Across the Spanish Main: A Tale of the Sea in the Days of Queen Bess
By Harry Collingwood
This sudden news of Roger’s determination came as somewhat of a blow to his parents, especially his mother, who was very much against her son adopting a profession in which there was so much danger. Roger’s father, however, looked at the matter from a more practical and business point of view, being fully aware that what Roger had said about the glory, honour, and riches to be won by a brave man at sea at that period was perfectly accurate; and, although reluctant to lose his only son, he saw quite clearly that the lad had entirely made up his mind to go to sea, even before speaking about the matter, and that if he were forbidden he would take kindly to nothing else.
So he promised Roger that he would talk the matter over with his wife and that they would let their son know their decision in due time, possibly in the day. As might be expected, Roger’s mother raised all the opposition she could to his going away. Still, her husband pointed out to her so clearly the advantages to be gained that eventually, she gave way and consented, with many tears, to part with her boy.
However, she found some slight consolation in the fact that Mary Edgwyth would be with her during Roger’s absence, for she knew that Mary would be to her even as a daughter and would help, in some measure, to fill Roger’s place until he returned. His father accordingly communicated to Roger the result of his talk with his wife, and the latter, being a high-spirited young fellow, was naturally greatly elated thereat and plied his father with questions as to when he might be allowed to leave and how the adventure was to be brought about.
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Harry Collingwood
Harry Collingwood was the pseudonym of William Joseph Cosens Lancaster (23 May 1843 – 10 June 1922), a British civil engineer and novelist who wrote over 40 boys’ adventure books, almost all in a nautical setting.
Biography.
In September 1860, at age 17, he began working as a pupil in the architectural office of G R Crickmay RIBA in Dorset. That architectural practice continues today under the name of John Stark and Crickmay. He continued in Dorset until March 1864 and then moved to Durban in South Africa. He worked there in a range of posts until the end of 1870 when he was the Government Engineer and Surveyor for the Port District of Natal.
He returned to the UK in 1871 and worked on an eight-mile section of the Devon to London Railway for two years (the section of the London and South Western Railway from Okehampton to Lydford was under construction at this time). He continued in the UK, working on a range of projects, including harbour works in the Isle of Man, as well as work at Burntisland on the Firth of Forth, where he lived in 1880 while advertising in Coleraine in Northern Ireland, for accommodation for himself, his wife, and infant son. In 1888, he spent a year on the island of Trinidad, surveying for a deep-water port and associated railway.
He also travelled to the Baltic, Mediterranean, and East Indies. His wide travels provided accurate backgrounds for many of his works. Returned to England and now living in Norwood, London, Collingwood applied for associate membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 31 July 1889 and was elected on 3 December 1889. Associated membership is the grade of membership open to engineers who are not academically qualified Civil Engineers but have learned engineering by another route.
In 1893, Collingwood was one of the three short-listed candidates from the 89 applicants for Resident Engineer at Llanelly Harbour but was unsuccessful. From 1894 to 1896, he was an engineer, working out of London for works on the River Bann for the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners. In 1906, Collingwood moved to Mutley in Plymouth. By 1908, he was back in London, at New Bushey in Watford, London.
Harry Collingwood
