212 THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT." 



reason is, that sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy 

 themselves rationally. They are also morbidly suspicious 

 of being taken in hand by anybody who would show them 

 anything worth seeing, preferring to be led by the human 

 sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange 

 nastiness, and so expensive withal that one night of such 

 wallowing often costs them more than a month's sane 

 recreation and good food would. All honour to the 

 devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for 

 the moral and material benefit of the sailor, passing 

 their lives amidst sights and sounds shocking and sicken- 

 ing to the last degree, reviled, unthanked, unpaid. Few 

 are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as 

 theirs. 



We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only 

 by one or two drunken rows among the chaps forward, 

 which, however, resulted in their getting a severe dress- 

 ing-down in the forecastle, where good order was now 

 kept. There had been no need for interference on the 

 part of the officers, which I was glad to see, remember- 

 ing what would have happened under such circumstances 

 not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged 

 a number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on 

 the understanding that they were to be discharged at 

 their native place, Vau Vau. There were ten of them, 

 fine, stalwart fellows, able-bodied, and willing as possible. 

 They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members 

 of the Wesleyan body, so that their behaviour was quite 

 a reproach to some of our half-civilized crew. Berths 

 were found for them in the forecastle, and they took their 

 places among us quite naturally, being fairly well used 

 to a whale-ship. 



