Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) [Illustration: DR. BOWDITCHâS STUDY IN LATER YEARS.] _NAT THE NAVIGATOR._ A LIFE OF NATHANIEL BOWDITCH. FOR YOUNG PERSONS. [Illustration: The House in which he lived when a little Child.] BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD. 1870. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by LEE AND SHEPARD, In the Clerkâs Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. ELECTROTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, No. 19 Spring Lane. * * * * * BOSTON, December, 1869. Moved by feelings I could scarcely comprehend, while, at the same time, they were most sweet to me, I was led to talk with the pupils of the Warren Street Chapel on the Sunday afternoon after my father died. The subjects were his active and good life and happy death. I am aware that some of my nearest friends thought it strange that my heart, on the occasion of his death, was filled with a kind of joy rather than with sadness. To them I could merely say, that an event so calm, and under such circumstances of suffering as he then was, suggested to me nothing like real sorrow. I wished my young companions to feel as I did, and that, in their minds, a quiet death following a good life should be clothed with beauty, and that they might thus be led to believe that, in accordance with the Scotch proverb, âA gude life makes a gude end. At least it helps weel.â Horace Mann was present during the address. Being deeply interested in the education of the young, he requested me to prepare for his Common School Journal a sketch similar to that I had spoken. In accordance with that desire, a memoir was prepared, and after its publication the Warren Street Chapel Association requested that it should be put, with some revision, into this form. And as it was originally prepared for, and dedicated to, the pupils of that institution, SO I NOW DEDICATE IT ANEW TO THE GIRLS AND BOYS OF WARREN STREET CHAPEL. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. _From 1773 to 1784âunder 10 years of age._ Birth.âChildhood 11 CHAPTER II. _From 1784 to 1795âbetween the ages of 10 and 21._ His apprenticeship, his habits.âStudies Chambersâs CyclopÃ¦dia.âResults of his studies; gains the respect of all.âDr. Bentley, Dr. Prince, and Mr. Reed, do him kindness; by their means allowed access to âThe Philosophical Library.ââHe makes philosophical instruments.âCalculates an Almanac at the age of fourteen.âStudies algebra: delight he experienced from this new pursuit.âLearns Latin.âReads works by Sir Isaac Newton.âStudies French 23 CHAPTER III. _From 1784 to 1796âage, 10-22._ Apprenticeship continued.âFavorite of his companions.âLearns music; neglects his studies for a time.âGets into bad society; his decision in freeing himself from it.âEngages in a survey of the town of Salem.âSails on his first voyage to the East Indies; extracts from his Journal during this voyage; arrival at the Isle of Bourbon; return home 37 CHAPTER IV. _From 1796 to 1797âage, 23-4._ Second voyage.âVisits Lisbon.âIsland of Madeira; festival and games there.âAnecdotes of his skill as an accountant.âDoubles Cape of Good Hope.âAlbatrosses.âArrival at Manilla.âExtracts from Journal.âCurious boat.âEarthquake.âVoyage home 46 CHAPTER V. _From 1797 to 1800âage, 24-7._ Marriage.âThird voyage; visits Spain.âDangers.âEarl St. Vincentâs fleet.âArrival at Cadiz.âObservatory at Cadiz.âSails for Alicant.âPassage through the Straits of Gibraltar.âPrivateers; chased by one; anecdotes of Mr. B.âs love of study shown then.âHears news of the death of his wife; consoles himself with mathematical studies.âMore troubles with privateers.âLeaves Alicant.âAdvantages derived from his visit to Spain.âFourth voyage; to India.âExtracts from Journal on viewing a ship that was engaged in the slave trade.âArrival at Java; introduction to the governor; respect formerly paid to him.âAnecdote of English navy officers.âGoes to Batavia and Manilla.âObservations of Jupiter while becalmed near the Celebean Islands.âVoyage home 62 CHAPTER VI. _From 1800 to 1803âage, 27-30._ Second marriage; character of his wife.âMr. Bowditch engages in commerce for two years.âSchool committee.âEast India Marine Society; a description of the annual meeting of this society.âMr. Bowditch becomes part owner of ship Putnam, and sails for India.âAnecdote, occurrence a few days after leaving Salem.âStudies during the long voyage.âBegins to study and make notes upon La Placeâs âMÃ©canique CÃ©leste.ââArrival off Sumatra; difficulties there.âBoarded by English man-of-war.âRevisits Isle of France.âJournal extracts about modes of procuring pepper; seasons for it, &c.âIncident on approaching Salem harbor.âDecision of Mr. Bowditch 80 CHAPTER VII. Review of the labors, &c., performed by Mr. Bowditch, during these voyages.âHabits while at sea; studies; desire to teach others; kindness to sailors and to the sick.âDiscovers errors in a book on navigation.âOrigin of âAmerican Practical Navigator;â success of it; industry of Mr. Bowditch upon it.âInvestigates higher branches of science.ââMÃ©canique CÃ©leste.ââMr. Bowditch reads history.âLearns Spanish, French, and Portuguese languages.âAnecdotes.âChosen member of American Academy.âReceives honors from Harvard College 99 CHAPTER VIII. _From 1803 to 1817âage, 30-44._ Mr. Bowditch translates a Spanish paper; is chosen President of a Fire and Marine Insurance Office.âHabits of life.âBecomes interested in politics.âFederalists and Democrats.âGreat excitement.âDivision between him and old friends in consequence of his zeal.âFeelings of Mr. Bowditch when war was declared.âDecision of character.âHis charity.âEarnestness in aiding others; ludicrous instance of the effects of this.âBoldness towards a truckman.âZeal for improving the libraries; unites the two.âDr. Princeâs church.âPerformance of duties of President of Insurance Office.âAnswer to an overbearing rich man.