"Ah," said she, "sailors are so good, I fear you may not be
an exception."

"Well," said he, "as you seem to have some doubt as to my
_bona-fides_ I think the question may be settled by my
marrying you now."

"What!" said the fair maiden, "this forenoon? Surely you
will allow me to consult my mother?"

"No," said the captain; "that would spoil the romance, and
make it uninteresting. We must be spliced at once." And they
were. The result was a ghastly tragedy. The lady turned out
a termagant. Happily she did not live long, but while she
lived it was terrible. He told me the tale long after, and
the pathos of it, in all its hideous detail, was piteous. It
sank deep into his life, and changed his whole character. He
was a man of culture, and in the affairs of life displayed
unusual common sense. No one could comprehend how he came to
be drawn into this ill-assorted union, that might have
sacrificed two lives.

There is no body of men who should be so careful in choosing
their wives as sailors, no matter what their rank may be. If
they have children, the sailor, or captain, sees little of
them, and can have no part in their training, whereas the
mother has it in her power to fashion their lives either for
good or evil. She is always with them, and the
responsibility of forming their characters must rest almost
entirely with her. It would be a reckless exaggeration to
say that all successful men had good wives; but I think it
safe to assume that a large majority of them are blessed in
that way. One thing is certain, if you see a
well-conditioned, well-behaved child, there is a good mother
and a good wife behind it. And it may not be unsafe to
assert that the successful man nearly always owes some of
his success to his wife's assistance. She may not have
assisted actually in the business itself, but she may have
done better still by holding her tongue at the proper time,
and watching a suitable opportunity of making an appropriate
suggestion, avoiding saying or doing anything that will
irritate and break the continuity of thought which is
essential to the husband's success. A great deal may be
achieved by discreet silence.

The wages of captains sailing in north-east coast brigs and
barques that traded to the Mediterranean, Brazils, West
Indies, and America, ranged from ten to twelve pounds per
month. Those trading to the East Indies received fourteen
pounds, and some out of their wages had to find charts and