Chapter XXVIII (1)

Mrs. Dawsey lay at the mansion, under guard, for several weeks. When finally able to be moved she was conveyed to the 'furnished apartments' bespoken for her by Joe. Her husband, after a short confinement in jail, was set at liberty, and then made strenuous efforts to effect his wife's release on bail. He did not succeed. Public feeling ran very high against her; and that, probably more than the fact that she was charged with an unbailable crime, operated to prolong her residence at the public boarding house kept for runaway slaves and common felons at Trenton.

At the next session of the 'county court,' after an imprisonment of four months, she was arraigned for trial. Owing to the death of Selma, Mulock was the only white witness against her. He told a straightforward story, the most rigid cross-examination not swerving him from it, and deposed to Dawsey's having attempted to bribe him to go away. His evidence was conclusive as to the prisoner's guilt; but her counsel, an able man, made so damaging an assault on his personal character, that the jury disagreed. Mrs. Dawsey was then remanded to jail to await a new trial, at the next sitting of the court.

Shortly after the trial, Mulock suddenly disappeared. Hearing of it, and suspecting he had been spirited away by Dawsey, Joseph Preston went to Trenton, and, procuring a judge's order for Mulock's arrest as an absconding witness, caused a thorough search to be made for him in Jones and the adjoining counties. He himself visited Chalk Level, in Harnett County, and there found him, living again with his white wife. That lady had previously won and lost a second spouse, but, it appeared, was then in such straits for another husband, that she was willing to take up with her own cast-off household furniture. Whether a new marriage ceremony was performed, or not, I never learned; but I have been reliably informed that Mulock complained bitterly of his wife for having defrauded him of twenty-five of the fifty dollars she had agreed to pay as consideration for his again sharing her 'bed and board.'

Mulock admitted having received four hundred dollars from Dawsey for absenting himself, and gave, as an excuse for accepting the bribe, his conviction that Mrs. Dawsey could not be found guilty on his testimony. After his arrest he was confined in the same jail with the 'retired' schoolmistress.

The second trial was approaching; but, late on the night preceding the sitting of the court, the jailer's house--which adjoined and communicated with the prison--was forcibly entered by four armed men disguised as negroes. They bound and gagged the jailer, his wife, and two female servants, and, seizing the keys, entered the jail, and carried Mulock off by force. The keeper heard a desperate struggle, and it was supposed Mulock was foully dealt by. The footprints of four men were the next morning detected leading to a spot on the bank of the river, where a boat appeared to have been moored; but there all traces were lost, and the overseer's fate is still shrouded in mystery.

Mrs. Dawsey, whose cell adjoined Mulock's, was not disturbed, but public suspicion connected her husband with the affair. There was, however, no evidence against him, and he went 'unwhipped of justice.'

The lady was arraigned for trial on the following day, but, no witnesses appearing against her, she was--after a tedious confinement of ten months--set at liberty. Thus, at last, she achieved 'a plantation and a rich planter;' but her darling object in life--to lead and shine in society, for which her education and character peculiarly fitted her--she missed. With the exception of her brutal husband, an ignorant overseer, and a superannuated 'schulemarm,' imported from the North, she has no associates. Society has built up a wall about her, and, with the brand of Cain on her forehead, she is going through the world.

Larkin, after breaking off his connection with his 'respectable associates,' descended from trading in human cattle, to trafficking in fourfooted beasts, and all manner of horned animals. Joe offered him an interest in his business; but the negro-trader had too long led a roving life to be content with the dull routine of regular business. Young Preston, and Cragin, Mandell & Co., stipulating for a half of his profits, furnished him a capital of fifty thousand dollars; and with that he embarked largely in 'cattle driving.' He bought in Texas, and sold in New Orleans, and did a profitable business until the breaking out of the rebellion. Since that event he has been an officer in the confederate army.

Frank remained at my house for a fortnight after his return from the South, and then, apparently restored, went to Boston. Business had grown distasteful to him, and he sought a dissolution with Cragin; but the latter prevailed on him to remain in the firm, and go to Europe. He continued there until news reached Liverpool of the fall of Fort Sumter. Then he took the first steamer for home. Arriving in Boston, he at once effected a dissolution with Cragin, and then came on to New York to make his 'mother' a short visit prior to entering the army. He expressed the intention of enlisting as a private, and I tried to dissuade him from it, by representing how easily he could raise a company in Boston, and go as an officer. 'No,' he replied; 'I know nothing of tactics. I am unfit to lead; I can only fire a musket. With one on my shoulder, I will go and sell my life as dearly as I can.'

On the 18th of May, 1861, he left New York, a private in Duryee's Zouaves (5th Regiment N. Y. V.), and on the 10th of June following, while fighting bravely by the side of York, Winthrop, and Greble, at Big Bethel, fell, badly wounded by a musket ball.

When he was fit to be moved, I had him conveyed home. His recovery was slow, but, as soon as he was able to go out, and, while still suffering from his wound, he went on to Boston to render Cragin some assistance in his business. General Butler's expedition was then fitting out for New Orleans. Weak as he was, Frank raised a company of Boston boys for it, and went off as their captain.

He was present at the bombardment and capture of New Orleans; but growing weary of the inactivity which followed those events, and hearing of the stirring times in Tennessee, he resolved to resign his commission, and seek service in the Western army.

After his resignation had been accepted, and on the eve of his departure for the North, when returning, one night, to his lodgings, he was accosted by a woman of the street. Her face seemed familiar, and he asked her name. She answered, 'Rosey Preston.' He went with her to her home--a miserable room in the third story of a tumbledown shanty in Chartres street--and there found her child, a bright little fellow of about six years. With them, on the following day, he sailed for the North.

Arriving here, he settled on Rosey the income of a small sum, and procured her apartments in a modest tenement house in East Thirtieth street. There Rosey now works at her needle, and the little boy attends a public school.