âAppointed Professor of Mathematics at Harvard College; same at West Point.âHis modesty.âHints about leaving Salem 115 CHAPTER IX. _From 1803 to 1823âage, 30-50._ Papers published by Mr. Bowditch in the Memoirs of the Academy; account of some of them.âTotal eclipse of the sun in 1806; effect of it.âAnecdote of Chief Justice Parsons.âMeteor that fell over Weston, Ct.; account of its curious appearance; effect of these papers upon his fame in Europe.âChosen member of most of the learned societies of the Old World.âQuits Salem to become connected with larger institutions in Boston 131 CHAPTER X. Sketch of the life of La Place, author of the âMÃ©canique CÃ©leste.ââNewtonâs labors.âHalleyâs comet.âThe importance of astronomy to navigation.âComets; Dr. Bowditch translates the MÃ©canique CÃ©leste; difficulties attending the undertaking; objects he had in view; first volume analyzed; Newtonâs error pointed out 149 CHAPTER XI. Commentary continued; second volume.âDiscussion between the English and French mathematicians; Dr. Bowditchâs criticisms.âErrors in La Place in regard to the earth, &c.âThird volume; motions of the moon.âFourth volume; many errors discovered in it.âHalleyâs comet.âCurious phenomena of capillary attraction 169 CHAPTER XII. _Death, March 17, 1838, aged 65._ Sketch of the life of La Grange, the equal of La Place; love Dr. Bowditch had for La Grangeâs character; comparison between him and La Place; also between him and Dr. Bowditch.âConclusion of the Memoir 176 NAT THE NAVIGATOR. CHAPTER I. _From 1773 to 1784âunder 10 years of age._ Birth.âChildhood. Nathaniel Bowditch, whose history I shall relate to you, was one whose character and actions presented many circumstances which cannot fail of being interesting to you. He died more than thirty years ago, in Boston; and, from having been a poor and ignorant boy, he became a man known all over the world for his great learning, while at the same time he was beloved for the goodness of his heart and the integrity of his character. May the perusal of his history excite some of you to imitate his virtues and his energy. [Sidenote: BIRTHPLACE.] [Sidenote: EARLY SCHOOL DAYS.] He was born in Salem, a town about fourteen miles from Boston, the capital city of our State of Massachusetts. His birthday was March 26, 1773. His father was at first a cooper, and afterwards a shipmaster. He and his wife were exceedingly poor, and they had many children. Nat was the fourth child. He had two sisters and three brothers. When he was about two and a half years old, his parents removed to a very small wooden house in Danvers, about three miles from Salem; and here the boy attended school for the first time, and began to show those generous feelings, and that love of learning, which he displayed so much in after-life. A few years ago the old school-house in which he learned to spell and read remained entire. It was an old-fashioned building, with a long, slanting roof, which, at the back of the house, nearly reached the ground. Its single chimney, with many curious and pretty corners, then rose in the middle of the roof, as it had for ninety years. Around the dwelling is a grass plat, upon which he used, when a child like yourselves, to play with his schoolmates. It was planted with shrubs, such as the farmers most need. The house in which he lived still stands nearly opposite that in which the school was kept. This house formerly had but two rooms in it, and all its furniture was of the simplest kind. [Illustration: HIS FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE.] [Sidenote: BROTHERS AND SISTERS.] I visited the relations of the schoolmistress. She died many, many years ago; but her niece, when I asked about Nat Bowditch, told me how her aunt used to love him for his earnestness in pursuing his studies, and for his gentleness, while under her care. He was âa nice boy,â she used to say. While in Danvers, his father was most of the time at sea, he having been obliged to give up his trade and become a sailor when the Revolutionary War broke out.[1] Nat lived, during his fatherâs absence, very happily with his mother and his brothers and sisters. During the whole of his after-life, he used to delight to go near the small house in which he had dwelt so pleasantly. The family was âa family of love.â He had a brother William, to whom he was very much attached. He was more grave and sober than Nat; for the latter, with all his devotion to study, was full of fun, frolic, and good nature. But William was equally, and perhaps more, gentle. The brothers frequently studied together from an old family Bible, and on Sundays, when they were quite small, their grandmother, who was a very excellent woman, used to place this large book, with its wooden covers and bright brazen clasps, upon the foot of her bed; and hour after hour did those two boys trace, with their fingers upon the map, the forty yearsâ wanderings of the Israelites, before they came into the long-looked-for land of Canaan. [Sidenote: GRANDMOTHERâS BIBLE.] [Sidenote: HIS MOTHER.] I have said that Nat frequently went to look upon the house in which he had lived; and so he often called upon the family in which this old Bible was kept, in order that he might see the volume which he had so loved when a boy. It reminded him of the delightful home of his childhood, where his dear and worthy mother tried to make him good, in order that he might become an honor to her and to the people. His mother was one who was extremely kind; yet she was by no means afraid to correct her children, if she found them doing wrong. Nat sometimes suffered, because, like every boy, he sometimes did wrong; but generally the mother found that he could be easily guided by her love. I seem to see her now, taking her little son, and leading him to the window of the cottage in Danvers, to see the beautiful new moon just setting in the west, while, at the same