THE MARINER.

The Mariner is, in common language, the same as sailor, or seaman ; although the art of the Mariner is not, strictly speaking, a trade, it is an occupation of so much importance in England, that we cannot pass it over.

What boldness must that man have possessed who first traversed the ocean in a ship. If nature has denied us wings, the industry
and ingenuity of man, has furnished ships with sails, which enable him to move over immense seas with the rapidity of the eagle :
nothing more strongly proves the superiority of the genius of man ; nothing more powerfully attests his sovereignty and his pre-emi-
nence.

Navigation, which is in some way or another known even to the most savage, nations, is a profession which requires considerable
information, and which contributes, in a very great degree, to the comforts, the convenience, the happiness and wealth of a nation, more especially in this country in which it is so much fostered and encouraged.

The art itself is very ancient. The Tyriana and the Carthaginians are said to have practised it in the Mediterranean ; but the Chinese,
the Arabians, and Persians, navigated the East Indian seas a long time before. After the ruin of Carthage, navigation was adopted by many of the nations of Europe as a medium of commerce, which has been, indeed, the principal stimulus in the prosecution of voyages from the remotest period of time. It is amongst European nations, during the last four centuries, that individuals have arisen,
who have, by their enterprize and perseverance, very much contributed to distinguish them as periods of extraordinary importance
in the history of the world.

A knowledge of the different seas, the application of astronomy, the discovery of the compass, the invention of instruments to take
the height of the sun and stars, or to measure the course of the ship; the observations of sailors themselves, the fidelity of charts; the better construction of ships, and the perfection of many other things, have brought the management of a ship on the ocean, to almost mathematical demonstration. Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, Bartholomew Diaz, who discovered the Cape of Good Hope, and Captain Cooke, by his attempts to discover a north-west passage to India, and other geographical investigations, amidst a crowd of men big with enterprize, might be mentioned, who have contributed to this important art.

As the discovery of the compass forms an, era of the first importance in navigation, we shall present our readers with a short history of it.

The magnet, or loadstone, was certainly known to the philosophers of ancient Greece, for its quality of attracting iron ; and in later ages, the few who were in possesion of the secret, were enabled lo perform tricks, which the amazement of the ignorant ascribed to magic : but till about the end of the twelfth century, we find no good authority to shew that its mere valuable property, its polarity, or that power by which one point of it; or even of a needle, or bar of iron touched with it, turns to the north pole, was known, at least in the western part of the world.

It has been asserted, that the Chinese knew the polarity of the magnet, and used the compass many centuries before it was known
in Europe : but this point does not seem satisfactorily proved, since, after asserting that the compass was known, they fail in proving
the knowledge of its most valuable use in conducting a ship across the ocean.

About the conclusion of the twelfth century, the earliest notice that is to be found of the polarity of the maguet, and its use by seamen, appears in the poetical works of Hugues de Bercy, called, also, Guiot Provins.

Jacob de Vitriaco, also, who lived at the same time and was bishop of Aeon in Palestine, mentions it under the name of adamant,
but at the same time describes it as indispensably necessary to all who used the sea.

In defiance, however, of these authorities, the Italian writers claim the honour of the invention, for Flavio Gioia, a citizen of Amalfi,
on the coast of the Adriatic, who, they say, first used it in the year 1302, or 1320. The truth, however, seems to be, that the very early Mariners, to whom the use of the magnetic needle was familiar, were accustomed to place it on a floating straw : while
the addition of a circular -card, on which the different winds were represented, affixed to the needle and traversing with it, was apparently the improvement of Gioia. Peter Adsiger, whose letter, dated ifl 1269, is said yet to remain in the library of the University of Leydon, not only wrote upon the various properties of the magnet and the construction of the azimuth compass, but on the
variation of the magnetic needle : a discovery, the credit of which was attributed to Columbus in 1492, and afterwards to Sebastian Cabot in 1500 ; who seems only to have had greater opportunities than other persons, of remarking that the . needle was not perfectly true to the north point, but diverged, or varied a little from it.

The compass was long, very rude and imperfect ; but at length, received great improvement from the invention and experiments of
Dr. Knight, Mr. Smeaton, and Mr, M'Culloch about the middle of the sixteenth century. The variation of the needle was hot for a long time believed, but careful observations soon discovered that in England and its neighbourhood, the needle pointed to the eastward of the true north line, and the quantity of this deviation being known, Mariners relied upon their compass, upon making an allowance for the true variation, the exact course being readily obtained. Later observations prove, that the deviation from the north was variable; that it gradually diminished till 1657, when it pointed due north at London; since then it veered to the westward, and is, at this time, 1818, again returning from the west towards the pole.

