. It was with
this view that I solicited a share of the Esk-and it was
with the same motive that I entered, in the preceding
winter, upon the hazardous adventure of under-writing,
leaving with a friend letters of attorney to write in my
name on all proper risks that should be insured at Whitby
But this state of mind received a slight yet useful check
in the early part of the voyage by a series of unfortunate
exertions in the fishery, when every ship around us was
reaping an excellent harvest; and still more so by our
getting beset in a hazardous situation among prodigious
sheets of ice, where we remained locked up for several
days in the very height of the season for whaling. The
effect was decidedly profitable to me, however selfish the
principle might be from which any increased attentions
to religion took their rise.”
A laughable incident occurred during the besetment.
The ice around, though of sufficient tenacity to entangle
the ship where she lay, was, in many parts, so loose in
texture as not to permit the passage of a man across it.
In these circumstances, Mr. Scoresby conceived the inge-
92
1814.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
nious device of ice-shoes, which consisted simply of
pieces of deal six feet in length attached by the middle
to the foot. Equipped with a pair of these, he pursued
a wounded whale; but, to employ his own words,
" I pursued it, on its second appearance, on my ice-
shoes, carrying with me a harpoon and dragging a large
quantity of line after me, until I fastened the harpoon
by sticking it through the ice. Then returning for a
lance, I again attacked it ; followed it as it retreated,
and in a short time killed it. O On one occasion when I
was waiting for its return [to the surface) it happened to
rise directly under my feet, so as to break the ice all
round me, and lifted me up on its crown! As I must
inevitably have followed it in its descent had I retained
my position, I slipped my feet out of the ice-shoes, and,
at all risks, ran off to one side. Fortunately, the ice at
that spot consisted of two or three folds, and supported
my weight until I recovered my shoes.”
During the winter of 1814 a good deal of excitement
was caused in the philosophical world, in consequence of
a paper read by Mr. Scoresby on two occasions before the
Wernerian Society. The subject of the communication
“ A Description of the POLAR ICE :” it also compre-
hended a project for reaching the North Pole by travelling
over the ice. The late talented naturalist, Baron von Buch,
mentions this paper in a letter* to Gay Lussac. He says:
was
* The extract here quoted was published in Blackwood's Magazine for Novem-
ber 1817.
Æl 24.
:
LETTER FROM BARON VON BUCH.
93
• The memoir which I now send you contains a great
many facts hitherto very imperfectly known, and makes
us acquainted with a part of the globe concerning which
we possess very little accurate information. I confess
the reading of this memoir interested me extremely. The
author, Mr. Scoresby, is a most excellent observer. He
has visited the Polar Regions fifteen times, and every
year has touched to 80° of north latitude.
His private
papers contain numerous observations on the temperature
of the sea, at its surface, and at different depths. He
has devoted much time to the determination of the spe-
cific gravity of the water of the different tracts of the
ocean which he traversed, and has been careful to bring
with him bottles of these waters. Mr. Scoresby is also
known as one of the most courageous and skilful of the
captains who frequent the Greenland Seas; he, indeed,
is a man worthy of being placed along with a Hudson, a
Dampier, and a Cook; and, if he should ever be placed
at the head of a voyage of discovery, I am persuaded that
his name will descend to future ages with those of the
most able navigators.”
This appears to have been the turning point, as it
were, in Mr. Scoresby's life. He was conscious that the
pride of life in his heart was waging war against the
gracious promise of the life that now is and of that which
is to come. Seeking to lay up treasures on earth, his
natural heart must needs hover near them, and if at times
it would have taken a heavenward flight, it was but as a
momentary desire for the bread of the Father's house to
.
94
1815
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
be yielded after a feeble effort for the husks in a foreign
land. The success which had followed him in all his
undertakings tended to alienate his mind from the
thoughts of religion. But the good seed had been planted
in his heart; it had been watered from time to time by
the teaching of the word of God; but the increase was
not yet. It still remained for him to be, as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
The voyage of 1815 was Mr. Scoresby's first failure ;
he only got a medium cargo, where others obtained full
ships. His journal says,
“When I returned home my owners expressed tokens
of disappointment for the first time. My cargo (9 whales,
130 tuns of oil) for the season was, indeed, fair—the
fishery being generally bad. But the circumstances of
two Whitby ships which had accompanied me to the
southward, having obtained great success after I left them,
occasioned a little dissatisfaction with my conduct, which
was not sufficiently repressed to prevent my discover-
ing it.
“ But this was only the beginning of what the world
would term my change of: fortune. God, in his great
mercy, was now beginning to call me by the voice of his
providence, which at length was so determinate and irre-
sistible, that his gracious designs in my behalf were ac-
complished.”
Æt. 25.
95
A TRAVELLING COMPANION.
CHAPTER VI.
ING
VISIT TO LONDON-TO SCOTLAND-A TRAVELLING COMPANION-DISASTROUS
VOYAGE-THE RISING OF THE DAY-STAR-SIXTEENTH VOYAGE-REFLEC-
TIONS.
1815-1817.
DURING the autumn of 1815, Mr. Scoresby, accompanied
by his wife, paid a visit to some friends in London and
spent several months there ; his visits to Sir Joseph
Banks, and the meetings of the Royal Society were the
only matters of importance to which he directed his
attention. His autobiography contains the following
account of his winter movements, together with the epi-
sodical fragment incorporated with it :
“Having thrown away above two months in vanities
and idleness, and spent a considerable sum of money in
pleasures and trifles, we were preparing to return home
when I received my father's command to proceed directly
to Greenock
Accordingly we set off about the middle
of December, and being desirous of seeing a friend in
Newcastle, I took my wife so far, where I left her, and
then proceeded to Greenock alone. The business for
which I had been sent being comfortably accomplished
and adjusted, I returned in a few days to Newcastle by
way of Edinburgh.
“ Being a high admirer of female beauty, I cannot
96
1815.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
omit mentioning here an acquaintance that I made in
my journey from Edinburgh to Newcastle, who exceeded
in elegance any one I had ever before beheld, or even
could conceive of, excepting by the aid of romance.
When I entered the coach I found a lady already seated,
wrapped up in a white travelling coat, with a female
attendant ; but as it was early in the morning and very
dark, I had no opportunity of seeing their features. I
took a seat on the same side of the coach as the young
lady, and gave myself up to the abstraction of thought
to which travelling in a coach, at the outset especially,
- always gives me a propensity. I was disturbed in my
meditations by my travelling companion who, having
fallen asleep, leaned against me and rested her head upon
my shoulder. Being a lady, this unconscious freedom
was of course permitted without disturbance; indeed,
totally uninterested as I was in my travelling companion
at this moment, I was gratified in being able to conduce
in any way to her comfort, and therefore kept myself as
quiet as possible, at the expense of some inconvenience,
that she might enjoy her repose. As daylight began to
advance, I endeavoured to get a peep at the face of my
companion, who still slept unconsciously upon my shoulder,
when even this partial view discovered a delicacy of com-
plexion I had scarcely ever before witnessed. I was all
anxiety to get a better view of her face, when she awoke ;
but instead of exhibiting any surprise at the position in
which she had rested, she merely apologized with pecu-
liar sweetness of accent, saying, she was afraid she had
been very troublesome. I, of course, assured her of the
t. 25.
97
A TRAVELLING COMPANION.
ness.
very reverse, and expressed my satisfaction in being able
at all to contribute to her comfort. These remarks
afforded an opening for conversation, though in a
stage coach no ceremony is considered requisite, and pro-
perly so, in addressing those about you. Now I had an
opportunity, by the full exposure of daylight, to examine
the countenance of my companion, and the more I exa-
mined, the more I was astonished at her perfect loveli-
Her features were somewhat small and delicate,
but with as much of sharpness, indicative of intelligence,
as was compatible with sweetness of expression. She
was not a tame beauty ; but full of character, energy,
and animation. What added to the interest of this
charming woman was an expressive pensiveness of coun-
tenance and indications that, perfect as she was, she had
deeply encountered the painful wounds of affliction. The
nature of this affliction was indicated by the external
marks of mourning which the part of her dress that could
be seen did not fail to reveal. To my great surprise, as
soon as the sun was fairly up, the morning though cold
being beautifully clear, this delicate creature requested
the guard to find her a place on the top of the coach. I
was at first much disappointed by this inharmonious
trait, until I had learned something of the history of the
original, when I found it perfectly accordant and expres-
sive of her character.
"Young as she was, only twenty, she was already a
widow,--the widow of a soldier. Her husband, Captain
fell in one of the hard-contested struggles of the
Duke of Wellington, with the armies of France, in the
H-
98
1815.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Peninsula. By her husband, and, perhaps, by means
also of her connections, -her natural warmth and ardour
of mind had been turned into heroism of feeling. Though
endowed to a degree with the sensibilities of her sex, she
had imbibed from him, and through her intercourse with
military characters during a residence with the army,
such a sense of the glory of the profession of a soldier,
such an estimate of bravery and contempt of cowardice,
as in some respects to supersede the natural and amiable
weakness of the female character.
“On my arrival in Newcastle, I was under the neces-
sity of separating from this delightful companion, who in
so short an acquaintance made an impression on my feel-
ings that has not to this day worn off. In great raptures,
and in the most eloquent language my pleasure could
inspire, I described my travelling companion to my wife
and the ladies with whom she was staying. They were
all anxious to see her. As she had given me leave to
call upon her in the morning, I took the ladies with me
and introduced them. They all acknowledged that, highly
as she had excited their curiosity, she was infinitely more
lovely than they had expected.
" It was to be supposed that so much beauty and so
much sweetness could not be seen without attracting
many admirers. Something of this we saw. When I
entered the coach at Edinburgh, a gentleman was in
attendance at the door, who took leave of the lady with
a degree of melancholy and feeling that particularly struck
my attention.
This gentleman, so hinted the attendant
abigail, was a rejected suitor. His attention, however,
Æt. 25.
99
A DISASTROUS VOYAGE.
did not stop here ; for, having thrown himself into the
mail in the evening of the day of her departure, and
reached Newcastle before she left, he again, no doubt to
her great astonishment, presented himself before her. Of
the subsequent history of this interesting woman I have
heard nothing. She told me she had been educated in
France, and was speedily going thither again; but though
I often made inquiry about her, she has ever remained to
me but as a vision of the past.”
Notwithstanding the many and prolonged interrup-
tions in the interval between the voyages of 1815 and
1816, Mr. Scoresby made some progress in a work sub-
sequently published, and well known as Scoresby's Arctic
Regions, of the preparation of which he had previously
given notice to the Wernerian Society. He spent much
time in collating written works, especially those of the
Dutch, on the subject, and commenced to write the
chronological history.
The voyage of 1816 was most disastrous. Scarcely
had the Esk entered within the icy confines, when she
was met by a terrific storm, which threatened the
destruction of all embarked. In the course of fourteen
voyages,” says Mr. Scoresby,* “in which I had before
visited this inhospitable country, I passed through many
dangers, wherein my own life, together with those of my
companions, had been threatened ; but the present case,
where our lives seemed to be at stake for a length of
time, exceeding twelve hours, far surpassed in awfulness,
* MS. Autobiography. See also “ Arctic Regions, ii. 43, et seq.
100
1816.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
as well as actual hazard, anything that I had before
witnessed.”' Whilst in this dilemma, they descried a
gigantic mass of ice bearing down upon them, “as hard
as rocks," "at one instant covered with foam, the next
concealed from sight by the waves, and instantly after-
wards reared to a prodigious height above the surface of
the sea." In order to pass this huge barrier, the most
acute observation, as well as promptness in directing the
vessel, was necessary. A small chink being observed in
the hitherto apparently plane surface of the ice, the vessel
was directed towards it. A speedy release was thus pro-
mised, but, when brought to the point, the vessel refused
to ware, and the opportunity was lost. A second period
of suspense was followed by a dawn of safety ; another
opening, but smaller and more intricate than the former,
presented itself. Happily the ship behaved better on this
occasion, and obeyed the directions of her commander,
who, in his elevated position at the summit of the top-
gallant-mast, was
"Rocked in the cradle of the deep,”
under circumstances altogether subversive of peace of mind.
They made their escape on the 2d of May. Subsequently
the fishery was prosecuted with tolerable success until
the 19th of June, when the misfortune which rendered
the rest of the voyage so hazardous was encountered.
Whilst mancuvring for a passage amidst some formidable
ice-floes, the vessel was directed towards a small indenta-
tion in one of the masses, with a view of thus preserving
her from the pressure of two huge pieces which were
rapidly coming in contact. In this position the Esk was
Æt. 25.
101
DANGEROUS STATE OF THE
ESK."
subjected to a considerable squeeze, but no serious injury
was anticipated. Unfortunately, however, a tongue, or
submerged piece, of ice of considerable hardness, had, ,
unperceived by those on board, done severe damage ; so
much so, that when the pressure of the opposed masses
relaxed, the ship began to sink. A signal of distress
brought many vessels to their assistance, one of which
the John of Greenock, commanded by Mr. Scoresby's
brother-in-law, Mr. Jackson-never left the Esk until
fairly within hail of Great Britain. Pumps and buckets
were kept hard at work until the extent of the mischief
was ascertained. A large piece of the after-keel and a
portion of one of the garboard strakes, it was found, had
been torn away, leaving a large hole through which the
water was welling into the ship with insuperable force.
A consultation was held for the purpose of considering
what measures could be employed for the preservation of
the vessel. Many propositions were made. One most
extraordinary plan was adopted; it was to turn the ship
upside down, so as to expose the injured part to the
operations of the carpenter. All the stores and move
able furniture having been conveyed to the adjoining ice,
the proceedings were commenced on the 30th of June.
Ropes were passed beneath the vessel, and attached, on
the side farthest from the ice, to the summits of the fore
and main-masts, where also were fastened heavy anchors,
to assist by gravitation in the proposed rotation of the
ship. The vessel having been allowed to sink as far as
a number of empty casks in the hold would permit,
traction was made on the ropes by means of a complex
102
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
machinery of blocks, &c., on the ice; and a force of up-
wards of one hundred and fifty men employed with but
very little avail, the vessel refusing to careen beyond five
or six strakes. At this juncture, Mr. Scoresbý proceeded
on board with one hundred and twenty men, and having
arranged them on the higher side of the deck, caused
them to run en masse to the lower, giving thereby so
sudden a shock to the ship as to make the men appre-
hensive of an immediate upset. But all their endeavours
to bring the keel uppermost were futile; and after many
wearying efforts, they were compelled to resort to other
measures. The next plan, successfully adopted, was the
partitioning of that portion of the ship which was injured
from the rest, which was done with great expedition;
and, being tightly caulked, formed a strong barrier to
the influx of water.
For greater security, a thrumbed
sail—a sail studded with bunches of oakum and rope-
yarn—was applied externally, which, being sucked into
the leak, tended in a measure to choke it. By this time
the crews of those vessels which at first lent their aid
had departed in pursuit of their enterprise, the John
alone remaining in company with the distressed ship.
Now arose a difficulty. The Esk was not in a condition
to travel alone ; for, notwithstanding the precautions
which had been employed to stop the leak, she was still
in a state of jeopardy, and not at all fitted to encounter
a heavy sea; so that the sailors, being aware of this,
were unwilling to lose sight of the John.
But the crew
of the latter vessel were dependent for their wages upon
their success in the fishery, and a large portion of the
Pt. 25.
103
HOMEWARD VOYAGE.
fishing season had still to run. In spite of this, however,
they offered, in a spirit characteristic of their class, to
forego all chance of further success, and to share the
fatigue of working the disabled ship home,—stipulating
only, and that chiefly for their owners' indemnification,
to receive one-half of the cargo which the Esk had ob-
tained previous to the disaster; the whole of which, had
the John deserted her, she must have abandoned. The
stores, then, having been returned on board the Esk,
they cast off from their ice moorings, and set sail for
England on the 6th of July. The. John, whilst she
towed the Esk, sent also relays of her men to work
at the pumps. On the 27th, the Esk entered Whitby
harbour, to the great joy of her emancipated crew. Mr.
Scoresby, in his account of the voyage, concludes as
follows:
Thus, through the peculiar favour of God, by whose
influence our perseverance was stimulated, and by whose
blessing our contrivances were rendered effectual, happily
terminated a voyage, at once hazardous, disastrous, and
interesting
Intelligence relative to the distressed state of the
ship, and the hopelessness of her situation, reached
Whitby the day before us, and involved, in consequence
of some exaggerations respecting the loss of the crew,
every interested person in deep distress. Throughout the
town, and in a great measure, indeed, throughout the
neighbourhood, the event was considered as a general
calamity. Some of the underwriters on the Esk, I was
101
1816.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
informed, had offered 60 per cent. for the re-assurance of
the sums for which they were liable ; but such was the
nature of the risk, as ascertained from the information of
some ships' crews by whom we had been assisted, that no
one would undertake the re-assurance even at this extra-
ordinary premium.
“The hearty congratulations I received on landing,
from every acquaintance, were almost overwhelming ; and
these, with the enhanced endearments of my affectionate
and enraptured wife, amply repaid me for all the toils
and anxieties of mind that I had endured.
“On the tide ebbing out, the Esk was left dry, on
which, for the first time since the accident, the whole
of the water was drawn out of the hold by the pumps.
The next tide, the ship was removed above the bridge, to
a place of perfect safety, where, the pumps being neglected,
the water, in the course of two tides, rose nearly as high
within as without. After the cargo was discharged, the
ship was put into dock ; and it was found, that excepting
the loss of twenty-two feet of keel, left in Greenland,
and the removal of a piece of the starboard garboard-
strake, nine feet in length, with a portion of dead wood
brought home upon deck; no other damage of conse-
quence had been produced by the ice. The main piece of
the rudder, indeed, was found to be sprung; all the rud-
der works under water, excepting the lowest band,
broken ; and the stern-port shaken loose : but these
injuries were chiefly sustained when the ship was driven
into the ice on the 1st of May. The whole expense of
repairs did not, I believe, exceed £200.
t. 25.
105
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
“The approbation of my conduct by the owners,
Messrs Fishburn and Brodrick, was testified, by their pre-
senting to me a gratuity of £50 ; and the sense enter-
tained by the Whitby underwriters of the preservation of
the ship, was pleasingly manifested, by a present of a
handsome piece of plate.
"I may add, in conclusion, that the whole of my crew,
excepting one individual, returned from this adventurous
and trying voyage in safety ; and, in general, in a good
state of health. Several of the men, indeed, were affected,
more or less, by the excessive fatigue, and by the pain-
ful exposure to cold and damp while resting on the ice ; ;
but all of them were, in a great measure, restored before
our arrival at home, excepting one man; he, poor fellow,
being of a weak constitution suffered severely, from the
inclement exposure, and died soon after he arrived in
port.
“The dealings of Providence with me on this voyage
were most remarkable. It was a series of difficulties
and dangers, and abounded with striking displays of a
Divine interposition for our eventual preservation. These
various trying circumstances called forth an earnestness,
and, occasionally, an energy in my private devotions,
(which, however coldly performed, were seldom omitted),
such as I cannot but think were in some measure
accepted; yet I am conscious that, generally, my secret
reserve of sin was not overcome, nor the subjugation of
my own will to that of God accomplished. I began to
perceive through these trials the design of Providence :
it appeared to me that the object was to turn me from
106
1816.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
vanity and the unsubdued love of sin to the love of God.
But on my arrival at home the adulation of friends and
the universal applause that my successful exertions for
saving my ship, under such circumstances that in the
opinion of the most experienced captains around she
must inevitably be lost, frustrated, as it were, the grace
of God, by giving me satisfaction and honour, in place
of humility, gratitude, and submission to the Divine
will.
“On this voyage more than ever before, I observed the
workings of Providence; but my views in regard to it
were very partial and imperfect. I erroneously imagined
that the Almighty only interposed in the affairs of men
in great concerns--in affairs of life and death, or pros-
perity, and other important events. I fancied it was be-
neath the cognizance of the Almighty to notice the trivial
affairs of life ; forgetting that a sparrow cannot fall to
the ground without him, and the evident fact, that were
apparently trivial concerns overlooked, many of the most
important circumstances of life, often resulting from such
events, could not happen. These errors arose probably
from my low idea of the character and perfections of God.
Had I had any tolerable conception of his powers and
perfections, where the whole is infinite, I must have seen
that to direct the affairs of the entire world must be as
easy to him as to order the wellbeing of a single indivi-
dual.
Notwithstanding that the effects of the providences
above detailed were much weakened and injured by the
praises of all around me, yet some feeble remains of them
t. 26.
107
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
were spared to me. I became more and more convinced
of the importance of religion, and of the danger of obsti-
nately resisting the divine will, which was obviously
designing my salvation; and these impressions were
deepened by the preaching of a new clergyman, who had
come to officiate at the chapel of ease in Whitby, which
had been vacated a little while before. This gentleman, Mr.
[afterwards Dr.] Holloway, being of the evangelical party,
preached, as appeared to me (who had seldom heard in
the church anything but dry morality, and that delivered
with total want of feeling in sermons of ten or fifteen
minutes), with an energy of manner and a spirituality of
matter that made his sermons a new language, and placed
religion in a new light. I went to hear him with pre-
udice ; his evangelical preaching and Calvinistic senti-
ments having rendered him obnoxious to all the good
moral sort of people, but was deeply impressed under
his sermon.
I felt a greater willingness to surrender
myself unto God than I had ever done before. But the
work was far from being accomplished ; for though I
heard this excellent and zealous servant of Christ fre-
quently afterwards, and often received benefit, I at length
became too familiar with his style, and the novelty and
earnestness which had first struck me, produced a gradu-
ally weaker effect, until at last I attended his ministry
with considerable indifference. Occasionally, however,
my eyes were open to the truth, and my heart affected ;
but often my thoughts were altogether wild and wander-
ing, and my devotions dead. Yet the tendency of the
occasional awakening was eventually beneficial. Thougla
108
1817
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
unacquainted with the clergyman, I felt a high regard
and affection for him which made me long for his
acquaintance, with the hope that it might be the means
of effecting that renovation and surrender of heart
which I was sensible must be yet wantiny before I
could be said to be born again.' Some attempts towards
an introduction having failed, when the time of my em-
barkation for another voyage was drawing nigh, I
addressed a note to Mr. Holloway, who resided in the
country, about two miles from Whithy, requesting per-
mission to see him. He very kindly called upon me
almost immediately. I was rejoiced with his conversa-
tion, and charmed with his frank, pleasing and gentle-
manly manner. I stated to him my desires after reli-
gion—my wish to be a follower of Jesus Christ-the
hindrances I met with in all attempts to serve God
and the deficiency of spiritual affections and the power of
obedience. I referred him to some hymns of Newton and
Cowper, particularly that beginning-
'Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought,
Do I love the Lord or no?
Am I his or am I not?'
" And also that beginning :
"The Lord will happiness divine
On contrite hearts bestow ;
Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
A contrite heart or no ?'
“ And also the following: -
• I would, but cannot sing,
I would, but cannot pray ;
For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away.'
Æt. 26.
109
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
“Of this hymn I pointed out the fifth and sixth verses
as peculiarly expressing my feelings and affording me
omfort. They run thus :
• O could I but believe !
Then all would easy be;
I would but cannot-Lord, relieve
My help must come from thee!
But if, indeed, I would,
Though I can nothing do ;
Yet the desire is something good,
For which my praise is due.'
ness.
“Mr Holloway, from these references, gave me encourage-
ment to believe that God was designing my eternal sal-
vation, and that the work of his Spirit on my heart was
begun.
"In every subsequent interview with this excellent
man, who soon became an intimate and beloved friend, I
found myself encouraged, and saw religion in a favour-
able light, attended with cheerfulness and evident happi-
The fearful gloom of its professors and their sup-
posed rigid severity were not to be seen in my friend;
he exhibited its effects in their natural and most pleasing
colours as being productive of real enjoyment.
But, after all, the work was not yet complete. I
was not yet a branch engrafted into the true vine, nor a
sheep of the good Shepherd. I had not entered within
the vail. For although I might have been said to be
near the kingdom of heaven, yet I was not meetened
for the pure enjoyment of paradise, not having received
a new heart,' nor the 'Spirit of Christ.'
During the interval of my voyages to the whale
fishery (1816-17) I continued to prepare manuscript for
110
1817
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
my proposed work on the Arctic Regions; but I made
no great progress. My labours gave way to every call
of ceremony, to every invitation, and to every object
however trifling; because there was no stimulus for
exertion as to the time of putting the work to press;
and every year I found my materials augmenting, and
enabling me, the more I delayed, to enrich the work with
additional observations and information,
“ On the 1st of March 1817, a paper, entitled ' Ex-
periments on the Pressure of the Sea at Great Depths,'
was read before the Wernerian Society. This was the
only original scientific communication of this winter of
which I have any memorandum.
“I entered upon my sixteenth voyage to the whale
fishery (my eighth as captain) on the first of April 1817.
Our, labours were unsuccessful. Only two whales fell to
our share, and a very considerable loss to the owners
accrued from this voyage.
I narrowly missed situations
in which some of the ships that happened to be com-
manded by raw inexperienced captains obtained full
cargoes, and was in company with my father, whilst he
got six fisb, and we got none! The circumstances of this
years' fishing were perfectly novel. We persevered in
the old stations too long and failed. I was, indeed,
completely at fault, and, for once, gave up all dependence
on my own judgment for near two months together, and
followed my father. Hitherto I had always made a
practice of acting independently. I avoided, as far as
possible, other ships; and, rather than follow a fleet, or
proceed in the midst of them, I often struck out a new
Æt. 26.
111
EXCURSION IN JAN MAYEN.
path and proceeded alone, though I might, on the whole,
prefer the course pursued by the others. In one or two
instances this practice proved unfortunate ; but generally
it was attended with a profitable result; for although we
might not meet with so great a number of fish as were
found by a fleet, yet, as we had little or no competition,
we had a good chance for those we did fall in with.
“ Towards the close of the season, accompanied by the
John of Greenock, and the Venerable of Hull, we made
a deep stretch into the western ice, which we found open,
until we supposed we got sight of the eastern coast of
Greenland. But the weather becoming thick, and the
season for leaving the fishing station, according to the
usual practice, having arrived, perseverance seemed to be
hazardous, and we returned, or we possibly might have
still made up the deficiencies of our cargo.
“From hence, proceeding southward, we touched at
the island of Jan Mayen, and the weather being par-
ticularly fine and calm when we stretched in shore, we
landed upon it.
“ This island, which had rarely been visited of late
years, and never scientifically examined, proved extremely
interesting. I discovered it to be volcanic, the beach
being covered with magnetic iron-sand, and the foot of
the cliffs with burnt clay, slag, and lava. Two craters of
volcanoes were also discovered and examined. One of
them was a fine basin of considerable size. I obtained
specimens of rocks and plants, and of animals, as far as
we could accomplish their capture.*
* An account of this excursion was read before the Weruerian Society on the
112
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Unsuccessful as this voyage was as to its leading
object, it was far from being unprofitable to me. му
religion became of a more decided character, and the
nature of sin became more clearly revealed to me. On
my passage home, the most complete surrender of heart
to God, and the most perfect abandonment of reserved
sin that I had ever made occurred. It was on Sunday,
the 13th of July, and was the effect, I believe, of read-
ing to the sailors, with more than ordinary attention, a
sermon of Mr. Burder, from the text, — And Elijah came
unto all the people and said, How long halt ye between
two opinions ? If the LORD be God, follow him ; but if
Baal, then follow him’ (1 Kings xviii. 21).*
" It was in walking the deck, after divine service,
that the application of the subject came forcibly to my
conscience. I read it with interest; but God now first
applied it to my benefit. And the train of thought
being remarkable, deserves to be mentioned.
“I was now nearly approaching home. The view of
the English coast, along which we were sailing, produced
a train of reflections on expected happiness, checked by
the recollection of our scanty cargo, that was productive
of much mortification and disappointment to my desire
of soon gaining a comfortable independence. Methought
God was working against me. My labours for three
years had been increasingly unprofitable. They now
hardly promised to me the supply of my necessary wants.
6th of December following, and the paper was published in the “Edinburgh
Philosophical Journal," vol. i., p. 121. See also “ Arctic Regions."
* Burder's “ Village Sermons,” vol. v., sermon viii., p. .
Æt. 26.
113
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
'I will leave off the sea,' thought I; "the little property
I have acquired will produce £120 or £150 a year, and
on this, with any accidental acquisition from finding out
other employment, I may live, in an economical manner
at least, entirely on shore. I shall then be no longer
exposed to the freaks of fortune, but shall defy all
casualties and mortification of unsuccessful voyages, and
may have the continued enjoyment of domestic inter-
course and blessings of the land.' But my conscience
smote me; it suggested, it was not owing to the freaks
of fortune that I was no longer prosperous ; it was the
hand of God; and although I should retire from the sea
that hand could reach me there, reduce me to beggary,
and blast all my schemes of happiness, formed independent
of my Maker. *
“It was now that the sermon of Burder was fully
applied to my conscience. I found I was one of those
halting between two opinions ; I was maintaining a
reserve of sin, or refusing the complete surrender of
myself to God. My irresolution was manifest to me. I
* “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my
down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou
compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine band upon me. Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither
shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I
ascend up into heaven, thou art there : if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou
art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the night
shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the
night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."
-Ps. cxxxix. 1-12.
H
111
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
was one of the persons described under the first head of
the discourse ; being irresolute and undetermined whether
to be religious or not. To the question suggested by the
text-'if the Lord be God ?'—my heart and experience
answered, The Lord he is God--the Lord he is God.
And the commandThen follow him '-- was impressed
on me with such force, by the Spirit of God, I doubt
not, that for the first time in my life I felt disposed to
make a total surrender of myself, and give myself up
unto God.
“ These impressions were not entirely transitory, yet
they were not perfectly effectual. One act of providence
remained to complete the work; and that act, in the
form of chastisement and loss of property, was
administered*
"On my arrival at home I found the owners of the
ship not altogether satisfied with my success and exertions.
They said it was a cruel thing for me to follow my
father all the season, and thus lose the chance of success,
which a separation of the two ships, the Esk and Mars,
their entire property, would have afforded, at least to
one of them.
But this was not all. My father, who
commanded the Mars, succeeded much better than I did;
but he had some disturbance with his crew, and had been
annoyed with several acts of obstinate disobedience, which
he was disposed to punish by withholding the wages of the
offenders, agreeable to law, and paying them into Green-
soon
* By the bankruptcy of an individual to whom, in friendship and without
efficient security, he had lent upwards of £1500, nearly the whole of his pro-
perty. About one hals of the sum he subsequently recovered.
t. 26.
115
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
wich Hospital. The owners, however, refused their
sanction to this measure, though obviously important for
preserving any sort of good government on board of
their ships, and declared their determination not to be
troubled with any quarrels, but to pay the men their
wages and dismiss them. My father felt himself so
aggrieved by this refusal of support from the owners of
the ships, that he immediately gave up his command.
I, for the same reason, together with the apparent want
of approbation of the owners respecting myself, and some
little circumstances in their conduct that were rather
unpleasant to my feelings, also gave up my command.
It was done, however, without any further unpleasant-
ness; and my chief mate, whom I recommended to
them as a suitable person to take charge of the ship, was
appointed her captain.
It will have been observed that I experienced in my
various voyages to Greenland, and even before I entered
this hazardous service, a number of striking deliverances
from premature death. The hand of God was clearly
manifested in these. The train of providences in my
experience were even such as my own understanding
perceives to have been necessary for producing the end
designed. Without that order the effect could not have
been produced. My extraordinary diffidence when I
first undertook the command of the ship was such, that
had I failed of success, as I did latterly, I should never
have looked to the cause as providential, but as the
result of my own deficiencies and want of ability. But
after my talent as a fisherman had been fully established
116
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
by several years of great success, generally exceeding all
my competitors out of the same port, it was impossible
that I should not become in some degree sensible of what
every one was ready to allow. This feeling being estab-
lished, I did not attribute my first and subsequent failures
to inefficiency.
Finding many inexperienced captains exceeding me
more than once, for whose talents and activity I had
great disrespect, if not contempt, a feeling of self-suffi-
ciency (though never amounting to presumptuousness)
induced me first to attribute my failure to bad luck,' a
principle which the credit of my early voyages would not
allow me until this time to admit. But when, examining
the probabilities of chance, year after year became more
unprosperous, and each season marked by extraordinary
circumstances, I was at length aroused to acknowledge
the truth, often forced upon my conscience, that it was
God who was hedging up my way and preventing my
Thus my eyes became gradually opened. But
when I had clearly seen the designs of the Lord, and
still withheld the surrender of my darling sins unto him,
other means and trials became necessary. I was cast into
dangers and extraordinary difficulties; they marked the
chastisements of God, and I was led to more than ordinary
prayer. He delivered me, and I was led to acknowledge
Still the work was incomplete ; for, like
Jonah, I would have fled from the presence of God, by
leaving my duty and my profession, and hiding myself.
But whilst Jonah, for his recovery, was arrested by a
dangerous tempest, and exposed to drowning in the sea-
success.
bis mercy.
Et. 26
117
RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.
the refuge he had sought from the presence of God—I
was overtaken by unexpected trials and loss of my pro-
perty on shore, where I supposed I was secure from all
casualties whatever. Thus, by the grace of God, truly
all things have worked together for my good. Goodness
and mercy hath followed me all the days of my life.”
118
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER VII.
REVIVAL OF THE ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS--CORRESPONDENCE WITH SIR JOSEPH
BANKS--VOYAGE OF 1818--SPITZBERGEN—THE COLOUR OF THE GREEN-
LAND SEA-BIRTH OF HIS SECOND SON.
1817-1818.
WE turn again for a little to the consideration of some
circumstances connected with the secular concerns in which
Mr. Scoresby was en ployed. By this time he had at-
tained a marked position amidst the votaries of science,
by whom he was regarded as an authority in all matters
relative to the Polar Regions. He had for some time been
in the habit, on his return to England, of communicating
any interesting events which might have occurred during
the voyage to the leading men both in London and Edin-
burgh. With Sir Joseph Banks in the one metropolis,
and Professor Jameson in the other, he held frequent
correspondence. Out of one of his letters to Sir Joseph
Banks, bearing date 2d October 1817, arose that con
catenation of modern expeditions in search of a per
glacial navigation from the Atlantic to the Pacific, whicl.
has given to British sailors a reputation for courage,
endurance, and discipline such as no other service could
have established.
In a touching memoir* of the lamented Franklin, M.
de la Roquette, after speaking of the more remote Arctic
* Addressed, in 1858, to the Geographical Society of France.
At. 27.
119
REVIVAL OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
expeditions, goes on to relate the circumstances which
gave rise to those of more recent date. He says,
“However beneficial the solution of such a question
might be considered in a commercial point of view, it
was long neglected; and, in spite of the discoveries, in
Arctic seas, of Barentz, Heemskerke, Davis, Hudson,
Baffin, and others, was, so to speak, almost forgotten,
when an English whaler, an intelligent and intrepid
sailor, who had for many years navigated the Greenland
seas, demonstrated the possibility of effecting it.
letter written by him to Sir Joseph Banks, this whaler
-Scoresby the younger—in relating to the illustrious
philosopher some observations which he had been in-
duced to make, described a remarkable circumstance
which he had witnessed during his last voyage in 1817.
This statement of Scoresby, together with
analagous observations on a similar disruption or removal
In a
Quelque avantageuse que l'on supposât devoir être pour le commerce la
solution d'une semblable question, elle fut longtemps négligée, et pour ainsi dire
presque oubliée, malgré les importantes découvertes faites dans les mers Arcti-
ques par les Barentz, les Heemskerke les Davis, les Hudson, les Baffin, &c.,
lorsqu'un simple baleinier Anglais, marin intelligent et intrépide, qui naviguait,
depuis plusieurs années, dans les mers du Groenland, en indiqua la possibilité.
Dans une lettre, écrite par lui à Sir Joseph Banks, ce baleinier, Scoresby le
Jeune, en rendant compte à l'illustre savant des observations qu'il avait été à
portée de faire, lui signala un fait remarquable dont il avait été témoin lors de
son derniers voyage, en 1817.
Cet exposé de Scoresby et des observations analogues sur de sem-
blables brisements ou écartements de l'immense barrière de glace, faites en 1816
et 1817 dans les parages de l'Islande et près des côtes orientales du Gröenland,
firent revivre en Angleterre les anciens projets, qui semblaient perdus de vue
depuis tant d'années, d'explorations dans les mers Arctiques pour atteindre le
pôle nord, et ouvrir un passage d'un océan à l'autre. L'amirauté prêta l'oreille
aux suggestions de Sir John Barrow, déjà connu par un voyage au Spitzberg,
appuyées par Sir Joseph Banks, president de la Societé Royale, et prépara en
conséquence, au commencement de 1818, deux expéditions distinctes."
120
1817
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
of the immense barrier of ice, made in 1816 and 1817
in the parallel of the island and near the eastern coast
of Greenland, awakened in England the long dormant
projects for attaining the North Pole, and for opening up
the North-west Passage. The Admiralty listened to the
suggestions of Sir John Barrow, already known by a
voyage to Spitzbergen, supported by Sir Joseph Banks,
president of the Royal Society, and, in consequence, pre-
pared, in the beginning of 1818, two distinct expedi-
tions.”
Twenty-three years previous to the publication of these
remarks by M. de la Roquette, namely, in 1835, Sir John
Ross made a similar statement in the preface to a pub-
lished account of one of his voyages. He, like M. de la
Roquette, claimed for Mr. Scoresby some merit in the
resuscitation of Arctic expeditions. This generous ac-
knowledgment gave umbrage to certain reviewers who
charged Sir John with wilful misrepresentation; and it
was in reply to these unjust censures, and with a view of
vindicating the truthfulness of his assertions, that Mr.
Scoresby addressed to the editor of the Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal the letter, from which the follow-
ing extracts are taken:-
My personal participation in the revival of the sub-
ject in question was commenced by a letter addressed to
Sir Joseph Banks, from whom I had received many marks
of kindness, and with whom, for many years, I was in the
habit of corresponding.
“ In that letter, written from Whitby, and bearing the
Æt. 27.
121
REVIVAL OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
date, 2d of October 1817, I mentioned the fact of a large
body of the usual ices having disappeared out of the
Greenland Sea, and the consequent openness of the navi-
gation towards the west, whereby I was enabled to pene-
trate within sight of the eastern coast of Greenland, to a
meridian which had usually been considered as having
become totally inaccessible. After some account of the
state and configuration of the ice, and our progress
amongst it, I proceeded to remark on the facilities which
on this occasion were presented for making researches in
those interesting regions. The examination of the coasts
of both Spitzbergen and Greenland--the determination of
the fate of the ancient colony established by the Icelanders
in the latter-explorations affecting the improvement of
our whale fishery—and researches towards deciding
whether or not a navigation into the Pacific by a north-
east or north-west passage existed,--
were among the sub-
jects suggested as the most interesting and important.
I also expressed a wish to be employed in such researches
through a series of voyages, that the most favourable
seasons might be improved to the best advantage, and
that the most complete investigation might be accom-
plished; and by the way of avoiding unnecessary ex-
pense, I proposed to combine the object of the whale
fishery with that of discovery on every occasion when the
situation of the ice was unfavourable for research.
“Whether it was in consequence of this letter or not,
it becomes not me, perhaps, to hazard an opinion; but
there can be no impropriety in stating what actually oc-
curred, namely, that, in the latter end of November
122
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
(about seven weeks, I believe, after my letter to Sir
Joseph Banks was despatched), a notice appeared in the
public prints of the day, 'that, owing to the statements
of the Greenland captains respecting the diminution of
the polar ice, the Royal Society had applied to ministers
to send out vessels for discovery in the Polar Seas.'
"In the beginning of December I addressed another
letter to Sir Joseph Banks, submitting an outline of ob-
jects for research, classed under these several heads:
Investigations for the advancement of geography, com-
merce, and science.
Under the latter were suggested as
matters of interest, meteorology, including observations
on atmospherical electricity, hydrography, or natural his-
tory of the sea, comprising experiments and observations
on its depth, currents, saltness, and temperature, both at
the surface and at considerable depths; botany, geology,
magnetism, including observations on the variations of
the compass, on the magnetic anomaly (or deviation), on
ship-board, and on the magnetic intensity.
“Just before this letter was forwarded, my father,
who was then in London, and had several conversations
with Sir Joseph Banks and other gentlemen, who were
anxious for the success of the intended expeditions, was
advised by them, and particularly by Sir Joseph Banks,
to send for me, with the view of my being employed in
this interesting service. Accordingly, I left Whitby on
the 11th of December, and proceeded direct to London,
where I had an interview with Sir Joseph Banks, who,
after a kind expression of his regret that he had not been
able to obtain for me, as his anxious wish was, a com-
Et. 27.
123
REVIVAL OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
mand in one or other of the projected expeditions, re-
ferred me to Mr. Barrow for the plan on which they were
to be appointed. In the course of a brief conversation
with the latter gentleman, I was told that if I wished
to accompany either of the expeditions, I must give in
my proposals to the Navy Board. Finding, however,
it was a fixed point that the command of all the vessels
then designed for discovery should be given to officers of
the royal navy, I at once decided, not being disposed to
engage in a subordinate capacity, on foregoing the satis-
faction I had in some degree anticipated.”
After referring to some inaccuracies in the criticism
which called forth his remarks, Mr. Scoresby proceeds to
give extracts from his letter to Sir Joseph Banks, together
with the replies of the worthy baronet.
After some observations not particularly bearing on
the subject in question, the letter states, -—'I found, on
iny last voyage, about 2000 square leagues of the surface
of the Greenland Sea, included between the parallels of
74° and 80° north, perfectly void of ice, which is usually
covered with it. Now, all this ice has disappeared within
the last two years, and there is little doubt but it has
been drifted to the southward into warmer climates, and
there dissolved.'
"After a description of the progress made towards the
coast of Greenland, &c., already mentioned, the letter
proceeds:
“Had I been so fortunate as to have had the com-
124
1817.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
mand of an expedition for discovery instead of fishing, I
have little doubt but that the mystery attached to the
existence of a north-west passage might have been [I
should have added “in some measure"] resolved. There
could have been no great difficulty in exploring the
eastern coast of Greenland, and probably the fate of the
colony established by the Icelanders so many centuries
ago might have been ascertained. I do conceive there is
sufficient interest attached to these remote regions to in-
duce Government to fit out an expedition, were it pro-
perly represented. The simple examination of the shores
of Spitzbergen would be a matter of much interest to the
naturalist and geologist.
“I should have much satisfaction in attempting an
enterprise of this kind, namely, to examine and survey
the islands of East Greenland or Spitzbergen, especially
the eastern part, which has not been visited (for) many
years past; and to ascertain, for the benefit of the whalers,
whether the whales resort thither;* to endeavour to
reach the shore of West Greenland, determine its posi-
tion, prove its insularity, and ascertain the fate of the
Icelandic colony, together with making researches [con-
templating a continuation of the exploration through a
series of years] relative to the north-east and north-west
passages, &c.; for the performance of which objects, I
could point out a method by which the enterprise could
be conducted with little, or possibly no expense to the
*“ Both my father and myself, in the course of last voyage, attempted, though
unknown to each other, to explore the eastern part of Spitzbergen; but meeting
with more ice than is usual in this quarter, our navigation was interrupted.
Æt. 26.
125
REVIVAL OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
nation. This would be accomplished by combining the
two objects of discovery and fishing.
“«Since no one can possibly state [that is, from
observation on the condition of the ice in any one
season] what opportunity may occur on a subsequent
occasion for pursuing a voyage of discovery, it would b:3
well to have this reserve for the reduction of the ex-
penditure, in the event of the opportunity for discovery
failing.
“I conceive that an expedition, consisting of two
ships, might be fitted out, and all expenses defrayed, for
the sum of £5000 to £6000.* But in case of any
whales being taken-and the fishery might occasionally
be prosecuted without (particular] detriment to the other
object of the voyage—the expenses would be proportion-
ably reduced, and might, possibly, be altogether defrayed
thereby
“Such are some of the particulars included in my
letter to Sir Joseph Banks,-a letter written many weeks
before any public intimation was given of the intention
of Government to undertake a renewal of the long-aban-
doned enterprise of Polar researches. A reply to this
letter was received towards the end of October, franked
by Mr. Barrow, of which the following is a copy :-
«Sono SQUARE, Oct. 26, 1817.
“DEAR SIR, -I beg you to accept my best thanks
*
* "This off-hand estimate was not meant to include the owners' remuneration
for the use of their ships, but the mere outlay for equipment, provisions, and
wages.”
126
1317,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
for your very intelligent letter, and for your “Treatise on
the Northern Ice,” which has given me a new and far
more precise idea of the circumpolar seas than I had
before.
".You are aware, no doubt, that an Act of Parliament
(16th Geo. III., c. 6) offers a reward of £20,000 for the
discovery of a north-west passage, and £10,000 for the
ship that shall first reach the 89th degree of north
latitude.
* These rewards have not produced a single effort on
the part of any whale-fisher to accomplish either of these
great purposes ; allow me to ask your opinion whether
an Act offering £1000 for the reaching every degree of
latitude from eighty-two to the pole, would be likely to
induce the masters of ships to make a trial to reach at
least some of the unknown degrees of latitude.
*
*
'I am, sir, your obliged and faithful servant,
""Jos. BANKS.'
“ About three weeks after the receipt of this letter, a
second, of which I also give a copy, came to hand:-
"Sono SQUARE, Nov. 17, 1817.
“' DEAR SIR, —I hope you have received my letter of
October 26, in which I thanked you for the present
which you were so good as to make to me of your “Essay
on the Ice of the Seas about Spitzbergen and Iceland.”
The more I have considered the facts stated in it, the
more I am convinced that the information given in it to
t. 27.
127
REVIVAL OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
the public for the first time, is likely to lead to results
highly advantageous to maritime science.
Major Rennell, who has written so much and so
ably on the currents in the ocean, is much pleased with
your essay If you could spare a copy as a present to
him, he will, I am sure, be very thankful.
In that case
be so good as to direct it to me.
"Allow me to inquire of you what the quantity and
nature of the drift-wood found on the coast of Spitzbergen
is ? I think all who have visited that country agree
that it is found on the shores in sufficient abundance to
supply fuel for melting their blubber into oil.
“On the comparative quantity of drift-wood on the
west coast of Greenland, and on that of Spitzbergen, some
conjecture may be grounded respecting the probability of
the current which sets to the southward in Davis' Strait,
and on the east side of Greenland, taking its origin in
the east or the west. I do not recollect any drift-wood
coming on shore on the coast of Labrador. The abun-
dance is found on West Greenland, which argues a cur-
rent from the west.
“It appears from your essay that islands of ice are
uncommon in the seas of Spitzbergen ; they, however, I
conclude, sometimes occur.
“I hope you proceed directly with your intended
work on the Polar Seas: I am impatient to see it, after
having so much profited by your essay.
" I beg my best compliments to your father, and am,
sir, your obliged and faithful servant,
«Jos. BANKS.'
128
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“ Besides these two letters, I had much additional cor-
respondence with Sir Joseph Banks, in which the Polar
expeditions formed an occasional topic; but as my
chief communication with Sir Joseph, expressly on the
subject of these expeditions, was by personal conversa-
tions, the documentary evidence on the question of the
revival of Arctic research is principally found in the
letters above given.”
Mr. Scoresby proceeded from London, after his inter-
view with Sir Joseph Banks, to Liverpool, where he was
engaged in fitting out the Fame-a teak-built vessel,
which his father had purchased—for the ensuing season.
It was during this visit to Liverpool that he became
acquainted with Professor Traill, "who," he says, “after-
wards became my most intimate, kind, and warmly-
attached friend." From Balta Sound, where the Fame
put in to complete her crew, Mr. Scoresby wrote again to
Sir Joseph Banks, expressing his opinion as to the result
of the expeditions for research. The following extracts
express his thoughts on the subject :-
“As the expeditions for discovery in the Polar Seas
have excited so much interest with the public, it may not
be amiss to offer an opinion as to the probability of
success.
Though the Polar Seas were navigable in an uncom-
mon degree last summer, I conceive it very uncertain
whether the ice may yet remain the same, and whether
the navigation of these seas still continues equally open.
Art. 27.
129
LETTER TO SÍR JOSEPH BANKS.
Hence some uncertainty must attach to every attempt,
though it seems probable they may be able to examine
the entire coast of West Greenland, to determine its insu-
larity, and, consequently, the existence or non-existence
of Baffin's Bay. But as to reaching the Pole, I confess
myself sceptical. From what I have observed; I imagine
probabilities are against their penetrating beyond 82° or
83°, and I readily allow I shall be much surprised if they
should pass the eighty-fourth degree of latitude.
“The success of the expedition intended for the north-
west is still more equivocal. Indeed, the nature of that
voyage is wrapped in so much uncertainty, that, in my
opinion, it cannot warrant even a conjecture. I am per-
suaded a north-west passage exists——that is, as regards
any obstruction from land; but how far it may or may
not be blocked up with ice, so as to be always imper-
vious, can only be determined by repeated trials.
*
*
*
"BALTA SOUND, 17th April 1818."
The expedition in search of the nortl -west passage,
under Captain Ross, merely confirmed the statements of
Baffin with respect to the bay named after'inat deserving
navigator, nothing further being attempted, greatly to
the disappointment of those who were instrumental in
despatching the expedition. The Polar expedition, under
command of Captain Buchan, proceeded but little beyond
the parallel of 80°, where it got beset, and was rendered
useless during the best part of the season.
When re-
leased, the vessels encountered a violent storm, which
I
130
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
caused so much damage as to warrant Captain Buchan's
return home without effecting anything.
Although Mr. Scoresby would have rejoiced in an ap-
pointment wherein he might have had more leisure for
purely scientific pursuits, he by no means despised the
opportunities which occurred to him of prosecuting his
favourite study during such intervals of inactivity in re-
gard to the fishery as the voyage from time to time pre-
sented. The Fame sped on her way towards the regions
of perpetual ice, and arrived on the fishing-ground at the
usual period in the summer of 1818. The result of the
fishery was but “indifferent prosperous ;" yet, from the
meagreness of the general catch, the Fame made a pro-
fitable voyage. Some circumstances, however, apart from
commercial interest, made the enterprise more than ordi-
narily attractive. A brief sketch * of an adventure in
Spitzbergen may be related as one of these, in which he
says, “I made collections in botany and mineralogy, and
obtained some zoological specimens. Mr. Scoresby
landed, with fourteen of his men, on the 23d of July, at
seven o'clock in the evening. The weather was "beauti-
fully clear,” and everything appeared favourable to a
pleasant excursion. After speaking of the flat of land
near the shore, he proceeds to relate their progress up the
mountains :
“ The first hill rose at an inclination of 45°, to the
height of about 1500 feet, and was joined on the north
side to another of about twice the elevation. We began
* For a more detailed account vide " Arctic Regions,” i. 92, et seq.
Æt. 27.
131
EXCURSION IN SPITZBERGEN.
to climb the acclivity on the most accessible side, at
about 10 P.M., but from the looseness of the stones and
the steepness of the ascent, we found it a most difficult
undertaking. There was scarcely a possibility of advanc-
ing by the common movement of walking, for in this
attempt the ground gave way at every step, and no pro-
gress was made, hence the only method of succeeding was
by the effort of leaping or running, which, under the
peculiar circumstances, could not be accomplished without
excessive fatigue. In the direction we travelled, we met
with angular fragments of limestone and quartz, chiefly
of one or two pounds' weight, and a few naked rocks
protruding through the loose materials of which the side
of the mountain, to the extent it was visible, was princi-
pally composed. These rocks appeared solid at a little
distance, but on examination were found to be full of
fractures in every direction, so that it was with difficulty
that a specimen of five or six pounds' weight, in a solid
mass, could be obtained. Along the side of the first
range of hills near the summit, was extended a band of
ice and snow, which, in the direct ascent, we tried in
vain to surmount. . By great exertion, however, in tracing
the side of the hill for about 200 yards, where it was so
uncommonly steep that at every step showers of stones
were precipitated to the bottom, we found a sort of angle
of the hill free from ice, by which the summit was scaled.
