village of Franklin, where, on the outskirts of civilization, young Maury grew up to the verge of manhood. Under such circumstances, his educational advantages were necessarily slight, and wholly due to the exertions of a clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Otey, now bishop of a southern diocese.

Young Maury's first and most enduring passion was for the sea, and when his parents found it was unconquerable, they wisely abandoned their opposition, and permitted him to follow it as a profession. He was nineteen years of age (1825) when he joined the United States Navy in the frigate Brandywine, then a new and splendid vessel, commissioned for the honorable duty of conveying General Lafayette from this country to France, and with orders to undertake a subsequent cruise in the Mediterranean. Maury was midshipman on board this ship-of-war, and soon became remarkable for the quiet skill and courage with which he discharged his duties, and the enthusiasm with which he applied himself to all that was theoretical or scientific in his profession. It is said that during the voyage across the Atlantic the Brandywine was overtaken by a severe storm. A scene of general excitement prevailed on board; but in the midst of the fury of the elements and the vociferous bustle of his companions, Maury was discovered quietly working away at a nautical problem, and entirely unconscious of aught else.

After carrying out her instructions in the Mediterranean the Brandywine was ordered home, to be placed under the broad pennant of Commodore Jones. Maury returned with her, and was retained in active service under the new commander. The frigate soon sailed for the Pacific. The little midshipman was still bent on his nautical studies. Some curious stories of his devotion, says Mr. Augustus Maverick, to whom we are largely indebted, are rife among the seamen who knew Maury at this time. It was one of his rules, to which he adhered inflexibly, that he would never allow himself to be idle, but, on duty or off, keep his mind actively employed in some way or other. A man-of-war is not the best place in the world for the indulgence of contemplative ways, or for the prosecution of studies demanding much thought and some practical demonstration. The only chance he had of being perfectly quiet and unmolested was while he was on watch. It became now a question how to use this time to the most advantage. He hit upon a plan which drove the old gunner of the

frigate to the verge of despair. It was this.

He provided him

self with a bit of chalk, and quietly drew on the cannon balls the problem he wanted to work out. Then pacing backward and forward with his mind intent on it, he added figure to figure until the demonstration was complete. In this way he learned with rapidity, and laid the foundation of his future fame. The old gunner often raved at the troublesome "middy," who covered his shot with chalk-marks; but it was not held to be a heinous crime, and no hindrance followed. Two and a half years passed away in this manner, the young student applying himself closely, and gaining experience and wisdom with years. At the end of this

period, while still cruising in the Pacific, he was, at his own request, transferred to the U. S. sloop-of-war Vincennes, then under orders for the East Indies.

This was Mr. Maury's third cruise; it proved of immense service to him. It enlarged his field of observation, and enabled him so far to verify his theories of navigation that he felt justified, upon his return home, in putting to press a volume comprising the results of the investigations he had already undertaken. The entire volume was written on shipboard.

The Vincennes arrived at New York in the summer of 1830, after an absence of four years. During the period of his service on board Mr. Maury had found time to visit the South Sea Islands, China, the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena, and other points of interest, omitting no opportunity of adding to his stock of information. A fourth cruise was undertaken soon after the return of the Vincennes, and again Mr. Maury found himself in the Pacific Ocean, attached as acting master to the sloop-of-war Falmouth. Having been examined for promotion before leaving port, his qualifications as an officer were admitted and subsequently fully proved during his term of service on board this vessel. Promotion speedily followed. The appointment of acting lieutenant of the Falmouth was tendered to and accepted by him, and he continued to fill this post until transferred by Commodore Downes to the Dolphin, in the Pacific, two and a half years later. Of the Dolphin, Mr. Maury was made first lieutenant. The commodore presently transferred him to the flag-ship Potomac, on board of which he served as acting lieutenant until her return to the United States. This cruise occupied three and a half years. The opportunities it afforded Mr. Maury he was not slow in embrac

ing. A mass of marine statistics was collected which afterward proved of signal service to him, and the compilation of a series of nautical tables occupied with profit a considerable period. The journals of experienced navigators whom he met in the Pacific were carefully examined and compared, and facts deduced from these sources of information and his own observations took the form of a record of reliable results. Mr. Maury's knowledge of astronomical science also led him to a series of investigations in that department of research, with a view to correct the prevailing methods of observing solar, lunar, and stellar distances. He contrived an instrument which was calculated to give the true measurement of distance, and completed a model of it, but, on applying to the Board of Navy Commissioners for assistance in carrying out the experiment, was repulsed. His own resources being inadequate to meet the necessary expenditure, the project failed, and the instrument never saw the light.

