was their passage over the sea of life, and sometimes they were almost submerged beneath the waves; but they trusted in Him who walked upon the waters, and He was faithful to His promise, and kept them to the end. The references which are here made to myself make the work slightly autobiographical. I confess, however, that I would have avoided such references had it been possible; but possible it was not without materially affecting the character of the book, and thereby failing to present the portraits of its subjects. I need not, then, I trust, apologise for what I have said, either in relation to myself or to other members of the family, as the one motive I have had in view was to show how much we owe to the piety and devotedness of our honoured parents. The materials at my command consisted of letters, and other documents, together with notes of conversation taken at different times, either by myself or others. Many of my father's papers were lost at sea or elsewhere, so that the details of several of the events narrated are not not so circumstantial as they otherwise would have been. They are, however, substantially correct, and will be found illustrative of a sailor's life in times which though recent, were very different from these. My father once said to me, "You may perhaps be able some day to write an account of God's dealings with me and with your mother, for the benefit of your children." I have done so as well as I could, and I trust that others will be benefitted by it as well as they. I shall specially rejoice if this biography is found "wholesome and profitable reading" by sailors and the wives of sailors, for, as the son of a sailor, I can sympathise with them in their trials, whilst I can assure them that religion, and religion only, will be sufficient to sustain them amid the perils to which they are exposed. Interwoven with the narrative are several incidental circumstances, and occasional reflec |