Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-08

ashore have gone; the others, with the
exception OF three. who have been ordered
to make an official visit OF courtesy on
foreign man-of-war in the harbor.
where they will have TO speak their best
French. are either working or reading
or else enjoying the sailors comfort-an
afternoon nap. Later, three or four OF
them go up on the hurricane deck to take
walk before dinner. Whilst they are
so engaged sunset comes and the impress
sive ceremony of "colors" takes place.
The national ensign is lowered for the
night, and II the vessel happens 10 be a
flagship. where a band of music is al
ways part Of the equipment, the national
air (Which Is established by the navy
regulations to be THE Star-Spangled
Banner') sounds over the harbor; and
Immediately all officers and men on deck
stand facing the ensign and salute II
when II touches the deck. There is
similar ceremony every morning in port
Vt o'clock when the coors are hoisted.
BY $50 O'clock the absentees have re-
turned from on shore. and the dandies OF
the mess have put on thsir best uniforms
for dinner The electric lights and warm
rugs and curtains Of the ward-room make
It beam with cheerfu.ness. An officer
reading aloud the news in the afternoon
paper for the benefit OF everybody. Naval
officers are great readers Of newspapers
and take especial interest In all inter-
national news. Some of them seem to
prefer to stay behind their curtains. en-
gagged In their own thoughts and ocupa-
lions. No stone wall could more effect
ually bar out intruders from an officers
room than the simple drawing of his
curtain. This is considered his declared
intention Of self-communion; 1t Is his
~ 40 or.A
what is often the most uproarious society,
and that. too. not % inches away.
But dinner, the formal meal of the day.
has been announced. Everybody hastens
to take his seat before the chap ain says
grace. The executive officer sits at the
forward end of the table. with the others
ranged on either side according to rank.
the STAFF officers on the port side and the
line officers on the starboard. At the
after end Of the table sits the officer who
Is known as the caterer Of the mess"
and he may be Of any rank. He 1t Is who
has been elected by his messmates to
order their meals and collect their hard
earned dollars to do II with-a thankless
task and one full Of bother. for he Is re-
auired to accomplish the difficult feat Of
keeping the mess bill low and the fare
high. Dinner proceeds in a stately sort
OF way, and without Interruptions or
hurry Of the midday breakfast
1t is now that one may observe the
officers at their best when off duty. A
large mess Ii sure to have In II some good
raconteurs, and in most of the ward
rooms there are still left one or two
veterans OF the great war. who. when
they can be induced to speak Of them
selves. touch upon the navy and its
thousand interests, but II also includes
any other topics. with perhaps leaning
toward travel and international affairs
The talk skips lightly from Greenland to
Persia or Brazil. A man who has not
trav elled Is usually uninteresting to navy
men
Provincial prides are uncertain Of en-
couragement In a ward-room mess where
the atmosphere is one OF American cos
mopolitanlsm. The men IN IL come from
every part OF the Union. and national
sentiment pervades their speech. Indeed,
this is one of the marks OF their calling
and one. too. whichever more than
their idiosyncrasies as sailors-d.stn-
cuisines them from their brother citizens
on shore, to whom nationalism Is not so
much a daily sentiment
With the variety OF ages and tenn
peraments that is found In a ward-room
II Is needless to say that discussions are
frequent, and ward-room discussions are
famous for their vehemence. their good
nature. and the certainty that they will
leave a subject just as they found ii.
IL Is we'll known that certain types OF
officer reproduce themselves in every
mess. For instance. there Is nearly always
an expert In fine wines, and also a
purist in pronunciation who keeps the
shelf full of dictionaries with which to
exasperate the ignorant. AS for the num-
Der of epicures In the navy, II is large.
| and they like to show their skill In COM
pounding good dishes. The writer was
once In q mess of fourteen officers where
| the number OF those who could make a
salad dressing better than anybody else
was Just less than fifteen.
| But while we have been talking dinner
dinner has come and gone. and under
the reign OF tobacco whist and chess
and the mandolin flourish. The tenor has
sung his sea songs. and the Arctic ex-
plorer has told his tales. Even now work
is not quite done. for the commanding
officer sends the paymaster an order to
pay a government bill before the ship
sails next day. and the navigator's as
sistant Is told to enter the latest reports
| In the book Of sailing directions. And as
| for the officer Of the deck, he Is always
at work. night and day, for his Office is
perpetual.
, BY 1870 o'clock most of the curtains
| In the ward-room are drawn. and. except
| for one or two students or letter-writers.
everybody has gone TO bed to be ready
for his accustomed early rising next day.