Background
Ballou was born in Boston in 1820, to parents Hosea Ballou and Ruth Washburn.
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( "A graphic delineator of scenes and events, while at th...)
"A graphic delineator of scenes and events, while at the same time a perfect master of language, Mr. Ballou enlists the interest of his readers at the beginning, and does not allow it to wane. In the present work he has done a valuable service to the young, especially, by taking them to a historic spot, which, although it appears but a speck on the map, owing to its small superficial area, has a romantic interest rarely equaled by any tract of like size. Its present aspect, too, is attractive and picturesque. Since the opening of the Suez canal it has attained an importance, commercially speaking, which brings it to more general notice than previously; while the student, the antiquarian and the artist have learned the value of rich treasure which the island holds for them. It is the casual tourist, the visitor, the sight-seer, the man of leisure, to whom Mr. Ballou most strongly appeals, and the pen pictures which are given of a civilization covering 3,000 years, of Phoenician, Punic, Roman, Grecian and Asiatic domination, must attract and interest all who read." -Good Housekeeping "Nothing worth seeing seems to escape his eye, while all that would delight others to know is portrayed in a rich, graphic style." -New York Observer. "It is as useful to read him as it is enjoyable to travel with him." -Journal of Education (Boston). "Few persons have traveled so extensively, and no one more profitably, both to himself and the public, than Mr. Ballou." -Edwin P. Whipple. "One of those pleasing accounts of which Mr. Ballou has furnished so many, in which the graphic pen pictures of a tourist are made to alternate with accurate historical records, is to be found in 'The Story of Malta.' His wide experience, his knowledge of men and their ways, his trained habit of sight, and his quick faculties of reasoning, all combine to make this production one of interest and profit." -The Chautauquan "The island of Malta is not only a place of great historic interests, but one of modern commercial importance as well. It is directly in the highway between Europe and Asia, and has become a sort of half-way station for the great bulk of the shipping which traverses the Suez Canal. 'The Story of Malta,' by Mr. Maturin M. Ballou, is an interesting and careful study of this small but noteworthy bit of terra firma in Mediterranean waters." -Kate Field's Washington "The island of Malta, since the opening of the Suez Canal, has become the maritime half-way-house between Europe and Asia, which imparts to it vast commercial importance and causes it to be visited by many people who but from the force of circumstances would perhaps never have become conversant with its singularly beautiful surroundings, or its fascinating capital, the unique city of Valletta. Mr. Ballou's new volume gives a thorough description of the island of Malta, its history, scenery and inhabitants." -Publishers Weekly "Maturin M. Ballou's books of travel are so well known to those that take pleasure in voyaging by proxy, that to mention a new book by him, its subject and scope, is quite sufficient. His latest book is 'The Story of Malta,' and the subject is one that gives good scope to Mr. Ballou's pen. Its historic nature carries well the slight touch of pedantry that he always has, and its limited area concentrates his attention, and prevents that discursive rambling from New Zealand to Norway that he delights in. The result is a very interesting book, with some eloquent chapters." -The Overland Monthly
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(Example in this ebook CHAPTER I. The town of Lynn, Mass...)
Example in this ebook CHAPTER I. The town of Lynn, Massachusetts, situated up the Atlantic sea board, at a distance of some ten miles from the metropolis of New England, has been the locale of many an incident of a most romantic character. Indeed its history abounds with matter more akin to romance than fact. There are here the Pirate's Cave, Lover's Leap, the Robber's Dungeon, all within a pistol shot of each other. The story of its early Indian history is also of a most interesting character, and altogether the place is one destined to be immortal from these causes alone. In that part of the town known as 'Wood End,' there is an immense pile of stone rising perpendicularly on the side of a hill, fronting the ocean, known far and near by the name of High Rock. This granite mass is very peculiarly formed; the front rising abruptly nearly an hundred feet, while the back is deeply imbedded in the rising ground and the summit forms a plain level with the height of the hill and the adjoining plain in the rear. This spot has long been celebrated for the extended and beautiful prospect it affords. From its top which overlooks rock-bound Nahant in a Southerly direction, may be had a noble view of the Atlantic, and a breadth of coast nearly thirty miles in width. There is no spot upon our shores where the sea plays a wilder or more solemn dirge than on the rocky peninsula of Nahant; the long connecting beach is here a scene of angry commotion from the constant and heavy swells of the broad ocean. At a distance of about ten miles in the South-West lies Boston. The eye always rests upon the dense smoke that enshrouds it first, piercing which, loom up the spires of its numerous churches, and towering above them all, the noble State House is distinctly seen. Turn still more to the West and you overlook the principal portion of the manufacturing town of Lynn, with its picturesque collection of white cottages and factories, appearing of miniature dimensions. Turn again towards the North West and a few miles beyond the town of Lynn, lies the thriving little village of Saugus. A full Northern view is one of woody beauty, being a field of forest tops of almost boundless extent. In the North-East through the opening hills and trees, a glimpse is had of the water in Salem harbor, while the city itself is hid from view, reminding one of the distant view of the Adriatic from the lofty Appenines, which rise from the very gates of the lovely city of Florence. This is a slight glance at the extended prospect to be enjoyed by a visit to High Rock, at the present day, saying nothing of the pretty quiet little fishing village of Swampscot, and the panorama of sailing craft that always ornament the sea view. Near the base of the rock there resided until a few years since the celebrated fortune-teller, known by the name of 'Moll Pitcher,' a soubriquet given her by the town's people, her rightful name never having been ascertained. She lived to a remarkable old age, and to the day of her death the visitor who 'crossed her palm with broad pieces,' was sure to receive in return, some truthful or fictitious legend of the neighborhood. There are many among us to this day who remember with pleasure their visits to the strange old fortune-teller of Lynn, at the base of High Rock. To be continue in this ebook
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(A fascinating classic travel and history book from 1889 r...)
