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Cover Designer: Mark Rogers
Typeset by TNQ Technologies
8. List of acronyms
AATSR Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer
ABDC Access to Biological Collection Data
ADP Arctic Data Portal
ADU Associated Data Unit
AfReMaS African Register of Marine Species
AIS Automatic Identification System
ALA Atlas of Living Australia
AniBOS Animal Borne Ocean Sensors
AODN Australian Ocean Data Network
AOML Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
API Application Program Interface
APM Application Performance Matrix
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ATSR Along Track Scanning Radiometer
AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
BAMS Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
BGC-Argo BioGeoChemical Argo
BHL Biodiversity Heritage Library
BODC British Oceanographic Data Centre
BOLD Barcode of Life Data System
BOOS Baltic Operational Oceanographic System
C3S Copernicus Climate Change Service
CAFF Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna
CAMS Copernicus Atmospheric Service
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CCHDO Carbon Hydrographic Data Office
CCI Climate Change Initiative
CDI Common Data Index
CDS Climate Data Store
CEC Commission of the European Communities
CETAF Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities
CF Climate and Forecast
CIMR Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer
CLMS Copernicus Land Service
CMEMS Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
CODATA Committee on Data
CoL Catalogue of Life
COL-PLUS Innovating the Catalogue of Life Systems
CoML Census of Marine Life
COP Conference of the Parties
CPR Continuous Plankton Recorder
CRM Certified Reference Materials
369 j
9. CRS Coordinate Reference System
CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
CSR Cruise Summary Reports
CSV Comma Separated Values
CTD Conductivity Temperature Depth sonde
CV Curriculum Vitae
D4Science Data infrastructure for science
DAB Discovery and Access Broker
DATAMEQ Data Management, Exchange and Quality
DataONE Data Observation Network for Earth
DBCP Data Buoy Cooperation Panel
DCDB Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry
DG MARE Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
DG Directorate General
DGPM Directorate General for Maritime Policy (Portugal)
DIAS Data and Information Access Services
DIC Dissolved Inorganic Carbon
DIGI TWIN digital twin “a realistic digital representation of assets, processes or
systems in the built or natural environment” (“The Gemini Princi-
ples” (PDF). www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk. Centre for Digital Built Britain.
2018. Retrieved 2020-01-01.)
DIKW Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom
DiSSCo Distributed System of Scientific Collections
DIVA Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis
DIVAnd Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis in n dimensions
DM Delayed Mode
DMP Data Management Plan
DOI Digital Object Identifier
DPSIR Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response
DQ Data Quality
DSA Data Seal of Approval
DTM Digital Terrain Model
DTO Digital Twin of the Ocean
EBSA Ecologically or Biologically Significant Area
EBV Essential Biodiversity Variables
EBWBL EMODnet Bathymetry released a World Base Layer Service
EC European Commission
ECV Essential Climate Variables
EDIOS European DIrectory of the Ocean Observing Systems
EDMED European Directory of Marine Environmental Data
EDMERP European Directory of Marine Environmental Research Projects
EDMO European Directory of Marine Organizations
EEA European Environment Agency
EEI Earth’s Energy Imbalance
EGO Everyone’s Gliding Observatories
EIONET European Environment Information and Observation Network
ELIXIR European Life-Science Infrastructure
eLTER European part of the global Long-Term Ecosystem Research
370 List of acronyms
10. EMB European Marine Board
EBMI Inhaca Marine Biology Research Station
EMBRC European Marine Biological Research Centre
EMODnet European Marine Observation and Data Network
EMSO European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory
ENA European Nucleotide Archive
ENSO El Ni~
no-Southern Oscillation
ENVRI ENVironmental Research Infrastructure
EO Earth Observation
EoL Encyclopaedia of Life
EOSC European Open Science Cloud
EOV Essential Ocean Variables
ERDAPP Environmental Research Division’s Data Access Program
ERIC European Research Infrastructure Consortium
ERMS European Register of Marine Species
ESA European Space Agency
ESFRI European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures
ESIP Earth Science Information Partners
EU European Union
EUDAT pan-European network of research organizations, data and
computing centers.
EUMETSAT European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites
EUNIS European Nature Information System
EuroArgo European component of Argo program
EuroBioImaging- European Research Infrastructure for Imaging Technologies in Bio-
logical and Biomedical Sciences
EurOBIS European Ocean Biodiversity Information System
EuroFLEETS An alliance of European marine research infrastructure to meet the
evolving needs of the research and industrial communities
EuroGOOS European component of GOOS
EuroSEA European Ocean Observing and Forecasting System
Eurostat European Statistical Office
EUSeaMap Seabed habitat map for Europe
EV Essential Variables
FAIR Principles Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee
G7 Group of Seven, Intergovernmental Organization
GACS Global Alliance of Continuous plankton recorder Surveys
GBIF Global Biodiversity Information Facility - An international body
dedicated to providing free access to biodiversity data
GCI GEOSS common infrastructure
GCMD Global Change Master Directory
GCOS Global Climate Observing System
GDAC Global Data Assembly Centre
GEBCO General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans
GEF Global Environment Facility
List of acronyms 371
11. GEO Global Environment Outlook
GEO BON Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network
GEO Group of Earth Observation
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems
GEOTRACES International program which aims to improve the understanding of
biogeochemical cycles and large-scale distribution of trace elements
and their isotopes in the marine environment.
GES Good Environmental Status
GGBN Global Genome Biodiversity Network
GHRSST Group for High Resolution SST
GIS Geographic Information System
Globe GLobal Oceanographic Bathymetry Explorer
GLODAP Global Ocean Data Analysis Project
GLOSS Global Sea Level Observing System
GO-SHIP Global Ocean Ship-Based Hydrographic Investigations Program
GODAR Global Oceanographic Data Archeology and Rescue
GOMON Global Ocean Macroalgal Observing Network
GOOS Global Ocean Observing System
GOSUD Global Ocean Surface Underway Data
GRA GOOS Regional Alliances
GTS Global Telecommunication System
GTSPP Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Program
HadISST Hadley Center Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature
HarmoNIA Harmonization and Networking for contaminant assessment in the
Ionian and Adriatic Seas
HELCOM HELsinki COMmission
HF High Frequency
HFR High Frequency Radar
HMAP History of Marine Animal Populations
HTML HyperText Markup Language
IAPB International Arctic Buoy Program
IAPSO International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans
IBI-ROOS Ireland Biscay Iberian Regional Operational Oceanographic System
ICEDIG Innovation and consolidation for large scale digitization of natural
heritage
ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICOS Integrated Carbon Observation System
ICSU International Council for Science
ICSU-WDS ICSU World Data System
ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management
ID Input Data(set)
iDigBio Integrated Digitized Biocollections
IDOE International Decade of Ocean Exploration
IGY International Geophysical Year
IHO International Hydrographic Organization
IJI International Joint Initiatives
IK Indigenous Knowledge
372 List of acronyms
12. IMIS Integrated Marine Information System
IMOS Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System
INSPIRE INfrastructure for SPatial Information in the euRopEan Community
InSTAC In Situ Thematic Assembling Centre
IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
IOC-ODIS Ocean Data and Information System
IOCCp International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project
IODE International Oceanographic Data and information Exchange
IOOS US Integrated Ocean Observing System
IPBES Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IQuOD International Quality Controlled Ocean Database
ISC International Science Council
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ISSC International Social Science Council
IT Information Technology
ITIS- Integrated Taxonomic Information System
IUBS International Union of Biological Sciences
JAVA class-based, object-oriented programming language
JCOMM Joint technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine
Meteorology
JCOMMOPS Joint WMO-IOC Centre for in situ Ocean and Marine Meteorolog-
ical Observing Program Support
JERICO Joint European Research Infrastructure of Coastal Observatories
JERICOS3 Joint European Research Infrastructure of Coastal Observatories Sci-
ence, Service, Sustainability
JGOFS Joint Global Ocean Flux Study
JRC Joint Research Center
JSON JavaScript Object Notation
KBP Kenya-Belgium Project
KMFRI Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute
LAT Lowest Astronomical Tide
LEO Local Environmental Observer
LifeWatch European AgroEcology Living Lab and Research Infrastructure
Network
LSID Life Science Identifier
LTER Long-Term Ecosystem Research
MacroBen Integrated database on soft-bottom benthos
MANUELA Meiobenthic and Nematode biodiversity Unravelling Ecological and
Latitudinal Aspects
MAP Mediterranean Action Plan
MARBEF Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
MASDEA Marine Species Database for Eastern Africa
MAT Binary MATLAB file
MBA Marine Biological Association
MBON Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
List of acronyms 373
13. MCDS Marine Climate Data System
MDT Mean Dynamic Topography
MEDAR MEditerranean oceanographic Data Archeology and Rescue
MedAtlas Mediterranean Atlas
MEDI Marine Environmental Data Information Referral Catalogue
MEDPOL Marine pollution assessment and control component of MAP
MEOP Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole
MFC Monitoring and Forecasting Center
MHHW Mean Higher High Water
MIxS Minimum Information about any (x) Sequence
MLLT Mean Lower Low Tide
MODB Mediterranean Oceanographic Data Base
MONGOOS Mediterranean Operational Network for the Global Ocean
Observing System
MSFD Marine Strategy Framework Directive
MSP Marine Spatial Planning
NaGISA Natural Geography in Shore Areas
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA - CMR NASA Common Metadata Repository
NASA - GCMD NASA Global Change Master Directory
NCEAS National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
NCEI NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information
NDBC US National Data Buoy Center
NERC Natural Environment Research Council
NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
NetCDF Network Common Data Form
NOAA National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
NODC National Oceanographic Data Center
NoE Network of Excellence
NOOS North Sea Operational Oceanographic System
NRT Near Real Time
NSBP North Sea Benthos Project
NSBS North Sea Benthos Survey
NVS NERC Vocabulary Server
O&M Observations and Measurements
O2 Oxygen
OAI Open Archives Initiative
OBIS Ocean Biodiversity Information System
OBPS Ocean Best Practices System
OceanOPS Ocean Observations Programs Support
OceanSITES international system of long-term, open-ocean reference stations
OCG Observations Coordination Group
ODINAFRICA Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa
ODIP Ocean Data Interoperability Platform
ODIS Ocean Data and Information System
ODSBPP Ocean Data Standards and Best Practices Project
374 List of acronyms
14. ODV Ocean Data View
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium - Define standards for sharing
geographical data
OGDMTT Ocean Glider Data Management Task Team
OISST Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OOPC Ocean Observations Physics and Climate Panel
OOPS Operational Oceanographic Products and Services
OPeNDAP Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol
ORCID Open Researcher and Contributor ID
OSGeo Open Source GEOspatial foundation
OSPAR OSlo-PARis Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environ-
ment of the North-East Atlantic
OSSE Observing System Simulation Experiments
OSTIA Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Ice Analysis
OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy
P2P Pole to Pole
PACE PArtnership for China and Europe
PANGAEA Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science
pCO2 Partial pressure of carbon dioxide
pH Power of Hydrogen
PID Personal Identifiable Data
PIDoc Product Information Document
PIRATA PredIction and Research moored Array in The Atlantic
POP Persistent Organic Pollutant
PSMSL Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level
QA Quality Assurance
QAS Quality Assurance Strategy
QC Quality Control
QF Quality Flag
QI Quality Indicator
RAMA Research moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon
Analysis and prediction
RDA Research Data Alliance
RDLF Research Data Life Cycle
RECOSCIX-WIO Regional Cooperation in Scientific Information Exchange in the
West Indian Ocean
RI Research Infrastructures
RMP Responsive Mode Programs
RMSD Root Mean Square Difference
ROC Regional Dispatch Centre
ROOS Regional Operational Oceanographic System
RT Real Time
RTD Research and Technological Development
SARCE South American Research Group on Coastal Ecosystems
SBSTTA Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
SCOR Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
List of acronyms 375
15. SD Sustainable Development
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
SDN SeaDataNet
SeaDataCloud Advanced SeaDataNet services
SeaDataNet Pan-European Infrastructure for Ocean and Marine Data
Management
sensorML Standard models and an XML encoding for describing any process
SI Syst
eme Internationale or International System
SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
SLS IOC Sea Level Station Monitoring (SLS)
SLSTR Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer
SMM System Maturity Matrix
SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol
SOCAT Surface Ocean CO2 ATlas
SONEL Syst
eme d’Observation du Niveau des Eaux Litorales
SOOP Ship of Opportunity Program
SOOS Southern Oceans Observing System
SOP Standard Operating Procedures
SOS Sensor Observation Service
SPARQL Sparql Protocol And Rdf Query Language
SST Sea Surface Temperature
SWE Sensor Web Enablement
SYNTHESIS Synthesis of Systematic Resources
TAC Thematic Assembling Center
TAO Tropical Atmosphere Ocean
Tb Brightness Temperature
TDS THREDDS Data Server
TDWG Biodiversity information standards (formally Taxonomic Databases
Working Group)
TG-ML MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter
THREDDS Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services
TKIP Traditional Knowledge Information Portal
TRITON TRIangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network
