by Diane Fontaine Maury-Corbin

“ Just before the steamer Central America went down, a rowboat was heard approaching. Captain Herndon hailed her; it was the boatswain’s boat, rowed by hard hands and gentle hearts, returning from on board the brig to report her disabled condition. If she came alongside she would be engulfed with the sinking ship. Captain Herndon ordered her to keep off. She did so, and was saved. This, so far as I have been able to learn, was his last order. Forgetful of self, mindful of others, his life was beautiful to the last, and in his death he has added a new glory to the annals of the sea. ”

“ If I could, with just such a system of researches for the sea, sit down in my office and tell the navigator how for he would find the wind, at any season of the year, in any part of the ocean through which he wished to sail, am I promising too much when I tell you, that by the plan I now propose the relation between the weather and the crops is as capable of scientific development as were the relations between sea-voyages and the winds twenty-five years ago? ”

“ He wrote or composed and dictated his greatest books in his parlour, surrounded by his family, and it seemed sometimes as if he possessed a dual consciousness, so quickly could he abstract or concentrate his mind upon his writing.
Like few great men, he was the greater the closer one got to him. Little children approached him confidingly, and never left him without bearing away some good lesson, so gently and simply taught as to before ever planted in their young minds. His especial pleasure was to say a kind word and lend a helping hand to young men beginning the battle of life. ”

“ As a student of physical geography, I regard earth, sea, air, and water as parts of a machine, pieces of mechanism, not made with hands, but to which, nevertheless, certain offices have been assigned in the terrestrial economy; and when, after patient research, I am led to the discovery of one of these offices, I feel, with the astronomer of old, ‘as though I had thought one of God’s thoughts,’ and tremble. ”

“ I should rejoice, sir, to present you with a testimonial of my esteem; but, knowing the laws of your country, which do not permit you to accept anything from foreign Princes, I must confine myself to the expression of my sentiments. They are as exalted as your own merits; and, in my official capacity, I may say to you that you do honour to the profession to which you belong, as well as to the great nation which you have the honour to serve. ”

“ My Sovereign, the King of Prussia, sensible of the eminent merit of your laborious undertaking, and interested by the noble efforts now making by the Government of the U. S. for the advancement of the sciences which are so closely allied with the development of the common prosperity, desires to give to you, Lieutenant Maury, Superintendent of the National Observatory at Washington, a mark of his gratitude, by presenting him, through the hands of our Minister, M. de Gerolt, with the medal designed as a reward for distinguished works of science. ”

“ I look forward to better days, and trust that time and experience — the great teachers of men under the guidance of our ever-merciful God — may save us from destruction, and restore to us the bright hopes and prospects of the past. The thought of abandoning the country, and all that must be left in it, is abhorrent to my feelings, and I prefer to struggle for its restoration, and share its fate, rather than to give up all as lost. I have a great admiration for Mexico: the salubrity of its climates, the fertility of its soil, and the magnificence of its scenery, possess for me great charms ”

“ You recollect that, in the nullification times of South Carolina, Virginia stepped forward as mediator, and sent her commissioners to that State with the happiest results. But we are now in the midst of a crisis, more alarming to the peace and integrity of the Union than those memorable times. We have the people, in no less than seven of those States, assembling or preparing to assemble, in their sovereign capacity to decide, in the most solemn manner known to them whether they will remain in the Union or no. ”

“ Maury said, “makes the whole world kin. Of all the departments in the domains of physical science, it is the most Christianising. Astronomy is grand and sublime; but astronomy overpowers with its infinities, overwhelms with its immensities. Physical geography charms with its wonders, and delights with the benignity of its economy. Astronomy ignores the existence of man; physical geography confesses that existence, and is based on the Biblical doctrine ‘that the earth was made for man.’ Upon no other theory can it be studied — upon no other theory can its phenomena be reconciled. ”

“ The first thing to be done is to get rid of all navy notions, borrowed from the old navy at Washington, as to what constitutes a navy, to cast about us and see what resources we have, and then, considering the means and appliances which, owing to our peculiar situation, we can bring into play, to decide whether the best interests of the country call for a navy or not. In this age, when commerce is king, no nation, though it have cotton and the staples of the South for its nobles, can hope to command the respect of its peers abroad without a navy. ”

“ And so it is in the moral world: the progress of man must be upwards and onward, or downward and backward. His mind cannot stand still. There is no such tiring as a stationary condition for the human understanding. To stand still is death; to go backwards is worse.
“With the advantages of the good training which you have received here, you cannot go amiss for subjects of study and improvement. The rock at your feet, the plant in every walk you tread, the air that surrounds you, the insect that flits across your path, the stars that look down upon you, all are suggestive of knowledge. ”

“ The achievements quietly and gradually effected by Lieutenant Maury, although not attracting the admiration of the multitude, nor dazzling the beholder with sudden flashes of triumph, have reflected honour upon himself and his country; have brought remote nations in comparative proximity to each other; have promoted commerce by pointing out to the mariner new paths on the great deep where favourable winds and currents lend favourable aid. His Wind and Current Charts and Sailing Directions are saving millions of money, by shortening the voyages of merchant vessels freighted with treasure. ”

