Men of the Merchant Service

by Frank T. Bullen

Excerpt from The Men of the Merchant Being the Polity of the Mercantile Marine for 'Longshore Readers

Care has been taken to avoid, as far as possible, all technical treatment of the subject. I have not assumed the possession of too much nautical knowledge on the part of my prospective readers; not nearly as much, for instance, as would be permissible in a work of fiction. Having before me, too, the h0pe that sons as well as parents will be able to read and enjoy, as well as thoroughly grasp the meaning of this book, I have aimed at making it entertaining, giving a plentiful supply of anecdotes as well to illustrate as to lighten what might easily become rather stodgy.

Finally, I feel constrained to add that, even if my friends are wrong, and there are works with which they.

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Hardcover

First published November 10, 2009

About the author

Frank Thomas Bullen (1857–1915), British author and novelist, was born of poor parents in Paddington, London, on 5 April 1857. At the age of 9 he left school and took up work as an errand boy. He led a roving and adventurous life, and many of the most thrilling episodes in his books were records of his own experiences. After various adventures on shore he went to sea in 1869, and for some years roughed it in various capacities in the merchant service, suffering great hardships, as vividly described in 'The Log of a Sea Waif' and other books. In 1883 he became a clerk in the Meteorological Office until 1889. His reputation was made over the publication of The Cruise of the " Cachelot" (1906); and he also wrote, amongst other books, Idylls of the Sea (1899); Sea Wrack (1903); The Call of the Deep (1907) and A Compleat Sea Cook (1912), besides many articles and essays. He died on March 1, 1915.