Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-12-26

The rpr'ari:S of the chinese sailor en-
listed aboard Il UHi:c.! States man-of-
war. "a,rii,e i'StmaS. ne no s:ihev he"
rs he CAM down iru"I the fpretOpsail
ward. where lac hIl been lending hand
To it!r! the remnant al Il tOpS;iit. blown
almost To rihbluS II" the fierce winters
gale that WI, howluI one Christmas
morning. and bCpan l.,.ving on his frost
bitten fingers an, rubbing them in the
snow which covered tAc vessels deck, is
a very good exposition of the practical
side of Uur universal Christian holiday.
as frequently IN by the hardy toiiers
Of thc SKI. v.u necessity sometimes
demands iiL,; The work must be
done ana the ship made safe
aid snug bc!ore Jack Tar can
think oi bean soap or Christmas pud-
ding and other iiXinrS, and not infre-
+ GuCntly. as the sea remembers nothing
and pays no homage To customs. no mat
! ter how ancient. imagination of q grand
banquet can alone be relied upon to APP
pease the appetite: us hot water and
spoons are very apt to be about all that
can he obtained in the way of a square
meal, and even the luxury Of the hot
, water is often omitted. as the tossing,
restless ship. lurching about from side 10
side. makes il impossible to keep any,
.
/ deed, il Inc Il practicable thing to keep up
the fires ut AL. In such case the cud
of discomfort, so to SPEAK. must be rep
resented, as the SON., gives it. by the
. st2rhoard side Of All old sou wcs.ter.
! Christmas away from home is. how
/ ever, always kept in some way or
another, even under such adverse cir
cumst2nCeS as those mcntioned: as a
little something 10 warm him up is
quietly given To the half frozen man by
some kindhcarted officer as he comes
down from aloft. and before drinking he
manages. as Il rule. to pun off his cap
and to cay Merry Christmas" which is
about all the circumstances of the case
( will admit OF. Wind and weather per-
hitting. however. only the absolutely
necessary things are done, and the
Christmas dinner is made as sumptuous
as the payr,asters stores viii permit, or
the foresight OF the mess caterer in lay
ing in something extra before the ship
! lett port has provided. The ration gives
more or less variety of things that put
up to keep during the cruise. but Jack
prefers the things that are not made
/ to keep. and, being proverbially IMPROVE
dent, the day generally finds him
depending Oh plum duff as the grand
Z piece de resistance, and no matter how
i much of the resistance there may be
/ about the compound the relish with
which it disappears is proof sufficient of
its ability to take the place of other pos
sibly more digestiLle articles. The bags
containing the sailors personal effects
are piped up and the men given an OPP
portunity to overhaul their clothing,
write letters or do whatever the limit OF
the ship will admit Smoking is per-
mitted outside the daily regulation hours,
and everything is done to make the men
as comfortable and the Gay as much of q
holiday as possible, having, of course,
due regard for the handling Of the vessel.
! When, however, the ships are in port,
and it happens to be one where there is
good market, all that it affords is brought
off to grace the board, and the scene pre-
sented on the berth deck of one of our
men-of-war on such occasions is lively
and picturesque in the extreme. The
T. mess tables are screened Off with canvas
and bunting, and very often evergreens
are used 10 complete the Orramentation,
each mess vying with the others to see
which can make the prettiest show. An
extra dollar or two apiece is usually
served out. Ito put in the mess" the
aggregate sum making great possibilities
in the way of procuring the good
things which are not found in the daily
ration. The tin pot. pan and spoon which
form Jack cover are made to shine like
polished silver. the mess cooks taking q
pride in getting the brightest of polishes
for the occasion. Some more stylish,
though perhaps less thrifty. nesses, get
crOckery from shore. which sets off the
table very prcttily. and possibly to some
of them seems more homelike and gives
an air of paying a little more attention
- I, -. e Al - L
say, suppose. little better relish, per-
haps, to the feast. Eut whoever knew
of sailors not being ready for q good
square meal 1t any hour Of the day?
! One who has watched the rush for the
hatchway when the order pipe to din
ner is given. is quite apt to be convinced
that jacks stomach is as sharp as q
sharks. and that he never was in finer
condition for feeding" ut any one time
more than at any other. When every
preparation has been made for dinner
and the viands set forth. the officers are,
as general rule. invited to inspect, and
very often to sample. the good thinsx the
captain of the vessel generally grants the
request fer bcttle Of beer or light wins
apiece. and in fact mos: any reasonable
departure from the ordinary daily Gus
toms is allowed. In the afternoon, il
party goes ashore. and is permitted
to remain away from the vessel until the
following morning. Boat racing is fire.
quently the amusement, especially II
/ there are foreign vessels in the same port,
and great is the excitement in the inter-
national contests. Prizes are offered,
and as many boats are entered as can be
spared from the different ships. Water
tournaments. catamaran races and va
rious other aquatic sports are INDUCED
in, as Christmas is not always in the win
ter season, much of vessels cruising
being done in the southern hemisphere,
and the 25th of December often finds the
thermometer go high that a plunge in the
briny is an immense relief.
The great evening amusement is KIM
strel or variety show, which brings out
an amusing display of talent that one
would hardly believe possible until he
had witnessed some of the character
pieces or listen to the fine singing often
heard in ships company. The original
jokes, which very often spare nobody,