TRUST Transparency - Responsibility - User community - Sustainability e
Technology
TXT TeXT
UD Upstream Data(set)
UHSLC University of Hawaii Sea Level Center
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Program
UNEP United Nations Environment Program
UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNSD United Nations Sustainable Development
URI Universal Resource Identifier
URMO UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms
US United States
VLIZ Flanders Marine Institute
376 List of acronyms
16. VOS Voluntary Observing Ship
VRE Virtual Research Environment
VTS Vessel Traffic Services
W3C World Wide Web Consortium
WAF Web Accessible Folder
WCS Web Coverage Service
WDC World Data Centre
webODV on line Ocean Data View
WEkEO Copernicus DIAS service
WFD Water Framework Directive - EU Project to provide cleaner fresh
water in Europe
WFS Web Feature Service
WG Working Group
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
WISE Water Information System for Europe (also WISE-Marine for the
marine specific bit)
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WMS Web Map Service
WMTS Web Map Tile Service
WOA World Ocean Assessment
WOA World Ocean Atlas
WOCE World Ocean Circulation Experiment
WOD World Ocean Database
WoRMS World Register of Marine Species
WxS W3C xml Schema
XBT eXpendable BathyThermograph
List of acronyms 377
17. Contributors
A. Barth
University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Joana Beja
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Oostende, Belgium
Abigail Benson
U.S. Geological Survey, Lakewood, CO, United States
T. Boyer
National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Asheville, NC, United States
Jan-Bart Calewaert
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
C. Coatanoan
Ifremer Centre de Bretagne, Plouzané, Brest, France
Tim Collart
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
Conor Delaney
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
Daphnis De Pooter
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, (CCAMLR),
Hobart, TAS, Australia
Federico De Strobel
The Historical Oceanography Society, La Spezia, Italy
S. Diggs
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA,
United States
William Emery
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
Michele Fichaut
IFREMER/SISMER, Brest, France
Vasilis Gerovasileiou
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology,
Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Heraklion, Greece
ix j
18. Kate E. Larkin
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
Dan Lear
Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Helen Lillis
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterborough, United Kingdom
M. Lipizer
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale e OGS, Trieste, Italy
Eleonora Manca
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterborough, United Kingdom
Giuseppe M.R. Manzella
The Historical Oceanography Society, La Spezia, Italy; OceanHis SrL, Torino, Italy
Andrée-Anne Marsan
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
Patricia Miloslavich
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), University of Delaware, College of
Earth, Ocean and Environment, Newark, DE, United States; Departamento de Estudios
Ambientales, Universidad Sim
on Bolívar, Caracas, Miranda, Venezuela
Gwenaëlle Moncoiffé
British Oceanographic Data Centre, National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, United
Kingdom
V. Myroshnychenko
Middle East Technical University, Institute of Marine Sciences, Erdemli-Mersin, Turkey
John Nicholls
Norfish Project, Centre for Environmental Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin,
Ireland
Antonio Novellino
ETT SpA, Genova, Italy
Nadia Pinardi
The Historical Oceanography Society, La Spezia, Italy; Department of Physics and
Astronomy, Universit
a di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
A. Pisano
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR), Rome,
Italy
A. Pititto
COGEA, Rome, Italy
x Contributors
19. Dick M.A. Schaap
Mariene Informatie Service MARIS B.V., Nootdorp, the Netherlands
R. Schlitzer
Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
S. Simoncelli
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Bologna, Italy
A. Storto
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR), Rome,
Italy
Nathalie Tonné
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
C. Troupin
University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Leen Vandepitte
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Oostende, Belgium
Anton Van de Putte
Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium; Université Libre de
Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Nathalie Van Isacker
Seascape Belgium bvba, Brussels, Belgium; European Marine Observation and Data
Network (EMODnet) Secretariat, Ostend, Belgium
Mickaël Vasquez
Ifremer, Brest, France
Nina Wambiji
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya
Contributors xi
20. Biographies
Giuseppe Manzella received a degree in physics from the Department of
Physics, University of Rome “La Sapienza.” After some fellowships, and
attendance of specialization courses in Europe, he first worked at National
Research Council (1982e92) and then was employed as research manager
in ENEA (1992e2013). From 1978 he has been active in national, Euro-
pean, and international programs in oceanography. He has worked as expert
on marine ecosystem for the Italian Ministry of Research, and the Italian
representative to WMO-IOC Joint Committee for Marine Meteorology
(JCOMM). He has chaired the Italian Oceanographic Commission from
January 2009 to June 2014. He is chairing the Historical Oceanography So-
ciety. He is author/co-author of 50 refereed papers published in interna-
tional journals, co-editor of two books published, and the Topic Editor of
the Journal Earth System Science Data.
Antonio Novellino received a PhD in Biotechnology and Bioengineering
and a MSc in Biomedical Engineering. From 2008 to 2010, he served on
the European Commission, JRC e IHCP, as a senior researcher. He is
the ETT Research Manager where he coordinates RD activities (www.
ettsolutions.com). He served on the Board of Directors of Consortium
Si4Life (www.si4life.com) and on the board of Consortium Tecnomar
(SMEs working on maritime and environment technology, www.
consorziotecnomar.com). He is serving on the techno-scientific board of
the Ligurian Cluster of Marine Technology DLTM (www.dltm.it); the
board of Consortium TRAIN (innovation in energy and transport manage-
ment, www.consorziotrain.org); EMODnet Steering Committee and
Technical Working Group; Expert Team on WIS Centres (ET-WISC);
and Southern Ocean Observing System Data Management team (SOOS
DMSC). He is a member of the EuroGOOS DATAMEQ group for
advising on operational oceanography data management procedures. He
is the EMODnet physics coordinator (www.emodnet-physics.eu) and
CMEMS Dissemination Unit (CMEMS DU) deputy coordinator.
xiii j
22. The first methodological and technological approach to observing the
sea was established at the meeting of the Royal Society of London on
June 14, 1661. The document Propositions of Some Experiments to Be Made
by the Earl of Sandwich in His Present Voyage (Birch, 1760) defined the guide-
lines for data collection.
“Diligent observations” were required by Galilei (1564e1642) and were
the basis of his experimental method. The concept was underlined, inter alia,
in the “Forth Day” chapter, discussing the causes of the tides, in the famous
book Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems (Galilei, 1632). The “Propo-
sitions” were asking for “diligent observations” and their recommendations
were subsequently included in the Directions for the Observations and Experi-
ments to Be Made by Masters of Ships, Pilots, and Other Fit Persons on Their
Sea-Voyages by Murray and Hooke (1667) on behalf of the Royal Society.
Seafarers were asked to
- Observe the declination and variations of the compass or needle from the
meridian exactly, in as many places as they can, and in the same place,
every several voyage,
- Carry dipping-needles with them,
- Mark carefully the flowings and ebbings of the sea, in as many places as
may be,
- Sound the deepest seas without a line, .
- Keep a register of all changes of wind and weather .,
- Observe and record all extraordinary meteors, lightnings, thunders, .
- Carry with them good scales and glass-viols of a pint or so, with very
narrow mouths, which are to be filled with sea water in different degrees
of latitude, and the weight of the viol full of water taken exactly at every
time, and recorded; marking withal the degrees of latitude and longitude
of the place, and the day of the month, and the temperature of the
weather: and as well of water near the top, as at a greater depth,
- Fetch up water from any depth of the sea.
The “Directions” were accompanied by instructions on the use of
methods and instruments. Theoretically, they constituted a systematization
of a general request by several European scientists made explicit by Vincenzo
Viviani (a pupil of Galileo Galilei), on behalf of the Accademia del Cimento
to gather knowledge of the variability of ocean circulation by means of “dili-
gent” observations of the sea (see Pinardi et al., 2018). It is worthwhile to
mention that the Accademia del Cimento motto was “by trying and trying
again” (e.g., Magalotti, 1667).
4 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
23. A further step toward a more “diligent” observational methodology was
made by Ferdinando Marsili (1658e1730) with his famous treatise “Osser-
vazioni intorno al Bosforo Tracio” (Marsili, 1681). For the first time, an
appropriate observation strategy was defined in order to understand the ef-
fects of density differences on the circulation of water masses (Pinardi et al.,
2018; Peterson et al., 1996; Deacon, 1971).
The efforts of the Royal Society to gain greater knowledge of the phys-
ical characteristics of the sea met with little success. However, an important
contribution came from William Dampier (1651e1715), who was the first
person to circumnavigate the globe three times (Dampier, 2012). In Damp-
ier’s records, data were not reported as requested in the “Directions,” but
contained substantial information on winds and currents. The essay “A
New Voyage Round the World” (Dampier, 1703) was sent to the Royal
Society with the aim to promote “useful knowledge, and of anything that
may never so remotely tend to my Countries advantage.” During his voy-
ages, Dampier found that currents in the equatorial region were driven by
the trade winds (Deacon, 1971).
The westward currents in the north equatorial region were used during
the discovery of America and were associated with the Aristotelian concep-
tion of sea motion. In actual fact, Aristotle never spoke of a westward sea
flow, but this was the scholarly interpretation of a passage in the second
book of Meteorologica (e.g., Aristotle, 1952):
The whole Mediterranean flows according to the depth of the sea-bed and the
volume of the rivers. For Lake Maeotis (Azov Sea) flows into the Pontus and
thus into the Aegean . In the seas mentioned it (the flow) takes place because
of the riversdfor more rivers flow into the Euxine and Lake Maeotis than into
other areas many times their sizedand because of their shallowness. For the
sea seem to get deeper and deeper than Lake Maeotis, the Aegean deeper than
the Pontus and the Sicilian Sea deeper than the Aegean, while the Sardinian
and Tyrrhenian are the deepest of all. The water outside the pillars of Heracles
is shallow because of the mud but calm because the sea lies in a hollow.
The westward flow of the surface currents in the north equatorial
region was noted by Pietro Martire d’Angera (1457e1526) in De Orbe
Novo, 3rd “Decade,” Book 4 of the English translation by MacNutt (Martyr
d’Anghiera, 1912):
It was in the year of salvation 1502 on the sixth day of the ides of May that
Columbus sailed from Cadiz with a squadron of four vessels of from fifty to sixty
tons burthen, manned by one hundred and seventy men. Five days of favourable
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 5
24. weather brought him to the Canaries; seventeen days’ sailing brought him to the
island of Domingo, the home of the Caribs, and from thence he reached Hispa-
niola in five days more, so that the entire crossing from Spain to Hispaniola occu-
pied twenty-six days, thanks to favourable winds and currents, which set from the
east towards the west. According to the mariners’ report the distance is twelve
hundred leagues.
Pietro Martire d’Angera in the same “Decade” (from Latin “decas”d
group of 10) analyzed the consequences of this flow in terms of the conser-
vation of water masses and wrote explicitly in Book 6:
The time has come, Most Holy Father, to philosophise a little, leaving cosmogra-
phy to seek the causes of Nature’s secrets. The ocean currents in those regions run
towards the west, as torrents rushing down a mountain side. Upon this point the
testimony is unanimous. Thus, I find myself uncertain when asked where these
waters go which flow in a circular and continuous movement from east to
west, never to return to their starting-place; and how it happens that the west
is not consequently overwhelmed by these waters, nor the east emptied. If it be
true that these waters are drawn towards the centre of the earth, as is the case
with all heavy objects, and that this centre, as some people affirm, is at the equi-
noctial line, what can be the central reservoir capable of holding such a mass of
waters? And what will be the circumference filled with water, which will yet be
discovered? The explorers of these coasts offer no convincing explanation. There
are other authors who think that a large strait exists at the extremity of the
gulf formed by this vast continent and which, we have already said, is eight times
larger than the ocean. This strait may lie to the west of Cuba, and would conduct
these raging waters to the west, from whence they would again return to our east.
Some learned men think the gulf formed by this vast continent is an enclosed sea,
whose coasts bend in a northerly direction behind Cuba, in such wise that the
continent would extend unbrokenly to the northern lands beneath the polar circle
bathed by the glacial sea. The waters, driven back by the extent of land, are drawn
into a circle, as may be seen in rivers whose opposite banks provoke whirlpools;
but this theory does not accord with the facts. The explorers of the northern pas-
sages, who always sailed westwards, affirm that the waters are always drawn in
that direction, not however with violence, but by a long and uninterrupted move-
ment. Amongst the explorers of the glacial region a certain Sebastiano Cabotto, of
Venetian origin, but brought by his parents in his infancy to England, is cited. It
commonly happens that Venetians visit every part of the universe, for purposes
of commerce. Cabotto equipped two vessels in England, at his own cost, and first
sailed with three hundred men towards the north, to such a distance that he
found numerous masses of floating ice in the middle of the month of July.
Daylight lasted nearly twenty-four hours, and as the ice had melted, the land
was free. According to his story he was obliged to tack and take the direction
of west-by-south. The coast bent to about the degree of the strait of Gibraltar.