time, she kisses and blesses him, and talks to him of his absent father, and they both send up earnest wishes for his safe and speedy return. She was very careful to instil into all her children the importance of truth. âSpeak the truth always, my boy,â said she. She likewise loved religion, and she was very liberal in her feelings towards those who differed from her upon this subject. Nevertheless, believing that the Episcopal kind of worship was the most correct, she educated all her children in that form. An anecdote which Nat, when he became a man, often related, will show you how much influence her instructions in this particular had upon him. Among the Episcopalians the prayers are read, and the people repeat, aloud, some answer. One day Nat called his brothers and sisters around him, and, taking his motherâs Book of Prayer, with a sober face began to read aloud from it, while his brothers made the answers. They had continued some minutes amusing themselves in this way, when their mother entered the room. She was very much troubled at first, as she supposed they were ridiculing the services she held as sacred. âMy sons,â said she, âI am pleased to see you read that book; but you should never do so in a careless manner.â They told her that, though playing, they did not think to do any harm, or to show any disrespect. [Sidenote: EARLY POVERTY.] [Sidenote: CHEERFULNESS UNDER IT.] The family was very poor; so poor, indeed, that sometimes they had nothing to eat, for several successive days, but common coarse bread, with perhaps a little pork. Wheat bread was almost never allowed to any one of them. Their clothing, too, was at times very thin. Frequently, during the whole winter, the boys wore their summer jackets and trousers. At times, Natâs schoolmates used to laugh at him because he wore such a thin dress, when they were wearing their thickest winter clothing. But he was not afraid of their merriment, nor made angry by it; on the contrary, he laughed heartily at them for supposing him unable to bear the cold. He knew that no good would be gained by complaints, and that he would distress his mother if he made any; he therefore bore contentedly his want of clothing, and tried even to make himself merry with those who ridiculed him. [Sidenote: LOVE OF ARITHMETIC.] [Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES.] At the age of seven years, and after returning to Salem, he went to a school kept by a man named Watson. Master Watson was one who had sufficient learning for those times; though the boys who now go to school in Boston would think it very strange if a master did not attempt to teach more than he did. None of the scholars had a dictionary. Master Watson was a good man, but he suffered much from headache, and therefore he was liable to violent fits of anger; and when thus excited, as it generally happens in such cases, he was guilty of injustice. An instance of this, young Bowditch met with, not long after he entered the school. From early life, Nat had liked ciphering, or arithmetic; and thinking that at school he would be able to learn something more about this than he had previously gained from his brothers, while at home, during the long winter evenings, he requested the master to allow him to study it. As he seemed too young, this request was not granted. But, being determined to study what pleased him so much, he obtained a letter from his father, in which Mr. Bowditch requested Master Watson to allow his son to pursue his favorite study. The schoolmaster, on receiving the message, was very angry, and said to his pupil, âVery well. Iâll give you a sum that will satisfy you;â and immediately prepared a question that he thought Nat would be unable to answer, and which he could not have answered had he not studied at home. But the boy had learned before sufficiently to enable him to perform the task; and, having done so, he ran gayly to the desk, expecting to be praised for his exact performance of duty. You may imagine his surprise at being saluted with these words: âYou little rascal, who showed you how to do this sum? I shall punish you for attempting to deceive me.â The poor ladâs heart swelled and beat violently. He blushed and trembled from fear of punishment, but still more at the suspicion which his instructor had expressed, that he had been guilty of telling a lie. Filled with anger and alarm, he stammered out, â_I_ did it, sir.â But his master would not believe him, and was about to strike him, when an elder brother interfered, and stated that Nat knew very well how to perform the task, for he himself had previously taught him enough to enable him to do it. Our young arithmetician thus escaped the punishment; but he never could forget that he had been accused of falsehood. His pious and truth-loving mother had so firmly fastened in his mind the holiness of truth, that he rarely, if ever, thought of deviating from it; and during his life he considered that any one who even suspected him of falsehood had done him the greatest injury. How well it would be if all of our boys loved truth as he did! [Sidenote: APPRENTICED TO SHIP-CHANDLER.] This was the only serious difficulty he met with while at this school. He was the same lively lad at everything he undertook as he had been previously. He was beloved by his comrades for his good nature, and was always engaged in useful employment or innocent amusements. When he was about ten years of age, his father became poorer than ever; and moreover, in consequence of loss of regular employment and of the little property which he possessed, he gave himself up to habits of intoxication. From having been a brave man, he became a coward, and, unable to look at the distress of his family, made their poverty many times more burdensome by habits which wholly unfitted him for active duties. Under these circumstances, his son, at the age of ten years and three