Within the week of Frank's arrival, and when he was about setting out for the West, I was surprised one morning, by Ally's appearance in my office. Newbern had fallen, and he had made his way, with his mother, into the Union lines, and, after a good deal of difficulty, had secured a passage on a return transport to New York. I provided employment for his mother, but Ally insisted on going into the war with Frank. He went as his servant, but fought at his side at Lawrenceburgh, Dog Walk, Chaplin Hills, and Frankfort, and in three of those engagements was wounded. His bones now whiten the plains of Tennessee. Rosey he never saw, and never forgave.

Frank was with the small body of regulars who, at Murfreesboro, on the 31st of December, checked the advance of Hardee's corps after McCook's division had been driven from the field, and who saved the day. He was wounded in the arm, early in the morning, but kept the field, and joined in that heroic movement wherein fifteen hundred men marched through an open field, and charged a body of ten thousand posted in a grove of cedars. Six hundred and forty-six of the brave band were left on the field. Frank was one of them. A Belgian ball pierced his side, and came out at his back. He saw and recognized the man who gave him the wound, and, raising himself on his elbow, fired a last shot. It did its work. The rebel lies buried where Frank fell.

The telegram which informed me of this event, said: 'He is desperately wounded, but may survive.' He is now at home, slowly recovering. What he saw and did while serving in Kentucky and Tennessee, I may at some future time narrate to the reader.

In relating actual events, a writer cannot in all cases visit artistic justice on each one of his characters; for, in real life, retribution does not always appear to follow crime. But, whatever _appearances_ may be, who is there that does not feel that virtue is ever its own reward, and vice its own punishment? and what one of my readers would exchange 'a quiet conscience, void of offence toward God and toward man,' for the princely fortune of John Hallet--who is still the great merchant, the 'exemplary citizen,' the 'honest man'?

LAST WORDS.

Whoever comes before the American people in a time of great _deeds_ like this, with mere _words_, should have no idle story to tell. He should have something to say; some fact to relate, or truth to communicate, which may awaken his countrymen to a true estimate of their interests, or a true sense of their duties.

The writer of these articles _has_ something to say; some facts to relate which have not been told; some truths to communicate about Southern life and society, which the public ought to know. Some of these facts, gathered during sixteen years of intimate business and social intercourse with the planters and merchants of the South, he has endeavored to embody in this volume.

He has woven them into a story, but they are nevertheless facts, and all, excepting one, occurred under his own observation. That one--the death of old Jack--was communicated to him as a fact, by his friend, Dr. W. H. Holcombe, of Waterproof, La., now an officer in the confederate army.

The author does not mean to say that his story is true as a connected whole. It is not. In it, persons are brought into intimate relations who never had any connection in life; events are grouped together which happened at widely different times; and incidents are described as occurring in the vicinity of Newbern--the slave auction, for instance--parts of which occurred in Alabama, parts in Georgia, and parts in Louisiana. But all of the characters he has described _have_ lived, and all of the events he has related _have_ transpired. He would, however, not have the reader believe that all he says of himself is true. Some of it is; some of it is not. The story needed some one to revolve around; and, as he began by using the personal pronoun, he continued its use, even in parts--like the scenes with Hallet, wherein the _I_ stands for entirely another individual.

The real name of the character whom he has called Selma (he can state this without wounding the feelings of any one, as none of her relatives are now living), was Selma Winchester. She was educated at Cambridge, Mass., was a slave, and died of a broken heart shortly after being put at menial labor in her mother-in-law's kitchen. Her character and appearance, even the costume she wore on the occasion of her visit to the opera--a scene which many residents of Boston and vicinity will remember--are attempted to be described literally. She was not the daughter of Preston; _her_ father was a very different sort of man. Nor was she sold at auction. The young woman who was engaged to 'Frank Mandell,' and bought at the sale by her brother, was equally as accomplished, though not so beautiful as Selma. She committed suicide, as herein related. The author has blended the two characters into one, but in no particular has he departed from the truth.

The gentleman called Preston in the story was for many years one of the writer's correspondents. He had two wives, such as are described, and was the father of Joe and Rosey, whose connection was as is related. He was _not_ the owner of 'Boss Joe.' The original of that character belonged (and the writer trusts still belongs) to a cotton planter in Alabama. He managed two hundred hands, and in no respect is he overdrawn in the story. His sermon is repeated from memory, and is far inferior to the original. He was a Swedenborgian, and one of the finest natural orators the writer ever listened to. Old Deborah was his mother, and died comfortably in her bed. The old woman who fell dead on the auction block, was the nurse of the young woman who was engaged to Frank. The excitement of the scene, and her anxiety for her 'young missus,' killed her.

Larkin's real name is Jacob Larkin. He was at one time connected with the person called Hallet. He was well known in many parts of the South, and relinquished Negro trading under circumstances similar to those related in the story. He is now--though a rebel in arms against his country--an honest man.

John Hallet, the writer is sorry to say, is also a real character; but he does not disgrace the good city of Boston. He operates on a wider field.

* * * * *

That most excellent woman, Mrs. C. M. Kirkland, said to the author, shortly after the fall of Fort Sumter: 'If you cannot shoulder a musket, you can blow a bugle.' In this, and in a previous book, he has attempted to blow that bugle. If the blasts are not as musical as they might be, he has no apology to make for them. They have, at least, the ring of _truth;_ and whether they please the public ear, or not, the author is satisfied; for he knows that each one of his children will say of him, when he is gone:

'_My_ father did not stand by with folded arms, while this great nation was threatened with ruin. Against his best friends--against the convictions of a lifetime--he spoke the TRUTH! He _tried_ to do something for his country.'

'MAY MORNING'

Oh! the sky is blue, and the sward is green,
And the soft winds wake from the balmy west,--
The leaves unfold in their gilded sheen,
And the bird, in the tree top, builds its nest;
The truant zephyr plumes her wings
Once more, and quitting her perfumed bed,
Soft calls on the sleeping flowers to wake,
And sportive roams o'er each dewclad head.

