New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-01-27
THE PEABODY FUNERAL.
FORMAL, RECEPTION OF THE FLEET.

popr1 ,ND Ian 26-Portland awOke this morning
still for the most part, unconscious OF last hsu'
arrival and il was not until o'clock that some Vi
the prearranged signals were sounded 10 give nolioo
70 the citizens. In little squads and drlDletS INC
oone then began to trudge through the half frozen
slush toward the wharves to snap up the lew ooaV'
tent on hire and to crowd the decks OF the TWO OF
.nlrnosrooIl tues which were constantly plying about
the haTbOr. ,,,.,,- ~.
Tbronph the kindness Of Capt. B. T. Willard the
iIot Of the Monarch was enabled TO board the Meet
before the town was astr, and TO come IN WIN tno
Monarch to her anchorage. half mile from shore.
We nut Off Just after daylight, in tug which carried
Cont Nacomb to the Plymouth. two officers belong
ing 70 the Terror and one other passenger the cor
respondent Of Boston newspaper
The scene at sunrise was indescrbaDly Deau'hui'
The rigging of the gunboats and the various VesseS
in the harbor was covered with ice, gltterng Ike
gold in the rosy light from the east Clouds enough
remained after last nights storm to tingc the horl
gon with a rich glow, against which. as we rouhued
the light at the end of the breakwaer and entered
the onter barbor the immense hull of the Monarch
o,d tbe long trim graceful form of the Plymouth,
stood ont in bold relief about two miles away. Inc
,b,ps were anchored only few cables lengths apart,
little beyond Forts SCannell and Preble the Mon
arch being the to the city, but neither OF the
visible from the Portland wharves. As the vessels
came in sight the clang of the signal bells on shore
and the song of the sailors and the hOarse orders of
the officers on shipLoard broke the stiffness OF the
morning.
Clamberng up the slippery sides of the Monarch,
we were cOurteously received, and Immediately H.
yited to inspect the ship. The descriptions OF her
which have been so extensively published do rather
less than justice to her magnificent shape and pro-
portions and the elegance and completeness OF her
internal arrangements. Her general plan is well I'M
derstood Being full ship-Tigged, with towering
masts and heavy spaTs she differs little in outline
from an ordinary ship-Of- the-ne, except that her
sides are only about seventeen feet ont of water in
sludng an iron buwark three feet high which plays
upon hinges and can be thrown down against the
side along the whole length of the vessel This Is
intended only TO ward of the spray, and in heavy
sea to prevent anything from washing overheard.
III action would always be thrown down. to uncover
the tuet The stern is gracefully rounded, and the
sharp bows slope somewhat outward, so that they
might be used in emergencies as kind Of ram. In
thickness Of plating power Of the engines as well as
in the weight of her guns, she is equaled by some OF
our own vessels; but in sea-going qualities she is
possibly not surpassed by anything ahoat and her
wonderful steadiness would, of course give her an
immense advantage in an engagement on the open
water How far the extent of surface which she pre-
sents to the aim of enemy, as compared with our
little monitors, which offer hardly anything to be
hit would counteTbalance their advantages, expert
ence only can decide. Her distinguishing character
is the combination Of the turret system with the or
binary structure of the liner. She has two tuTets
situated close together amidships and each
carrying two heavy rife guns, of the improved
Woolwich pattern, and of p tuns weight They
discharge an elongated solid projectile of COO
pounds. or shell of proportiOnate weight
the bore being l2 inches The turTets instead of re-
volying like ours upon a central pivot, move upon
turn-table with a heavy cOg-wheel, and rollers
worked by stcam-engines beneath the deck The
diameter Of the tuues is 26ifeet and the thickness
Of the iron teulnches on,the fGhtngsde, and eight
Inches on the other. The tuTets are much lower
than ouIs rising, believe, not more than five feet
above the deck Monitors of the Miantonomah class
can use their tuUet guns in every direction, but the
Monarch cannot fire with them fore and aft, al
though IN action her upper deck can be almost en-
tirey cleared of rigging. She has, however, 81
inch stern chaser of the Woowich pattern, and two
other guns of the same caliber at the bows.
The features which most impress an unprofessional
observer are probably the elaborate provisions
for the comfort of the officers and men, the size and
elegance OF the cabins the large and weaired fore
castle and the wonderful abundance of labOT-saving
appliances which would do credit to whole century
of Yankee inventors Steam capstans, steam brakes.
steam yeutat0rs steam pumps for the hold steam
pumps for washing the decks gas works water-con-
deusers, balance rudder which sways the
great mass of wood and iron like
yacht and a steam acknowledgements by the
help of which a single man between decks can man
age the helm with perfect ease. These are among
the improvements which have been combined in
this marvel of navallarchitecture The hull of the
Monarch is painted black. The normal color Of the
t1rrcts and the iron bridge which runs over their
tops almost the whole length of the ship is white,
and that of the pars cream color but for this voyage
the Monarch and Plymouth have been put into
mourning, and everything above the decks Is painted
dull funeral gray, stripe Of the same hue running
around the hull.
The mortuary chamber. in which the coffin is de-
posted is the after-cabin on the second deck. The
walls and roof are entirely concealed by drapery,
whose dead blackuess is relieved by an occasional
stripe Of white. a white fringe. and wreaths and
monograms upon the sides. The coffin, thckly stud
ded with silver bosses, rests on a low platform with
four silver caudesticks and huge wax candles on
each side, and two American flags dIaped behind the
head. When entered an officer stood at the end OF
the room, overlooking half dozen Of the crew, who
were polishing the silver and carpeting the floor
with black. The tail wax lights were not burning,
but few candles in silver sconces on the walls just
saved the room from being pitch dark. marine
stood guard at the door and just outside pointing
toward the cabin, is Of the G-inch guns already
mentioned. In action the partition which divides
this cabin from the wardrobe can be taken away,
and the gun run out 10 pOrt-hole in the stern.
Half past eight was the hour appointed by Admiral
fafTagnt for the feet TO get under weigh sform line.
snd escort the Monarch, with due ceremony into the
harhor Pug, .uaiiy AZ me Moment the Hide double
furr.ted ,pouitnrs lacking iudescTbJbly al.urd Ia