NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Evening Star, Issue 3469, 6 April 1874, Page 2

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Man on the Ocean. A book for boys, by R. M. Ballantyne. Nelson and Sons, London and Edinburgh. William Hay, bookseller, Princes street, Dunedin. In fulfilment of bis commission to subdue and populate the earth man’s genius has shone conspicuously in contvivancesHbr overcoming physical difficulties. To us, who live in days, when to will and to do seem mere matters of course, the steps by which man’s control oyer natural forces has been gained, are seldom thought of. Obstacles, that at one period of human history seemed insurmountable, now present no impediments to traversing the surface of the globe! Mountains are levelled or pierced ; rivers are bridged, and the boundless ocean traversed nearly with certainty, and, notwithstanding the tremendous forces to be encountered, with comparative safety. When standing on the shore and watching the heaving billows as they follow each other and break harmlessly upon the beach, it'seldom strikes the spectator that within each wave is enormous force : that it is the embodiment of all the impulses, which, beginning with a mere ripple, have impelled it forwardaud caused it to rise higher and higher after eachjimpaet with the wind, until the tiny wavelet becomes a giant; rushes onward to battle furiously with the rocks, qr to spend its strength in climbing the sloping beach. Man’s greatest triumph is that he can frame structures able to brave these mighty giants and to gravel over them from country to country. The means by which the victory has been won exceeds romance in interest. The battle has been gained by slow degrees. The savage, sitting on the snore, or paddling a mile or two from it in his rude canoe, has little chance of “ replenishing the earth and subduing it ” j but if he has a canoe he has taken the first a*ep. Mr Ballantyne, in the work under notice, has, in the most pleasant way possible, traced ship-building from the period of canoes to the present day. There is nothing dry or technical about his book, notwithstanding the processes of ship-building, launching, rigging, and navigating are minutely described. Wvery division of the work is enlivened with some narrative of deep interest, and illustrated by very numerous well-executed engravings. Beginning with the coracle of the ancient Britons, ship-building, as practised by the Greeks and Romans, is told of, and navigation through succeeding centuries, with a lively description 1 of every device for I

traversing rivers and seas adapted by man to existing circumstances, are most graphic* ally described. The building of the Great Eastern brings the history of ship-construc-tion to a elose; but nob the book. The last portion of ft treats of “ The end of boats and ships,” and contains narratives of dangers by fire snd storm, steamboat explosions, and other disasters. Amongst the stories that create so tpuch interest in this work are Columbus's discovery of America, Captain Blink’s extraordinary boat voyage after the Bounty left them, when with ~ : —3 nst enough of water and of bread To keep, some days, the dying from the dead. borne cordage, canvas, sails, and lines and twine, He succeeded in reaching Timor after sailing several thousand miles in an open boat twenty-three feet long and six feet nine wide, with nineteen men on board. Amongst the incidents of ocean voyaging, life boats, their construction and adventures lead to the narration of very exciting incidents. Tales of heroism both of men and women are told which should never be for* gotten. They shew what sacrifices and efforts the men of our day are capable of in the cause of humanity, and contrast finely with the developments of courage for less worthy purposes, which are set forth in such glowing colors by historians and novelists as ornamenting the heroes of chivalry,, We are very apt when we read those tales, to

imagine there are no such beings capable of noble dating now*a*days. Let no one suppose so : but turn to “ Man on the Ocean ” and read of Grace Darling and what she did ; of James Laoy, of Braybead, what he did, and of hundreds beside, what they did ; sometimes losing their, own lives in efforts to save others; and we venture to say, the most enthusiastic worshipper of the past, will acknowledge that the nineteenth century presents worthier examples of calm, enduring courage than any preceding age. To this day the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, are read with interest by boys, many of whom wonder at the wonderful way in which he constructed the canoe which he did, and the canoe he did not get into the water. When Defoe wrote that story, ho little thought the fictitious story he invented would ever be exceeded by one of truth ; yet it is so. The name of John Williams, the Apostle of the South Sea Islands, is almost forgotten by this generation, but he far exceeded Robinson Crusoe in his efforts at ship-building. _ His object was to build a missionary ship in which he could sail from island to island. Mr Bannatyne says, “There are few records in the annals of ship-building so interesting as the account of the building of Williams’s missionary ship, the Messenger of Peace. We must refer our readers to the work itself for the description of the marvellous process by which a man knowing “ nothing about ship-building,” with very few tools and. no help but that of natives, who “ were as ignorant as children,” built, launched, and . navigated a vessel of about eighty tons bot\Mi’|and this is a description of her, and of her first outward voyage

This vessel was two-masted; sloop rigged, and «irried a mainsail, fore-sail, and jib. Her length was about sixty feet, and her breadth eighteen. She was completed and launched in fifteen weeks, and her name was the Messenger of Peace.

Perhaps a 1 more singular vessel was never before built, either as to the peculiarity of the circumstances or her object, for she carried the richest cargo that ever floated on the sea. She was insured, too, without money. No raging billows, or howling winds, or breaking surf upon a lee shore could touch her lading, for she was freighted with the gospel of life. It is to be regretted that Mr Williams did not leave a still more minute account of the details of this remarkable vessel, Even what we have got was written ■at the urgent Request of his friends, for his own modesty would have induced hinr to pasS' over the building of the Messenger of Peace With only a few words. As the first voyage of so curious a ship as that which w6 have just described must prove interesting to every one, we shall insert it here, partly in the missionary’s own ■ words. He says “Thinking it prudent to try our vessel before wo Ventured to Tahiti, which was seven or eight hundred miles from us, I determined on a visit to our interesting station at Aitutaki, which >ffts only about on© hundred and seventy miles distant. 'The king, Makea, never having seen any other island, determined to accompany

. Raising our woodep. and stone anchors, and hoisting our mat sails, I took my compass and quadrant and put to sea, accompanied only by natives- We had not proceeded above six miles from the shore, when, in shifting the sails, the natives, not observing what was said to them, and not being acquainted with maritime usages, let the fore-sail go, and as the wind was very strong, it broke our foremast. Providentially, however, about twelve or fifteen feet above the deck was left standing; and having cleared the wreck, and hoisted a part of our sail on the broken mast, we turned back, and were thankful to find that we should reach the land, although several miles to leeward of the harbor.

. “ We Ailed a cask with stones,‘which, in addition to our wooden anchor, we hoped might hold the vessel outside the reef; and if not, I resolved upon the desperate alternative of running upon it, by which the vessel in all probability would have been dashed to pieces; hut tViia was preferable to being driven from the island, with a scanty supply of provisions and the ship in a crippled state, in a track where there was not an island within a thousand miles. Having, however, a number of natives on board, and making them all work, we succeeded by sunset, contrary to expectation, in reaching the harbor in safety. “ We got a new mast, repaired our damages, and in a few days sailed again. Having a strong and favorable wind, we reached Aitutaki on Sabbath morning, in time to conduct the services of the day.” Although termed “ a book for boys,” it is one that will be' read with pleasure by men and wpmen ; but boys will firid it especially interesting, through its containing somewhat minute directions how to proceed to make a boat—a beginning in technical education that should bs by every possible paeans encouraged.