The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-12-15
OUR NAVY.
From Tho Southern Literary Messenger.
DETAILS OF THE SCHOOL-SHIP.

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independence and national glory, must needs
constitute an essential feature in the policy OF
| England. A successful courier, and the rival
OF Essex and of Cecil for the favor of Elizabeth,
he was counted man OF learning in his day.
And though famed for .'ditty and amorous odes,
he found time TO contribute largely to navigation.
a soldier in his youth, he was sent toquell re-
bellion in that commonwealth of common woe
las he described Ireland. In arms he behaved
most valiantly, and without following the sea as
a profession, obtained from his sovereign the
rank OF Admiral His feats before Cadiz and
Fayal gained him great renown. Dazzled with
the splendor of geographical fiction, he em-
barked for the new world, TO spy out land of
| barbaric pomp and gold, called by the Spa
niards, Ell Dorado. The warriors there were
said to be female Amazons of singular prowess
and its capital TO be gorgeous city called
Manoa, having its houses rooted with gold, and
situated in the upper country on the lake Pa
rima, the waters of which also rolled over their
beds OF golden sands. Disappointed, but not
dlsheartened, hereturned from thes earch with all
his bright visions fitting before him, to drag out
IN the tower, thirteen long and weary years of
| inprsonment. Here he was mol Idle, but EN-
ployed himself perhaps more usefully than ever
before. Il was there he wrote his History of
the World the most remarkable work of the
day Often breaking its thread in his love for
theological disquislton, we find him with zeal
and earnestness engaging in the enquiry with
Polemics concurring the locality Of the orb Of
Paradise He gravely discusses whether the
forbidden fruit were not the PR kly pear, and il
Noahs ark were not lighted with carbuncle
Turning from these subjects to his gallipots
and stills, he sought recreation in n-house,
and there compounded nostrums for the Prince of
Wales, and cordials for the sick Queen of the
relentless James. The Raleigh cordial is said
to have effected as many miraculous cures in its
day, as have since been performed by the pills
and panaceas' Of more enlightened times. Re
leased from his prison walls, he again embarks
TO seek the land of his golden dreams, and ac-
tually ascends the Oronoco a second time, in
search of the gilded capital and glittering lake of
FL Dorado. Disheartened by losses and fruit
less search, the expedition is resolved into a
swarm of pirates, 10 sslook for homeward-boun
Spanish men" Bafied here too he again re-
turns TO his native land, and to prison, whence,
after short interval, he is brought to the scat
fold In the midst of such occupations, scenes
and times, this man found leisure to write the
first treatise that ever appeared lin the English
language, on naval architecture. And without
having been bred to the seaman's calling he
wrote on the art OF war al sea subject which
he observes. has never been handled by any man,
ancient modern His account of the fifteen
hour fight between Sir Richard Grenve's ship,
and the whole Spanish feet Of SO sail and 1000
After the Englishman had expended all his am
munilion, he commanded his ship to be sunk,
that nothing might remain of glory or Of vic
tory to the Spaniard.' Notwithstanding that ma
val architecture has been so much improved as
an art--as science--it is comparatively but
little in advance of the stage at which Sir Wal
ter left it, The rule will not work both ways
for though ships may be built from models, mo-
dels cannot be built from ships 1t iswell known,
that while the first builders in New York will
charge $500, or $1,000 for the model of one
OF their favorite ships, they will allow other
builders TO go on board, and afford them every
facility for measuring all parts Of the chip, con
scious that without the model and drawings which
are locked up in the model-room, her like cannot
be built Under well-regulated system of ma
val instruction, would this have been said
The fact that every nation in sending out
ships on voyages of discovery, has found it ex-
pedient to furnish them with men of science
from private life, is striking comment on the
system hitherto pursued by every nation in the
education of nautical men. Cook, that beau
ededi of a sailor, whose voyages have sent so
many school-boys to sea, was man OF sound
mind, without the advantages Of learning Sir
Joseph Banks was his wade mecum.' During
the expedition of Captain Baudin (now Admi-
raj p il discovered that the virtue of all the
spare magnetic needles had been impaired in
consequence of rust. "All the articles provided
by government" said he to a member Of his
scientific corps, he unlocked his case of rusty
needles, " are shabby beyond description. Had
they acted as | could have wished, they would
have given us siirer instead Of steel needles"
This brings to mind The extravaganza with which
an expedition OF more modern day was fitted
out. 1t had cart bianch for its outfits. One
of our old commodores in amaZement at the pro-
digalty displayed in some of the articles, said to
his Gunner of the Yard If you have any gold
guns on charge send them to the Exploring Ex-
petition" | have no doubt that under such cir
cumstances, Captain Baudn might have been
furnished with silver needles. When anything
went wrong in the Expedition, the Frenchman
had way of rectifying it by ''throwing his hat
on deck and giving il two kicks,n an expedent
that is ometimes rcsorted to also in other Ma
vies. His journal was filed with the most beau
tiful drawings, executed by one of the sailors,
and is remarkable for nothing else but its wordy
and barren pages.
Free booting Lord Arson too was a strong
headed Englishman without education. "Mar-
velously frugal both of his speech and pen,n he is
said to have been Ground the world, but never in
it," His voyage was written by his stay at
home companion the accomplished Robins. An
son destroyed Payta, after having pillaged its
citizens of million and half of dollars. He
left the fgure-head Of his ship there, which
few years ago was to be seen standing at the
corner of square. He robbed the church, and
one of his sailors gave, with cutlass, the image
Of Neustrd Sonora a cash on the cheek, which,
to this day, remains as fresh and as bloody as it
was at the moment when the Maldito Ingles'
fed, borrow stricken, from her presence The
anniversary of this sacrilegious act is still retain
ed as feast day in the church. Once year.
the priest exhibits TO motley and superstitious
crowd, the pleading wound of Holy Virgin;
''whose blood no art can quench.n Arson cap
| thp Acap lad VIII ,ba ,boln
years revenue of Mexico--the richest prize ever
known. The story is somewhere told of his
crew, when they were paid off, dressed up in
cooked hats trimmed with gold lace One of