r a sail, or to carry away a spar, and a
single false movement of the helmsman, or the slightest want of
steadiness or of obedience on the part of any man on duty, would have
been fatal to the life of every one on board.

As they drifted on their path
There was silence deep as death,
And the boldest held his breath
For a time.

When the danger was over, the captain thanked the officers and men for
their conduct, and gave a snuff-box with five guineas in it to the
quarter-master, in admiration of his steady head and iron nerves.

I mention these incidents in my early experience as a sort of apology
for a landsman's presumption, in venturing to write this Preface to a
series of nautical details. In after years, the death of a dear
brother, a lieutenant in the navy, who lost his life in a generous
attempt to save a vessel from shipwreck on the coast of Sussex, moved
me to a still deeper concern for those whose employment is 'in the
great waters.'

My early observation of the hazards of a sailor's career, and my
brother's sudden call to his last account, in the awful perils of a
storm at sea, taught me to reflect with painful solemnity on the many
thousand instances, in which our naval protectors are summoned in a
moment, prepared or unprepared, to stand before the throne of the
Eternal. Often have I asked myself and others, Can nothing be done to
elevate the hopes, and to place the fortitude of these men on a firmer
foundation than that of mere animal courage, or the instinct of
discipline? The present is an opportunity of pleading for the sailor
which I should be sorry to lose, and of suggesting something, which
may establish his good conduct on a basis more durable, and more
certain, than even the well-known courage and discipline of a British
tar.

I shall begin by noticing the extraordinary displays of
self-possession, self-devotion, and endurance, which shed lustre on
our naval service; and I will close my remarks with hints for the
improvement of these noble qualities.

The intrepidity and mental resources of a brave man are more
discernible in the hour of patient suffering, than in that of daring
action: and the contents of this volume form a record of heroic doings
and endurances, which exhibits the British seaman as a true specimen
of the national character. Duty is his watchword, and the leading
principle by which he is governed. Nelson knew the spirits he had to
deal with, when he h