Gravesend, Sandwich and Dover. The voice of the nation, however, was for war, and the Dutch ambassadors, after many fruitless interviews with Parliament, (11) being convinced that it was inevitable, demanded their passports, and war was formally declared between the two nations on the 8th of July, 1652.

NOTES.

1 “Piet Hein," one of the most daring of the early Dutch Admirals, was the son of a poor fisherman of Delftshaven. He accompanied his father on several short cruises, in a herring boat, while quite a child, and, at a very early age, ran away from home and shipped in an East-India-man.

The exploit which gained him the greatest fame among his countrymen was the " cutting out" of a Spanish fleet at Matanzas, Cuba, laden with jewels and silver, valued at some two millions of pounds sterling.

He was killed in 1629, at the age of fifty-one, in an engagement with the pirates of Dunkerque; and Cerisier relates in his Tableau des Provinces Unies (Tome VI. p. 40) that the States sent a message of condolence to his mother on the sad event. "Ay, I thought he would come to no good end" was the honest woman's reply. "I did my best to reform him, but he would be a vagabond. I warrant you he has got no more than he deserved."

2 Lettre De Monseigneur le Cardinal de Richelieu á Monsieur le Compte d'Estrades. De Ruel le 15 d'Août, 1639.

Monsieur:-Je vous dépêché ce Courier sur des avis certains que j'ai, que le Roi d'Espagne assemble sa Flote à la Coroque, qui sera forte de cinquante grands Vaisseaux, commandez par Dom Antonis Dognendo, le plus habile homme de Mer qui soit en espagne il doit amener douze mille hommes d'infanterie sur des Vaisseaux pour débarquer en Flandres; l'escadre de Dunkerque so`doit joindre à lui. Vous direz à Monsieur le Prince d'Orange de la part du Roi et de la mieune, qúel ne peut jamais trouver une occasion plus favorable pour la cause commune, qui celle de mettre promptement une puissante Flote en Mer, pour aller au devant de celle d'Espagne et la combattre, ni faire rien de plus glorieux pour sa réputation.

Comme ce Prince est leut de son naturel pressez-le de la part du Roi de donner ses ordres à tout les Amirantez d'equiper tous les vaisseaux qui seront en e'tat de servir. Vous l'assurerez en même tems, que le Roi a dépeché des Couriers à Calais, Boulogne, Deeppe, le Havre de-Grace, et Brest, avec des ordres aux gouverneurs, d'assister de munitiones de guerre, d'Hommes & de Vaisseaux, la Flote de Messieurs les Etats, pour les demander que celui qui commande la dite Flote leur en pourra faire.

3 Lettre de Monsieur le Compte d' Estrades à Monseigneur le Cardinal de Richelieu-Du 26 Août, 1639.

Monseigneur,

J'ai rendu compte á Mousieur le Prince d'Orange du Grand Armement de Mer qui se fait en Espagne, dont il n' avoit encore en aucuns avis;

mais le lendemain il recût un expres de Bruxelles, dépêché par le premier Commis de la Secretarie du Gouvernante Général, lequel il a gagné par des présens considerables et qui lui mande tout le detail des desseins des Espagnols.

Tout ce que Votre Eminence m'écrit y est contenu, excepté que Dom Antonio Doguendo ait ordre de rester avec la Flote aux Dunes, pour ne hazarder pas le combat et faire seulement passer l'Infanterié en Flanders par l'escadre de Dunkerque, assistée des Vaisseaux même du Roi 'd Angleterre.

4 Comme Tromp ne vouloit rien faire, que conformément à des ordres Exprès, dans une occasion assez délicate, il en demanda, touchant la conduite qu'il garderoit envers les Espagnols, s'ils demeuroient davantage sur les côtes d'Angleterre. Le 16 du mois, les Etats Generaux lui donnerent plein pouvoir d'attaquer la Flotte Espagnole, et de la chasser des côtes d'Angleterre quoi qu'il en pût arriver.—“Le Clerc.”

5 Campbell himself seems to have rather inclined to this belief, for no better reason than because “a popish book was produced in the next parliament, in which, among the superstitious things, were prayers for the holy martyrs who perished in the fleet sent against the heretics in England." It is evident, however, that these prayers were for the souls of the deceased heroes solely of the "Invincible Armada."

6 When Drake took possession of Santo Domingo, there were to be seen in the Town Hall, among other things, the king of Spain's arms, and under them a Globe of the World, out of which issued a horse with his fore feet springing forward, with this inscription, “Non sufficit Orbis.”—“Cambden's Life and Reign of Queen Elizabeth.”

7 In 1623, happened the bloody affair of Ambayna, of which I shall give a short and fair account; because it gave birth to our national hatred of the Dutch, which subsisted so long and had such fatal effects.—Campbell.

8 While Cromwell and his adherents, on their part, were extravagant in their clamors for vengeance and satisfaction, in respect to the injuries and insults inflicted by the Dutch; the latter were no less vociferous in demanding restitution and reparation for those depredations which the ships of the former had almost piratically committed against the commerce and property of the latter, under the customary pretence of retaliation and reprisal. Neither party appeared to acquiesce in the propriety of the demands made by the other; and the mutual dissatisfaction which prevailed grew too violent to be appeased by any other means than an appeal, as is customary in all national disputes, to heaven for the justice of each individual cause, and leave the decision to that most tremendous of all umpires-the sword.-Charnock.

