Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-06-29
ness at such desecraliOn Of her holy name
such a sad perverson Of her principles =
Arthur'S Home Gazette
Management of a Cunard Steamer.

The conducting of this magnificent vessel
from port to port across the ocean, exhibits
remarkable triumph Of human skill. "A body
of officers, dressed in a uniform like that of
the royal navy, is charged with the manage
ment Of the ship. The chief command in the
America for the time being, was in the hands
of Capt. Shannon, a Scotchman Of experienced
seamanship, and most agreeable and oblging
in his intercourse with the passengers. IN
der him are three officers The laborous
duties of the ship are performed by a boat
swain and an efficient corps Of mariners
there is likewise head engineer with his as
sistants having the special charge Of the ma
chinery In the ordinary working Of the
ship, it seems to be a rule that two officers
shall always be on the alert-one stationed
on the gang way at the side Of the paddle-box-
es, 10 look sharply ahead the other stationed
at the binnacle, to communicate orders to the
man at the wheel. When an order is issued
by the captain or first officer on duty, it is re-
peated aloud by the second officer; and you
thus hear it rapidly echoed from point to point
till acted upon by the helmsman. Orders to
the engineer to slacken speed, to stop, or go
on, are communicated by pulling the wire of
bell at the paddle-box; by which simple
contrivance the movements of the ship are un-
der the most perfect control. The watches,
as must be known to many, are four hours
each, and are regulated by striking bell
placed near the wheel, the sounds being an
swered by bell at the forecastle. The bell
is struck every half hour. Half past l2
o'clock is indicated by one blow one O'Clock
by two blows, and so on to o'clock, which
is marked by s blows. At half past four
they begin again, and in this way the "a
hours Of the day are divided.
Although ably assisted by the officers, the
commander of vessel of this class holds
situation requiring sleepless vigilance. l OBJ
served that his light at night was kept con
stantly burning, to illuminate the charts,
compasses and barometers, with which the
apartment Is furnished; and at various times
/ OhiiO W OpOlS tHO pIOSlCSc vi
ship, and the state Of the winds 1t is also
noticeable, that any order despatched by the
captain to the officer on duty, is given in
writing, SO as to avoid the mistakes incident
al 20 verbal messages. L.atterly, telI-tale
compass has been invented, for the purpose of
checking irregularities in sailing. BY means
Of an ingenious kind Of mechanism attached to
compass, its dial-Plat is punctured in The
line Of direction of the ship.-Should the yes
sci be kept nnsteadily on its assigned course,
the devialiuns will be marked on the dial like
cloud of zigzag punctures but should the yes
sci be kept steadily TO it's proper path, the
punciures accordingly, will be in straight
line. French dials Of paper are supplied daily.
With one Of these tell-tale compasses, the cap
tain, on awakening in his berth, can discover
whether his orders have been carefully attend
ed TO or otherwise. - Chambers Journal.