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[all bights reserved.] MA Tl The CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. MEN-OF-WAR. PAOB Our Wooden Walls— The Victoru— Siege of Toulon— Battle of St. Vincent— Nelson's Bridge— Trafalgar's Glorious Day— The Day for such Battles gone— Iron v. Wood— Lessons of the Crimean War— Moral Effect of the Presence of our Fleets -Bombardment of Sebastopol— Red-hot Shot and Gibraltar- The Ironclad Movement— The IKaiTJor— Expe- riences with Ironclads— The Merrimac in Hampton Roads— A Speedily-decided Action— The Cumberland sunk and Conffresa burned— The First Monitor— Engagement with the Jtfcrrimac— Notes on Recent Actions— The Shah and Huaacar— An Ironclad tackled by a Merchantman CHAPTER II. MEN OF PEACE. Naval Life in Peace Times— A Grand Exploring Voyage-The Cruise of the Challenoer— Its Work— Deep-sea Soundings —Five Miles down— Apparatus employed— Ocean Treasures- A Gigantic Sea-monster— Tristan d'Acunha— A Discovery Interesting to the Discovered— The Two Crusoes— The Inaccessible Island— Solitary Life— The Sea- cart— Swimniing Pigs-Rescued at Last-Tho Real Crusoe Island to Let— Down South— The Land of Desolation— Kcrguelen-The Sealers' Dreary Life— In the Antarctic— Among the Icel)crg8 28 CHAPTER III. THE MEN OF THE SEA. The Great Lexicographer on Sailors— The Dangers of the Sea— How Boys become Sailors— Young Amyas Leigh- The Genuine Jack Tar— Training-Ships versus the old Guard-Ships—" Sea-goers and VVaisters "-The Training Under- gone-Routine on Board— Never-ending Work— Ship like a Lady's Watch— Watches and "Bella"- Old Grogram and Grog— The Sailor's Sheet Anchor— Shadows in the Seaman's Life— The Naval Cat— Testimony and Opinion of a Medical Officer— An Example— Boy Flogging in the Navy— Shakespeare and Herbert on Sailors and the Sea ' 42 CHAPTER IV. PERILS OF THE SAILOR'S LIFE. Tho Loss of the Captain-Six Hundred Souls swept into Eternity without a Warning— The Mansion and the Cottage alike Sufferers-Causes of the Disaster— Horrors of the Scene-Noble Captain Burgoyne— Narratives of Survivors- An almost Incredible Feat— Loss of the Royal Ccorffc- A Great Disaster caused by a Trifle— Nine Hundred Lost— A ChUd saved by a Sheep— The Portholes Upright- An Involuntary Bath of Tar— Rafts of Corpscs-The Vessel Blown up in I839-J0-Tho I^oss of the fanauard-Usiit a Million sunk in Fifty Minutes- Admirable Discipline on Board— All Saved— The Court Martial M CHAPTER V. PERILS OF THE SAILOR'S LIFE (ooH/»«M#rf). The Value of Discipline— The Loss of the A"c»if-Fire on Board-The Ship Waterlogged-Death in Two Forms-A SaU in Sight-Transference of Six Hundred Passengers to a Small Brig— Splendid Discipline of the Soldiers— Imper- turbable Coolness of the Captain— Loss of the Birkenhead— lAteraUy broken in Two— Noble Conduct of the Military-A Contrary Example— Wreck of the Meduaa—Uun on a Sand-bank— Panic on Board— Raft constructed— Insubordination and Selflahneas— One Hundred and Fifty Souls abandoned— Drunkenness and Mutiny on the 191801 IV CONTENTS. PAOK Raft— Rlota and Miirdcrs— Reduced to Thirty Persons— The Strongrcr Part niassacro the Others— Fifteen Left- Rescued at Last— Another Contrast— W.-cck of the .c- Tropical Vegetation- Animal Life -Jamaica- Kingston Harbour— Sugar Cultivation— The (juecn of the Antilles— Its Pasco— Ueauty of the Archipelago— A Dutch Settlement In the Heart of a Volcano— Among the Islands— The Soutrri6rc— Historical HcmiiiiHcenccs— Bermuda : Colony, Fortress, and Prison— Home of Ariel and Caliban— The Whitest Place in the World— Bermuda Convicts— Xow York Harbour— The City— First Impressions— Its Fine Position— Splendid Harbour— Forest of Masts— The Ferry-boats, Hotels, and Bars- Offenbach's Impressions- Broadway, Fulton Market, and Central Park— Xow York in Winter— Frozen Ships— The Great Brooklyn Bridge— Halifax and its Beauties— Importance of the Station— Bedford Basin— The Karly Settlers— The Blue Xoscs— Adieu to America 175 CHAPTER XII. KOUND THE WOULD ON A MAN-OF-WAR [coHtinued). THE AFBICAX STATIOX. Its Extent- Ascension— Turtle at a Discount— Sierra Leone— An Unhealthy Station— The Capo of Good Hope— Cape Town— Visit of the Sailor Prlnce-Grund Festivities— Enthusiasm of the Xotivcs- Loyal Demonstrations— An African " Derby "—Grand Dock Inaugurated— Elephant Hunting -The Parting Ball— The Life of a Boer— Circular Farms— The Diamond Discoveries— A £12,000 Gem— A Sailor First President of the Fields— Precarious Xaturo of the Seareh—Xatal— Inducements held out to Settlera -St. Helena and Xapoleon— Diseourteotis Treatment of a Fallon Foo— Tho Home of the Caged liion : CHAPTER XIII. THE SERVICE.— OFFICERS' LIFE ON BOARD. Conditions of Life on Ship-board- A Model Ward-room— An Admiral's Cabin— Captains and Captains— The Sailor and his Superior Ofllcers— A Contrast- A Commander of the Old School— Jack Ijirmour— Lord Cochrane's Experiences —His Chest curtailed— Tho Stinking Ship— The First Command— Shaving under Difflciiltics -The Speedy and her Prizes— The Doctor- On Board a Gunboat— Cabin and Dispcnsory-Cockroaches and Centipedes— Other Horrors— The Naval Chaplain— His Duties— Stories of an Amoteur— Tho Engineer- His Increasing Iniportanec— Popularity of the Navy— Nelson always a Model Commander— The Idol of his Colleagues, OBlcers, and Men— Taking tho Men into his Confldenco— The Action between the Bcllona and Cournflrcux- Coptain Falknor's Speech to the Crow— An Obsolete Custom -Crossing the Line— Neptune's Visit to the Quarter-deck— The Navy of To-day— Its Back- bone— Progressive Increase in tho Size of Vessels— Xaval Volunteers— A Noble Movement— Excellent Results— The Naval Reserve 2U CHAPTER XIV. THE REVERSE OF THE PICTURE-3IUTINY. Bligh's Bread-fruit Expedition— Voyage of tho /?o«»i^j/— Otahcite— Tho Happy Islanders -First Appearance of a Mutinous Spirit-Thc Cutter stolen and recdvcrcd— Tho Bounty sails with 1,000 Trecs-Tho Mutiny— Bligh overpowered and bound— Abandoned with Eighteen Others— Their Resources- Attacked by Natives- A Boat Voyage of 3,618 Miles— Violent Gales— Miserable Condition of the Boat's Crew-Bread by tho Ouncc-Rtnn by the Tea-spoonful- Noddies and Boobies— "Who shall have this?"— Off the Barrier Reef- A Haven of Rest- Oyster and Palm-top .Stews— Another Thousand Miles of Ocean— Arrival ut Coupang— Hospitality of tho Residents — Ghostly Ijooks of the Party— Death of Five of the Number— Tho Pandora dispatched to catch tho Mutineers— Fourteen in Irons— Pandora's Box— Tho Wreck— Great Loss of Life- Sentences of the Court Martial— The Last of tho Mutineers— Pitcalm Island— A Model Settlement— Another Example : Tho Greatest Mutiny of History-40,000 Disaffected Men at One Point— Causes-Legitimate Action of the Men at First- Apathy of Government— Serious Organisation— The Splthead Fleet ordered to Sea— Refusal of the Crews— VI COMTENTH. l-AOK Concessions mode, and tlie First Mutiny quclled-Sccond Outbrook-Lord Howe's Tact— The Oreat Mutiny of the Nore-Hlchard Parker- A Vilo Character but Man of Talent -Wins the Men to his Sidc-OfBcers flotnccd and ducked— Gallant Duncan's A CHAPTER XV. T»IE HISTORY OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING INTERESTS. The First Attempts to Float-HoUowcd Logs and Hafts-Tho Ark and its Dimensions -Skin Floats and Basket- boats- Maritime Commerce of Antiquity— Phconician Knterprise-Dld they roimd the Cape?— The Ships of Tyre— Carthage llanno's Voyage to the West Coast of Africa-Egyptian Gallcys-Thc Great Ships of the Ptolemics-lliero's Floating Palace -The llomans— Their Uepugnance to Seafaring Pursuits-Sea Battles with the Carthaginians— Cicero's Opinions on Commerce— Constantinople and Its Commerce— Venice— Britain— The First Invasion under Julius Cresar— Beneflts accruing— The Danish Pirates— The London of the Period— The Father of the British Navy-Alfred and his Victories-Canute's Fleet-The Norman Invasion— The Crusades— Bichard Cojur de Lion's IHcct- The Cinque Ports and their Privileges— Foundation of a Maritime Code— L«tt«r8 of Marque-Opening of the Coal Trade— Chaucer's Description of the Sailors of his Time— A Glorious I'eriod- The Victories at llarfleur-IIenry V.'s Fleet of 1,500 Vessels-The Channel Marauders- The King- Maker Pirate— Sir Andrew Wood's Victory— Action with Scotch Pirates— The Great Michael and the Oreat Marry— Qukon Elizabeth's Astuteness— The Nation never so well provided— "The Most Fortunate and Invincible Armada"— Its Size and Strength- ElizatMJth's Appeal to the Country— A Noble Bcsponse- Efflngham's Appoint- ment—The Armada's First Disaster— Uefltted, and rcsails from Corunna— Chased in the Bear— A Scries of Con<»T/c»i/)s— English Volunteer Ships In Numbers- The Fire-ships at Calais— The Final Action— FJIght of the Armada— Fate of Shipwrecked Spanish in Ireland— Total IjOSS to Spain— Ilejoicings and Thanksgivings in England 258 CHAPTEIi XVI. THE HISTORY OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING INTERESTS (continued). Nobk -urcrs-The Eorl of Cumberland as a Pirote— Uich Prizes— Action with the Madrc de Di'os— Capture of the tr. .rrack— A Cargo worth £150,000— Burning of the Ci'«co CAatros- But Fifteen saved out of Eleven Hundred Souls— The Scourge of Jlfaiice- Establishment of the Slave Trade -Sir John Hawkins' Ventures— High-honded Proceedings— The Spaniards forced to purchase— A Fleet of Slovers- Hawkins sanctioned by " Good Queen Bess" —Joins in a Negro War -A Disastrous Voyage -Sir Francis Drake— IJis First Loss —The Treasure at Nombre do Dios— Drake's Firat Siglit of the Pacific- Tons of Silver captured— John Oxenham's Voyage— The First English- man on the Pacific -IBs Disasters and Death- Drake's Voyage Bound the World— Blood-letting at the Equator- Arrival at Port Julian— Trouble with the Natives -Execution of a Mutineer— Passage of the Straits of Magellan- Vessels separated in a Gale-Loss of the Marigold -Tragic Fate of Eight Men— Drake driven to Cape Horn- Proceedings at Valparaiso— Prizes taken— Capture of the Great Treasure Ship— Drake's Resolve to change his Course Home— Vessel refitted at Nicaragua— Slay in the Bay of San Francisco-The Natives worship the English —Grand Reception nt Temate -Drake's Ship nearly wrecked— Return to England— Honours accorded Drake— Uia Character and Influence— Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Disasters and Death— Raleigh's Virginia Settlements 291 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Board tho ChnU ... Frontispiece, Examininer a " Haul " on lenger Tho Ftctory at Portsmonth 5 Books near Cape St. Vincent 9 The Victory at CIobo Quarters with the Reiouhtixhle 12 The Siege of Gibraltar 17 Tho Original Iferrimac 21 Engagement between tho iterrimac and Monitor... 25 Objects of Interest brought Home by the Chal- lenger 32 The Challei\ger in Antarctic Ice 33 The " Accumulator " 35 The Challenger at Juan Fernandez 36 The Naturalist's Soom on Board the Challenger... 37 Dredging Implements used by the Challenger ... 38 The CTiio/iesfar Training-ship ... 45 Instruction on Board a Man-of-war 49 The Caj^fain in the Bay of Biscay... ... ... 50 Tho Wreck of the iioyaJ Oeorje 61 The Loss of the Fajijfuord To face page 63 The Loss of the A't-nt 64 The Vanguard as she appeared at Low Water ... 65 Falmouth Harbour 72 The Loss of the £irl:«n7iea(i 73 The Baft of the Jfediua 76 On the Baft of the Medusa — a Sail in sight ... 81 Section of a First-class Man-of-war 84 The TTamor 85 Tho Bock of Oibraltar from the Mainland To face page 87 Gibraltar: the Neutral Ground 89 Moorish Tower at Gibraltar 93 Malta 96 The Defence of Malta by the Knights of St. John against the Turks in 1565 100 Catacombs at Citta Vecohia, Malta 101 M. Lesseps ... , 105 Bird's-eye View of Suez Canal 109 Map of the Suez Canal Ill Opening of the Suez Canal (Procession of Ships) To face page 113 P.\OR The Suez Canal: Dredges at Work 113 Catching Pelicans on Lako Menzaleh 116 Jiddah, from tho Sea 117 Cyclone at Calcutta 120 Macao 124 Vessels in the Port of Shanghai 125 Yokohama ... 128 The Fusiyama Mountain 129 A Tea Mart in Japan ... 133 PetropauloTski and the Avatoha Mountain ... 137 Whalers at Work 140 Our <' Patent Hraoke-stack " 141 View in tho Straits of Malacca ... ... ... 145 Junks in a Chinese Harbour 148 Island in the Straits of Malacca ... To face page 149 Chinese Junk at Singapore 149 Singapore, looking Seawards ... ... ... 152 Looking down on Singapore 1 53 A Timber Wharf at San Francisco 156 The Bay of San Francisco 160 The British Camp : San Juan 165 The Port of Valparaiso 173 Cape Horn 176 The Landing of Columbus at Trinidad 177 View in Jamaica ... ... ... ... ... 180 Kingston Harbour, Jamaica 181 Havana 184 The Centaur at the Diamond Bock, Martinique To face page 187 Bermuda, from Gibbs Hills 188 The North Bock, Bermuda 189 The Bermuda Floating Dock 192 Voyage of the Bcrmucla 193 Map of Now York Harbour 195 Brooklyn Bridge 190 Ferry Boat, New York Harbour 197 The Island of Ascension 200 Tristan D'Aounha 201 Sierra Leone . .^ 204 Cape Town 205 The Oalatea passing Knysna Heads 209 vni LIST OF II,I.rsTI!ATH>NS. St. Helena On Dock a Man-of-war, Ei(jhtoonth Century To face }>(ii/e of a Mivn-of-wnr, Eifrhtoonth Botwoon Dookn Century Naval Offlcors and Soamon, Kiifhtoonth Century . . . Engine Room of H. M.S. H'aicioc Fight between the Courage^tr and the Bdlonn ... The Great Harry and Great Eastern iu contrast... The Crew of H.M.S. Bounty landing at Otnhcito. . The Mutineers seizing Captain Bliglt Bligh east adrift Map of the Islands of the Pacific H.M.S. ijriton at Pitcairn Iitland ... The Mutiny at Portsmouth ... To face page Admiral Duncan addressing his Crow Lord St. Vincent Fleet of Boman Oalleys Approach of the Danish Fleet 211 217 221 225 229 233 230 237 240 215 218 251 253 257 2G1 2G5 PAOK Ships of Williom the Conqueror 208 Crusaders and Saracens 269 Duel hotweon French and English Ships 272 Reverse of the Seal of Sandwich ... 274 Sir Andrew Wood's Victory 277 O' ' Deptford Dockyard 280 Tlio Defeat of Sir A. Barton ... Tv face page 280 The First Shot against the Armada 285 The Fire-ships attacking the Armada ... ... 288 Drake's First View of the Paoiflo ... To face jyage 289 Queen Elizabeth on her way to St. Paul's 289 The Earl of Cumberland and the Madrc de ^as... 203 On the Coast of Cornwall 297 Sir John Hawkins 300 Hawkins at St. Juan do Uiloa 301 Oxonham embarking on the Pacific 304 Sir F. Drake 309 Drake's Arrival at Tornate 312 The Death of Sir Humphrey Gilbert 317 FAOC 268 869 272 274 277 280 face paije 280 285 288 face page 289 ^ ^-"-^'^ THE SEA. .^'^il: •i-if^ IsE can hardly gaze upon the groat ocean without feelings akin to awe and reverence. i^rcT— " Whether viewed from some promontory whore the eye seeks in vain another resting-place, f:^^^ — or when sailing over the deep, one looks around "^ on the unbounded expanse of waters, the sea ^ must always give rise to ideas of infinite space and indefinable mystery hardly paralleled by an}thing of the earth itself. Beneficent in its calmer aspect, when the silvery moon lights up the ripples and the good ship scuds along before a favouring breeze ; terrible in its might, when its merciless breakers dash upon some rock-girt coast, carrying the gallant bark to destruction, or when, rising mountains high, the spars quiver and snap before the tempest's power, it is always grand, sublime, irresistible. The great highway of commerce and source of boundless supplies, it is, notwithstanding its terrors, infinitely more man's friend than his enemy. "In how great a variety of aspects may it not be viewed ! The poets have seen in it a " type of the Infinite/* 2 THE SEA. and one of the greatest* has taken us back to those early days of earth's history when God said — " ' Let there be flrmiimont • Amid the waters, and lot it divide The waters from the waters.' . . . So He tlie world , Built on circumfluous waters calm, in wido C'rvstalline ocean." " Water," said the groat Greek lyric poet^f " is the chief of all." The ocean covers nearly three-fourths of the surface of our globe. Earth is its mere offspring. The continents and islands have been and still are being elaborated from its depths. All in all, it has not, however, been treated fairly at the hands of the poets, too many of whom could only see it in Young speaks of it as merely a its sterner lights '* Dreadful and tumultuous home Of dangers, at eternal war with man, Wide opening and loud roaring still for more," ignoring the blessings and benefits it has bestowed so freely, forgetting that man is daily becoming more and more its master, and that his own country in particular has most success- fully conquered the seemingly unconquerable. Byi*on, again, says : — "Roll on, thou dark and deep blue ocean — roll! Ton thousiind fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin — his control Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deeds." And though this is but the exaggerated and not strictly accurate language of poetry, we may, with PoUok, fairly address the great sea as " strongest of creation's sons." The first impressions produced on most animals — not excluding altogether man — by the aspect of the ocean, are of terror in greater or lesser degree. Livingstone tells us that he had intended to bring to England from Africa a friendly native, a man courageous as the lion he had often braved. He had never voyaged upon nor even beheld the sea, and on board the ship which would have safely borne him to a friendly shore he became delirious and insane. Though assured of safety and cai'efully watched, he escaped one day, and blindly threw himself headlong into the waves. The sea terrified him, and yet held tind drew him, fascinated as under a spell. " Even at ebb-tide," says Michelet,J " when, placid and weary, the wave crawls softly on the sand, the horse does not recover his courage. He trembles, and frequently refuses to pass the languishing ripple. The dog barks and recoils, and, according to his manner, insults the billows which he fears. . . . We are told by a traveller thac the dogs of Kamtsc'hatka, though accustotned to the spectacle, are not the less terrified and irritated by it. In numerous troops, they howl through the protracted night against the howling waves, and endeavour to outvie in fury the Ocean of the North." * Milton. j|^ t Pindar, t " La 3Ier." There is much truth in Michelet's charming work, but often, as above, presented in sn exaggerated form. Animiils, in ri'ality, soon become accustomed to the sea. They show generally, however, a considcraulo amount of ir.disposition to go on board a vessel. ITS HISTORY. story when cean covers 5 continents , it has not, ily see it in nan is daily aost success- of poetry, Isons." The the aspect that he had the lion he on board the lelirious and and blindly lid and drew Id and weary, rembles, and |accordinper deck and cockpit below — where Nelson fell and Nelson died, on that memorable ~lst, off Trafalgar Bay. THE " VICTOKY AT I'OhTSMOl TH lie had embarked, only five weeks before, from the present resting-place of his brave old ship, when enthusiastic crowds had pressed forward to IjIcss and take one last look at England's preserver. " I had their hurrahs before," said the poor shattered hero; "now I have their hearts!" And when, three months later, his body was brought home, the sailors divided the leaden cottin into fragments, as relics of " Saint Nelson," as his gunner had termed him. The Victor 1/ was one of the largest ships of war of her day and generation. She wa& rated for iOO guns, but really carried \()i, and was classed tirst-rate with such ships as the Roi/(il Sorereiffii and Britunnio, both of 1(10, carrying only two in excess of the "brave old Ta.ieraire" — made still more famous by Turner's great picture— and the Breadnonght, which If 6 THE SEA. l)ut a few years back was such a familiar feature of the reach of the Thames in front of Greenwich. She was of ii,l()l' tons burden, and, havinj^ been launched in 1705, is now a good Hit years of age. Her complement was 811 men. From the fu'st she deserved her name, and seemed destined to be associated with little else than success and triumph. Nelson frequently com])lains in his journals of the unseaworthiness of many of his vessels ; but this, his last flag-ship, was a veritable " heart of oak," and endured all the tests that the warfare of the elements or of man could bring against her. The good ship of which we have spoken more particularly is now enjoying a well-earned repose, after passing nearly unscathed through the very thick of battles inscribed on the most brilliant page of our national history. Her part was in reality a very prominent one ; and a glance at a few of the engagements at which she was present may serve to show us what she and other ships like her were made of, and what they were able to effect in naval warfare. The Victor 1/ had been built nearly thirty yeare when, in 1793, she first came prominently to the front, at the occupation and subsequent siege of Toulon, as the Hag-ship of Lord Hood, then in command of a large fleet destined for the Mediterranean. France was at that moment in a very revolutionary condition, but in Toulon there was a strong feeling of loyalty for the Bourbons and monarchical institutions. In the harbour a large French fleet was assembled — some seventeen vessels of the line, besides many other smaller craft — while several large shijis of war were refitting nnd building; the whole under the command of the Comte de Trogoffi, an ardent Royalist. On the appearance of the British Heet in the ofHng, two commissioners came out to the flag-ship, the Vict on/, to treat for the conditional surrender of the port and shipping. The Govern- ment had not miscalculated the disaffection existing, and the negotiations being completely successful, 1,700 of our soldiers, sailors, and marines were landed, and shortly afterwards, when a Spanish Heet appeared, an English governor and a Spanish commandant were aiii)ointed, while Louis XVII. was proclaimed king. But it is needless to say that the French Republic strongly objected to all this, and soon assembled a force numbering 15,000 men for the recapture of Toulon. The English and their Royalist allies numbered under 13,000, and it became evident that the city must be evacuated, although not until it should be half destroyed. The important service of destroying the ships and maga- zines had been mainly entrusted to Captain Sir Sidney Smith, who performed his difficult task with wonderful precision and order, and without the loss of one man. Shots and shells were plunged into the very arsenal, and trains were laid up to the maga^i'ios and storehouses; a fire-ship v/as towed into the basin, and in a few hours gave out Hames and shot, accompanied r>y terrible explosions. The Spanish admiral had undertaken the destruction of the shipping in the basin, and to scuttle two powder-vessels, but his men, in their Hurry, managed to ignite one of them in place of sinking it, and the explo- sion which occurred can be better imagined than described. The explosion shook the Unioti gunboat to pieces, killing the commander and three of the crew; and a second boat was blown into the air, but her crew were miraculously saved. Having completed the destruction of the arsenal, Sir Sidney proceeded towards the basin in front of the town, across which a boom had been laid, where he and his men were receivtid with such volle\s of musketry that they turned their attention in another direction. In the inner road were lying two largo 74-gutt rt, and for nearly an hour the une(pial contest continued, till the Blenheim passed between them and the enemy, and gave them a little respite, pouring in her fire upon the Spaniards. One of the Spanish seventy-fours struck, and Nelson thought that the Salrador, of 112 guns, struck also. " Collingwood," wrote Nelson, " disdaining the parade of taking possession of beaten enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to save his old friend and messmate, who was, to appearance, in a critical situation," for the Captain was being peppered by five vessels .if the enemy's fleet, and shortly afterwards was rendered absolutely incapable — not a sail, shroud, or rope left, witli a topmast and the steering-wheel shot away. As Dr. Bennett sings t— " KiuRi'il loimd liy five throo-deckrrs, she had fought through all the fight, Ami now, a log iiinm tho wavos, she lay — a glorious sight — AH ('n|)[ilt'(l, but still full of fight, for still her hroadsides roared. Still death and wounds, fear and defeat, into the Don she poured." Two of Nelson's antagonists were now nearly Iiors de combat, one of them, the San Nicolas, in trying to escape from Collingwood's tire, having got foul of the Sa7i Josef. Nelson resolved in an instant to board and capture bot/i — an unparalleled feat, which, however, was accomplished, although " To got at the Stiii Josrf, it seemed heyond a hope ; Out then our aduiiral sjioke, and well his words our hlood could stir — ' In. hoarders, to their seventy-four I Well make a hridge of her.' " The " bridge " vias soon taken ; but a steady Are of musketry was poured upon them from the San Josef. Nelson directed his people to fire into the stern, and sending for more boarders, led the way up the main-chains, exclaiming, "Westminster Abbey or victory!" In a few moments the officers and crew surrendered ; and on the quarter-deck of a Spanish first-rate he received the swords of the vanquished, which he handed to William Fearney, • Soutliey, in liis " Life of Nelson," sajs nine. t '' Songs for Sailors." ST. VIXrENT. iralllwell, fiilKlixxlllUl .'ij^hty and ; the line, ■, and the nt on the them were ish vessels e sif^nalled if the line, 3 intention ;ther. By le SjTonish the larger le support, ween them s. One of ims, struck of beaten iimate, who Ifive vessels not a sail, Bennett n Nicolas, Nelson however. Hiem from for more Iv'ictory !" Spanish Fearney, one of his liargemen, who tucked them, with the greatest san^j-froid, in a i)erfect sheaf under his arm. The Victori/ came up at the mumont, and saluted the compierors with hearty cheers. It will be hardly necessary here to point out the altered circumstances of naval warfare at the present day. A wooden vessel of the old type, with large and numerous portholes, and affording other opportunities for entering or climbing the sides, is a KOCKS NEAU CAl'E ST. VINCEXT. very different affair to the modern smooth-walled iron vessel, on which a fly would hardly get a foothold, with few openings or weak points, and where the grappling-iron would be useless. Apart from this, with heavy guns carrying with great accuracy, and the facilities afforded by steam, we shall seldom hear, in the future, of a fight at close quarters; skilful manoeuvring, impossible with a sailing vessel, will doubtless be more in vogue. jNIeantime, the Viefnr)/ had not been idle. In conjunction with two of the fleet, she had succeeded in silencing the Salrailor del Minuli, a first-rate of 112 guns. When, after the fight. Nelson went on board the Vicfori/, Sir John Jervis took him to his arms, and insisted that he should keep the sword taken from the Spanish rear-admiral. When it was hinted, during some private conversation, that Nelson's move was unauthorised. i ( ! I 10 THE SEA. Jorvis had to admit the fact, but promised to forgive any siidi breach of orders, accompanied with the same measure of success. The battle had now lasted from noon, and at five p.m. four Spanish line-of-battle vessels had lowered their colours. Even the great SaiUlfi.'iiina Tr'iniihidu might then have become a prize but for the return of the vessels which had been cut off from the fleet in the morning, and which alone saved her. Her colours had been shot away, and she had hoisted English colours in token of submission, when the other ships came up, and Cordova reconsidered his step. Jervis did not think that his fleet was quite equal to a fresh conflict ; and the Spaniards showed no desire to renew the fight. They had lost on the four prizes, alone, •KM killed, and '-M'l wounded, and in all, probably, nearly double the above. The British loss was seventy-three killed, and 227 wounded. Of Trafalgar and of Nelson, both day and man so intimately associated with our good ship, what can yet be said or sung that has gone unsaid, unsung? — how when he left Portsmouth the crowds pressed forward to obtain one last look at their hero — England's greatest hero — and " knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed;"* that beautiful prayer, indited in his cabin, " May the great God whom I worship grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature of the British fleet," or the now historical signal which flew from the mizen top- gallant mast of that noble old ship, and which has become one of the grand mottoes of our tongue, are facts as familiar to every reader as household words. The part directly played by the Viclory herself in the battle of Trafalgar was second to none. From the very first she received a raking fire from all sides, which must have been indeed severe, when we find the words extorted from Nelson, " This is too warm work to last long," addressed to Captain Hai"dy. At that moment fifty of his men were lying dead or wounded, while the Victory's mizen-mast and wheel were shot away, and her sails hanging in ribbons. To the terrible cannonading of the enemy. Nelson had not yet returned a shot. He had determined to be in the very thick of the fight, and was reserving his fire. Now it was that Captain Hardy represented to Nelson the imprac- ticability of passing through the enemy's line without running on board one of their ships ; he was coolly told to take his choice. The Ticlorij was accordingly turned on board the BedonUaUe, the commander of which. Captain Lucas, in a resolute endeavour to block the jiassage, himself ran his bowsprit into the figurehead of the Biiccntaure, and the two vessels became locked together. " Not many minutes later. Captain Harvey, of the Tt' ///('!• a ire, seeing the position of the Vidori/ with her two assailants, fell on lx)ard the liedonhtahle, on the other side, so that these four ships formed as compact a tier as though moored together. The Victory fired her middle and lower deck guns into the Redoufjtatjie, which returned the fire from her main-deck, employing also musketry and brass pieces of larger size with most destructive effects from the tops. " Redoubtable they called her — a curse upon her name ! 'Twas from her tops the bullet that killed our hero came." * Southey's " Life of Nelson." TRAFALGAR. 11 Within a few minutes of Lord Nelson's full, sevenil officers and about forty men were either killed or wounded from this souree. Jhit a few minutes al'terwaicls the Itedouhlahlo fell on board the Teiiih'aife, the French ship's bowsprit passing- over the British ship. Now came one of the warmest episodes of the iijjht. The crew of the Teiiieraire lashed their vessel to their assailants' ship, and poured in a raking- lire. But the French captain, having discovered that — owing-, perhaps, to the sympathy exhibited for the dying hero on board the Victor i/, and her excessive losses in men — her quarter-deck was quite desertetl, now ordered an attempt at boarding the latter. This cost our (lag-ship the lives of Captain Adair and eig-htten men, but at the same moment the Tcmeraire opened fire on the lieiluubluble with such effect that Cajjtain Lucas and ''l^^ men were themselves placed hors de combat. In the contest we have been relating, the coolness of the Vict or;/' s men was signal ly evinced. " AVhen the guns on the lower deck were run out, their muzzles came in contact with the sides of the liedouljtaljle, and now was seen an astounding spectacle. Knowing that there was danger of the French ship taking (ire, the (ireman of each gun on board the British ship stood ready with a bucketful of wator to dash into the hole made by the shot of his gun — thus beautifully illustrating Nelson's prayer, 'that the British might be distinguished by humanity in victory.' Less considerate than her antagonist, the ItedoHblable threw hand-grenades from her tops, which, falling on board herself, set (ire to her, . . . and the (lame communicated with the fore- sail of the Ti'vieraire, and caught some ropes and canvas on the booms of the Ticlurj/, risking the destruction of all ; but by immense exertions the fire was subdued in the British ships, whose crews lent their assistance to extinguish the (lames on board the liedouhtahle, by throwing buckets of water upon her chains and forecastle."* Setting aside, for the purpose of clearness, the ei)isode of the taking of the Foufjnenx, which got foul of the Temt-.'uii'e and spee p b I BCt'tliing', liifhtiiiij, -ht at out-mana'uvrin to •2,:i(M) yards. Tlic whole iloot oponod with a tremendous roar of artillery, to which tho Russians replied almost as heavily. Fort Constantino was several times silenced, and o'roatly daiiiao-od ; but, on tho other hand, tho Russians niana^jed to kill forty-seven and wound •X'-\'\ men in the I'Jit^lish iloet, and a si iyhtly smaller num1)er in the French. They had an unpleasant knack of liring red-hot shot in profusion, and of hittinj^ the vessel-! even at tiie distance at which they lay. Several wore set on lire, and two for a time had to retire from the action. These were practi(,'al shots at our wooden walls. This naval attack has ])oon characterised as "even a yreator failure than that by land " — moanins:;', of course, the iirst attack. Here we may for a moment be allowed to di^-ress and remind the reader of the important part j)layed 1)V red-hot shot at that greatest of: all great sieges — Cliljraltar. As each accession to the tnonn '^s force arrived. General Elliott calmlv built more furnaces and more urates I'or heating his most oU'ectivo means of defence. Just as one of their wooden batteries was on the point of completion, he gave it what was termed at the time a dose of "cayenne pepper;" in otiier words, with red-hot shot and shells he set it on lire. ^Vheu the ordnance portable furnaces for heating shot proved insullicient to supply the demands of the artillery, he ordered large bonfuvs to bo kindled, on which the cannon-balls were thrown; and these s.ij»{)lies wore termed by the soldiers "hot potatoes" for tho enemy. IJut tho great triumph of red-hot shot was on that memorable l-'Uh of Septeml)er, \l>>t, when forty-six sail of the line, and ii countless ileet of gun and mortar boats attacked the fortress. ^Vitl; all these ai)j)liances of warfare, the great ctmfldonco of tho enemy — or rather, com- bined enemies — was in their floating batteries, planned by D'Arcon, an eminent French engineer, and which had cost a good half million sterling. They were suj)posed to be impervious to shells or red-hot shot. After persistently liring at the licet, Elliott started tho admiral's ship and one of the batteries commanded by the Prince of Nassau. This was but the commencement of the end. Th.e unwieldy leviathans could not be shifted from their moorings, and they lay helpless a!>d immovable, and yet dangerous to their neighbours ; for thoy wei'c filled with the instruments of destruction. Early tho next mornino: eiu'ht of these vaunted batteries " indicated the eflicacv of the red-hot defence. Tho light produced by the flames was nearly etpial to noonday, and greatly exposed the enemy to observation, enabling the artillery to be pointed u])on them with the utmost precision. The rock and neighbouring objects are stated to have been highly illuminated by the constant Hashes of cannon and tho flames of the burning ships, forming a mingled scene of sublimity and terror."* "An indistinct clamour, with lamentable cries and groans, arose from all quarters." f "^^'hen 10(1 piopos of artillery were playing on the rock at the same moment, Elliott returned 'le compliment with a shower of red-hot balls, bombs, and carcases, that filled the air. with little or no intermission. The Count d'Artois had hastened from Paris to •Cust, "Ann:ils llory, to which s silonced, and jvon ami wouikI They had an iosseU even at le had to ivtire s naval attack r, of course, the )£ the important LS each accession more grates lor jattcrics was on )se of " cayenne re. AVhen the demands of the ere thrown ; and But tlie great , when forty-six ed the fortress, -or rather, corn- eminent French supposed to be Elliott started Nassau. This not be shifted gerous to their uirly the next •ed-hot defence, ly exposed the ith the utmost ■hly illuminated ming a mingled ries and groans, moment, Elliott ?ases, that Idled from Paris to tl il ii! \-\ i IS THE SEA. witness a capitiilaliun. IIu arrived in tiiiK," lo soo the total destruction of the floating' batlciit's and a hir^e piirl, of the coinljin^-'d lloet. Atteniptin''' a sunit-what feeble joke, he MT'ilc (o France: — " Lii 6 that hIic \v,^s plati'il. ninny ])0]mlar accoiintH avcTrini; that nhe was only covered 1th " lailroail iron." 