PREFACE.
"Cringle and Cross-Tree" is the fourth of theUpward and Onward Series, in which Phil Farringford, the hero of these stories, appears as a sailor, and makes a voyage to the coast of Africa. His earlier experience in the yacht on Lake Michigan had, in some measure, prepared him for a nautical life, and he readily adapts himself to the new situation. Being a young man of energy and determination, who puts his whole soul into the business in which he is engaged, he rapidly masters his new calling. His companions in the forecastle are below the average standard of character in the mercantile marine; but Phil, constantly true to his Christian principles, obtains an influence over some of them,—for vice always respects virtue,—which results in the permanent reform of two of his shipmates.
Fifteen years ago the fitting out of a slaver in New York harbor was not an uncommon occurrence, though, happily, now the business is wholly suppressed. What was possible then is not possible now; but the hero of the story, and many of his shipmates, regarded the horrible traffic with abhorrence, and succeeded in defeating the purposes of the voyage upon which they were entrapped. In such a work their experience was necessarily exciting, and the incidents of the story are stirring enough to engage the attention of the young reader. But they were battling for right, truth, and justice; and every step in this direction must be upward and onward.
In temptation, trial, and adversity, as well as in prosperity and happiness, Phil Farringford continues to read his Bible, to practise the virtues he has learned in the church, the Sunday school, and of Christian friends, and to pray on sea and on land for strength and guidance; and the writer commends his example, in these respects, to all who may be interested in his active career.
Harrison Square, Boston, August 21, 1871.