Newspaper Page Text
~ The American Girl
The practical, plain young girl,
Not afraid of the rain young girl,
A poetical posy,
A ruddy and rosy,
A helper of self young girl
" A home in her place young girl,
A never will lace young girl,
A toiler serene,
! A life pure and clean,
A princess of peace young girl.
A wear her é6wn hair young girl,
A free from stare young girl,
Improves every hour,
No sickly sunflower,
A wealth of rare sense young girl
An early retiring younz girl,
An active, aspiring young girl,
A morning ariser,
A dandy despiser,
A progressive American girl.
An honestly courting young girl,
A never seen flirting young girl,
| A quiet and pure,
: A modest, demure,
i A fit for a wife young girl,
; A"sought everywhere young girl,
A fulure most fair young girl,
i An ever discreet,
We too se'dom meet,
This queen among queens young girl.
~Mrs. R. E. Woods, in New York World.
Three Marine Mysteries.
I suppose that a hundred ships come
and go where one is lost, but when one
reflects on the dangers to which they
are exposed he must marvel that somany
escape. I saw a list of thirty-six miss
ing ships the other day, missing from
American, English and French ports,
and the fate of each was unknown or
guessed at. Say that half of them
foundered in mid-ocean, five were run |:
down in collision, five more were
wrecked on capes or shoals where all
hands perished, and what became of the
rest? Say that three of the remainder
Jvere destroyed by fire, and what fate
shall we attagh to the other five? From
the moment a vessel leaves port to begin
her voyage she is exposed to danger,
and though a sailor may be ever so
brave and hardy, he cannot shake off
the knowledge that he lives on the verge
of the grave. There are gales, and fogs,
and collisions, and fire, and hidden
rocks, and powerful currents; and so I
repeat that it is a marvel more sailing
craft are not added to the lonesome list
32. missing which is recorded year by
year.
In the year 1885, as the British bark
Lord Oldham, es which I was second
mate, was approaching the Canary
Isflgnds, and when about 180 miles dis
"t'ant, we were caught in the tail end of a
cyclone and badly knocked about. We
got out with some slight loss and a great
deal of discomfort, and were bearing up
again to our course when a great calam
ity happened. Half an hour before
midnight, while the bark was doing her
best under a fresh breeze, a sudden and
great shock was felt. Her masts went
by the board, and, as I reached the
deck, a minute after the shock, the hull
seemed to split open from stem to stern.
1 had gone below to get a glass of bit
ters, leaving the deck only thirty sec
onds before the shock came. I was
knocked down and confused, but it
could not have been over sixty seconds
before I regained the deck. It was just
in time to be carried overboard. I
went with a lot of rafle from
the decks, and amid the fright
ened cries of the men, and a quarter of
an hour later, when I had lashed myself
in the crosstrees of the mainmast, I
could not get an answer to any of my
calls to the rest of the crew. How it
was that all were lost I never could
make out. s There was raffle enough to
have floated 500 men, and my watch
certainly all wide awake at the moment
of the collision. The only explanation
I can give is that they were somehow
caught and crushed. I drifted during
‘ the rest of the night, and was picked
sq in the morning by a vessel bound in.
By that time the wreckage had drifted
apart until nothing could be found.
Nothing whatever was picked up or cast
upon any shore, and had I not been
saved, the fate of the bark could only
have been guessed at. i %
~ What did she collide with? The
" lookouts were on the tow, and alert,
i gng the night so clear that a ship could
~have been seen a mile away, The chart
B o eo= et i
about, and we must have run foll e
[ dome. Tl WA i bogg dla
masted and bilged in the hurricang. If
G ltar LR e R GR e
e s T
Three years later, while off the Banks
of Brazil in a small English ship called
the White Cloud, another_ strange thing
happened. I was first mate of this ship,
and about 10 o’clock in the forenoon,
the weather being very fine and the wind
light, I had.all the men on deck setting
up the rigging, some of which had
slackened away. A man aloft suddenly
hailed the deck with the information
that a large whale was bearing down on
the ship head on. We were a mer
_chant vessel, and the sight of a whale
had no interest for us. We went on
with our work for three or four minutes,
when the man again hailed me with:
““If that fellow holds his course he
will be dead on to us. He's a big fel
low, and coming like an iron steamer.”
