This is a quite amusing nautical tale of the British Navy of the around the year 1700. While, as with much early 'humor', it is somewhat heavy-handed, the sympathies <br />of the author are clear and good, and cruelty is often averted by good fortune or background characters. First published under the title 'The Dog Fiend', the primary <br />characters are an evil captain of a cutter and his dog. The dog seems indestructible, as is the poor cabin boy who is the butt of the captain's ill humor, and who often <br />is chewed on by the dog. The cutter is sent against smugglers, transporting ' Alamodes and lute strings' - a term for foreign silks. But, the smugglers really are <br />Jacobites plotting against King William, and much of the action relates to politics of that time. <br /> ( Arnold Banner)
