Page:A voyage round the world, in His Britannic Majesty's sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5 (IA b30413849 0001).pdf/16

vi in equal shares to captain Cook and my father. An agreement was drawn up on the 13th of April, 1776, between captain Cook and my father, in the presence, and with the signature of the earl of Sandwich, specifying the particular parts of the account which were to be prepared for the press by each of the parties separately, and confirming to them both jointly the generous gift of the plates from the Board of Admiralty. In consequence of this, my father presented a second specimen of his narrative for the perusal of the earl of Sandwich, and was much surprised at first that this second essay was entirely disapproved; but after some time he was convinced, that as the word "narrative" was omitted in the agreement, he had no right to compose a connected account of the voyage. He was told that if he meant to preserve his claim to half the profit arising from the plates which the Board of Admiralty provided, he must conform to the letter of the agreement; and though he had always considered himself as sent out chiefly with a view to write the history of the voyage, he acquiesced for the benefit of his family, and strictly confined himself to the publication of his unconnected philosophical observations made in the course of the voyage.

I must confess, it hurt me much, to see the chief intent of my father's mission defeated, and the public disappointed in their expectations of a philosophical recital of facts. However,