6 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
25. Cabotto did not sail westward until he had arrived abreast of Cuba, which lay on
his left. In following this coast-line which he called Bacallaos, he says that he rec-
ognised the same maritime currents flowing to the west that the Castilians noted
when they sailed in southern regions belonging to them. It is not merely probable,
therefore, but becomes even necessary to conclude that between these two hith-
erto unknown continents there extend large openings through which the water
flows from east to west. I think these waters flow all round the world in a circle,
obediently to the Divine Law, and that they are not spewed forth and afterwards
absorbed by some panting Demogorgon. This theory would, up to a certain point,
furnish an explanation of the ebb and flow.
Soon after the discovery of the new land mass named “America”, one of
the most exciting and tragic adventures in the history of seafaring began: the
search for the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Martire D’Angera
hypothesized that this passage was in Central America, but the idea of a “pas-
sage to the East Indies by the North Pole was suggested as early as the year
1527 by Robert Thorn, merchant, of Bristol” (Phipps, 1774, see also
McConnell, 1982). The polar passage would have allowed England to
shorten the travel time to the Spice Islands, compared to the circumnaviga-
tion of South America through the Strait of Magellan or South Africa
around the Cape of Good Hope. A chronological history of travel to the
Arctic regions and the polar passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
was given by Barrow (1818). Ross (1835) (Fig. 1.1) provided a map showing
the possible location of the north-west passage.
This chapter shows how observation technologies and methodologies
are important for understanding oceanic phenomena. It provides a general
overview of the consequences of the rapid evolution of knowledge
and technology’s impact on work practices. Our knowledge of ocean
science is based on scientific debates that began centuries ago, a cultural
aspect that should not be overlooked and should be included in academic
courses.
Margaret Deacon (1971) in her Scientists and the Sea wrote: Oceanog-
raphy is a descriptive and environmental science; as such it depends
for its existence on the application of knowledge already gained in
physical and other sciences. However, observations in the sea are very
difficult and expensive, and the data collected cannot be reproduced.
Technological and methodological advances were key points of progress
in ocean science.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 7
26. The Renaissance brought about an epochal change in human thinking
that resulted in the rise of a humanistic culture and major scientific discov-
eries. The experimental method initiated by Galileo required a procedural
systematization which began to take shape in the 17th century. Important
cultural and scientific institutions were founded for the advancement of
thought and to debate methodologies and technologies. Florence’s Accade-
mia del Cimento was founded in 1657 and the Royal Society of London in
1660; both were incubators of ideas on natural sciences.
Methodologies and technologies developed during the 17th to 19th
centuries are presented with particular attention to their applications
in the northern polar regions. These extreme areas, on account of their
oceanographic and meteorological peculiarities, represent interesting case
studies for the validity of those methodologies and technologies.
This chapter provides some important historical elements on data collec-
tion methods and technologies from the 17th century to the beginning of
the 20th century in the science later known as oceanography. In order to
evaluate and compare past and present technologies and methods, the data
collected in particular areas of the Arctic Sea are presented.
Figure 1.1 The possible location of the north-west passage from Atlantic to Pacific as in
the book of John Ross (1835).
8 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
27. 17th century: Summum frigidum
Show us the sensible experience, that the ebb and flow of the sea water is not a
swelling, or shrinking of the parts of it element, similar to what we see taking
place in the water placed in the heat of the fire, while it for vehement heat
becomes rarefied, and rises, and in reducing itself to natural Coldness it
reunites, and lowers; but in the Seas there is a true local motion, and so to speak
progressive, sometime towards one, sometime towards the other extreme term
of the Sinus of the Sea, without any alteration of this element, coming from
other accident than from Local Mutation.
Galileo Galilei’s speech over the ebb and flow of the sea, 1616; Acts and
unpublished memoirs of the Accademia del Cimento, 1780
Speculation on the properties of the oceans during the 17th century was
provided by many skilled people (“virtuosi”). Galileo’s studies (1638) on
falling bodies were the basis of many “inquiries” relating to surveys of the
sea. Boyle (1627e1691) and Hooke (1635e1703) spent considerable time
testing and applying the concept of “gravitation” to ocean studies.
Boyle asked navigators to explore the different aspects of the oceans:
with regard to the water are to be considered the sea, its depth, specific grav-
ity, difference of saltness in different places, the plants, insects, and fishes to
be found in it, tides, with respect to the adjacent lands, currents, whirlpools,
c (Shaw, 1738). The requirements for these observations were explained in
detail in the “Directions for the observations and experiments to be made by
masters of ships, pilots, and other fit persons in their sea-voyages” that also
contained information on the instruments that should be used routinely
for the collection of geographical, atmospheric, oceanographic, and biolog-
ical data.
The “Directions” were the first step in the creation of a data quality man-
agement system:
• essential information describing the sensors and platforms,
• measurement position,
• measurement units,
• processing, date and time information.
During the 17th century, scientists began to define some specific
inquiries on natural phenomena (e.g., tides, currents, winds). The diverse
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 9
28. interpretations of observations or results of “experiments” made it necessary
to adopt precise experimental methodologies. The concept of standards
agreed upon by the scientific community and now adopted in everyday
practice did not exist then. The “best practices” were defined by one or
more highly reputable people (persons of great repute), one of whom was
Robert Hooke, who presented the “Method of Making Experiments” to
the Royal Society (Derham, 1726). Hooke’s experimental method included
some specific recommendations:
- After finishing the Experiment, to discourse, argue, defend, and further
explain, such Circumstances and Effects in the preceding Experiments, as
may seem dubious “or difficult”: and to propound what new Difficulties
and Queries do occur, that require other Trials and Experiments to be
made, in order to their clearing and answering: And farther, to raise such
Axioms. and Propositions, as are thereby plainly demonstrated and
proved.
- To register the whole Process of the Proposal, Design, Experiment,
Success, or Failure: the Objections and Objectors, the Explanation and
Explainers, the Proposals and Propounded of new and farther Trials; the
Theories and Axioms, and their Authors; and, in a Word, the History of
every Thing and Person, that is material and circumstantial in the whole
Entertainment of the said Society which shall be prepared and made
ready, fairly written in a bound Book, to be read at the Beginning of the
Sitting of the said Society.
Sounding: Nuntius Inanimatus, Esplorator Distantiae
One of the major problems of the 17th century was the lack of good maps
with marine topography for use in the Art of Navigation, one of the most useful
in the World (Derham, 1726).
The sounding instrument illustrated in the “Directions” was a ball made
of waterproofed light wood (e.g., maple), to which an iron or stone weight
was tied. When it touched the seabed, the wooden ball came off and rose to
the surface (Fig. 1.2). The depth was calculated with tables on the basis of the
time taken by the ball to descend and ascend. The “Directions” provided
warnings on the weights and dimensions of the different parts of the
apparatus.
Hooke gave precise indications on the different components of “instru-
ments for sounding the great depth of the sea”, and highlighted two possible
technological sources of errors: The first was, that “it was necessary to make
10 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
29. the Weight, that was to sink the Ball, of a certain Size and Figure, so propor-
tioned to the Ball, as that the Velocity of them, downwards, when united,
should be equal to the Velocity of the Ball alone, when it ascended in its
Return; in Order to which, it required to be prepared with Care, and
required also some Charge, it being almost necessary to make it of Lead,
of a certain Weight and Figure. The other was, the Difficulty of discovering
the Ball at the first Moment of its Return, which was likewise of absolute
Necessity; and it was likewise necessary to keep the Time most exactly of
its Stay, or Continuance, under the Surface of the Water, by the Vibrations
of a Pendulum, held in one’s Hand .” (Derham, 1726).
While Hooke acknowledged the error introduced if the ball was
not detected immediately upon reaching the surface, he did not realize the
difficulty of doing so in anything but a totally calm sea. Many were
the complaints as to the difficulties in locating the ball upon its return to
the surface.
Figure 1.2 Instruments for measurements to be done during voyages, as from “Direc-
tions” by Murray and Hooke (1667): Dipping-needle (Fig. 1), Deep sea sounding without
a line (Fig. 2) with different forms of weights (Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5) substituting the ball
D in Fig. 2, Instrument measuring wind strength (Fig. 6), water sampler (Fig. 7). The
sounding principle was very simple: a buoyant object attached to a weight that
came off in contact with the seabed.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 11
30. Hooke was aware of the errors associated with calculations of descent
and ascent speeds and of the need to consider the buoyancy of the materials
used for the various components of the sounding apparatus. On the con-
trary, he was confident of the use of the “pendulum clock” described in
“Philosophical Experiments” (Derham, 1726). To avoid problems, he
proposed a cone-shaped sounding machine (Fig. 1.3) with a small hole to
receive water based on external pressure (Nuntius Inanimatus or Explorator
Distantiae). In Hooke’s idea, the increasing pressure of sea water at depth
would fill the sounding machine in proportion to the actual depth. There-
fore, by weighing the content of the water in it after it returned to the
surface, it would be possible to have a measurement of the depth of
the water.
Whatever the operation of this Nuntius, Hooke was sure that the sea
temperature would influence the results, as the heat or the cold caused
the air contained in the machine to expand or contract. For this reason,
he thought of adding a temperature sensitive apparatus. However, there
was another important question to answer before evaluating the results of
a sounding apparatus, that is, “Whether the Gravitation, towards the Center
of the Earth, do continue the same, at any Depth; or whether it do increase
Figure 1.3 The Nuntius Inanimatus (on the left) and Explorator Profunditatis (on the
right) proposed by Hooke (Derham, 1726).
12 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
31. or diminish, according as the Body is posited lower and lower, beneath the
Surface of the Sea; for if Gravity do increase, then the Body will move
downwards, or sink faster, than at the Top; and if it decreases, it will do
the Contrary.”
The solution was in the so-called Explorator Profunditatis, which consisted
of a ball of a selected material with holes allowing the passage of water. The
ball had pinions and cogwheels that turned during the descent and during
the ascent (Fig. 1.3). The apparatus described by Murray (1912) was
composed of two clockwork odometers, one for the descent and another
for the ascent. The number of revolutions of the rotors gave values propor-
tional to the depth of the sea.
Esplorator temperature
The history of temperature measurements, from the thermoscope to the
thermometer, has been presented in many books (e.g., Knowles Middleton,
2003). Despite still imperfect technology and methodology, temperature
measurements revealed some aspects of the marine environment which
were analyzed by Boyle, a scientist whose interests ranged from human
to natural, chemical and physical sciences. Boyle obtained information
on temperature and salt from various sailors and divers and concluded
that sea water is not the summum frigidum. Therefore, the sea was made up
of a surface layer whose temperature was influenced by the atmosphere
and a deeper and colder layer (Shaw, 1783). From this information a ques-
tion arose: why was the deep sea, despite being cold, not frozen? Boyle’s
conclusion was, “so, I have more than once try’d that salt-water will,
without freezing, admit a much greater degree of cold, that is necessary
to turn fresh water into ice.”
Hooke described a thermometer that was nothing “but a small Bolt-
head, filled up with Spirit of Wine, to a convenient Height of the Stem,
with a small Embolus and Valve; the Embolus is made so, as to be thrust
down the Neck, as the Spirit of Wine shall be contracted by Cold; and
the Valve is to let out the Spirit of Wine, when it is again expanded
with Heat, in its Ascent”. It is important to note that the effect of the
pressure on the volume of the Spirit was very well known: “It may,
possibly, be thought that the great Pressure, of the incumbent Body of
Water, may contribute somewhat to the Contraction, or Shrinking, of
the Spirit” (Derham, 1726).
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 13
32. Esplorator Qualitatum
The measurements of sea gravity and saltness were done with a vial of
known magnitude having a narrow neck or a graduated glass-tube. The
gravity was determined by the weight of the water and the saltness by the
weight of substance remaining after evaporation of the water. Water at
depth was sampled with a “Square Wooden Bucket” having two valves
that remained open during the descent of the sampler and closed in the
ascent (Fig. 1.2).
Boyle described various experiments for the calculation of the specific
gravity: “We took a vial, with a long and strait neck, and having counter
pois’d it, we filled it to a certain height with common conduit-water: we
noted the weight of that liquor; which being poured out, the vial was filled
to the same height with sea-water, taken up at the surface; and by the dif-
ference between the two weights, the sea-water appeared to be about a
forty-fifth part heavier than the other.”
Having compared the results of different experiments that were giving
slightly different results, Boyle deduced that the seawater during the weight
operation was “rarified” by the effect of the sun. In one experiment Boyle
used “distilled rain” as reference, but there were no indications that this wa-
ter was assumed to be a standard. Boyle gave some values of the gravity of sea
water weight using units of measurement from the old English avoirdupois
measurement system derived from the Anglo-Norman French “aveir de
peis,” a derivation of the Latin “habere de pensum.”
