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BOOKS
THAT CHANGED
HISTORY
BOOKS
THAT CHANGED
HISTORY Contributors
Father Michael Collins
with Alexandra Black, Thomas Cussans, John Farndon, and Philip Parker
 Senior Editor Kathryn Hennessy
Contents
Senior Art Editor Jane Ewart
Editors Jemima Dunne, Natasha Khan,
Joanna Micklem, Ruth O’Rourke- Foreword 6
Jones, Helen Ridge, Zoë Rutland, Introduction 8
Alison Sturgeon, Debra Wolter
Designers Stephen Bere, Katie Cavanagh,
Phil Gamble Ancient Egyptian Books 18
Managing Editor Gareth Jones of the Dead
Senior Managing Editor Lee Griffiths Various authors
Picture Researchers Roland Smithies, Sarah Smithies
I Ching 24
Senior Jacket Designer Mark Cavanagh
Author unknown
Jacket Design Manager Sophia MTT
Jacket Editor Claire Gell The Art of War 26
Pre-production Producer Gillian Reid Sun Tzu
Producer Mandy Inness Mahābhārata 28 The Tale of Genji 54
Publisher Liz Wheeler
Vyāsa Murasaki Shikibu
Art Director Karen Self The Canon of Medicine 56
Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf
Dead Sea Scrolls 30
Various authors Ibn Sīnā

Vienna Dioscorides 34 The Domesday Book 58

DK INDIA Pedanius Dioscorides Various scribes
Senior Managing Art Editor Arunesh Talapatra
Senior Art Editor
Art Editor
Assistant Art Edtior
Chhaya Sajwan, Devika Khosla
Meenal Goel
Anukriti Arora
3000bce– 999ce 1000–1449
Editor Nishtha Kapil
Pre-production Manager Balwant Singh Book of Kells 38 The Gospels of Henry the Lion 60
Production Manager Pankaj Sharma Irish Columban Monks Monks of Helmarshausen
DTP Designers Jaypal Chauhan, Nityanand The Blue Qur’an 44 Les Très Riches 64
Kumar, Mohammad Rizwan Author unknown Heures du Duc de Berry
Diamond Sutra 46 Limbourg Brothers

First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Author unknown Directory 70

Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
Copyright © 2017 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
001–300185–September/2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior written permission of the
copyright owners.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
ISBN 978-0-2412-8933-4
Printed and bound in China
The Exeter Book
Author unknown
Directory
Contributors
Lead Contributor
Father Michael Collins
Michael Collins is a graduate of
the Pontifical Institute of Christian
Archeology in Rome. His initial
passion for books and writing
stemmed from his interest in
calligraphy. It was further fuelled
when he discovered that the Book
of Kells was once owned by an
ancestor, Bishop Henry Jones,
who donated it to Trinity College
Dublin in 1663. Michael has
published books in 12 languages.
Alexandra Black
A freelance author, Alexandra
48
50
Thomas Cussans
A freelance historian and author
based in France, Thomas Cussans
was for many years a publisher
responsible for a series of bestselling
history atlases. He has contributed
to numerous DK titles, including
History: The Definitive Visual Guide.
John Farndon
A Royal Literary Fellow at Anglia Ruskin
University in Cambridge, John Farndon
is an author, playwright, composer, and
poet. He has written many international
bestsellers and translated into English
verse the plays of Lope de Vega and
the poetry of Alexander Pushkin.
John Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies, Philip Parker
is a critically acclaimed author and
award-winning editor.
Foreword
James Naughtie
An award-winning radio presenter and
broadcaster, James Naughtie began his
career as a journalist before moving to
radio presenting in 1986. For over 20
years he co-presented on BBC Radio 4’s
Today programme, and he has chaired
Radio 4’s monthly bookclub since it
began in 1997. James Naughtie has
chaired both the Man Booker and
Samuel Johnson judging panels and

A WORLD OF IDEAS: Black’s writing career initially took
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW her to Japan. She later worked for
a publisher in Australia, before
www.dk.com moving to Cambridge, UK. She
writes on a range of subjects, from
history to business and fashion.
Philip Parker
A historian and former British
diplomat and publisher, who studied
History at Trinity College, Cambridge
and International Relations at the
written a number of books including The
Rivals: The Intimate Story Of A Political
Marriage; The Accidental American: Tony
Blair And The Presidency; The Making
Of Music; The New Elizabethans and
The Madness of July.
Gutenberg Bible 74 Micrographia 138
Johann Gutenberg Robert Hooke
Elementa Geometriae 76 Philosophiæ Naturalis 142
Euclid Principia Mathematica
Nuremberg Chronicle 78 Sir Isaac Newton
Hartmann Schedel Systema Naturae 144
Divine Comedy 84 Carolus Linnaeus
Dante Alighieri L’Encyclopédie… des Sciences, 146 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 216
des Arts et des Métiers L. Frank Baum
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili 86
Ed. Denis Diderot and Jean d'Alembert The Tale of Peter Rabbit 218
Author unknown (publisher Aldus Manutius)
A Dictionary of the English Language 150 Beatrix Potter
Harmonice 88
Musices Odhecaton Samuel Johnson The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm 222
Ottaviano Petrucci Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis 154 Brothers Grimm (illustrator Arthur
The Codex Leicester 90 Virgil (printer John Baskerville) Rackham)
Leonardo da Vinci Tristram Shandy 156 General Theory of Relativity 226
Vier Bücher von 94 Laurence Sterne Albert Einstein
menschlicher Proportion Fables in Verse 160 Pro Dva Kvadrata 228
Albrecht Dürer Aesop (publisher John Newbery) El Lissitzky
Il Principe 96 The Wealth of Nations 162 Penguin’s First 10 Paperback Books 230
Niccolò Machiavelli Adam Smith Various authors (publisher Allen Lane)
Epitome 98 Rights of Man 164 The Diary of a Young Girl 232
Andreas Vesalius Thomas Paine Anne Frank
Cosmographia 102 Songs of Innocence and of Experience 166 Le Petit Prince 234
Sebastian Münster William Blake Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

