Not P but Moby-Dick (72)

[Mike Jing]

>From Chapter 89:

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.

What does "by way of doxology to the deed he had done" mean here?