The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-12

truth. and called upon the second mate 10 bear him witness. The latter. after much reflection. recoiieeted that ne had once known q sailor who could dance hornpipe. but couldn't remem- Der whether 1t was on a voyage 10 the East Indies or while he was ''in steam" on the Mississippi. Further inquiry proved that no one else had ever wit messed such n performance.
 This was not the most bitter disap- pointment. however. am not . great lover of music, but 1t seemed 10 me 10 be nessary part of q sailors exist ence that he should scsmper merrily about and pour forth the gtadness of his heart in song. To be sure. they do make a noise when they pull on the ropes, and occasionally. burst into a dirge while at pumps but to both of these performances the cry of the pen- guin is cheerful by comparison.
 Indeed. have come to the melan- choly conclusion that the flavor Of TO- nance evaporated with the last gene ration of seamen. There is none of that picturesque idleness which was led to believe was as essential as the song and dance. Were one of them to write his daily life. 1t would be express sive of more energy than Mark Twain's famous diary. but would partake of the same simplicity. It would read: Worked, ate and slept" Work begins when they are driven aboard by their respective keepers and ceases when the vessel arrives at her destination. so that the time occupied in eating and sleeping is their only respite. In heavy and squally weather there are the con- stant pulling of ropes and the furling and unfurling of sails. It Is then that their abilities in that monkey-like &C., complishment of climbing the rigging are tested. As you stand on deck fin a heavy gale and watch all hands upon one of the yardarms furling sail. you begin to put some faith in Darwin's theory concerning the origin of man. kind. In fine weather their duties are of a different sort-they then turn painters, carpenters and jacks-of-all- trades. "Holy-stoning," scraping, painting and vanishing go on until the ship looks as if she were just off the dry dock.
 Sometimes in an idle moment, or In a fit of temporary insanity, sailor de- cides to wash a shirt or red bandana. One day during heavy rain this mad ness became epidemic, and after clos ing the 'scruppers" all hands got upon the deck and proceeded to wash their clothes with small piece of soap with large question mark. Occasionally would hear that a man had taken a bath, but of the truth of these reports have no actual knowledge.
 Were they as we'll treated on all ves- sells as they were on the Standard they might possibly learn to take care of themselves when ashore. Is Is indeed, a case of out of the frying-pan into the fire, for when they escape form the.rule of more or less severe ship-masters they have not the sense to keep out of the way of boarding-h house runners and the like. If they would only keep their wits about them and make up their minds to defend themselves in an hon est way. they could not fail to better ;heir condition! They sometimes en, tertain themselves by shirking work at the latter part of the passage, and. by damaging the rigging just before, say ing farewell ' .','
 Their only other amusement is de- rived from weighty arguments about nothing. It was very frequent oc- currence to hear a heated discussion concerning the exact latitude and lon gitude of smithville, and to find that each of the disputants had a different Smithville in mind. Sometimes these arguments ended with a black eye or two. ,i- .. t =. .t "
 They never lose the sheep-like ap- pearance with which they come aboard, going about in a flock at the beck and call of the officers. The watch may be forward pulling at some ropes when they hear Come aft, two O yer," and immediately replying Come aft, two O. yer" they shuff1e in a body in that di- rection. In nothing are sailors more obliging than in regard to their names. It matters not what they are called Tom. Dick. Harry, all are the same to lACih oo aoA6 oo SoSh AANNC b 6CpoA oSC one. When two happen to claim the same name on their arrival, each tries to outdo the other in nobly sacrificing 1t to his companion. Truly they are believers in the poetical theory con- corning the rose and can see nothing in a name. P.
 While the crew are by no means to be envied. their lives are happy com- pared with that of the cook. He has always to contend, of course, with the absence of fresh provisions, and in rough weather his existence is made miserable by his efforts to keep his pots and kettles on the galley range.
 The captain, however, is the one most to be pitied. Even more than the sail ors must he be jack of all trades, and besides that a master one. To his oth- CT duties are added the no less ,peril- ous ones of g. dispenser of patent med icines and of justice of the peace. It is the responsibility of his position that makes his life uncomfortable. The first and second mates stand watch and watch," and Of course relieve him from the actual work, 90 that in fine weather, if 1t 50 pleases him, he need do nothing but eat and sleep. But in :. rough or suually weather he must