Mariners are, sometimes, employed on board merchant ships, and, sometimes, in men of war. In merchant' employ, the Mariners are accountable to the master, the master to the owners of the vessel, and the owners to the merchant, for any damages that may happen. If a vessel is lost by tempest, the Mariners lose their wages and the owners their freight : this is intended to make them use their utmost endeavours to preserve the ship committed to their care.

Mariners on board the King's ships are subject to strict regulations, which, however, depend on certain fixed laws passed at different times by parliament. Mariners who are not in his Majesty's service are liable, during the time of war, to be impressed, unless they enter voluntarily, to which they are encouraged by bounties and high wages ; and every foreign seaman who, during war, shall serve two years in any man of war, merchant-ship or privateer, becomes naturalized.

Some Mariners are of a higher rank and estimation than common sailors ; they understand the art of navigation: or of conducting a vessel from one place to another in the safest, shortest, and most commodious way. He ought, therefore, to be well acquainted with the islands, rocks, sands and straights near which he has to sail. He should, also, know the signs which indicate the approach to land : these are the appearance of birds ; the floating of weeds on the surface pf the sea : the depth and colour of the sea. He should, moreover, understand the nature of the winds, particularly the times when the trade winds and monsoons set in ; the seasons when storms and hurricanes may be expected, and the signs of their approach ; the motion of currents and tides. They must understand, also, the working of the ship; that is, the management of the sails, rigging, &c.

Navigation is either common or proper. The former is usually called coasting ; that is, where the ships are on the same or very neighbouring coasts ; and where the vessel is seldom out of sight of land, or out of reach of sounding. In this case little more is required than an acquaintance with the lands which are to be passed, the compass, and the sounding line.

To gain a knowledge of the coast, a good chart or map is necessary.

The compass, or Mariner's compass, as it sometimes called, a history of which we have just given, consists of a circular brass box
which contains a card with the thirty-two points, fixed on a magnetic needle which always turns to the north, or nearly so. The
needle with the card, turns on an upright pin fixed in the centre of the box. The top of the box is covered with glass to prevent the
wind from disturbing the motion of the card. The whole is inclosed in another box of wood, where it is suspended by brass hoops to keep the card in a horizontal position, whatever motion of the ship may be ; and it is so placed in the ship, that the middle section of the box may lie over the middle section of the ship along her keel.

The method of finding by the compass the direction in which a ship sails is, the Compass being suspended, the Mariner looks horizontally over it, in the direction of the ship's wake, which is a light-coloured track caused on the surface of the water by the course of the ship, by which he sees the point of the compass denoting the direction of the wake ; the point opposite to this, is that to which the ship is sailing according to the compass ; and knowing how much the compass varies, he can tell the true point of the horizon to which he is going.

The sounding-line is a line with a plummet at the end : it is used to try the depth of the water and the quality of the bottom.

In navigation proper, which is where the voyage is long and pursued through the main ocean, there are many other requisites besides those already mentioned. Here a considerable skill in mathematics and astronomy is required, and an aptness in using instruments for celestial observations.

One of these instruments, the Mariner in the plate is represented holding in his right hand, while he is pointing to his ship with the other. The boat which is to cany him on board of ship, is drawn on shore.

To ascertain the velocity of the ship on the water, the Mariner is provided with ad instrument called a log, which is a triangular piece of wood eight or nine inches long, to which is attached a small cord having knots in it at proper distances, and he bas, also, a half minute sand glass : the rule is, that as many knots as run off the reel per half minute when the tog is in the water, so many miles sails the ship per hour : thus when in nautical language the sailor says, we sailed nine knots, he means our progress was nine miles an hour. When the weather is so cloudy that no celestial observations can be made, the log and compass are of infinite importance : vessels sailing under these disadvantages, are said to sail by dead reckoning. A book of this reckoning is kept in which entries are made daily : it is called the log book.

The wages of a Mariner depend upon his employment ; that is, whether he be in the King's service or on board a merchantman :
they depend, also, upon the size of the ship and on the situation which he holds in it.

There is no profession of more importance to the interests of this country than that of the Mariner' Government, therefore, provides
a place for numbers of those who are disabled in Greenwich Hospital, or a pension out of it ; find to the widows and children of those who are slain in defending their country, small pensions are granted. Greenwich Hospital is supported by the nation, and by sixpence a month deducted out of every seaman's wages.