1450–1649 1650–1899 1900 ONWARDS

Les Prophéties 108 Birds of America 170 Le Deuxième Sexe 236
Nostradamus John James Audubon Simone de Beauvoir
Aubin Codex 110 Procedure for Writing Words, 174 The Feminine Mystique 237
Various authors Music, and Plainsong in Dots Betty Friedan
The Discoverie of Witchcraft 114 Louis Braille Silent Spring 238
Reginald Scot Baedeker guidebooks 176 Rachel Carson
Don Quixote 116 Karl Baedeker Quotations from Chairman 240
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra The Pickwick Papers 178 Mao Tse-tung
King James Bible 118 Charles Dickens Mao Tse-tung
Translation committee The Holy Land 180 Directory 242
Hortus Eystettensis 122 David Roberts
Basilius Besler Photographs of British Algae: 186
Cyanotype Impressions
Tutte l’opere d’architettura 126
et prospetiva Anna Atkins
Sebastiano Serlio Uncle Tom's Cabin 190
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, 128 Harriet Beecher Stowe
Histories, & Tragedies Leaves of Grass 192
William Shakespeare INDEX 246
Walt Whitman
Dialogo sopra i due massimi 130 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 255
On the Origin of Species 194
sistemi del mondo Charles Darwin
Galileo Galilei
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 196
Bay Psalm Book 132 Lewis Carroll
Richard Mather
Das Kapital 200
Directory 134 Karl Marx
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Now 202
Newly Imprinted
Geoffrey Chaucer (Kelmscott Press)
Un Coup de Dés Jamais 208
N’Abolira Le Hasard
Stéphane Mallarmé
Directory 210
6
Foreword
The afternoon light fades in the scriptorium where a monk
works patiently, in silence, at his long table. He has a line
of pots for his colours – ultramarine and azurite, white
lead and verdigris, cuttlefish ink and cochineal, madder
and the rich red known as dragon’s blood – and boxes for
his precious gold and silver leaf. The single illuminated
letter on the page in front of him has already been shaped
in burnished gold. Over many hours the paints will turn
it into a picture that will gleam for hundreds of years.
Polish the lens of memory a little more, and think of a
group of men somewhere near the geographical heart of
Europe in the middle of the fifteenth century, gathered in
a workshop rather than a monastery, and standing around
a simple wooden machine. One of them pulls on a long
handle to turn a thick screw that lowers the flat platen so
that it presses down on a sheet of dampened paper. After
a few moments, when the screw is turned the other way
to release the frame that holds the paper in place, they
see before them, printed by perfectly ordered type, a
page of Gutenberg’s Bible.
These are scenes from a story that springs forward to
the eighteenth-century libraries in great houses where
men of means built high shelves for their leather-bound
books – the first novels in English, travelogues and
beautifully-illustrated descriptions of flora and fauna,
perhaps a precious copy of Robert Hooke’s Micrographia
from the previous century, and certainly Dr Johnson’s
dictionary. The classical texts are all there, from Homer
and the histories of Herodotus to Ovid and Virgil.
And then, within a hundred years, books were finding
their way into ordinary homes. Perhaps they were
borrowed from Mudie’s travelling library, where people
could get the new novel from Charles Dickens or Wilkie
Collins, or maybe Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Mr
Mudie had ordered five hundred copies before publication
because Darwin was a customer. In the Victorian parlour,
beside the piano, there were books. An idea had been
born that would one day be called the mass market.
Science and politics, history and travel, natural
exploration as well as literature would be available to
everyone. When Allen Lane published his first Penguin
editions, with the orange covers that became an emblem
of literacy between the two world wars, he was a pioneer
in the fight to set free the liberal imagination. In the
paperback era, everyone could learn, explore the past,
and revel in a fictional world that knew no boundaries,
taking them from the nineteenth-century novel to Joyce
and the poetry of Eliot, to stories and thrillers of all
kinds and even, at the end of the century, to an unlikely
boy touched by magic and destined to be an entertainer
both for children, and their parents and grandparents,
all around the world.
Yet this is only the story as it is told in Europe. The
veneration of Greek and Roman art and literature in the
Renaissance, and the power of the Christian tradition,
obscured the written legacies of other civilisations.
From India, the Mahābhārata – maybe the longest
epic poem of them all – and philosophy from China,
learned and beautifully crafted Persian books on
medicine and astronomy, and mathematics in Arabic.
The artistry of these texts – like the luminous
brilliance of a medieval Book of Hours in Europe – is
the indestructible evidence of our collective desire to
find permanent physical expression for the scope of
our imaginations. A never-ending quest. Everyone who
responds to the beauty of the calligraphy and illustration
in these early books, and the sheer confidence and energy
that flows from the pages, is reminded that every book
is an act of creation, whether it is a novel, a history, a
scientific theory, a religious text, or a piece of polemic.
Old or new, the books selected for this volume have
changed lives, and remind us who we are. They are
both mirror and lamp – reflecting us to ourselves with
remorseless honesty and also shining light in dark places,
the unknown, or the dangerous. We find our own fears
in books, as surely as we find solace and escape.
To love a book is to get to know a friend whom you
want to keep, despite everything. We all have books from
childhood that fall open predictably at a favourite page,
or a novel we have read so often that its spine needs
running repairs. And in an age when the electronic book
has opened another chapter in the long story, many
readers have rediscovered the aesthetic power of a fine
book that is also a beautiful object. Among the many
joys of books, that is one that never fades. Enlightened
publishers have realized at last that it is a contemporary
challenge to them, and long may they remember it.
In these pages we find many of the books that have
shaped our world. They are wise and revelatory, radical
and even outrageous, some of them surprising in the
impact they have made, and so many of them still
inspiring. Some represent the best of us, and others
do not, but collectively they remind us that the book
is indeed the friend that will never let you go.
That is why we cherish it so much.
JAMES NAUGHTIE
8 INTRODUCTION
Scrolls and Codices
Books are almost as old as writing itself, and their coming
marks the watershed between prehistory, when mankind’s
story was passed on only by word of mouth, and history,
when it was recorded for future generations to read.
The first books were written on a wide variety of
materials, including clay tablets, silk, papyrus (made from
reeds), parchment (animal skins), and paper (pulped rags).
They were bound together in various ways, although
sometimes they were not even bound at all. One of the
world’s oldest books is the Sumerian story of Gilgamesh,
an ancient epic, which was written down on a collection
of clay tablets nearly 4,000 years ago.
Until the development of the printed book in the
15th century, most books came in the form of scrolls
or codices. Scrolls are sheets of papyrus, parchment,
or paper stuck together end-to-end then rolled up.
The Ancient Egyptians wrote on papyrus scrolls at least
4,600 years ago. Codices (or a codex, singular) are stacked
sheets of papyrus, parchment, or paper joined down one
side and bound between a stiff cover so they can hinge
open – rather like a modern book, only handwritten.
Codices date back at least 3,000 years, but are often
associated with the spread of Christianity across Europe.
1 EGYPTIAN BOOKS OF THE DEAD No two Books of the Dead are the same –
each was tailored to the deceased and their needs in the afterlife. They consist
of spells and illustrations on papyrus, and date from around 1991–50 bce.
Every copy of a scroll or codex was compiled from
manuscripts written out laboriously by hand. This made
them extremely rare and precious objects. The investment
of time and effort meant that only the most wealthy and
powerful people could afford to have them made. But
their rarity and the way they carried exact wordings into
the future gave the earliest books an authority that
seemed almost magical. For example, the Ancient Egyptian
Books of the Dead were scrolls buried with a deceased
person to enable them to carry words that had the power
to guide them even in the afterlife (see pp.18–23).
Books became the foundation stones that the world’s
great religions were built upon. They were used to record
ancient stories and beliefs. Some works even helped local
beliefs to develop into major religions by spreading the
definitive words of a great sage or prophet far and wide,
and through time from generation to generation. Christians
spread Christ’s words through their Bible, Jews studied
the Torah (see p.50), while Muslims followed the Qur'an,
Hindus the Mahābhārata (see pp.28–29), and Taoists the
I Ching (see pp.24–25). All of these books still have a
profound impact on lives today, thousands of years after
they were first written.
1 MAHĀBHĀRATA Written in Sanskrit, this epic poem recounts tales of ancient
India. The text reached its final form in around 400 bce. The manuscript above
depicts a battle between Ghatotkacha and Karna, and dates from around 1670.
 SCROLLS AND CODICES 9

To preserve the
memory of the past
by putting on record
the astonishing
achievements of
our own and of the
Asiatic peoples 1 DEAD SEA SCROLLS Created between around 250 bce and 68 ce, the Dead Sea Scrolls
are a collection of 981 manuscripts discovered in the Qumran Caves on the shore of the
HERODOTUS, GREEK HISTORIAN SETS OUT HIS Dead Sea. Most of the manuscripts contain Hebrew scriptures, others are non-canonical
AIM IN WRITING THE HISTORIES, c.450 bce texts, while others are in such a poor condition that they cannot be identified.

Indeed, the painstaking process of writing a book out by
hand was often an act of religious devotion in itself. Many
monks laboured long to produce “illuminated manuscripts”
of dazzling beauty such as the Gospels of Henry the Lion
(see pp.60–63) or the Book of Kells (see pp.38–43).
However, it wasn’t only religions that harnessed the
power of books. Books stored ideas and information
to be accumulated over time, so that each generation
built on the learning of those who had gone before,
gradually expanding the stock of human knowledge.
Writers such as Ibn Sīnā (see p.56), for instance,
combined his own medical knowledge with that of
previous generations to create a definitive textbook for
physicians, The Canon of Medicine (see pp.56–57). There
were very few copies of books, however, so the libraries
that collected them, such as the great Greek library at
Alexandria in modern-day Egypt, and the libraries of the
Muslim world became the great engines of knowledge.
During the Middle Ages, scholars would travel thousands
of miles simply to read a rare copy of a key book.

1 THE BLUE QUR'AN Most likely produced in North Africa in around 850–950 ce, 1 BOOK OF KELLS Brilliantly illuminated with rich colours and gold leaf adorning
it is thought that the Blue Qur'an (see p.44–45) was compiled for the Great Mosque the text, the Book of Kells was created in Ireland in around 800 ce. The manuscript
of Kairouan in Tunisia. The gold letters are written in Kufic calligraphy. contains the Gospels and the tables of the Eusebian Canons, shown above.
10 INTRODUCTION
The Printed Book
Printing dates back over 1,800 years to carved wood blocks
in China and Japan that were used to stamp religious images
onto paper, silk, or walls. By the 9th century, the Chinese
were printing entire books, including the Diamond Sutra
(see pp.46–47) of 868 CE, the oldest surviving dated
example. The Chinese even invented a form of movable
type, which involved building up pages from ready-made
collections of letters. But it was in 1455 in Mainz, Germany,
when Johann Gutenberg used movable type to print the
Bible, that the printed book really arrived.
The Gutenberg Bible (see pp.74-75) was a large luxury
item, that only the rich could afford. But printers were
soon making smaller, cheaper books. One of the pioneers
of mass printing was Aldus Manutius (see pp.86–87),
a Venetian scholar who set up the world’s first great
publishing house, the Aldine Press, in the 1490s. Manutius
introduced the elegant, easy-to-read Italic (from Italy)
typeface, and the handy octavo-size book – similar to a
typical modern hardback. Books were no longer just kept
in libraries but could be read anywhere. Within 50 years
of the first printing of Gutenberg’s Bible, there were 10
million printed books, and the Aldine Press was launching
titles with initial print runs of 1,000 books or more.
1 DIAMOND SUTRA The earliest surviving complete printed book, which bears
an actual date, is the Diamond Sutra of 868 from China. It was printed using
woodblocks and predates the Gutenberg Bible by almost six centuries.
The impact was both public, as ideas were shared quickly
among numerous readers, and private, as books allowed
people to explore their imaginations at home. Interestingly,
many of the first ideas shared through print were ancient
ones. The Aldine Press concentrated on publishing the
classics, leading to a revival of interest in Virgil and
Homer, Aristotle and Euclid. All the same, newer books
such as Dante’s Divine Comedy (see pp.84–85) and
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (see pp.86–87) soon became
classics, and print ensured their style influenced writers
across Europe, including William Shakespeare in England.
Printed books like Andreas Vesalius’s revolutionary work
on anatomy (see pp.98–101) and Galileo’s watershed tome
on the Earth’s place in the universe (see pp.130–31) did
not only help spread scientific ideas rapidly; they also
consolidated knowledge, as many people could turn to
exactly the same source. They created a sense that the
understanding of the world was gradually increasing.
Also encouraged by the printed book was the expression
of individual thought. Before print, a writer was generally
an anonymous scribe, merely copying words rather than
creating an original work. But printed books prompted
individual authorship, and made living authors celebrities,
1 GUTENBERG BIBLE Marking the arrival of the European printed the book in
1455, the Gutenburg Bible was the first printed using movable type. However,
its richly illuminated pages were accessible to only an elite few due its high price.
 THE PRINTED BOOK 11

He who first shortened

the labour of copyists
by the device of
movable types was…
creating a whole new
democratic world
THOMAS CARLYLE, SCOTTISH HISTORIAN,
1795–1881

4 DIVINE COMEDY Dante completed his narrative poem in

1320, but the first printed edition was not published until 1472.
Its publication helped to standardize the Italian language and the
work has influenced artists and writers across several centuries.

such as Miguel de Cervantes with his epic, Don Quixote
(see pp.116–17). This elevation of individual expression
may have been a factor in the great revolutions in
European thought – the Protestant Reformation, the
Renaissance, and the Age of Enlightenment.
One of the surprising impacts of printing, however, was
the stimulation of a development in national languages,
such as English, French, and German. In the Middle Ages
people in Western Europe spoke such a mix of dialects
that someone from Paris was virtually unintelligible
to someone from Marseilles; scholars, however, often
conversed in Latin. But printed books helped to
standardize national languages. The King James Bible,
the first authorized bible in English, played a huge part
in setting the form of the English language as its words
were read every week in churches across the land.

