Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1874-04-03
Letter from Florida.
U. S. S. CoyeREss.

the harbor, all having suffered more or less il
the recent severe weather In a few weeks thu
Foundry will be fitted up in such a manner
that it will be ready for castings and repair
for the entire feet. BY orders from the HBu
reau of Ordnance" the land has been survey
ed for large powder magazine, and estimates
have been made for the building Of it. I'll,
infantry barracks are located at poin. which
commands a wide view over the sea, and n.
far as the accommodations of the officers anc
men are concerned, the appointments are ad
mirable The heavy armament looks out up
on the Gulf in a large, central area, running
down to the water-but in its present condi
ton would serve as poor protection in cas-,
Of war. The guns, subjected as they have
been, for long time, to ali atmospheric con.
ditions, are rough and red with rust, and
wholly unfit for service. The same may be
remarked of Fort Taylor.
The Naval Drill is over and has demonstrate
cd the fact that some Of our ships are even in
worse condition than was generally supposed;
but it has afforded an opportunity of proving
the effectiveness of Commodore Parker's life.
long dream and theory of feet evolutions,
steam tactics, sc. AS you are doubtless aware
the great deeds of great men are the golden
links in the chain which unites the past to the
present, and the links are now being forged
which will connect the present age las respects
the Navy with the future. That the measure
Of our lives is not compared by the number OF
Summer sans or Winter SHOWS which have
| fallen upon our heads, is proposition so uni
versally acknowledged that it needs not to be
proved. The years which Moses. the law-giver
OF Israel, spent on the plains of INDIAN tend
ing the fiocks of Jehro, were as many u num-
Der rs those he spent in leading a nation from
captivity through the wilderness to the prom
ised land-but how marked the difference in
results and while the former possessed little
furnish theme Of fascination and wonder so
long as the world shall stand.
Our sailors, as rule, are well disciplined
and conduct themselves in an orderly manner
when granted liberty. We will yield to no
one in our high appreciation of true Ameri-
can seaman When found, as he still may be,
in the servce--though in deplorably small
minorty--he is one to be proud OF and res
pected prompt and fearless, fertile in resour-
ces, patient, even cheerful under adversely, of
wonderful endurance, and withsa Of unninch-
ing, Incorporating fidelity to his flag. How
vastly important then, that he, whose roof is
the heavens, whose walls the winds and whose
floor the deck or fathomless sea, and who Of
tentimes is called without warning to battle
alolt with the storm, or on the deck, should
be Of this class mentioned above. And yet
how often we find total lack of this material
We feel the urgent necessity and duty Of at
tending TO the temporal and physical eleva-
ton of the sailor. His body must be cared for
him with some of the necessaries as well as the
comforts Of life, he win naturally be more in
clned TO listen to appeals for the life hereaf-
ter. We teach child to walk before we learn
il to read; we clothe it before we teach it the
Lord Prayer; we feed it before we learn it'll
to spell aud we give it a warm bed before we
endeaTor to teach it the way Of everlasting
life. The law and the general service look
upon the sailor as child. Why not, then,
treat him as we do our children?
Our Navy, the condition of which is, that
the fleet here assembled is small The iron
clads worthless, except in smooth water They
will hencetorth remain in our harbors, and I'M
tiliwe build sea going oroadside ron-clads, we
must refrain from war, even with so decrepid
a power as Spain. Most Of the wooden ships
are fatally deficient in steam-power Many of
them are built of poor materials, and are rap
idly going to decay. We need an efficient
Navy. To that end we must build new and
swift wooden ships, and sea-worthy hroadside
iron-clads. Wemust develop the torpedo svs-
tenn, from which we have reason to hope for
important results, and we must make sailors
as well as accomplished gentlemen of our Naval
Cadets But without au enlightened lberality
on the part of Congress this cannot be done.
and such liberality can hardly be expected
from men who coming from inland villages
fancy themselves better able to Judge of the
requirements of the Navy than those officers
who have grown gray in the service, and
whose patriotism and intelligence are beyond
the possibility of question. Too long have
respectable farmers and lawyers seated in Con-
gress felt themselves to be capable Judges of
the needs of the Navy, and have prescribed
how many and what sort of ships should be
added TO it,
The exercises of the Naval Drill will close
tomorrow with the grand review, &c, on
shore, a full description of which shall write
you, Ofeourse we are now in a state of e1-
Pectancy We are making some preparations
for our departure for Europe, which will take
place as soon as the Court Martial adjourns,
which is now in session on board, for the trial
of an officer high in rank. We will certainly
not regret the departure, for it is rather mo-
notonous lying here. Our academic officers
seem to enjoy the reunion, as many of them
have not met before since graduation, and to
them it awakens pleasing "reminiscences
Sweety embalmed in their memories are glad
some scenes of the past. Linked with the
present they glide before the mind, drawn
thither by the silver chord of association,
while fancy, aided by the meowing hand of
time, smilingly interweaves her golden thread
GLAUCUS.
ANOTHER Coal OH VIcTIM.-On Saturday
eight years old, named Pauline Nichols iv-
with hsar ,tc