“Here we rested until I took a few angles and bear-
ings of the most prominent parts of the coast; when,
having collected specimens of the minerals, and such few
plants as the barren ridge afforded, we proceeded on our
132
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
excursion. On our way to the principal mountain near
us, we passed along a ridge of the secondary mountains,
which was so acute that I got across it with a leg on
each side, às on horseback. One side of it made an angle
with the horizon of 50°, and the other of 40°. To the
very top it consisted of loose, sharp limestones, of a yel-
lowish or reddish colour, smaller in size than the stones
generally used for repairing high roads, few pieces being
above a pound in weight. The fracture appeared rather
fresh. After passing along this ridge about three or four
furlongs, and crossing a lodgment of ice and snow, we
descended by a sort of ravine to the side of the principal
mountain, which arose with a uniformly steep ascent,
similar to that we had already surmounted, to the very
summit. The ascent was now even more difficult than
before ; we could make no considerable progress but by
the exertion of leaping and running, so that we were
obliged to rest after every fifty or sixty paces.
No solid
rock was met with, and no earth or soil. The stones,
however, were larger and appeared more decayed, and
were more uniformly .covered with black lichens; but
several plants of the saxifraga, salix, drata, cochlearia,
and juncus genera, which had been met with here and
there for the first two thousand feet of elevation, began
to disappear as we approached the summit. The in-
variably broken state of the rocks appeared to have been
the effect of frost. On calcareous rocks, some of which
are not impervious to moisture, the effect is such as might
be expected ; but how frost can operate in this way on
quartz, is not so easily understood.
Et. 27.
133
EXCURSION IN SPITZBERGEN.
“As we completed the arduous ascent, the sun had
just reached the meridian below the Pole, and still shed
his reviving rays of unimpaired brilliancy on a small
surface of snow which capped the mountain's summit.
A thermometer placed among stones in the shade of the
brow of the hill indicated a temperature as high as 37º.
At the top of the first hill the temperature was 42°, and
at the foot, on the plain, 44° to 46°; so that, at the
very peak of the mountain, estimated at 3000 feet of
elevation, the power of the sun at midnight produced a
temperature several degrees above the freezing point,
and occasioned the discharge of streams of water from
the snow-capped summit.
“ The form of the mountain summit which I visited is
round backed, the area of the part approaching the hori-
zontal position not being above a quarter of an acre.
The south side, where we ascended, and the south-east,
are the only accessible parts; the east, north, and west
aspects being precipitous nearly from top to bottom.
What snow still remained on the summit was but a few
inches deep, and appeared to be in a state of rapid disso-
lution; the sides of the hill were almost entirely free from
snow. The masses of stone on the brow of the mountain
were larger than any we had yet met with ; the fracture
was less fresh, and they were more generally covered
with lichens.
“ From the brow of the mountain, on the side by
which we ascended, many masses of stone were dislodged
by design or accident, which, whatever might be their
size, shape, or weight, generally made their way with
134
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
accelerated velocity to the bottom. As they bounded
from rock to rock, they produced considerable smoke at
each concussion; and setting in motion numerous frag-
ments in their course, they were usually accompanied by
showers of stones, all of which were lodged in a bed of
snow lying 2000 feet below the place where the first
were disengaged. This may afford some idea of the
nature of the inclination. Most of the larger stones
which were set off broke into numbers of pieces; but
some considerable masses of a tabular form wheeled down
upon their edges; and though they made bounds of
several hundred feet at a time, and acquired a most
astonishing velocity, they sometimes got to the bottom
without breaking.
“ The prospect was most extensive and grand. A fine
sheltered bay was seen on the east of us, an arm of the
same on the north-east, and the sea, whose glassy surface
was unruffled by a breeze, formed an immense expanse
on the west ; the icebergs, rearing their proud crests
almost to the tops of the mountains between which they
were lodged, and defying the power of the solar beams,
were scattered in various directions about the sea-coast
and in the adjoining bays. Beds of snow and ice filling
extensive hollows, and giving an enamelled coat to ad-
joining valleys,—one of which, commencing at the foot
of the mountain where we stood, extended in a continued
line towards the north as far as the eye could reach ;
mountain rising above mountain, until by distance they
dwindled into insignificancy; the whole contrasted by a
cloudless canopy of deepest azure, and enlightened by the
Æt. 27.
135
EXCURSION IN SPITZBERGEN.
Here we
rays of a blazing sun, and the effect aided by a feeling of
danger, seated as we were on the pinnacle of a rock,
almost surrounded by tremendous precipices,—all united
to constitute a picture singularly sublime.
seemed elevated into the very heavens; and though
in a hazardous situation, I was sensible only of pleasing
emotions, heightened by the persuasion that, from expe-
rience in this kind of adventure, I was superior to the
dangers with which I was surrounded. The effect of the
elevation and the brightness of the picture were such that
the sea, which was at least a league from us, appeared
within reach of a musket-shot; mountains a dozen miles
off seemed scarcely a league from us; and our vessel,
which we knew was at the distance of a league from the
shore, appeared in danger of the rocks.
“ After a short rest, in which we were much refreshed
with a gentle breeze of wind that here prevailed, and
after we had surveyed the surrounding scenery as long
as it afforded anything striking, we commenced the
descent. The task, however—which, before the attempt,
we had viewed with indifference—we found really a very
hazardous, and, in some instances, a painful undertaking.
The way now seemed precipitous. Every movement was
a work of deliberation. The stones were so sharp that
they cut our boots and pained our feet; and so loose that
they gave way at almost every step, and frequently threw
us backward with force against the hill. We were care-
ful to advance abreast of each other, for any individual
being below us would have been in danger of being over-
whelmed with the stones which we unintentionally dis-
136
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
3
lodged in showers. Having, by much care, and with
some anxiety, made good our descent to the top of the
secondary hills, to save the fatigue of crawling along the
sharp ridge that we had before traverse, we took down
one of the steepest banks, the inclination of which was
little less than fifty degrees. The stones here being very
small and loose, we sat down on the side of the hill, and
slid forward with great facility in a sitting posture.
Towards the foot of the hill an expanse of snow stretched
across the line of descent. This being loose and soft, we
entered upon it without fear, and our progress at first
was by no means rapid; but on reaching the middle of
it, we came to a surface of solid ice, perhaps a hundred
yards across, over which we launched with astonishing
velocity, but happily escaped without injury. The men
whom we left below viewed this latter movement with
astonishment and fear.
“On the flat of land next the sea we met with the
horns of rein-deer, many skulls and other bones of sea-
horses, whales, narwhales, foxes and seals, and some human
skeletons laid in chest-like coffins, exposed naked on the
strand. Two Russian lodges, formed of logs of pine,
with a third in ruins, were also seen; the former, from a
quantity of fresh chips about them and other appearances
within them, gave evidence of their having been recently
inhabited. One of them, though small, seemed a middling
kind of lodging, but smelt intolerably of the smoke of
wood and steam of oil. Many domestic utensils were
within and about it. A new hurdle lay by the door;
and traps for foxes and birds were scattered along the
gt. 27.
137
EXCURSION IN SPITZBERGEN.
beach, These huts were built upon the ridge of shingle
adjoining the sea.
“Among the shingle on the beach were numbers of
nests, containing the eggs of terns, ducks, and þurgo-
masters, and in some of them were young birds. One of
the latter, which we took on board, was very lively, and
grew rapidly ; but having taken a fancy to a cake of
white lead, with which the surgeon was finishing a draw-
ing, he was poisoned. The nests were all watched by
the respective birds they belonged to; which, with loud
screams and bold attacks, defended them from the Arctic
gulls and other predatory birds that hovered about the
place. They even descended within a yard or two of
some of the sailors, who were so cruel as to take their
eggs or young, and followed them for a considerable time,
screaming most violently. Several of these eggs were
afterwards hatched in warm saw-dust, but the young
birds generally died soon after they left the shell.
“ The only insect I saw was a small green fly, which
swarmed upon the shingle about the beach.
along the coast teemed with a species of helix, with the
clio borealis, and with small shrimps. But no animal of
the class Vermes was seen on the shore. The birds
seen were the puffin, tern, little auk, guillemot, black
guillemot or tyste, kitțiwake, fulmar, burgomaster, Arctic
gull, brent goose, eider-duck, crimson-headed sparrow
(Fringilla flammea), sand-piper, &c.; but no living qua-
druped was observed.
"Drift-wood was seen in some abundance; but all of it
seemed to have lain long on the beach, being much
The sea
138
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
battered and bleached, and some of it was worm-
eaten.
“ A strong north-west wind having recently prevailed,
the shore was in many places covered with deep beds of
sea-weed. Among these we distinguished the Fucus vesi-
culosus, esculentus, saccharinus, filum, plumosus, sinuosus,
clavellosus, &c., and some species of Conferva.”
On another occasion Mr. Scoresby was led to inquire into
the cause of the variation in the colour of the Greenland
Sea.
.*
He says
• The colour of the Greenland Sea varies from ultra-
marine blue to olive green, and from the most pure
trans-
parency to striking opacity. These appearances are not
transitory, but permanent; not depending on the state
of the weather, but on the quality of the water.
“The food of the whale occurs chiefly in the green
coloured water; it, therefore, affords whales in greater
numbers than any other quality of the sea, and is con-
stantly sought after by the fishers. Besides, whales are
more easily taken in it than in blue water, on account of
its great obscurity preventing the whales from seeing dis-
tinctly the approach of their enemies.
Nothing particular being observed in this kind of
water sufficient to give it the remarkable colour it
assumes, I at first imagined that this appearance was
derived from the nature of the bottom of the sea. But
on observing that the water was very imperfectly trans-
* MS. Autobiography. See also “ Arctic Regions," i. 175, et. seq.
t. 27.
139
COLOUR OF THE GREENLAND SEA,
a
parent, insomuch that tongues of ice, two or three
fathoms under water, could scarcely be discerned, and
were sometimes invisible, and that the ice floating in
the olive-green sea was often marked about the edges
with an orange yellow stain, I was convinced that it
must be occasioned by some yellow substance, held in
suspension by the water, capable of discolouring the ice,
and of so combining with the natural blue of the sea as
to produce the peculiar tinge observed.
For the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the
colouring substance, and submitting it to future
analysis, I procured a quantity of snow from a piece of
ice that had been washed by the sea, and was greatly
discoloured by the deposition of some peculiar substance
A little of this snow, dissolved in a wine-glass,
appeared perfectly nebulous—the water being found to
contain a great number of semi-transparent spherical sub-
stances, with others resembling small portions of fine
hair. On examining these substances with a compound
microscope, I was enabled to make the following observa-
tions,
“The semi-transparent globules appeared to consist of
an animal of the medusa kind. It was from one-twentieth
to one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter. Its surface was
marked with twelve distinct patches, or nebulæ, of dots
of a brownish colour; these dots were disposed in pairs,
four pairs, or sixteen pairs alternately, composing one of
the nebula. The body of the medusa was transparent.
When the water containing these animals was heated, it
emitted a very strong odour, in some respects resembling
upon it.
140
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the smell of oysters when thrown on hot coals, but much
more offensive. The fibrous, or hair-like substances, were
more easily examined, being of a darker colour. They
varied in length from a point to one-tenth of an inch;
and when highly magnified, were found to be beautifully
moniliform. In the longest specimens the number of
bead-like articulations was about thirty; hence their
diameter appeared to be about the one-three-hundreth
part of an inch. Some of these substances seemed to vary
their appearance; but whether they were living animals,
and possessed of locomotion, I could not ascertain. From
one of the larger specimens I observed some fine collateral
fibres. They possessed the property of decomposing light;
and, in some cases, showed all the colours of the spectrum
very distinctly. The size of the articulations seemed
equal in all, the difference in length being occasioned by
a difference in the number of articulations. The whole
substance had an appearance very similar to the horns or
antennæ of shrimps, fragments of which they might pos-
sibly be, as the squillæ are very abundant in the Green-
land Sea.
"I afterwards examined the different qualities of sea-
water, and found these substances very abundant in that
of an olive-green colour; and also occurring, but in
lesser quantity, in the bluish-green water. The number
of medusæ in the olive-green sea was found to be im-
They were about one-fourth of an inch asunder.
In this proportion, a cubic inch of water must contain
64 ; a cubic foot, 110,592 ; a cubic fathom, 23,887,872;
and a cubical mile, about 23,888,000,000,000,000 !
mense.
Æt. 27.
141
WONDERS OF THÈ MICROSCOPIC WORLD.
From soundings made in the situation where these
animals were found, it is probable the sea is upwards of
à mile in depth ; but whether these substances occupy the
whole depth is uncertain. Provided, however, the depth
to which they extend be but two hundred and fifty
fathoms, the above immense number of one species may
occur in a space of two miles square. It may give a
better conception of the amount of medusæ in this extent,
if we calculate the length of time that would be requisite,
with a certain number of persons, for counting this
number. Allowing that one person could count a million
in seven days, which is barely possible, it would have
required that eighty thousand persons should have started
at the creation of the world to complete the enumeration
at the present time!
“What a stupendous idea this fact gives of the im-
mensity of creation, and of the bounty of divine Provi-
dence, in furnishing such a profusion of life in a region
so remote from the habitations of men ! But if the
number of animals in a space of two miles square be so
great, what must be the amount requisite for the dis-
colouration of the sea, through an extent of perhaps
twenty or thirty thousand square miles ?
"These animals are not without their evident economy,
as on their existence, possibly, depends the being of the
whole race of mysticete, and some other species of
cetaceous animals. For the minute medusæ apparently
afford nourishment to the sepiæ, actiniæ, cancri, helices,
and other genera of mollusca and aptera, so abundant in
the Greenland Sea, while these latter constitute the food
142
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
of several of the whale tribe inhabiting the same region ;
thus producing a dependent chain of animal life, one
particular link of which being destroyed, the whole must
necessarily perish."
Writing in his journal of a voyage to Greenland in
1820, he says of these creatures :-
“ The larger proportion of these, consisting of a trans-
parent substance of a lemon-yellow colour, and globular
form, appeared to possess very little power of motion ;
but a part, amounting to perhaps a fifth of the whole,
were in continual action. Some of these being seen
advancing by a slightly waving motion, at the rate of a
hundred and eightieth of an inch in a second ; and others
spinning round with considerable celerity, gave great
interest and liveliness to the examination. But the pro-
gressive motion of the most active, however distinct and
rapid it might appear under a high magnifying power,
was, in reality, extremely slow ; for it did not exceed an
inch in three minutes. At this rate they would require
a hundred and fifty one days to travel a nautical mile.
The condor, it is generally believed, could fly round the
globe at the equator, assisted by a favourable gale, in
about a week; these animalcules, in still water, could
not accomplish the same distance in less than eight thou-
sand nine hundred and thirty-five years.
"Few circumstances among the minuter works of
creation have struck me with so much surprise, as the
appearance of these animalcules, occurring in such
Æt. 27.
143
WONDERS OF THE MICROSCOPIC WORLD.
In a
myriads in a sea perpetually covered with ice, —
exposed to an average temperature fifteen degrees
below the freezing point,—and subject to be frozen
on some occasions at least, during every month of the
year.
“ The vastness of their numbers, and their exceeding
minuteness, are circumstances, discovered in the examina-
tion of these animalcules, of uncommon interest.
drop of water examined by a power of 28.224 (magnified
superficies), there were fifty in number, on an average, in
each square of the micrometer glass, of an eight hundred
and fortieth of an inch ; and as the drop occupied a circle'
on a plate of glass containing five hundred and twenty
nine of these squares, there must have been in this single
drop of water, taken out of the yellowish-green sea, in a
place by no means the most discoloured, about twenty-six
thousand four hundred and fifty animalcules. Hence,
reckoning sixty drops to a dram, there would be a number
in a gallon of water, exceeding, by one-half, the amount
of the population of the whole globe! It gives a power-
ful conception of the minuteness and wonders of creation,
when we think of more than twenty-six thousand animals
living, obtaining subsistence, and moving perfectly at
their ease, without annoyance to one another, in a single
drop of water.
“The diameter of the largest of these animalcules,
was only the two thousandth of an inch, and many only
the four thousandth. The army which Buonaparte led
into Russia in 1812, estimated at five hundred thou-
sand men, would have extended, in a double row, or two
1 44
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
men abreast, with two feet three inches space for each
couple of men, a distance of one hundred and six and a
half English miles; the same number of these animal-
cules arranged in a similar way in two rows, but touching
one another, would only reach five feet two and a half
inches. A whale requires a sea, an ocean to sport
in; about a hundred and fifty millions of these ani-
malcules would have abundant room in a tumbler of
water."
With regard to his seekings after spiritual things, Mr.
Scoresby remarks :*_
"My religious services during this voyage, as may be
presumed, were more devotional and more frequent than
on former occasions. But I was not apprised of any
particular instance of good being done amongst the crew.
To my grief my friend, Dr. Holloway, had left Whitby on
the day of my arrival, for Liverpool, where he purposed
to reside. This was to me a circumstance of real regret
and sorrow.
I had no hope of ever seeing him, ex-
cepting on an occasional visit, any more ; yet, as will
hereafter appear, I was led by following, I trust, the in-
dications of Providence, soon to take up my permanent
residence at the very place to which he had removed.”
This change occurred in November,—Mr. Scoresby
having entered into an engagement with Messys. Hurry
and Gibson, of Liverpool, for the purchase of a vessel, of
* MS. Autobiography.
t. 28.
1:45
BIRTH OF FREDERICK.
which he was to have the command, together with a one-
third share in the entire speculation. On the 5th of
November 1818, previous to their removal to Liverpool,
Mr. Scoresby's second son-FREDERICK RICHARD HOLLO-
WAY—was born,
K
146
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
CHAPTER VIII.
COMMENCES HIS WORK ON THE ARCTIO REGIONS_REMOVAL TO EDINBURGH
-LETTERS TO HIS SISTER-ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH-DEATH OF
HIS MOTHER-REMOVAL TO LIVERPOOL/6 BAFFIN” - CURIOUS ATMO-
SPHERIC PHENOMENA-SABBATAS IN THE AROTIC REGIONS PUBLICATION
OF
ARCTIC REGIONS”-REVIEWS.
1819-1820.
The excitement caused by the recent Arctic expeditions
having rendered the public clamorous for authentic in-
formation respecting this ungenial clime, Mr. Scoresby
was strongly urged by his friends to collect the results of
his experience, and give to the world a work which, from
his renown as an Arctic navigator, could not fail to be
highly appreciated. He had from time to time been
collecting materials for such a work, and had made some
progress in its construction, but seemed to entertain a
dread of publishing ; his peculiarly sensitive disposition
prompting him to shrink from the criticism to which,
when fairly launched, the first-fruits of his protracted
labours would be subjected.
Having determined to remain at home during the
fishing season of 1819, however, in order to superintend
the building of the vessel, the purchase of which he had
arranged with Messrs. Hurry and Gibson, he thought
it a good opportunity for completing his work, and, with
this view, proceeded to Edinburgh to consult with the
Æt. 28.
147
LETTER TO HIS SISTER.
publishers. He left for Edinburgh in December, where
(at his lodgings in 17 Hanover Street), he was shortly
after joined by Mrs. Scoresby and family. Messrs. Con-
stable having offered £250 for an edition of one thousand
copies, Mr. Scoresby accepted their terms, and applied
himself earnestly to his task, hoping to accomplish the
greater portion of it before his services would be required
in Liverpool.
Convinced of the vast importance of religion, and
having at the outset of his own religious career experienced
the inestimable blessing of communion with a truly Chris-
tian and sympathizing heart-such as he met with in his
friend, Dr. Holloway--he at all times evinced the most
lively interest in, and tendered his warmest sympathy to
those in whom he found the least desire to walk no longer
after the flesh but after the spirit. This is remarkable
in the following extract from a letter written at Edin-
burgh, on the 9th of December, to his eldest sister :-
“It is with much pleasure, my dear sister, that I have
observed in you an increasing desire after the things
which are of more importance than earthly treasures and
worldly enjoyments. If my observation is correct, you
will be pleased that I enter upon a subject of which you
feel the value. It strikes me that you have come within
sight, as it were, of the kingdom of heaven. If so, follow
on, looking unto Jesus, until you have the full assurance
of being interested in his salvation. The most dangerous
state, I conceive, a person can be in, is when they fancy
they are very good, and have a good heart, have done
148
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
nobody any harm, have done many good, charitable acts,
and therefore shall receive mercy at the hand of God.
Persons in this state of mind, so long as they continue in
it, must be without hope. The fact can be clearly made
out. Christ did not die for them, because he expressly
says, “I came not to call the righteous' (that is, such
as esteem themselves so), but sinners to repentance.'
• The whole' (that is, such as fancy themselves morally
and spiritually sound and healthy) 'need not a physician,
but they that are sick,' (or, they who feel themselves
spiritually diseased—they who find that their hearts,
understandings, wills, affections, and every power of the
mind, are alienated from God, and unsound). Now, the
new birth or regeneration of which Christ urges the
necessity, does not consist in a person discovering the
spiritual diseases only, though this must be a step towards
it, but in finding through the Holy Ghost the Spirit of
Christ, that they are delivered from the slavery or
bondage of those corruptions. Imperfections will con-
tinue through life, but these imperfections do not prevail.
A person in a state of nature seldom or never resists sin,
unless it be some scandalous transgression, and there be
a danger of bad consequences arising from its indulgence;
he indulges in all or most of the foolish and sinful pleasures
of the age for which he has naturally a desire, and
quenches any good or holy feelings which, from preaching
or reading, may be excited in his mind. But the re-
generate person is the reverse ; he indulges voluntarily
in no sin, and though he commit sin in thought, or word,
or deed, it is against his will, and he mourns every instance
Æt. 28.
149
LETTER TO HIS SISTER.
of imperfection and transgression ; if evil thoughts arise
in his mind (and he must still be subject to this form.idable
battery of the devil), he, instead of indulging and foster-
ing them, strives against them by the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God; he offers up mental, if not
verbal, prayers to God for assistance, and in him finds
the only effectual help. Every person has a desire for
salvation, but few are willing to give up all they have
and are unto God.
All persons have some darling sin,
or constitutional sin, which is discovered best by being
the last they would resign, or being the one they would
most strenuously advocate and excuse. With some it is
an insatiable desire after wealth, with others intemperance,
pleasure so called, lust, ambition, and so on.
“Now, there are many pleasures in themselves lawful,
but when they cannot be resigned it is a proof they are
unlawful. A true Christian will always strive to con-
form his will to that of God. He seeks by prayer direc-
tion in all his affairs, and submits himself, by what
appears to be a train of providences, to the will of God.
The great hindrance to a person setting seriously about
seeking after salvation (I mean after they begin to find
they are not right in the sight of God), is usually their
constitutional sin. They could give up everything but
that; they could give alms, clothe the naked, labour for
other people's good, even do penance and go on painful
pilgrimages rather than give up that one darling sin.
Now, here they err; they want to get the better of this
sin before they go to Christ, and think it necessary to
overcome their evil hearts themselves, which is impossible.
150
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
If they are in earnest they will pray to God to change
their hearts and subdue their darling propensities. The
beauty of Christianity or true religion is, that it removes
the ruling influence of every constitutional vice. А.
Christian resists, in a great degree, every sinful inclina-
tion, because he finds the desire taken away. Thus, if
pleasure, so called, were his darling sin, he finds it lose
its relish, and discovers more true satisfaction in doing
the will of God than in any enjoyment of sense. But he
enjoys infinitely more than any sensual person can, be-
cause his enjoyments are without regret, but worldly
pleasures are always followed by gloom and despondence.
“After all I have said, we must ever recollect that
God is the author of every good and perfect gift, and
hence it is impossible for us to do anything toward saving
ourselves. But, though we can do nothing to our justifi-
cation, yet there are means to be used on which God
himself has promised his blessing: these are prayer, medi-
tation, strict and conscientious observance of the Sabbath,
reading the Bible, which, if performed with a dependence
on what Christ has done, and with a sincere desire to come
unto God, and a fervent desire and view of the necessity
of the influence of the Holy Spirit to assist our endeavours,
will seldom, if ever, fail of being followed by the blessing
God has promised to them that 'hunger and thirst after
righteousness;' namely, that they shall be filled. If
what I have written corresponds with your ideas, if I
mistake not that your sincere desire is to be set right
and put into the way to heaven, I shall be glad to corre-
spond with you on this subject. I can assure you it is
Æt. 28.
151
LETTER TO HIS SISTER.
my frequent prayer that you may be established in the
fear of God and in the way of salvation. What I have
written is the effect of experience. I have been muc
indebted for the reading of God's providences to my
esteemed friend, Dr. H.; he first led me to discover that
every occurrence of life had some particular design, and
that all things work together for good to them that fear
God. I can truly say that I have found the ways of
religion are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace. I was never half so happy before I came to this
knowledge, and never enjoyed so much of life. Pleasures
or enjoyments which are sinful have no temptation for
me, but I have yet many rational enjoyments and plea-
sures,—domestic pleasures, social pleasures, the pleasures
afforded by intercourse with great and good men, and,
above all, the pleasure derived from a sense of the favour
of God, and from a sweet experience of the love of God
in the heart, which, indeed, passeth all understanding. I
used to fancy that I must give up all enjoyments if I
became religious, but now I find that things I used to
call pleasures would now disgust me, whilst a multitude
of new enjoyments have burst upon me."
Writing again to the same sister on the 21st of De-
cember, he continues :-
“If you have come to the decision, which I sincerely
hope you have, that whatever others do, you will serve
the Lord, I, perhaps, though myself but a babe in these
things, yet, from an experience of the truth of religion in
152
1818.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
my heart, may be able to afford you a little help. Write
boldly; don't study the style and composition, nor hide
your feelings; let your letters be filled with the genuine,
unvarnished feelings of your heart. Don't be ashamed
of it, if you should discover that your heart, which you,
no doubt, at one time thought a good one, should now
prove itself to have been deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked. If you should discover this fact, ,
take it to yourself for a consolation that the disease is
known, then shall you soon learn where to find a cure.
Where there is a genuine faith, which, by-the-by, is a
growing principle, Christ is gradually made to the believer
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and everlasting re-
demption; and it is the teachings of his Spirit alone which
can make clear and reveal the mysteries of godliness. If
you are ignorant, God will, by earnest prayer, give for
Christ's sake his Holy Spirit, who shall teach you, and
become unto you wisdom. In the same way, if
you
feel
yourself unholy and impure, Christ will be your sancti-
fication.
“ The best human means known is, perhaps, the per-
usal of the Bible with much secret prayer. A Christian
could as well live without food as without prayer. What
food is to the body, private devotion is to the soul. But
prayer is not meritorious in itself, neither could we, by
praying always secure our salvation; but it is a means
which God hath appointed, and which God is in the habit of
blessing in a very peculiar manner. By prayer, we,
through the influence of the Spirit of God, prepare our
hearts for the reception of spiritual blessings. And with
Æt. 28.
153
ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.
regard to temporal matters, it is always a good sign
when we are first induced to seek the direction of God
in them; but it is always needful to endeavour by prayer
to obtain that state of resignation to God's will, that we
may be prepared for a disappointment of any of our
most anxious expectations, and under every disappoint-
ment be prepared to say, “Thy will be done. Often,
however, it will be found, especially in the early days of
Christian experience, that a great rebellion of heart
exists. Here earnest and frequent prayer, a view of the
influence and the promises of God through Christ, and
the use of the experience of others, will show us that it
is most profitable to submit unconditionally to the will of
God, who in the end will make all things operate accord-
ing to his pleasure.”
On the 25th of January 1819, Mr. Scoresby was
elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his
many valuable contributions to different learned societies
and philosophical journals having already earned for him
a high reputation in the scientific world; and, indeed, at
this time, though arduously engaged with his work on
the northern regions, he did not fail to contribute
several very interesting scientific papers, of which, one
“On the best means of overcoming obstacles to discoveries
in the Arctic Regions," was published in the memoirs of
the Wernerian Society; a second, “On a method of de-
termining the height of cliffs and mountains by measur-
ing the depression of the horizon," was contributed to the
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal; and a third,
rs On
154
1819.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the anomaly in the variation of the magnetic needle, as
observed on ship-board," was communicated through Sir
Joseph Banks, to the Royal Society of London on the 4th
of February
Whilst thus busily engaged in imparting to his fellow-
labourers in science that knowledge which he, under a
gracious Providence, had been permitted to acquire, con-
scious that "the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom
giveth life to them that have it," he was at the same
time seeking to prepare himself for a trial which he felt
would require a large exercise of faith to enable him to
bear with Christian resignation. His mother, to whom
he had ever been fondly attached, had for many weeks
been afflicted with a severe illness, which had so under-
mined her constitution that her medical advisers could
entertain no hope of her recovery.
The first of February,
which to her was a day of unspeakable gain, was to her
bereaved family one of inestimable loss. In reply to the
letter communicating the sad tidings of her death, Mr.
Scoresby thus writes to his sorrowing friends:--
“The dreaded intelligence has at length arrived. Our
dear, affectionate, our beloved mother is no more. How
pleasingly painful is the recollection of her tender care !
When we were in pain the only sympathising friend was
our mother, when we ere in grief, the consolatory
friend was our mother—when we were the subjects of
pleasure, the participating friend was our mother, -yea,
there was a time when the only dear object of our affec-
tions was our mother.
Æt. 28.
155
DEATH OF HIS MOTHER.
"We were in some measure prepared for the distress-
ing news, nevertheless, we feared the event and dreaded
the post hour every day during the interval since she was
taken alarmingly ill. But all these events are in the
hands of God. It is our duty, under the painful dispen-
sation, humbly to submit to the will of God, and to pray
for his sanctifying grace that these events may be ren-
dered profitable to us. There is no knowledge or study
on earth so important as that of spirituality of mind.
Were we to cultivate most diligently this grace, we
should be prepared for submitting to the will of God, for
as sure as he sent affliction so surely would he give us con-
solation. Not all persons who pass for religious among
the people of the world can believe that the trying dis-
pensations which occur on the earth are right and good.
Though Pope, in his beautiful essay on Man, after falling
into such a gross device as to trace all integrity of charac-
ter into self-love instead of Christianity, even he con-
cludes that
In erring reason's spite
One truth is clear; whatever is, is right!
Those who know anything about experimental religion
will soon discover the truth of this in their own lives.
They will find that afflictions, losses, disappointments,
mortifications, and every other painful thing, are designed
for some good purpose, and will generally be able to dis-
cover what particular object it is designed to promote.
If there be any sin indulged, something will occur which
will reveal it, and trouble after tronble will be laid on
them until it is relinquished. I speak here of the people
156
1819.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
of God. Now, if in the common affairs of life we can
discover the designs of the Almighty, and can perceive
that their end and aim are just and good, certainly, we
may, with propriety, conclude that those things which
we cannot comprehend are just and good also. Scripture
proclaims this truth, and in this way reason itself con-
firms it. It is a pleasing consideration, to those who fear
God, that afflictions and trials, which, to unbelievers and
despisers of God, are intended as chastisements and
punishments, to the children of God are intended for im-
proving the heart. Thus, evils or trials are sent on the
wicked in anger, but on the people of God in love."
By this distressing circumstance Mr. Scoresby was
called away from Edinburgh sooner than he had anti-
cipated, but he did not return. In the beginning of
May he removed with his family to Liverpool, where he
continued to reside during the remainder of the year
1819, with the exception of a few weeks in which he
made an excursion into Ireland and the Isle of Man.
His time was almost wholly occupied in superintending
the building of the Baffin. Upon this vessel every care
was bestowed, and no expense was spared which could
enhance her efficiency in the service for which she was
designed, so that when completed she was esteemed one
of the finest that could be constructed, and represented a
property of about £9500.
His leisure was spent in revising his work on the
Arctic Regions, and in associating with a select circle of
friends, more especially with Dr. Traill, of whom he
Æt. 29.
157
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE BAFFIN.
says, “he is a very superior lecturer and a most valuable
friend.”
The Baffin—so named “in honour of our long ne-
glected navigator, of whose hardihood, skill, and perse-
verance in crossing the Atlantic, and navigating and
discovering the circuit of Baffin Bay, in a vessel of only
fifty-five tons burthen, cannot be too highly estimated'
—the Baffin was the first vessel of her kind built in
Liverpool, and her launch, on the 15th of February
1820, was attended with a good deal of excitement.
She put to sea on the 18th of March and returned on
the 23d of August, with a larger cargo than had ever
been imported from Greenland into Liverpool. Few
circumstances of interest occurred during this voyage ;
the polar ice remained much in the same state as it had
been during the three previous years; a chain of open
ice had intruded between the main western body and
the west coast of Spitzbergen, whilst the western body
itself was found tó be somewhat more open, so as to
permit of a passage to within fifty or sixty miles of the
east coast of Greenland, below the parallel of 76°, from
which Mr. Scoresby conceived the idea of effecting a
landing, but as he did not approach the coast until late
in the season, he was obliged to make his way out of the
ice, contented with the hope of a future opportunity.
During this voyage Mr. Scoresby made several
sketches of singular appearances presented by the coast
line, and also by fleets of ships, and masses of ice, under
circumstances of remarkable atmospheric reflections and
refractions. Two of these curious phenomema, which
158
1820.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
presented themselves on the 13th of June, and 1st
of July, respectively, may be mentioned. The first
of these represents the ice-blink-a peculiar appearance of
brightness in the sky, beneath which navigators infer the
presence of ice.
To his sketch Mr. Scoresby appends the following
description :
“This appearance of the ICE-BLINK occurred on the
13th of June 1820, in latitude 76° north. The sky aloft
was covered with dense, uniform hazy cloud, which
indeed occupied the whole of the heavens, excepting a
portion near the horizon, where it seemed to be repelled.
The upper white blink refers to ice about six miles
distant, being beyond the horizon; the narrow, yellow-
ish portions refer to floes and compact ice; the lowest
yellow blink, which in brightness and colour resembled
the moon, was the reflection of a field, at the distance
of thirty miles, to which, directed by the blink, we
made way in the Baffin, through the channels of water
represented in the sky by bluish grey streaks. The
FIELD we found to be a sheet of ice 150 miles in circum-
ference !”
The second represents an appearance commonly met
with in Arctic regions whenever the rays of the sun im-
pinge on a dense fog. At such times, an individual at
a considerable elevation from the sea (in the accompany-
ing drawing, the figure in the centre is that of Mr.
Scoresby in the crow's nest, at a distance of 90 to 100

CURIOUS ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON.
Appearance of coronsa observed several times during a dense fog, in the Greenland
Sea, July 1820. These were seen from the mast-hend of the Brain, the corona were
depicted on the fog the crow's nest, top-gallant-sail, and the figure of the observer this
head surrounded by a glory), being impressed on the surface of the sea
See page 159.
Æt. 29.
159
CURIOUS ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA.
feet above the sea) will frequently observe an image
traced in the fog before him, comprising a series of pris-
matic circles, or coronce, varying in brilliancy, and
having in the centre one more lustrous than the rest,
forming a halo, or anthelion, round the shadow of his
own head.
Mr. Scoresby had frequent opportunities of
witnessing these beautiful phenomena, and has entered
largely into the question of their origin in his “Voyage to
Greenland." On the back of the original sketch is the
following description :-
“Remarks on the preceding sketch. — During the
month of July 1820, the weather being often foggy,
with a bright sun sometimes shining at the height of the
day, some extraordinary coronæ were observed from the
mast-head. These occurred opposite to the sun, the
centre of all the circles being in a line drawn from the
sun through the eye of the observer. On one occasion
[represented in the sketch] four coloured luminous circles
were observed. The exterior one might be 20° in
diameter; it exhibited all the colours of the spectrum.
The next, a little within it, was of a whitish grey colour;
the third was only 4° or 50 in diameter, and though it
exhibited the colours of the spectrum, these colours were
not very brilliant; the fourth was extremely beautiful
and brilliant; the interior colour was yellow, then
orange, red, violet, &c. The colours of the whole three
coronæ were, I think, in the same order ; but of this I
am not very certain. Indeed, on reflection, I suspect that
the second circle must have been in the reverse order of
160
1820.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the first; the first and fourth being the same: the third
was not coloured. In the midst of these beautiful
coronæ I observed my own shadow-the head sur-
rounded by a glory. All the coronæ were evidently
produced by the fog ; my shadow was impressed on the
surface of the sea.
» *
The religious services on board the Baffin during this
voyage were most important, and forcibly illustrate those
Sabbatarian principles which Mr. Scoresby was through-
out his life desirous of inculcating upon the minds of his
associates ; urging them to turn away from doing their
pleasure on God's holy day. In a work+ published
* “As the fourth and fifth circles seem to correspond, in appearance and dia-
meter, with the primary and secondary rainbows, it is reasonable to look for an
explanation of the phenomena in the same cause, namely, the reflection of the
rays of the sun, decomposed by different refractions in minute globules of water,
of which the mist, wherein the coronæ occur, in a great measure appears to con-
sist. The anthelion, in the centre, may possibly be occasioned by the reflection
of the sun's direct rays, falling on the central parts of the globules of vapour.
Each globule will thus reflect two specks of light,--one from the nearest, and
another from the most remote surface ; consequently, the combined reflections
may be abundantly sufficient for the production of a glory in the centre of the
coronæ; and, as the figure of the observer is in a straight line between the sun
and the centre of the whole of the circles, the shadow of his head is necessarily
encompassed by this glory. As the glory is often beautifully coloured externally,
may not the rays of light falling near the axis of the globules, immediately
around the centre of the circles, undergo a slight refraction from the circum-
stance of being out of the centre, and thus exhibit the prismatic colours ? But,
admitting the explanations now offered to be agreeable to the law of dioptrics, it
will not, I believe, be possible to account for the formation of the second and
third coronæ, by any probable combination of reflections and refractions by
globular particles. Hence, it is not improbable that the snowy spiculæ observed
[floating in the atmosphere] in both the instances here recorded, may have had a
share in the production of the phenomena.”—Journal of a Voyage to Greenland
in 1822, p. 281.
of " Sabbaths in the Arctic Regions." By the Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D.,
F.R.S.S.L. and E. London: Longmans and Co., 1850.
Et. 29.
161
SABBATHS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.
many years afterwards, he gives the following account of
their Sabbath observance :
“ Though, for several of the latter voyages which I
undertook to the Arctic Seas, it had been our general
rule and endeavour to refrain from fishing on the Sab-
bath, it was not until the year 1820, that I was enabled,
undeviatingly, to carry the principle into effect. But in
the voyage of that year, the principle of the sanctity of-
the Sabbath was not violated, as far as I am aware, by
any endeavour whatever to pursue the fishery on that
sacred day. Several of the harpooneers—whose interest
in the success of the voyage was such, that even a single
large whale, being captured, yielded to them an advan-
tage of from £6 to £8 each-were, in the early part of
the voyage very much dissatisfied with the rule. They
considered it a great hardship that, whilst other ships
took advantage of the seven days of the week, for the
furtherance of their fishing, they should be restricted to
six. And, as the obtaining of a full cargo was then the
lot only of a very few, they reasoned, that our chance
of a prosperous voyage was but as six to seven, when com-
pared with that of our competitors in the fishery.' The
chief officer, however, who, in the outset, felt the restric-
tion very strongly, was frequently known to remark,
* that if we, under such disadvantages, should make a
successful voyage, he should then believe there indeed
was something like a blessing on the observance of the
Sabbath.
“ The early and middle part of the fishery, in the
L
162
1820.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
voyage referred to, having proved very unproductive, our
principles, towards the conclusion of the season, were put
to a severe test, when, for three successive Sundays, a con-
siderable number of fine whales most invitingly appeared
around us.
But, notwithstanding the great temptation
to 'hungry fishermen,' we were enabled to persevere in
our system of forbearance, and with such a result, that
all on board, I believe, considered it as providential.
“On the first occasion, indeed, which happened during
the night, a boat-in neglect or forgetfulness of the
general order--had been sent off in pursuit; but it was
immediately recalled, when I arose, in regard to the
Lord's day, and no other boat was afterwards permitted
to be lowered, though an unusual number of fish, from
time to time, were in view. The three or four following
days were very unfavourable for our object, being foggy,
and, for the most part, calm ; but on the Wednesday,
whilst the fog was yet exceedingly dense, a fine fish was
struck in a crowded patch of ice, and though its pur-
suers could have no other guidance in the chase but
their mutual shouts, and the sound of the 'blowing' of
the distressed animal, yet the result, notwithstanding the
difficulties in the way, was unexpectedly successful, and
the prize secured.
" The next Lord's day, though fish were astir, was a
day of sanctified and happy repose. Early in the week,
on the appearance of several whales, our efforts, put
forth with augmented power, no doubt, in consequence of
the restraints of the Sabbath, and furthered, I firmly
believe, by Him who hath promised his blessing to them
Æt. 29.
163
PUBLICATION OF THE “ARCTIC REGIONS."
who call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord,
honourable,' were, under various anxious hazards, highly
successful. Two large whales were taken on the Tues-
day, and another on the Friday, yielding together, a pro-
duce of the value of about £1600.
“A day of sweet and welcome repose was the succeed-
ing Sabbath. The gale had for some time subsided ; and
now a genial and cloudless atmosphere cheered the spirits,
whilst all nature, sparkling under the sun's bright beams,
seemed to participate in the gladness. Several whales
sported around us ; but, as far as we were concerned,
they were allowed a Sabbath day's privilege to sport un-
molested. The men were now accustomed to look for a
blessing on Sabbath observances."
with «
By men of science, Mr. Scoresby's work on the Arctic
Regions, which was published during his absence in 1820,
was received, as his friend Captain Basil Hall remarked,
thirsty interest." Nor, at a time when so vast an
amount of British property was being annually risked in
the dangerous enterprise of the whale fishery, could it fail
to excite even a greater degree of interest in the com-
mercial world, not only as conducive to the success of
private speculation, but also to a common national benefit.
As such, the reviews of the work were well calculated to
relieve the most anxious and sensitive mind; and not
only was Mr. Scoresby richly rewarded by the approba-
tion of his own countrymen, but likewise by the most
friendly assurances of high esteem on the part of various
learned societies on the Continent. Monsieur le Baron
164
1820.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Portal, Ministre de la Marine et des Colonies, having, by
order of the French Government, instructed M. le Comte
de Rosily and M. le Chevalier de Rossel to examine the
work, and to render their opinion as to the probable uti-
lity of a French edition, a report containing a general
argument of the book was transmitted to his Excel-
lency, from which may be quoted the following passing
remarks :*
“In consequence of the letter in which your excellency
requested M. le Comte de Rosily, director of the depôt of
maritime maps and charts, to report on the various sub-
jects treated of in the “ History and Description of the
Arctic Regions and of the Whale Fishery,” by Captain
Scoresby, we have examined the work, and can assure
your excellency that for a lengthened period we have not
read a more substantial and methodical nautical work.
The details into which we are about to enter, will enable
your excellency to judge of what importance it might be
to make it known amongst the sailors destined to navi-
gate the Northern Seas, and to those merchants who may
be induced to direct their speculation to the object of the
whale fishery. Both the one and the other will there
find all that one of enlightened experience could possibly
teach with regard to the dangerous navigation of seas
embarrassed by ice, as well as of the advantages which
may be derived and the risks which will be incurred in
the prosecution of this fishery.
* Translated from “ Annales Maritimes et Coloniales ;" No. 7: Année 1820,
Juillet, pp. 700-712.
t. 29.
165
BARON PORTAL'S REPORT.
“The work consists of two volumes octavo, of more than
five hundred pages ; the first containing a most complete
geographical and hydrographical description of the
countries and seas which surround the North Pole; the
second being exclusively devoted to the whale fishery and
its products.
“In the outset the author examines the possibility of a
sea passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as
well by way of the north-east as by the north-west, fol-
lowing this with a precise history of all the attempts
which have been made up to the present time for finding
it. Of the existence or non-existence of this passage it
would be imprudent in us to venture an opinion, see-
ing that the author himself does not determine any-
thing in this respect : he is satisfied with one very just
remark, the truth of which is proved by the results of
those expeditions which have been sent out in search of
it-namely, that if such a passage exists, not only those
who discover it, but likewise such as would avail them-
selves of it in future, would require to winter among
the ice. These arguments are based on very solid rea-
sonings, and are strengthened by the particular manner
in which the statements, relative to the navigation, are
rendered. The peculiar characteristic of this work is
that conclusions are never in a single instance adduced,
without the support of experience—whether in matters
of the commonest occurrence, or in the most delicate
manipulations of physical science. General principles
are only discussed where the result of the discussion
can be supported by facts to which the author himself
166
1820.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
has been witness, or where he has received the testi-
mony from respectable and creditable men. Wherever
he treats of science, the names of the most popular and
celebrated Englishmen are cited. The remarks which
we have had occasion to make with respect to this
part of the work, are, without restriction, equally appli-
cable to the rest.
“In general, his procedure is an example of what
may be accomplished by a reflective mind aided by sound
education, and this it would be most important to in-
culcate on our sailors. Captain Scoresby appears to
me to have united to a mind incomparably more en-
lightened that genius for observation which rendered
the accounts of Dampier so interesting and instruc-
tive.
“ The translation and publication which is suggested
does not appear to be of a nature to become the
object of speculation ; no person in France is employed
in the whale fishery; and, therefore, this work would
only be sought after by a small number of the inqui-
sitive, who would not obtain from it any material
advantage, while it would fix but in a small degree
the attention of those who could profit by it. But,
if it be the purpose of the Government to enter effec-
tively into the whale fishery“which has been so long
abandoned that we may suppose the ancient tradi-
tions lost-the first step to be taken is the publish-
ing of Captain Scoresby's work; wherein those who
wish to speculate in the fishery may find all the
practices necessary to it, perfected by the experience
Æt. 29.
167
BARON PORTAL'S REPORT.
of the people who make the greatest trade in its pro-
duce. Shipowners will here find all the information
necessary for the construction and equipment of their
vessels, and of the probable expenses of the enter-
prise ; whilst the captains employed in the direction
of the fishery will find all the rules of practice requisite
for insuring success.
(Signed) « ROSILY AND ROSSEL.
“ PARIS, May 31, 1820."
168
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER IX.
VOYAGE OF 1821 --CAPTAIN MANBY-PRAYER AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF A
GREENLAND VOYAGE-FAILURE OF CAPTAIN MANBY'S SCHEME-CAUSE-
DIRECTIONS TO HARPOONEERS—RELIGIOUS SERVICES ON BOARD THE BAF-
FIN-MAGNETIC RESEARCHES MEMORIAL TO THE BOARD OF TRADE-
RESULTS-SIR HUMPHREY DAVY.
1821-1822.
A TOUR of several weeks in Wales, together with the pre-
paration of a paper on the Magnetimeter for the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, occupied Mr. Scoresby until the
time for preparing the vessel for another voyage to the
Polar regions. In this voyage (1821), he was accom-
panied by Captain Manby* of Yarmouth, whose unremit-
ting labours in the invention of means for the preserva-
tion of shipwrecked sailors are well known, though the
results of his unwearied exertions can only be properly
appreciated by those who have, from time to time, oppor-
tunities of witnessing their happy effects. The circum-
stances which gave rise to Captain Manby's voyage in the
Baffin are explained in Mr. Scoresby's MS. journal as
follows :
“ March 26th.—In the evening, Captain Manby of
* G. W. Manby, born at Hilgay in Norfolk, 1765; educated at the Royal
Military College at Woolwich ; entered the army, and was made barrack-master
at Yarmouth in 1803, where he invented his mortar apparatus for saving lives in
case of shipwreck. Died at Southtown, near Great Yarmouth in 1854.
Æt. 30.
169
CAPTAIN MANBY'S APPARATUS.
Yarmouth arrived at my house, with the intention, agree-
able to previous arrangement, of accompanying me on my
voyage to the Polar Seas.
His chief object in this ad-
venture is to prove the utility of a harpoon gun and
several harpoons on a new construction. Whatever may
be the success of the experiment, Captain Manby deserves
every praise from those interested in the whale fisheries,
as well as from every friend to genius and improvement.
His zeal and exertion in preparing and completing his
apparatus have been unremitting ; and, as far as I can
judge of its efficiency, it promises to be a great acquisi-
tion to the whale-fisher. Some of his apparatus has the
advantage of being applicable in cases and under circum-
stances in which the ordinary modes of capture are not
effectual. His harpoon seems to have power to kill a fish,
if shot in a vital part, without the use of the lance; and
an explosive shell which he has prepared, provided it can
be lodged in the cavity of the chest or abdomen, seems
likely to produce instant paralysis, if not immediate
death. If such be the effect, whales may be attacked by
it, without loss, at the edge of packs or in bay ice, where
in common practice they cannot be struck without the
greatest risk of losing the lines, and still with a very
small probability of capture. Another improvement of
Captain Manby is the construction of a harpoon,
which it is believed cannot be retracted if struck
through
the blubber of the whale. The barbs are
jointed and compressible, so that the wound made in
the whale is scarcely one-third the size of the head
of the instrument when expanded. The joint is well
170
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
supported and ingeniously contrived; it is, indeed, the
only jointed barb that I have seen, which possesses
anything like sufficient strength. This property, Cap-
tain Manby has given both to the gun and hand har-
poons.
Captain Manby brought with him a letter of intro-
duction from Dawson Turner, Esq., of Yarmouth, one of
the ablest naturalists in that part of the country, or,
I
may say, in Britain. If anything else besides the intro-
duction had been necessary to entitle Captain Manby to
my assistance in his experiments, and to induce me to
cultivate a friendship with him, it was amply made up
in a very few hours' intercourse. His general informa-
tion, his correct judgment and gentlemanly manners,
must always render him an agreeable and improving
companion. This, together with the fact of his having,
at an advanced period of life,* been induced to forego the
enjoyments of a peaceful and happy home, to encounter
the rigour and privations of a Greenland voyage, and this
not with the object of personal emolument, but, with his
usual philanthropy, for contributing to the success of a
branch of trade the highest in the scale of national im-
portance, and for diminishing, so far as may be, the dan-
gers of the occupation, must ever entitle him to the best
attentions of every lover of science."
The Baffin weighed anchor on the 8th of April. An ac-
count of the voyage was subsequently published by Captain
Manby, in which he has recorded the following prayer:
* Anno ætatis 56.
Æt. 30.
171
PRAYER AT THE OUTSET OF A VOYAGE.
“At eight o'clock the captain, as I found to be his
usual custom in concluding the Sabbath, ordered all the
boys and young men into his cabin to read alternately a
verse in the Bible, for three or four chapters; after which
we all fell upon our knees, and he offered up an extem-
pore and most impressive prayer.”
MR. SCORESBY'S PRAYER ON THE COMMENCEMENT OF A
VOYAGE TO GREENLAND.
Almighty God, the king immortal, invisible, eternal,
who art the creator and preserver of mankind, in know-
ledge of whom standeth our eternal life, and whose ser-
vice is perfect freedom; we would approach thy footstool
with the voice of supplication and prayer, and with
thanksgiving would make our requests known unto thee.
Though we, from our numerous iniquities, are not
worthy to come into thy divine presence, nor can be en-
titled to the least act of thy favour; though our best
actions, in the view of infinite purity, must be unclean,
and insufficient to answer unto thee for a single sin; yet
we bless thee that, through the merits of our Saviour, we
are encouraged to come humbly to thy throne, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in every
time of need. We esteem it our privilege as well as our
duty to bow the knee before thee, and rejoice in the op-
portunity of seeking thy blessing on the adventurous
voyage on which we are now embarked. Go out with
us on the expanse of the ocean; be with us when these
raging elements proclaim the power of divinity; and
direct us, merciful God, with thy heavenly wisdom. Up-
172
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
hold us with thine almighty care ; further us with thy
continual help; prosper us with success and happiness ;
restore us, in thine own good time, to those who, by the
ties of kindred or the bonds of affection, are near and
dear to us; and finally, after this life, bring us and them
to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Thou, O God, hast hitherto manifested thyself
unto us as a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God;
thou hast heard our petitions in the midst of danger, hast
delivered us from numerous perils, and hast directed us
and supported us in many difficulties. Thou hast been,
and still art, a present help in every time of need. Grant
us, we beseech thee, a continuance of thy favour; pre-
serve us, while we trace the treacherous deep, from every
evil—from rocks and shoals; from fire and tempest;
from sea and ice; from distress and accident; and from
every danger, seen and unseen, known and unknown.
