Fragments of voyages and travels, including anecdotes of a naval life

by Basil Hall

On shore, education and business are two separate things, one of which does not begin till the other ends; while, on board ship, the two always go hand in hand. As the lessons of the teacher may be put in practice immediately, the utility of theoretical knowledge is exhibited on the spot; and thus a gradually increasing impulse is given to the whole course of study. A boy who learns from his master what the word Latitude means, and what is the method of obtaining it, instantly runs upon deck, takes a quadrant in his hand, observes the sun’s meridional altitude, and is filled with amaze and delight on discovering: within what small limits he has been able to determine the ship’s place relatively to the equator. Next day he sets to work with increased eagerness to conquer the more difficult problem of finding the Longitude, which he has immediate opportunities of bringing to the test of actual experiment. The theory of Gunnery, likewise, when studied by itself, is frequently found to be intricate, and often far from satisfactory; but, when all its results can be brought to the test of experiment, the aspect which this very important pursuit assumes is totally different. How few officers, for instance, understand correctly the meaning of the elementary term Point Blank, or have any useful conception of the mathematical principles which it involves! How often do we hear people gravely assuming that the shot rises between the gun and the point-blank mark! The laws which regulate the action of fluids directed against plane surfaces are by no means easily explained when grappled with alone; but, when brought to bear on the use of the rudder, or the trim of the sails, there is hardly a boy afloat who fails to appreciate the value of true science over what is called ‘rule of thumb;’ or rather, who may not soon be taught to feel the mighty advantage of uniting the two, so as to make theory and practice mutually assist each other.

Nearly the same thing may be said of almost every other branch of knowledge: with languages, for instance—I mean more particularly the modern languages—French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, most of which are made to tell generally as soon as acquired. The Mathematics in all their wonderful branches, and Science in almost every department, furnish ample objects to fill up the leisure hours of an officer. Geography, history, and the law of nations, come into professional play at every turn. A young man, therefore, of any capacity or industry, is nearly sure of rendering himself useful in a short time, be his particular pursuits what they may, provided only that his zeal is duly encouraged by the captain, and seconded by the ready assistance of a properly qualified preceptor whom he has been taught to respect. It must never be forgotten, however, that along with all this knowledge of a professional, literary, or scientific nature, there ought to be mixed up instructions of a still more important description, upon which the formation of a young man’s character will mainly depend, whether we view him merely as an officer, or in his wider capacity as a member of the civil community.

Every one acquainted with the difficult task of bringing boys safely through the intricate labyrinth of temptations which must be encountered in the early stages of a sea life, will acknowledge, that the superintendent of a young man’s habits has little or no chance of success, unless he can secure the confidence of his pupil. I very much fear, however, that there can be little hope of establishing such a relation between them, unless the preceptor be truly the superior, not only in station but in attainments, and unless it be his peculiar study to acquire this ascendency over his pupil’s mind, in order to the better regulation of his manners. I use the word manners in its largest sense; and it is clear that, unless the schoolmaster have leisure to keep these objects constantly in view, he cannot hope to gain the proper degree of influence over any boy’s mind. As chaplain of the ship, however, his religious duties, so far from interfering with the objects alluded to, would blend admirably with all of them, and furnish the best means, and, if it were needed, the best excuse, for a judicious and parental sort of interference. To expect that any such interference of the schoolmaster, under the present system, can be efficacious, is, I much fear, a complete delusion; and this furnishes a strong reason for uniting in one person the kindred duties of chaplain and teacher. It shews, at the same time, how inefficient any such union must be, unless care be taken to secure fitting persons to fill a joint office of such delicacy.

There is still another, and by no means an unimportant benefit, which might arise to the naval service from this improvement: I mean its effect on the higher classes of officers. If there be nothing more shocking than a disreputable clergyman in a mess-room, so, on the other hand, I conceive there can be nothing more useful, in many very material respects, than the constant companionship of a right-minded and well-educated person of this description. I say nothing of the obvious and salutary influence which his presence never fails to exercise over the manners of men, already too much disposed to laxity in their habits; but it may be well to consider, likewise, the great additional benefits which may arise to the officers from their possessing the means of instructing themselves in the different branches of knowledge, with which a chaplain, regularly qualified to teach, would be able to impart.

