228 THE WHALEMAN J OE, 



home, his house, his refuge, his all, upon the 

 deep, a number of the crew, and sometimes all 

 on board, find a watery grave ! 



The sufferings incident, in many cases, to ship- 

 wrecked mariners, both upon the sea and upon 

 the land, have furnished the most affecting 

 themes of prose and poetry; and their recital 

 uniformly touches an answering chord in every 

 sensitive heart. 



We feel that it is due to all classes of seamen, 

 to whom we are so much indebted as the carriers 

 of the products of all climes upon the world's 

 great highway, and by whom we are provided 

 both with the necessaries, and even luxuries, of 

 life, — it is due to them, that their religious wants 

 especially, should claim a share of our attention 

 and interest. 



The time was when this class of our fellow- 

 men were thought but little of, and cared less 

 about, in so far as it concerned their religious 

 welfare ; but with the progressive spirit of the 

 age in which we now live, the lover of his coun- 

 try, the philanthropist and Christian, cherish a 

 generous solicitude in their behalf. During the 

 meetings of our religious anniversaries, there is 

 no gathering, perhaps, that awakens more gen- 

 eral interest than that pertaining to seamen. 

 This fact, in connection with what is being done 