months, left school, and soon afterwards was bound an apprentice to Messrs. Ropes and Hodges, who kept a ship-chandlerâs shop in Salem. [Sidenote: EARLY CHARACTER.] As this was one of the important times in his life, I think I will finish this chapter with only two remarks, for the boys and girls who may be reading this. You see a lively and good-natured boy, who, before he was ten years old, showed great love of truth, much perseverance, a warm desire for study, particularly of arithmetic; and lastly, you perceive him under the influence of a good mother, who tries to excite in him all just and holy sentiments. Particularly does she point out to him truth as one grand aim of his existence. Now, I wish you to remember these facts, and see where they eventually led him; and if you remember, you may be induced to imitate him, at least in some respects. CHAPTER II. _From 1784 to 1795âbetween the ages of 10 and 21._ His apprenticeship, his habits.âStudies Chambersâs CyclopÃ¦dia.âResults of his studies; gains the respect of all.âDr. Bentley, Dr. Prince, and Mr. Reed, do him kindness; by their means allowed access to âThe Philosophical Library.ââHe makes philosophical instruments.âCalculates an Almanac at the age of fourteen.âStudies algebra: delight he experienced from this new pursuit.âLearns Latin.âReads works by Sir Isaac Newton.âStudies French. [Sidenote: CHANGE OF ABODE.] [Sidenote: WORK AT THE SHOP.] [Sidenote: THOUGHTFULNESS FOR OTHERS.] Doubtless it was with a sorrowing heart that Nat left his own dear home and his kind mother to take up his abode among strangers; for he was to live at the house of his employer, Mr. Hodges. But if he did feel sad, he was not one to neglect a duty in consequence of sorrow. The shop in which he was employed was situated very near the wharves, in the lower part of the town of Salem. We do not see many such stores now in Boston; though something similar is sometimes found in small country towns. In it a great variety of goods was sold, especially everything which would be useful to a sailor. Pork and nails, hammers and butter, were kept in adjacent barrels. The walls were hung with all the tools needed in the seafaring life. There was a long counter in it, at one end of which Nat had his little desk. When not engaged with customers, he used to read and write there. He always kept a slate by his side, and, when not occupied by the duties of the shop, he was usually busied with his favorite pursuit of arithmetic. In the warm weather of summer, when there was little business, and the heat was uncomfortable, he was often seen, by the neighbors, engaged in ciphering, while resting his slate upon the half door of the shop; for in those days the shop doors were made in two parts, so that frequently the lower half was shut, while the upper was open. Thus he was always actively employed, instead of being idle, as is too frequently the case with boys in similar circumstances. Even on the great holidays of Fourth of July and âGeneral Training,â he did not leave his studies for the purpose of going to see the parade, but remained at the shop, laboring to improve himself; or, if the shop was closed, he was in his little garret-room at his employerâs house. Study and reading were beginning to be his only recreation. Frequently, after the store was closed at night, he remained until nine or ten oâclock. Many long winter nights he passed in a similar manner, at his masterâs house by the kitchen fire. While here, he did not become morose or ill-natured; but frequently, when the servant girl wished to go to see her parents, who lived one or two miles off, he took her place by the side of the cradle of his masterâs child, and rocked it gently with his foot, while busily occupied at his books. I think this was one of the sweetest incidents in his early days. It was the germ of his benevolence in after-life. A truly great man is kind-hearted as well as wise. Nat began thus early his course of genuine humanity and science. So must you do if you would imitate him. [Sidenote: HIGHER STUDIES.] As he became older, he became interested in larger and more important works; and of these, fortunately, he found an abundant supply. His employer lived in the house of Judge Ropes, and Nat had permission to use the library of this gentleman as much as he wished. In this collection he found one set of books which he afterwards valued very much. He tried to buy a copy of it when he was old, having a similar feeling towards it that he bore towards his grandmotherâs Bible. It was Chambersâs CyclopÃ¦dia. As you may judge from the name CyclopÃ¦dia, these books, consisting of four very large volumes, contained much upon a great many subjects. It is like a dictionary. He read every piece in it, and copied into blank books, which he obtained for the purpose, everything he thought particularly interesting, especially all about arithmetic. Previously, he had studied navigation, or the methods whereby the sailors are enabled to guide their ships across the ocean. In this CyclopÃ¦dia he found much upon this subject; also upon astronomy, or the knowledge of the stars and other heavenly bodies; and upon mensuration, or the art with which we are enabled to measure large quantities of land or water. [Sidenote: ALMANAC FOR 1790.] But he was not satisfied with merely studying what others did. He made several dials and curious instruments for measuring the weather, &c. He likewise, at the age of fourteen years, made an Almanac for 1790, so accurately and minutely finished, that it might have been published. Whilst engaged upon this last, he was more than usually laborious. The first rays of the morning saw him at labor, and he sat up, with his rushlight, until late at night. If any asked where Nat was, the reply was, âHe is engaged in making his Almanac.â He was just fourteen years of age when he finished it.