INTRODUCTION xxv 



Whatever the future may be which Provi- 

 dence has in store for me, those repeated struggles 

 with the ice and sea have not been useless. They 

 have at least served to enable me to understand 

 and love the humble sailors who so cheerfully 

 risked their lives for me each day ; they have, I 

 hope, tended to develop the man I aspire to 

 be, so that should God one day see fit to impose 

 greater and more onerous burdens upon me, I 

 may not prove wanting on finding myself at the 

 helm of a ship larger and more difficult to 

 navigate than my old BELGICA. 



