News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-06-29
IN THE FORECASTLE,
Truthful John, as Usual, INDUCES
His Passion for STORYTELLING.

One evening the discussion in the
forecastle, says Kennebecker in the
Boston Journal, would be on hawsers,
stacking and cutting them, when our
old man of the sea told of a party of
his shipmates being On shore in Bath,
got booty and rolled into some ones
yard and found a clothes line stretched
across their way. The soberest one of
the party gazed up, saw how the land
lay, saw the house, the frightened girls
at the window, and roared out, "House,
ahoy y No answer. House, ahoy
let go your hawser or I'll cut p An
other time the subject was music, which
turned on operate and other airs. Sew
eral yarns were told, which need not be
related here. All of this put John SIN
mind of the time when he was on shore
on liberty with part of whale ships
crew 'rouad 'tother side of the land" in
Mazatlan. They were running down
before the wind and came to house
where there lived a philanthropic En-
glish lady and her family. "Dear me"
said she to some member of the family,
"here are some noble tars; no doubt
they are weary; we will invite them in
and give them some refreshments"
After much persu aston the "noble
tars " were induced to go in, and after
partaking of the lady's good cheer were
invited to remain, while "the daugh-
ter" rang and played them several
pieces from the opera. Then she asked
them if they had any choice, any favor
tie piece, thinking that some of them
might be called to think of home, of
mother or sister, and wish to hear some
! long forgotten strain once sung by
them. No one could think of anything,
until one tar hitched up his pants and
roared out "Give Us Highland, Aye,
| and OFF She Goes p" This was q
poser; it was not in the sweet singers
collection. every sailor knows this as
an old windlass song.)
One evening, when the subject under
consideration was etiquette, John illus
trated the subject by the following yarn.
But in the first place let me state, that
at sea, of course, one man is always at
the wheel (steering), consequently at
| at real time a portion must be saved
| for him. This is the solemn duty that
every true sailor attends to. Now, John
said that sailor acquaintance Of his
was, once upon time, the only one at
small diuner party on shore consid.
cred eligible to handle the carving knife
and fork. There was chicken, and he
was called upon to carve it. He reIuct-
antly consented. He cut off half, laid
it on a plate, and told the girl to pat
that away "the man at the wheel, and
took the other half himself. What was
half roast chicken to hungry sailor,
just on shore, and who had not tasted
one for years ?
1 will give you just one more. The
conversation fell on what sailors ought
to have to eat. John was called upon
to discourse on the subject. He said,
by way of illustrating what people gen.
orally thought on shore, he would tell
what once happened in one of the sea-
ports in the North of England. In 6
certain family the stock of butter OF
hand was considered bad, not fit to eat.
The lady of the house told the servant
girl it would do for sailors, and she had
better take it down on the quay among
the ships and try and dispose of it, fo1
it was at time when seamen had tc
purchase their own ''small stores" as
such articles were called. So down she
went with the jar of butter on bez head
crying out, "Dirty butter for sailors
Dirty butter for sailors p These en-
ragged sea-dogs took it as a siur and
chased her home with vengeance.
The old lady reprimanded her by say.
ing she ought not to have mentioned
its being dirty. The sentence has
| passed into the vernaculsr of seamen,
and 1 often find myself saying, when
have been cheated, softly, Dirty but.
ter for sailors"