6 Life and Character of Nathaniel Bowditch. 
that Captain Prince burst out a laughing, and said, ‘ Well, Mr. 
Bowditch, can you be. Waking your will now?” “ Yes,” was 
his good-natured reply. “After this affair, (the French privateer 
having hauled off without molesting them,) the supercargo re- 
_ quested to be stationed at one of the guns, and his request was 
granted. Captain Prince*testifies, that in all cases of waareadte * pe 
manifested great firmness and presence of mind. 
The fourth and last voyage which they made together, was in 
the same ship from Boston to Batavia and Manilla. They sailed 
in August, 1799, and returned home in September, 1800. 
On their arrival at Manilla, a Scotchman, by the name of Mur- 
ray, asked Captain Prince how he contrived to find the way there, 
through such a long, perplexing, and dangerous navigation, and — 
in the face of the northeast monsoon, by mere dead reckoning, 
without the use of lunars,—it being a common notion at that 
time, that the Americans knew nothing about working lunar ob- 
servations. Captain Prince told him that he had a crew of twelve 
men, every one of whom could take and work a lunar observa- 
tion as well, for all practical purposes, as Sir Isaac Newton him- 
self, were he alive. Murray was-perfectly astounded at this, and 
actually went down to the landing-place, one pares: nore 
see this knowing crew come meets 
= Mr. Bowditch was) 
vessels that ever floated in Manilla Bay.” 
~ The knowledge which these common sailors had aon iies of 2@ 
navigation, had been imparted to them by the kindness of Mr — 
Bowditch. Captain Prince relates that one day the supercargo — 
said to him, “ Come, Captain, let us go forward and see what the — 
sailors are talking about, under the lee of the long-boat.” They 
eee 
a 
versationy-and-as Captain 
Prince ae sat ‘as miodeat™ as a maid said ‘not a word, but — 
held his slate-pencil in his mouth. Another person on the island, 
a broker, by the name of Kean, who was present, said to Murray, 
“If you knew as much as I do about that ship Astrea, you — 
wouldn’t talk quite so glib.” “ Why not? what do you know — 
about her?” “ Why, sir, I know that there is more knowledge ~ 
of navigation on board that ship, than there ever-was‘in all the : 
went forward, accordingly, and the Captain was surprised to find — 
he sailors ‘rated of sparuing their long yarns, earnestly engaged 2 
neil, and discussing the high matters of 5 
s, dip, and re i s 