1 THE NUREMBERG CHRONICLE Printed in 1493, the Nuremberg Chronicle 1 HARMONICE MUSICES ODHECATON Published in 1501, Ottaviano Petrucci's
(see pp.78–83) is a richly illustrated account of biblical and human history. It Odhecaton (see pp.88–89) made sheet music more widely available. Each song has
is one of the earliest examples of illustrations and text being fully integrated. lines for a number of instruments, allowing musicians to read the same page.
12 INTRODUCTION

Books for All

The 18th century saw an explosion of book publishing and
printing in Europe. This period was called the Age of
Enlightenment, and books helped to spread knowledge
on an unprecedented scale. During the Middle Ages, fewer
than 1,000 copies of manuscripts were made in an entire
year across the whole of Europe; in the 18th century,
10 million books were printed every year – a staggering
10,000-fold increase in production.
Books became available everywhere, and at a relatively
cheap price, and so increasing numbers of people learned
to read. In western Europe fewer than one in four people
were literate in the 17th century, but by the mid-18th
century two thirds of men were literate and more than
half of women. A massive new readership was born,
which in turn fuelled the demand for books.
New kinds of books emerged, too, including popular
information titles. Previously, factual books had been
created mostly for specialists, but in the 18th century
learning became more democratic, and books helped to
ensure that knowledge wasn’t only for the elite. Canny
publishers realized that there was a huge market among
the public for books that would help them understand
what was known about the world around them.
At the same time, many writers earnestly wished to
spread knowledge and enlightenment as far as possible.
Writing books, in some ways, became a revolutionary act.
When Denis Diderot (see pp.146–49) created his great
encyclopaedia in the middle of the century, he was
seeking not just to provide people with information; he
was also striking a blow for democracy by showing that
the world of knowledge was every man and woman’s
right, and not just the divine right of kings and aristocrats.
Thomas Paine took up the call for the rights of every
human being with his Rights of Man (see pp.164–65),
which was widely read and studied, and underpinned
the French and American Revolutions.
Books were also the medium by which scientists and
philosophers introduced their ideas to the world. In some
ways the Enlightenment had been prompted by Sir Isaac
Newton’s ground-breaking book Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica (see pp.142–43) in which he
introduced his laws of motion. Newton’s book showed that
the entire universe was not a magical divine mystery, but
that it ran on precise mechanical laws, which could be
studied and understood by scientists. Meanwhile, Robert
Hooke introduced a previously unsuspected microscopic

1 HOOKE'S MICROGRAPHIA Published in 1665, Robert Hooke's ground-breaking Micrographia revealed a 1 PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA Newton's 1687 work laid
miniscule world that readers had never experienced before. Exquisitely intricate illustrations, such as this out his explanation for the orbit of the spheres. Despite
large fold-out drawing of a flea, depicted creatures and objects in monstrous yet beautiful detail. the dense subject matter, it won him instant fame.
 BOOKS FOR ALL 13

… bound together solely

by their zeal for the best
interests of the human
race and a feeling of
mutual good will
DENIS DIDEROT, ON THE WRITERS OF
ENCYCLOPÉDIE, 1751

world with his Micrographia (see pp.138–41);

Carolus Linnaeus showed how nature could be
pinned down and classified in his Systema
Naturae (see pp.144–45); and Charles Darwin
showed how life evolved in his On the Origin of
Species (see pp.194–95). By the end of the 18th
century there were also books showing how even
human society could be analyzed and understood.
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (see pp.162–63)
provides the theoretical basis for capitalist economic
systems, while Karl Marx’s Das Kapital (see pp.200–201)
created a powerful counterargument that started
revolutions that are still in progress today.
Besides the great theoretical works, fiction was
developing as a genre, and novels such as Tristram
Shandy (see pp.156–59) responded to the increasing
1 DAS KAPITAL Published in 1867 at a time of immense social and industrial change, Marx's
polemic was a timely account of the injustices suffered by many under the capitalist system.
Though the book had a small readership at the time, Marx's influence lasts to the present day.
consciousness and imaginative private life of individuals.
Initially, novel-reading was the domain of wealthy ladies
of leisure. However, Dickens’s The Pickwick Papers (see
pp.178–79) was serialized in cheap weekly instalments,
each with a cliff-hanger ending to keep the reader hooked.
This helped his novel reach vast numbers of ordinary
people and, for the first time, the book was entertainment.

1 TRISTRAM SHANDY Laurence Sterne's comic novel was published in 1759. It purports to be the 1 PICKWICK PAPERS The serialization of The Pickwick
biography of the title character, Tristam Shandy, and is characterized by frequent plot diversions Papers in a magazine secured its popularity before being
and a playful use of language, drawing heavily on the poets and satirists of the 17th century. published in book form a year later.
14 INTRODUCTION
The Modern Book
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the book world
has grown on a scale unimaginable even in the Victorian
age, when the popular novel first appeared. The figures
are extraordinary: more than a million new titles are now
published every year in the US alone, and the number
of copies printed around the world annually runs into
trillions. The choice for the average reader is immense,
with an estimated 13 million previously published books
to choose from as well as the year's new titles.
Books are now incredibly cheap to buy, and are no
longer thought of as luxury items. Penguin revolutionized
the book industry in the 1930s by introducing inexpensive
“paperback” books (see pp.230–31), and mass-marketing
by giant retailers such as Amazon has pushed the price
down even further. Even a new book can often be bought
now for little more than the price of a cup of coffee. The
coming of electronic e-books has meant that the content
of books can also be accessed instantly anywhere.
Yet only a tiny proportion of the millions of published
books is ever read by more than a handful of people.
Although three-quarters of Americans read more than
one book a year, most read no more than six. Very few
books are read by a significant number of people.
1 LE PETIT PRINCE Antoine de Saint-Exupéry published his novella for children
in 1943. Illustrated with exquisite watercolours by the author, it became a classic
of children's literature and has been translated into more than 250 languages.
Nevertheless, some books of the last hundred years have
left an indelible mark, not because they were widely read,
but because they changed the way people thought. One
of these is Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (see
pp.226–27. In this book Einstein presented theories that
overturned the view of the universe dating from the time
of Newton, and led to a profound shift in our knowledge of
time. Few people have actually read the work, and of those
who have, fewer still understand it fully. And yet the impact
of its ideas has rippled out far beyond the scientific world.
Throughout history, certain books have sparked
controversy, whether for political, moral, or religious
reasons. After World War II Hitler's manifesto Mein Kampf
(see pp.242) was banned as extremist in many European
countries – Poland only lifted the ban in 1992 and Germany
in 2016. In 1928 D.H. Lawrence published Lady Chatterley's
Lover (see pp.242) but it was banned in the US and the UK
for breaking obscenity laws. The bans were lifted in 1959
and 1960 respectively.
A new kind of book, designed to draw public attention
to specific issues, emerged in the 20th century: books
became an effective way of voicing protest. Rachel
Carson’s Silent Spring (see pp.238–39), for instance,
1 RELATIVITY In 1916 Albert Einstein published General Theory of
Relativity with the specific aim of bringing his theories to a wider lay
audience, who had no background in theoretical physics.
 THE MODERN BOOK 15

… the average book fits into

the human hand with a
seductive nestling, a kiss of
texture, whether of cover
cloth, glazed jacket, or
flexible paperback
JOHN UPDIKE, DUE CONSIDERATIONS, 2008

alerted people to the terrible damage farm pesticides

were inflicting on wildlife, and it had a huge impact on
the way people think of the environment.
Children’s books first appeared in the 18th century,
with titles like Fables in Verse (see pp.160–61), but it was
in the 20th century that books became an integral part of
childhood in the developed world, shaping the way readers
in their formative years viewed life. Today children’s
literature is a sophisticated genre, with highlights such as
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince (see pp.234–35).
Now, 45 trillion pages are printed every day, accessible
to billions of people. Books help us to share experiences, 1 PENGUIN PAPERBACKS With its simple, and now iconic,
cover design, the Penguin paperback changed reading habits
stories, and ideas in our hugely populated world in a way
in the 20th century. Mass production made books affordable
that would otherwise be impossible. and opened up a world of literature to a wider readership.