Sanctify the dispensations of thy providence to us-ward,
whether prosperous or adverse, agreeable or painful ;
and evermore give us such reliance on thy faithfulness,
and such dependence on the excellence of thy govern-
ment, that we may fully commit our ways unto thee, for
thou wilt sustain us. To this end, 0 heavenly Father,
may we be endowed with the sacred influence of thy
Holy Spirit; may we read thy word with profit, and find
it to be the power of God unto salvation ; may we be
earnest and constant in prayer; may we be delivered
from sin, and not from its condemning influence alone,
but also from its hardening and ruling power ; may we
cultivate a spiritual frame of mind, by the diligent use of
Æt. 30.
173
PRAYER AT THE OUTSET OF A VOYAGE.
every means of grace, and by avoiding whatever may
grieve the Holy Spirit; and may we manfully resist the
lusts of the flesh, that war against the soul, the lusts of
the eye, the pride of life, and all other besetting sin.
Then shall we experience the blessing of religion, and
prove that her ways are ways of pleasantness, and that
all her paths are peace.
* Bless now, O Lord, all for whom it is our duty to
pray—our wives, our children, our parents, our kindred,
our friends; may they have favour at the hands of the
Lord, and be made partakers of the salvation of Jesus;
though separated by an expanse of waters, we may yet
meet in heart at the throne of grace. Preserve them, we
beseech thee, in our absence; be unto them a husband, a
father, a friend; and, if it please thee, in thine infinite
mercy, to restore us to each other, may we again unite in
adoration to thee for thy protecting goodness. Bless the
sailors, our companions in this voyage of anxiety and
peril ; may they be obedient to the will of God, and,
when they behold thy wonders in the deep, grant them
grace to acknowledge thy sovereignty, thy mercy, and
thy power.
“We thank thee, O Lord, for the mercies with which
we are so richly surrounded. While thousands of our
fellow-creatures are pining in misery and want, we are
permitted bountifully to enjoy every necessary, and
almost every luxury of life; and while many are given
up to a hard and wicked heart, to work all mischief with
greediness, and to sin against thee with a high hand, we
praise thee that thou hast restrained us from gross
174
1921.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
iniquity, and especially if thou hast given us the power
of religion in our hearts.
We now commend ourselves to thy fatherly care and
protection. Keep us, we beseech thee, from evil, and
lead us unto the knowledge of salvation through Jesus
Christ. Pardon our manifold iniquities, and grant us a
blessing according to thy promise, that where two or three
are gathered together in thy name, there thou wilt be
in the midst. Fulfil, O Lord, every desire and petition,
as far as thou shalt see good for us, giving us, in this
world, knowledge of thy truth, and, in the world to
come, life everlasting. These, with all other mercies
needful or good for us, as well for the body as the soul,
we ask in the prevailing name of Jesus Christ; to whom,
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be endless praises.
Amen."
Although every facility was afforded by Mr. Scoresby
for a complete trial of Captain Manby's ingenious appa-
ratus—a harpooneer and boat's crew having been set apart
for its especial service, yet, owing to the jealousy of the
harpooneers, all their plans were frustrated.
pendix to his journal, Captain Manby says-
In the ap-
"I was, indeed, assured in confidence by one of the
crew, on whose veracity I could rely, that the following
declaration had been made -'That, if the gun succeeded,
it might lead to its more general use, and that every man
then who could point a gun could act as harpooneer;'
and, further, that the minds of most of the crew had
Æt. 30.
175
DIRECTIONS TO HARPOONEERS.
been influenced to express a wish for its failure. After
this, water was actually poured into one of my guns by
some miscreant, no doubt with the object of defeating the
success of the invention."
One other quotation may be made from Captain
Manby's very interesting journal. It is the following :-
Monday, May 7th. - It being usual for the officers
to dine in the cabin, to drink a prosperous voyage, the
mate and harpooneers were invited this day, and never did
I see more justice done to roast beef and plum-pudding.
The usual fishing toast, ‘Ship strong, crew healthy, ice
open, and fish plenty,' was drunk by all with great glee.
Captain Scoresby, as is usual at this annual meeting, de-
livered to them his instructions, signals, and particular
orders, to be observed when in pursuit of whales; and, as
some of them relate to giving assistance to foreign adven-
turers, and partake so much of the national character, I
have procured a copy of them. They will be found, I
trust, not unworthy the imitation of other commanders
of Greenland ships, and their diffusion may be eminently
useful. Latitude this day, 75° 20'; thermometer, 27º.
“ DIRECTIONS TO HARPOONEERS WITH REGARD TO
ASSISTANCE.
“First, Assist all ships whatever, either British or
foreign, when it can be done without disadvantage to
your own vessel.
Second, If you accompany the boat of any ship in
176
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
If you
chase of a fish, and they get fast, if none of their own
boats be near, assist them, or bend on, if need be, and
remain by them until you be no longer wanted.
bend on, make no claim for assisting, as no reward will
be taken.
“Third, Should you be sent to assist any vessel in kill-
ing a fish, do not chase it, on any account whatever, if it
get loose, but return from the scene of action as soon as
possible.
Fourth, Do not attempt to strike a fish that has just
escaped from any ship, provided its boats be in close pur-
suit; and it is only where a wounded fish is beyond the
possible reach of the original striker that you can be
justified in attacking her.
“Fifth, The above conduct I desire may be pursued
with every ship, whether British or foreign, friendly or
unfriendly. If the stranger be a friend, he is entitled to
your assistance ; if he be one who has withheld his help-
ing hand under like circumstances, your aiding him will
show him his duty in future."
Mr. Scoresby closes his journal with the following re-
trospective remarks:-
"This voyage---although not very successful in its
ostensible object--has, nevertheless, been most important
in a religious view, the Almighty, in his infinite mercy
and sovereign grace, having honoured my poor labours
among the sailors, in a pastoral capacity, with the most
pleasing and satisfactory evidences of usefulness. For
At. 30. RELIGIOUS SERVICES ON BOARD THE BAFFIN.
177
several years I have been in the habit of reading prayers
and sermons weekly to the sailors under my charge, and
latterly of having select devotional meetings on the Sab-
bath evenings; but never, until this voyage, did anything
beneficial result that came to my knowledge. But on this
occasion the power of divine grace has been irresistible
and astonishing. Besides the usual means, of reading an
abridgment of the Church of England liturgy in the
morning and afternoon of every Sabbath-day, with one of
Burder's, or Kidd's, or Young's sermons, I occasionally
substituted for the latter an extempore address suited to
the peculiar opinions, circumstances, or habits of the men
about me ; and in the evening of the day summoned the
apprentices (with permission for others who chose to at-
tend), and after hearing them read in the Bible and sing
a hymn, I engaged in prayer, sometimes made some re-
marks on what had been read, and concluded with
another hymn. Finding the seriousness and attention
of the Sunday evening congregation gradually augmented
and the numbers also increasing ; observing also a de-
cided change in the conduct of some of the crew (especi-
ally in one man who had been at the beginning of the
voyage a dissatisfied and querulous character), I urged on
some of the people, who were seriously disposed, the
necessity of asseinbling among themselves for devotional
exercises, for fanning the religious spark into a flame in
those who were beginning to be enlightened, and for
establishing themselves in religious strength and vigour.
This request was carried into effect about the 13th of
August. At first only a small number attended, and
M
178
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
these met with great opposition, derision, and persecution
from their shipmates; but my authority and address to
them having put an end to this annoyance, they met with
increasing comfort and obtained a striking blessing. Twice
the little church met in my cabin--the number of seri-
ously disposed amounting to eleven. On inquiring into
their Christian experience, it was delightful to see the
tears of genuine and unaffected contrition streaming down
the weather-beaten cheeks of a sailor who had entered
on the voyage a careless, devotionless, and wicked
character. There were, of the number who attended,
four who gave the most hopeful evidences of having ob-
tained a new heart' during the voyage. All of them,
at the outset, were without concern for their souls; all of
them were profane and gross swearers, and some of them
far from being faithful servants to their employers. Now
the whole of them, to use their own expression, 'have
knocked off swearing ;' all attend most diligently to the
reading of religious tracts and the Bible; all are constant
attendants at every meeting for worship; and all of them
give pleasing and forcible evidences of genuine conversion
to God. One of the four, I have anticipated, was at the
first of the voyage a dissatisfied, quarrelsome, and impu-
dent character. His conduct towards myself was ex-
tremely displeasing ; but after being a month or two at
sea I remarked an extraordinary change. He ceased to
associate with the crew became tractable, obedient, and
obliging, and in fact distinguished himself as one of the
most able and orderly sailors in the ship. In addition to
these four, an equal number profess themselves to have
Æt. 30.
179
CAPTAIN MANBY TO DAWSON TURNER, ESQ.
been greatly strengthened and established in religion, and
two or three more appear to be under serious impressions.
Thus, under the most discouraging circumstances, the
humblest instruments, the grossest examples of profanity
among their comrades, and various acts of hostility and
persecution, have several souls been turned to God have
become followers and disciples of the Redeemer, and have
been induced to praise him that ever they entered on the
voyage in the Baffin."
Captain Manby, in a letter to Dawson Turner, Esq.,
gives the following sketch of Mr. Scoresby's character, as
manifested during the late voyage :
“ Captain Scoresby appears to me to be one of the
most extraordinary men that ever came under my atten-
tion, and, when I look at his age (being only 29), I
may say the most extraordinary man of the age. I feel
in his society as if I knew nothing ; but I feel also that
advantages and information may be derived from his
experience and judgment not to be met with from any
other source.
To look at him with the eye of scrutiny,
there is no particular clue to discover his great mind and
vast scientific acquirements. The habits and conduct of
his life possess uncommon evenness, and in the trues
sense of the word he is a real good man, most religious,
and extremely amiable.”
As was his custom, during the interval between the
voyages, Mr. Scoresby took congé for a fortnight in the
180
1821.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
month of October, and on this occasion-accompanied by
Mrs. Scoresby-visited the busy scenes of Manchester.
But early in November we find him back again in Liver-
pool, sedulously investigating the arcana of science with
the special object of endeavouring to throw a clearer light
on the mysterious nature of galvanism and magnetism.
In these investigations he operated conjointly with Dr.
Traill, who, on the 17th of November, in a note to Mr.
Scoresby, says,—"Could you let us make Tuesday a long
afternoon of experiments—say from five o'clock ? The
cylinder is a good idea. In order to fix the principal
facts I have made a little memoria technica, thus, PEAN
expresses the key to the influence on the needle, being the
initials in positive electricity attracting north, and PERS
expresses that positive electricity repels the south.”
“ Towards the end of the year 1821," we read in Mr.
Scoresby's MS. journal," my father and I made a represen-
tation to the Board of Trade, in a joint memorial, concern-
ing the failure of the whale-fishery, and the reduction in
the trade which would consequently take place, to the
great deterioration of our national strength and resources;
and on these observations founded a proposal for search-
ing and exploring the hitherto unexamined coasts on the
south and east of Spitzbergen, &c., with a view of dis-
covering some more abundant fishing station, by which
the loss of shipping might be lessened, and the returns
augmented, to the great benefit of the whale-fishers, of
our maritime population, and of the kingdom in general.
This memorial was presented by Mr. John Barrow,
t. 31.
181
MEMORIAL TO THE BOARD OF TRADE.
Secretary to the Admiralty, to the Right Honourable
Frederick Robinson, the President of the Board of Trade,
who thought so favourably of the proposal, that, in a note
addressed to Mr. Barrow, and forwarded by the latter
gentleman to my father, he requested we might be in-
vited to London, and he should be glad to meet us at the
Board of Trade, to see what could be done. The tenor
of this note,* together with Mr. Barrow's comment+ upon
it, was such, that my father requested me immediately to
proceed to London, and wait upon the President of the
Board of Trade to offer our ships—the Fame and Baffin
for the proposed service. Being at the time, however,
engaged in delivering a course of lectures on Magnetism
at the Royal Institution, I was unable to comply with the
request, but engaged to proceed to London immediately
after the course was finished. Accordingly, on the even-
ing of the 28th of January—having first received the
advice and instructions of my partners and my father-I
left Liverpool in the mail coach, and reached London on
the evening of the following day. On the 30th I pro-
ceeded to the Board of Trade, and sent in my card. Mr.
“NORTON, 3d Jan. 1822.
*“MY DEAR BARROW,- I think this proposition well worthy of considera-
tion, and I shall be very glad to see these gentlemen. I shall be in town the end
of next week, and if you will take the trouble to invite them to London, and meet
them at the Board of Trade, we will see what can be done.—Truly yours,
(Signed) “F. ROBINSON."
“ ADMIRALTY, 5th Jan. 1822.
*“DEAR SIR, -Having sent your memorial to the Hon. Fred. Robinson, the
President of the Board of Trade, I have received from him the enclosed ; and you
will perhaps think it advisable to let your son wait upon him.--Yours, my dear
Sir, very faithfully,
(Signed)
" John BARROW.
Cap. Scoresby."
182
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Robinson was not within, but the secretary would send
me word when it would be convenient for me to see him.
I waited two days, and then, receiving no intimation, I
again called at the Office for Trade. There was a Cabinet
at the time, and the president being one of the ministers,
he was engaged at the Carlton Palace. The next day I
called again, and again was unsuccessful. Finding no-
thing satisfactory, I then addressed a note to Mr. Robin-
son, requesting him to appoint a time for giving me an
audience. At length I received a reply, and, at Mr.
Robinson's request, arranged with Mr. Barrow to accom-
pany me to the Office for Trade on the Wednesday follow-
ing, the day after the king's procession to the House of
Lords for the opening of Parliament. At the appointed
time I called on Mr. Barrow at the Admiralty, who ac-
companied me to the Office for Trade, where we had an
interview with Mr. Robinson, To my astonishment I
found that, instead of speaking favourably of the pro-
posal, as his correspondence implied, he now seemed alto-
gether to waive any arrangement with me on the subject.
He employed himself in endeavouring to show that our
proposal was only suited to individuals, not to public
boards—that though the trade showed decline, it would
soon find its proper level; and intimated that the loss of
private property was a matter of private, not public con-
sideration, and that the whole fishery had already re-
ceived too much of the national support! I was quite
amazed with his reasoning, which was completely in
opposition to what his letter had led us to expect. I
found, however, that his object was now to get rid of me
Æt. 31.
183
MEMORIAL TO THE BOARD OF TRADE.
and our proposal in the best way he could ! Mr. Barrow
happened, in the course of the interview, to suggest that
the Board of Longitude, of which he was a member, had
it in their power to spend £5000 annually in valuable
discoveries, and he stated he would throw out a hint at
the next meeting of the Board, which was to take place
on the day following, that a premium of £2000 be offered
for circumnavigating Spitzbergen. On this hint Mr.
Robinson immediately seized, and through it took the
opportunity of disengaging himself both of me and my
proposition! However indignant I felt at this treatment,
I found I had no redress without subjecting myself to
trouble and expense, and, after all, with no certainty of
obtaining it. I was, therefore, compelled to submit to be
dismissed without recompense or even apology! Mr.
Barrow, as he had suggested, made the proposal to the
Board of Longitude, to offer a premium for the circum-
navigation of Spitzbergen; but it did not appear to the
Board that this was an object contemplated in the act
that authorized the grant; it was, therefore, dismissed.
This was now the second time I had been invited to London
by a public board, on public service, and the second time
I had been involved in the expenses of my journey with-
out any remuneration whatever."
During his stay in London, Mr. Scoresby was highly
gratified by the cordial reception he met with at the
hands of Sir Humphrey Davy. The warmth and earnest-
ness with which this highly-gifted philosopher entered
into any scheme calculated to promote the interests of
184
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
science or the general good of the nation could not fail to
afford a pleasing contrast to the obvious insouciance of a
public board. Being still very desirous on his own part
to ameliorate, to the utmost of his power, the condition
of those employed in the whale-fishery, Mr. Scoresby did
not consider it presumptuous to solicit from the Admiralty
the loan of certain instruments whose accuracy could not
be discredited. With this intention he gladly availed
himself of Sir Humphrey's proffered influence, the result
of whose application appears in the following note, dated
2d March, 1822:-
“ DEAR SIR,--I have received your communication for
the Royal Society, and I have perused it with much satis-
faction and interest. I shall order it to be read next
Thursday. I immediately wrote to Mr. Barrow on the
subject of the chronometer and Azimuth compass; I en-
close his answer,* which, I am sorry to say, is unfavour-
able. I shall, however, speak to some of the leading
scientific members of the Board of Longitude on the sub-
ject, and if I can procure the instruments for you before
the 20th I will order them to be sent to you. I fear,
however, this will be barely possible.--I am, dear sir,
very sincerely yours,
(Signed) “H. DAVY.”
" William Scoresby, Esq., Jun."
ADMIRALTY, 2d March, 1822.
*“MY DEAR SIR,-I have shown Mr. Scoresby's letter to Lord Melville, but
he observed merely that we have no authority to dispose of His Majesty's pro-
perty to private ships; and I believe the Board of Longitude has as little. Mr.
Scoresby must, therefore, do the best he can with his private means.--I am, my
dear Sir, very faithfully yours,
(Signed) " JOHN BARROW.
"Sir H. Dary."
Æt. 31.
185
EAST COAST OF GREENLAND.
CHAPTER X.
RETREAT OF THE WHALE TO THE EAST COAST OF GREENLAND-INACCURA-
CIES OF THE GREENLAND CHARTS HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN COLONIES
-LOSS OF HARPOONEER—GREENLAND--CURIOUS APPEARANCE OF HIS
FATHER'S SHIP-RESEARCHES IN GREENLAND-HOMEWARD VOYAGE-LOSS
OF HARPOONEER-ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL-DEATH OF HIS WIFE.
1822.
The whale, notwithstanding its incomparable magnitude
and strength, is by nature both timid and shy, and
although it may on rare occasions manifest a vindictive
spirit (especially when accompanied by a cub) and turn
with irresistible violence upon its pursuers, yet its usual
practice is to trust to its fugitive rather than to its com-
bative powers.
What may be said of an individual in
this respect is equally true of the whole tribe, they never
herd together for offensive or defensive purposes. * Hence
it happened that the fishing grounds from time to time
changed their position; from the harbours of Jan Mayen,
for instance, the whales retreated to those of Spitzbergen;
driven thence, they sought refuge in the western ice and
so on, until, as we have seen, they led their pursuers to
the long lost east coast of Greenland. Mr. Scoresby was
impelled by various reasons to select the Greenland fishing
stations in preference to those of Spitzbergen in his pen-
* The walrus, on the other hand, is bold enough to attack a boat, and they are
said to help each other,
186
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
ultimate voyage; and he was determined--so far as his
own individual efforts could effect it, by a careful and
judicious employment of such periods in the voyage as
were unavailable for the fishery—to pursue a systematic
course of geographical and hydrographical inquiry, where-
by the navigation of this almost unknown coast might
be rendered less difficult and dangerous. "The charts of
this country,” he says, were a snare rather than a safe-
guard to the navigator;" and, indeed, he subsequently
discovered that in the 75th parallel the true longitude
differed from that given in the best charts about 7°,
and from that given to it by the charts published for
the use of the whale-fishers 820 miles of longitude, or
nearly 14°!"
A portion of the east coast of Greenland,
between the parallels 72º and 73°, was discovered by
Hudson in 1607; but beyond this, if we except a few
isolated observations by whalers since the fishery had
approached the coast, nothing was known of it; so that
Mr. Scoresby's researches must be regarded as entirely
original discoveries. Curiosity about the fate of the
ancient Norwegian colonies was another potent reason for
the selection of the Greenland fishery; for Mr. Scoresby
believed that some tidings of the colonists might still
be met with if a landing could be effected on the east
coast.
The history of the colonies may be given in a few words.
From Iceland—itself a Norwegian colony-Eric Rauda,
having committed a serious crime (probably murder*), fled
in 981 or 982. Taking his departure from the port of
* His father is said to have quitted Norway on account of a like crime.
Æt. 31.
187
ANCIENT NORWEGIAN COLONIES.
Snoefellzness, in the western extremity of the island, he
speedily fell in with Greenland, where he landed, and
spent the greater part of three years in exploring a por-
tion of it. Afterwards he returned to Iceland, where,
having obtained a free pardon, he disseminated a most
exaggerated report of the natural attractions of his newly
discovered territory, representing it as not only rich in
herbage, but likewise well stocked with cattle. The Ice-
landers, comparing this finished picture with the scanti-
ness of their own country, were eager for emigration, and
Eric Rauda quickly returned to what he designated the
green land at the head of an exodus comprising twenty-
five vessels laden with colonists of both sexes, together
with their necessary stores. In 999, Leif, Eric Rauda's
son, made a voyage into Norway, and whilst there, by
the good counsel of the king, Olaus Tryggeson, was won
from Paganism to the Christian faith.
In the following
year he returned to Greenland, accompanied by mission-
aries, in the hope of converting the entire colony; and
happily he succeeded, for the poor benighted creatures
received with joy the tidings of the gospel dispensation.
For several centuries after this the colonies seem to have
prospered ; they were divided into two settlements, both
extending from Cape Farewell towards the north--the
one on the east coast, the other on the west ; the former
called Osterbygdt, the latter Westerbygdt. In both were
many towns and hamlets containing churches and con-
vents; but the eastern settlement was the more extensive,
and contained, in the town of Garde, the bishop's resi-
dence. The descendants of the original settlers appear to
188
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
have flourished under Norwegian government until 1256,
when the colony rebelled against Magnus, King of Nor.
way, but was reduced to submission by a naval arma-
ment despatched against them by Eric, King of Denmark,
Magnus's uncle-in-law. The approach to the east coast
appears to have been by no means difficult in remote
times, so that a constant correspondence was kept up
between that settlement and Norway. The colonists on
the western coast, it is generally believed, were destroyed
by the Skroellings or wild Greenlanders; but the fate of
those on the eastern side is wrapped in mystery. The
Black Death, a disease which scourged the northern part
of Europe in 1348, is by some supposed to have extin-
guished the colony, especially since many of the sailors
trading between Norway and Greenland died of it; but such
could not be the case, as there are records of a later date.
There is no doubt, however, that about this period the
communication with Norway began to slacken. During
the reign of Queen Margaret-in whom the crowns of
Denmark and Norway were united--a feeble attempt was
made to maintain a communication with her Greenland
colony; but she became at length so embarrassed with
hostilities at home as to be oblivious of her more remote
subjects. Since the close of the fourteenth century the
east coast of Greenland has been completely blockaded by
an impassable barrier of ice, through which, though it has
been frequently attempted by Norwegians, Danes, and
English, a passage has never been effected.
In the opi-
nion that the colonists of the east side had been com-
pletely annihilated, whether by sickness or by the
At. 31.
189
LOSS OF A HARPOONEER.
aborigines, Mr. Scoresby did not concur ; on the contrary,
he believed that descendants of that hardy race would
still be found were it possible to reach the site of the
colony; but whether they would be met with in their
original state of civilization or in a nearly barbarous con-
dition and mixed with the wild Greenlanders, he did not
attempt to conjecture.
The Baffin sailed from Liverpool on the 18th of March
1822, and proceeded directly to about the 80th parallel,
a latitude far too high for any traces of the colonists;
and, as it turned out, quite unproductive of cargo ; so
that, about the middle of May, Mr. Scoresby determined
to return to the southern stations, below the 77th
parallel. *
On the 20th of May a melancholy accident happened
which gave rise to a curious calculation by Mr. Scoresby
of the suddenness with which the death of one of his har-
pooneers occurred. He relates the following circumstances
in his journal:
“As soon as they (the boats] came within hail, my
anxiety induced me to call out, and inquire what had
happened. A bad misfortune indeed,' replied the officer
commanding the first boat, 'We have lost Carr!' This
awful intelligence, for which we were altogether unpre-
* An account of this voyage was published by Messrs. Constable in 1823; but
the work has been for many years out of print. It relates some very interesting
scientific investigations which were conducted during the voyage ; but in order
to render this memoir as intelligible and interesting as possible to the general
reader, I have thought it better to record in a single chapter the history of Mr.
Scoresby's labours in magnetism.
190
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
pared, shocked me exceedingly; and it was some time
before I was able to inquire into the particulars of the
accident, which had deprived us of one of our shipmates.
As far as could be collected from the confused accounts of
the crew of the boat, of which he went out in charge, the
circumstances were as follow: The two boats that had
been so long absent had, on the outset, separated from
their companions ; and, allured by the chase of a whale
and the fineness of the weather, they proceeded until they
were far out of sight of the ship. The whale they pur-
sued led them into a vast shoal of the species. They
were, indeed, so numerous that their 'blowing' was inces-
sant; and they believed they could not have seen less
than a hundred. Fearful of alarming them without
striking any, they remained for some time motionless,
watching for a favourable opportunity to commence an
attack. One of them at length arose so near the boat of
which William Carr was harpooneer, that he ventured to
pull towards it, though it was meeting him, and afforded
but an indifferent chance of success. He, however,
fatally for himself, succeeded in harpooning it. The boat
and fish passing each other with great rapidity after the
stroke, the line was jerked out of its place, and, instead
of running' over the stern, was thrown over the gun-
wale; its pressure in this unfavourable position so careened
the boat, that the side sank below the water, and it began
to fill. In this emergency the harpooneer, who was a
fine active fellow, seized the bight of the line, and at-
tempted to relieve the boat, by restoring it to its place;
but by some singular circumstance which could not be
t. 31.
191
LOSS OF A HARPOONEER.
accounted for, a turn of the line flew over his arm, in an
instant dragged him overboard, and plunged him under
water to rise no more! So sudden was the accident that
only one man, who had his eye upon him at the time,
was aware of what had happened; so that when the boat
righted, which it immediately did, though half full of
water, they all at once, on looking round at an exclama-
tion from the man who had seen him launched overboard,
inquired what had got Carr! It is scarcely possible to
imagine a death more awfully sudden and unexpected.
The murderous bullet, when it makes its way through
the air with a velocity that renders it invisible, and
seems not to require a moment for its flight, rarely pro-
duces so instantaneous destruction. The velocity of the
whale on its first descent is usually (as I have proved by
experiment) about eight or nine miles per hour, or thirteen
to fifteen feet per second. Now, as this unfortunate man
was occupied in adjusting the line at the very water's
edge, when it must have been perfectly tight, in conse-
quence of the obstruction to its running out of the boat,
the interval between the fastening of the line about him
and his disappearance could not have exceeded the third
part of a second of time; for in one second only he must
have been dragged to the depth of ten or twelve feet!
The accident was, indeed, so instantaneous that he had
not time for the least exclamation; and the person who
witnessed his extraordinary removal observed, that it was
so exceedingly quick, that although his eye was upon him
at the instant, he could scarcely distinguish the object as
it disappeared."
192
1822,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
To this awful event Mr. Scoresby reverts in his notes
of the circumstances which occurred on the following
Sabbath:-
“On the 23d,” he writes, “ being Sunday, we rested.
We had public worship as usual; the weather being calm
during the service in the forenoon, all hands were enabled
to attend. The arduous, yet unsuccessful labours of the
preceding week, rendered repose from the busy cares of
our profession particularly acceptable; and the melan-
choly loss of one of our number had a solemnizing effect on
every mind that was extremely favourable for devotion.
As my crew were entirely dependent on me for religious
instruction, I thought it my duty to address them, with
the particular view of improving the serious impression
evidently made upon them by the awful death of William
Carr. He was much esteemed by all on board : he was
the bosom friend of one or two; the messmate and watch-
mate of many;. the kind companion of all. All, there-
fore, knew and respected him, and were deeply interested
in his fate. The consciousness that his fate might have
been any of theirs, naturally led to the personal inquiry,
whether they were prepared to meet their God. The
consciences of some, no doubt, replied in the negative.
They perhaps discovered for the first time that religion
was not a mere name, or profession only, but an active
internal principle; and that its general acknowledgment,
or even the performance of its outward duties, could not
benefit them without their partaking of its personal
influence. The solemn demeanour and striking attentior

NI
FROM A SKETCH EXHIBITING THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE EAST COAST OF GREENLAND IN LATITUDE 71°20'N.
Tiezs, as far as could be ascertained is the natural appearance of the Land represented in Sketch NO L. Though it cannot be depended on
as correct, yet it serves to show the nature of the distortions (by comparison with Sketch II.) produced by Refraction
Æt. 31.
193
LANDING IN GREENLAND.
of our little company marked the interest which every
one felt on the occasion. The eyes of many strongly
indicated the deep emotions of their hearts; and the
weather-beaten cheeks of some were suffused with a
copious flow of tears, that forcibly displayed the power-
ful feelings of benevolence or devotion by which they
were impressed."
On the 8th of June the Baffin made the land in lati-
tude 74° 6', at the distance of about fifty miles. “This,"
Mr. Scoresby says,
" was the eastern coast of GREENLAND,
being an extension or continuation towards the north of
that coast on which the ancient Icelandic colonies were
planted in the tenth century. I looked on it with
intense interest, and flattered myself with the hope of
being able to land upon some of its picturesque crags,
where European foot had never trod. .... As the main
design of my voyage was fortunately compatible with
researches about this unknown region, I determined im-
mediately to penetrate, as far as possible, towards the
shore."
On the evening of the 24th of July—the day on which
Mr. Scoresby landed in Greenland for the first time-a
singular atmospheric phenomenon occurred, whereby he
was made aware of his father's approach, whilst his vessel
(the Fame) was yet considerably below the horizon. The
journal gives the following account of it:
“On my return to the ship, about 11 o'clock, the night
N
194
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
was beautifully fine, and the air quite mild. The atmo-
sphere, in consequence of the warmth, being in a highly
refractive state, a great many curious appearances were
presented by the land and icebergs. The most extra-
ordinary effect of this state of the atmosphere, however,
was the distinct inverted image of a ship in the clear
sky, over the middle of the large bay or inlet, the ship
itself being entirely beyond the horizon. Appearances
of this kind I have before noticed, but the peculiarities
of this were, the perfection of the image, and the great
distance of the vessel that it represented. It was so ex-
tremely well defined, that when examined with a tele-
scope, by Dolland, I could distinguish every sail, the
general 'rig of the ship,' and its particular character; in-
somuch that I confidently pronounced it to be my father's
ship, the Fame, which it afterwards proved to be, though,
on comparing notes with my father, I found that our
relative position at the time gave our distance from one
another very nearly thirty miles, being about seventeen
miles beyond the horizon, and some leagues beyond the
limit of direct vision."
Between the 24th of July and 27th of August, when
the Baffin left Greenland, Mr. Scoresby made several ex-
cursions on shore, for the purpose of examining the general
appearance of the country. The
The extent of littoral survey,
in the most direct line, was 400 miles, but by reason of
the sinuosities of the coast, twice that distance might be
stated.
The portion extending from 69:30° to 72:30°
was surveyed whilst the Baffin was close to the land,
Æt. 31.
195
SURVEYS IN GREENLAND.
.
and the remainder, although laid down at a greater dis-
tance, was, from the boldness of its outline, drawn with
great accuracy ; fifty different stations having been em-
ployed during the process. The map which accompanies
this book bears the names applied to the various sounds,
bays, headlands, and so on, by Mr. Scoresby; and it ap-
pears remarkable that in the Admiralty charts this nomen-
clature was for many years ignored. It is true the
Government fitted out an expedition in the following
year to examine the coast, of which by that time Mr.
Scoresby had published an account; but, when the dif-
ference between the charts of the two navigators was
found to be almost imperceptible, it would have been
courteous in the Government to have given Mr. Scoresby
the credit of priority in research.*
The average elevation of the coast Mr. Scoresby ascer-
tained to be about 3000 feet, the general aspect of the
country being “barren, rugged, and mountainous." He
* Mr. Scoresby has inscribed the following “REMARKS" on his original MS.
Chart:
“The northern part of the coast comprised in this chart, was visited by Cap-
tain Clavering, R.N., Admiralty Research, in 1823, who, being later in the
season, was enabled to get close in shore, and so as to correct the coast-line from
latitude 73}° towards the north. Considering that my nearest approach to the
land was a distance of from 40 to 45 geographical miles, and that I had but one
chronometer, and that a second-rate instrument, the accordance betwixt 73° 30'
and 74° 20' must be considered as very remarkable; the position of JACKSON
ISLAND, with the headland of GALE HAMKE's Bay and Cape BROER Ruys, being
all but identical. Thus, Captain C. having landed on JACKSON ISLAND, found
its latitude 73° 56', the precise latitude given to it in my published Journal, p.
464. It is remarkable that Captain C. makes no mention of my observations on
these northern coasts in his Journal till his arrival at CAPE PARRY, though my
Voyage was published two months before his departure. The points of coast
laid down by me betwixt CAPE BROER Ruys and CAPE Parry are, obviously, so
accordant with the determinations by Captain C., as by no means to justify any
alteration of the names attached by me.
196
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
made frequent tours in quest of specimens of the natural
products of the country, of which he obtained a valuable
collection, having frequently prosecuted his search for
them in positions of imminent peril, as we learn from the
following account of one, undertaken on the 10th of
August, to the Vandyke Cliffs :
“After one unsuccessful attempt to ascend, I entered
upon a slope included between two precipitous rocks, and
with much labour accomplished about 500 feet, above
which, the cliff rising vertically, prevented further pro-
gress in that direction ; but, after skirting the brow of
another precipice below me, where the inclination was at
least 50°, and the surface entirely composed of loose,
sharp stones, I reached the bottom of a chasm between
two prodigious pinnacles, and again proceeded upward.
This attempt, which I was induced to undertake for the
purpose of collecting specimens of the rocks and plants
,
eventually assumed such a hazardous aspect, that I would
gladly have relinquished it, could I have conveniently
returned. The rocks of the pinnacles bounding the chasm,
distant about twenty feet from each other, were vertical
on both sides. One of these rocks, which was greatly
decomposed and broken, so as to afford by no means a
firm hold, I was obliged to grasp with my left hand, and
to thrust my right hand among the loose stones, while
every step was accomplished; and it frequently required
considerable deliberation before a second step could be at-
tempted. A slip of the foot here might have been fatal,
as the bottom of the chasm opened on a precipice of 400 or

NOT
plona
WYNI
ANTO
TELESCOPIC APPEARANCE OF THE EAST COAST OF GREENLAND.
at the distance of 35 Miles, when under the influence of an eoctraordinary Refraction. Iat. 71° 20. Long. 17°30'W.
Æt. 31.
197
HAZARDOUS EXCURSION.
500 feet, over which, whenever I moved, a large shower
of the loose stones about me were immediately precipi-
tated. At the top I expected to find at least some por-
tion of flat surface, that I hoped would repay me by
its productions, for the hazardous exploit into which my
anxiety for specimens of minerals, plants, and animals,
had unexpectedly betrayed me. But, to my surprise, the
top proved to be a ridge (with the sea on both sides),
narrower and sharper than the top of the highest pitched
roof. Here I rested for a few minutes, seated on the
ridge, with a leg over each side, pointed to the water,
under two terrific vertical pinnacles, between 200 and
300 feet in elevation. These actually vibrated with the
force of the wind, and appeared altogether so shattered
and unstable, that it was astonishing how they remained
erect. I was far from being at ease in such a threatening
situation, and therefore made a hasty retreat, by sliding
down the side opposite to that by which I had ascended,
a good deal rejoiced to find that this, being less steep,
and not so dangerously interrupted by precipices, afforded
a much safer descent than the other."
Of the ancient colonies Mr. Scoresby unfortunately
obtained no direct information, though he believed that
the traces of inhabitants which he met with were not
entirely those of an uncivilized race, and therefore was
led to the supposition that descendants of the colonists
were still in existence. In a deserted hamlet, discovered
at the foot of Neill's Cliff, he found several domestic im-
plements, such as might have been chiefly the workman-
198
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
an
ship of Esquimaux, but with certain exceptions, indicating
admixture of European habits. He mentions, especially,
a piece of unicorn's horn bearing marks of a drill, an
instrument which the aborigines were not likely to
have discovered the use of themselves; he likewise fell
in with a wooden coffin, a circumstance which seemed to
strengthen his opinion of the existence of an enlightened
race.
Unfortunately, however, Mr. Scoresby was not at liberty
to extend his researches at a time when he had overcome
the greatest difficulty—that of approaching the coast-
and when, as he assures us, there was nothing to prevent
the Baffin sailing between the ice and the land, even
down to Cape Farewell, Having obtained an excellent
cargo, he very reluctantly wended his way through the
maze of ice to the open sea, and lost sight of Greenland
on the 27th of August.
The joy which the crew of the Baffin felt on returning
home with a good cargo, after escaping so many perils,
received a solemn check on the 11th of September, when
they were overtaken by a violent storm off the Butt of
the Lewis. On Mr. Scoresby the melancholy event which
occurred during the storm exercised a solemnizing, and,
probably, a very salutary influence; thus preparing him,
in some measure, for the sad intelligence which awaited
his arrival at home. The journal of the voyage gives
the following account of the distressing incidents which
attended the approach of the Baffin to Liverpool:
“No water had yet been shipped,” speaking of the
Et. 31.
199
LOSS OF A HARPOONEER.
storm on the 11th of September," though the tremendous
sea that was running was received upon the ship's quar-
ter, or beam, being in a direction of all others the most
dangerous. A fatal wave, however, at length struck the
quarter with tremendous violence, and, throwing up a
vast weight of water, carried along with it, in its passage
across the deck, one of our harpooneers, or principal
officers (who, along with several others, was employed on
the weather-rail endeavouring to secure one of the boats
hanging over the side), quite over the heads of his com-
panions, and swept him overboard ! Most of the crew
being under water at the same time, his loss was not
known until he was discovered just passing under the
ship’s stern, but out of reach, and lying apparently in-
sensible upon the wave. He was only seen for a few
seconds and then disappeared for ever.
· For some minutes it was not known who the sufferer
Every one was greatly distressed, and each, in his
anxious exclamations, revealed his fears for his friend.
• It is Shields' Jack,' cries one. 'No,' replies a voice of
feeling self-congratulation, 'I am here.' It is Jack
O'Neill,' exclaims another; 'Ay, poor fellow-it is Jack
O'Neill.' But a dripping, stupor-struck sailor, clinging
by the weather-rail, comes aft at the moment, and replies,
No, I am here. After a pause of suspense, one adds,
* It is Chambers, Ah! it must be Sam Chambers,
cries another; and no voice contradicted the assertion,
for his voice, poor sufferer, was already choked with the
waters, and his spirit had fled to meet its God! Happily
he was an excellent man, and there was no doubt with
was.
200
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
those who knew his habitual piety, and consistency of
conduct, that he was prepared to die."
“Here my original journal of this voyage closes. The
melancholy and distressing intelligence that awaited my
arrival at home prevented its being completed. Memory,
however, requires no artificial aid to enable it to recall
those circumstances, which the power of agonizing feelings
has indelibly stamped upon the heart; but, on the con-
trary, in a case like this, it foregoes its natural frailty,
and, as a great poet observes, becomes immortal.
“ The pilot who was received on board off the Ormes'
Head, from real or well-feigned ignorance, gave no satis-
factory answers to my anxious inquiries respecting my
family and friends. We were unable to reach our port
on the day of his arrival. I had, therefore, to endure
another night of suspense, which was productive of feel-
ings of anxiety, so painful as entirely to subdue the
pleasurable sensations natural to the expectation of
reaching home, after a long and dangerous voyage.
Next morning, aided by a strong flood-tide, we entered
the channel; but before we could round the Black
Rock,' to get into the Mersey, the tide failed us, and we
were obliged to bring up.
“Numbers of boats and steam-vessels were passing
and re-passing while we lay at anchor. Some of the
former boarded us. They contained the friends of dif-
ferent individuals on board. I was in constant expecta-
tion of some person coming to inquire for one or other of
our late officers and companions, whose death, during the
voyage, we had to lament; and had the painful prospect
At. 31.
201
APPROACH TO LIVERPOOL.
of communicating the distressing tidings to such inquirers,
who must now look in vain for their friends. These
feelings, however, were eventually absorbed in the heart-
rending intelligence in store for myself
.
Notwithstanding the number of boats that came
alongside, no information whatever respecting the welfare
of my nearest connections, the subject now paramount in
my mind, could be obtained,
This surprising ignorance
of so many persons, on a subject to which I was so much
alive, increased my anxiety ; but on marking the coun-
tenances and conduct of the boatinen, there was so much
of the appearance of unmeaning indifference, or ordinary
cheerfulness, that no indication of concealment could be
traced or suspected.
“At length, while pacing the deck with an intensity
of anxiety, the bare remembrance of which, at the present
moment, throws my whole frame into a tremor, I per-
ceived a boat with passengers approaching. As it
rapidly advanced before the wind and tide, I took the
glass and descried the face of a friend.
The first emo-
tion in my mind, at this recognition, was that of hope.
'He is a good man and cometh with good tidings !' But
on a second inspection of the boat, some peculiarities in
the conduct of the passengers checked the transitory joy
which this frail hope had created. The sail was taken
down, and the men lay upon their oars, while the boat
approached only under the influence of the tide. The
kind consideration of my friends had, on former occa-
sions, when they came to welcome my arrival, always
relieved my suspense, while yet at a distance, by some
202
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
token of good news. Now, however, panting with agi-
tation, I watched in vain for some encouraging action or
word. I supposed they had not seen me. I showed
myself at the gangway, but their averted faces and
downcast looks too strongly indicated that they were the
harbingers of sorrow. I could no longer sustain an agony
of feeling which silence and uncertainty rendered intoler-
able. I called out, “Is all well ?' A languid look and
an evasive reply confirmed my apprehension, and sank
me in despair. I could no longer support myself on the
deck. I rushed into my cabin. In a few minutes my
friend was in my presence. I saw him struggling with
himself, and about to endeavour, by a well-meant circum-
locution, to break the dreadful tidings he had to com-
municate. 'Let me know,' cried I, the worst; tell it
me at once.'
He grasped my hand with the fervour of
friendship, while the tear of sympathy gushed from his
eyes. 'I am sorry'-(my agony obliged him to speak
out),--Mrs. S. is no more."
In a few days after his arrival he wrote: “The Lord
has been greatly and wonderfully merciful to me amid
all my trials, and I have experienced the blessing of his
supporting arm in the time of need.” In November he
sent to the Admiralty, through Sir Humphrey Davy, a
copy of his chart of discoveries in Greenland, appending
but one condition to it, “that no copy whatever, MS. or
engraved, be taken of it; for,” as he justly observed,
“my expenses in instruments and apparatus for conduct-
ing these surveys have been considerable, and in reserv-
Æt. 31.
203
SEAMAN'S PRAYER BOOK.
ing to myself the right of publication, I have some
prospect of being repaid, at least in part.”
From many years of practical experience, Mr. Scoresby
had recognised the want of a form of prayer suited to
the peculiar circumstances of sailors. The Book of Com-
mon Prayer of the Church of England was too long in
its services, and, in many instances, not well adapted to
the exigences of their situation. “For a form of prayer,
however, it was not only the best model, but the best
foundation,” so that by abridging certain parts and adding
to others, -as his knowledge of the seaman's character
and requirements enabled him to do with advantage,-
he constituted his SEAMAN'S PRAYER-BOOK, which was
published in this year. It has been extensively em-
ployed by the captains of Greenland ships, and others,
even to the abundant fulfilment of the desire expressed
in its preface:
“With regard to the additions to the Liturgy, I may
observe that I am well aware they fall far below the
sublimity of the original. But I make no apology; I
have done my best. I have not sought so much to
avoid the criticism of men as to acquit myself before
God. It has been my anxious desire to produce a work
that might encourage the performance of public worship
in ships, and that might be useful in aiding my brother
seamen in their voyage towards Zion. Though bold in
what I have done, I have not, I trust, been presumptuous.
I have sought the assistance of that blessed Spirit, by
whose agency and help all holy things are produced
204
1822.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
And I now commend my humble attempt to the blessing
of the Lord, the glory and acceptable worship of whom it
is designed to promote.'
He went to Edinburgh early in December, with a view
of publishing his Journal immediately, but having been
overtaken by a sudden illness at Carlisle, it was unavoid-
ably delayed, and did not appear until the following
May
At. 32.
205
VOYAGE OF 1823.
CHAPTER XI.
SIR WALTER SCOTT_VOYAGE OF 1823-LEAVES THE SEA-LETTER TO MR.
HODGSON-NOTE FROM PROFESSOR TRAILL-ENTERS AT QUEEN'S COL-
LEGE, CAMBRIDGE-VISIT TC PARIS.
1824.
DURING his stay in Edinburgh he made the acquaintance
of Sir Walter Scott, and being invited to meet a party at
his house on the Sabbath day, made the following stead-
fast reply: “I fear I cannot have the honour of waiting
upon you on Sunday at dinner, agreeable to the arrange-
ment you were so kind and polite as to propose.
For
some years, indeed, I have declined visiting on that day
of the week; though I readily and honestly acknowledge
that in this instance the privation is greater than on any
occasion that ever before occurred.”
The voyage of 1823, whilst in detail parallel with
those already related, was, in a commercial point of view,
by no means a successful one; nor was science much
enriched by the few opportunities for research which it
afforded. In Mr. Scoresby's own words:*_-
My late voyage has not turned to much account. I
landed again, but made no discoveries of any moment in
Greenland ; yet some investigations of a scientific nature
were undertaken. A valuable dipping needle furnished
* Letter to Captain Manby.
206
1823.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
to me (on loan) by the Board of Longitude, afforded some
useful experiments; and some new apparatus for the elici-
tation of magnetism by percussion was tried with astonish-
ing effect. With the use only of two or three bars of iron
and a hammer, a small steel wire of one hundred and
seventy grains' weight was made to lift a nail of four times
its magnitude, weighing an ounce and a half. I can now
take a new piece of steel wire and can produce a degree
of magnetism capable of lifting between one hundred
and two hundred grains by the first four or five blows."
This voyage brought Mr. Scoresby's adventures in the
Arctic regions to a close. He had been for some time
considering the expediency of such a step, and had on
several occasions hinted at the probability of his “ taking
his land tacks on board." He had conceived a deeply-
rooted desire for the work of Christ's ministry, and
immediately upon his return to Liverpool, made his
intentions known to those with whom he was most
intimate. In a letter to his friend, Mr. Hodgson, he
wrote:
"I am still disposed to the honourable occupation
which I hinted to you ; and with this view I propose
(D.V.), to enter at Cambridge as a ten years' man, of the
nature of which arrangement Mr. Buddicom will give
you all particulars, as well as the rest of my plans, if you
mention to him in private that you are acquainted with
my designs. My object in writing this note is the hope
of prevailing on you to accompany me in this honourable
Æt. 32.
2017
PREPARATION FOR THE MINISTRY.
labour. There is, I acknowledge, much difficulty in the
way,—the chief that I apprehend (though it is, perhaps,
presumption to say so) being the classical knowledge, -
especially Greek, of which I am entirely ignorant. With
regard to other particulars, I shall no doubt obtain the
needful if it be the design of God thus to employ me.
He who puts it into my heart to endeavour to glorify
Him, will, I trust and believe, give me the needful powers
and the needful blessing.”
His deficiency in classical lore proved a formidable
obstacle to his progress. Professor Traill says :-
“When he first proposed to become a clergyman, and
asked my opinion as to his being able to acquire a suffi-
cient knowledge of Latin and Greek (of both which he
was then ignorant), I answered, 'I know your perse-
verance and ability to master anything you undertake ;
but consult your friend Dr. Wrangham, who will give
you the best advice, and who probably knows some
curate who will assist your studies, and, perhaps, will
receive you as a boarder in his house during the time.
You already are well versed in mathematics, and need no
tutor for that branch.' He immediately went to York,
and Wrangham gave him the strong advice to board
himself with a country clergyman whom he recommended
for his piety and scholarship ; and the consequence was,
that he was able to pass a respectable examination pre-
vious to ordination; and his college confirmed this by
* In a note to Mrs. Scoresby, 8th January, 1859.
208
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the degree of D.D., --a strong proof that he had acquired
a good knowledge of the learned tongues, in addition to
his stores of philosophical and theological knowledge.'
Mr. Scoresby's name was entered at Queen's College,
Cambridge, towards the end of the year 1823, as a
ten years' man, he being too old to enter in the usual
way.
The routine of this method of obtaining a degree
in divinity is explained in the following letter:*
"I will just say in a dozen words that there is no
mention whatever made in the University Statutes, that
those who enter themselves for the degree of B.D. after
twenty-four years of age should be in orders at the time
of entering. They must be divines when they go up to
keep their three terms and exercises, but those terms,
&c., are not kept until the last two years of the ten, so
that no difficulty seems likely to arise on this ground."
Towards the end of February Mr. Scoresby had occa-
sion to visit London on private business. During his
stay he was pressed to join some friends in Paris, and
make a tour with them. He had long wished to visit
Paris ; for although he had been a great deal in foreign
lands, he had experienced scarcely any opportunity of
intercourse with foreigners, and having now a few days
to spare, he determined upon an excursion to the French
capital. The following extracts from his journal may
be found interesting :
* From Rev. Mr. Buddicom, 24th October 1823.
Æt. 33,
209
VISIT TO PARIS.
I first expe-
Being in London in the spring of the year 1824, and
having a few days of leisure at command, I employed
them in accomplishing a visit to Paris. Preferring a
steam conveyance to any other, because of its complete
ease to persons not disposed to sea sickness, and of the
leisure it affords for reading, writing, and other amusing
or useful occupations, I embarked on board the steam-
vessel, the Earl of Liverpool, at the Tower Stairs, on the
morning of the 3d of April, for Calais.
" The train of objects and feelings that operated upon
my mind was various and interesting.
rienced the exciting effect of old associations on entering
on a sea-voyage—these recalled an extraordinary mixture
of pleasing and painful emotions. Then, roused by the
sight of the discovery ships, now fitting for another
adventurous voyage, my mind naturally turned to the
contemplation of the scenes the voyagers had recently
encountered ; whilst my imagination, rendered sensitive
in regard to Polar scenes by long habit and adventure,
carried my contemplation to the probable issue of the
approaching undertaking. Vacillating for the want of
facts and correct data for steadying the contemplation,
the mind sweeps through the wide bounds of possibilities :
it first imagines complete success attending the researches
of the adventurous voyagers; and then, failure and mis-
fortune intercepting their career, and concluding by pre-
mature calamity the interesting investigations of these
ice-bound regions surrounding the pole.
“Whilst the mind was unconsciously carried, by the
cight of these vessels, to the contemplation of Arctic scenes,
0
210
1824,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
a new series of objects gave a fresh turn to its medita-
tion. The Ark, or chapel for seamen, was the first object
of this series, devoted to the dispensation of the gospel to
this hardy and, until of late, neglected race of mankind;
then, the Seaman's Hospital, the Grampus, where the
wants of the body were attended to in its multifarious
state of disease; next followed the Marine School, also
consisting of a floating vessel, where the sailor is educated
in that knowledge which is of the most practical import-
ance in the arduous profession for which he is trained ;
and, lastly, the princely hospital of Greenwich, in which
the worn out veteran sailor reposes in a situation of safety,
plenty, and peace.
Approaching Woolwich, on the marsh in the district
of East Greenwich, a sudden change of feeling is pro-
duced by the view of three unsightly gibbets, whereon
hang the bodies and osseous remains of several wretched
men who had forfeited their lives to the laws of their
country and of the civilized world, by the horrible crime
of piracy. Four of these bodies seemed still to remain
almost entire, whilst others had fallen quite away, and
one bar held only the fragments of the osseous trunk of
a long exposed body. A poor man was observed care-
fully searching the ground beneath the gibbets, and col-
lecting, apparently, the scattered bones which had fallen
from the decaying trunks above !
“ We then came to Woolwich, the celebrated school
for military arts. The principal objects which caught the
eye from the river, were the dockyard, arsenal, the bar-
racks, and the marsh, where the practice of artillery,
t. 33.
