A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage, to Pitcairn's Island

A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage, to Pitcairn's Island, written by Lieutenant John Shillibeer, (1786 - 1841), was published in 1817 in England. This work includes illustrations.John Shillibeer was born in Devon, England, in 1786. In 1804 he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. In 1805 he participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1807 he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant. In December 1813 he was assigned to HMS BRITON under the command of Captain Thomas Staines and sailed for the Pacific Ocean returning to England in July 1815. His notes and drawings from this voyage were the basis for his book 'A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage, to Pitcairn's Island' published in soon after his return. He retired from military life becoming a parson and teacher, dying in 1841.PREFACEONE of the most ordinary features of a prefatory address being- that of propitiating the public opinion, the writer of the following pages ventures on this part of his task with a persuasion, that in few cases could the liberality of the reader be more required, or perhaps more justified, than on the present occasion.The motives for committing the following Narrative to the press, were not such as usually actuate adventurers in the paths of Literature. Certainly, neither the calculation of interest nor the hope of reputation propelled the author to his undertaking. The too frequently recorded disappointments of those who, uninitiated in the mysteries of the press, presume to look to it for indemnity for their labors, prevent his indulging in a similar delusion, and he is too conscious of his deficiencies, to entertain the most distant hope of distinction by his present humble performance. The motive, then, to be explained, is simply that of complying with the solicitations of many of his friends, the companions of his voyage, who, relying on the fidelity of his observations, wish to preserve a narrative of those events in which their feelings were equally interested with his own. This, mingled with a faint hope that, in some particulars, the circumstances described will not be entirely without interest to the public, have led to the production of this volume. The illustrations will, perhaps, have their best apology in the fact of their having been executed by the author for his amusement, and in their being the first productions of his attempts at graphic delineation. Of the style and phraseology of his work, he is fully sensible how much lie stands in need of every indulgent consideration. A life of arduous duty, within the confines of a ship, admits of little opportunity of acquiring either grace of composition or accuracy of language. The writer is perfectly aware how vulnerable he is to criticism on this ground; but there is one consideration which may redeem this humble performance from the obloquy to which it might otherwise be exposed, and this he presents to the reader, in the solemn pledge, that whatever may be the defects of his performance, the want of truth will, in no instance, be found to augment the literary delinquencies of which he may be found guilty.Notwithstanding the variety of publications which have at different times appeared on this subject, I feel it is impossible that a voyage to the South Seas can, under any circumstance, be devoid of interest. I have, been induced to submit to the public, the observations which occurred to me during the period of my employment on this service.The Publisher has copy-edited this book to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of the text to make it readable. This did not involve changing the substance of the text. Some books, due to age and other factors may contain imperfections. Since there are many books such as this, that are important to literary interests, we have made it digitally available and have brought it back into print for the preservation of printed works of the past. Making this copy very readable. Read more