which are either entirely original, or contain many items of interest, derived from relatives and friends of the persons themselves, and therefore of a highly interesting character. The life of Henry Eckford is the first memoir of that distinguished man, which may be considered as the history of his mechanical career. In it we recognize the practical pen of an accomplished scholar, a near relative of Eckford, and one well qualified to defend his character and write his life. We recommend the work to our readers, and give to them the life of Eckford in this number. We are indebted to the kindness of a friend for the following memoir of one, whose talents and industry evinced in improveing the popular arm of our national defence, should render our country proud of ranking him among her adopted children. Henry Eckford was born at Irvine, (Scotland,) March 12, 1775. At the age of sixteen he was sent out to Canada, and placed under the care of his maternal uncle, Mr. John Black, an eminent naval constructor at Quebec. Here he remained for three or four years, and in 1796, at the age of twenty-one, commenced his labors in New York. His untiring industry and attention to business soon procured for him numerous friends; and the superior style in which his ships were built excited general attention. At that time the vessels constructed at Philadelphia stood highest in the public esteem; but it is scarcely too much to say, that those built by Mr. Eckford soon occupied the first rank, and gradually New York built ships bore away the palm from all competitors. Equally conversant with the theoretical as well as with the practical part of his profession, he never frittered away his own time or the money of his employers in daring experiments, which so often extort applause from the uninformed multitude. He prefered feeling his way cautiously, step by step. Upon the return of one his vessels from a voyage, by a series of questions he obtained from her commander an accurate estimate of her properties under all the casuulties of navigation. This, connected with her form, enabled him to execute his judgment upon the next vessel to be built. In this way he proceeded, successively improving the shape of each, until those constructed by him, or after his models, firmly established the character of New York built ships over those of any other port in the union. It would be impossible, within the limits prescribed by the nature of this work, to point out the various improvements in the shape and rig of all classes of vessels suggested by the fertile mind of Mr. Eckford; and perhaps their technical details would be unintelligible to ordinary readers. is sufficient to observe, that after his models our vessels gradually dispensed with their large and low stern frames, the details of their rigging underwent extensive changes, and in the important particulars of stability, speed, and capacity, they soon far surpassed their rivals. Mr. Eckford had married and become identified with the interests of his adopted country when the war broke out between America and England. He entered into contracts with the government to construct vessels on the lakes, and the world witnessed with astonishment a fleet of brigs, sloops of war, frigates, and ships of the line, constructed within an incredibly short space of time. At the present day, we can scarcely appreciate the difficulties and discouragements under which operations on so extended a scale were obliged to be conducted. The country was comparatively wild and uninhabited, the winters long and severe, provisions and men, with the iron work, tools, rigging, and sails, were to be transported from the sea-coast, the timber was still waving in the forests, and, to crown the whole, the funds provided by the government were in such bad repute, that, to obtain current funds therefrom, Mr. Eckford was obliged to give his personal guar antee. Under all these embarrassments, he commenced his operations with his accustomed activity and judgment, organized his plans, and offered every inducement to the interests, the pride, and the patriotism of those in his employ to labor to the extent of their ability. Encouraged by his presence and example, they entered upon their labors with enthusiasm, and neither night nor day saw a respite to their toils. The consequences were quickly apparent. A respectable fleet was soon afloat, and our frontier preserved from the invasion of a foe as active and persevering as ourselves. In allusion to these efforts, one of our intelligent citizens, Mr. Verplanck, in a discourse delivered before the Mechanics' Institute, has happily observed, "I cannot forbear from paying a passing tribute to the memory of a townsman and a friend. It is but a few days since that the wealth, talent, and public station of this city were assembled to pay honor to the brave and excellent Commodore Chauncey. Few men could better deserve such honors, either by public service or private worth; but all of us who recollect the events of the struggle for naval superiority on the lakes during the late war with Great Britain, could not help calling to mind that the courage, the seamanship, and ability of Chauncey would have been exerted in vain, had they not been seconded by the skill, the enterprise, the science, the powers of combination, and the inexhaustible resources of the ship-builder, Henry Eckford." At the conclusion of the war, his accounts, involving an amount of several millions of dollars, were promptly and honorably settled with the govern ment. Shortly after this, he constructed a steam-ship, the "Robert Fulton," of a thousand tons, to navigate between New York and New Orleans. Unlike the light and fairy-like models of the present day, which seem only fit for smooth