1 PRO DVA KVADRATA El Lissitzky's About Two Squares 1 SILENT SPRING The book that triggered the start of the environmental movement, Silent
(see pp.228–229) was published in 1922. This children's story Spring (see pp.238–39), was published by Rachel Carson in 1962. Her evocative language,
acts as an allegory of the superiority of the new Soviet order. accompanied by beautiful illustrations, drew public attention to the dangers of pesticide use.
3000 bce –
999 ce

CHAPTER 1
 Ancient Egyptian Books of the Dead

 I Ching

 The Art of War

 Mahābhārata

 Dead Sea Scrolls

 Vienna Dioscorides

 The Book of Kells

 Blue Qur’an

 Diamond Sutra

 The Exeter Book

18 3000 BCE–999 CE

Ancient Egyptian
Books of the Dead
C.1991–50 BCE ◼ PAPYRUS SCROLLS ◼ C.1–40 m × 15–45 cm (3–130 ft × 6–18 in) ◼ EGYPT

VARIOUS AUTHORS

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Dead were funerary texts that were used for nearly
1,500 years. They took the form of spells (both magical and religious) and illustrations
inscribed onto a papyrus scroll that were buried in a tomb with the deceased. It was
believed that these spells gave the souls of the dead the knowledge and power they
needed to navigate the treacherous netherworld in safety, and to achieve a full afterlife.
Books of the Dead were created by highly skilled scribes and artists. Often more than
one scribe would work on a single text, typically writing in cursive hieroglyphics (picture
symbols) or hieratic script (a form of hieroglyphics used by priests), in black and red
ink on papyrus scrolls. Illustrations depicted the journey through the netherworld, with
vignettes accompanying the spells. The first Books of the Dead were prepared for elite
figures, but by the New Kingdom era (c.1570–1069 bce), the texts had become available
to wider society – the most elaborate versions date from this time.
The books were organized into chapters, and scribes composed the contents according
to the patron’s request, incorporating a selection of the 192 prayers available that best
reflected how the patron had lived their life. No two books are the same, although most
include Spell 125, “Weighing of the Heart”, which instructs the soul of the deceased on how
to address Osiris, god of the afterlife, following successful judgement of their earthly life.
The term “Book of the Dead” was coined by Prussian Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius
(1810–84), but a closer translation of its Egyptian name is the “Book of Coming Forth into
Day”. These pictorial guides for the dead provide vital insight into the Ancient Egyptian
beliefs about the afterlife and a tantalizing glimpse into a vanished civilization.

IN CONTEXT
The tradition of providing the deceased with a text to help them on their
journey in the afterlife dates back to the Old Kingdom (3rd millennium
bce), when funerary texts were written on the walls of burial chambers.
At the start of the Middle Kingdom (c.2100 bce), they were mostly
written inside coffins. It was these so-called “Pyramid Texts” and “Coffin 4 FINAL TEST This
Texts” that evolved into the Books of the Dead. The papyrus scrolls were section of scroll belongs
rolled up and typically inserted into a statue or encased within the to the Book of the Dead
wrappings of the body during mummification. Other objects considered of Maiherpri, who lived
necessary for the journey ahead, such as food and protective amulets, during the 18th Dynasty.
were included in the tomb, and the spells in the book guided the It illustrates his final test
deceased in how to use these items to navigate the netherworld. in the netherworld – the
weighing of his heart,
with Ammut, the winged
devourer of souls,
looking on. Ancient
Egyptians believed that
the heart was the seat
2 Books of the Dead were often placed inside of human intellect and
containers, such as this case with a painted emotions, and during the
wooden statuette, to preserve them when buried. mummification process it
was not removed.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOKS OF THE DEAD ◼ VARIOUS AUTHORS 19
20 3000 BCE–999 CE

Greenfield Papyrus – In detail

ON TECHNIQUE
The scrolls used for Books of the Dead were made from the papyrus plant,
a type of reed that grew abundantly in Ancient Egypt, mostly on the banks
of the River Nile. Its green bark was peeled back to reveal the white pith
beneath, which was cut into long strips. These were then soaked in water
for two to three days to release glue-like chemicals. To form the page, the
strips were then laid out side by side, slightly overlapping, with a second
layer of strips laid on top of them at a 90-degree angle. These were pressed
between wooden boards to squeeze out water and bind the layers together.
After being dried, the papyrus was polished with a stone to smooth out
any ridges and imperfections, providing a better-looking finish. Individual
pages were then either cut to measure, or sheets were glued together
to the required length of a scroll.

4 The first known use of papyrus, the world’s oldest writing surface, dates
back to the 1st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (c.3150–2890 BCE). Egypt’s dry
climate is the reason that so many ancient documents have survived.
 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOKS OF THE DEAD ◼ VARIOUS AUTHORS 21

2 SEPARATE SHEET
Measuring almost 37 m (121 ft),
Nestanebetisheru’s papyrus is
the longest known example of an
Egyptian Book of the Dead. In the
early 1900s this scroll was cut
into 96 separate sheets to make
it easier to study, display, and store.
These are now mounted between
protective layers of glass.

2 MAGIC SPELLS The

deceased, Nestanebetisheru,
is shown twice in this black
line vignette. She kneels
before three gatekeepers and
also before a bull, a sparrow,
and a falcon. Accompanying
the illustration and written
in hieratic text in black and
red ink is a spell. This Book
of the Dead includes a huge
number of magical and
religious texts, some of
which are not found in any
other manuscript, suggesting
that they were added at
Nestanebetisheru’s request.

1 CREATION OF THE WORLD Nestanebetisheru

was the daughter of a high priest and a member of
the ruling elite. Her Book of the Dead, dating from
around 950–930 bce, is one of the most beautiful
and complete manuscripts to have survived from
Ancient Egypt. It was donated to the British Museum
by Edith Mary Greenfield in 1910, and is often
known as the Greenfield Papyrus. Here black line
drawings depict the creation of the world, with the
goddess of the sky, Nut, arching over Geb, the
reclining god of the earth.
22 3000 BCE–999 CE

Book of the Dead of Hunefer – Visual tour

KEY
2
1

4 ILLUSTRATED HYMN This detail 1 2

from Spell 15 of the Book of the
Dead of Hunefer, a royal Egyptian
scribe (c.1280 bce) illustrates
the opening hymn to the rising sun.
Horus, the god of the sky and one
of the most significant Ancient
Egyptian deities, was often
represented as a falcon (as here)
or as a falcon-headed man. The
solar disc above his head signifies
his connection to the sun, while
the curved blue line is thought
to represent the sky.

4 HUNEFER’S JUDGEMENT The

scribe, Hunefer, is shown being led by
the jackel-headed Anubis towards the
scales of judgement, where his heart
is weighed. He passes the test and is
then led by Horus to meet Osiris, god
of the afterlife, seated on his throne.

4 5

1 HIEROGLYPHICS The Book of the 4 BOARD GAME Hunefer is shown here

Dead of Hunefer is one of the finest ever
discovered, and the handiwork of expert
scribes, possibly Hunefer himself. The
hieroglyphic text is inscribed in black
and red ink with black dividing lines in
between. Black ink was typically derived
from carbon, and red ink from ochre.
playing a board game. This may have been
a favoured pastime during his life, but
there could be a deeper significance that
correlates victory in the board game with
victory over obstacles encountered in the
netherworld – thereby ensuring Hunefer’s
successful entry into the afterlife.
 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOKS OF THE DEAD ◼ VARIOUS AUTHORS 23

5 6

1 BURIAL CEREMONY This vignette illustrates the mummified

body of Hunefer being symbolically brought to life in the “Opening
of the Mouth” ceremony, reuniting Hunefer’s spirit with his corpse.
His widow is shown in mourning, while a priest in a jackal mask,
impersonating Anubis, the god of embalming, supports the mummy.
The semi-cursive hieroglyphs above contain the ritual declarations.

1 SNAKE BEHEADING Spell 17 in Hunefer’s Book of the Dead

includes an illustration of a cat killing a snake. This image comes at
the end of a band that runs along the top of the sheet, which also
features Hunefer worshipping five seated deities. These are named
in the black cursive hieroglyphic captions.
24 3000 bce–999 ce

I Ching
c.1050 bce (WRITTEN) ◼ ORIGINAL MATERIAL AND DIMENSIONS UNKNOWN ◼ CHINA

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

The oldest of the Chinese classic texts, the I Ching, or IN CONTEXT

Book of Changes, was originally used as a divination guide
The I Ching developed from the
to help followers interpret the casting of yarrow stems ancient Chinese belief that the
or coins as a means to understand life, make decisions, world is the product of duality:
of yin (negative/dark) and yang
and predict events. Its origins are obscure, but it evolved (positive/light), and that neither
over 3,000 years during which “commentaries” were element can exist without the other.
Central to the I Ching’s purpose as
written incorporating Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist
an oracle is the idea that every
beliefs, such as the 17th-century example shown far right. conceivable situation in human life
is the result of yin-yang interplay,
The main body of the I Ching is divided into 64 sections,
and can be encapsulated within
each one corresponding to a named and numbered symbol and interpreted by its hexagrams.
called a “hexagram”. Each hexagram is made up of six The earliest known Chinese
symbols for yin and yang, along
horizontal lines, with a broken line denoting yin, and a with basic hexagrams, are found in
solid one meaning yang. The order in which the stems or inscriptions made on “oracle bones”,
the skeletal remains of turtles and
coins are cast determines which hexagram is referred to, oxen used in shamanistic divination
for which the I Ching provides explanatory text, sometimes practices during the Shang dynasty
(1600–1046 bce). The practice
cryptic, or a “judgement”, to interpret its meaning.
of using oracle bones in fortune-
1 This turtle shell “oracle” dates from
Although no parts of the original I Ching exist, its ideas telling declined when the I Ching c.1200 bce. Fortune-tellers burned a shell
are still used by millions of people worldwide to answer gained popularity during the Zhou or bone until it cracked, read the resulting
dynasty (1046–256 bce). lines, and sometimes carved an “answer”.
fundamental questions about human existence.

2 CONFUCIAN COMMENTARY
Unearthed in 1973 from Han
Tomb 3 at the Mawangdui
archaeological site, this
fragmented length of silk is
a Confucian commentary on
the I Ching’s 64 hexagrams.
Dating from early in the reign
of Wendi (180–157 bce), the
fourth Han emperor, it is one
of the detailed texts and
essays made by Confucian
scholars following the death
of Confucius (551–479 bce),
the great Chinese philosopher
(see p.50). Confucius studied
the I Ching extensively, and
viewed it as a manual by
which to live in order to attain
the highest level of virtue,
rather than as a means of
divination. The commentaries
Confucius wrote were more
detailed and extensive than
any other at the time.

