The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1854-03-24

ISontenPtuous uieHke among genuine Ol
jackets as q seailawyer. Captain Hort
twas of a different stamp, and carried, or e
r. deavored to carry, the strong religious fe,
\. ings-Athe enthusiastic spirtuslism by viii,
- his mind was swayedT-into the every.d,
business Of sea life. Profane swearing w
y sirictly forbidden, which was we'll enough
7, the order could have been enforced; profar
singing came within the same category; pla
N ing at cards or ,dominoes, even though q
S stake were trifing or nominal, was all
q vigorously interdicted; and scripture rssdin
o on the Sabbath strongly inculcated both B
precept and example. Other proceedings
the same kind, excellent in themselves, bu
In my opinion, quite out Of place on board
war-ship, were, as far as might be, enforced
and the natural consequence followed, that
lot Of the vilest vagabonds in the ship affect
ed to be religiously impressed in order, t
curry favor with the captain, and avoid TIL
penalties incurred by their skuking neglec
Of duty. This state of things wac We've,
with intense disgust by Lieutenant King, &
as far as the discipline Of the service permit
ted, he very freely expressed his opinion
thereon. The first luff, in fact, was rollick-
ing, fun-loving, danger-courting, dashing Of
6cer, whom even marriage--he had wife &
family at Dswlish, in Devonshire, Of which
pleasant village he was, believe, native
had failed to, in the slightest degree, tame OF
subdue. One, too, that could put bottle Of
wine comfortably out of sight; two, upon Mn
emergency; and if duty did not stand in the
way. liked a game OF billiards, and ball next
perhaps to a battle. This gehtleman had
got it into his head that Captain Horton was
better suited to preaching than fighting, and
often predicted among his own set, that the
first serious brush we happened to be engsg-
ed in, would bring out the Captains white
feather in unmistskable prominence. Nothing
can be more absurd, as experience has
abundantly shown, than to id fsr that because
u man is pious he is likely TO be . poltroon; !;
but such psrsons as Lieutensn'! Ring are not
to be reasoned with; and, unfortunately, il
was not long before lamentable occurrence
gave color to the accusation.
There was French corvette, Le Renard,
in the harbor at the same time, as ourselves,
commanded by lie Captsne D'Ermonville, a
very gentemanly person, and his officers
Esherally were Of the same standard Of
character and conduct. This was fortunate; |;
several quarrels having taken place between
portion OF the crews Of the two vessels
when ashore on leave, arising ear, from the
inherent contempt with which the true Eng
lish sea-dog ever regards foreign ssilors--the
American and Scandinavian races, Of course,
excepted. This feeling, grounded, in my
opinion, upon real superiority, Is very fre.
quently carried to ridiculous excess. es-
pecially when the gfog's on board, and the
Rule Britannia notion, always floating in
Jacks noddle, has been heightened and in
famed by copious libations to the sea.rulng
goddess, under whose auspices, as he was at
all times ready to sing or swesr--even just
after receiving round dozen at the caprice
of his commanding oficer-that Britons
never shall be slaves. 1t was SO in these in
stances; and but for the good sense Of the
French officers in overlooking or accepting
our apologies for such unruly behavior, the
consequences might have been exceedingly
unpleasant, particularly as both the Curletb
and lie Renard we're undergoing repairs, and
could not leave the harbor for some time,
however desirous Of doing so. Even as it
was, a GOODNESS gradually arose bet%e zen the
officers, who could not help feeling in some
degree as partisans of their respective crews,
although Captain Horton, ] must say, did
warmly and untiringy admonish the English
sailors Of the duty of loving all mankind
Frenchmen included Of the sin and folly Of
drinking to excess, even when on leave; and
the wicEedness Of false pride and vainglory
at all times. ...
At length, however, the repairs Of both
vessels spproached completion, and it was
suggested, I believe by Captain Horton, that
farewell dihner, to which the officers of the
two nations should be invited, might be the
means of dispelling any feeling Of acerbity
which these affrays apparently excited in the
breasts Of Captain D'Ermohvlle and his coin
panions.
The theh governor Of Sierra Leone; very
warii. hearted gentleman, instantly acceded
to the proposition; the invitations were for
warded, tourtsously accepted, and every body
ticipated convivial and pleasant meeting.
And 50 it proved till about eight O'clock in
the evening; after the wine had been a long
time on the table, had been very freely dis
| cussed--the weather being sultry, the guests
hilariously disposed, and the olives excellent.
| The Lilies Of France (this was in the reign
OF Charles X.), the Rose Of England, the
GaIic Cock, the British Lion, had all been
duly honored and hccoughed till about the
hour | have named, when, under the influence
of the vinous fumes they had imbibed, the
varnish began to peel off tie tongues and as-
poets Q! the complimenters, and the con-
versation to take an unpleasant and bolst.
erous turn. Captains Horton and D'Erm.
jnville, who had drank very sparingly. were
evidently anxious to break up the momently
more and more disorderly party; but their
suggestions were of no avail, and the exer-
tion of authority at such a time would, no
doubt, they considered. appear harsh and un-
courteous. Two Of the guests, especially
seemed to be bent upon, thwarting Their ef-
forts, these were Lieutenant King and Bn.
seigne de, Corvette, Le Page. They sat op-
posits each other, and had got among the
| hrankers of notifies, and those, too. of the