Specific gravity
The scales used to weigh specific gravity took various forms and Hooke pre-
sented some to the Royal Society (Fig. 1.4). The position of the reference
weights along the arms (Fig. 1.4a) would provide “the proportionate
Weight of those two Bodies” (Derham, 1726). In order to obtain a greater
precision, a scale with the beam “in the Form of a Cross, equilibrated upon a
sharp Edge in the Center” was proposed, but it is not known if it was actu-
ally used (Fig. 1.4b).
Hooke received samples of sea surface water and fresh water, the latter
for use as a reference. Unfortunately, there were no indications in the text
on the location of the sea sampling location, while the reference fresh water
was collected in the Thames River at Greenwich during low tide (which is
very likely not completely fresh). The salt content found by Hooke was
about 22 parts per 1000, a fairly good value, given the many uncertainties
and factors and the use of water from the Thames as reference.
14 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
33. It can be anticipated that the value of specific gravity measured in the
18th century in Nore, a sandbank in the Thames estuary, ranged from
1000 to 1024.6 and in the North Sea 1000 to 1028.02. These values were
provided in the appendix “Account of Doctor Irving’s Method of Obtaining
Fresh Water from the Sea by Distillation” of “A Voyage towards the North
Pole” (Phipps, 1774). One of the many methodologies for the preparation
of a reference water is presented in paragraph 18th century: Polar explora-
tions - Distilled water.
18th century: Polar explorations
The usefulness of physical geography is manifest. It teaches us to know the
workshop of nature in which we find ourselves, its instruments, its first labora-
tory, and its attempts.
Immanuel Kant, Physische Geografie (from Augusto Eckerlin edition), 1807
A letter by Stephen Hales (1677e1761) dated June 8, 1751, appeared in
the Philosophical Transaction (Hales, 1753), which describes a “bucket sea-
gage” used by Henry Ellis during his voyage to Hudson’s Bay in 1746.
This apparatus was used to collect temperature, salinity, and specific gravity
information at various depths. The sea-gage “was a common household pail
Figure 1.4 Two balances by Hooke. The one on the left is a typical steelyard
balance. On the right is a balance proposed by Hooke to improve precision in weight
measurements (Derham, 1726).
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 15
34. or bucket, with two heads in it; which heads had each a round hole in the
middle, near four inches diameter, which were cover’d with valves which
open’d upwards; and that they might both open and shut together.” The
water temperature was measured on board with a mercury thermometer.
However, Hales advised users to be very careful since the measurement
was altered by contact with air.
Important steps forward in technology and methodology are described in
the book A Voyage towards the North Pole - 1773 (Fig. 1.5), by Phipps (1774).
The methodology used during that expedition was based on an intercom-
parison of measurements made by different people, e.g., longitude was
calculated by different people making astronomical observations and time-
keepers, and when all the results were reported and compared, corrections
made were described in detail.
Temperature
Temperature was measured with Cavendish’s overflow thermometers,
which were presented to the Royal Society on June 30, 1757 (Fig. 1.6).
Cavendish (1704e1783) wrote: “The instrument for finding the greatest
heat might be made just like that of Fig. 1. only leaving the top open. It
is to be filled with mercury only, as is also the lower part of the ball at
top, but not near so high as the end of the capillary tube. The upper part
of that ball, being left open, will in a great measure be filled with the
seawater, which will be forced into it by the pressure . The thermometer
for finding the greatest cold, if applied to this purpose, must also be left open
at top . the most convenient construction, which occurs to me, is that of
Fig. 4” (Cavendish, 1757). The thermometer was filled with mercury (the
dark part of the figure) and “spirit of wine” (the gray part).
Soon after the publication of the Cavendish report by the Royal
Society, it was noted that “spirits of wine” and other fluids were compress-
ible and that, furthermore, corrections to temperature measurements were
necessary. The corrections were presented in an appendix to Phipps’ book.
The corrected temperature data collected during the Phipps voyage to the
North Pole are shown in Table 1.1 (details on Cavendish thermometers
and corrections are presented in McConnell, 1982).
The quality of the data can be discussed on the basis of the temperature
collected at 780 fathoms (about 1426 m) which, after correction, turned
out to be 3.3C, a very low value in light of current knowledge.
The corrections to temperatures made by Dr. Irving, a scientific member
of Phipps’ crew, considered compression and unequal expansion of spirits.
16 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
35. Figure 1.5 Chart of A Voyage toward the North Pole by Phipps (1774).
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 17
36. However, based on some indications provided by Abbe (1888), the tem-
perature should be corrected by more than 0.5F, probably greater than
2F, as shown by Fig. 1.7.
To understand the quality of these first observations of the thermal con-
tent of the sea in the polar regions, the temperature values collected by
Phipps (Table 1.1) are compared with the data collected in recent years
(Fig. 1.7). Data above 120 fathoms correspond to the temperature values
collected at the beginning of the 21st century, but data for the deepest point
are completely out of acceptable ranges. The navigation journal reported
Figure 1.6 Cavendish thermometers. The “minimum thermometer” used by Phipps is
presented in “Fig. 4”. The gray part was “spirit of wine” and the dark part was mercury.
Note the opening on top of “Fig. 4”. Cavendish was aware of the effect of pressure on
the apparent volume of liquids, causing a shift in reading. Following Cavendish, the
pressure exerted on the top causes mercury to pass into the alcohol tank C. Initially
C contained “spirit of wine.” As the temperature fell, the spirit is contracted and the
mercury flows into C where it is trapped. The reading of the mercury in the shorter
limb would give a measure of the temperature. More details are in McConnell (1982).
(Note the references to figures in the text refer to the numbers next to the thermom-
eters in the figure.). From Cavendish, C., 1757. A description of some thermometers for
particular uses. Phil. Trans. 50, 300e310.
18 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
37. that the air temperature was 48.5F and was calm almost all day; conse-
quently, the low temperature at 780 fathoms was not contaminated
by weather events. Any quality problems must be attributed to the
measuring device.
Table 1.1 Temperature data collected during the voyage to North Pole by Phipps
in 1774.
Year Month Day Hour Latitude Longitude
Depth
(fms)
F
corrected
Comments
(corrections
made by
Phipps)
1775 6 20 12 66,9065 0,9742 780 26 For the
position
provided
on day 19.
6 30 9 78,1333 9,4742 118 31
6 30 14 78,1333 9,4742 115 33
Figure 1.7 Vertical profiles of potential temperatures collected in June in polar regions
during the years 2000e05 compared with data collected by Phipps in June 1774 (blue
dots: black dots in printed version). The vertical profiles were downloaded from SeaDa-
taNet (www.seadatanet.org). The graph has been obtained using Ocean Data View soft-
ware. Courtesy Schlitzer, Reiner, 2020. Ocean Data View, https://odv.awi.de.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 19
38. The problems in using the thermometers are clearly presented by
Camuffo (2002). Members of many societies (e.g., Accademia del Cimento
in Florence, The Royal Society of London, and later Societas Meteorologica
Palatina in Mannheim) stressed the need to have a perfectly cylindrical tube .
or at least a tube with a constant internal section along its entire length. Improve-
ments in glassmaking technology enabled scientists and technicians to
confirm that the liquid inside the thermometer and the glass both expanded
when the heat increased. Fahrenheit used two different liquids, mercury and
spirit, to evaluate the law of expansion, obtaining different results. At the end
of the 18th century, various volumetric expansions of spirit and mercury
were verified, and calibration methods were suggested (Camuffo, 2002).
James Six (1731e1793) invented a maximum and minimum thermom-
eter (Six, 1794) which began to be a commonly used tool during most
voyages of exploration. The thermometer was invented in 1782, but the
book that described it was published 12 years later, post-mortem. The ther-
mometer contained mercury (the colored or gray part in Fig. 1.8) and spirit
Figure 1.8 The Six’s thermometer and the different parts showing the sections of the
different parts of it (Six, 1794).
20 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
39. of wine. The expansion of the latter pushed the mercury upwards into the
tube on the right. “Within the small tube of the Thermometer, above the
surface of the mercury, immersed in the spirit of wine, is placed, on either
side, a small index, so fitted as to be moved up and down as occasion may
require” (Six, 1794). A magnet was used to restore the position of the metal
needle (McConnell, 1982).
Specific gravity and salinity
Specific gravity was measured instead of gravity. A definition of specific
gravity was given (among others) by Becket (1775): “that which meant
by the term Specific Gravity of bodies, being nothing more than the differ-
ence, or comparative weight of those bodies to that of a common water, we
might easily find the specific gravity of any fluid, by weighing a quantity of it
against an equal quantity of water.” In a note, the author provided additional
useful information: in hydrostatic calculation, water, as the standard from
which all the respective gravities are taken, is reckoned as unity or 1, 10,
100, 1000, c. as the case requires. The reference liquid selected was
distilled water, differently from Marsili, who used rain-water (Marsili,
1681). From a practical point of view, there were many advantages in using
distilled water, since it could be obtained by each “weight-keeper,” also on
board a ship at sea for many months, as was common at that time.
In the 18th century precision balances were introduced in response to
scientific as well as commercial needs. They furnished accurate measure-
ments of the specific gravity by defining a standard temperature for the refer-
ence water.
Phipps (1744e1792) provided, among other seafarers, information on
the salt contained in sea water: “Sea-water contains chiefly a neutral salt,
composed of fossil alcali and marine acid (muriatic or hydrochloric acid).
It likewise contains a salt which has magnesia for its basis, and the same
acid . The mother liquor now remaining, being evaporated, affords a vitri-
olic magnesia salt, which in England is manufactured in large quantities, un-
der the name of Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate). Besides these salts, which
are objects of trade, sea-water contains a selenitic salt (calcium sulphate), a
little true Glauber’s salt (sodium sulphate), often a little nitre, and always a
quantity of gypseous earth suspended (sulphate mineral) by means of fixed
air” (Phipps 1774). The measurements of salts in sea water were obtained
by dissolving them in alcohol after evaporation of the water.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 21
40. Distilled water
In A Voyage toward the North Pole Phipps (1774) mentioned the participation
of experts in various scientific and engineering disciplines, including Dr. Irv-
ing who, in an appendix, examined the different methods of obtaining
distilled water on board a ship. The distiller was a boiler with openings
(the two holes on the back of Fig. 1.9) for cocks. The water was evaporated
and forced into tubes that decreased in size and at the end of which distilled
water was collected. To clean the tube, steam was forced through for one
minute. To ensure maximum purity, the water was distilled until a third
of the water originally introduced remained in the boiler.
The text interestingly notes that “The principal intention of this
machine, however, is to distil rum and other liquors; for which purpose it
has been employed with extraordinary success, in preventing an ‘empyr-
euma’ or ‘fiery’ taste.”
Marine zoology
In that historical period, it was normal practice to collect samples of flora and
fauna in order to acquire knowledge of the new lands that were discovered.
During the voyage, Phipps’ crew also recorded biological observations of
mammals, fishes, amphibians, insects, etc. Flora and fauna were described
and depicted in tables of high artistic value. Examples can be seen in
Fig. 1.10.
Figure 1.9 The distiller used by Dr. Irving on board the H.M.S. Racehorse and Carcass
during the voyage toward North Pole in 1773.
22 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
41. Figure 1.10 Biological observations during the voyage toward the North Pole by Phipps (1774).
A
narrative
of
historical,
methodological,
and
technological
observations
in
marine
science
23
42. 19th century: A century of changes
The correct analysis of sea-water being a difficult problem, the usual measure of
the saltness of the sea, is by its specific gravity; this, though but an approxima-
tion to the truth, when the quantity of any particular salt only is considered,
gives the saline contents in the gross with tolerable accuracy.
William Scoresby, An Account of the Arctic regions with a History and Descrip-
tion of the Northern Whale-Fishery, 1820
The scientific revolution that began in the 16th century saw continuous
and increasingly faster advances in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and
biology (Preti, 1975). At the same time, there were far-reaching changes
in industry, commerce and finance, and, in particular, a surge in the devel-
opment of commercial relations between Europe and overseas lands that led
to the construction of vast and efficient merchant and military fleets (AAVV,
2004). In the mid-19th century, the first submarine telegraph cables were
laid. This made bathymetric knowledge increasingly necessary even in the
deep sea.
The whaling industry increased significantly during this period. The
search for new hunting grounds for the whale fishery led to the exploration
of unknown regions, as in the case of William Scoresby Junior, who was
cited by Melville (1851) in Moby Dick or The Whale (‘No branch of Zoology
is so much involved as that which is entitled Cetology,’ says Captain Scoresby,
AD 1820).
Whaling, an ancient activity that was practiced in the Basque region in
the Middle Ages and later moved to the North Atlantic, was carried out
in a predatory way. The hunting grounds were depleted considerably in
number of animals to the extent that Maury published a map in 1851
showing that the best hunting region was no longer the Atlantic but the Pa-
cific Ocean (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maurys_whale_
chart-1851.jpg; accessed September 2020).
