282 HISTORY AND DETAILS OF WHALING. 



quently is, in that history we should find scenes of tempta- 

 tion, dissipation, and vice, in which not only the hard-earned 

 fruits of years of toil, but character likewise, reputation, and 

 happiness, have disappeared before the voracious grasp of those 

 who lie in wait to destroy. 



There are, doubtless, honorable and creditable men in the 

 outfitting and infitting business, as well as in other avocations 

 and callings. Such we do not mean. It is not so much the enter- 

 prise as it is the disreputable proceedings of those who are bent 

 on securing unrighteous gain, and to whom, in far too many 

 instances, alas ! the unsuspecting sailor falls an easy prey. It 

 is persons of this description, called "runners," or " sharks," 

 that are not even allowed on board of some ships when they 

 come into port, and before the crew are discharged. The pur- 

 pose of their visits is well known, both to the officers and 

 owners, and therefore they are denied the liberty of coming 

 on board. 



Seamen, beware ! There are shoals, quicksands, and death- 

 pointed rocks upon the land as well as upon the ocean ! Be 

 not led astray. Be men, upright, honest. Shun the cup, and 

 all the gilded and winning blandishments that line the path- 

 way to ruin ! Husband, with becoming interest and economy, 

 the results of your toil. Remember that virtue, and the fear 

 of God, united with a conscientious discharge of your duty, 

 both upon the sea and upon the land, will be a sure precursor 

 to happiness, usefulness, and success in life. Take this course, 

 and we assure you, as friends to your temporal and religious 

 welfare, you will escape many a snare spread for your feet, into 

 which others, with less circumspection and watchfulness, sadly 

 and fatally fall. 



It sometimes happens, that a seaman who has been on a voy- 

 age of several years, finds on his return that he has not made 

 enough to pay his outfit and infit, nor money enough in his 

 pocket to get home to his relatives and friends in the country. 

 The voyage, perhaps, had been an unsuccessful one, and he, 