[2] [Sidenote: BEGINS ALGEBRA.] [Sidenote: HIS DELIGHT IN IT.] August 1, 1787,âthat is, at the age of fourteen,âhe was introduced to a mode of calculating which was wholly new to him. His brother came home from his school, where he had been learning navigation, and told him that his master had a mode of ciphering by means of letters. Nat puzzled himself very much about the matter, and imagined a variety of methods of âciphering with letters.â He thought that perhaps A added to B made C, and B added to C made D, and so on; but there seemed to him no use in all this. At length he begged his brother to obtain for him the book. The schoolmaster readily lent it; and it is said that the boy did not sleep that night. He was so delighted with reading about this method, or algebra, as it is called, that he found it impossible to sleep. He afterwards talked with an old English sailor, who happened to know something about the subject, and received some little instruction from him. This person afterwards went to his own country; but just before he left Salem, he patted Nat upon the head, and said, âNat, my boy, go on studying as you do now, and you will be a great man one of these days.â You will see, before finishing this story, that the prophecy of the old sailor was amply fulfilled. [Sidenote: DRS. PRINCE AND BENTLEY AID HIM.] [Sidenote: DR. KIRWANâS LIBRARY.] [Sidenote: COPIES BOOKS.] But all this labor, this constant exertion, combined with his kind and cheerful disposition, must, you will readily believe, have given him friends. He became known as a young man of great promise; as one more capable than his elders of deciding many questions, particularly all those in which any calculations were to be made. Consequently, when about seventeen or eighteen years old, he was often called upon, by men much older than himself, to act as umpire in important matters. All these he attended to so willingly and skilfully, that those whom he assisted became very much attached to him. He thus gained the respect not merely of common persons, less learned than himself, but his industry, his fidelity to his employers, his talents, attracted the notice of men well known in the community. Among these were two clergymen of Salem. At the church of Rev. Dr. Prince he attended for divine worship; and Dr. Bentley rarely passed the store without stepping in to talk with his young friend. Nat availed himself of the learning of Dr. Bentley, and often visited his room in order to converse with him. Dr. Prince, the other clergyman above alluded to, had studied much the subjects that the apprentice was pursuing, and he was very glad to see a young man zealous in the same pursuits. There was another individual who kept an apothecaryâs shop; and it was he, who, with the aid of the two clergymen, opened to our young student the means of continuing his favorite studies with more success than he had ever anticipated. Mr. Reedâfor that was his nameâlikewise gave him permission to use all his books, of which he had a great many. But the chief means of study, to which I allude, was the permission to take books from a library which had been formed by a number of gentlemen of the town. The kindness of the proprietors of this library was never forgotten by the young apprentice; and in his will, made fifty years afterwards, he left a thousand dollars to the Salem AthenÃ¦um, in order to repay the debt of gratitude which he felt he had incurred. But you may want to know something about the formation of this library, and the books of which it was composed. Some time during the Revolutionary War, alluded to in Chapter I., Dr. Kirwan, an Irishman and a learned man, put the greater part of his library on board a ship, in order to have it carried across the Irish Channel. While on the voyage, the vessel was taken by an American ship of war, and the books were carried into Beverly, and were afterwards sold at auction in Salem. Of all in the world, these books were perhaps those most needed by the apprentice. He had been studying those sciences chiefly, concerning which there were very few works printed in America; and suddenly he found himself allowed free access to all the important books which had been printed in Europe upon these same subjects. You may readily imagine how eagerly he availed himself of the opportunity thus afforded him. Every two or three days he was seen with a number of volumes under his arm, going homeward; and on his arrival there, he read and _copied all_ he wanted to study at that time, or refer to afterwards. He made, in this way, a very large collection of manuscripts, which formed a part of his library. Thus, by his own exertions, he, at the early age of eighteen, became acquainted with the writings of most of the learned men of Europe; and he did this at the time when he was engaged almost constantly in his store, for he made it a strict rule never to allow any study or reading, however interesting, to interfere with his duties to his employers. He rarely forgot this. The following incident impressed it so strongly upon his memory, that it influenced all his subsequent life. [Sidenote: ATTENTION TO BUSINESS.] One day a customer called and purchased a pair of hinges at a time when the young clerk was deeply engaged in solving a problem in mathematics. He thought he would finish before charging the delivery of them upon the books; but when the problem was solved, he forgot the matter altogether. In a few days the customer called again to pay for them, when Mr. Hodges himself was in the shop. The books were examined, and gave no account of this purchase. The clerk, upon being applied to, at once recollected the circumstance, and the reason of his own forgetfulness. From that day he made it an invariable rule to finish every matter of business that he began, before undertaking anything else. Perhaps some of you may remember the story; and when you think of leaving anything half finished, you may repeat to yourselves, âCharge your hinges, and finish what you begin.