Thus ended my first voyage to the South Seas. Many and many a trip have I made since then, and many a wonderful sight have I seen, both in the south and in the north. But if I were to write an account of all my adventures, my little book would grow into a big one; I must therefore come to a close.
The profits of this voyage were so great, that I was enabled to place my mother in a position of comfort for the rest of her life, which, alas! was very short. She died about six months after my return. I nursed her to the end, and closed her eyes. The last word she uttered was her Saviour"s name. She died, as she had lived, trusting in the Lord; and when I laid her dear head in the grave my heart seemed to die within me.
I"m getting to be an old man now, but, through the blessing of G.o.d, I am comfortable and happy. As I have more than enough of this world"s goods, and no family to care for, my chief occupation is to look after the poor, and particularly the old women who live in my neighbourhood.
After the work of the day is done, I generally go and spend the evening with Tom Lokins, who lives near by, and is stout and hearty still; or he comes and spends it with me, and, while we smoke our pipes together, we often fall to talking about those stirring days when, in the strength and hope of youth, we sailed together to the South Seas, and took to--_Fighting the Whales_.