reports is my thunder; if you see some one in Washington run- 

 ning away with it, then recollect where the lightning came from/' 

 As we eagerly read the daily "Weather Reports/' we realize, tru- 

 ly, that the world has run away with his "thunder," while but few 

 remember whence "the lightning came" ! 



The interest excited by the practical application of meteor- 

 ology to navigation enabled Maury in 1853 to assemble at Brus- 

 sels under the auspices of King Leopold a Congress of the chief 

 commercial nations of the earth. At this Congress Maury repre- 

 sented the United States. Its object was the further develop- 

 ment of meteorological research. In his report to Congress, 

 Maury says of the Brussels Conference : 



"Rarely has there been presented to the scientific world so 

 sublime a spectacle, all nations agreeing to unite and co-operate 

 in carrying out, according to the same plan, one system of philo- 

 sophical research with regard to the sea. Every ship that navi- 

 gates the high seas with these charts and abstract-logs may be 

 regarded, henceforth, as a floating observatory a temple of sci- 

 ence!" 



At the close of the Conference, Maury returned to his old 

 post at Washington, laden with honors and rich in fame. The 

 use of Maury's "Sailing Directions" and his "Wind and Current 

 Charts" proved highly satisfactory to the large Steamship Com- 

 panies, and this satisfaction the merchants and underwriters of 

 New York expressed by presenting to Maury at a public dinner 

 $5,000 in gold and a handsome silver service. This service is 

 now owned by his granddaughter, Miss Ann Maury of Richmond, 

 Virginia. 



In Europe many learned societies elected him an honorary 

 member of their bodies, orders of knighthood were offered him, 

 and medals were struck in his honor. Though thus honored in 

 business circles and by learned societies at home and abroad, sin- 

 ister methods, born of ignoble motives, began to manifest them- 

 selves in national legislation. Congress, in 1855, passed a bill to 

 Promote the Efficiency of the Navy. Under this Act, the Navy 

 Retiring Board placed Maury on the retired list. This action 

 aroused a storm of popular indignation, in consequence of which, 



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