A PILOT'S STORY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22142, 22 June 1935, Page 9 (Supplement)

A PILOT'S STORY

LORE OF THE HOOGHLY A lifetime spent as a pilot on the great Hooghly River has provided Mr. Malcolm Beattie with a very rich store of memories and lie has done good service in passing his experiences 011 for all who care to read. Instructive and entertaining—above all entertairiing—" 011 the Hooghly "is one of those books written by a sailor that the landsman can enjoy with the keenest delight. Some of it only the seaman will understand; but that is only a small part and it in 110 way detracts from the continuity of the narrative from the lay standpoint. Oil the contrary it gives that authentic air which makes all the difference to a book of this nature. Mr. Beattie joined the Hooghly pilot service in 1878 and retired in 1913. In that timo he saw sail give place to steam and learned much of the lore of Calcutta's river. There can, indeed, be few alive who know so much about that great waterway of commerce and the characters who came and went through its portal. Ships from all the seven seas found their way at some time in their careers to this historic port, and each left something of itself, if only a memory, to enrich the store of romance that has been accumulated. Mr. Beattie is a keen observer with a sense of humour and some skill with the pencil and brush. Ho lias illustrated his book with his own sketches. " On the Hooghly," by Malcolm Hamilton Beattie. (Philip Allan.)