Maury (1806e1873) was an important figure in the history of oceanog-
raphy. His work The Physical Geography of the Sea, dated 1855, marked the
boundaries between a geographical description of the seas and oceans and
modern oceanography. (Note this book is still in print.)
24 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
43. He promoted the First International Maritime Conference (Houvena-
ghel, 1990; WMO, 1973), held in Brussels in 1853, “at the invitation of
the Government of the United-States of America, for the purpose of con-
certing a systematical and uniform plan of meteorological observation at
sea” (De Groote, 1853). The delegates of Belgium, Denmark, France, Great
Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, and the
United States agreed “on a plan of uniform observation, in which all nations
might be engaged in order to establish a concerted action between the mete-
orologist on land and the navigator at sea.”
During the conference, difficulties in concerting comparable and
compatible observations were discussed. These difficulties were the variety
of scales in use in different countries, the equipment used for observations,
and their accuracy. With regard to scales, it was decided that each country
could use its own, except for temperature, for which the use of the centi-
grade scale was agreed, possibly together with the scales of the different
countries. The establishment of a universal system of meteorological observations
was left to future initiatives. With reference to instruments, it was noted that
barometers were approximate and gave poor results. It was therefore recom-
mended to accurately determine the errors in them.
It was also noted that the errors for thermometers had been accurately
determined. Furthermore, the use of mercurial thermometers was recommen-
ded. However, the delegates added that the data they produced was of little
value, probably referring to their use for navigation. As for wind measure-
ments, the conference decided that the use of anemometers on board ships
was a desideratum.
The conclusion on instrumentation was important: “In bringing to a
conclusion the remarks upon instruments, the Conference considered it
desirable, in order the better to establish uniformity, and to secure compa-
rability among the observations, to suggest as a measure conducive thereto,
that a set of the standard instruments used by each of the cooperating Gov-
ernments, together with the instructions which might to given to such Gov-
ernment for their use, should be interchanged.”
The conference recommended to carry out the observations reported in
Table 1.2. The conference also defined sampling intervals: “at least the po-
sition of the vessel and the set of the current, the height of the barometer, the
temperature of the air and water should each be determined once a day, the
force and direction of the wind three times a day, and the observed variation
of the needle occasionally.”
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 25
44. Table 1.2 Measurements to be done on board of ships as agreed at the First International Maritime Conference held in Brussels from August 23
to September 8, 1853.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6
Date Hour Latitude Longitude Currents Magnetic
variation
observed
Observed For dead
reckoning
Observed For dead
reckoning
Directions Velocity
Column 7 Column 8 Column 9 Column 10 Column
11 and 12
Column 13
Magnetic
variation
adopted
or used
Form and
direction
of the clouds
Part of
the sky
not
obscured
Quantity of rain Winds Barometer
Direction Force Barometer Temperat. Reduced
to the
Temperat.
of zero
Column 14 Column 15 Column 16 Column 17 Column 18
Thermometer
for the air
Thermometer with
the wet bulb
Temperature of
the water at surface
Temperature of
the water
at certain depth
Specific gravity
of the water
26
Giuseppe
M.R.
Manzella
et
al.
45. It was also stated that any additional information reported in logbooks
would be of great value.
The Brussels conference was a beginning for international marine
meteo-oceanographic cooperation, and was followed by a series of initia-
tives having the aim to establish a uniform system of meteorological
observations (Ballot, 1872). An international coordination and standardiza-
tion of climatological practices was established during the First International
Meteorological Congress held in Vienna in September 1873. The congress
was a starting point for the establishment of the International Meteorological
Organisation (WMO, 1973), that in 1952 was reestablished as an intergov-
ernmental body: the World Meteorological Organisation (Zillman, 2009).
Deep sea soundings
Difficulties in sounding the deep sea were clearly indicated in this statement
by Hjoert (1912): “It has often been said that studying the depths of the sea is
like hovering in a balloon high above an unknown land which is hidden by
clouds, for it is a peculiarity of oceanic research that direct observations of
the abyss are impracticable.”
The exploration and study of new lands and oceans sparked an interest in
maps describing the trend of the seabed (Fig. 1.11). The methodology for
determining the depth of the sea was described by Thomson (1873).
Traditional methodology consisted of a weight attached to a graduated
line with strips of variously colored fabric. The distance and the color of
the stripes indicated fathoms, tens of fathoms, and hundreds of fathoms,
or, for the deep sea, the white stripes were fixed every 50 fathoms, the black
every 100 fathoms, and the red every 1000 fathoms. When the weight
(a prismatic leaden block about two feet in length and 80 to 120 lbs in weight)
touched the seabed, an approximative measure of the depth of the sea could
be made.
The maximum depth measurement with this system was about 3200
fathoms, beyond which a symbol was used on the bathymetric chart that
was :
3200 meaning no bottom at 3200 fathoms.
Deep-sea sounding was done while the ship was moving. When an
accurate position was required, as in the case of bathymetric measurements
near the coast, the position made reference to some fixed objects on the
shore.
The measurements of the depth of the sea with this method were dis-
torted by the currents that inclined the wire, and consequently provided
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 27
46. measurements higher than the true values. Thomson was aware of this and
described another method adopted by the United States Navy. A 32- or 68-
pound weight was attached to a fine line and thrown into the water. When
the descent speed began to decrease significantly, the wire was cut. The
depth of the sea was calculated from the length of the thread left on board
the ship. Thomson reported soundings of up to 50,000 fathoms produced by
US Navy officers.
Figure 1.11 Soundings of the North Atlantic from Thomson on board the Lightning in
1868 (Thomson, 1873).
28 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
47. During the century, the sounding machine became more sophisticated.
Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin, 1824e1907) developed a sounding
machine using a steel wire instead of a hemp line, thus reducing friction
in the water and the weight of the entire apparatus (Fig. 1.12). The Thom-
son sounding machine took up less space than the previous models, enabled
greater speed, and due to less friction, a more perpendicular line and there-
fore greater precision (McConnell, 1982).
Temperature in the polar regions
In a sea perpetually covered by sea ice, there was initially considerable
surprise in finding a sea surface temperature of about 2 O 3.5C at a latitude
of 76e78N. Measurements made in the polar regions showed that temper-
ature increased with depth. The son of a whaler, William Scoresby Junior
(1789e1857), made a significant contribution to the knowledge of the
properties of the sea and currents in his book An account of the Arctic Regions
with a History and Description of the Northern Whale-Fishery (Scoresby, 1820).
The recurrent problem with this type of measurement was to avoid
contaminating the temperature at a certain depth with the sea water temper-
ature detected by the thermometer during its rise to the surface. Scoresby
devised an apparatus consisting of a fir cask, considered a poor heat
Figure 1.12 The Thomson (Lord Kelvin) sounding machine. From Hjort, J., 1912. The ship
and its equipment. In: Murray, J., Hjort, J. (Eds.), Chapter II in the Depths of the Ocean.
MacMillan and Co., London, pp. 22e51).
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 29
48. conductor, containing a thermometer and with two valves at its extremities.
The cask was lowered to the desired height and left there for half an hour.
During the ascent, the valves closed, maintaining the temperature value. But
“. after a few experiments had been made, the wood of the cask became
soaked with water; several of the staves rent from end to end; and the appa-
ratus became leaky and useless.” This was also a problem with Hooke’s
wooden balls that became water-logged at depth.
Subsequent experiments were not successful, despite the numerous sug-
gestions of many marine experts including Cavendish; moreover, the use of
Six thermometers proved to be problematic as they were extremely fragile.
To avoid any problems, Scoresby built an apparatus called “marine di-
ver” (Fig. 1.13), which had the shape of an octagonal prism with a length
Figure 1.13 The marine diver constructed by Scoresby to measure temperatures at
depths below the sea surface (left) and specific gravities and temperatures collected
in the Arctic regions. From Scoresby, W, 1820. An Account of the Arctic Regions with a
Description of the Northern Whale-Fishery. Archibald Constable Co. Edinburg, Hurts,
Robinson co, London.
30 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
49. of approximately 35.5 cm, a diameter of approximately 13 cm at the top and
15.25 cm at the bottom. On opposite sides there were glass panes approxi-
mately 5.5 cm thick. With this apparatus and a reinforced “fir cask” Scoresby
collected water samples and measured temperatures at various depths. In a
certain sense, these were measurements made with protected thermometers,
as the insulating material used for the “marine diver” ensured protection, but
it isn’t clear that they were protected from pressure.
The temperature values collected in the spring from 1810 to 1816 by
Scoresby are shown in Fig. 1.14 and are compared with profiles collected
in the same areas in the summer of 2006 and 2007. The differences are
very significant and may be due to the annual/seasonal variability and the
insulating capacity of the materials of the “marine diver” was most likely
far from optimal.
Figure 1.14 Comparison of potential temperature data collected by Scoresby (lines
with blue [black in printed version] big dots at their end) with profiles collected in
the same regions during summers 2006e07. These data are free and open in SeaData-
Net (www.seadatanet.org). The graph has been obtained with the Ocean Data View
software. The potential temperature was computed by using the thermodynamic equa-
tion of seawater (IOC, SCOR and IAPSO, 2010). Courtesy Schlitzer, Reiner, 2020. Ocean
Data View, https://odv.awi.de.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 31
50. The use of thermometers for the observation of air and water temper-
atures became part of data collection practice that was widely used, result-
ing in the recording of measurement errors. However, deep sea
temperatures began to be measured accurately when thermometers pro-
tected from the effects of pressure came into use. The first to use this
type of protected thermometer was probably a certain Captain Pullen in
1857 (Murray, 1912).
Detailed instructions for the measurement of sea temperatures were pro-
vided by Abbe (1838e1916). The methodology recommended for the
acquisition of sea surface data consisted in a thermometer case to be lowered
“to a slight depth below the surface.” The case would “allow the water to
flow freely through it, but shall then close and bring up from a given depth a
sufficient amount of water with the enclosed thermometer, so that no
change of temperature can possibly take place before the thermometer is
read off” (Abbe, 1888).
Abbe was critical about the usual method “of rising a bucketful from the
surface of the water and dipping the thermometer into it for a minute or
less.” Abbe considered that the errors associated with this latter method
were greater than 0.5F (about 0.3C).
An interesting presentation of methodologies used to measure the sea
surface temperature of the sea from uninsulated buckets has been provided
by Folland and Parker (1995). Wooden buckets were recommended as a
type to use in instructions derived from the First International Maritime
Conference. These instructions were including location of sampling the
sea surface temperature, location of the bucket after withdrawal from the
sea, time-lapse between withdrawal from the sea and reading the ther-
mometer, stirring and attempts to reduce the influence of the initial tem-
perature of the thermometer and bucket. Correction to sea surface
temperature were calculated by Folland and Parker by considering the
bucket geometry and physical phenomena such as sensible heat transfer
between the bucket or water surface and the ambient air, heat transfer
by longwave radiation, influence of solar radiation from monthly 24-
hour climatological averages of incident shortwave solar intensity over
the sea surface, change in bucket temperature during the time lapse and
influence of inserted thermometer on heat transfer rate and water temper-
ature. The sea surface temperature was also affected by the ship speed. The
errors associated with sea surface temperature were calculated to be
around 0.11e0.30C for data collected at the sea surface in the northern
hemisphere in the period 1850e1900. In conclusion, the Folland and
32 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
51. Parker calculations are more optimistic than Abbe’s ones, but questions on
errors associated with measurements below the sea surface remained
unanswered.
Abbe described a protected thermometer for deep sea measurements by
means of which “the pressure effect is wholly annulled by adopting a special
protection for the bulb. The whole thermometer is placed within a strong
bottle or cylinder, which is then partly filled with water or mercury, above
which some air remains; the protecting cylinder is hermetically sealed, and
when lowered to the ocean depths the external pressure, compressing the
cylinder somewhat, causes the water to rise and compress the air slightly.
This latter slight increase of pressure is the only one that affects the ther-
mometer bulb.”
A functioning maximum and minimum protected thermometer (i.e.,
providing maximum and minimum temperature measurements in deep wa-
ter) based on Six thermometers previously adopted by most investigators was
described by Negretti and Zambra (Fig. 1.15) in a report to the Royal So-
ciety. An article on the instrument was published in the Chemical News Maga-
zine (Negretti and Zambra, 1874).
A kind of in situ calibration was done by many scientists who compared
the temperature near the seabed with that of the mud in the same place. For
example, Ross (1777e1856) “employed, a register thermometer, the indi-
cations of which were occasionally compared with the temperature of the
mud and earthy fragments of various kinds which he raised from the bottom
of the sea, by an appropriate instrument of his own contrivance; as this mud,
both from the quantity raised, and from the manner in which it was
confined, retained its temperature for a sufficient length of time not to be
materially altered on reaching the surface” (Marcet, 1819).
