G170 Printed in Great Britain for Heath Cranton Limited Northumberland Press Limited, Newcastle-on-Tyne PREFACE I TENDER a sincere apology to all lovers of fine English for having dared to tamper with Hakluyt's splendid original. My excuse is that, in these post-war days of hard work, few people have the time or energy to read through many volumes of beautiful Elizabethan English. It is not easy reading to modern eyes. The words and sentences do not flash to the brain as is the case with modern phrases. Hence those who would enjoy the original, when they see facing them a long row of volumes filled with difficult reading, are inclined to shirk the labour of perusing them. Then the cost of a complete set of Hakluyt is heavy; often too heavy for war-depleted purses. This must debar many who, could they afford such a luxury, would purchase and find therein a mine of literary richness. It seemed, therefore, that a selection of the more interesting tales, well filled with verbatim extracts from the original, might induce some to turn to Hakluyt himself in order to read at length what is here put before them in brief, and might give some slight pleasure to others who lack the time or opportunity for regular reading. The work is not intended as a new critical commentary on Hakluyt, pointing out his errors as disclosed by later knowledge, and drawing attention to more recent achievements in comparison. No research has been undertaken. Such errors as Hakluyt made have been left untouched. The book is merely "Tales from Hakluyt." With wonderful vividness and force Hakluyt describes |