In the year 1836, when thirty years of age, Mr. Maury received his full commission as lieutenant in the navy. The appointment of astronomer and assistant hydrographer of the United States Exploring Expedition was soon afterward tendered to him, and was at first accepted, but subsequently declined. About this period Lieutenant Maury became interested in literary pursuits. An interesting and valuable essay on the Navigation of the Pacific and the Doubling of Cape Horn appeared from his pen in the pages of Silliman's Journal; and an article published soon after, on the interests of Southern Commerce, attracted attention. In this latter production Mr. Maury displayed accurate knowledge of mercantile regulations and observances, and, by means of an elaborate array of statistical facts, demonstrated the means which were to impart to the port of New York its commercial supremacy. He showed that the wealth of that great city lay chiefly in her lines of packets, which, by bringing her into active connection and competition with the commercial emporiums of other nations, insured at once her rapid growth, and a financial standing second to no other city. Taking this stand-point as representative of the argument he wished to enforce, Mr. Maury proceeded to discuss with great elaboration the commercial advantages of the South, which was the material point of his article. Mr. Maury's sympathies have generally been with the South in all its enterprises, and he has striven with voice and pen to encourage the interests

and develop the resources of that section of the Union. This apparent partiality has called down a measure of condemnation upon Mr. Maury, but his convictions have been honest, sincere, and are still earnestly pressed when opportunity offers. In his writings. upon these subjects Mr. Maury has given expression to his belief that the energies of the southern portion of the United States, if directed with enterprise, prudence, and skill, are competent to rival the business capacities of the North; and while he has not failed to press the advantages of the South upon the people of that district of the country, he has not forgotten to preserve throughout a tone of courtesy and consideration that has added a fresh charm to the native grace and polish of his diction. For a number of years, down to the present moment, the question of the development of southern interests has been a favorite one with him, a marked share of his attentions having been devoted to that branch of commerce which contemplates the establishment of a permanent and speedy means of communication between the South and the principal ports of Europe.

He

Turning for a time from literary avocations, Mr. Maury was again in active naval service until the early part of 1839. was assigned the command of a government survey steamer, and was detailed to prosecute investigations along the southern coast. The sickly season approaching, this labor was suspended. Being comparatively free, Mr. Maury determined to avail himself of the opportunity to visit his aged parents, still residing in Ten

nessee.

This journey was destined to affect the entire course of his life in a melancholy way. The stage-coach in which he was traveling through Ohio met with an accident and was overturned. Among the passengers who received serious injuries was Mr. Maury. His knee was fractured, and he became a cripple for several months; indeed, it was nearly three years before he could dispense with the use of crutches. The injury was a permanent one, and sufficient to disable him for active service in his profession.

The resources of a man of thought and study are never entirely dependent on a single accident of life. To be torn from a profession which he loved so fervently was in the highest degree unhappy, but, by directing his thoughts into a new channel, it opened the path to a greatness which probably could not have been accom

plished amid the hardships and turmoil of a sailor's life.

No man in the country knew more of maritime subjects than Mr. Maury. He determined to use this knowledge for the benefit of the public; to work out his experience and observations with the pen and the press.

His first attempt was to effect a reform in the navy of the United States, by pointing out the evils of which he had been an attentive observer. A series of articles published in the Southern Literary Messenger drew public attention to the defects of the service, and the facts which Mr. Maury adduced as occurring under his own observation led to an animated warfare on paper. We have not space to recapitulate the arguments which were employed in the course of this controversy; it is sufficient to know that the attacks of Mr. Maury upon naval abuses have not been unattended by useful results. The title he gave them was the unique one of "Scraps from the Lucky Bag."

The peculiar channel into which Mr. Maury's thoughts have been almost exclusively directed of late years was suggested to him as long since as the year 1831. While going out in the capacity of sailing-master on his cruise of that year, he was struck with the fact that all information concerning the routes from the United States to Cape Horn was derived chiefly from tradition, sailors having their individual theories, and captains conglomerating the scraps of nautical wisdom which years of experience at sea had developed. Mr. Maury saw in this a field for the display of his peculiar characteristics. His observations upon the tides and currents of the ocean had already suggested to his mind the expediency of preparing a series of instructions for navigators; and the manifest ignorance on these subjects which prevailed at the time, even among seamen the most celebrated for their skill, led him to put his thoughts in shape for the benefit of the service. The "Wind and Current Charts" were the result of this resolution. Beginning at once, he presently brought his scheme into useful activity. He commenced by collecting from all practicable sources the log-books of vessels which had accomplished the passage around Cape Horn. The preparation of a series of charts was the object of a labored and minute comparison of results. This work is yet in progress (1858), and, when completed, will no doubt contribute largely to the high fame of the author.

In the year 1812 Mr. Maury was placed in charge of the hydro