The bluebells nod within the wood,
The snowdrop peeps from its milky bell,
The motley Thora bends her hood,
Whilst beauteous wild flowers line the dell;
The wildbrier rose its fragrance breathes,
The violet opes her cup of blue,
The timid primrose lifts its leaves,
And kingcups wake, all bathed in dew.

From flower to flower the wild bee roams,
Then buried within the cowslip's cup,
He murmurs his low and music tones,
Till she folds the wanton intruder up;
The spring bird, wakening, soars on high,
Gushing aloft its melting lay;
Whilst painted clouds flit o'er the sky,
All ushering in the dawn of May!

Like a laughing nymph she springs to light,
And tripping along in the world of flowers,
Brushes the dew, in the morning bright,
And weaves a joy for each heart of ours!
With frolic hands, the daisy meek,
From her lap of green she playful throws;
Whilst the loveliest flowers spring round her feet,
And fragrance bursts from the wild wood rose!

Oh! glad is the heart, as through leafing trees
The soft winds roam and in music play;
Whilst the sick come forth for the healing breeze,
And rejoice in the birth of the beauteous May,
And glad is the heart of the joyous child,
As bounding away through the tangled dell,
It roams 'mid the flowers in greenwoods mild,
And hunts the caged bee in the cowslip's bell!

Oh! bright is this world--'tis a world of gems--
And loveliness lingers where'er we tread;
On the mountain top--or in lone wood glens:
A spirit of beauty o'er all is spread!
Then warmed be our hearts to that kindly Power
That scatters bright roses o'er life's rough way;
That unfolds the cup of the snowdrop's flower,
And mantles the earth with the gems of May!

THE NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES.

There is perhaps no branch of our service which is more efficient at the present time than that of the navy. Since the war of 1812, we have been comparatively inactive, with the exception of some coast service during the Mexican war, which was scarcely worth mentioning. In the present civil war, however, our navy has increased in a tenfold proportion--increased in activity and efficiency--and to-day, with its superior force of iron-clad steamers, will favorably compare with any navy on the globe in power, even though it may be inferior in a numerical point.

Though crippled at first at the commencement of this rebellion by the traitors among her officers in command--crippled by the loss of vessels and property destroyed by rebels--her ranks thinned by resignations and desertions, the navy struggled onward, slowly but surely, gaining vitality and power, until, under the present administration, it has 'lengthened its cords and strengthened its stakes,' attaining its present efficiency. Accessions have been made in vessels, new grades of officers have been appointed, the various bureaus have been enlarged, and an immense number of volunteer officers have been appointed, mostly chosen from petty officers and seamen, or from the merchant service, to command armed transports and the smaller craft used for the shallow waters of the Atlantic coast. A strong blockade has been effected, a number of valuable prizes taken, and the navy has rendered invaluable service by its bombardments of the enemy's towns and fortifications, on the coast of the United States as well as along the banks of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee rivers. In fact, much is due to the navy for its great efficiency in the present civil war in America.

We will give to the reader some statistics, taken from the September issue of the Naval Register for 1862, from which an idea can be formed of the great strength of this branch of our service. As these statistics are official, they will serve as a valuable source of information to those who are interested in the welfare of the country. Let us then review the organization of the United States navy.

The organization of the navy is as follows: The Navy Department, which consists of the office of the Secretary of the Navy and its various bureaus, and the officers of the navy, consisting of officers of the navy, officers of the marine corps, and warrant officers, besides volunteer and acting volunteer officers, these two last being new grades. There is no list of petty officers and seamen published in the Register, these being simply kept on the unpublished rolls, kept in the office of the Secretary of the Navy.

In the Navy Department proper may be found the following officers: The Secretary of the Navy; his Assistant; the chiefs of the bureaus of yards and docks, equipment, and recruiting, navigation, ordnance, construction and repair, steam engineering, provisions and clothing, and medicine and surgery. Since the publishing of the last annual Register, one of these bureaus is a new organization--the bureau of navigation not yet perfected. It will be seen by referring to this Register that the office of the Secretary of the Navy and the bureaus attached, require, besides the chief officers, one engineer, forty-four clerks, five draughtsmen, and eight messengers.

The officers of the navy proper are divided into the following grades: Rear admirals, commodores, captains, commanders, lieutenant commanders, lieutenants, surgeons ranking with commanders, surgeons ranking with lieutenants, passed assistant surgeons ranking next after lieutenants, assistant surgeons ranking next after masters, paymasters ranking with commanders, paymasters ranking with lieutenants, assistant paymasters, chaplains, professors of mathematics, masters in the line of promotion, masters not in the line of promotion, passed midshipmen, midshipmen detached from the naval academy and ordered into active service, boatswains, gunners, carpenters, sailmakers, navy agents, naval store keepers, naval constructors, officers of the naval academy, officers on special service, engineers in chief, first assistants, second assistants, third assistants, and officers of the marine corps.

The volunteer officers of the navy are acting lieutenants, acting volunteer lieutenants, acting masters, acting ensigns, acting master's mates, acting assistant surgeons, acting assistant paymasters and clerks, and acting first, second, and third engineers.

The petty officers of the navy are comprised as follows: Yeomen, armorers, boatswains, gunners, carpenters, sailmakers, and armorer's mates, master-at-arms, ship's corporals, coxswains, quarter masters, quarter gunners, captains of forecastle, tops, afterguard, and hold, coopers, painters, stewards, ship's officers, surgeons, assistant surgeons and paymasters, stewards, nurses, cooks, masters of the band, musicians, first and second class, seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, boys, first and second class firemen, and coal heavers.

The ranking of officers of the navy compared to the grades of the army may thus be enumerated: An admiral of the navy ranks with a major general in the army, a commodore as a brigadier general, a captain as a colonel, a commander as a lieutenant colonel, a lieutenant commander as a major, a lieutenant as a captain, a master as a first lieutenant, and an ensign (the new grade) as second lieutenant. The senior rear admiral of the navy, Charles Stewart of Pennsylvania, now on the retired list, ranks as a major general commanding in chief, and is the highest official in the navy except the Secretary.