Except on board ship, and at sea, few of the senior officers of the Navy, in war time, have the opportunity, and still fewer the means, of improving their acquaintance with those pursuits, of which, in the earlier periods of their service, they may have gained a smattering. I allude to the classics, to modern languages, and the belles lettres generally, to the higher branches of mathematics, and to many of those sciences formerly deemed abstruse, but which have lately become popular; such as chemistry, geology, and natural history in all its departments.

The time is not remote when it was held by high naval authorities, that all or any of these refinements, instead of being useful to an officer, actually stood in his way; and, as far as they went, interfered with the due execution of his duty. Nor can it, or ought it, to be denied, that the principle of extra instruction is very apt to be carried too far, and the refining system overdone. Nor must it ever be forgotten in these discussions, that the service—that is to say, the hard, regular, seamanlike round of official duties, in all seasons, and under all circumstances, ought always to be the primary objects of an officer’s thoughts, before which every thing else is not only to bend, but, if need be, must break. And it is chiefly on the principle of rendering an officer only the more fit for such technical routine, that any of the pursuits alluded to can ever be considered as having legitimate claims on his attention. If such studies become so engrossing as to detach his thoughts from his sterner duty; to make him a scholar instead of a seaman, a dandy instead of a disciplinarian; or if he allow himself to attend to these extraneous matters with any other view than to his improvement as a strictly professional man, he will, of course, find them, one and all, prejudicial, and not be encouraged. Under proper regulation, however, there seems little or no danger of any thing of this description proving injurious to an officer’s character, as a useful, hard-working servant of the public.

It was formerly thought, that high-born, high-bred, and even well-educated men, were less fitted to make good officers for the ordinary course of professional work, than persons who had sprung from a lower origin, or whose education was limited to the mere technicalities of the profession, and who were without taste and without manners—men of the Hawser Trunion school, in short. But the copious experience of the late arduous war seems to have shewn, both in the army and in the navy, that the contrary is the true state of the case. And certainly, as far as my own observation and inquiries have gone, I have found reason to believe that those officers who are the best informed and the best bred, and who possess most of the true spirit of gentlemen, are not only the safest to trust in command over others, but are always the readiest to yield that prompt and cheerful obedience to their superiors, which is the mainspring of good order. Such men respect themselves so justly, and value their own true dignity of character so much, and are at all times so sensitively alive to the humiliation of incurring reproach, that they are extremely cautious how they expose themselves to merited censure. From the early and constant exercise of genuine politeness, they become habitually considerate of the feelings of others; and thus, by the combined action of these great principles of manners, officers of this stamp contrive to get through much more work, and generally do it much better, than persons of less refinement. Moreover, they consider nothing beneath their closest attention which falls within the limits of their duty; and, as a leading part of this principle, they are the most patient as well as vigilant superintendents of the labours of those placed under their authority, of any men I have ever seen. It is not that they watch their inferiors with a view to entrap and pounce upon them, but solely with the public-spirited and generous object of keeping all parties right, in order, by checking errors in the outset, before they have grown into crimes, to prevent the hard necessity of punishment.

This is a pretty fair sketch of the method of acting observed by a thorough-bred, gentlemanlike, well-instructed officer; and every one who has been in command, and in protracted difficulties, or has merely been employed in the ordinary course of service, will readily admit that, with the assistance of such men, every department of his duty has gone on better and more pleasantly than it could have possibly done if the persons under his command had been of a coarser stamp.

It is quite true that the full degree of refinement alluded to can hardly ever be fully taught on board ship. But it may often be approximated to good purpose. It is quite within our power, for example, so to train up young men, that they shall gradually acquire not only that sort of knowledge, but also those habits, which experience has shewn to have the most direct tendency to enlarge the understanding, and to chastise the taste. Precisely as this amount of intelligence increases, so will the capacity of an officer to do good service increase likewise; and it is absurd to suppose that he will be less disposed to do his duty well, from knowing better how to comply with its obligations.

Weak minds and perverse dispositions, under any system of instruction or of discipline, will, of course, defeat these calculations; and there will, therefore, always be many effeminate and idle persons in a fleet, who, by mistaking mere acquirements for the knowledge of how to turn them to useful account, deserve the title they receive of ‘the King’s hard bargains.’ But, taking the average run of officers in the Navy, it may safely be expected, that if, in other respects, they are kept to their duty, and if they themselves have a real interest in the service, the more information they can acquire upon every subject worthy of a gentleman’s attention, the better will they be fitted for the performance not only of those higher exploits which all the world understand and admire, but even of those humble and unseen professional avocations, which make up by far the greater and the most important part of our daily duties.