By : Henry John Whitfield (1808 - 1855)
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My dear Sir,
I dedicate to you this little Book, not only in gratitude for your kindness, but from admiration of the manner in which you have raised these beautiful Islands from a state of misery into one of prosperity and comfort ; reforming wisely, but cautiously; developing their re- sources with a firm and practical hand ; and acting in the true spirit of your motto, —
HIS volume has no claim to be considered, nor does it profess to be, one of learning or of
research. It is but a simple record of my first impressions among strange habits and places, in a part of the kingdom which is seldom visited by tourists. After a somewhat lengthened residence on the Continent, it was by mere chance that, in search of health, I wandered hither. My stay was like that of the well known traveller in the East, who accompanied a friend to Calais, and remained abroad eighteen years. I came for two or three weeks, and stayed three months. The beauty of the Islands, and the kindness I received at all hands,
made those three months the happiest I ever spent in my life. I have, in this work, attempted some return — though a poor one — for the pleasure I enjoyed ; relating only what came under my own observation ; and wishing the good Scillonians no happier lot than a continuance of their present blessings, under the same wise and paternal rule.
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