211
WOOLWICH DOCKYARD.
mortars, and rockets is pursued. But the exterior of
these buildings and grounds affords little idea of the
interior departments of this interesting and well-con-
ducted establishment. About a fortnight prior to this
time I paid a visit to this extraordinary place. Under
the guidance of Major Elliot of the Horse Artillery, I was
shown the most interesting portions of the dockyard.
The model-room is a most interesting exhibition, superior,
I think, in interest, in proportion to its extent, to the
Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers,' in Paris. On the
practising ground, which I visited, Major Elliot kindly
favoured me with the exhibition of thirty rockets fired in
succession. Of these, I had the privilege of firing three:
one at 750 yards from the target (a three-pound rocket),
and two others at 1250 yards (twelve-pound rockets).
These contained an explosive charge calculated to burst
at 1200 yards, which it generally did within a very
short limit. Many of the rockets flew very near the
target. Their velocity was four seconds for 750 yards ;
and eight seconds for 1250 yards. The angle of eleva-
tion given was one degree for every 100 yards. A small
allowance in lateral position, to compensate for action of
the wind on the stick of the rocket, was made by the
rocketeer according to his judgment determined by expe-
rience. The rockets are contained in a tube of 12 or 14
feet in length, open at both ends, and fixed upon a stand.
The head of the rocket only is inserted, the stick being
altogether outside, and the ignition is given by a port-
fire.
“ We soon arrived off Purfleet, the great depôt of
212
1894.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
gunpowder. This place, excepting the king's depart-
ment, with a small military establishment, for the pro-
tection of the powder, &c., belongs to Mr. Whitbread.
It is a mere village, and is remarkable for the peculiar
restriction of tradesmen in it. One mechanic or artizan,
only, of a particular class, is allowed to reside there
-one butcher, one baker, one shoemaker, one barber,
&c., &c.
“Lord Hudley's castle, which is seen to rise above
the trees on the southern side, gave occasion for the men-
tion of a curious trait in his character. The Bank of
England, it is said, never issued but two notes of the
value of £20,000. One of these is in Lord Hudley's
possession, and is kept in a frame as a picture. There is
a story told of the other that is curious, but as I have
heard two or three versions of it, I will not vouch for its
accuracy, though I daresay something of the kind actually
occurred. A man of shabby or rather mean appearance,
apparently a farmer of a vulgar order, called a few years
ago at the Bank of England, and offered for smaller cash
a note of £10,000. The clerk to whom it was presented,
strongly suspicious, and, indeed, quite satisfied in his own
mind that the man had not fairly obtained possession of
it, began to question him about it.
The man very
quaintly replied that he could not exactly say how it
came to be his, but if he should show them the father
of it, they perhaps might guess ; on which he pulled out
a £20,000 note ! 'Here,' said he, 'is a £20,000 note,
of which, I believe, there were never more than two, and
I know where the other is !' The other versions of this
Æt. 33.
213
ARRIVAL AT CALAIS.
story I now forget, but the point is somewhat similar,
though the particulars differ.
“ The sea was smooth until we passed the North Fore-
land; a considerable swell then came up the Channel,
which, taking the packet on the broad side,' soon pro-
duced on many of the passengers the painful, but uncom-
miserated effects of sea sickness.
"At 10.25 P.M., exactly twelve hours after leaving
the Tower Stairs, we hove to off the harbour-mouth of
Calais, the tide being yet too low to permit our entrance
into port. Soon after midnight we entered the port.
In a few minutes the packet was moored alongside the
quay, opposite a small pillar erected to commemorate the
landing of Louis XVIII. at this place. Near to the pil-
lar is the impression of a foot, cut in the pavement, to
mark the spot on which he first stepped.
“ Being totally unacquainted with the language, as
spoken in the country,—neither being able to speak it
myself nor to understand it when spoken, -I suffered
much inconvenience on landing in France. Having, how-
ever, a tolerable knowledge of the written language, the
conversational became progressively familiar to my ear;
so that before I left France I was beginning to overcome
the difficulties under which I at first laboured. .
Calais, Sunday, April 4.—Finding, upon inquiry,
that there was a small English chapel in Calais, I pro-
ceeded thither at eleven o'clock. I was much struck on
observing a young lady, the daughter, as I understood,
of the officiating clergyman, acting as clerk.
She con-
ducted the responses in a clear voice, and read remark-
214
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
ably well. Her age can scarcely exceed sixteen. The
employing of his daughter in this capacity is probably a
piece of necessary economy on the part of the worthy
pastor, his income, as I understood, not exceeding £60 a
year.
Paris, April 12.—The meetings of the Institute are
held weekly, on Mondays at three o'clock. At the
request of M. Arago (the President), I inquired for him
there to-day, and, before the meeting was constituted,
had the honour to be introduced to several distinguished
members; such were MM. Ampere, Cuvier, Admiral
Count Rosily, Baron Humboldt, Lacépède, Gay Lussac,
&c., &c. Lacépède, whose 'Histoire des Cetacées' I
had criticised in my 'Arctic Regions,' was, nevertheless,
very polite and friendly, and acknowledged that not
having seen whales he had taken everything from
research. Ampere offered to exhibit to me his electro-
magnetic experiments. Baron Humboldt, who had
already taken the trouble to call twice upon me at my
lodgings, expressed his intention of calling at a still
earlier hour until he should find me. The rest of the
gentlemen to whom I was introduced, likewise expressed
in a complimentary manner their pleasure at seeing me.
I was greatly surprised, before the business of the meeting
began, to hear the president publicly announce my pre-
I was also much gratified, before the meeting
closed, by a note from Baron Cuvier, inviting me to dine
with him on Saturday, concluding with these words, 'Si
vous vous rendiez au Jardin des Plantes à quatre heures,
M. Cuvier vous montrerait lui-meme les collections.'
sence.
Æt. 33.
215
INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
66
April 14.-Was highly delighted by M. Ampere's
electro-magnetic experiments* which he had the kindness
to exhibit to me to-day. In the evening attended a
conversazione at the house of M. Arago, where it was my
privilege to be introduced to M. Cailliot, who travelled
with the Pasha of Egypt towards the source of the Nile;
to M. Simonoff, who has visited the Antarctic circle
beyond the ne plus ultra of Cook, General Beaoy, M.
Poisson, &c., &c. It was remarkable that the person who
had been nearest to the South Pole; myself the nearest
to the North Pole ; Humboldt, who had been higher than
any man upon a mountain, and deeper than any man in
the earth ; and M. Cailliot, who had approached nearest
to the source of the Nile,-should all meet together in one
party.
April 17.—Had a great treat at the Jardin des
Plantes to-day. What a prodigious and beautiful col-
lection is Cuvier's ! Spent a most delightful evening;
his daughter speaks English. fluently, and is a most agree-
able, accomplished person. The baron also speaks a
little English, and understands it when spoken quite well.
“ April 24.-The annual and general meeting of the
four academies of the Institute met to-day in their hand-
some and capacious amphitheatre. On this occasion the
* Ampere regarded magnets as connecting bodies giving passage to electricity
in a spiral direction.
+ Clementine Cuvier was a member of the Lutheran Church,-a devoted,
zealous Christian. She died in the peace of Jesus Christ on the 28th of Septem-
ber 1828. The 25th of August had been appointed for her marriage-day.
must be resigned," she said ; “ do not murmur. Without doubt, I shall be
grieved to leave so many persons whom I love; but if it be the will of God, I am
ready,” Baron Cuvier died on the 13th of May 1832.
" We
216
1824,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
place was crowded with company, and enlivened by the
presence of a considerable number of elegantly dressed
ladies. Four papers were read: one by the president,
and three others by members of three of the classes.
The visitors were admitted by ticket, and were apart
from the members; but, through the kindness and influ-
ence of M. Arago, I was honoured with a member's seat,
being placed between himself and Gay Lussac.
April 28.—The Société Biblique Protestante de Paris
met this morning at twelve. Before the meeting, I was
presented by Mr. Wilks to the president, M. le Marquis
de Jancourt, Baron de Stael, &c. The meeting was held
in a very commodious room, and was well attended.
Many ladies were present; and the platform, though large,
was covered with men of the first respectability. The
effect of the speeches, even upon a person imperfectly
understanding the language, was very good. The highly
respectable character of the meeting, and the number who
attended, afforded the encouraging hope that the number
of believing people in France is greater than at first
sight might be calculated upon. When a Christian man
enters France, and observes the refinements of vice, the
great disregard of religion, the general disbelief of the
Scriptures, and the almost total want of reverence for
the Sabbath, his faith is liable to receive a severe shock
in the inquiry, 'Can I be right and all this nation wrong?
Can the Bible be true when so many disbelieve it? Can
religion be a reality, and all these neglect it ?' And he
will be disposed to say with Elijah the prophet, “The
children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown
Æt. 33.
217
AUTOMATON CHESS-PLAYER.
sors.
down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword,
and I, even I only, am left. But he will find, on closer
research, that there are thousands of men who have not
bowed unto Baal. In the evening was at the annual
meeting of the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie
Nationale, in their capacious rooms in the Rue de Bac.
Gold and silver medals were awarded to several indivi-
duals after the report of the labours of the council of
administration by Baron de Gérando, the secretary; a
report of expenses for 1823, by M. le Comte Bigot de
Préamessau; and a Rapport sur la Comptabilité, by
Monseigneur le Duc de la Rochefoucauld, one of the cen-
Before the meeting, I had the honour to be intro-
duced to the Duke de la Rochefoucauld, a stout elderly
gentleman; also to the Duke de Dondeauville, one of the
vice-presidents, a pleasant, free, and sociable gentleman;
and to the Count Chaptal, the president of the society.
" April 30.—Visited the Conservatoire des Arts, &c.
Mr. Baume, who was lately attached to a diplomatic
embassy in Italy, and some time secretary to the Prince
Regent of Naples, accompanied me in this day's research.
As we were crossing the Place Victoire, a gentleman,
who hurried past us, attracted the attention of my com-
panion. "That man,' said he, 'is the greatest chess-player
in Paris.' Can he beat the automaton ?' I asked. He
is the very man (Maelzel) who directs it. Did you ever
see that machine ?' continued Mr. B. 'I saw it, and
conceive I discovered the principle.' You discovered
the principle !—can you explain it ?' I stated my opinion
and conviction of its being regulated by a man inside,
6
218
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
and explained how he might be concealed. * He did not
deny it; but, to my great surprise, remarked, 'I am the
proprietor of that machine !' It appeared, from further
conversation, that Maelzel had been introduced to Mr.
Baume as a man of extraordinary genius in mechanics.
Mr. B. had advanced him £1000 to carry out an inven-
tion, and for this the machine was given as security.
It was afterwards, however, redeemed by Maelzel."
The general impressions received from this visit to
Paris are conveyed in the following remarks in a letter
to Mr. Rathbone :
“I write from the metropolis of France, where I have
already seen much to admire, much to amuse, and much
to enable me to set an additional value upon the benefits
and advantages of my own country. Being desirous of
seeing France as it is, I endeavour to see all I can of the
Parisians,-eat of French dishes, and pay most particular
attention to those things which are really French. I
find, however, that the great intercourse with the English
of late years has modified, to a perceptible extent, the
manners of the people, both here and in many of the
towns through which I have passed. English comforts
are beginning to find their way into many houses.
Cleanliness seems to be becoming, in certain ranks at
least, more a matter of consequence; and those disgusting
* A very interesting paper, entitled “Investigations of the Principle of the
Automaton Chess-Player,” had been read previous to this, by Mr. Scoresby,
before the Liverpool Literary and Scientific Society.
Æt. 33.
219
RETURNS TO LIVERPOOL.
scenes which used to be often exhibited are now seldom
to be seen within the barriers of the capital. I have
received unbounded attention and kindness from several of
the learned men, though I neglected to provide myself
with many introductions which I might, with a little
preparation, have had the advantage of. Having visited
in some of the French homes, I have seen some good
specimens of their manners within doors, and have expe-
rienced something of their hospitality.”
Mr. Scoresby left Paris on the 7th May, and travelled
direct to London ; he arrived in Liverpool on the 21st
June, and on the 30th resumed his classical studies,
which were continued unremittingly up to 16th Septem-
ber, "except eight days, when absent on a journey into
Wales; and ten, when employed on a paper on the Polar
Regions."
220
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER XIT.
OBSTACLES-LETTER TO ARCADEACON WRANGHAM-STRAY LEAFLETTER
TO MRS. CLARK-F.R.S. -MEMORANDA-ORDINATION-CURATE OF BESS-
INGBY_FLOATING CHURCH,
1824-1827.
MANY obstacles were still to be overcome before Mr.
Scoresby could offer himself for ordination. The circum-
stance of his having been engaged in secular concerns
within the three years preceding, was a powerful one;
but, through the kindness of Archdeacon Wrangham, who
exerted his influence as far as possible in obviating diffi-
culties, the barriers one by one fell away.
The following
letter to Dr. Wrangham will explain many of the regula-
tions which it was necessary for Mr. Scoresby to satisfy :-
“Before replying to your obliging letter, it appeared
to me desirable to ascertain whether I should have
any
difficulty in obtaining the requisite testimonial. One of
the clergymen, to whom I was most particularly known,
being from home, it was not until yesterday that I ob-
tained his sentiments on the subject. He, I am happy
to find, as well as two other beneficed clergymen (the
only three to whom I have applied), gives me the
greatest encouragement; and all three are so obliging as
that they will have much pleasure in signing the
requisite testimonial.
to say
Æt. 33.
221
OBSTACLES.
me.
“I have thought much respecting your kind suggestion
of a title to a curacy with yourself. Should this be
found practicable---in the hope that his grace the arch
bishop will be pleased to shorten as much as possible the
period of my probation—I shall, without reservation, put
myself entirely into your hands.
The salary for a year
or two is no essential object with me; whatever, there-
fore, may suit your convenience, would be agreeable to
The only other point to which you allude-namely,
my doing the duty of the Church to which I am nomi-
nated for two years—is a condition to which, except in
some extraordinary case, I have not the least objection.
As I am very anxious to know the sentiments of the
archbishop on the subject, you would perhaps have the
goodness, at your early convenience, to lay the matter
before him, The circumstance of my having left an
employment which, for the last eleven years that I
pursued it, has produced me an average income of £800
per annum, whilst I have no prospect or hope of emolu-
ment in the profession which I now desire to undertake
beyond that of my daily bread,' will at once show that
I do not seek to enter the Church with secular views;
and will also, I trust, plead for me with his grace for
that obligation which I am induced to seek at his hands."
A stray leaf from a note-book, dated 29th August
1824, has the following inscribed upon it by Mr.
Scoresby :
“Read a considerable portion of the memoirs of Henry
222
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Martyn, with an exalted sense of his piety and excellence,
but with a most humiliating sense of my own idleness.
My selfishness, my ingratitude to God, deadness to Christ,
formality in worship, pride and vanity, appeared so great
and overwhelming as to sink me below the level of all
saints. God grant I may rise ! God grant that these
sins, and many others of which I am conscious, may be
not only blotted out by the blood of Christ, but weakened
daily in their influence, and finally destroyed. These
sins tell me I am too depraved to be a suitable minister
of Christ; but my chief and only hope is, that he who
has, I trust, called me to this work, will meeten me for
it. Give me, O Lord Jehovah, Christian meekness and
self-denial; give me to despise self-praise, and never to
seek the praise of others, but simply the glory of God.
Lord grant me grace for daily acts of self-denial, fre-
quent communion with thee, and meditation on thy word;
and, the influence of thy Holy Spirit attending all, to
grow in grace and in holiness.
O that I were more holy,
more entirely resigned to thy will, and separated from
the world. God help my infirmities, and give me sub-
mission and devotedness to thee.
" 12th Sept., Sunday.—Having heard two excellent
sermons by Mr. Buddicom, and being enabled to see my
want of resignation to the will of God, and to strive in
prayer for a subdued mind, I was led to see very deeply
my vast distance from the true Christian character.
I
found I was contenting myself with no attainments,-à-
few duties and weak inclinations, with but little effort
to help myself, or to seek help of God.
I found I was
Æt. 33.
223
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
almost entirely without love to God, without faith in
Christ, without humility, without resignation. Lord,
what a distance am I from thee! Bring me nigh by thy
great mercy. In prayer I was driven from every point
by want of faith or unworthiness. I tried the promises,
but found I had not faith to apply them. I cried for
faith, but wanted energy and power. I tried to realize
the promise, “Ask, and ye shall receive, but I am so
destitute of faith that I found I should not receive, be-
cause I asked amiss. Lord, remove my spiritual indis-
positions. Give me faith, Christ, thy Spirit, a humble
broken heart, diligent industry in the search after God,
meditation in thy word and attributes. Yea, Lord, give
me everything; for I am destitute of all, and unworthy
of all! Lord Jesus, help me."
The following letter to Mrs. Clark is one in which his
delight in communicating his own experience of the com-
forts of true religion is fully expressed :-
“ WHITBY, 31st October 1824.
“ MY DEAR SISTER,-- It is with a peculiar pleasure
that I attempt the task you requested of me, that I
would give you some hints respecting the nature and
practice of a religious life. Though there are many pub-
lished tracts and books which contain much better
descriptions of these important matters than I can give,
yet I do not shrink from the task, because I flatter
myself that what I write will have some weight in your
esteem, on account of the affection to you by which it is
224
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
upon God.
dictated. And it is my humble prayer to Almighty God
that he may, by his enlightening Spirit, give me the
wisdom and discretion that is needful that I may write
that which, under his own blessing, may be useful to you
in the most important of all concerns, your immortal
interests and eternal welfare :
“I. In respect of the nature of a religious life, I need
say but little.
It is that condition and habit of mind
which enables and disposes us to live the life of faith
It disposes us to fear and love the Lord, and
to perform no act of life without a reference to his
appro-
bation. It induces us to seek for the favour of God, by
obedience to his commands, as the greatest end of life;
and shows us by experience that ‘his ways are ways of
pleasantness,' and that all his paths are peace. In
difficulties it brings us to his footstool, and there we
spread our case before him ; in danger it enables us to
cry with hope and confidence unto him; in distress it
disposes us to seek to Inow his will in the trial, and to
reap benefit from every afflictive dispensation of his
providence. We view him, in short, as the hearer and
the answerer of prayer; and we esteem him as our now
reconciled Father through faith in Jesus Christ.
a father pitieth his children, we find he pities them who
fear him; and we are enabled to look upon him, not as
an angry judge, but as a tender and affectionate parent !
Thus we receive supports under affliction, confidence in
danger, and comfort under privations, of which the world
is totally destitute and ignorant. We are enabled then
to rejoice in tribulation, because we see the hand of a
And as
t. 33.
225
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
Father chastening us, and evincing his love to us by
taking this means to bring us to himself; and we are
enabled often to smile and be happy even in the prospec
of almost immediate death. Religion thus moderates and
sanctifies the evils of life, whilst it refines and elevates
whatever is good. It denies no pleasure but that which
is hurtful to us. Our duty and our happiness always go
hand in hand. No good thing is withheld from those
who love the Lord. Religion induces us to seek our
happiness in holy things, and to lay up our treasure in
heaven. Worldly things it makes us esteem less and
less; and, if its office be fully accomplished, it enables us
to view them with comparative contempt.
It is evident
God could have made all men wealthy if wealth had
been good for us; but where it was given, as in Sodom
and Gomorrah, the inhabitants became so wicked that
they drew upon themselves an especial judgment from
God. Besides, it is evident, that had God pleased, or
had he seen that it would be good for us, he could have
given us all the necessaries of life without labour.
Clothing would have been given us like the clothing of
other animals; and houses might have been provided
for us as is the habitation of all shell-fish; and provision
prepared for us merely for the gathering. But labour
was needful to man's happiness, and needful as a means
of preventing the world being completely desolated by
wickedness. But I find I am wandering a little from
my subject, and therefore shall proceed to the second
point to be mentioned, namely,-
“II. THE PRACTICE OF A RELIGIOUS LIFE.- Real
P
226
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
religion, and saving religion, commences with a change
of heart. All mankind, naturally, are in a state of con-
demnation from sin, being under the curse of the law
which they have broken in ten thousands of instances.
And there is no reconciliation with God until the right-
eousness of Christ is imputed to us as the only payment
which will be received for the debts we owe to God, and
which we ourselves are totally incompetent to pay. The
natural condition of every one's heart is rebellion against
God. But this rebellion is of different shades and kinds.
With some it exhibits itself in the gross vices which
stalk abroad in the open day, and proclaim to the world
that the man who practises them is a sinner ; but with
others it is so refined and well-concealed, exhibiting itself,
perhaps, scarcely at all to the world, and being discover-
able only in the possessor by the enlightening influence
of the Spirit of God applying to his heart the Scriptures
of truth. One character, however, is common to all the
unregenerated, namely, a want of entire submission and
obedience to the will of God, and some secret indulgences
which we
are not inclined to part with. But there
possibly may be a condition where the mind is willing
to give itself up to God, but not willing to make any
effort for itself; or, if it make any effort, it is feeble
and interrupted, and exceedingly imperfect. Or, there
may be another condition, where the mind, being
impressed with some sense of the value of religion,
feels disposed to receive it and embrace the practice of a
holy life, but where it is prevented, either by domestic
ties and hindrances, or by a want of proper resolution, so
Æt. 33.
227
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
that it puts off the important work from day to day, and
year to year, continually looking forward to a more
remote time, when it is supposed that it will be able to
undertake and effect the holy purposes which it has so
long designed. I shall not stop here to show the danger
of this delay, nor to attempt to mark the various devices
by which Satan retards the progress of Christian life, or
induces the well-disposed mind to relinquish the needful
exertion and means ; but I shall pass on to the con-
sideration of the means of accomplishing, under the
blessing of the Lord Jesus, that work of salvation in
our own hearts, which we are commanded 'to work out
with fear and trembling,' remembering that it is God
who worketh in us to will and to do,
“ 1. I should first recommend to you, my dear sister,
the practice of regular prayer to God in private, and of
reading the Bible. It is as impossible for the natural
man to live without food, as for the Christian to retain
his Christianity without prayer. Our Lord taught his
disciples to pray; and he regards the solicitations of the
weakest suppliant, and is willing to grant his Holy
Spirit to help our infirmities. Some people cannot find
time or opportunity for prayer and reading the Bible;
should this be a temptation to you, let me assure you it
is a deceit of Satan. Every one may find time if he
will, and every one ought; because, if religion deserves
anything, it deserves some of our time; and as it is the
great concern of life, it deserves time necessary for its
duties, whatever else be sacrificed. But it ought to be
regular, and never omitted. A few days' determined
228
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
perseverance in it would render it habitual, and the
difficulties weaker and weaker; but one single neglect
prepares the way for a second and a third. Reading the
Bible for a few minutes before prayer will generally
assist in the matter of prayer ; but if not, a form of
prayer, or the Collects of the Prayer Book, may be used
as excellent helps.
“ 2. Diligent attention to all the means of grace is a
most essential requisite. Now, for embracing this ad-
vantage, it is needful to become a fixed attendant at one
place during all its services, both Sabbath and week-day,
though this will not prevent your taking additional help,
if you feel it profitable, at other places of worship in the
intervals when there is no service in your own.
“I need not tell you, my dear Mary, that attendance
at the house of God is not likely to be profitable unless
due consideration be given to this important means of
grace. To worship God aright, that is, so as to be
profitable to our own souls, we must worship him in
spirit and in truth. Before we go to the house of God,
we should take opportunity of bowing our knees in
prayer (if but for a moment), for the blessing of God on
the service ; for the hearing ear, the retentive memory,
the believing and understanding heart, and for the
obedient life. As we walk thither, our hearts should be
lifted up to God, desiring communion with him, and with
his Son, Jesus Christ. And we should take heed to be
there in time, before the service begins; and any interval
that we may have will be well bestowed in reading and
meditating on the introductory sentences in the Prayer-
t. 33.
229
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
Book, which are taken from the Scriptures. Striving,
then, to guard our hearts from wandering, we should
follow every prayer, and endeavour to appropriate every
petition to ourselves. In the Litany, in particular, we
shall find petitions exactly suited to almost all our wants
and feelings. In these, therefore, we have more than
ordinary closeness to God, presenting to him the very
petitions we should offer to him in private, and applying
to his mercy in the responses.
I need not tell you how
to hear a sermon ; the object is, to hear (read), mark,
learn, and inwardly digest it. It should be a matter of
constant care with us to learn and remember something
from every sermon. The effect of a sermon is good when
it stirs us up to more watchfulness and greater earnestness
in the religious life, or when it humbles our pride and
weakens our self-confidence. And it is also good when
it comforts and consoles us, provided that comfort and
consolation be the result of dependence and confidence in
God, and he attended with stronger desires after the
salvation of Christ, and conformity to his example. It
would be well to make every sermon the subject of a
short meditation afterwards, that it may be impressed
on the memory, and the more important parts preserved
for practical application. It is very profitable to write
down so much of the sermons we hear as we can remem-
ber, or, at least, the more important parts.
3. The sanctifying of the Sabbath-day is, perhaps of
all others, the most distinguishing mark of the Christian
character, and, at the same time, the most important for
obtaining comfort and benefit in religion. Religion
230
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
never does its duty until it produces, to a considerable
extent, this effect. The day should be kept holy from
morn till night. We should prepare for the duties of it
on the night preceding, by having every arrangement
for the family, that can be accomplished, made and com-
pleted—leaving nothing but works of real necessity or
charity for the Sabbath. Our earliest thoughts should
be lifted up to God; and we should hold a perpetual
struggle against idle thoughts, and idle and worldly
conversation, We should, by all means, and at any
sacrifice, of a personal nature, avoid Sunday visiting
even with our most intimate friends. It is most inimical
to holiness to go from home on the Sabbath, however
friendly the visit may be, because the conversation being
generally worldly, is the means of robbing God of a
portion of his holy day, and of unfitting our minds for
profiting either by what we have heard, or what we are
about to hear. 'If thou turn away thy foot from the
Sabbath,' saith Jehovah, 'from doing thy pleasure on my
holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight-holy of the
Lord-honourable ; and shalt honour him-not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight
thyself in the Lord,' &c., &c. (See Isa. lviii. 13, 14;
Exod. xxxi. 13-17; Lev. xxiii. 32; Neh. xiii. 18; Isa.
lợi. 2, &c.)
“ 4. Religious conversation is another useful means of
grace. But this cannot so generally be practised except
with persons who live in a religious family, or near
religious friends. Yet, as occasion serves, it will be
t. 33.
231
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
found beneficial ; and let it be remembered that there is
a peculiar blessing attached to it, — They that feared
the Lord,' saith the prophet Malachi, spake often one to
another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a
book of remembrance was written before him for them
that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that
day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them,
as a man spareth his own son that serveth him’ (Ch.
iii. 16, 17).
“5. But for all these things the blessing of Almighty
God is necessary---absolutely necessary for our persever-
ance, decision, and success; yet for these things God
must be inquired of. They are the work of the Holy
Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's being given us, is the effect
of Christ's atonement. So that Christ is the foundation
and occasion of all our mercies and all our graces. He
is our ' Physician,' when the soul is sick; our Saviour—
our Prophet, our Priest, and our King; and “is made of
God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re-
demption. If we depend on ourselves we shall fail;
but if, using the means, and looking to Christ for help,
we also depend on him, we shall succeed.
With man
the work is impossible. It is as easy for the leopard to
change his spots; yet such is the connection between the
means and the end, that God is pledged to give us his
Spirit, if we ask, and by his Spirit we can do all things.
The simple process, then, is to read the New Testament
with a view of getting a knowledge of Christ, and then
to commit ourselves simply, and as little children, into
232
1824,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
his hands—believing his faithfulness, and depending on
his mercy and power.
But we must not fail to seek
divine aid. Our strength and resolution will be apt to
fail; but we must be constantly on our guard, and
renew our strength by waiting upon the Lord, so that
we may mount up as on the wings of an eagle-
may run and not be weary — may walk and not
faint.'
“6. The next means I have to mention, is the attend-
ance at the Sacrament. As all the chief comforts of
religion, and its highest enjoyments, as well as its bless-
ings, are derived from Christ, it is of the first import-
ance that the Saviour live in us, and we in him. In
his ordinance of the Lord's Supper, he often manifests
himself to those who seek for him there, and is known
to them, as to the disciples of old, in the breaking of
bread. All the meetness which this ordinance requires
is, that we feel the need of Christ, and desire to meet
with him there.
“7. There is another remark that escaped me at the
place in which it ought to have been brought in, which
is this: It is found to be particularly useful for obtain-
ing a religious tone of mind, to fix some text of Scripture
on the memory every morning, and to meditate on it
during every leisure moment that occurs during the day.
A useful little book, called 'Daily Bread,' has a selection
of texts for this purpose, which are very well selected
each text containing a precept and a promise. Some of the
religious pocket-books contain the same sort of selection.
Verses of hymns, learnt by heart, answer a useful pur-
Æt. 33,
233
LETTER TO MRS. CLARK.
little use.
pose in filling up intervals of leisure-particularly hymns
of petition and praise.
“Thus, my dear sister, have I made a humble at-
tempt to fulfil my promise. I feel that it is a very
imperfect attempt. It has been drawn up under every
disadvantage; without privacy—in a disturbed state of
mind—and at different periods. Yet, under the blessing
of God (as it is well intended), I hope it will be of some
But to make this, or anything else useful,
the mind must make an effort. You are called upon no
longer to halt between two opinions ; if the Lord be
God, follow him—but, if Baal, then follow him. You
are convinced that the Lord is God; the duty, therefore,
is an obvious one. The duty is to make a determined
stand against all opposition, and all hindrances, both at
home and abroad. As I have not neglected to pray
over this letter, and for direction in writing to your
edification, let my exertion be honoured in turn by your
seeking the divine blessing upon it. Ask of God that
he would apply, by his Holy Spirit, to your conscience,
whatever I have written according to his will; and that
what you yet see not, he would teach you.
One more word of exhortation before I conclude.
We live in a world full of evils, anxieties, and cares.
We experience these evils like thick and impenetrable
clouds surrounding us; but God is our refuge and de-
fence, and a present help in time of trouble. Troubles are
sent for our benefit, and they become blessings when they
are sanctified. Every affliction has a voice from God, and
is as a message from him unto us. Let us hearken to the
234
1824.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
call, and take warning by the affliction--that instead of
greater evils coming upon us, they may be converted
into blessings. Turn, then, my dear Mary, unto the
Lord Jesus, and make him the friend of your bosom
and the desire of your heart. Pursue all the means of
grace with the utmost diligence, as for your life. Stay
not-look not back to the world-retreat not a single
step—and do not stand still. But press forward for the
prize of immortal glory—'looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith.' 'Eye (truly) hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of
man to conceive the blessings the Lord hath in store for
those who love him.' And that you, my dear sister,
may be a partaker of that inestimable blessing, by being
enabled to persevere diligently and unremittingly in the
Christian course, is the sincere, the fervent prayer, of
your affectionate brother and friend,
“WILLIAM SCORESBY, Junior."
From a note-book, of which, unfortunately, but few
pages have been employed, we obtain the following in-
formation respecting Mr. Scoresby's occupation during
the remainder of the year 1824, and the early part of
the succeeding year :
“ Towards the end of December I left home on a
journey to London for the purpose of being presented to
the Royal Society, of which I had been elected a Fellow
in the preceding session, and with a view of taking
t. 34.
235
NOTE BOOK.
our.
instructions for freeing myself from the remains of a pro-
vincial pronunciation.
“ March 13, 1825.-On this, the Sabbath-day, I
would earnestly ask the blessing of the Lord. I feel
full of deadness and insensibility. Lord, quicken thou
me. Let me feel the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and
find peace in the knowledge and revelation of the Savi-
O that the Saviour were mine by the intimate
union of the vine and its branches. May I become a
lively stone in his spiritual building. Help me, O Lord,
a sinful man-give me grace to move to thee-to pray
to believe to employ thy promises—and to take the
reality and the comfort of reconciliation through Christ.”
Sabbath Evening, April 3, Easter Day.--I spent
the evening at home, after being twice at church, and
occupied the interval of absence of my housekeeper at a
meeting-house, in instructing my little Frederick. He
was delighted to spend alone an hour in this occupation,
and seemed to consider it quite as a privilege and a plea-
He repeated to me a considerable catechism, on
various parts of which I enlarged and explained, to his
full comprehension of the subject. After this I took up
the “ Memoirs of David Brainerd," which I had com-
menced in the afternoon. I always find religious bio-
graphy the most profitable of all reading, excepting the
Scriptures, because it enables me, in the example, feel-
ings, life, &c., of eminently pious men, to compare myself
with them, and to observe my deficiencies. Brainerd
shows me, in his description of his condition prior to his
complete conversion, much of my own present state. I
sure
236
1825.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
perceive that a mighty work has yet to be accomplished
in my heart before I be what I ought, or in the condi-
tion of any of the examples of holy men of whom I have
read. I find that in attending divine service I regard
not the glory of God, but only the quality of my own devo-
tions and the result of my own feelings. I grieve for
my wanderings of mind and insensibility, and conceive of
my feelings as the cause of comfort and peace. I perceive
I am in great error. May the Lord enlighten me, and
deliver me from my entanglements! I begin to fear that
my motives for entering the ministry are not so pure as
they ought to be. I have been hitherto satisfied with
them, because I have sacrificed all expectation of worldly
emolument, and have abandoned a profession which has
been profitable, and other chances of fresh employment
which might have been still more so.
But I fear much
is still in the secret recesses of my heart that I scarcely
dare draw out. I acknowledge without fear, and dwell
upon without apprehension, the selfishness of deriving my
own spiritual advancement as a very important end of
my ministry ; but I apprehend I have little true con-
sciousness or anxiety, if any, for the glory of God. And
I fear there is a secret lurking of the hope of popularity
(which may the Lord in his mercy give me grace to
abhor) ; and a something as the result of my desired
ministry that may be gratifying to the flesh, notwith-
standing other denials. O that the Lord Jesus would
show me the pollution of my own heart and remove it
that he would give me deep and abiding humility,
self-abasement, and a single eye to his glory! Search me,
At. 34.
237
NOTE-BOOK.
I want to expe-
O God, and know my thoughts; try me, and know my
ways, and see what evil ways are in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting.
“I have already read to the full conversion of Brainerd
and to his reception of the comforts and assurances of
religion, and how he leaves me far behind! I want to
know the Lord Jesus in spiritual communion. I want to
feel myself in him, and him in me.
rience a deeper sense of my vileness and the exceeding
sinfulness of sin. I want to approach God in prayer
with a consciousness of his greatness and glory, and to
realize his fatherly character in the face of his Anointed.
Lord ! Lord! help me!-a poor miserable, helpless sinner.
Enable me to come to thee simply in thine own ap-
pointed way. Let me enjoy thy Sabbaths, rise above the
world, feel abiding humility and self-abasement before
thee; let me be pure as thou art pure ; let me enjoy the
pleasures of religion above all the enjoyments of the
world—experience their exalted enjoyments, and feel the
true Christian love for all my fellow-creatures.
“O what exalted occasion for gratitude have I to God
for his mercies to me; and yet how little I feel impressed
by them!
When I remember my delicate habit of body,
that two years ago my lungs were in a very bad state-
that twelve months ago I could bear no close application
nor exposure to the weather, without immediately having
a cough and slight pain in my chest, and now observe
that I can study, with closest application, six or eight
hours per day for four or five days in the week, and
three or four hours per day the rest, and that without
238
1825.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
injury to my health, I am astonished at such a mark of
the blessing of God upon me; and this is the more re-
markable, since I have never before been addicted to any-
thing like the severity of attention that acquiring new
and difficult languages demands. And yet, so far from
that attention being attended with evil consequences, I
have found of late that my health and strength were per-
haps as great as they ever were during my life. The
Lord be praised for this great and condescending mani-
festation of his goodness, in thus blessing me and encour-
aging me to hope, that notwithstanding my unfitness for
the work of the ministry, as regards, especially, personal
holiness, that yet he is leading me to this exalted occu-
pation by every mark of his providence.
But health and strength, and uninterrupted quiet are
not the circumstances (with me at least) which bring me
nearest to God. I have experienced much more comfort,
happiness, and satisfaction in religion in times of danger,
or trials, or sickness. Oh, that I could so live as not to
need my Father's chastening rod ! The sacrament on
Good Friday [1825), was a time of some comfort to me.
My feelings were excited, and I think I had freedom from
any reserve of my own will contrary to the will of God.
To me, it was a full and convincing proof that those days
which are set apart by our Church for commemorating
the various important periods of our Saviour's life, death,
and resurrection, are exceeding profitable, provided they
be employed as special means of grace and freed from
superstition. The sacrament of last Christmas and this
Good Friday have, to me, been seasons of greater near-
Æt. 34.
239
NOTE-BOOK.
ine.
ness to God and longings after Christ than any others
for some time previous ; and hence I judge the observ-
ance of these days to have a beneficial tendency.
Sabbath-day Evening, April 24.—After a day spent
in the means of grace, in public ordinances, with scarcely
a devotional feeling, I mourn over my insensibility, and
lament my distance from God! My soul cleaveth to the
dust. Lord, quicken thou me! Help me, O my Father,
to come nigh unto thee. Discover to me the Lord Jesus
as the way, and the truth, and the life, and as the medium
of access unto thee. Help me to meditate on my deplor-
able deadness and insensibility, and give me to mourn
over my sin until the promise of comfort be fulfilled unto
Surely no one professing to know something of
God was ever so low as I. Days pass over me without
a heavenward desire; or, if there be any desire, it is utter
feebleness. Help me, O Lord, to use all means in my
power, depending upon thee, for spiritual advancement.
Help me to deny myself worldly enjoyments. Help me
diligently to pursue my studies with an eye, in all, to
spiritual knowledge. Oh, prepare me fully for the great
work to which I aspire. Give me humility and single-
ness of heart. Save me from spiritual and carnal pride.
Enable me to feel intense love for the souls of men, and
to be willing to labour when and where thou mayest be
pleased to appoint. Give me grace to commit myself en-
tirely into thy hands—to submit myself unreservedly
unto thee, and to forego my own pleasure in all things.
Help me to receive the Lord Jesus with child-like heart,
and to long for him above every other blessing to seek
240
1825.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
him with an earnestness above all other pursuits. Lord
save me, bless me, direct me. Impress my mind with
deepest gratitude to thee for all thy wondrous mercies to
me, and thy wondrous forbearance with me. Oh, that I
could feel myself humbled before thee, lowly, penitent,
and of an obedient heart. Lord Jesus, thou canst do all
things; have mercy upon me ! Save me from these im-
perfections (gross abominable sins) in my waiting upon
thee, O Lord, to which I am constantly addicted. Give
me attentive, anxious waiting for thee-a teachable
spirit. Have mercy upon me, even me, O Lord God !
Enable me, blessed Lord, in the ensuing week, if I am
still spared by thee, to live on the principle of self-denial,
much prayer, meditation, and personal humiliation. The
Lord be with me, to bless and guide me, and further me
daily in holiness and preparation for heaven, and for the
work I may have to do on earth. Amen and amen!”
The next trace of Mr. Scoresby's proceedings, in which
we have anything of public interest, is contained in the
following letter from him to Mr. Hodgson, dated 9th
July 1825 :-
I am sure you will rejoice with me, and therefore I
write to inform you that my day of anxious trial is just
past. I have gone through my examination, through the
merciful kindness of Almighty God, not only successfully,
but honourably. I was in hopes the examination would
have been earlier, that I might have written to you in
time to solicit the prayers of yourself, and of your excel-
Æt. 34.
241
AnS ORDINATION.
lent and much respected sisters, for the blessing of God
upon my appointment to the responsible and honourable
office to which I expect to-morrow to be ordained.
Let
me not, however, lose the benefit that I expected, and do
sincerely desire, of your united remembrance of me at
the throne of grace.
Ask for me, my dear friend, that I
may be found faithful in the service of my Lord and
Master, that I may be ever laborious, simple-hearted, and,
if it please God, successful in my calling—striving, with-
out any selfishness as to worldly things, for the glory of
the Lord and the advancement of the Redeemer's king-
dom all the days of my life.
“I did not see you for some time before I left, other-
wise I should have announced to you some hopes I had
of being accepted. There are forty men to be ordained
to-morrow-above one-half to priests' crders; many of
them, I greatly fear, are not yet taught of God; and, un-
fortunately, this important qualification is not insisted
upon as essential to their appointment.
“ Again has the hand of God been graciously mani-
fested in my behalf. Besides my admission, I have to
mark with gratitude, that a resolution which the arch-
bishop has just adopted, would have prevented all my
plans at present, had I offered myself at all later, or had
I not before obtained the favour of the archbishop. He
now receives no one for orders, except graduates of the
universities, who have not been resident two or three
years in his diocese ; and on this very ground he rejected
one candidate this morning!”
242
1825.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
On the 30th of July he wrote as follows to his friend,
Mr. Rathbone :
"On Sunday, the 17th, I commenced my ministerial
labours at Bessingby, and with feelings which, by your
letter, you can, I perceive, well understand. The embar-
rassment, however, was less than I expected. This was
probably owing to the church being a very, very small
one, the congregation of course few, and these almost
entirely strangers to me. I experienced a sort of feeling
that was quite novel ; towards the people a sincere love
was felt, even before I knew them. It was sufficient to
see them and to know they were of my little parish. I
fancy my feelings were something of the nature of a
mother to her infant offspring, because altogether inde-
pendent of their personal characters or their feelings to-
wards me.
Sermonizing, I have found perfectly easy, as
far as concerns a plain systematic discourse ; but to com-
pose a good sermon, I found it much more difficult than
I expected, and hence, what I have yet written are gene-
rally, if not wholly, as common-place as may be. If, how-
ever, I can obtain a sufficiently deep sense of the solemn
and responsible nature of my office-with the prevailing
influence of personal godliness, and the infinite value of
immortal souls always before my eyes—my discourses
will, at least, be edifying ; but as yet I have not suc-
ceeded as I could wish.
“ The Quay* is a most agreeable residence. It juts out
in the middle of a most beautiful bay, terminated on the
* Burlington Quay.
Æt. 34.
243
CURACY OF BESSINGBY.
south by a low shore approaching the Spurn, but on the
north by the bold white limestone cliffs of Flamborough
Head. My little parish has a beautiful little village. The
cottages are quite picturesque, the fronts being covered
with honeysuckles, monthly roses, and jessamine. The
neighbourhood is also pleasant, and affords some excellent
society ; while a large number of gay persons flock to the
quay as a summer's residence. Among these I find
goodly society ; but time is needed to give confidence and
esteem."
In a letter from the Rev. Thomas Cursham, of Mans-
field, to Mr. Scoresby, inviting him to preach in his
church, the following paragraph occurs, in which the sum
mentioned strangely contrasts with that named by Mr.
Scoresby as having been the average produce to him of
a Greenland voyage, namely, £800 :-
"I hope you find your present residence agreeable.
Surely some one possessed of the means (prelate, or no)
will confer a credit on himself, and do you common
justice, by making you more than passing rich with £40
a-year in the church. It is true that I ride about a
thousand miles a-year for rather less than this sum ; but
I have more than I deserve, and only want a grateful
heart to the Giver."
Shortly afterwards, the charge of two additional, but
very small, parishes was given to Mr. Scoreshy. And
bere he delighted to dwell, “ training himself,” as lie ex-
244
1828.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
presses it, “to humility, simplicity, and submission to the
divine will." Although much occupied in preparation for
the Sabbath's preaching, Sunday-school teaching, and in
visiting his widely scattered flock, he, nevertheless, found
opportunity to write several interesting scientific papers,
chiefly on magnetism, which were published in the
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,” and a long article on
the Polar Regions for the “Edinburgh Encyclopædia. ”
Thus the remainder of the year 1825 and the succeeding
year passed away. At the close of the latter, however,
his Liverpool friends, who had been earnest in their
desire for his return amongst them, intimated to him a
scheme which had been set afoot for establishing a float-
ing chapel for the benefit of sailors; and, moreover, threw
out a passing hint that it was an excellent opportunity
for getting him back again. The following, from a letter,
dated 27th November 1826, to Mr. Hodgson, expresses
Mr. Scoresby's feelings with respect to it:-
“I have had letters from three different friends re-
specting the Floating Church, all of whom kindly wish me
· to be appointed to it. After the conversation I had with
you on the subject, I did not think it necessary to make
any application to the trustees respecting it, ---supposing
that if it were likely that the trustees should esteem me
eligible for the responsible situation of clergyman to the
Mariners' Church, some one would inform me of it. But
just now, a friend tells me, that if I would not be shut
out from all probability of the appointment, I must apply
to the trustees. I acknowledge that there are some
Æt. 36.
245
MARINERS' CHURCH.
things about the restrictions of the clergyman that I
don't like. I believe it to be natural to Englishmen to
like liberty, and I should have liked the Floating Church
better if its clergyman had been as free as others, though,
for my own part, I might never have desired to have
taken advantage of that freedom. This circumstance, to-
gether with the hope and belief that God will direct both
the trustees and myself in this important matter, has
made me not indifferent, but submissive as to the
ap-
pointment. In regard to myself, it has pleased God to
make my way so clear hitherto,—-yea, every step of my
progress, and every act of preparation, and every en-
couragement, and every humiliation,—that I could no more
shut my eyes against his merciful and special guidance,
than I could against the glare of the meridian sun
shining upon my closed eyelids! And I do still believe
that his will will be done as regards this opening for the
Floating Church. As, however, the offering of myself
may be a part of the necessary means, both as to the
possibility of appointment and the ascertaining of the
will of God, I write now to you to request that you will
do what is needful for placing me in the situation of a
candidate, provided you think there is a fair and reason-
able prospect of success. That is, should you, from your
knowledge of the sentiments of the trustees, be aware
that any other person has a decided preference, I should
have no desire either of taxing your friendship or at all
disturbing the prepossession by an unnecessary applica-
tion. Or there may be any other cause which would
render my application useless, and, if so, I should prefer
246
1826.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
receiving your candid and friendly communication on the
subject to any other measure.
“You will not suppose, however, I hope, by the man-
ner in which I now speak, or have spoken, on the sub-
ject, that I feel indifferent to the success of the Floating
Church, or to my own appointment to so vast a field of
usefulness; no, I trust and believe there are few persons
who feel more anxiously than myself for the success of
this noble cause, or would desire to enter with more heart
and soul into it, if the way were made plain to the ap-
pointment. And thus far, I cannot but feel that there
seems to be a drawing of me to that great object-my
early habits of life, my intimate acquaintance with the
sailor, with his habits of thought, prejudices, language, and
prepossessions; my admission into holy orders at such a
season, and the approaching conclusion of the ordinary
stay at the church of nomination,—all seem to me as so
many links of a chain connecting me with the Mariners'
Church. But the determination of the trustees will re-
main either as a connecting link or for my separation
from it altogether. By that determination, my way will,
I trust, be made clear for me. As private friendship has
nothing to do with the appointment to such a situation
—which ought to rest entirely upon the capacity, piety,
and aptitude of the applicant-. I make no appeal to any
of the other trustees, nor ask anything from you but
what you see it right and proper to give. Private friend-
ship might give a cast to the scale upon a balance, but
it ought to do no more. An institution so important
ought not to be influenced by private feelings.
Æt. 36.
247
INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.'
"I trust, whoever is appointed to the Floating Church,
that the trustees will, if possible, appoint one who has
been a sailor; and, besides myself, there is a very con-
siderable number in the Establishment. All who inti-
mately know sailors, are aware that there is an idiom,
not only in their conversation, which is peculiar, forcible,
and striking, but likewise in the ordering of their
thoughts. Not that this would require sea-phrases so
much, as nautical illustrations, than which, to a sailor,
nothing could be so intelligible or expressive. Yet no
landsman can attain the force of that illustration; and,
in proof of this, I would venture to say that no
landsman can imitate a chapter of the 'Naval Sketch-
book.' A simple illustration would expose him to a
sailor's ears as certainly as the Ephraimites by their
Sibboleth."
The year 1827 opened with happy auspices. On the
3d of January, a letter reached Mr. Scoresby announc-
ing the distinguished honour which had been conferred
upon him by the Institute of France, in electing him one
of her “Corresponding Members.” A week or two later,
whilst engaged in delivering a course of scientific lectures
at York, the intimation of his unanimous election to the
office of chaplain to the Mariners' Church in Liverpool
was made to him. Although the time appointed to be
fulfilled in the church to which ministers are first nomin-
ated was not quite accomplished, the archbishop, never-
theless, on being satisfied that an efficient substitute had
been obtained to undertake the intervening period, re-
248
1827.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
lieved Mr. Scoresby from further duty at Bessingby; so
that he was enabled—all preliminaries necessary with
the bishop of the diocese having been arranged—to
commence his new duties in Liverpool on the 17th of
May.
t. 36.
249
THE MARINERS' CHURCH.
CHAPTER XIII.
MARINERS' CHURCH-RAMMOHUN ROY-DEATH OF MR. HUSKISSON-EX-
TRACTS FROM SERMONS-DEATH OF HIS FATHER ORIGIN OF BRITISH
ASSOCIATION-CAUSE
OF HIS REMOVAL FROM LIVERPOOBEDFORD
CHAPEL, EXETER-TESTIMONIAL-EPIDEMIC OF CHOLERA, 1832-DEGREE
OF B.D.-FREDERICK'S LETTERS, ILLNESS, AND DEATH--SCIENTIFIC PUR-
SUITS-—WILLIAM GOES TO EDINBURGH; HIS ILLNESS, AND DEATH-MR.
SCORESBY RESUMES HIS SCIENTIFIO INVESTIGATIONS-SEVERE ACCIDENT
L“ADMIRALTY COMPASS.
1827–1838.
CONCERNING his ministerial life in Liverpool, Mr. Scoresby
has left his biographer but little to tell, having himself
infused a considerable amount of personal narrative into
the Memorial of his son.* The Mariners' Church con-
sisted of a ship of war fitted up for the purpose, and
capable of accommodating about a thousand persons.
The services were usually attended by that class, in
preponderance, for whose edification they were designed,
though many of the inhabitants of the town might on all
occasions be observed throughout the galleries, the body
of the church being almost entirely occupied by sailors.
Mr. Scoresby's pastoral visits were chiefly confined to the
shipping in the extensive docks. « In order," he says,
“to make myself acquainted, as far as circumstances
allowed, with the numerous captains frequenting this
port- both with a view, under the divine blessing, to
* Memorial of F. R. H. Scoresby. London: James Nisbet & Co. 1837.
250
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the promotion of religion among them personally, and,
through their instrumentality, among the sailors under
their command-it was a rule with me to visit the docks,
at a stated time, weekly.” He was also, however,
frequently drawn into the town to visit such of his con-
gregation as resided there, of which visits several most
encouraging examples are recorded in the Memorial. In
the same work there is an interesting account of the arrival
of Rammohun Roy in England, with whom Mr. Scoresby
had several opportunities of conversing, and was highly
gratified by the warmth of manner with which this cele-
brated Hindoo expressed his appreciation of the gospel ;
it was in the Floating Chapel that Rammohun Roy first
attended divine worship in this country. The melan-
choly death of Mr. Huskisson is likewise recorded, Mr.
Scoresby having witnessed the train of circumstances
which gave rise to the fatal occurrence.
In his discourses* to the sailors, Mr Scoresby was in
the habit of frequently employing familiar nautical illus-
trations, with the view of arresting the attention of such
as would otherwise have carried little or nothing away
with them for after meditation. Some of these are very
striking ; we select the following >
A volume of these was published in 1831 by Nisbet and Co., London. It
consists of fifteen sermons, comprising the following subjects :-On the Love of
God in Redemption-On Regeneration, or the New Birth-On the Power and In-
fluence of Satan-On the Injurious Influence of the Conduct of Wicked Sailors-
On the Beneficial Influence of the Conduct of Pious Seamen On the Resiirrection
and Final Judgment-On the Duty and Importance of Immediate Repentarce-
On the Messiah-On the Finished Work of Christ-On the Christian Sabbath
On the Evils of Intemperance-On the Works and Wonders of the Lord in the
Deep--and on the Practical Revelation of the Trinity.
EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS.
251
THE IMPORTANCE OF REGENERATION.