Iran forward to get a look, and the
sea was so smooth that I had no difficul
ty in making out the whale. =He was
still a mile away, coming downat about
steamer speed, and holding a cour e as
straight as if somebody aboard of him
was steering by compass. I was not a
bit alarmed, expecting to see him show
flukes every moment, but the Captain
came on deck and ordered the man at
the wheel to break off two or three
points. This brought the whale on our
port bow. As I told you, I expected to
see him sound every moment. It was
astonishing that he had not discovered
us long before. I could scarcely believe
my eyes as he held on, and by and by
we had him alongside. lam telling you
the truth when I say he actually
rubbed us as we passed each other, and |
the odor of him was so rank that some
of the men cried out in disgust. That
‘whale was ninety feet long if he was an
inch, and he had a “head on him like a i
brick wall. So far as we could see he ‘
was carrying no harpoons and had no
fresh wound, but he was moss-grown ‘
and barnacled as if he had knocked
about for a couple of hundred years.
We were perhaps a mile apart when
the whale slewed around. The moment
we discovered what he was doing we
knew that he mecant to attack. The
brecze had now died away until we
could not hope to dodge him, and he
had not yet fairly turned when we
dropped the yawl from the davits and
ran her alongside to the bow. Two men
were ordered to get water and provisions
into her, and as the whale headed up for
us we went off before the light breeze to
give him all the room we could. Three
or four minutes settled the question of
whether he was alter the ship or sailing
his own course. He headed up for her, l
coming faster aud faster, and when he ‘
was two cables’ length away there was a
great white wall of water rolling before ‘
~him, and his speed was from eightcen to 1
twenty miles an hour, He struck us full
‘on the starboard quarter, and the shock
was as if two ships had collided. Planks ‘
and ribs gave way before kim, and as he
recoiled from the blow our ship settled
down stern fist and wa3 un
der water within two minutes. Every
body was knocked down by the shock,
and everybody got up to rush for the
yawl. I was sucked down almost as
soon as I reached my feet, and aftcr a
struggle, in which I came out first best
by a close shave, I was shot to the sur
face amid a lot of deck raffle. There
were two or three men around me at
first, and as I was heaved up I caught
sight of the yawl with at least two men
in her. The whale was still at hand,
lying very quiet, but I feared he would
sooa be aroused and attack us in turn,
and I seized the galley door and paddled
away to get out of h's reach. While do
ing this a squall came down and hung
on for twenty minutes, and when: it had
passed I could see nothing of boat mnor
whale. .
That afternoon, an hour before sun
down, I was picked up by the American
whaler Richard Knox. She already had
our yawl, which she had found bottom
up, but had not seen any of the men nor
met with any wreckage. I was again
the only one saved, and but for my
testimony the fate of the ship would
“have forever remained a mystery. As to
‘why the whale attacked us was made
‘more clear after my rescue. The Knox
had raised and chased him the evening
before, and he had been ¢‘gallied” or
annoyed so often during the month
past that he had become ugly. He came
for us with the intention of sending the
ship to the bottom, and he succeeded
only too well in carrying out his pur
&it mptry see of e
il 00l el
L LR
‘voyage, but the brig was new and
stanch, and was at no time in imminent
peril. About 300 miles off Rio, while
enjoying a bit of good weather, we one
morning raised a longboat full of men
dead ahead of us. Indeed, the boat had
taken down her sail and was waiting
for. us to come up. There were nine
men aboard of her, and they had plenty
of water and provisions. The story
they told was that they were
a part of the crew of a large
British ship which had been burned
two days before. They claimed that all
had got off in the boats, but that the
boats had become separated in the heavy
weather. They were a hard-looking
lot, composed of all nationalities, and
when we had taken them aboard our
captain was by no means satisfied with
their story. One of them claimed to be
second mate, and, as the crew had ali
got off in two boats, it was a puzzle
that the first mate was not in command
of one. Other strange things came up,
and the story of the men did not hang
together, and so all hands were ordered
to keep an eye on the fellows.
We got a good slant of wind and had
run down to within fifty or sixty miles
of the coast when the fellows showed
their hands. They had been allowed to
mingle freely with our crew, but had
carefully abstained from a remark to in
dicate that they had an evil purpose in
view. Their boat was large and un
wieldy, and we had towed it after wus
rather than to cast it loose or to attempt
to hoist it inboard. I was on watch
from eight to twelve, and nothing sus
picious occurrel during the first three
hours. About 11 o'clock, as I stood
near the man at the wheel, I was hailed
from the foremast with:
¢Mr. Merlin, will you please step for
ward and take a look at something we
can't make out?”
I afterward recalled that it was not
the voice of one of my watch, but I did
not heed the matter at the time. I
started forward, and had reached the
waist of the vessel when two men scized
me, lifted me clear of the deck, and be
fore I could recover from my astonish
ment I was flung overboard head first.
