ons. The testimony, therefore, is the more to be
prized, as it cannot be charged with the partiality of friendship.--E.]

TO THE MEMORY OF

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK,

_The ablest and most renowned Navigator this or any other country hath
produced_.

He raised himself, solely by his merit, from a very obscure birth, to
the rank of Post Captain in the royal navy, and was, unfortunately,
killed by the savages of the island Owhyhee, on the 14th of February,
1779; which island he had, not long before, discovered, when prosecuting
his third voyage round the globe.

He possessed, in an eminent degree, all the qualifications requisite for
his profession and great undertakings; together with the amiable and
worthy qualities of the best men.

Cool and deliberate in judging; sagacious in determining; active in
executing; steady and persevering in enterprising vigilance and
unremitting caution; unsubdued by labour, difficulties, and
disappointments; fertile in expedients; never wanting presence of mind;
always possessing himself, and the full use of a sound understanding.

Mild, just, but exact in discipline: He was a father to his people, who
were attached to him from affection, and obedient from confidence.

His knowledge, his experience, his sagacity, rendered him so entirely
master of his subject, that the greatest obstacles were surmounted, and
the most dangerous navigations became easy, and almost safe, under his
direction.

He explored the southern hemisphere to a much higher latitude than had
ever been reached, and with fewer accidents than frequently befal those
who navigate the coasts of this island.

By his benevolent and unabating attention to the welfare of his ship's
company, he discovered and introduced a system for the preservation of
the health of seamen in long voyages, which has proved wonderfully
efficacious; for in his second voyage round the world, which continued
upwards of three years, he lost only one man by distemper, of one
hundred and eighteen, of which his company consisted.

The death of this eminent and valuable man was a loss to mankind in
general; and particularly to be deplored by every nation that respects
useful accomplishments, that honours science, and loves the benevolent
and amiable affections of the heart. It is still more to be deplored by
this country, which may justly boast of having produced a man hitherto
unequalled for nautical talents; and that sorrow is farther aggravated