Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

290 REMARKS ON SHIPS. Sept. sight. Knowing her to be one of the new build, I altered course, to sail a few miles with her, and see how much she would beat us ; but, to my surpi'ize, she gained on us bvit little while running free with a fresh breeze, just carrying top- mast studding-sails ; and I was afterwards told by her officers, that though she sailed uncommonly well on a wind, and worked to windward wonderfully, she did nothing remarkable with a flowing sheet. I did not like her upper works ; they ' tumbled home' too much (like some old French corvettes) ; narrowing her upper deck, giving less spread to the rigging, and offering a bad form to the stroke of a heavy sea, whether when plunging her bow into it, or receiving it abeam. However good such a form may be for large ships, which carry two or three tier of guns, I cannot think it advantageous for flush-decked vessels or small frigates, and am quite certain that it is bad for boats. I here allude particularly to that ' tumbling home' of the upper works, which some persons approved of a few years ago. This is not the place, however, for a discussion upon naval architec- ture (even if I were qualified to deal with the subject, which assuredly I am not) ; but I cannot pass over an opportunity of adding my mite of praise to the genius and moral courage of Sir William Symonds and Captain Hayes, who, undeterred by opposition, and difficulties of every description, have suc- ceeded in infusing (if the metaphor may be allowed) so large a portion of Arab blood into the somewhat heavy, though stal- wart coursers of our native breed. Amidst the natural conten- tion of eager candidates for an honourable position, to which they have been accustomed to aspire, and for which some are doubtless admirably qualified, it is not sui-prising that due credit has not always been given to that originality and justi- fiable daring, of which the merits are attested by the Vanguard and Inconstant. Neither has it always been recollected, how- ever men may have differed in their opinions of this or that individual, as a naval architect, that the two best ships built of late years were constructed by naval officers, self-educated chiefly during the practice of their profession. I am quite aware, that some of those eminent architects who have con-