'I'lie inforumtion prew;nt(!il hiTc is ilrawn from t)ie following sources ;-" The Kehelliori iccorl," a Voluminous work, editi.'d by Frank Moore, (if New York, aiLil which contains all the Icadini,' olIiciaL «rar-doiiiTiients, hoth of tlie Federals and Cimfederates ; the statenient of Mr. A. 15. Smith, pilot of ihe rnnihirliiiiil, *ne of the survivors of the fi^'lit; the Baltimore Aiiiii'khii, an'l the Norfolk />"i/ lln'ik, hcjtli newspapers jiulilished •ear the Hfcnu of action. There is ijfrcat unanimity in tlio ficLountH jtuhlishiMi on both xideH. F" I 1 1 2C THE SEA. Mliinesula, and Roanoake were frijjates carrying' an aggregate of over 150 guns and nearly :i,UOU men. They, however, were wooden vessels ; and although, in two cases in particiUar, dolondod with persistent heroism, had no chance against the ironclad, hastily as she had been prepared. There is little doubt that the officers of the two former vessels, in particular, knew something of the nature of the " forlorn hope " in which they were about to engage, when she hove in sight on that memorable 8th of JMarch, ISO 2. It is said that the sailors, however, derided her till she was close ujion them — so close that their laughter and remarks were heard on board. " That Southern Bugaboo," " that old Secesh curiosity," were among the milder titles applied to her. Tlie engagement was fought in the Hampton Roads, which is virtually an outlet of the James River, Virginia. The latter, like the Thames, has considerable breadth and many shallows near its mouth. The Merriniac left Norfolk Navy-yard (which holds to the James River somewhat the position that Sheorness does to the Thames) hurriedly' on the morning of the 8th, and steamed steadily towards the enemy's fleet, accompanied by some smaller vessels of war and a few tug-boats. " Meanwhile, the shapeless iron mass Caino moving o'er the wave, As gloomy as a passing hearse, As silent as the grave." I Tlie morning was still and calm as that of a Sabbath-day. That the Merrimac was not expected was evidenced by the boats at the booms, and the sailors' clothes still lianging in the rigging of the enemy's vessels. "Did they see the long, dark hull? Had they made it out? "Was it ignorance, apathy, or comjiosure that made them so indifferent? or were tliey provided with torpedoes, which could sink even the Merrimac in a minute ? " were questions mooted on the Southern side by those watching on board the boats and from the .shore. As soon, however, as she was plainly discerned, the crews of the Cmnherland, Coi>r/rejd " upon her mailed sides like india-rubber, apparently making not the least impression except to cut off her llagstaff, and thus bring down the Confederate colours. None of her crew ventured at that time on her outside to replace thorn, and she fought THE OUIOINAL " MEUUIMAC. thenceforward with only her pennant flying."* Shortly after this, the McrrlniKC again attacked the unfortunate ship, advancing with her greatest speed, her ram making another hole below the water-line. The Ciimherlaiiil began to fill rapidl}". The scene on Ixiard is hardly to be described in words. It was one of horrible desperation and fruitless heroism. The decks were slippery with human gore; shretls of human flesh, and portions of the body, arms, logs, and headless trunks were scattered everywhere. Below, the cockpit was tilled with wounded, whom it w)uld be impossible to succour, for the shij) was siidicf. p i •\ > i I 1 M 22 THE SEA. in their eagerness to pass up shelly that tliey were drowned there. Tlie water had now reached the main gun-deck, and it ])ecame evident that the contest was nearly over. Still Ihe men lingered, anxious for one last shot, when their guns were nearly under water. " .Shall wp fi;ive thorn a hrondsido, my boys, as she goes P Shall wo Hond yet anothor to toll, In iron-tonntii'd words, to Cidumbia's foes, How bravely hor sons say ' FarewoU ? ' " The word was passed for each man to save himself. Even then, one man, an active little follow, named Matthew Tenney, whose courage had been conspicuous during the action, determined to fire once more, the next gun to his own bemg then under water, tiie vessel going down by the head. Ho succeeded, but at the cost of his life, for immediately afterwards, attempting to scramble out of the port-hole, the water suddenly rushed in with such force that he was washed back and drowned. Scores of poor fellows were unable to reach the upper deck, and were carried down with the vessel. The Cumberland sank in water up to the cross-trees, and went down toil/t her fag dill fijing from the peak* The whole number lost was not less than l:iO souls. Her top-masts, with the pennant flying far above the water, long marked the locality of one of the bravest and most desperate defences ever made "IH" men who knew that all else was wi-ong But to die when a sailor ought.'' The Cumberland being utterly demolished, the Merrimac turned her attention to the Congress. The Southerners showed their chivalric instincts at this juncture by not firing on the boats, or on a small steamer, which were engaged in picking up the survivors of the Cniiiberlaiid'.H crew. The officers of the Congress, seeing the fate of the Cumberland, determined that the Merrimac should not, at least, sink their vessel. They therefore got all sail on the ship, and attempted to run ashore. The Merrimac was soon close on them, and delivered a broadside, which was terribly destructive, a shell killing, at one of the guns, every man engaged except one. Backing, and then returning several times, she delivered broadsif'a after broadside at less than 100 yards' distance. The Congress replied manfully and obstinately, but with little effect. One shot is supposed to have entered one of the ironclad's port-holes, and dismounted a gun, as there was no further firing from that port, and a few splinters of iron were struck off her sloping mailed roof, but tliis was all. The guns of the Merrimac appeared to have been specially trained on the after-magazine of the Congress, and shot after shot entered that part of the ship. Thus, slowly drifting down with the current, and again steaming up, the Merrimac continued for an hour to fire into her opponent. Several times the Congress was on fire, but the flames were kept under. At length the ship was on fire in so many places, and the flames gathering with such force, that it was hopeless and suicidal to keep up the defence any longer. * " Finally, after about three-fourths of an hour of the most severe fighting, our vessel sank, the Stars and Stripes still waving. That flag was finally submerged ; but after the hull grounded on the sands, fifty-four feet below the surface of the water, our pennant was still flying from the top-mast above the waves." (The Pilot of the Ciiiiiberlaiid's Narrative.) 4 THE "MERHIMAC'S" WORK OF DESTRUCTION. iter had now Y over. Still ater. \a, an active s diu-ing the under water, his life, for ■ater suddenly if poor fellows be Cuiiiherland he peak* The pennant flying aost desperate tention to the by not firing le survivors of le Cnniherhmd , *hey therefore close on them, of the guns, \, she delivered [plied manfully •ed one of the [rom that port, tliis was all. after-n\agazine ilowly drifting 'or an hour to es were kept les gathering !e any longer. ik, the Stars and |ids, fifty-four f(.'et (The Pilot 01 the The national Hug was sadly and sorrowfully hauled down, and a white flag hoisted at the i)ealv. The Mi'rruihir did not fur a few minutes see this token of surrender, and continued to tire. At last, however, it was discerned through the clouds of smoke, and the broadsides cwised. A tug that had followed the Merriiuuc out of Norfolk then came alongside the Cutiifress, and ordereil the oflicers on board. This they refused, hoping that, from the nearness of the shore, they would be able to escape. Some of the men, to the number, it is believed, of about forty, thought the tug was one of the Northern (Federal) vessels, and rushed on board, and were, of course, scon carried oft' as prisoners. By the time that all the able men were oft' ashore and elsewhere, it was seven o'clock in the evening, and the ('otigvess was a bright sheet of (lame fore and r't, her guns, which were loaded and trained, going off as the lire reached them. A shell from one struck a sloop at some distance, and blew her up. At midnight the lire reached her magazines, containing five tons of gunpowder, and, with a terrific explosion, her charred remains blow up. Thus had the Merriiiiao sunk one and burned a second of the largest of the vessels of the enemy. Having settled the fate of these two ships, the Merrimac had, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, started to tackle the Minnesota. Here, as was afterwards proved, the commander of the former had the intention of capturing the latter as a prize, and had (110 wish to destroy her. He, therefore, stood off about a mile distant, and with the Y'ir/doini and Juiiieslown, threw shot and shell at the frigate, doing it considerable damage, ard killing six men. One shell entered near her waist, passed through the chief engineer's room, knocking two rooms into one, and wounded several men; a shot passed through the main-mast. At nightfall the Mcrriniac, satisfied with her afternoon's work of death and destruction, steamed in under Sewall's Point. " The day," said the Baltimore American, " thus closed most dismally for our side, and with the most gloomy apprehensions of what would occur the next day. The Miunesofa was at the mercy of the Merrimac, and there appeared no reason why the iron monster might not clear the Roads of our fleet, destroy all the stores and warehouses on the beach, drive our troops into the fortress, [and command Hampton Roads against any number of wooden vessels the Government ; might send there. Saturday was a terribly dismal night at Fortress Monroe." But about nine o'clock that evening Ericsson's battery, the Monitor,* arrived in [Hampton Roads, and hope revived in the breasts of the despondent Northerners. She [was not a very formidable-looking craft, for, lying low on the water, with a plain structure [amidships, a small pilot-house forward, and a diminutive funnel aft, she might have been [taken for a raft. It was only on board that her real strength might be discovered. She [carried armour about five inches thick over a large part of her, and had jiractically two lulls, the lower of which had sides inclining at an angle of 51^' from the vertical line. [t was considered that no shot could hurt this lower hull, on account of the anji'le at (vhicli it must strike it. The revolving turret, an iron cylinder, nine feet high, and twenty feet in diameter, eight or nine inches thick everywhere, and about the portholes eleven lehes, was moved round by steam-power. When the two heavy Dahlgren guns were • The original Monitor, from which that class of vessel took its name. -Zi THE SEA. 1*- run in for loadiny, a kind of pciululuin ])ort fell over the liolos in llic ttnTot. Tho pi'ojx'lItT, rudclt'i-, iiiitl even anehor, were all hidden. Tiiis was a war of surprises and sudden clianj^es. It is doubtful if the .Suutherners knew what to make (»f the stran'ii'e-lookini;' hattery whieli steamed towards ihem next morniuif, or whether tiiev despised it. Tlie Mi-rrltmic and the Mmiilur kej)t on ai)proaeli- in^ each other, the former \vaitin<^ until she would choose her distance, and the latter apparently not knowing- what to make of her queer-looking' antagonist. The lirst shot from the Monitor was iired when about one hundred yards distant from the Mrrriiiiac, and this distance was subsecpiently reduced to fifty yards ; and at no time during- the furious cannonading- that, ensued were the vessels more than two hundred yards a])art. The scene was in plain view from Fortress Monroe, and in the main facts all the spectators ajjree. At lirst the light was very furious, and the guns of the MoiiUvr were fired rapidly. The latter carried only two f^uns, to its ojuwnent's eight, and received two or three shots for every one she jjave. Findiufj that she was much more formidable than she looked, the Merriiuao attemjited to run her down ; but her superior speed and <(uicker handling enabled her to dodge and turn rapidly. " Once the Jfcrriiiidc struck her near midships, but only to prove that the battery could not be run down nor shot down. She sjjun round like a top ; and as she got her bearing again, sent one of her formidable missiles into her huge opponent. " The officers of the Monitor at this time had gained such confidence in the impregnability of their battery that they no longer fired at random nor hastily. The fight then assumed its most interesting aspect. The Monitor went round the Mcrrimuc repeatedly, probing her sides, seeking for weak points, and reserving her lire with coolness, until she had the right spot and the right range, and made her experiments accordingly. In this way the Mcrriuiac received three shots Neither of these three shots re- bounded at all, but appeared to cut their way clear through iron and wood into the ship."* Soon after receiving the third shot, the Merriniac made off at full speed, and the contest was not renewed. Thus ended this particular episode of the American war. Lieutenant AVorden was in the pilot-house of the Monitor when the Mcrrimuc directed a whole broadside at her, and was, besides being thrown down and stunned by ihe concussion, temporarily blinded by the minute fragments of shells and powder driven through the eye-holes — only an inch each in diameter — made through the iron to enable them to keep a look-out. He was carried away, but, on recovering consciousness, his first thoughts reverted to the action. "Have I saved the Minnesota/" said he, eagerly. "Yes; and whipped the Merrimac !" was the answer. "Then," replied he, "1 don't care what becomes of me." The concussion in the turret is described as i.mething terrible ; and several of the men, though not otherwise hurt, were rendered insensible for the time. Each side claimed that they had seriously damaged the other, but there seems to have been no foundation for these assertions in fiicts. But although this, the original Monitor, wa's efficient, if not omnipotent, in the calm • Account of fyewitnessos furnished to the Baltimore American. turret. The Soiitlicniers lliL'in next ou ai)proiicli- cl the latter lie iirst shot le Mci'rliiiuc, ! cliirinn' the ! apart. The he spectators ir were fired eivetl two or •iniiUil^le than tr speed and •rliiidc struck :)wn nor shot it one of her lence in the y. The tight uic repeatedly, coolness, until ordingly. In iree shots re- lood into the t full speed, ihe American he Jfcrr/i/iiio ll stuinied by liowder driven |o enahle them ess, his first he, eagerly. he, "1 don't is fc.mething insensible for It there seems in the calm o H O u H a o o f w TU£ SEA. !l'l waters nt the mouth of the James River, she was, as might be expected with lior flat, biirge-Iike bottom, a l>ail sea-boat, ami was afterwards lost. Her ports had to be dosed and caulked, being only live feet above tlio water, and she was therefore unable to work her guns at sea. Her constructor had neglected Sir Walter llaleigh's advice to Prince Henry touching the model of a ship, " that her ports be so laid, as that she may carry out her guns all weathers." She i)lunged heavily — completely submerging her pilot-house at times, the sea washing over and into her turret. The heavy shocks and jars of the armour, as it came down upon the waves, made her leaky, and she went to the bottom in spite of pumjjs capable of throwing 2,001) gallons a minute, which were in good order and working incessantly. Since the conclusion of the American war, the ironclad question has assumed serious aspects, and many facts could be cited to show that they have not by any means always confirmed the first impressions of their strength and invulnerability. Two recent cases will be fresh in the memories of our readers. The first is the recent cngngement off Peru between the Peruvian ironclad turret-ship Jfiuiscar and the British unurinoured men-of-war S/ia/i and Amdiii/Hl. With the political aspect of the all'air we have nothing, of course, to do, in our present work. It was really a question between the guns quite as much as between the vessels. The Jlnasvur is only a moderately-strong armoured vessel, her plates being the same thickness as those of the earliest English ironclad, the V'lirrior, and her armament is two 300-pounders in her turret, and three shell-guns. On the other hand, the Shah, the principal one of the two British vessels, is only a large iron vessel sheathed in wood, and not armoured at all ; but she carries, besides smaller guns, a formidable armament in the shape of two 12-ton and sixteen Oi-ton guns. An eyewitness of the engagement states* that, after three hours' firing, at a distance of from 100 to 3,000 yards, the only damage inflicted by the opposing vessels was a hole in the lliiascar's side, made by a shell, the bursting of which killed one man. "One J'-in. shot (from a 12-ton gun) also penetrated three inches into the turret without effecting any material damage. There were nearly 100 dents of various depths in the plates, but none of sutlicient depth to materially injure them. The upper works — boats, and everything destructible by shell — were, of course, destroyed. Her colours were also shot down." According to theory, the Shah's two larger guns should have penetrated the Hiuiscar'n sides when fired at upwards of 3,000 yards' distance. The facts are very different, doubtless because the shots struck the armour obliquely, at any angles but right ones. The lluascar was admirably handled and manoeuvred, but her gunnery was so indifferent that none of the shots even struck the Shiih, except to cut away a couple of ropes, and the latter kept up so hot a fire of shells that the crew of the former Avero completely demoralised, and the officers had to train and fire the guns. She eventually escaped to Iquique, under cover of a pitchy-dark night. The same correspondent admits, however, that the Shah, although a magnificent vessel, is not fitted for the South American station, since Peru has three ironclads. Chili two, and Brazil and the River Plate Republics several, against which no ordinary English man-of-war could cope, were the former properly bandied. * Vide tho Times, 17th July, 1877. THE "HUASCAn" AND "SHAII." fl7 with her flat, to bo closed J re unable to ^h's advice to , as that she ibinerging her ■y shocks and I she went to e, which were ssumed serious means always :> recent cases it enj^-agenicnt sh unarinDured have nothing, een the guns ;rong armoured 1 ironclad, the ree shell-guns, is only a large besides smaller ;on guns. An a distance of was a hole in One S'-in. shot ig any material lie of sulticient ig destructible ding to theory, red at upwards 3 shots struck lirably handled s even struck up so hot a ised, and the under cover of Vmli, although 'eru has three inst which no The recent story of the saucy Russian merchantman,* whicli not merely dared the Tuiki>*ii ironclad, but fought her for live hours, and intlicted (juite as much 4 deeds may he none the less heroic because his contpiests are peaceful, and because Neptune rather than !Mars is challenged to cede his treasures. Anson, Cook, and A'ancouver, Parry, I'Vanklin, M'Clintock, and !M'Clure, among a host of others, stand worthily by the side of our lighting sailors, because made of the same stuff. Let \\s also, then, for a time, leave behind the smcdvc and din, the glories and horrors of war, and cool our fevered imagi- nations by descending, in spirit at least, to the depths of the great sea. The records of the famous voyage of the Chn/lci/f/fr* will afford a capital ojiportunity of contrasting the deeds of the men of peace with those of men of war. We may commence by saynig that no such voyage has in truth ever been imdertaken before. t Nearly 70,000 m'l'.>s of the earth's watery surface were traversed, and the Atlantic and Paciiic crossed and recrossed several times. It was a veritable vojikjc eii z'ujzag. Apart from ordinary soundings innumcral^le, 371 deep-sea soundings, when the progress of the vessel had to be stopped, and which occupied an hour or two apiece, were made, and at least twa-thirds as many successful dredgings and trawlings. The greatest depth of ocean reached was l,r)75 fathoms (i7,l'50 Cei't), or over ft re iiiilcx. This was in the Pacific, about 1,100 miles S.E. of Japan. AV'e all km \v that this ocean derives its name from its generally calmer weather and less tempestums seas ; and the researches of the officers of the Challenger, and of the United Sttites vessel T/iscaroni, show that the bottom slopes to its greatest depths very evenly and gradually, little broken by submarine mountain ranges, except off volcanic islands and coasts like those of the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands. Off the latter there are mountains in the sea ranging to as high as ] 2,000 feet. The general evenness of the bottom helps to account lor the long, sweeping waves of the Pacific, so distinguishable from the short, * The full ofRciiil account has not yet been issued. The In-iof narrative presented hero is derived principally from the lively and intcrostinii; scries of letters from the i)cn of Lord George Camp1)oll; from "The Cruise of H. M.S. Chdllcngcr,'' by W. .T. ,T. Spry, U.N., one of the engineers of the vessel; and the Xauticril and other scientific and technical magazines. t The Austrian frigate Novara made, in 1857-8-9, a vnyage round "and about " the world of 51,686 miles. As it was a sailing vessel, no reliable results could be expected from tlieir deep-sea soundings, and, in fact, on the only two in:casions when they attempted anything very deep, their lines broke. 1 TllK VOVA(}E OP TlIK "CIIALLEKOEU." 20 \ DlHcovory -HwlinniliiK tained near (kpo St. Vincent, with a common trawl, was a beautiful sj)ecimen of the iMiplectella, "glass-rope sponge," v " Veruo's flower-basket," alive. Tills ol)joct of beauty and interest, sometiri.es seen in working naturalists* and conchologists' windows in I-ondon, had always previously been obtained from the sea^ • Most of tho rccur-Ifid oxamplcs of oarlicr doep-sea soundings hnvn littlo sciontiflc value. I'^nlcss lip soimding- linc sinks povpc.iiictila'.'ly, and the vessel remains stationary — to do whieh she may have to steam against wind und tide ov cnvreni — it imist lie evident that tho data ohtaircd ai'c not reliable. From a sailing vessel it is inipossih^^ to obtaii. absolutely roiii!bl(> soundings exiept in, say, a tideless lalhorescent light. A rare specimen of the clustered sea-polyp, twelve gigantic polyps, each with eight long fringed arms, terminating in a close cluster on a stalk or stem three feet high, was obtained. " Two specimens of this fine species were brought "rom the ^coast of Greenland early in the last century; someliow these were lost, and for a century the tinimal was never seen." Two were brought home by one of the Swedish Arctic expeditions, -fcnd these are the only specimens ever obtained. One of the lions of the expctlition was not " a rare sea-fowl," but a transparent lobster, while a new crustacean, perfectly blind, which feels its way with most beuutifully delicate claws, was one of tb« greatest curiosities obtained. Of these wonders, and of some geological points determined, more anon. But they did not even sight the sea-serpent, much less attempt to catch it. Jules V^erne's twenty miles of inexhaustible pearl-meadows were evidently missed, nor did they even catch a glimpse of his 'gigantic oyster, with the pearl as big as a coco? aut, and worth 10,000,000 francs. They could not, with Captain Nemo, dive to tho bottom and land amid submarine forests, where tigon. and cobras have their couni'^rparts in eiwrmous sharks and vicious cephalopods. Victor H'.go's "devil-fish" did not attacic a single sailor, nor did, indeed, any formidable cuttle-fish t^ke even a passing peep at the Challenger, much less attempt to stop its progress. Does .the reader remember the story recited both by Figuier and ]Moquin Tandon,* concornino- pne of these gigantic sea-monsters, which should have a strong basis of truth in it, as it ms laid before the French Academic des Science, by a lieutenant of their navy and a French )nsul ? The steam-corvette Alecton, when between Teneriffe and Madeira, fell in with a igantic cuttle-fish, fifty feet long in the body, without counting its eight formidable rms covered with suckers. The head was of enormous size, out of all proportion to the jdy, and had eyes as large as jjlates. The other extremity terminated in two fleshy Dbes cf fins of great size. The estimated weight of the whole creature was 'J-,00() lbs., ^nd the flesh was soft, glutinous, and of a reddish-brick colour. "The commandant, irishing, in the interests of science to secure tho monster, actually engaged it in battle. Numerous shots were aimed at it, but the balls traversed its flaccid and glutinous mass without causing it any vital injury But after one . '' these attacks, the waves were • In their popular works on tho 8oa, " Tho Ocean World," and "Tho World of the Sea." Mil 1 1 1 1 i ; ■ ! ■ f ! : 1 82 THE SEA. observed to be covered with foam and blood, and— sin<,''ular thing — a stronj? odour of iDTisk was inhaled by the spectators, . . . The musket-shots not haviiifr produced tin; desired results, harpoons were employed, but they took no hold on the soft, iini)alpable flesh • £ the marine monster. AVhen it escaped from the harpoon, it dived under the shij) and came up again at the other side. They succeeded, at last, in getting the harpoon to bite, and in passing a bowling-hitch round tl;e posterior part of the animal. But when they attempted to hoist it out of the water, the rope penetrated deeply into the 2 ■ 3 OBJECTS OF IXTEKEST BROUOHT HOMR BY TUE " CHALLENGER." Fig. 1.— Shell of Glohincrinn QngMy magiiinid). Fig. i.—Oj^liiogbjjtlui hiiUata (six limes the size in imtiirc). Suberca (iioimlaily " Vemis's Flower-basket "). Fig. 4.—JJ'Uhvniu leptoiU'Ctyla (a Dliinl Lobster). ■ «• '^itpkeUUa flesh, and separated it into two parts, the head, with the arms and tentacles, dropping into the sea and making ofF, while the fins and posterior parts were brought on board; thoy weighed about forty pounds. The crew were eager to pursue, and would have launched a boat, but the commander refused, fearing that the animal might capsize it. The object was not, in Ins opinion, one in which he could risk the lives of his ('"i w." .M. Moquin Tandon, commenting on M. Berthelot's recital, considers "that this ^ I'.^sal mollusc was sick and exhausted at the time by some recent struggle with some otl,' r mo. stor of tbe deep, which would account for its having quitted its native rocks in the depths of the ocean. Otherwise it would have been more active in its movements, or it ./ould have m JUAN FKRNANDEZ. 33 odour of mvsk produced tlio :>ft, impalpable under the ship g the harpoon animal. But leeply into the ■s, dropping into on board; tluv have launched it. The object ," .M. Moquin ?al mollusc was mo'.stcr of ihe e depths of the it vould have obsciu-el the waves with the inky liquid which all the ccphalopods have at commamV Jud"ii.g from its size, it would carry at least a barrel of this black liquid." The ChuUenger afterwards visited Juan Fernandez, the real Robinson Crusoe island where ■ Alexander Selkirk passed his enforced residence of four years. Thanks to Defoe, he lived to find himself so famous, tliat he could hardly have g-rudged the time spent in his solitary soiourii with his dumb companions and man Friday. Alas ! the romance which enveloped Juan Fernandez has bome.vhat dimmed. For a brief time it was a Chilian pnal colony, and i after sundry vicissitudes, was a few years ago leased to a merchant, who kept cattle to sell % to Avhalers and passing shij)s, and also went seal-hunting on a neighbouring isl"t. Ho was • "monarch of all he surveyed '' — lord of an island over a dozeii m''js long and iive or six '•THE LUALLliNUIiU "' IX ANTAliCTIC ICE. iroad, with cattle, and herds of wild goats, and capital fishing all round — all for two hundred year ! Fancy this, ye sportsmen, wlio pay as much or more for the privileges of a barren loor ! Yet the merchant was not satisfied with Sis venture, and, at the time of the 'hallenger's visit, was on the point of abandoning it : by this time it is probably to let. xcepting the cattle dotted about the foot of the hills and a civilised house or two, the appearance, 0^ the island must be precisely the same now as when the piratical buccaneers j^of olden time made it their rendezvous and haunt wherefrom to dash out and harry the '^Spaniards ; the same to-day as when Alexander Selkirk lived in it as its involunta»-y monarch ; the same to-day as when Commodore Anson arrived with his scurvy-stricken ;" crazy ship, a great scarcity of water, and a crew so universally diseased that there were ^ot aljove-ten foremast-men in a watch capal)le of doing duty," and recruited them with Ifrcih meat, vegetables, and wild fruits. " The scenery," writes Lord George Campbell, " is grand : gloomy and wild enough on the dull, stormy day on which we arrived, clouds driving past and enveloping the highest i-itlge of the mountain, a dark-col©ured sea pelting against the steep cliffs and shores, and fW u THE SEA. m ill !.! I li!i m clouds of sea-birds swaying in great Hocks to and fro over the water; but cheerful and beautiful on the bright sunny morning which followed — so beautiful that I tho-aght, ' Tbis beats Tahiti!''^ The anchorage of the ChaUeHtjer was in Cumberland Bay, a dewp- water inlet from which rises a semi-circle of high land, with two bold headlands, " sweeping brokenly up thence to the highest ridge — a square-shaped, craggy, precipitous mass of rock, with trees clinging to its sides to near the summit. The spurs of these hills are covered with coarse grass or moss Down the beds of the small ravines run burns, overgrown by dock-leaves of enormous size, and the banks are clothed with a ricli vegetation of dark-leaved myrtle, bignonia, and winter-bark, tree-shrubs, with tall grass, ferns, and flowering plants. And as you lie there, humming-bii'ds come darting and thrumming within reach of your stick, flitting from flower to flower, which dot blue and white the foliage of bignonias and myrtles. And on the steep grassy slopes above the sea- cliffs herds of wild goats are seen quietly browsing — quietly, that is, till they scent you, when they are off — as wild as chamois." This is indeed a description of a rugged paradise ! Near the ship they found splendid, but laborious, cod-flshing; laborious on account of sharks playj .' ''^^i the bait, and treating the stoutest lines as though made of single gut; also on .. it of the forty-fathom dej>th these cod-fish lived in. Cray-fish and conger-eels were iiauled up in lobster-pots by dozens, while round the ship's sides flashed shoals of cavalli, fish that are caught by a hook with a piece of worsted tied roughly on, swished over the sui'face, giving splendid play with a rod. " And on shore, too, there was something to be seen and done. There was Selkirk's 'look-out' to clamber up the hill-side to — the spot where tradition says he watched day after day for a passing sail, and from whence he could look down on both sides of his island home, over the wooded slopes, down to the clift'-fringed shore, on to the deserted ocean's expanse." The Cfialleiif/cr, in its cruise of over three jears, naturally visited many oft-described ports and settlements with which we shall have nought to do. After a visit to Kerguelen's Land — " the Land of Desolation," as Captain Cook called it — in the Southern Indian Ocean, for the purpose of selecting a spot for the erection of an observatoiy, from whence the transit of ^'enu? should be later observed, they proceeded to Heard Island, the position of which required determining with more accuracy. They anchored, in the evening, in a bay pf this most gloomy and utterly desolates i)lace, where they found half-a-dozen wretched sealers living in two miserable huts near the beach, which were sunk into the ground for warmth and protection against the fierce winds. Their work is to kill and boil down sea-elophants. One of the men had been there for two years, and was going to stay another. They are left on the island every year by the schooners, which go sealing or whaling elsewhere. Some fort^"^ men were on the island, unable to communicate with each other by land, as the interior is entirely coveretl with glacier, like Greenland. They have barrels of salt jwrk, beef, and a small store of coals, and little else, and are wretchedly paid. " Books," says Lord Camjibell, "tell us that tliosc; sea-elephants grow to the length of twenty-four feet; but the sealers did not confirm this at all. One of us tried hard to make the Scotch mate say he had seen one eighteen feet long; but ' waull, he couldn't say.' Sixteen feet? 'WauU, he couldn't say,' Fourteen feet? 'Waull, yes, yes — sometliing more like that;' but thirteen feet would seem a fair average size One of our fellows bought a AllOXa THE ICEBEIJGS. 35 cheerful and hu'Jght, ' Tli-is a dewp-vvatcr s, " sweeping tous mass of hese hills are 11 ravines run tl with a rich th tall grass, darting and dot blue and above the sea- ;ent you, when ,dise ! on account o£ lade of single Cray-fish and s sides Hashed sd roughly on, ore, too, there lamber up the ssing sail, and T the wooded f uft-described to Kerguelcn's Indian Ocean, m whence the he position of ig, in a bay ^f retched sealers id for warmth sea-elophants. ler. They are ing elsewhere. >r by land, as barrels of salt id. " Books," of twenty-four ,ke the Scotch Sixteen feet? re like that;' lows bought a ^Mmm^ : clever little clay model of two men killing a sea-elephant, giving for it — he being an extravagant man — one jwund and a bottle of rum. This pound was instantly offered to I the servants outside in exchange for another Ijottle." Crossing the Antarctic Circle, they were soon among the icebergs, keeping a shai'p [look-out for Termination Land, which has been marked on charts as a good stretch of coast seen by Wilkes, of the American expedition, thirty [years before. To make a long story short, Captain Nares, after a careful isearcli, iDi-di-vovcred this discovery, finding no traces of the land. It was |probal)ly a long stretch of ice, or possibly a hi I rage, which phenomenon has deceived many a sailor before. John Ross once thought that he had discovered some grand mountains in the Arctic regions, which he /'named after the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Croker. Next • year Parry sailed over the site of the supposed I'ange ; and the " Croker " jiMountains became a standing joke against Ross. w Icebergs of enormous size were encountered ; several of three in lies in - length and two hundred feet or more in height were seen one day, all close together. But bergs of this calibre were exceptional; they were, however, very often over half a mile in length. " There are few people now alive," says the author we have recently quoted, " who have seen such ', Buperb Antarctic iceberg scenery as we have. We are steaming towards the ^supposed position of land, only some thirty miles distant, over a glass-like ^sea, unruffled by a breath of wind; past great masses of ice, grouped so |close together in some cases as to form an unbroken wall of cliff sevci d ^miles in length. Then, as we pass within a few hundred yards, the |chain breaks up into two or three separate bergs, and one sees — and ibeautifully from the mast-head — the blue sea and distant horizon between [perpendicular walls of glistening alabaster white, against which the long swell dashes, rearing up in great blue-green heaps, falling back in a jrrent of rainbow-flashing spray, or goes roaring into the azure caverns, followed immediately by a thundering t/iiid, as the compressed air within Juffets it back again in a torrent of seething white foam." Neither words lequately describe the beauty of many of the icebergs seen. One had three high arched iverns penetrating far to its interior; another had a large tunnel through which they could the horizon. The delicate colouring of these bergs is most lovely— sweeps of azure blue ind pale sea-green with dazzling white; glittering, sparkling crystal merging into depths bf mdigo blue; stalactite icicles hanging from the Walls and roofs of cavernous openings. le reader will imagine the beauty of the scene at sunrise and sunset, when as many as ^ighty or ninety bergs were sometimes in sight. The sea was intensely green from the presence of minute algtr, through belts of which the vessel passed, while the sun, sinking ^n a golden bl.n/e, tipped and lighted up the ice and sni.w, making them sparkle as with * This is an apparauis oonsistinfi; of a nunibor of india-ruhhor bands 8usi)(.nd..d fr.im tlu> nmst-lu-ad, during xlgins opciiitions, which indicates, by its expansion and contraction, liow tlic dicdgo is passing over the nequalitics of the bottom. THE " ACCTMr LATOIl."" "TT 1 11 ii ■' Ifii . 