Notes and Commentaries, on a Voyage to China, Chapter V [pp. 193-208]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT FIVE DOLLARS pER ANNUM-JNO. R. THOMPSON, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
VOL. XVIII. RICHMOND, APRIL, 1852. NO. 4.
Notes and Commentaries, on a Voyage to
China.
CHAPTER V.
Obstacles in the way of Carpenters at sea; Mess
- rrq.angements in a gale; Inconveniences from
constant motion; Man overboard; Rope-yarn
Bunday; Practices on the first Sunday of the
month; The law of 1800 "for the better gov ernment of the Navy," copied from the English
"Usage of the sea-service;" Religion in the
Navy established by law; Contrast between the
law for the army and for the navy; Third
article of the law; Want of classification of
crimes; Profane swearing contrary to law;
Charge of drunkenness not easily proved; Va rious kinds of punishment; General summary
of the provisions of the law; Authority to pun ish restricted to the Captain; Constitution of
courts-martial; Capital offences in the Navy;
Thirty-first article provides vicarious punish ment; The hazards of life in the navy; Moral
influence of the Act of 1800, on officers of the
line; Assertion of line precedence or suprema cy; The terms "sea-officers," " civil officers,"
and " officers proper of the navy;" Why asser: W'ion of line precedence is repugnant to staj offi - cers; The term rank explained in a note; No
definition of the term Navy; Authority in the
navy; Responsibility of Captain; Summary
Court; Inefficacy of Punishments; Corporal
Punishment considered; Military government
an aristocracy; Imprisonment as a means of
correction; Classification of offences; No law
for organization or government of the navy; Fa lacious experience; Mode of legislation for the
navy suggested.
March 25th. Latitude 26o26' north; longi tude, 48o28' west. Fresh top-gallant breeze;
the ship close hauled on a wind, bowlines taught,
(i. e. tight,) and mizen topsail furled. We are
dashing along at the rate of ten knots an hour.
The work of the carpenters has been attended
by many small annoyances and difficulties, which
on shore, would be considered almost insurmount able. The moment a chisel or any tool is laid
down, a roll of the ship may send it flying across
the deck, not without danger to those in its way.
Sometimes the entire work-bench is turned over
VoL. XVIII-25
and the tools scattered; but such accidents do
not stop the work.
MAarch 26th. The day commenced with a
strong breeze, and squalls, and at eleven o'clock,
P. M., the ship was "lying to" under a close
reefed main top-sail in a gale of wind. It was
necessary to cover our mess-table by a wooden
fiame wvork, having compartments for the plates
and dishes to prevent them from sliding away
while we ate. It requires some exertion and ex perience to keep one's place at ta!ile on such
occasions. In such times the cooks find it diffi cult to keep their fire and kettles in juxtaposition.
Yet experience imparts skill under all circum stances; and old cruisers will not permit bad
weather to excuse the cook from producing his
dinner at the appointed hour. Men must eat,
even if the topsails are close reefed.
March27th-Night. Thewind does not abate;
the sea has increased, that is, the waves are lar ger and the motions of the ship are so great that
the carpenters have almost given tip their work.
While I write I am braced in position, and can dle and inkstand are tied fast. The wind roars
among the spars and rigging as I have heard it
it gusts through a forest. The timbers and
staunchions are creaking; there is the surging
of the rudder on its pintals as it is struck by the
waves with gforce seemingly enough to tear it
away from the stern-a force computed to be
eqLual to a weight of three tons to every square
foot. There is the rushing, gurgling noise of the
sea passing the sides, and an occasional splash
of water tumbling in a shower on deck from a
broken wave. Such are the mingled sounds
around me, that the ship seems a huge living
monster in agony of patin, endeavoring to suppress complaint. It is cheerless, even depressing. This eternal motion is exhausting; one
catnnot read or even think in the midst of such
sounds until after long habit has made him indifferent to them. But we are in no danger; we
are only uncomfortable, and our recollection of
the gale will be lost in one day of pleasant sailing under a bright sky.
March 30th. The gale has passed away, but
the weather is still boisterous and the sea rough.
The ship is undersingle reefed topsails and coui.rses. The la,titud(e at noon was 24~52' north, and
longitude 46~56' west. No trade wind yet.
At two o'clock Midshipman II., a boy of fourteen years' old ran from the lea-gangway, to