broad ocean, to battle
with the elements, to endure the storms of the Atlantic, and to undergo
the hardships which tender mothers supposed to be inseparably
connected with a life on shipboard.
For six months Mr. Lowington had studied upon his plan, and it was
hardly matured when the new ship came to anchor in Brockway harbor.
During this period he had visited the principal cities of the Northern
States, those of the southern section being closed against his operations
by the war of the rebellion then raging at the height of its fury. He had
interested his friends in his bold enterprise, and boys with, whom the
experiment was to be inaugurated were gathered from all parts of the
country.
The securing of the requisite number of pupils was the first success,
and what he had regarded as the most difficult part of the enterprise.
More than half of them had been obtained before it was deemed
prudent to lay the keel of the ship. The details of the plan had been
carefully considered during the winter, and when the ship was moored
at Brockway, the organization of the school, its rules and regulations
had all been written out. The boys began to arrive about the first of
March, and by the first of April all of them, eighty-seven in number,
were on board.
Mr. Lowington was naturally very anxious for the success of his
experiment, and for months he had labored with unceasing diligence in
perfecting his plan, and carrying it into operation. In this occupation he
had found the activity he needed; and he may not be blamed for
believing, all the time, that he was laboring for his country and his race.
If it has been inferred from what has been said of Mr. Lowington, of his
domestic afflictions, and of his views on the subject of discipline, that
he was an austere, cold, and unsympathizing man, a wrong impression
has been conveyed. The boys of the Brockway Academy, when they
came to know him, loved him as much as they respected him. He was
not the man needlessly to abridge the harmless enjoyment of youth, or
to repress its innocent hilarity. He watched the sports of the students
with interest and pleasure, and encouraged them by all the means in his
power. He was fond of humor, enjoyed a harmless joke, and had a keen
appreciation of juvenile wit. He was a good companion for the boys,
and when they understood him, he was always welcome to the
play-ground.
The new ship had been duly christened Young America at the
launching, by Miss Josey Martyn--a name which was rapturously
applauded by the boys. She was one hundred and eighteen feet in
length, and of about four hundred tons burden. She had been built as
strong as wood, iron, and copper could make her. For a ship, she was
small, which permitted her to be light sparred, so that her juvenile crew
could handle her with the more ease. She had a flush deck; that is, it
was unbroken from stem to stern. There was no cabin, poop, camboose,
or other house on deck, and the eye had a clean range over the whole
length of her. There was a skylight between the fore and the main mast,
and another between the main and mizzen masts, to afford light and air
to the apartments below. There were three openings in the deck by
which entrance could be obtained to the interior of the ship: the fore
hatch, the main hatch, and the companion-way, the two former being
used by the crew, and the latter by the officers.
The between-decks, which is the space included between the upper and
the lower deck, was fitted up for the accommodation of the officers and
crew. Descending by the companion-way--which in the Young
America extended athwartships--on the right, at the foot of the stairs,
was the officers' cabin, occupying the part of the ship nearest to the
stern. This apartment was twenty-eight feet long, by fifteen in breadth
at the widest part, with four state rooms on each side. The mizzen mast
passed up through the middle of it. This cabin was richly but plainly
fitted up, and was furnished well enough for a drawing-room on shore.
It was for the use of the juvenile officers of the ship, fifteen in number,
who were to hold their positions as rewards of merit. The captain had a
room to himself, while each of the other apartments was to
accommodate two officers.
On the left of the companion-way, descending the stairs, was the "old
folks' cabin," as it was called by the students. It was in the locality
corresponding to that occupied by the ward room of a man-of-war.
Though the after cabin is the
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