26. The sailors employed by the captain, to aid him in navigating his ship, are called a crew; and the individuals composing it are responsible to the captain, the captain to the owners, and the owners to the merchants, for all damages to goods, arising from negligence or bad management.
27. In England, ample provisions are made at Greenwich Hospital or by pensions, for seamen disabled by age or otherwise. These benefits, however, are extended only to those who have been engaged in the national service. This noble and politic institution is supported partly by public bounty, and in part by private donations, and a tax of sixpence per month, deducted from the wages of all the seamen of the nation. Marine Hospitals, for the temporary accommodation of seamen, suffering from disease, have been established in several cities of the continent of Europe, as well as of the United States.
28. Mariners have ever been a distinct class of men, and, in their general characters, very similar in every age of the world. Their superstitious regard of the many signs of good and bad luck, is nearly the same now, that it was two or three thousand years ago. In ancient times, they had their lucky and unlucky days; and now, very few sailors are willing to leave port on Friday, lest the circumstance bring upon them some disaster, before the conclusion of the proposed voyage.
29. Superstitions of this nature, however, are not confined to the navigators of the deep. Even in this country, where the inhabitants enjoy superior intellectual advantages, and boast a high degree of intelligence, thousands of persons who have never been on board of a ship, are still under the influence of such heathen notions, notwithstanding their pretended belief in Christianity, which, in all cases, when properly understood, would prevent the forebodings of evil, or expectations of good, from unimportant prognostics.
THE MERCHANT.
1. The word merchant, in its most extended application, signifies, a person who deals in merchandise. This definition, with some exceptions, agrees very well with general usage in this country; although, in England, the term is principally restricted to those dealers who export and import goods on their own account, either in their own or in chartered vessels. In the United States, dealers of this class are denominated importing and exporting merchants; or simply, importers and exporters.