The pay of the navy is quite an item in the list of Government expenditures. A few statistics relative to the expenditures will not prove uninteresting to the reader. The pay of seven admirals in the active list, commanding squadrons, and of fourteen rear admirals in the retired list, is $87,000; of twenty-six commanders and six on the retired list, is $117,860; of seventy captains on the active list, $239,300; thirty-two on the retired list, $85,400; one hundred and seventy commanders on active list, $554,380, and nine on the reserved list, $18,800; two hundred and forty-four lieutenant commanders, active list, $672,000; one hundred and eighty surgeons of various grades, $708,000; ten passed assistant surgeons, $8,700; two hundred and eighteen assistant surgeons, $422,900; eighty-one paymasters, $81,000; sixty assistant paymasters, $67,850; twenty-three chaplains, $34,500; twelve professors of mathematics, $21,600; seventeen masters, $18,320; three passed midshipmen, and one midshipman (old list), $4,308; four hundred and eighteen midshipmen, graduates of the naval academy, $259,600; fifty-four gunners, $67,500; forty-two acting gunners, $33,600; sixty carpenters, $60,000; forty-six sailmakers, $43,650; eight navy agents, $25,000; twelve naval store keepers, $18,000; nine naval constructors, $16,200; engineers and assistants, $756,700; officers of the naval academy, $759,000; officers of the marine corps, $536,000; acting volunteer officers of the navy of all grades, $2,975,300, and petty officers and seamen, $2,560,000; making a total of $10,863,118, for pay alone.

Let us add to this, other expenses to swell out the list. For clerk hire alone it is said that $600,000 is annually paid out; for navy yards and depots, $12,583,280 64; for the different bureaus, $8,325,161; and for contingent expenses, $2,600,000. Add to this the pay of the hospitals, $1,200,000; for magazines, $200,000; repair and equipment, $11,400,000; chartering and purchasing of vessels for naval purposes, $10,800,000; thus making a total of $47,708,441 64, which, added to the pay of the navy, makes the annual expenditure $58,571,559 64.

Let us now turn our attention to the vessels of the United States navy. In this department has the navy greatly increased within a few years. To give the reader an idea of our navy, we append the following statistical account of the vessels, giving their class, tonnage, number of guns, name, and station, which cannot but be of great interest to all who are interested in the affairs of the nation. We will give them in the following table:

SHIPS OF THE LINE--6.

Alabama 84 guns, 2,663 tons.
New Orleans 84 " 2,805 "
North Carolina 84 " 2,633 "
Ohio 84 " 2,757 "
Vermont 84 " 2,633 "
Virginia 84 " 2,633 "

Of these, the Alabama is on the stocks at Kittery, Maine, the New Orleans on the stocks at Sackett's Harbor, and the Virginia on the stocks at Boston. The Vermont is store ship at Port Royal, South Carolina, while the North Carolina and Ohio are receiving ships at Boston and New York. The Pennsylvania, 120-gun ship, was destroyed by the rebels at Gosport, Virginia, last year. This class of vessels are the most ineffective we have in the service, the Ohio being the only one which has done good service.

SAILING FRIGATES--6.

Brandywine 50 guns, 1,726 tons.
Potomac 50 " 1,726 "
Sabine 50 " 1,726 "
Santee 50 " 1,726 "
St. Lawrence 50 " 1,726 "
Independence[2] 50 " 2,257 "

The Brandywine, Independence, and Potomac are used as receiving and store ships. The Sabine is at New London recruiting, the Santee is in ordinary at Boston, and the St. Lawrence is attached to the East Gulf Squadron.

SAILING SLOOPS--21.

Constitution 50 guns, 1,607 tons.
Constellation 22 " 1,452 "
Cyane 18 " 792 "
Dale[3] 15 " 566 "
Decatur 10 " 566 "
Falmouth 2 " 703 "
Fredonia 2 " 800 "
Granite 1 " --- "
Jamestown 22 " 985 "
John Adams 18 " 700 "
Macedonian 22 " 1,341 "
Marion 15 " 566 "
Portsmouth 17 " 1,022 "
Preble 10 " 566 "
Saratoga 18 " 882 "
Savannah 24 " 1,726 "
St. Marys 22 " 958 "
St. Louis 18 " 700 "
Vandalia 20 " 783 "
Vincennes 18 " 700 "
Warren 2 " 691 "

BRIGS--4.

Bainbridge 6 guns, 259 tons.
Bohio 2 " 196 "
Perry 9 " 280 "
Sea Foam 3 " 264 "

Of the sailing sloops and brigs the following are in active service: Saratoga, coast of Africa; Mediterranean Squadron, the Constellation; the West Gulf Squadron, Portsmouth, Preble, and Vincennes; Pacific Squadron, Cyane, and St. Marys; St. Louis on special service; the Dale and Vandalia in the South Atlantic Squadron; the Constitution, Macedonian, Marion, and Savannah, as school and practice ships; the Falmouth, Warren, and Fredonia as store ships, and the sloop of war, Decatur, in ordinary. In the West Gulf Squadron are the brigs Bohio and Sea Foam; in the East Gulf Squadron is the brig Perry, while the Bainbridge is at Aspinwall.

TRANSPORT SHIPS--14.

Charles Phelps 1 gun, 362 tons.
Courier 3 " 554 "
Fearnot 6 " 1,012 "
Ino 9 " 895 "
Kittatinny 4 " 421 "
Morning Light 8 " 937 "
Nightingale 1 " 1,000 "
National Guard 4 " 1,046 "
Onward 8 " 874 "
Pampero 4 " 1,375 "
Roman 1 " 350 "
Supply 4 " 547 "
Shepard Knapp 8 " 838 "
William Badger 1 " 334 "

The ships are divided as follows: The Supply and William Badger are in the North Atlantic Squadron; the Ino, the Onward, and Shepard Knapp in the South Atlantic Squadron; the Fearnot, the Kittatinny, and Morning Light in the West Gulf Squadron; the Courier is used as a store ship at Port Royal, the Charles Phelps as a coal ship, and the Roman as ordnance vessel at Hampden Roads, Virginia.

