New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-11-29

NUMBER 2so.

51.,' 4s1@. s''' .5.. s.t NUMBER 230.
basking in the genial sun with such profound
indolence that had you not known him to be a
Sciote, you would have taken him for genuine
lazzarcne Of the Qnai Sants Lucid Denetri
WAS some thirty years cid, tall, magrifcently
IpToportIoned, with q bronzed countenance, wayy
niack hair and sparkling black eyes. His attire
was exceedingly simple, being ordinarily limited
to shirt, red-and- white striped troUsars.
secured round the waist by silken sash, and
. small Greek farbouch ON his head, ornamented
with p tarnished gold tassel Shoes and stock
ings he despised as efeminate 1uxuries. He
was perfectly contented with his modest fare Of
grapes, melons, brown bread, garlic and sour
wine. House rent cost him nothing, az one Of
the Greek merchants, settled at Marseilles,
allowed him to sleep in his warehouse, like 4
species Of watch-dog When the weather was
fne he swan and dived, and dried himself in the
sun; when it was foul he coiled himself up into
g ball and went to sleep. tffA#
In the year eighteen hundred and twenty
four, it occurred, TO the Turkish Government
considerably to strengthen their navy. There
was an arsenal and dock yard at Constantine.
Epie then, as there is now; but the Ottomans did
not know much about ship building, and in the
absenceof any material guarantee for the safety
of their heads, European artists were rather
Ichary Of entering in the service Of the Padishah
Iso, as the shipwrights wouldn't 60 to Sultan
mahmoud, Sultan Mahmoud condescended to 60
to the shipwrights; that is to say, he sent an
Efendi, attached to the Department of Marine,
Ito ,Marsei1les, with full powers to have con.
lstructed four frigates by the ship-builders of
lIthAt port. As the French Government had not
lEbegun to interest itself one way or another in
the Eastern question, and the ship builders of
lMarseilles did not care one copper centime
whether the Turks beat the Greeks, or the
Greeks the Turks, and more than all this, as
the Efendi from StambouI had carte blanche in
the money department, and paid for each frigate
IN advance, they set about building the four
frigates with hearty good will, and by the
spring of eighteen hundred and twenty ave two
4 of them we're ready for launching
/ 1t was observed by the French workmen that
Demetrius the Diver appeared to take very great
interest in the process of ship-building. Day
after day he would come into the slip where the
frigates were being constructed, and sitting
upon pile Of planks, would remain there for
hours. Other Greeks would come occasionally,
and launch forth into fierce invectise against
the Turks, and against the French, too, for
lending their hands for the construction Of ships
which we're to be employed against Christians
1 In these TRADES Demetrius the Diver seldom, il
ever, joined. He was man Of few Words and
he sat upon the planks and looked at the work
men, their tools and their work. Nobody took
much notice of him, except to othrow him few
sous occasionally, or to say what . lazy, skulk-
/ ing fellow he was. 5 49,
| at length the day arrived which was fixed
for the launch Of the first frigate, the Snlfani
Bahri. Half Marseilles was present The sub
prefect was there, not officially, but oficiously,
Whatever that subtle distinction may be)
Crowds Of beautiful ladies, as beautifully
dressed, we're in the tribunes round the sides Of
| the slip; the Suitani Bahri was dressed out
with fags and aboard her was the great Efendi
himself, with his secretary, his interpreter, his
pipe bearer, and the armateur, or ship builder
| The sight of . ship-launch is to the full as
exciting as any race. The heart beats time to
the clicking Of the hammers that are knocking
| the last impediments away, and when the mighty
mass begins to move, the spectator is in o tremor
Of doubt, and hope, and fear. When the ship
rights herself, and indeed walks the water like
. thing of life, the excitement is tremendous !;
be mast shout, he must congratulate himself,
bis next neighbor, every body, upon the success
full completion Of the work. a sy4s4 sf s.z
Now, every thing had been looked to, thought
Of, prepared for, the triumphsl launch of the
Snltani Bdhri. The only obstacles between
her and the waters were certain pieces Of wood,
technically called Il know mot what their
French name may be} dogshores, and these
wore uSlHB kuoGhtu away py INC mhSlSI snip
wright This operation, may remark, was
formerly considered so dangerous that in the
royal dock-yards it was undertaken by convicts,
| who obtained their liberty if they accomplished
the task without accident. Just as the first
stroke Of the hammer became audible, Deme-
trius the Diver, who had hitherto been concealed
among the crowd, plunged into the!water, and
swan right across the track that the frigate
would take on its release from the slip. A cry
Il HrsT hur thn owd ha
directly toward the ships stem, for the vessel
had begun to move, and every ono expected the
rash diver to be crushed or drowned. But, when
he was within q few feet of the frigate, Deme-
trius the Diver threw up his arms, held them
aloft for q moment, in menacing manner, then
quietly subsided on his back, and foated away
with the tide. The SuItani Bahri slid down
her ways to considerable extent; she was even
partially in the water, but she walked it by nc
means like a thing Of life, for her stern began to
| settle down, and, if the truth must be told, the
new frigate Of His Imperial Highness the sultan
stuck in the mad. l5@4 So
They tried to screw her off, to weigh her off,
to float her off, but in vain. When q ship sticks
in launching, there is frequently no resource
but to pull her to pieces where she sticks, and
this seemed to be the most probable fate in store
for the Sultans Bahri. The Efendi was in a
i fury. The ship builder was disconsolate ; but
/ the Frenchman only ascribed the misadventurs
to the clumsiness of his shipwright, whereas the
j Moslem, superstitious like the majority Of his co
II religionists, vowed that the failure was solely
owing to the evil eye Of the Giaour diver, Denie
trius Osmeros Had the Efendi been in hi
J own land, very short and summary process
, would have preserved ali future ship -launche
from the troublesome presence Of Demetri 0s
meros and his evil eye; but at Marseilles, in tn
department of the Bouches du Rhone, the decap
} itation, bowstringing. or drowning, of even
ray ah was not to be thought of, So the Efend
was obliged to be satisfied with giving the strict
3 est orders for Demetris exclusion from the ship
. builders yard in future; and, after delay
some months. the second frigate (the first rot
7 ting in the mud) was ready for launching.
Q Anxiety was depicted on the Efepdfs face o
r he broke bottle Of sherbet over the bows Of th
!, frigate, and named her the .9chme1ie. Imme
q tdiately afterward q cry burst from the crow
r Iof g DemetriL Demetri the Diver T. and, rusl
: ing along the platform which ran round Ii
e vessel, the Effendi could descry the sccurse
!. diver holding up his hands as before, an
!, doubtless blighting the onward progress of th
+ .fchsndie with his evil eye.
r Evil or not, a precisely similar disaster over
d took the second frigate, and the launch was
n lamentable failure. The ship-builder was
G despair. The Ehendi went home to his hot
: cursing, and was about administering the ba
i, tinado to the whole household as relief to b
5, feelings, when his interpreter, shrewd Gree
|, one Yanni, yentured to pour the balm Of advi
y into the ear of indignation
8, sc Effendi % he said. etthis rayah that dives