The Washingtonian., 1845-06-14
SELECTED. S b
A SCRATCH AT RANK.

E "A SChAICH "A - hANk.
The following story, says the New York
Evening Gazette, if applied to matters where
doubtful right and doubtful honor were invol-
we'd, may go far to show the result Of concession
if done in good feeling:
Mr.. EDITOR: was once dining at the hos
pitable residence Of one Of our Consuls abroad
in the Mediterranean, where two officers OF our
Navy were also at the table. After the cloth
was removed, and the bottle had circulated,
discussion arose about relatire rank Both
these officers were Of equal rank, being both
aMas,er Commandants." One, however, was
"Hag Captain" on board the Commodore's ship.
and the other commanded sloop Of acar. l
believe the latter, by this circumstance, was a
little in advance, in temporary rank, over the
former. Be this as it may, "the flag Captain" !"
was by far the best natured Of the two, whilst
all aoe landsmen believed that he, as flag Cap
tain, and on board the biggest sloop, "a double
decker" was surely the greatest man of the
two.
After long discussion, in which this flag
captain y tried (rather facetiously perhaps to
make it appear that he outranked The sloop Of
,oar commander, the latter gathered all his
argument into what he called 'sreal clincher.''
SNOW, sir" says he, suppose was on shore,
and went down to the wharf or landing place,
and not finding my boat there, saw you landing
in your boat from the flag ship, and told you
wanted your boat to 60 on board my vessel.
without asking you whether the same suited
your convenience or not-now, ask you to
say what according to rank and discipline,
would be your answer?"
The flag captain" looked at him with
assumed sternness, and after repeating the
words to know that he exactly understood him,
saying-"I, the flag Captain of the fleet-com-
manding in reality the Commodore's double
decker-just landing in my own boat, and being
told by you that you wanted my boat to 90 on
board your lille sloop Of ,0ar, and without
asking if it suited my convenience or not!-is
that the question. sir"
"Yes, sir, that is the question precisely, sir"
" Then, sir, my answer is, if it cost me an
arrest and trial by Court Martial, the next
hour--aye, sir, if the Secretary of the Navy
himself, or even the President, stood present.
should turn to you, sir, in the presence Of them
all, and the boats crew in the bargain-and
looking you straight in the face, and letting
you see that understood my rank and my Dig
nuy, as well as you did yours would turn to
the officer of my boat, and tell him, in clear
and distinct tone. so that no mistake should
occur about it, Mr.. Officer, back your boat
in, sir, and take Captain R - on board his
ship, and follow his direction, sir.''
There was during this discussion
serious and anxious stiffness on the part Of
all the lsteners-every one regretting, and
every one fearing, fatal result; but this reply
set the table in roar, and even Captain R..
who found that every thing had been conceded
TO him, looked alone as if he had rather NO,
have Joined the battle. But what could he
say! And yet he did say pretty good thing,
under the circumstances.
"WelI," says he, 81 think it would have
been better for me to let your boat alone, and
hire skiff, rather than to get such
A SCRATCH"