And when those defendants were remonstrated with, their captain
snapped his fingers in the plaintiffs' teeth, and assured
them that by way of doxology to the deed he had done,
he would now retain their line, harpoons, and boat, which had
remained attached to the whale at the time of the seizure.
Wherefore the plaintiffs now sued for the recovery of the value
of their whale, line, harpoons, and boat.
Mr. Erskine was counsel for the defendants; Lord Ellenborough
was the judge. In the course of the defence, the witty
Erskine went on to illustrate his position, by alluding to a
recent crim. con. case, wherein a gentleman, after in vain
trying to bridle his wife's viciousness, had at last abandoned
her upon the seas of life; but in the course of years, repenting of
that step, he instituted an action to recover possession of her.
Erskine was on the other side; and he then supported it by saying,
that though the gentleman had originally harpooned the lady,
and had once had her fast, and only by reason of the great
stress of her plunging viciousness, had at last abandoned her;
yet abandon her he did, so that she became a loose-fish;
and therefore when a subsequent gentleman re-harpooned her,
the lady then became that subsequent gentleman's property,
along with whatever harpoon might have been found sticking in her.
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