New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-02-07

scientific career of the subject it is lnadequa'e'
All tho will in the world could not in such a
matter compensate for the lack OF KNOWLEDGE Az
would have been wise to procure the SERVICES Vi
some one competent to deal with thls' the moS'
important part Of Maury's career. As IL Is ,ne
affection and admiration OF the writer 90 w
ius,ice IA those traits in his character which are
omen TO the general comprehension, but the really
splendid scientific work is treated far 100 super
6ciallv. Enough however, has been set down
N rive a tolcrably distinct idea OF a remarRaoie
man who was Enthusiastically a born stuoehu an"
yotary of science, and whose absorption III HIS i'i0
work was characterized by that slngie-lninueu' ui
sol6sl devotion which distinguishes the hgheso
order Of scientific men, Maury was emphaucaily
self-deyeloped He owed little TO SCHOOLS anu CUT
leces Joining the Navy at nineteen MS prinonp',
scbool-room was the mldshlpmens mess ,n"O
recpliar instinct for the economy OF tme wn'nh
;s the secret of much of the best WORK the "orf'
-, ,oo nns strong in him from the beginning
rIo,.;ro IN learn Spanish and navigation, ne pro-
rod a Snanish work navigation, ana so
,,;lIed two birds with one stone. III Is To "e
noted also how he utilized every spare moineIio
throughout his career, and with what an intense
nracticalitv his mind always went TO the bottom
of every problem in search of the solution
Tborc never could have been any doubt as 10
his vocation. lie began TO publish "hiic III '"O
low official grade of passed mldshpman' anu i"'"
then EMPLOYED his time TO such good PURPOSE '
ne was able to compose techmcai WORN WIZ"
u-os at once adopted as a textbook IN the navy
Tho difference between the average man anu 'nc
8 horn so,en+ist7 was however, most clearly Demon
e+rated by Maury's Wind and Current Dlrecuoh
Cborts. which literally revolutionized Navigation
oil over the world, and put immense gains III Vno
hands of commerce. There had been pien1y Vi
able navigators before him, but no one Oh 'heln
had thought of that which occurred 10 MN qui''
naturally. Moreover, it was one OF tlose - -
which seem so simple. when stated why Wv
not occur 10 hundreds of seamen or men oil science
that nv due observation and experiment ~ ""
nossiblc so TO map out the prevailing "inuS anu
urron+s all over the globe TO systemauze n"Ni-
lion and facilitate it? TO Maury the couceP-
ton anneared perfectly natural ana ne proceeueu
,o oct upon it, with such benehcent RESULTS Ui't
bc laid all the world under obhgauonS ~ nm nm
lie was the father OF modern lneoeoioioeic"-
.aioroo and the inventor of that signal service
.rstom. which, though still in Its INFANCY oo-
viouslv possesses great potentiahAos
He Government was wise enough to avail itself
If Maurvs great abilities. ana he was pun "U
the head of a Washington office, where ne "orKeu
ont his wind and current charts anu secureu INC
aid of all sea captains everywhere i'll soVneiins
ao.o for extended and revised photographic sum-
world had secured universal recognition abroad,
and foreign Governments and scientific oodes Iii"
wed with one another in doing honor to him. an
Advisory Board of Naval officers, appointed by
Congress and vested with arbitrary powers 10
wood ont and cut down the Navy hst
took il into its irresponsible head to insult ana
degrade the greatest mind the American marine
then possessed, by putting MaLry on lne [e'ireu
list and reducing his meagre pay one-lalf fortu'
rotelv tbe country appreciated him, and the press
with one accord fell upon the stupid Advisory
Board, and demanded the prompt reinstatement
of the victim. Resistance was attempted puo
proved vain. The people werc angry, and grow
inc anrrier: and it was found necessary, not only
TO reinstate Maury, then lieutenant but 10 pro
mote him to the rank of commander. Neverthe-
less. the occurrence panied him deeply, and he
did not recover from It fully for two or three
wears Meantime The benefits flowing from his
charts were so manifold and great that ship
owners and merchants desired TO testify their feel
ings by some substantial offering Maury, how
ever, vetoed all movements of the kind lie was
Door, indeed but he never could be got to traffic
in those practical scientific discoveries which
helped his fellow-men.
A striking illustration Of his InsefshnesS or
as many would term it, his impracticalty, is
related in this volume, by his nephew, General D.
H. Maury. He says: When placed in charge
of the Observatory his pay was small and he had
no other means than his salary. lie was then
fairly launched upon his career writer on
subjects of National utility. Some papers of
his upon the advantages of route TO the East
by way of the Isthmus, attracted much attention.
/ was with him one morning when he opened
his mail lie handed TO read letter from
Northern firm, inclosing check Tor $500, in token
of appreciation of his views, which were strongly
promOtive of the interests of their business. lie
was asked to continue his advocacy of that route,
with the assurance that the enclosure mere
earnest of what they would pay for IL Please 10
look at this he said These people seem to
think money the chief object of all endcavOr.'
lie returned the check at once in courteous note
Of thanks, because he could admit personal
interest into his discussions of measures for the
general good of the people, This course was
followed by him all his life, and as a natural
consequence he never acquired riches With his
remarkable faculty for devising schemes capable
of great financial development such the Atlantic
cable, he certainly could have become wealthy had
he cared at all for money. But this he never
did save when the lack of it stood in the way OF
some scientific plan
The publication of his great work on The
Physical Geography Of the Sea- crowned his repu-
tation. It proved not only one Of the most
learned but one of the most fascinating of books,
and the modesty and simplicity Of the author
were not less conspicuous than the extent and
variety of his scientific knowledge. Unhappily,
the War of the Rebellion came and put an end TO
Maurys scientific career. Born of old Virginia
stock and raised in Tennessee, he felt himself
under obligation 20 go with his section though he
did not approve of the course taken. Having
once made up his mind, he acted promptly, and
having surrendered his Government charge and
transferred his family TO Richmond, he proceeded
10 assist the COnfederacy to the best of his
ability by inventing torpedoes, wherewith the
waters of the James River were thiclIly strewn.
Jefferson Davis was not Maurys friend and the
Secretary of the Confederate Navy was also hos