It was more by instinct than any plan of
my own that I swam for the boat towing
astern. Had the brig not been sailing
close hauled, and therefore sailing at a
moderate pace, I should not have
reached it. It was a close shave, and
as I hung to the gunwale for a moment
I heard a great confusion on the brig.
It was mutiny, of course, and I was the
first victim. My idea was to get
aboard again as soon as possible,
and the only way was to get
into the yawl, pull her close up, and
then shin up the painter. . After an ef
fort or two I pulled myself in, and just
then there were oaths and cries and pis
tol shots from the brig, followed by a
couple of splashes alongside, which
meant that two bodies, living or dead,
had gone overboard. I had hold of the
painter when it was loosened from
above, and I drifted rapidly astern. The
fight continued as long as was within
hearing. I was out of it entirely and
could only hope that our crew, who were
all good men, ‘would overcome the
mutineers in the struggle.
After the brig was out of sight I got
sail on the boat, and followed her to the
best of my judgment. It was justin the
gray of moraing that I was picked up by
a British ship bound into Rio. It wasn’t
so very mysterious that we picked up‘
the boat and that her crew attempted 1
our capture, but it certainly was queer
that from the hour she left me to this
day that brig has never been heard of.
But for my escape she would have been
rated as lost, and the insurance paid.
As it was the insurance company con
tested payment, and won their case in
court. The insurance of that day, at
least, did not provide for any such
emergency.- The naval and merchant
service of every power Wwas
notified of the circumstance,
and for two or three years overy sea
was under observation, but the brig
“was never overhauled, nor any of her
old crew heard of. My idea is that she
foundered within a few "days with all
hands, but others differ. She certainly
did not turn pirate, and she wag mever
hoard of as » wreck, There is no such
British ship as the men said, nor wes
any aft buned an . staied. They
i e e
i«""u“ : " n o E :
‘TAKING THE OATH.
First Inauguration of Washing
~ tonas President. -
How He Was Sworn In, the
Parade and Festivities.
Inauguration Day, April 30, 1789,
was the day of days. It was the day
appointed by Congress for inducting the
first President of the United States into
his exalted station.
The President’s house in New York
was in the most fashionable part of the
city—No. 1 Cherry street, a few doors
from Franklin square. It was formerly
occupied by Samuel Osgood. Washing
ton remained there during the first sea
sion of Congress. Butthe accommoda
tions were so limited that three of his
secretaries—-Colonel Humphreys, Thomag
Nelson, and Robert Lewis—were obliged
to content themselves with one room.
Tobias Lear was his principal secretary,
and the rest of the household consisted
of Mrs. Washington, her two children
and Major Jackson.
At nine o’clock in the morning every
church was filled with a congregation
imploring the blessing of heaven on the
new government. At noon Colonel
Lewis brought up the same detachment
of military to attend the President that
had escorted him on his landing, and
they formed in the vicinity of his house
in Cherry street. When the General
appeared ‘‘sonorous metal blowing mar
tial sounds” was the signal for the pro
cession to move. Through Queen,
Great Dock and Broad streets it wound
its way until it arrived in front of the
building called Federal Hall.
The site of Federal hall is now occu
pied by the United States sub-treasury.
Here stood the first city hall, erected in
1700, and an unsightly building it was.
But when it was decreed that Congress
should sit in New York, M. L'Enfant,
the French architect, built a noble edi
fice for its accommodation and the old
city hall was demolished. It was de
termined that the ceremony of adminis
tering the oath should take place in the
open space in front of the senate cham
ber, which was on the second story of
the new building and in full view of
the people who should assemble in Wall
street and Broad street as spectators.
Federal Hall projected into Wall
street, but permitted foot passengers to
continue their promenades through an
arched way. Over this arcade was a bal
cony, the pediment projecting over,
which was supported by four massive
Dogic pillars, dividing the open space
into three parts and forming an area
similar in that respect to the divisions in
Raphael's ¢‘Beautiful Gate of the Tem
ple,”” as it has been described. Its front
was upon Brdad street, which was ter
minated by it, and consequently persons
on'the balcony would be in full view
from that street.
" When the procession reached this
point it was divided into two parallel
lines, facing inwardly, and President
Washington passed through with a
stately and solemn tread, attended by
John Jay, General Knox, Chancellor
Livingston, and other distinguished eciti
#ns. They were conducted first to the
Senate Chamber, where the President
elect was introduced to both Houses as
sembled in convention to receive him.
Thence he was conducted to the gallery
or terrace, just mentioned, overlooking
the two streets in which the multitude
had assembled.