Specific gravity and salinity
In an appendix to the book A Voyage of Discovery, Ross (1819a) presented an
instrument, called hydraphorus (Fig. 1.16), for the collection of water sam-
ples at various depths, “during the voyage, with a view of ascertaining its
specific gravity . This Instrument consists of a copper vessel, the body of
which is cylindrical. The upper part, where the machinery is fixed, is square,
having on one side a small aperture to admit water. This is covered by a cir-
cular plate in which another aperture is made to coincide with the former,
when placed opposite the fleur-delis; a cover is fitted to protect this plate,
the edge of which being divided into 800 equal parts, the aperture on the
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 33
52. outside can be set to the required position. On the opposite side of the in-
strument there is a similar plate or wheel, which moves the former; and both
are turned by the rotator as the Instrument descends, by the action of the
water, the former in a proportion as 1 is to 100. The vanes of the rotator
are made to fix in any position, which by actual experiment may be found
to be applicable to a graduated wheel; and it is evident, that by placing them
in a more vertical or horizontal position, a greater or lesser depth may be ob-
tained during a revolution of the graduated plate; but when it has been once
regulated, to agree in a convenient proportion, to these divisions, it will not
be necessary to alter the vanes, as the aperture may be easily set to the exact
Figure 1.15 The Negretti and Zambra thermometer. It was an improvement of the Six
thermometer which was very fragile.
34 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
53. depth from which the water is required. At the top of the instrument there is
a spring valve, for the double purpose of allowing the air to escape when the
water enters, and to let the air enter when the water is drawn off by the stop
cock at the bottom, and in the latter case the valve must be moved up by
hand.”
Many sea water samples were not analyzed by scientists participating in
the expeditions. In an article of the “Philosophical Transactions,” Marcet
(1819) noted this fact by expressing concerns about the loss of data and in-
formation: “In the course of few years I became possessed, through the kind-
ness of several friends, of a great variety of specimens of sea water; and I was
preparing to examine them, when a most deplorable accident deprived sci-
ence of the sagacious philosopher from those friendship and enlightened
assistance I had anticipated so much advantage. Procrastination and delay
were the natural consequence of this misfortune; and I should probably
have entirely lost sight of the subject, had not my intention been again
directed to it by the late expeditions to the Arctic regions, and the great
zeal and kindness of some of the officers engaged in them, in procuring
for me specimens of sea water, collected in different latitudes, and under
peculiar circumstances, so as to add greatly to the value of those which I pre-
viously possessed.”
Figure 1.16 The hydraphorus invented by John Ross to sample waters at different
depths. From Ross, J, 1819b. A description of the deep sea clams, hydraphorus and ma-
rine artificial horizon. Strahan and Spottiswoode, London.
A narrative of historical, methodological, and technological observations in marine science 35
54. Another problem that was given considerable attention in Marcet’s anal-
ysis concerned the conservation of sea water specimens. The water collected
at depth by a “cylindrical vessel having an opening at the top, and a similar
one at the bottom, each closed by a flap or valve opening only upwards, and
moving freely upon hinges” was poured into a corked bottle. The sample
taken at the desired depth could be contaminated by other water during
the ascent of the “vessel” (container). Various improvements to the water
collection devices were therefore proposed. Furthermore, the conservation
of the samples in corked bottles could be imperfect and therefore cause the
evaporation (or contamination) of the water they contained. Marcet
remarked that in the records of the Arctic explorers there was a wealth of
information about the weather, the state of the sea, and details of navigation,
i.e., what we now call “metadata” (Fig. 1.17).
Alexander Marcet (1770e1822) and later John Murray (1841e1914)
came to the conclusion that salinity could not be determined by the direct
evaporation of sea water. The best solution was to determine salinity by
precipitating the components. In 1865 Georg Forchhammer (a Danish
chemist) proposed to define a salinity value proportional to hydrochloric
acid or chlorine content in sea water, as this was the most abundant and
easiest to determine. The reagent for precipitating chlorine was silver nitrate
for use in highly acidified sea water (Wallace, 1974).
A little-known Italian chemist, Giulio Usiglio (Sobrero, 2006), carefully
analyzed the results obtained by Murray and Marcet, as well as the method
proposed by Forchhammer, and suggested a method to find the saline
composition using nonconcentrated sea water and then apply the precipita-
tive method (Wallace, 1974).
Friedrich Mohr (1806e1879) was the first to introduce titrimetric anal-
ysis. He added a solution of potassium chromate to the sample of sea water,
which colored the solution a light yellow. After a process with silver nitrate
of known concentration, the solution turned a light pink-hazel color and all
the chloride was precipitated (Wallace, 2002).
Marine zoology
Marine zoology observations were made on many expeditions. John Ross
(1819a) probed Baffin Bay and Davis Strait for white coral, shells, mud
worms, snakes, and shrimps. Ross invented an apparatus called “Deep-Sea
Clam” (Fig. 1.18) “to procure substances from the bottom of the sea in
36 Giuseppe M.R. Manzella et al.
56. departing Frenchman, saying mockingly,—“Farewell, popinjay. The
treacherous ever make suggestion of treachery.” To the Earl she
added, “My lord, I am entirely unarmed.”
“What have you to say to me?” replied Strafford severely, bending
his dark gaze upon her.
“Sir,”—her voice lowered so that none might by any chance
overhear,—“Sir, I am Frances Wentworth, your lordship’s eldest
daughter.”
57. T
CHAPTER II.—RECOGNITION.
he Earl lowered upon the girl, and the black anger upon his
brow might have warned a more intrepid person than even
she appeared to be that there was peril in trifling. When at
last he spoke, his voice was harsh and menacing.
“What do you expect to gain by a statement so preposterous?”
“I expect to gain a father.”
The girl’s answer trod quick upon the heels of the question, but
her colour changed from red to pale, and from pale to red again,
and her hurried breathing hinted of some knowledge of her hazard,
which nevertheless she faced without flinching.
“My eldest daughter, say you? My eldest daughter is Ann, aged
thirteen, a modest little maid. I take you to be older, and I should
hesitate to apply to you the qualification I have just coupled with her
name.”
“I am sixteen, therefore her senior. Thus one part of my
contention is admitted. If she is modest, it doth become a maid, and
is reasonably to be expected, for she hath a mother’s care. I have
had none. If you detect a boldness in my manner, ’t is but another
proof I am my father’s daughter.”
Something resembling a grimace rather than a smile disturbed the
white lips of Strafford at this retort. He bent his eyes on the ground,
and his mind seemed to wander through the past. They stood thus
in silence opposite each other, the girl watching him intently, and
when she saw his mouth twitch with a spasm of pain, a great wave
of pity overspread her face and brought the moisture to her eyes;
but she made no motion toward him, held in increasing awe of him.
58. “Boldness is not a virtue,” he muttered, more to himself than to
her. “There’s many a jade in England who can claim no relationship
with me.”
This remark, calling for no response, received none.
“Sixteen years of age! Then that was in——”
The Earl paused in his ruminations as if the simple mathematical
problem baffled him, the old look of weariness and pain clouding his
downturned face.
“The year 1624,” said the girl promptly.
“Doubtless, doubtless. 1624. It is long since; longer than the days
that have passed seem to indicate. I was a young man then, now
——now——I am an aged wreck, and all in sixteen years. And so in
you, the spirit of youth, the unknown past confronts me, demanding
——demanding what?”
“Demanding nothing, my lord.”
“Humph. You are the first then. They all want something. You
think I am an old dotard who is ready, because you say you want
nothing, to accept your absurd proposal. But I am not yet fifty, nor
as near it as these fell maladies would have me appear; and a man
should be in his prime at fifty. Madam, it will require more convincing
testimony to make me listen to you further.”
“The testimony, irrefutable, stands here before you. Raise your
eyes from the ground, my lord, and behold it. If, scrutinizing me,
you deny that I am your daughter, I shall forthwith turn from you
and trouble you no more.”
Strafford slowly lifted his gloomy face, prematurely seamed with
care, and his heavy eyes scanned closely the living statue that
confronted him. The sternness of his features gradually relaxed, and
an expression near akin to tenderness overspread his face.
59. “Any man might be proud to claim you, my girl, no matter how
many other reasons for pride he possessed. But you have not come
here merely because someone flattered the Earl of Strafford by
saying you resembled him.”
“No, my lord. I am come to return to you this document which
once you presented to my mother.”
She handed him a paper, which he read with intent care. It ran
thus:
“I have, in little, much to say to you, or else one of us must be
much to blame. But in truth I have that confidence in you, and that
assurance in myself, as to rest secure the fault will never be made
on either side. Well, then; this short and this long which I aim at is
no more than to give you this first written testimony that I am your
husband; and that husband of yours that will ever discharge these
duties of love and respect toward you which good women may
expect, and are justly due from good men to discharge them; and
this is not only much, but all which belongs to me; and wherein I
shall tread out the remainder of life which is left to me——”
Strafford looked up from his perusal, blank amazement upon his
countenance.
“How came you by this paper?”
“I found it among the documents left by my grandfather, who died
a year ago. It was sent by you to my mother.”
“Impossible.”
“Do you deny the script?”
“I do not deny it, but ’t was written by me eight years since, and
presented to my third wife, whom I married privately.”
“Your third wife? Who was she?”
“She was Mistress Elizabeth Rhodes, and is now Lady Strafford.”
60. “Then she is your fourth wife. You will see by your own inditing
that this letter was written in March, 1624.”
The date was unmistakably set down by the same hand that had
penned the bold signature, “Thomas Wentworth,” and the
bewilderment of the Earl increased as he recognized that here was
no forgery, but a genuine letter antedating its duplicate.
“Is it possible,” he murmured to himself, “that a man has so little
originality as to do practically the same thing twice?” Then aloud to
the girl he said:
“Who was your mother?”
“I had hoped the reading of this document would have rendered
your question unnecessary. Has a man such gift of forgetting, that
the very name of the woman he solemnly married has slipped his
memory as easily as the writing of the letter she cherished?”
“She was Frances, daughter of Sir John Warburton,” murmured
the Earl.
“His only daughter, as I am hers, my lord.”
“But when Sir John wrote me coldly of her death, he made no
mention of any issue.”
“My grandfather always hated you, my lord. It is very like that he
told you not the cause of my mother’s death was her children’s
birth.”
“Children?”
“Yes, my lord. My twin brother and myself.”
An ashen hue overspread the Earl’s face, and the hand that held
the letter trembled until the fateful missive shook like one of the
autumn leaves on the tree above it. Again his mind wandered
through the past and conjured up before him the laughing face of
his supposedly only son, whose position was thus unexpectedly
61. challenged by a stranger, unknown and unloved. A daughter more or
less was of small account, but an elder son promised unsuspected
complications. The ill favour with which he had at first regarded the
girl returned to his troubled countenance, and she saw with quick
intuition that she had suddenly lost all the ground so gradually
gained. Cold dislike tinctured the tone in which the next question
was asked.
“If, as you say, you have a brother, why is he not here in your
place; you in the background, where you properly belong?”
“Sir, I suppose that her good name is thought more of by a
woman than by a man. She wishes to be assured that she came
properly authenticated into this world, whereas a man troubles little
of his origin, so be it he is here with some one to fight or to love. Or
perhaps it is that the man is the deeper, and refuses to condone
where a woman yearns to forgive. My brother shares our
grandfather’s dislike of you. He thinks you cared little for our mother,
or you would not have been absent during her last days when——”
“I knew nothing of it. The times then, as now, were uncertain,
requiring absorbed attention from those thrown willingly or
unwillingly into public affairs. What can a boy of sixteen know of the
duties thrust upon a man in my situation?”
“Sixteen or not, he considers himself even now a man of position,
and he holds your course wrong. He says he has taken up the
opinions you formerly held, and will do his best to carry them to
success. He is for the Parliament and against the King. As for me, I
know little of the questions that disturb the State. My only
knowledge is that you are my father, and were you the wickedest
person in the world I would come to you. A man may have many
daughters, but a daughter can have but one father; therefore am I
here, my lord.”
Like the quick succession of shade and sunshine over the sensitive
surface of a lovely lake, the play of varying emotions added an ever-
62. changing beauty to the girl’s expressive face; now a pitiful yearning
toward her father when she saw he suffered; then a coaxing
attitude, as if she would win him whether he would or no; again a
bearing of pride when it seemed she would be denied; and
throughout all a rigid suppression of herself, a standing of her
ground, a determination not to give way to any rising sentiment
which might make the after repulse a humiliation; if a retreat must
come it should be carried out with dignity.
The Earl of Strafford saw nothing of this, for his eyes were mostly
on the ground at his feet. That his mind was perturbed by the new
situation so unexpectedly presented to him was evident; that he was
deeply suspicious of a trap was no less clear. When he looked up at
her he found his iron resolution melting in spite of himself, and, as
he wished to bring an unclouded judgment to bear upon the
problem, he scrutinized the brown sward at his feet. Nevertheless he
was quick to respond to any show of sympathy with himself, even
though he was unlikely to exhibit appreciation, and he was equally
quick to resent the slightest lack of deference on the part of those
who addressed him. If the girl had made a thorough study of his
character she could not have better attuned her manner to his
prejudices. Her attitude throughout was imbued with the deepest
respect, and if the eye refused to be advocate for her, the ear could
not close itself to the little thrill of affection that softened her tone as
she spoke to him. He raised his head abruptly as one who has come
to a decision.