“In philosophy, or in art, we may hold ten thousand
errors, and yet be neither less happy, nor less religious ;
but so supremely important is the present subject, that
one fundamental error here will be the ruin of the soul.
A ship, as you well know, may have a thousand defects
in her upper works without particularly endangering her
safety, whilst one single defect below-a bad plank, or
an open seam, or a started butt-may produce a leak
that will be fatal. So, my brethren, whilst errors in
opinion as to many of the matters of life, of morals, or
even as to the minor points of religion are, comparatively,
of little importance, one material error, in the matter of
regeneration, will sink both body and soul in eternal
perdition !”
“ We shall endeavour further to explain the nature of
the new birth, by an illustration taken from a subject
which is familiar to every sailor. I refer to the mariners'
compass. Whilst you are all acquainted with the com-
pass, most of you, it is presumed, know something of its
construction ; and every one, who has ever been at sea,
must be aware of its usefulness. It is your guide, and
means of safety and prosperity. Now, what the compass
is to the sailor, the Spirit of Christ (which entering the
heart produces the new birth) is to the believing Christian.
The former guides through the trackless deep, when
neither sun nor stars are visible, and enables you to reach
the port to which you are bound; the latter guides
through the mazes, darkness, and manifold perils of this
252
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
mortal life, to the haven of eternal bliss. But consider
what the compass would be without being touched. It
might have all the apparatus and requisites of a compass,
it might resemble other compasses so much as to pre-
sent no difference in its external appearance whatever,
and yet, for any purpose of navigation, it would be
entirely useless. And such precisely is the natural man,
before his heart is touched by the Spirit. He is a soul
without divine life—a compass without magnetism. He
may, indeed, exhibit all the outward appearances of the
spiritual man ; he may sustain a moral character; he
may be diligent in religious duties; he may be forward
in good works,—yet if he have not the divine touch-
the heaven born love, or charity-he is nothing. As the
untouched compass has no attraction to the pole-stands
in any direction-is inactive, inanimate, useless—so the
unregenerate man has no attraction to Christ, the be-
liever's pole-star; he is indifferent to heavenly influences;
more readily stands out of the right direction than in it;
and is, in short, sluggish, dead, and unprofitable. As,
therefore, the compass, however well made and beauti-
fully finished, must be touched with the mysterious in-
fluence of the magnet, before it can turn to the pole, so
the heart must be touched with the secret influence of
Christ's Spirit, before it can turn to Christ.
“But if any still doubt, like Nicodemus, because of the
mystery of regeneration, and again and again say, 'How
can these things be ?' we would refer you, after the
manner of our Lord; to the mystery of the magnet, and
ask you to explain that. Tell us how the power enters
EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS.
253
whence it comes—how it acts ? No! you cannot ;
yet you will not deny the power. Neither, then, deny
the mysterious power which we have been describing,
though we cannot explain the mystery. It is a mystery
no greater than that of the magnet or of the wind. For-
'the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the
Spirit.' If, then, the wind be a mystery which we cannot
understand, it is but another mystery to be born again.
If the compass be a mystery we cannot fully explain, the
heavenly influence of regeneration is but another inexplic-
able mystery.
As you believe the natural mysteries,
why receive not the spiritual?”
CHRIST THE LIFE-BOAT OF THE SOUL,
“My seafaring brethren ! let me reason with you on
the folly of delaying religion. Let me endeavour to im-
press you with the danger of rejecting now the salvation
of the gospel. The approach of death may be compared
to the stranding of a ship on a lee-shore, in which the
men who escape represent the righteous, and those who
are lost the impenitent. Let us amplify this figure for
present edification. Suppose, now, you were all in a ship
which had struck on a sand bank at a distance from the
shore to leeward. Imagine a frightful extent of roaring
breakers between you and the land, and nothing but
destruction staring you in the face. Suppose, whilst in
this terrible condition, when all hope of escape was given
up, that a life-boat should bravely push off and approach
254
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
the straining, parting wreck to which you clung. What
joy would the sight of the boat inspire ; what hope and
animation would be felt! Imagine now the boat when
within hail; and being as near as safety will admit, the
commander cries out, ‘Now is the proper time—now is
the moment for being saved !' Would any hesitate
whether they should then jump in? Would any answer,
'Come again after a little while, and perhaps it will be
smoother?' Would any one, in his senses, say, 'I can-
not come now; but I will try to-morrow?' How strange,
then, that we should be so wise for this life, and such fools
as to the next! Yet such is the sinner's folly who re-
fuses the salvation that is offered him now, supposing he
may have it to-morrow! To-morrow! Before to-mor-
row's dawn, 0 hesitating sinner, thy poor fragile, crazy
hulk may be broken up, and thy ill-prepared spirit may
have been called to meet its God.”
THE VOYAGE THROUGH LIFE.
“For the Church of Christ may be compared to a ship;
the world to a sea ; temptations and persecutions, afflic-
tions and dangers to the waves of it; Satan, the prince
of the power of the air, may be likened to the stormy
wind that raiseth the waves; and heaven to that desired
port where is eternal security and blessedness.
Brethren, as you are all embarked in this dangerous
voyage, and as all of you, in a greater or less degree, have
encountered its alarming storms,—let me now inquire,
whether the dangers you have experienced have made
you cry unto the Lord to bring you to the heavenly
EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS.
255
haven ? Whether every storm has directed your
thoughts to Him that raiseth it? Whether every de-
liverance has called forth your gratitude to Him who re-
garded you in your distress ?
distress ? Let me solemnly ask you,
whether these exhibitions of peril and mercy have had
their proper influence in determining your choice as to
the course you shall steer, with the blessing of God, for
the rest of your lives? Whether you have both begun
to pursue the right way and are now pursuing it? In
plain language, I ask, is your head towards heaven or
hell ? But I shall assist you in determining. If you are
drifting before the wind and tide of your sinful passions ;
if you are trusting unskilful nature at the helm ;-be
assured your course is towards destruction !
are striving against the lee current of your lusts; if you
are beating hard against the foul breeze of Satan ; if
the word of God be your chart and sailing directions ; if
the Holy Spirit be the magnetic influence by which you
steer, and Christ the skilful pilot on whom you rely for
the success of your voyage;-then would I say, be of good
cheer-' be strong and of a good courage ; be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with
thee whithersoever thou goest.'
But if you
THE HOLY SPIRIT THE MOTIVE POWER.
“For as a sailing vessel, however beautifully con-
structed, however well its masts may be proportioned,
and its sails spread, cannot advance on its voyage without
the propitious breeze of heaven, neither can all the
machinery designed for human redemption-beautiful,
256
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
powerful, costly, and perfect as it is--be able to carry a
single soul on its voyage to heaven, without the fair and
influential breezes of the Holy Spirit.”
Brethren, the spiritually wise, in their voyage
towards an eternal world, improve the present fair breeze
of the Spirit. To-morrow the foul blast of Satan's
opposition breeze may set in strong and unvarying
against you! You have now the means of clearing the
roadstead of destruction,--the wind blows fair. Let him
that is wise, then, take advantage of the breeze to clear
the land. For as one day's loss of the favourable breeze
which carried others safe to sea, may cause the ship that
was detained to get embayed and wrecked. so one day's
loss of the auspicious gale of the Spirit may occasion the
shipwreck of the soul! Men and brethren, delay not
another day! Repent now, in the day of the Spirit !
Now, when the Spirit moves among us! Now, when
Christ Jesus is present in the midst of us ! For,
behold, now is the accepted,' the favourable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation."
REMEMBER THE SABBATH-DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY.
“Notwithstanding many of the foregoing remarks
apply to the sea as well as the shore, yet I must speak
more particularly about the sanctifying of the Sabbath at
sea. Though there be no 'sound of the church-going
bell’ to call you to the duty of public prayer; though
you have no sacred temple in which to present yourselves
unto the Lord, and no consecrated priest to minister in
holy things ;—yet it is as much your duty to remember
EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS.
257
S
you not.
the Sablath at sea, and to endeavour to sanctify it, as
it is to keep it holy on shore. And I must be free to
tell you, that if you excuse yourselves, the Lord excuseth
He makes no exception for sailors. Does any
one say that it is not possible to serve the Lord at sea ?
We cannot keep the Lord's-day holy? we cannot have
divine worship on each returning Sabbath ? Mistaken
friends, allow me affectionately to say, you can. Duty
to God says you must. If
you
cannot serve God at sea,
you ought to stay on shore.
For what shall it profit a
man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul!'
If your profession prevents your being good Christians,
holy men, let me tell you it is a bad profession ! If you
cannot undertake the spiritual voyage at the sanie time
you follow the sea, your calling must be most evil. But
I thank God, for the sake of our many seamen, it is
otherwise. Neither your occupation as sailors, nor the
want of churches to which you may resort, nor the want
of ministers to assist you in holy things, prevents you,
necessarily, from leading a religious life. For the Lord,
who restricts not his servants to approach him only in
houses made with hands, can be worshipped where no
such churches exist, -afar off at sea, even as on shore.
Because, wherever two or three are gathered together in
the name of Christ, there hath he promised to be in the
midst; there is a church, and there ye may seek and
expect a blessing. And as
And as to opportunity, there is
abundance if you would improve it; if you have the
will, God will find the way. Gales, or dangers, or diffi-
culties, though they occur in their usual course, will
4
R
258
1829.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
seldom prevent your waiting upon God, if your hearts be
interested in the important duty.'
In the year 1829 Mr. Scoresby had to mourn the
death of his father. The Scoresbys—father and son
left the sea about the same period--the latter, as we have
seen, to enter upon a new field of labour; the former to
enjoy that repose in advanced age to which the unremit-
ting toils of his youth and prime fairly entitled him.
He retired, in 1823, to Whitby, where he afterwards
chiefly resided, occupying himself with healthful and
useful employments. True to his maxim that “ learning
is never a burthen," he laboured to attain greater know-
ledge, which he was zealous in imparting to others,
especially to children. The following extract from the
last letter which we find to his son, describes his daily
habits :-“I exercise myself daily in the fields, by en-
deavouring to destroy the noxious weeds, -get up fences
in my little farm, so as to make an extra blade of grass
grow. I also occasionally attend the Whitby and Rus-
warp workhouses, endeavouring, so far as my feeble
efforts go, to instruct the young children. I continue to
advocate improvements in the town and harbour, par-
ticularly now that the work can be done so cheaply.
By these and other exercises, aided by temperance in
diet, I am, under Providence, become my own physician;
and I have the privilege to state that my health (which
was iinpaired by forty years of sea-service), continues to
improve." He died a few months later, in his seventieth
years.
t. 38.
259
BRITISH ASSOCIATION.
One other incident which occurred during Mr. Scoresby's
sojourn in Liverpool may be mentioned :--the origin of
that association whereby—through a course of thirty
years of uninterrupted prosperity, promoted by the zealous
and indefatigable application of the talents and genius of
its members—so great lustre has been added to our
already exalted national reputation. The preliminary
meeting of the BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE-
MENT OF SCIENCE was held in the theatre of the Yorkshire
Museum, at York, on the 27th of September 1831, at
which Mr. Scoresby was elected to the sub-committee for
the section of Mathematical and Physical Science,* and
from that time to the year of his death he attended the
meetings most regularly, seldom failing to contribute a
paper, or to exhibit improvements in such philosophical
instruments as his magnetical investigations rendered
him familiar with.
Mr. Scoresby held the chaplaincy of the Mariners'
Church for five years, during which his ministerial offices
were attended with remarkable success, and he would in
all probability have continued to labour amongst that
class with whose habits he was so well acquainted, had
not the circumstances we are about to relate rendered a
change of climate imperative. In June 1828 he married
Miss Elizabeth Fitzgerald, a lady distinguished for her
amiability, benevolence, and piety, the eldest daughter of
* At this meeting he gave "An Exposition of some of the Laws and Pheno-
mena of Magnetic Induction, and of the Mutual Influences of Magpets on each
other, with an account of a Method of Application of the Magnetic Influences for
the determination of the thickness of solid substances not otherwise measurable."
260
1832.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Colonel Fitzgerald, who held considerable property at
Corkbegg, in the south of Ireland. Soon after their
arrival in Liverpool, Mrs. Scoresby's health began to fail,
and it was discovered that a more southern residence was
necessary for her.
Mr. Scoresby, in the Memorial of lis
son, remarks:
“The writer may briefly state, that his resignation of
his post of so much importance in Liverpool, was occa-
sioned simply by the unremitting sufferings of his beloved
and devoted wife, from the incongeniality of the atmo-
sphere, or climate, whilst resident there.
She had only
been a few months in Liverpool, when her ordinary health
altogether gave way, and was only recruited, under the
divine blessing, by a summer's residence in Ireland. On
her return home, however, the same distressing result
again took place, and subsequently also, after a second
experiment, till it was felt to be no longer right to put
the further trial of affection on so certainly painful an
issue, so that for the last year of the author's chaplaincy
of the Mariners' Church, she was altogether resident with
her family in Ireland.
“Meanwhile an opening unexpectedly appeared, in the
dispensation of Providence, for changing the writer's
sphere of labour to a more genial part of the country,
where, at Exeter, he had the great comfort and satisfac-
tion of obtaining a residence for his family, in which the
object of his solicitude was privileged to realize a con-
siderable measure of enjoyment of health, and of other
abounding mercies of heaven.
Æt. 41.
261
BEDFORD CHAPEL.
“Our removal from Liverpool took place in the spring
of 1832. My wife being still resident in Ireland, and
my eldest son, at the same time, being at Trinity College,
Dublin, and our old and faithful servant having preceded
us for the preparation of a home which had been engaged
for us in Exeter, and for the reception of the contents of
a little vessel, freighted with furniture, library, &c.,
Frederick and myself became the sole remnants of our
family party, and fellow-travellers into Devonshire.
• The day after leaving Liverpool we had the happi-
ness of joining my wife at Clifton, who; with a brother-
in-law and family, had just arrived by steamer from
Cork. On the 27th of April we proceeded to Exeter,
and shortly afterwards took possession of our appointed
residence there."
Bedford Chapel-to the incumbency of which Mr.
Scoresby had been elected in competition with seventy-
five candidates—was not completed on their arrival in
Exeter, and was not opened for public worship until the
5th of August. In the meantime, the change of climate
-aided by sea-bathing, which their proximity to the
coast rendered feasible—had effected a marked ameliora-
tion in Mrs. Scoresby's health, whereby their regret at
leaving Liverpool and its associations was greatly com-
pensated. The appreciation of Mr. Scoresby by his
Liverpool friends was testified in the presentation of a
beautifully constructed clock. Dr. Traill, in behalf of the
subscribers to the testimonial, says* :-
* In a letter which accompanied the testimonial to Exeter, April 1833.
262
1832.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“A few of your Liverpool friends, desirous of present-
ing you with some memorial of their esteem and attach-
ment, have thought that, to one who justly appreciates
and improves the fleeting moments, no present could be
more appropriate than an instrument to measure time.
They have, therefore, united to present you with a
skeleton clock, made expressly for you by our best artist
in that line, and I am desired to request your acceptance
of this tribute of sincere and admiring friends.
He attended the meeting of the British Association, at
Oxford, in the month of June, to which he contributed
“ An account of some extraordinary effects of lightning
on the packet ship, New York.” A few weeks later, we
find him visiting from house to house, amidst hundreds
dying of cholera, a disease which had prostrated the popu-
lation throughout the length and breadth of the land.
Speaking of Exeter, he says :*-
“We are here suffering under a most severe exhibition
of that awful scourge with which it has pleased God to
visit our hitherto greatly privileged land.
Our cases of
cholera have been fifty daily, for above a week, with
about one-third part of deaths—a quantity which has
not been equalled, I believe, in the proportion of popula-
tion, in Britain. I consider it as fully one-half of the
proportion, if not more, which occurred in Paris ! The
means of a remedial nature, under God, are yet very, very
imperfect. This is an independent city—an independent
* Letter to Mrs. Rath bune, 17th August, 1832.
Æt. 41.
263
EPIDEMIC OF CHOLERA.
corporation of the poor—an independent chapter, none
of them reached by the orders in council, and conse-
ently no means of raising funds excepting by volun-
tary contributions. Being myself a member of the Board
of Health and of two or three committees (for provision
for the poor, for disinfection, &c.), I shall be glad of a
few of those hints which, by your experience, you have
gained. The best of my time since my appointment to
the board has been spent there. I am thankful in being
in any way useful. But much, very much is yet to be
done, and great difficulties are in our way. Whilst, how-
ever, we feel the imperfection and difficulties attending
human means, I have much comfort personally, felt also
by the Christian population generally, in the appoint-
ment of next Wednesday as a day of general local humi-
liation and prayer to Almighty God for his mercy in this
great visitation.
He who bringeth the disease upon us,
can alone remove it or mitigate its severity. It is a
characteristic of the fearful disease that, in its early
stages especially, in every place, it seems to mock all
human efforts and human wisdom. As a French phy-
sician has lately said, other diseases end in death-this
begins in death! You, however, are familiar with these
solemn impressions which we have but recently begun to
participate in."
In 1834,* eight of the ten years of probation under
* At the meeting of the British Association in 1833, Mr Scoresby contributed
a paper on
“ A Peculiar Source of Error in Experiments with the Dipping
Needle." He also published, in the same year, his “Memorials of the Sea ;"
also “ The Believer's Consolation,” a penitentiary sermon.
264
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
which Mr. Scoresby entered the University of Cambridge
for the degree of D.D., having elapsed, he was called upon
to keep his terms, and, accordingly, repaired thither in
the beginning of the year and remained until the 11th
of June, when, having complied with the prescribed
rules, and after undergoing the necessary examinations,
he received the degree of Bachelor in Divinity, from
Queen's College.
His two sons, concerning whom but little has been
mentioned, were both living from home—the one, Wil-
liam, being at Trinity College, Dublin, the other at a
boarding-school a short distance from Exeter. Mr.
Scoresby's great desire and aim in educating his children
was to fit them for the ministry, to which honourable and
highly privileged calling he endeavoured assiduously to
turn their minds. William was active, energetic, and
talented; but his inclinations had a different bent. He
preferred the medical profession, and was at this time
far advanced towards a degree in Arts at Dublin, which
his father intended merely as a preparatory step to enter-
ing one of the English Universities.
Frederick, of whom we are now brought to speak
more at length, was, in respect of physical development,
the very opposite of his brother. He was a small,
weakly, and backward child ; slower in his learning only
than in his growth in stature. Until this period, although
nearly sixteen years of age, he had never been strong
enough to trust away from home, and his separation now
was made rather with a view of preparing him for col-
lege life than with any desire to urge his studies into
Æt. 44.
265
FREDERICK.
more rapid progress. But, though almost a dwarf in
bodily dimensions, and possessed of no great mental
powers for ordinary learning, in spiritual things he had
attained unto great knowledge. From the moment when
he first lisped his prayers, until the day of his—to human
understanding—premature death, he seemed possessed of
but one " thirsty interest," a desire after the good things
of which the Bible told him, and therefore he made that
book his first friend. Of the numerous pleasing, even
wonderful, incidents of his infancy and childhood, in con-
nection with his strongly developed feelings of piety, it
will be impossible even so much as to make mention. A
few of such traits, however, as were evinced during the
latter period of his life, may with propriety be dwelt
upon.
He was taken to the school, referred to above, by
his father, on the 16th of October 1834.
“ We arrived at the school," says Mr. Scoresby, in his
memorial of Frederick, "about one o'clock of the same
day. Just as I had dismissed the carriage, in which we
had crossed the line of road traversed by the daily coaches
to B-, I was told—and my heart sank within me
when I heard it—that a fever, of the typhoid kind, had
recently prevailed in the school. It had previously, in-
deed, been intimated to us that several of the boys had
been attacked by an epidemic; but, as the influenza,
which I imagined this disease to be, had been almost
everywhere prevalent, the intimation made no impression
on my mind. The idea of a typhoid fever, however,
gave me, on the first mention of it, great anxiety, though
266
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
subsequent information on the subject considerably allayed
it. For, on inquiry as to particulars, I found that there
was no case then in the school—that, among those which
had occurred, none had been fatal—that the place had
been thoroughly purified since the removal of the inva-
lids, and that, previous to this visitation, the situation
had always been considered as healthy. Hence, I doubted
whether I should not be erring from timid apprehension
and distrust of Providence, were I to take my anxious
charge back with me. This consideration, moreover, had
a decisive influence on my final determination, that the
weather, which, for three months previously, had been
hot and unusually dry, had now set in damp and very
cold ; so that I inferred that the state of atmosphere,
which appeared to have predisposed for the disease,
having passed away, the habit of body, adapted for re-
ceiving the contagion, was not likely to be produced in
one not having previously participated in the malaria of
the locality. But the hopes derived from this considera-
tion, however well founded in the theory of disease, were
painfully disappointed, as the sad, sad issue too soon tes-
tified."
In his first letter, dated “B_- October 27th,
1834,” amidst other things, Frederick says :--
"Last Friday night I did a Latin theme for the first
time in my life. I gave it up on Saturday morning, and
have not heard anything about it since. The subject
was, "What cannot be cured must be endured,' which I
Æt. 44.
267
LETTERS FROM FREDERICK.
thought very applicable to my present feelings; for,
even to this moment, I have not got over my loneliness,
and in some cases my feelings quite overcome me.
Give
my
best love to dear mamma, and tell her that I do
not forget to pray for her and you. It seems like an
age since I left home. Please to send me some advice
and comfort; and I have prayed to God to put into
your's and mamma's heart, such advice as may do me
good, and also to enable me to follow it. I passed a very
quiet Sunday yesterday, indeed, quite as quiet as ever I
did; for I was able to stay by myself in the playground,
and think about you and mamma, and to pray silently
for different things. Do you think,” he anxiously asks,
“I denied Christ when I did not say my prayers in the bed-
room, because the other boys did not, and lest they should
laugh at me ? though I said them afterwards by myself in
the play-ground.” In his next letter he says: “I have
been a good deal more knocked about than when I first
wrote to you.
I have tried to bear it as well as I could,
though, in one instance, my feelings overcame me. I
begin to feel more used to my situation, though I cannot
help feeling lonely sometimes. I passed a very pleasant
birth-day (5th of November), especially in the evening ;
for most of the boys had gone out to spend the afternoon
at those houses where they were invited. I hope that
you and papa continue well, for I do not forget to
pray for you both, as I know that you pray for me.
I am much obliged to you for your kind letter. I
have not left off saying my prayers since I wrote to
you."
268
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
In a letter to his mamma, of 3rd of December, he
says :
“I know you wish me to tell you candidly what my
feelings are towards you. I am sorry to say that some-
times I have felt an indifference towards you, and I tried
to drive it from me, by thinking of your kindness to me,
and my ungratefulness to you ; but, when your letter
arrived, my indifference went away. Even now, while I
am writing to you, I fancy I feel indifferent, though I am
trying to drive it away. I prayed against it last night,
and mean to do in future, for I did not think of it
before."
In another letter, written a little later, in which he
expresses his apprehension of being guilty of the sin of
lying, he says:
“ The boys are now writing out songs to sing at the
end of the half-year, and, on Sunday night last, some of
them came to me, and began questioning me about what
songs I knew ; and then they asked me if I would learn
one if they would teach me; and I consented on condi-
tion they would let me see what it was about first, 'for,'
said I, 'I have felt the consequences once before of mak-
ing a rash promise.' They then give me three to choose
out of; but I was afraid that there was something indecent
in them, and I tried to persuade them to let me see them
first; but they would not. They then offered me two
of them, and gave their opinion as to which I should
Et. 44.
269
LETTERS FROM FREDERICK.
choose ; but I, thinking the one which they said was the
best to be the worst, foolishly chose the other one with
reluctance. But when they had made me repeat the first
verse, I found that it was indecent: even then I thought
that I would just see what the second verse was, and
found it worse than the first ; I said I would not go on
any further. Then,' said they, you will tell a lie, for
you promised to learn it.'
At that moment I thought
of Herod’s rash oath, and your [to his papa] saying that
it would have been better for him to have broken his
oath, than to have beheaded John;' and I said, 'that
there was a choice of evils, and I chose to break my
promise !' But I got three good licks of the arm ; for it
is a custom among the boys to give three licks for a lie.”
Again, in a subsequent letter, he says :-
“ About a day or two after I wrote to you last, the
boys began to ask if I thought it was wrong to hunt
squirrels ? for they had been doing so when we went out
to walk. I said, “ Yes, as it was only for amusement.
Then they asked me if it was wrong to hunt whales ?
and I said, “No! because there was an object in it.""
He wrote but one more letter, which, being the usual
formal half-yearly epistle, written under the inspection of
the master, contained nothing of interest. He was seized
with illness a day or two before his anticipated journey
home, and was consequently detained after the other boys
had separated to enjoy their Christmas holidays. In
270
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
conmunicating the intelligence of his indisposition to his
parents, no great stress was laid upon the probable danger
attending it. Mr Scoresby, therefore, being very much
occupied, did not think it necessary to go himself to
B—-; but, when it was deemed prudent for Frederick
to travel, a trusty servant was sent to escort him home.
He appeared not more worn down by the disease,
says the Memorial, “than we had anticipated ; but his
countenance was heavy, his voice unusually drawling,
and his hearing scarcely impressible except by a man's
voice. He was evidently ill-though, under the very
careful attendance of the servant, he had performed the
journey pretty well; and I could not but feel, notwith-
standing the favourable reports we had received of his
case from B-, very anxious about him. He spoke
little or nothing, except in answer to any questions; and
he returned but a feeble and imperfect response to the
endearments with which he was received. We gave him
some tea, and then, supported by my arm put round him,
he walked up stairs to his bed-room,---from which, dear
lamented child! he was never to walk again.”
He grew gradually worse from day to day, and but
little encouragement to hope that he would be spared was
given by his medical attendants. Many delightful evi-
dences of the grace of Christ working in his heart were
manifested during this fatal illness; the following com-
munication was made to his papa on the morning of the
23rd of December.
At. 44.
271
FREDERICK'S LETTERS.
“It was on this morning, if I mistake not, on my going
to his bedside, after my breakfast, and sitting down on a
chair by him, that he gave me a singular statement con-
cerning a presentiment he felt of a fatal result from the
disease under which he was prostrated. His communica-
tion was to this effect : 'Papa,' he said—the usual com-
mencement of observations resulting from some previous
mental process, 'I read in the (mentioning the
title of a book which I do not distinctly remember)—a
warning from the text that “ This night shall thy soul be
required of thee;" and further on, I read, “ This year
thy soul may be required of thee;" and, when I looked
into my text book, I found that the text for the last day
of the year was, “What is your life?
It is even a
vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then van-
isheth away!” I thought,' he added, with an anxious
smile and agitated expression, whilst his cheeks coloured
under the influence of the emotion,—'I thought that it
all applied to me!' The expression of his countenance,
and earnestness of his manner, together excited an in-
voluntary shuddering and anxious sympathy. I could
only encourage him with this assurance, That he was
in his heavenly Father's hands, who ordereth all things
well, and that He would do what was best for him !'"
On visiting his room on the morning of the 25th, I
reminded him that it was Christmas Day, of which he
said, he was not aware ; and he smiled in affectionate
gratitude when I wished him a happy Christmas and
Christ's blessing. When we returned to his chamber,
after the morning service in the church, he said, 'I have
272
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
been wondering that you should administer the sacra-
ment on Christmas Day,' I asked him, ' Why?' 'Because,'
he answered, Christmas Day is a day of rejoicing in the
birth of Christ, and the sacrament is in remembrance of
his death!' I explained to him that 'notwithstanding
this apparent incongruity, it was still most suitable, in-
asmuch as, by the death of Christ, it is, that we, sinners,
are enabled to rejoice at his birth ; and that those only
who, by faith, obtain an interest in his death, can really
rejoice in the birth of a Saviour !""
“ The next day, 28th of December, was Sunday. I
told him that it was the 'Lord's day,' which he had not
previously remembered. He appeared more animated in
his countenance than usual, smiled as I approached him,
and kissed my hand. After breakfast, his mamma sug-
gested that I should ask him whether he would not like
to have the benefit of the prayers of the congregation ?
He coloured at the question, and answered, Yes!' but
expressed a desire that his name should not be mentioned.
We then proposed that the prayers should be requested
' for a sick child.' To this he seemed to assent; but,
after a considerable time, during which he seemed to have
been meditating on the subject, he said to me, ‘Papa, say,
for a sick boy!'”
At this crisis, under feelings of intense anxiety, I was
obliged to leave the dear child, having no one to take my
place at the evening service of my church. It was Inno-
cents' Day. My subject, prepared for this special occa-
sion, was founded on the text, “A voice was heard in
Ramah lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel weep-
Æt. 44.
273
FREDERICK'S ILLNESS.
ing for her children, refused to be comforted for her chil-
dren, because they were not.' The melancholy appropria-
tion I painfully anticipated; but, notwithstanding much
oppression and distress of feeling, I was mercifully as-
sisted, so as to be enabled to go through the trying ser-
vice.
“After they [the physicians] had left the room, the
dear child asked me whether the doctors said he was bet-
ter or worse.
I told him that 'they thought him very
unwell; but,' I immediately added, writing on the slate
[his illness had made him quite deaf ], 'you believe in
Jesus Christ ?' He signified his assent. I then wrote,
He that believeth shall be saved.' Of this he signified
his belief. 'Do you feel the Lord comforting you ?' I
next asked. He paused, and then replied, 'I am not
quite certain.' 'But,' I added, 'I believe you are God's
child.' No sooner had he read this remark than his
countenance became lifted up, as it were, with a bright
beam of hope ; and under the momentary animation, he
put forth his trembling arm, and, taking my hand, drew
it to his lips, and kissed it. The act and expression were
indescribably touching. ...
“On one occasion, during the height of the spasm, as
I was sitting by the side of his bed, he put forth his
withered and trembling arm, and, taking my hand, rest-
ing on the bed beside him, drew it towards him, and, with
an affecting expression of endearment, whilst hopelessly
soliciting comfort, enfolded his little hand within mine.
But there was no help in man; nature at such a moment
could but weep.
S
274
1834.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
"I sat up with him on the night of the 30th-31st, till
three o'clock in the morning, ministering to him as usual
his hourly spoonful of nourishment, and from time to
time, according to the directions, his medicinal potion. ....
“ About three o'clock, as the dear child had become
easier than for some hours previously he had been, had
then longer intervals of quiet, and seemed disposed to
sleep, I left him in charge of the nurse, along with an
attentive female servant. Our medical friend, who was
sleeping in an adjoining room, had left orders to be called
on any emergency; and I requested that I also should be
called in the event of any change. No such change, how-
ever, was at the time apprehended, I believe, by any one.
His case, indeed, I considered all but hopeless; and I had
been enabled, during my recent watching over him, to
surrender the child of my affections into the hands of
HIM who had given him. But I had no idea that the
termination of my hopes and of his sufferings were so
near.
“He continued, after I left him, to receive his hourly
portion of nourishment up to six o'clock. Previously he
had taken whatever was put to his lips; now, however,
after one dessert-spoonful had been swallowed, he declined
the rest, distinctly saying, 'No more.'
“ At this time his nurse first observed a change in his
appearance, and quietly called his medical attendant. I
myself, harassed with anxiety, also awoke,—the thought
painfully recurring to me, ' This is the day, the last day
of the year, the text of which my poor boy thought ap-
plied to himself. But the adjoining room was quieted;
Æt. 44.
275
DEATH OF FREDERICK.
no.
the patient seemed easier ; might I yet hope ? Alas :
A servant came to our door; we looked up in
anxiety. It was to announce that 'there was a great
change, and Mr. De la G-- had requested us to be
called.' Hope was at an end, and we entered the cham-
ber of the beloved child. The eyes had become dim, the
countenance had sunk; there was yet motion of the lips,
but the fearful aspect was only that of death.
“ We fell down on our knees by the side of the bed
myself and wife, with two of the servants, and others
and just at the very moment, I believe, that we cried,
'Lord Jesus, receive his spirit !'he ceased to breathe,
and his liberated soul was received by waiting angels, and
winged away into glory. And so the question, What
is your life?' was solemnly answered. It was found to
be 'even as a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and
then vanisheth away.' ....
“ One expression of sympathy and affection, peculiarly
grateful to the feelings of the author," Mr. Scoresby re-
marks in conclusion, "arose out of the dispensation of
Providence thus recorded. Some of the younger mem-
bers of the congregation of Bedford Chapel, it appears,
had observed the lamented youth at their public cate-
chetical exercises, and had noticed his having occasionally
united with them in answering the questions of their
minister. This circumstance seems to have induced a
kindly feeling towards him, and to have given rise to the
proposition among themselves of perpetuating his memory
by an appropriate cenotaph. And this was accomplished,
in a manner equally creditable to themselves and suitable
276
1835,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
for the object, by the erection of a marble tablet in Bed-
ford chapel, bearing this inscription :
Sacred to the Memory of
FREDERICK RICHARD HOLLOWAY SCORESBY,
SON OF THE REY. W. SCORESBY, B.D., MINISTER OF THIS CHAPEL,
WHO,
DISTINGUISHED FOR SIMPLICITY OF FAITH, AND DUTIFULNESS OF CONDUCT,
FELL ASLEEP IN JESUS,
DECEMBER 31st, 1834, AGED 16 YEARS ;
HIS REMAINS ARE INTERRED IN A VAULT AT ST. MARY'S CLIST.
THIS TABLET,
AS A GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE TESTIMONY TO THEIR PASTOR,
FOR HIS UNREMITTING EXERTIONS TO PROMOTE THEIR BEST INTERESTS
WAS ERECTED BY
THE YOUNGER MEMBERS OF HIS CONGREGATION.
What is your life? It is even as a vapour, that appeareth
for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Deeply as Mr. Scoresby was afflicted by the loss of his
son, he, nevertheless, felt it his duty to be “up and doing;”
and in addition to his pastoral duties, was employed in
many works of general as well as scientific utility. In
1835 he held a long correspondence with the French
Foreign Office, who sought his advice in fitting out an
expedition for the Arctic Regions. He likewise deli-
vered an inaugural lecture in Exeter Athenæum touching
the beneficial tendency of scientific pursuits, and the
great advantages of promoting the acquirement of know-
Æt. 44.
277
INDISPOSITION.
ledge by public experimental lectures ; and to these he
added his ardent exertions in behalf of various charitable
institutions, such as houses of refuge, and the like. But
perhaps the most arduous undertaking of this season was
his plea* on behalf of the distressed Irish Protestants, his
zeal for whom, overwhelming him as it did in a nume-
rous and lengthy correspondence, so far reduced his
strength that he was compelled to retire for a time to
Cheltenham, whence, in a letter to his son, dated 17th
February 1836, he wrote as follows:--
“I have come over here on account of my health.
Through mercy, both your mamma and myself have, I
hope, received benefit. But I yet am far from being
strong or well. The most painful effect of this indispo-
sition is the manner in which it abridges my capability of
labouring for the kingdom of God.
I trust that is my
great desire to spend and be spent in the service of
Christ. And this is, or ought to be, the feeling of every
one who has a sound hope of being saved by Him. For
if we are not our own, but bought with a price by him,
our duty must be 'to glorify him in our bodies and in our
spirits which are his.'
His health was restored by this interval of repose, and
* In a small published work he demonstrated from facts the following propo-
sition : “That the sufferings and persecutions of the Protestants in Ireland are
not owing to the aversion of the people to a Church Establishment, but are the
specific results of the hatred of the Church of Rome to Protestant principles, and
evidence of the efforts of the Church of Rome for the extirpating of Protes-
tantism."
278
1837.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
ner.
we find him again at his post in the meeting of the Bri-
tish Association which was held at Bristol in the month
of August. To this meeting he contributed a paper,
and exhibited an instrument, invented by himself in the
year 1820, which he named a magnetimeter. He like-
wise had the honour of preaching before the Association,
at whose request the sermon was published, under the
title of “ The Philosophy of the Gospel in Relation to the
Three States of Man: What he was originally, what he
now is, and what he is required to be.” In November
he delivered a course of lectures to the members of Exeter
Athenæum, on Astronomy.
The year 1837 was passed in the same laborious man-
In March he communicated a paper on Magnetism
to the Institute of France, which was read to the mem-
bers by M. Arago, the Astronomer Royal. He was also
engaged in a series of protracted experiments upon various
kinds of plates and bars of steel, with a view to the de-
termination of the different degrees of permanence of the
magnetic influence induced in them with reference to the
temper of the material acted upon.
His ministerial func-
tions, however, were not impeded by these scientific
pursuits. He still continued his daily round of pastoral
visits, and fulfilled his mission with unabated zeal.
The close of this year brought with it a new trial, in
which he was called upon to resign his only remaining
child to Him who giveth and taketh away—who doeth
all things as seemeth him good.
*“On a New Compass Bar, with Illustrations by means of a recent Instru-
ment, of the Susceptibility of Iron for the Magnetic Condition."
dit. 46.
279
WILLIAM GOES TO EDINBURGH.
William, it will be remembered, had previously studied
in Dublin, originally with a view of preparing for the
ministry; but latterly, with his father's consent, he
turned his attention to the study of medicine. Before
quitting Trinity College he graduated in Arts, in a
manner alike gratifying to his parents and creditable to
himself. This took place in the spring of 1836. One
year of medical study was subsequently spent in Dublin,
after which it was his intention to have completed his
education in the University of Edinburgh, and for this
purpose he proceeded thither in October 1837. Before
leaving Exeter, he one day said, “I wish I were in Edin-
burgh, for I feel as if I were going to have a fever;" and
it was only on his own assurance that the sensation had
passed away that he was permitted to undertake the
journey. He went by way of Liverpool, whence he ex-
perienced a very rough voyage to Glasgow.
“I had a very severe passage from Liverpool to Glas-
gow. I never saw it blow harder than it did on our
leaving port. I left Liverpool on Tuesday at one o'clock.
During the night the sea broke through the dead-light of
my cabin, where there were four berths, and flooded the
whole place, soaking my bags, hat-box, bed, &c.
not quite so sick as I expected; but it was a fearful
night."
I was
By this exposure he caught a severe cold, and "almost
lost his voice.” Through the kindness of Professor
Traill's family, he was made very comfortable on his
280
1887.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
arrival in Edinburgh, and soon took up his abode in re-
spectable lodgings.
When the winter session commenced,
he applied himself with the utmost diligence to his
studies, his scheme of which he described in a letter to his
father as follows:
“I am now regularly afloat, and working hard, which
I hope, with God's help, to persevere in. My daily
routine is as follows: From nine till ten, a class on
Materia Medica ; from ten till eleven, a class on surgery
(Sir Charles Bell); from eleven till twelve vacant; from
twelve till one, the hospital; from two till three, the dis-
pensary, where I pound medicines, make up prescriptions
and the articles of the Materia Medica, bleed, and so on.
There also, twice a week, the surgeon and superintendent
apothecary hold an examination on the articles of the
Materia Medica and pharmacy. From four till half-past
five, dinner, &c.; from half-past five till seven, at hospi-
tal copying cases from the clerks' books, which I have ac-
cess to. The rest of the evening, tea, reading, &c. There
are, or will be, weekly examinations at all the classes,
except one, which the pupils may or may not attend ; I
have entered my name for all. I find taking notes at
the lectures useful. I breakfast at eight, and hitherto
have got an hour and a half's reading before it. ....
One of Dr. Graham's wards to which I have attached my-
self is a fever ward—the practice in which I see a great
deal of.”
The scheme was too comprehensive; his constitution
Æt. 47.
281
WILLIAM'S ILLNESS.
was not equal to the excitement and harass of his new
mode of life, as the fatal issue so soon determined. Α.
kind letter from Professor Traill prepared Dr. Scoresby,
in a measure, for the awful tidings which were soon to be
communicated. It told of William having been attacked
with fever, of the care which was being bestowed upon
him, of the attendance of Professor Alison associated with
his own, of the critical condition of the patient, and,
finally, that William had expressed a desire to see his
father.
A peculiar conflict of feeling was excited by this
letter," Dr. Scoresby afterwards wrote, “ fear and hope
-anxiety and perplexity perpetually alternating or
mingling together. Had the distance to Edinburgh been
but a single day's journey, I should most probably have
started by the very first conveyance; but where a dis-
tance of nearly 500 miles intervened, requiring two or
three days' and nights' travelling, some consideration was
necessary and suitable as to what was wisest and best for
me to do, as it affected only my own feelings, not the
dear boy's safety; for I had the most perfect assurance
that every possible means of usefulness and comfort would
be adopted which the highest medical talent and the
kindest and most considerate affection could suggest."
Having made necessary preparations for a journey to
Edinburgh, he determined to abide the issue of the next
mail; but to be in greater readiness he went with his
baggage to the post-office, and there awaited its arrival.
282
1837.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
wrong mail.
Strange to say, the Edinburgh bag was missing, having,
by an almost unprecedented error, been put into the
A new dilemma now presented itself. Το
commence the journey in such uncertainty was most try-
ing, and yet to remain was but to increase his anxiety.
He determined, however, to await the next mail. The
following evening he repaired to the post-office, as before,
in readiness for immediate departure. The postmaster
kindly made a hasty examination of the letters, and
handed one to Dr. Scoresby. In his own words:-
" It was a moment of most intense anxiety. A little
light from a neighbouring lamp enabled me to see the
letter I thought the seal was red—then I doubted; I
ran nearer the lamp-it was black ! Hastening into
the Athenæum, I tore open the letter; the fatal intelli-
gence was discovered at a glance, and I could only cry,
My poor boy!--my poor boy!””
The letter was from Professor Traill. He told, in
terms of tender sympathy and affection, of William's
death. Of his last hours it remarked, “So young, so
suddenly summoned
his conduct was what became a
Christian, full of hope and confidence in the mercy of his
Redeemer." He died on the 13th of December, 1837,
in his twenty-sixth year, and his remains were deposited
in the burying-ground of St. Cuthbert's Church, Edin-
burgh, where they await the second coming of that Savi-
our in whose peace he passed away.
Æt. 47.
283
SERIOUS INJURY.
“A heavy cloud,” Dr. Scoresby wrote, “seeming to
hang over us, we tried change of scene for a little time,
and went to the sea-coast to a place where, being little
known, we might have an uninterrupted quiet. But
though the Lord mercifully vouchsafed to us great resig-
nation, quietness of feeling, and peace, yet the cloud ac-
companied us there."
A few weeks of repose served to recruit his health
and to bring him back again to his duties.
He recom-
menced with a paper on Magnetism to the Institute of
France, which was communicated as before through M.
Arago. In March he was again prostrated by a severe
injury, of which he wrote to Mrs. Clark, on the 18th of
June, 1838:-
"I am sorry," he says, “ to have left your kind and
truly affectionate letter so long unanswered; but various
circumstances have rendered more writing than is abso-
lutely necessary undesirable.
In regard to the hurt in
my knee, I cannot report so favourably as I could de-
sire. My horse (Rosa) fell with me about three months
ago, and I was thrown forward about ten or twelve feet
on the road upon my head and knee. My hat, merci-
fully, protected my head, so that it escaped with a cut
and rubbing off of the skin; and the knee did not seem
to be materially hurt. But it has not recovered, so that
I cannot walk except about the house, or a very short
distance, such as 100 yards. Yet I am enabled partly
to get through my duty in church, sitting on a stool.”
284
1838.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Again, towards the close of the year, he resumed his
active habits, and was engaged in a correspondence with
a committee then sitting in London for the purpose of
considering certain proposed improvements in the Admir-
alty compasses.
He constructed several instruments for
the use of the committee, and visited London occasionally
himself in order to be present at their meetings.
DEGREE OF D.D.
285
Æt. 48.
CHAPTER XIV.
REMOVAL TO
DEGREE OF D.D. PLEA FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH
66
BRADFORD DEFICIENCES AND DIFFICULTIES
L.
THREATENING
LETTER
PLAN
SUBMITTED TO AND APPROVED BY THE BISHOP OF
RIPON-QUESTION OF FEES-DISTURBED STATE OF THE MANUFACTURING
DISTRICTS ENCOUNTER WITH DISAFFECTED OPERATIVES VISIT TO
AMERICA--THE FACTORY OPERATIVES OF LOWELL-LORD ROSSE'S TELE-
SCOPE-RESIGNS THE VICARAGE OF BRADFORD-SERIOUS ILLNESS-FAC-
TORY GIRLS' FIRST SOCIAL GATHERING-TESTIMONIALS.
1839-1847.
The year 1839 was an eventful one in Mr. Scoresby's
life. The period of probation prescribed by the Univer-
sity of Cambridge having expired, he was now entitled
to be admitted to his final examination for the degree of
Doctor in Divinity ; and this he underwent in the month
of May.
Hitherto, although frequently tried beyond the endur-
ance of human strength in his manifold occupations, his
ministerial charge had been so far circumscribed as to
enable him to grasp its utmost limits with efficiency and
ease ; whilst, at the same time, he had enjoyed a freedom
from secularizing influences which left him at liberty to
exercise the full power of his ministrations to the advance-
ment of the Redeemer's kingdom. Though a staunch sup-
porter of the Establishment, he was eminently catholic in
spirit, associating frankly with all classes in the cause of
the Great Head of the Church; for, “the Church,” he
said, “ by whatever variety of names distinguished, is one
286
1839.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
body. Like other bodies, it hath many members, possess-
ing different offices, and contributing, in their several
relations, to the beauty and perfection of the whole. Yet
their creative origin-their vital principle—their main-
taining power—their spiritual organization—their eternal
destiny, are the same. For widely as the various deno-
minations may appear to differ, there is, essentially, but
'one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one bap-
tism, one God and Father of all." He strongly urged
the necessity for unity in the Church, and especially de-
precated divisions arising out of non-essentials; but
whilst he asserted the pre-eminence of the Established
Church, he candidly admitted her faults, for, he observes, *
" that there are causes for objection, and that there is
abundant room for improvement, in this venerable and
distinguished institution, it would be vain to deny; but
were defects a warranty for annihilation, who or what
on earth could exist." And although during the six sub-
sequent years he was called upon to endure great suffer-
ing—almost persecution—in defence of her laws, yet he
* Plea for the Unity of the Church. London: Nisbet & Co. 1833.—This work
consisted of a course of lectures delivered in Bedford Chapel during the winter of
1832–33, and published at the request of a large circle of admiring friends. It
comprises the following subjects :-On the Unhappy Divisions in the Christian
Church, arising from partial views of Scripture—from an absorbing or excessive
attention to Prophecy, and the Second Advent of our Lord–from a very preval-
lent Antinomianism--from views of religion influenced by natural constitution :
On Particular Sources of Disunion in the Holy Church Universal, from an un-
due consideration of the defects of the Established Church-from a natural
fondness for new and particular doctrines-and from the endless sub-divisions
by varieties of dissent: On Prevalent Enthusiasm, or Errors of Religious Zeal
-in a belief in present miracles and tongues-in a fondness for religious excite-
ment: On the Nature and Extent of Christian Charity, with the Duty of Cul-
tivating it-limits of Christian unity-deceptive character, and pernicious effects,
of the popular liberalism.
t. 48.
287
REMOVAL TO BRADFORD.
was graciously sustained throughout; and in the end,
without the slightest compromise of principle, his righte-
ousness was made to appear. To enter at length into the
distressing details of the circumstances which caused Dr.
Scoresby so much discomfort and unhappiness during his
ministry in Bradford would neither be useful nor edify-
ing ; nor would the limits of this work permit a lengthy
diversion into the ecclesiastical working of the parish.
In a rapid sketch of his sojourn there, then, we must con-
fine ourselves to the mention of a few salient facts.
Whilst in the enjoyment of a benefice of a most desir-
able nature, Dr. Scoresby was invited, by the trustees of
the late Rev. Charles Simeon, to accept the vacant office
of Vicar of Bradford. Many reasons combined to render
a change of residence very inexpedient : the climate of
Exeter was unexceptionable, and had been especially bene-
ficial to Mrs. Scoresby; the congregation * of Bedford
Chapel was solicitous for his continuance there, and he,
on his part, was by no means desirous of separating from
his flock, betwixt whom and himself a near and tender
friendship had arisen; in these circumstances the offer
was declined.
But upon a second and more urgent soli-
citation, he accepted the living—believing it to be his
duty to go, as he said, "where, under God's blessing,
there seemed to be a noble field for Christian enterprise
-and, accordingly, he was installed on the 17th of July
1839. Scarcely was he instituted in his new office when
* A handsome silver salver, together with a silver inkstand and copy of
Coverdale's Bible, was presented to Dr. Scoresby by the members of bis congre-
gation before he left Exeter.
288
1839.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
he began to observe, with some dismay, the “ formidable
deficiencies and difficulties which would require to be
promptly met, in order to the attainment or preservation
of an effective system of clerical superintendence."
“ The deficiencies," he says,* "consisted in the inade-
quacy of church accommodation, in the number of the
clergy, and in the provision for the education of the children
of the poor and of the working classes, as well as in the
quality of the existing provision for education on Church
principles; and the difficulties (as to things most obvious)
consisted in the unusual prostration of Church influence
in the parish,-in the want of discipline, arrangement,
and regard to ecclesiastical order—and in the smallness
of the means at the command of the vicar (the income of
the living being very inadquate) for enabling him, by
personal pecuniary aid, or sacrifices, to do what was at
once desirable and needful towards the removal of exist-
ing deficiencies."
That little sympathy with the Church existed in
Bradford at that time may be inferred from the fact that
a proposition for a rate made in the month of November,
for the parish church, was negatived by a majority of
2168! And that no great tenderness was manifested
for the vicar is seen in the following extract from an
anonymous letter received at a subsequent period by Dr.
Scoresby, the greater part of which is quite unfit for
publication :
* Memorial to the Lord Bishop of Ripon.
t. 48.
289
BRADFORD.
« to doctor scorsby vicar of Bradford on his attempt-
ing to lay A Church Rate at a time when the people
have been so far Enlitened as to know that they have no
right to pay it
. no sir if you are determined to have this
rate you may get it if you can or if you dare. remem-
ber sir you are only a man you may be in your Grave
before the rate be collected. the nights are dark guns
are plentiful powder is cheap men ARE DETERMINED not
to be robed by the parson any longer if you dare either
to come yourself or to send collectors you may perhaps
where you expect to Receive A Shilling, Receive A
Bullet; And your head be the Receiver instead of your
pocket. think of the curses in the Book of isaiah Pro-
nounced Against those who oppress the poor.
.
be you do not believe that part of Skripter be that As it
may you may believe this that the only way For you to
save your life is to be quiet About the Rate.”
But may
The revenues of the Vicarage of Bradford (comprising
a charge of considerably over 100,000 souls) were, in the
first year of Dr. Scoresby's office, in the aggregate,
£582, 8s. 2d., of which sum £139, 158. 8d. alone was
derived from a certain source, the remainder arising out
of fees and Easter dues. Of this income, Dr. Scoresby
paid annually including the vicarage) £300 to his cur-
ates, leaving only about £280 for his own income. То
a meeting of parishioners he one day said, "I may state
that the total endowment of the Church has been paid
by myself to my curates I have received nothing for
the revenues of the parish but what has resulted from the
T
290
1840.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
fees and dues; and during the two years I have been in
the parish, the very sums I have received from the parish
church have required to have added to them three times
the amount out of my own private property.” With a
view of meeting the existing difficulties and deficiencies,
Dr. Scoresby arranged a PLAN based upon the following
propositions :
*"1. The bringing to bear upon the parish, especially
upon the unprovided or spiritually destitute, districts, an
effective pastoral superintendence and ministration, by
means of increase in the number of the clergy, so that
a curate might be planted in the midst of the people and
so identified with them, as their minister, in each parti-
cular district.
“ 2. The endeavouring to obtain an accession of
churches, and, as a preliminary step and essential accom-
paniment, of parochial schools.
“3. The endeavouring to obtain something like eccle-
siastical order in the parish, with that limitation of cleri-
cal labour, by means of districts, by which the several por-
tions of the population might have a more effective and
particular spiritual superintendence-and whereby the
spiritual husbandry of the several limited and manage-
able districts might be well done, instead of that labour
being rendered comparatively inefficacious by being dif-
fused over a field so large as to be utterly beyond the
power of a minister to manage.
