The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-01
IN THE F|DDLE'S SPELL,
BoatSWain's Mate Ball and
Quarterm aSter Murray
Hear YSaye.
BACK AGAIN IN THE TEMPEST.
Mad Melody-A Vision of
Music.

Quartermaster John Murray and his
chum, Bo'sun's Mate William Jason Ball,
came down from Mare Island yesterday on
forty eight hours liberty and their cruise
along shore can best be told in the inimita-
BILE words of Mr.. Ball, whose diction is
| more fowery than that of his comrade,
Notwithstanding the quartermaster can
| trace direct line, hand over hand, to the
immortal Lindley of grammatical renown.
''Jack and me steered clear of the run
| ners at the ferry and mountin' the fore
| castle of a cable-car sailed uptown. After
signin' the log in Kearny-street hotel
we put out for nights quiet cruising.
Billy says Jack to me, wen have no
Midway or freak shows in ours tonight
Wen visit no Chinatowns and We'll take
| In no nickelin-the-slot layouts!
"'Aye, aye, jack says /, and we lay
our course up Market street. 1t was head
| WIND sailing all the way, and we had to
was bIowin' against US. We hove to at
the door of big theater where lot OF
people was passin' in, an the quartermas-
ter says: Bill, we'll fall in with the gang
| says, Right an we got our tickets,
though the chap at the little portfolio said
the gallery entrance was two doors further
down the street. Jack said, Gallery b.
bowed! and we went in. A young fell
Ter in clawhammer mastering clothes
| almost dropped dead in the gangway when
he elapped his eyes on our seat numbers,
| and sized up the two old shellbacks who
had 'em. He said he could get us two
much better seats for four bits apiece, and
l says: All right, old man; heave ahead
''He pilotad US down close to the band
took the dollar / handed him and gave US
back our checks. Blest if they wasn't the
same seats re had bought of the chap who
tried to sheer us off into the gallery, but
finds the shark, and we are lucky he didn't
clean US out entirely
'sThe folks kept coming in and soon we
were surrounded by the SWEETEST crowd
ever two old bluejackets got into. Gents
in full-dress shore uniform and ladies in
clouds and clouds of cloth, balloon-jib
sleeves, fans and flowers, climbed into the
seats all about US.
zone swell said something to his girl
about the Pirates of Penitents being on
Shore an she gave is long look and
smiled.
"After the band had played us tune
with lots of noise and very little music as
we could see, the curtain went up and a
big man came out on the stage with
fiddle under his arm. He had the
toughest sealion of name and the
toughest looking face on him I ever seed.
That figurehead would scare every por-
poise out of the ocean.
His toys fit him like a tarpaulin
throwed over cask. But it was square,
good, honest sort of face, and I settled
down contented-like to hear him give us
tune, supposing he was one of the band
and would play while till the show got
ready.
cThe people around applauded him, so
thought ifthey could stand his face and
| fiddle Jack and me could.
"He got upon little platform, where all
hands could see him, an wiped his bow
across the fiddle. 1t gave a catyowl that
set my teeth on edge and made Jack
squirm. Then he sawed the other way an
Jack whispered: IF we get any more of
that I'll have to have drink
"Then the big bushy-headed chap slowed
| over onto another string, and it sounded
| like block-sheave singin' out for grease.
81 looked over at Jack, an he 'peared as
though he was seasick. l knew Jack was
| in a bad way, so whirled round an asked
the lady next to me if she could tell US
where the bar was. She giggled softly, an
the 'Pirates-of- Penitents' chap sang out:
Pipe down, you thundery marinep
II jumped up, an though that Internal
| fiddle was settin' me wild, tried to get
poor Jack through the thick crowd to the
gangway between the seats, when sud-
denly the noise on the stage stopped and l
| heard sweet music come a-stealin' over the
| footlights, soft and low, like the Groom of
summer winds over the sea. From far
away it seemed to start, gettin' nearer and
nearer, till it was right aboard of Us and
a-singin' through the rigging. Each taut
shroud rang in a treble to the bass of
| the light breeze blowing under the curved
| foot Of the canvas. 1t was night, and the
stars peeped out one by one until million
points of silver sparkled in the great blue
ripples, filled with the reflection from
above, danced as though a mum berless
swarm of firehles was .settlin' down on
the water, and the faint tinkle of fairy
bells sounded across the waves. The moon
got up and in the shine Of her big yellow
wake I could see the mermaids a-swingin'
hand in hand over the round lift of the sea.
Jack and me dropped back in our seats
an quit breathing. Purity soon the teller
leaned fora took a fresh grip on his
fiddle with his big white chin, and fairly
jumped on that trembling thing. He shook
all over like a ship when a mountain OF
water boards her, and he went down, down,
| until his lee-yardarms were buried twenty
fathoms under the surge, an then the
awful storm that hoWled out of that instru-
ment!
1.-THE gale tore through the top-hamper
| with the shrek of a thousand devils, and
sail after sail ripped out of the boltropes
and went flutterin' off like white ghosts in
| the night The wire riggin' carried away
with sharp twang, like harp strings, an
the light spars snapped like pipestems.
The ship went down again on her beam
ends and grabbed at the seat ahead OF
me to keep from washing overheard. ]
saw the boats all go, an the two men at
the helm carried into the sea an the wheel,
relieved from their grip, whirI round like
lightnin'. Lord, the surging and pulling
of things aloft. Guys, sheets and braces
screamed out in the wind like the clang OF
bells.
'sThe air was full of the moan of the gale
and the mad send of the sea flung us
here and there till ones head swan round
and round.
II was ierked from my hold on the
weather wang / had been clingin' to and
hurled in the wash of water over the lee
rail and our ship was gone from my sight.
| I felt myself beat down under the awful
weight of the waves, when that devil fiddle
stopped and the sea flung me back on the
deck.
''Day broke and the gale was over. The
wreck had been cleared away and a few