'i*^ w tilt m '' ij^^l ?. DEKP-SEA TEJIPERATURES. ^7 brio-Iitcst q-oms. A laryo mimljcr of tabuliir icoborf^s, witli (inautitios of snow on tlicir level tops, wore nu't. Tlicy iimused thcmselvos by firin";' a U-poiindor Armstrong at oiii", wbich broun'ht the ice down with a rattliiiy crash, the face of tlie bcry- cracking', splittiiif»-, and sphishinq- down with a loar, inakin<^ the water below wliite with foam and powdered ice. These iceberg-s were all stratitied, at more or less reg'iilar distances, with blue linos, which ))eforo they capsized or canted from displacement of their centres of g'ravity, were alwavs liorizontal. During' a g'ale, the ('/tal/rtiiicr came into collision with a berg-, and lost her jibboom, "dolphin-striker," and other bead-gear. An icebergs in a fo<^ or g'ale of wind is not a desirable obstruction to meet at sea. The observations made for deep-sea temi)eraturos gave some remarkable residts. Here, among- the icebergs, a band or stratum of water was found, at a depth of eighty to :iOO THE NATURALISTS ROOM ON UOAUl) THE " CHALLtNUEU fathoms, colder than the water cither above or below it. Take one day as an example : on the loth of February the surface temperature of the sea- water was 3'2'-'; at 10(1 fathoms it was 'i^'-l° ; while at 300 fathoms it had risen to 33°. In the Atlantic, on the eastern •ide about the tropics, the bottom temperature was found to be ver}' uniform at 35"2^, while it might be broiling hot on the surface. Further south, on the west side of the Atlantic below the equator, the bottom was found to be very nearly three degrees cooler. It is belicN 'd that the cold current enters the Atlantic from the Antarctic, and does not rise to within 1,700 fathoms of the surface. These, and many kindred points, belong more properly to another section of this work, to be hereafter discussed. V- The Challenger had crossed, and sounded, and dredged the broad Atlantic from llladeira to the "West Indies — finding their deepest water off the ^'irgin Islands ; thence to Halifax, Nova Scotia ; recrossed it to the Azores, Canary, and Cape de Yerde Islands ; tecrossed it once more in a great zig-zag from the African coast, through the equatorial regions to Bahia, Brazil; and thence, if the expression may bo used, by a great angular THE SEA. '^ m ' iiil ! f 1 'III I 1 -;i! I j -1 f : '.! < sweep Uirougli tlio Southern Oueun to Trisitun tl'Aeunhii t-ii roiffi' to the Cape, where they made an interesting' discovery, one that, unlike their other findings, was most interesting to the ilisrorcred also. It was that of two modern Robinson Crusoes, who had been living by themselves a coujile of years on a desolate rocky island, the name of which, " Inac- cessible," rightly describes its character and position in mid ocean. Juan Fernandez, tlio loca/e of Defoe's immortal story, is nothing to it uow-a-days, and is constantly visited. DUKDOIXO IMl'LEMKXTS ISEI' HY THE " CHAI.Li:>GT;lt." Fig 1, .Siuiiiiling iiiapliiii!S. Fi^' 2, Slili watiT-bottles. Fig. 3, Ut'ep-sea therniomctiT. Fig. 4, The ilieilgc. Fig. 5, Clip soniuliiig lead. On arrival at the island of Tristan d^Acunha, itself a miserable settlement of about a dozen cottages, the people, mostly from the Cape and St. Helena, some of them mulattoes, informed the officers of the Chalhvger that two Germans, brothers, had some time before settled, for the purpose of catching seals, on a small island about thirty miles off, and that, not having been over there or seen any signs of them for a long time, they feared that they had })erished. It turned out afterwards that the Tristan d'Acunha people had not taken any trouble in the matter, looking on them as interlopers on their fishing-grounds. They had promised to send them some animals — a bull, cow, and heifer — but, although they had stock and fowls of all kinds, had left them to their fate. But first as to this THE TWO CUUSOES. 89 )e, where they ost interesting,' id been li\ing which, " Inac- b'ernandez, the itantly visited. 5, Cup soumlhig lend. nt of about a bem mulattoes, tne time before s off, and that, ey feared that people had not ishing-grounds. but, although irst Jis to this little-known Tristan d'Acunha, of which Lord George Campbell* furnishes the following account : — " It is a circular-s'.iapcd island, some nine miles in diameter, a peak rising in the centre 8,^00 feet high — a fine sight, snow-covered as it is two-thirds of the way down. In the time of Najioleon a guard of our marines was sent there from the Cape; but the connection between Nap's being caged at St. Helena and a guard of marines , occupying this island is not very obvious, is it? Any way, that was the commencement of a settlement which has continued with varying numbers to this day, the marines having long ago been withdrawn, and now eighty-six people — men, women, and children — ' live here. ... A precipitous wall of cliff, rising abruptly from the sea, encircles the island, excepting where the settlement is, and there the cliff recedes and leaves a Ic ng grass slope of considerable extent, covered with grey boulders. The cottages, in number about a dozen, look very Scotch from the ship, with their white walls, straw roofs, and etone dykes around them. Sheep, cattle, pigs, geese, ducks, and fowls they have in .plenty, also potatoes and other vegetables, all of which they sell to whalers, who give ihem flour or money in exchange. The appea"ance of the place makes one shudder; it looks so thoroughly as though it were always blowing there — which, indeed, it is, leavy storms continually sweeping over, killing their cattle right and left before they have time to drive them under shelter. They say that they have lost 1U(» head of caUle lately by these storms, which kill the animals, particularly tlie calves, from sheer fatigue." The men of the place often go whaling or sealing cruises with the ships that touch there. The i'lmllcnger steamed slowly over to Inaccessible T ^and during the night, and anchored next morning off its northern side, where rose a magnificent wall of black cliff, splashed green with moss and ferns, rising sheer 1,.'30U feet above the sea. Between two headlands a strip of stony beach, with a small hut on it, could l)e seen. This was the residence ; of our two Crusoes. Their story, told when the first exuberance of joy at the prospect of being taken oft' the island had passed away, was as follows: — One of the brothers had been cast away on Tristan d'Acunha some yeai"? before, in consequence of the burning of his ship. ^There he and 'his companions of the crew had been kindly treated by the settlers, and told hat at one of the neighbouring islands 1,700 seals had been captured in one season. 'elling this to a brother when he at last reached home in the Fatherland, tlie two of Ithein, fired with the ambition of acquiring money quickly, determined to exile themselves ^for a while to the islands. By taking passage on an outward-bound steamer from [Southampton, and later transferring themselves to a whaler, they reached their destination ^n safety on the ;i7tli of November, 1871. They had purchased an old whale-boat — mast, ils, and oars complete — an' landed with a fair supply of flour, biscuit, coffee, tea, sugar, lalt, and tobacco, sufficient for present neeus. They had blankets and some covers, hich were easily filled with bird's feathers — a German could hardly forget his national luxury, his feather-bed. Tliey had provided themselves with a wheelbarrow, sundry tools, Upots an■." LM Ipj ■| ! ii' I ■ \ i: '' ]' 'f 40 THE SEA. of powder, bullets, and shot. They had also sensibly provided themselves with some seeds, so that, all in all, they started life on the island under favourable eireumstances. The west side of the island, on which they landed, consisted of a beach some three miles in leng-tli, with a bank of earth, covered with the stronfj long tussock grass, rising to the cliff, which it was just possible to scale. The walls of rock by which the island is bounded afforded few opportunities for reaching the comparatively lev .1 plateau at the top. Without the aid of the grass it was impossible, and in one place, which had to be climbed constantly, it took them an hour and a half of hard labour, holding on with hands and feet, and rmi teeth, to reach the summit. ^leantime, they had fount' on the north side a suitable place for building their hut, near a waterfall that fell from the side of the mountain, and close to a wood, from which they could obtain all the firewood they required. Their humble dwelling was partly constructed of spars from the vessel that had brought them to the island, and was thatched with grass. About this time (December) the seals were landing in the coast, it being the pupping season, and they killed nineteen. In hunting t'lem their whale-boat, which was too heavy for two men to handle, was seriously damaj.'ed in landing through the surf; but yet, with constant bailing, could be kept afloat. A little later they cut it in halves, and constructed from the best parts a smaller boat, which was christened the Sea Curt. During the summer rains their bouse became so leaky that they pulled it down, and shifted their quarters to another spot. At the beginning of April the tussock grass, by which they had ascended the cliff, caught fire, and their means of reaching game, in the shape of wild pigs and goats, was cut off. Winter (about our summer-time, as in Australia, &c.) was approaching, and it became imjierative to think of laying in provisions. By means of the Sea Cart they went round to the west side, and succeeded in killing two goats and a pig, the latter of which furnished a bucket of fat for frying potatoes. The wild boars there were found to be almost uneatable; but the sows were good eating. The goats' flesh was said to be very delicate. An English ship passed them far out at sea, and they lighted a fire to attract attention, but in vain ; H'hile the surf was running too high, and their Cart too shaky to attempt to reach it. Hitherto they had experienced no greater hardships than they had expected, and were prepared for. But in June [mid-winter] their boi ^ was, during a storm, washed ofE the beach, and broken up. This was to them a terrible disaster; their old supplies were exhausted, and they were practically cut ofE from not merely the world in general, but even the rest of the island. They got weaker and weaker, and ])y August were little better than two skeletons. The sea was too tempestuous, and the distance taiu for the sale of their seal-skins, and hartorc'd a ruiantity of eggs fur some biscuit and a couple of pounds of tobacco. linto in October a schooner from the Cape of Good Hope called at the island, and on leaving, promised to return for them, as tliey had decided to quit the island, not having had any success in obtaining peltries or anything else that is valuable; but she did not rc-appoar, and in November their supplies were again at starvation-point. Selecting a calm day, the two Crusoes determined to swim round the headland to the eastwanl, taking with them their rifles and blankets, and towiujj after them an empty oil-barrel containing their clothes, powder, matches, and kettle. This they rei)eated later on several occasions, and, climbing the cliffs by the tussock grass, were able to kill or secure on the plateau a few of the wild pigs. Sometimes one of them only would mount, and after killing a pig would cut it up and lower the hams to his brother below. They caught three little sucking-pigs, and towed them alive through the waves, round the jv)int of their landing- place, where they arrived half drowned. They were put in an enclosure, and fed on green stuff and penguin's eggs — good feeding for a delicate little porker. Attempting on another occasion to tow a couple in the same way, the unfortunate pigs met a watery grave in the endeavour to weather the jx)iiit, and one of the brothers barely escaped, with some few injuries, through a terrible surf which was beating on their part of the coast. Part of their time was passed in a cave during the cold weather. When the C/i((lleiifjn- arrived their only ritle had burst in two places, and was of little use, while their musket was completely burst in all directions, and was being used as a blow-pipe to freshen the Hre when it got low. Their onl}-^ knives had been made bj' themselves from an old saw. Their library consisted of eight books and an atlas, and these, affording their only literary recreation for two years, they knew almost literally by heart. When they first landed they had a dog and two pups, which they, doubtless, hoped would prove something like companions. The dogs almost immediately left, and made for the penguin rookeries, where they killed and worried the birds by hundreds. One of them became mad, and the brothers thought it best to shoot the three of them. Captain Nares gave the two Crusoes a passage to the Cape, where one of them obtained a good situation ; the other returned to Germany, doubtless thinking that about a couple of dozen seal- skins — all they obtained — was hardly enough to reward tiiem for their two years' dreary sojourn on Inaccessible Island. 6 42 I . |! , i TH?] SEA. CHAPTER III. TiiK yii.s OF Till-; Sea. The KFcnt I.cxicoKriii>lirr on Hiillors— The DaiiKorH of ilic Mtui— How lloyn bpconip MnilorH— Yoiin« Aniyna liOltch— Tho (ii'iiiiiiiv Jack 'I'lir TniiiiinK-Sliipx irr.iiis llic old (jiianl-Hlilps " Sca-KocrH and WaihtcM " Tin- 'rraliiiiiK riidirtfoiio - Koiilino on JJoard- Xuvcr-c iidliig Work Ship like u Ijuly's VVatoIi Walilii's and "Hflla"— Olil (IroKraiii and (Jiok- Tlic Sallor'H Slicct Anchor Sliudown in Ilic Soanian's Life -The Naval Cat TeHlltiiony and Opiidun of a Mcdieal Olllcer-An Kxaniple- Uoy Floffulnt? in llic Xavy -ShakHpcaro and Ilorbort on Sailors nnd the .Soa. Dii. Joiixsox, whoso pt'i'soiuil weiylit soeins to have had soinethiu;jf to do with that carried by his opinion, considered going to sea a species of insanity.* " No man," said lie, " will he a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail : for heing in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned." The great lexicographer knew Fleet Street better than he did the fleet, and his opinion, as expressed above, was hardly even decently patriotic or sensible. Had all men thought as he professed to do — probably for the pleasure of saying something ponderously brilliant for the moment — we should have had no naval or commercial superiority to-day — in short, no England. The dangers of the sea are serious enough, but need not be exaggerated. One writer f indeed, in serio-comic vein, makes his sailors sing in a gale — " AVhcn you and I, Itill, on tlie diL-k Arc conifoi'taWy lyin;;;, My eyes I what tilos and chimnoy-pots About tlit'ir heads are flyinj* I '' leading us to infer that the dangers of town-life are greater than se of the sea in a moderate gale. We might remind the reader that Mark Twain inclusively shown, from statistics, that more people die in bed comfortably at home than are killed by all the railroad, steamship, or other accidents in the world, the inference being that going to bed is a dangerous habit ! But the fact is, that wherever there is danger there will be brave men found to face it — even when it takes the desperate form just indicated ! So that there is nothing surprising in the fact that in all times there have been men ready to go to sea. Of those who have succeeded, the larger proportion have been carried thither by the spirit of adventure. It would be difficult to say whether it has been more strongly developed through actual "surroundings," as believed by one of England's most intelligent and friendly critics,^ who says, "The ocean draws them just as a pond attracts young ducks," or through the influence of literature bringing the knowledge of wonderful voyages and discoveries within the reach of all. The former are immensely strong influences. The boy who lives by, and loves the sea, and notes daily the ships of all * All readers will reniemher Peter Simple, i-nd how he tells iia that " It lias been from time immemorial the heathenish eustom to sacrifice the greatest fool of the family to the prosperity and naval superiority of the country," and that he personally "was selected by general acclamation!" ilarryat knew very well, 'lowever, that it was " younger sons," and not by any means necessarily the greatest fools of the family who went to sea. t William Pitt, long llastor-Attf'ndant at Jamaica Dockyard, wlio died at Malta, in 1810. The song is often wrongly attributed to Dibdin, tv Tom Hood the elder. X Alphonse Esquiros, " I'^nglish Seamen and Divers." TIIK KMllUYO SAII.Olf. 4a myiis I^pIhtIi— Tlio iilriK I'lidcrKOiuv- )){riiiii and (iroK— ion of a Medical Ono writer t he sea in a ively shown, ailed by all that going r there will indicated ! ) been men ther by the )ro strongly t intelligent facts young wonderful sely strong ihips of all 10 immemorial 'i-ioiity of the 'lowever, that oa. song is often nations psvasing to anil fro, or who, maybe, dwells in some naval or commercial port, and sees constantly great vessels lu-riving and departing, and hears the tales of sailors bolil, concerning new lands and curious things, is very apt to become imbued with the spirit of advonturo. I low charmingly has Charles Kingsley written on the latter point!* How young Amyas Leigh, gentle born, and a mere stripling schoolboy, edged his way under the elbows of the sailor men on Jiideford Quay to listen to Captain Joh«i Oxeidiam tell his stories of heaps — "seventy foot long, ten foot broad, and twelve foot high" — of silver bars, and Spanish treastire, . nd far-off lands and peoples, and easy victories over the coward Dons! How Oxenham, o!i a recruiting bent, sang out, with good broad Devon accent, " Who 'lists ? who 'lists ? who'll make his fortune ? "•oh, whip will join, jully miiriiicM all'r And who will join, ftya he, O'. To fill his pockets with the good red g;oold, Hy Bailing on the sea, O I ' " And how Leiffh, fired with enthusi madt answer, boldly, " I want to go to sea; I want to see the Indies. I want to fight the Spaniards. Though I'm a gentleman's son, I'd a deal liever be a cabin-boy on board yoiu* ship." And how, although he did not go with swaggering John, he lived to first round the world with great Sir Francis Drake, and after light against the " Invincible " Armada. The story hn,d long before, and has many a time since, been enacted in various forms among all conditions of men. To some, however, the sea uas been a last refuge, and many such have been converted into brave and hardy men, perforce themselves; while many others, in the good old days of press-gangs, appeared, as !Marryat tells us, " to fight as hard not to be forced into the service as they did for the honour of the country after they were fairly embarked in it." It may not generally be known that the law which concerns impressing has never been abolished, although there is no fear that it will ever again be resorted to in these days of naval reserves, training-ships, and naval volunteers. The altered circumstances of the age, arising from the introduction of steam, and the greatly increased inter-commercial relations of the whole world, have made the Jack Tar pure and simple comparatively rare in these days; not, we believe, so much from his disappearance off the scene as by the numbers of differently employed men on board by whom he is surrounded, and in a sense hidden. A few A.B.'s and ordinary seamen are required on any steamship ; but the whole tribe of mechanicians, from the important rank of chief engineer downwards, from assistants to stokers and coal-passers, need not know one rope from another. On the other hand, the rapid increase of commerce has apparently outrun the natural increase of qualified seamen, and many a good ship nowadays, we are sorry to say, goes to sea with a very motley crew of "green" hands, landlubbers, and foreigners of all nationalities, including Lascars, Malays, and Kanakas, from the Sandwich Islands. A " confusion of tongues,'' not very desirable on board a vessel, reigns supreme, and renders the position of the officers by no means enviable. To obviate these difficulties, and furnish a supply of good material both to • " Westward Ho ! " 1 n mm 44 THE SEA. the Royal Navy and Mercantile Marine, training-sliips have been organised, wlii'.-h hnve been, ' far, highly successful. Let these embryo defenders of their country's interests have the iirst place. Of course, at all periods the boys, and others who entered to serve before i e mast, received some training, and picked up the rest if they were reasonably clever. The brochure of "an old salt,*'* which has recently appeared, gives a fair account of his own treatment and recei^tion. Running away from London, as many another boy has done, with a few coppers \n his pocket, he tramped to Sheerness, taking by tlie way a hearty supper of turnips wiMr a family of sheep in a field. Arrived at his destination, he found a handsome llag-shii>, surrounded by a number of large and small vessels. Selectinj; tlic ,ery jjmallest — as best adapted to his own size — he went on board, and asked the iirst officer he met — one who wore but a single epaulet — whether his shij) was wmn/nf u'/A /^///.^ / " He was answered, "No, I want men; and pray what may you want ?" "I want to go to sea, sir, please." " You had better go home to your mother," was the answer. With the next officer — " a real captain, wearing grey hair, and as straight as a line" — hi fared better, and was eventually entered as a third-class boy, and sent on ijo;'.rd a guard-ship. Here he was rather fortunate in being taken in charge by a potty olHcer, who had, as was often the case then, his wife living on board. The lady ruled supremo in the mess. She served out the grog, too, and, to prevent intoxication among the men, used to keep one finger inside the measure ! This enabled her to the better take care of her Lusb.ind. She is described as the best " man " in tl'.e mess, and irresistibly reminds us of Mrs. Trotter in "Peter Simple," who had such a horror of rum that she could not be induced to take it except when the water \\as bad. The- water, however, always teas bad ! But the former lady took good care of the no'v-comer, while, as we know, Mrs. Trotter fleeced poor Peter out of three pounds sterling and twelve pairs of stockings before he had been an hour on board. Mr. jNIindiy tells the usual stories of the T^ractical jokes he had to endure — about being sent to tlio doctor's mate for mustard, for which he received a jieppering; of the constant thrashings he received — in one case, with a number of others, receiving two dozen for losing his dinner. He was cook of the mess for the time, and having mixjd his dough, had taken it to the galley-oven, from the door of which a sadden lurch of the ship had ejected it on the main deck, '' the contents making a very good representation of the White Sea." The crime for which he and his companions suffered was for endeavouring to scrape it up again ! But the gradual steps by which he was educated upwards, till he became a gunner of the first class, prove that, all in all, he had cheerily taken the bull by the horns, determined to rise as far and fast as he might in an honourable profession. He was after a year or so transferred to a vessel fitting for the West Indies, and soon got a taste of active life. This was in IS'JT. Forty or fifty years before, the guard-ships were generally little better than floating pandemoniums. They were used portly for breaking in raw hands, and were also the intermediate stopping-places for men waiting to join other ships. Li a guard-ship of the period described, a most heterogeneous mass of humanity * Robert Mindly, '■ Chii)a from the Log of an Old Suit." THE GUAIiD-SIIir OF OLD. 46 d, wliic-li have ntry's interests fore I mast, el'jver. The ic^ount of his other boy has )y tlie way a is destination, small vessels. m board, and ■ his ship was .'hat may jou your mother," hair, and as class boy, and 1 charge by a ■d. The lady it intoxication ad her to the the mess, and X a horror of I The- water, -comer, while, ^ and twelve .'lis the usual doctor's mate ho received — 7 his dinner, taken it to ejected it on e Sea." The scrape it up I he became ! bull by the ofession. He and soon got ird-shi2)s were r breaking in to join other of humanity was assembled Human invention could not scheme work for the whole, while skulkaij^, impracticable in other vessel-^ of the Royal Navy, was deemed highly meritorious there. \ o-reat budv of men were thus verv often assembled together, who resolved themselves into hostile classes, separalrd •a.j, any two castes of the Hindoos. A clever writer in Blarkinml's Mdjindne, more than fifty years ago, describes them lirst as "sea-goers," — i.e., sailors sejjarated from tlieir vessels by illness, or ti-mporary causes, or ordered to other vessels, who looked on the guard-ship as a iloatiiig hotel, and, having what they were THE " CHICHESTEll TUAISIXG-SHU'. pleased to call sliipsi of t/icir own, were the aristocrats of the occasion, who would do no more work than they wore 'obliged. The second, and by far the most numerous class, were termed " waisters," and were the simple, the unfortunate, or the utterly abandoned, a body held on board in the utmost contempt, and most of whom, in regard io clothing, v/ere wretched in the extreme. The " waister " had to do everything on board that was menial — swabbing, sweeping, and drudging generally. At night, in defiance of his hard and unceasing lal)our, he too often 1)eeame a bandit, prowling about seeking what he might devour or appropriate. AVhat a contrast to the clean orderly training-ships of to-day! Some little information on this subject, but imperfectly understood by the j^ublic, may perhaps be permitted here. 46 THE SEA. l! it 5 I' !i! It is not generally known that our siipjily of seamen for the Royal Navy is nowadays almost entirely derived from the training-ships — iirst established about fourteen years ago. In a late blue-book it was stated that during a period of live years only 107 men had been entered from other sources, who had not previously served. Training-ships, accommodating about 3,000, are stationed at Devonport, Falmouth, Portsmouth, and Portland, where the lads remain for about a year previous to being sent on sea-going ships. The age of entry has varied at different periods; it is now fifteen to sixteen and a half years. The recruiting statistics show whence a large proportion come — from the men of Devon, who contribute, as they did in the days of Drake and Hawkins, Gilbert ,,nd Raleigh, the largest quota of men willing to make their "heritage the sea." Dr. Peter Comrie, R.N., a gentleman who has made this matter a study, informs the writer that on board these ships, as regards cleanliness, few gentlemen's sons are better attended to, while their education is not neglected, as they have a good school- master on all ships of any size. He says that boys brought up in the service not merely make the best seamen, but generally like the navy, and stick to it. The order, cleanliness, and tidy ways obligatory on board a man-of-war, make, in many cases, the ill-regulated fo'castle of most merchant ships ver}' distasteful to them. Their drilling is just sufficient to keep them in healthy condition. No one can well imagine the difference wrought in the appearance of the street arab, or the Irish peasant boy, by a short residence on board one of these ships. He fills out, becomes plump, 'oses his gaunt, haggard, hunted look; is natty in his appearance, and assumes that jauii^y, rolling gait that a i)erson gifted with what is called " sea-legs " is supposed to exhibit. Still, " we," writes the doctor, " have known Irish boys, who had very rarely even perhaps seen animal food, when first put upon the liberal dietary of the service, complain that they were being starved, their stomachs having been so used to be distended with large quantities of vegetables, that it tooTi some time before the organ accommodated itself to a more nutritious but less filling dietary." You have only .got to watch the boy from the training-ship on leave to judge that the navy has yet some popularity. Neatly dressed, clean and natty, surrounded by his quondam playmates, he is " the observed of all observers," and is gazed at with admiring respect by the street arab from a respectful distance. He has, perhaps, learned to "spin a few yarns," and give the approved hitch to his trousers, and, while giving a favourable account of his life on board ship, with its forecastle jollity and " four bitter," is the best recruiting-officer the service can liave. The great point to be attended to, in order to make him a sailor, is that " you must catch him young."* That a good number have been so caught is proved by the navy estimates, which now provide for over 7,000 boys, 4,000 of the number in sea-going ships. II * The conditions for entoring a Govcrnincnt traininp;-ship for the service involve, 1st, the consent of parents or proper guarJiiins; 2nd, the candidate must sign to serve ten years commpncing from the age of eighteen. A bounty of £0 is paid to provide outfit, and he receives sixpence a day. At the age of eighteen he receives one shilling and a penny per day — the same as an ordinary seaman. Each candidate passes a medical examination, and must he from fifteen to sixteen and a half years of age. Tho standard height is five feet for sixteen years old — rather a low average. TRAINING-SHIPS. 47 is nowadays rteen years ly 107 men ining-ships, nouthj and I sea-going sixteen and — from the lis, Gilbert y, informs 3 sons are )od school- iervice not The order, eases, the drilling is difference y a short lis gaunt, 'lling gait ill, "we,'' laps seen that they 'ith large itself to idge that d by his admiriiiff to "spin avourable " is the in order number er 7,000 Governments, as governments, may be paternal, but are rarely very benevolent, and the above excellent institutions are only organised for the safety and strength of the navy. There is another class of training-ships, which owe their existence to benevolence, and deserve every encouragement — those for rescuing our street waifs from the treadmill and prison. The larger part of these do not enter the navy, but are passed into the Merchant Marine, *heir training being very similar. The Government simply /i-ii(/s the ship. Thus the Chichester, at Greenhithe, a vessel which had been in 1808 a quarter of a century lying useless — never having seen service — was turned over to a society, a mere shell or carcase, her masts, rigging, and other tittings having to be provided by private subscriptions. Her case irresistibly reminds the writer of a vessel, imaginary only in name, described by James Hannay : * — " H.M.S. Pufaf/onian was builL as n three-decker, at a cost of £120,000, when it was discovered that she could not sail. She was then cut down into a frigate, at a cost of £50,000, when it was found out that she would not tack. She was next built up into a two-decker, at a cost of another £50,000, and then it was discovered she could be made useful, so the Admiralty kept her unemployed for ten years ! " A good use was, however, found at last for the Chichester, thanks to benevolent people, the quality of whose mercy is twice blessed, for they both help the wretched youngsters, and turn them into good boys for our ships. Some of these street arabs previously have hardly been under a roof at night for years together. Hear M. Esquiros : — " To these little ones London is a desert, and, though lost in the drifting sands of the crowd, they never fail to find their way. The greater part of them contract a singular taste for this hard and almost savage kind of life. They love the open sky, and at night all they dread is the eye of the policeman; their young minds become fertile in resourc<»s, and glory in their independence in the 'battle of life;' but if no helping hand is stretched out to arrest them in this fatal and down-hill path, they surely gravitate to the treadmill and the prison. How could it be otherwise? . . . The question is, what are these lads good for?" That problem, M. Esquiros, as you with others predicted, has been solved satisfai 1 The jwor lads form excellent raw material for our over- increasing sea-service. The training of a naval cadet—/.'., an embryo midsliipman, or " midshi )mite " (as poor Peter Simple was irreverently called — before, however, the days of naval cadets) — is very similar in many respects to that of an embryo seaman, but includes many other acquirements. After obtaining his nomination from the Admiralty, and uii .irgoing a simple preliminarv ex- amination at the Royal Naval College in ordiniuy brunches of knowledge, he is passed to a training-ship, which to-day is the BrUanuia at Durtmouth. Here he is taught all the ordinary acquirements in rigging, seamanship, and gunnery ; and, to fit him to be an officer, he is instructed in taking observations for latitude and longitude, in geometry, trigonometry, and algebra. He also goes through a course of draw ^-lessons and modern languages. He is occasionally sent oft' on a brig for a short cruise, and after a year on the training-ship, during wiiich he undergoes a quarterly examination, he is jiassed to a sea-going ship. His position on leaving depends entirely on his certilicate— if he o])tains one of the First Class, .tc * In " Siiigluton Fuutcimy, K.X." iiii 48 THE SEA. ! h \ I is immediately rated midshipman; while if he only obtains a Third Class certificate, he will have to serve twelve months more on the sea-going ship, and pass another examination before he can claim that rank.