“November is the stepmother of the months, and the air grows
cold. Come with me to the palace. In a world of lies I find myself
believing you; thus I am not grown so old as I had feared. Come.”
The girl tripped lightly over the rustling leaves and was at his side
in an instant, then slowed her pace in unison with his laboured mode
of progression.
“Sir, will you lean upon my shoulder?”
63. “No. I am ailing, but not decrepit.”
They walked together in silence, and if any viewed them the
onlookers were well concealed, for the park seemed deserted.
Entering the palace and arriving at the foot of a stairway, solicitous
menials proffered assistance, but Strafford waved them peremptorily
aside, and, accepting now the support he had shortly before
declined, leaned on his daughter’s shoulder and wearily mounted the
stair.
The room on the first floor into which he led her overlooked a
court. A cheerful fire burned on the hearth and cast a radiance upon
the sombre wainscoting of the walls. A heavy oaken table was
covered with a litter of papers, and some books lay about. Into a
deep arm-chair beside the fire Strafford sank with a sigh of fatigue,
motioning his daughter to seat herself opposite him, which she did.
He regarded her for some moments with no pleased expression on
his face, then said with a trace of petulancy in the question:
“Did your grandfather bring you up a lady, or are you an ignorant
country wench?”
She drew in quickly the small feet out-thrust to take advantage of
the comforting fire, and the blaze showed her cheek a ruddier hue
than heretofore.
“Sir,” she said, “the children of the great, neglected by the great,
must perforce look to themselves. I was brought up, as you know,
without a mother’s care, in the ancient hall of a crusty grandfather, a
brother my only companion. We played together and fought
together, as temper willed, and he was not always the victor,
although he is the stronger. I can sometimes out-fence him, and,
failing that, can always outrun him. Any horse he can ride, I can
ride, and we two have before now put to flight three times our
number among the yokels of the neighborhood. As to education, I
have a smattering, and can read and write. I have studied music to
some advantage, and foreign tongues with very little. I daresay
64. there are many things known to your London ladies that I am
ignorant of.”
“We may thank God for that,” muttered her father.
“If there are those in London, saving your lordship, who say I am
not a lady, I will box their ears for them an they make slighting
remarks in my presence.”
“A most unladylike argument! The tongue and not the hand is the
Court lady’s defence.”
“I can use my tongue too, if need be, my lord.”
“Indeed I have had evidence of it, my girl.”
“Queen Elizabeth used her fists, and surely she was a lady.”
“I have often had my doubts of it. However, hereafter you must be
educated as doth become a daughter of mine.”
“I shall be pleased to obey any commands my father places on
me.”
The conversation was interrupted by a servant throwing open the
door, crying:
“His Majesty the King!”
The girl sprang instantly to her feet, while her father rose more
slowly, assisting himself with his hands on the arms of the chair.
65. T
CHAPTER III.—MAJESTY.
here was more of hurry than of kingly dignity in the entrance
of Charles. The handsome face was marred by an imperious
querulousness that for the moment detracted from its
acknowledged nobility.
“Strafford,” he cried impatiently, “I have been kept waiting.
Servants are at this moment searching palace and park for you.
Where have you been?”
“I was in the forest, your Majesty. I am deeply grieved to learn
that you needed me.”
“I never needed you more than now. Are you ready to travel?”
Strafford’s gloomy face almost lighted up.
“On the instant, your Majesty,” he replied with a sigh of relief.
“That is well. I trust your malady is alleviated, in some measure at
least; still I know that sickness has never been a bar to duty with
you. Yet I ask no man to do what I am not willing to do myself for
the good of the State, and I shall be shortly on the road at your
heels.”
“Whither, your Majesty?” asked the Earl with falling countenance,
for it was to Ireland he desired to journey, and he knew the King
had no intention of moving toward the west.
“To London, of course; a short stent over bad roads. But if you are
ailing and fear the highway, a barge on the river is at your disposal.”
“To London!” echoed the Earl, something almost akin to dismay in
his tone. “I had hoped your Majesty would order me to Ireland,
which I assure your Majesty has been somewhat neglected of late.”
66. “Yes, yes,” exclaimed the King brusquely, “I know your anxiety in
that quarter. A man ever thinks that task the most important with
which he intimately deals, but my position gives me a view over the
whole realm, and the various matters of State assume their just
proportions in my eyes; their due relations to each other. Ireland is
well enough, but it is the heart and not the limbs of the empire that
requires the physicians’ care. Parliament has opened badly, and is
like to give trouble unless treated with a firm hand.”
The hand of the Earl appeared anything but firm. It wavered as it
sought the support of the chair’s arm.
“Have I your Majesty’s permission to be seated? I am not well,”
Strafford said faintly.
“Surely, surely,” cried the King, himself taking a chair. “I am deeply
grieved to see you so unwell; but a journey to London is a small
matter compared with a march upon Dublin, which is like to have
killed you in your present condition.”
“Indeed, your Majesty, the smaller journey may well have the
more fatal termination,” murmured the Earl; but the King paid no
attention to the remark, for his wandering eye now caught sight of a
third in the conference, which brought surprised displeasure to his
brow. The girl was standing behind the high back of the chair in
which she had been seated, in a gloomy angle where the firelight
which played so plainly on the King and Strafford did not touch her.
“In God’s name, whom have we here? The flippant prophet of the
forest, or my eyes deceive me! How comes this girl in my palace, so
intimate with my Lord Strafford, who seemed to meet her as a
stranger but yesterday?”
The slumbering suspicion of Charles was aroused, and he glanced
from one to the other in haughty questioning.
“I never met her until I encountered her in the forest when I had
the honour to accompany your Majesty. To-day, as I walked with De
67. Courcy and others, there came a second accosting from her, as
unexpected as the first. The girl craved private speech with me,
which I somewhat reluctantly granted. The upshot is, she brings me
proof, which I cannot deny, that she is my eldest daughter.”
“Your eldest daughter!” cried the King, amazed. “Is your family
then so widely scattered, and so far unknown to you, that such a
claimant may spring up at any moment?”
“I was married privately to the daughter of Sir John Warburton.
Circumstances separated me from my wife, and although her father
curtly informed me of her death he said nothing of issue. There was
a feud between us,—entirely on his part,—I had naught against him.
It seems he has been dead this year past, and my daughter, getting
news of her father among Sir John’s papers, comes thus southward
to make inquiry.”
“You fall into good fortune, my girl. Your extraordinary claim is
most readily allowed.”
Frances, finding nothing to say, kept silence and bowed her head
to the King, whom she had regarded throughout with rapt attention.
“Where got you your gift of prophecy? Is prescience hereditary,
and has your father’s mantle already fallen on your shoulders? He is
my best friend, you said, and I my worst enemy. God’s truth,
Madam, you did not lack for boldness, but the force of the flattery of
your father is lessened by my knowledge of your relationship,
hitherto concealed from me.”
“Your Majesty, it has hitherto been concealed from myself,” said
the Earl wearily.
“Has the girl no tongue? It wagged freely enough in the forest.
Come, masquerader, what have you to say for yourself?”
“Your Majesty, I humbly crave your pardon. The words I used
yesterday were not mine, but those of a gipsy in the north, who told
me I was the daughter of the Earl of Strafford at a time when such a
68. tale seemed so absurd that I laughed at her for connecting my name
of Wentworth with one so exalted as the Earl of Strafford. Later,
when I received proof that such indeed was the case, her words
returned to me. I had no right to use them in your august presence,
but the entourage of the Lord Strafford prevented my meeting him;
thus, baffled, I sought to intercept him in the forest, and was willing
to use any strategy that might turn his attention toward me, in the
hope of getting a private word with him.”
“I knew you had a tongue. Well, it matters little what you said;
your mission seems to have been successful. Do not think I placed
any weight upon your words, be they gipsy-spoken or the outcome
of a spirit of mischief. My Lord Strafford, you will to London then?”
“Instantly, your Majesty.”
“I will consult with you there to-morrow. And have no fear; for on
my oath as a man, on my honour as a king, I will protect you.”
The King rose and left the room as abruptly as he had entered it.
For some moments Strafford lay back in his chair, seemingly in a
state of collapse. The girl looked on him in alarm.
“Sir, is there anything I can do for you?” she asked at length.
“Call a servant. Tell him to order a coach prepared at once, and
see that it is well horsed, for I would have the journey as short as
possible.”
“My lord, you are in no condition of health to travel to London. I
will go to the King and tell him so.”
“Do that I requested you, and trouble me not with counsel. There
is enough of woman’s meddling in this business already.”
Frances obeyed her father’s instructions without further comment,
then came and sat in her place again. The Earl roused himself,
endeavouring to shake off his languor.
69. “What think you of the King?” he asked.
“He is a man corroded with selfishness.”
“Tut, tut! Such things are not to be spoken in the precincts of a
Court. No, nor thought. He is not a selfish monarch, other than all
monarchs are selfish, but——discussion on such a theme is fruitless,
and I must be nearing my dotage to begin it. I am far from well,
Frances, and so, like the infirm, must take to babbling.”
“Do you fear Parliament, my lord? How can it harm you when you
have the favour of the King?”
“I fear nothing, my girl, except foolish unseen interference;
interference that may not be struck at or even hinted against. Did
they teach you the history of France in your school?”
“No, my lord.”
“Then study it as you grow older; I’ll warrant you’ll find it
interesting enough. Ruined by women. Ruined by women. Seven
civil wars in seventeen years, and all because of viperish, brainless
women. Well, we have one of the breed here in England, and God
help us!”
“You mean the Queen, my lord?”
“Hush! Curses on it, will you be as outspoken as another of your
sex is spiteful and subtle? Mend your manners, hussy, and guard
your tongue. Could you not see you spoke too freely to the King a
moment since?”
“Sir, I am sorry.”
“Be not sorry, but cautious.”
Strafford fell into a reverie, and there was silence in the room until
the servant entered and announced that the coach was ready,
whereupon his master rose unsteadily.
70. “Sir,” said the girl, “will you not eat or drink before you depart?”
“No.” Then, looking sharply at his daughter, he inquired, “Are you
hungry?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Bring hither some refreshments, whatever is most ready to hand,
and a measure of hot spiced wine. I had forgotten your youth,
Frances, thinking all the world was old with me.”
When the refection came, she ate but sparingly, despite her
proclamation, but coaxed him to partake and to drink a cup of wine.
He ordered a woman’s cloak brought for her, which, when she had
thrown it over her shoulders, he himself fastened at her throat.
“There,” he said, when the cloak enveloped her, “that will protect
you somewhat, for the night grows cold.”
Strafford himself was wrapped in warm furs, and thus together
they went down the stairs to the court, now dimly lighted. A cavalier,
who seemed to have been standing in wait for them, stepped out
from the shadow of the arches, and Frances recognized the French
spark whom she had so frankly characterized earlier in the day.
“My lord,” protested De Courcy jauntily, “you have your comrades
at a disadvantage. You have captured the woodland nymph, and, I
hear, propose spiriting her away to London. I do protest ’t is most
unfair to those who are thus left behind.”
“Sir,” said Strafford, with severity, pausing in his walk, “I would
have you know that the lady to whom you refer is the Lady Frances
Wentworth, my eldest daughter, ever to be spoken of with respect
by high and low. Native and foreign shall speak otherwise at their
distinct peril.”
The Frenchman pulled off his bonnet with an impressive sweep
that brushed its ample feather lightly on the stones. He bent his
71. body in a low obeisance that threatened, were it not so acrobatically
accomplished, to pitch him forward on his nose.
“If I congratulate your lordship on finding so rare a daughter,
rather than offer my felicitations to the lady in the attainment of so
distinguished a father, it is because I am filled with envy of any man
who acquires a companionship so charming. My lady, may I have the
honour of escorting you to the carriage?”
The girl shrank closer to her father and made no reply. On the
other hand the father offered no objection, but returned—rather
stiffly, it is true—the bow of the foreigner, and De Courcy, taking this
as an acceptance, tripped daintily by the girl’s side, chattering most
amiably.
“I hear on the highest authority that our sovereign lady is tired of
Hampton, and that we are all to be on the march for London again;
to-morrow, they tell me. London delights me not. ’T is a grimy city,
but if, as I suspect, a new star of beauty is to arise there, then ’t will
be indeed the centre of refulgence, to which worshippers of
loveliness will hasten as pilgrims to a shrine. I take it, my lord, that
you will introduce your daughter to the Court, and hide her no
longer in the cold and envious northland?”
“My daughter has already been presented to his Majesty, and
doubtless will take the place at Court to which her birth entitles her.”
