The Lieutenant and Commander - Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from Fragments of Voyages and Travels

Basil Hall

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• Publié par: onka
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 30
• Langue: English

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Title: The Lieutenant and Commander
Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from
Fragments of Voyages and Travels
Author: Basil Hall
Release Date: November 8, 2005 [EBook #17032]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER ***
Produced by Steven Gibbs and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
THE LIEUTENANT AND
COMMANDER
BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF HIS OWN CAREER
FROM
FRAGMENTS OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
BY
CAPTAIN BASIL HALL, R.N., F.R.S.LONDON:
BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET,
AND SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND CO.
47, LUDGATE HILL.
1862.
PREFACE.
The present volume is rather a condensation than an abridgment of the later
volumes of Captain Hall's "Fragments of Voyages and Travels," inasmuch as it
comprises all the chapters of the second and third series, only slightly
abbreviated, in which the author describes the various duties of the naval
lieutenant and commander, the personal narrative being the framework, and his
own experience in both capacities providing the details.
The editor has no hesitation in stating, after the careful perusal and analysis he
has necessarily made of this work, and that, with a tolerably extensive
knowledge of books, he knows of none which may, with more propriety, be
placed in the hands of young men, whatever may be their destination in life; but
more especially are they adapted for the use of young officers and all aspirants
to a seaman's life. The personal narrative, slight though it is, renders it very
amusing, and every point the author makes inculcates a rigorous attention to
"duty" duly tempered with discretion and humanity in commanding officers.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE.
CHAPTER I.
Taking a line in the service—Duty of officers—The dashing boys—Dashing boys
ashore—Philosophers afloat—Naval statesmen—Scientific officers—Hard-working
officers—Poetical aspirants—Taking a line
CHAPTER II.A sailor on shore—Irish hospitality—A sailor ashore—Irish factions—Irish scenery
—Land-locked bay—Reflections and plans—An awkward dilemma—A retreat—A
country party—A medical experiment—My reception
CHAPTER III.
Tricks upon travellers—Irish refinement—A wise resolve—After dinner—The
second bottle—One bottle more—Second thoughts best—The game of humbug—
The climax—You're off, are you?—A practical bull—Irish hospitality
CHAPTER IV.
The Admiralty List—Chances of promotion—The Admiral's list—My own
disappointment—A good start—Homeward bound—A spell of bad weather
CHAPTER V.
The tropical regions at sea—Sir Nathaniel Dance—The old Indian ships—Social
life at sea—Details of the voyage—The Canary Islands—The Trade-winds—
Changes of climate—The variable winds—North-east Trades—Our limited
knowledge—The great monsoons
CHAPTER VI.
The Trade-winds—The monsoons—Theory of the Trade-winds—Explanations—
Tropical winds—Motion of cold air—Direction of clouds—Equatorial Trades—
Calms and variables—South-east Trades—Application of theories—Atlantic winds
—Monsoons of India—Trade-winds of the pacific—Monsoons of Indian seas—
Velocity of equatorial air—Obstructions of the land—Horsburg's remarks—
Dampier's essay
CHAPTER VII.
Progress of the voyage—Cape of Good Hope—Ships' decks in the tropics—
Sweeping the decks—Marine shower-bath—Flying-fish—A calm—Ships in a calm
—A tropical shower—Washing-day—Comforts of fresh water
CHAPTER VIII.
Aquatic sports—Weather wisdom—An equatorial squall—Flying-fish—A chase—