TRANSPORT BARKS--16.

Amanda 6 guns, 368 tons.
Arthur 6 " 554 "
A. Houghton 2 " 326 "
Braziliera 6 " 540 "
Ethan Allen 7 " 556 "
Fernandina 6 " 297 "
J. C. Kuhn 5 " 888 "
Jas. L. Davis 4 " 461 "
Jas. S. Chambers 5 " 401 "
Kingfisher 5 " 450 "
Midnight 5 " 386 "
Pursuit 6 " 603 "
Release 2 " 327 "
Roebuck 4 " 455 "
Restless 4 " 265 "
Wm. G. Anderson 7 " 593 "

In the East Gulf Squadron are the barks Amanda, Ethan Allen, Jas. L. Davis, Jas. S. Chambers, Kingfisher, and Pursuit. In the West Gulf Squadron, the Arthur Houghton, J. C. Kuhn, Midnight, and W. G. Anderson. In the South Atlantic Squadron the Braziliera, Fernandina, Roebuck, and Restless, while the Release is a store ship in the Mediterranean. To these may be added one barkantine, the Horace Beals, of 3 guns and 296 tons, employed in the Western Gulf Squadron.

SCHOONERS--8.

Beauregard 1 gun, 101 tons.
Chotank 1 " 53 "
Dart 1 " 94 "
G. W. Blunt 1 " 121 "
Hope 1 " 134 "
Sam Rotan 2 " 212 "
Sam Houston 1 " 66 "
Wanderer 4 " 300 "

In the Potomac Flotilla is the schooner Chotank. The G. W. Blunt and the Hope are in the South Atlantic Squadron; the Dart and Sam Houston in the West Gulf Squadron, while the Sam Rotan, Wanderer, and Beauregard (the last named captured from the rebels) are in the East Gulf Squadron.

YACHTS--2

America: South Atlantic Squadron.
Corypheus: West Gulf Squadron.

These vessels are used chiefly as tenders and despatch vessels.

MORTAR SCHOONERS--18.

Arletta 3 guns, 199 tons.
Adolf Hugel 3 " 269 "
C. P. Williams 3 " 210 "
Dan Smith 3 " 149 "
Geo. Mangham 3 " 274 "
Henry Janes 3 " 261 "
John Griffith 3 " 246 "
M. Vassar 3 " 182 "
Maria A. Wood 2 " 344 "
Norfolk Packet 3 " 349 "
Orvetta 3 " 171 "
Para 3 " 190 "
Racer 3 " 252 "
Rachel Seman 2 " 303 "
Sophronia 3 " 217 "
Sarah Bruen 3 " 233 "
T. A. Ward 3 " 284 "
Wm. Bacon 3 " 183 "

Of these eighteen mortar schooners, five are at Baltimore, two in the North Atlantic Squadron, five in the West Gulf Squadron, one in the East Gulf Squadron, four in the Potomac Flotilla, and one in the James River Flotilla.

We have thus given the statistics of the sailing vessels of the navy. We now give a table of the steam vessels of all descriptions in our navy, which are the most valuable auxiliaries we have. It is probably the most effective steam navy in the world, and in its department of huge iron-clads cannot be excelled even by the navies of the old world. The steam vessels of our navy may thus be enumerated:

STEAM FRIGATES--9.

Colorado 48 guns, 3,435 tons.
Niagara 34 " 4,582 "
Powhatan 11 " 2,415 "
Minnesota 48 " 3,307 "
Mississippi[4] 12 " 1,692 "
Princeton 8 " 900 "
San Jacinto 12 " 1,446 "
Saranac 9 " 1,446 "
Susquehanna 17 " 2,450 "

The Niagara, one of the finest screw frigates in the navy, and which, with the Colorado, is now repairing, is noted for being connected with the Atlantic cable expedition, as well as for conveying the Japanese embassy home. She is the pet of the navy, and great credit is due the late George Steers for such a splendid specimen of naval architecture. The Powhattan, Minnesota, and Mississippi are attached to the South Atlantic Squadron; the San Jacinto to the East Gulf Squadron; the Susquehanna to the West Gulf Squadron, and the Saranac to the Pacific Squadron. The old Princeton is the receiving ship at Philadelphia. Of these steam frigates, six are screw, and three sidewheel.

STEAM SLOOPS--10.

Brooklyn 24 guns, 2,070 tons.
Canandaigua 9 " 1,395 "
Dacotah 6 " 997 "
Hartford 25 " 1,990 "
Housatonic 9 " 1,240 "
Lancaster 22 " 2,362 "
Oneida 9 " 1,032 "
Pensacola 22 " 2,158 "
Richmond 26 " 1,929 "
Wachusett 9 " 1,032 "

The Brooklyn, Hartford, Housatonic, Pensacola, Richmond, and Oneida are in the West Gulf Squadron; the Canandaigua in the South Atlantic Squadron; the Lancaster in the Pacific, and the Dacotah and the Wachusett in the West India Squadron.

STEAM GUNBOATS--40.

