Democratic messenger., 1888-04-14
SUNDAY AT SEA.
DIVINE WORSHIP ON BOARD ONE OF
HER MAJEsTYs SHIPS.


Ihe -" h"w"" Ch"rch Tor Clear Sky and
smooth sea-The ''stsnl Up" Church
s,r n.,rh w..,h.r-n...r,c,, NJ
-
We had two scparate and distinct kinds of
divine worship on board, cspecially adaptsd
10 the cxicc,,cies of the weather. One wns
know among us MS .Sit Down. church. the
other as '.Stan,l Up- church. When In, wind
was fair and the sen smooth. when the sky
wa clear and the sun bright, when the sur
face ~ the ocean was rejecting from myri.
ads Of diinplinp wnyelets the brilliant huo
and glanc:ny hcams Of the armament above.
then Sunday ut sea showed no very striking
contrast to the ,lay of r,.st ashore. The scry.
ices 81 IL. church werc prcfacesl by the serv.
ice OF the state known TO US as '.,livisions.n
when careful ami searching INSPECTION Of
ship and crew was carried ON In grave and
decoru,,s silence by cnp,ain. commander nnd
senior lieutenant.
..Divisions- over. the crew would ,lisperse
for a short time while the order to .sriy
church, wns carried out. In n large frigate
this was always done upon the main deck.
the primer; / gun carrying deck, that is. Of
tlI. shin, thoroughly protected from wind
and rain by tl. uprrr deck above IL. Her.
ac,onmni tion wns prvyid,d for the men.
some $40 in number. iy placing ca,stan bars
AMI blanks across inverted ..wasl,,l,ck tubs"
affor,iinI thus a kind of rough and ready
form on which TO sit. Thes.. were placed
..athwnItshiw." across the breadth Of the
deck, while chairs were arranged further aft
for the s..nior ami Junior officers. who rc,,.r.
ally vat un Opposite si,h.s of the deck. The
chaplain, whn on board shin is known by n
thousand NOR. or less irrcycrrnt names
pa,lrc. sky piiot. ctc.-is supplie,i with m
portable np,aratus MS nearly akin to tbe
reading desk Of the shore ns tl. wit of n
shin. carrenter can devise. This il also
s.ri.-.-,r' in n commanding ,osition between
the of~r., and men.
All being reported ready 10 the co,nm.n.
der the urlcr is given 10 toll the bell. and
forthwith tl,. sentry lerins In thumn SLOWLY
and monotono,isly upon the ship's hell. the
claprrr Of which is held in the hand nn,l ,s.,l
as hammer. ins,,u,i OF the bell itself b.iu,
swung. The men arc marched off to their
places. the officers take their sents. tho cnn-
tain comes out of his cabin. the cbnpinin ,.,.
tiers his desk. and the familiar md solemn
words Of the service fall u,pn the car. accom-.
panied IN this ,r,s. by the muiIlc,l groaninc
OF the shin as she swnys before IN. pressure
Of th.. lr,,.z... Tn, res,onses are as N
rule. not loudly or Distinctly made but
merely mutt.re,l: whereas, w.r. nil
that congregation of men fully i'm.
huc,i with the spirit Of PRAYER. n
great and emphatic stream OF supplication
should ns,rnd from that com,,act parish
e. the throne Of Him who rules th, raging OF
the sea. But VIXEN the time arrives for
Praise. then. provided that the tune X well
known and popular. the blue Jackets break
into hurst 81 song. often most harmonious
always admirable from the power and rich.
n.ss OF the volume Of sound, and in which
MANY may IL. noted taking. with well trained
a,rurncy. the tenor and even tho alto pnrts
This in sometimes led 10y a small hnr,nonium:
sometimes. should the shin hc lar.,. ,nouph
TO m,sS...s onc, by the ship's band Then fol.
lows. as on shore. the sermon: but when mt
last th, blvssin. has b.rn given. and err tho
moro seriously inclined have risen from their
knees. thu. loud in,,-ratiys order comes from
the li,H Of the commander. "l,ontswain,s
mate. pim ,lownr' the shrili trill Of that
n.tty officers whistle ia instantly raisei. In
ol,.,lic,rr to the mandate. and officers and
men leave the main deck, which is speedily
cleared of ITS SUNDAY paraphcrnalia.
This. however. wns fine weather worship.
when We all could meet in PRAYER without
hindrancr. but there came SUNDAYS when
the conditions were far othcrwise-whcn tho
wind was sl,ricking and whistling with ficnd.
ish uproar through spars and rigging: when
th. waves were roaring and kissing. striking
with the forrc ami thud OF steam hammer
against the lows Of the laborins shin. which
herself added TO the din by the indescribable
means nni ,.rnans nn.l cracks by which she
gave EXPRESSION To her Indignation at such
unfair treatment She would writhe and
wallnw, would plunge and roll. would trep,.
bl, and stop. a,,l then make n still more f,,ri.