Page:A voyage round the world, in His Britannic Majesty's sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5 (IA b30413849 0001).pdf/19

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
PREFACE.
ix

the landman with novelty, and furnish entertainment to his readers. The seaman views many objects on shore with a retrospect to maritime affairs, whilst the other attends to their economical uses. In short, the different branches of science which we have studied, our turns of mind, our heads and hearts have made a difference in our sensations, reflections, and expressions. This disparity may have been rendered still more evident, as I have slightly passed over all regulations relative to the interior economy of the ship and the crew: I have studiously avoided nautical details both at sea and in harbour, nor ventured to determine, how often we reefed, or split a sail in a storm, how many times we tacked to weather a point, and how often our refractory bark disobeyed her Palinurus, and missed stays. The bearings and distances of projecting capes, of peaks, hills, and hummocks, of bays, harbours, ports, and coves, at different hours of the day, have likewise been in general omitted. These instructive particulars thrive in the proper field of the navigator. The history of captain Cook's first Voyage Round the World[1], was eagerly read by all European nations, but incurred universal censure, I had almost said contempt. It was the fate of that History, to be compiled by a person who had not been on the voyage; and

  1. In the Endeavour, from 1768, to 1771, drawn up by Dr. John Hawkesworth.
to