Life and Character of Natlianiel Bowditch. 5 



by the same captain. The vessel sailed in March, 1796, to Lis- 

 bon, touched at Madeira, and then proceeded to Manilla, and ar- 

 rived at Salem in May, 1797, after an absence of fourteen months. 



At Madeira, the captain and supercargo were very politely re- 

 ceived by Mr. Pintard, the American consul there, to whose house 

 the ship was consigned, and were frequently invited to dine with 

 his family. Mrs. Pintard had heard from another American ship- 

 master that the young supercargo was " a great calculator," and 

 she felt a curiosity to test his capacities. Accordingly, she said to 

 him one day at dinner, " Mr. Bowditch, I have a question which I 

 should like to have you answer. Some years since," naming the 

 time, " I received a legacy in Ireland. The money was there in- 

 vested, and remained some time on interest ; the amount was sub- 

 sequently remitted to England, where the interest likewise accu- 

 mulated ; and lately the whole amount has been remitted to me 

 here. What sum ought I to receive r" She of course mentioned 

 the precise dates of the several remittances, as she went along. 

 Mr. Bowditch laid down his knife and fork, said it was a httle 

 difficult, on account of the difference of currency and the num- 

 ber of the remittances ; but squeezing the tips of his fingers, he 

 said, in about two minutes, " The sum you should receive is 

 £843 15s. 6K" " Well, Mr. Clerk," said Mrs. Pintard to the 

 head clerk of the house, an elderly person, who was esteemed a 

 very skilful accountant, " you have been figuring it out for me on 

 paper ; has he got it right ?" " Yes, madam," said the clerk, tak- 

 ing his long calculation out of his pocket, " he has got it exactly. 

 And I venture to say, that there is not another man on the island 

 that can do it in two hours." 



In August, 1798, he sailed in the same ship with Capt. Prince, 

 on his third voyage, to Cadiz, thence to the Mediterranean, loaded 

 at Alicant, and arrived at Salem in April, 1799. 



On the voyage from Cadiz to Alicant, they were chased by 

 a French privateer, and having a strong armament of nineteen 

 guns, they prepared for action. The post assigned to Bowditch 

 was the cabin, and his duty was to hand the powder upon deck. 

 In the midst of the preparations for the engagement, Captain 

 Prince had a curiosity to look into the cabin, and see whether all 

 things were going on right there ; and, to his astonishment, he 

 found Bowditch calmly sitting at the table, with his slale and 

 pencil, and figuring away, as usual. The thing was so ludicrous, 