water and summer seas, she was a stout and burdensome vessel, fitted to contend with the storms of the Atlantic, and her performance, even with the disadvantage of an engine of inadequate power, far exceeded every expectation. The sudden death of her owner, in connection with other circumstances, caused her to be sold; and it is no slight commendation of her model, that when she was afterwards rigged into a sailing vessel, she became the fastest and most efficient sloop-of-war (mounting twenty-four guns) in the Brazilian navy. It is to be regretted that the model then proposed by Mr. Eckford for sea steamers has not been followed. The vain attempt to obtain speed, without a corresponding change in the shape of the model, that would enable them to contend successfully with heavy seas, has been attended with disgraceful failures, involving an immense loss of lives. A strong feeling of professional pride induced Mr. Eckford to accept an invitation from the Secretary of the Navy to become naval constructor at Brooklyn. He was desirous of building a line-of-battle ship for the ocean that should serve as a model for future vessels of that class, and in the Ohio, we believe, it is generally conceded such a model has been obtained. Her ports, it is true, have been altered to suit the whim of some ignorant officer, who has thus weakened her frame in order to imitate an English model, and her spars have been curtailed of their due proportions, to gratify a commissioner's fancy; but, under all these disadvantages, she is to remain a model for future constructors. Unfortunately, our marine was then encumbered, as it is now, with a board of commissioners composed of old navy officer, who fancied that because they commanded ships they could build them,— an idea as preposterous as it would have been to have intrusted the naval constructors with their command. Under this sage administration of the affairs of the navy, six ships of the line, costing four millions of dollars, were constructed; the constructors received their orders from the sages at Washington, and each vessel, as was to have been expected, became worse than the preceding. Two of them are permitted to rot in the mud, a third has been cut down to a frigate possessing no very creditable properties, and the others, if not humanely suffered to rot, will probably follow their example. The same signal disgrace has fallen upon our sloops of war. Under a mistaken idea of strength and stability, their frames are solid, and in many instances their leeway and headway are nearly balanced. Some of them, we are officially informed, possess every desirable property except that they are rather difficult to steer! Those in the least acquainted with the subject need hardly be informed that this exception, trifling as it seems, is conclusive against the model. At the head of this board was Commodore John Rodgers, and his instructions and his orders were to be the basis of Mr. Eckford's operations. These orders, copied, for the most part, out of some exploded work on naval architecture, were wisely disregarded, although their receipt was duly acknowledged; and he has been heard to observe, that when the vessel was completed, he would have challenged the whole board to have examined and pointed out in what particulars their orders had not been implicitly obeyed. Under the orders of the commissioners, he had prepared a model which, after due examination, was graciously approved of. When Mr. Eckford proceeded to lay down the vessel, he thought fit to introduce many important changes, and the only genuine draught of the Ohio is now owned by Mr. Isaac Webb, one of the most intelligent of his pupils. The consequence, however, of these collisions between presuming ignorance and modest worth were soon obvious. Mr. Eckford resigned his commission on the day the Ohio was launched; and shortly after received an intimation, that he would never see her put in commission as long as the members of that board held their seats. This promise, as our readers are aware, was kept for eighteen years. Shortly after this he engaged extensively in his profession; and so great and extended became his reputation, that he was called upon to construct vessels of war for various European powers, and for some of the republics of South America. Among others, he built and despatched to Columbia and Brazil four 64 gun-ships, of 2000 tons each, in the incredibly short space of eighteen months. In these cases his accounts were promptly adjusted, and he received from all parties highly honorable testimonials of his integrity, punctuality, and good faith. He subsequently received proposals to build two frigates for Greece; but as he thought he perceived, on the part of the agents, a disposition to take an unfair advantage of the necessities of that nation, he honorably and humanely declined their tempting propositions. All are aware of the disastrous and (to this country) disgraceful manner in which that business terminated. Upon the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, he received from him an invitation to furnish him with a plan for a new organization of the navy. This was promptly furnished, and was pronounced by all who read it to be exactly what was required for an efficient and economical administration of the navy. It was not acted upon, although its adoption would have materially advanced the interests of the country. Among other novel propositions, it was recommended to remodel entirely the dockyards. These were to be under the superintendence of superannuated commodores, who, in taking command, would relinquish their rank and make way for more active officers. The constructor at each yard was to be held responsible for the quantity and quality of work done, and only