Conemaugh 8 guns, 955 tons.
Crusader 6 " 545 "
Cambridge 5 " 858 "
Chippewa 4 " 507 "
Cayuga 6 " 507 "
Chocura 4 " 507 "
Huron 4 " 507 "
Itasca 4 " 507 "
Kanawha 4 " 507 "
Kennebec 4 " 507 "
Kineo 4 " 507 "
Katahdin 4 " 507 "
Mohawk 7 " 459 "
Mohican 6 " 994 "
Mystic 4 " 451 "
Marblehead 4 " 507 "
Monticello 7 " 665 "
Miami 7 " 630 "
Naragansett 5 " 809 "
Ottawa 4 " 507 "
Owasco 4 " 507 "
Octorora 6 " 829 "
Pawnee 9 " 1,289 "
Pocahontas 5 " 694 "
Pembina 4 " 507 "
Penobscot 4 " 507 "
Panola 4 " 507 "
Penguin 6 " 389 "
Pontiac 8 " 974 "
Seminole 5 " 801 "
Sciota 4 " 507 "
Seneca 4 " 507 "
Sagamore 4 " 507 "
Sebago 6 " 832 "
Tahoma 4 " 507 "
Unadilla 4 " 507 "
Wyandotte 4 " 458 "
Wyoming 6 " 997 "
Wissahickon 4 " 507 "
Winona 4 " 507 "

Of these gunboats, some of them rated as steam sloops of the third class, twelve are in the South Atlantic Squadron; five in the North Atlantic Squadron; ten in the West Gulf Squadron; three in the East Gulf Squadron; two in the Potomac Flotilla; one in the East Indies; one in the Pacific; one at Philadelphia; and five under repairs at the different navy yards.

AUXILIARY STEAM GUNBOATS--47.

Anacostia 2 guns, 217 tons.
Aroostook 4 " 507 "
Albatross 4 " 378 "
Currituck 5 guns, 193 tons.
Perry 4 " 513 "
Barney 4 " 513 "
Clifton 6 " 892 "
Ellen 4 " 341 "
E. B. Hale 4 " 192 "
Fort Henry 6 " 519 "
Genesee 4 " 803 "
Huntsville 4 " 817 "
Hunchback 4 " 517 "
Harriet Lane[5] 4 " 619 "
John Hancock 3 " 382 "
Jacob Bell 3 " 229 "
Louisiana 4 " 295 "
Mercidita 7 " 776 "
Montgomery 5 " 787 "
Mt. Vernon 3 " 625 "
Maratanza 6 " 786 "
Memphis 4 " 791 "
Norwich 5 " 431 "
New London 5 " 221 "
Potomska 5 " 287 "
Patroon 5 " 183 "
Paul Jones 6 " 863 "
Port Royal 8 " 805 "
Saginaw 3 " 453 "
Sumter 4 " 460 "
Stars and Stripes 5 " 407 "
Somerset 6 " 521 "
Sachem 5 " 197 "
Southfield 4 " 751 "
Tioga 6 " 819 "
Uncas 3 " 192 "
Underwriter 4 " 331 "
Valley City 5 " 190 "
Victoria 3 " 254 "
Water Witch 3 " 378 "
Wasmutta 5 " 270 "
Western World 5 " 441 "
Wyandank 2 " 399 "
Westfield 6 " 891 "
Yankee 3 " 328 "
Young Rover 5 " 418 "
Yantic 4 " 593 "

Six of these auxiliary steam gunboats are in the Potomac Flotilla; eight in the West Gulf Squadron; thirteen in the North Atlantic Squadron; nine in the South Atlantic Squadron; four in the Eastern Gulf Squadron; one in the West India Fleet; one at San Francisco, and five in ordinary.

TRANSPORT STEAMERS ALTERED INTO WAR VESSELS--58

Alabama 8 guns, 1,261 tons.
Alleghany 6 " 989 "
Augusta 8 " 1,310 "
Bienville 10 " 1,558 "
Florida 10 " 1,261 "
Flag 9 " 963 "
Hatteras 3 " 1,100 "
Jas. Adger 9 " 1,151 "
Keystone State 9 " 1,364 "
Kensington 3 " 1,052 "
Massachusetts 5 " 1,155 "
Quaker City 9 " 1,600 "
Rhode Island 7 " 1,517 "
R. R. Cuyler 8 " 1,202 "
South Carolina 6 " 1,165 "
Santiago de Cuba 10 " 1,667 "
State of Georgia 9 " 1,204 "
Tennessee 1 " 1,275 "
Cimmerone 10 " 860 "
Connecticut 5 " 1,800 "
Dawn 3 " 391 "
Daylight 4 " 682 "
Delaware 3 " 357 "
Dragon 1 " 118 "
Flambeau 2 " 900 "
Issac Smith 9 " 453 "
Mahaska 6 " 832 "
Morse 2 " 513 "
Planter 2 " 300 "
Satellite 2 " 217 "
Shasheen 2 " 180 "
Sonoma 6 " 955 "
Thos. Freeborn 2 " 269 "
A. C. Powell 1 " 65 "
Alfred Robb 4 " 75 "
Ceres 1 " 144 "
C[oe]ur de Leon 2 " 60 "
Cohasset 2 " 100 "
Ella 2 " 230 "
Eastport 8 " 700 "
Henry Brinker 1 " 108 "
Hetzel 2 " --- "
John P. Jackson 6 " 777 "
John L. Lockwood 2 " 182 "
Leslie 2 " 100 "
Mercury 2 " 187 "
Madgie 2 " 218 "
O. M. Petit 2 " 165 "
Pulaski 1 " 395 "
Resolute 1 " 90 "
Reliance 1 " 90 "
Rescue 1 " 111 "
Stepping Stones 1 " 226 "
Teaser 2 " 90 "
Vixen 2 " --- "
Whitehead 1 " 136 "
Young America 1 " 171 "
Zouave 1 " 127 "

Most of these auxiliary altered steamers have been purchased and refitted for naval service. A number of our ocean mail steamers have been purchased by the Department, such as the Augusta, Florida, Alabama, Quaker City, Keystone State, and State of Georgia; while others have been taken from our rivers flowing into the Atlantic, on which this last class of vessels were formerly plying. In the South Atlantic Squadron are fifteen of this class of transport steamers; fifteen in the North Atlantic; four in the Western Gulf; one in the East Gulf; one in the Brazil, and three in the West India Squadrons. There are also twelve in the Potomac Flotilla; one in the Western Flotilla; two supply steamers; and three in ordinary; with one receiving ship. In the Potomac Flotilla is the captured rebel gunboat Teaser. The De Soto may also be added to this class, carrying 9 guns of 1,600 tons, and at present attached to the Western Gulf Squadron.

