Robert Michael Ballantyne

The Crew of the Water Wagtail Robert Michael Ballantyne

Undoubtedly Paul Burns would have scorned to draw back, for he was a "hero of romance;" an enthusiast of the deepest dye, with an inquiring mind, a sanguine disposition, and a fervent belief in all things great and good and grand. He was also a sixfooter in his socks, a horse in constitution, a Hercules in frame, with a hook nose and a hawk eye and a strong jaw-and all the rest of it. Paul had a good brain, too, and was well educated-as education went in those days. Yes, there can be little doubt that even though Paul Burns had been able to see into the future, he would have deliberately chosen to go on that voyage.