1 COMMENTARIES In 136 bce the format of the I Ching was standardized,

and remains unchanged today. The first part of the work, the hexagrams and their
interpretation, are appended by the Ten Wings, or commentaries, as seen on this
edition printed during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279).
 I CHING ◼ AUTHOR UNKNOWN 25

1 MING DYNASTY EDITION Towards the end of the Ming dynasty

(1368–1644), printed copies of the I Ching were becoming scarce.
This edition was published in 1615 by Wu Jishi, and features a
claim on the title page to be a faithful representation of the original.

If some years were added

to my life I would devote
fifty of them to the study
of the Book of Changes
and might then avoid
committing great errors
CONFUCIUS, ANALECTS VII

2 CULTURAL TRANSFER The I Ching was known about in the West in

the 1600s, although was only first studied in detail in 1701 by German
mathematician and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The pages
here show his own handwritten notes on the chart of hexagrams.
26 3000 BCE–999 CE

1 NATURAL MATERIAL In China, about 2,000 years ago, a variety

of materials were written on: shells, bones, occasionally silk, and, more
commonly, readily available bamboo slips. Bamboo was cut and then
its surface shaved and cured, before being dried and split into strips
or “slips”, as seen here, which were bound together to form what was,
in effect, a book.

The Art of War
C.500 bCe (WRITTEN), C.1750 Ce (VERSION SHOWN)
SUN TZU
Whatever the uncertainties of its dating
and authorship, The Art of War has proved
one of the most enduring and influential
texts from the ancient world. This military
manual is divided into 13 chapters, shown
here written on bound bamboo slips –
typical of Chinese writings of the time.
The book comprehensively covers every
aspect of training, organizing, and leading
armies. Given the endless conflicts of the times in which
the text was written, the Spring and Autumn period (770–
476 bce), its practical application was clear. But it is a mark
of its exceptional longevity that when, 1,500 years later,
Emperor Shenzong (1048–85) decreed the creation of the
Seven Military Classics, a collection of military textbooks,
the first work to be cited was The Art of War. As such, it
was required reading for all officers in the Imperial Chinese
Army. Even today, 2,500 years later, it is widely read by
In detail
1 BAMBOO SLIPS With only one line of text per 1 BOOK BINDING The slips were bound together
slip, the medium of bamboo books encouraged with silk cord or lengths of leather, which meant that
simple, pithy statements. A fine brush rather than they could be rolled up and transported easily. They
a pen was used to paint the intricate ink characters also proved remarkably durable – much more so than
onto the slips. European works on parchment from the same period.
Appear weak when you are strong,
and strong when you are weak
SUN TZU, THE ART OF WAR
THE ART OF WAR ◼ SUN TZU 27
◼ BAMBOO ◼ 6,000 WORDS, 13 CHAPTERS ◼ CHINA
SUN TZU
544–496 BCE
The Art of War is said to have been the work of Sun Tzu, a highly
successful military leader during a time of great conflict in China.
But his authorship of the influential text is often questioned.
That Sun Tzu was a Chinese general and military strategist is widely agreed.
But whether he was the sole author of The Art of War, or whether the work
was a distillation of existing Chinese military theories brought together under
his name remains uncertain. Similarly, there are arguments that the book may
have been compiled in the later Warring States period (475–221 bce). The
uncertainty and intrigue surrounding the book’s origins only add to its appeal.
military leaders across the world, inspiring those as diverse
as Napoleon and Mao Tse-tung. Perhaps more strikingly still,
it has also found a ready audience among business leaders.
The Art of War is a supremely practical work. Its prime
concerns are preparedness, discipline, strong leadership,
and the absolute importance of dictating the terms of
battle, rather than responding to those of the enemy.
IN CONTEXT
The oldest surviving copy of The Art of War was
one of several works discovered in 1972 in two
tombs, dating from the Han dynasty (202 bce–
9 ce). They were unearthed by workmen at
the foot of the Yinqueshan, or Silver Sparrow,
mountain in Shandong, eastern China, and
this location gave the works their name: the
Yinqueshan Han Slips. Among the 4,942 bamboo
slips found was a copy of a later military manual
Art of War, by Sun Bin, who is presumed to be
a descendant of Sun Tzu. Both texts are believed
to have been buried between 140 and 134 bce.
Their discovery was one of the most significant
Chinese archeological finds of the 20th century.
1 These bamboo slips dating from the 2nd
century bCe are the oldest copy of The Art of War.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 We had a fairly good run to the Equator, and then met with very
strong south-east trades and squally weather. Our ship spread an
immense area of canvas. Being a new ship, with sails, ropes, spars,
etc., all new, and a thorough seaman in charge, we sped along gaily
with every stitch of canvas spread. We soon ran through the trades,
then had variable winds for a few days, and sighted the Island of
Tristan d’Acunha on the forty-second day out. There were great
discussions and betting as to what the ship would do when she got
the westerly winds, and started on her long run of six thousand
miles.
There is no place in the world that tries the ability, courage, and
nerve of a seaman like running the Easting down. Captain Scobie
was an old veteran in the trade, and he paced up and down the poop
like a wild beast in a cage, while the winds were baffling about. No
one dare go near him, he was so irritable, his eyes were never off
the western horizon; he was just hungering for the westerlies, to see
what his new ship would do. The light, fitful easterly airs only irritated
him. The great sails were flapping themselves against the masts,
and then bulging out to every movement of the ship. Men and boys
were aloft all the time examining every hook and block, to see if they
were well fast and ready for instant use. Spare gaskets were sent up
into the tops, and everything got ready for the coming breeze.
At midnight of the forty-seventh day the easterly wind died away,
and a long rolling swell came up from the westward, and very soon
afterwards a long, low bank of clouds began to rise in the west.
The old captain rubbed his hands with glee when he saw it, and
turning to the chief officer he said, “I’ll go below now, let me know if
you get any change,” but before he lay down, he noted the
barometer was falling fast, so, calling the steward, he told him to see
that everything in his pantry and in the passenger’s cabins was well
secured.
Two or three gentlemen passengers were still sitting up in the
cabin as the captain passed through to his room. One of them said,
“where are we now, Captain Scobie?”
With a dry smile he replied, “Just turning the corner of Melbourne
Road, gentlemen. It’s a grand road, six thousand miles long very
straight, but very uneven at present. Wants a sight of levelling down
as some of you will find before another forty-eight hours are past.
Good-night all.”
Towards four a.m., the bank of cloud astern had risen until it was
nearly overhead. Then a slight puff of cold air came from the
westward. The chief officer on the alert cried out “Stand by the
watch.” Ere a few seconds had passed every man was at his post
ready for the next order. “Square the after yards,” shouted the mate.
With a roar, a rattle and a shout round went the yards as the big ship
payed off with her head to the eastward. “Square away the foreyard,”
gleefully called out the mate again. Although up to the present there
was hardly a breath of air a big swell was rising from the westward, a
sure forerunner of a storm. For over an hour the ship lay rolling
gunwales under, until we expected every moment to see the masts
roll over the side. It was a fearful time for all on board, but at last a
low, murmuring sound was heard coming up astern of us, “stand by,
everybody!” called out the mate. The order was no sooner given than
with a roar the west wind struck us, the ship staggered for a moment,
and every rope and sail fairly cracked again with the pressure; then,
with a leap and a plunge, the noble vessel bounded forward on her
long run to the eastward, she had entered Melbourne Road in
earnest.
The captain came on deck with a broad smile on his face, even his
cross eye seemed to twinkle merrily, he was happy now. The breeze
freshened rapidly and the sea rose to a fearful height.
The following day it was blowing with the force of a hurricane; the
royals were made fast and all the upper fore and aft sails taken in
and secured. Everything about the deck was doubly lashed, the
booby hatch aft was secured with wire lashing, and all the
passengers fastened below. By noon the next day the ship had run
three hundred and eighty-two miles in twenty-four hours. The whole
surface of the ocean was one mass of white foam, like carded wool,
and when a sea broke the spray would fly as high as the topsail yard.
It was a grand, yet an awful sight, when the great ship was in the
trough of the sea, the mountainous waves seemed on a level with
the topsail yard, and it looked utterly impossible for the ship to climb
over them; but nobly she rose to her duty, though the decks were
constantly swept by the quartering seas, as the ship yawed in spite
of her helm.
For ten days did the westerly gales continue, and everybody on
board was sore with tumbling about. To cheer us, the captain
reported on that day that the ship had made 3,480 miles, an average
speed of 14½ knots per hour, a splendid piece of work. And still the
gale howled and shrieked, and still the noble ship sped onward
through the wild angry seas, which every moment threatened to
engulf her. The heart of every seaman on board throbbed with joy
and pride at the splendid behaviour of the ship, as she rode over the
mountainous sea, and shook herself free from the inrushing waters.
Not a rope had parted, not a sail had split so far. But alas, there was
sorrow and trouble in store for us, and that soon. At midnight on the
eleventh day, the gale suddenly moderated, and before daylight it
had died away, leaving a fearful sea running after her, and at times
tremendous seas would break on board. The heavily rigged ship
rolled from side to side, having no wind to steady her. No rigging that
was ever made could stand such a strain long, and the following
night the foremast, with yards and sails went over the side. The
chain-plates drew out of the ship’s side with the enormous strain on
them; the lower mast carried away about one foot below the main
deck; and in its fall the immense fore-yard cut the bulwarks down to
the deck on each side. We all thought she was gone, but soon we
heard the captain’s voice roaring above the noise of the sea:
“Stand clear of the deck!”
Every man sprang to shelter, not a moment too soon either, as a
tremendous sea broke on board. The ship broached to, it smashed
the boats and washed away everything moveable from the decks.
The noble ship shuddered and paused like a frightened thing, then,
crippled as she was, again shook herself free, but she was in a sad
plight.
“All hands clear away the wreck!”
With axes, knives and chisels the rigging was cut to let the broken
mast and yards drift clear of the ship. The steerage passengers were
battened down in the steerage, and their cries were heartrending.
After the wreckage was got clear, the captain ordered the main
topmast backstays to be cut away on the lee roll, as there was a
danger of the whole mast falling aft on the deck, but before the men
could carry out his orders the mast was carried away and came
down with a crash on the port side.
The upper masts went clear over the side, but the topsail yards
came down on to the deck end on, crashed through the deck,
through the steerage amongst the passengers and struck a bale of
blankets in the lower hold. The upper part then broke off, leaving
about twenty feet of the iron yard standing above the deck, ripping
away the main deck each time the ship rolled, the water meanwhile
pouring in tons through the torn decks into the steerage amongst the
already terrified passengers.
“Get that yard out of that as quick as possible!” roared the captain,
who was as cool as a cucumber.
A tackle was made fast to the stump of the mainmast, and hooked
on to the yard and the fall stretched right aft, and all hands, male
passengers too, laid hold of it, and waited for a steady moment. The
chief officer called out “Stand by! Haul!” and with a wild frantic pull
the broken yard was hauled out of the deck and lowered over the
side.
The deck for about thirty feet had been ripped up, and the seas
had poured down the gap. The carpenter reported five feet of water
in the hold. After some difficulty the donkey pump was started, and
all hands were set to work cutting away the wreckage and spars, and
nailing boards and sails over the broken deck. What a time we spent,
all day and all night we toiled without ceasing. The captain and mate
were here, there and everywhere, helping this one, relieving that
one, watching the horizon for a sail, watching the water in the well,
cheering this one and that one, giving their orders as coolly as
though they were in the dock at home, always the same, no trace of
anxiety on their faces it was impossible to judge the real state of their
feelings.
The water rose in the holds in spite of the pumps, and our plight
was very serious. The cabin was packed full of passengers, the
children, poor mites, crying from sheer terror, the women praying,
many of them beyond tears, the men shouting to be let out; but
beyond a dozen of them who had been seamen in their younger
days, and who had been helping, it was felt that the rest were best
out of the way.
All day and all night the work went on. When daylight came again
our case seemed worse than ever, the real state of the damage
became more apparent. Old bronzed sailors, who had spent their
whole lives at sea battling with the ocean in all her moods, turned
fairly white when they looked around, and heard the despairing cry of
the women and children huddled together aft. Strong men, and we
had some strong men amongst the crew, flung themselves down on
the deck, utterly exhausted, rolling about as the ship laboured in the
heavy seas, even the ship herself seemed to give up struggling. One
of the spars in falling had struck my right foot breaking three of my
toes, but there was no time to see to them or to bind them up. Only
the captain and mate seemed unchanged. They never flinched,
never seemed tired—true British seamen, staunch to the back-bone.
For five days and nights we battled for our lives, and on the sixth
day after the disaster the wind and sea began to abate, and the
pumps got the water under. The captain then ordered all hands eight
hours complete rest, and they needed it. Every man forrard rolled
into his berth just as he stood—oilskins and sea-boots too.
The wind and sea were still moderating, and by the following day
the sea was fairly smooth, and the wind had died away to a light
easterly air, and promised to be a fine clear day. Just after daylight
the mate’s voice rang out loud and clear “all hands on deck.” The
fourth mate was ordered to take several male passengers with him,
and lash some planks across the broken bulwark, to prevent anyone
from falling over the side. The carpenter also took several
passengers and set about patching the broken decks temporarily.
The captain and the other officers then set all the sailors to work
clearing up the wreck of the rigging, and securing the remaining
spars. Three of the boats had been stove in by the falling spars, and
a young man amongst the passengers, who was a joiner, was set to
work to repair them.
As the foremast was carried away just below the main deck the
first job was to get a jury mast up. We had several large spare spars
on deck, and five lighter spars on the forward house. As there was
twenty feet of the old foremast left in the hold, it was decided to use
this as a step for the jurymast. A spar was cut about eighteen feet
long, and dropped inside the stump of the old iron mast, to rest the
heel of the jurymast on. Two large spars were with difficulty raised up
for shears, and well secured.
The third mate and four of the apprentices were then told off to
keep watch at night, and all hands sent below to rest after a hard
day’s work. The following day, as soon as the first streaks of daylight
appeared, “All hands on deck!” was heard reverberating from one
end of the ship to the other. The men turned out fairly lively, and
were soon hard at work. There was need to make good use of the
fine weather, and to get a jury mast up before the breeze and sea
sprang up again. One of the spare spars was then fitted up for a
jurymast. After some real hard dangerous work, which brought out
the true grit of the British seamen, this large spar was hove up on
end and secured. The crossjack yard was hove forward, and used on
the jurymast for a foreyard. A sail was bent and set and the ship with
difficulty put on her course again. The steerage was repaired
temporarily, and the passengers put below once more. Many of them
were half dead with fright, but the fine weather lasted for ten days,
and by that time we had all things well secured about the deck.
Twenty-one days after losing our masts we sighted King’s Island,
where a few days before, unknown to us, the ship “British Admiral”
was wrecked and ninety-seven lives lost, so that bad as our case
was, there were others far worse. Three days after sighting King’s
Island we spoke the sailing vessel “Windsor Castle.” Her captain
asked if we wanted assistance. Our captain told him he would like to
be reported, as he feared she would be unmanageable when she got
near the coast. The captain of the “Windsor Castle” then very
generously sailed back to Cape Otway, and reported us disabled.
The Government at Melbourne at once despatched the tug
“Warhawk” to look for us. Just as her coal was about used up she
came near us and told the captain she had not coal enough to take
us in tow, but would go into port to coal, and come out again for us.
That night, however, after the tug had left us, the Government
despatch boat, which had been sent out to look for us along the
coast; sighted us and at once took us in tow. What joy filled the
hearts of all on board when we found ourselves in tow and nearing
Melbourne. All our suffering was forgotten in the joy of our safety.
On arrival in dock we heard that the “Rooperal,” “Chrisonomy,”
“Dallam Tower,” “Loch Ard,” and “Cambridgeshire” had all arrived
crippled like ourselves, but the “British Admiral” as already
mentioned, had been lost on King’s Island, and ninety-seven lives
with her.
The passengers, you may be sure, lost no time in getting ashore.
The bulk of the crew was paid off as the ship would most likely be
five or six months there, as the new masts and rigging had to be sent
out from England. I was not among those paid off, but of that, and
what came of it shall be told in the next chapter.
 CHAPTER XVIII

