SEA ADVENTURES By Henry de Monfreid
Mr. de Monfreid blames the English for most of the misadventures which have marred his career as a trader in the Red Sea. " A perfidious and vindictive nation," he calls us, but the hectic course of his life and his tempestuous manner of telling it suggest that he is the type of irritable individualist who seems doomed to be thwarted and misunderstood, and we are left with the impression that had he known how to handle officials in uniform as well as sailing boats in- swims he would
have met with more success. A griev- „ ance is a difficult thing to manage, and in the case of Sea Adventures (Methuen, ios. 6d.) we feel that it has got out of hand, and our sympathies are alienated by the querulous spirit in which the author faces his misfortunes. Which is a pity, for Mr. de Monfreid has led a most unusual life and has an interesting story to tell. First he tried pearl- trading, then sailed as a carrier between Djibouti and Yemen until he was arrested by an English patrol (it was during the War) for no apparent reason, and was finally reduced to pearl-diving for a living. Now he has begun to build a new trading boat. One can only wish him better luck in his next venture.
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