effort, fate; and there can we test ourselves and know our state. All
that which concerns the sea is profound and final. The sea provides
visions, darknesses, revelations. The sea puts ever before us those
twin faces of reality: greatness and certitude; greatness stretched
almost to the edge of infinity (greatness in extent, greatness in
changes not to be numbered), and the certitude of a level remaining
forever and standing upon the deeps. The sea has taken me to itself
whenever I sought it and has given me relief from men. It has rendered
remote the cares and the wastes of the land; for of all creatures
that move and breathe upon the earth, we of mankind are the fullest
of sorrow. But the sea shall comfort us, and perpetually show us new
things and assure us. It is the common sacrament of this world. May it
be to others what it has been to me.
THE END
The Cruise of the Nona
HILAIRE BELLOC
A good many years ago, a unique book entitled “The Path to Rome,” by
Hilaire Belloc, was published, which has taken an enduring place in
our literature. On the thread of a narrative of a walking tour through
France and Italy Mr. Belloc strung memories and reflections which made
the book as stimulating as it was delightful.
In “The Cruise of the Nona” he employs much the same device as a
vehicle for his riper thought and richer experience. “I propose to
write a book,” says Mr. Belloc, “called ‘The Cruise of the Nona.’ The
‘Nona’ is the name of my boat, a nine-ton boat in which I have done
a great deal of sailing during the last twenty years. The book would
consist mainly in reminiscences, judgments, stories, and all the rest
that comes into a man’s mind when he is thinking upon the past and upon
his own acquired knowledge.”
On the surface, “The Cruise of the Nona” is a breezy record of an
adventurous cruise; underneath the surface, it is one of the wisest and
most pregnant studies of modern life in many phases, particularly in
its War and post-War phases, that have seen the light in many years.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
Transcriber’s Notes
1. Italic text in the original is delimited by underscores.
2. Blackletter text in the original is delimited by both underscores
and equals signs.
3. Hyphenated words were silently joined across lines and pages when
the intended word was clear.
4. The following table notes the other material changes made to
the printed text, in order to correct apparent printing errors
(punctuation, spelling, quotation marks, repeated words), and to
standardize spelling and hyphenation for identical words to the more
frequent usage across the text. Changes are denoted in [brackets].
=Page= =Text= =Operation=
9 believe it[.] Added.
34 see[’,/,’] Replaced.
36 warping[-/ ]ropes Replaced.
45 north[-]west Removed.
85 subject[s] Added.
188 north[-]eastern Removed.
192 off[-]shore Removed.
269 politic[i]an Added.
277 north[-]easterly Removed.
280 north[-]easterly Removed.
281 north[-]east Removed.
293 north[-]east Removed.
310 off[-]shore Removed.