* The actual experiences of intelligent sailors, or voyagers, written by themselves, have, of course, a greater practical value than the sea-stories of clever novelists, while the latter, as a class, confine themselves very much to the quarter-deck. Dana^s "Two Years Before the Mast " is so well known that few of our readers need to be told that it is the story of an American student, who had undermined his health by over-applienlion, and who took a voyage, via Cape Horn, to California in order to recover it. But the oM brig Fi/>/rim, bound to the northern Pacific coast for a cargo of hides, was hardly a fair example, in some respects, of an ordinary merchant-vessel, to say notumg of a fine clipper or modern steam-ship. Dana's experiences were of the roughest type, and may be read by boys, anxious to go to sea, with advantage, if taken in conjunction with those of others; many of them are common to all grades of sea service. A little work by a "■ Sailor-bov,"t puljlished some years ago, gives a very fair idea of a seaman's lot in the Royal Navy, and the two stories in conjunction present a fair average view of sea-life and its duties. Passing over the young sailor-boy's adinission to the training-ship — the "Guardho," as he terms ih — we find his first days on board devoted to the mysteries of knots and hitch- making, in learning to lash hammocks, and in rowing, and in acquiring the arts of "feathering" and "tossing" an oar. Incidentally he gives us some information on the etiquette observed in boats passing with an ofl!icer on board. " For a lieutenant, the coxswain only gets up and takes his cap off; for a captain, the boat's crew lay on their oars, and the coxswain takes his cap off; and for an admiral the oars are tossed (i.e., raised perpendicularly, nof thrown in the air !), and all caps go off." Who would not be an admiral ? While in this " instruction " he received ' his sailor's clothes — a pair of blue cloth trousers, two pairs of white duck ditto, two blue serge and two white frocks, two pairs of white " jumpers," two caps, two pairs of stockings, a knife, and a marking-type. As soon as he is "made a sailor" by these means, he was ordered to the mast-head, and tells with glee how he was able to go up outside by the futtock shrouds, and not through " lubber's hole." The reader doubtless knows that the lubber's hole is an open space between the head of the lower mast and the edge of the top ; it is so named from the supposition that a " land-lubber" would prefer that route. The French call it the frotc tlit chat — the hole through which the cat would climb. Next he commenced cutlass-drill, followed by ritle-drill, big-gun practice, instruction in splicing, and all useful knots, and in using the compass and lead-line. He was afterwards sent on a brig for a short sea cruise. " Having," says he, " to run aloft without shoes was a heavy trial to me, and my I'eet often were so sore and blistered that I have sat down in the ' tops ' and cried with the pain ; yet up I had to go, and furl and loose my sails ; and up I did go, blisters and all. Sometimes the pain was so bad I could not move smartly, and then the unmerited rebuke frnm a thoughtless officer was as gall and wormwood to nie." Dana, in speaking of the incessant work on board any vessel, says, "A ship is like a lady's • Vide " Tho Qu((Mi's l!i\nnliilions and the Admiiiilty Instrii. lions for the Govomment of Her Slajosty's Naval Service;" also Ulamork's " Naval Utlieer's Manual." f " A Sailor-Boy's Log- Book from Portsmouth to the Peiho," edited by Walter \Vliite. ^ *S i ROUTINE ON BOARD. 49 te, he will ion before Ives, Lave, the latter, ars Before itory of an : a voyage, ind to tlie 3cts, of an ). Dana's 3 sea, with all grades a very fair sent a fair ardho," as and hiteh- le arts of on on the \i coxswain • oars, and '.e., raised 1 admiral ? )lue cloth 3 of white n as he is glee how ble." The the lower er" would cat would nstruction afterwards shoes was tvn in the d up I did then the :e a lady's 38ty'8 Naval watch — always out of repair." When, for example, in a culm, the sails hanging looioly, the hot sun pouring down on deck, and no way on the vessel, which lies " As idlo as n jminted ship Upon a iiiiiiitiMl ocean," there is always sufficient work for tlie men, in "setting up" the rigging, which constantly requires lightening and repairing, in picking oakum for caulking, in brightening up the metal- IXSTIlt'CTION ON UOAllD A MAN-OF-WAll. work, and in holystoning the deck. The holystone is a large piece of porous stone,* which is dragged in alternate ways by two sailors over the deck, sand being used to increase its effect. It obtains its name from the fact that Sunday morning is a very common time on many merchant-vessels for cleaning up generally. The daily routine of our young sailor on the experimental cruises gave him plenty of employment. In his own words it was as follows : — Commencing at live a.m. — ' Turn hands up; holystone or scrub upper deck; coil down ropes. Half-past six — breakfast, half an f'-'i • A naval friend kindly informs mc that the Slalta holystones arc excellent, natural lava being abumiant. 60 THE SEA. I ' ''i ii lioui'j call the watch, watch below, clean the upper deck; watch on deck, clean wood and brass-work; put the upjwr decks to rights. Eight a.m. — hands to quarters; clean guns and arms ; division for inspection ; prayers ; make sail, reef topsails, furl top-sails, top-gallant sails, royals ; reef courses, down top-gallant and royal yards. This continued till eight bells, twelve o'clock, dinner one hour. 'AH hands again ; cutlass, rifle, and big-gun drill till four o'clock ; clear up decks, coil up ropes ; ' and then our day's work is done." Then they would make little trips to sea, many of them to experience the woes of sea-sickness for the first time. But the boys on the clean and well-kept training-brig were better off in all respects than poor Dana. When first ordered aloft, he tells us, " I had not got my ' sea-legs ' on, was dreadfully sea-sick, with hardly strength to hold on to anything, and it was ' pitch-dark ' * * * How I got along I cannot now remember. I ' laid out ' on the yards, and held on with all my strength. I could not have been of much service ; for I remember having been sick several times before I left the top-sail yard. Soon all was snug aloft, and we were again allowed to go below. This I did not consider much of a favour; for the confusion of everything below, and that inexpressibly sickening smell, caused by the shaking up of bilge-water in the hold, made the steerage but an indifferent refuge to the c. M, wet decks. I had often read of the nautical experiences of others, but I felt as though there could be none worse than mine; for, in addition to every other evil, I could not but remember that this was only the first night of a two years' voyage. When we were all on deck, we were not much better off, for we were continually ordered about by the officer, who said that it was good for us to be in motion. Yet anything was better than the horrible state of things below. I remember very well going to the hatchway and putting my head down, when I was oppressed by nausea, and felt like being relieved immediately. We can fully recommend the examjile of Dana, who, acting on the advice of the black cook on board, munched away at a good half-pound of salt beef and hard biscuit, which, washed down with cold water, soon, he says, made a man of him. Some little explanation of the mode of dividing time on board ship may be here found useful. A " watch " is a term both for a division of the crew and of their time : a full watch is four hours. At the expiration of each four hours, commencing from twelve o'clock noon, the men below are called in these or similar terms — "All the starboard (or port) watch ahoy ! Eight bells ! " The watch from four p.m. to eight p.m. is divided, on a well-regulated ship, into two " dog-watches ; " the object of this is to make an uneven number of periods — seven, instead of six, so that the men change the order of their watches daily. Other- wise, it will be seen that a man, who, on leaving port, stood in a particular watch — from twelve noon to four p.m. — would stand in the same watch throughout the voyage ; and he who had two night-watches at first would always have them. The periods of the "dog- watches " are usually devoted to smoking and recreation for those off duty. As the terms involved must occur frequently in this work, it is necessary also to explain lor some readers the division of time itself by " bells." The limit is " eight bells," which are struck at twelve, four, and eight o'clock a.m. or p.m. The ship's bell is sounded each half -hour. Half-past any of the above hours is " one bell " struck sharply by itself. At the hour, two strokes are made sharply fuUowhg each other. Expressing the strokes by signs, half-past twelve would be I (representing one stroke) ; one o'clock woukl be II (two strokes THE 8AILOU'S SlIEET-AXCIIOK. 61 sharply struck, one after the other); half-past one, II I; two o'clock, II II; half-past two, II II I; three o'clock, II II II; half-past three, II II II I; and four o'clock, II II II II, or " eij^ht hells." The process is then repeated in the next watch, and the only disturbing element comes from the elements, which occasionally, when the vessel rolls or pitches yrcatly, cause the bell to strike without leave. Seamen before the mast are divided into three classes — able, ordinary, and boys. In the merchant service a " green hand " of forty may be rated as a boy ; a landsman must ship for boy's wages on the first voyage. Merchant seamen rate themselves — in otlier words, they cause themselves to be entered on the ship's books according to their (pialiticatious and experience. There are few instances of abuse in this matter, and for good reason. Apart from the disgrace and reduction of wages and rating which would follow, woe to the man who sets himself up for an A.B. when he should enter as a boy; for the rest of the crew consider it a fraud on themselves. The vessel would be short-handed of a man of the class required, and their work would be proportionately increased. No mercy would be shown to such an impostor, and his life on board would be that of a dog, but anything rather than tliat of a " jolly sea-dog."* There are lights in the sailor's chequered life. Seamen are, Shakespeare tells us, " but men " — and, if we are to believe Dibdin, grog is a decided element in their happier hours. " Grog " is now a generic term ; but it was not always. One Admiral Vernon — who persisted in wearing a grogramf tunic so much that he was known among his subordinates as " Old vjrrog " — earned immortality of a disagreealde nature by watering the rum-ration of the navy to iis present standard. At ll.iiO a.m., on all ships of the Royal Navy nowada3's, half a gill of watered rum — two parts of water to one of the stronger drink — is served out to each of the crew, unless they have forfeited it by some act of insubordination. Tho officers, including the petty oflicers, draw half a gill of pure rum ; the former put it into the general mess, and many never taste it. " Six- water " grog is a mild form of punishment. " Splicing the main-brace " infers extra grog served out for extraordinary service. Formerly, and, indeed, as late as forty odd years ago, the daily ration was a full gill ; but, as sailors traded and bartered their drinks among themselves, it would happen once in awhile that one would get too much "on board." It has happened occasionally in consequence that a seaman has tumbled overboard, or fallen from the yards or rigging, and has met an inglorious death. Boys are not allowed grog in the Royal Navy, and there is no absolute rule among merchant-vessels. In the American navy there is a coin allowance in lieu of rum, and tvery nation has its own peculiarities in this matter. In the French navy, wine, very onlinuire, and a little brandy is issued. There are shadows, too, in the sailor's life — as a rule, he brings them on himself, hut by no means always. If sailors are "but men," officers rank in the same category, and occasionally act like brutes. So much has been written on the subject of the naval " cat " — a punishment once dealt out for most trilling offences, and not abolished yet, that tho writer has some diffidence in approaching the subject. A volume might bo * Vide Dauci's " Seaman's Jlunual." t A fonn of heavy pilo silk. . i 1 I 1 1 -j rr^ 62 THE SEA. written on the theme; let the testimony of Dr. Stables,* a surgeon of the Royal Navy, suffice. It shall be told in his own words : — " One item of duty there is, which occasionally devolves on the medical officer, and for the most part goes greatly against the feeling of the young surgeon ; I refer to his compi Isory attendance at floggings. It is only fair to state that the majority of captains and commanders use the cat as seldom as possible, and that, too, only sparingly. In some ships, however, flogging is nearly as frequent as prayers of a morning. Again, it is more common on foreign stations than at home, and boys of the Hrst or second class, marines, and ordinary seamen, are for the most part the victims. . . . We were at anchor in Simon's Bay. All the miiiutite of the scene I remember as though it were but yesterday. The morning was cool and clear, the hills clad in lilac and green, sea-birds floating high in air, and the waters of the bay reflecting the blue of the sky, and the lofty mountain-sides forming a picture almost dream-like in its quietude and serenity. The men were standing about in groups, dressed in their whitest of pantaloons, bluest of smocks, and neatest of black-silk neckerchiefs. By-and-by the culprit was led in by a file of marines, and I went below with him to make the preliminary examination, in order to i-eport whether or not he might be fit for the punishment. " He was as good a specimen of the British mariner as one could wish to look upon — hardy, bold, and wiry. His crime had been smuggling spirits on board. " ' Needn't examine me, doctor,' said he ; 'I aint afeared of their four dozen ; they can't hurt me, sir — leastways my back, you know — my breast, though ; hum — m ! ' and he shook his head, rather sadly I thought, as he bent down his eyes. " ' What,' said I, * have you anything the matter with your chest ? ' " ' Nay, doctor, nay ; it's my feelings they'll hurt. I've a little girl at home that loves me, and, bless you, sir, I won't look her iii the face again nohow.' " I felt his pulse. No lack of strength there, no nervousness ; the artery had the firm beat of health, the tendons felt like rods of ' n beneath the liugar, and his biceps stood out hard and round as the mainstay of an old seventy-four. . . . All hands had already assembled — the men and boys on one side, and the officers, in cocked hats and swords, on the other. A grating had been lashed against the bulwark, and another placed on deck beside it. The culprit's shoulders and back were bared, and a strong belt fastened around the lower part of the loins for protection ; he was then firmly tied by the hands to the upper, and by the feet to the lower grating ; a little basin of cold water was placed at his feet, and all v/as now prepared. The sentence was read, and orders given to proceed with the punishment. The cat is a terrible instrument of torture; I would not use it on a oull unless in self-defence; the shaft is about a foot and a half long, and covered with green or red baize, according to taste; the thongs are nine, about twenty-eight inches in length, of the thickness of a goose-quill, and with two knots tied on each. Men describe the first blow as like a shower of molten lead. " Combing out the thongs with his five fingers before each blow, firmly and determinedly was the first dozen delivered by the bo'swain's mate, and as unflinchingly received. « " Medical Life in the Navy," by W. Stables, M.D., &c. THE NAVAL CAT. 08 "Then, 'One dozen, sir, please,' he rejjorted, saluting the commander. " ' Continue the punishment,' was the calm reply. " A new man, and a new cat. Another dozen reported ; again the same reply. Three dozen. The flesh, like burning steel, had changed from red to purple, and blue, and white ; and between the third and fourth dozen, the suffering wretch, pale onough now, and in all probability sick, begg'id a comrade to give him a inouthful of water. " Tlicre was a tear in the eye of the hardy sailor who obeyed him, whispering as he did so, ' Keep up. Bill ; it'll soon be over now.' " * Five, six,' the corporal slowly cou.^ted ; ' seven, eight.' It is the last dozen, and how acute must be the torture ! ' Nine, t«>n.' The blood comes now fast enough, and — yes, gentle reader, I will spai-e your feelings. The man was cast loose at last, and jiut on the sick-list ; he had borne his punishment without a groan, and without moving a muscle. A large pet monkey sat crunching nuts in the rigging, and grinning all the time ; I have no doubt he enjoyed the spectacle immensely, for he was only an ape." Dr. Stables gives his opinion on the use of the cat in honest and outspoken terms. He considers " corporal punishment, as applied to men, eowanUi/, cniel, and debasing to human nature ; and as applied to boys, brutal, and sometimes evenjiemlish." The writer has statistics before him which prove that ISO cases of flogging boys took place in 1875, and that only seven men were punished during that year. There is every probability that the use of the naval cat will ere long be abolished, and important as is good discipline on board ship, there are many leading authorities who believe that it can be maintained without it. The captain of a vessel is its king, reigning in a little world of his own, and separated for weeks or months from the possibility of reprimand. If he is a tyrannical man, he can make his ship a floating hell for all on board. A system of fines for small offences hns been proposed, and the idea has this advantage, that in case they prove on investigation to have been unjustly iniix)sed, the money can be returned. The disgrace of a flogging sticks to a boy or man, and, besides, as a imnishraent is infinitely too severe for most of the offences for which it is inflicted. It would be a cruel punishment were the judge infallible, but with an erring human being for an irresponsible judge, the matter is far worse. And that good seamen are deterred from entering the Royal Navy, knowing that the commission of a peccadillo or two may bring down the cat or. uieir unlucky shoulders, is a matter of fact. We shall meet the sailor on the sea many a time and again during the progress of this work, and see how hardly he earns his scanty reward in the midst of the awful dangers peculiar to the elements he dares. Shakespeare says that he is — "A man whom both tho waters and the wind, In that vast tennis-court, hath made the ball For them to play on'' — that the men of all others who have made England what she is, have not altogether a bed of roses even on a well-conducted vessel, whilst they may lose their lives at any moment by shipwreck and sudden death. George Herbert says — " Praiso tho sea, but keep on land." l^. >' I'; \. ft, i ■!! 1 ■' I 04 THE SEA. And while tlio present writer would bo sorry to prevent any healthy, capable, adventurous boy from entering a noble profession, he recommends him to first study the literature of the sea to the best and fullest of his ability. Our succeediuf^ chapter will exhibit some of the special perils which surround the sailor's life, whilst it will exemplify to some extent the qualities specially required and expected from him. CHAPTER IV. PiiKILS Ol'' THE SaII.OU's Lll'E. Tho Loss of tho Captain— Six Hundred Souls swept into Ktcrnily without a Wurninijr— The JIansion and the Cottage nllko Sufferers— Causes of tlie Disaster-Horrors of tlic Scene— Xoble Captain Hur(,'oyne— Narratives of Survivors— An almost Ineredlble Feut— Loss of the lioyul Gcorf/c—A threat Disaster caused by u Trllle— Nine Hundred Lost— A Child saved by a Sheep— The Portholes Upright -An involuntary Uatli of Tar— Itafts of Corpses—The Vessel lilown up in 1839-10— The Loss of tho I'aiifiuard -liuU a ^lilllun sunk in Fifty Minutes— Admirable Discipline on Board —All Saved-The Court Martial. England, and indeed all Europe, long prior to 1870 had been busily constructing ironclads, and the daily journals teemed with descriptions of new forms and varieties of ships, armour, and armament, as well as of new and enormous guns, which, rightly directed, might sink them to the bottom. Among the more curious of the ironclads of that period, and the construction of which had led to any quantity of discussion, sometimes of a very angry kind, was the turret-ship — practically the sea-going "monitor" — Cnptahi, which Captain Cov/per Phipps Coles had at length been permitted to construct. Coles, who was an enthusiast of great scientific attainments, as well as a practical seaman, which too many of our experimentalists in this direction have not been, had distinguished himself in the Crimea, and had later made many improvements in rendering vessels shot-proof. His revolving turrets are, however, the inventions with which his name are more intimately connected, although he had much to do with the general construction of the Ciqda'm, and other ironclads of the period. The Cniitain was a large double-screw armour-plated vessel, of 4,27£ tons. Her armour in the most exposed parts was eight inclics in thickness, ranging elsewhere downwards from seven to as low as three inches. She had two revolving turrets, the strongest and heaviest yet built, and carried six powerful guns. Among the peculiarities of her construction were, that she had only nine feet of "free-board" — i.e., that was the height of her sides out of water. The forecastle and after-part of the vessel were raised above this, and they were connected with a light hurricane-deck. This, as we shall see, i)layed an important part in the sad disaster we have to relate. On the morning of the 8th of September, 1870, English readers, at their breakfast- tables, in railway carriages, and everywhere, were startled with the news that the Cupiain had foundered, with all hands, in the Bay of Biscay. Six hundred men had been swept into LOSS Ul- THE " CAPTAIN." 55 otornity without ii moment's warniii},'. She liacl been in company with the scjuailron tho nijj^ht before, and, indeed, hud been visited by tho admiral, for purposes of inspection, the previous afternoon. The early part of the evening- had been fine; hiter it had become what sailors call "dirty weather;" at midnight the wind rose fast, and soon culminated in a furious gale. At ;J.15 in the morning of the 7th a heavy bank of clouds passed ofl', and the stars came out clear and bright, the moon then setting; but no vessel could be discerned where the (Juptnin had been last observe.!. At daybreak the squadron was all in sight, but scattered. *• Onli/ ten nfiips inxlfad of elen>ii could be t/l,scernetl, the ' ('dpliiin' tjeliiff the iiiisnln(j one." Later, it appeared that seventeen of the men and tho gunner had escaped, and landed at Corbucion, north of Cape Finisterre, on the afternoon of the 7th. All the men who were nnvetl belonged to the sttirboard tciitch ; or, in other words, none escaped except those on deck duty. Every man below, whether soundly sleeping after his day's work, or tossing sleeplessly in his berth, thinking of home and friends and present peril, or watching the engines, or feeding the furnaces, went down, without tho fiiintest possibility of escaping his doom. Think of this catastrophe, and what it involved ! The families and friends of 600 men plunged into mourning, and the scores on scores of wives and children into poverty ! In one street of Portsea, thirty wives were made widows by the occurrence.* Tho shock of the news killed one poor woman, then in weak health. Nor were the sad effects confined to the cottages of the poor. The noble-heartetl captain of the vessel was a son of Field-Marshal Burgoyne; Captain Coles, her inventor; a son of Mr. Childers, the then First Lord of the Admiralty ; the younger son of Lord Northbrook ; the third son of Lord Herbert of Lea; and Lord Lewis Gordon, brother of the Marquis of Huntley, were among the victims of that terrible morning. The intelligence arrived during the excitement caused by the defeat and capitulation of Sedan, which, involving, as it did, the deposition of the Emperor and the fate of France, was naturally the great topic of discussion, but for the time it overshadowed even those great events, for it was a national calamity. From the statements of survivors we now know that the watch had been called a few minutes past midnight; and as the men were going on deck to muster, the ship gave a terrible lurch to starboard, soon, however, righting herself on that occasion. Robert Hirst, a seaman, who afterwards gave some valuable testimony, was on the fore- There was a very strong wind, and the ship was then only carrying her three top-sails, double reefs in each, and the foretop-mast stay-sail. The yards were braced sharp up, and the ship had little way upon her.f As the watch was mustered, he heard Captain Burgoyne give the order, " Let go the foretop-sail halyards ! " followed by, " Let go fore and maintop-sail sheets ! " By the time the men got to the top-sail sheets the ship was heeling over to starboard so much that others were being washed off the deck, * ^ol•t^ r ' f. yi ^ i L IIOHKUHS Ol-' THE Hllll'NVUKlK. 57 f the xliip lyinf? down on hor sido, as she was "^riidiiidly turning; nvi-r and tn'inljlin to the bottom ! While in the water, two poor drowning wretches caught hold of him, and literally tore off the legs of his trousers. He could not help them, and they sank for the last time. Many and varied were the explanations given of the causes of this disaster. There had evidently been some uneasiness in regard to her stability in the water at one time, but she had sailed so well on previous trips, in the same stormy waters, that confidence had been restored in her. The belief, afterwards, among many authorities, was that she ought not to have carried sail at all.* This was the primary cause of the disaster, no doubt; and then, in all probability, when the force of the wind had heeled her over, a heavy sea struck her and completely capsized her — the water on and over her depressed side assisting by weigiiting her downwards. The side of the hurricane-deck acted, when the vessel was heeled over, as one vast sail, and, no doubt, had much to do with putting her on her beam-ends. Tlie general impression of the survivors appeared to be th.'.c, with the ::hip heeling over, the pressure of a strt ig wind upon the under part of the hurricane-deck had a greater effect or leverage upon the hull, than the pressure of the wind on her top-sails. They were also nearly unanimous in their opinion that when the ' '•jitaiii's starboard side was well down in the water, with the weight of water on the turret-deck, and the pressure of the wind blowing fron. t!ie port hand on the under surface of the hurricane-deck, and thus pushing the ship right over, she had no chance of righting herself again. * Tho lato Admii'.'il Shcrard Osborn, in a luttcr to tlio Times, said, "Tlic desire of our Admiriilty to make nil tho'ir figlitin.u-sliiiis rruisc tindor canvaK, as well as stc^im. indiuod poor Captain Cok's to go a sti'j' further, iind to make a ship with u low free board p, sailing-ship.'' This was against his judgnu-nt, however. CAU8ES OF THE Dl.SAiSTEH. 59 It is to be remarked that long after the Captain had sunk, the admu'al of the squadron thought that he saw her, although it was very evident afterwards that it must have been some other vessel. In his despatch to the Admiralty,* which very ])lainly indicated that he hatl some anxiety in regard to her stability in bad weather, he described her appearance and behaviour up till 1.30 a.m. — more than an hour after her final exit to the depths below. In the days of superstitious belief, so common among sailors, a thrilling story of her image haunting the spot would surely have been built on this foundation. In the old fighting-days of the Royal Navy, when success followed success, and prize after prize rewarded the daring and enterprise of its commanders, they did not think very much of the loss of a vessel more or less, but took the lesser evils with the j^reater goods. The seamanship was wonderful, but it was very often utterly reckless. A captain ti'ained in the school of Nelson and Cochrane would stop at nothing. The country, accustomed to great naval battles, enriched by the spoils of the enemy — who furnished some of the finest vessels in our fleet — was not much affected by the loss of a ship, and the Admiralty was inclined to deal leniently with a spirited commander who had met with an accident. But then an accident in those days did not mean the loss of half a million pounds or so. The cost of a large ironclad of to-day would have built a small wooden fleet of those days. The loss of the Ca2)laiii irresistibly brings to memory another great loss to the Royal Navy, which occurred nearly ninety years before, and by which 1)00 lives were in a moment swept into eternity. It proved too plainly that " wooden walls " might capsize as readily as the "crankiest'' ironclad. The reader will immediately guess that we refer to the loss of the Roi/al (jfonje, whicii took place at Spithead, on the :!8th of August, 178ii, in calm weather, but still under circumstances which, to a very great extent, explain how the Captain — at the best, a vessel of doubtful stability — capsized in the stormy waters of Biscay. The Royal (ioorge was, at the time, the oldest first-rate in the service, having been put into commission in 1755. She carried 108 guns, and was considered a staunch ship, and a good sailer. Anson, Boscawen, Rodney, Howe, and Ilawke had all repeatedly commanded in her. From what small causes may great and lamentable disasters arise ! " During the washing of her decks, on the 28th, the carpenter discovered that the pipe which admitted the water to cleanse and sweeten the ship, and which was about three feet under the water, was out of repair — that it was necessary to replace it with a new one, and to heel her on one side for that purpose." The guns on the port side of the ship were run out of the port-holes as far as they would go, and those from the starboard side were drawn in and secured amidships. This brought hor porthole-sills on the lower side nearly even * Admiral Milne, in his dcspatoh datfil from H.^F.S. l.nrd H'tnikii, off Fiiiin(oiTo, Spptomhcr 7th. 1870, stated tliat, at a littlii hoforo 1 a.m., tlii^ Cn/ihiin was astern of liis sliip, '• a|iiiarently closinu; under sleam." The sif^nal "open order" was maile, and at once answered; and at l.I.) a.m. .she w.is on tho I.nr/l U'nn/iii'.i (the fhiir-ehipVI loo rpiarter, about hIx points ahaft the Leani. From that time until ahnut 1.30 a.m. I e(mstantly wati'hed the .Oiip. . . . Sh(> w.is lieelins,' over ii irnod deal to starboard," \:c. We liavo si'cn that she went down shortly after the laiduight watch hud been called. ■■•MM m i ,■ 60 THE SEA. 'i; with the water. " At about 9 o'clock a.m., or rather before/' stated one of the survivors,* " we had just finished our breakfast, and the last lighter, with rum on board, had come alongside ; this vessel was a sloop of about fifty tons, and belonged to three brothers, who used her to carry things on board the men-of-war. She was lashed to the larboard side of the h'u//al Ueorrfe, and we were piped to clear the lighter and get the rum out of her, and stow it in the hold. ... At first, no danger was apprehended from the ship being on one side, although the water kept dashing in at the portholes at every wave ; and there being mice in the lower part of the ship, which were disturbed by the water which dashed in, they were hunted in the water by the men, and there had been a rare game going on." Their play was soon to be rudely stopped. The carpenter, perceiving that the ship was in great danger, went twice on the deck to ask the lieutenant of the watch to order the ship to be righted j the first time the latter barely answered him, and the second replied, savagely, " If you can manage the ship better than I can, you had better take the command/' In a very short time, he began himself to see the danger, and ordered the drummer to beat to right ship. It was too late — the ship was beginning to sink ; a sudden breeze springing upheeled her still more ; the guns, shot, and heavy articles generally, and a large part of the men on board, fell irresistibly to the lower side; and the water, forcing itself in at every i)ort, weighed the vessel down still more. She fell on her broad- side, with her masts nearly flat mu the water, and sank to the bottom immediately. "The officers, in their confusion, made no signal of distress, nor, indeed, could any assistance have availed if they had, after her lower-deck ports were in the water, which forced itself in at every port with fearful velocity." In going down, the main-yard of the lloi/al (ji'oi-ije caught the boom of tlu» rum-lighter and sank her, drowning some of those on board. At this terrible moment there were nearly 1,200 persons f on board. Deducting the larger proj)ortion of the watch on deck, iT.bout 2>'30, who were mostly saved by running up the rigging, and afterwards taken o!T by tiie boats sent for their rescue, and, perhaps, seventy otiiers wiio managtHl to scramble out of the ports, &c., the whole of the remainder perished. Admiral Kempenfelt, whose tlag-ship it was, and who was then writing in his cabin, and had just before been shaved by the barber, went down with her. The first- captain tried to acquaint him that the ship was sinking, but the heeling over of the ship had so jammed the doors of tlie cabin that they could not be opened. One young man was saved, as the vessel filled, by the force of the water rushing upwards, and sweeping him bodily before it through a hatchway. In a few seconds, he found himself iloating on the surface of the sea, where he was, later, picked up by a boat. A little child was almost miraculously preserved by a sheep, which swam some time, and with which he had doubt- less been playing on deck. lie held by the fleece till rescued by a gentleman in a wherry. His father and mother were both drowned, and the poor little fellow did not * A " Xarrativo of the TiOss of tlii> Jlixjal Gmrf/f," pulilishod at Portsca, iind wiittun \>\ a gentleman who wa.s on the island at tho lime. t The oxact niimhci' was ncvfi- known. There were 'J")0 women on hoard, a lari^e ]n'oj)orti a niimbrr of ^v\\• and other traders on hoard. LOSS OF THE "ROYAL OEOItGE." Gl even know their names ; all that he knew was that his own name was Jack. His preserver provided for him. One of the survivors,* who got tlirough a porthole, looked back and saw the opening "as full of heads as it could cram, all trying to got out. I caught," said he. 1^ THE WllECK 01' THE " llOYAL GKOUGE. " hold of the best bower-anchor, which was jusfe above me, to prevent falling back again into the porthole, and seizing hold of a woman who was trying to get out of the same porthole, I dragged hor out.^' The same writer says that he saw "all the heads drop back again in at the porthole, for the ship had got so much im her larboard side ihal the star/xxird porUmh's yen' ssful effoils to save the lives of all on boai'd (not knowing when hi:* .ship luiglit go down, and with the remembrance of the; sudden loss of the Captain full in view) speak nmch in his favour, and in ex- tenuation of much that would otherwise appear culpable neglect. I ■'-; ii THE LOSS OF THE "KENT." .SrLKNUlI) DISCiri.INK. (;5 that if they preserved order all would be saved. Tlie men stood as at an insiiectinn — not one moved until ordered to do so. The hoats of both ships were lowered. While the launehin}'' was goinjj on, the swell of the tide eaused a lifeboat to sur^e aj^ainsl the hull, and one of the erew had his tinj^er crushed. This was absolutely the only casualty. In twenty minutes the whole of the men were transferred to the Jroii huLr^ no single breach of discipline occurring beyond the understandal)le recpiest of a sailor once in awhile to be allowed to make one elTort to secure some keepsake or article of special value to himself. But the order was stern : " Boys, come iustantly." As " four I I I THE " VANUIAUU AS SHE AITEAKEI) AT LOW WATllK. bells " (2 p.m.) was striking, the last man having been received on the I rati Duki', the doomed vessel whirled round two or three times, and then sank in deep water.* It is obvious, then, that the discij)line and courage of the service had not deteriorated from that always exjiected in the good old days. Captain Dawkins was the last man to leave his sinking ship, and his ofiieers one and all behaved in the same spirit. They endeavoured to quiet and reassure the men — pointing out to them the fatal conseipiences of confusion. Captain Dawkins may or may not have been rightly censured for his sea- manship; there can be no doubt that he performed his duty nobly in these systematic elforts to save his crew. However much was lost to the nation, no mother had to mourn the loss of her sailor-boy; no wife had been made a widow, no ihild an orphan; live hundred men had V)een saved to their country. * Ninototn I'titlioins, or 114 tVot. llov nuiin-topnmst-licail wii.s aftuiwani.- twi'iity-l'our fuot out of wiitur. 