OUTWARD BOUND.
Mr. Lowington read the merit roll, announcing the officers as he
proceeded. The occupants of the after cabin, who were appointed for the
succeeding three months, during which time the ship crossed the
Atlantic, and visited various European ports, were as follows:--
CHARLES GORDON, _Captain._
Joseph Haven, _First Lieutenant._
Paul Kendall, _Second "_
Samuel Goodwin, _Third "_
Augustus Pelham, _Fourth "_
William Foster, _First Master._
Henry Martyn, _Second "_
Thomas Ellis, _Third "_
Joseph Leavitt, _Fourth "_
Joseph O. Rogers, _First Purser._
Edward Murray, _Second "_
George W. Terrill, _First Midshipman._
John Humphreys, _Second "_
Mark Robinson, _Third "_
Andrew Groom, _Fourth "_
The students mentioned in the list made the required promise to behave
themselves like gentlemen, and faithfully discharge the duties of their
several offices, and were duly installed in their new positions in the
after cabin. Most of them had been officers before, but all of them were
higher in rank than at any former period. Richard Carnes had been
captain four terms, for no one could get ahead of him.
The new captain had been first lieutenant, during the preceding year,
three terms out of four, and was certainly the best qualified student on
board for the command. He was a young man of high moral aims, with much
dignity of character and energy of purpose.
The officers went to the after cabin, put on their uniforms, and assumed
their proper places. The choice of berths in the steerage proceeded as
usual, according to the merit roll, and the petty offices were given to
the highest in rank. The new boys took the unoccupied berths by lot. The
organization of the ship was now completed, and the students were
directed to put their berths and lockers in order. The remainder of the
day was fully occupied in preparing for the voyage. Great quantities of
ice and fresh provisions were taken on board, and packed away in the
store rooms of the hold, and all was bustle and confusion.
On Thursday morning the ship was put in order again. The vessel had been
duly cleared at the custom house, and every article required for the
voyage had been received. The boys were ordered to put on their best
suits, and at nine o'clock a steamer came off, having on board a large
number of the parents and friends of the students. The forenoon was
given up to this interesting occasion. It was a beautiful day, with a
gentle breeze from the westward, and at twelve o'clock, all hands were
mustered on deck for religious services, to be performed by the
chaplain, in the presence of the friends of the pupils.
Mr. Lowington was a religious man, and the position of the Rev. Mr.
Agneau, as chaplain on board, was by no means a sinecure. Services had
always been held twice a day on Sunday. At five minutes before eight in
the morning, and at the same time in the evening, prayers were said on
deck, or in the steerage, in the presence of the entire ship's company.
On the point of leaving the shores of the United States, it seemed
highly appropriate to invoke the blessing of God on the voyage and the
voyagers, and the principal had directed that the service should be
conducted in the presence of the parents and friends.
The prayer and the remarks of the chaplain were very solemn and
impressive, and even the roughest of the students were moved by them. At
the conclusion of the religious service, Mr. Lowington addressed the
visitors, explaining the details of his plan more fully than he had done
in his circulars, and saying what he could to inspire the parents with
confidence in regard to the safety of their sons. It need not be said
that there were many tears shed on this occasion.
At the close of the speech a collation was served to the visitors, in
the cabins and steerage, after which another hour was allowed for social
intercourse; and then the ship was cleared, the visitors going on board
the steamer again, which was to accompany the Young America below the
lighthouse. The boys were sent below to change their clothes again.
"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" piped the boatswain; and the crew sprang
to their stations with more than usual alacrity.
This was a greater event than they had ever known before. The anchor,
which was now to be hauled up, was not to be dropped again for about a
month, and then in foreign waters. They were going out upon the waste of
the ocean, to be driven and tossed by the storms of the Atlantic. They
were bidding farewell to their native land, not again to look upon its
shores for many months. They were boys, and they were deeply impressed
by the fact.
The capstan was manned, and the cable hove up to a short stay. The
topsails and top-gallant sails were set; then the anchor was hauled up
to the hawse-hole, catted and fished. The Young America moved; she wore
round, and her long voyage was commenced. The courses and the royals
were set, and she moved majestically down the bay. The steamer kept
close by her, and salutations by shouts, cheers, and the waving of
handkerchiefs, were continually interchanged, till the ship was several
miles outside of the lower light.
