y after, I
used to hear the sailors who were more than a generation my
seniors, talking of the wages they received during the
Russian war aboard collier brigs trading from the north-east
coast ports to London, France, and Holland. They used to
speak of it with restrained emotion, and pine for an
outbreak of hostilities _anywhere_, so long as it would
bring to them a period of renewed prosperity! Able seamen
boasted of their wages exceeding by two or three pounds a
voyage what the masters were getting. It was quite a common
occurrence at that time for colliers to be manned entirely
with masters and mates. They stowed away their dignity, and
took advantage of the larger pay by accepting a subordinate
position. Of course it was the scarcity of men that gave
them the opportunity. They were paid in some cases nine to
twelve pounds a voyage, which occupied on an average four
weeks. The normal pay was four to five pounds a voyage for
each man, all food, with the exception of coffee, tea, and
sugar, being found. The close of the big war brought, as it
always does, a reaction, and it is safe to say that collier
seamen have never been paid so liberally since. The racing
with these extraordinary craft was as eagerly engaged in as
it was with any of the tea clippers. It was an exciting
feature of the trade which carried many of them to their
doom almost joyously. Their masters were paid eight pounds
per voyage, and if their vessels were diverted from coasting
to foreign trades their stipend was eight to nine pounds a
month. Considering the cost of living in those days, it is a
marvel how they managed, but many of them did not only
succeed in making ends meet, but were able to save. They
owed much to the frugal habits of their bonny, healthy
wives, who for the most part had been domestic servants, or
daughters of respectable working men, living at home with
their parents until they were married. They were trained in
household economy, and they were exclusively domesticated.
Educational matters did not come into the range of their
sympathies. They were taught to work, and they and their
homes were good to look upon. Many of these thrifty girls
married swaggering young fellows who were before the mast.
They were not merely thrifty, but ambitious. Their ambition
was to become captains' wives; nor did they spare
themselves to accomplish their desire promptly. They did not
overlook the necessity of inspiring their husbands with high