The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-07-08
DAILY DISPATCH.
Modern Voyages-Lieut.Hahersham m
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\ kDNkspAY MORNING, II


IN his impationce with tho "dresry calculations
about the dip Of thu needle, magnetic poles, baro
! metricsl pressure" 1c:
We know not how Il f., hut few modern bonks o
voyage appear 10 to possess that richness. raci
ness, aud variety, which wero characteristic it
IN" narratives Of the early Ray igators We cannot
admit that this decay Of interest il mainly to Do
attributed to tho increase Of our Years which are
many, or TO vitstsd taste endangered by long in.
| duiSanco IN spced literary viands Wo do not q;
course mean I" assort that We can dovour q
b0ok with the terrible ayiaitF ofa youngstcr rea
81 1t All night and awake on the morrow with nm.
diminished appetite for tho hanquot That stage
hHa '"ng gone Gy. snd We glad Of III for as our
"'"r h'fasy 'nciinfs us to the rep"russ of sSpo-
GA iAvoFtes. We could not by this time have got
beyond Jack tlic Giantkiller'' .Sanford and Mor.
TOM the "fool Of Quality tho ARABIAN Night. >,
slid the "fligrims frogreas. books which, for a
long period. wore our primo and almost exciusiva
hvVtIto. But even Dow such works ths ''yoy-
aEfs uf Cook. or tho "iistory Of the Bucca neers
have t" Us an inoIprossibla charm. Wo never
w"sTy oi the descriptions Of the Eden isle of 0ta-
heite, with its brcad-frut and it's palms-of Now
Holland with its wondrous G.1I.o, srst disclosed
! to ths kuTopean eyo-"r of the wild adventures of
the rec kless band who plnniored the Spanish gull
Icons, and overawetl the garrisons OF Panama Gur
when re turn 10 modern books Of voyage, wo find
them Tor the most part dull frigd, and overloaded
~th circ uinstantia detail They want picturesque
| ness they want po"try. and they intolerably
zCiehtihc. In thom We are constantly aggravated
by d1eary calculations about the dip Of the neetII.
magnetic Ioloe, baromstrical pressure, and other
topics VI the sort, which possibly might interest
| small minority Of the nsmLers Of Royal Society
! hut winch, On mon i'll general, haro merely the
7nsct OF forcing tho Jaws TO expand for tho utter
| snce of protracted yawn. Let tho very grsudest
volcano IN the world lie brlchin2 forth its antartc
| fires AZ An unknown elevation, the WseompI.hsd
navigator does not try to give picture Of that sub
| lime spectacle by word dpsintug, but bestows all
his energy upon description Of the strata and the
orors, until tho reader fe"lr II ho had eaten for
7 l4lf II,
~ the b"gd S~a Bea-ts, birds. dslet, noiluscs.
! trees, shrubs, fovors and lchens, not sketch
cd they appear to tue outward eve, but cAta-
; luguod in preposterous Latin. which rOnvevs rs
vivid sn lrs of their sepact, if the narrator had
taken tho pains To traiIscT be few psger VI "Aus-
/ worth. Dictionary" In short tho curse OF the
ASe--prdantrv, and en- snectstoI of superior know
| l"d3e-has lighted even on our nsviIatyrs, class
| II mSn whom We might reasonably have expected
( ~ bo free from such hanefu influence.
| fea-woro it our last word-we should protest
! against the c8r"gious hppory of Scionce, which
! tundn bo strongly towards symbVllsm, and cold
| idt~td nomenclature! Botany. and chemistry, and
geology, and uinornlogy, and zoology and 10th yOo
| ~, With twoHty, hRy, nay, an hundrad other olo-
Sios at their back, are rapidly corrupting our Ian
guaSe. baTharlSlnS US III oppression, and anniha-
ting dcscri iptive powor. Those who in reality know
nothing Of those sciences. ut best, only ossesa
| smattering Of them, think il their duty to nc
| rUnimVdato themselves to the prevalent jarXOn
! hence they write like dissectors and instead OF
! giving u- books Of vivid travel. put forth poly
! glDt mSnuuls which profit none. Evan thu
! more sensible, who daspiss tho Hfectatiun Of ap-
! pstrinS more vcrsci in science than they actually
sro toel kind OF Awo for the learned bodies who
| intslibly will pronounce judgment On their re-
Searches, and r0fraiR studiou.ly from expression
! "f foellng or onthuSiasm. which they rightly CON
slider To DO style extremely distastcfu 10 tho OO-
gistS. 80 they contins themselves to the meteoro
! logical observations j"ttinSs Of soundinSs mono
randa Of the quantity OF coal consumed by their
eugines ri cetrrn which result. in their narratives
in 4 Al 10 ~.
more interest than would ho fut in the r"coittod
voyage. ot tho captain OF steamer, plying re1I-
larly twice III tho week between tiG pOrta of Rot
/ teriam and London.
