Equally injudicious would be any interference with the economy of
the ship. The lodging, food, hours of sleep, etc., are all matters
which, though capable of many changes for the better, must yet he left
to regulate themselves. And I am confident that there will be, and
that there is now a gradual improvement in all such particulars. The
forecastles of most of our ships are small, black, and wet holes,
which few landsmen would believe held a crew of ten or twelve men on a
voyage of months or years; and often, indeed in most cases, the
provisions are not good enough to make a meal anything more than a
necessary part of a day's duty;* and on the score of sleep, I fully
believe that the lives of merchant seamen are shortened by the want of
it. I do not refer to those occasions when it is necessarily broken in
upon; but, for months, during fine weather, in many merchantmen, all
hands are kept, throughout the day, and, then, there are eight hours
on deck for one watch each night. Thus it is usually the case that
at the end of a voyage, where there has been the finest weather, and
no disaster, the crew have a wearied and worn-out appearance.
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