result which, so far as mere purposes of
illumination are concerned, might have been
of minor consequence, seeing that the
substitution of gas for oil-lamps has rendered us
comparatively independent of oil as a lighting
agent ; but, concurrently with the introduction
of gas, there has been an increased
demand for oil for lubricating machinery, and
for other manufacturing purposes ; hence
fish-oil has maintained its price remarkably
well, notwithstanding an opposition that at
first seemed fatal to it. Greenland was, at
the beginning of the whale-fishing, the resort
of the whale, and thither its pursuers went,
and captured it in large numbers ; but in
process of time, the animal finding the peace of
its ancient home ruthlessly invaded, retreated
to the more northern latitude of Davis Straits.
The distance, although greater, being still
practicable, the chase was still continued, and
the slaughter went on as before. Again, the
leviathan, as if conscious that its track was
followed, beat another retreat, which has
turned out more successful than the first.
Each spring witnessed the departure of Arctic
fleets from every port of note in Britain, and
the regions of the North were instinct with
life, in search of the monster of the deep.
Captains would stand, telescope in hand, in
the "crow's nest." perched on the summit
of the main-mast, and peer through the
instrument till eye became dim and hand was
frozen— boats' crews would be despatched,
and pull for weary miles in the sea, or drag
their skiffs for still more weary miles on
the surface of the ice — men on deck would
gaze wistfully across the main, and mutter
charms, or invoke omens ; but all in vain.
The ice would close in like iron mountains
around them, and the time would come that
they must bend their sails homeward. Then
stray fish would be seen far off, or very
shy fish would dart off in their immediate
vicinity, and the disappointed mariners would
return for the season, either with clean vessels,
or at best with small cargoes of oil. Some
accounted for the change by asserting that
the whale had been hunted from Davis
Straits just as it had been pursued from
Greenland, and that it had betaken itself to
still higher and now inaccessible latitudes ;—
some held that the animal had diminished in
numbers, and as gestation takes place only
once in two years, there was some ground for
this conjecture ; — while a third section, who
were principally composed of superannuated
Blowhards, and who harpooned only by the
fireside, held pertinaciously to the notion
that the failure arose from the inefficiency of
modern fishermen. But, arise from what cause
it might, whales were either not brought home
at all, or else they were brought home in
wofully diminished numbers. Owners
became discouraged, and captains sank in
despair ; harpoons and flinching gear were flung
aside, and whalers were despatched to the
Baltic for timber, or wherever else a freight
could be procured, and others departed to
strange ports, and returned no more ; for
they were sold. The whaling fleet became,
therefore, small by degrees. Yet two ports
struggled on against the receding tide ; Hull
in England, and Peterhead in Scotland, always
hoped against hope, and persevered amidst
every disadvantage. They still send vessels
out ; if not to catch whales, to be contented
with seals. Peterhead reaped the reward of
perseverance. We observe from a recent
return, that out of the hundred thousand
Seals captured in 1850, sixty-three thousand
four hundred and twenty-six fell to the share
of ten Peterhead vessels.

There was something romantic about whale-
fishing. When the captain, with his assisted
eye, descried the far-off parabolic spout of
his victim, the cry of "Fall! fall! " would
resound from stem to stern, and from hold to
cross-trees. Down went the boats, sharp and
graceful as regatta skiffs, and yet strong and
compact as herring yawls; the steerer took
his oar, for rudders are too slow for this kind
of navigation; the line-coiler, stood by his
ropes; whilst last, and most important of all,
the harpooner descended with his glittering
instruments. Muffled oars dip in the waters,
and the skiff nears the sleeping leviathan. A
single awkward splash would rouse him; but all
is silent as death, and the harpooner, poising
himself, takes his deadly aim, and buries his
javelin in the huge carcase. Smarting with
pain, the enormous black mass lurches, and
then with lightning speed darts underneath
the wave; the boiling surge raised by its
descent lifts the boat like a feather; the
line attached to the harpoon disappears
fathom after fathom, hissing around the
rolling-pin, with a force and velocity that, but
for copious libations, would cause ignition; a
long and still extending streak of gore marks
the route of the wounded animal: the rope at
last goes less rapidly off, and as its rapidity
decreases, they pull up to the victim, and
insert more instruments, and then after a few
deadly flaps with his tail, the monarch of the
ocean yields up the contest.

What has the Russian, the Dutch or the
Hanseatic man, or the Esquimaux, been doing
all this time? They have been following the
pastime of Captain Hector M'Intyre, and
endeavouring to slay the Phoca. Most of the
Britons pursuing whales, and the foreigners
and natives peddling with seals; just as if
Captain Gordon Cumming had been hunting a
lion, while some other sportsmen would stand
by shooting sparrows or mice. No glory in
capturing a seal, and as little pay. Thirty
large seals are needed to make up one ton of
oil, while an average whale would produce
twenty tons of the oleaginous fluid, The whale-
fishers despised such small game, and regarded
mere seal-fishers with contempt; — we say
mere seal-fishers, because if seals did come in
the way, they were shot or knocked down
by the whale-fisher; but his main vocation