Relating the perils of a first long cruise: "She lov'd him for the dangers he had pass'd"

Exhibited with a quote from Shakespeare's Othello (Act 1, Sc. 3) this painting illustrates a young sailor regaling his family and friends with an account of his recent expedition. Evidence of his exotic destinations can be seen throughout the composition, and the critic for the Athenaeum commented on the children who 'play with the shells, the parrot, and the other marvels produced from the young sailor's chest as the evidences and guarantees of his tales and travels. The heroine of the scene is a fair and blue-eyed maiden who listens intensely, losing her little heart to the youthful sailor "for the dangers he has passed". Mr Brooks, who has considered his subject carefully, and has spared no pains in the execution, is fully entitled to the general commendation bestowed on his Sailor on Shore.' (loc. cit.).