The Project Gutenberg EBook of Peter Simple, by Frederick Marryat

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Title: Peter Simple

Author: Frederick Marryat

Release Date: May 22, 2007 [EBook #21577]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER SIMPLE ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Peter Simple, by Captain Marryat.

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Captain Frederick Marryat was born July 10 1792, and died August 8 1848.
He retired from the British navy in 1828 in order to devote himself to
writing. In the following 20 years he wrote 26 books, many of which are
among the very best of English literature, and some of which are still
in print.

Marryat had an extraordinary gift for the invention of episodes in his
stories. He says somewhere that when he sat down for the day's work, he
never knew what he was going to write. He certainly was a literary
genius.

"Peter Simple" was published in 1834, the fourth book to flow from
Marryat's pen.

This e-text was transcribed in 1998 by Nick Hodson, and was reformatted
in 2003, and again in 2005.

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PETER SIMPLE, BY CAPTAIN FREDERICK MARRYAT.

CHAPTER ONE.

THE GREAT ADVANTAGE OF BEING THE FOOL OF THE FAMILY--MY DESTINY IS
DECIDED, AND I AM CONSIGNED TO A STOCKBROKER AS PART OF HIS MAJESTY'S
SEA-STOCK--UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME MR. HANDYCOCK IS A BEAR, AND I GET VERY
LITTLE DINNER.

If I cannot narrate a life of adventurous and daring exploits,
fortunately I have no heavy crimes to confess: and, if I do not rise in
the estimation of the reader for acts of gallantry and devotion in my
country's cause, at least I may claim the merit of zealous and
persevering continuance in my vocation. We are all of us variously
gifted from Above, and he who is content to walk, instead of to run, on
his allotted path through life, although he may not so rapidly attain
the goal, has the advantage of not being out of breath upon his arrival.

As well as I can recollect and analyse my early propensities, I think
that, had I been permitted to select my own profession, I should