The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1851-10-30
YANKEE SKILL ON LAND AND SEA.

he following amusing account oI oui
experiences. up TO this time, in tie contes'
for superiority at the Worlds Exhibition
lis from The Boston Evening Transcript. L
,freninds rs Of wise remnrk, once made
by Sam Sick, 10 this effect: Never tel
: folks you can 60 ahead on 'em, but do il :
There is an Old French proverb, thai
those laugh best who laugh last. The truth
of il is likely to be demonstrated in The In
ierconrse oi the last six months between
john BALI and his repudiated offspring
Brother Jonathan Because the latter did
not fiji up the space allotted to him ia the
crystal palace with all sorts Of snowy con.
lrivances and ornaments with silks and
satins and splendid cloihs--wi,h costly ar
tclcs Of furniture and articles ninistering
, solely to the luxurious lasies Of the opuleni
'i--our plain Brother Jonathan, in his suit Of
homespui,, was laughed at, pointed Of, and
iecred at, till he himself began TO distrust
his own merits, and 10 think Of getting back
TO his own folks, there 10 own up to being
beaten, hide his diminished head, and lay
low.
i But, while Jonathan was sitting discon.
sola,e in the midst Of his traps in the
glass palace, aud wishing that he had moth
ing 10 do with his father Bulls invitation
10 all the nations Of the world, 10 come and
compete with one another in their .fixins'
! and motions, Jonathan happened 10 take up
a newspaper, aud learned that one OF his Col.
Iins' steamers had nude passage beating
the bes, Of Bulls line ont and out. Jona.
than slapped his leg, and strokcd il up and
: down, and his face frightened ns he read
He resolved 10 stay while longer, jas, to
see what might turn up. His eye fell on
s,me Of the machines in his agricultural
department. whats the good he grum
bled TO himself, 'of these thunderin old
things, il people don't know how they'll
york? Now here's McCormick's reapine
machine. May be--no, won,
swear--but | can take my affidavit, that
have seen this machine do the work Of ten
men, in a given time. If the old man
could onlv see il going over his fields oI
rye. I rather think he'd stare some. He
shall see il! III stump him to sec ii!'
| Mr.. McCormicl.'s machine was accor-
i5ingly trnndted out, WIS pn, in Operations
lnpon one Of Mr.. Mechi's rye fields, at 6
grea, agricultural gathering, and admitted
: TO be dead hit.' The natives were as
tohished, McCormck's patent became Al
nee worth a fortune 10 him, and one Of the
first class prizes Of the exhibition was sci
down for him by the Judges.
Brother Jonathan put on a new dickev.
brushed his hat, and walked through Re.
gents Park with his head considerably
higher than he had worn it the week be
| fore. Dropping into one of the club hons-
es. with that elegantly negligent air for
which he is noted, he took Up French pa
per, and read an article, from the pen Of
one Of the most distinguished Of co'enpora-
ry critics, in which il was eloquen,ly main
taned that the first work 10 tho highest de
nartment of art, in the exhibition, was the
Greek Slave by Hiram Powers. 'One Of
my boys,' exclaimed Jonathan, throwing
! down the paper and starting up in a man
ner 10 shock tho sensbili,ics ofa cosy old
gentleman and two life guardsmen who sat
near.
While Brother Jonathan was thus recov
ering from the depression Of spirits under
which he had been !aboring at the COM
lnencement Of the exhibition, he woke np
lone morning TO learn that another Of his
.boys' had, unknown 10 himself. come over
the big pond and challenged John Ball and
all creation besides. 10 a sailing match
planking his $4,000 like man, aud beg
ging somebody TO win it.
jonathan felt little nervous a, this. j
there was anything that Bull prided him
self on, it was the superior smiling qualities
Of his yachts. Oher folks might produce
better painters and sculptors, but hotter
ship builders never Il, viii be prickng
the old man between the joints of his ar
I'm half afraid We can't come it. lis a
wild scheme. mad scheme, and it's pity
to throw away a cool fifty thousand dollars
However, the boy is in far ii, and he must
face il out like man. He mustn't show
The white feather now. could give him
thrashing for not letting me into his se-
cret, but seeing as we are here together,
I'll do the handsome thing, clap him on the
back, and help him out in funds if he has
Dragged too deep
1t was great day in Cowes. John Bull
and all his tamly were present In then
best Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and
the children, lords md ladies', dukes and
marquises, admirals and captains, authors
and editors, everybody, in short, who was
anybody-were out to witness the defeat
of tho audacious Yankee, and 10 rejoice in
another trump of British skill.
Ia spite of a certain swagger Of uncon.
cern, aud an atiectalinn of confidence which
Jonathan chose 10 assume, YOU could see,
from an occasional rapid cutting ofthe eye.
that he was wide awake 10 wha, was going
on, and felt some little trepidation rs TO the
result. But when that result was announ.
ced-when il was proclaimed that tho 4
merica had beaten all the crsck yachts and
schooners in the Kingdom --Jonaihan was
I'll meekness, suavity and sei-control. Ne
enc would have imagined that ANYTHING
surprising had occurred You would have
swern that he had known it all beforehand
And yet the old fellow was all the while
chuckling and Growing inside Of him like
m possessed. To see the way in which
he took old Bull by The hand, after the trial,
woud have done Your hear, good No,
bit Of exulta,ion did be feel on the occasion