“ He is also a pattern of noble manners and good morals, because in the guidance of his own life he has always shown himself a brave and good man. When that cruel civil war in American was imminent, this man did not hesitate to leave home and friends, a place of high honour and an office singularly adapted to his genius — to throw away, in one word, all the goods and gifts of fortune — that he might defend and sustain the cause which seemed to him the just one. ”

“ Living like patriarchs, freed from all monetary cares, with minds stored with the precedents of history, and knowing no short cuts to knowledge, these men thought out and finally proclaimed that plan of self government which is today the admiration and desire of all the peoples of the earth. Thus George Mason of Gunston Hall composed the “Bill of Rights of Virginia,” on which Jefferson afterwards based the Declaration of Independence of the United States. ”

“ This mountain draws the heat from them they are formed into clouds and condensed into rain, which, falling to the earth, make it soft with showers, causing the trees of the fields to clap their hands, the valleys to shout, and the mountains to sing. Thus the earth is made to yield her increase, and the heart of man is glad.
“Nor does the office of this cup of water in the physical economy end here. It has brought heat from the sea in the southern hemisphere to be set free here for the regulation of our climates; it has ministered to the green plants, and give meat and drink to man and beast. ”

“ It is other nations which impose upon us the necessity and expense of military preparation; and it is well to remember the sage advice of a wise statesman, who said, ‘In time of peace prepare for war.’ If all other nations would sink their navies, raze their forts, and disband their armies, we too might do the same; for we arm only for defense, and not for conquest.’ ...How different is the Illinois ship canal from any of the Atlantic forts! They are works which must be garrisoned and kept in order at heavy annual expense. ”

“ Your family, I hear, intend to join you either at Halifax or in England. From this I conclude that they do not expect any result from your Mexican plans — neither do I; and I hope by this time you are in the steamer on your way back to England. The people of Virginia have shown themselves to be as brave as any people ever have been; but courage is coupled, in patriotism, with perseverance in suffering until better times come for Virginia. All who love her for what she has been and what she has done, ought to love her enough to suffer with her and for her sake. ”

“ But, when all commercial countries are to be embraced in the same system of observation and research, its importance becomes overwhelming. In consequence of the introduction of steam, the improvement of navigation, the construction of railroads, the spread of commerce, the use of the telegraph, and the rapidly increasing facilities of intercourse, the farmer and planter of the United States is almost as much interested, practically, in knowing the state, prospect, and amount of crops in foreign lands as in his own country. ”

“ No, my dear cousin, I am not seeking to make slave territory out of free, or to introduce slavery where there is none. Brazil is as much of a slave country as Virginia, and the valley of the Amazon is Brazilian. ”

“ The law requires every commander in the navy to show in himself a good example of virtue and patriotism; and never was example more nobly set forth or beautifully followed. Captain Herndon, by those noble traits which have so endeared his memory to the hearts of his countrymen, had won the respect and admiration of the crew and passengers of that ship in such a degree as to acquire an influence over them that was marvelous in its effects. The women felt its force. Calm and resolute themselves, they encouraged and cheered the men at the pumps and in the gangways ”

“ I appeal to my friends to help me to right. I have been in the service, as you know, upwards of 30 years; during all that time no complaint of duty neglected, or accusation for any cause, had ever reached the Navy Department against me. In short, whatever my shortcomings may have been as a sinful man, as an officer, accountable only to his Government, my conduct has been without reproach; and yet I have been brought into official disgrace — for what? I am as ignorant as you. The thing has been done by a Board of Navy Officers, sitting in secret, and acting mischievously. ”

“ Hoping to find for them sympathy in the heart of a generous-minded Sovereign, and an asylum in his Empire, here am I, an advocate of Southern immigration, and a humane system of African emancipation in the United States, as the quickest, most certain and best means of affording relief to their sufferings, of giving quiet to this country, stability to the throne, and peace to America.
Though many of the negroes have been set free, and, owing to the abrupt manner of doing it, have run riot, and are afflicted with both pestilence and famine, there are many of them still true to their masters. ”

“ Every feature and lineament of his bright countenance bespoke intellect, kindliness, and force of character. His fine blue eyes beamed from under his broad forehead with thought and emotion, while his flexible mouth smiled with the pleasure of imparting to others the ideas which were ever welling up in his active brain. In early manhood his head was well covered with fine soft, wavy brown hair which became thin before he reached middle age. Latterly, he was quite bald, as is shown in Valentine’s fine bust, taken when Maury was sixty years of age. ”

“ There seems to be a vague idea floating in the public mind of the South that, somehow or other, cotton is to enable us to do, if not entirely, at least to a great degree, what other nations require armies and navies to accomplish for them. Because cotton-wool is essential to the industry of certain people, and because we are chief growers of cotton-wool, therefore, say these political dreamers, we can so treat cotton, in a diplomatic way, as both to enforce obedience to our revenue laws at home and secure respect to our citizens abroad. ”

