; and, special
considerations apart, I was of course bound to fulfil the agreement. But in all
contracts, if one party fail to perform his share of the compact, is not the
other virtually absolved from his liability? Who is there who will not answer in
the affirmative?
    Having settled the principle, then, let me apply it to the particular case
in question. In numberless instances had not only the implied but the specified
conditions of the articles been violated on the part of the ship in which I
served. The usage on board of her was tyrannical; the sick had been inhumanly
neglected; the provisions had been doled out in scanty allowance; and her
cruises were unreasonably protracted. The captain was the author of these
abuses; it was in vain to think that he would either remedy them, or alter his
conduct, which was arbitrary and violent in the extreme. His prompt reply to all
complaints and remonstrances was - the butt-end of a handspike, so convincingly
administered as effectually to silence the aggrieved party.
    To whom could we apply for redress? We had left both law and equity on the
other side of the Cape; and unfortunately, with a very few exceptions, our crew
was composed of a parcel of dastardly and mean-spirited wretches, divided among
themselves, and only united in enduring without resistance the unmitigated
tyranny of the captain. It would have been mere madness for any two or three of
the number, unassisted by the rest, to attempt making a stand against his
ill-usage. They would only have called down upon themselves the particular
vengeance of this »Lord of the Plank,« and subjected their shipmates to
additional hardships.
    But, after all, these things could have been endured awhile, had we
entertained the hope of being speedily delivered from them by the due completion
of the term of our servitude. But what a dismal prospect awaited us in this
quarter! The longevity of Cape Horn whaling voyages is proverbial, frequently
extending over a period of four or five years.
    Some long-haired, bare-necked youths, who, forced by the united influences
of Captain Marryat and hard times, embark at Nantucket for a pleasure excursion
to the Pacific, and whose anxious mothers provide them with bottled milk for the
occasion, oftentimes return very respectable middle-aged gentlemen.
    The very preparations made for one of these expeditions are enough to
frighten one. As the vessel carries out no cargo, her hold is filled with
provisions for her own consumption. The owners, who officiate as caterers for
the voyage, supply the larder with an abundance of dainties