We d" not expect, and we do not wish. IL receive
/ from our explorers or navigators tine writing,
the term is Ycnorslly undorstood. Wo do not want
thein to moialIs0. or wax mgutlin, or lntelspersa
tholr narrative with pathetic and pLilanthropic
/ he"tions. Wa want them to toll Nd what they
| and what they hoard, not with pFc-kaphaelits mi
! nutcnosa, hut ovuu those things impressed
on their montprios-inr the memory of man is. for
/ all purposes Of reproduction, thousand timer
pnTiur 10 notebooks and Journals hirh invariably
contain suphtirutids OF actual interest, and tor
! riily Wcarisomo whrn repeated. We want them
I" write rshIy, irGoI and fUrcIhly, conveying to us
readers ~ closely as may lo. the sensations which
thoy otrarion,"' for which purpose and As guide
IN composition, We earnestly recommend alI future
r4rIurors H. study the works ot the hate Thomas
trlusIu. An attentive PrIusal ut thr5s Will at
once reveal the enormous difference hetwenn scicu-
| the ByinDuitom hnd mheterly dclincation OF ma
| uWo-botw""n diagram and laHdsraPo-i~twecn
| tho catalogue and tho subjects of exhibition.
1t is absurd 1" suppose that the charm II novol-
ty II gone h"cEune w are hctter acquainted,
through hOokn, than Nc were dftg years ago, with
tho "spoct II antiIodcau Regions, and tho manners
! u thoir inhabitants. Nature nosor palls We.
! Whose destiny il ia IL tarry ut homo rather than
wander over the face of the h'hitahlo glVho fuel
and a knowledge the truth of that axiom. visit,
however protra,tcd to tho beautiful lakes Of Eng
| land, or to ScotL.nds more romantic Highland
rIfE t.tf At f.tI IE4NTiy
us y lth longing tu return, still in dreams we
! .eo the placid sheet of Nindrrm"rs, or hear the
! catararts calling Ia one another they thuudOr
/ dow the gorgrS Crurchau. And what lies utterly
! beyond our ken. belongs 10 the realm of fancy
The polar seas, With their aHfu iroherSs and hoes,
diuliy descrie amidst the darkness, or lighted mp
by The shlinrIlng Of tho crimson aurUTa-the
| dense American forest closing its colossal growth
over tho ruluH Of an ancient city founded, 1t may
| he, and prupled, WHEN Brit, in thiCket and a
| -Nhihp~ths wide open Prairie, dotted over with
| cnhntlNsh hunsio, herds of tho FUN, more noble
than thoso which teuIpt"l tn" fhn.hod lthaCans to
| their ruin--tho Indian jungls wherein tho tiger
| PToNls and the serl'"nt aloeIts and swells--the
| grand peaks III the Huimalavas, which seem 20
pierce the sZure, highest pinnscies of the visible
creation ot God-tLc lsles Of the Pacific, Of
the ocean desert, with their fNthered TUFTS OF palms
'ieep laoons, and coral reefs, where the 1elicans
have their homo all those must bo and are com
| tent 10 zee through the eycs NJ others, provided
they use their own natural vision. and dispense
| with the abonination If rcicnttc rpaCtsrles,-
Think of this We explorers, nsvigators travellers
pioneers, or 10y Whatever other namc you may be
Caat-think Of this and, for the future, instead of
| CrGmpinS your intcllcfts by compiling dreary pa-
rers siclcning than statistics, for the exclu-
sive qualification of tOgNdom. tell US what ~ "
and what you did. where rOu went and how you felt
! IA Language which m"u cen appreciate, and chill
! dT-n uudcrsfand--and. whereas at present YOU are
but ranked as hcaVcra of heavy lumber, We gunran-
tee you qnadruplcd salt-s for your works sugneut.
ci reputation, and RpcCtS promotion besides the
chance of posthumous rcnown. ~
WouIl It be bcicvcl' Bsckwood turns for re-
lief from the tcdun of these modern narratives IL
the pages of an American book! To the history OF
the Expedition Of Lieut.. iInh"rShSm, which sailed
hy order of government, in 1858, from the port pi
Norfolk, for the exploration of tho North Pacific
Blockwood bcstows upon Lieut. H. his panesyrie
and hcnedcten. for his faithful relation ef things
as he s,r,C them, that his reader may enjoy them
~ 10 did. Tint Old magazine, famous fn its de-
wont Anglican prcuiceS, quotes extensively fIuai
the Ileutenants hook. hcvotng arteen pages. to il
| ''Bcing All American" SAYS Blaekwood, "we need
| hardly state that Mr.. H,RrrsntH is wide awake
lie possesses the envlahe faculty Of being slways
| on the alert, with Keen eye and rapii judgment
ana Consequently he was able TO pick up more vsl-
! usbie information 10 tho course OF single Dir Y,
thsh artolid d"Ly fellow would have acquired after
I months listess contemplation Above ail, he il
| ree irom humbuS. The jargon OF science is to
! "a" Afransatlahtic phrase, a hurkieberry above
| pAS ~, anu ne sees no degradation 81
qshg the terms ,oltc and r0cnoa in preference to
| IagstrT Haerocephahous and Pro-:yeyt Lotor" This
Is quite an honor To 1t. Hebersham and not a little
grateful TO the national feeling which is proud u
| tho achievements of our gallant naval officers %
\ /. ----T-------~------ 1 Z
4 CR0Ps,--Accounu from East Tennessee in TIA
counties bordering on Virginia represent the wheat
crop very fine. In North Carolina, the Milton
Chronicle says it is better than it has been ta a
years. In Rockingham, and the counties of south.
western Virginia, II itisrsportsdto tobe very good In
"A Marion county 1t is much injured by ths weevil;
thttih the opnoff Of the yirginian, win b. an az.