The steamer whistled several times, to indicate that she was about to
return. All hands were then ordered into the rigging of the ship; and
cheer after cheer was given by the boys, and acknowledged by cheers on
the part of the gentlemen, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the
ladies. The steamer came about; the moment of parting had come, and she
was headed towards the city. Some of the students wept then; for,
whatever charms there were in the voyage before them, the ties of home
and friends were still strong. As long as the steamer could be seen,
signals continued to pass between her and the ship.
"Captain Gordon, has the first master given the quartermaster the course
yet?" asked Mr. Lowington, when the steamer had disappeared among the
islands of the bay.
"No, sir; but Mr. Fluxion told him to make it east-north-east."
"Very well; but the masters should do this duty," added Mr. Lowington,
as he directed the instructor in mathematics to require the masters, to
whom belonged the navigation of the ship, to indicate the course.
William Foster was called, and sent into the after cabin with his
associates, to obtain the necessary sailing directions. The masters had
been furnished with a supply of charts, which they had studied daily, as
they were instructed in the theory of laying down the ship's course.
Foster unrolled the large chart of the North Atlantic Ocean upon the
dinner table, and with parallel ruler, pencil, and compasses, proceeded
to perform his duty.
"We want to go just south of Cape Sable," said he, placing his pencil
point on that part of the chart.
"How far south of it?" asked Harry Martyn.
"Say twenty nautical miles."
The first master dotted the point twenty miles south of Cape Sable,
which is the southern point of Nova Scotia, and also the ship's
position, with his pencil. He then placed one edge of the parallel
ruler on both of these points, thus connecting them with a straight
line.
A parallel ruler consists of two smaller rulers, each an inch in width
and a foot in length, connected together by two flat pieces of brass,
riveted into each ruler, acting as a kind of hinge. The parts, when
separated, are always parallel to each other.
Foster placed the edge of the ruler on the two points made with the
pencil, one indicating the ship's present position, the other the
position she was to obtain after sailing two or three days. Putting the
fingers of his left hand on the brass knob of the ruler, by which the
parts are moved, he pressed down and held its upper half, joining the
two points, firmly in its place. With the fingers of the right hand he
moved the lower half down, which, in its turn, he kept firmly in place,
while he slipped the upper half over the paper, thus preserving the
direction between the points. By this process the parallel ruler could
be moved all over the chart without losing the course from one point to
the other.
On every chart there are one or more diagrams of the compass, with lines
diverging from a centre, representing all the points. The parallel ruler
is worked over the chart to one of these diagrams, where the direction
to which it has been set nearly or exactly coincides with one of the
lines representing a point of the compass.
The first master of the Young America worked the ruler down to a
diagram, and found that it coincided with the line indicating east by
north; or one point north of east.
"That's the course," said Thomas Ellis, the third master--"east by
north."
"I think not," added Foster. "If we steer that course, we should go
forty or fifty miles south of Cape Sable, and thus run much farther than
we need. What is the variation?"
"About twelve degrees west," replied Martyn.
The compass does not indicate the true north in all parts of the earth,
the needle varying in the North Atlantic Ocean from thirty degrees east
to nearly thirty degrees west. There is an imaginary line, extending in
a north-westerly direction, through a point in the vicinity of Cape
Lookout, called the magnetic meridian, on which there is no variation.
East of this line the needle varies to the westward; and west of the
line, to the eastward. These variations of the compass are marked on the
chart, in different latitudes and longitudes, though they need to be
occasionally corrected by observations, for they change slightly from
year to year.
"Variation of twelve degrees,"[1] repeated Foster, verifying the
statement by an examination of the chart. That is equal to about one
point, which, carried to the westward from east by north, will give the
course east-north-east.
[Footnote 1: These calculations are merely approximate, being intended
only to illustrate the principle.]
The process was repeated, and the same result being obtained, the first
master reported the course to Mr. Fluxion, who had made the calculation
himself, in the professors' cabin.
"Quartermaster, make the course east-north-east," said the first master,
when his work had been duly approved by the instructor.
"East-north-east, sir!" replied the quartermaster, who was conning the
wheel--that is, he was watching the compass, and seeing that the two
wheelmen kept the ship on her course.
There were two other compasses on deck, one on the quarter-deck, and
another forward of the mainmast which the officers on duty were required
frequently to consult, in order that any negligence in one place might
be discovered in another. The after cabin and the professors' cabin were
also provided with "tell-tales," which are inverted compasses, suspended
under the skylights, by which the officers and instructors below could
observe the ship's course.
