On
Aug. 21st I reported this to the Admiralty, and on Aug. 24th I tried
the ship to Gravesend. On Aug. 30th I had the loan of her for an
expedition with a party of friends to Sheerness, and on Sept. 9th I
accompanied her to Gravesend, on her first voyage to Antwerp.--On
Oct. 5th application was made to me by the owner of the 'Ironsides' to
correct her compasses. In consequence of this I went to Liverpool on
Oct. 25th, and on this occasion made a very important improvement in
the practical mode of performing the correction.--On Nov. 16th I
reported to the Admiralty in considerable detail. On Dec. 4th I had an
interview with Lord Minto (First Lord of the Admiralty) and Mr
Wood. They refused to sanction any reward to me.--The following is a
copy of the report of the Captain of the 'Rainbow' after her voyage to
Antwerp: 'Having had the command of the Rainbow steamer the two
voyages between London and Antwerp, I have the pleasure to inform you
that I am perfectly satisfied as to the correctness of the compasses,
and feel quite certain they will continue so. I took particular notice
from land to land from our departure and found the bearings by compass
to be exact.'"--The following extracts from letters to his wife refer
to the "Ironsides": on Oct.
Pages:
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225