9 66 THE SEA. I ' One of the ofliccrs of the I'duijuaril, in u letter to a frieiul, graphically described the scene at and after the collision. After having Innchetl, he entered the ward-room, where he encountered the surgeon, Dr. Fisher, who was reading a newspaper. " After remarking on the thickness of the fog, Fisher went to look out of one of the ports, and immediately cried out, ' God help us ! here is a ship right into us I ' We rushed on deck, and at that moment the Iron Buke struck us with fearful force, spars and blocks falling about, and causing great danger to us on deck. The Iron, Duke then dropiwd astern, and was lost sight of in the fog. The water came into the engine-room in tons, stojjping the engines, putting the lires out, and nearly drowning the engineers and stokers. . . . The ship was now reported sinking fast, although all the water- light compartments had been closed. But in consequence of the shock, some of the water-tight doors leaked fearfully, letting water into the other parts of the ship. Minute-guns were being Hred, and the boats were got out. ... At this moment the Iron Duke api)eared, lowering her boats and sending them as fast as possible. The sight of her cheered us up, as we had been frightened that she would not find us in the fog, in spite of the guns. The scene on deck can only be realised by tiiose who have witnessed a similar calamity. The looming of the minute-guns, the noise of the immense volume of steam rushing out of the escape-funnel, and the orders of the captain, were strangely mingled, while a voice from a boat reported how fast she was sinking." When the vessel went down, the deck the Iron Duke was crowded with men watching the finale of the catastrophe. When she was about to sink, she heeled gradually over until the whole of her enormous size to the keel was alx>ve water. Then she gradually sank, righting hei"self as she went down, stern first, the water being blown from hawse-holes in huge spouts by the force of the air rushing out of the ship. She then disappeai-ed from view. The men were much saddened to see their home go down, carrying everything they possessed. They had been paid that morning, and a large number of them lost their little accumulated earnings. These were, of course, after- wards allowed them by the Admiralty. The Vauffiiaril and the Iron Duke were two of a class of broadside ironcltuls, built with a view to general and not special utilit\' in warfare. Their thickest armour was eight inches, a mere strip, 100 feet long by three high, and much of the visible part, of them was unarmoured altogether, while below it varied from six inches to as low as three-eighths of an inch. It was only the latter thickness where the point of the Iron Dnh-'x ram entered. Their advocates boasted that they could pass through the Suez Canal, and go anywhere. Every reader will remember the stormy discussion which ensued, in which not merely the ironclad question, but tlie court-martial which followed — and the Admiralty decision which followed that — were seviTcly handled. Nor could there be much wonder at all this, for a vessel which had cost the nation over a quarter of a million of pounds sterling, with equipment and properly on board which had cost as much more,* was lost for ever. • The totiil I'stinmted U>s8 was £').50,000. Loss OF THE "KKNT; (i? It was in vain that the then First Lord of the Admiralty* told us, in somewhat Hippant tones, that we ouj^ht to he rather satisfied than otherwise with thy oeenrrenee. It was not ttltojjether satisfaetory to learn from Mr. lleed, the principal desij^ner of hoth ships, that ironclads were in more dan<»'er in times of peace than in times of war.t In the former they were residences for sevend hundred sailors, and many of the water-ti»^ht doors coidd not he kei)t (;losed without ineonvonience ; in the latter they were fortresses, when the doors would he closed for safety. The court-martial, constituted to the liottoiu, we should hiive called her one of the most formidable ships of war in the world, aiid nil that she has done is actually what sh(^ was intended to do, vjcccpl, of counic, that thv nhip nhe struck icdx loifortiniiitdy our o'i'ii property, atitl not that of the t'litin!/." f Mr. Rccd wrot(( to ftio Timen to the effect that there would, undoubtedly, bo a •• s^reatcr measure of safety during a naval engaji^cment than on ordinary (XM'asions," and explained that " the ruliiii>; I'onsiih^-ation which has been aimed at in these ships has been .so to divide them into compartments, that, when all the water-tipht doors and valves are armnged as they would be on going into action, the breach by a ram of one coniimrt- ment only should not suffice to sink the ship." I Sir Henry James, Attorney-General to the previous Government, spoke ptiblicly on the subject in the plainest terms. He said: — "One would have thought that if there were a couit-niartial on the vessel which is lost, the officers of the vessel which caused that loss would not go scot free." The Admiralty was blamed for not having sent the decision of the Court back to it for roconsidei-ation, instead of which they broke a rule of naval etiquette, and seemed anxious to quash inquiry 6S THE SEA. examples of this are to be found, than in the story of the loss of the Kent, which we are now about to rehite. The disaster of the Mfiluia^ which we shall record later, in which complete anarchy and disregard of discipline, aggravated a hundredfold the horrors of the situation, only teaches the same lesson from the opposite point of view. Thou|ifh the most indei)endent people on the earth, all Englishmen worthy of the name appreciate the value of j)roper subordination and obedience to those who have rightful authority to com- mand. This was almost the only gratifying feature connected with the loss of the f'inii/iiarti, and the safe and rapid transference of the crew to the Irov Duke was due to it. But the circumstances of the case were as nought to some that have preceded it, where the diiRculties and risks were infinitely greater and the reward much less certain. The Kent was a tine troop-ship, of 1,530 tons, bound from England for Bengal and China. She had on board 3 t-l soldiers, forty-three women, and sixty-six children. The officers, private passengers, and crew brought the total number on board to tJlO. After leaving the Downs, on the l'.)th of February, 1S25, she encountered terrible weather, culminating in a gale on the Ist of March, which obliged them almost to sail under bare poles. The narrative* by Sir Duncan MacCJregor, one of the passengers, created an immense sensation at its first appearance, and was translated into almost every language of the civilised world. He states that the rolling of the ship, which was vastly increased by a dead weight of some hundred tons of shot and shells that formed a part of its lading, became so great about half-past eleven or twelve o'clock at night, that the main-chains were thrown by every lurch considerably under water; and the best eleated articles of furniture in the cabin and the cuddy were dashed about in all directions. It was a little before this period that one of the oflUcers of the ship, with the well-meant intention of ascertaining that all was fast below, descended with a lantern. He discovered one of the spirit-casks adrift, and sent two or three sailors for some billets of wood to secure it. While they were absent, he unfortunately dropped the lamp, and letting go his hold of the cask in his eagerness to recover it, the former suddenly stove, and the spirits communicating with the light, the whole deck at that part was speedily in a blaze. The fire spread rapidly, and all their efforts at extinguishing it were vain, although bucket after bucket of water, wet sails and hammocks, were immediately applied. The smoke began to ascend the hatchway, and although every effort was made to keep the passengers in ignorance, the terrible news soon spread that the ship was on fire. As long as the devouring element appeared to be confined to the spot where the fire originated, and which they were assured was surrounded on all sides with water-casks, there was some hope that it might be subdued; but soon the light-blue vapour that at first arose was succeeded by volumes of thick, dingy smoke, which ascendetl through all the hatchways and rolled over the ship. A thorough panic took possession of most on board. The deck was covered with six hundred men, women, and children, many almost frantic with excitement — wives seeking their husbands, children their mothers ; strong men appearing as though their reason was overthrown, weak men maudlin and weeping ; many good people on their knees in earnest prayer. Some of the older and more stout-hearted soldiers and * "The loss of the Kent, East Indifiman." by Liout.-General Sir Duncan MiieGrcgor, K.C.B. A sAir. IN siruir. 99 sailors sullenly took their seals ilirecHy over th.' powder-magazine, cxiweting momentarily that it would exphnle and put therii out of their misery. A ntrong pitchy smell suddenly wafted over the ship. "The flames have reaehed the eaMe-tier ! " exclaimed one; and it was found to be too true. The lire had now extended so I'ar, that there was hut one course to pursue: the lower decks must he swamiK-d. Captain Cobh, the commander of the Keiii , was a man of action, and, with an ability and decision that seemed only to increase with the imminence of the danger, orderid the lower decks to he scuttled, the coverings of the hatches removed, and the lower ports opened to the fitc adtnission of the waves. His instructions were speedily obeyed, the soldiers aiding the crew. The fury of the llames was, of course, checked ; but several sick soldiers and children, and one woman, unable t() gain the upper deck, were drowned, end others suffocattxl. As the risk of explosion somewhat diminished, a new horror arose. The ship became water-logged, and presented indications of settling down. Death in two forms stared them in the face. No sail had been seen for many days, tlu' vessel being somewhat out of the regular course. But, although it seemed hopeless, a man was sent up to the foretop to scan tlie horizon. How many anxious eyes were turned uj) to him, how many anxious hearts beat at that moment, can well be understood. The sailor threw his eyes raj)idly over the waste of howling waters, and instantly waved his hat, exclaiming, in a voice hoarse with emotion, "A sail on the lee bow!" Flags of distress were soon hoisted, minute-guns lired, and an attempt made to bear down on the welcome stranger, which for some time did not notice them. But at last il; seemed probal)Ie, by her slackening sail and altering her course, that the Kent had been se.^n. Hope revived on board ; but there were still three painful problems to be solved. The vessel in the distance was but a small brig : could she take over six hundred persons on board? Could they l)e transferred during a terrible gale and heavy sea, likely enough to swamp all the boats ? Might not the Km/ either blow up or speedily founder, before even one soul were saved ? The vessel proved to be the Cambria, a brig bound to A'era Cruz, with a number of miners on board. For fifteen minutes it had been very doubtful to all on the Kent whether their signals of distress — and the smoke issuing from the hatchways formed no small item among them — were seen, or the minute-guns heard. But at length it became obvious that the brig ^sas making for them, and preparations were made to clear and lower the boats of the East Indiaman. " Although," says Sir Duncan MaeGregor, " it was impossible, and would have been improper, to repress the rising hopes that were pretty generally diffused amongst us by the unexpected sight of the Cambria, yet I confess, that when 1 reflected on the long period our ship had been alrei dy burning — on the tremendous sea that was running — on the extreme smallness o!" the brig, and the immense number of human beings to be saved — I could only venture to hope that a few might be spared." When the military officers were consulting together, as the brig was approaching, on the requisite preparations for getting out the boats, and. other necessary courses of action, one of the officers asked Major MaeGregor in what order it was intended the officers should move off, to which ho replied, " Of course, in funeral order," which injunction was instantly confirmed by Colonel Fearon, who said, "Most undoubtedly — the juniors first; but see that any man is cut down who presumes 70 THE SEA. ! ' ' J 'A\i to enter the boats before the menus of escape are pre ented to the women and children/' To prevent any rush of trooi)s or sailors to the boats, the officers were stationed near them with drawn swords. But, to do the soldiers and seamen justice, it was little needed ; the former particularly keepin. position. However, all were safely transferred to the brig without serious mishap. It became impossible for the boats, after the first trip, to come alongside the Keut, and a plan was adopted for lowering the women and children i'rom the stern by tying them two and two together. The heaving of the vessel, and the heavy sea raising the boat one instant and dropping it the next, rendered this somewhat perilous. Manj of the poor women were i)lunged several times in the water before they succeeded in landing safely in the boat, and many young children died from the effects — " the same violent means which only reduced tiie parents to a state of exhaustion or insensibility/' having entirely (luenched the vital spark in their feeble frames. One fine fellow, a soldier, who had neither wife nor child of hia own, but who showed great solicitude for the safety of others, insisted on iiaving three children lashed to him, with whom he plunged into the water to reach the boat more quickly. He swam well, but could not get near the boat; and when he was eventually drawn on board again, two of the children were dead. One man fell down the hatchway into tl^.e flames ; another had his l)ack broken, and was thserved, (|uite doubled, falling overboard ; a third fell between the boat and 1 rig, and his head was literally crushed to piecei ; others were lost in their attempts to aso^'ud the THE "KENT" ABANDONED. 71 she sides of the Ctinihrhi ; and others, again, were drowned in their hurry to get on boaril the boats. One of the sailors, who had, with many others, taken his post over the naagazine, at hist cried out, almost in ill-humour, " Well ! if she won't blow up, I'll see if I can't get away from her." He was saved — and musl have felt quite disappointetl. One of the three boats, swamped or stove during the day, had on board a number of men who had been rol)bing the cabins during the confusion on board. "It is suspected that oae or two of those who went down, must have sunk beneath the weight of their spoils." As there was so much doubt as to how soon the vessel would e.iplode or go down, while the process of transference between the vessels occupied three-quarters of an hour each trip, and other delays were caused by timid passengers and latlies who were naturally loath to be separated from their husbands, they determined on a quicker mode of placing them in the boat. A rope was suspended from the end of the spanker-lhom, along the slippery top of which the passengers had either to walk, crawl, or bo carried. The reader need not be told th i this great boom or spar stretches out from the mizen-mast far over the stern in a vessel the size of the Kent. On ordinary occasions, in quiet weather, it would be fifteen or twenty feet above the water, but with the vessel pitching and tossing during the continuous storm, it was raised often as much ai forty feet in the air. It will be seen that, under tl\tN(! circumstances, with the boat at the stern now swept to some distance in the hollow of a wave, and now raised high on its crest, the lowering of oneself by the rope, to drop at the right moment, was a perilous operation. It was a connmion thing for strong men to reach the boat in a state of utter exhaustion, having bccii several times immersed in the waves and half drowned. But thero were many strong anJ willing hands among the soldiers and sailors ready to help the weak and fearful ones, .ind the transference went on with fair rapidity, though with every now and again some sad casualty to record. The coolness and determination of the officers, military and marine, the good order and sulwrdination of most of the ti-oops, and the b-avery of many in risking their lives for others, seems at this time to have restored some little confidence among the timid and shrinking on board. A little later, and the declining rays and fiery glow on the waves indicated that the sun was setting. One can we^^ understand the feeling of many on board as they witnessed its disappearance and the approach of darkness. Were their lives also to set in outer gloom — the ocean to be that night their grave ? Late at night Major MacGregor went down to his cabin in search of a blanket to shelter him from the increasing cold. " The scene of desolation that there presented itself was melancholy in the extreme. The place which, only a few short hours before, iiad been the scene of kindly intercourse and of social gaiety", was now entirely deserted, save l»y a few miserable wretches who were either siretched in irrec<)verable intoxication on the floor, or prowling about, like beasts of prey, in search of plunder. The sofas, drawers, and (sther articles of furniture, the due arrangement of which ha(, of ronrse, where sulj(n'dinate ollieers were iletailed to look after portions of the troo2)s. Captain ('ol)li, in his resolution to be the last to leave the shi]), tried all he could to urge the few remainin<^ jjcrsons on board to dro]) on tiie ropes and save themselves. But tindino' all 1 ALMOlrn IIAKIIOI K. his enlccalicf; fruitless, and hearing the ^'uns sueeessiveiy explode in the Imld, into which fhi'v had fulle/i, he at length, after doiny all in his ))ower to save theui, jjot himself irilo (he !"iat by " layiui,'- hold of the topj)in<^'-lit't, or rope that connects the driver-boom with the mi/.eii-to]), thereliy ^'ettini;' over the heads of the infatuated men who occupied the boom, UNiil le to go either backward or forward, and ultimately (lroj)j)ini4' liimself into the water."' One of the boats jtersevered in keepin<^ ilx station under the AV-tz/'v sfern, until the tlames were Itursting- out of the cabin windows. Tlw lar<,''er part of the poor wretches K'it on board were saved: when the vessel exploded, tJi#y soug'ht shelter in the chains, where they stood till tlic masts fell overboard, to which they thett cliaifjf for some hours. I'ltimatelv, the}' were rescued l»y Captain Bibljey, of the ('n r'tl'nu;, a vessel bound from Kgypt to Liverpool, IWf." S illKl )laiii IV' w r,s::'- Inch -llOullI i|)ie(l iiit'> til nil Idles lien- H'lv, 10 74 THE SEA. iin who happened to see the explosion at a j^voat distance, and instantly made all sail in the direction whence it proceeded, afterwards cruising about for some time to pick up any survivors. After the arrival of the last boat at the Camfji'la, " the Hames, which had spread along' the upper deck and poop, ascended with the rapidity of lightning to the masts and rigging, forming one general conflagration, that illumined the heavens to an immense distance, and was strongly reflected on several objects on board the brig. The flags of distress, hoisted in the morning, were seen for a considerable time waving amid the flames, until tlie masts to which they were suspended successively fell, like stately steeples, over the ship's side." At last, about half-past one o'clock in the morning, the devouring element having com- municated to the magazine, the explosion was seen, and the blazing fragments of the once magnificent Ken I were instantly hurled, like so many rockets, high into the airj leaving, in the comparative darkness that succeeded, " the deathful scene of that disastrous day floating before the mind like some feverish dream. '^ The scene on board the brig beggared description. The captain, who bore the honoured name of Cook, and his crew of eight, did all that was in their power to alleviate the miseries of the E.ix hundred persons added to their number; while they carried sail, even to the extent of danger, in order to make nine or ten knots to the nearest port. The Cornish miners and Yorkshire smelters on board gave up their beds and clothes and stores to the passengers ; and it was extremely fortunate that the brig was on her outward voyage, for, had she been returning, she would not, in all probability, have had provisions enough to feed six hundred persons for a single day. But at the best their condition was miserable. In the cabin, intended for eight or ten, eighty were packed, many nearly in a nude condition, and many of the poor women not having space to lie down. The gale increased ; but still they crowded all sail — even at the risk of carrying away the masts — and at length the welcome cry of " Land ahead ! " was reported from mouth to mouth. They were off the Scilly lights, and speedily afterwards reached Falmouth, where the inhabitants vied with each other in providing clothing and food and money for all who needed them. The total loss from the Kent was eighty-one souls j namely, fifty-four soldiers, one woman, twenty children, one seaman, and five boys of the crew. How much greater might it not have been but for the imperturbable coolness, fhe commanding abilities, and the persevering and prompt action of Captain Cobb, and the admirable discipline and subordination of the troops ! Another remarkable instance of the same thing is to be found in the case of the Bli'h'ii- head, where there were desperate odds against any one surviving. The ship was a war-steamer, conveying troops from St. Simon's Bay to Algoa Bay, Cape Colony, and had, with crew, 'i total comi)lemcnt of G3S souls on board. She struck on a reef, when steaming at the rate of eig^lit and a half knots, and almost immediately became a total wreck. The rock penetrai^.u her bottom, just aft of the fore-mast, and the rush of water was so great that most of the uien on tlie lower troop-deck were drowned in their hammocks. The commanding officer, Major Seton, called bis subordinate officers about him, and impressed upon theru th(> m'cessity of preserving order and perfect discipline among the men, and of assisting the commander of the ship • THE "P.IRKEXIIEAD- I'AliTS IN TWO. 75 •4 in everything' possible. Sixty soldiers were immediately detailed for the piimj)s, in three reliefs; sixtv more to hold on the tackles of the piuldlo-hox boats, and the remainder were brought on the poop, so as to ease the fore-part t)f the ship, which was ndliny heavily. The commander of the ship ordered the horses to be pitched out of the first-gangway, and the cutter to be got ready for the women and children, who were safely jjut on board. Just after they were out of the siiip, the entire bow broke olT at tlie fore-mast, and the funnel went over the side, carrying away the starboard paddle-l).)x and boat. The otiicr paddle-box boat capsized when l>eing lowered, and their largest boat, in the centre of the ship, could not be got at, so encumbered was it. Five minutes later, the vessel actually " Lfuke in iwo," , literally realising Falconer's lines : — "All. Heaven'. Ik'holJ, hur cia^liiii^' lilis divido I She loosens, parts, and spreads in ruin o'er the tiil(!.'' " She parted just abaft the engine-room, and the stern part immediately filled and went down. A few men jumped off just before she did so ; but the greater number remained to the last, pnd so did every officer belonging to the troops." A number of the soldiers were crushed to death when the funnel fell, and few of those at the pumps could reach the deck before the vessel broke up. The survivors clung, some to the rigging of the main-mast, part of which was out of water, and others to floating pieces of wood. When the Birkenhead divided into two pieces, the commander of the ship called out, " All those who can swim, jump overboard and make for the boats!" Two of the military officers earnestly besought their men not to do so, as, in that case, the boats with the women must be swamped ; and, to the honour of the soldiers, only three made the attempt. The struggles of a part of them to reach the shore, the weary tramp through a coinitry covered with thick thorny bushes, before they could reach any farm or settlement; ihe sii'ierings of thirty or more poor fellows who were clinging, in a state of utter exhaust iv>n, cold, and wretchedness, to the main-topmast and topsail-yard of the submerged vessel, before they were rescued by a passing sdiooner, have often been told. The conduct of the troops was perfect ; and it is questionable whether there is any other instance of such thorough discipline at a time of almost utter hopelessness. The loss of life was enormous, only ID^J out of (!-'38 being saved. Had there been any panic, or mutiny, not even that small remnant would have escaped. Turn we now to another and a sadder case, where the opposite ([ualities were most unhappily displayed, and the consecpiences of which were proportionately terrible. On the 17th of June, ISIO, the Medusa, a line French frigate, sailed from Aix, with troops f.nd colonists on board, destined for the west coast of Africa. Several settlements which had previously belonged to France, but which fell into the hands of the English during the war, were, on the peace of 1815, restored to their original owners ; and it was to take rc-possession that the French Cyovernment •iispatched the exp(>dition, which consisted of two vessels, one of which was the Mcdnm. Eosides infantry and artillery, officers and men, there was a governor, with i)riests, schoolmasters, notaries, surgeons, apothecaries, mining an;l other engineers, naturalists, practical agriciiUurisIs, bakers, workmen, and thirty- eight women, the whole expedition numbering 'Mu) persons, exclusive of the ship's officers and company. Of these the Meilum to(jk ;!10, making, with her ciew and passengers, a total of 100 on board. i !if *i ifil ( 76 THE SEA, After making' Cape IJlanco, the expedition had been ordered to st3Gr due westward to sea for some sixty miles, in order to clear a well-kn(nvn sand-bank, that of Arguin. The captain, however, seems to have been an ill-advised, foolhardy man, and he took a southward course. The vessel shortened sail every two hours to sound, and every half-hour the lead was east, without slackening sail. For some little time the soundings indicated deep water, but shortly after the course had been altered to S.S.E., the colour of the water changed, seaweeds floated round the ship, and lish were caught from its sides; all indications of shallowing. But the captain heeded not these obvious signs, and the vessel suddenly grounded on a bank. The weather being moderate, there was n.o reason for alarm, and she would TIIK UATT OF THE " MEDfSA. I ■!'•'! have been got off safely had the captain been even an average sailor. For the time, the Medusa stuck fast on the sand-bank, and as a large part of those on board were landsmen, consternation and disorder reigned supreme, and reproaches and curses were liberally bestowed on the captain. The crew was set to work with anchors and cables to endeavour to work the vessel off. During the day, the topmasts, yards, and booms were unshipped and thrown «)verboard, which lightened her, but were not sufficient to make her float. Meantime, a council was called, and the governor of the colonies exhibited the plan of a raft, which was considered large enough to carry two hundred persons, with all the necessary stores and provisions. It was to be towed by the boats, while their crews were to come to it at regular meal-times for their rations. The whole party was to land in a body on the sandy shore of the coast — known to bo at no great distance — and proceed to the nearest settlements. All this was, theoretically sj)enking, most admirable, and had there been any leading spirit ill IN'.SUHOUIMXATION' AND SKLFISHNESS, 77 comiiiantl, the plan would have been, as was afterwards proved, quite practicable. The raft was immediately constructed, principally from the spars removed from the vessel as before mentioned. \'arious efforts were made to get the Medvsa off the sandbank, and at one time she swuii^' entirely, and turned her head to sea. She was, in fact, almost afloat, and a tow-line a])plicd in the usual way would have taken her into deep water; but this familiar oxpodient was never even proposed. Or, even had she been lightened by throwing overboard a part of her stores temporarily' — which could have been done without serious harm to many articles — she might have been saved. Half-measures were tried, and even these were not acted on with perseverance. During the next night there was a strong gale and heavy swell, and the MeiJusa heeled over with much violence; the keel broke in two, the rudder was unshipped, and, still holding to the stern-post by the chains, dashed against the vessel and beat a hole into the captain's cabin, through which the waves entered. It was at this time that the ilrst indications of that unruly spirit which afterwards produced so many horrors appeared among the soldiers, who assembled tumultuously on deck, and could hardly be quieted. Next morning there were seven feet of water in the hold, and the ])umps could not be worked, so that it was resolved to quit the vessel without delay. Some bags of biscuit were taken from the bread-room, and some casks of wine got ready to put on the boats and raft. But there was an utter want of management, and several of the boats only received twenty-five pounds of biscuit and no wine, while the raft had a quantity of wine and no biscuit. To avoid confusion, a list had been made the evening before, assigning to each his place. No one paid the slightest attention to it, and no one of those in authority tried to enforce obedience to it. It was a case of " Saitve qui peut ! " with a vengeance : a disorderly and disgraceful scramble for the best places and an utter and total disregard for the wants of others. It is, and always has been, a point of honour for the officers to be among the very last to leave (except, of course, where their presence might be needed in the boats), and the captain to be the very last. Here, the captain was among the frst to scramble over the side ; and his twelve-oared barge only took off twenty-eight persons, when it would have easily carried many more. A large barge took the colonial governor and his family, and the governor's trunks. His boat wanted for nothing, and would have accommodated ten or more persons than it took. When several of the unfortunate crew swam off and begged to l)e taken in, they were kept off with drawn swords. The raft * took the larger part of the soldiers, and had in all on board one hundred and fifty persons. The captain coolly proposed to desert some sixty of the people still on board, and leave them to shift for themselves ; but an officer who threatened to shoot him was the means of making him change his mind, n i I I . I: h; ■; i ■ t * The raft is described in the orifj^niil work on the sliipwreck of the Miditsa suljstantially as follows :— It was ('c)mpo8<'d (if topmasts, yards, planks, the boom, &c., lashed strongly together; two topmasts formed the sides, and four other masts, of the same length as thi; former, wore plaeed in the centre, j)lanks being nailed on them. Long timbers w(>re placed across the raft, adding considtjrably to its strength : these projected about ten feet on each side. 'I'liere was a rail along the sides, to keep those on board from falling into the sea. Its height being only about a font and a half, it was constantly under water, though this could easily have been remedied, by raising a second floor a foot or two above it. Two of the shii)'s yards, joined to the extremities of the sides, at one cud met in front und formed a bow. Its length was sixty feet, and breadth about twenty. ii 78 THE SKA. and over forty were taken > T in the lon cn. ^"V* IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) {./ V- f/. 1.0 1.1 12.8 ■ 2.2 Ul Hi ■Jl 2.0 I — 1 '-"^ III '-^ ^ 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation S3 WIST MAiri STMET WPSS^rB M.Y. 14580 (7I»! «i72.4S03 ^^^V^^ "^V^ r^ <^ ^ 82 THE SEA. had found a lemon, which he resolved to keei^ entirely for himself, until the ominous threats of the rest obliged him to share it. The wine, which should have warmed their bodi's and gladdened their hearts, produced on their weakened frames the worst effects of intoxication. Five of the number resolved, and were barely persuaded not to commit suicide, so maddened were they by their potations. Perhaps the sight of the sharks, which now came boldly up to the etlges of the raft, had something to do with sobering them, for they decided to live. Three days now passed in intolerable torments. They had become so careless of life, that they bathed even in sight of the sharks; others were not afraid to place themselves naked upon the fore part of the raft, which was then entirely under water; and, thoMgh it was exceedingly dangerous, it had the effect of taking away their thirst. They now attempted to construct a boat of planks and sjjars. When completed, a sailor went ii])on it, when it immediately upset, and the design of reaching land by this means was abandoned. On the morning of the 17th of July, the sun shone brightly and the sky was cloudless. Just as they were receiving their ration of wine, one of the infantry officers discerned the topmasts of a vessel near the horizon. Uniting their efforts, they raised a man to the top of the mast, who waved constantly a number of handkerchiefs tied together. After two hours of painful suspense, the vessel, a brig, disappeared, and they once more resigned themselves to despair. Deciding that they must leave some record of their fate, fhoy agreed to carve their names, with some account of their disaster, on a plank, in the hope that it might eventually leach their Government and families. But they were to 1^ saved : the brig reappeared, and bore down for them. She proved to be a vessel which had been dispatched by the Governor of Senegal for the purpose of rescuing any survivors ; though, considering the raft had now been seventeen days afloat, there was little expectation that any of its hundred and fifty passengers still lived. The wounded and blistered limbs, sunken eyes, and emaciated frames of the remnant told its own tale on board. And yet, with due order and discipline, presence of mind, and united helpfulness, the ship, with every soul who had sailed on her, might have been saved; and a fearful story of cruelty, murder, and cannibalism spared to us. The modern Medusa has been branded with a name of infamy worse than that of the famous classical monster after which she was named. The celebrated picture by Gericault in the Louvre, at Paris, vividly depicts the horrors of the scene. The wreck of the Medusa has very commonly been compared and contrasted with that of the Aleeste, an English frigate, which was wrecked the same year. Lord Amherst was returning from China in this vessel, after fulfilling his mission to the Court of Pekin, instituted at the instance of the East India Company, who had complained to Government ©f the impediments thrown in the way of their trade by the Chinese. His secretary and suite were with him ; and so there was some resemblance to the case of the Mednsa, which had a colonial governor and his staff en board. The commander of the Adrste was Captain (afterwards Sir) Murray Maxwell, a true gentleman and a bluff, hearty sailor. Having touched at Manilla, they were passing through the Straits of Gaspar, when the ship suddenly struck on a reef of sunken rocks, and it became evident that she must inevitably and speedily break up. The most perfect discipline prevailed ; and the first efforts of the captain were naturally directed to saving the ambassador and his sulx>rdinates. The islan<, dirks, and small swords on the end of poles ; and, although they had landed with just seventy- live ball-cartridges, their stock soon grew to fifteen hundred. How? Why, the sailors set to with a will, and made their own, the balls being represented by their jacket-buttons and pieces of the glass of broken bottles ! Of loose jwwder they had, fortunately, a sufficient (juantity. The Malays set the wreck on fire. Tlie men waited till it had burned low, and then drove them off, and went and secured such of the stores as could be now reached, or which had floated off. The natives were gathering thick. Murray made his sailors a speoch in true hearty style, and their wild huzzas were taken by the Malays for svar-wh(X)i)s : the latter soon "weakened," as they say in America. From the highest officer to the meroit boy, all behaved like calm, resolute, and sensible Britons, and every soul was saved. Lord Amherst, who had gone on to Batavia, sent a vessel for them, on board which Maxwell was the last to embark. At the time of the wreck their condition was infinitely worse than that of the Medusa ; but how completely different the sequel ! The story is really a ])leasant one, displaying, as it does, the happy results of both good discipline and mutual good feeling in the midst of danger. Nil despefandnm was evidently the motto of that crew ; and their philosophy was rewarded. The lessons of the past and present, in regard to our great ships, have taught us that disaster is not confined to ironclads, nor victory to wooden walls ; neither is good discipline dead, nor the race of true-hearted tars extinct. " Men of iron " will soon be the worthy successors of " hearts of oak." Having glanced at the causes which led to the ironclad movement, and noted certain salient points in its history, let us now for a while discuss the ironclad herself. It has been remarked, as a matter of reproach to the administrators and builders of the British ironclad invy, that the vessels composing it are not sufficiently uniform in design, power, and speed. Mr. Reed, however, tells us that la maiine inoderiic ctiiraHsce of France is still more distinguished by the different types and forms of the vessels ; and that ours by comparison wears "quite a tiresome appearance of sameness;" while, again, Russia has ironclads even more diversified than those of France. The objection is, perhaps, hardly a fair one, as the exigencies of the navy are many and varied. We might have to fight a first-class power, or several first-class powers, where all our strength would have to be put forth ; some second-class power might require chastising, where vessels of a secondary class might suffice ; while almost any vessel of the navy would be efficient in the case of wars with native tribes, as, for example, the Maories of New Zealand, or the Indnuis of the coasts of North-west America. In a great naval conflict, provided the vessels of our fleet steamed pretty evenly as regards speed, there would be an advantage in variety ; for it might rather puzzle and ■.'l.ll.yUl-^1.