Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer — Cyrus Townsend Brady

In literature there have been romantic pirates, gentlemanly pirates,kind-hearted pirates, even humorous pirates--in fact, all sorts andconditions of pirates. In life there was only one kind. In this bookthat kind appears. Several presentations--in the guise of novels--ofpirates, the like of which never existed on land or sea, have recentlyappeared. A perusal of these interesting romances awoke in me a desireto write a story of a real pirate, a pirate of the genuine species.Much research for historical essays, amid ancient records and moldychronicles, put me in possession of a vast amount of informationconcerning the doings of the greatest of all pirates; a man unique amonghis nefarious brethren, in that he played the piratical game sosuccessfully that he received the honor of knighthood from King CharlesII. A belted knight of England, who was also a brutal, rapacious,lustful, murderous villain and robber--and undoubtedly a pirate,although he disguised his piracy under the name of buccaneering--iscertainly a striking and unusual figure.