The volunteer companies of infantry
were drawn up in front of the hall, on
Wall street. A troop of horses uni
formed and equipped much after the
manner of Lee's and Sheldon's dragoons,
were prominent figures. Of the foot
soldiers the most conspicuous were two
companies of grenadiers, one of which
was composed of the tallest youths of
the city, and the other was the company
of Germans commanded by Captain
Scriba, many of whom had been the
slaves of the Prince of Hesse-Cassel and
other petty sovereigns in thé German
States. The first were dressed in
blue, with red facings and gold
Jlaced ornaments; coc;:ed hats, with
white feathers, with waistcoats and
breeches and black gaiters or spatter
(dashes, close buttoned from the shoe to
the knee and covering the shoe buckle.
A aeanin, or phw, el it
}'M,N»fl?k e T
highlanders, with the national music es
the bagpipe. :
Silent and expectant stood the im
mense mass of people in Broad street
gazing with upturned faces upon the
building, every part of which was
thronged. Washington stepped forth
from the interior of the hall and took
his place in the center of the balcony be
tween the two pillars which formed the
boundaries of the middle compartment
of the picture. On this occasion the
President and Vice-President were en
tirely clad in American fabrics, Wash
‘ington wore a plain suit of brown cloth,
coat, waistcoat and breeches, white silk
stockings, and buckles of the simplest
fashion in his shoes. His head was un
covered, his hair powdered, dressed in
the prevailing fashion of that day. In
this costume his tall, fine figure was set
off to advantage.
Upon the right of Washington was
seen the short, athletic figure of Vice-
President John Adams, in almost simi
lar attire, but with the old-fashioned
Massachusetts wig, dressed and pow
dered. In a group a little behind were
Roger Sherman, Hamilton, the artiller
ist Knox, the accomplished Baron
Steuben and other sages and warriors,
Opposite to Washington stood Chan
cellor Livingston in a full suit of black,
ready to administer the oath of office.
Between them the Secretary of the Sen
ate, a small, short man, held the open
Bible upon a rich crimson cushion.
‘When the supreme moment arrived
Washington, with dignity and simplicity,
stretched forth his hand sand ‘repeated
the oath. Thesacred volume was raised
and reverently he bowed his head upon
it.
“Long live George Washington, presi
dent of the United States!’ procraimed
the chancellor.
The solemn stillness was broken at
last. Bursting from joyous hearts came
a mighty shout that scemed to rend the
air, Hats were flung on high and men
embraced cach other. Joy fell upon the
multitude like a summer's morn and
made all things beautiful.
The roll of drums and the harmoni
ous crash of music added to the excite
ment of the scene. President Washing
ton bowed and retired to the Hall of
Representatives, where the Senate also
assembled, and there delivered his in
augural speech. Immediately after
Bishop Provost, chaplain of the Senate,
performed divine service in St. Paul's
Church, whither the President, attended
by Congress, proceeded.
At night the illuminations were ex
ceedingly brilliant and beautiful, appro
priate transparencies having beea pre
pared by public bodies and private citi
zens. The splendors of the illumina
tion of Federal Hall attracted universal
attention. The theatre, then situated
at the foot of Fly Market slip was also
illuminated by various patriotic and at
tractive paintings. = The ship North
Carolina, lying off the Battery displayed
a glorious pyramid of stars, lustrous
and beautiful as the lamps of heaven.
The French and Spanish Ministers,
Count Moustier and Don Gardoqui, had
perhaps the finest display of all. Their
residences were on liroadway, near the
Bowling Green, and were illuminited
from roof to basement. ; K,
A round of festivities followed the in
auguration, but the greatest of them all
was the complimentary ball to the Presi
dent gotten up by the subscribers to the
city dancing assemblies. It took place
in the old City Assembly Rooms, a large
wooden building, which years after gave
place to the City Hotel, and was situated
in Broadway near Trinity Church.
Among those present were the Vice
President, the Speaker of the House
and most of the members of both
branches of Congress; Governor Clinton, .
Chancellor Livingston and Chief Justice -
Yates, of New York; John Jay, General
Knox, the Commissioners of the Treas
ury and James Duane, Mayor of
the city. Among the ladies were
Mrs. Clinton (the Governor's wife,
Lady Sterling, Tady Mary Watts,
Lady Kitty Duer, La Marchionoss de
‘Brehan, Mrs. Langdon, Mmggz
Mrs. Duane (the Mayoress), Mrs, Peter
‘Van Brook Livingston, of Clermont;
Mrs. Chancellor Livingston, the Misses
e ) o o e sS S
Livingston, Lady Temple, Mme. do la
bl o e S
