The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-02-18
WHETHER TO GO TO SEA?

This is far more serious question,
dear boys, than many of you imagine.
For perhaps you have looked at it only
through the rose-colored spectacles of
Mr.. Cooper or Mr.. Marryatt, and it
may be that some have even used the
more glazing ones furnished gratis by
the sensational story writer of to-day.
And thus fancying that a sailor must be
sort of combined Jack Easy and Ralph
Rackstraw, | know from experience
how eager becomes the desire for ga
life on the ocean wave" But both
Cooper and Marryatt wrote of sea life
as it was connected with the naval serv-
ice of their day, giving only the very
brightest side of the picture at that.
And the naval service of then or now
is as unlike the merchant service as
can possibly be imagined.
The time has been when a boy with
natural aptitude for sea life could ship
on board some of our American vessels,
and the discipline be good for him,
whether he ultimately followed the sea
or not. This was when crews were
made up of some, from our own sea-
board towns, whose purpose in going
to sea was to fit themselves for the
quarterback, as rapidly as good habits,
energy and application would do it.
They were, as a rule, intelligent, clean
lived young men, respecting themselves,
and respected by their officers, who
were too wise and too upright to use
toward them the language and abuse so
common at the present day. From
such as these sprang many of our best
American Captains; but where those of
the next generation are coming from /
cannot imagine unless more of our
large cities follow the example of New
York in instituting nautical school ships
like "St. Mary's," where boys can be
thoroughly trained for the merchant
service.
For, alas! our ships forecastles are
filed with a constantly increasing thronp
Of vicious and grossly ignorant foreign
ers, of many nationalities, while pure
ly American crew is very seldom seen
at the present day.
The truth is, boys, that sea-going is
terribly misrepresented by most nauti-
cal writers. For one book like Dana's
"Two Years before the Mast" or jew
ellis among our Sailors" there are a
thousand of the ''Brave Bill, the Boy
Buccaneer" order-books which repre-
sent sea-going as an adventurous, ro-
mantle, jolly sort of life, Astounding in
marvellous incidents by sea and land.
Nothing is said of the wearying round
of unpleasant tasks, of hardships most
terrible, sufferings almost incredible,
dangers without number, shipwreck-
death. | do not wonder that boys who
read these books get false views of sea
life, as well as false views of life in gen.
eral.
''Ah," l hear you say, 'we know
that there are hardships and dangers to
be met with in sailors life; we expect
them.h
But bless you. boys, while 1 don't
mean to be impolite, / must fatty con-
tradict you, and say that you don know
anything about it, excepting in the
vaguest sort of way-excepting as YOU
imagine yourself, on your return, say
ing to some of your admiring school
mates: 81 tell you, fellows, it was lively
times the night we lost our to- gallant
masts, and | had four fingers frost-bit-
ten reefiDg topsails off Cape Horn, last
December" or, 81 say, my lads, how
would you like to have been in my shoes
a year ago to-day, when the old Susan
went ashore in living gale, and only
three of us were saved out of the whole
ships company" You may fancy such
incidents interesting to recount, but
their actual suffering and terror you cam
not begin to realize in advance.
However, my object in writing this
paper is not to throw cold water on any
NAI : :, IL.
knowingly and properly entered into.
But it is always a good plan to look
squarely at both sides of 50 important a
question as whether to go to sea or not.
If boy has not some natural aptitude
for a sea life, he would better by far
stay at home. He may be strong, active
and courageous, and yet be entirely I'M
fit for sailor. And one trouble is that
boys who are attacked with " ship-fevern