^-J- 84 THE SKA. worry the enemy, who would not know what next would appear, or wh«t new form turn up. Mr. Ilced puts the matter in a nutshell ; although it must be seen that, umong first-class powers with lirst-dass Heets, the argument cuts both ways. " In the old days," says he, " when actions had to he fought under sail, and when ships of a class were in the main alike, the limits within which the arts, the resources, and the audacities of the navy were restricted were really very narrow; and yet how brilliant were its achievements! I cannot but believe that, if the English ironclad Heet were now to be (engaged in a general action with an enemy's fleet, the very variety of our ships — those very improvements which have occasionod that variety — would be at once the cause of the greatest possiljle embarrassment to the enemy, and the means of the most vigorous and diversified attack upon tlie hostile Heet. This is peculiarly true of all those varieties which result from increase in handincss, in bow-tire, in height of port, and so forth; and unless I have mis-: cad SECTION OF A FIRST-CLASS MAN-OF-WAB. our naval history, and misappreciate the character of our naval officers of the present day, the nation will, in the day of trial, obtain the full l)enefit of these advantages." It needs no argument to convince the reader that the aim of a naval architect sli&uid be to combine in the best manner available, strength and lightness. The dimensions ami outside form of the ship in great part determine her displacement; and her capacity to carry weights depends largely on the actual weight of her own hull; while the room within partly depends on the thinness or thickness of her walls. Now, we have seen that in wooden ships the hull weighs more than in iron ships of equal size ; and it will be apparent that what is gained in the latter case can be applied to airn/iny so much the more iron armour. Hence, distinguished authorities do not believe in the wood-built ship earrying heavy armour, nearly so much as in the ironclad, iron-6iii/f ship.* The durability • Large merchant-vosscls have been constructed of steel, which is stronger than iron, weight for weight ; and consequently, in hiiilding vessels of equal strength, a less weight and thickness is required. It is said, that if the largo Atlantic steamers of ;!,500 tons and upwards were huilt of steel, instead of iron, their displacement in the water would be one-sixth less, and their carrying capacity double. A steel troop-ship, accommodating about 1,000 persons, IKON riiJts f.s wool). ^5 ons and acity to within en that will be luch the ilt ship uiability light ; and hat if the the wiitcr persons, and strength are greater. The authority of such a man as Mr. J. Scott Russell, the einimnt shipbuilder, will be conclusive. In a pamphlet,* published in iSCii, he noted the I'ollowiiig ton points : 1, That iron steam ships-of-\var may be built as strong as wooden ships of greater weight, and stronger than wooden ships of equal weight. ~, That iron ships of Cfpial strength can go on less draught of water tiian wooden ships. •{, That iron -hips can carry much heavier weights thsju wooden ships [lience they can carry heavier armour]. THE '■ WAIIUIOK. i, That they are more durable. 5, 6, 7, H, 9, That they are safer against the sea, against fire, explosive shots, red-hot shots, molten metal; and 10, That they can be made impregnable even against solid shot. The last point, alas! is one which Mr. Scott Russell himself w'( .Id hardly insist iqion to-day. When he wrote his pamphlet, five or six inches of armour, with a wood backing, withstood anything that could be fired against it. When the armour of the U'un-ior, our and drawing only two fret and a quarter of water, wa« eonHtructed, in 18G1, for use on the Lower Indus. Shf was taken out in pieces and jmt together in India, the total weight of tin,' steel employi.'d being only 270 tons, although she was 375 feet long, with ii beam of 46 f(!ot. • " The Fleet of the Future : Lon or "Wood," by J. Scott Hu.ssell, F.K.S., &c. . f ■ r '/I II m ii! ti 86 THE SEA. n first real ironclad, had to ho tested; a target, twenty feet by ten feet surface, composed of four and a half inch iron and cijfhteen inches of teak backing — the exact counterpart of a slice out of the ship's side — was employed. The shot from GS-pounders — the same as com|)osed her original armament — lired at ^00 yards, only made small dents in the target and rebounded. 200-pounders had no more effect ; the shot flew off in ragged splinters, the iron plates became almost red-hot under the tremendous strokes, and ' rung like a huge gong ; but that was all. Xow we have fii-ton guns that would pierce her side at 500 yards ; 12-ton guns that would put a hole through her armour at over a mile, and 25-ton guns that would probably jMinetrate the armour of any ironclad whatever. Why, some of the ships themselves are now carrying ;'»0-toii guns ! It is needless to go on and speak of monster 81 and 100-ton guns after recording these facts. But their consideration explains why the thichness of armour lias kept on increasing, albeit it could not possibly do so in an equal ratio. Mr. Reed tells us : " This strange contest between attack and defence, however wasteful, however melancholy, must still go on."* Sir W. G. Armstrong (inventor of the famous guns), on the other hand, says, " In my opinion, armour should be wholly abandoned for the defence of the guns, and, except to a very limited extent, I doubt the expediency of using it even for the security of the ship. Where armour can be applied for dcjlecfinff projectiles, as at the bow of a ship, it would afford great protection, without requiring to be very heavy.'' t Sir William recommends very swift iron vessels, divided into numerous compartments, with boilers and machinery below the water-line, and only very partially protected by armour; considering that victory in the contest as regards strength is entirely on the side of the artillery. Sir Joseph Whitworth (also an inventor of great guns) offered practically to make guns to penetrate fiHjf thickness of armour. The bewildered Parliamentary committee says mournfully in its report : " A perfect ship of war is a desideratum which has never yet been attained, and is now farther than ever removed from our reach ; " J while Mr. Reed§ again cuts the gordian knot by professing his belief that in the end, "guns will themselves be superseded as a means of attack, and the ship itself, viewed as a steam projectile — possessing all the force of the most powerful shot, combined with the power of striking in various directions — will be deemed the most formidable weapon of attack that man's ingenuity has devised." The contest between professed ship and gun makers would be amusing but for the serious side — the immense expense, and the important interests involved. • Li'tter to the Tinicn, S<:'pt. 6th, 187.> (aftor the los8 of tht- Vmignard). f Parliiimcntary I'upor, 1872. Reports of the Committee on Designs for Ships of Wur, &e. X Hid. § "Our Ironclad Ships." I jsed of four ' of a bl'me s cotn])ost'd target and linters, the ke a liu|»'e 500 yards; ►-ton guns me of the speak of n explains bly do so , however tor of the abandoned jxpediency (hjh'cling [uiring to numerous partially s entirely s) offered amentary im which "X while 1, "guns a steam le power >f attack 1 makers mportant THK IMLLAHS OF UKKCULKS. 87 CIIAPTKK VI. Ci :3 I' S » O g S a ROIM) THK VVoUM) ON A MaX-OI-WaU. The ModltcrruiiPBii White, blue, urcoii, pnrplo \VulcrH-(iihralliir— Ii« IliMtury Its t\rst InhabllantR llie Monkcya-Th« Moi)r>4— The (ircat Su'ne prcfiMlod liy tliirti'rn ollioi-s— Tin- Voyiiau of Sigurd Iti the Holy l.umt-Tlic Tliinl HIcko — Stiirvullon— The Kotirlh Siiw— Itfil-luit IhiIIh used Ix'fdrc (inliiiiiry Chmihui Imlls— Tin- (Jrout IMukoc— Uibnillar Mntilly in I'liriHlinn liaiuls-A Naval Action iH'lwecn tliv Diitcli and S|Htniaril.s — How Kii);land won the Kock— An I'nrfwarded Horo-Spaiii's attempts to r(>; dawned (Jibraltar, j^rand and pray; ^. 'f m I I'M i * Vide "The Mediterranean," by Rear-.\dniiral Smyth, nceted wth the Mediterranean. This is a standard work on all scientific points coa« ■f 8« THE SEA. ' IfiTo, anil hero, did KiikIiiikI hi'lp nic -how cHn I help Enprlnnd ? '— sny Whoso tiiriiH iiH 1, this I'vciiiiif?, turiiM to (Jod to priiisi' and priiy, While iIovc'h pliinct riMcs yonder, silent over Africa." Ami the poet is almost literallv correct in his tlescription, for within sijjlit, as wo enter the Straits of (tibraltar, are the localities of innumerable sea and land ii^iils dating from earliest days. That g'rand old Rock, what has it not witnessetl since the first timid mariner crept out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic — the Murr Teiu'Lromini, — the "sea of darkness" of the ancients? Komaiis of old fouj^ht Carthajyinian jjalleys in its hay ; tlie cimquering Moors held it uninterruptedly for six hundred 3'ears, and in all for over j^evu'U centuries; Spain owned it close on two and a half centuries j and Enjfland has dared tiic world to take it since 17(M — one hundred and seventy -three years aj^o. Its very armoriid hearings, which we have ach)pted from those jj^iven by Henry of Castile and Leon, are suy^^'cstive of its position and value: a castle on a rock with a key pendant — the key to the Mediterranean. The King' of Spain still includes Calpe (Gibraltar) in his dominions; and natives of the place, Ford tells us, in his "Handbook to Sjtain," are entitled to the rights and privileges of Spanish birth. It has, in days gone by, given great olTenee to J''rench writers, who spoke of VomhrtiycuKc jmixxiiucr with displeasiuv. ".Sometimes," says Ford, "there is to(t great a A'./v ilr cmiDiix in this fortress nrun- ; then the gardens destroy 'wild nature;' in shod, they abuse the red-jackets, guns, nursery- ni:iid>. and even the monkeys." The present colony of apes are the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Hock. They have hel 1 it through all vicissitudes. The Moorish writers were ever enthusiastic over it. With them it was " the Shinin' :» enter jr from t timid /, — the :« in its all Tor ind has 1:0. Its Castile penthint ibraltar) Spain," f<»ne hy, j)leasuro. I'r ; then nursery- ts of the Shininj? ar), says far above ky, and er well so as to t has so many to cessfuUy til im), ve years, held it le Rock said that the point ipean fcfe triads of ■rongfuUy lich they ii 'i -\\ 12 90 TIIK SKA. dill with, so b) spoak, t'Vi'rythin joyful anew. It was not to hu an thus loMjifed for; hut many families in Barhary still keep the keys of these lon;urd proceeded on his voyay-e to tho Ilidy Land, "and cunte to Niiirfa Sound (Ciibraltar Straits), and in the Sound he was met hy a larj^e vikinj^ force (sijuudron (»f war-ships), and the Kiii<^ gave thcin battle; and this was his fifth en<;a't', a yraiii-sliip It'll on slioiv,* ami its car^o would liavo riial>li'»l liim to hold out a loii;;' tiini". Iiistciid ol' rci'diiiL,'' liis stdilii-rs, who were rt'tlui'i'd to ('atiiii,' loalhcr, lio fj^avt' ami sold it to his prisoners, with the cxpi'ctatioii of cilluT <;('ttiii;if hcavv rniisoni^ for tht'in, or. if he should have to surrender, of niakini;' ln'tter terms for hiiiiself. It availed liiui iiothino-, jur he had to eapitulati- ; and then, not darinj;' to lace his sover.'ion, Alfonso XI., he had to (lee to Al'riea, where ho ended his davs. All'onso hosiejred it twice. The lirst time tlu' (Jranadians induced him to ahaudon it, promising rt heavy ransom ; the next time he commenced hy reducino^ the neiyhl ourin<;' town of Alo-eciras, which was defended with great eneryy. When the Spaniards hrouyht forward their wheeled towers of wood, covered with raw hides, the Moors dischari>;ed cannon Innded with ri'il-hot balLs. This is noteworthy, for cannon was not used hy the iln^ilish till three years after, at the hattle of Crecy, whiL> it is the lirst recorded instance of rcd-hol shot l)ein<>' used at all.f It is further deservinwed to land in numbers on a narrow beach below the fortress, where they were soon exposed to the rising of the tide and the missiles of the besieged. De (lusman was drowned, and his body, picked up by the Moors, hung out for twenty- six years from tlio battlements, as a warning to anil)itious nobles. At the eighth siege, in ll(i;i, (jibrallar passed finally into Christian hands. The garrison was weak and the Spaniards gained an easy victory. When Henry J\. learned of its capture, he I'ejoiced greatly, and took immediate care to proclaim it a fief of the throne, adding to the royal titles that of Lord of (Jibraltar. The armorial distinctions still borne by Gibraltar were first granted by him. The ninth siege, on the part of a De Gusman^ was successful, and it for a time i)assed into tlv; hands of a noble who had vast possessions and fisheries in the neighbourhood. Strange to say, such were the troubles of Spain at the time, that Henry the before-namel, who was known as "the Weak," two years after confirmed the title to the Rock to the son of the very man who had been constantly in arms against him. Rut after the civil wars, and at the advent of Ferdinand and Isabella, there was a decided change. Isabella, acting doid)tless under m * On more than ono occasion sui-h wrecks liavc liapponod, as, for oxanijile, \vli(>n a Danish vessel, laden witl; lemons, fell into the hands of General Elliott's ffirrison, then sufforinu^ f(>aifiilly with seurvv, Ortuher 11th, 1780. A year hefore a storm east a quantity of drift-wood imder the walls. " As fuel liad hmtx heen a searee article, tliis su])i)ly was therefore considered as a miraculous intirferen<'i' of Providence in our favour.'' ( T/r/c Drinkwatei's " (Jibraltar."') t The Romans, however, sometimes employed red-hot holts, which were ejected from catapults. 1 n THE SEA. tlic advice of her astute husband, whose entire j)()licy was opposed to such agass Calypso's Isle." Warburton describes it, in his delightful work on the Eastf — a classic on the Mediterranean — as a little paratlisCj with all the beauties of a continent in miniature ; little mountains with craggy summits, little valleys with cascades and rivers, lawny meadows and dark woods, trim gardens and tangled vinevards — all within a circuit of five or six miles. One or two uninhabited little islands, " that seem to have strayed from the continent and lost their way," dot the sea between the pleasant penal settlement and Gozo, which is also a claimant for the doubtful honour of Calypso's Isle. Narrow straits separate it from the rock, the " inhabited quarry," called Malta, of which Valetta is the port. The capital is a cross between a Spanish and an Eastern town; most of its streets are Mights of steps. Although the climate is delightful, it is extremely warm, and there is usually a glare of heat about the place, owing to its rocky nature and limited amount of tree-shade. " All Malta," writes Tallack,'}: " seems to be light yellow — light yellow rocks, light yellow fortifications, light yellow stone walls, light yellow fiat-topped houses, light yellow palaces, light yellow roads and streets." Stones and stone walls are the chief and conspicuous objects in a Maltese landscajie ; and for good reason, for the very limited soil is propped uj) and kept in bounds by them on the hills. With the scanty depth of earth the vegetation between the !;aid stone walls is wonderful. The green bushy carob and prickly cactus are • Vidf " JIalta Sixty Years Ago," l)y Admiral Shaw. t ■' The Crescent and the Cross." X " Malta under the Phoenicians, Kniglits, and F.ni>lisl)," liy W, Tallack. AT MALTA. 'J9 M assing Malta, ic Order - Ilorriblf Sliipwrt'ck uy of San 'ssops— His tion of tliL- Llescribt's a little oragj?y lIs, trim outiuent ,, wliicli harato it Irt. The HigUts [sually a ee-shade. |t yellow palaces, objects up and [jgetatiou ictus are to be seen ; but in the immediate neijfhb.;urhood of Malta few trees, only an occasional and solitary palm. Over all, the bri its cooped inhabitants the space lost by building. There are live or six iinndred ]tromenadab]e roofs in the city. Tallack says that the island generally is the abode of industry and content- ment. Expenses are high, except as regards the purchase of fruits, including the famed "blood," "Mandolin" (sometimes called (^uite as correctly "Mandarin") oranges, and Japan medlars, and Marsala wine from Sicily. The natives live simply, as a ride, but the otti(!ers and foreign residents commonly do not ; and it is true here, as Ford says of tlie military gentlemen at Gibraltar, that their faces often look somewhat redder than their jackets in consequence. As in India, many imwisely adopt the high living of their class, n a climate where a cool and temperate diet is indispensable. The four great characteristics of Malta are soldiers, priests, goats, and bells — the latter not bi'ing contined to the necks of the goats, but jangling at all hours from the many church towers. The goats pervade everywhere ; there is scarcely any cow's milk to be obtained in !Malta. They may often be seen with sheep, as in the patriarchal days of yore, following their owners, in accordance with the pastoral allusions of the Bible. What nature commenced in A'aletta, art has finished. It has a land-locked harboui — really several, running into each other — surrounded by high fortified walls, al)ove which rise houses, and other fortifications above them. There are galleries in the rock following the Gibraltar precedent, and batteries bristling with guns; barracks, magazines, large docks, foundry, lathe-rooms, and a bakery for the use of the " United " Service. To every visitor the gorgeous church of San Giovanni, with its vaulted roof of gilded arabescpie, its crimson hangings, and carved pulpits, is a great object of interest. Its Hoor resembles one grand escutcheon — a mosaic of knightly tombs, recalling days when Malta was a harbour of saintly refuge and princely hospitality for crusaders and pilgrims of the cross. An inner chapel is guarded by massive silver rails, saved from the French by the cunning of a priest, who, on their approach, painted them wood-colour, and their real nature was never suspected. But amid all the splendour of the venerable jnle, its proudest possession to-day is a bunch of old rusty kej-^s — the keys of Rhodes, the keys of the Knights of St. John. What history is not locked up with those keys! There is hardly a country in ICurope, Asia, or Northern Africa, the history of which has not been more or less entangled with that of these Knights of the Cross, who, driven by the conquering Crescent from Jerusalem, took refuge successively in Cyprus, Rhodes, Candia, Messina, and finally, ^lalta. The island had an important place in history and commerce long ere that period. The Phu'uicians held it 700 years; the Greeks a century and a half. The Romans retained it for as long a period as the Pha'uicians ; and after being ravaged by Goths and Vandals, it was for three and a half centuries an appanage of the crown of Byzantium. Next came the Arabs, who were succeeded by the Normans, and soon after it had become a German possession, Charles V. presented it to the homeless knights. m ii y. 1. 7 y. THK KNIUIITS uF ST. .lOllX. 101 In tho middlL' of the clcvoiitli coiitury, sMine merclmnts of the tlu'ii lluurisliin«r commorfiiil city (if Ainalli iibtaiiit'd jiLTinissiuii ti) croct tluTc Imstclrios or Iiosjiitals in tlio Holy City, for tlio relief of i>oor and invalidt'd ])ilyriins. On tli- takini;' of .lernsaK'ni \>y the Crusaders, the j)osition and 2)rosj>fi'ts of the hosjiitals of St. dohn lu'canie jji-reatly improved. The organisation lieeanie a recogtiised religions onler, vowing ]>overty, obedience, nnd chastity. It memhcrs were distinguished by a white cross of fnur double jxiints worn ou a black robe, of the form commoidy to be met in the Maltese iiligrce jewellery of to-da}, : .f I ■ 'tm I.- CATACOMllS AT CITTA VELCIUA. MALTA. t often to be noted in our AVest End and other shops. Branch hospitals s])rea(l all ovc: Europe with the same admirable objects, and tho order received constant ac(iuisitions of jjropcrty. Under the guidance of Raymond du Puy, military service was added to the other vows, and the monks became the AVhite Cross Knights.* Henceforth each seat of the order became a military garrison in addition to a hospice, and each knight held himself in readiness to aid with his arms his distressed brethren against the inlidcl. Slowly but surely the Crescent overshadowed the Cross: the Holy City had to be evacuated. The pious knights, after wandering ilrst to Cyprus, settled iiuietly in Rhodes, where for two centuries they maintained a sturdy resistance against the Turks. At the lirst siege, in 1 fsO, a handfid of the former resisted 70,0(10 of the latter. The bombardment * In coiitrailistinction to tho It.d Cross Kiii-lits, ..r Tnni.Lus, wIk,, ihouuh (rusMaiis, formod ,i jnmly iiiilitaiy ordcT. l:i 1 t i li Ids! TIIK SKA. was 80 ttTrifK' that it is stated to luivo hceii heard a hundred miles off, and for this extra- ordinary defence, Peter d'Avfljusson, (irand Master, was made a eardinal hy tlio Pope. At the second sicyv, L'Islo Adam, with ()00 Knights of St. John, and 4,500 troops, resisted and lony repelled a force of 200,000 iniidels. Hut the odds were too jfreat ai^ainst him, and after a l)rave but hopeless defence, which won admiration ev»'n from the enemy, L'Isle Adam capitulated. .Vfter personal visits to the Pope, and to the Courts of Madrid, Paris, and London, the then almost valueless Rook of Malta was bestowed on the kiiijjfhts in I'j.'Ul. Its noble harltours, and deep and sheltered inlets were then as .low, but there was only one little town, called JJurg'o — \ aletta as yet was not. In London, L'Islo Adam lodyed at the jmnincial hostelry of the order, St. John's Clerkenwell, still a house of entertainment, thouj^h of a very different kind. Henry VIIL received him with apparent cordiality, and shortly afterwards confiscated all thi' English possessions of the knij'-hts ! This was but a tritle amcmg their troubles, for in 1505 they were again besieged in Malta. Their military knowledge, and especially that of their leader, the great La Valette, had enabled them to already strongly fortify the place. La Valette had 500 knights and 9,000 soldiers, while the Turks had 30,000 fighting men, conveyed thither in 20l> <>alleys, and were afterwards reinforced by the Algerine corsair, Drugot, and his men. A desperate resistance was made : 2,000 Turks were killed in u single day. The latter took the fortress of St. Elmo, with the loss of Drugot — just before the (error of the ^Mediterranean — who was killed by a splinter of rock, knocked off by a cannon-ball in its flight. The garrison was at length reduced to sixty men, who attended their devotions in the chapel for the last time. Many of these were fearfully wounded, but even then the old spirit asserted itself, and they desired to be carried to the ramparts in chairs to lay down their lives in obedience to the vows of their order. Next day few of that devoted sixty were alive, a very small number escaping by swimming. The attempts on the other forts, St. Michael and St. Angelo, were foiled. Into the Eastern Harbour (now the (rrand), !Mustapha ordered the dead bodies of the Christian knights and soldiers to be cast. They were spread out on boards in the form of a cross, and floated by the tide across to the besieged with La Valette, where they were sorrowfully taken up and interred. In exasperated retaliation, La Valette fired the heads of the Turkish slain back at their former companions — a horrible episode of a fearful struggle. St. Elmo alone cost the lives of 8,000 Turks, 150 Knights of St. John, and 1,300 of their men. After many false promises of assistance, and months of terrible suspense and suffering, an auxiliary force arrived from Sicily, and the Turks retired. Out of the 0,500 soldiers and knights who were originally with La Valette, only 500 were alive at the termination of the great siege. This memorable defence was the last of the special exploits of the White Cross Knights, and they rested on their laurels, the order becoming wealthy, luxurious, and not a little demoralised. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, the confiscation of their property in France naturally followed ; for they had been helping Louis XVI. with their revenues just previously. Nine years later. Napoleon managed, by skilful intrigues, to obf^ain (juiet jiossession of !Malta. But he could not keep it, for after two years of blockade it was won by Great Britain, and she has held it ever since. At the Congress of MUDKKX KVHN'I'S AT MALTA. i(»;j Vienna in 181 1, onr possession was formally ratified. We hold it on as good a title as we do (iibraltar, by ri«^hts acknowledj^ed at the siifuinj^- of the Peace Treaty.* The supposed scene of St. Paul's shipwreck is constantly visited, and altiiou^h sdino have doubted whether the MeUta of St. Luke is not the island of the same name in (he Atlriatie, tradition and probabiHty point to Malta. f At St. Paul's IJay, there is a small chapel over the cave, with a statue of the apostle in marble, with tin; viper in his hand. Colonel Shaw tells us that the priest who shows the cave reeommendeil him In take a piece of the stone as a specilie ag-ainst shipwreck, sayinj'', " Take away as much as you j)lease, you will not diminish the cave." Some of the priests aver that there is a miraculou renovation, and that it cannot diminish ! and when they tell you that uiuler one of (he Maltese churches the fj^reat apostle did penance in a cell for three months, il looks still more as thou;jh they are drawiny on their imagination. The great catacombs at Citta \ ecehia, Malta, were constructed by the natives as places of refuge from the Turks. They consist of whole streets, with houses and slce])ing- jilaces. They were later used for tombs. There are other remains on the island of much greater anticpjity, Ifdf/Kir C/ifni (the stones of veneration) date from IMucnieian days. These include a temi>le resembling Stonehenge, (ju a smaller scide, where there are seven statuettes with a grotesque rotundity of outline, the seven PhuMiician Cn/iirl (deities; "great and powerful ones'"). There are also seven divisions to the temple, which is mentioned by Herodotus and other ancient wiiters. To come back to our own time. In IMIS, the following remarkable even! occurretl at ^[alta. One Froberg had raised a levy of (J reeks for (he British (Jovernment, by telling the individual members that they should all l)e corporals, generals, or what not. It v;as to be all otHcers, like some other regiments of which we have heard- The men soon found out the deceit, but drilled admirably until the brutality of the adjutant caused them to mutiny. Malta was at the time thiidy garrisoned, and their particular fort had only one small detachment of troops and thirty artillerymen. The nmtineers made the officer of artillery point his guns on the town. He, however, managed that the shots should fall harmlessly. Another otticer escajied \\]} a chimney, and the Greeks coming into the same house, nearly suffocated him by lighting a large lire below. Troops arrival; the mutineers were secured, and a court-martial condemned thirty, half of whom were to be hanged, and the rest shot. Only live could be hanged at a time : the (irst five were therefore suspended by the five who came next, and so on. Of the men who • The Order of tlie Knights of St. John exists now as w i'eli^it)us imd benevolent Imdy — ii shadow of its foi'uei- self. There was a period wlien tlie revenues of the Order w(>re over £3,000,000 sterlin;^. It still exists, however, the head-quarters being at Ferrara in Italy. Ifeeent orgauisiitions, countenanced and supported by distinguished noblemen and gentlemen for the relief of sufferers by war, and convalescents in hosi)it;il in many i)arts of Kugland, arc in .>t — his iron crucilix. The soldier useil it to scrape away the mortar, and moved stone after stone, until he got into an adjoining cell, where he found himself no better off, as it was locked. The same process was repeated, until he at last reached a cell of which the door was open, entered the passage and climbed a wall, beneath which a sentry was posted. Fortunately for the prisoner, a regular ^lalteso shower was jKJuring down, and the guard remained in his box. Tlie fugitive next reaclietl a high gate, where it seemed he must be foiled. Not at all ! He went back, got his blanket, cut it into strips, made a rope, and by its means climbed the gate, dropped into a fosse, from which he reached and swam across the harbour. lie lived concealed for some time among the natives, but venturing one day into the town, was recognised and captured. The governor considered that after all this he deserved his life, and changed his sentence to transjKjrtation. Before leaving Malta, which, with its docks, navy-yard, and splendid harbours, fortifications, batteries, and magazines, is such un important naval and military station, we may brieHy mention the revenue derived, and expenditure incurred by the Government in connection with it, as both are considerable. The revenue derived from imposts of the usual nature, harbour dues, &c., is about A,17J,(M)U. The military expenditure is about JL;i(;{),OUO, which includes the expenses connected with the detachments of artillery, and the Royal Maltese Fencibles, a native regiment of (iOO to 70U men. The expenses of the Royal Navy would, of course, be incurroil somewhere, if not in Malta, and have therefore nothing to do with the matter. Our next points of destination are Alexandria and Suez, both intimately identified with British interests. On our way we shall be passing through or near the same waters as did St. Paul when in the custody of the centurion Julius, " one of Augustus' band.'' It was in " a ship of Alexandria " that he was a passenger on that disastrous voyage. At Fair Havens, Crete (or Candia), we know that the Apostle admonished them to stay, for " sailing was now dangerous," but his advice was disregarded, and " when the south wind blew softly " the master and owner of the vessel feared nothing, but " Tho fliittorinu; wind that lato with promisM aid. From Candia's ]$ay th' unwillinj? sliip hctray'd, No longer fawns beneath tlie fair dispfuiso," ! ■ I and "not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon,'' before which the ship drave under bare jwles. We know that she had to be undergirded; cables being passed under her hull to keep her from parting ; and lightened, by throwing the freight overlward. For fourteen days the ship was driven hither and thither, till at length she was wrecked off Melita. Sudden gales, whirlwinds, and typhoons are not uncommon in the Mediterranean ; albeit soft winds and calm seas alternate with them. On the 22nd May, 1798, Nelson, while in the Gulf of Genoa, was assailed by a SToltMS IN TIIK Ml-.DrrKKKANHAN. 