The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-11-08

Of ndvdus getting shoas the vociferous toutus Of
the bossmen uns mpoyed that ths aerrimso was trump
an cid ssn whore sppssrsnce Med md n0I w group
mepded himself 70 my goos graces cy asking less
sum for putting me on on BOARD taan
bis neghbors That ho the sharpest practitioner Of
the not doubt and that the moderation Of passage
money for the outward cruise built upon hopes and
expectaops OF realizing the difference very handsomely
betwte his apparent and tue higher figure
Of his brethren by driving fresh bargain with me tor
sao. s's ara 4 his mercy he was, however, wary
dipomsnst and did not venture all 1t once 70 oroech
that important topic.
Ny Cnaron was laxative aud intelligent An old
man o. war's-msn, be had been everywhere, and
therefore 70 tho States. He enthusiastic
Yankee admirer, and would have remained amongst
them, he told me, 70 the end OF his days. had not
the attraction OF certain loadstone brought him
back. He went 10 tell how this loadst0ne
became Mrs. Chsron In due course Of time; how he
set her up In chambers shop whilst ne went TO
the West Indies how, coming back from the West In
with her friends 1.-THE shop ddnt do sir, tell ee and
that's all about Y Su. she hal paid every tardn' OWN,
certain conversational nterregnum ensued. Tho
pathetic recital to Of his merta loadstones charms
lent against thronging pressure Of which
men are wont TO fory themselves by alcohol opium and
ou
Of tue box came the delightful weed and lastly out Of the
weed came cam peace and tra au,I,u
unproptious though involving considerable amount Of
cross-s.icg Luhng about on the iaroosrd tack, our
"Fne craf that, sir, !" he remsrked-"very."
say, my nautical knowledge Is Of the sler dsrest.
| True, at an earlier period Of my lHe had spent
bns she was mere qua, dship tensnted BY my host,
q certain admi.a, hts wife, their babies, and pro-
p pS%Gs q
reader TO imagine how strangely she must have been
changed from the grim croes between Neptune, Beona
tko lie in I'm To- mad
"very good sort Of Ysnsees, sir in that frgste;
for there's good and bad on EN- - there Of other peo
whereupon expressed my qualification.
The old Yankee game. sir built ships o. the line and
call 'em frgates why that craft is bigger than
Of our hundred gun gaes, but she's only forty guns
aon apSw SIR what 70 MAKE :, n 81 inc guns sure ns
lows is fat and the Yankees guns are round There"
continued he - he neared the vessel "look q 'em
few moro remarks on the Merrimac, her armament,
and her intentions, made the time speed fast Amongst
could blow the Duke Of Wellington out Of the water,
though the report met with his entire concurrence, that
certain boats had various occasions put of from the
Yankee frgate. owed steAthily TO Portsmouth, and
taken soundngs Of the harpor He wound up by remind
ana h. H. few
ciay addressed to that subject might not DO time thrown
M ps prssead wy TO Inc
alarms, and was at once admitted.
The chief object Of my visit was TO examine her arma
of Dahgren guns and to be aowed sketch
Of them. Permission was most readily granted; indeed
information freely given all the topics that had
did not explore knowing that would not port with
the regulations Of the naval service Of country TO set
the curiosity OF visitor at rest in respect OF them.
Dahlsren's principle really bears out very
strkney the comparison 70 pair OF be How only, as the
fiat IT, in point Of fact pair Of bellows be supposed 70
rotate axis coinciden with liz nozzle the solid OF ro
siion would be an exaggerated form Of oanlsren gan-
parded and It's mouth and iadeed all anterior TO the
Iunnions, much contracted.
Thus the general contour Of Dahlgren gun differs
much nom that OF any other gum though the principle
adopted only extension and amphacaon Of that
commended and partially carried into execution by Paix
| han, and subsequently In our own service by Monk
Every person who rejects the nature Of the
resulting from he discharge Of gunpowder must be rats
aed that ali ordinary cannon, the dsproportion be-
tween the Of gunpowder the breech and
The blast Of sunpowder rsody dmnrnes the thick aes.
OF the metal entering into the construction of an ord
vmsou nny cnrresncnairg s,rsuS,h - The place where
Strength s object 30 be desderaied Formerly, when
solid shot were alone protected from cannon, and when
| ordnance heavier than thirty Founders
cep'ion 10 the rule, was Of little moment that the
metal OF cannon distributed according 10 ths iadi
dicaons OF theory Dot when the shell system Of Paix
ban into vogue, had to be ade OF larger
diameter than heretofore and this increased diameter
VOWED increase OF strength and Proportonate addition
| OF metal.
The gunner Of the Merrmac is pupil Of Danlgren and
engaged In many OF the experiments which
in the bahlgren ordinance He told mo THAI dispro
portonstey thin the chase and the ord
effective thick
a deduced by theory from expermental data had been
considerably exceeded The Merrimac Is armed excu-
svey with shell gucs She has no. one solid shot on
bosrd On her main deck are ~ guns Of inch BORE
Der spar deck IA inch broadsde guns and two 10 inch
pivot suns in ADDITION 10 which few brass howitzcrs
incsDdary system with vengeance and ours and ali
! other naval Powers should feel much obliged 10 the
Americans for trying out the question CT adopting
jec,iDe The Paixhan armament. completely In answer
TO question, the gunner OF the Merrimac informed
/ n eRn adiancv ofn
subectpe the 70 thai tsst indicated By
The circumstance tbst.no soud sho. on board.
/ The Dalhgren guns 10 usual Ia ordnance OF their
weight and cslbre, chambered Tho form Of cham
Der truncaed conc; not the tome chamber, former
OF course, sotbat may nt the chamber) surface
Of brstes; 10, IN point Of hct, brush; thus anos
for cleaning the Ia al chambsred long ordnance
there some little difficulty experienced In making up
only one Kind Of charge for each quo; thai being :
| medium charge. The uounings and carriages Of
psslsrsn's guns a. arc peculiar: They arc es,:.e s
carrsges deprived Of Tho amor trucks. the
eueDcs Of this removal Of tao after trucks s increased
gun considerably deadened though the recoiI
sufficient for the purpose Of subsequent loading IL
attended with the seeming disadvantage Of impeding tho
running out Of the gun Real disadvantage however,
there none, sort Of handspike, with truck attached
unosr Control ! need hardly indicate tina, the Ell
CLERGY or snell practice mainly depends on the
perfection Of The fuse, and the manufacture Of fuses
rent nations have each us o~n variety OF shell fuse
and the pattern adopted by the United States Is
spoken very confidently OF From what could learn IL
not . time fuse, intended the gniton OF the
sbe according TO the length Of position In tho fuse,
but designed with object OF exploding the shell
| when the latter srkcs II marx.
The Americans have not gone In for the shell system
without duly rejecting upon the presumed
which, among several advantages. appertain 70 H. q
shell burst In casemated battery inside Of al cmbra
surc viii dsmount guns and Kill those who work them
but against strong stone walls shells but nc
The havoc which shell will play n enters a ship add
bursts tween decks may essly be forcsecn however,
II should happen 70 burst before reaching the chip, IL
sbe goes for nothing subsequent leaving the shin
u viii nave counted Tor than q round she
Then again. ordnance cannot be double charged advAn
iseeously with shells. Not only would the upon
tho gun be greater than could safely bear but the
pressure OF the shells together voud grind both 70
powder. Not the least amongst the ~hich have
influenced the English IN their adoption Of shell guns
for bruadsde armsmen the decreased OF hitting
an object proportonMe TO the necessarily decreased