acquainted with the various branches of their industry; the
different objects of their trade; the nature of that sagacity which,
deprived as they are of every necessary material, produce, etc., yet
enables them to flourish, to live well, and sometimes to make
considerable fortunes. The whole is an enigma to be solved only by
coming to the spot and observing the national genius which the
original founders brought with them, as well as their unwearied
patience and perseverance. They have all, from the highest to the
lowest, a singular keenness of judgment, unassisted by any
academical light; they all possess a large share of good sense,
improved upon the experience of their fathers; and this is the
surest and best guide to lead us through the path of life, because
it approaches nearest to the infallibility of instinct. Shining
talents and University knowledge, would be entirely useless here,
nay, would be dangerous; it would pervert their plain judgment, it
would lead them out of that useful path which is so well adapted to
their situation; it would make them more adventurous, more
presumptuous, much less cautious, and therefore less successful. It
is pleasing to hear some of them tracing a father's progress and
their own, through the different vicissitudes of good and adverse
fortune. I have often, by their fire-sides, travelled with them the
whole length of their career, from their earliest steps, from their
first commercial adventure, from the possession of a single whale-
boat, up to that of a dozen large vessels! This does not imply,
however, that every one who began with a whale-boat, has ascended to
a like pitch of fortune; by no means, the same casualty, the same
combination of good and evil which attends human affairs in every
other part of the globe, prevails here: a great prosperity is not
the lot of every man, but there are many and various gradations; if
they all do not attain riches, they all attain an easy subsistence.