“ To enable the farmers to know in advance the prospects of the growing crops with which their own must compete in the market of the world, is to enable them to reap the just reward of their own industry; to refuse it is to place them at the mercy of the dealer.
“ Such are some of the more obvious results which agriculture is certain to reap from the adoption of the system of research proposed by your memorialists. And important and valued as are the benefits thus promised, we are entitled to count upon others still more valuable, but which no sagacity can anticipate. ”

“ No man was more alive than Maury was to the fact that the agriculture of the South was to her an unfailing source of renewed prosperity — that, like Antaeus, it was from the earth that she would gain restitution of her strength.
Hence Matthew F. Maury earnestly favoured and persistently urged all measures looking to the improvement of agriculture. To this end he resumed the series of lectures on the subject so dear to his heart, which had been interrupted by the war, and visited, by invitation, cities in Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Missouri. ”

“ Neither has any Northern State so much as inquired of the people of any Southern State, either as to the cause of their offense, or as to the terms and conditions upon which they would be willing to remain in the Union.
It does appear to me that in and out of Congress we are all at sea with the troubles that are upon us; that the people, and the people alone, are capable of extricating us. ”

“ In vain did the poor young man tell his story; no one believed him. Matthew Maury, who did not think the evidence sufficient to convict, and who therefore refused to treat him with scorn and contempt, as all the rest did, stood by him, and, as he himself often said, was his only comfort in that long cruise. “Johns” died of a broken heart, and was buried at Callao, protesting his innocence to the last, which was fully established in the minds of all by the remorse of “Alex” when he heard the result of his cruel practical joke. ”

“ Had I time I might show how mountains, deserts, winds, and water, when treated by the light of this beautiful science, all join in one universal harmony, for each one has its part to perform in the great concert of nature. ”

“ In contemplating this shipwreck of country, kinsmen, and friends, I recognised among the debris of the wreck the very materials that are required to build, upon good and solid foundations, the Mexican Empire. Never, since the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, has such a class of people been found willing to expatriate themselves. From such a wreck, Mexico may gather and transfer to her own borders the very intelligence, skill, and labour which made the South what she was in her palmy days — except bondage. ”

“ In the first place, cotton and the staples of the South are only some of its nobles; and unless human nature be changed, they, without a navy, will be powerless for protection. Unless we have the national ability to put forth navy strength necessary to support the dignity of the nation, its great staples will be a source of weakness, for mere wealth is weakness, and, like unprotected wealth everywhere, our commercial staples will invite to outrage and wrong. ”

“ It is with the most lively acknowledgment that I offer to my illustrious friend and associate, the Superintendent of the United States Observatory and Hydrographical Office at Washington, the tribute of my respectful admiration. The Maritime Conference at Brussels, and the happy influence which your visit to Europe has fortunately exercised upon the course of meteorology, both by sea and land, especially where your presence has been enjoyed, have contributed to spread your views. You are now enjoying the fruits of immense labours. ”

“ The machinery by which the forces of the universe are regulated and controlled is exquisite; and if it be instructive to study the mechanism of a watch, or profitable to understand the principles of the steam engine, the contrivances of man’s puny intellect, how much more profitable and instructive must it be to look out upon the broad face of nature and study that machinery which was planned and arranged in the perfection of wisdom. ”

“ The Church, ere yet physical geography had attained to the dignity of a science in our schools, and even before man had endowed it with a name, saw and appreciated its dignity, the virtue of its chief agents. What have we heard here in this grove by a thousand voices this morning? A song of praise, such as these hills have not heard since the morning stars sang together the ‘Benedicite’ of our mother Church, invoking the very agents whose workings and offices it is the business of the physical geographer to study and point out. ”

“ There had always been a jealousy between the army and navy, and there was particular jealousy because of the prominence of Maury, in being so constantly noticed by the eminent and titled men of the Old World. Some articles (not emanating from Meade — he was too good and too noble a nature to do such things) called in question the necessity of Maury’s doing anything of the kind, as Captain Meade had provided for a full working of all observations needed, to begin with the opening of navigation, and to extend all over the lakes. ”

“ The negro was set free in Mexico more than a generation ago. The Emperor, the laws, and the people are all opposed to slavery; and any one who could be so wicked as to desire to re-open the African slave-trade, might as well attempt to “plot” with the British Government, as with this, for that purpose. Nothing seems too absurd for the sensational press of New York.
Mexico is a country of perpetual harvests. On the way from Vera Cruz to the capital, I saw corn in all its stages, from the time of its scattering by the hand of the sower, till it was gathering in the arms of the reaper. ”

“ Decked with stars as the sky is, the field of astronomy affords no subject on contemplation more ennobling, more sublime, or more profitable than those which we may find in the air and the sea. When we regard these from certain points of view, they present the appearance of wayward things, obedient to no law, but fickle in their movements, and subject only to chance. ”

“ He is young and intelligent, and has not suffered during the war like Dick, and consequently he has not so great a hatred in his blood. You and Madame Maury, with your little darlings and Dick, can stay here till the time comes that you can go back in safety, enjoying no public, but a farmer’s life, in ease and comfort, giving the world the benefit of your genius. ”