Some account, then, of ships and boats, with anecdotes illustrative of the perils to which they are frequently exposed, cannot fail, we think, to prove interesting to all, especially to boys, for whose particular edification we now write. Boys, of all creatures in this world, are passionately fond of boats and ships; they make them of every shape and size, with every sort of tool, and hack and cut their fingers in the operation, as we know from early personal experience. They sail them, and wet their garments in so doing, to the well-known sorrow of all right-minded mammas. They lose them, too, and break their hearts, almost, at the calamity. They make little ones when they are little, and big ones when they grow big; and when they grow bigger they not unfrequently forsake the toy for the reality, embark in some noble craft, and wed the stormy sea. A word in your ear, reader, at this point. Do not think that because you fall in love with a _ship_ you will naturally and necessarily fall in love with the _sea_! Some do, and some don't: with those who do, it is well; with those who don't, and yet go to sea, it is remarkably ill. Think _philosophically_ about "going to sea," my lads. Try honestly to resist your own inclination _as long as possible_, and only go if you find that _you can't help it_! In such a case you will probably find that you are cut out for it--not otherwise. We love the sea with a true and deep affection, and often have we tossed upon her foam-topped waves; but we don't wish to be a sailor--by no manner of means! And now, boys, come along, and we will conduct you as pleasantly and profitably as we can from a ship's cradle, through all her stormy existence, to her grave. CHAPTER TWO. THE EARLIEST DAYS OF WATER-TRAVELLING. Once upon a time there were no ships. Men did not know the meaning of the word; they did not want them; and, for many, many centuries the sea-gulls had the ocean all to themselves. But _boats_ are of very ancient date. Doubtless the _first_ boats must have been constructed by the _first_ men who dwelt on the earth. They consisted, probably--for we are now in the land of conjecture--of stumps of fallen trees, or bundles of rushes, seated astride of which the immediate descendants of our first parents ferried themselves over small lakes and across rivers. Wet feet are not agreeable under any circumstances. We can conceive that prolonged voyages performed in this fashion--say several hundred yards or a mile--rendered those primitive mariners so uncomfortable, that they resolved to improve their condition; and, after much earnest thought, hit upon the plan of fastening several logs together by means of twigs, and thus they formed _rafts_.