As the few life-boat stories I have already published have been used to some extent in public Readings, Penny Readings, and on the like occasions, I have thought it well to make each story, as far as possible, complete in itself, although to effect this, some repetition of similar incidents has been unavoidable. I come of a sailor family--this will account to landsmen for my seeming acquaintance with nautical matters; I have never been to sea--this will explain to sailors the ignorance on such matters that they will not have much difficulty in detecting. "God help the poor fellows at sea!"--"God protect and bless the life-boat men!" (humble, honest, hardworking and most generous and brave-hearted men as I well know full many of them to be); "And God prosper the good Life-boat Institution, and advance its noble object!" that many a brave fellow may be spared to his family and home; many a good man be plucked from death to be yet the joy and support of loved ones; and many a man, unfitted to meet death, be snatched from its jaws to live to repent and to seek that peace which he had formerly disregarded. With such prayers I launch my book. And may God further it to His glory, by making it instrumental in gaining yet increased sympathy with the already much-loved life-boat cause; thus blessing it to be one of the humble instruments, among many, in helping to work out the results for which, in our sailor-loving land, so many are ever ready to hope, to work, to pray. One last word. The narratives related are, I firmly believe, as far as possible, strictly and literally true; I am positive the boatmen would not knowingly exaggerate in the least; and I have sought to tell the tales, incident by incident, what the men did, and what the men suffered, and what the men said--simply as they related each circumstance to me. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. HOW THE SHIPWRECKED FARED IN DAYS OF OLD, AND THE GROWTH OF SYMPATHY ON THEIR BEHALF 1 CHAPTER II. WRECKERS 13 CHAPTER III. THE INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT 19 CHAPTER IV. THE GROWTH OF THE LIFE-BOAT MOVEMENT 23 CHAPTER V. THE INVENTION AND LAUNCHING OF THE PRIZE LIFE-BOAT 32 CHAPTER VI. THE RAMSGATE LIFE-BOAT AT WORK--STORM WARRIORS TO THE RESCUE 48 CHAPTER VII. THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "SAMARITANO," AND THE RETURN 66 CHAPTER VIII. A NIGHT ON THE GOODWIN SANDS 82 CHAPTER IX. THE WRECK ABANDONED, AND THE LIFE-BOAT DESPAIRED OF 94 CHAPTER X. SIGNALS OF DISTRESS--OUT IN THE STORM 116 CHAPTER XI. THE EMIGRANT SHIP 134 CHAPTER XII. THE RESCUE OF THE CREW OF THE "DEMERARA," AND THE EMIGRANTS' WELCOME AT RAMSGATE 149