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Eccentricity of the Sextant by Frederic Furbish, 1893

Eccentricity of the Sextant by Frederic Furbish, 1893, Page 15

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8 read descriptions of these great trans-Atlantic passenger steamers. On the other hand we have the ship of the 15th century, small, at most of an hundred tons burden, built of wood on poor lines, depending solely on sails or oars and accommodating inconveniently a crew of twenty or thirty. The cabin is small, lighted at night with a vessel of oil or a taper and furnished in the meanest style with a low cot, a small table, a few rough benches and last, but not least in the eyes of the devout Catholic sailor, a rude picture of a saint or the Madonna. The rudder, large, cumbersome and unwieldy is moved by hand. The compass by which this little caravel is steered is but a poor affair consisting simply of a needle mounted on a floating cork.
 
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