Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1888-05-17
SUNDAY AT SEA.
nvlNE WORSHIP ON BOARD ONE OF
HER MAJEsTVs SHIPS.


smooth sea-The 'stand Ur' 'huI'h
tor Rough weather-DescriPtion oi
roth Methods of worship.
wo had two separate and distinct kinds OF
,li,,ina worship on board, especially adapVeu
e., fine exigencies of the weather. One was
L,ovy among us as "Sit Down churcn' Iu5
ctber rs stand Up" church. When the VIM
y,.as fair and the sea smooth, when the SKY
,.,s claar and the sun bright when the sur
f,c. of the ocean was rejecting from InyTl-
.Fs of dimpling wavelets the brilliant nue.
,,,l g1aucing beams of the armament above
ttop sunday at sea showed no very striking
contrast TO the day of rest ashore. lhe serV-
ices of the church were prefaced by the serN-
ice of the state known to US as "dlvlslons,
,,bsn a careful and searching inspection OF
chin and crew was carried on in grave ana
decorous silence by captain, commander ana
senior lieutenant.
uDivisionsn over, the crew would disperse
for a short time while the order 70 rlg
church, was carried out In large n1gaOe
this was always done upon the main deck,
the principal gun carrying deck, that is, OF
the ship. thoroughly protected from wind
and rain by the upper deck above it. Here
accommodation was provided for the men
some 500 in number, by placing capstan Dars
and planks across inverted "washdeck tubs,
aiTordng thus kind Of rough and ready
form on which to sit These were placed
"atbwartships,n across the breadth OF the
deck. while chairs were arranged further art
for the senior and junior officers, who gener-
ally sat on opposite sides of the deck. The
chaplaip. who on board ship is known by
thousand more or less irTeverent names
padre, sky pilot, etc.-is supplied with a
hortable apparatus as nearly akin to the
Reading desk OF the shore as the wit of
ships carpenter can devise. This is also
"rigacdr in Il commanding position between
the officers ami men.
All being reported ready to the comman-
der, the order is given to ''toll the bell, and
forthwith the sentry begins to thump slowly
and monotonousv upon the ships bell, the
clupper of which is held in the hand and used
as a hammer, instead Of the bell itself being
swung. The men are marched off to their
places the officers take their seats, the cap
tain comes out Of his cabin, the chaplain en-
ters his desk and the familiar and solemn
words OF the service fall upon the ear, accom-
panied in This case by the muffled groaning
Of the ship rs she sways before the pressure
of the breeze The responses are, as a
rule, not loudly or distinctly made, but
merely riutJcred; whereas, were all
that congregation OF men fully inn
bued with the spirit Of prayer,
great and emphatic stream of supplication
should ascend from that compact parish
10 the throne Of Him who rules the raging Of
the sea But when the time arrives for
Praise, then, provided that the tune is well
known and popular, the blue jackets break
into a burst of song, often most harmonious,
always admirable from the power and rich
ness Of the volume OF sound, and in which
many may be noUed taking with well trained
accuracy, the tenor and even the alto parts.
This is sometimes led by a small harmonium;
sometimes SHOULD the ship be large enough
to possess one, by the ships band. Then fol-
lows as on shore the sermon; but when at
last the blessing has been given, and ere the
more seriously inclined have risen from their
knees, the loud imperative order comes from
the lips of the commander, "Boatswain's
mate pipe down." the shrill trill of that
petty officers whistle is instantly raised, in
obedience 10 the mandate, and officers and
men leave the main deck, which is speedily
cleared Of ITS Sunday paraphernalia.
This, however, was fine weather worship,
when we all could meet in prayer without
hindrauce. Bat there came Sundays when
the conditions were far otherwiSe-when the
wind was shriekiug and whistliug with fiend-
iSh uproar through spars and rigging; when
the waves were roaring and kissing, striking
with the force and thud of a steam hammer
against the bows of the laboring ship, which
herself added to the din 10y the indeScribable
means and groans anI cracks by which she
gave expression to her indignation at such
Unfair treatment She would writhe and
wnllow, would plunge and roll, would trem-
hle and stop, and then make a still more furi-
GUS rush forward, until all thought of divine
worship in the usual form was out of the
question
These were the days of "Stand Up" church,
and now the elaborate arrangements of the
fine weather function were conspicuously
absent The main deck ports wers closed to
deep out the kissing and angry seas, and the
only light came from the hatchways above
many of them closed by gratings All
stood, officers and men alike; and those who
had experience OF such things kept their ewes
ON handy ringbolt or friendly breeching Of
gun-anything, in fact, TO which they
NlAiAA nilNAANA AN AllNAlhn Oh the snip De-
come too violent even for well trained sea
legs Then the chaplain, no longer trusting
himself within the compass Of his reading
desk, but clinging with all the strength Of
one arm To an iron Sanction supporting the
deck above lifted up his feeble voice in op-
position 20 those OF the strident elements
which seemed 20 unite in the effort TO smother
his solemn tones with their demoniac uproar,
lest they should wing their way upward and
attain their goal No sermon now, nohymns,
no htany, just the simple morning prayers,
and the men are dismissed TO find what
comfort they can ON the close, musty, dark
wet decks
Governor Waterman, ot California, is a
moiern harom al Raschid He is i'm the
habit OF wandering about incognito, dropping
I'm unauuuguctl al state asylums b,,,,.,s