Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-16

Fr.nklIn ana ms 1ueAs Oh Tue SupJece
-Au Old Sch me.
Froy, the chicago Dnily Ne'Os.
WASHINGTON, Nov. II. -"The use Of
nil by ship captains at sea to subdue the
waves IS becoming very general" said
commander Bartlett, of the navy, who has
charge of the photographic Office, land
overv day we are receiving numbers of
Iatters giving the experiences of shippers
j., ,ts use. At this season OF the year
when storms are frequent the number OF
renorts is much larger than during the
summer months. l got letter this morn
,pp from tue Captain of the steamer Lucy
Miller, which Plies between New Orleans
and Honduras, in which he reports that
he was caught in hurricane on the Gulf
ot Mexico few days ago, and but for the
rse Of oil ibe vessel and all on board
would have been lost. He SAID that he
mt fish oil in gunny sacks and threw
tbem overheard. After his fish oil was
exbausted he used lard oil, which, how
ever. was not so effective"
"Is this use Of oil new thing"
nRless YOU, no." answered the Captain;
sit is as old as history. Most people sup
nose that the phrase pouring oil upon the
troubled waters appears in the Bible, but
that isa mistake. 1t IS one OF the wise
things that was LETT out OF the good book.
Aristotle, Plutarch, Pliny. and other old
writer's sneak of it, and believe that the
nhrase was first used in Bede's Ecclesias-
tical History. which was written in
Latin more Than a thousand years ago
and translated into English in 1865.
The venerable Bede relates about
certain Bishop named Aidan,
who was accustomed to work miracles
and was one Of the famous men of bis
time. A priest called Utta was sent to
Kent to fetch Eanhede, the daughter of
King kdwine, who was to marry King
Oswin. He was directed to go by land
but to return with the bride by water.
Before bis departure Utta visited the
Bishop Aidan and besought his prayers
for safe and prosperous jour
new, The Bishop blessed him.
and prophesied that during his re.
turn VOYAGE be would meet with great
tempest Giving him pot of oil be told
the priest that when the tempest rose he
must cast its contents into he sea, when
the waves would be subdued.
sit turned out as the good Bishop nre-
dicted. In the tempest the priest Utta
thought Of the pot of oil, and, taking it to
the side of the ship, cast it into the sea,
when, as il by magic, the waves became
quiet and calm, and the ship with its pre-
cious burden reached the port safely.
This was considered at the time a great
miracle, and is related by Bede, in b 8
Ecclesiastical History, as an illustration
of the Bishops miraculous power. | be-
lieve that it Is the first time that oil was
ever u led TO suDdue the waves.
ttThn parltp6t TpfpTaDpa IN hn f0uOd in
English blstOryn continued Commander
Bartlett, "appears in CavallO's PhilOso-
ply, in which the experiments of Beuia-
min Franklin and Others are reported.
There are in the STATE Department num-
Der Of autograph letters from Benjamin
Franklin. in which he explains to some of
his scientific friends the experiments he
has tried, and which furnish the first an
thentic reports we have on the subject.
Here is one OF the letters which he wrots
from London in 1913 to his friend, DIR.
Browning, IN Philadelphia:
'''I had when a youth read and smiled
at Plnv's account Of practice among
the sesmen of his time to still the waves
in storm by pouring oil into the sea,
which he mentions, as we'll as the USE
made of oil by divers. but the sitting OF
atempest by lhTOwin. vinegar into the air
had escaped me. | think. with -FOUR
friend, thai 1t has been OF late too much
the mode to slight the learning of the
anclents. The learned, too, are apt to
slight two much the knowledge OF the
vulgar. Cooling by evaporation was long
an instance OF the latter. This art of
smoothing the waves by oil is an instance
OF both. Perhaps you may not dislike
TO have an account of all 1 have heard
and learnt and done in this way. Take 1t,
II you please, as follows:
"'ln li5I, being ut sea in u feet of
ninety.s sail bound against LGuisbourg,
observed the wakes of two of the ships
70 be remarkably smooth, while all the
o.1ers were rufiled by the wind, which
pew fresh. Beng puzzled with the diff
IeTlng appearance, | at last pointed il out
70 our captain aud asked him the meaning
OIL II. "lhe cOOks," SAYS he, "hayP. |
suppose been just enjoying their grease
water through the scuppers, which has
creased the sides Of those ships a little"
ana ibis answer ne gave me with an air
VI some little contempt, as 10 person
ignorant OF what every body else knew.
10 my OwR mind ] at frat slignted his So
lutIoh. thOugl l WIS not able to think of
another; but, recOllecting what | had
formerly read in Pliny. l resolved to make
some experiment of the effect of oil on
water when l should have an opportu-
nltY.
Aiterward, being at sea in 1862, first
observed the wonderful quietness of. oil
On agitated water.
All these informations at times
evolved in my mind and wondered to find
10 mention OF them in our b0Dks OF ex.
YeI,hental philosophy. At length, being
tO'apham, where there is on the common
70 'Sase pond, which | observed one day
W Oe very rough with the wind, | fetched
Out cruet of oil and droppe1
a Htlle or II on the water. | saw
spread Itself with surprising swift
Jess upon the surface, but the effect of
aiU'ul,InH was not produced, for had
sppIeu u nr-t on the leward side OF the
,r"nu WneIe the waves were largest, and
iiDV vino drove my oil back on the shore.
,h ,ueu went TO the wlndward side whore
NY began TO form, and there the oil,
S'"su not more than Il teaspoonful, pro-
s suueu an instant calm over space
o,lal yards square. which spread
,Ti diI'ng y, and extended itself gradually
,ho o II reached the lee side, making all
so ae quarter OF the pond. perhaps half an
as smooth as "a lOOking-glass.
mo q. "a Ter tins cOntrived TO take with
ii,,N 1ehever went into the country a
ba sr'G oil IN the upper hol ow joint Of my
tb a,'.p cane, with which might repeat
oso. eAperimcnts as opportunity should
coca ana found 1t constantly to sue
sooa Our friend, SIR John Pringle. being
.5 Son Sller IN scotland, learned there that
coy3J employed in the herring fishery
l err,o', a Instance see whore the shoals OF