THE NAUTILUS, AND WHY SHE CROSSED THE ATLANTIC.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1517, 27 December 1878, Page 3

THE NAUTILUS, AND WHY SHE CROSSED THE ATLANTIC.

[“Town and Country Journal.”] “What man has done,” says Washington, “ man can do;” and Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Macbeth, “ I dare] do all that may become a man; who does more is none.” And again ,J“ What man dare, I dare.” To do more than man was what Captain'"Andrew wished to do and by chance has done—there is no denying it; and as these are “ interviewing ” days, I thought it well to ascertain from the lips of one of the voyagers his own account of the daring venture. In answer to a question as to nerve and will, Captain Andrew very modestly said, “ I never make up my mind to do a thing without giving it a trial, and if you will only sit down hero by me on the grass I will tell you how this voyage came about. Hearing a lot of talk at home about this person and that person crossing, I said one day, by the way of a joke, * I am determined to cross in the smallest boat and quickest time ever heard of.’ By to-morrow this speech went the round of all the papers, and was the talk of all the clubs, pubs., and everything else, and then I was asked by this one and that one when I thought of starting. I soon made up my mind to perform, if possible, the journey, like Johnson, alone and in a smaller boat and quicker time, after getting my wife, with some amount of trouble, to sanction my taking such a step. My brother seeing that I was determined, begged of me to allow him to accompany me, which, with some reluctance, I did. I accordingly called on Messrs Higgins and Jiffor, boat builders, Gloster, Massachusetts, and gave orders for my boat, which I requested to be made not longer than 16ft. overall; but I was advised by them to hare one 3ft. larger—l9ft. overall—as they were sure, before I got a quarter of my voyage, I would wish I took their advice being assured that the smallest boat that ever crossed was 20ft. long ; one foot less would claim mine the smallest. I agreed ; the boat was built, for which I paid £2O, and christened her the Nautilus. We left Boston on the 13th June last, and after encountering a series of misfortunes, such as breaking of lamp, ripping of sails, and cracking of masts, all of which of course, had to be put right, wo again glided down the river, accompanied by several steamers and boats, and then, after wishing and being wished farewell, we steered our little ship to sea. Gracious me, what obstacles—unforseen, or unthought of—seemed to spring up here, there, and everywhere, such as schools of porpoises, grampus, and whales sporting and playing too near us to be pleasant. Large drifting spars, planks, and pieces of wrecfci which would, had they struck us, smashed' our boat to pieces. Oh, how often we wished ourselves back; but our wish was useless. So on we sped, now high in air, and then low in the trough of the ocean, like a feather knocking about. We were afloat for eighteen consecutive days and nights, unable to glimpse the sun, moon, or stars. We fell in with a few ships and steamers bound for America. From one or two of these we had newspapers, in which we read of our perilous voyage ; from another we hod a bottle of wine—a welcome present ; and with another took breakfast. So you see we fell in with company even on the deep. Taking eno thing with another, I don’t see wo have any reason to complain of our voyage, only I would not undertake the same trip for the boat full of sovereigns. There is no denying that the greatest thing that tempted our starting was to bo in time for the Paris Exhibition to exhibit our boat, and endeavour to make some money by the venture. We are mechanics—my brother Walter is a carver, and lam a pianoforte builder. We were never across the Atlantic ocean before, nor do wo know anything of the sea or sailing, or I should have said, nor did we on starting.” And here the captain smiled as bo said, “We are sailors now, after knocking about the billows for forty-eight days. The moat myself and brother ever did was to go out in a boat crabbing. And now, after seven weeks on the ocean wave, wo landed in this delightful cove on Wednesday last, the 31st of July, 1878, as well as could bo expected. Wo wore met by the Rev. E. G. Harvey, vicar of Mullion, who behaved to us like a father,, and to whom we owe many thanks for his untiring kindness and attention to us from the first day of our arrival.” The little boat and her venturesome crew left Mullion for Havre, thence for Paris about six o’clock on Monday morning last, and her start was witnessed by scores, who assembled to wish them a “ God speed.”