These are facts, and are palpable enough to deter any and all who wish to go whaling for the purpose of making or saving money; but there is another class who think whaling must be the most delightful of all pursuits from its pleasant adventures, its perils, and the facilities offered by it for seeing foreign lands. This is all extremely visionary, as any one who has ever made such a voyage will tell you. All its adventures, and all its perils are matter of fact, stern realities; for instance, you lower away in the boat, get alongside of a whale, the boat is stoven and you are obliged to remain in the water for an hour or two, until you are almost frozen; or if you are in warm latitudes, with the pleasant reflection that at any minute a shark may come along and snap off one of your limbs, how much pleasure would such an adventure yield you? It would do to tell after you got home, to be sure; and whilst you are telling it, ten chances to one, you will be more fully reminded of it by a twinge of rheumatism, the sowing of the seeds of which dates back to the very day of your adventure. No; there is no fun in going on a whaling voyage; nobody goes a second time but those who are compelled to; they see no adventure in it--it is the mere perilling of life and limb to fill ship owners’ coffers. Then, again, if you go for adventure’s sake, it does not exempt you from other and more disagreeable duties that your sense of manliness will revolt at. Go and look at the scavengers at work in the streets of your native city, and ask yourself how you would like to participate in their employment. But there is no such work aboard ship, some one says. I know better; and so does any other sailor who ever was in a ship where pigs were kept, or where the captain had a dog. Yes! he knows it, for he has had a thorough acquaintance with such duty; and so will any one else who is foolish enough to go to sea before the mast, as a green hand. Now I think I have presented the subject in its true light, and I will conclude by advising all young men who can gain a livelihood ashore, to stay at home. I have been through the mill, and am satisfied to remain; and in reviewing my whole stock of sea adventures and incidents, I must say the most pleasant of all is getting home safe, with a chest full of curiosities, displaying them to appreciating friends, and spinning yarns descriptive of them. Trusting that all my readers may arrive as safe at their journey’s end, whether in a voyage to sea or in the voyage of life, I will bid them adieu; also hoping that, in the perusal of this book, they have whiled away their hours pleasantly, and gleaned some little information concerning the whale and his pursuers. THE END. Transcriber’s Notes Errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed. Page xi: “Leviathen of the deep” changed to “Leviathan of the deep” Page 204: “demands a disciplne” changed to “demands a discipline”