IV. Popular Voyages and Travels.
Few subjects are more attractive than the narratives of celebrated travellers. Although they tell us of beings who speak another tongue, inhabit a different clime, differ altogether from ourselves in manners, customs, dress, and institutions—yet the sympathy which man feels for his fellows makes us delight in all the details which talent and enterprise procure for us. The personal narrative of the traveller has also a great charm; we seem to participate in his dangers, excitements, and pleasures; we add to our knowledge in his company; and the truth and sincerity which pervade the narrative, make us feel a personal interest in the narrator. It is intended to reprint some of the narratives of our old English Navigators, especially those of Discoveries, which have had most influence on the progress of Geographical Knowledge. It will not be an objection that these eminent men lived at a period of time distant from our own; for their Narratives are full of truths, told with plain simplicity.
But the important labours of modern travellers will not be forgotten. In describing several interesting portions of the earth’s surface, we shall avail ourselves of the most trustworthy individuals, and by a careful comparison of statements and details, we hope to present graphic descriptions of some of the most celebrated countries of the world; as well as of those which have only of late years been explored. Many voyages of discovery have had their proceedings recorded in large quartos, the price of which places them above the reach of the general reader, while their scientific details render them unfit for popular use: a digest of these works, containing an epitome of the lighter portions, and the results of the scientific discoveries, may prove acceptable.
The following works are being prepared for publication:
The Life, Adventures, and Discoveries of Captain William Dampier; including a History of the Buccaneers of America.
Captain Cook and the Circumnavigation of the Globe.
An Overland Journey and a Steam Voyage to India.
Voyages and Discoveries in the South Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in the Northern Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in Australasia and Polynesia.