â [Sidenote: STUDIES LATIN.] Having been instructed in the elements of algebra, Nat soon found that there were books written upon it in other languages, which he knew he ought to read, if he intended to learn as much as he could about algebra. One of these books was written in a tongue which is called a dead language, in consequence of its having ceased to be spoken by the people of the country in which it was originally used. It was in Latin. This language usually requires many years of study, if one wishes to read it well, even when he has good instructors. Our hero, however, never thought of the difficulties he had to surmount, but commenced, alone, the study of it, June, 1790, that is, when seventeen years old. He was soon in trouble. He could not understand his Latin book on mathematics. He asked many who had been at college, but they were puzzled by the peculiar expressions as much as he was. At length, however, by the aid of his friend Dr. Bentley, and afterwards of a German who gave him lessons, he succeeded in mastering the greatest work in modern times, written by Sir Isaac Newton, who, you know, was one of the most famous philosophers who have ever lived in this world. Nat discovered in one part of it a mistake, which, several years afterwards, he published; but he was deterred from doing so at first, because a very much older person than he, a professor in Harvard College, said that the apprentice was mistaken. [Sidenote: STUDY OF FRENCH.] [Sidenote: GOOD RESULTS.] But Latin was not the only language that he learned. Finding in the Kirwan library many books upon mathematics written in French, he determined to learn that tongue likewise. Accordingly, at the age of nineteen (May 15, 1792), he began to study it. Fortunately, he was able to make an arrangement with a Frenchman living in Salem, who wished to learn English. Mr. Jordy agreed to teach the apprentice French, on condition that Nat would teach him English. For sixteen months they met regularly, a certain number of times a week; and the consequences were very important to the youthâs future success in life. One circumstance took place, during this study of French, which I think it important to mention. Nat, desiring only to learn to _read_ a French book, supposed that it would be unnecessary to spend time in learning accurately to _pronounce_ the words. These, as is the case in the English tongue, are often pronounced very differently from the manner in which we should be led to speak them, if we judged from their mode of spelling. His master protested against teaching without reference to the pronunciation; and, after much arguing, Nat yielded to the wishes of his instructor, and he studied the language in such a way that he could converse with a Frenchman, as well as read a French book. You will soon see the good that resulted. CHAPTER III. _From 1784 to 1796âage, 10-22._ Apprenticeship continued.âFavorite of his companions.âLearns music; neglects his studies for a time.âGets into bad society; his decision in freeing himself from it.âEngages in a survey of the town of Salem.âSails on his first voyage to the East Indies; extracts from his Journal during this voyage; arrival at the Isle of Bourbon; return home. [Sidenote: STUDY AND BUSINESS.] [Sidenote: A GOOD COMPANION.] Though so interested in his studies, Nat tried, as we have seen, never to neglect a known duty. Whenever any one came to the store, he was ready to leave study in order to attend to him. And he did this cheerfully, and with so bright a smile that all were pleased to meet him. His young companions loved him, for he was not one of those vain persons who think themselves more important than others because they are more learned. On the contrary, what he knew himself he liked to impart to others. He was a member of a juvenile club for the discussion of different subjects. In this association his opinion had much weight, because he rarely spoke, and never unless he had something of importance to say. [Sidenote: LOVE OF MUSIC.] Some of his comrades were very fond of music. He had originally a great taste for it. Music, at that time, was less cultivated than it is now; and generally, those who practised it were fond of drinking liquor, and often became drunkards. Natâs love of the flute led him, at times, to meet with several young men of this class. In fact, he was so much delighted with their company, that he began to forget his studies. Day after day he spent his leisure hours in their society; and, for a time, all else was neglected. At length he began to think somewhat in this way: âWhat am I doing? forgetting my studies in order to be with those whose only recommendation is, that they love music? I shall be very likely to fall into their habits if I continue longer with them. I will not do so.â He soon afterwards left their society. The simple, old-fashioned flute on which he played at these meetings is still preserved. It is a silent monitor to his descendants, urging them to performance of duty, in spite of the allurements of pleasure. May every boy who reads this remember it, and try, if ever led into temptation as the apprentice was, to say, âI will not,â with the same determined spirit that he did. The time was fast approaching when he was about to leave the business of shopkeeping, and enter upon the more active duties of life. It is true that, to a certain extent, he had been engaged in active life ever since entering his apprenticeship. At the age of ten he had left the home of his mother, and had been obliged to depend much upon himself. His fatherâs habits had finally prevented him from being of service to the family. The mother had died; the family had been broken up; and Nat had thus, at an early age, been thrown upon the world. After having remained with Ropes & Hodges until they gave up business, he