“ 4. The improving, as means might occur, of the poor
* Menorial to the Lord Bishop of Ripon.
Æt. 49.
291
BRADFORD.
benefices in the parish, and of the stipends of curates.
And,
“5. The due maintaining of the parish church-both
as to the rights of the vicar and the revenues of the
living
as an obvious essential for enabling the vicar of
such a parish effectually to carry out the several important
objects here enumerated.” *
His first object was to obtain an efficient staff of minis-
ters, which he effected in a short time; for, as the
memorial relates,—
By the liberal assistance of the Church Pastoral Aid
Society,' and of the 'Society for Additional Curates,' in
one case, your memorialist—the good hand of God being
with him—was enabled within a few months of his ap-
pointment to Bradford, to present to your lordship for
licence, or as candidates for Holy Orders, a very efficient
clergyman as an additional and principal curate for the
parish church, and three other curates for the spiritual
charge of the unprovided districts in all, five additional
clergymen, besides incuinbents for the vacant chapels.
And the success of the plan in this particular was soon
encouragingly manifest—not only in the influence ob-
tained over many who had heretofore been wholly care-
less about their eternal destiny, or lamentably estranged
from the bosom and care of the Church, but in the at-
* To the original document the following note is appended :
“The above plan has been submitted to my inspection, and meets with my
full approval.
(Signed) "C. T. RIPON."
Feb. 6th, 1840."
292
1840.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
tainment of divine service, regularly performed, in four
or five different school-rooms, or other places, sanctioned
by your lordship, in districts where no Church service had
before been performed, and in the establishing of five
Sunday schools, and one day school (with a good pros-
spect of increase in both classes of schools) in totally new
positions.”
So far well. We come now to mention briefly the
circumstances which caused Dr. Scoresby so much pain.
The larger portion of the revenues of the parish church, it
must be remembered, was derived from fees for offices
performed either in the mother church itself or in the
chapels of ease; but the ministers of those "ancient
chapels ” were permitted, by long standing agreement, to
divide the fees received by them, in their respective
chapels, with the vicar, whereby the entire revenues of
the parish church, or of the vicarage, were reduced to con-
siderably below £600. Soon after Dr. Scoresby entered
upon the living, five new churches, in several instances
the property of private individuals, were in course of
erection, but none of them consecrated, and it was out of
the question of fees payable by these churches to the
parish church that that painful controversy, to which re-
ference has been made, arose. Dr. Scoresby could not
righteously have given up to the ministers of these
churches a portion of the fees as was done to the minis-
ters of the "ancient chapels,” because, had he done so, he
would have reduced the revenues of the vicarage to a mere
trifle, and this, as trustee in possession of the living, he
Et. 49.
293
BRADFORD.
could not honestly do; for although he might, and would
gladly, have purchased peace to himself, under other cir-
cumstances, by relinquishing a large portion of the
church's income, yet he could not do so, under existing
circumstances, without perpetrating a fraud upon his
successors; and, therefore, upon the principle of maintain-
ing the rights of the church he rested throughout his
tenure of office, and in all his difficulties he carried with
him, in his endeavours to overcome them, the sanction,
and countenance, and esteem of his diocesan.
address to a meeting touching these matters, he explained
what the position of future vicars would have been had
he not firmly maintained the rights of the parish church.
Speaking of yielding the revenues, he asks:-
In an
“ Could I, as a faithful steward, dare to do this? If
it had been a small matter I might, with the sanction of
the patrons, have made the surrender, and would willingly
have done so, had it been a matter concerning myself
alone—having means for my maintenance independent of
the produce of the living, it might have been yielded ;
but I could not but feel that I stood as trustee for future
vicars, and that if I had shrunk from my duty in this
matter, those who came after me might have censured
me for my weakness in abandoning the rights of the
living. That you may distinctly know how impossible
it was for me to escape from this painful collision, with-
out being a traitor to my trust and to the vicarage, I have
carefully calculated what the result on the revenues of
the parish church for the last year would have been had
294
1840.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
I failed unhappily in my trying defence of them. The
statement, comprising every item of fees, I hold in my
hand. The result is, that the sum of £305, 9s. 5d.
would have been withdrawn from the income of the vicar
alone in one year, besides some hundreds of pounds more
from the revenues of officers of the parish church and of
other incumbencies. I have also calculated what the
effect would be on the total income. Deducting this
abstraction from the total amount of revenue, with the
payments to curates by me of £195, 10s. 8d. for the
same year, and the rent paid for a house, in lieu of the
old vicarage given to the curates, there would have
remained a clear income for the vicar of a parish of
120,000 souls, in the most productive year that ever
occurred, of £30, 3s. 5d."
To meet the continual agitation and excitement which
prevailed during the whole period of Dr. Scoresby's
tenure of office in the vicarage of Bradford, great moral
courage and tact were required. The manufacturing dis-
tricts, it will be remembered, were in a very agitated
condition about this period. The year 1835 was the
last of a series of bright and prosperous seasons, whose
prolific harvests had spread peace and plenty throughout
the country. 1836 changed the spirit of the dream,
Fairly balanced sunshine and shower gave place to con-
tinual rain, in which the northern parts of the United
Kingdom were well-nigh deluged. A bad harvest ensued;
the agricultural produce of the country was no longer
adequate to the maintenance of the people; grain had to
t. 49.
295
BRADFORD
be imported, and the price of wheat rapidly rose, as much
as ten shillings per quarter. 1837 revealed a gleam of
sunshine, and the harvest was somewhat better than the
preceding one; but still prices kept rising. In 1838
incessant rains destroyed the harvest, and wheat attained
the enormous price of 81s. 6d. the quarter. In 1839
the deluging rains continued, and the crops were scarcely
better than those of 1838. The harvests of 1840 and
1841, though better than the preceding ones, were still
very poor and insufficient, without the aid of imported
corn, for the supply of the country.
Had other depressing agencies been altogether want-
ing,—had there been no destructive crusade against the
American banks, entailing commercial panic upon the
whole of Europe, -no Irish agitators at hand to fan the
embers of discontent into a blaze of open rebellion,-dear
bread alone, the effect of the bad harvests, would have
been more than sufficient to generate disaffection amongst
the working classes. Whilst provisions had risen to
double their ordinary price, wages were reduced to
half their usual rate; everywhere was sickness, want,
and misery. It was not surprising, then, that, guided
by a few talented but lawless and designing leaders, the
labouring population was easily persuaded that the only
means of relieving itself from its wretched condition was
in combining to resist its oppressors, as the employers
were now termed. To give effect to this, “Secret
Societies” were organized, by whom the most daring out-
rages were committed upon such as would not conform
to their rules. “ Trades Unions” were devised, with the
296
1843.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
view of prolonging the strife by providing means of sup-
port to the most needy sufferers; another of their func-
tions, and one not unfrequently exercised, being to inti-
midate those who were otherwise willing to work;
whilst another class, whose aim was to gain social ends
by political means, raised a cry, destined to run riot
through the country, for the “six points of the Charter.”
The Market Place in Devizes, the Bull Ring in Birming-
bam, the West Gate Hotel in Newport, had each and
severally been the centre of Chartist riots and outrages,
by which many lives were sacrificed and much property
destroyed.
In a letter to Mrs. Clark, dated August 18, 1843,
Dr. Scoresby describes the following encounter with a
mob of disaffected operatives :-
“The sad state of the manufacturing districts, and the
excited state of Bradford among the rest, has prevented
us from leaving home as we had designed. Thank God,
matters here are, to appearance, quieter, and the mills
this morning recommenced working. On Tuesday I was
in the middle of the whole body of the insurgents coming
in from other places, to the amount of some thousands.
Their language and insults were dreadful, reminding me
of the characteristics described by the apostle-devilish.'
I accidentally encountered them at the turnpike gate
leading to our house. They were coming in, ten abreast,
all armed with sticks and bludgeons. Just as I was
observing them passing— listening to their sad language,
and attempting to count their files—the bugle of the
t. 52.
297
BRADFORD.
lancers sounded, and up galloped the whole troop, with
their lances spread out on both sides. I had some diffi-
culty in keeping my little horse, which was sadly fright-
ened, out of the way. It had well-nigh backed me
among the troopers. The flight of the insurgents over
the hedges and walls of the road was amusing-if, under
circumstances so hazardous, one might be amused. I
waited till the lancers returned, and then quietly went
through the midst of the mob which had returned into
the road. Their language to me was grossly abusive and
threatening. When they said anything very bad to me,
I sometimes stopped and quietly remonstrated with them
or spoke to them. Of course, they were not in a state
to be civil, but, in general, cried out with other insults.
Through the divine mercy, only words, ill words, were
aimed at me.
I had no fear of them ; nor did I go out
of a most leisurely pace whilst I was among them. This
was at five o'clock. In the evening the lancers scoured
the streets, deprived many of their clubs, and dispersed
them."
In spite of all these untoward events, however, Dr.
Scoresby continued his contributions to scientific know-
ledge; he attended regularly the meetings of the British
Association, and frequently contributed papers. In a
letter from the Rev. Mr. Dury, bearing date 1843, the
following passage occurs : ' I think, by universal con-
sent, you are acknowledged the princeps of working
magneticians, and I wish you had more time to interro-
gate Nature on this subject; it would be quite as plea-
298
1843,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
sant to you, and much more profitable to others, than
skirmishing with Chartists and Socialists in Bradford.”
He ad also frequently delivered lectures on scientific
subjects, especially several to the United Service Institu-
tion in London, which had required much preparation.
The Prince Consort honoured him with an interview, as
we read in the following letter from Dr. Scoresby to H.
U. Janson, Esq., dated 14th February 1842 :-
“The immense labour of this parish requires all my
time, so that I can do but very little in science, and that
at many intervals. My magnetic researches, however,
have made progress, so as now to place the results in a
very satisfactory position. I had the honour, as you
perhaps heard, of exhibiting my improved apparatus to
Prince Albert in June last, who kindly gave me three
quarters of an hour at a critical period of public affairs,
repeated with his own hand some of the experiments,
and expressed himself much pleased. A little matter of
science [on improved magnets, and method of detecting
their powers]—a recreation merely—has been published,
of a copy of which I beg your acceptance.
to offer my thanks to the [Exeter Literary and Philoso-
phical] society for their kind remembrance in electing me
an honorary member. It is matter of regret that time
will not allow me to answer this kindness by any com-
munication at present beyond this mere acknowledgment.”
I beg you
But the excessive fatigue and prostration produced by
his protracted labours having brought Dr. Scoresby into
Æt. 52.
299
BRADFORD
a very critical condition of health, and believing, in the
early part of the year 1844, that his strength was no
longer adequate to the conscientious discharge of his
ministerial functions, he tendered his resignation. In
reply to a number of addresses praying him to remain,
he said :
"As to my resignation of my charge of this vicarage,
I may briefly state that I had for some time been
anxiously doubting whether it was my duty, at such a
serious sacrifice of health and peace of mind, and with so
many secularizing influences, injurious to the spiritual
interests of my own soul, as I felt them to be,~I say
I
doubted whether it was my duty to continue to contend
against difficulties and severe opposition which seemed to
be interminable."
“If I clearly should see that
my remaining here was accordant with the will and
design of that all-wise Providence which placed me
amongst you, my determination would be at once made;
and whether for happiness or sorrow, whether for peace
or tribulation, I would not dare to say, “Lord, what
doest thou?"
He ultimately withdrew his resignation, and accepted,
at the suggestion of the Bishop of Ripon, a six months'
leave of absence, the greater part of which he proposed to
spend in visiting Canada and the United States of
America In a letter to Mrs. Clark he said, “I have
had too much writing, and am suffering by it. Perhaps,
please God, a foreign voyage might be useful to my
300
1844.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
health.”
“I have been so overworked that I
have really been obliged to postpone all business that
could wait. Things, I hope, through the divine mercy,
are getting better here as to our comfort and satisfactory
labour; but the work is, I fear, more than my health
can stand.”
He sailed from Liverpool on the 19th of April (1844),
in the Patrick Henry, bound for New York, The
voyage, which occupied thirty-three days, had a benefi-
cial effect upon his health, but was otherwise without
general interest ; and of his tour in the country the only
circumstance that need be mentioned, besides the happi-
ness of meeting with his brother, who resides with his
family at Centreville, is that of his visit to Lowell. The
unhappy, and, generally speaking, degraded condition of
the female factory operatives in Bradford, had for a long
period engaged his attentive consideration, and he felt
it to be his duty to make a strong effort in their behalf.
With this intention he made a point of visiting Lowell,
a manufacturing city of importa ce situated on the river
Merrimack, near its confluence with the Concord, the
power of whose combined waters formed the chief attrac-
tion to those who first established manufactories there.
Desirous of gaining as intimate a knowledge as possible
of the habits and condition of the female operatives in
this remarkably thriving city, he had previously armed
himself with influential letters to its leading manu-
facturers, whereby free access was obtained for him to all
the mills, and every inquiry respecting the dow:estic
habits of the operatives was freely answered. The infor-
Æt. 53.
301
VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES.
mation thus obtained was very remarkable, and tended
materially to strengthen Dr. Scoresby's belief that great
good might be worked amongst the same class of people
at home ; and although fully alive to the fact that many
of the circumstances which operated in favour of the
respectability of the class above mentioned, could never
be incorporated in any scheme for the benefit of English
factory girls, he nevertheless felt that the experience he
had gained by his visit to Lowell placed him in a position
to offer some suggestions (which were subsequently pub-
lished *), for the amelioration of their condition. A cor-
respondent of the Boston Daily Advertiser mentioned
Dr. Scoresby in the following terms :-
“The Rev. Dr. Scoresby, of Bradford, in Yorkshire,
England, is personally known to many of your readers.
No traveller from his country has left behind him, in
this, remembrances of more cordial esteem. With intelli-
gence and acquirements, such as do honour to the Estab-
lished Church of which he is a minister, what endeared
him still more to those who had the happiness of his
acquaintance, was his genial and comprehensive philan-
thropy. We have national faults and foibles enough,
Heaven knows; and a mind like his could not be insen-
sible to them. But he was not one of those who 'jour-
ney from Dan to Beersheba, to report that all is barren.'
He seemed to come with generous and Christian purpose,
* " American Factories and their Female Operatives, with an Appeal on
behalf of the British Factory Population and their Improvement." 12mo.
London : Longmans. 1845.
302
1844.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
to see and greet all that was good, and to carry it away
for diffusion and increase.”
“No one who sets himself about doing good, can guess
how far the good is going to extend.
When the factory
system was introduced in this neighbourhood [Lowell],
the union of factory labour with respectability and
innocence of life was an unsolved problem. The experi-
ence of England was against us, and the best men were
uneasy about the effect of such a dangerous form of
industry upon the decent habits of our New England
life. The merchant builders of Lowell took the matter
in hand, and executed it with the same sagacity and
success that have attended all their other undertakings.
They demonstrated that manufacturing labour on a great
scale, in a crowded city, can co-exist with as high a con-
dition of physical, mental, and moral well-being as any
other form of industry. So far, so good, and very good
it was.
But that is not the end. By-and-by from the
centre of manufacturing wealth and its attendant woes,
à philanthropist with a mind to estimate their
work, and a heart to feel its excellence, and long for its
extension. And he goes away to exert himself with the
authority of high station, the force of great talent, and
the advantages of local knowledge and influence, to
transplant the benefit to a foreign land.”
comes
Dr. Scoresby returned to England in the month of
September (1844), and, on the 14th, rejoined Mrs.
Scoresby at Bradford. No sooner was he settled at home
again, than he set himself to work out his factory ope-
Et. 53. FACTORY OPERATIVES' IMPROVEMENT SCHEME.
303
ratives' scheme. In the month of November he issued a
circular inviting the manufacturers and master spinners
of Bradford and its neighbourhood to "confer on means
of improving the social and moral condition of the female
factory operatives." To an important meeting thus
assembled, he addressed himself first of all upon the
existing condition of this class in Bradford, and of the
noble enterprise in which he wished them to engage.
was a
“ The object, in every view of it," he said,
momentous one. It involved whatever was elevated,
whatever was holy, whatever was noble, whatever was
philanthropic, whatever was Christian. It contemplated,
by the blessing of God, their doing their part in trying
to raise the female population of Bradford to a higher
condition; to induce them to think of what was befitting
them as rational beings; to impress them with a due
sense of what they might and should be, as the women
of a great country, and, above all, as immortal beings,
designed by the mercy of God, if they neglect or slight
not that mercy, for an eternity of felicity.”
“And now," he afterwards continued, “comes the ques-
tion, What can be done ? I do not contemplate that all
the manufacturers in the parish can be brought to adopt
a different system from that which is prevalently pursued,
nor that all who give their assent to the principle will
cordially co-operate in working it out; I do not indulge
the utopian notion, that all the female operatives will
benefit by any efforts that may be made ; but I do con-
template effecting, by the assistance of the gentlemen
304
1844.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
around me, and under the divine blessing, a reasonable
measure of good ; and as much as in any other Christian
and philanthropic enterprise. There is no peradventure
in the result of what is begun, continued, and ended in
God, and with a view to his glory; the only question is
as to degree or time, which the divine Being reserves to
himself; but his blessing will follow, and good will result
not only to those cared for, but also to the parties
engaged in the work; they will stand in a higher posi-
tion; they will command the services of the best and
most respectable work people, and their establishments
will have a Christian dignity about them and a high
character not found in others.”
“And now,” he concluded, “in regard to the scheme.
The plan I would suggest for consideration will be :--
1. The establishment of an association of the employers
of female labour, and of other friends to the improvement
of the social, moral, intellectual, and religious condition of
our female operatives. 2. The formation of a general board,
consisting of a selection of manufacturers and spinners,
associated with the senior clergy and dissenting ministers
of different denominations, and other individuals favour-
able to the object ; for any institution of this kind must
be catholic in its spirit. 3. The appointment of a visiting
committee or committees, comprising a ladies' branch, for
visiting from time to time the residences of the female
operatives, and especially the lodging-houses, and report-
ing thereon. 4. The establishment of evening schools,
and mutual improvement classes, in different parts of the
town, for males as well as females. 5. The establish-
Et. 54.
305
LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE.
ment of a library of useful books for the common use,
either without payment or on a small subscription, of all
the factory operatives employed by the principals con-
nected with the association. 6. The establishment of a
factory-operatives' sick club. 7. The appointment of
means for facilitating and encouraging deposits in sav-
ings' banks 8. I may add, the employment of matrons
for overlooking some of the departments of female
labour."
The interval between his return from America in 1844
and the early part of 1846, was spent by Dr. Scoresby
much in the same manner as were the former years of
his residence in Bradford. In March 1846 he paid a
visit to Birr Castle, by the kind invitation of Lord
Rosse, of which he speaks in terms of warmest delight.
“I have been here visiting and receiving the greatest
kindness and attention for near three weeks, and employ-
ing, when the weather would permit, Lord Rosse's won-
derful telescope.”
At length, in a letter dated 21st March, 1846, hé
says:
"I give up Bradford in September, and without any
church to go to. But I have been overworked, and both
myself and dear wife injured irreparably by the ill usage
we have had, and the excessive harass and labour. The
most painful effect with myself (which, however, I wish
you not to mention anywhere) is on my sight. I am
very anxious about it, and consulted three eminent
U
306
1846.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
oculists, two of them in London. They all gave me
encouragement, and said I must do less. But yet I am
anxious, as I think the indistinctness of vision increases."
The additional labour in which the winding up of his
ecclesiastical affairs in Bradford involved him, proved too
severe for his already exhausted frame; insomuch that
about the date contemplated for his departure, he became
subject to repeated and very debilitating bilious attacks,
the enervating effects of which left him exposed to an
epidemic of erysipelas, then raging in Bradford.
After a
more than usually severe attack of this kind, in the first
week of November, erysipelatous symptoms manifested
themselves in the face, and so rapid was the further
development of the disease, that in a few hours his life
was placed in imminent danger. The critical period,
however, happily passed over in a favourable manner,
and on the 2d of December he was so far restored as to
be able to receive a large number of the clergy at the
vicarage, from the pen of one of whom we have the
following particulars :-
The service for evening prayer having been read by
one of the incumbents, the Rev. the Vicar expressed his
great gratification at seeing so many of the clergy around
him. He feelingly alluded to his contemplated departure
from the parish, and to his recent recovery from a pain-
ful and serious illness, which had brought him to the
brink of the grave.
He said he had looked with hope
and satisfaction to the time when he should be so far re-
Æt. 56.
307
RECOVERY FROM SERIOUS ILLNESS.
covered as to meet and confer with the clergy generally,
and to communicate to them the reflections into which
he had been led, and the experience with which he had
been favoured during his late very dangerous illness, be-
lieving that, under the divine blessing, such a meeting
might be useful, and tend to bind the hearts and affec-
tions of the clergy together. The late affliction, though
a most merciful dispensation of his heavenly Father, had
served to strengthen his assurance of the reality of the
Christian faith ; and though at one time under the full
impression that his dissolution was near at hand, and
that his feet were in the swellings of Jordan, he had been
overpowered by a sense of the vast responsibilities of the
ministerial character, and by a feeling of deep humiliation;
yet in those solemn hours he had derived comfort from
reflecting, that as the vicar, he had never shunned to
declare unto his parishioners the whole counsel of God,'
and from the consciousness that in his ministerial and
pastoral intercourse he had never intentionally erred.
During this sickness he had been more than ever im-
pressed with the beauty, comprehensiveness, and most
perfect adaptation of the services of the Church contained
in the Book of Common Prayer;' not only in the office
for the visitation of the sick, but in the daily prayers,
psalms, and lessons, which had been kindly read to him
by his clerical brethren, chiefly by the clergy connected
with the parish church. He mentioned his opinion that
the ministers of the Church of England are placed pre-
eminently in a most advantageous position for advancing
the social condition of the country, having full liberty to
308
1847.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
declare their opinions respecting the relative duties and
responsibilities of all classes towards each other, especially
such as are involved in the relations of our great manu-
facturing communities, and having perfect freedom to
take a part in all the great public movements which
tend to the moral and social improvements of the working
classes."
The rapid improvement which had hitherto taken
place received a sudden check in the beginning of the
year. Deeming change of air and scenery essential to
his recovery, he proposed a visit to his esteemed friends,
Mr. and Mrs. Rathbone, of Greenbank, near Liverpool,
beneath whose hospitable roof he had spent so many
happy days in former years.
He removed thither in the
first week of January 1817, and received at their hands
a cordial welcome; their exceeding attention and kind-
ness towards him during his recurrent illness, indeed, was
a never-failing matter of grateful remembrance. The
severity of the relapse which occurred soon after his
arrival at Greenbank is expressed in his own words,
addressed to a friend in Exeter, in a letter bearing date
21st of April 1847. They are as follows:
“The long and severe illness under which it pleased
our heavenly Father to call me to suffer, has rendered
necessary an entire cessation from all business for a con-
siderable period. The attack of erysipelas which I had
in December was, no doubt, prepared for by a perse-
verance in duties and mental labour of an overwhelming
Et. 56.
309
FACTORY GIRLS FIRST SOCIAL MEETING.
character, pursued, with little intermission, for a series of
years in Bradford.
The first attack, by reason of the
continuance of fever and inflammation about the head,
recurred in January and February, but, under the divine
mercy, was subdued during that month, leaving me in a
state of utter debility and prostration of the system.
Thank God, I have been gaining strength for some ten
weeks, and have now for some time been quite well.
Next week (D.V.) I propose to pay a short visit to
Bradford, to which place letters being sent will always
reach me.
Mrs. Scoresby, who is with our friends in the
Isle of Wight, is, I grieve to say, yet very unwell.
"P.S.--Being at present without professional employ-
ment--for which I am not anxious, unless in some
pleasant situation,—I shall probably (D.v.), be moving
about for some months, by way of recreation, and have
my mind turned, as one point of travel, to Exeter."
By this time, the good seed which Dr. Scoresby had
sown during his ministerial labour in Bradford was be-
ginning to manifest symptoms of vitality. The small
green leaves were appearing above the surface, giving
promise of a fruitful harvest; and his heart was gladdened
by these first-fruits of his patient toil On the occasion
of his visit to Bradford, in the month of June, he was
invited by the ladies' committee of the Factory Girls'
Moral and Social Improvement Society to join in their
first social gathering. On that occasion not less than
five hundred factory girls of respectable habits and moral
character assembled to partake of tea together, and to
310
1847.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
express their warmest acknowledgments to their late
vicar, by whose instrumentality they were privileged that
day to enjoy a position in the scale of social life far above
anything which they had hitherto known. In the midst
of this joyous assemblage, the Society of Odd Fellows
were permitted to present a handsome silver inkstand to
Dr. Scoresby, in testimony of their personal regard for
him, and of their appreciation of his services whilst
resident among them. Dr. Scoresby, it was said, “was
looking remarkably well, and as he walked round the
room, chatting familiarly with his friends and late
parishioners, he seemed to diffuse joy and gladness on
every side."
The real purpose of his visit was, in compliance with
their invitation, to receive at the hands of a large body
of his late parishioners a handsome testimonial in silver,
consisting of tea, coffee, and part dinner service; each
piece bearing the following inscription :
Presented
TO THE
REV. WILLIAM SCORESBY, D.D., F.R.S.,
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.,
ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RESIGNING THE IMPORTANT CHARGE
OF THE VICARAGE OF BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE.
AS A
TESTIMONIAL
OF THE
AFFECTIONATE REGARD AND ESTEEM OF HIS FRIENDS.
JUNE 1847.
Æt. 56.
311
TESTIMONIAL.
In the course of the presentation address, the chairman
made the following remarks:*_
“ He would first allude to Dr. Scoresby's exertions in
the cause of education. Four schools have been built by
the efforts of that gentleman, at a cost of about £4000,
and, with one exception, entirely on his own responsi-
bility as to the funds. When Dr. Scoresby came to
Bradford, there was not a single child under daily educa-
tion in connection with the parish church, now about
1500 children were receiving daily instruction, exclusive
of some 1200 Sunday scholars, Besides the erection
of these schools, Dr. Scoresby had also undertaken the
entire pecuniary responsibility of carrying on all the day,
and some of the Sunday schools, relying only on the
children's pence, the annual collections, and, for two or
three years, a small contribution by the National Society.
Their expenses exceeded the sum of £4000. They were
also indebted to Dr. Scoresby for the establishment of
the Church Institution, for the expenses of which he was
for two or three years solely responsible, besides giving
his valuable assistance in lectures, &c. He might also
refer to the subdivision of the parish, now in progress ;
the raising of funds for district churches, as at Eccleshill;
and to the introduction of so efficient a body of clergy-
men into the town,"
Addressing Dr. Scoresby, the chairman concluded with
these words :
* From the Bradford and Wakefield Observer.
312
1847.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“When we remember the period of your first coming
among us, a peculiar period in the history of the Church
in Bradford—when we remember the great exertions you
have made for extending the boundaries of your Master's
kingdom—when we remember the great personal sacri-
fices you have been called upon to make, and all this,
too, in the midst of trials and difficulties of no ordinary
character,—we feel that the seed you have thus sown,
although you may not be permitted to see the result,
will be like bread cast upon the waters, which shall be
found after many days.”
The younger members of his late flock, the Sunday-
school teachers whom he had reared under his own
watchful eye, embraced this opportunity of presenting
their revered pastor with a copy of the Holy Bible and a
Prayer Book, testifying their appreciation of his ministry
among them.
Dr. Scoresby was too much affected by the scene before
him to utter a brilliant valedictory address. In a few
words he expressed his thanks for their kind and affec-
tionate bearing towards him, and having spoken feelingly
of his separation from them, he left them, “sorrowing
most of all for the words which he spake, that they
should see his face no more.”
t. 56.
313
SECOND VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES.
CHAPTER XV.
SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA-MRS. SCORESBY'S DEATH-RETURN TO ENGLAND;
ATLANTIC WAVES"--HONORARY ELECTION TO THE ATHENÆUM CLUB-
RESIDENCE IN TORQUAY-LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS-SEVERE
ACCIDENT-LECTURESHIP IN UPTON CHURCH.
1847-1853.
AFTER a round of visits paid by Dr. Scoresby to various
friends in England and Scotland, he rejoined Mrs. Scoresby
about the end of August, at Woodville, near Cork,
whither she had removed from the Isle of Wight. Her
health was somewhat improved and good hopes were en-
tertained of her ultimate recovery, for which she mainly
relied on the beneficial influence of her native air.
She
was still, however, so much an invalid as to be unable to
participate in the least degree in the enjoyments of the
domestic circle. In these circumstances, and with the
full assurance both of herself and her medical attendant,
that, surrounded as she was by every comfort and atten-
tion which the most anxious relatives could bestow, she
would gradually improve in health and strength,—Dr.
Scoresby consented to take advantage of his liberty
from ministerial employment to undertake a second
voyage to the United States of America.
He sailed from Liverpool, in the Mail Packet bound
for Boston, on the 4th of October, and on the 17th of
the same month wrote to Mrs. Clark from Halifax, Nova
314
1848,
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
Scotia, telling of his prosperous voyage so far, “and
though,” he concludes, “ we are crowded with passengers
(132), I have continued to get on pretty well, and have
gained, I hope, some strength, walking much and with
little fatigue. From Boston, I propose (D.V.) going first
to Canada to see the Governor-General, &c., and then to
return to Boston before the winter sets in, where, care of
Abbot Lawrence, Esq, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., I hope
to hear from you."
The severity of the winter prevented his making a
very extensive tour. His visit to Lord Elgin, the Gover-
nor-General of Canada, and that to the veteran and
talented statesman, Mr. Clay, at Washington-as also his
excursions to many places of note, especially that to the
Falls of Niagara, afforded him much gratification. In
the beginning of the year he spent a short time on a
visit to the Bishop of New Jersey, and afterwards became
the guest of the Bishop (Potter) of Pennsylvania. Whilst
sojourning with this most kind and estimable prelate, he
received the overwhelming intelligence of his wife's death.
The following was written to Mrs. Clark in reply to the
distressing tidings—it is dated 26th of January, 1848.
“ The sad memorials, by three letters, of the departure to
our heavenly Father of the spirit of my loving and beloved
partner, reached me all together. I had long believed that
one so severely suffering and so much afflicted could not
But the doctor at Cork speaking most con-
fidently of her recovery of the disease being eradicated
-and that in two or three months she might go anywhere,
recover.
Æt. 57.
315
ATLANTIC WAVES.
ever
was calculated to mislead, and I knew not but afflicted
nature might bear up under the sorrow for a long period.
And as I could not be with her from want of accommoda-
tion, I ventured to leave her as an easier mode of filling
up, apparently, the painful interval till her anticipated
return to England.
“Our heavenly Father has arranged it otherwise, in
the removal to a more fitting state of one of the most
strictly-conscientious, pure-minded, fervently and humbly
pious, tenderly-affectionate and devoted persons I
knew !"..
“ To-morrow I hope to proceed to Washington, where
I wish to keep quiet, if I can, for a few days.
I
am now, in providence, further cast abroad in the world.
I pray daily for divine guidance where to fix my tent;
may the Great Head of the Church guide me in this im-
portant matter."
The inclemency of the weather prevented his immediate
return to England; for, although much improved in health
by his travels, he was still somewhat delicate, and he
therefore considered it more prudent to wait until the
season was further advanced. He sailed from Boston on
the 1st and arrived in Liverpool on the 11th of March.
The following incidents of the voyage are taken from
an article which appeared in Household Words entitled:
ATLANTIC WAVES.
“ One brisk March morning, in the year 1848,
the brave steam-ship, Hibernia, rolled about in the
most intoxicated fashion on the broad Atlantic, in
316
1848,
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
north latitude fifty one, and west longitude thirty-eight,
fifty-the wind blowing to a hard gale from the west-
south-west. To inost of the passengers the grandeur of
the waters was a mockery, the fine bearing of the ship
only a delusion and a snare. Everything was made tight
on deck; if any passenger had left a toothpick on one of
the seats, he would assuredly have found it lasbed to a near
railing. Rope was coiled about every imaginable item, and
water dripped from every spar of the gallant vessel. Now
it seemed as though she were travelling along through a
brilliant gallery, flanked on either side by glittering walls
of water; now she climbed one of the crested walls, and
an abyss, dark and terrible as the famous Maelstrom, which
can't be found anywhere, yawned to receive her. The
snorts of the engine seemed to defy the angry waters; and
occasionally when a monster wave coiled about the ship,
and thundered against her, she staggered for a moment,
only to renew the battle with fresh energy.
“ The cooks and stewards went placidly through their
several daily avocations on board this rolling, fighting,
shaking craft. If they had been Belgravian servants, or
club-house waiters, they could not have performed their
duties with more profound unconcern. Their coolness
appeared nothing less than heroic to the poor tumbled
heaps of clothes with human beings inside, who were
scattered about the cabins below. An unhappy wight,
who had never before been five miles from Boston, was
anxiously inquiring of the chief steward the precise time
in the course of that evening that the vessel might be
expected to founder ; while another steward, with pro-
Et. 57.
317
ATLANTIC WAVES.
voking pertinacity, was asking how many would dine in
the saloon at six, with the same business-like unconcern,
as if the ship were gliding along on glass. So tremend-
ous was the tossing, so extreme the apparent uncertainty
of any event except a watery terminus to all expectation,
that this sort of coolness appeared almost wicked.
“ Then there was a monster in British form actually on
deck—not braving, it was said, but tempting the storm
to sweep him into eternity. The cook did not hesitate
to venture a strong opinion against the sanity of a man
who might, if he chose, be snugly ensconced in the cabin
out of harm's way, but who would remain upon deck in
momentary danger of being blown overboard. The cook's
theory was not ill supported by the subject of it; for he
was continually placing himself in all manner of odd
places and grotesque postures. Sometimes he scrambled
up on the cuddy roof; then he rolled down again on the
saloon deck; now he got himself blown up on the paddle-
box; that was not high enough for him, for when the
vessel sunk into a trough of the sea, he stood on tip-toe,
trying to look over the nearest wave. A consultation
was held in the cuddy, and a resolution was unanimously
passed that the amateur of wind and water (which burst
over him every minute) was either an escaped lunatic or
—a college professor.
“It was resolved nem. con. that he was the latter ;
and from that moment nobody was surprised at anything
he might choose to do, even while the Hibernia was
labouring in what the mate was pleased to call the most
' lively' manner. The professor, however, to the disgust of
318
1848.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
up
the sufferers Lelow, who thought it was enough to feel the
height of the waves, without going to the trouble of mea-
suring them, pursued his observations in the face of the con-
tempt of the official conclave above mentioned. He took
his position on the cuddy-roof, which was exactly 23 feet 3
inches above the ship's line of flotation, and there watched
the mighty mountains that sported with the brave vessel.
He was anxious to ascertain the height of these majestic
waves, but he found that the crests rose so far above the
horizon from the point where he was standing, that it was
utterly impossible, without gaining a greater height for ob-
servation, that he could arrive at any just estimate on the
subject. His observations from the cuddy-roof proved,
however, beyond a doubt that the majority of these rolling
masses of water attained a height of considerably more than
24 feet, measuring from the trough of the sea to the crests
of the waves. But the professor was not satisfied with
this negative proof; and in the pursuit of his interesting
inquiry, did not feel inclined to be baffled.
It is impos-
sible to know what the secret thoughts of the men at the
wheel were, when the valiant observer announced his
intention of making the best of his way from the cuddy-
roof to the larboard paddle-box. Now he was to be seen
tumbling about with the motion of the ship; at one
moment clinging to a chain-box; at the next throwing
himself into the arms of the second mate. Now he is buried
in spray, and a few minutes afterwards his spare form is
seen clinging to the rails which connect the paddle-boxes.
Despite the storm without, a calm mathematical pro-
cess is going on within the mind of that ardent observer.
Æt. 57.
319
ATLANTIC WAVES.
The professor knew he was standing ai a height of
twenty-four feet nine inches above the flotation mark of
the ship; and, allowing five feet six inches as the height
of his eye, he found the elevation he had obtained to be
altogether thirty feet three inches. He now waited till
the vessel subsided fairly for a few minutes into the
trough of the sea in an even and upright position, while
the nearest approaching wave had its maximum altitude.
Here he found also, that at least one-half part of the
wave intercepted by a considerable elevation his view of
the horizon. He declared that he frequently observed
long ranges extending one hundred yards on one or both
sides of the ship—the sea then coming right aft—which
rose so high above the visible horizon, as to form an angle
estimated at two to three degrees when the distance of
the wave's crest was about a hundred yards off. This
distance would add about thirteen feet to the level of the
eye.
This immense elevation occurred about every sixth
Now and then, when the course of a gigantic
wave was impetuously interfered with by another liquid
giant, and they thundered together, their breaking crests
would shoot upward at least ten or fifteen feet higher-
about half the height of the monument—and then pour
down a mighty flood upon the poor professor in revenge
for his attempt to measure their majesties. No quantity
of salt water, however, could wash him from his post, till
he had satisfactorily proved, by accurate observation, that
the average wave which passed the vessel was fully equal
to the height of his eye,—or thirty feet three inches;
and that the mean highest waves, not including the
wave.
320
1848.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
fighting or broken waves, were about forty-three feet above
the level of the hollow occupied at the moment by the ship.
“Satisfied at length of the truth of his observations,
the professor, half pickled by the salt water, and looking,
it must be confessed, very cold and miserable, descended
to the cabin. Throughout dinner-time a conversation
was kept up between the professor and the captain—the
latter appearing to be about the only individual on board
who took any interest whatever in these scientific pro-
ceedings. The ladies, one and all, vowed that the pro-
fessor was a monster, only doing all this stuff' in mockery
of their sufferings. Towards night the wind increased to
a hurricane ; the ship trembled like a frightened child
before the terrible combat of the elements. Night, with
her pall
, closed in the scene; it was a wild and solemn
time. Towards morning the wind abated.
For thirty
hours a violent north-west gale had swept over the
heaving bosom of the broad Atlantic.
“ This reflection hastened the dressing and breakfasting
operations of the professor, who tumbled up on deck at
about ten o'clock in the morning. The storm had been
subdued for several hours, and there was a visible decrease
in the height of the waves. He took up his old position
on the cuddy-roof, and soon observed, that even then,
when the sea was comparatively quiet, ten waves overtook
the vessel in succession, which all rose above the apparent
horizon; consequently, they must have been more than
twenty-three feet--probably about twenty-six feet-from
ridge to hollow. From the larboard paddle-box, to which
the professor once more scrambled, he observed that
Æt. 57.
321
ATLANTIC WAVES.
occasionally four or five waves in succession rose above
the visible horizon, hence they must have been more than
thirty feet waves. He also observed that the waves no
longer ran in long ridges, but presented more the form of
cones of moderate elongation.
Having so far satisfied himself as to the height of
Atlantic waves in a gale of wind (the professor's estimate
must not be taken as the measurement of the highest
known waves, but simply as that of a rough Atlantic
sea), he directed his attention to minuter and more difti-
cult observations. He determined to measure the period
of time occupied by the regular waves in overtaking the
ship, their width from crest to crest, and the rate of their
travelling. The first point to be known was the speed
of the ship; this he ascertained to be nine knots. His
next object was to note her course in reference to the
direction of the waves. He found that the true course
of the vessel was east, and that the waves came from the
west-north-west, so that they passed under the vessel at
a considerable angle. The length of the ship was stated
to be two hundred and twenty feet. Provided with this
information the professor renewed his observations. He
proceeded to count the seconds the crest of a wave took
to travel from stern to stem of the vessel ; these he ascer-
tained to be six. He then counted the time which
intervened between the moment when one crest touched
the stern of the vessel and the next touched it, and he
found the average interval to be sixteen seconds and a
fraction. These results gave him at once the width
between crest and crest: as the crest travelled two
Х
322
1848.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
hundred and twenty feet (or the length of the vessel) in
six seconds, and sixteen seconds elapsed before the next
crest touched the stern, it was clear that the wave was
nearly three times the length of the vessel ; to write
accurately, there was a distance of six hundred and five
feet from crest to crest.
“ The professor did not forget that the oblique course
of the ship elongated her line over the waves; this elonga-
tion he estimated at forty-five feet, reducing the probable
average distance between crest and crest to five hundred
and fifty-nine feet.
Being quite satisfied with the result of this experi-
ment, the hardy professor, still balancing himself on his
giddy height, to the wonder and amusement of the sailors,
found that the calculations he had already made did not
give him the actual velocity of the waves. A wave-crest
certainly passed from stern to stem in six seconds, but
then the ship was travelling in the same direction, at the
rate of nine geographical miles per hour, or 15:2 feet per
second ; this rate the professor added to the former
measure, which gave 790-5 feet for the actual distance
traversed by the wave in 16:5 seconds, being at the rate
of 32:67 English miles per hour. This computation was
afterwards compared with calculations made from totally
different data by Mr. Scott Russell, and found to be quite
correct.
"With these facts the professor scrambled from the
larboard paddle-box of the Hibernia. He had also made
some observations on the forms of waves. When the
wind blows steadily from one point, they are generally
Æt. 57.
323
ATLANTIC WAVES.
regular; but when it is high and gusty, and shifts from
point to point, the sea is broken up, and the waves take
a more conical shape, and assume fantastical crests.
While the sea ran high, the professor observed now and
then a ridge of waves extending from about a quarter to
a third of a mile in length, forming, as it were, a rampart
of water. This ridge was sometimes straight and some-
times bent as of a crescent form, with the central mass of
water higher than the rest, and not unfrequently with
two or three semi-elliptical mounds in diminishing series
on either side of the highest peak.
“When the wind had subsided, a few of the bolder
passengers crawled upon deck in the oddest imaginable
costumes. They had not much to encounter, for about a
third part of the greater undulations averaged only
twenty-four feet, from crest to hollow, in height. These
waves could be seen and selected from the pigmy waves
about them, at the distance of a quarter of a mile from
the ship
“ The professor had been very unpopular on board
while the stormy weather lasted, and the ladies had vowed
that he was a sarcastic creature, who would have his
little joke on the gravest calamities of life ; but as the
waves decreased in bulk, and the wind lulled, and the
sun shone, and the men took off their oil-skin coats, and
the cabin-windows were opened, the frowns of the fair
voyagers wore off. Perfect good-will was general before
the ship sighted Liverpool; and even the cook, as he
prepared the last dinner for the passengers, was heard to
declare in confidence to one of the stokers) that, after all,
324
1848.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
there might be something worth knowing in the professor's
observations.
“When the professor landed at Liverpool, he would,
on no account, suffer the carpet-bag containing his cal-
culations, to be taken out of his sight. Several inquisitive
persons, however, made the best use of their own eyes to
ascertain the name of the extraordinary observer, and
found it to be legibly inscribed with the well-known
name of SCORESBY.
“That his investigations may be the more readily im-
pressed on the reader's mind, we conclude with a summary
of them. It would seem from Dr. Scoresby's intrepid
investigations, that the highest waves of the Atlantic
average in
Altitude........
43 feet.
Mean distance between each wave.....
559 fect.
Width from crest to crest......
600 feet.
Interval of time between each wave................. 16 seconds.
Velocity of each wave per hour........
+00.00
329 miles."*
Dr. Scoresby continued an invalid during the remainder
of the year 1848. His health, indeed, was far from
good, and promised but a tardy restoration. The summer
months were agreeably spent in visiting many kind and
hospitable friends, among whom he mentions with grate-
ful remembrance Sir John and Lady Matilda Maxwell,
Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, Mr. Napier of Shandon, Lady
Franklin, and others. Sir George Back intimated his
intention of proposing Dr. Scoresby's “ admission into the
Athenæum, under Article II. of the rules of the Club;"
* These figures correspond with a statement made in a scientific paper read by
Dr. Scoresby before the British Association in 1850.
Æt. 57. IIONORARY ELECTION TO THE ATHENÆUM CLUB. 325
this he effected with success on the 30th January 1849.
The Rev. Theodore Dury, in advising Dr. Scoresby of this
honour, says: “It is customary for members who are
elected over the heads of one thousand candidates to
write a letter of acknowledgment or thanks to the com-
mittee."
Dr. Scoresby concluded one of his letters, written to-
wards the close of 1848, with the following words :-
· Next, if it please God, I propose visiting Brighton and
Exeter, and then, perhaps, taking up my winter quarters
somewhere." He was now indeed homeless and solitary;
for, numerous as were the friends desirous of entertaining
him within their respective domestic circles, and closely as
his time was occupied with scientific investigations varied
by occasional ministerial duties, his heart ever and anon
reverted to the delights of a domestic hearth, whose joyous
attributes none knew better how to appreciate than he.
It was with no small degree of pleasure, then, that his
friends received, during the summer of 1849, an intimation
of his projected marriage. He was united, on the 7th Sep-
tember 1849, to Georgiana, youngest daughter of William
Ker, Esq. of Gateshaw, Roxburghshire, and the Castle,
Torquay, at the latter of which places Dr. Scoresby built
a handsome villa in which he spent the remainder of his
life.
It was about this period that the return of the Enter-
prise and Investigator from their fruitless Arctic voyage
in search of Sir John Franklin and his brave associates
so greatly disheartened the public. Fruitless, not from
any want of courage, zeal or talent on the part of their
326
1850.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
gallant commander, Sir James Ross, or of his followers,
but from circumstances over which they could exercise no
control. After their return people began to speak of the
inutility of such expeditions, whilst not a few talked of
the waste of public money ; so that it required all the
skill and energy of the promoters of search expeditions
to bring about a renewed interest in behalf of our missing
countrymen. In these endeavours Dr. Scoresby was
zealously engaged, and was one of the last to give up
hope. In 1850 he published “ The Franklin Expedition,
which was very well received ; he formed also one of the
“ Arctic committee," and was in constant correspondence
with the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, who did
him the justice to acknowledge in a complimentary man-
ner his " valuable contributions to the cause." Besides
the sympathy, common to all, with the absent adventurers,
he was moreover animated by a sincere regard for Lady
Franklin, with whose noble efforts he had the privilege of
a friendly association. He would have been one of the
foremost to congratulate Captain M'Clintock, had he lived
to hear the result of his generous and intrepid enterprise.
Dr. Scoresby's literary and scientific productions ap-
peared in rapid succession after his settlement in Torquay.
Besides THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION, he published like-
wise in 1850, JEHOVAH GLORIFIED IN HIS WORKS, a
sermon preached at the meeting of the British Association
in Edinburgh ; SABBATHS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS ; THE
MARY RUSSELL, a Narrative of an Extraordinary Massacre,
with Reflections on the Responsibility of Lunatics ; a paper
ON COLUMNAR CRYSTALLIZATIONS OF GROUND ICE, in the
Æt. 59.
327
SEVERE INJURY.
Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal; the substance
of two lectures on ZOISTIC MAGNETISM ; and a contribu-
tion, ON THE HEIGHT, BREADTH, AND VELOCITY OF THE
HIGHER WAVES OF THE ATLANTIC, to the British Associa-
tion. Besides these he delivered many scientific and
popular lectures for charitable purposes.
The second
volume of his MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS appeared in
June 1852. In 1853 he read four papers before the
British Association, at Hull: 1. On the Surface Tempera-
ture and Great Currents of the North Atlantic and
Northern Oceans ; 2. On Railway Accidents by Collision,
and Suggestions for their Prevention ; 3. On the Popular
Notion of an Open Polar Sea. Is it the Fact ļ and 4.
On Deep Sea Soundings, and Errors therein from Strata-
Currents, with Suggestions for their Investigation.
In September 1851, he received a severe injury by the
fall of his horse occasioned by too suddenly turning a
corner. Whilst prostrate in body by the hurt sustained in
his leg, his mind was still actively engaged, as the follow-
ing, from a letter to his sister, of 21st October indicates :-
“I now get daily into our upper drawing-room, or
organ-room-a charming place—and, thank God, am
wonderfully recovered, except the knee. It seems like
a miracle.
The foot, I hope, as it appears to be, will be
quite right. About the recovery of the knee the doctor
has good hopes ; but we dare not try it, as one of the
principal ligaments appears to have been quite broken. I
keep it always in the same position, or nearly so. I have
contrived a variety of machines and apparatus, to the as-
.
328
1853.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
tonishment of the doctor. A carriage or couch which
runs me from room to room, removes me in and out of
bed, acts wonderfully ; a child can push me along. My
leg is lifted for dressing with a tackle I made when a boy!"
In Torquay he devoted his time---apart from that em-
ployed in scientific studies—to the happiness and welfare
of those who enjoyed his acquaintance. Of an affable and
benevolent disposition, he rendered himself singularly ap-
proachable to all classes of society. He had the rare gift
of accommodating his manner to the tastes of those in
whose company he was thrown : he could be the minister,
the sailor, or the man of science as circumstances required
-he could be anything, in short, that was compatible
with his Christian profession. With children he was pre-
eminently a favourite ; he could entertain them for hours
to their great delight, and without the least constraint on
their part beyond that feeling of respect and reverence for
him which frequently betrayed itself in most endearing
expressions. He was esteemed by all. Though he had
given up all thoughts of undertaking the charge of a
parish or other endowed church, his concern for the souls
of God's people was as lively as ever, and he never
neglected an opportunity of speaking a word in season,
or the exercise of his calling when circumstances required
it. He frequently assisted the Rev. Mr. Wolfe, incum-
bent of Upton (Torquay); and in 1853 made an arrange-
ment with him for a division of his labour. The plan of
these disinterested and gratuitous services deserves men-
tion. Dr. Scoresby offered to divide the services of Upton
Æt. 62.
329
UPTON CHURCH,
Church with his friend, Mr. Wolfe, but this arrangement
could not be entered upon without the sanction of the
Bishop of Exeter, who, in his turn, says, “I cannot but
estimate highly your liberal offer ; but it is not in my
power to accept you otherwise than as an assistant to
Mr. Wolfe on his nomination in the usual manner, though
without stipend.” To this Dr. Scoresby readily assented,
and subscribed the following terms: "Dr. Scoresby to
take charge of the Sunday afternoon service in the man-
ner and nature of a lectureship, without stipend ; the
assistant curate of Upton, so far as he conveniently may,
assisting in the desk ; but when not convenient, Dr.
Scoresby to be responsible for the entire afternoon service.”
The unbroken friendliness which existed between Mr.
Wolfe and Dr. Scoresby during the whole period of this
agreement rendered the arrangements mutually pleasing,
as well as profitable both to themselves and their congre-
gation.
330
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER XVI.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
(Various Years.)
In treating of Dr Scoresby's scientific attainments, it is
difficult to conjecture with any measure of exactness what,
to the mind of the general reader, will constitute a fair
exposition—whether it be necessary to do more than
refer to his published works on MAGNETISM, or whether
it be essential to enter largely into the history of his
Investigations. Perhaps the best method of arriving at
a just appreciation of his scientific labours will be to
set out with the question—What induced Dr. Scoresby,
at the advanced age of sixty-five years, to undertake a
voyage round the world? And in order that we may
thoroughly understand the circumstances which led to
such an enterprise, we may add a few words in elucida-
tion of the terms which we shall be called upon to under-
stand, and of the elementary laws involved in the simplest
description of magnetic phenomena.
At what period magnetism (uáyvns, from magnesia in
Asia Minor) was first discovered, it is impossible to de-
termine ; but that it has been known from time imme-
morial, in its natural state, is certain. The loadstone or
natural magnet consists of an iron ore mixed with a cer-
tain proportion of quartz and alumina, and to this alone
were the ancients indebted for their possession of mag-
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
331
netism, being unable to elicit it by artificial means. It
was not until later, though still remote, times that the
directive power of the loadstone became known, and that
its application to pieces of iron had the effect of rendering
them magnetic and available for the guidance of travel-
lers. Dr. Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth, pub-
lished a work* in 1600, which greatly advanced the
knowledge of magnetism, and since his time it has
been elaborated by the researches of numerous philo-
sophers into a science of the highest importance. Hid
in the compass needle, it exercises its mysterious agency
in guiding the traveller on his way, whilst by its subtile
influence upon the telegraphic wire it outstrips bim, and
anticipates his arrival at his destination.
