Terrible scenes
were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies of wild
debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and
utterly lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained
to any real importance. As a port of call for whalers, it
enjoyed a certain kind of prosperity; but when the South Sea
fishery dwindled, Russell shrank in immediate sympathy. It never
had any vitality of its own, no manufactures or products, unless
the wretched coalmines adjacent, with their dirty output, which
is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat, could be dignified by
the name.
Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of
the great New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the
natural advantages of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant,
at its dead-and-alive appearance.
Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES
ARNOLD, MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager
to hear or to tell such news as was going. As we had now grown
to expect, all work was over immediately the sails were fast and
decks cleared up, so that we were free to entertain our visitors.
And a high old time we had of it that afternoon! What with
songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew by with lightning speed.
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