The Lieutenant and Commander

A free download from http://www.dertz.in

The Lieutenant and Commander

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lieutenant and Commander, by Basil Hall This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
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.
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--The 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 sermons 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 XIII.
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