Andrew Kippis

“ A Narrative of the Life of Captain Cook must principally consist of the voyages and discoveries he made , and the difficulties and dangers to which he was exposed. The private incidents concerning him , though collected with the utmost diligence , can never compare , either in number or importance, with his public transactions. His public transactions are the things that mark the man , that display his mind and his character ”

“ From a large communication with which he was so good as to favour me, I have derived very material intelligence, as will appear in the course of the narrative, and especially in the first chapter. In the same chapter are some facts which I received from ADMIRAL GRAVES, through the hands of the Reverend DR. DOUGLAS, now Bishop of Carlisle, whose admirable Introduction to the Voyage to the Pacific Ocean must be of the most essential service to every writer of the Life of Captain Cook. ”

“ Even here it is scarcely possible, nor would it be desirable, to avoid the introduction of some of the most striking circumstances which relate to the new countries and inhabitants that were visited by our great Navigator ”