Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

George Lewis Becke (1848-1913) was an Australian short-story writer and novelist. He began his voyages in the south seas at a very early age and there are two accounts of these beginnings: one by the Earl of Pembroke, who presumably obtained his information from Becke, which is prefixed to By Reef and Palm (1894), and the other written by Becke. It is difficult to reconcile them, and all that is certain is that Becke spent many years on vessels trading in the Pacific islands. Becke went to London, and he remained in Europe for about 15 years, during which time a large number of collections of short stories and a few novels and stories for boys were published. He was fairly paid by the magazines for his stories, but he always sold his books outright. About 30 of Becke's books are listed in Miller's Australian Literature with six other volumes written in collaboration with W. J. Jeffery. Among Becke's books are: The Naval Pioneers of Australia (1899), and By Rock and Pool on an Austral Shore and Other Stories (1901).

This book explores the history of one of Florida's oldest, largest, and most famous families.

Two short stories, both first published in 1901.