9 The official reports of the English and Dutch Admirals concerning this affair differ widely, yet I think the reader, who carefully collates the evidence on both sides, will arrive at the conclusion that the English were the aggressors.

Blake was under the impression, it would seem, that the Dutch were bearing down upon him with the intention to engage, and he was not one who was likely to receive an attack passively. Besides his blood was heated with wine (for he had been drinking with his officers in the cabin) and so, he was in no humor to suffer the Dutch to approach within gun-shot of him with their colors flying. "Which of the two was to blame" says Davies, in his history of the Netherlands, "it is impossible to decide. It may be doubted whether Tromp, a zealous Orange royalist was in any hurry to strike to an inferior number of the Parliament's vessels, or whether Blake exhibited much patience in waiting for him to do so.”

10 Notwithstanding the numerical superiority of Tromp's fleet, it appears that, in the number and calibre of his guns, Blake was quite on an equality with his antagonist, while the English vessels were so much larger and more heavily built than the Dutch, that they could bear twice the pounding, and suffered less from splinters.

11 Il étoit visible par-la que les Fanatiques Anglois, malgre toutes les apparences de Religion, qu'ils affectoient avoient cherché cette guerre; quoi qu'ils 'ne parlassent qui de faire une Alliance avec les Etats, plus étroiete que toutes les précedentes. La dureté et la hauteur; avec la quelle ils traitoient la République des P. P. U. U. etoient tout à fait insupportables; D'autant plus qu'elle ne manquoit pas de flôtes, ni d'Amiraux, pour opposer a l'Angleterre. On peut-même dire que si les E. E. avoient voulu d'abord équipper des Vaisseaux égaux en grosseur et en équipages à ceux des Anglais, comme ils le pouvoient; les Flottes de la nouvelle République n'auvoient pas pû tenir devant le leurs, comme on le verra dans la suite. Le Clerc.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE PAPER ON THE VENTILATION OF SHIPS.

SEE No. 13, Vol. VI. P. 237.

Since the publication of my paper on the Ventilation of Ships, which I had the honor of reading before the Naval Institute, on the 13th of April last, I have learned that the ventilation of the later monitors was not designed by Mr. Ericsson, but by Chief Engineer Isherwood, U. S. N., then Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. I beg, therefore, to make the correction as early as possible.

The drawings for the ventilating machinery, conduits, et cetera, were made in the Bureau, and tracing sent to the different contractors, who were building the ships, from which they worked.

On board the Montauk class and the Sangus class the air was drawn down the turrets by the blowers and then forced throughout the vessels; but on board the Miantonomoh class it was taken in through a vertical armored cylinder which extended about ten feet above the deck, and was forced throughout the ships, finding an egress through the furnaces, galley and the turrets. By this means the gases from the fired guns were expelled from the turrets instead of being drawn into the ships. G. W. BAIRD,

P. A. ENGINEER, U. S. N.

NAVAL INSTITUTE, BOSTON BRANCH,

SEPT. 30, 1880.

HENRY LYON, M. D., in the chair.

DISCUSSION.

THE LAWS OF HYGIENE AS APPLIED TO BERTHING, MESSING, VENTILATION, AND INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS OF MEN-OF-WAR.

Naval Const. Рook:-I have been asked to say a few words on the subject of ventilation. I cannot think in what way I can do better than to give a description of the system of ventilation as arranged upon the Richmond, fitted at this navy yard, about two years since.

The Bureau of Construction had its attention called to the deficiency in ventilation upon ship board and, upon the representations of its chief, a board was organized by the Hon. Secretary of the Navy, consisting of Med. Dir. Turner, Naval Constructor Fernald, Comdr. J. R. Bartlett and Chief Engineer D. Smith. These gentlemen, coming to the Navy Yard, Boston, proceeded to arrange a plan as follows. A main duct was carried entirely through the ship, below the berth deck, which tapered from the centre of the length to the ends; when the engine room and coal bunkers were reached this passage was carried under the coal bunkers and out of the way of the machinery. Attached to this main pipe were smaller pipes which led into each room and stateroom of the ship; at the ends of these smaller pipes were placed brass registers.

The whole system was arranged to exhaust bad air from all parts of the ship, by the use of a fan blower which was run by a small steam engine at a high velocity. This was placed upon the berth deck. After the bad air was drawn out of the ship, it was passed under the berth deck, through square tubes, to vertical pipes, and into the open air-this was the exhaust method. Now, to supply the fresh air, pipes were arranged along the sides of the ship, wherever there was an opportunity to do so, with valves at the upper end, which could be kept open in good weather.

There was also a cowl of large size fitted on each side forward, which was placed so as to direct the wind into a port about two feet square; this port was boxed in, and was ultimately divided into three compartments, one of which led into the berth deck, another into the orlop, and a third into the hold. The port was fitted so as to be kept closed in rough weather, and the cowl arranged so as to turn around from the wind: at the after end of the ship, there were also fitted large, square ventilators, one from