GREAT CHANGES IN THE SQUADRON.
The party that remained in Dresden went to Leipzig in the afternoon, and found very comfortable quarters in the Hôtel de Pologne. They visited the usual round of sights; but it must be acknowledged that they did so rather from a sense of duty, than because they were interested in most of them. Doubtless they were troubled by that bugbear of travellers—the fear of missing a sight about which some one in the future might inquire. If they failed to see it, tourists more fortunate in their own estimation would assure them they had lost the most interesting object in the city. Lincoln missed his good friend, the doctor, very much, though, as far as company was concerned, Miss Julia Gurney was an excellent substitute. But Mr. Kinnaird was exceedingly well informed, and was able to impart all needed information.
The population of Leipzig is nearly a hundred thousand. The productions of the printing press form one of the most important branches of commerce. Three fairs are held here every year, the principal of which is just after Easter; and the commercial transactions at all of them amount to nearly fifty millions of dollars. Like the fair at Nijni,they attract visitors from the most distant parts of Europe, and even from Asia, and formerly, during the Easter Fair, the population of the city was doubled. On this occasion the booksellers from all parts of Germany, with many from adjoining countries, assemble to make sales and exchanges of books, and to settle their accounts. The booksellers of Leipzig have an exchange, orbourse, of their own.
The party took carriages and rode through the streets. There are many quaint old structures to be seen in the Great Market-place, for the town is very old. The allied monarchs met in this square after the battle of Leipzig, in 1813, which the Germans call theVölkerschlact, or Battle of the Nations, because the affairs of Europe were settled for the time by it. Nearly five hundred thousand men were engaged in the battle, with sixteen hundred cannon. It lasted three days; but as the troops of Napoleon were outnumbered by those of the allies nearly two to one, the emperor was disastrously defeated in the end, and came very near being captured himself. The bridge over the Elster was prematurely blown up, and twenty-five thousand of the French had to ford the stream. Poniatowski, the brave Polish prince, who commanded a corps of his countrymen in the Grand Army, was drowned in crossing.
"I suppose you have read Göthe, commodore," said Mr. Kinnaird, as he ordered the driver to stop in a street near the market-place.
"Very little in German, sir."
"Of course you have seen the opera of Faust. This is Auerbach'scellar, where some of the scenes in the poet's tragedy are laid," added Mr. Kinnaird, as he pointed to the lower part of an old building. "It is still a wine and beer shop. It is said that Göthe used to drink deep in this place himself."
The party drove to the University, which is one of the oldest and most extensive in Germany, and has eight hundred students. An excursion to the Castle of Pleissenburg, and to the suburbs, where a view of the battle-field was obtained, completed the day, though in the evening the tourists went to the Schützenhaus, which is a beer garden, with the most elaborate decorations. The place is illuminated with lights of all colors, and contains castles, grottoes, waterfalls with crimson lights under them, and a great variety of other attractions.
The next day the travellers went to Wittenberg to see the memorials of Luther, and thence to Magdeburg, to examine the grand old cathedral. Spending the night here, the party went to Hamburg the next day. Lincoln was particularly interested in the little steamers which ply on the Alster, a large sheet of water in the rear of the city. The Jungfernsteig, the principal street, borders on this lake, which opens by a narrow passage, under a bridge, into the Great Alster, on which are the summer residences of the principal merchants and other wealthy men. The tourists remained but a day in Hamburg, and then proceeded to Lübec, where, after a ride through the streets, and a visit to its old church, they embarked in a steamer for Swinemünde. The trip down the river from Lübec to the Baltic is very interesting, for the river is so narrow, that the boat seems to be making its way through the back yards andgardens of the farm-houses on its banks.
During the last days of this journey, the country had been greatly excited by the prospect of a war with France. When they arrived at Swinemünde, on Saturday morning, they learned that war had actually been declared, and that direct communication with France, whither the Kinnairds intended to go, had ceased. They decided, therefore, to return to England immediately.
The tourists were warmly welcomed on board of the ship, and the unexpected intelligence of war was anxiously discussed. But the disturbed condition of France and Germany did not affect the plans which the principal had already matured. About thirty of the students were to be graduated, and as some of them intended to enter college, it was necessary that they should be sent home. The principal had arranged that the graduates should proceed to the United States in the Josephine, under the charge of Mr. Fluxion, who was to return in the vessel with an equal number to be admitted to the Academy. A dozen "old salts" were to remain in the Josephine and return in her, so that the schooner should have some besides green hands to work her. Among the graduates were Lincoln, Cumberland, Judson, Norwood, and several of the officers of each of the consorts.