“And to which her grace and charm no less lay claim. I hope to be
present when the lady is greeted by the Queen we both adore. The
meeting of the Lily of France with the Rose of England will be an
occasion to be sung by poets; would that I were a minstrel to do
justice to the theme.”
Their arrival at the carriage, with its four impatient horses,
postillion-ridden, saved Strafford the effort of reply had he intended
such. He seated himself in the closed vehicle, and his daughter
sprang nimbly in beside him, ignoring the proffered aid of De Courcy,
who stood bowing and bending with much courtesy, and did not
72. resume his bonnet until the coach lurched on its lumbering way,
preceded and followed by a guard of horsemen, for the Earl of
Strafford always travelled in state.
Nothing was said by either until the jingling procession was well
clear of the park, when the girl, with a shudder, exclaimed:
“I loathe that scented fop!”—then, seeming to fear a reproof for
her outspoken remark, added, “I know I should not say that, but I
cannot see what you have in common with such a creature that you
are civil to him.”
To her amazement her father laughed slightly, the first time she
had heard him do so.
“When we travel, Frances, safe out of earshot, you may loathe
whom you please, but, as I have warned you, ’t is sometimes unsafe
to give expression to your feelings within four walls. I may find little
in common with any man, least of all with such as De Courcy, whom
I take to be as false as he is fair; but there is slight use in irritating a
wasp whom you cannot crush. Wait till he is under my hand, then I
shall crush ruthlessly; but the time is not yet. He has the ear of the
Queen, and she has the ear of her husband.”
“Sir, what reason have you to suspect that the Queen moves
against you?”
“One reason is that I am this moment journeying east when I
would be travelling west. In truth, my girl, you seem resolved
unconsciously to show you are your father’s daughter with that
uncurbed tongue of yours, for a lack of lying is like to be my
undoing. If I had told the King I must to London, ’t is most like we
were now on our way to Dublin.”
“But it may be the King himself who thus orders you
contrarywise.”
“I know the King. He is not, as you think, selfish, but ever gives
ear to the latest counsellor. He is weak and thinks himself strong; a
73. most dangerous combination. With trembling hand he speaks of its
firmness. Now, a weak monarch or a strong monarch matters little;
England has been blessed with both and has survived the blessing;
but a monarch who is. weak and strong by turns courts disaster.
‘War with the Scots,’ says the King. He will smite them with a firm
hand. Very good; a most desirable outcome. But our captains,
promoted by a woman’s whisper and not by their own merit, trust to
the speed of their horses rather than the ingenuity of military skill,
and so escape the Scots. Our army is scattered, and there is panic in
Whitehall. I am called, for God’s sake, from Ireland, and I come
scarce able, through illness, to sit my horse. I gather round me men
of action and brain, and send Madam’s favourites to the rear, where
they will gallop in any case as soon as the enemy shows front. What
is the result? A portion of our Scottish friends are cut up, and those
whose legs are untouched are on the run. Very good again. The
dogs are rushing for their kennels. What happens? An added title for
me, you might suppose. Not so. A censure comes post haste from
London. ‘Leave the Scots alone, the King is negotiating with them.’
In the face of victory he embraces defeat. A peace is made that I
know nothing of; all their demands are granted, as if they had
environed London! I am left like a fool, with a newly inspired army
and no enemy. They termed it ‘negotiating’ in London, but I call it
‘surrender.’ If you intend to submit, keep the sword in its sheath and
submit. If you draw the sword, fight till you are beaten, then submit
when there is nothing else to do. God’s name! they did not need to
hale me from Ireland, where I had wrenched peace from chaos, to
encompass a disgraceful retreat! Even De Courcy could have
managed that with much greater urbanity than I.”
“And you think the Queen is responsible?”
“Who else? Her generals were disgraced and whipped like dogs.
Unvaliant in the battle-field, they are powerful in the ante-chamber,
and their whines arise in the ears of the Lily of France, who would
rather see her husband wrecked than saved by me. But I was never
one to hark back on things that are past. My duty was to save the
74. King from future errors. One more grave mistake lay open to him,
and that was the summoning of Parliament at such a moment. It
was a time for action, not for words. ‘If you meant to concede, why
did you not concede without bloodshed?’ was a question sure to be
asked; a question to which there could be no answer. Very well. I
accepted in humbleness the censure that should have been placed
on other shoulders, and sent back by the courier who brought it a
message imploring the King to call no Parliament until we had time
to set our house in order and face Lords and Commons with good
grace. I then arranged my command so that if the Scots broke forth
again they would meet some examples of military science, and not
view only the coat-tails of the Queen’s favourite generals. No reply
coming from the King, I mounted my horse, and, with only one
follower, set forth for London. Pushing on through darkness on the
second night of my journey, I heard the galloping of a horse behind
me, and drew rein, fully expecting that the greedy Scots, asking
more than could be allowed, had taken to the field again. ‘Good
friend,’ I cried, ‘what news, that you ride so fast?’ ‘Great news,’ he
answered, breathless. ‘A Parliament is summoned, and as I am an
elected member I ride in haste. Please God, before the month is
done we have Strafford’s head in our hands and off his treacherous
shoulders.’”
The girl gave utterance to a little cry of terror.
“Oh, ’t was nothing but some braggart countryman, knowing not
to whom he spoke so freely, and big in the importance of his
membership, dashing on to London, thinking the world rested on his
speed; and thus I learned how my advice had been scorned. When I
met the King he was all panic and regret. He had conjured up the
Devil easily enough, but knew not how to allay him. He bewailed his
mistakes and called himself the most unfortunate of monarchs,
eager to please, yet constantly offending. He was in a contrite
mood, but that soon changed. ’T is my head they want,’ I said. ‘Do
with it as you please. If it is useless to you, toss it to them; if useful,
then send me to Ireland, where I shall be out of the way, yet ready
75. to afford you what service lies in my power.’ He swore he would
concede them nothing. He was done with unappreciated
complaisance, and now it was to be the firm hand. They should
learn who was ruler of the realm. He gave me permission to return
to my post. I was his only friend; his truest counsellor. That was
yesterday. You heard him speak to-day. It is still the firm hand, but I
must to London. There indeed exists a firm hand, but it is concealed,
and so directed by hatred of me that it may project the avalanche
that will overwhelm us all.”
“And what will you do in London?” asked his daughter in an awed
whisper.
“God knows! Had I the untrammelled ordering of events, I would
strike terror into Parliament, as I struck terror into the Scots or the
Irish, but——but if, after that, there was a similar sneaking
underhand surrender, why then the countryman would have my
head, as he hoped. I fear there are troublous times before us. This
alternate grip of the firm hand, and offering of open-palmed
surrender, each at the wrong time, is like the succeeding hot and
cold fits of an ague; ’T will rend the patient asunder if long
continued. Frances, be ever a womanly woman. Never meddle with
politics. Leave sword and State to men.”
Tired with long converse and the jolting of the vehicle, Strafford
sank into a troubled sleep, from which he was at last awakened by
the stopping of the carriage in front of his town house.
76. F
CHAPTER IV.—PROPOSAL.
rances Wentworth crossed the threshold of her father’s house
with more trepidation than she had experienced on entering
the palace of the King at Hampton Court. Here probably
awaited a stepmother with her children, and Frances doubted the
cordiality of the approaching reception. The ever-increasing fear of
her father, a sentiment felt by nearly all those who encountered him,
mingled with hatred, usually, on their part, but with growing
affection on hers, prevented the putting of the question whether or
no Lady Strafford was now in London. Their journey together had
been silent since he ceased the exposition of the difficulties which
surrounded him,—a man whom all England regarded as being
paramount in the kingdom, yet in reality baffled and almost at bay.
Looking back over the day now drawn to its close, she marvelled at
her own courage in approaching him as she had done, light-
heartedly and confident. Were her task to be re-enacted her mind
misgave her that she would not possess the temerity to carry it
through, with her new knowledge of the man. Yet if Strafford were
hated in the three kingdoms, he seemed to be well liked in that little
despotism, his home, where servants clustered round, for each of
whom he had a kind word. Whether they knew of his coming or not,
the house was prepared for his reception, fires blazing, and a table
spread in the room to which he conducted his daughter. Outside, the
night was cold and damp, and the inward warmth struck gratefully
upon the senses of the travellers.
“Mrs. Jarrett,” said the Earl to his housekeeper, who looked with
wonder at the new-comer he had brought, “have you aught of
woman’s trappings that will fit my daughter here?”
“Your daughter, my lord?”
77. “Yes, and as you will be consumed by curiosity until you know how
it comes so, I will add that she is newly found, having lived till now
with her grandfather in the North, and is the child of my second
wife, Frances Warburton, married by me some seventeen years
since. Any further particulars my daughter herself will supply, if you
question shrewdly, as I doubt not you will; but postpone inquiry, I
beg of you, until to-morrow. Meanwhile robe her as best you may
with the materials at hand, and that quickly, for I wish her company
at supper.”
Frances was then spirited away to the apartment assigned to her,
and when presently she reappeared she was costumed more to her
father’s liking than had hitherto been the case. They sat down
together to the meal that had hastily been prepared for them.
“To-morrow, if I remember aright what you said, is your birthday.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Is it difficult for you to say ‘Father’? My other children pronounce
the word glibly enough. When you and I first met, and even since
then, you seemed not backward in speech.”
“Sir, I find myself more afraid of you than I was at the beginning.”
Strafford smiled, but answered: “I assure you there is no need. I
may be an implacable enemy, but I have the reputation of being as
staunch a friend. So to-morrow is your birthday, saddened by the
fact that it is also the date of your mother’s death. That is a loss for
which a man in my onerous position cannot even partially atone, but
it is a loss which you perhaps have not keenly felt. It seems
heartless to speak thus, but the fact remains that we cannot deeply
deplore the departure of what we have never enjoyed. One thing I
can covenant; that you shall not hereafter know the lack of money,
which is something to promise in a city of shops.”
“I have never known the lack of it, my lord.”
78. “Have you indeed been so fortunate? Well, there again you bear a
resemblance to your father. Sir John was reputed comfortably off in
the old days, and I infer he harboured his wealth, a somewhat
difficult task in times gone by. Are you then his heir?”
“One of two, my lord.”
“Ah, yes! I had momentarily forgotten the brother who favours his
grandfather rather than his sire. I am like to be over-busy to-morrow
to attend the mart of either mercer or goldsmith, and if I did, I
should not know what to purchase that would please you. But here
are all the birthday presents of London in embryo, needing but your
own touch to bring forth the full blossom of perfect satisfaction.
Midas, they say, transmuted everything he fingered into gold, and it
is the province of your sex to reverse the process. Buy what catches
your fancy, and flatter your father by naming it his gift.”
He held forward a very well filled purse, through whose meshes
the bright gold glittered.
“Sir, I do not need it, and you have been very kind to me as it is.”
“Nonsense! We all desire more than we can obtain. It is my wish
that you take it; in any case it is but part payment of a debt long
running and much overdue.”
Fearing again to refuse, she accepted the proffered purse with
evident reluctance, now standing opposite her father, who said:
“I am very tired and shall not rise early to-morrow. Do not wait
breakfast for me. Good-night, daughter.”
“Good-night, father.”
Although he had said the last conventional words of the day, he
still stood there as if loath to retire, then he stooped and kissed her
on the lips, ruffling her black, wayward, curly hair so like his own in
texture, colour, and freedom from restraint, and patting her
affectionately on the shoulder.
79. “You will not be afraid of me from this time forward, child?” he
asked. “Indeed, Frances, I grow superstitious as I become older, and
I look on your strange arrival as in some measure providential. There
is none of my own kind to whom I can speak freely, as I did to you
in the carriage; my daughters—my other daughters—are too young.
My Lady Strafford takes much interest in her garden, and dislikes
this London house and this London town, for which small blame is to
be imputed to her. In you, a man’s courage is added to a woman’s
wit, and who knows but my daughter may prove the reinforcement I
lacked in my baffling fight with the unseen. Do you speak French,
my girl, or are you as ignorant of the language of that country as of
its history?”
“I speak it but haltingly, sir, though I was taught its rudiments.”
“We must amend that. It is to our tongue what the thin rapier is
to the broadsword. Good lack! there was a time when one language
served the English, yet great deeds were done and great poems
written; but that time is past now. I must get you a master. I have
likely used the broadsword overmuch, but who knows? You may be
the rapier by my side.”
“I hope I shall not disappoint you, sir, though I am but a country
maid, with some distrust of this great city and its Court.”
“City and Court are things we get speedily accustomed to. Well,
again good-night, sweetheart, and sleep soundly. I see those fine
eyes are already heavy with slumber.”
But sleep came not so quickly as he surmised to the eyes he had
complimented. The day had been too full of rapid change and tense
excitement. The strange transformation of the present, and the dim,
troubled vista of the future which opened out to her, cherished
thought and discouraged slumber. Was it possible that she was thus
to be transplanted, was to stand by the side of the greatest man in
England, his acknowledged daughter, his welcome aid? God grant
she might not fail him, if he had real need of her. And so she
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