stition that his mother's farewell
was prophetic of his marriage, for her words were "God send you Grace."

BIRTH-PLACE.

Shortly after the birth of John, the Cooks left Morton for Marton, a
village a few miles away, and the similarity of the two names has caused
some confusion. At Marton the father worked for a Mr. Mewburn, living in
a small cottage built of mud, called in the district a clay biggin. This
cottage was pulled down in 1786, when Major Rudd erected a mansion near
the spot. Afterwards, when the mansion was burned to the ground, the site
of the cottage was planted with trees, and was popularly known as Cook's
Garth. Dr. Young was shown the spot by an old shoemaker whose wife's
mother was present at Captain Cook's birth, and he says there was a
willow-tree occupying the site, but no vestige of the walls was left. Mr.
Bolckow, the present owner of Marton Hall, says: "The cottage was found
destroyed when my uncle bought Marton in 1854, but we came across the
foundations of it when the grounds were laid out." A granite vase has
been erected on the spot. The pump which Besant says still exists, and
was made by Cook's father to supply his house with water, was "put there
after Cook's time," and has disappeared.

In this humble clay biggin James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was born on
27th October 1728, and was registered as baptised on 3rd November in the
Marton church records, being entered as "ye son of a day labourer." He
was one of several children, most of whom died young; John, the eldest,
who lived till he was twenty-three, and Margaret, who married a Redcar
fisherman named James Fleck, being the only two that came to maturity.

The Cooks remained at Marton for some years, during which time they
removed to another cottage, and young James received some instruction
from a Mistress Mary Walker, who taught him his letters and a little
reading. Dr. Young and Kippis call her the village schoolmistress, but
Ord, who was a descendant on his mother's side, says:

"she was the daughter of the wealthiest farmer in the neighbourhood, and
wife of William Walker, a respectable yeoman of the first class residing
at Marton Grange."

Young James, a lad of less than eight years old, worked for Mr. Walker:

"tended the stock, took the horses to water, and ran errands for the
family, and in return for such services the good lady, finding him an
intelligent, active youth, was pleased to teach him his alphabet and
reading