LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
58i 
Capt. Ross in his first voyage, they would have carefully ab¬ 
stained from touching upon them, for fear of breaking their heads 
against some of the cragged prominences of the Croker mountains. 
Nothing great, nor grand, however, was ever accomplished with¬ 
out perseverance ; and although the individual may be foiled in 
some of his attempts, it speaks not much for the energy of his 
character, if he shrink from the further pursuit of his object, on ac¬ 
count of a few obstacles, which chance or design may mischie¬ 
vously have thrown in his way. Thus (and we mean it out of the 
purest spirit of compliment to the member, who undertook this 
particular part of the examination) it was resolved to put such 
questions to Capt. Beaufort, from which he could not escape, and to 
which it was scarcely possible for him to give any other answer, 
than the one which was wished for. Capt. Beaufort having, in a 
general way, spoken of the advantages derived to the whale 
fisheries, by the several voyages, which had been made to the 
Arctic seas, he was asked, Which of the voyages was first in 
order ?—His answer was considered as a kind of climax, in favor 
of the suppliant, for having answered, “Capt. Ross’ certainly,” 
he bowed and retired. 
The man, whose name stands first on the list of bankrupts, cer¬ 
tainly enjoys the advantage of priority, if any advantage there 
be in it; and according to the same process of reasoning, it was 
highly complimentary to Capt. Ross, and confirmatory of his 
exclusive claim to £5000, out of the public purse, to know that, 
although he was acknowledged, by so competent an authority 
as that of Capt. Beaufort, to stand as the alpha in the list of 
arctic navigators, he might nevertheless be the omega in the 
opinion of those, from whose pockets the £.5000 were to be 
paid—in regard to the extent of his discoveries, or to the 
possession of those talents, which were requisite for the accom¬ 
plishment of the object, of which he was in pursuit. 
As the value of all voyages is determined by the extent of 
the discoveries, which have been made in relation to commerce 
and to science, it will prove not only a matter of interest but 
of importance, to take a general view of the discoveries, that 
were made, during the last voyage of Capt. Ross; premising 
