274 THE WHALEMAN'S ADVENTURES. 



up, to see what report it brought from the 

 bottom, whether it was sand, or gravel, or mud, 

 or ooze adhering to the end, or whether it were 

 dented, as if it had fallen on rocks. 



Then he would go and sit down to his chart, 

 with compass, and slate, and slide, to compare 

 what he had found with what he was told there, 

 in order to fix, if possible, upon his position on 

 the great shoal, and shape his course accord- 

 ingly for the next hour. Then he would lie 

 down on the transom, in his great watch-coat, 

 to catch half an hour's sleep, with the chart 

 unrolled before him on the cabin table, and a 

 lantern swinging over it with a sperm candle, a 

 thing we had not had before for the voyage. 



Now with the same carefulness, it has seemed 

 to me, should we all ponder the Word of God, 

 that we may be shaping our course aright over 

 the tempestuous sea of life, where 



Dangers of every shape and name 

 Attend the followers of the Lamb. 



Yea, not only when we are exceedingly tossed 

 with a tempest, and neither sun nor stars for 

 many days do appear, but in the clearest weather 



