Captain Walter H. Parker went to sea at the age
of twelve as an apprentice in a clipper barque of 603 tons. Forty-eight years later he left the seas, his last command being the ' Olympic,' and the last but one the Homeric,' of 34,000 tons. In Leaves from an Unwritten Log-Book (Sampson Low, 12s. 6d.) he has set down those incidents of his career which seem to him remarkable. The reader can only regret the many which would seem remarkable to men who have not had Captain Parker's experience, but which have not been included here. And Captain Parker is kind to the landsman. He does not avoidably bewilder him with technical language which he cannot understand, but tells his story plainly, with the minimum of comment. It is a story which is full of glimpses reminiscent of Joseph Conrad, especially in the early part of the book. The story of success is sometimes monotonous, but that of struggle is not, especially, as in this case, where the conditions of the struggle are such as will soon no longer exist.
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