The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-05
Christening the New War Ships.
Kba IL, rJaI,oks1,

| Then Miss Cameron and Miss Breckin-
ridge are handed the bottles of wine that
| they are to smash over the prows of the
| ships Each bottle is wrapped in vari.
| colored satin and has ribbon streamers
| of every hue under the sun around its neck.
| One of the streamers bears the name of the
vessel and the date, April %. Lieut. Zolin-
ski, the inventor of the dynamite gun to be
used on the dynamite boat, is an Interested
! spectator.
The party first mounts the platform
around the Yorktown. The platform is
known as the christening platform, and is
| an innovation in America, where heretofore
| the heroine of the launch has stood in thu
PROV of the vessel and crushed the bottle of
wine over her stem. 1t is an English Gus
| tom that Secretary Whitney has been very
much taken with. The word is given and
the gang of workmen along the keel begin
| to hammer at the wedges and to knock
| away the stays. Miss Cameron has the
beribboned bottle of Pommery in her hand
and look of determination on her face.
! The quick irregular hammering beneath the
hull sounds like the firing Of musketry on the
| skirmlsh line. AT length the last wedge is
driven AMI only single piece of wood re-
mains TO be cut. In a minute it is severed,
and the great hull begins to move slowly,
| slowly.
Quick, MaryW some one cries, cor you
| will be too late.n
Miss Cameron raises the bottle, strikes
and-lnisses The great crowd have noticed
that the vessel is moving and start to cheer.
1t is just six minutes after 8 o'clock. Miss
| Cameron, seeing the boat slowly gliding
away from her, clenches her teeth, raises
the bottle in both hands, and smashes away
at point blank. This time she hits the boat
| full and fair, and the wine splashes all over
| her.
Beautiful shouts Secretary Whitney,
who stood just behind her.
"Splendidl' shout the others in the party,
and by that time the Yorktown has got a
steady gliding motion, and the roars from
| thousands of throats has drowned even the
Secretary Of the Nays voice. The York
town rides the water like a duck, and th .
flood tide and the set Of her rudder 10th
combine to carry her up stream, and she is
away up to Pier IA of the Reading coal
wharf before two tugs overhaul her and
stop her further backward progress.
The guns of the Dispatch have begun to
boom out laundering welcome to the York
town when the christening party cross the
staging and stand beneath the sharp bow Of
the dynamiter. Miss Breclinridge has
begun to get timid. Even her Blue Grass
nerve has fOrsaken her.
NOW, my daughter says Mr.. Breckin-
ridge, keep up your courage Think of
the Sta te you represent. Think Of Ken
tuckyp
Miss Breckenridge laughs a.little hysteric-
ally II can't think of Kentucky or any
thing else" says she.
"Then think of your fathers tariff
speeches" says Capt. w. II. Meade. over the
shoulder Of Mr.. McFee, who is standing at
her elbow.
The workmen are banging away at the
wedges Of the dynamite boat. Her long
needle-like hull trembles and then begins 10
move. The movement is first caught by
the eve Of Miss Breckinridge. Instead of
standing before the prov of the boat, as
Miss Cameron did, she is beneath IL. and in
striking has TO reach. She reaches and
strikes, and as she does so sho says:
81 christen thee Vesuvius!n
But the bottle missed the wide-like nose
of the yet unchristened Vesuvius Miss
Breckenridge recovered her nerve. She is
a spirited glrl of splendid figure and some
athletic training, and she springs after the
receding future terror Of the seas and strikes
again. Again she misses.
THE third times the CHARM" cheers the
Secretary Of the Navy.
The third blow proves 60 be the "charm,n
and the bottle is smashed into many pieces.
The wine splnshes over her dress and shoes.
Somebody makes a remark about how bad
it is that the wine should be so wasted.
"Oh, | was so afraid / should make
failure" she says, as she hands Mr.. McPhee
the shattered fragments Of the bottle still
held together in It's satin wrapping.
Kentucky never makes failure" some
one says.