Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. ^f 



those amusing fables of the Odyssey, which have been the de- 

 hght of so many nations and so many ages. 



Now, it is incontestably to the presence of two men educated 

 with other ideas than those of mere sailors ; it is to their manner 

 of observing and feehng, that this powerful interest is in a great 

 measure due. Nothing was spared by them for enriching their 

 collections, and satisfying their curiosity. Mr Banks especially, 

 always manifested an astonishing activity ; he was neither re- 

 pulsed by fatigue, nor arrested by danger. He is seen at Bra- 

 zil, gliding, like a smuggler, along the shore, in order to pick 

 up some of the productions of that rich country, notwithstand- 

 ing the stupid jealousy of the governor. At Otaheite, he has 

 the patience to let himself be painted black, from head to foot, 

 in order to be admitted to a funeral ceremony, which he could 

 not otherwise have seen. And it is not only for seeing and ob- 

 serving that he displays his character : in every place, although 

 destitute of legal authority, he seems naturally to assume the 

 rank which in Europe would have been given him by the con- 

 ventions of society. He is always foremost. He presides at the 

 markets, and over negotiations. It is to him that both parties 

 address themselves in any dispute. It is he who pursues the 

 thief, and recovers the articles stolen. If he had not thus re- 

 covered the quadrant, which had been adroitly carried off by an 

 islander, the principal object of the enterprise, the observation 

 of the passage of Venus over the sun^s disk, would not have 

 been accomplished. Once only he did not dare to render him- 

 self justice; but it was when the Queen Oberea, having lodged 

 too near him, stole away all his clothes through the night ; and 

 it will be allowed, that, in such a case, it would not have been 

 gallant to have insisted too much on his rights. 



This sort of magistracy, to which he found himself raised, de- 

 pended upon the circumstances, that, while his figure and coun- 

 tenance were formed to inspire respect, his unremitting goodness 

 laid claim to friendship. He gave to the savages instruments of 

 agriculture, seeds of culinary vegetables, and domestic animals ; 

 he was watchful to prevent their being maltreated, and even to 

 such a degree as to have them treated with indulgence when the 

 fault was upon their side. If there exist a natural pre-eminence, 

 it is that which is the offspring of intellect and beneficence. 