T h e dolphin—Capture—Porpoises—Harpooning—The bonito—Dolphin steaks—
Porpoise steaks—The albatross—Shark-fishing—A shark-hook—Habits of sharks
—Seizing its prey—Flying at the bait—The shark captured—Killing the shark—
The buffalo skin—A narrow escape
CHAPTER IX.
A man overboard—Crossing the line—Duty of officers—Rival Neptunes—A boy
overboard—Affecting incident—A true-hearted sailor—Bathing at sea—A well-
timed action—Swimming—A necessary acquisition—A man overboard—What
should be done, and how to do it—Effects of precipitancy—Life-buoy—
Regulations for emergencies—Managing the ship with a man overboard—
Stationing the crew—Directing the boats
CHAPTER X.
Sunday on board a man-of-war—Mustering by divisions—The fourth
commandment—Short services recommended—Order for rigging—Scrubbing and
sweeping—Sunday muster—Jack's dandyism—Jack brought up with a round turn
—Mustering at divisions—Inspection—The marines—Round the decks—The sick-
bay—Lower deck—Below—Cockpit—The gun-room—Quarter deck
CHAPTER XI.
The ship church—Rigging the church—Short services recommended—Short
s ermons recommended—Religious duties necessary to discipline—Church
service interrupted—The day of rest
CHAPTER XII.Naval ratings and sea pay—Mustering clothes—Between decks on Sunday—
Piping to supper—Mustering by lists—A seaman disrated and rerated—Ratings of
seamen—Tendency to do right—Examining stores—Captain's duties—Clothes'
muster—Responsibility—A sailor's kit—A sailor's habits—Mizen-top dandies—
Hammocks—Piping the bags down—Pressing emigrants—A Scotchman's kit—
Improved clothes' muster
CHAPTER XII.
Sailors' pets—Purchasing a monkey—Jacko's attractions—Gets monkey's
allowance—Jacko and the marines—Jacko's revenge—Jacko turns on his friend
—Spills the grog—Is pursued, but is pardoned—Condemned to die—Commuted to
teeth-drawing—Surgeon's assistant appealed to—He can't bite—The travelled
monkey—Trick on the marines—Its consequences—A potent dose—Its
operations—Jack's superstitions—The grunter pet—Jean's advocate—Her good
qualities—Jean's obesity, and its attractions—Her death and burial—Well
ballasted
CHAPTER XIV.
Doubling the Cape—Southern constellations—Intelligent chief officer—Sailors and
their friends—Parting company—The cape—Simon's town—A fresh breeze—
Rising to a gale—All hands shorten sail—Value of experience to an officer—
Taking in reefs—Taking in mainsail—Heaving the log—Before the gale—Effects
of a gale—Value of a chronometer proved by the want of one—Awful catastrophe
CHAPTER XV.
Suggestions towards diminishing the number and severity of Naval punishments
—Corporal punishment—The author's own case—An old shipmate—Admiralty
regulations—Appeal to officers to avoid precipitation—Dangers of precipitation—
Instance of its dangers—A considerate captain—A case for pardon—An obdurate
officer—Pardon granted—Retrieving of character
CHAPTER XVI.
Bombay—First glimpse of India—Bombay and its scenery
CHAPTER XVII.
Sir Samuel Hood—Naval promotion—Hopes and their disappointment—An ant-
hunt—The Admiral's triumph over the engineers
CHAPTER XVIII.
Excursion to Candelay lake in Ceylon—Starting of the expedition—Pearl-divers—
A strange tunnel—Hindoo bathing—An amusing exhibition—A tropical forest—A
night scene—An alarm—A supper—A midnight burial—Cingalese game—Lake
Candelay and its embankment
CHAPTER XIX.
Griffins in India—Sinbad's valley of diamonds—A mosquito-hunt—Deep
anchorage—Local names—Valley of diamonds—Ceylon gems
CHAPTER XX.
Ceylonese canoes—Peruvian balsas—The floating windlass of the Coromandel
fishermen—American pilot-boats—Balsas of Peru—Man-of-war boats—Ceylonese
canoes—Canoe mast and sails—Local contrivances—Construction of the balsa—
Management of the sail—Indian method of weighing anchor—A floating windlass
—Failure of the attempt—The Admiral's remarks—An interesting feat of
mechanical ingenuity
CHAPTER XXI.
The surf at Madras—Sound of the waves—Masullah boats—Construction of