Magnetism, in common with several other subtile
agencies, as electricity, light, heat, &c., with which it is
closely allied, but not identical, exists, in a latent state, in
allt material substances; but ferruginous bodies manifest
it more distinctly than any other, so that in order to
render our remarks as lucid as possible, and to prevent
the necessity of multiplying words, we may confine our-
selves to one or other of the forms of iron, in shape, for
the sake of illustration, of a compass needle.
An unmagnetized needle—that is, a needle whose mag-
netism is quiescent, when suspended as in a compass, has
* Physiologia Nova, seu Tractatus de Magnete et Corporibus Magneticis.
+ The theory of universal magnetism, which is due to Colomb, has been mo-
dified by the patient investigations of Dr. Faraday. In his inquiries, Dr. Fara-
day discovered that there are certain substances which do not place themselves
in the direction of the polar axis, but at right angles to it; to these he gives the
name diamagnetic; and reserves for those which do adopt the axial position, the
term paramagnetic.
332
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
In mag-
no tendency to direct its extremities one way more than
another, whilst a magnetized needle so placed would tend
to rest in a direction nearly north and south, in otner
words, in the plane of the magnetic meridian.
netizing a needle nothing is added to it, nothing is taken
from it; its physical properties remain unaltered. In
what, then, does the difference between these two needles
consist? Dr. Scoresby illustrates the theory of magnetic
development in the manner following. He supposed the
altered condition of a magnetized substance to depend
upon a change effected by the magnetizing agent upon
the magnetisms of its ultimate molecules. Thus, to fol-
low out his illustration, supposing the unmagnetic needle
(NS) divided into molecules, having the axes of their
latent magnetisms arranged in a transverse and irregular
manner across the bar, as ns, then there would be no
tendency at one point more than another of the needle to
display magnetic influence, the molecular magnetisms de-
stroying each other.
N.
O
O
O
O
O
ös.
But, supposing the magnetic needle to be so divided, the
minute particles would no longer present their magnetic
axes in a transverse or irregular manner, but in a direc-
tion tending towards the extremities of the needle, so
that the magnetic force would not be equally distributed
and neutralized, but would multiply towards the points.
N.
nos
NOS
nos
OS
nos
POs S.
A magnetic needle, though presenting the same physical
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
333
characters as one in which the magnetism is latent,
exhibits new functional properties.
1. It has the property of attracting unmagnetized iron.
If a magnetic needle be placed among iron filings it will
attract a quantity of them varying according to the power
of the magnetism; the greatest weight of filings being at-
tracted near the points, and diminishing towards the centre.
Again, if a magnetic needle be placed near an unmagnetized
needle suspended on a pivot, it will be found that either end
of the former will attract both ends of the latter.
2. It pursues a peculiar conduct when approximated
to another magnetic needle. If a magnetic needle be
suspended by a thread or on a pivot, and the extremity
of another (fixed) magnetic needle be brought near one
of its ends, it will either turn towards it or flee from it,
and in either case, the other end will pursue a directly
opposite course when approached by the same end of the
fixed magnetic needle; in other words, the presented pole
or extremity of the fixed needle will attract the opposite
pole of the moveable one, but will repel the like pole.
3. Polarity. In magnetism, as in electricity, two
qualities must co-exist wherever it is developed, though
they will separate as far from each other as the limits of
the magnetized substance will allow. Thus, a magnetic
needle is occupied by two distinct qualities of magnetism
(commonly distinguished as northern and southern), the
one resting in superlative force at one point, the other
having its head-quarters at the opposite extremity, the
strength of both diminishing equally towards the centre,
where at one particular point they neutralize each other.
33+
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
A needle so circumstanced is said to have polarity, the
extreme ends being the poles (north* and south), the neutral
point in the centre the magnetic equator, and a straight
line extending from one pole to the other the magnetic axis.
4. Induction signifies the property which magnetic
bodies possess of eliciting magnetism in other substances
susceptible of its influence.
For example, if an unmag-
netized needle be swung upon a pivot, and the point of
a fixed magnetic needle be presented to it, the latter will
attract either end of the former; and this it does in
virtue of its inductive power; for before it can attract
the unmagnetized needle it must induce in that end of
it to which it is approached a quality of magnetism op-
posite to that possessed by itself; so that if the north
pole of the magnetic needle were presented it would in-
duce southern polarity in the unmagnetized one, and
these opposite poles attract each other. Contact is not
essential to induction. A powerful magnet will induce
magnetism in an unmagnetized substance at a consider-
able distance, even after the interposition of a non-mag-
netizable body. The law of the power of induction
(with respect to distance) is that it diminishes, inversely,
as the square of the distance; thus, supposing the induc-
tive power at the distance of an inch to be one, then, at
the distance of two inches the power would be reduced
to one-fourth. The most elaborate method of magnetiza-
tion is that discovered by Dr. Scoresby (Scoresby's
* Properly speaking, that extremity of the compass-needle which points to the
north is, and should be called, the south pole; but by a conventional reversion
of terms each end of the needle adopts the name of the pole towards which it
directs itself.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
335
method), and made known by him at the British Asso-
ciation meetings in 1844 and 1846; for a description of
which, see Association Reports, Magnetical Investigations,
and Journal of a Voyage to Australia.
Magnetism may be either transient or residual,* and
it follows this law, that the more easily it is induced the
more quickly it disappears after the removal of the mag-
netizing agent, and vice versa. Soft iron is most sus-
ceptible of magnetic induction; so much so, indeed, that
if a bar of it be held perpendicularly (or, better, with its
lower end inclined a little towards the north), it becomes
magnetic by the inductive power of the earth's mag-
netism; and if a pocket compass be placed near one of
its ends it will cause the needle to deviate; but the
moment it is brought to the horizontal position, with its
extremities directed east and west, its magnetism vanishes.
Steel, or hard iron, on the other hand, is not easily influ-
enced by magnetic induction; but when it is so affected
(either by hammering, or by the employment of a powerful
artificial magnet, or by the electro-galvanic battery), it does
not readily yield its magnetism: it retains its magnetic in-
fluence for a long period by what is termed its coercive force.
Dr Scoresby employed his leisure time when navigat-
ing in the Arctic regions, in making himself acquainted
with the causes of various natural phenomena which
presented themselves in rapid succession. Meteorology
was the favourite subject of his early voyages as Mag-
netism became of his latter.
It was probably about the
* We speak only of two kinds at present; a third quality remains to be men-
tioned as we proceed.
336
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
year 1815 that he began to make a study of this science,
from which period we will give a rapid sketch of his
researches, confining ourselves mainly, however, to the
consideration of terrestrially induced magnetism as lead-
ing us more directly to the consideration of his voyage
round the world. It was during the voyages of 1815,
1816, and 1817, that his attention was arrested by certain
anomalies in the direction assumed by the magnetic needle,
which he described in an elaborate paper on the subject
communicated, through Sir Joseph Banks, to the Royal
Society of London, on the 4th of February, 1819. From
his observations he was enabled to strengthen the con-
clusions arrived at by Captain Flinders, that these
anomalies had been previously improperly attributed
to imperfections in the azimuth compass, and that they
ought rather to be ascribed to the influence of the iron
employed in the construction of the ship. Of the iron
thus made use of, he concluded that such portions as were
placed perpendicularly had a tendency to become magnetic,
having the south pole uppermost and the north pole at
the nethermost extremity in the northern hemisphere and
contrariwise in the southern; that the full magnetic
influence of the iron distributed throughout the ship had
a tendency to concentrate into a focus of attraction about
the middle of the upper deck, somewhat nearer the stem
than the stern, having the south pole at this spot and the
north pole at the lower part of the vessel ; and that this
concentration of magnetic force was the cause of the
variation in the compass needle, by attracting its north
pole in the northern hemisphere) and drawing it out of
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
337
the line of the true magnetic meridian. The changes in
the variation of the compass needle with alteration in the
dip of the needle; the different parts of a vessel in which
the anomaly is most and least observed ; the class of ship
most liable to the anomaly, together with rules for cal-
culating the variations of the compass, are discussed in
the same paper ; and in that, his first, as in his last work
on the subject, he urged the necessity for a compass high
up the mast to keep it out of harm's way. Hence,” he
says, “I have been in the habit of carrying a compass
occasionally, in the crow's nest, fixed at the mast head,
where it was found to be free from those anomalies which
are so sensible in a compass on deck.”
The peculiar influence exercised by the terrestrially
induced magnetism, and especially the circumstance of its
modification or neutralization by altering the position of
the bars of iron in which it was developed, led Mr.
Scoresby to construct an original instrument, which he
called a Magnetimeter, * with a view of “determining the
inclination of the magnetic needle by the observation of the
plane of no attraction in the direction of the magnetic
meridian.” Whilst conducting experiments with this
instrument, it occurred to him to try the effect of per-
cussion on the bars of iron under manipulation, which
gave surprising results, and led to further investigations
of a singular character. Dr Gilbert, in the work we
have mentioned, andounced at that early period, that the
effect of hammering iron, whilst placed in a north and
* Described and figured in the “ Transactions of the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh," vol. ix., p. 243.
Y
338
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
south position, was to develop magnetism ; but no
practical magnetical results from this kind of manipula-
tion was made known until the publication of a paper
by Mr. Scoresby, containing a description of the Magneti-
meter. “This paper," he says,* “ which was forwarded
to the secretary, Dr. [Sir David] Brewster, for the Royal
Society [Edinburgh), January 9th, 1821, comprises de-
scriptions of the general phenomena resulting from ter-
restrially induced magnetism on small bars of iron and
steel, as affected by changes of position, and as augmented,
modified, or neutralized by mechanical action --whether
of hammering, scouring, filing, bending, &c., as also by
electrical discharges and currents. It likewise includes
the important result, derived from experiments made
before the close of 1820, that 'hot iron' receives more
magnetism of position than the same when cold.”
He continued his researches at every available op-
portunity. Another paper was read before the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, on the 7th of March, 1822, in
which further experiments on the development of mag-
netism by percussion were detailed ; and a second paper
was communicated, through Sir Joseph Banks, on the
same subject, to the Royal Society of London, in 1823.
The most elaborate investigations into this subject, how-
ever, were made during the voyage of 1822, to which
we referred when relating the circumstances of the voy-
age; they seem to be so interesting that we may quote
the description given of them by Mr. Scoresby in his
JOURNAL:
Magnetical Investigations,” vol. ii., p. 121.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
339
“ Though a Greenland voyage,” he says, “is perhaps
one of the most arduous of all maritime adventures, the
mind of the commander of a whale-ship being very rarely
free from anxiety; yet, like all other occupations at sea,
it affords occasional intervals of absolute leisure, such as
when the attention of the captain to the progress of the
ship is not requisite, or when, in consequence of calms,
contrary winds, or other obstructions, the main designs of
the voyage cannot be pursued. The immovable state of the
Baffin at this time, however irksome and productive of
anxiety, was such as to render any exertion for our relief
or extrication perfectly useless; but this total suspension
of ordinary duties gave time and opportunity for scientific
researches. My attention, when thus unoccupied by the
management of the ship, had for some time been employed in
making preparations for experiments on an original mode of
developing magnetism in steel, the application of which
might occasionally prove of considerable importance at sea.
“ The fundamental process is the elicitation of magnetic
energy by percussion. For this purpose soft steel is em-
ployed, which is capable of retaining for some time the
magnetic virtue developed in it, instead of iron in which
it is extremely evanescent, or hard steel in which it is
with great difficulty produced. The first step in the
process is to hammer an iron or steel poker, or other rod
of similar metal, of considerable size, while held in a
vertical position, or, what is better, in the direction of the
dipping needle, by a few smart blows on the end ; this
will render the rod or poker sensibly magnetic. If a
soft steel bar be now placed on the top of the poker, and
340
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
hammered on the upper end, while both the poker and
the bar are held vertically, or in the direction the dipping
needle assumes, it immediately acquires a considerable
attractive force, the upper end becoming a south pole, and
the lower end a north pole.
“A cylindrical bar of soft steel, 64 inches long, a
quarter of an inch in diameter, and 592 grains in weight,
thus treated, acquired, in one instance, a lifting power of
about 40 grains by a single blow with a hammer weigh-
ing 12 ounces; and after ten blows (part of them given
with a hammer a little larger), it lifted a nail weighing
188 grains ! But a still more extraordinary effect was
obtained by the use of steel-wire. A. piece of a knitting-
needle, three inches in length, and weighing 28 grains,
which was proved to be without any magnetic virtue
whatever before the experiment, on being repeatedly
hammered when held vertically on the top of a kitchen
poker, lifted a nail 54 grains, or very nearly twice its
own weight! This singular production of magnetism
is in a great measure owing to the use of the rod of iron,
the polarity of which, after hammering, greatly aids the
development of magnetism in the steel ; for the highest
effect obtained by hammering the larger steel-bar, when
held vertically upon stone, pewter, brass, &c., instead of
iron, was only a lifting power of 63 grains.
“Such a high degree of magnetic energy being ob-
tained by a process so simple, it suggested a ready means
of making magnets, without the use of any magnetized
substance whatever, and of giving polarity to needles, so
as to render them capable of answering the purpose of
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
341
compasses in an instant.
This application of the process
induces me to be more explicit on this incidental subject,
because of its importance to seafaring persons.
There
are instances on record of the compasses of ships being
spoiled by lightning: this process would enable the
navigator to restore sufficient polarity for the guidance of
his ship in a few seconds. And, in cases of vessels
foundering at sea, or being destroyed by fire or lightning,
in which the crew are compelled to take refuge in the
boats at a moment's warning, and without having time
to secure a compass (a case which has occurred hnndreds
of times), the same process might enable the distressed
voyagers to give polarity to the blade of a penknife, or
the limb of a pair of scissors, or even to an iron nail,
which would probably be sufficient, when suspended by
a thread, to guide them in their course through their
perilous navigation.
Being desirous of applying the process to the con-
struction of powerful artificial magnets, I prepared (with
the assistance of the armourer on board) six bars of soft
steel, and bars properly tempered, suitable for a large
compound magnet. The soft steel bars were nearly eight
inches long, half an inch broad, and a sixth of an inch
thick. The bars for the compound magnet, seven in
number, which were of the horse-shoe form, were each
two feet long before they were curved, and eleven inches
from the crown to the end, when finished, one inch broad
and three-eighths thick. These bars were combined by
three pins passing through the whole, and screwing into
the last; and any number of them could be united into
342
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
one magnet by means of a spare set of pins screwed
throughout their length, and furnished with nuts. In
addition to these bars, &c., I provided separate feeders or
conductors of soft iron, suitable for connecting the poles
of each of the bars of the compound magnet, and also
another conductor, fitted to the whole when combined,
With this apparatus I proceeded to give the magnetic
virtue as follows:-
“I took a rod of soft steel, which I considered better
than a poker, and hammered it for a minute or two,
while held vertically upon a large bar of soft iron in the
same position. This gave considerable magnetism to the
steel rod. On the top of this I then hammered each of
the six bars of soft steel, until the accession of lift-
ing power ceased. Then fixing two of them on a board,
with their different poles opposite, and formed by a
feeder at each end into a parallelogram, I rubbed these,
after the manner of Canton, by means of the other four
bars, and found their magnetism greatly augmented.
The other four bars were operated upon in pairs in a
similar way, those already strengthened. being used for
strengthening the others, and each pair being successively
charged, until all the bars were found to be magnetized
to saturation. A pair of them now possessed a lifting
power of two pounds and a half.
“The next step was to touch the bars intended for
the compound magnet by means of these six bars now
magnetized. For this purpose the six bars were com-
bined into two magnets, by tying three of them together
with similar poles in contact; these two were then placed,
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
343
with opposite poles, in connection, and tied together at
one end, but separated about the third of an inch at the
other, so as to form one compound magnet, and a con-
ductor was kept constantly applied to the open end of it
when not in use, to preserve the power from being lost.
One of the bars of the horse shoe magnet, with a con-
ductor across the poles, was now placed on a board, in a
groove cut out so as to hold it fast under the operation.
The straight bar magnet was then placed erect on the
middle of it, with the separated poles downward, and
rubbed against the horse shoe bar from the middle to one
of its poles, until the north pole of the one was in con-
nection with the pole intended to become the south of
the other; from thence it was rubbed back again, with
the south pole of the magnet in advance, as far as the
other extremity, or that intended for the north pole of
the horse-shoe bar. Two or three strokes of this kind
being made from end to end of the bar on each side of
it, the north and south poles of the magnet being always
directed to the south and north poles of the bar respec-
tively, the magnet was slipped sideways off when at the
pole of the bar, and the bar was found to have acquired
such a magnetic power as to enable it to sustain a weight
of several ounces, hung from the conductor. All the bars
of the horse-shoe magnet were treated this way in suc-
cession. The first five bars of the magnet being then
combined by the screws, were employed in the same way
as the soft steel magnet had been used for increasing the
power of the sixth and seventh bars, by which they were
rendered capable of carrying above two pounds weight
344
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
each. These were then substituted in the combined
magnet for the fourth and fifth bars, while the latter
underwent the touch of the other five in combination ;
and, in their turn, the second and third, and then the
seventh and first, were subjected to a similar treatment.
After these operations, which occupied forty-three minutes,
the compound magnet, with all the seven bars in connec-
tion, lifted ten pounds. After a second series of the same
kind of manipulations, five of the bars in combination car-
ried fifteen pounds; and, after a third series, eighteen
pounds; but as, on trying a fifth series, little augmenta-
tion took place, the process was discontinued. The whole
of the operations from beginning to end occupied above
four hours; but, as I generally rubbed each bar with
twelve strokes on each side instead of one or two, which
I afterwards found sufficient, and in other parts of the
process spent a great deal of time and labour which
turned to no account, I doubt not but that the whole
might have been completed, beginning without the
smallest perceptible magnetism, and ending with a lift-
ing power of twenty or thirty pounds, in a space of two
hours or less.
“ As steel does not receive, immediately on being
touched, the full degree of magnetic energy of which it
is susceptible, a conductor was applied to the magnet
now formed; and it was laid aside, with the view of
augmenting its power on a subsequent occasion.'
In after years, when employed in a widely different
sphere of labour, Dr. Scoresby continued to pursue his
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
34:5
magnetic researches with unabated zeal. His labours
were, however, for a long period confined to "experi-
mental inquiries concerning the circumstances affecting
the magnetic powers of steel and cast iron, and the laws
and principles by which these powers are governed,"
involving a series of investigations of a nature so con-
tinuous and progressive as to prevent our treating of
them here. It will afford a sufficient idea of his energy
and perseverance to quote the following passage from
the preface to the first volume of his Magnetical Investi-
gations:
“It is hardly needful to say," he remarks, “ that the
researches have been of a very elaborate nature and ex-
tent. The tables given in this volume alone are the
result of above five thousand observations on the devia-
tions produced by the numerous magnetical plates and
bars subjected to experiment, each observation requiring
the needle of a five-inch compass, after being disturbed
by the influence of the magnet to be tested, to attain a
stationary position, and the angle of deviation from the
magnetic meridian to be read off within a minute or two
of a degree. And, besides this labour by the method of
deviations, a large number of magnetical bars of the
horse-shoe form, &c., had to be otherwise tested ; and
the results obtained by the different modes of experiment
required to be tabulated, in many cases at a considerable
addition of trouble, for reducing the observations, and for
obtaining the exact measures and weights of the bars or
plates employed."
346
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
As this volume was published in 1844, it is obvious
that a large portion of the investigations must have
been made during his sojourn in Bradford.
Before hastening to the consideration of the important
question of magnetism in iron ships, there is one other
circumstance in connection with his discoveries in mag-
netism which it is right to mention. Most of the experi-
ments referred to in the above quotation were made with
a view of obtaining greater excellence in the directive
force, as well as in the permanency of power of the mag-
netic needles used on shipboard; and great success attended
these investigations, the first practical result of which was
made known to the British Association at its meeting in
1836. The nature of Dr. Scoresby's improvements in
the compass needle, and of his communications with the
Admiralty, are concisely stated in the first part of his
Voyage [to Australia] for Magnetical Research, from
which the following is taken. Speaking of his improved
compass needle, exhibited to the British Association in
1836, he says:
“This experimental bar consisted of four thin plates
of cast steel, tempered or hardened equally from end to
end, which were placed nearly parallel to each other,
rather closer at the ends, but not in contact, spaces of
about a quarter of an inch, by which a higher degree of
power was secured, being produced by the interposition
of discs of wood betwixt the several plates. For con-
venience of construction, the plates were pierced corres-.
pondingly with four small holes, one near each extremity,
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
347
and two an inch and a half apart, near the centre.
Small brass pins, passing through the several sets of
holes, and through the intermediate pieces of wood,
afforded, by screw-nuts at the points, the means of ready
and secure combination. The needle, as thus made up,
was fitted with an agate and pivot, and also with the
means of suspension by silk fibres, so as to traverse edge
upwards. The gain of power over any previous instru-
ment of corresponding dimensions and weight was found
to be great and decided, with a still more unusual per-
manency of the magnetic energy.
“General character of compass needles previously in
use. Previous to the time of the construction of the
instrument just described, the needles in ordinary use
were excessively defective in qualities the most important
for the real effectiveness and durability of action of the
compass. They were generally weak and unenduring,
whilst those supplied for the Royal Navy were, I believe,
amongst the worst of their kind. I had tried and tested
(about this period of time) a very considerable number
of compass needles, by various makers ; few were mode-
rately good; not a few were intolerably bad. Nine
needles were furnished me by the late Captain Johnson,
R.N., in 1839, as fair specimens of those then in use in
the navy ; some of these as to mere directive force were
tolerable of their kinds; two out of four, by one of the
accredited makers for the Admiralty, were utterly in-
capable of performing their intended function. Compared
with needles constructed on the principles described above,
all those which I had an opportunity of trying were
348
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
singularly inferior. Weight for weight (compared with
needles of similar length), my compound edge-plate
needles exceeded the others in the proportion of 21 to 1,
in the best of those supplied to me as specimens, and
about 5 to 1 in the worst; whilst as to fixity of power,
the superiority of mine scarcely admitted of a comparison.
For under the action of a very trying and damaging test
[vide op. cit. art. 60.], which my needles could sustain
with so trifling a loss, as to leave them still in possession
of about double the power of which any of the others
were susceptible,—the others lost, without exception, the
entirety of their original polarity. It should be
noticed that the compasses of the Royal Navy, which
before the year 1836 were characteristically among the
worst in use, are now as decidedly the best. The prin-
ciples which I have described as working so admirably
towards the improvements of magnets and magnetical
combinations are now generally adopted in the construc-
tion of compasses for ships in the public service. The
*Admiralty Compasses' have their directing magnets in
the form of thin steel plates (two or four in combination),
hardened throughout, and set on edge, and arranged in
parallel series, generally two combinations of plates on
each side of centre, I believe, beneath the card."*
* In a sketch of Dr. Scoresby's career, published at the time of his death, in
The Yorkshire Gazette of April 4th, 1857, the following passage occurs :-
“It is not too much to say that no man ever did more, few, indeed, so much,
for this important science, as connected with navigation. The 'Admiralty Com-
pass,' as it is called, which is used in the navy, ought to be called the Scoresby
Compass, for it was brought to its present state of perfection by the late doctor.
Of that there is no doubt,—the letters in his possession abundantly prove that
fact; but the Government never did him the justice to acknowledge it. I have
been informed that when Dr. Scoresby first communicated with the Admiralty
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
349
At a period when the quantity of iron made use of in
the construction of ships was of inconsiderable amount,
as compared with the vast masses now employed, its
magnetism as a cause of compass deviation excited but
little attention, and it was not until Captain Flinders, Mr.
Bain (of the Royal Navy), Mr. Scoresby, and a few other
intelligent scientific navigators began, in the early part
of the present century, to investigate the anomalies in
the directing power of the needle, that the subject received
any serious attention ; and not even for many years after
that was it considered of paramount importance by the
generality of sea-faring men. The experiments made in
the Polar Seas by Mr. Scoresby in his voyages of 1818
and 1819, whereby he discovered that the magnetism
developed by terrestrial induction could be “increased,
inverted, or neutralized at will, by mechanical violence,
such as hammering, bending, twisting, folding, &c., or
even by simple vibration,” led to the promulgation of a
new theory respecting the permanency and stability of
magnetic force.
Hitherto but two kinds of magnetism
—with reference to durability-were recognised; the
Transient, or that which vanishes soon after the with-
drawal of the magnetizing agent; and the Permanent,
or that which continues to reside in the magnetized sub-
on the subject, some protege of the Board had an instrument before their lord-
ships, with which they were trying experiments. It failed, and then Dr.
Scoresby was sent for. He was for some months in constant attendance at the
Admiralty, or with some of the Lords, at one or other of our seaports, explaining
and testing his theory. His instrument was completely successful, was adopted
in the navy, and is now in use on board all her Majesty's ships; but the unsuc-
cessful protege of the Board had influence enough to prevent the inventor's name
from being given to it; and it is called 'The Admiralty's' instead.”
1
350
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
stance independent of the magnet by which it was
developed. But Dr. Scoresby was led by his investiga-
tions to infer a third kind, occupying a position, as to its
durability, midway between the two former, and to this
he gave the name of Retentive. “On this feature in
iron,” Mr. Archibald Smith says,* "Dr. Scoresby strongly
insisted, and to him is principally due what we know of
iron in this state.”f The class of iron most liable to
this form of magnetism is precisely that employed in the
construction of iron ships. As in its magnetism it is
midway between the extremes of transient and permanent,
so in its texture it is midway between soft and hard,
having in the manufacturing process acquired a certain
hardness (though not equal to hard iron) sufficient, under
favourable circumstances, for the retention of the mag-
netism developed in it by the hammering, bending, &c.,
to which it is subjected during the building of the ship,
but insufficient for its stability on other occasions. See-
ing that the polarity in bars of iron of such texture could
so easily, by mere mechanical violence, be made to change,
Dr. Scoresby applied his discovery to the case of iron
ships, believing that a vessel constructed of such material
would present a large quantity of this unfixed retentive
magnetism, and that the original distribution of her
magnetic lines being dependent upon the locality and
position in which she was built, would be liable, under
certain circumstances, to sudden changes, whereby a
dangerous influence must be exerted upon the compass
* “Voyage for Magnetical Research.”
* On this subject, see Athenaeum, November 12, 1859.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
351
needle, uncontrollable by any of the methods, however
ingenious, which had been proposed, and were then in use,
for the correction of compass errors.
“If the ship's magnetism, indeed," Dr. Scoresby wrote, *
“consisted merely of the transient and mobile quality of
terrestrial induction, then had Mr. Barlow's elegant and
scientific application of the correcting iron plate provided
for everything essentially needed for safe navigation. Or
if the ship's magnetism had consisted truly of two quali-
ties, only,—that terrestrially induced, and that usually
denominated fixed or permanent,—the method of Mr.
Airy of combining a mass of malleable iron, for the
neutralizing of the former, with permanent bar-magnets
for the correction of the latter, might, in ordinary cases,
have proved as effective as the device was scientific and
beautiful.”
But for as much as the deviation caused by the re-
tentive magnetism is not a fixed quantity, so no fixed
counteracting influence can be brought to bear upon it.
Desirous of testing his theory by experimental inquiry,
Dr. Scoresby went to Liverpool in September 1854,
where he received much kindness and every facility for
promoting his investigations on board iron ships then
building. Yet there were some who thought it dangerous
to promulgate views calculated to impress the public with
a distrust of that class of vessel. The Times, however,
showed the fallacy of their reasoning, in an article on the
*“Magnetical Investigations,” vol. ii., p. 242.
352
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
27th September 1854, from which we quote. Speaking of
the previous meeting of the British Association, it says:
.
“ As for the contents of the mass of papers contributed
to the different sections, descriptions of scientific dis-
coveries of any absorbing interest will be looked for in
vain, but in more than one instance the course of inquiry
has taken a practical direction, from which the best
results may be anticipated. Such, for example, are the
researches of Dr. Scoresby into the causes of the variation
of the compass in iron ships, and the principles upon
which vessels composed of this material may be safely
navigated. The Rev. Dr. Scoresby asserts that the action
of the compass in such ships is liable to be disturbed by
influences not calculated for or met in the system of
compass correction now in use. Something approaching
to indignation has been manifested at this enunciation in
Liverpool, above all places in the world, of a theory which,
it is said, will tend to bring iron ships into disrepute, and
which has already produced a fluttering among the mer-
chants on 'Change.
It is denied that the casualties
among iron ships are larger in proportion than those
occurring to wooden vessels, and it is alleged that the
local attraction arising from the former material can be
satisfactorily corrected by known methods of compass
adjustment. Without attempting to enter into the merits
of the question, upon which it will be enough to say that
there exists a difference of opinion among practical men,
it seems impossible that any harm can come of the
thorough investigation of a subject so important and
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
353
difficult. If the danger pointed out by Dr. Scoresby does
exist, neither the shipowners of Liverpool, nor those of
other ports, can do any earthly good by blinking the
question, nor is it to be supposed that, as a body, they
desire to do so. Then, again, Dr. Scoresby's opinions
cannot be ignored by a half-contemptuous rejoinder, that
he suggests no very distinct remedy for the dangers he
has taken so much trouble to expose.
In order to know
how to meet a danger, we must know in what it consists.
As with social and individual, so with scientific short-
comings--they must be well defined and understood
before they can be amended. It is in this spirit—a
spirit of patient inquiry, coupled with a careful sifting of
facts--that Dr. Scoresby seems to have approached the
subject of the compass action in iron ships, and it is in
this spirit also that the British Association will best de-
vote itself to, and aid in the promotion of, science in every
one of its departments.”
The leading propositions to which Dr. Scoresby sought
confirmation by his experiments were these :-
1. “That ships built of iron must not only be strongly
magnetic, because of the vast body of this metal which
is subjected to the action of terrestrial induction, but
that by reason of the elaborate system of hammering,
as well as from the bending of plates and bars during
the progress of construction, there must be an ex-
tremely high development of the quality of retentive
magnetism
Magnetical Investigations," vol. ii. p. 331.
*
Z
354
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
2. “That each iron ship has a special individuality of
the magnetic distribution, depending essentially on the
position of the keel and head whilst building.'
"*
Dr. Scoresby explained this proposition by means of
the annexed illustration t (Diagram I.), which represents
four vessels built in England with their heads directed
towards the four cardinal points S. E. W. N. (Figs. 1, 2,
3, 4), respectively. Here the difference of colour dis-
tinguishes what we have before mentioned as the two
different qualities of magnetism which must necessarily
co-exist wherever magnetism is developed. The dotted
line (E. Q.) in each figure represents the equatorial plane
of the ship's magnetism,-what in our illustration of
the magnetic needle we called the neutral point in the
centre — or (with reference to Dr. Scoresby's experi-
ment) the line of no deviation : it defines the line of
separation between the northern (white) and southern
(shaded) polarity.
The vertical line represents the magnetic axis. The
manner in which the experiment was conducted is de-
scribed in Dr. Traill's letter; it is obvious that when the
compass which was suspended over the ship's side was
fairly over the white or shaded part of the vessel, it would,
by a corresponding deviation of the needle, manifest which
quality of magnetism resided there, and that where
neither one quality nor the other was indicated (as would
*“ Magnetical Investigations," vol. ii. p. 332.
**" Cut in wood in 1851; some three to four years before experimental deter-
minations of the actual facts."- Illustrations of Magnetism of Iron Ships.
Torquay, 1856.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
355
be the case all along the dotted line) was the equatorial
plane.
DIAGRAM I.*
Theoretic Magnetical Condition of Iron Ships previous to being launched, as
built in ENGLAND, under an Inclination of the needle of 68° to 70° N.
Fig. 1. Head S.
Fig. 2. Head E.
[ប
E
BUDAPE
ដែរ}}}
|||||
lj|
10000ml
JUUST.
E.
na
22
Fig. 3. Head W.
Fig. 4. Head N.
EXPLANATION.--The axial line, sn, in each figure, represents the direction of the Dip or
Terrestrial Magnetic force, as passing through the general centre of gravity of the material
of the ship. All the substance below the equatorial line, E Q, (white) has northern polarity;
all above it (shaded) southern.
* These diagrams are copied from a set published for Dr. Scoresby by R. Cock-
ran, 10 Strand, Torquay, on the 1st of January 1856 ; but the woodcuts were
inade several years previously. They do not pretend to more than a proximate
representation of the magnetic lines; for, as Dr. Scoresby foretold in the second
volume of his “Investigations," " the occasional large masses of iron inside,
such as beam ends, stringers, bulk heads, &c., exert a modifying action on the
general uniformity of the lines.”
356
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
Comparing the above illustration (Diagram l.) with
the following (Diagram II.), representing ships built in
Australia, we observe that the shaded or southern polarity
which was uppermost in the former is now nethermost,
the white or northern polarity in the latter having the
ascendancy. The first represents ships built under a
DIAGRAM II.
Theoretic Magnetical Condition of Iron Ships, previous to being launched,
sup-
posed to be built in Southern AUSTRALIA, or TASMANIA, under a Dip of the
Needle of about 67° to 700 S.
Fig. 1. Head N.
Fig. 2. Head W.
3
N
N
Q
luminutili
E
Q
WA
E
enth
20toponimluitpropony
3
S
Fig. 3. Head E.
Fig. 4. Head S.
EXPLANATION.—White, Northern polarity; that is, a polarity repelling the north end oi
the needle. Shaded, Southern polarity, attracting the north end of the needle.
northern dip of about 68° to 70°—the latter those built
under a southern dip of about 67° to 70°; it is apparent
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
357
therefore, that vessels trading from one hemisphere to
the other must undergo a remarkable magnetic change.
Of course, in order to have symmetrical magnetic lines, as
in the two sets of diagrams annexed, the corresponding
vessels of the two hemispheres must have been built with
their heads in opposite directions. It is also manifest
that a vessel, built with her head, say, to the north,
(having had her magnetism developed by terrestrial in-
duction whilst in that direction), must be contravening
the laws of magnetism whenever she turns her head in
any other direction without changing her magnetic lines
so as constantly to correspond with terrestrial polarity;
yet she may do so if it be accomplished quietly, as in
swinging where no great straining is suffered; but in all
cases where she encounters violent shocks whilst her
magnetic distribution is not in correspondence with the
earth's polarity, there must be a magnetic change. But
we are anticipating. The following letter from Professor
Traill to Dr. Scoresby describes the nature and results of
his experiments in Liverpool :-
“WOODLANDS, near Liverpool,
“ October 18th, 1854.
“MY DEAR SCORESBY,—Satisfied of the correctness of
the principles you laid down in your late communications
to the meetings of the British Association on the Mag-
netism of Iron built Ships, and the circumstances by
which it is liable to be altered, I witnessed with much
interest the simple and conclusive experiments by which
you illustrated your theoretic deductions; and I listened
358
LIFE OF SCORESBY,
with great pleasure to the lecture which, at their request,
you gave to the underwriters of this great port, when
you pointed out how the deviations of the compass in
the recent valuable application of iron to the construction
of ships, could best be corrected, so as to navigate them
with all possible security.
Your own discovery (made many years ago) of the
high degrees of magnetism which might be developed,
even in malleable iron, by percussion, bending, or twisting,
rendered it certain that the innumerable blows by which
some thousand pieces of iron are riveted together in the
construction of a large ship would excite a high degree
of magnetism, especially in the upright pieces of the
frame.
“ Your experiments, and the known laws of magnetism
led to the conclusion, that such a ship would have the
intensity and directive influence of her magnetism very
different in different parts of the structure; and you pre-
dicted that there would be points, externally, in which
her local attraction would cease to cause deflection of the
needle-which points would lie in or near the magnetic
equator. You also stated that these points of no-deviation
would be found in different parts of the vessel, according
to the point of the compass in which her head lay when
building; and I was anxious to witness some of the ex-
periments you were making on various iron ships, now
here on the stocks. It was, therefore, with great pleasure,
that I was yesterday enabled to assist in the experiments
you were making in some of the building yards of this
town.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
359
“The vessel pitched on was a large iron ship in the
yard of Messrs. Jones and Getty, nearly finished. This
ship was in favourable circumstances for such a purpose;
she was the only vessel in the yard; the timber top-rail
was in its place; she stood on the stocks with her head
exactly E.N.E.
A good mariner's compass placed on a
board, was let down along the outside from the top-rail
to the required height below it, and kept by the board at
24 inches from the ship's side. We began on the lar-
board side to ascertain the point of no deviation, and
then tried the same on the starboard side-thé distance
between the two points at the ship's main breadth being
36 feet 6 inches. I carefully noted down the result of
each experiment.
“From this it will appear that, on the larboard side,
the point of no-deviation was just 6 feet 6 inches below
the top-rail, while on the starboard side it had dropped
down to 18 feet below the rail-showing a dip of 11
feet 6 inches in 36 feet 6 inches. This remarkable
accordance of fact with your theoretic induction is most
satisfactory, and I congratulate you on it; though it did
not surprise me, knowing well the accuracy of your experi-
mental researches on magnetism, and the cautious manner
in which you form your conclusions.
“ Allow me also to express my opinion of the obliga-
tions all who are interested in the navigation of iron
ships are under to you, for pointing out the circumstances
chiefly to be attended to in the secure sailing of such
vessels. An erroneous idea seems to have prevailed here
that you deprecated the employment of iron ships. You
360
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
did no such thing. I heard you distinctly avow the value
and importance of them to commerce, and your belief
that they might be safely navigated, with due precautions;
and I was struck with the clear manner in which you
showed how this was to be done.
“ 1. You showed that the local attraction of the iron
ship was not a fixed quantity, but was liable to be altered
in intensity and direction by incidents inseparable from
Navigation-as the course of the voyage, and the series
of concussions a vessel may receive from a heavy sea.
“ 2. That the ship's effect on the compasses could not
be permanently corrected by fixed magnets, on the prin-
ciple now generally employed, because it was liable to
alteration from the causes already mentioned. Therefore
undue confidence in such correction might lead to serious
error.
66 3. That when tables of the deviation of the com-
passes in each ship are obtained, we must, as often as
possible, verify them by careful azimuths and amplitudes,
and other celestial observations, which will require greater
attention of master mariners than in wooden ships; but
with that attention may afford equal security.
“ 4. You further pointed out that the best position in
an iron ship for what may be called a correcting compass,
would be the mizen-mast head, especially if she be a
steamer ; as furthest from the influence of the funnel, and
other disturbing causes. For wooden vessels the main-
mast would be as good a position to obviate the local
attraction of such a ship; and you illustrated this last
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS,
361
observation by stating, that you laid down the east coast
of Greenland to an extent of 600 or 700 miles of coast
line by a compass on the main-mast of the Baffin in
1822; and that your observations of the positions of
lands, within range of determination, and in many cases
of points and islands, if I recollect right, even 25 up to
40 miles distant, were found perfectly correct by Captain
Clavering, who was sent out in the following year, ex-
pressly to explore the northern regions.
“ Pardon me, my dear friend, for thus intruding my
remarks on a subject you know so much better than I
do; but it will show you the interest felt in your re-
searches.-By yours faithfully,
“ THOMAS STEWART TRAILL.”
“Rev. Dr. Scoresby, D.D., &c., &c."
The remaining propositions, which could only be veri-
fied by accompanying the vessel on a long voyage, were
these:
4. “That the greatest changes in the magnetic condi-
tion are likely to take place in new ships; but that all
iron ships must be liable, under certain circumstances of
weather or alterations in their voyages, especially in going
into southern latitudes, to have their magnetism and
compass-deviation changed."
5. “That among the circumstances in which changes
in a ship’s magnetism are likely to occur, may be specified
the following:
“(1). In new ships when first encountering severe
362
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
straining or rolling by the sea. (2). In ships generally
if following a new voyage. (3). In ships long running
on one course, and then suddenly changing their course.
(4). On heavy weather first occurring after a great change
of latitude and long continuance of pretty smooth water.
(5). A stroke of lightning on the ship. (6). On the ship
being unequally heated in her hull, by the sun above, or
by sudden changes of temperature of the sea below, &c."*
6. “ The changes taking place in a ship's magnetic
condition, will generally, but not always, change the
compass-deviation."
7. “That among the modes of mechanical violence
liable to produce and accelerate changes in a ship's mag-
netism, we may specify the following: The rolling,
pitching, and straining of a ship in heavy seas; the stroke
of a sea; or even the ordinary vibratory action of the
engines on steam propelled vessels.”+
As to a remedy for the compass deviations, Dr. Scoresby
mainly relied throughout on a COMPASS ALOFT. Adjust-
ment of the compass by fixed magnets he believed to be
not only, in most instances, useless, but (especially in
cases of vessels going into the opposite hemisphere) even
extremely hazardous, because of the mutability of the
retentive magnetism ; and, though less objectionable, he
regarded Deviation Tables and Compensating Compass
Cards as not by any means of themselves trustworthy.
He did not object to any of these, however, as part of the
* “ Magnetical Investigations,” pp. 281-343; and 407-432.
+" Magnetical Investigations,” vol. ii. pp. 332, 342, &c.
MAGNETICAL INVESTIGATIONS.
363
compass arrangement-his desire being that they should
be made as complete as possible—but that for the safe
guidance of the ship there should be A STANDARD COMPASS
ALOFT; a compass which, being out of reach of the
ship’s local attraction, might be frequently consulted.
That the foregoing sketch of Dr. Scoresby's attainments
in the science of magnetism-comprehending the vexed
question of the compass in iron ships—must be very im-
perfect is obvious from its brevity. To those who desire
a more intimate knowledge of the subject, we must re-
commend a perusal of his published works from which
we have quoted ; more especially we would refer to his
posthumous work, edited by Archibald Smith, Esq., M.A.,
“Journal of a Voyage to Australia," in which the subject
is fully discussed.
364
1855.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
CHAPTER XVII.
VOYAGE TO AUSTRALIA FOR MAGNETIC RESEARCH--HIS RETURN TO ENGLAND
-VISIT TO WHITBY-COURSE OF LECTURES AT EDINBURGH-HIS LAST
ILLNESS AND DEATH.
1855-1857.
A PROFOUND conviction of the high importance of those
principles in magnetism which he had lately enunciated
to the scientific world, and a desire to confirm by irre-
fragable evidence the truth of his views respecting the
dangerous mutability of the magnetism in iron ships, as
proven by practical observations, induced Dr. Scoresby to
forego, at the age of sixty-five, the comforts and quiet
of a well-appointed home, and to undertake a long and
weary voyage round the world.
He felt that although
there was a manifest acknowledgment by the public of
the truth of his assertions, yet in order to substantiate
his theory, and place it beyond the power of any one,
whether impelled by scepticism or the less worthy motive
of self interest, to subvert it, there was still wanting the
conclusive argument of personal experience, which could
only be acquired by careful observations made on board
a vessel proceeding, under a variety of circumstances, from
one hemisphere to the other. His health was not good; but
he even persuaded himself that a sea voyage would be
beneficial to him, forgetting, in the earnest pleadings of
his philanthropic heart, that for the questionable benefit
Æt. 64.
365
PREPARATIONS FOR VOYAGE TO AUSTRALIA.
of a sea breeze he must barter a thousand amenities such
as his habits and time of life required. He saw it to be
his duty, however, to make the attempt, and wrote as
follows to his friend Mr. Rathbone :-
“ GROSMONT, near York, August 25th, 1855.
“ DEAR MR. RATHBONE,--As I have already received
important aid in my investigations about the magnetism
of iron ships from you and Mr. Philip Rathbone, I am
led to trouble you further on the same subject, with a
project in which I feel sure you will aid me if you can.
“However my expositions may at first have occasioned
distrust, objection, or alarm, the results, I have now every
reason to know, have already been largely beneficial. I
believe no intelligent captain will now be found, especially
in a ship not well tried, who will trust his compasses in
an iron ship as being safely to be relied on; nor will it
be long before the compass aloft will become a general
arrangement for reference, the astronomer-royal himself
having now proposed this very plan (suggested in my
voyage to Greenland in 1822) for the re-adjustment of
the magnets on his method of correction; and Lieutenant
Maury, U. S. Navy, having, on reading the discussions at
Liverpool on the subject of my paper to the British
Association, at its meeting there, recommended the same
thing when writing to the underwriters of New York.
My position has obtained the highest supports, and can,
as I am prepared to show, be demonstrably vindicated;
and so that a compass duly placed aloft may be safely
referred to, and (if corrected by a table of deviations
366
1855.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
where needful) safely relied on. It can be proved that
such a compass will be free from two grand sources of
error: that by heeling, which all admit, and that from
sudden changes in the ship's magnetic condition. The
more the subject has been investigated, the more is
the theory I have so long sought to elucidate and apply
to practical navigation confirmed.
I have now a paper
in the hands of the editor of a London periodical (The Mer-
cantile Marine Magazine), in which some thirty proposi-
tions previously drawn from theoretic and experimental
grounds, and for the most part published several years
ago, have obtained the most conclusive and beautiful
verifications. As to changes I have always felt sure I
could not be mistaken; but as to the quantity of such
changes, or the frequency they may be dangerous, I have
been greatly mistaken and misrepresented by others.
But when distinguished men (for science) deny such
changes to be possible, with crowds of facts against them,
it is impossible to meet them without appearing to give
too much prominency to the actual cases and facts which
have already come to light. These, indeed, have multi-
plied on my hands by visits to Newcastle and Plymouth,
where the subject was cordially entered into by builders
and owners of iron ships, and every information frankly
given.
“ The above statement it may perhaps be desirable to
confirm by an extract from my · Magnetical Investiga-
tions,' vol. ii., pp. 289-290, as that portion of the work
was printed off, I believe, in 1851, having been published
in 1852. "How far these changes' in the ship’s magnet-
Æt. 64.
367
PREPARATIONS FOR VOYAGE TO. AUSTRALIA.
ism, under the more influential forms of mechanical
violence may be thorough and complete, or to what ex-
tent they may act on the compass directions, or be
discernible by ordinary observations, it would be pre-
sumptuous and vain to attempt to predict. For the
tendency to change, and for the presumption of considerable
and important changes, we mainly contend. The quantity
of approximation in the ship's magnetisms to the earth’s
inductive action, under any of the conditions referred to'
(that is, change of latitude and hemisphere, change of
course and voyage, and encountering of gales of wind,
&c.), is a question which observation and experiment
on the actual cases can alone determine.'
Now, it is for the determination of the actual cases
under the changes of condition above indicated, that I
am induced to trouble you with this long letter, and to
submit to you the project I have for some time had in
contemplation.
My project is, if I can find a suitable iron ship of a
first-rate or good class, either sailing or steaming, voyag-
ing to Australia (or New Zealand), and if with the owners
of such ship I could make a favourable arrangement so
as to put me to little cost (for I have already spent
many hundreds in this branch of the public service), I
am disposed, God willing, to undertake such a voyage, in
order to verify and complete the investigations I have
been so long pursuing, on the important national object
of the compass-action in iron ships.
“ No scientific investigations from these regions, as far
as I am aware, have yet come before the public which
368
1855.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
can serve any useful end, but only enough to show
that the freaks of the compass in high southern latitudes
are as perplexing as they are dangerous. A voyage to
Australia, where the earth's magnetic force is inverted,
and where the south end of the needle dips about the
same extent as the north end with us, would no doubt
afford the means of making the most valuable experiments
and observations, and gaining a species of information
which could not fail to place our iron shipping in a very
superior condition as to safety and public confidence.
This service I am disposed to undertake, whatever sacri-
fice of private comfort and domestic privileges might
necessarily attach to it.
“ You know me too well to suppose I would in any
way attempt to interfere with captain or officers, but only
to have it arranged that facilities should be given for
experiments and observations whenever it may be con-
sistent, or not interfere with the ship's duties and the
progress or despatch of the voyage. And on my part, it
would be my special object and desire to give informa-
mation to the captain and officers on subjects most deeply
concerning their profession, as far as opportunity or dis-
position on their part might admit.
The requirements I contemplate are: a large or first-
class iron ship for Australia, to return without much
delay; without iron masts; with some reasonable arrange-
ments for compass aloft; and such appliances of azimuth
compass, and previous swinging of the ship for determin-
ing the state of the compasses, as a prudent management
might demand. The time of sailing should be October,
t. 65. PREPARATIONS FOR VOYAGE TO AUSTRALIA.
369
November, or December, and I should require the use of
a small separate berth, and the consent and approval of
the captain.
" Will you, as early as you can, obtain for me the in-
formation : 1st. Whether any such ship as I require
2d. Whether a notion could be obtained
as to the probability of the plan being made available?—
Very faithfully yours,
W. S.”
may be had ?
Mr. Rathbone happening to be from home, the letter
was given to the chairman of the Liverpool Shipowners'
Association-S. R. Graves, Esq.—by whose instrumen-
tality preliminaries were speedily arranged. A splendid
new iron screw steamer, the Royal Charter, belonging to the
Liverpool and Australian Steam Navigation Company,
a vessel of three thousand tons, with the precise fittings
named by Dr. Scoresby, was expected to sail about the
time he had expressed. The directors, upon Mr. Graves'
application, immediately expressed their willingness to
present Dr. Scoresby with a free passage in their vessel,
both on the outward and homeward voyage. And in
order to secure to him the ease and privacy of a separate
cabin, a sum was subscribed by the members of the
Liverpool Compass Committee,” the “Shipowners' Asso-
ciation," and the “Underwriters' Association," sufficient
to defray all extra expenses, including accommodation for
Mrs. Scoresby, if she should express a desire to go. Dr.
Scoresby, having received intimation of these arrange-
ments in a letter from Mr. Graves, dated 5th December
1855, immediately applied to the Admiralty and other
2 A
370
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
departments for the use of instruments necessary to his
investigations, and in all instances met with a cordial
co-operation. He set out soon afterwards for Liverpool
to witness the swinging of the ship, an operation which,
though attended with serious loss of time and expense, was
performed a second time for his convenience; indeed, he
experienced unbounded attention and kindness from the
owners of the vessel, administered in a polite and obliging
manner by their agents, Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co.
The procedings of the voyage have been so lately pub-
lished that it would be simply a work of supererogation
to repeat the details.
The Journal of the voyage gives
a complete description of the compass arrangement,
which, of course, included the compass aloft on Dr.
Scoresby's plan, of the general appearance and accommo-
dation of the vessel, together with a vivid and eloquent
narration of many of the scenes through which she
passed. It is an interesting monument of that noble but
ill-fated ship.
Up to the time of my first sight of the Royal Char-
ter,” the Journal records, “the question of whether my
wife should accompany me had never been raised. А.
deep feeling of responsibility, as to her undertaking such
a long voyage, and the risks of health, life, and safety in
passing through every variety of climate, and some of
the most stormy regions of the globe, prevented my mak-
ing any suggestions on the subject, much as my personal
comfort was concerned.
Feelings of deep anxiety; however, on her mind, as
Æt. 65.
371
THE
ROYAL CHARTER.
to an adventurous undertaking on my part, in which
several months would probably elapse before any com-
munication could reach her, served to overcome an in-
herent dread of a long sea voyage, and induced her to urge
that she might accompany me; and so, happily for both,
it was eventually arranged that she and her maid should
accompany me.
”
They embarked on board the Royal Charter on Thurs-
day, January 17, 1856, at 2 P.m., and the vessel with
her animated, bustling freight of human beings, number-
ing in all about 400 souls, weighed anchor on the fol-
lowing morning. The outset of the voyage was by no
means propitious. Thick weather, with the wind dead
on shore, operating upon a new vessel with stiff tackling,
resulted in an unpleasant proximity to the Tusker.
This danger passed, other discomforting circumstances,
incidental to a new ship, arose, especially the flooding of
the 'tween-decks from water entering by the covering
boards. These were so aggravated by a brisk gale that,
in consideration for life and property, the captain deemed
it prudent to change his course and make for Plymouth
harbour, where the Royal Charter entered early in the
morning of Saturday, the 26th of January. Whilst some
alterations were being made in the trim of the vessel
with a view of promoting her sailing qualities, and at
the same time of improving the accommodation of the
second and third class passengers, Dr. and Mrs. Scoresby
returned to Torquay, and remained at the Castle until
summoned by telegraph to rejoin the ship. They sailed
372
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
from Plymouth on the 16th of February, and, after a
comfortable voyage, arrived at Melbourne in the unprece-
dentedly short period of fifty-nine days. The description
given in the Journal of a storm encountered on the 6th
of April is most interesting, parts of which, for contrast
with the perils of his earlier voyages, and as a last scene
in Dr. Scoresby's active sea life, may be quoted
:
Suffering from cold and sore throat, I could not ven-
ture to brave the storm on deck as I could have wished,
or do more than observe the effects of the furious storm
from the companion' and poop-deck, and, after some
abatement of the wind, from the mizen rigging.
