Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-05-30
HISTORICAL NOTES.
Origin Of tho American Navv-A Gu,
IOsss Discovery by SIR Walter Scott.

/
Origin Of tho American Navy-A Cur
LOUIS Discovery by Sir Waltcr scott.
The May number Of the American
Historical Record, edited by Benson J.
Losing, has been received by Mr..
Brentano, No. 80 Union square. 1t con-
t'.ins an unusually interesting variety
of historical notes--among them the
story OF the origin of the American
Navy: DIR: Albert G. Mackey writes to
the editor from Washington as follows
A few years ago, while looking over
volume OF manuscript letters in the
Charleston Is. CO. Library, I found
leaf of coarse foolscap, with tho fol-
lowing endorsement:
"oR1aIN OF THE NAVY
AT u caucus in 1884, consisting of
Seward, Morris, and Ellsworth, of the
Senate, Ames, Sedgwick, Smith, Day.
ton, &c: of the Representatives, and of
Secretaries Hamilton and Knox, to
form plan for national navy. Smith
began the figuring M secretary of the
meeting. Hamilton then took the pen,
and instead of minuting the proceed
ings, he made all the fourishes here
described, during the discussion. In
consequence of the plan adopted ut |
this meeting, bill was reported for !
building six frigates, which formed the |
foundation or origin Of the American
Navy"
The Figuring" on the top of the
page consists of five lines, and is as
follows.
First cost OF a frigate, A guns, of
,So6 tons, aud provisions for six
,.n o.no' ''''................. ...$I5O,UOO
Trov;s;ona e.. ~. ::,:;,. 5i'00
Annual cost Of such vessel. ...... 100000
The rest of the page below these es-
Inmates is occupied by bold fourishes,
which seems, II they meant anything,
to initiate u drawing of peacock's
tail Gin it's PRIDE" to use the Herald's
phrase. Similar scratching but to
less extent, is ON the other side of the
page.
During the bOmbardment of Charles
ton, and directly after the capture of
the city by the Union troops, the Ii.
brary was subjected to some devasta-
ton. As the only member of the Book
Committee then in the city, I obtained
very readily protection for the build
ing aud its contenst from Gen. Hatch.
the commander of the post, but I know
not whether this valuable volume of
manuscripts escaped the cupidity of
the gatherers of scraps for the paper
manufacturers, many of whom were
then in the city, and whose first depre.
dations J was not in time to prevent.
DR.. Lieber contributes this reminis-
cence of Scott:
CURIOUS DISCOVERY.
In reading the paper on "Flora Nc
Donald" in the third number of the
Record, I thought of what VIM. G.
Preston, the eloquent and genial Sena-
tor of South Carolina once told me,
ION the veranda" in Columbia, the
capital cf his State, in the month of
April, the yellow jessamine pertaining
all around us. After the downfall Of
Napoleon I, in 1916, (and I am writing
this year after the breaking down Of
Napoleon Ill.,, number of young
Americans went to Europe to visit the
continent, long debarred by the insa-
liable Emperor of the French. Among
these were Washington Irving, GEORGE
Ticknor, Edward Everett, Hugh Lee
gare, at later period Attorney General
of the United States, and William G.
Preston; General Scott also went. All
of them, or surely most of these Amer
leans, the ardent youths now famous
dead, took an opportunity to pay visit
to Sir Walter Scott in 1915. Preston
was among them, and, on the mention
ed and perfumed evening, he told me
that Walter Scott gave him the follow
ing account:
Not long after it had been divuleed
who was the author of the "Waverly
Novels" Scott was the Regents latter.
ward George the Fourth) guest in the
royal palace, where, one day, tho latter
ordered the key of certain room to be
given to the great writer, saying that it
opened the door of the Stuart Cham
Der I think this was thu name given to
it), where all the papers concerning the
Stnarts and their pretenders were kept
George gave Scott full permission to
rummage among all these records, and
to use what he liked for his works.
II depend on your discretion" he
said, and Scott went. He spent sew
eral days in this curious chamber, and,
SO he told Preston one day stumbled
upon what seemed to him
a remarkable paper. 1t consisted
of call and petition, by Scottish in
America, chiefly, however, by the Gaelic
Scottish, who had settlement" sad
die. bagging" as have heard the word
in tue west-in North Carolina, ad-
dressed to the Pretender Prince Charles
Edward, grandson of James the Sec
Ond), as he was then called, to come to
America and assume the crown of this
realm.
The question whether this country
had not best be turned into monarchy
was seriously and very naturally
mooted, in the earliest days of our
national existence, but I believe it was
never known that such q positive offer,
a very queer one, to say the least,
existed.