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Typee, by Herman Melville
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Title: Typee A Romance of the South Sea
Author: Herman Melville
Commentator: Arthur Stedman
Posting Date: November 20, 2008 [EBook #1900] Release Date: September 1999
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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TYPEE
A ROMANCE OF THE SOUTH SEAS
By Herman Melville
PREFACE
MORE than three years have elapsed since the occurrence of the events recorded in this volume. The interval, with the exception of the last few months, has been chiefly spent by the author tossing about on the wide ocean. Sailors are the only class of men who now-a-days see anything like stirring adventure; and many things which to fire-side people appear strange and romantic, to them seem as common-place as a jacket out at elbows. Yet, notwithstanding the familiarity of sailors with all sorts of curious adventure, the incidents recorded in the following pages have often served, when 'spun as a yarn,' not only to relieve the weariness of many a night-watch at sea, but to excite the warmest sympathies of the author's shipmates. He has been, therefore, led to think that his story could scarcely fail to interest those who are less familiar than the sailor with a life of adventure.
In his account of the singular and interesting peop