The log indicated that the ship was making six knots an hour, the rate
being ascertained every two hours, and entered on the log-slate, to be
used in making up the "dead reckoning." The Young America had taken her
"departure," that is, left the last land to be seen, at half past three
o'clock. At four, when the log was heaved, she had made three miles; at
six, fifteen miles; at eight, the wind diminishing and the log
indicating but four knots, only eight miles were to be added for the two
hours' run, making twenty-three miles in all. The first sea day would
end at twelve o'clock on the morrow, when the log-slate would indicate
the total of nautical miles the ship had run after taking her departure.
This is called her dead reckoning, which may be measured off on the
chart, and should carry the vessel to the point indicated by the
observations for latitude and longitude.
The wind was very light, and studding-sails were set alow and aloft. The
ship only made her six knots as she pitched gently in the long swell of
the ocean. The boys were still nominally under the order of "all hands
on deck," but there was nothing for them to do, with the exception of
the wheelmen, and they were gazing at the receding land behind them.
They were taking their last view of the shores of their native land.
Doubtless some of them were inclined to be sentimental, but most of them
were thinking of the pleasant sights they were to see, and the exciting
scenes in which they were to engage on the other side of the rolling
ocean, and were as jolly as though earth had no sorrows for them.
The principal and the professors were pacing the quarter-deck, and
doubtless some of them were wondering whether boys like the crew of the
Young America could be induced to study and recite their lessons amid
the excitement of crossing the Atlantic, and the din of the great
commercial cities of the old world. The teachers were energetic men, and
they were hopeful, at least, especially as study and discipline were the
principal elements of the voyage, and each pupil's privileges were to
depend upon his diligence and his good behavior. It would be almost
impossible for a boy who wanted to go to Paris while the ship was lying
at Havre, so far to neglect his duties as to forfeit the privilege of
going. As these gentlemen have not been formally introduced, the
"faculty" of the ship is here presented:--
Robert Lowington, _Principal_.
Rev. Thomas Agneau, _Chaplain_.
Dr. Edward B. Winstock, _Surgeon_.
INSTRUCTORS.
John Paradyme, A.M., _Greek and Latin_.
Richard Modelle, _Reading and Grammar_.
Charles C. Mapps, A.M., _Geography and History_.
James E. Fluxion, _Mathematics_.
Abraham Carboy, M.D., _Chemistry and Nat. Phil._
Adolph Badois, _French and German_.
These gentlemen were all highly accomplished teachers in their several
departments, as the progress of the students during the preceding year
fully proved. They were interested in their work, and in sympathy with
the boys, as well as with the principal.
It was a very quiet time on board, and the crew were collected in little
groups, generally talking of the sights they were to see. In the waist
were Shuffles, Monroe, and Wilton, all feuds among them having been
healed. They appeared to be the best of friends, and it looked ominous
for the discipline of the ship to see them reunited. Shuffles was
powerful for good or evil, as he chose, and Mr. Lowington regretted that
he had fallen from his high position, fearing that the self-respect
which had sustained him as an officer would desert him as a seaman, and
permit him to fall into excesses.
Shuffles was more dissatisfied and discontented than he had ever been
before. He had desired to make the tour of Europe with his father, and
he was sorely disappointed when denied this privilege; for with the
family he would be free from restraint, and free from hard study. When
he lost his rank as an officer, he became desperate and reckless. To
live in the steerage and do seaman's duty for three months, after he had
enjoyed the luxuries of authority, and of a state-room in the after
cabin, were intolerable. After the cabin offices had been distributed,
he told Monroe that he intended to run away that night; but he had found
no opportunity to do so; and it was unfortunate for his shipmates that
he did not.
"This isn't bad--is it, Shuffles?" said Wilton, as the ship slowly
ploughed her way through the billows.
"I think it is. I had made up my mouth to cross the ocean in a steamer,
and live high in London and Paris," replied Shuffles. "I don't relish
this thing, now."
"Why not?" asked Wilton.
"I don't feel at home here."
"I do."
"Because you never were anywhere else. I ought to be captain of this
ship."
"Well, you can be, if you have a mind to work for it," added Monroe.
"Work for it! That's played out. I must stay in the steerage three
months, at any rate; and that while the burden of the fun is going on.
If we were going to lie in harbor, or cruise along the coast, I would go
in for my old place."
"But Carnes is out of the way now, and your chance is better this year
than it was last," suggested Monroe.
"I know that, but I can't think of straining every nerve for three
months, two of them while we are going from port to port in Europe. When
we go ashore at Queenstown, I shall have to wear a short jacket, instead
of the frock coat of an officer; and I think the jacket would look
better on some younger fellow."