“ At 10 A.M. the scene was awfully sublime, and
shortly afterwards, about 11 or 11.30 A.M., it was in its
highest condition of terrible magnificence. The con-
tinuance of the wind for several hours steadily at west
(the direction of a previously existing swell), produced
waves of the most formidable magnitude ; whilst the sea,
from its commencement at north, and a former sea from
the south-westward, threw up perplexed waters into the
most strangely tumultuous peaks, and crests, and other
forms of waves. The sea was to me a new phenomenon.
Even in the terrific and devastating hurricanes of which
I had so often read descriptions, the sea has rarely time
to gain the enormous height it now had with us-
height frequently of forty feet-regular waves rolling in
the direction of the wind, and incomparably higher peaks
and crests produced by crossing waves. Here, too, every
feature of the tempest was set forth in grandest, and
a
Æt. 65.
373
A STORM.
most awful magnitude and sublimity. The fearful force
and grandeur of the waves—the fierce howling of the
storm—the novel and majestic magnitude of the crests,
and peaks, and broken summits the peril to ship and
life in the event of an accident to the helm in scudding-
the glorious action, as I may call it, of the ship under
these tremendous disturbances and the drift sprays,
confounding sight, as an atmospheric haze,-gave the
deepest interest to this memorable scene ! These features
of grandeur were made more impressive, by not unfre-
quent gleams of bright sunshine penetrating amid the
broad cumulus-like masses of cloud which drifted across
the upper sky, and throwing beams far from cheerful
into the midst of the exciting scene—an incongruous
glare of heavenly light which threw the rest of the
picture into more striking contrast--and which, on the
coming over us of the rain, or snow shower of the fiercer
squalls, painted the dark threatening astern with more
ominous blackness.
" As to the condition of the mighty disturbed water,
with reference to Him by whose power it is so raised,
and by whose Providence it is so restrained, the expres-
sions in the 'Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea,' in our
admirable Liturgy, are striking, where we say, 'O most
powerful Lord God, at whose command the winds blow
and lift up the waves of the sea. . . Now we see how
terrible thou art in all thy works of wonder ; the Great
God to be feared above all.' And then, in the thanks-
givings for preservation under such threatening circum-
stances, we are instructed to say, 'O most mighty and
374
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
gracious God, thy mercy is over all thy works. ... Thou
hast showed us how both winds and seas obey thy com-
mand,' &c.
“ But let me attempt to describe more of the scenes
aboard, as they appeared to me from my posts of obser-
vation, looking first at 10 A.M. from the main companion,
and subsequently, in the height of the hurricane, from the
fore part of the poop deck. The sea, as I have remarked,
was to me a new unseen phenomenon, or aggregate of
phenomena. Two or three circumstances were of this
peculiar and characteristic order. I had seen and ob-
served the action of a heavy gale coming on suddenly
many times in the Arctic seas, but it was generally in a
smooth, or but moderately undulating sea, where, before
waves of the first class had time to form, the secondary
and missive seas, first obeying the influence of the wind,
would be perpetually crested with white water, and this
lighter portion of the liquid element carried forward and
spread abroad in a low stratum at the surface of drift
spray. But here the phenomenon, whilst corresponding in
its source and nature, was of an extent, in quantity, den-
sity, and height of distribution, to which I had seen nothing
approaching, or giving an impression of the strange
effects I now contemplated. The drift spray was the pro-
duce of every wave and variety of wave.
could keep pace with the legitimate demands, in hydro-
dynamic law, of the wind's terrible vehemence. Waves of
forty feet height, which satisfy the greatest demands, per-
haps, of any of our North Sea or high northern Atlantic
storms, bore no adequate relation to the impetuosity of
No wave
Æt. 65.
375
A STORM.
this hurricane tempest. A sort of surface impetus seemed
to be given, forcing the crests of the loftier waves into a
velocity so much beyond the motion of the regular un-
dulations, as not only to cast almost every peak and sum-
mit into the form of a breaker, but in some cases to give
such a degree of magnitude and breadth to the breaking
summit-as one mass of white water labouring forward
after another, and retarded by the diminished velocity of
that before it that the main surface behind some of the
mightiest waves would present but one unsubdued and
wide-spread breast of foam,--a phenomenon I had never
seen but in waves breaking over broad masses of ice, or
over an insulated shelving rock! Then, as if impatient
still of results proportionate to its mighty forces—or as
if indignant at the tardy and imperfect obedience—the
vehement storm not only blew off the lighter summits
of the foaming crests, but actually seized upon great
masses of the roaring peaks of crossing seas, cut them off
as it were from their legitimate support, and drifted
them away with the measure of its own vast speed in
that form of storm spray to which I have referred.
Thus the quantity of drift from this source and that of
the minor waves, constituted a stratum of haze so thick
and dense that, whilst the sun's rays obtained free in-
gress, vision from the poop of the Royal Charter, where
the eye was about twenty-two feet above the level of the
sea, was limited in all directions, and for hours of con-
tinuance, to about the third part of a mile!
“Another noticeable particular arising from the pheno-
menon just described, and illustrating the peculiarity and
376
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
severity of the storm, was the extent and manner in
which the whole surface water was embossed by the
residual foam of the curling and breaking waves. In
ordinary gales, this embossing of the surface is limited
mainly to broken parallel streaks, taking the direction of
the wind—for which it forms a convenient guide with
occasional patches not so cast into shape ; but here, be-
sides the prevalent wind streaks of residual foam, the sea
generally was so thoroughly marked by it, that on care-
ful observation, I could scarcely detect a single square
yard of surface that was free from it. Such a circum-
stance I had never before remarked, at least in the
midst of a gale, where regular waves of the highest
measured magnitude had had time to form.
“The primary waves on this occasion were in many
cases of great extent in one undulation and crest. Many
were estimated as spreading out to an extent of a sixth,
a quarter, if not of half a mile. The extreme height in
the fiercest of the gale, I could not being so unwell,
attempt to measure. But in the course of the afternoon,
after two or three hours of perceptible diminution of the
storm, I found the prevailing seas of some thirty feet
in height, and numerous higher waves of broad extensive
solid water-crests or summits, ranging from forty to forty-
two feet or more, with knots and broken crests some yards
higher.
“ But there was within board a picture full of life and
interest, which may well claim a place for special descrip-
tion. This was exhibited on the platform of the poop in
the steering, and was fully displayed in broad and striking.
Æt. 65.
377
A STORM.
aspect at my station in the companion.
We had no
anxiety about the security of the sails and spars of this
admirably rigged ship; no one had a fear, after our much
and gratifying experience, but that the Royal Charter, if
her head could be kept the right way before the hurri-
cane, would, as a seaboat, do her duty nobly. But no
one experienced in scudding before a fierce gale and heavy
sea, and knowing how the safety of the ship depended on
the steering, could contemplate the possible failure in
apparatus, gear, or management of the helm of the Royal
Charter, when so scudding under the violence of this ter-
rible cyclone and tremendous sea, without much anxiety.
Every ordinary precaution had indeed been taken to guard
against the breaking of the wheel ropes, which in a former
part of the voyage had all but happened—men being
stationed at hand on the poop, and relieving tackles being
placed in the most advantageous position for being attached
to the tiller in case of necessity; but still, the uncertainty
of putting into effect this appliance in time to prevent
the ship broaching to, left a risk open, which no reflecting
ierson could overlook or fail to be impressed with.
“ This well - apprehended risk it was which gave
character and sharpness to the picture of energetic life
about the helm. There you saw four men--the best
class of seamen-supported by others on either side of the
deck, superintended and sometimes vigorously assisted by
the hand of a principal officer-keeping the wheel in
active play, as they endeavoured to counteract any side-
way tendency of the ship's head, or to anticipate the
probable swing from previous movements of the wheel
378
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
or impulses of heavy seas. Every man there was a
picture of energetic manly life. You saw in his face an
expression, to be read of every one, that he felt that in
the management of the wheel he held the destinies, under
Providence, of ship and human life in his hands,—that
the ship broaching to by his failure in seamanlike tact
and management would be destruction; hence the
picturesque adaptation of his strength and figure showed,
in nature's true developments of expression and beautiful-
ness of manly excitement, that the importance of his per-
formance and duty was fully realized. Then there was
the captain, standing a few yards forward of the helm,
in front of the skylight--his figure and features charac-
teristic in expression of an intelligent perception of his
responsibilities, and his reliance on his experience of
direction in difficulties and perils—his position partly
sideways, so as to be able with equal facility to watch
every movement of the ship’s head and every turn of a
spoke of the wheel, and thus giving impulse and guidance
to the helmsman in usual emphatic words: 'Starboard !
starboard !steady so—port a littlemeet her again-
mind your starboard helm,' and so on,—the tendency of
the ship indeed from the wind being slightly on the
starboard quarter, was to spring to in that direction,
requiring the greatest possible watchfulness on the one
part and anticipation by the helm of such movement, to
keep the ship's fiercely-urged progress, especially on occa-
sion of not unfrequent hard blows of the sea on the star-
board quarter, on a safe and pretty steady course.
“Were I a painter, there is no scene which, since my
Æt. 65.
379
A STORM.
abandonment of Arctic adventure, has come under my
personal observation, that I should more earnestly attempt
to place on canvas than the poop deck of the Royal
Charter, with the immediate elements for a picture with-
out, during the height of the hurricane. First, in the
after part of the ship, looking upward, we should have the
mizen-mast of the ship denuded of all sail, with the cord-
age swelling out forward under the force of the wind-
then the ship herself cast into an oblique heel towards
the port side, the stem raised high by a mountain-like
wave—then the living pictures at the helm—the attend-
ing officer and the directing captain standing sideways, in
the foreground of all; then externally, the assailing
mountain-like wave, following close on the starboard
quarter, and giving the direction and angle to the ship's
inclined position, yet threatening, as many such waves
do, to overwhelm the ship in mightiness of waters; then
the atmospheric part of the picture—the mistiness of the
storm-drift--the sun throwing a lurid glare through an
aperture in the dense masses of cloud flying above, elicit-
ing in the sea-spray of some immediate breaking crest a
striking and brilliant segment of a prismatic arch—and
finally, beyond this, astern, or on the left hand of the
picture above, an approaching squall shower, thrown by
the contrast of the penetrating sunbeams into the aspect
of consummate threatening and blackness ! ”
During their sojourn in Australia, Dr. Scoresby was
obliged by the nature of his magnetical inquiries to re-
main close by the ship, and could seldom spare more
380
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
than a day or two at a time for pleasure excursions.
They were entertained, however, in a most hospitable and
flattering manner. A few very pleasant days were spent
at Balmerino, the villa residence of Mr. William Hamil-
ton Hart, senior partner in the office of Messrs. Bright,
Brothers, & Co., colonial managers for the Liverpool and
Australian Navigation Company, from whom they re-
ceived much kind attention. A second absence from the
ship was pleasantly spent in visiting his Excellency
Major General Macarthur, acting governor of Victoria,
at Tourac, three miles from Melbourne, where they
" were made acquainted with a refined and charming
society in an almost continuous series of social dinner
parties.” The University of Melbourne did Dr. Scoresby
the honour of conferring upon him the honorary degree
of Master of Arts.
In a lecture delivered in Whitby soon after his return
to England, Dr. Scoresby gave a brief but comprehensive
sketch of his proceedings in Melbourne and on the home-
ward voyage. The lecture was reported almost verbatim
in the Yoric Herald of 8th November 1856. On that
occasion, speaking of a day spent in the suburbs of
Melbourne, he said,
“The suburbs of Melbourne are not interesting, as
Melbourne is not so picturesque as Sidney, which sur-
passes anything in the whole region of Australia, for the
beauty of its harbour and the splendour of the scenery.
In some of the suburban towns, however, as in a place
where we resided, partly in the bush, or what in England
Æt. 65.
381
MELBOURNE.
would be called park-land, the scenery is extremely
beautiful and picturesque. We visited this place with a
view of going forward to the gold diggings. I had not
time to go to Castlemaine and Ballarat, but was content
to see something of the nature of the process, and like-
wise the bush, on our progress.
The most convenient
place was Anderson's Creek, which frequently runs nearly
dry in the summer. In the bed of the river the gold is
found in the form of dust and nuggets. To this place
we went, rather a curious journey. Our party consisted
of three ladies and four gentlemen. Our friends pro-
vided open carriages and all necessaries. The one I was
in was a two-wheeled vehicle. The one my wife was in
was of more safety in the construction. It was rather
curious to watch our progress—the dashing manner of the
drivers, the deep ruts, where the drivers would go wind-
ing in and out by the stumps of trees, a foot high, wind-
ing again where other carriages had gone, so as to make
progress, and that very rapidly too, and sufficiently try-
ing to persons accustomed to our roads in England. In
some parts of the track the road was unmade, or only
one side, so that we ran considerable risk of losing our
balance. It (the vehicle) was driven by a gentleman of
considerable substance. Every time we lurched a little,
my friend would thrust himself over the 'starboard' side
of the ship, as the sailors call it, and keep the carriage
on its balance. He knew how much the carriage would
stand, and how to balance it with his weight and mine.
On one occasion we crossed a very narrow ravine, on
which was placed a parcel of rough poles. Over this
382
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
there had been placed a lot of brushwood. The vehicle
that had gone before us had broken through, so that with
regard to those that followed, it was anything but a
pleasant operation to take a horse scampering over.
However, our charioteers being military gentlemen, I
found their mode was to dash across. Eventually, we
got to the alluvial deposit at Anderson's Creek.
We
found some tents which ten men could just creep into;
others had huts of bark, cut in large portions, and laid on
in stripes. We visited two descriptions of diggings--one
was the alluvial in which they washed the gold, an
operation so simple that all the party requires is a bowl
and cullender, and a thing like a cradle. This, however,
is becoming so far exhausted as to become scarcely re-
munerative. Some diggers came from California, who
knew just where to look for the alluvial deposits, and
pounced upon them. They were eminently successful if
they found two streams flowing together. The conflux
was called a 'pocket,' and without damage to their neigh-
bours, and with great advantage to themselves, they
'picked' these pockets.' The other description of
digging is by the ordinary process of shaft-sinking. In
some cases the digging is undertaken in a place where
thousands of years ago there had been a stream running.
The basalt, having burst out from a deeper part of the
earth, has overflowed the auriferous stream and filled it
up In subsequent ages deposit has occurred upon that,
and now, after digging through the alluvium and basalt,
the miner comes to the alluvium again, with its great
treasure of gold dust and small nuggets. The other mode
Æt. 65.
383
RESULT OF MAGNETIC EXPERIMENTS.
is to sink this shaft until the miner gets into an auri-
ferous vein of the quartz. This is now the prevalent
plan; but it is a very expensive one, and makes men
less independent. Poor men cannot work at all, but
must engage themselves to persons who have money, for
they may work two or three months before being remune-
rated. When once they get into the auriferous vein,
they find it exceedingly productive, in some cases yielding
very large returns. They are now learning to crush the
ore by improved processes, so that as the difficulty of get-
ting gold becomes greater, the quantity is maintained by
the improvement in working. Perhaps £10,000,000
sterling have been already obtained from the gold diggings
in the neighbourhood of Melbourne. As part of the
freight of the Royal Charter we had seven tons of gold.”
Speaking of the results of his magnetical experiments,
Dr. Scoresby said, in the same lecture,
“I have stated that a ship at Melbourne would have
her magnetic condition, according to my theory, turned
upside down.
The upper part of the ship which in Eng-
land always has southern polarity, and attracts the north
pole of the compass, would, in Melbourne, have northern
polarity and repel it. When the Royal Charter left
Liverpool, and when she returned her state might be thus
represented :-
Stern
of Vessel.
Deck.
Southern magnetism.
Northern magnetism.
Keel.
of Vessel.
Head
384
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
“The question is, Was the opposite the case in Mel-
bourne? The first opportunity of trying this was in
entering Port Philip, when I found that the upper part
of the ship had changed its polarity, and was now
northern. On going down the vessel, I found the polarity
diminished until, in the middle, there was no polarity.
I subsequently found that the longitudinal line of non-
polarity was not straight, but waved. Above this line
the north pole was repelled, below it was attracted. My
theory was verified. Everything that in Liverpool was
northern was now southern. This went so far that the
pillars, anchor stocks, and standards of the upper parts,
instead of having southern polarity, had in every case
northern polarity. Every principle I had asserted was
completely verified. The compasses were adjusted on the
very ingenious principle of the Astronomer Royal, the
errors being compensated by antagonistic magnets in Eng-
land. Exactly as I had said before the British Association
in 1846, these compasses not exactly ceased to be useful,
but they actually went further wrong than any others
on board. Every principle of a compass aloft, as the
only means of a safe guidance, was fully established. If
he cannot combat with an enemy, a wise general gets as
far away from him as he can. In our compass aloft we
had our perfect guide and standard of reference at all
times. We always knew what course the Royal Charter
was steering, and never had the slightest doubt, notwith-
standing the changes going on in other parts of the ship.”
The Royal Charter sailed from Melbourne, on her
Æt. 65.
385
HOMEWARD VOYAGE.
homeward voyage, on the 25th of May. The saloon pas-
sengers beguiled the time by various means, especially by
amateur concerts, which were rendered exceedingly attrac
tive by the presence of Miss Catherine Hayes, whose
amiable manners won the esteem of her fellow-voyagers.
On one occasion this benevolent lady, on being told that
there was among the third-class passengers a widow who
had spent her all in procuring a passage for herself and
six children, offered to join in a concert for her benefit,
whereby the poor woman was enriched with no less a sum
than £40. Dr. Scoresby was by common consent nomi-
nated Chaplain of the Royal Charter in both voyages, in
which capacity, he said, he “had a compact parish
of four or five hundred souls." On Sundays they had
morning service either under the awning on the poop deck,
or in the saloon, according to the state of the weather,
and evening service in the mess-room of the third-class
passengers. Of the two classes he said, "If I might make
a distinction, my visits to the fore-part of the ship-the
earnest, heartfelt songs of praise of the miners and sailors
stood in favourable comparison with the congregation
in the saloon. Their profound attention, and the respect
with which they listened to the exhortations, were ex-
ceedingly satisfactory to myself and those who accom-
panied me. Many deeply profited by the example thus
set them of improving the good day.”
After a prosperous voyage, the Royal Charter brought
up in safety* in the Mersey, on the 13th of August 1856;
* On the 24th of October 1859, the Royal Charter arrived at Queenstown,
after an unprecedented voyage of fifty-eight days from Melbourne. She landed
2 B
386
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
and, as soon afterwards as the necessary communications
with those in Liverpool who were interested in the chief
designs of their adventure would permit, Dr. and Mrs.
Scoresby proceeded to Torquay. It had added greatly to
the comfort of their voyage that Mrs. Scoresby had been
enabled fully to enjoy the sea, none of the discomforts
which are the bane of most voyagers having distressed
her. The hopes expressed by Dr. Scoresby of improve-
ment in his own health were not realized. The anxiety
which he felt in the issue of his undertaking, and more
especially his indomitable energy and vivacity of mind,
seventeen passengers, and proceeded on her way to Liverpool on the following
day. At half-past four in the afternoon she passed Holyhead, and rounded the
Skerries in safety to the pilot ground. How calamitous the rest! When abreast
Point Lynas, the wind, which had been south-east, chopped round to the north-
east, and freshened to a hurricane, so that all available means were required to
preserve the vessel from a lee shore. Two anchors were let go, and the screw was
kept going to relieve the strain, in the hope that she might ride out the gale, but
in vain. Approaching night and the thickness of the weather prevented a com-
munication with the shore. The snapping of the chains, the shock as she met
the rocky ground, the cutting away of the masts, were evidences enough of her
hopeless condition. By the bravery of Joseph Rogers, a Maltese sailor, a bawser
was carried on shore, by means of which a few lives were rescued, and probably
all would have been saved had not the vessel parted. The exact time of the
catastrophe was marked by a number of watches afterwards picked up, all of
which had stopped at half-past seven on the morning of the 26th. By this dis-
aster three hundred and eighty-three human beings perished, of whom ninety-six
were crew; only nineteen persons were saved from the wreck.
How deep was the sorrow on the sea that night ; and scarcely less the sorrow
the land! Numbers of persons who had hastened to Liverpool to greet their
long-absent relatives and friends, now hurried with despairing countenances to
the place of so great destruction, and with aching hearts searched out the few
survivors, each one hoping against hope that they whom he sought would be
found among them. For many days the sea continued to give up its dead. The
beach was traversed by multitudes who still lingered to perform the last sad re-
quirements for those whom they had journeyed to welcome in the full vigour of life.
For the purpose of relieving the temporal necessities of those who had lost all
their worldly means, a subscription was raised, which, under the direction
of Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, & Co., met with a liberal response.
Æt. 65.
387
VISIT TO WHITBY.
having occasioned too great fatigue and exposure of body
throughout the voyage.
Could he have rested for a time
after his arrival in England, he might perhaps have gained
strength enough to ward off the illness which was so soon
to prostrate him alike in body and mind. It has been
said, indeed, that he sacrificed his life in the noble object of
obviating dangers which threatened the destruction of his
fellow-beings. These are but vain conjectures, though,
to all human understanding, his life would probably have
been spared longer had he not gone to Australia ; yet
none knew better than he at whose bidding he must sur-
render his temporal state, and he expressed no anxiety as
to where he might be, or how employed, when the sum-
mons reached him, so that his heart were sanctified to his
Master's cause.
He was “a good deal over-exerted” for many weeks
subsequent to his return to Torquay. The preparation
of the VOYAGE for publication absorbed much of his time
and strength. He was able to bring the work into a
condition of great forwardness for the press, but it was
left to other hands than his to bring it before the public.
Of the results of the voyage, in its leading features,
enough for the present work has been already said in
mentioning Dr. Scoresby's satisfaction at the full estab-
lishment of his theories.
In October, accompanied by Mrs. Scoresby, he paid a
promised visit to his friends at Whitby, and spent several
weeks among them, residing chiefly with Mrs. Clark at
her residence, which occupies a pleasant position about
twenty minutes by rail from the town. From the more
388
1856.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
It was
than wonted gentleness of disposition and Christian soli-
citude for the welfare of those around him, displayed
during this visit, together with a sense of more than
ordinary endearment on the part of his relatives and inti-
mate friends, the painful apprehension of long separation
was engendered. Even his last discourse in the parish
church was construed into a farewell sermon.
during this visit that he delivered the lecture which we
have quoted.
An engagement to deliver a course of lectures at the
Philosophical Institution in Edinburgh led him thither in
November. During his residence in that city he was
most hospitably entertained in the house of the Honour-
able Mrs. Mackenzie, a lady who by her eminent piety and
Christian worth had won Dr. Scoresby's highest esteem
and respect.
The first of the course of lectures, ON THE ARCTIC
REGIONS, was delivered to a crowded audience in Queen
Street Hall, on the evening of November 18th. In con-
sequence of the flattering manner in which this was
received, Dr. Scoresby consented to deliver the remain-
ing three in the Music Hall, for the accommodation
of greater numbers of hearers, several hundreds having
been turned away from the previous lecture from want
of room. The second was delivered on the evening
of the 21st. It required great effort on the part of the
lecturer to make himself heard throughout this spacious
hall; nevertheless he accomplished it perfectly. The
third lecture-fixed for the 25th-was, in conse-
quence of Dr. Scoresby's delicate health, postponed a
Æt. 66.
389
ALARMING ILLNESS.
day or two; but ultimately both the remaining ones were
delivered—the last on December 4th—with equal fervour
and animation. He was solicited to re-deliver the course
in Edinburgh, and likewise by the Lord Provost of Glas-
gow, to deliver a course in that city; but in both in-
stances he was obliged to express his regret that his health
would not permit him to undertake any further occupa-
tion of an exciting or fatiguing nature.
On the 5th of December Dr. and Mrs. Scoresby left
Edinburgh for Polloc, the seat of Sir John and (the late
highly esteemed and deeply lamented) Lady Matilda
Maxwell. With these kind friends they contemplated a
visit of a week or two, making that direction their way
to the south. Here the first alarming symptoms of that
dread disease which, by the trying of his faith, was to
let patience in him have her perfect work, manifested
itself, after a severe fit of coughing, in the expectoration
of a quantity of blood. He was dressing for dinner at
the moment, but, by the kindness of his hostess, was ex-
cused from appearing, whilst he received every attention
which affectionate friendship could devise. His complaint
was valvular disease of the heart, which, by occasioning
congestion of the lungs, gave rise to the alarming symp-
tom above mentioned. I believe he was conscious, from
its first appearance, of the dangerous and almost hopeless
nature of his disease; yet his wonted calmness and
serenity of mind remained unaltered. Thinking it
better to return by way of Edinburgh, they arrived
again beneath the hospitable roof of the Honourable Mrs.
Mackenzie on the 13th of December.
Of this lady's
390
1857.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
affectionate interest and kindness he delighted to speak,
as also of the earnest solicitude of her amiable daughters,
the Misses Mackenzie. Under the care of Dr. Hunter,
furthered by the tranquillity which was preserved to him
by the carefulness of his kind hostess, he was so far re-
covered as to be able to leave Edinburgh on the 21st of
December, and proceed by easy stages to Torquay. For
a few weeks after his return to the milder climate of the
south, Dr. Scoresby's health somewhat recruited; but
he was never able to resume the lectureship at Upton
Church, a circumstance which grieved him much.
On the 31st of January 1857, he wrote to the Honour-
able Mrs. Mackenzie in the following words :-
'MY DEAR MRS. MACKENZIE, --Scarcely a day has
passed (if a single day) for some weeks, in which I have
not thought of doing what I now commence. But I will
delay no longer—knowing your kind and affectionate
interest, as so expressively shown by more than words
when we had the pleasure of being with you—in respect
to my progress, in writing for myself. In some particu-
lars I feel better and get on better ; but I do not yet at-
tempt any duty on the Sundays—my greatest depriva-
tion. Doctors I have not yet consulted. Some would
blame it as a mistake or error; but I feel that when I
begin I must leave off self-administering, and get into a
certain bondage I do not like. Probably, however, I shall
take advice soon. Whilst without distrust of the prin-
ciple that our times are in His hands-a Father's hands-
I equally hold to the duty of using all reasonable and
Æt. 66.
391
FINAL ILLNESS.
available means. But I am not sure the good doctors
like me as a patient. The last one I employed till of
late-except our domestic surgeon, who has done me ad-
mirable service in a case of severe and dangerous accident
-remarked, I was told, of the results of his experience
with me when ill with an attack of erysipelas, that he
had rather attend ten fools than one philosopher!' So
I hope you, dear Mrs. Mackenzie, being able so well and
satisfactorily to domesticate, and, with your kind family
nurse, to take care of the said philosopher, must prove
(if Dr. L- was right) on
was right) one of two things—either that
he has been improved, or, what is far more probably the
fact, that you had domesticated and nursed with better
feeling and forbearance than the good doctor!”
Soon after this letter was despatched more distressing
symptoms manifested themselves, especially in a severe.
cough and difficulty of breathing, from the congested state
of the lungs. Mrs. Scoresby became greatly and justly
alarmed; the more so, when, day after day, in spite of
her tender care and watchfulness, the invalid became
gradually more distressed.
He was attended by Mr.
Pollard, his usual medical adviser, associated latterly with
Dr. Evanson.
None but those who have witnessed the distressing
symptoms which arise in that form of heart disease from
which Dr. Scoresby suffered, can appreciate the terrible
agonies which he must have endured. About the middle
of March his medical advisers pronounced an opinion
against hope of his recovery. For some weeks previous
392
1857.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
to this the gentle and patient sufferer had not been able
to lie down, from oppressive difficulty in breathing when in
a recumbent posture. Supported by pillows in an easy
chair, he passed his days and nights of suffering in that
organ room, the lovely view from which he mentioned
when last confined in it. Life, perhaps, was never op-
pressive to him until now, when its tenure became daily
finer and more uncertain. Yet he never for an instant
rebelled against the chastening hand of God; but often,
when he could not find breath to express a bodily want,
he still uttered a flood of aspirations to heaven, whither
he was so soon to follow. But let me employ the words *
of one who, associated with him in Christ's ministry on
earth, was privileged to be with his friend on many occa-
sions immediately previous to the final summons which
called him to the rich inheritance awaiting him on high.
He says
“I have chosen this text for the present discourse
because it was repeated to myself under the most affect-
ing circumstances, during his last illness, by that eminent
servant of God, the late lecturer of this church, whose
mortal remains we committed to their final resting-place
but yestermorn, in the church-yard adjoining this house of
God. I think it most becoming that I should not per-
mit this solemn opportunity to pass without an attempt,
however feeble, to improve it, nor my dear friend and
* From the FUNERAL SERMON, by the Rev. R. R. Wolfe, M.A., incumbent of
Upton (who has kindly permitted me to make use of it), from the text, “Having
a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. i. 23).
Æt. 66.
393
FINAL ILLNESS.
fellow-labourer in the Lord's vineyard to depart, without
some slight public recognition of his services and tribute
to his genuine worth, not less as a Christian philosopher
than as a faithful and zealous minister of Christ. To review
his whole life, to portray the varied means by which he
endeavoured to adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour,
and to promote the best interests of mankind, would be
out of place on the present occasion, even if time per-
mitted it. I shall therefore confine the few remarks I
shall make rather to the connection which, for a period
of more than three years, has existed between yourselves
and him as your pastor in the Lord. On his coming to
reside in this parish, though, from his age and circum-
stances, he might well have claimed the indulgence of
private retirement, yet, as you are aware, he was not con-
tent to do so, but sought a sphere of active usefulness in
the lectureship of this church, and that without the desire
of any remuneration for his services. It was to me a
source of the highest gratification to be associated in the
work of the ministry with this eminent Christian man,
and I readily, therefore, acceded to his wish, and com-
mitted into his hands the afternoon service of this church.
How well, how faithfully, how successfully he performed
his work, I need not remind you who were his constant
hearers ; for myself I truly say, whenever I had the gratifi-
cation of listening to his powerfully intellectual expositions
of the word of God, to his warm and affectionate appeals to
the sinner, and to his well-enforced encouragements in the
ways of holiness to the godly and believer, I was led to
thankfulness and gratitude to the Wise Disposer of all
394
1857.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
no more.
events, who, in the ordering of his providence, brought
him to be my fellow-helper in the church.
" The place that knew him here shall now know him
This exemplary Christian has been called to
his reward, at His hands whose he was and whom he
served zealously and faithfully.
Oppressed with sickness and the most painful feeling
of weakness in his last days, he was led like the great
apostle, to desire to depart and to be with Christ,' which
he was convinced would be · far better' for him.
“ He believed that though he died yet should he live,
because his life was hid with Christ in God; and that
when Christ, who was his life, should appear, then he
should appear with him in glory.
“ That dispensation of God's providence which has left
us sorrowing mourners at his loss, has been to him great
gain ; for it has ushered him into the broad sunshine of
glory in the presence of his Redeemer. From his child-
hood he was led to know and serve the Lord; and during
his long and peculiarly chequered and interesting life, he
did not depart from the right way, but sincerely endea-
voured to adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour in all
things. With respect to his public character, I may say
of him as was said of another faithful servant of God,
' Eminently gifted by nature, eminently endowed by
grace, he was peculiarly adapted to address an intelli-
gent congregation—to build them up in their most holy
faith—to warn them against the prevailing errors and
corrupt vices of the day—uniting, as he did, the maturity
of sound experience and ripened judgment with the most
At. 66.
395
FINAL ILLNESS.
ever
zealous energy-blending the fervour of a glowing imagi-
nation with the wise discretion and well-regulated caution
of a sober mind—-presenting a singular combination of
the grace of God with the highest intellectual powers and
attainments—he was never carried away or betrayed into
the advocacy or adoption of the unfledged theories and
crude systems which, under the garb of novelty, surprise
and attract, but do not improve. Ever basing solid argu-
ment upon the broad principle of divine truth
upholding, by word and conversation, the expansive
charity which that truth inculcates--ever resting in quiet
consistency of mind upon God's revealed word, as em-
bodying the “charter of his hope in Christ,” he had pecu-
liar attractions for the intelligent minds of his hearers.'
And as in public so was he in private, in the social inter-
course of the domestic circle. Endearing and attractive,
nay, I may say, his conversation was fascinating, and his
manner ever that of a gentleman and a Christian.
“ But I must not lift the veil too high nor expose
the
precincts of the domestic circle, but will hasten to a brief
account of his last moments.
“On the 7th day of March it was my privilege to
attend upon the suffering philosopher and Christian. I
had seen him before, I have seen him since, but on that
occasion his conversation was so remarkable, that on my
return home I noted down the substance of it, by way
memorandum. It was to this effect: The sufferer was
exceedingly weak, and much oppressed in his breathing;
expressed his thankfulness to God that he was only
oppressed, not depressed. Felt he should not recover,
of
396
1857.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
and spoke in a calm and collected manner of what I should
do for him after his decease. It was most delightful to wit-
ness with what composure this Christian man looked death
in the face and spoke of his departure. He said he was
quite resigned to the will of his heavenly Father, and was
most happy in the thought of death; that he knew Him
in whom he believed, and was sure he was able to keep
that, even his soul, which he committed to him, safe
against the great day. After some further conversation,
he broke forth into the most earnest exposition of his
own feelings upon the subject of those doctrines and
principles which he had inculcated on others. “My dear
friend,' he said, 'I would that all should know the satis-
faction and comfort I myself can now derive from those
doctrines which I have ever maintained and preached. I
thank God I can now feel the truth in my own heart as
I have declared it to others. I thank God I feel those
doctrines now to be the truth as it is in Jesus ; I have
preached Christian practice and conduct as well as faith,
and I now see and feel the force of it; I have ever con-
demned, and I now repeat my condemnation of the mere
sentimentalism of religion, “ Faith without works is
dead." He went on in this strain until he was almost
exhausted. I endeavoured to console and comfort him
with the hope that it might please God to restore him
and grant him a longer continuance amongst us. He
replied in the words I have chosen for the text, ““I desire
to depart and be with Christ, which is far better ;'
but if it be his will to spare me, I trust I shall still live,
as I thank the power of his grace I have been enabled to
Æt. 66.
397
DEATH,
do heretofore, to his honour and glory. He checked me
more than once on this and other occasions, when I
alluded to his eminent services in the cause of God and
of his fellow creatures, and would not admit that he had
ever been anything but an unprofitable servant.
Before I left him on the occasion referred to he re-
quested me to pray with him, and this gave rise to very
remarkable testimony in favour of the form of prayer
in
daily use amongst us. He said he had been brought up
from his childhood in the belief that no prayers were so
good on every occasion as extempore prayers; he said his
predilection from early associations would be entirely in
favour of them; and, continued he, 'I now say to you,
and you are at liberty to make what use you please of
the confession, I now declare, under the solemn feeling
that I am a dying man, under the weakness and oppres-
sion of bodily suffering, that the Prayers of the Church,
in the Book of Common Prayer, are to me most expres-
sive of my wants and feelings—are most comforting and
soling, and come most appropriately home to me in
my sickness and weakness. These were the very words
he used, and he then requested me to pray with him, the
general confession, to pronounce the absolution, and to
conclude with the prayers in the service for the visitation
of the sick. On the last occasion I saw him alive, about
nine o'clock on the night of his death, I consulted him as
to what devotional exercise he would desire. He still
repeated his wish for the Church prayers, and with the
utmost fervency followed me through to their conclusion.
“ Before the sun had risen again upon the earth his
cons
398
1857.
LIFE OF SCORESBY.
sanctified and redeemed spirit had taken its heavenward
flight; he fell asleep* without any apparent struggle; his
desire to 'depart and be with Christ' was fulfilled; 'he
was not, for God took him.'»
Torquay presented a saddened aspect on the morning
of Saturday the 28th of March, whilst the funeral cortege
was solemnly wending its way from Grosmont, Dr.
Scoresby's late residence, to the place of interment at
Upton Church. Great respect for his memory was evi-
denced among the middle classes of the town by the
closing of the shops during the sad ceremonial. The
vessels in the port testified the reverent sympathy of the
seafearing public in having their flags half-mast high ;
whilst the respect of the immediate friends of the
departed was displayed in the swelling of the procession
by upwards of twenty private carriages. The bells of
Upton Church proclaimed in muffied peals the sad event
of the day, whilst the mourning drapery with which the
interior of the church was clothed filled up the measure
of the prevailing gloom. The pall-bearers were the
Earl of Beverley, Hon. John Boyle, Sir H. Bold Hoghton,
Sir Culling Eardley, Captain Ward, and Mr. Vivian.
A subscription was immediately set afoot for a monu-
ment to the memory of Dr. Scoresby. The amount col-
lected being more liberal than was anticipated, a large
surplus remained in the hands of the committee. This
was applied to the perpetual endowment of a bed in Tor-
* At 2 A.M. March 21st.
MONUMENT.
399
bay infirmary, to be called THE SCORESBY BED, and to
be kept for the use of sick sailors.
“ The monument,” says the Torquay Directory, “which
is of Gothic design, sculptured in Caen stone, is placed on
the north wall of the nave of the church, and may be thus
described:From side buttresses, terminating in pinnacles,
springs a pointed arch, in the spandril of which is a scroll
bearing the text, “He being dead, yet speaketh. In a
panel on the base are grouped an open Bible, a ship and
anchor, a mariner's compass, and other mathematical in-
struments; and on a tablet of pure statuary marble, form-
ing the background of the central nave, is engraved the
following inscription, in old English:
In Memory of
The Reb. William Scoresby, D.D., F.R.S.,
Member of the Institute of France,
and of various other Scientific Institutions
in Europe and America.
In early life a distinguished Seaman,
renowned for his discoveries in the Arctic Regions.
Afterwards Hicar of Bradford,
and latterly
Honorary Lecturer of this Church.
Pious, Benevolent, devoted to Science,
of surpassing energy.
His friends and admirers,
in grateful recollection of his publit Services,
and as a testimony of their regard for his yrivate worth,
Have erected this Monument.
at Cropton near du hitbp. A. 7., 1789,
Zied at Torquay. March 21st, 1857.”
APPENDIX
WORKS OF DR. SCORESBY.
1822
1826
i
1827
· 1829
1830
1831
1831
Theological and Literary :-
1. Seaman's Prayer-Book (Selected chiefly from the Book of Common
Prayer), for Use at Sea, with Psalms and Hymns, 18mo, Nisbet,
2. Loss of the Esk and Lively, a Narrative and Sermon (preached for
the Benefit of the Widows and Sufferers at Whitby), 8vo, Seeleys,
3. An Address to Sailors on the Opening of the Liverpool Mariners'
Church, 12mo, Kaye, Liverpool,
4. An Address to Captains of Merchant Vessels, 12mo, ib.,
5. An Address to Seamen on Intemperance and Improvidence,
12mo, ib.,
6. Discourses to Seamen (preached in the Liverpool Mariners' Church),
12mo, Nisbet,
7. Sorrow on the Sea (a Sermon preached at the Mariners' Church on
the occasion of the loss of the Rothesay Castle, and Narrative),
8vo, 3d edit., ib.,
8. Plea for the Unity of the Church (four Lectures preached at Bed-
ford Chapel, Exeter), 12mo, ib.,
9. Memorials of the Sea, comprising various Maritime Narratives,
12mo, ib.,
10. The Believer's Consolation (a Penitentiary Sermon), 8vo, ib.,
11. Memorial of an Affectionate Son, F. R. H. S., 12mo, ib.,
12. Principles and Duty of Christian Loyalty (a Sermon at Exeter),
12mo, ib.,
13. The Philosophy of the Gospel (a Sermon preached at Trinity Church,
Clifton, on the Meeting of the British Association), 8vo, ib.,
14. Persecutions and Sufferings of the Irish Protestants, 12mo, ib.,
15. What shall we do? (a Sermon preached at Bradford to Destitute
Workmen), 12mo, ib.,
16. Lectures on Socialism (preached at St. Peter's, Bradford), 8vo, ib.,
17. Position of the Church and Duties of Churchmen (an Address at the
Bradford Church Institution), 12mo,
1833
1833
1833
1834
1836
1836
1836
1840
1840
1843
20
402
APPENDIX.
1844
1845
1845
1846
18. Proposed Subdivision of the Parish of Bradford, 12mo,
19. American Factories and their Female Operatives, with an Appeal
on behalf of the British Factory Population and their Improve-
ment, 12mo, Longmans,
20. Position and Encouragements of Christian Teachers (a Discourse,
and Rules for Sunday-School Teachers), 32mo, Taylor, Bradford,
21. Condition and Prospects of Female Factory Operatives (a Sermon,
preached to about 2000 Female Operatives), 12mo, Nisbet,
22. Record of the Bradford Parochial Schools from 1839 to 1846 (19,600
children during this time passed through the Schools), 12mo,
23. Jehovah Glorified in his Works (a Sermon preached at Edinburgh
at the Meeting of the British Association), 8vo, Longmans,
24. Sabbaths in the Arctic Regions, 8vo, ib.,
25. The Mary Russell, a Narrative of an Extraordinary Massacre, with
Reflections on the Responsibility of Lunatics, 8vo, ib.,
26. My Father, being Records of the Adventurous Life of the late W.
Scoresby, Esq., 8vo, ib.,
27. The Death of Czar Nicholas (a Sermon preached at Upton, Tor-
quay), 8vo,
1848
1850
1850
1850
1851
1855
Scientific:
28. Notes of an Advance to Latitude 81° 30' N., the then nearest
Authenticated Approach to the North Pole, Memoirs of the
Wernerian Society, Edinburgh, vol. ii., 642.
29. Meteorological Journals kept in the Greenland Seas, ib.,
1807-14
30. Account of the Balena Mysticetus, and First Correct Figure of it,
ib., i. 578.
31. Account of Remarkable Crystallizations of Snow, ib.
32. Account of the Greenland or Polar Ice, ib.,
1814
33. On the Possibility of Reaching the North Pole, by a Journey across
the Ice, ib.,
1814
34. On the Size of the Greenland Whale, ib.,
1815
35. Experiments on the Effect of the Pressure of the Sea at Great
Depths, on the Specifs Gravity of Wood, ib.,
1816-17
36. Narrative of an Excursion on the Island of Jan Mayen, with Dis-
coveries thereon, ib.,
1818
37. On the Best Means of Overcoming Obstacles to Discoveries in the
Arctic Regions, ib.,
1819
38. Description of a Magnetimeter, and Discoveries in Magnetising
Iron by Mechanical Action, Royal Society, Edinburgh,
1819-21
39. On the Anomaly in the Variation of the Compass on Shipboard,
Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society,
1819
40. A Method of determining the Height of Cliffs and Mountains by
Measuring the Depression of the Horizon, Edinburgh, Philo-
sophical Journal,
1819
41. Account of the Arctic Regions and Northern Whale Fishery, 2 vols.
8vo, Constable,
1820
APPENDIX
403
42. State of the Greenland Ice, ib.,
1820
43. On Remarkable Atmospheric Refractions in Greenland, Edinburgh
Royal Society's Transactions,
1820
44. On the Currents and Animalcules of the Greenland Sea, Edinburgh
Philosophical Journal,
1821
45. On the Penetration of Wood by Sea Water at great Depths, ib., 1821
46. On the Cause of the Greenland Fogs, ib.,
1821
47. Contributions to the Anatomy of Whales, Edinburgh Royal Society, 1821
48. On the Deviation of the Compass and its Fatal Effects, Liverpool, 1822
49. On the Errors of the Sea Rates of Chronometers by the Magnetism
of their Balances and Chronometrical Compass, Edinburgh Philo-
sophical Transactions,
1822
50. Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale Fishery, and Dis-
coveries on the East Coast of Greenland, 8vo, Constable,
1823
51. On the Development of Magnetism in Iron and Steel by Percussion,
Philosophical Transactions,
1822-24
52. New Magnetical Experiments, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1824
53. Polar Regions, Article in Edinburgh Encyclopædia,
1825
54. Remarkable Rainbows, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, i
1826
55. Six Hours in Iceland, -" Winter's Wreath,"
1827
56. Remarkable Effects of Unequal Refraction, seen at Bridlington
Quay, Edinburgh Transactions,
1827
57. On Bugle Echoes at Killarney, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1828
58. On the Possibility of Reaching the Pole by a Transglacial Journey,
and Remarks on Captain Parry's Failure, Edinburgh Philoso-
phical Journal,
1828
59. On Red Snow on Ice in Greenland, ib.,
1828
60. On the Uniform Permeability of all Known Substances to Mag-
netism, and Application of the Fact in Engineering, ib.,
1831
61. An Exposition of some of the Laws of Magnetic Induction, ib., 1832
62. On the Deviation of the Compass, ib.,
1832
63. On the Original Suggestion of the Modern Arctic Expeditions, ib., 1835
64. On Prismatic Colours in Dew-drops, ib.,
1841-51
65. On Columnar Crystallizations of Ground Ice, ib.,
1850
66. On the Earl of Rosse's Telescopes, and their Revelations in the
Sidereal Heavens, ib.,
1853
67. Magnetical Investigations on the Powers of Different Steels, and
Sizes and Combinations of Magnets, Longmans, vol. i.,
1839-43
68. Magnetical Investigations on Terrestrial Induction and Iron Ships,
ib., vol. ii.,
1852
69. Zoistic Magnetism, 8vo, ib.,
1850
70. The Franklin Expedition, with Maps, 8vo, ib.,
1850
71. Magnetism of Iron Ships, and Remedies for Compass Disturbances
(a Letter to the Liverpool Underwriters), 8vo, Longmans,
1854
72. On the Application of Magnetic Influence for the Measurement of
Thickness of Rocks in Tunnelling, British Association Report, 1831
73. Extraordinary Effects of Lightning on the Packet Ship, New
York, ib.,
1833
404
APPENDIX.
74. On a Peculiar Source of Error in the Dipping Needle, ib.,
1833
75. On a New and Improved Compass Needle, ib.,
1836
76. On Improved Magnets and Methods for Determining their Powers,
ib.,
1842
77. On the Circumstances which Affect the Power of Artificial Magnets,
ib.,
1843
78. A New Process of Magnetic Manipulation, ib.
1844
79. On Magnets Constructed of Cast Iron, ib.,
1844
80. On a Large Magnetic Machine of Enormous Powers, ib.,
1845
81. On a New and Powerful Mode of Magnetising Steel, ib.,
1846
82. On the Defects and Dangers of Correction by Magnets of the Local
Attraction of Compasses in Iron Ships, ib.,
1847
83. On the Height, Breadth, and Velocity of the Higher Waves of the
Atlantic, ib.,
1850
84. On the Surface-Temperature and Great Currents of the Atlantic,
ib.,
1853
85. On Deep-Sea Soundings and Errors from Strata-Currents, ib., 1853
86. On the Popular Notion of an Open Polar Sea,--Is it the Fact?
ib.,
1853
87. On the Prevention of Railway Accidents by Collision, ib.,
1853
88. On the Loss of the Tayleur, and Changes in the Action of Com-
passes in Iron Ships, ib.,
1854
89. Inquiry into the Principles and Measures on which Safety in the
Navigation of Iron Ships is to be looked for, ib.,
1854
90. On the Pictorial and Photo-Chromatic Impressions on the Retina
of the Human Eye, ib. ; On Optical Spectra, Magnetism of Iron
Ships, &c., Journal of the Royal Society,
1853-4-5
Also a variety of Articles, Lectures, Addresses, Essays, Tracts, &c.,
in different Theological, Scientific, and Literary Journals.
91. POSTHUMOUS WORK,-Edited by Archibald Smith, Esq., M.A.,
F.R.S.,-"Journal of a Voyage to Australia for Magnetical
Research," Longmans,
1859
Dr. Scoresby was honoured by Diplomas from the following Distinguished
Societies.
...
1. Wernerian Society,
2. Royal Society of Edinburgh,
3. Liverpool Royal Institution,
4. Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society,
5. Mancbester Literary and Philosophical Society,
6. Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society,
7. Hull Literary and Philosophical Society,
8. Bristol Literary and Philosophical Society,
1810
1819
1820
1820
1821
1823
1823
1824
APPENDIX.
405
... •••
...
...
...
9. Royal Society, London,
10. Yorkshire Philosophical Society,
11. Institute of France,
12. Society of Arts in Scotland,
13. British Association (original member),
14. D.D., Queen's College, Cambridge,
15. Société Française de Statistique,
16. United Service Institution, London,
17. Exeter Literary and Philosophical Society,
18. Historical Society of New York,
19. American Institute, Philadelphia,
20. Philosophical Society of Leeds,
21. Athenæum Club, London (honorary election),
22. Leamington Literary and Philosophical Society,
23. Natural History Society, Montreal,
24. Mechanics' Institute, Melbourne,
25. M.A., University of Melbourne (honorary),
1824
1826
1827
1827
1831
1839
1839
1841
1842
1844
1848
1848
1849
1849
1852
1856
1856
...
Museum Bequest.
"I give unto my friends, John Chapman and Henry Simpson, Esquires,
bankers of Whitby, as special trustees of this bequest, fifty pounds for the pur-
chase of cabinets or otherwise for the benefit of any public museum at Whitby,
the same being a freehold or equivalent in tenure to a freehold estate, and secured
for a permanent occupancy as a public museum. I give also unto the said special
trustees for the said museum the articles following, the same not to be taken out
of the museum, except any of the instruments or specimens of natural history for
temporary scientific illustrations; that is to say, my magnetimeter made by my own
hands in brass; also my chronometrical compass, the interior apparatus being my
own work; my compound four bar or plate magnetic needle (made by myself) in its
long mahogany case; my Goliath compound bar magnets, with the apparatus
thereunto belonging; my upright magnet suspending frame and apparatus; my
largest horse-shoe magnet of nine bars made in Greenland, magnetised by my
own process of percussion, and from whose sources the magnetism of all my
other magnets has been derived; my compound Busk magnets, or hard plate
magnets, comprising about one hundred and eighty plates in the two fas-
culi; my small five bar horse-shoe magnet, weighing about three pounds; my
fifteen bar horse-shoe magnet, together with all the residue not otherwise
appointed of my magnetic and my magneto-electric apparatus. Also, my speci-
mens of Arctic birds, narwal, bears, and sea-horse heads, with tooths or horns
of the narwal, anatomical preparations, whalebones, and other Arctic relics and
curiosities; also Greenland and Spitzbergen plants (herbariums). I likewise give
unto the said special trustees for the museum aforesaid, the following books,
drawings, manuscripts, &c., namely, all my manuscript journals of voyages and
travels, and original maps, drawings, and sketches illustrative thereof. All my
406
APPENDIX.
other scientific manuscripts, notes of experiments, and investigations; my auto-
biography and notes referring thereto; my original manuscripts of published
works, manuscripts of literary, narrative, and biographic subjects; my select
correspondence, comprising autographs of scientific, literary, or other distin-
guished correspondents, partly done up and partly in loose letters, being all or
chiefly letters written to myself. A box of papers (chiefly MSS.) of parochial
difficulties and painful controversies in Bradford parish. Also my best copies of
my own published works, with German translation and reviews thereof. A
cabinet or cabinets to be provided for all the above to be specially provided for
out of the fifty pounds willed above for this bequest.
Also by Codicil.-" In regard to the Museum Bequest, I hereby add there-
unto, over and above what has been already appointed, the following,-I give
unto the treasurer, for the time being, of the said museum of Whitby, the build-
ing being freehold or of equivalent tenure, the sum of two hundred and fifty
rounds towards the liquidation of the debt on the building, or for other general
purposes, such as shall be determined by the directors or trustees, the same to be
paid before the general division noticed in section 6 of this codicil; that is to
say, to be paid along with other legacies and bequests, or as soon as the ternis
of the before named museum bequest shall have been complied with, and the
payment to be made out of such part of my personal estate as I can lawfully
charge therewith."
mo
!
DO NOT REMOVE
OR
MUTILATE CARD
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