entered the shop of Samuel C. Ward, which was a similar establishment; and there he remained until he was twenty-one years old. He then quitted, forever, this employment. [Sidenote: SURVEY OF SALEM.] In 1794, by a law of the state, every town was obliged to have an accurate survey and measurement made of its limits. Captain Gibaut and Dr. Bentley were appointed by the Selectmen in Salem to superintend this business. Believing that the calculating powers of the apprentice would be useful to them, he was made assistant; and during the summer of 1794 he was occupied with this business. Thus we see how his studies already began to be useful to him. For his pay, he received one hundred and thirty-five dollars. Towards the end of the summer, Mr. Derby, a rich ship-owner in Salem, wished Captain Gibaut to take command of a vessel to Cadiz, and thence round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies. Captain Gibaut consented, and he asked Nat to go with him as clerk. Nat agreed to the terms; but, owing to some difficulty with Mr. Derby, Captain Gibaut resigned to Captain H. Prince. Young Bowditch was unknown to the latter; but at the suggestion of Mr. Derby, who had heard of the talents and industry of the clerk, the same arrangements were continued by Captain Prince. A new era in his life was now beginning; and let us look a moment at him. He is now twenty-one years of age. He is already more learned than many much older than himself, in consequence of his untiring industry and his devotion to study and to duty. Yet he is modest and retiring. He is still full of fun and frolic at times, and always ready for acts of kindness. Above all, he is a good youth; no immorality has stained him. His love of truth had been given him by his mother; and since her death he has loved it still more. It is to him a bright light, as it were, to guide him. Cannot we foresee his career? [Sidenote: FIRST VOYAGE TO INDIA.] On January 11, 1795,âthat is, when he was a few months more than twenty-one years of age,âhe sailed from Salem in the ship Henry. Though he went as clerk, he was prepared to undertake the more active duties of sailor and mate of the vessel. Thinking that he should be too much occupied to be able to read, he took very few books; and therefore he devoted much more time to observations of the heavenly bodies, the state of the weather, &c., while at sea, and upon the manners and habits of the nations he visited. Though he had not been educated as a sailor-boy, his studies had led him to understand the most important part of a seamanâs life, the art of guiding the vessel from one shore to another, across the ocean. In other words, he had studied much on navigation, and copied books upon that subject. [Sidenote: JOURNALâMOTTO.] The Journal which he kept during the voyage is quite long. One of the first lines you meet, on opening the book, is the motto which he chose for himself. It is in Latin, and means, that _he would do what he thought to be right, and not obey the dictates of any man_. He notes the events of every day, most of which are similar; but occasionally something unusual occurs. [Sidenote: SLAVERY.] February 7, 1795, he writes thus: âAt ten A. M., spoke a ship, twenty-five days out, from Liverpool, bound to Africa. We discovered her this morning, just before sunrise, and supposed her to be a frigate.â They discovered soon that it was a negro slave-ship, and he exclaims thus: âGod grant that the detestable traffic which she pursues may soon cease, and that the tawny sons of Africa may be permitted quietly to enjoy the blessings of liberty in their native land.â âFebruary 22. We remember with gratitude that this is the anniversary of the birth of our beloved Washingtonâthe man who unites all hearts. May he long continue a blessing to his country and to mankind at large!â During the passage to the Isle of Bourbon, situated, as you know, east of the southern extremity of Africa, he frequently alludes to his native land in terms of respect and love. On May 8, the ship arrived in the harbor of Bourbon. Perhaps you may like to see his description of the town. [Sidenote: BOURBON.] âMay 9. After dinner, Captain P., Mr. B., and I, went to see the town. It is a fine place. All the streets run in straight lines from the shore, and cross one another at right angles. There is a church here, with a priest to officiate. I went into it. We afterwards went into the republican garden. It is a beautiful place, though at present much neglected. The different walks are made to meet in the centre, and form the figure of a star, each one of the rays of which is formed by thirty-four mango trees, placed from twelve to fourteen feet apart. All the houses of the island are built very low; they have no chimneys. They are two stories high (about ten feet), have lattice windows, outside of which are wooden ones to keep off the sun and rain. The floors are made of the wood of the country, on which they rub wax, as the women of America do on their furniture. It makes them very slippery.â There are other places of which he speaks, and in them he finds flower-gardens in abundance, intermixed with groves of coffee and orange trees, &c. He afterwards alludes to the poor slaves, who, it appeared, suffered as much there as they do in some other places at the present day. [Sidenote: HABITS THERE.] He visits the people of the place, and finds them superstitious and vicious. Alluding to the vice he found there, he writes, âI was reminded of the beautiful words of Solomon, in the Proverbs.â This was not the only occasion on which he remembered his Bible; and it seemed always to have a kindly influence over him. On one occasion, several young men argued with him about its truth; and, having heard them patiently, he put his hand over his heart: âTalk no more about it. I know that the Bible is true; that it is capable of doing to me the greatest good. I know so by the feelings I have here.