O, pray for the sailor, to banishment driven, Enduring privation, oppression, and care,-- Shut out from the gospel, a stranger to Heaven, The victim to vice and a prey to despair. And, while we thus pray for the sons of the ocean, A kind, peaceful Home to him must be given; The Mariners' Bethel allures to devotion; The Bible and preacher direct him to Heaven. Seamen, of all classes, you are remembered by thousands and tens of thousands, throughout the land and world, who are deeply interested in your welfare. Day and night you are thought of and prayed for by those whom you have left behind; and many a desire is breathed out in the presence of Him who alone can save, that you may be protected in your absence, shielded from temptations, and returned again to your friends. May the "Star of Bethlehem, which alone can "fix the sinner's wandering eye," guide many a son of the ocean, and lead him to say,-- It was my guide, my light, my all; It bade my dark forebodings cease; And, through the storm and danger's thrall, It led me to the port of peace. Now, safely moored, my perils o'er, I'll sing, first in night's diadem, Forever, and forevermore, The Star--the Star of Bethlehem! [Illustration: PERILOUS SITUATION OF WHALEMEN.] A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHALING, WITH SOME OF ITS INTERESTING DETAILS. CHAPTER I. Whale Fishery.--Its Origin.--Where first carried on.--By whom.--Whaling in the Northern Ocean by the Dutch and English. --Contentions between them.--The Success of the Dutch.-- Its Commencement in New England.--"London Documents."--The first Whale Scene in Nantucket.--Boat Whaling.--The Number of Whales taken in one Day.--The first Spermaceti Whale.-- The Interest it excited.--Its supposed Value.--The first Sperm Whale captured.--New Life to the Business.--Whaling in Massachusetts in 1771-75.--Burke's Eulogy on New England Whalers.--Sperm Whaling in Great Britain.--Revived in France.--The American and French Revolutions nearly destroyed the Business.--Loss to Nantucket.--Its Commencement in New Bedford.--Tabular View of the Number of Vessels engaged in Whaling, and Places to which they belong. "No species of fishery, prosecuted any where on the surface of the ocean, can compare in intensity of interest with the whale fishery. The magnitude of the object of the chase, and the perilous character of the seas which it frequents in all climates and latitudes, are features which prominently distinguish the whale fishery from all similar pursuits, and which invest the details of its history with the strong charm inseparable from pictures and verities of stirring exertion, privation, adventure, daring, and danger." In a word, it is fishery upon a gigantic scale, in which romance and reality are strangely blended.