1U5 fliidden storm, wliich cnrriod iiway all tlic riniifiianrs topmasts, wastiol ono man over- hoard, killod nil uiil'ortiinati' middy and a seaman on hoard, and woiindod others. Tliis M M. LESilKris. ship, which acted her name at the Nile only two months afterwards, rolled and laboured so dreadf"ully, and was in such distress, that Nelson himself declared, " The meanest friffato out of France would have been an unwelcome guest!'' An officer relates that in the middle of the Gulf of Lyons, Lord Collingwood's vessel, the Ocecni, a roomy 98-gun ship, was struck by a sea in the middle of a gale, that threw her on her beam-ends. 14 '! :| I: I I r I ^\ ■ i I, , i i i!! n : lUU THE (?KA. SO much so that the men on the lioijul Soverehjii called out, "The admirals gone down!'' She righted again, however, but was terribly disabled. Lord CoUingwood said afterwards that the heavy guns were suspended almost verflcaUi/, and that " he thought the topsides were .Actually parting from the lower frame of the ship." Admiral Smyth, in his important physical, hydrographieal, and nautical work on the Mediterranean, relates that in 1812, when on the Rodneii, a new 71-gun ship, she was so torn by the luiited violence of wind and wave, that the admiral had to send her to England, although sadly in need of ships. He adds, however, that noble as was her appearance on the waters, " she was one of that hastily-built batch of men-of-war sarcastically termed the Forty T/ilerex .'" Many are the varieties of winds accompanied by special characteristics met in the xtlediterranean, and, indeed, sudden squalls are common enough in all usually calm waters. The writer well remembers such an incident in the beautiful Bay of San Francisco, California. He had, with friends, started in the morning from the gay city of "Frisco" on a deep-sea fishing excursion. The vessel was what is technically known as a " plunger/' a strongly-built two-masted boat, with deck and cabins, used in the bay and coast trade f>f the North Pacific, or for fishing purposes. When the party, consisting of five ladies, four gentlemen, the master and two men, started in :he morning, there was scarcely a breath of wind or a ripple on the water, and oars as large as those used on a barge were employed to propel the vessel. " The sea wiis bright, and the bark rode well," and at length the des. red haven, a sheltered nook, with fine cliffs, seaweal-covered rocks, and deep, clear water, was reached, and a dozen strong lines, with heavy sinkers, put out. The sea was bountiful : in a couple of hours enough fish were caught to furnish u capital lunch for all, A camp was formed on the beach, a large fire of driftwood lighted, and sundry hampers unpacked, from which the necks of bottles had protruded suspiciously. It was an ^lated hy Sir H. I). Wolff; ■* ily Trip to the Suez Canal," &u. 1 I '/'■if ■'A :« " '(■f I h I ;!l 1 3 1 '1^1 ' i 1 \ 1 'L 1 ! ■ II l^B : :r 9 f f 'ms n in ' 1 1 ^ f '■ ■ ; HH I^^M jjIB 108 THE SEA, After all, who i-j tho conquoror — ho who kills, or he who saves, thousands? To prove our points, it will not be neeessary to reeite the full history of the grandest engineering' work of this century — a century replet'j with proud engineering works. Here it can only be given in the l)arest outline. Every intelligent child on looking at the maji would ask why the natural route to India was not by the Isthmus of Suez, and why a canal was not made. His schoolmaster answered, in days gone by, that there was a difference in the levels of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. That question has been answered successfully, and the dilference has not ruined the Canal. Others said that it was impossible to dig a canal through the desert. It has been done ! Lord Palmerston, the most serious opjwnent in England that Lesseps had,* thought that France, our best ally to-day, would have too much influence in Egypt. Events, thanks to Lord BeaconsfiekFs astute policy, by purchasing the Khedive's interest, have given England the largest share among the shareholders of all nations. It would not be interesting to follow all the troubles that Lesseps successfully combated. The idea had more tlian once occurred to him, when in 1852 he applied to Constantinople. Tho answer was that it in no way concerned the Porte. Lesseps returned to his farm at Berry, and not unlikely constructed miniature Suez Canals for irrigation, thought of camels while he improved the breed of cattle, and built houses, but not on the sand of the desert. Indeed, it was while on the roof of one of his houses, then in course of construction, that the news came to him of the then Pacha of Egypt's death (Mehemet Ali). They had once been on familiar terms. Mehemet Ali was a terribly severe man, and seeing that his son Said Pacha, a son he loved, was growing fat, he had sent him to climb the masts of ships for two hours a da}^ to row, and walk round the walls of the city. Poor little fat boy ! he used to steal round to Lesseps' rooms, and surreptitiously obtain meals from the servants. Those surreptitious dinners did not greatly hurt the interests of the Canal, as we shall see. Mehemet Ali had been a moderate tyrant — to speak advisedly. His son-in-law, Defderd-ir, known popularly as the "Scourge of Hod," was his acting vicegerent. Ti.e brute once had his groom shod like a horse for having badly shod his charger. A woman of the country one day came before him, complaining of a soldier who had bought milk of her, and had refused to pay for it. "Art thou sure of it?" asked the tyrant. "Take care! they shall tear open thy stomach if no milk is found in that of the soldier." They opened the stomach of the soldier. Milk was found in it. The poor woman was saved. But, although his successor was not everything that could be wished, he had a goo I heart, and was not "the terrible Turk." In 185 1-, Lesseps met Said Pacha in his tent on a plain between Alexandria and Lake Marcotis, a swamp in the desert. His Highness was in good humour, and imderttood Lesseps perfectly. A tine Arabian horse had been presented to him by Said Pacha a few • M. (Ic^ Lossops iuknowlcilfrfs frankly that (lio English pcoplo wiro always with him, and cites cxamplo after example— as in the ease of the then ^layor of Liverpool, who woiiM not allow Iiini to pay the ordinary expenses of a m(>(tinir. He says; "While finding sympathy in the eomiucnial and kttereil classes, 1 found heads of v.-ood among the politicians." There were, however, many who supported him in all his ideas, jirominently among whom the jnsent writer must place Kiehard Cohden. L-in-la\v, Tl.e woman Iht milk " Take ' They saved. a goo I oxamplo onlinaiy T found Ihis ideas, I* 'A O N & fa o ■A ; N •; ^i. ■^.■; ■B 110 THE 8EA. days previously. After exaininiiig- the plans and investigating the subject, the ruler of Egypt said, " I accept your plan. We will talk about the means of its execution during the rest of the journey. Consider the matter settled. You may rely on me." He sent immediately for his generals, and made them sit down, repeating the previous conver- sation, and inviting them to give their opinion of the proposals of his friend. The impromptu counsellors were better able to pronounce on ecpiestrian evolutions than on a vast enterprise. But Lesseps, a good horseman, had just before cleared a wall with his charger, and they, seeing how he stood with the Viceroy, gave their assent by raising their hands to their foreheads. The dinner-tray then appeared, and with one accord all plunged their spoons into the same bowl, which contained some first-class soup. Lesseps considered it, very naturally, as the most important negotiation he had ever made. Results speak for . themselves. In \'6^\-, there was noi u fly In that hvh'ons desert. Water, sheep, fowls, and provisions of all kinds had to be carried by the explorers. When at night they opened the coops of fowls, and let the sheep run loose, they did it with confidence. They were sure that next morning, in that desolate place, the animals dare not desert the party. " AVhen,^' says Lesseps, "we struck our camp of a morning, if at the moment of departure a hen had lurked behind, pecking at the foot af a tamarisk shrub, quickly she would jump up on the back of a camel, to regain her cage.'' That desert is now peopled. There are three important towns. Port Said had not existed before : there 13 now what would be called a " city," in America, on a much smaller basis of truth : it has 12,000 people. Suez, with 15,000 people, was not much more than a village previously. Isma'ilia, half-way on the route, has 5,000 or 6,000 of population. There are other towns or villages. A canal actually effecting a junction between the two seas rid the Nile was made in the period of the Egyptian dynasties. It doubtless fulfilled its purpose for the jiassage of galleys and smaller vessels ; history hardly tells us when it was rendered useless. Najioleon the First know the importance of the undertaking, and- appointed a commission of engineers to report on it. M. Lepere presented him a report on its feasibility, and Napoleon observed on it, " It is a grand work ; and though I cannot execute it now, the day may come when the Turkish Government will glory in accomplishing it." Other schemes, including those of eminent Turkish engineers, had been proposed. It remained to be accomjilished in this century. The advantages gained by its construction can hardly be enumerated here. Suffice it to say that a vessel going by tlie Cape of Good Hope from London to Bombay travels nearly 0,000 miles over the ocean; by the Suez Canal the distance is 3,100, barely more than half the distance. To tell the history of the financial troubles which obstructed the scheme would be tedious to the reader. At last there was an International Commission appointed, which cosit the Viceroy of Egypt £12,000, and yet no single member took a farthing for his services. The names are sufficient to prove with what care it had been selected. On the part of England, ]\Iessrs. Rendel and INIacClean, both eminent engineers, with, for a sufficiently good reason, Commander Hewet of the East India Company's service, who for twenty-seven years had bt-en making surveys in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Fmnee gave two of her greatest engineers, Messrs. Renaud and Liessou : Austria, one F1NAN(JIAL OPEUATIOX.S. ni of the greatest practical engineers in the world, M. de Negrelli ; Italy, M. Paleocapa ; Germany, the distin- guished Privy Councillor Lentze; Holland, the Chevalier Conrad ; Spain, M. de Moutesino. They reported entirely in favour of the route. A second International Congress followed. The Viceroy behaved so magnificently to the scientific gentlemen of all nations who composed the commission, that M. de Lesseps thanked him publicly for having received them almost as crowned heads. The Viceroy answered gracefully, " Are they not the crowned heads of science 1" At last the financial and political difficulties were overcome. In 1858, an office was opened in Paris, into which money flowed freely. Lesseps tells good-naturedly some little episodes which occurred. An old bald-headed priest entered, doubtless a man who had been formerly a soldier. " Oh ! those English," said he, "I am glad to be able to be revenged on them by taking shares in the Suez Canal." Another said, " I wish to subscribe for ' Le Chemin de Fer de I'lle de Suede'" (The Island of Sweden Railway !) It was remarked to him that the scheme did not include a railway, and that Sweden is not an island. " That's all the same to me," he replied, " provided it be against the English, I subscribe." Lord Palmerston, whose shade must foci uneasy in the neighbourhood of the Canal, could not have been more prejudiced. At Grenoble, a whole regiment of engineers — naturally men of intelligence and technical know- ledgp, clubbed together for shares. The matter was not settled by even i i'i ■ V<' ijl f) i 1!^ ff I 112 THE SEA. i 1; the free inflow of money. The Viceroy had been so much annoyed by the opposition shown to the scheme, that it took a good deal of tact on the part of its promoter to make things run smoothly. For the first four years, Lesseps, in making the necessary international and financial arrangements, travelled 30,000 miles per annum. At length the scheme emerged from fog to fact. The Viceroy had promised 20,000 Egyptian labourers, but in ISOI he begged to be let out of his engagement. He had to pay handsomely for the privilege. Although the men were paid higher than they had ever been before, their labour was cheap : it cost double or treble the amount to employ foreigners. The Canal, in its course of a shade over 100 miles, i)assos through several salt marshes, " Les Petits Bassins dos liacs Amers," in one of which a deposit of salt was found, seven miles long by five miles wide. It also passes through an extensive piece of water. Lake !MenzaIeh. At Lake jNIenzaleh the banks are very slightly above the level of the Canal, and from the dock of a big steamer there is an unbounded view over a wide expanse of lake and morass studded with islets, and at times gaj'^ and brilliant with innumerable flocks of rosy pelicans, scarlet flamingoes, and snow-white spoonbills, geese, ducks, and other birds. The pelicans may be caught bodily from a boat, so clumsy aie they in the water, without the expenditure of powder and shot. Indeed, the sportsman might do worse than visit the Canal, where, it is almost needless to state, the shooting is open to all. A traveller, who has recently passed through the Canal e)i route to India, writes that there are alligators also to be seen. The whole of the channel through Lake Menzaleh was almost entirely excavated with dredges. When it was necessary to remove some surface soil before there was water enough for the dredges to float, it was dt)ne by the natives of Lake Menzaleh, a hardy and peculiar race, quite at home in digging canals or building embankments. The following account shows their mode of proceeding : — " They place themselves in files across the channel. The men in the middle of the file have their feet and the lower ])art of their legs in the water. These men lean forward and take in their arms large clods of earth, which they have previously dug up below the water with a species of pickaxe called a fass, somewhat resembling a short, big hoe. The clods are passed from man to man to the bank, where other men stand with their backs turned, and their arms crossed behind them, so as to make a sort of primitive hod. As soon as each of these has had enough clods piled on his back, he walks off, bent almost double, to the further side of the bank, and there opening his arms, lets his load fall through to the ground. It is unnecessary to add that this original iiieller requires the absence of all clothing."* Into the channel thus dug the dredges were floated. One of the machines employed deserves special mention. The lotig couloir (duct) was an iron spout 230 feet long, five and a half wide, and two deep, by means of which a dredger working in the centre of the channel could discharge its contents beyond the bank, assisted by the water which was pumped into it. The work done by these long-spouted dredges has amounted to as much as 1:20,000 cubic yards a-piece of soil in a month. By all kinds of ingenious appliar Invented for the special needs of the occasion, as much as 2,7(33,000 cubic yards of • 0. Ritt, "Histoire dc I'lsthmc dc Suez." y the oiiposition its promoter to g the necessary promised 20,000 it. He had to u they had ever )loy foreigners. igh. several salt sit of salt was tensive piece of the Canal, and expanse of lake lumerable flocks and other birds, -ter, without the visit the Canal, ifho has recently dso to be seen, d with dredg-es. enough for the 1 peculiar race, account shows . The men in water. These lave previously : resembling: a 3re other men make a sort 1 his back, he iiing his arms, original mc/ier H ill f : V^ ines employed feet long, five in the centre J water which nounted to as of ingenious cubic yards of 1 TO H m O H rn CL a CO h o TIIK WiilJK .\<( (nil'l.isiii;!). I 1) (>xciiv:itiim were Mccimiplislu'il in ,\ iiKHitli. .M. de l>e>-sciis (ells ii< tluil "were li pliiccil in tlu- I'Imcc \ i'ii(|(')nif, it would till tlic wliok- si|iiiirf. iind rise live tinic>. liii^'licr lliaii tlio Tiir. sii;z ( \N M : iiiir.iKMs at \viikk. surronndinn' houses." It woidd oov(>r ilio entire len<^tli iind Itreudth of the ('hamps Elysees, and ivaeli to the to]) of the trees on either side. Port Said, which owes its very existence to tlie (anal, is to-day a port of coiisid«'ra1>lo importance, where some of the finest steamships in the world stop. All the throiij^-h 16 y ■ t I I'-i ' r ' f ! ii r ; ' 'ii .1 \ I !i ik li' mi ' I; ml u mm \i lit Till-: SKA. steamcM between Etirope and the I'last — our own ynuul " P. &: O." (Peninsular and Oriental) line, the splendid French " ^lessa^-eries," the Austrian Lloyd's, and dozens of excellent lines, all make a stay here of eiji-ht or ten hours. This is long' enough for most travellers, as, sooth to say, the very land on whieh it is l)uilt had to he " made," in other words, it was a traet of swampy desert. It has respectahh^ streets and s(|uares, docks, quays, churches, mosipies, and iiotels. The outer port is formed 1»y two enormous hreak- waters, one of which runs straig-ht out to sea for a distance of 'i,7H\ yards. They have li<>'ht houses upon them, usin"^' electricity as a means of illumination. Messrs. Borel and Lavalley were the princiiud contractors for the work. Tlie ingenious machinery used cost nearly /wn uml a /ml/' niiUlun /lonml-i (nctually t;2, 100,(1(1(1), and the imnl/i/j/ con- sumption of coal cost the Company L l(>,(l(IO. The distance from Port Said to Suez is lUO miles. Tiie width of the Canal, where the banks are low, is about '-VXS fo^'t, and in deep cuttings ll)(» feet. The deep channel is marked with buoys. The mole at the Port Said (Mediterranean) end of the Canal stretches out into the sea for over half a mile, near the Damietta branch of the Nile. This hel])s to form an artiiicial harbour, and cheeks the nnid deposits which might otherwise choke the entn.nce. It cost as much as half a million. In the Canal there arc recesses — shall we call them sidings, as on a railway ? — 'A-here vessels can enter and allow others to pass. The scenery, we must confess, is generally monotonous. At Ismailia, however, a town has arisen where there are charming gardens, ^^'e are told that " it seems cmly necessary to pour the waters of the Nile on the desert to produce a soil which will grow anything to i)erfection." Here the Viceroy built a temjjorary palace, and M. de Lesseps himself has a vlidli't. At Suez itself the scenery is charming. From the height, on which is placed another of the Khedive's residences, there is a magnificent panorama in view. In the foreground is the town, harbour, roadstead, and mouth of the Canal. To the right are the mountain heights — (iebel Attakah — which hem in the lied Sea. To the left are the rosy peaks of Mount Sinai, so lamiliar to all Biblical students as the spot where the great Jewish Law was given by God to !Moses; and between the two, the deep, dee]) blue of the Gulf, Near Suez are the so-called " "Wells of Moses," natural springs of rather brackish water, surrounded by tamarisks and date-palms, which help to form an oasis — a pie-nio ground — in the desert. Dean Stanley has termed the sjjot " the Richmond of Suez." Before leaving the Canal on our outward voyage, it will not be out of i)lace to note the inauguration fCii', which must have been to M. de Lesseps the jn-oudest day of a useful life. Two weeks before that event, the engineers were for the moment battled by a temporary obstruction — a mass of solid rock in the channel. " Go," said the unconquer- able projector, "and get powder at Cairo — powder in onantities; and then, if we can't blow np the rock, we'll blow up ourselves." That rock was very soon in fragments I The spirit and houhouiie of Lessejis made everything easy, and the greatest difficulties surmount- able. "From the beginning of the work," says he, " there was not a tent-keeper who did not consider himself an agent of civilisation." This, no doubt, was the great secret of his grand success. The great day arrived. On the Ifith of November, ISOS, there were 1(10 vessels TiiK iNAr(iri;.\i, ikii:. \:> rcatly to ]mss llio Canal. A( the last lUdiiu'iit tliat cvcniiij^ it was aiinoiiiurd that iin Kf^yjitiaii I'riyatc liad run <>n «tiiL' ol" tlu' banks of tlic Canal, ami was liu|icl(.'ssly sIni'U tluTo, tilistnictin^' llic pa^sayo. Slu; couKl not Ix; tuwcd olT, anil the nniti''.//////•, >■// tir,ni/, earryiny on lioard the I'hnpress of the I'reneh, the JOmperor of Austria, ami the \ iceroy. This nohle-hearted [Impress, who has hi'en so loni;' exiled in a eonntry she has learned to love, told Lesseps at Isi>ia'ilia that iluriny the whole journey she had felt "as thoujjh a ein-lc of lire were roun feelings <;'avi' way at last; and when success was assureil, she retired to her cuhin, where sohs were heard hv her devoted I'rien Is — sohs which did "reat honour to her true and patriotic heart. The Viceroy on that occasion entertained (),0()tl i'oreiyners, a large proportion of whom were of the most distingiushed kind, ^len of all natiomdities c.ime to honour an enlightened vuler, and witness the opening of a grand engineering work, which had been carried through so many oj)posing dilliculties ; to applaud the man of cool head and active brain, who had a few years ))efore been by many jeered at, snubbed, and thwarted. To suitably entertain the vast assemblage, the \'iceroy had engaged .">(l(l cooks and l,()t)0 servants, bringing many of them from jMarseilles, Trieste, (jlenoa, and Leghorn. Although the waters of the Canal are usually placid — almost sleepil_^ calm — they are occasionally lashed uj) int«) waves by suildeii storms. One such, which did some damag'.', occurred on December !Hh, 1H77. And now, before leaving the subject, it will be right to mention a few facts of importance. The tonnage of vessels passing the Canal quadrupled in live years. As many as thirty-three vessels have been passing in one day at the same time, although this was exceptional. In 1H74', the relative proportions, as regards the nationalities o£ tonnage, if the expression may be permitted, were as follows : — English .. 2±2,(»»0 tons. Frcnoli .. ](i:{.uuo .. Dutcli 84.01)0 ,. Austrian (ill.OOO „ Italian .. oO.OOO .. Simnish 30.(M)O .. Gerinan .. -28.000 .. Varions 65,000 ., I., '• I; I i The present tonnage passing the Canal is much greater. All the world knows how and why iMigland acquired her present interest in the Canal, but all the world does not appreciate its value to the full extent. Suez has si)ecial claims to the attention of the Biblical student, for near it— accord- ing to some, eighteen miles south of it — the children of Israel passed through the Red Sja; •2,(10(1,000 men, women, and children, with Hocks of cattle went dryshod through the L. »' VJl '? a"t^ ■■ I I llfi TIIF, SEA. dividiny' walls of water. Holy Writ iiifonns lis that " Iho Lord caused the sea to go back by a stronjr east wind all that ni ON I.AKK MKN/AI.DII. even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and hi liorsemcn." We know the sequel. The waters returned, and covered the Egyptian hop^s ; " there remained not so much as one of them." "Then sang Moses and the chikiivn of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for be hath triumidicd gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown in the sea. * * * "Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. " The depths have covered them : they sank into the bottom as a stone." * Exodus xiv. 21, ct sc'j. TUK iJEi) si;a. 17 CIIAPTKR VIII. RdIM) TIIK Woiil.l) ON A MaN-OI'-WaU {''iDiI i II mul). Till': INDIA AM) CHINA STATIONS. The Ilfd Sen unil IIh Niiiiif Its I'ortH On to llic Iiicliii Sliiilon Uuiiibay : Nluiid, City, I'lvsidcncy— Culcultii fVyloii, u PurudlMc— The Chiiui Station- IIoiik Koiw .Miicao funton-Capliirc of ('(iinnilsMloncr Yidi-Tlio Hoa of Soup • Shanghai -" .lack " Ashore thcro — l.iixinirs in Market Drawhaeks, Karlhiinakis, and Sand Showers Chlneso Kxplanations of Karllniuakes The l!o^ln^? Life of the Sailor Cotiipensalinj; Adviinla^'es— .laiian and its People - The KliKlishnien of the raeille— Yokohaniu I'eealiarllies of the Japaneso-OII' to tlu' North. Tin; Red Sea soiKiratos Arahiii from Ej^-ypt, Niiljia, and Abyssinia. Its naino is either derived From the auimalculii' whieli sometimes cover parts ok' its surface, or, mote probably, from the red and purple coral which abound in its waters. The Hebrew name -^A^i£ JilniAii, I i:(>M riii: signifies "the Weedy Sea," because the corals have often plant-like forms. Thcij are reefs of coral in the Red Sea which uttei'ly prevent approach to certain parts of the coasts. Many of the islands which border it are of volcanic orig-in. On the Zei<;ar Islands there was an alarming' eruption in 1816. England owns one of the most important of the islands, that of Perim, in the Straits of Bab-el- I\Jandeb. It is a barren, black rock, but possesses a fine harbour, and commands one entrance of the Red Sea. It was occupied by Groat Britain in 1709, abandoned in 1801, and re-occupied on the lith of February, 1857. Its fortifications possess guns of sufficient calibre and jwwer to command the Straits. The entire circuit of the Red Sea is walled by grand mountain ranges. Some of its ports and harbours are most important places. There is Moclvi so dear to the coffee- diinker; Jiddah, the port for the holy city of Mecca, whither innumerable pilgrims repair; Hodeida, and Locheia. It was in Jiddah that, in 1S5S, the jMoslem population rose against the Christians, and killed forty-five, including the English and French consuls. w i^:^' t P$ ns TllK SEA. Oil the African side, l)Osides Suez, thovo are the ports of Cosseir, Suakiin, and ]Massuidi. The Hod Sea is dc'i) i'or a partially inland soii ; there is a veeurcied instance oL' soundinys to 1,01)0 fathoms — considerably over a mile — and no bottom found. After leaviny the lied Sea, where shall we proceed 'i Wt.' have the choice of the India, China, or Australia Stations. Actually, to do the voyage systematically, Bombay would be the next point. ]?ombay, in j^eneral terms, is three things : a city of three-quarters of a million souls; a presidency of K, 000,000 inhabitants; or an island — tiie island of Maml)ai, according to the natives, or IJuon ]Jahia, the " good haven," if we take the Portuguese version. The city is built on the island, which is not less than eight miles long by three broad, but the presidency extends to the mainland. In 150!), the Portuguese visited it, and in I ."j.'jO it became theirs. In Itidl, it was blindly ceded to our Charles II., as simi»ly a i)art of the dowry of his bride, the Inl'anta Catherine. Seven years after Charles the Dissolute had obtaine^. what is now the most valuable colonial i)ossession of Great Britain, he ceded it to t}io Honourable East Indir. Comi)any — though, of course, for a handsome consideration. Bombay has many advantages for the sailor. It is always accessible during the terrible south-west monsoons, and possesses an anchoring gn^und of fifty miles, sheltered by islands and £' magniticent series of breakwaters, at the south end of which is a grand lighthouse. Its docks and dockyards cover fifty acres ; ship-building is carried on extensively ; and there is an immense trade in cotton, coffee, opium, spices, gums, ivory, and shawls. Of its 700,000 inhabitants, 50,000 are Parsees — Persians — descendants of the original Fire-worshippers. A large proportion of them are mercnants. It may not be generally known to our readers that the late Sir Jainsetjee Jeejeebhoy — who left wealth untold, although all his days he had been a humane and charitable man, and who established in Bombay alone two fine hospitals — was a Parsee. Calcutta, in 1700, was but a collection of petty villages, surrounding the factories or posts of the East India Comjiany, and which were presented to that cor])oration by the Emperor of Delhi. Th'n' were fortified, itnd received the name of Port William, in honour of the reigning king. It subsoquentl/ received the title of Calcutta, that being the name of one of the aforesaid villages. Seven years after that date, Calcutta was attacked suddenly by Surajah Dowlah, Nawab of Bengal. Abandoned by many who should have defended it, I 115 English fell into the enemy's hands, who put them into that confined and loathsome cell of which we have all read, the " Black Hole of Calcutta." Next morning l)ut twenty-three of the number were found alive. Lord Ciive, eight months later, succeeded in recapturing Calcutta, and after the subsequently famous battle of Plassey, the possessions of the East Indi^' Company greatl}'^ extended. To-day Calcutta has a " Strand " longer than t!iat of London, and the batteries of Fort William, which, with their outworks, cover rgetation, iinknown (piantities of gems and i>earls, and many minerals. The sajjphire, ruby, topaz, garnei, and amethyst abound. A sapphire was found in 18.")-"5 worth L 1,000. Its cofae l)lantutions are a source of great wealth. Palms, flowering shridjs, tree fe.ns, rhododendrons, as big as timber trees, clothe the island in perennial verdure, ihe elei)hant, wild boar, leopard, bear, bulTalo, humjx'd ox, deer, palm-cat and civet are common, but there are lew da'.igerous or venomous animals. The Singhalese ])opulation, really Hindoo colonists, are elt'eminate and cowardly. The Kandyans, Ceylonese Highlanders, who dwell in tlic mountains, are a more creditable race, sturdy liiid manly. 'i'lieu there are the Malabar.-, early Portuguese and Dutch settler.;, with a spriidcling of all nationalities. There, too, are the outcast Veddahs, the real wild men of the woods. "With them there is no GoJ — no worshii). The Ilock ^'eddahs live in the jungle, rollow the chase, sleep in caves or in the woods, eat li'^ards, and consider roast monkey a prime dish. The Village Veddahs are a shade more civilised. One reads constantly in the daily journals of the India, China, or Australian Stations, and the reader mny think that they are very iMteliigible titles. He nun* be surprised to learn that the East India Station not merely includes the ports of India and Ceylon, but the whole Indian Ocean, as far south as ^ladagascar, and the east coast of iVfrica, including Zanzibar and ?iIozambique, where there are dockyards. The ('hina Station includes Japan, Bornct>, Sumatra, the Philippine Islands, and the coast of Kamchatka and Eastern Siberia to Bering Sea. The Australian Station includes New Zealand and New Guinea, 'j'he leading stations in China are Hong Kong, Canton, and Shanghai. Vessels bound to the port of Canton have to enter the delta of the Pearl River, the area of which is largely c.eupied with isles and sandbanks. There f;.'e some thirty Ibrts (m the banks. ^Vhen the ship has passed the mouth of this embouchure, which forms, in general terms, a kind of triangle, the sides of which ire 100 miles each in length, you can proceed either to the island of Hong Kong, an Englisih colony, or to the old Portuguese settlement of -Macao. The name Hong Kong is a corrupt' ;i of Hiang Kiang,* which is by interpretation "Scented Stream." Properly, the designation belongs to a small streniu on llic southern side of the island, where ships' boats hav long been in the h Mt of obtaining line pure • "Lifo ill (iiiiiu," liv Willium C. Hiluu, JI.A. '^1 i ;l!» il 5 H I? i It ' I >, ll 1 1, I 1 1 . 1 i i ■ 1 M j 1 ! 1 HO TIIK SKA. water; Iml now llu; iiar.io is givon liy f(irt'i<;ni'r.s to llio wliolo island. Tlio island is aliout niiio niilos in lenj^tli, and has a vorv rnyged anil l)arrt'n sm-laci', consist iny of rocky ran's, colonial chnrclies, post-ofHce, and harbour-master's depot, all of which are overlooked by the Government-house itself, hii>-h up on the hill. ('lose to the sea-beach are the commercial houses, clubs, exchange, and market-jdaces. It wfis the shelt<.'r, security, and convenience offered by the harbour iluil induced our THE CHINA STVrioN. 1,21 Iral nial tlic cial our 1^ Crovcrnment to seleot it for a Briiish settlomont; it lias om- dl' tlio iinMost roadsteads in Ihe world, l^etbre tlio cossiou to Kii<>laiul in IMl, tlio native population on the island did not exceed i,()()(); now there are 7(1,000 or S0,000. Macao (pronounced Mitcuir) is i'orty miles to the westward dl' Ilonj^- Koni;', and an ayreeable place as regards its scenery and surroundings, but deticient as regards its harbour accommodation. Dr. Milne, himsell' a missionary resident i'or fourteen years in China, says, writin<;' in IS.jS) : "To son.e of the present i^-eneration of Kni;lisli residents in China, there can be anythin*^ but associations of a comfortable kind connected with Macao, recollectin<.f as they nuist the unfriendly policy which the l*ortUi«'uese on the spot ])U'sued some sixteen or yeveuteen years since, and the bitterly hostile bearing- \. ,iich the Chinese of the L'(;ttlement were encouraged to assume towards the 'red-haired Knylish.'" Macac is a peninsula, eight miles in circuit, stretching out trom a large island. The connecting i)iece of land is a narrow isthmus, which in native topogvai>hy is calle 1 "the stalk (if a water-lily." In IS 10 a low wall stretched across this isthmus, the foundation atones of which had been laid about three hundred years ago, with the acknow- ledged object of limiting the movements of foreigners. This was the notorious " barrier,"' which, during the Chinese war of ISJO-J, was used to annoy the English. As large numbers of the peasantry had to pass the " barrier gates "' with provisions for the mixed population at Macao, it was a irecjuent manicuvre with the Chinese authorities to stoj) the market supplies by closing the gate, and setting over it a guard of half-starved and ravenous soldiery. Leaving Macao for Canton, the ship passes the celebrated " l^-guo Forts," threads her course through a network of islets and mud-banks, and at last drops anchor twelve miles from the city off the island of Whampoa, where the numerors and grotesque junks, "egg boats," " sampans," itc, indicate a near approach to an important jdaee. The name Canton is a liuropcm corruption of Kwang-tung, the " ]}road East." Among *he Chinese it is sometimes described poetically us "the city of the genii," "the city of grain," and the " city of rams." The origin of these iorms is thus shown in a native legend. After the foundation of the city, which dates ba<;k ;!,0()0 years, five genii, clothed in garments of five different colours, and riding on five rams of different colours, met on the site of Canton. Each of the rams bore in its mouth a stalk of grain having five ears, and presented them to the tenants of the soil, to whom they spake in these words : — " .May fuiiiin(> ;iiul dwitli never visit you ! '' Il^pon this the rams were immediately petrified into stone images. There is a " Temple of the Five Rams" close to one of the gates of Canton. The river scene at Canton is most interesting. It is a floating town of huts hui't on rafts and on piles, with boats of every conceivable size, shajie and use, lashed together. "It is," says Dr. Milne, "an aqinn-luiu of human occupants." Canttm has jirobablv a population of over a million. The entire circuit of city and suburbs cannot be far from ten miles. Canton was bombarded in lSy7-8 by an allied English and French force. Ten days were given to the stubborn Chaie.sc minister, Yeh, to accede to the terms dictated by the Allies, 16 M i'i;!i '■•!,! *t; lOO TIIK SKA. ! I i;i. : : li atid every means was taken to inform the native population of the real cumiix fjrf/l, and to advise them to remove from the scene of dany-er. Consul Parkes and Captain Hall were engaiivd among other colporteurs in the rather dang-erous labour of distrihufinsi- Iracts and hills. In one of their rapid descents, Captain Hall eauyht a mandarin in his chair, not far from the city yate, and pasted him up in it with hills, then starting* oil' the bearers U, carry this new advertising- van into the city ! The Chinese crowd, always alive to a practical joke, roared with lauyhter. When the truce expired, more than 1(H) ouns and mortars opened lire npon the city, great pains being taken only to injure the city walls, ollicial Chinese residences, and hill forts. Then a force of o,!)!!!! men was landed, and the city was between two lires. The hill-forts were .soon taken, and an expedition planned and executed, chieHy to cajjture the native odicials of hig-h rank. .Mr. Consul I'arkes, with a party, burst into a ijainmi, an oilicial residence, and in a few seconds Commissioner Yell was in the hands of the English. An andjitious niilf-ilc-i'diiip of Yeh's sialT protested strongly that the captive was the wrong- man, loudly stammering- out, " Me Yeh ! Mf Yeh ! " But this attempted deceit was of no avail ; the prize was safely l)ag'g'('d, and shortly afterwards the' terms of pei . —'.to arranged. The loss of life in the assault was not over 1 in British and -30 Frencli. Shanghai is a port which i.a^ grown up almost entirely since 1S||, the date of its first occupation by foreigners for purposes of commerce. Then there were only forty-four foreign merc-hant ships, twenty-three foreign residents and families, one consular Hag-, and two Protestant missionaries. Twelve years later, there were, for six months' returns, 21!) British ships, tifty-seven American, eleven Hand)urg-, eleven Dutch, nine Swedish, seven Danish, six Spanisli, and seven Portuguese, besides those of other nati(malities. The returns for the whole year embraced V-^\: .-diips of all countries; tea exports, 7(i,7]l,(!oU pounds ; silk, o")^,");]? bales. Shang-hai (" the Upper Sea") has been written variously Canhay, Changhay, Xanghay, Zoug-hae, Shaidiae, Shang-hay, and so forth. Its proper pronunciation is as if the final syllable were " high," not " hay." " Sailing- towards the north of China," says Milne, " keeping perhaps fifty or sixty miles off the coast, as the ship enters the thirtieth parallel, a stranger is startled some fine morning- by coming on what looks like a shoal — perhaps a sand-bank, a reef — he knov.