The Shellback's Progress In the Nineteenth Century
Public-domain ebook
The Shellback's Progress In the Nineteenth Century
Language: en4,905 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #22794.
About this book
Walter Runciman’s The Shellback’s Progress In the Nineteenth Century is a collection of sea stories written by a baron who spent his spare moments amid a bustling commercial life. The volume opens with a heartfelt dedication to a friend named Townend, followed by a preface that frames the tales as drawn from “reality of things” and intended to portray sailors in all their rugged, uncouth, and occasionally savage humanity. The first story, “The Wild North Sea,” plunges the reader into a bustling spring fleet, detailing the rivalry between collier lads and southern‑going gentlemen, a staged duel, and the ensuing revelry that ends in a damaged yard‑sail and a frantic rush to sea. Runciman’s narrative is anchored in the concrete details of ship‑handling, apprentices’ disputes, and the gritty camaraderie of the decks, offering a vivid snapshot of maritime life at the turn of the century.
The prose is unmistakably Victorian, marked by elaborate sentences, a formal yet affectionate tone, and a blend of moral observation with brisk, anecdotal storytelling. Runciman’s voice oscillates between the earnestness of a gentleman‑author and the colloquial chatter of sailors, creating a texture that feels both documentary and novelistic. Readers who relish detailed depictions of 19th‑century seafaring, whether for its historical insight, its colorful character sketches, or its occasional humor, will find this work a rewarding immersion in the world of brigs, barques, and the men who manned them.
Characters in The Shellback's Progress In the Nineteenth Century
- TownendMiddle‑aged Victorian gentleman, dark hair, trimmed moustache, wearing frock coat and waistcoat
The opening · free to read
These stories are drawn from the reality of things, and perhaps I may as well say that they have been written during short intervals snatched from a busy and absorbing commercial life. I have tried to portray the men as they were--brave, dauntless, rugged, uncouth, illiterate, simple-minded, kind-hearted, and, at times, unmercifully savage. And yet there shone through all these conflictingly peculiar eccentricities a humorous kind of religion which belonged exclusively to themselves, but which gave their characteristics a touch of sublimity. We have travelled far since those days of aboriginal stupidity and sordid blood-sucking. The contrast between the comforts and conditions of life at sea then and now cannot be imagined. We may only talk of it; we can never truly estimate the change. I do not draw attention to the comparison because I think the sailor has got any more than he is entitled to. I refer to it in order that he may recognize a desire on the part of modern shipowners and the Legislature to give him every possible advantage consistent with the peculiarities of the trade in which he is engaged. One of the most recent advantages suggested in their report by the Mercantile Committee, who sat for, I think, about twelve months taking evidence from shipowners, shipmasters, sailors, and others, is that an amended food scale should be adopted, and that the seaman should have the right of appeal against a bad "discharge" that may be given him. In my opinion the great body of shipowners will endorse that portion of their recommendations. It is to be desired that the seamen will recognize in this a willingness on the part of their employers to deal justly with them, for undoubtedly it was the evidence given by shipowners that influenced the Committee.
CONTENTS.
The book keeps going
Keep reading, and see it illustrated
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.
