The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-10-14 00:00:00

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.

Of this thing, or phantom of a thing, about whose ex-
istence natural philosophers have been as undecided as
they are in respect to the mermaid and American great
sea serpent, Mr. Montgomery M.irtin, in his exceedingly
interesting little volume on "The History of Southern
Africa," gives the following authentic account, which
must effectually silence all insolent scepticism, and vin-
dicate the veracity of 7'he Ancient Mariner. Hesays:—
.
" And here I am reminded of that singular phenomenon
which has been seen off the Cape, and usually termed the 'Fly-
ing Dutchman,' which few sailors who have navigated the Cape
disbelieve, and respecting which other people are very sceptical.
"The traditionary account of the origin ef the Flying Dutch-
man' is, that during the Dutch occupation of the Cape a vessel
from Batavia was on the point of entering Table Bay in stress
of weather in the winter season, when no vessel was allowed to
enter the bay; the batteries fired upon the distressed ship, and
compelled it to put to sea, where it was lost, and, as the sailors
say, has continued ever since beating about, and will continue
to do so till the day of judgment.
" The Dutchman' is said to appear generally to ships in a
heavy gale with all sails set; and when the eastern navigator is
in a calm, the Dutchman appeals to be scudding under bare
poles. As many persons think such an apparition the creation
of fancy, I give the following statement, which was noted down
in the log-book of his Majesty's ship Lieven, when employed
with the Barracouta, &c. in surveying East Africa, and in the
dangers and disasters of which squadron I participated.
" His Majesty's ship Lieven, Captain W. F. NV. Owes, on
the 6th April, 1823, when off Point Danger, on her voyage from
Algoa to Simon's Bay, saw her consort, the Barracouta, about
two miles to leeward. This was considered extraordinary, as
her sailing orders would have placed her in a different direc-
tion; but her peculiar rig left not a doubt as to her identity,
and at last many well-known faces were distinctly visible look-
ing towards the Lieven. Captain Owen attempted to close with
her to speak, but was surprised that she not only made no effort
to join the Lieven, but, on the contrary. stood away. Being
near the destined port, Captain Owen did not follow her, and
continued on his course to the Cape; but at sunset she was ob-
served to heave to, and lower a boat apparently for the purpose
of picking up a man overboard. During the, night there was no
light, nor any symptoms of her locality. The next morning the
Lieven anchored in Simon's Bay, where for a whole week the
Barracouta was anxiously expected. On her arrival, the 14th,
it was seen by her log that she was 3(X) miles from the Leven
when the latter thought she saw her, and had not lowered any
boat that evening. It should also be remarked that no other
vessel of the same class was ever seen about the Cape.
" On another occasion a similar phenomenon was witnessed
in the Lieven, and a bOat was apparently lowered, as is generally
the case when the phantom seeks to lure his victim. The vete-
ran sailor WAS not, however, to be caught,* and the Lieven,
after many perils, reached England in safety.
" Thrice, when a passenger in a merchant ship, I saw a
vessel in nearly similar circumstances. On one occasion we
hoisted lights over the gangway to speak with the stranger ; the
third time was on my recent return from India. We had been
in dirty weather,' as the sailors say, for several days; and to
beguile the afternoon I commenced after dinner narrating to
the French officers and passengers (who were strangers to the
Eastern seas) the stories current about the Flying Dutch-
man.' I'he wind, which had been freshening during the even-
ing, now blew a stiff gale, and we proceeded on deck to see the
crew make our bark all snug for the night. The clouds, dark
and heavy, coursed with rapidity across the moon, whose lustre
is peculiarly bright in the S. hemisphere, and we could see a
distance of front eight to ten miles on the horizon. Suddenly,
the second officer, a fine Marseilles sailor, who had been
among the foremost in the cabin to ridicule the story of the
Flying Dutchman,' ascended the weather-rigging, exclaim-
ing, • viola le volant Hollandais !"I"he captain sent for his
night glass, and soon observed, ' It is very strange, but there is
a ship bearing. down upon us with all sails set, while we dare
scarcely show a pocket-handkerchief to the breeze.' In a few
minutes the stranger was visible to all on deck ; her rig plainly
discernable, and people on her poop : she seemed to near us
with the rapidity of lightning, and apparently wished to pass
under our quarter, as if for the purpose of speaking. The cap-
tain, a resolute Bordeaux mariner, said it was quite incompre-
hensible, and sent for the trumpet to hail or answer, when, in
an instant,. while we Mere all standing on the gni vire, the
stranger iaddenly disappeared, and was no mere seen. I give
this, coupled with Captain Owen's statement, without remark ;
and, but that it would seem frivolous, could relate several other
instances. The reader will, I hope, excuse this digression,
which could not well be avoided in treating of the Cape of
Good Hope, whose name is almost constantly associated with
the • Flying Dutchman.'"