-s not what. Tt is an expanse of coloured water, stretching ont as far as the eye can reach, east, nortii, and west, and entirely distinct from the deep-blue sea which hitherto the vessel had been ploughing. Of course, he finds that it is the 'Yellow Si^a/ a sea so yellow, turbid, and thick, certainly, that yon might thiidc all the pease-soup in creation, and a gieat deal more, had been emptied into one monster cistern." The name is therefore appropriate, as are the designations of several others : '•The Yellow Sea. the Sen Ihat's IJi'd, TIk; "White, tlic liliiik, the one that's Dead." Between the thirtieth degree of north latitude, where the gronp of the Choosan Islands commences, and the thirty-seventh degree, this sea of soup, this reservoir of tawny li(Hiid, ranges, fed by three great rivers, the Tseen-Tang, the Yangtsze-Kiang, and the Hwang-Ho, the greatest of which is the second, and which contrilnites the larger part I I SIIANlillAI. ■Z:i ■A, of the miuldy solution lieUl in its wuters. Forty-iivo miles from tiio e/t/^ioi' '■/'///•<■ ol' the \anytsze-Kiaiig', yon roacli tlie Woosnn*;" anclinni<>'i', and a few miles I'ln-tlier tlio city df Siian^'liai, where tlio trilnitary yon liave been l'ollo\vin>^ divides into tlie Woosunj;- and \\ liampoa 1)ranclies, at the fork of whieh the Iind ceded to the British is situated. Here there is a splendid British consuhite, cluirches, mansions, and foreii;'n mereantile houses. The old eity was built over three centuries a^o, and is encircled, as indeed are nearly all larye Chinese cities and towns, by a w: ,r twenty-four feet hiyli and lilteen broad; it is nearly four miles in circumference. Shi nghai was at one time yreatly exposed to the depredations of freebooters and pirates, and jjurtly in consecpience of this the wall is plentifully provided with loop-holes, arrow-towers, and military observatories. The six threat gates of the city of Shanyiiai have yrandiliupient titles, li this sand shower. The deposit of this exipiisile j)owder is sometimes to the extent of a ipiarter of an inch, after a fall of a day or two ; it will penetrate the closest Venetian blinds; it overspreads every article of furniliire in the house; finds its way into the innermost chambers and recesses. In walkiny about, one's clothes Vi:ss;;i,s IN Tin; I'OUT or sllANtillAI. 'erse. to ower and in 'very and iting ?arth are covered with dust — the face S'ets grimy, the mouth and tliroat parched ; the teeth grate; the eyes, ears, and nostrils become itchy and irritable. Tiie fall sometimes extends as far as Ningpo in the interior — also some ~()0 miles out at sea. Some think that it is blown all the way from the steppes of Mongolia, after having been wafted by typhoons into the upper regions of the air : others think that it comes across the seas from the Japanese volcanoes, which are constantly subject to eruptions. The population of Shanghai, rapidly increasing, is probably about 10(1,(1(10 to 150,()0() nonal beggars. Among the many creditable things cited by P« Milne reirai'dinir the Chinese, is the number of native charitable institutions in Canton, Ningpo, and Shanghai, including Foundling Hospitals, the Shanghai) "Asylum for Outcast uc, THE SEA. If :t Cliildron, retreats for poor unci dostitute widows, i lielters for the inaiinud and blind, medical dispensaries, leper liosi)ita]s, vaeeino establishments, almshouses, I'ree burial soeietios," and so I'ui'th. So nuieh for the heartless Chinese. The sailor certainly has this compensation for his hard life, that he sees the world, and visits strange countries and peoples by the dozen, privilcj^cs for which many a man tied at home by the inevitable force of circumstances would ^ive u]» a j^'reat deal. AVhat an oracle is he on his return, amid his own family circle or friends! liow the youn<;sters in particular hanj^ on his every word, look uj) at his bronzed and honest face, and wish that they could be sailors, — '■ ."^tliiiigc cciinitiiis f(ir to «(■."' How many curiosities has he not to show^from the inevitable parrot, chattering in a I'oroign tongue, or swearing roundly in English vernacidar, to the little ugly idol brought from India, but possibly inannfactiu'ed in Birmingham!* If from China, he will probably have brought home some curious caddy, fearfully and wonderfully inlaid with dragons and impossible landsca2)es ; an ivory j)agoda, or, perhaps, one of those wonderfully-carved balls, with twenty or so more inside it, all separate and distinct, each succeeding one getting smallei* and smaller. He may have with him a native oil-i)ainting ; if a ])(n"trait, stolid and hard ; but if of a ship, true to the last rope, and exact in every particular. In San Francisco, where there are 1 l'',()(K) or more Chinese, may be seen native paintings of vessels which could hardly be excelled by a luu'opean artist, and the cost of which for large sizes, say ;U by i^ feet, was only about fifteen dollars (i'5). What with I'ans, handkerchiefs, Chinese ladies' shoes for feet about three inches in length, hmterns, choi)sticks, pipes, rice-paper drawings, l)ooks, neat and (juaint little porcelain articles for jn-esents at homo, it will be odd if Jack, who has been mindful of t he " old folks at home," and the young folks too, and the "girl he left behind him," does not l)eeome a very popular man. And then his yarns of Chinese life ! How on his lirst landing at a port, the natives in prolfering their services hastened to assure him in ''pigeon English" ("pigeon" is a native corruption of " business," as a mixed jargon had and has to be used in trading with the lower classes) that "Me all same Englische man; me belly good man;" or " You wantee washy? me washy you?" which is simply an offer to do your laundry work ; t or "You wantee glub (grub); me sabee (know) one shoj) all same Knglischc belly good." Or, perhaps, he has met a Chinaman accompanying a coffin home, and yet looking quite happy and jovial. Xot knowing that it is a common custom to present coffins to relatives during lifetime, he inrpiires, " ^Vho^s dead, John?" "No man hab die," rc'idies the Celestial, " no man hab die. ]Me makce my olo fader cumsha. Him likee too mucheo, countoo my number one popa, s'pose ho die, can eatchee," which freely translated is — "Xo n * Tilt' I'ciiiliv iiKiy li.iYc liciml of imunmics iiiaunfiicturcd in C'liiro fur tlic Enj^lisli markit. The idol tnulu of I!ii-niini;liniM liiis often liccii stilted as u fact. t Ivcudeis who have seen ^Ir. Ivloiiin's iinpersoiwtions of a Chinaman may he assnii'd that they are true to nature, and not hurles(ines. That fjcntlcnian carefully studied the Chinese while engaged jirofessionally in San Eraniiseo. to 'iin "JACK," AND "JOHN CillNAMAN." U7 Olio is tload. It is a i)rosont from me to my aj^cd fathor, willi wliirh lie will 1h' much pleased. 1 esteem my tatlier ;>'reatly, and it will be at his service when he dies." How one of the eommon names for a forei' pij^-lail ! " The Chinese took it for a 'o?" The application is^ however, not more curious than the title of " .John " bestowed on the Chinaman by most foreii,'ners as a -ners of all classes, and arose when the J)utch lirst opcMied up trade with Cliina. A Chinese work, alludinji^ to their arrival, says, "Their raiment was red, and their hair too. They had bluish eyes, d>'eply sunken in their head, and (un- people were »piite frij^htened by their stranj^e aspect/' Jack will have to tell how many stranye anomalies met his jjcaze. For example, in launching their junks and vessels, they are sent into the water s'ldiirm/x. The horseman mounts (m the rx/ht side. The scholar, recitin<>' his lesson, //'/-//v ItU Inick on his master. And if J.'-.ek, or, at all events one of his superior ollicers, <>'oes to a party, he should not wear li'^ht pumps, but as thick solid shoes as he can j2fot ; n-h'ih' Icml is used for l)ltu'lx-\i((/. On visits of coremon\', you should keep your hat mi ; and when you advance to your host, you should close your fists and .i/in/ii' liamlx ifUL i/niirsr//'. Dinners commence with sweets and fruits, and eiul with fish and soup. White is the funereal colour. Yon may see adults gravely flying kites, while the youngsters look on; shuttlecocks are battledored by the /i>'r/. Books begin at the end; the paging is at the bottom, ami in reading, you proceed from right to left. The surname precedes the Christian name. The fond mother holds her babe to her nose to smell it — as she would a rose — instead of kissing it. What yarns he will have to tell of i-i'/'iils ! How the Chinese sailor lashes it round his cap at sea ; how the crusty pedagogue, with no other rod of correction, will, on the spur of the moment, lash the refractory scholar with it; and how, for fun, a wag will tie two or three of his companions' tails together, and start them off in diftercnt directions ! But he will also know from his own or others' experiences that the foreigner in;ist not attempt 2»i'f*^'fi*^'il jokes iipon John Chinaman's tail. " Null me hnn/fre," says Dr. Milne, " is the order of the tail, as well as of the thistle." Now that most of the restrictions surrounding foreigners in Japan have been removed, and that enlightened peop'-^ — the Englishmen of the Pacific in enterprise and progress — have taken their proper place among the nations of the eaiih, visits to Jaj)an are commonly made 1)y oven ordinaiy tourists making the circuit of the globe, and we shall have to touch there again in another " voyage round the world " shortly to follow. The English sailors of the Royal Xavy often have an opportunity of visiting the charming islands which constitute Japan. Its English name is a corruption of Tih-pnuqno — Chinese for " Kingdom (>f the Source of the Sun.'^ Marco Polo was the first to bring Ij. ' il I -f I ' 'i il ] i ' 1 t 1 \ ; Hi ik^ try . T c O FU8I-YA.\L\^ KO to Europe iutellifjenco of tho brijjht isles, whose Jaiianeso iiiimo, Nipon or Niplion, means litenilly " Sun-souree." On the wuy to Yokohama, tho great port of Japan, tho voyager will encounter the monsoons, tho north-east version of which brings deliciously cool air from October to March, while the south-west monsoon brings hot ami weary weather. On the way Nagasaki, on the island of Kiusiu, will almost certainly be visited, which has a harbour with a very narrow entrance, with hills running down to the water's edge, beautifully covercil with luxuriant grass and low trees. The Japanese have planted batteries on either side, which would probably prevent any vessel short of a strong ironclad from getting in or THE rUSIYAMA MOUNTAIN. out of the harbour. The city has a population at least of 150,000. There are a number of Chinese restricted to one quarter, surrounded by a high wall, in which is a heavy gate, that is securely locked every night. Their dwellings are usually mean and filthy, and compare very unfavourably with the neat, clean, matted dwellings of the Japanese. The latter despise the former; indeed, you can scarcely insult a native more than to compare him with his brother of Nankin. The Japanese term them the Nankin Sans. The island of Niphon, on which Yokohama is situated, is about one hundred and seventy miles long by seventy broad, while Yesso is somewhat longer and narrower. Japan really became known to Europe through Fernando Mendez Pinto, a Portugese who waa shipwrecked there in 1.519. Seven years later the famous Jesuit, Francis Xavior, introduced the Catholic faith, which for a long time made great progress. But a fatal mistake was made in 1580, when an embassy was sent to the Pope with presents and 17 1' ■ Ji':: l\' ,* it 1 i 1 ■1 i > 1 130 THE SEA. jii III H 'I :' H i In i i! ' i vows of allegiance. The reigning- Tycoon* had his cyos opened by this act, and saw that to profess obedience to any spiritual lord was to weaktMi his own power immeasurably. The priests of the old religions, too, complained bitterly of the loss of their flocks, and the Tycoon determined to crush out the Christian faith. Thousands upon thousands of c*onverts were put to death, and the very last of them are said to have been hurled from the rook of Pai)enberg, at Nagasaki, into the sea. In 1000, William Adams, an English sailor on a Dutch ship, arriveil in the harbour of Hungo, and speedily became a favourite with the Tycoon, who, through him, gave the English permission to establish a trading " factory " on the island of Firando. This was later on abandoned, but the Dutch East India Company continued the trade on the same island, under very severo restrictions. The fire-arms and powder on their ships were taken from them immediately on arrival, and only returned when the ships were ready for sea again. Yokohama, the principal port, stands on a flat piece of ground, at the wide end of a valley, which runs narrowing up for several miles in the country. The site was reclaimed from a mere swamp by the energy of the Government; and there is now a fine sea-wall facing the sea, with two piers running out into it, on each of which there is a custom- house. The average Japanese in the streets is clothed in a long thin cotton robe, open in front and gathered at the waist by a cloth girdle. This constitutes the whole of his dress, save a scanty cloth tied tightly round the loins, cotton socks and wooden clogs. The elder women look hideous, but some of their ugliness is self-inflicted, as it is the fashion, when a woman becomes a wife, to draw out the hair of her eyebrows an ^ varnish her teeth black ! Their teeth are white, and they still have their eyebrows, 1 ve too much prone to the use of chalk and vermilion on their cheeks. Every one »« x.imiliar with the Japanese stature — under the general average — for there are now a large number of the natives resident in London. Jack will soon find out that the Japanese cuisine is most varied. Tea and sacki, or rice beer, are the only liquors used, except, of course, by travelled, Europeanised, or Americanised Japanese. They sit on the floor, squatting on their heels in a manner which tires Europeans very rapidly, although they look as comfortable as possible. The floor serves them for chair, table, bed, and writing-desk. At meals there is a small stand, about nine inches high, by seven inches square, placed before each individual, and on this is dej^osited a small bowl, and a variety of little dishes. Chopsticks are used to convey the food to their mouths. Their most common dishes are fish boiled with onions, and a kind of small bean, dressed with oil; fowls stewed and cooked in all ways; boiled rice. Oil, mushrooms, carrots, and various bulbous roots, are greatly used in making up their dishes. In the way of a bed in summer, they merely lie down on the mats, and put a wooden pillow under their heads ; but in winter indulge in warm quilts, and have brass pans of charcoal at the feet. They are very cleanly, baths being used constantly, and the public bath- houses being open to the street. Strangely enough, however, although so particular in bodily cleanliness, they never wash their clothes, but wear them till they almost drop to • The Tj'coon is nominated out of 'no mrnibors of three families having hereditarj- rights. The princes or Daimios number three or four hundred, many having enormous incomes and armies of retainers. The Prince of Kanga, for example, has £760,000 a year ; the Prince of Satauma £487,000 ; and the Prince of Owari £402,900. THE PORT OP PKTER AND PAUL. 131 pieces. A gentleman who arrived there in 1S3'.), had to send his clothes to Shanghai to 1)0 washed — a journey of 1,(51)0 miles I Since the great iullux of tbreigners, however, plenty of Niphons have turned laundrymen. Their tea-gardens, like those of the Chinese, arc often large and extremely ornamental, and at them one obtains a cup of genuine tea made before your eyes for one-third of a halfpenny.* Tho great attraction, in a landscape point of view, outside Yokohama, is the grand Fusiyama Mountain, an extinct volcano, the great object o2 reverence and pride in tho Japanese heart, and which in native drawings and carvings is incessantly represented. A giant, 14,000 feet high, it towers grandly to the clouds, snow-capped and streaked. It is deemed a holy and worthy deed to climb to its summit, and to pray in the numerous temples that adorn its sides. Thousands of pilgrims visit it annually. And now let us make a northward voyage. CHAPTER IX. Round the Would on a Man-of-Waii (coniinned). NOHTHWARD AND SOUTHWARD — THE AUSTRALIAN STATION. Tho Port of Peter and Paul— Wonderful Colouring of Kamchatka Hills-Grand Volcanoes— Tho Fight at Petropoulovskl —A Contrast— An International IMc-nic— A Double Wedding— Bering's Voyages — Kamchatka worthy of Further P^xploration— Plover Hay— Tchuktchl Natives— Whaling — A Terrible Oulo — A Novel "Smoke-stack"— Southward again— Tho Liverpool of tho East— Singapore, a Paradise— New Harbour— Wharves and Shipping— Cruelties of tho Coollo Trade- Junks and Prahus— Tho Kling-gharry Drivers- The Duriun and its Devotees— Australia— Us Discovery -Ilotany Boy and the Convicts— Tho First Oold-I'ort Jackson -Beauty of Sydney— Port Philip and Melbourne. Many English men-of-war have visited the interesting peninsula of Kamchatka, all included in the China station. How well the writer remembers the first time he visited Petropaulovski, the port of Peter and Paul ! Entering first one of the noblest bays in the whole world — glorious Avatcha Bay — and steaming a short distance, the entrance to a capital harbour dis- closed itself. In half an hour the vessel was inside a landlocked harbour, with a sand-spit protecting it from all fear of gales or sudden squalls. Behind was a highly-coloured little town, red roofs, yellow walls, and a church with burnished turrets. The hills around were autumnly frost-coloured ; but not all the ideas the expression will convey to an artist could conjure up the reality. Indian yellow merging through tints of gamboge, yellow, and brown ochre to sombre brown; madder lake, brown madder, Indian red to Roman sepia; greys, bright and dull greens indefinable, and utterly indescribable, formed a mdlangc of colour which defied description whether by brush or pen. It was delightful ; but it was puzzling. King Frost had completed at night that which autumn had done by day. Then behind rose the grand mountain of Koriatski, one of a series of great volcanoes. • For further details concerning this most interesting people, vide Dr. Robert Brown's " Races of Mankind." ) ! ^ I r:, ' )■ p 1- f '» H '4 if « H 11 1133 THE SEA. it ' It seemed ?i lew miles oil; it was, although the wonderful clearness of the atmosphere belied rhe fact, son., thirty miles distant. An imprej^nable fortress of roek, streaked and cajtped with snow, it defies time anci man. lis smoke was constantly obse.'ved; its pvn-e snows only hid the boiling, bubbling lava beneath. With the exception of a few decent houses, the residences of the civil governor, captaiii of the port, and otlier oflicials, and a few f^^reign merchants, the town makes no great show. The jioorer dwellings are very rougli, and, indeed, are almost exclu- sively log cabins. A very picturesque and noticeable building is the old (ireek church, which has painted red and green roofs, and a l^elfry full of bells, large and small, detached from the buihling, nnd cr.Iy a foot or two raised above the ground. It is to be noted that the luwn, as it existed iu Cajitain Gierke's time, was built on the sand- spit. It was once a military post, but the Cossack soldiers have been removed to the Amoor. There are two 'monuments of interest in Petropaulovski; one in honour of Bering, the second to the memory of La Perouse. The former is a plain cast-iron column, railed in, while the latter is a mjst nondescript construction of sheet iron, and is of octagonal form. Neither of these navigators is buricJ in the town. Poor Bering's remains lie on the island where he miserably perished, and which now bears his name; while of the fate cf La Perouse, and his unfortunate companions, little is known. In 1855, Petropaulovski was visited by the allied fleets, during the period of our war with Russia. They found an empty town, for the Russian Government had givci up all idea of defending it. The combined fleet captured one miserable whaler, ra/cl the batteries^ and destroyed some of the government buildings. There were good and sufficient reasons why they should have done nothing. The jioor little town of Saints Pet ((juld be finally interred they had literally to be disinterred. The vessel, unguarded, was utterly wrecked, and their provisions lost. They subsisted mainly that fearful winter on the carcases of dead whales, which wore driven ashore. In the spring the pitiful remnant of a once hardy crew managed to construct a small vessel from the wreck of their old ship, and at length succeeded in reaching Kamchatka. They then learned that Tschirikoff, Bering's associate, had preceded them, but with the loss of thirty-one of his crew from the f5ame fell disease whii had so reduced their numbers. Bering's name has ever since been attached to the island where he died. There is no doubt that Kamchatka would repay a detailed exploration, which it TUE APEX OF THE CHINA STATIUX. 137 has never yet received. It is a partially settled country. The Kamchatdales are a good-humoured, harmless, and semi-civilised race, and the Russian otKcials and settlers at the few little towns would yladly welcome the traveller. The dogs used ibr sletlging in winter are noble animals, infinitely stronger than those of Alaska or even Greenland. The attractions for the Alpine climber cannot be overstated. The peninsula contains a cham of volcanic peaks, attaining, it is sta d, in the Klutchevskoi Mountain a height Ind I or ed las id LhI e. Ill nc lir I'ETUOrAlLOVSKI AND THE FVSIYAMA MOUNTAIN. of 10,000 feet. In the country immediately behind Petropaulovski are the three peaks, Koriatski, Avatcha, and Koseldskai; the first is about 1-2,000 feet in height, and is a conspicuous landmark for the port. A comparatively level country, covered with rank grass and underbrush, and intersected by streams, stretches very nearly to their base. And now, before leaving the Asiatic coast, let us, as many English naval vessels have done, pay a flying visit to a still more northern harbour, that of Plover Bay, which forms the very apex of the China Station. Sailing, or steaming, through Bering Sea, it is satisfactory to know that so shallow is it that a vessel can anchor in almost 18 \w 11 .1 'It 188 THE SEA. Pfi If V any part of it, though hundreds of miles from Itmd.* Plover Bay does no( derive its name from the whaling which is often pursued in its waters, altliough an ingenious Dutchman, of the service in which the writer was engaged at the periods of his visits, persisted in calling it "Blubher" Bay; its name is due to the visit of II. M.S. J'lorer in 1818-!), when engaged in the search for Sir John I'ranklin. The bay is a most secure haven, sheltered at the ocean end by a long spit, and walled in on three sides by rugged mountains and bare cliffs, the former composed of an inlinite number of fragments of rock, split up by the action of frost. Besides many coloured lichens and mosses, there is hardly a sign of vegetation, except at one ])atch of country near a small inner harbour, where domesticated reindeer graze. On the spit before mentioned is a village of Tchuktchi natives ; their tents are composed of hide, walrus, seal, or reindeer, with hero and there a piece of old sail-cloth, obtained from the whalers, the whole patchwork covering a framework formed of the large bones of whales and walrus. The remains of underground houses are seen, but the people who used them have passed away. The present race makes no use of such houses. Their canoes are of skin, covering sometimes a wooden and sometimes a bone frame. On either side of one of these craft, which is identical with the Greenland "oumiak," or women's boat, it is usual to have a sealskin blown out tight, and the ends fastened to the gunwale; these serve as floats to steady the canoe. Tliey often carry sail, and proceed safely far out to sea, even crossing Bering Straits to the American side. The natives are a hai'dy race; the writer has seen one of them carry the awkward burden of a carpenter's chest, weighing two hundred pounds, without apparent exertion. One of their principal men v/as of considerable service to the expedition and to a party of telegraph constructors, who were left there in a Moodeft house made in San Francisco, and erected in a few days in this barren spot. This native, by name Naukum, was taken down into the engine-room of the telegraph steamer — G. S. frriff/iL He looked round carefully and thoughtfully, and then, shaking his head, said, solemnly, " Too muchee wheel ; makee man too muehee think ! " His curiosity on board was unappeasable. " What's that fellow ? " was his query with regard to anything, from the donkey-engine to the hencoops. Colonel Bulkley gave him a suit of mock uniform, gorgeous with buttons. One of the men remarked to him, " Why, Naukum, you'll be a king soon ! " But this magnificent prospect did not seem, judging from the way he received it, to be much to his taste. This man had been some- times entrusted with as much as five barrels of villainous whisky for trading purposes, and he hA always accounted satisfactorily to the trader for its use. The whisky sold to the .atives is of the most horrible kind, scarcely superior to "coal oil" or paraffine. They apiMjared to understand the telegraph scheme in a general way. One explaining it, said, " S'pose lope fixy, well ; one Melican man Flower Bay, make talky all same San Flaneisco Melican." Perhaps quite as lucid an explanation as you could get from an agricultural labourer or a street arab at home. Colonel Bulkley, at his second visit to Plover Bay, caused a small house of planks. * Captain .Suammon, detailed from tho United .States Revenue Service, to take the post of Chief of Marino in the telegraph expedition on which tho writer served, made a series of soundings. For nearly two deyrees (between latitudes 64" and 60° N.) the average depth is under 19J fathoms. THE VVHAT.ERS OF UERIXO SEA. 139 to be constructed for Naukunij and made liim many presents. A draughtsman attached to the party made a sketch, " A Dream of the Future/' which was a lively representation of the future prospects of Naukum and his family. The room was picturesque with paddles, skins, brand-new Henry rifles, preserved meat tins, &c. ; and civilisation was triumphant. Although Plover Bay is almost in sight of the Arctic Ocoan, very little snow remained on the barren country round it, except on the distant mountains, or in deep ravines, where it has lain for ages. "That there snow,'' said one of the sailors, pointing to such a spot, " is three hundred years old if it's a day. Why, doii't you see the wrinkles all over the face of it ? " Wrinkles and ridges are common enough in snow ; but the idea of associating age with them was original. The whalers are often very successful in and outside Plover Bay in securing their prey. Each boat is known by its own private mark — a cross, red stripes, or what not — on its sail, so that at a distance they can be distinguished from their respective vessels. When the whale is harpooned, often a long and dangerous job, and is floating dead in the water, a small flag is planted in it. After the monster is towed alongside the vessel, it is cut up into large rectangular chunks, and it is a curious and not altogether pleasant sight to witness the deck of a whaling ship covered with blubber. This can be either barreled, or the oil "tryed out" on the spot. If the latter, the blubber is cut into " mincemeat," i;nd chopping knives, and even mincing machines, are employed. The oil is boiled out oa board, and the vessel when seen at a distance looks as if on fire. On these occasions the sailors have a feast of dough-nuts, which are cooked in boiling whale-oil, fritters of whale brain, and other dishes. The writer has tasted whale in various shapes, but although it is eatable, it is by no means luxurious food. It was in these waters of Bering Sea and the Arctic that tiie Shenandoah played such havoc during the American wai\ In 1865 she burned Ifiirli/ American whalers, taking off the officers and crews, and sending them down to San Francisco. The captain of an English whaler, the Robert Tawns, of Sydney, had warned and saved some American vessels, and was in consequence threatened by the pirate captain. The writer was an eye-witness of the results of this wanton destruction of private pro]-)erty. The coasts were strewed with the remains of the burned vessels, while the natives had boats, spavs, &c., in numbei's. But Plover Bay has an interest attaching to it of far more importance than anything to be said about whaling or Arctic expeditions. It is more than probable that from or near that bay the wandering Tunguse, or Tchuktchi, crossed Bering Straits, and peopled America. The latter, in canoes holding fifteen or twenty persons, do it now ; why not in the " long ago ? " The writer has, in common with many who have visited Alaska (formerly Russian- America, before the country was purchased by the United States), remarked the almost Chinese or Japanese cast of features ])ossessed by the coast natives of that country. Their Asiatic origin could not be doubted, and, on the other hand, Aleuts — natives of the Aleutian Islands, which stretch out in a grand chain from Alaska — who had shipped as sailors on the Russo-American Telegraph Expedition, and a Tchuktchi « !i t!H ■I' •i. I* 1 ' «' i ii ;t||. ,': i if if" , 1' ii: ii"- Hi 140 TIIK SKA. boy l)roii,<;lit down to he educated, wore const anlly taken for Japanese or Chinamen i'l San Francisco, whore there are ].0,0()0 of the former i)eoi)lo. Junks have on two occasions been driven across the I'acilic Ocean, and have hmdod their crews.* Tiiese facts occurred in lH:};i-:i; the first on the coast near Cape Flattery, North-west America, and tlje second in tue harbour of Oahu, Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. In the former case all the crew but two men and a boy were killed by the natives. In the latter case. WHALEKS AT '.VOHK. however, the Sandwich Islanders treated the nine Japanese, forming the crew of the junk, with kindness, and, when they saw the strangers so much resembling them in many respects, said, " It is plain, now, we come from Asia." How easily, then, could we account for the peopling of any island or coast in the Pacific. Whether, therefore, stress of weather obliged some unfortunate Chinamen or Japanese to people America, or whether they, or, at all events, some Northern Asiatics, took the " short sea route," cla Bering Straits, * Vide Washington Irving's "Astoria;" also, Sir Edward Bolchor's "Voyage of the Siilp/mr.'* H AN T^N-PACIFK* <)f'KAN. 141 there is a very strong' probability in favour of tbe New World having been peopled from not merely the Old World, but the Oldest World — i\sia. The Paeific Ocean generally beart* itself in a manner which justifies its tide. The long sweeps of its waves are far more pleasant te the sailor than the " choppy " waves of V, , '' OUK " PATENT SMOKE-STACK." the Atlantic. But the Pacific is by no means always so, as the writer \ory well knows. He will not soon forget November, 1865, nor will those of his companions who still survive. Leaving Pctropaulovski on November 1st, a fortnight of what sailors term "dirty weather" culminated in a gale from the south-east. It was no " capful of wind," but a veritable tempest, which broke over the devoted ship. At its outset, the wind was so powerful that it blew the main-boom from the ropes which held it, and it swung round with great violence 142 THE SEA. against the "smoke-stack" (funnel) of the steamer, knockinjf it overboard. The guys, or chains by winch it had been held tinright, were snapped, and it went to the bottom. Here was a dilemma ; the engines were rendered nearly useless, and a few hours later wore made absolutely powerless, for the rudder became disabled, and the steering-wheel was utterly unavailable. During this period a very curious circumstance happened ; the sea driving faster than the vessel — itself a log lying in the trough of the waves, which rose in mountains on all sides — acted on the screw in such a manner that in its turn it worked the engines at a greater rate than they hatl ever attained by steam ! After much trouble the couplings were disconnected, but for several hours the jarring of the machinery revolving at lightning speed threatened to make a breach in the stem. No one on board will soon forget the night of that great gale. The vessel, scarcely larger than a " penny " steamer, and having " guards," or bulwarks, little higher than the rail of those boats, was engidfed in the tempestuous waters. It seemed literally to be driving under the water. Waves broke over it every few minutes; a rope had to be stretched along the deck for the sailors to bold on by, while the brave com- mander. Captain Marston, was literally tied to the aft bulwark, where, half frozen and half drowned, he remained at his post during an entire night. The steamer had the " house on deck," so common in American vessels. It was divided into state-rooms, very comfortably fitted, but had doors and windows of the lightest character. At the commencement of the gale, these were literally battered to pieces by the waves dashing over the vessel; it was a matter of doubt whether the whole house might not be carried off bodily. The officers of the expedition took refuge in the small cabin aft, which had been previously the general ward-room of the vessel, where the meals were served. A great sea broke over its skylight, smashing the glass to atoms, putting out the lamps and stove, and filling momentarily the cabin with about three feet of water. A landsman would have thoug'^t his last hour had come. But the hull of the vessel was sound ; the pumps wer'^ in good order, and worked steadily by a " donkey " engine in the engine-room, and the water soon disappeared. The men coiled themselves up that night amid a pile of ropes and sails, boxes, and miscellaneous matters lying on the "counter" of the vessel, i.e., that part of the stern lying immediately over the rudder. Next morning, in place of the capital breakfasts all had been enjoying — fish and game from Kamchatka, tinned fruits and meats from California, hot rolls and cakes — the steward and cook could only, with great difficulty, provide some rather shaky coffee and the regular " hard bread " (biscuit) of the ship. The storm increased in violence ; it was unsafe to venture on deck. The writer's room-mate. M. Laborne, a genial and cultivated man of the world, who spoke seven languages Huently, sat down, and wrote a last letter to his mother, enclosing it afterwards in a bottle. " It will never reach her," said poor Laborne, with tears dimming his eyes ; " but it is all I can do." Each tried to comfort the other, and prepare for the worst. " If we are to die, let us die like men," said Adjutant Wright. " Come down in the engine-room," another said, " and if weVe got to die, let's die decently." The chief engineer lighted a fire on the iron floor below the boilers, and it was the only part of the vessel which was at all comfortable. Noble-hearted A NOVEL "SMOKE-STACK." 113 Colonel Bulklcy spent his tiino in chcerinj^ tlio men, and reniin(lin.assed away, than that of another takes its place and sheds perfume all around. As for the foliage, that never seems to die. Perfumed isles are in many people's minds merely fabled dreams, but they are easy of realisation here. There is scarcely a part of the island, except those few places where the original forest and jungle have been cleared away, from which at night-time, on the first breathings of the land winds, may not be felt those lovely forest perfumes, even at the distance of more than a mile from shore. These land winds — or, more properly, land airs, for they can scarcely be said to blow, but only to breathe — usually commence at ten o'clock at night, and continue within an hour or two of sunrise. They are welcomed by all — by the sailor because they speed him on cither course, and by the wearied resident because of their delicious coolness." Another writerf speaks with the same enthusiasm of the well-kept country roads, and approaches to the houses of residents, where one may travel for miles through unbroken avenues of fruit-trees, or beneath an over-arching canopy of evergreen palms. The long and well-kept approaches to the European dwellings never fail to win the praise of * " Our Tropical I'osscssioriB in JIalayan India," by .Tolin Cameron, Esq. t J. Thomson, " The Straits of JIalacta, InUo-C'hina, and Cliina." tSC'ENKUV Ol' .SINlJAl'OKi;. 1 15 straii^^'ors. " In them may 1)0 discoverotl tho same lavish profusion of ovcrhanffiiig foliaj^o which wo sec arounil us on every side; besides that, there are often hedjifos of wild heliotrope, croi)ped as scpmre as if huilt up of stone, and t'()rnun