John Rutherford. From an original drawing taken in 1828.
INTRODUCTION.
Eighty years ago, when the story told in these pages was first published, "forecastle yarns" were more thrilling than they are now. In these days we look for information in regard to a new land's capabilities for pastoral, agricultural, and commercial pursuits; in those days it was customary, with a large portion of the British public, at any rate, to expect sailors to tell stories
Of the cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders,