The author of the articles on Russi and her Navy" recently published in our colunna sends os the following extract fron a recent Sketch Day by Day" has been very facetious over A gentleman in the Telegraph' London the name of the new battles to be Inid down in Eh The name—the Venerable—appears to him a novelty, and p, he thinks, many ecclesiastical possibilities in the nomencloture of the Navy. Has this gentleman, I wonder, ever road of a certain Adam Duncan who, on 11th October, 1797, achieved a grant and memorable victory over the Dutch Fleet under Admiral de Winter, off Camperdown, on which occasion the Dutch Admiral surrendered hie award and himself on Duncan's ship, the Venerable? The country immediately recognised Duncan's services, and on 30th October he was created a poor, with the Aignities of Baron Duncan of Dundee, and Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. On that same day King George LI honoured this grent naval commander by going on board the Venerable at Shi personally thanking him for For ships of war have bean ao disring and the Venerable should be as fam Englishmen ax the Victory herself. The authorities are distinctly to be congratulated on their choice of a name for their new marine monster.
He add:
Tam very glad to sce by she note in the Sketch that the name of Duncan's old to be borne-by one of the new the Formidable class laid down at Chatham. Some one seems to have been facetious about it, but he ought to have known better. We have had several good ships called Venerable since Blake first used the name in the Puritan days. The Camperdown, a fine battleship of the Admiral class, bears the name of Duncan's great victory, the Venerable will aleo commemorate his valuable services, and it is to be hoped that one of our best ships will be called after this great commander. Duncan took command of a strong squadron and in February 1795 he went to his station off the Texel. In June the squadron was strengthened into a fleet and he was made Admiral of the Blue., He, norer Jost. touch of the coast of Holland or relaxed: his-iron-grip of De Winter until October 1797, when he got him out at sea; the rear la well-known. There ate few who realise now what this meant, standing off and on that monotonous Netherlands shore, month after month, from one year's end to another; and there are fewer still who understand what the man had to put up with, or how much his patience and courage were tried. There were weeks, during the mutinies, when Duncan lay off the Texel with a few ships and kept a bold face to the foo though his heart must have been an anxious one, for the man did not know whether ho or not. It was very much that the Russians joined er all the trouble he took condescension towards them, left him at the very time when a little support would have been of the greatest value. They cleared out like rats from a sinking ship. Well, one hundred years have passed, and the ship atill floats, and i will while any of Duncan's race are left.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.