We now call the attention of the reader to that most formidable class of vessels in our navy,

IRON-CLAD STEAMERS--15.

The iron-clads of our navy are divided into two classes--the river and ocean steamers, as also steam rams. We will first notice the ocean class:

Galena 6 guns, 738 tons.
Monitor[6] 3 " 776 "
New Ironsides 18 " 3,486 "
Roanoke 6 " 3,435 "

The Galena and Monitor have been well tested in the present war, but the Galena at present is considered a failure. The New Ironsides, now on special service, is said to be one of the most formidable iron-clad vessels in the world. Of the iron-clad river steamers, we enumerate the following:

Benton 16 guns, 1,000 tons.
Baron de Kalb 13 " 512 "
Cairo 13 " 512 "
Cincinnati 13 " 512 "
Carondelet 13 " 512 "
Essex 7 " 1,000 "
Louisville 13 " 468 "
Lexington 7 " 500 "
Mound City 13 " 512 "
Pittsburgh 13 " 512 "
Tyler 9 " 600 "

The Galena is in the North Atlantic Squadron; the New Ironsides in special service; the Roanoke repairing in New York; and the river iron-clads are attached to the Western Flotilla.

IRON-CLAD RAMS--12.

General Bragg 2 guns, 700 tons.
Gen. Sterling Price - " 400 "
General Pillow 2 " 500 "
Great Western. - " 800 "
Kosciusko - " --- "
Lafayette - " 1,000 "
Little Rebel 3 " 400 "
Lioness - " --- "
Monarch - " --- "
Queen of the West[7] - " --- "
Switzerland - " --- "
Simpson - " --- "

Six of these rams, though finished, have not received their armament. They are all attached to the Western River Flotilla. Five of these were captured from the rebels, and one was purchased.

OTHER VESSELS NOT CLASSED--22.

Iroquois 9 guns, 1,016 tons.
Kearsage 7 " 1,031 "
Tuscarora 10 " 997 "
Wabash 48 " 3,274 "
Clara Dolsen -- " 1,000 "
Choctaw -- " 1,000 "
Conestoga -- " --- "
Darlington -- " --- "
Ellis 2 " --- "
Eugenie -- " --- "
Gem of the Sea 4 " 371 "
Gemsbok 7 " 622 "
Judge Torrence -- " 600 "
King Philip -- " --- "
Michigan 1 " 582 "
Mount Washington-- " --- "
Magnolia 3 " --- "
Oliver H. Lee 3 " 199 "
Philadelphia -- " --- "
Relief 2 " 468 "
Stetten -- " --- "
Ben Morgan -- " 407 "

Among these vessels unclassed, are one steam frigate, three steam sloops, eight ocean and four river steamers, three barks, one schooner, and one mortar schooner.

UNFINISHED VESSELS OF THE NAVY

STEAM FRIGATE--1.

Franklin 50 guns 3,684 tons.

STEAM SLOOPS--7.

Lackawanna 9 guns, 1,533 tons.
Ticonderoga 9 " 1,533 "
Shenandoah 9 " 1,378 "
Monongahela 9 " 1,378 "
Sacramento 9 " 1,367 "
Juniata 9 " 1,240 "
Ossipee 9 " 1,240 "

STEAM GUNBOATS--28.

Puritan (iron-clad). 4 guns, 3,265 tons.
Tonawanda 4 " 1,564 "
Tecumseh 2 " 1,034 "
Onondaga 4 " 1,250 "
Ascutney 8 " 974 "
Agawam 8 " 974 "
Chenango 8 " 974 "
Chicopee 8 " 974 "
Eutaw 8 " 974 "
Iosco 8 " 974 "
Mattabeeset 8 " 974 "
Mingoe 8 " 974 "
Mackinaw 8 " 974 "
Metacomet 8 " 974 "
Otsego 8 " 974 "
Pontoosac 8 " 974 "
Sassacus 8 " 974 "
Shamrock 8 " 974 "
Taconey 8 " 974 "
Tallapoosa 8 " 974 "
Wateree 8 " 974 "
Wyalusing 8 " 974 "
Lenape 8 " 974 "
Maumee 4 " 593 "
Com. Morris 1 " 532 "
Com. McDonough 6 " 532 "
Calhoun 4 " 508 "
Com. Hull 3 " 376 "

IRON CLAD OCEAN GUNBOATS--22.

Dunderburg 10 guns, 5,019 tons.
Dictator 2 " 3,033 "
Monadnock 4 " 1,564 "
Miantonimah 4 " 1,564 "
Agamenticus 4 " 1,564 "
Canonicus 2 " 1,034 "
Manhattan 3 " 1,034 "
Mahopac 2 " 1,034 "
Manayunk 2 " 1,034 "
Catskill 2 " 844 "
Camanche 2 " 844 "
Lehigh 2 " 844 "
Montauk 2 " 844 "
Nantucket 2 " 844 "
Nahant 2 " 844 "
Patapsco 2 " 844 "
Passaic 2 " 844 "
Sangamon 2 " 844 "
Weehawken 2 " 844 "
Moodna 2 " 677 "
Marietta 2 " 479 "
Sandusky 2 " 479 "

IRON CLAD RIVER GUNBOATS--12

Catawba 2 guns, 1,034 tons.
Tippecanoe 2 " 1,034 "
Chickasaw 4 " 970 "
Kickapoo 4 " 970 "
Milwaukee 4 " 970 "
Winnebago 4 " 970 "
Tuscumbia 3 " 565 "
Ozark 2 " 578 "
Osage 2 " 523 "
Neosho 2 " 523 "
Indianola[8] 2 " 442 "
Chillicothe 2 " 303 "

The most formidable class of these unfinished vessels are the iron-clad gunboats. Of these are four of immense size, viz., the Puritan, Tonawanda, Tecumseh, and Onondaga. The mammoth iron-clad of all is the enormous Dunderburg, carrying 10 guns of from fifteen to twenty inches in calibre, and having a tonnage of 5,019 tons. The Dictator is another immense iron-clad. Of the river Gunboat Fleet, the Catawba and Tippecanoe stand as first class, carrying heavy nine and eleven inch Dahlgren guns.

