The record-union., 1894-08-23
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.
Yankee Tars and British Sea Dogs,
and Honors All Round.


Yankee Tars and British Sea Dogs,
and Honors All Round.
Once upon time, while guest on board
a big English battleship, some officers of
the ward-room sought to tease me in re-
gard to relative merits of American and
English sailors in certain naval engage
ments of which l had sadly hazy idea.
I was slowly gathering steam for
patriotic explosion, when one of my
British sailor friends turned the tables In
nv favor by this little jerky speech:
s'That may ali be true, but / was at the
born bardment of Alexandria, and we
were in a bad fix, and all the warships OF
other countries dlew off and left us to
fry in our own fat, and then the Amerl-
cans came and helped us. They landed
their men; they kept order in Alexan-
dria; they acted contrary to orders; but
then they said that blood is thicker
than water.'" At this the whole ward
room burst into a cheer, and nothing
more was heard Of Chesapeake and Shan
non yarns.
Then another weather-be beaten marine
barnacle told his little story. Il shall
never say another hard word against
\ ankees,, he said, in a voice like a muf-
Had foo-horn. "When that hurricane
struck Samoa our ship just managed to
steam out of the harbor and escape total
wreck, As we steamed anXlousiy and
very slowly through the hoWnng WIND
and binding sea we could make out the
Americans in the rigging OF the Tren-
tonMand thew were all in the presence of
death. But they didn't think of that.
They gave us three cheers, and it made
the hearts OF our men Jump and choke
them when they heard those cheers. ANA
il made me feel at last that blood IS
thicker than water.'"
So on the night of May 25th Americans
and Englishmen sat down TO feast IN
tended to once more emphasize the 3ee1 s.,t
that the great English-speaking family
has a mission of civilization to perform;
that we are of one parent stock; that
when we quRrreIed it was because we did
not know now to appreciate one another's
good qualities, and that in future war be-
tween England and America is out of the
ouestion so long as EngliShmen and
Americans speak the same language.
The keynote TO the banquet given by
Enplishmen to the officers and men of
the Chicago was furnished by one after
another of the entertainers. They once
more told the story of how the British
men-of-war lay off the mouth of the Pei
Ho River, near the ugly mud flats which
stretch out before the Taku forts which
bar the approach TO Tientsin and Pekin.
/ have been up into that country, and
heard this story over and over again from
ave-witnesses. The English were again
in tight place, and the Yankees over
ruled their written orders, to obey the
great unwritten law. blood is thicker
than water
Admiral Erben of the Chicago and the
venerable English Admiral of the fleet,
Phipps Hornby. both dwelt upon the as
sissance given by American bluejackets
TO those of old England far away in Chi
nese waters. This dinner was q remark
manner in which it was conceived and
carried out; for the enthusiasm with
hich Englishmen of every profession
crowded for the right to be present and
do honor to the Americans among them.
-Poultney Bigelow in Harper's Weekly.