The morning call., 1892-11-05
A SAILORS BURIAL.
Incidents of Funeral at Sea From G
Man-of- War.

New York Tablet.
When maritime Jack dies he is buried
without much undue ceremony. A brief
prayer, shotted hammock, the lee rail aud
all is over. But on board a ship-of-war
sailors funeral is pathetic in its dignifed
simplicity. No muster of the ships COM
pany is, naturally, so sad as this, and you
can see it on the faces of all when the sub
dued shrilling of the bo'sw'n's whistle is
followed by the long drawn out and mOdu-
lated call of "All hands bury the deadP'
The men come aft quietly and take their
allotted stations. To leeward if II be at sea.
or upon the port side of the quarterback II
not in port, the seamen are ranged in the
front rank; behind them are the ordinary
seamen, and in the rear of both the appren-
tices and the landsmen. In the gangwav
forward OF the mainmast on such ships as
still have sail power, senior petty officers
stand at attention. Around the coffin,
folded In the jack or national ensign are
grouped the pail-bearers, selected usually
from the dead mans mess or gun division,
and close at hand, resting on aras, tie the
marine guard is paraded. Nearest the
coffin are the chaplain and the captain, and
then In the order of their rank stretch aft
the other officers of the ship.
The ensign at the peak or staff f1utters
trembhngly at half-mast, and from over
head the yard and stay tackles swing lazlIv.
ready to lift the coffin outboard When tina
weather permits the way of the ship is
stopped, and, it may be, little flekers OF
1dlIDg steam curl upward and to leeward
like incense, and the wind in the backed
and fretting topsails murmurs dirge. The
order to uncover is passed gently, and
while the beautiful words OF the burial
service are being read the hush of the living
Is accentuated by the low accompaniment
OF sea sounds-Dy the rumple of eager
waters eddying sternward, and by the
surglng OF the breeze in the hollows of the
canvas and through the rigging and gear
Wnen the closing prayer is said the last
blessing given, the tackles are manned. the
cot1n is stripped of its flags and slung in
straps, and slowly, reverently is hoisted
above the rail and clear of the ship until IL
is poised over the pillows. The marines load
aim, fire in all three volleys that awaken
rattling echoes in the hidden spaces of the
ship; the bugle sounds TAPS" tenderly and
sWeetly, with newer meaning of sleep and
rest; the coffin swings further out and ia
lowered gently until the foam and spoondrift
mOistsn it; the tackles are detached with
sudden jerk, and in an instant the weighted
box shoots downward. bedded In foam and
bubbles, and all is over until the sea gives
up the dead.
In little while the chsary whistles triIl
out call OF duty. the half-masted ensign
Climbs to the dasher-block. the ship is
brought to her course, and dazedly the men
take up the wearyIDg outline of the lives SO
sadly broken. An unusual quiet rests upon
the vessel and around the messtabes, but in
the groups gathered to smoke during the
supper hour and after the hammocks ara
plped down the virtueS-those heroic and
honest sea virtues-of the dead sailor ara
recalled and with tenderness born of a
comradeship closer than any other men sx-
cept sailors may know.