PERRY. 167 



p. 10.) After his first trip to Algeria it was noted that he had formed the habit 

 of studious thought and reading for improvement of his mind and he then devoted 

 himself to advanced courses in mathematics and astronomy. Matthew was 

 the greater student. At every port he made a study of conditions and people. 

 "On the cruise of the Brandywine he directed the studies of the young midship- 

 men, advised them what books to read, what historical sites to visit, and what was 

 most worth seeing in the famous cities. " (Griffis, p. 97.) While stationed at the 

 Brooklyn navy-yard he organized the Lyceum "to promote the diffusion of useful 

 knowledge, to foster a spirit of harmony and a community of interests in the 

 service," etc. Specimens were collected and cared for; books and pictures were 

 gathered. Matthew Perry became recognized as a scientific student and was 

 offered command of the United States exploring expedition to the Antarctic, which 

 he declined and which was eventually led by Charles Wilkes. Meanwhile, he 

 showed such special knowledge of, and interest in, steam naval vessels that he was 

 given command of the first one built for our navy, the Perry, 1837, and met with 

 intelligence as well as pertinacity the opposition of seamen to replacing sails by 

 propellers and steam-engines. In the same year he suggested the utilization of 

 the ramming facility of the steam war-vessel. In 1838 Perry's knowledge and 

 scientific interest were utilized in a trip to Europe to look into the matter of an 

 extended system of light-houses, which he had urged, and the new methods that were 

 revolutionizing naval methods. Never was more brilliantly illustrated the value to 

 a nation of the student in the navy than in the case of Matthew C. Perry. He was 

 a good deal of a naturalist also; he brought shells and plants from his distant trips. 

 His report of the Japanese expedition is accompanied by scientific reports on species 

 brought back and examined by naturalists. A son of Oliver and Matthew's sister, 

 Ann Maria, is Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers, who was in 1874-1878, and 

 again later, superintendent of the Naval Academy, an evidence of scholarship. 



Both of the Perrys were self-reliant, each in his own way. Early trained to 

 assume responsibility, they did so in emergencies and with such intelligence, 

 courage, and pertinacity that they were invincible. Both were faithful to duty. 

 This involved a certain conservatism, and this was shown in the way in which they 

 cherished throughout life the religious teachings of their mother. "She trained 

 them to the severest virtue, purest motives, faithfulness for sacred things. The 

 habit which Matthew C. Perry had of reading his Bible through during every 

 cruise, his scrupulous regard for the Lord's day, the American Sunday, his taste 

 for literature, and his love for the English classics were formed at his mother's 

 knee." (Griffis, pp. 13, 14.) Oliver was less evidently religious. Yet, as he 

 returned after his victory on the Niagara to the decks of the Lawrence, he said: 

 "The prayers of my wife have prevailed in saving me"; and in reporting to the 

 secretary of the navy he begins: "It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms 

 of the United States a signal victory." The emotional side of Oliver was, indeed, 

 well developed; he had a fine taste for music and was a skilled performer on the 

 flute. He was affectionate and aroused strong affection for himself in others. 

 When the British officers surrendered their swords to him at Lake Erie he re- 

 quested them to retain their sidearms. Later the British commander toasted 

 "Commodore Perry, the gallant and generous enemy." Much of the native 

 culture and grace shown by the Perrys is found in their father's mother's family, 

 the Hazards. Of Mercy Hazard's father, Oliver Hazard, it is said, "he had ele- 

 gant manners and cultivated tastes." 