Lost in the Bush

During the five months we lay at Williamstown Wharf, replacing the

disabled masts and rigging, I spent what I consider the happiest time
of my life. The rigging work was placed in the hands of the well-
known firm of Messrs. Johnson Bros., of Melbourne, and well they
carried out their contract. I was employed with them all the time, and
learnt to be a thorough practical seaman, especially in the handling
and splicing of wire, which, in after years, stood me in good service.
The working hours for the riggers were from eight in the morning to
five in the evening, but the four apprentices and I worked from six in
the morning until six in the evening, as we cleaned and washed the
decks both before and after the riggers had been working. The
master rigger paid me five shillings every Saturday out of his own
pocket for working with them; so that I always had a little pocket
money to go on with. I went ashore every evening and had a right
good time. It was here that I found what a good thing it was to belong
to the Order of Good Templars. I attached myself to a lodge near the
dock, and at once found myself in a circle of friends, who vied with
each other in making me welcome in their homes, and at the various
lodges. Needless to say that the young sisters in the lodges played
sad havoc with my, at that time, susceptible heart, and I was more or
less madly in love during my stay there, and scarcely a night passed
without a social gathering at one or other of the lodges in Melbourne.
But my happy time was drawing to a close, and the “John Kerr”
was again ready for sea, but I had made up my mind she should sail
without me, the fascination of the gold fields had laid its hold on me,
and I only waited for a favourable opportunity to set out and try my
fortune in this direction, having made up my mind to leave her before
she left the wharf.
The opportunity offered itself the night before we were to haul out
into the bay. A coasting barque, hailing from Newcastle, New South
Wales, was lying at the other side of the wharf. It was bound for
Newcastle. I had arranged with one of her crew, whom I had become
acquainted with, to stow away in her the night before she sailed. I
also knew that the officers and the watchman of the “John Kerr” were
carefully watching the two apprentices and myself to prevent us
deserting, but the old saying, “where there’s a will there’s a way,”
was borne out in my case, although I had to use every caution to
circumvent them. However, I did manage it. The barque “Woodville”
was to sail from the jetty at midnight. About an hour before she cast
off, I saw our watchman standing beside the gangway, so, without
more ado, I slipped over the side and down a rope, and landed on
one of the crossbeams under the jetty. I crawled along the piles until
I got to the other side of the jetty and just abreast of the bows of the
“Woodville.” Seizing the bow-head lines, I climbed on board and
slipped into the forecastle. The sailors welcomed me with a laugh,
and shewed me where to hide, but there was no need for me to do
this, as I had barely got on board before the order was given to loose
the topsails, and when these were set, the lines were cast off, and
the vessel at once got under weigh.
By daylight we had cleared the heads and were running before a
strong breeze for Bass Straits. I then went on deck and reported
myself to Captain Conely, who did not shew any surprise at my
appearance, even if he felt it, but just said:
“All right, just go along to the mate, and no doubt he will find you
some work to do.”
I immediately did this, and he at once sent me amongst the crew,
and they at once made me one of themselves. I was delighted with
the social spirit and friendly feeling that existed between the captain,
officers, and the men in this colonial vessel. What a difference
between her and the other vessels I had sailed in. For instance, the
seamen on the “John Kerr” were paid two pounds ten per month, and
got the Board of Trade scale of provisions, their pound and pint, or,
as was once said to me by an old Welsh skipper, when I and the rest
of the crew were half dead with thirst, and there was plenty on board,
“they get their whack, and they’ll get no more.” But the sailors on the
“Woodville” were paid seven pounds per month. They did not sign for
any scale of provisions, but for full and plenty; they got soft bread,
fresh soup and stores every day, and no restriction as to water. No
wonder they were contented and cheerful.
We had a fair passage to Newcastle, and there I landed with my
few belongings and a heart full of hope at the prospect before me,
and the sense of freedom from restraint that had always been a
passion with me. I was anxious to see the country, so, after making a
few enquiries, I decided to go on the “Wallaby” (or tramp), and on the
following morning, having got together five pounds of ship’s bread,
and a billy, or can, to hold two quarts of water, I rolled up my few
things in a swag, slung it over my shoulder, and started for my first
tramp through the bush, intending to make for Lake McQuarrie.
It was a lovely morning when I started, the sky overhead was
bright and clear, my heart was light, and I had no fear for the future,
being full of the confidence of ignorance and already used to
hardships.
Having been advised to follow the freshest bullock track, I entered
the bush at Minmi, a small village about twelve miles from
Newcastle. For several hours I tramped on, but not a human creature
did I meet, but at present I was too interested to notice this, stopping
frequently to look at the great pine trees that were growing in the Ti
tree scrub, while here and there the common fern grew luxuriantly,
reminding me of the parks one sees surrounding some of the large
estates in the old country. So far the track had been of fine white
dust that got into my eyes and throat, but I was so delighted with the
bush that I pressed on, new beauties unfolding themselves before
my eyes at every step; the beautiful tall gum trees and the numerous
and wonderful plants and ferns that I met with, the birds, too, many
of them singing gaily in the trees.
My feet began to feel tired and, thinking a rest would do me no
harm, I sat down and made a meal, and had a good drink of the
water I had with me. Now Lake McQuarrie lay due south from Minmi.
I had noticed that the sun was on my left side when I started, and
having been warned against wandering into the bush away from the
track, I had kept the sun on my left side until midday, when I could
not say which way it was moving, so I lay down under some tall gum
trees, and, looking up through the branches for about half-an-hour I
noted the sun’s altitude was decreasing, this shewing me that it was
now past noon.
After a good rest I started again on my journey, keeping the sun
now on my right side. As night drew near my steps lagged a little and
I began to feel a bit nervous, which was a new experience for me,
and I feared that I had lost my way. So engrossed was I in this
thought that I failed to notice that night had suddenly closed down
upon me, without any warning, as it does in these tropics, so I picked
out a place where there were a lot of dry leaves and sat down
completely tired out, feeling it was useless to try and go any further
on my journey until daylight, when I should again have the sun to
guide me. I began to wish I had not started alone on my trip.
However, I soon fell asleep and slept soundly throughout the night—
the sleep of the tired.
How long I slept I cannot say, but I was awakened by the sound of
coarse loud laughter close beside me. The night was pitch dark, I
could not see ten feet in front of me. Springing to my feet, I drew my
sheath knife from my belt, and gripping it tightly in my right hand
stood on the defensive. I thought I was surrounded by a lot of native
blacks, who had come upon me, and were laughing at the easy
capture they would make of me. Although I could not see anything
moving I determined to sell my life dearly. My legs were shaking
under me, if I could have seen anything it would not have felt so bad,
but the intense darkness appalled me. Again the coarse laughter
resounded through the bush, just as though there were a lot of men
near. After a few minutes my nerve returned, and I gave a loud coo-
ee. Immediately there was a loud laugh just above my head, and it
slowly dawned upon me that the cause of my fright had been some
laughing jackasses in the trees, the relief was great, but it was some
time before I felt like sleeping again.
I was just quietly dosing off when I heard the most pitiful wailing of
a child. Up I sprang again, and halloed again and again, but got no
answer. I dared not leave the tree for fear of losing my bearings.
Time after time the pitiful crying went on. Oh, how I prayed for
daylight, surely no child was astray in this awful place, or was it
being tortured or what. I felt quite unstrung, every cry and moan went
to my heart, and to feel so helpless, to stand there whilst that pitiful
cry went out into the darkness and loneliness, and not to be able to
help; it was with difficulty I restrained myself from rushing to where I
thought the cry came from. At last it got fainter and fainter, then
ceased altogether, as though it had either given out or wandered
farther away. Then sinking down once more at the foot of the tree I
fell asleep from sheer weariness of mind and body.
When I awoke, the sun was high in the heavens, so that for a little
while I could not tell which was the south point. I lay on my back, and
again looking up through the tall trees, noted that the sun was still
increasing his altitude, so I at once faced south and proceeded on
my way, looking on every side for signs of the baby I had heard
crying. I was greatly refreshed by my night’s rest but very uneasy in
my mind when I looked into the billy, and found there was very little
water in it, and I was almost choking with thirst.
After tramping on for another two hours, I came across the dead
body of a man lying in the grass. The undergrowth being so thick, I
put my foot on the body before I noticed it. This gave me a bit of a
shock for a moment, but not being troubled with nerves I soon got
over it. The body was that of a man about thirty years of age, with
fair hair and moustache, and was nearly nude. The tongue was
protruding and quite blue, and on the breast and forearm there were
tattoo marks. There he lay stretched upon the ground, with sightless
eyes gazing up to the pitiless sky. A blue flannel shirt was lying near
the body, this I picked up and tied to the tree just over the body, so
that it could be found later on.
Continuing my tramp, what I had just seen not being in any way
likely to raise my spirits or give me much encouragement, I came
across a patch of Ti tree scrub that was too thick for me to make my
way through, so I kept away to the right for a few miles, until the
country was clearer. The sun was almost overhead, and I was
suffering agony from thirst; eagerly I looked into the billy to see if by
chance I had left a mouthful of water, but no, I had drunk the last
drop some hours ago; how my throat ached with the thirst, then I
began to think of the dead man, who no doubt had lost his way in the
bush and died of thirst, surely that would not be my fate. I must not
think of these things, but press on, and look for water.
Suddenly I came across a tiny creek, almost out of sight, with a
beautiful clear stream of running water. Oh, how my heart leaped
with joy as I hurried towards it. Flinging myself on my knees I filled
the billy, and fairly poured it down my parched throat. Then again
filling it I plunged my head, face and neck into the sweet cool water,