r It is said, that any vessel which the " Dutchman" can get
his letters on board of is certain to be lost.

SCRIPTURAL EDUCATION OF IRISH PRIESTS.

The following account of the extent to which a know-
ledge of the Bible is deemed necessary at the papist col-
lege of Maynooth, is furnished by the evidence of the
Professor of Sacred Scripture there, as recorded in an
appendix to the Bth report of the Irish Education Com-
missioners:—

" Rev. James Browne, Professor of Sacred Scripture and
Hebrew, in the College of Maynooth, examined.
" Will you have the goodness to state generally what are
your duties as Professor of Sacred Scripture and Hebrew ?
I have two classes each week in Scripture; one on Wednesday
—the other on Saturday—an hour each day. After the class of
Scripture on Wednesday, it is part of my duty to hear the
students giving exhortations on the Gospels or bpistles for the
following Sunday ; or if I do not employ them in that duty,
I generally take up the half hour myself in giving them an ex-
position of some passage of Scripture that may not be suffi-
ciently explained during the hour of class. * * * * On
Thursday I have a class in Hebrew for one hour. * * *
" What part of the students attend your class?—All those at
College that are studying in theology attend my class.
" They amount to 200 ?—They amount at present to above
160 or 170.
* * * * * * * * *

" Do your lectures comprehend both the Old and New Testa-
ments?-11 confine myself to the :Veit, Testament, but occasionally
I discuss some passages of the Old Testament. In a prepara-
tory class the young men are taught the history of the Old
Testament.
" Do your lectures comprehend the whole of the New Testa-
ment ?—No ; not the whole; the most difficult parts only. We
see in detail the Gospel of St. Matthew, comparing it with those
of St. Mark and St. Luke. Afterwards we see pretty much in
detail also the Gospel of St. John ; we read in detail the espistle
to the Romans, with reference to that of the Galatians ; we read
also in detail the epistles to the Corinthians, and to the He-
brews; also epistles to Timothy and Titus, with some of those
of St. Peter. So, upon the whole, we have a tolerably exten-
sive view of the New Testament.

" Do you lecture on the Book of Revelations ?—No.
" You read the Book of Exodus, of course ?—We hare never
read the Book of Exodus in class, but we have had occasional
reference to it.

" Do you ever go through the commandments?—lnever went
through them publicly in class; I might have referred to them
occasionally, but 1 never gave an exposition of them in public.
" Do you read the Prophets ?_We have not read the Prophets.
"Do you read the Psalms?—We have read some of the
Psalms in Hebrew, but we have not had time for the Prophets
or Psalms in ordinary class.

•' At the rate of two chapters a-week, making allowance for
the vacations, must it not take a series of many years to go
through the extensive course you have suggested ?—We read
generally a chapter; but there are some chapters so very easy
we pass them over lightly, Stu
How many attend at a time?—The whole class of theology
—about 160 or 170.

" How many are you able to interrogate in one day?—
Generally four, sometimes five, sometimes six. •
" DO you find the students generally well prepared ?—They
are generally tolerably well prepared; they have a great deal of
other ditties to attend to They have also to attend the class of
Spedntlative. Theology and of Moral Theology.
" How long have the Scripture lectures existed in Maynooth
upon thevesent footing ?—Before my appointment, but not so
regular and fixed.
" How long ago is that?—"This is the eleventh year."