am 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
with th&t attention, which it deserved; Capt. Ross had chalked 
out for himself a certain line of conduct, and although future 
circumstances might tend to convince him, that it was founded 
on error and prejudice, still it was persevered in, with a most 
unaccountable apathy, as if self alone were the predominant 
principle, before which, all other considerations were to be con¬ 
sidered as amounting to a null. 
Comparisons are said to be odious, but in some cases they are 
productive of good ; for, in many respects, they are the guide to 
truth, or* at all events, to the better representation of our con¬ 
duct on certain points, when it was either difficult to draw a 
positive line of action, or, that the judgment itself was not strong 
enough to determine the proper distinction between the circum¬ 
stances, by which that action is to be regulated, and by which 
the justness or culpability of the act is at once decided. It is 
true, that many men, from a notion of false pride, disdain to 
follow in the track of others, as it is supposed that it attaches 
to them a littleness and insignificance of character, which, in the 
opinion of the world, are apt to render a man despicable and 
contemptible. Thus, for instance, Capt. Ross might have consi¬ 
dered it as a stain upon his general character, if he had con¬ 
descended to follow the example of Capt. Parry; and certainly the 
former could not have been ignorant of the manner, in which the 
latter conducted the expedition, of which he had the command, in 
regard to the particular attention, which he paid to the health 
and comfort of his men, as well as the extreme liberality, which 
he always evinced, in seconding any pursuit or plan, by which 
their happiness could be promoted : nor could Capt. Ross be 
ignorant that there were several on board the Victory, who had 
sailed with Capt. Parry, on almost all his expeditions, and 
therefore it was most natural for them to institute a comparison 
of the two modes of treatment adopted by their former and 
their present commander, and the question then becomes not of 
difficult solution, as to which of the two would preponderate in 
the scale of their estimation. 
There is, however, another circumstance, which places the 
conduct of Capt. Ross, in a still more extraordinary light. It 
