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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



breathe being made unpleasant by all 

 sorts of "exhalations" from the ship, the 

 masses of humanity on board, "and a 

 few dogs." 



Closen has the good luck not to be in- 

 convenienced by the sea, settles in his 

 corner, and from that moment till the 

 end takes pleasure in watching life around 

 him. He learns how to make nautical 

 observations, describes his companions in 

 his journal, and especially the captain, a 

 typical old tar who has an equal faith in 

 the efficacy of hymns and of oaths. 



"Prayer is said twice a day on the 

 deck, which does not prevent there being 

 much irreligion among seamen. I have 

 often heard our captain swear and curse 

 and freely use the worst sailors' language 

 while he was praying and chanting : 



" 'Ja mets ma confiance, 

 Vierge, en votre secours, 

 Et quand ma derniere heure 

 Viendra, guidez mon sort; 

 Obtenez que je meure 

 De la plus sainte mort.' 



Various incidents break the monotony 

 of the journey. On the 18th of June the 

 Siirveillante captures an English corsair, 

 which is a joy ; but they learn from her 

 the fall of Charleston and the surrender 

 of Lincoln, which gives food for thought. 



A TRAP THAT WAS AVOIDED 



Nothing better shows the difference 

 "between old-time and present-time navi- 

 gation than the small fact that while on 

 the way they indulge in fishing. On 

 board the Comtesse de Noailles they cap- 

 ture flying-fishes, which are "very tender 

 and delicious to eat, fried in fresh butter, 

 like gudgeons." 



An occasion offers to open fight, with 

 the advantage of numerical superiority, 

 on six English vessels; some shots are 

 exchanged, but with great wisdom, and, 

 in spite of the grumblings of all his peo- 

 ple, Ternay refuses to really engage them, 

 and continues his voyage. 



"He had his convoy too much at heart," 

 says Closen, "and he knew too well the 

 importance of our expedition, his positive 

 orders being that he must make our army 

 arrive as quickly as possible, for him not 

 to set aside all the entreaties of the young 

 naval officers, who, I was told, were very 



outspoken on that score, as well as most 

 of the land officers, who know nothing 

 of naval matters." 



The event fully justified Ternay, for 

 Graves, whose mission it had been to 

 intercept him and his slow and heavy 

 convoy, missed his opportunity by twenty- 

 four hours only, reaching New York, 

 where he joined forces with Arbuthnot, 

 just as our own ships were safe at New- 

 port. The slightest delay on Ternay's 

 part might have been fatal. 



The more so since, when nearing the 

 coast, our fleet had fallen into fogs. 

 "Nothing so sad and dangerous at sea 

 as fogs," Closen sententiously writes ; 

 "besides the difficulty of avoiding col- 

 lisions in so numerous a fleet, each vessel, 

 in order to shun them, tries to gain space ; 

 thus one may chance to get too far from 

 the center. The standing orders for our 

 convoy were, in view of avoiding those 

 inconveniences, to beat the drums every 

 quarter of an hour or fire petards. The 

 men-of-war fired their guns or sent rock- 

 ets. The speed limit was three knots 

 during the fog, so that each vessel might, 

 as far as possible, continue keeping com- 

 pany with its neighbor." 



In spite of all which the lie de Prance 

 was lost, and there was great anxiety; 

 she was not seen again during the rest of 

 the journey, but she appeared later, quite 

 safe, at Boston. 



WASHINGTON GIVEN THE HONORS OF A 

 MARSHAL IN THE FRENCH ARMY 



The landing orders of Rochambeau, 

 making known now to all concerned the 

 intentions of the government, were clear 

 and peremptory. Drawn up by him on 

 board the Due de Bourgogne, he had 

 caused copies to be carried to the chiefs 

 of the several corps on board the other 

 ships : 



"The troops which His Majesty is 

 sending to America are auxiliary to those 

 of the United States, his allies, and placed 

 under the orders of General Washington, 

 to whom the honors of a marshal of 

 France will be rendered. The same with 

 the President of Congress," which avoid- 

 ed the possibility of any trouble as to 

 precedence, no one in the French army 

 having;- such a rank. 



