superior to that of any other people, that they have acquired a monopoly of this commodity.  Such were their feeble beginnings, such the infancy and the progress of their maritime schemes; such is now the degree of boldness and activity to which they are arrived in their manhood.  After their examples several companies have been formed in many of our capitals, where every necessary article of provisions, implements, and timber, are to be found.  But the industry exerted by the people of Nantucket, hath hitherto enabled them to rival all their competitors; consequently this is the greatest mart for oil, whalebone, and spermaceti, on the continent.  It does not follow however that they are always successful, this would be an extraordinary field indeed, where the crops should never fail; many voyages do not repay the original cost of fitting out:  they bear such misfortunes like true merchants, and as they never venture their all like gamesters, they try their fortunes again; the latter hope to win by chance alone, the former by industry, well judged speculation, and some hazard.  I was there when Mr.——­had missed one of his vessels; she had been given over for lost by everybody, but happily arrived before I came away, after an absence of thirteen months.  She had met with a variety of disappointments on the station she was ordered to, and rather than return empty, the people steered for the coast of Guinea, where they fortunately fell in with several whales, and brought home upward of 600 barrels of oil, beside bone.  Those returns are sometimes disposed of in the towns on the continent, where they are exchanged for such commodities as are wanted; but they are most commonly sent to England, where they always sell for cash.  When this is intended, a vessel larger than the rest is fitted out to be filled with oil on the spot where it is found and made, and thence she sails immediately for London.  This expedient saves time, freight, and expense; and from that capital they bring back whatever they want.  They employ also several vessels in transporting lumber to the West Indian Islands, from whence they procure in return the various productions of the country, which they afterwards exchange wherever they can hear of an advantageous market.  Being extremely acute they well know how to improve all the advantages which the combination of so many branches of business constantly affords; the spirit of commerce, which is the simple art of a reciprocal supply of wants, is well understood here by everybody.  They possess, like the generality of Americans, a large share of native penetration, activity, and good sense, which lead them to a variety of other secondary schemes too tedious to mention:  they are well acquainted with the cheapest method of procuring lumber from Kennebeck river, Penobscot, etc., pitch and tar, from North Carolina; flour and biscuit, from Philadelphia; beef and pork, from Connecticut.  They know how to exchange their cod fish and West-Indian produce,