â After remaining in this place until July 25, he set sail for home, and arrived in Salem January 11, 1796, having been absent exactly twelve months. CHAPTER IV. _From 1796 to 1797âage, 23-4._ Second voyage.âVisits Lisbon.âIsland of Madeira; festival and games there.âAnecdotes of his skill as an accountant.âDoubles Cape of Good Hope.âAlbatrosses.âArrival at Manilla.âExtracts from Journal.âCurious boat.âEarthquake.âVoyage home. [Sidenote: AT SEA AGAIN.] [Sidenote: SECOND VOYAGE.] After remaining at home about two months, he again sailed in the same ship, and with Captain Prince. On the 26th of the following March, they prepared to sail from Salem harbor; but, being prevented by contrary winds from getting out of the bay, the anchor was dropped during the night, and on the following morning, under fair but strong breezes, Mr. Bowditch was again on his way across the wide Atlantic. His course was towards Lisbon, situated at the mouth of the River Tagus, in Portugal. The first part of the voyage was unpleasant, because cloudy and stormy weather prevailed most of the time; but during the latter part, under pleasant and mild breezes from the south, the ship rode gayly onwards, and, on the morning of April 24, the vessel was within sight of Lisbon, with its beautiful and romantic country behind it. Lisbon is the chief city of Portugal, and presents a very superb appearance when viewed from a vessel which is entering the harbor. It is the principal commercial place in the kingdom. Its inhabitants are among the richest. In consequence of its being the place of residence of the kings of Portugal, many magnificent country-seats, or villas, are seen on all the vine-covered hills of the adjacent country. The stay at this city was short, and the opportunities for visiting the interesting places in it very limited. Mr. Bowditch seems not to have been particularly pleased with its appearance. At the time he was there, probably, much less attention was paid to the cleanliness of the streets than there is now. But he spent the 28th and 29th of April in walking about the city, and says in his Journal, that he âfound nothing remarkable.â [Sidenote: LISBON, INCIDENT.] It was at Lisbon that Mr. Bowditch discovered the advantage of having learned to _speak_ French, to which I alluded at the close of the second chapter. Though a Portuguese port, the custom-house officers understood French; and no one on board but he could speak any other language than the English. The consequence was, that he acted as interpreter, which was, of course, a great help to the captain. This incident made a deep impression upon his mind; and in after-life, when a person in conversation expressed a doubt about the importance of any kind of knowledge, because for the time it seemed useless, he would reply, âO, study everything, and your learning will, some time or other, be of service. I once said that I would not learn to _speak_ French, because I thought that I should never leave my native town; yet, within a few years afterwards, I was in a foreign port, and I became sole interpreter of the shipâs crew, in consequence of my power to speak this language.â [Sidenote: MADEIRA.] [Sidenote: GAMES.] On the 30th, having taken on board a quantity of wine, they again were ready for sea; but, owing to bad weather, they did not sail until the 6th of May, when the ship dropped down the river. On the 6th it was on its way to the Island of Madeira, which is a small island, situated about three hundred and sixty miles from the northern part of Africa. At eleven oâclock, May 15, the island was discovered; and, under full sail, the ship swept along the shore until nine in the evening, when they hailed a pilot, who came on board, from the town of Funchal. Mr. Pintard, the American consul of the place, greeted them very cordially. The ship spent six days there, taking in more wine,âfor which the country is famous,âand sailed from it on Thursday morning, May 26, 1796. During this residence at Mr. Pintardâs, Mr. Bowditch saw some feats of horsemanship, about which you may like to hear. They are thus described in his Journal: âA ring being suspended by a small wire, about ten feet from the ground, at the entrance of the gate of the public garden, a horseman attempted to strike it, and carry it off, while upon full gallop. If he gained the prize, he was attended by the master of ceremonies, mounted on a small colt fantastically adorned with ribbons, &c., with a most deformed mask, who generally gave him a reward fully proportioned to the merit of the action; perhaps a whistle, a small flower, or some little image. During the next day, no business was done by the inhabitants; but the whole of it was devoted to amusements similar to those of the preceding. Again there were masquerades, and some of the richest men in the place joined with the crowd, masked like the people. Others were very richly dressed, like Turks, East Indians, &c. One of them wore a head-dress worth, it was said, forty or fifty thousand dollars.â From this description, slight as it is, we may see the difference in the customs between these inhabitants of Madeira and the Americans. [Sidenote: ANECDOTE.] Captain Prince relates the following anecdotes, which occurred during their residence at Madeira. I shall use Captain Princeâs words. âI was one day walking with an American shipmaster at Madeira, who, in the course of conversation, asked me who that young man (alluding to Mr. Bowditch) was. I replied, that he was clerk of the ship under my command, and remarked that he was a great calculator. âWell,â said the gentleman, âI can set him a sum that he canât do.â I answered that I did not believe it. The gentleman then proposed a wager of a dinner to all
{'title': 'Nat the Navigator. A Life of Nathaniel Bowditch. For Young Persons by Bowditch', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}