The Josephine had already been prepared for her voyage, and her new crew were sent on board of her. The ship's company elected their own officers from the highest in rank, and Cumberland was chosen captain, and Lincoln first lieutenant.
"Then you are to leave us, commodore," said Miss Gurney, when Lincolncame on board of the ship, after the arrangements were all completed.
"I am sorry to say I am," replied he, rather gloomily.
"And I shall never see you again?"
"I hope we shall meet at no distant day. I haven't completed my tour in Europe yet, and I intend to return soon, to travel in England and on the Continent."
"O, I am so happy! I hope you will come soon," replied Miss Gurney.
"But we will not part to-day, unless Mr. Kinnaird insists upon doing so. As you are going to England, I am permitted to invite you to take passage in the Josephine to Christiansand, where you can take the steamer to Hull."
"O, thank you! I shall be delighted to go; and I hope the passage will be a real long one. I will ask Mr. Kinnaird at once."
This gentleman consented, and in the middle of the afternoon the Josephine sailed. Unhappily, she made a quick passage to Christiansand, and landed the Kinnairds much sooner than Julia desired. They were just in season for the Orlando, and the parting was very hasty between the young friends, each of whom promised to write early and often to the other. Lincoln had to take a great deal of pleasant badinage from his shipmates on account of the young lady, and the probability is, that at some future time they will be more intimately associated in the relations of life.
The sending away of over forty of the students from the three vessels, and the departure of the Josephine, entirely broke up theorganizations of the Young America and Tritonia. But the prospect was entirely satisfactory to those who remained, for most of those who had held the highest offices were removed, and the way to promotion was open to others. It was the beginning of a new school year, and this was the only time when changes from one vessel to another could be made, though the squadron could not be fully organized till the return of the Josephine with the new students.
Scott had taken a fancy that he should like to sail in one of the consorts, and had requested the principal to transfer him to the Tritonia. Wainwright, in order to be with his friend, had made the same request, which was granted in both instances. A whole day was spent in making transfers from one vessel to the other, for not all who desired to change could be accommodated. At the close of the day the two ships' companies had been detailed. The officers were next to be chosen for the rest of July, and for August. As but little school work had been done during the current month, the merit-marks were added to those of the preceding month, and it was soon ascertained who were eligible to office in the cabins.
De Forrest and Beckwith were not candidates. Both of them had applied for a transfer to the Tritonia, but for obvious reasons their request was not complied with. They had been constantly on the lookout for a chance to run away, but the eye of Peaks, the boatswain, seemed to be always upon them.
The principal decided that the office of commodore should be suspended until the return of the Josephine. The next day, after a great deal ofelectioneering, the officers were chosen. In the ship, Cantwell was elected captain, Sheridan first and Murray second lieutenant. In the Tritonia, Scott and Wainwright, as well as several of the former officers, were eligible, and the canvassing was particularly lively in this vessel. Morley and Greenwood had been respectively first and third lieutenant, but the voters were now brought together for the first time in one organization, and they were not disposed to recognize former distinctions. Scott worked for Wainwright, and to the intense disgust of Morley, he was elected. The joker's popularity was sufficient to have elected him to the highest position, if he had not worked for his friend; but to the added disgust of the former first lieutenant of the Tritonia, Scott was elected to this place. Morley and Greenwood were chosen second and third lieutenants; but they were intensely dissatisfied with the result. Allyn, who had been third master before, became the fourth lieutenant.
The elections were completed, and the new officers put on their uniforms. In the ship, Clyde Blacklock's merit-marks gave him the position of first midshipman, with a place in the cabin; and probably he was the happiest student in the squadron. The vessels had been provisioned and otherwise prepared for their long voyage to Constantinople, and after a few days' practice to enable the officers and seamen to feel at home in their new stations, they sailed from Swinemünde.
The Bangwhangers continued to afford much amusement to the members of the order. A lodge had been organized in each vessel, and Scott was made Grand Chief Bangwhanger. The joker was at work on a new degree, forwhich the members are impatiently waiting, and which will be fullyexposedin the future.
Paul Kendall desired to see more of the western part of Europe, and he and his lady decided to make a journey by land through Warsaw, Cracow, and Vienna, down the Danube, and to Constantinople by the Black Sea. Shuffles and his wife concluded to go with them, and the two yachts, in charge of the sailing-master, departed with the squadron. The voyage was a pleasant and a prosperous one, though there was a great deal of trouble in the cabin of the Tritonia, until the vessels reached the English Channel, where they put into Cowes to obtain fresh provisions. The exciting events which occurred in the Tritonia, during the voyage, and what the students saw and did among the Greeks and the Turks, will be related inCross and Crescent, or Young America in Turkey and Greece.