Outing . han abark or ship rig sobeautiful as a well-planned schooner. ASandy Hook pilotschooner is a fine boat;a well-kept Gloucesterfisherman is a beauty,and a first-classschooner yacht is a de-light to look upon. The Spanish Ar-mada, arrogant with guns and stream-ers ; the Venetian fleet, with carvedhulls, banks of oars, and sails dyedand blazoned with brave devices ; thelittle fleet of Columbus, familiar tous through their modern fac similesat Chicago ; Lord Nelsons squadronat Trafalgar—these, in the mind ofhim who loves the sea and its beautyand romance, form a succession of pict-ures as
Outing . han abark or ship rig sobeautiful as a well-planned schooner. ASandy Hook pilotschooner is a fine boat;a well-kept Gloucesterfisherman is a beauty,and a first-classschooner yacht is a de-light to look upon. The Spanish Ar-mada, arrogant with guns and stream-ers ; the Venetian fleet, with carvedhulls, banks of oars, and sails dyedand blazoned with brave devices ; thelittle fleet of Columbus, familiar tous through their modern fac similesat Chicago ; Lord Nelsons squadronat Trafalgar—these, in the mind ofhim who loves the sea and its beautyand romance, form a succession of pict-ures as vivid as the tapestries ofBayeux. But the golden medievaldays are but a tradition now ; the shipsof the line have passed away in turn,and the queenly clipper ships of a gen-eration ago are superseded by unsightlyaggregations of machinery which areabout as pleasant to look at as a fleetof floating boiler foundries. The sea isdespoiled of its romance and its one is in search of the picturesque on. Trail -S Co^f\« AMERICA, I85I. the deep, he must needs hunt up theinfrequent merchantman of the old typeor follow the luxurious pleasure fleets ofEngland and America. These should bepainted on a smaller canvas than arethe ancient glories of the sea, and froma less brilliant palette, but they have arefined beauty and a virility of theirown. In your marine gallery, afteryour galleys and galleons, and caravels,and double-deckers, and swift clippers,you may place your great cutters andschooner fleets. Those who come afterus will say that maritime beauty ceasedat that point and that the age of steamsucceeded. Our fleet of schooner yachtsof two decades ago, gathered for a greatrace off Brentons Reef or Sandy Hook,was a sight worthy of commemoration :cracking on sail after sail—toweringclub topsails, main-topmast staysails,balloon jibs or bellying spinnakers—until each ship became a flying cloud ofcanvas ; shifting, breaking out or trim-ming home as the white meteors flashedaro
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade, booksubjectsports, booksubjecttravel
