The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-08-07

arm gaskets, ready to sheet home when the
bOatswain's pipe should sound. The wind
q light breeZe-was north, a soldiers wind,
that would take them clear of the river. and
make a fair passage for them down the
channel; and now they were only waiting
for the captain TO come on board with the
pilot TO start.
By IL o'clock the ship was to be under
way, and even as the clear chimes of The
clock striking the hour h0ated across the
river from the land a boat pulled by three
men swept alongside and the captain, fol-
lowed by the pilot sprang up the ladder
The first mate stood at the gangway to
receive them and touched his cap as Cap
tain Greg came on board.
''Ali ready, Mr.. ShaTTOck"
All ready, sir.
'lIan the windlass then"
lay. ay. sir"
Mr. SharTock was on the forecastle In a
iiffy, and the thunder of his voice went
along the deck and brought all hands to the
windlass as if line had pulled each man to
his place. The bOatswain's pipe shrlled,
the pilots face. coloTed like mahogany,
took an anxious expression. and then cank,
Ciank, elank! went the windlass, followed
in a moment by hoarse song, which at reg
ular intervals burst into chorus:
And when you come to the doekyard gates,
YouI find that sal for her true love waits
heaye, my bully boys, heave!
Then heave, my boys, oh, heave togetherI
And get her out O the stormy weather!
Heave my bully boys heavei
Then came such cries as these: ''Sheer
- Of. you boats. therep Get the gangway
ladder inboardr' Loose the inner lib.
one Of youw "a hand aft to the wheeIv'
Soon the cable was up and down, the
anchor lifted and some hands left the wind
lass to make sail. The tide had got the
ship. and she was floating almost imper-
ceptibly past large American vessel that
4 g. h
boats followed; some turned and made for
GraYeSend, the inmates standing up and
aying their hats ana handkeTchiefs. By
this time the anchor was apeak, and all
hands quilted the Wndlass to make sail.
Then you might hear cries of 'fSheet
nOmeW from the air. Down fell great
spaces OF canvas like avalanches of snow :;
chains ratified through blocks; fore and aft
songs and choruses were raised and con-
tinued until silenced by the order "Belay 2"
The yards rose slowly up the polished
masts and stretched the canvas tight as
drumskiBs. The men On board the Yankee
crowded her fOrecastle and gave the Brit
IsheT cheer as she passed. Amid the
songs of men, the piping OF the boatswain
and his mates. and the noisy commands of
tie pilot, the Micronesia burst into a cloud
Of canvas. Clipped a white wave out Of the
blue river, and went ahead like yacht in
racing match.
The breeze fresbened as the river widened.
ne Qecks were quiet now, the ropes c0lled
down clear Tor running and everything
hauled as taut and snug as If the shin had
been at sea month. AT 2 O'Clock she was
f0aming along under royals and flying lib.
whisking past colliers dragging their main
channels through the water as if they were
drowning flies struggling for land over
hauling smart sehoOneTs and ships as big Al
herself, and making the land on either side
Of her dwindle down into fiat, marshy
r-TOdntrY.
The pilot, pompous to the last extremity.
with bow legs and moist eyes, strutted fore
and aft the poop, sometimes calling an
order TO the man al the wheel and con-
stantly looking aloft, ahead and around
him. The passengers lOnnged around the
deck or hung over the side watching the
foaming water rush past them. and almost
Ioslng-those of them, at least. who were
leaving their homes-their sadness in the
sense Of exhilaration begotten by the swift
speeding OF the vessel through the glory
and freshness Of the summer afternoon.
Forward the men were industrious in
the forecastle rigging up their nammocks
or preparing their hunks for the night
or Overhaui1ng their sea chests or the can
vas bags which, among seamen, often an
swer the purpose of sea chests. 1T was
queer sight to see their busy fingers in the
twilight Of the forecastle-here the black
face of a negro. there TIE broad features OF
a Dutehman, here mUlatto, there a lam
tern jawed Yankee, peak-bearded and mar
TOW-hlDpeQ-a W0rlQ IN miniature, some
thing after the nature of a menagere, all
talking in English, with accents which
made the effect Undesirable gibberish to
the unaccustomed ear. They were most of
them friends already; some of them had
sailed in company before, and now they
would suspend their work TO offer one an
other chew Of tobacco. to beg the loan Of
q draw" meaning a pipe: while the air
grew insnfferable to all but seaman's d.
gestIoD, with the smell of black cavendsh
and the inexpressible odor Of bilge water,
lar, hemp, and the ship's cargo generally,
which rose directly through the fOrebatch,
and was blown into the f0recaStie by the
draught under the foresail.
at s o'clock the Micronesia was off Mar
gate. all sails but royals SET; one OF the
noblest spectacles of beauty, grace and
majesty the world has to offer-a full-rigged
ship-a leaning mountain of canvas rushing
under the sky, with whirl OF foam burst
ing like two gigantic white arms from her
sides But the North Foreland brings you
10 a sharp turn: and the wind had drawn
three or four points to the west, and was
blowing fresh in mid-charnel as the pilot
saw by the distant Goodwin sand on the
port boz, which lay upon the horizon in a
long streak Of foam like the Milky Way in
the sky. This was a pity. because, unless
they were disposed to stand for the French
shore, and so make Folkestone by a long
board, sbey would have to bring up in the
Downs.
However, there was no help for it.; for,
though he vessels yards were braced hard