and taking off my shoes and socks let the water wander over my hot
and tired and badly blistered feet. Oh, the relief to mind and body
that that stream brought, then dropping on my knees I thanked God
for leading me to it. There I sat loth to leave—several snakes and
lizards were crawling about near the water, but their presence did not
mar its sweetness. Then, feeling rested and refreshed, I had another
good drink and filling up the billy I set off again on my journey, and
after tramping through the dense bush and wondering still about the
pitiful cries I had heard, suddenly, without a moment’s warning, the
precious billy of water was snatched out of my hand. Swinging
quickly round, a horrible sight met my eyes. There standing before
me was a tall naked man. His eyes were all bloodshot, his whole
body scratched and bleeding, his hair matted and covered with furze
and grass. He had my billy of water to his mouth and was pouring it
down his throat. At his feet lay a small native bear with its stomach
cut open. The man’s face was a terrible sight, all covered with the
blood he had been sucking from the bear. I could see at a glance
that the poor fellow was stark mad, and, being a big powerful man, I
felt that if he chose to attack me, I should stand a very poor chance.
All these thoughts passed through my mind quicker than I can relate
them. However, I drew my knife, which was still in my belt, but my
precautions were needless for before I could decide on any action,
he had drunk all my water, and dropped down in a senseless heap
on the ground. I sprang forward and grasped the billy, and, not
knowing what to do under the circumstances, went back to the creek
as quickly as possible and refilled the billy with water, drinking as
much as I could besides. I then retraced my steps towards the lake
district. I had lost two good hours over that poor lost creature, and
was not sure how soon I might be in the same condition.
 Towards sunset the track seemed to have disappeared. I had lost
sight of all bullock-dray ruts, and I began to think that I, too, was lost,
but hope urged me on. I kept on working south by the sun, and I
knew Lake McQuarrie was due south. If I could only hold out I was
bound to get there sooner or later.
At sunset I ate my last biscuit and lay down at the foot of a large
blue gum tree. Worn out with my tramp I was soon in a sound sleep,
from which I did not wake until broad daylight. Still feeling tired and
hungry my first thought was when I should again get something to
eat. Suddenly the welcome tinkling of bells fell on my ears. I knew
that all cattle, when grazing in the colonies, have a small bell
attached to them, so that they can be heard in the bush, even when
they cannot be seen. My spirits rose like magic, and I sprang to my
feet. Just at that moment, I heard the sound of some heavy body
crushing its way through the bush, and the next minute two large
kangaroos went leaping past, and in a couple of minutes afterwards
a young man on horseback dashed up. On seeing me he pulled up
his horse at once, his face full of astonishment.
“Jehoshaphat!” he cried, “where the devil did you spring from?”
I told him how I had been sleeping there all night and had tramped
from Newcastle.
“Alone?” he asked. “Well, all I can say is you are very lucky to find
your way here. You might have been lost in the bush. As it is, there
are several men missing. The police have sent in a notice from
Maitland saying that several sailors have disappeared between
Newcastle and Wallsend coal mines, where they were making for.”
I told him about the dead sailor I had seen, also about the one who
had stolen my can of water.
“By jove!” he exclaimed, “we must save that chap if it is possible,”
and placing his hands to his mouth in the shape of a funnel he
called, “coo-ee! coo-ee!” with a voice of such penetrating power, that
I am sure he could be heard for miles around. The note was clear as
a bell and as resonant. Then, for a moment or two, he stood in a
listening attitude, and from a long distance away could be heard the
answering cry “coo-ee! coo-ee!” twice repeated. My new found friend
again gave the same call three times, which was answered by a
single call.
 “That’s all right,” he said, “they’ll be here in a minute or two.”
In about five minutes we heard the sound of horses galloping, and
in another few minutes two horsemen dashed up to us.
“What’s up, Frank?” said they, almost before they had pulled up
their horses. Then, catching sight of me, “oh, found one of the lost
ones—eh, that’s good.”
Matters were explained to them, and they at once mounted again.
“Jerusalem, Frank, we must try and find that poor chap, and save
him if it is possible.”
I gave them the direction I had come, as near as I could. The one
named Frank then pointed to a cluster of grey gum trees in the
distance, and told me to make my way there, and just to the right of
them I should find a bullock track; then to follow this track for about
two miles and I would come across a solitary house in the bush. I
was to call there and say, Frank sent me, and to tell Harry, who was
at the house, that they had gone to look after a poor fellow who was
lost in the bush. They then put spurs to their horses and galloped off
and were quickly out of sight.
I made my way with a light heart and tired feet to the gum trees.
Found the bullock track, and following this for quite three miles I
came across the blockhouse just by the side of the track. At the door,
but with his back towards me, stood a splendid specimen of
manhood. He must have been quite six feet in height, a mass of
bone and muscle, with not an ounce of spare flesh on him, and as
straight as a reed. As I approached the house, I trod on some dry
twigs, making a noise. The young man heard it, and, without turning
his head sprang into the house and out again in an instant with a gun
in his hands. Looking round he saw me, and I found that he was
about twenty years of age, with an open kindly face that could be
trusted at first sight.
“Sold again,” he remarked. “Hello, young man, where do you come
from?”
“Newcastle,” I replied.
“Are you by yourself?” he asked.
I told him I was, and also about the dead man and the other that
his mates had gone to try and rescue.
 “Poor chap,” he said, “but Frank will find him if any man can. There
have been a lot of men lost in the bush this last season, owing to the
drought drying up all the creeks. And when they are without water
their tramping soon ends in madness or death. But come along
inside and have something to eat, for you must be nearly starving.
Do you like kangaroo steak?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “I have never tasted it.”
“Well, sit down, and I’ll soon fix you a nice one up that will make
you smack your lips.”
There were two large hind-quarters of kangaroo hanging up in the
outhouse in a large perforated zinc safe that was standing on four
legs, and each leg stood in a dish of water to prevent the swarms of
ants from getting into the safe. While he was frying the steak I looked
round the house. It was a square block-house, divided into two
apartments, one being used as a bedroom, in it were two camp
beds, and two hammocks slung from the overhead beams. There
were two wooden boxes and a few small stools, no chairs or
lounges, no luxury here, spartan simplicity was the order of the day.
The other room in which I was sitting contained a miscellaneous
assortment of articles dear to the heart of a sportsman—guns,
revolvers, axes, picks, and two or three spades, some fishing tackle,
saddles and bridles, several pairs of spurs, and a quantity of
kangaroo, opossum, squirrel, and native bear skins.
“There you are mate,” said Harry, as he placed about a three
pound steak and about two pounds of damper, and a huge billy of
tea before me. “Wire away, and make a good square meal.”
I started to thank him, but whether it was from being without food
for twenty-four hours and the excitement I had passed through on my
tramp through the bush, and my meeting that unfortunate mad fellow,
or some other cause I know not, but while he was speaking I
collapsed in a dead faint. When I came to I was lying on the ground
and he was bathing my head and face with water. I soon felt better
again, and was able to eat a good breakfast of the steak and
damper, washed down with the tea, and by this time I felt like a new
man. After breakfast I thanked him heartily and was about to
continue my journey, but Harry would not hear of it:
 “Oh, no you don’t,” he said. “You must stay where you are for a
few days, and rest yourself, and we will take you on to the lake
afterwards, and I have no doubt we can find you employment.”
You may guess how glad I was to hear this, and I renewed my
thanks.
“We don’t often get visitors from the Old Country this way,” he
said, “so we make the most of those who do come.”
I asked him why when first he heard me approaching he sprang for
his gun, before looking to see who it was?
“Oh,” he laughed, “I thought it was a kangaroo, and if I had waited
to see him, before getting the gun, he would have been out of range
before I got a shot at him. My mates were after kangaroos this
morning.”
The day passed quickly in pleasant chat, and just about sundown
the three horsemen returned from their search for the lost man. They
had found his body beside the creek where I had filled my billy in the
morning. The poor fellow had apparently found the water and in his
delirium had thrown himself down beside it, and must then have
been bitten by a snake, for when they found him his body was much
swollen and going bluish. The three friends had at once dug a hole
just below the surface, and buried the body, and had then cut a large
cross on one of the gum trees to mark the spot, then, continuing their
search for the body of the other poor fellow, had buried it in the same
way.
Poor fellows! Theirs was a sad end. Only a few days ago they
were on board their ship, no doubt full of health and strength, but a
restless roving spirit had led them like myself to desert their vessel,
and now they were sleeping their last long sleep in the lone
Australian bush, and I had only narrowly escaped a like fate.
I stayed with my new friends for two weeks, and it was a happy
restful time. They were employed splitting rails and fence posts, and
making trunnels for shipbuilders, and they had more orders than they
could execute. They only worked four days a week. I was very
surprised at this, and said so.
“My friend,” said Frank, “in this country we work to live, as you will
soon find, not live to work, and we find that four days hard work per
week will supply us with all we need. Then we have two days to
improve ourselves in learning, hunting, fishing, trading, visiting, etc.,
and on Sunday we lie back and rest, and if we have a visitor like you,
we talk about other lands, and the Homeland, which none of us have
seen yet, but hope to, as we are all natives of New South Wales.”
During my stay with them, I learnt much that was useful to me
afterwards, such as cutting rails and felling large trees. At other times
I would help in splicing ropes and making traces for the bullock
teams that took the rails and trunnels to the Lake McQuarrie for
shipment to Sidney and Newcastle.
At the end of my pleasant stay, Frank took me over to the house of
Mr. Williams, at Belmont, on the banks of the lake, who was in want
of a man to look after a sailing yacht and several rowing boats, to
teach his children swimming, and to make himself generally useful.
He at once engaged me, and I felt that the place would suit me very
well until I had become thoroughly acquainted with that part of the
country.
 CHAPTER XIX