A fascinating classic travel and history book from 1889 retelling the journey to the new state of Alaska. Maturin Murray Ballou describes in great detail his impressions of the the nature, settlers, native people, glaciers, mountains, gold prospecting and history of the most northern state in America. Using 19th Century language from the years of Sherlock Holmes, there is no mystery to solve in this book, merely the discovery of a partial unexplored land as we learn about the wilderness and people of Alaska from a time long passed. "Until Alaska—The New Eldorado—came into our possession, it was from the persistent and adventurous fur-traders that our knowledge of the country was almost solely obtained. To most of the public it was (and is still to many) scarcely more than a geographical expression, occupying an insignificant space on the extreme northwest portion of the maps of North America, without any regard being paid to the scale on which the other States and Territories of the country are delineated. The fact nevertheless stares us in the face, that Alaska is nearly as large as the whole of the United States lying east of the Mississippi River, or three times as large as France. ... The very name of Alaska has to the popular ear a ring of glacier fields and snow-clad peaks, conveying a frigid impression of the climate quite 114contrary to fact. The most habitable portions of the country lie between 55° and 60° north, about the same latitude as that of Scotland and southern Scandinavia, but the area of this portion of Alaska is greater than that of both these countries combined. The name is derived from Al-ay-ck-sa, which was given to the mainland by the aborigines, and which signifies “great country.” On the old maps it is very properly designated as Russian America, and so it really was until its transfer from the possession of that government to our own. ... On the 18th of October, in the year 1867, three United States men-of-war lay in the harbor, namely, the Ossipee, the Jamestown, and the Resaca. It was a memorable occasion, for on that day the Muscovite flag was formally hauled down and the Stars and Stripes were run up on the flagstaff of the castle amid a salvo of guns from the ships of both nations, thus completing the official transfer of the great Territory of Alaska from Russian to American possession. Up to this time the government of the country had been virtually under the control of the rich fur company chartered by the Tzar. Any policy at variance with its purposes was treason; immigration, except for its employees, was rigorously discouraged; the imperial governor was actually salaried by this great monopoly, while his public acts were subject to its approval or otherwise. With the date above given this condition of affairs ceased and a new régime began. Though no radical change immediately took place, still the atmosphere of our Union gradually permeated these regions, our flag freely floated everywhere, and our few officials assumed their responsibilities..."
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(“The English Island of Barbados” is a description of the ...)
“The English Island of Barbados” is a description of the Caribbean island of Barbados in the late nineteenth century. The author, Maturin Murray Ballou (1820-1895) was a Boston native who travelled extensively around the world and published several fiction and non-fiction books, as well as travel narratives. In the 1890s, Barbados was a British colony, having been first settled by the English in 1627. The island’s main economic activity was sugarcane, sugar, and rum production. Bridgetown was its capital.
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(Excerpt from Genius in Sunshine and Shadow Ten ancient t...)
Excerpt from Genius in Sunshine and Shadow Ten ancient towns contend for Homer dead, Through which the living Homer begged his bread. The cautious historian only tells us that he is sup posed to have flourished about nine hundred years before the time of Christ; while there are also learned writers who contend that no such person as Homer3 ever lived, and who attribute the two most famous poems of antiquity to various minstrels or ballad mongers, who celebrated the tale of Troy divine at various periods, and whose songs and legends were fused into unity at the time of Pisistratus. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Ballou was born in Boston in 1820, to parents Hosea Ballou and Ruth Washburn.
He was educated at the English High School; and always sought his native city at the end of his many and far travels.
At the age of nineteen he became a clerk in the Boston Post Office, and at about the same time began writing for a minor paper known as the Olive Branch, continuing to be an inveterate scribbler in the midst of his many other occupations and diversions.
Cruises on sea and journeys on land, during which he wrote letters home for publication descriptive of countries and people, much of this periodical material being later embodied in his books, were followed by employment as deputy navy-agent in the Boston Custom House.
He was the first editor and manager of the Boston Daily Globe, from 1872 to 1874, and during his work in journalism he was actively engaged in numerous business and financial enterprises, the most notable of these being the building of the St. James Hotel in the south end of Boston, which is now, under the designation of the Franklin Square House, one of the largest institutions in the country providing comfortable quarters for working women and girls.
n 1882 he circumnavigated the globe, and he took many other tours until his death, which occurred in Cairo, Egypt. The many plays he wrote remain unacted, but one or two of them were published. Under the pseudonym "Lieut. Murray" he produced several romances, whose titles are sufficiently indicative of their character: Red Rupert, the American Buccaneer (1845); The Naval Officer; or The Pirate's Cave (1845); The Spanish Musketeer (1847). His books of travel include Due West; or Round the World in Ten Months (1884); Due South; or Cuba Past and Present (1885); Under the Southern Cross; or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa and Other Pacific Islands (1888). He wrote also The Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou (1852), and The History of Cuba (1854).
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
(Excerpt from Genius in Sunshine and Shadow Ten ancient t...)
(“The English Island of Barbados” is a description of the ...)
(A fascinating classic travel and history book from 1889 r...)
( "A graphic delineator of scenes and events, while at th...)
(Example in this ebook CHAPTER I. The town of Lynn, Mass...)
book
A reviewer in the Nation rightly said of him: "Mr. Ballou can tell a fairly interesting story of personal observations and experiences, but he is not a writer to pin one's faith to in matters of solid information. " In other words, his literary work was distinctly journalistic and ephemeral. He was a maker of books rather than a literary man, a writer who looked at everything objectively, a traveler who set down his observations first, and his lasting impressions, if he had any, afterward.
He was married on September 15, 1839 to Mary Anne Roberts.