"What are you going to do, Shuffles?" asked Wilton.
"I'd rather be a king among hogs, than a hog among kings."
"What do you mean by that?"
"No matter; there's time enough to talk over these things."
"Do you mean a mutiny?" laughed Wilton.
"Haven't you forgotten that?"
"No."
"I wonder what Lowington would say, if he knew I had proposed such a
thing," added Shuffles, thoughtfully.
"He did know it, at the time you captured the runaways, for I told him."
"Did you?" demanded Shuffles, his brow contracting with anger.
"I told you I would tell him, and I did," answered Wilton. "You were a
traitor to our fellows, and got us into a scrape."
"I was an officer then."
"No matter for that. Do you suppose, if I were an officer, I would
throw myself in your way when you were up to anything?"
"I don't know whether you would or not; but I wouldn't blow on you, if
you had told me anything in confidence. What did Lowington say?"
"Nothing; he wouldn't take any notice of what I said."
"That was sensible on his part. One thing is certain, Wilton: you can't
be trusted."
"You mustn't make me mad, then."
"I will keep things to myself hereafter," growled Shuffles.
"Don't be savage. You served me a mean trick, and I paid you off for it;
so we are square."
"We will keep square then, and not open any new accounts."
"But you will want me when anything is up," laughed Wilton. "What would
you do without me in getting up a mutiny?"
"Who said anything about a mutiny?"
"I know you are thinking over something, and you don't mean to submit to
the discipline of the ship, if you can help it."
"Well, I can't help it."
"There goes the boatswain's whistle, piping to muster," said Monroe.
"Confound the boatswain's whistle!" growled Shuffles. "I don't like the
idea of running every time he pipes."
Very much to the surprise of his companions, Shuffles, his irritation
increased by the conduct of Wilton, took no notice of the call, and went
forward, instead of aft. His companions, more wise and prudent, walked
up to the hatch, which Mr. Lowington had just mounted.
"Groom, tell Shuffles to come aft," said the principal to one of the
midshipmen.
The officer obeyed the order; Shuffles flatly refused to go aft. Mr.
Lowington descended from his rostrum and went forward to enforce
obedience. This event created a profound sensation among the students.
"Shuffles," said Mr Lowington, sternly.
"Sir," replied the malcontent, in a surly tone.
"The boatswain piped the crew to muster."
"I heard him."
"You did not obey the call. I sent for you, and you refused to come."
"I don't think I ought to obey the boatswain's call."
"May I ask why not?"
"I've been an officer three terms, and I should be now if we had had
fair play," growled Shuffles.
"I am not disposed to argue this point in your present frame of mind. I
order you to go aft."
"And I won't go!" replied Shuffles, impudently.
"Mr. Peaks," said the principal, calling the senior boatswain.
"Here, sir," replied Peaks, touching his hat to the principal.
"Mr. Leech," added Mr. Lowington.
"Here, sir."
"Walk this young gentleman aft."
"Let me alone!" cried Shuffles, as Peaks placed his hand upon him.
"Gently, my sweet lamb," said the boatswain, with affected tenderness.
"Take your hands off me!" roared the mutinous pupil, as he struggled to
release himself from the grasp of the stalwart seaman.
Peaks took him by the collar with one hand, and held his wrist with the
other, on one side, while Leech did the same on the other side.
"Walk him aft," repeated the principal.
"Mr. Fluxion, may I trouble you to bring up the irons?" continued Mr.
Lowington, when the boatswain and carpenter had "walked" the rebel aft,
in spite of his struggling and kicking.
"Irons!" gasped Shuffles, as he heard the request of the principal.
He trembled with rage as he uttered the word. The irons seemed to pierce
his soul. Probably he did not think that the son of a wealthy gentleman
would be compelled to submit to such an indignity as being put in irons.
Mr. Fluxion came on deck with a pair of handcuffs. It was the first time
they had been seen, and no student even knew there were any on board.
The discipline of the ship had been as gentle as it was firm, and this
was the first time such instruments were necessary.
"Mr. Peaks, put the irons on him!" said Mr. Lowington, his usual dignity
unruffled by angry emotions.
"Don't put them on me!" cried Shuffles, making an effort to disengage
himself from the grasp of his captors.
"Put them on at once!" added the principal.
"You shall not put them on me! I will die first!" roared the rebel.
It was easier to talk than to do, in the hands of two sturdy sailors,
one of whom had used the cat in the navy, when its use was tolerated.
Shuffles did not die, and he was ironed, in spite of his struggles and
his protest.