Life at Belmont—Sharks and Flying Foxes

Belmont was a well known and prettily situated pleasure resort in

those days on one of the beautiful bays in Lake McQuarrie. The
homestead of Mr. Williams stood on the top of a hill overlooking the
lake and the surrounding country, and was about sixteen miles from
Newcastle through the bush in which I was lost, as stated in the
preceding chapter. On the hillside there were splendid fruit orchards
teeming with all manner of fruits. Here in rich abundance grew
oranges, apples, pears, bananas, figs, apricots, grapes, quinces and
water melons galore, besides many others, while beyond the
orchards there was again the bush with its magnificent red, blue and
grey gum trees, some of them towering to the height of two hundred
and fifty feet with a girth above the ground of thirty feet—monarchs
of the bush, whilst around their feet grew the sweet-scented
honeysuckle, sarsaparilla, bush oak, stringy bark, ti tree and various
others almost too numerous to mention. The bay formed between
the headlands of Belmont and Southlands, where there is a large
steam saw mill, had a lovely white sandy beach, and the bay itself
was alive with fish, while the shores were thronged with wild duck,
curlews, quail, black swans and penguins. On the lake were several
rowing boats and a sailing yacht, the house was large with extensive
grounds and was a constant rendezvous for large parties of ladies
and gentlemen from Sydney and other places who came for both
pleasure and sport. My work lay chiefly in looking after the boats,
teaching Mr. Williams’ children to swim and also any visitors wishing
to learn, and making myself generally useful.
One day while out in the lake with three young lady visitors whom I
was giving swimming lessons to, and who had for the first time that
morning ventured some thirty yards from the shore, I saw the dorsal
fin of a large shark not more than fifty feet outside of us. For the
moment I was almost paralysed with fear for my charges, then to my
relief I realized that as yet they knew nothing of the danger that
threatened them, so I sang out:
“Now ladies, this way, a race, a race for the shore; away, away,
see who will win it.”
The young ladies at once took up the challenge and struck out for
the beach. I followed them, urging them on with words of
encouragement, although my heart was in my mouth until we all
stood safely on the shore. I looked out across the waters, but the
shark, through God’s great mercy had not followed us, and was
nowhere to be seen, one of us, to say the least of it, had just
escaped a horrible death.
As the young ladies knew nothing about the narrow escape we
had just had, I thought it better not to tell them, as they would have
been terribly upset, and, as I afterwards learnt, this was the first time
a shark had been seen in this part of the lake, but I kept a sharper
look out when I had occasion to be in the water either for pleasure or
duty.
About a week afterwards a fisherman on the other side of the lake
caught a large shark which had one eye torn out and the other
seemed to be injured. This, no doubt, was the shark that I saw, and
owing to its defective sight we all escaped.
Our providential escape, however, was brought forcibly back to my
mind some three months later by a dreadful tragedy that happened
in a fisherman’s family named Boyd living in a cottage at the
entrance of the lake, their cottage standing about thirty feet from the
water’s edge.
On the day it happened, just about sunset, Mr. Boyd and his wife
were sitting at their cottage door facing the lake and watching their
two youngest children playing on the sands; presently their eldest
daughter Nellie, a girl about eighteen years of age came out of the
cottage in a loose wrapper and went down to the water for a bathe. A
large Newfoundland dog followed her, and swam about with her. The
girl had swum about seventy or eighty feet from the shore when her
father whistled to the dog, who immediately started to swim back to