The Young Wrecker of the Florida Reef: Or the Trials and Adventures of Fred Ransom (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Young Wrecker of the Florida Reef: Or the Trials and Adventures of Fred RansomEvery old bachelor was once a young one, and every young one was once still younger, when, although a bachelor, he was known only as a boy. It is the story of the boy, who is now an old bachelor, that I am about to narrate.As you may perchance wish to know some thing of the character and feelings of the person who addresses you, and how he came to do so, I will indulge your curiosity.We old fellows have not all those cares of family which fill the hours of others with pleas urable duty, and time often hangs heavily on our hands. Many of us try to do our duty. Heaven forbid that we should be blind to the need that this world has of earnest workers! But, after all, a man may minister to the needs of others, and yet there come vacant hours, when he must return to himself, and require ministering to his own. If he lacks not plenty of the goods of this world, he may have heart yearnings that are quite as pitiable as hunger, thirst, and want of shelter. Would that every one could be spared the sharp pang that I have sometimes experienced when fondling the joy and pride of some household, - the chubby boy who tossed his arms with glee, and twined his little hands in my shaggy beard!About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.