No sooner, however, has the young
sailor begun his new life in earnest, than all this fine drapery falls
off, and he learns that it is but work and hardship, after all. This
is the true light in which a sailor's life is to be viewed; and if
in our books, and anniversary speeches, we would leave out much that
is said about "blue water," "blue jackets," "open hearts," "seeing
God's hand on the deep," and so forth, and take this up like any other
practical subject, I am quite sure we should do full as much for those
we wish to benefit. The question is, what can be done for sailors,
as they are,- men to be fed, and clothed, and lodged, for whom laws
must be made and executed, and who are to be instructed in useful
knowledge, and, above all, to he brought under religious influence and
restraint? It is upon these topics that I wish to make a few
observations.
In the first place, I have no fancies about equality on board
ship. It is a thing out of the question, and certainly, in the present
state of mankind, not to be desired. I never knew a sailor who found
fault with the orders and ranks of the service; and if I expected to
pass the rest of my life before the mast, I would not wish to have the
power of the captain diminished an iota.
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