It was in bygone days, long before the use of steam was even thought about; trains were unknown, and when people wished to get from one part of the country to another they were obliged to make the journey on horseback or in coaches, and distances, which nowadays we can cover in a few hours, used to take our ancestors several days. It was the same thing in regard to journeys by sea. To cross the Atlantic, for instance, by an old-fashioned sailing vessel was a far more venturesome undertaking than it is to step aboard one of the great ocean liners and be conveyed swiftly and safely to one’s destination. A sailing ship ran far greater risks of being wrecked by storms, and, if the winds were unfavorable, she would toss about for weeks, perhaps even for months, instead of being able to make straight for her port. And yet there was a charm about a sailing ship which no steamer with all its complicated machinery can replace, and in the good old days we hear of men who have weathered storms as violent and sailed on voyages quite as perilous as any which have been undertaken since.

Well, it happened in the times of which we are speaking, that a wealthy merchant in the New Country came to a great ship-builder, who was known to all by the name of the Master, and bade him build a strong and goodly ship.

“It must be beautiful to behold,” said the merchant, “and yet strong enough to wrestle with wind and storm.”

The Master was delighted to receive this commission, for his heart was in his work and he felt that here was a chance to build a ship worthy of his reputation, so he answered joyfully: “Before long we will launch as goodly and strong a vessel as ever weathered a wintry gale.”

At these words the merchant departed content, because he knew that whatever the Master promised he would surely fulfill.

The Master made no delay but set to work at once on a little model of the ship, making it perfect in every part, so that when the great ship came to be built he would have every detail already clear before him. As he labored, his mind was busy recalling all the famous ships which had been built before this one. A picture of one of the most renowned, the Great Harry, was hanging on the wall before him. It was a strange sight, with its cumbersome form, its bow and stern raised high and its eight round towers like those of some old castle. The Master smiled as he looked on it and murmured to himself: “Our ship shall be of another form to this.” And when the model was finished, it was indeed of a very different build. She was a beautiful little vessel built for freight and yet for speed; broad in the beam so as to resist storm, but tapering off at the bow and stern so that the force of the waves might drive her on instead of checking her course. When the model was quite finished, the Master carried it down to the ship-yard and looked round searchingly to see that all the necessary preparations had been made. Gigantic heaps of timber lay piled in the ship-yard; there were beams of chestnut, elm, and oak, and, scattered among them, cedar wood brought from regions far away. Every country, every soil must send its tribute and help to build the wooden walls of each ship that is launched.

The sun was rising when the Master came down to the ship-yard; with him was a young man, who stood leaning against an anchor and who listened eagerly to every word which fell from the Master’s lips. These two were alone and the old man’s speech flowed on, interrupted by nothing but the waves which broke in long ripples on the pebbly shore. This young man had for a long time been a pupil and worker of the master; though his years were fewer, his brain was as quick, his hands as dexterous as those of the elder man, and to him was now entrusted the important task of building and launching the ship on the lines that the Master had planned.

“We will build the ship thus,” said the old man. “Lay the blocks of wood on the slip, following my plans closely, and be sure to choose the timber with the greatest care; the framework is to be of cedar and pine and every inch of wood must be sound. When the ship is finished she shall be named Union, and the day she is launched my daughter shall become your bride.”

Joy filled the youth’s heart, and, turning his head, he caught sight of the maiden standing before her father’s door. Young and fair was the Master’s daughter, with golden hair and sparkling eyes, and, as he gazed at her, he felt that no task could be too difficult for him to accomplish, since he had the promise of a reward so fair as this. Love is a splendid master; no task seems too difficult when love fills the heart and guides the hand, and he who is urged by love far outstrips all others.

And thus it was with this youth; love of his bride and love of his work made him strong and skillful, and, so impatient was he to see the completion of the ship, that he summoned his workmen and set about his noble task without an instant’s delay. Soon the sound of axes and mallets plied by sturdy arms was heard on all sides of the ship-yard. Before the shadows of evening fell, the oaken keel of a noble ship was lying ready stretched along the blocks. The work was well begun and all seemed to promise fair for a happy ending.

When the long hot day was over, the young man and his promised bride sat before the door of the Master’s house while the old man rested within the sheltered porch and recounted tales of wrecks which had taken place at the time of the great September gales, and of pirates who had made the Spanish seas a place of danger for harmless merchant ships; then he spoke of ships which had sailed for distant shores but had never returned, and of the chances and changes of a sailor’s life. The Master himself had sailed to many far-off lands and he told his attentive listeners of their wondrous charm; of their palms and shining sands, the coral reefs and the dark-skinned natives who dwelt there in savage freedom. And, as he related these tales of the dark and cruel sea, which, like death, unites man to his fellows and yet holds them far asunder, the maiden held her breath and clung to her lover, dreading the days when perchance they too might be divided by the pitiless ocean. The three sat for a while in thoughtful silence as the darkness deepened around them, broken only from time to time by the fitful gleam of the old man’s pipe.

Work was resumed afresh the next morning, and the vessel grew day by day till at length a skeleton ship rose to view. Weeks passed on and the ship made rapid progress till the whole hulk stood ready. Then a great cauldron was heated, and the bubbling tar within was used to smear over the planks and thus sheathe the ship.

The rudder of oak banded with copper, which was to control the whole vessel, lay ready on the sand, and near it the anchor, whose mighty grip was to hold the great ship secure against raging storms. The figure-head was in the shape of a maiden clad in white robes which seemed to be fluttering in the wind; a great artist had carved it in wood and had taken the Master’s daughter as his model. In after days many a signal light was flashed on to her, and her graceful form became well known to those who watched as the ship sped by through the dark and rainy nights.

In the forests near the snow-covered mountains and plains, majestic pine trees were hewn down and dragged by oxen along the winding road to the shore. Here they were stripped of their branches and bark and used for the tall and tapering masts of the noble ship. Only the roar of the wind and waves would remind them of their native forests which they would never see again. When the masts were swung into place, they were made fast with shrouds and stays; and finally a flag of red, white, and blue was unfurled at the masthead and displayed its stars and stripes to an admiring throng.

At length there came the day of the double bridal that of the gray old sea to the ship, and the wedding of the young master and his bride. The Union was decked out with gay flags and streamers, and the bridal party came on board. The service was read and the Master, with tears in his eyes, shook the brown hand of his son and kissed his daughter’s fair cheek. The worthy pastor spoke kindly words of warning and cheer to the young couple and bade them Godspeed on their journey through life.

Then the Master waved his hand, and, at this signal, there was heard all around the noise of hammers knocking away the vessel’s supports. Suddenly the ship moved, a thrill seemed to run all through her frame, and with a sudden leap she bounded into the ocean. Loud shouts and cheers uprose from the crowds assembled on the beach, and the staunch ship Union sailed gayly forth on her first voyage.