164 



NAVY NAXOS. 



dered. Having ordt ml the fleet to be anchored, he 

 again spoke of himself. " Don't throw me over- 

 board. Kiss me, Hardy." Hardy knelt down, and 

 obeyed in silence. " Now I am satisfied. Thank 

 God, I have done my duty." Hardy kissed him 

 again, received his blessing, and then took leave of 

 him for ever. 



Of late years, the practice of naval warfare threatens 

 to undergo a great revolution, from the introduction 

 of steam navigation, and from the use of bombs, 

 discharged horizontally, instead of shot from common 

 cannon. Experiments have been tried on hulks, by 

 bombs projected horizontally, with terrible effect. 

 If the projectile lodged in a mast, in exploding, it 

 overturned it, with all its yards and rigging ; if in 

 the side, the ports were opened into each other ; or, 

 when near the water, an immense chasm was opened, 

 causing the vessel to sink immediately. If it should 

 not explode until it fell spent upon deck, besides 

 doing the injury of an ordinary ball, it would then 

 burst, scattering smoke, fire, and death on every 

 side. When this comes to pass, it would seem that 

 the naval profession would cease to be very desir- 

 able. Nevertheless, experience has, in all ages, 

 shown that, the more destructive are the engines 

 used in war, and the more it is improved and syste- 

 matized, the less is the loss of life. Salamis and 

 Lepanto can either of them alone count many times 

 the added victims of the Nile, Trafalgar, and Nava- 

 rino. One effect of the predicted change in naval 

 war, it is said, will be the substitution of small ves- 

 sels for the larger ones now in use. The three 

 decker presents many times the surface of the 

 schooner, while her superior number of cannon does 

 not confer a commensurate advantage ; for ten bombs, 

 projected into the side of a ship, would be almost as 

 efficacious to her destruction as a hundred. As 

 forming part of a system of defence for our coast, 

 the bomb cannon, mounted on steamers, which can 

 take their position at will, would be terribly for- 

 midable. 



When all nations shall be self- governed, and shall 

 cease to exercise that injustice which almost invari- 

 ably springs from the passions of individuals, then 

 we may hope to realize the vision of an unbroken 

 peace, and naval war, like every other, may be dis- 

 missed as barbarous. But, until that happy day 

 arrives, our character, situation, and interests, all 

 prompt us to watch over and improve our navy. 

 Naval war may be carried on with infinitely less 

 expense of life and money than war upon land. 

 While a navy is impotent to the subversion of our 

 liberties, it goes forth to meet the danger at a dis- 

 tance from our shores. Our fields are saved from 

 desolation ; our peaceful citizens are left to cultivate 

 them, undisturbed by the turmoil of approaching 

 war; and are spared from spoliation, slaughter, 

 famine, pestilence, and all the crimes and their 

 attendant curses, that follow in the train of armies. 

 (See Ship, and Navigation.) We subjoin the follow- 

 ing table of the various existing navies, in 1830. It 

 may be remarked, that, in comparing the cost of 

 British and foreign shipping, it is usual to estimate 

 it by the tonnage ; but this is a very false criterion ; 

 for while foreign ships are accurately measured, our 

 ships are measured so that a vessel of 150 tons 

 register generally carries 220 tons of a mixed cargo, 

 and a vessel registered at 400 tons seldom carries less 

 than 600. If this difference be taken into account, 

 it will be seen, that the northern nations have no 

 considerable advantage in the cheapness of their 

 ships over the British , and it is generally admitted, 

 and on good grounds, we believe, that ships built in 

 the ports on the Baltic do not last so long as those 

 built in this country. 



Buenos Ayres has a brig of eighteen guns, and a few 

 schooners. Chile has two small frigates, and a few 

 smaller vessels. Peru has two sloops of war, and a 

 few schooners. Hayti has a few gun-boats and 

 guarda-costas. 



NAXOS (in the most ancient times, Dia, and 

 Stongyle; but now Naxia) ; the largest island (169 

 square miles, with 10,000 inhabitants) in the Greek 

 department of the central Cyclades ; lat. 37 2' N.; 

 Ion. 25 30' E. It contains a city of the same name 

 (with 200 inhabitants), forty villages, a castle, a 

 harbour, and is the seat of a Greek and a Catholic 

 bishop. Its extraordinary fertility, and the fable of 

 Bacchus, to whom it was consecrated, made it cele- 

 brated in antiquity. The ruins of a temple of Bac- 

 chus are still to be seen near the fountain of Ariadne. 

 It abounded in grain, wine (which was considered the 

 best in Greece), excellent fruits, and marble, of 

 which the kind called Ophaltes, or Ophites, was 

 much used. This marble hardens in the air, and 

 stands for centuries undecayed. The inhabitants 

 ascribed the uncommon fertility of the island, on 

 account of which it was often called Little Sicily, to 

 the influence of Bacchus, its guardian deity. Fes- 

 tivals in honour of Bacchus, to whom altars and tem- 

 ples were dedicated, were celebrated here. It was 

 here, also, that the deity consoled Ariadne, when 

 deserted by Theseus. The first inhabitants of the 

 island were said to have been Thracians, who were 

 afterwards subdued by the Thessalians, under the 

 command of Otus and Ephialtes. The Thessalians 