amenable to the chief constructor at Washington. This latter office, he took occasion, however, to say, he could not, under any circumstances, be persuaded to accept. He wished, in short, from what he had himself observed of the extravagance, waste, and delay at our dockyards, to place them on a civil footing, as more consonant to the feelings of the mechanics and the spirit of our institutions. About this period he determined to prepare and publish a work on naval architecture, for which he had ample materials, and numerous draughts of vessels of almost every class. He had also set aside twenty thousand dollars to establish a professorship of naval architecture in Columbia college, and had already entered into correspondence with an eminent constructor, Mr. Doughty, whom he had intended as the first professor, when a disastrous affair occurred, involving his reputation and his ample fortune. An insurance company, in which he was largely interested, became, in the panic of the day, insolvent, and its creditors ventured, in the madness of the moment, to throw doubts on the hitherto unimpeached character of Mr. Eckford. In this they were aided by a knot of political partizans, to whom his silent, but gradually increasing popularity, (which had, long ere this, placed him in the State legislature,) was gall and wormwood. Notwithstanding he satisfactorily proved that he had lost, by stock, and other advances to save the sinking credit of the company, nearly half a million of dollars, yet his enemies affected to discredit his testimony, upon the ground that such unparalleled sacrifices were too disinterested to be credible. The termination of the investigation resulted in his complete and honorable acquittal, but the venomed shaft rankled in his kind and gentle breast to the hour of his death. It is no consolation to his numerous friends and relatives to know, that all who joined in this base conspiracy against this pure-minded and well-principled man have since paid the forfeit of their infuriated zeal, by the silent, but withering contempt of their fellow-citizens. In 1831, he built a sloop-of-war for the Sultan Mahmoud, and was induced to visit Turkey. His fame as a skilful architect had preceded him, and he was shortly afterwards offered the situation of chief naval constructor for the empire. A field worthy of his enterprise seemed open to him. With his characteristic energy he commenced the organization of the navy yard, and laid down the keel of a ship of the line. He had rapidly entered in her construction, and had so far advanced in the favor of the sultan that preparations were in train to create him a Bey of the empire, when his labors were suddenly brought to a close by his lamented death, from inflammation of the bowels, which occurred November 12, 1832, in the 57th year of his age. In private life, Eckford was remarkably simple in his manners and habits. Abstemious and temperate, he always possessed unclouded faculties; and his quiet attention and kindness to all under his control enabled him to secure their ready co-operation in any of his plans which required from them willing and prompt exertions. The scrupulous observance of his contracts to the minutest particular was with him a point of honor; and his dealings with his fellow-men bore rather the character of princely munificence than the generosity of a private individual. Throughout life, and amid transactions involving millions, he maintained the same unassuming habits, considering himself but the mere trustee for the benefit of others; and died as he had lived, honored and beloved by all who knew him. An intelligent gentleman (a foreigner) who spent the greater part of last year in travelling through the several States of the Union, and by every mode of conveyance, has favored us with the following interesting article exhibiting some curious and novel comparisons and results. TRAVELLING STATISTICS. Since my arrival in New York in December 1838, I kept a Journal of all my travels in the United States, in which I noted 1st, the date and hour of departure from, and arrival in every place; 2d, the time spent on the journey, and the duration of all the stoppages, which gave the time of actual motion; 3d, the distance travelled over; 4th, the manner of travelling or kind of conveyance; finally, 5th, the speed exclusive of stoppages, and 6th, the rates of charges. On the 14th of January 1840, I finished a journey through nearly all the States of the Union; having left New York on the 24th of December 1838, the whole time spent on the journey was one year and 20 days, during which I travelled' Upon railroads with locomotives do. do. horse power do. do. lakes and sea In steamboats upon rivers In stage coaches do. sleighs In canal boats In a sailing vessel In private conveyances On foot and horseback Total distance. equal to 150 degrees of the meridian. 66 3,329 miles. These 10,430 miles were travelled in 175 separate journeys, being at an average distance of 60 miles. The number of Railroads over which I passed was 64, and I took passage in 24 different steamboats. I have not met with a single accident of the smallest kind during the whole time. The following statement contains accurate results as taken from my journal. From the above it appears that of an inland voyage of over 10,000 miles, the travel upon railroads amounted to more than one-third of the whole distance. The speed upon railroads is 50 per cent. greater than that of steamboats, to which I have however to remark, that the passage in steamboats upon rivers was nearly exclusively up stream. The speed upon common roads is less than one-third of that on railroads, the speed of canal boats only one-fourth. The average speed on the whole voyage, which is obtained |