notwithstanding the oft-reiterated statement that the days of sea romance are over, it may well be doubted whether any period of our literary history has been more prolific in books dealing with that subject than the last twenty-five years. nor does the output show any signs of lessening, while the quality of the work done is certainly not deteriorating. writers like kipling, cutcliffe hyne, joseph conrad, and clark russell, each in his own style, have presented us with a series of sea-pictures that need not fear comparison with any nautical writers' work of any day, although they deal almost exclusively with the generally considered unromantic merchant service. having admitted this, the question perforce follows, "who, then, are you, that presumes to compete with these master magicians?"

to that inevitable question i would modestly answer that the present book is in no sense a competitor with the works of any writers of nautical romance. but having been for fifteen years a sea[viii]farer in almost every capacity except that of a master, and now, by the greatest kindness and indulgence on the part of men holding high positions in the literary world, being permitted to cater for the reading public in sterling periodicals, it has often occurred to me how little landsmen really know of the seaman's actual life. "two years before the mast," although written by an american, and of life on board an american merchantman, has long held undisputed sway as a classic upon the subject. and for the only reason, as it seems, that no serious attempt has been made by a britisher to do the same thing for life in british ships.

still, conscious as i certainly am of small literary equipment for such a task, i should hardly have dared to try my hand but for the encouragement most generously and persistently given me by mr. j. st. löe strachey, who, with that large faith in another's abilities that breeds confidence in its object, however diffident, urged me strongly to tell the public some of my experiences of sea life. and his advice to me was to set them down, just as they occurred, as nearly as memory would permit. of course, it was not possible to cover the whole field of my experiences at once, except in the most scrappy and unsatisfactory way, and therefore i decided to take the first four years[ix]—from the age of twelve to sixteen. following my friend's advice, i have written nothing but the truth, and, in most cases, i have given the real names of ships and individuals. if the book, then, does not please, it will be owing to my lack of discrimination between interesting and commonplace details, and not because the pictures given of life at sea in the forecastle are not faithful.

and now, as i know that there are a great many people who do not read prefaces, i will close mine by humbly commending this "autobiography of a nobody" to that tremendous tribunal, with whom lies the verdict of success or failure, and from whose fiat there is no appeal—the public.

frank t. bullen.

camberwell, september, 1899.

该作者其它作品

《deep-sea plunderings》

《confessions of a tradesman》

《a sack of shakings》