The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-02-13
HONOR TO WHOM HONOR.

| Such trying circumstances. III is auout
time that the man in the engine-room
should receive some credit and praise. No
poet has celebrated him, no musician
has found melody for his acts. Hidden
in the glowing interior Of the steam
fiend's iron bowels, to the eye OF one
peering downward he shows but mere
shadow fitting through the ruby lakes Of
| light flung from the open doors or the
the furnaces. Indeed, all the men down
below, from the chief engineer to the
humblest of his helpers, are commu-
nifty of whom little or nothing is known
by the peneral public. The captain is,
of course, prominent figure he sits at
| the head of the dinner table, or twnkles
handsomely in buttons and lace on the
high bridge Of his noble steamer. The
ladies are very fond of him, and listen
with attention TO whatever he has TO
say the gentlemen call him fine fell
low, and, as the voyage approaches its
conclusion, talk Of subscribing to purse
for him.
An important man is also the chief
mate, smiling aud affable, a second edi-
| ton Of the master, darkened a little.
perhaps, by the captains shadow, but of
an individuality distinctive enough, and
the bland usurper of the shippers popu-
larity when the "old man." as the
latter is called, is in bed or ashore. The
second mate is pretty sure of full recog-
nition, but after him the ratings begin
TO grow hazy and hard to define.
And both these officers are brave and
gallant sailors, to boot, and much de-
pends on them.
But, strange to say, the chief
engineer--,he man who, in these days of
derricks and pole masts, Is absolutely
the most important person on board
the ship, without whom the captain
might go on taking sights for months
and not do the least good; without
whom the chief mate might continue
seeing that the decks are kept scrubbed
and the brass-work bright, with no
practical result-this important man is
scarcely heard of on board ship. Some
of the people at whose table he takes his
meals may, indeed, converse with him,
but the interval of intercourse is exceed
ingly brief, aud it is no exaggeration to
say that, although voyage might last
month or six weeks, seven-eights OF the
passengers would not be able to point
out the chief engineer standing amid a
group Of the ships officers and his own
assistants.
To certain extent, perhaps, this con-
dition of his shipboard life is owing to
the region of his labors being hidden in
the depths below. The captain is al
ways, or pretty nearly always, with his
passengers; the life of the engineer, on
the other hard, Is passed amidst pistons
and shafts. amidst revolving arms of
flashing steel and the ponderous waltz of
moving machinery dancing to its own
solemn chant. His vocation is not that
Of the fireman or the trimmer. He must
be forever vig:lant and alert, watching
the giant machine with far closer vigi-
lance than is necessary in captain in
attending TO the duties Of the bridge.
In fact. the bridge is powerless with
out tie engine room; the respective
chiefs must consult, aud the anxieties of
the one must be the anxieties of the
other; nor let it be forgotten that the
sea-going engineer OF today is pre-emi-
nently man of talent and Of education,
person of great scientific knowledge,
and in bearing and conversation as
suredly the equal OF those who, by the
| tyranny OF custom, in the eyes OF the
public ard in the regard of the crew,
take the lead of him.
Comparatively speaking, the profes-
sion of the engineer is young. The
annals of his calling go but n little
further back than fifty years. Yet, re-
garding his life as but half century
old, the career Of the engineer is already
crowded with noble and valorous
trophies Few sights are grander in
4 human life than ,he spectacle of the
captain standing on the deck OF sink
ing ship, blind 10 the liquid grave that
yawns black under hi. feet. whilst with
his last breath he gives directions for
the safety Of the people committed to
his charge The memorials Of the en-
gine-room. however, again and again
parallel such deeds by stories Of heroic
men in their iron dungeons standing ut
their posts with quiet and resolved
hearts, never Offering to stir when the
fires were out and the water washing
their feet. until n call from The deck
summoned them from duty which
they were fully prepared to die in dis
charging.
Fnller particulars Of this case Of Ii
Gascogne may call attention to tie dan-
gers Of profession whose members are