The Little Savage

The Little Savage

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Savage, by Captain
Marryat #4 in our series by Captain Marryat
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: The Little Savage
Author: Captain Marryat
Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6897] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on February 9,

2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
LITTLE SAVAGE ***

Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

THE LITTLE SAVAGE
BY
CAPTAIN MARRYAT

THIS IS FAIRY GOLD, BOY; AND 'T WILL PROVE SO.
SHAKESPEARE

INTRODUCTION
There is a reference, in The Life and Letters of Captain Marryat by his
daughter Florence Marryat, to "The Little Savage, only two chapters of
the second volume of which were written by himself."
This sentence may be variously interpreted, but most probably implies
that Marryat wrote all

Part I (of the first edition) and two
chapters of
Part II, that is--as far as the end of Chapter
xxiv. The
remaining pages may be the work of his son Frank S. Marryat, who
edited the first edition, supplying a brief preface to
Part II:--
"I cannot publish this last work of my late father without some
prefatory remarks, as, in justice to the public, as well as to himself, I
should state, that his lamented decease prevented his concluding the
second volume."
"The present volume has been for some time at press, but the
long-protracted illness of the author delayed its publication."
The Little Savage opens well. The picture of a lad, who was born on a
desert island--though of English parents--and really deserves to be
called a savage, growing up with no other companionship than that of
his father's murderer, is boldly conceived and executed with some
power. The man Jackson is a thoroughly human ruffian, who naturally
detests the boy he has so terribly injured, and bullies him brutally.
Under this treatment Frank's animal passions are inevitably aroused,
and when the lightning had struck his tyrant blind, he turns upon him
with a quiet savagery that is narrated with admirable detachment.
This original situation arrests the reader's attention and secures his
interest in Frank Henniker's development towards civilisation and
virtue. His experience of absolute solitude after Jackson's death serves
to bring out his sympathies with animals and flowers; while, on the
arrival of Mrs Reichardt, he proves himself a loyal comrade under kind
treatment.

It is much to be regretted that Marryat did not live to finish his work.
R. B. J.
The Little Savage originally appeared in 1848-49. Marryat, who was
born in 1792, died at Langham, Norfolk, August 9, 1848.
The following is the list of his published works:--
Suggestions for the Abolition of the Present System of Impressment in
the Naval Service, 1822; The Naval Officer, or Scenes and Adventures
in the Life of Frank Mildmay, 1829; The King's Own, 1830; Newton
Forster (from the _Metropolitan Magazine_), 1832; Jacob Faithful
(from the _Metropolitan Magazine_), 1834; Peter Simple, 1834; The
Pacha of Many Tales, 1835; Midshipman Easy (from the _Metropolitan
Magazine_), 1836; Japhet in Search of a Father (from the
_Metropolitan Magazine_), 1836; The Pirate and The Three Cutters,
1836; A Code of Signals for the Use of Vessels employed in the
Merchant Service, 1837; Snarleyyow, or The Dog Fiend, 1837; A
Diary in America, with Remarks on its Institutions, 1839; The Phantom
Ship, 1839; Poor Jack, 1840; Olla Podrida (articles from the
_Metropolitan Magazine_), 1840; Joseph Rushbrook, or The Poacher,
1841; Masterman Ready, or The Wreck of the Pacific, 1841; Percival
Keene, 1842; Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Monsieur
Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas, 1843; The Settlers in
Canada, 1844; The Mission, or Scenes in Africa, 1845; The Privateer's
Man, 1846; The Children of the New Forest, 1847; The Little Savage
(posthumous), 1848-49; Valerie (posthumous), 1849; Life and Letters,
Florence Marryat, 1872.