The building of these ocean iron-clads is at the following places: Nine of them are building at New York; three at Brooklyn; one at Portsmouth; two at Jersey City; four at Boston; two at Chester; two at Pittsburgh; one at Brownsville, Pennsylvania; and one at Wilmington, Delaware. The river iron-clads are built at the following places: Five at Cincinnati; six at St. Louis; and one at Mound City, Illinois. Of the first-class steam gunboats, eleven are building at New York; four at Boston; two at Portland, Maine; two at Portsmouth, New Hampshire; one at Bordentown, New Jersey; one at Brooklyn; two at Philadelphia; one at Chester; and two at Baltimore, Maryland.

The other vessels building in the yards are as follows: the steam frigate Franklin, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the steam sloops Juniata, Monongahela, and Shenandoah, at Philadelphia; the Lackawanna and Ticonderoga, at New York; and the Ossipee and Sacramento, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

There are a large number of contracts out for new gunboats and steamers, which, when completed, will make us the most formidable navy in the world. In conclusion, we will give to the reader the following table, classifying the vessels now in our navy, and giving statistics of their tonnage and the number of guns which they carry:

RECAPITULATION.

Vessels. Guns. Tons.
Ships of the line 6 504 16,124
Sailing frigates 7 348 14,161
Sailing sloops 24 372 21,151
Brigs 4 20 999
Transportation ships 16 64 11,420
Transportation barks 16 91 8,468
Schooners 8 12 1,081
Yachts 2 -- -----
Mortar schooners 18 52 4,316
Steam frigates 9 199 21,673
Steam sloops 10 161 16,205
Steam gunboats 40 200 24,783
Auxiliary steam gunboats 47 209 23,875
Transport steamers altered
to war vessels 58 240 36,170
Iron-clad ocean steamers 4 32 8,435
Iron-clad river steamers 11 130 6,640
Iron-clad rams 12 7 3,800
Other vessels not classed 14 9 3,788

Unfinished Vessels of the Navy.

Frigates 1 50 3,684
Steam sloops 7 68 9,669
Steam gunboats 28 184 35,160
Iron-clad ocean gunboats 22 58 26,955
Iron-clad river gunboats 12 33 8,682

The total number of vessels of all classes in the navy, is 376, having a tonnage of 307,234 tons, and carrying 3,038 guns of heavy calibre.

With these statistics, compiled from 'official' sources, we conclude this article, and in our next shall take up the subject of naval gunnery in the United States.

THREE MODERN ROMANCES.

'GUY LIVINGSTONE,' 'SWORD AND GOWN,' AND 'BARREN HONOR.'

This terrible power of fictitious invention, wherewith God has endowed man, and which now-a-days we take readily enough, without comment, is yet the growth of comparatively modern times, the development within a few centuries of a new faculty. The Greek never solaced his leisure with the latest tale of a gifted Charicles or Aristarchus, and the grave Roman would have been as much startled by a 'new novel' as by the apparition of a steam engine. The famous Minerva press was the first mighty wellspring whence gushed the broad and rapid torrent of cheap fiction. This perennial fountain has long ceased to flow, yet has its disappearance left no unsatisfied void. The procreation of human kind has failed to support the elaborate theory of Malthus, but had the sage philosopher transferred his calculations from the sons of men to works of fiction, then indeed he might stand forth the prophet of a striking truth. The extensive plain over which this flood is spread seems even to be extending its limits, and a spongy soil of unlimited capacity is ready ever to absorb the fresh advance of waves. It is indeed striking to observe how authors and men of talent have increased, so vastly out of all proportion with other classes of men. Observing it, the political economist may well shout 'Io triumphe!' for that even in so delicate and intangible a matter as intellectual gifts, the famous doctrine of supply and demand is so thoroughly carried out. We raise, however, no hue and cry after 'poor trash.' Neither have we the blood-thirsty wish to run to ground the panting scribbler, or to adorn ourselves with the glories of his 'brush.' Let those who countenance him by reading his works, and who can reconcile the purchase thereof with their consciences, answer to their fellow men for the inevitable consequences. But it must be confessed that there is in this department a sad want. All readers of moderate discrimination must have felt it painfully. In the literature of fiction we need organization. How do we know a good tea from a bad? Is it by the universal consent of the good people of China--by a democratic 'censeatur' of the celestial nation? Not at all. Every variety is tasted by men who rinse their mouths after each swallow, and the comparative merits are gauged and graduated by adepts, who make it the sole business and profession of their lives. A similar process we need in fiction. The old system of criticism in reviews and magazines worked well in its day, but it won't do now. The era of the old-fashioned novel critic has gone by. He knows it, and his voice is seldom heard. Even a numerous body, working promiscuously and without conjunction, could not accomplish much. The only manner in which the requisite result could be brought about would be by a regularly organized set of men, working under direction and regulated by authority, like the body of tax assessors or national judiciaries. Such a corps should be trained to their work as to a profession like that of law or medicine, having brotherhoods in every publishing town or city, working together and subordinately, like the order of the Jesuits. They should test every work before it was given to the public, and brand it with precisely its mark of real merit. And thus might be accomplished a most inestimable public service. In France such a system might be practicable, and not hostile to the spirit and institutions of a nation accustomed to have everything, even to the play programmes of the theatre, regulated by the powers that be. But in America, home of democracy and fatherland of individual independence, such a scheme, so invaluable though so impossible, must, we fear, ever remain a tantalizing vision. As it is, of course many a man of real ability is drowned in the rushing waves of multitudinous authors, and his works pass undistinguished to that unknown grave which gapes so mysteriously in some hidden recess of the universe, and silently swallows yearly the vast masses of printed paper which has done its brief work and been thrown by read or unread, forgotten. It is to assist in the rescue of a struggling author from this yawning abyss that the present article is sent forth, a plank in the shipwreck.