The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17
TAKEN FOR THE CAPTAIN.
4 MiN-OF-WIR'S IPOTLEEChRF IN
LUCK IN rOkOHAMh.
uIe Was tho Commanders Double In Appear
nnrc, ana when lie Went Ashore In
Civilians Clothes lIc Received the Hest That
the AnEIo- American CoionJ Could Oner.

HTe Was tho Comtnnndrr's Double In Appear
nnrc. nnd When lie Went Ashore In
CINiiinn'sC Clothes &c Received the Hest That
the AnSio. American CoionJ Could Oner.
WAsuINGroN, Oct. 1G.-Tho pranks In for.
eign ports Of United states mon'of-war'S men
are occasionally amusing. The Captain OF u
great cruiser that went out to the China sta
ton about three years ago had n double on his
ship in the person Of the apothecnry. An
apothccary is an enlisted man with the rate Of
a chief petty officer. This apothccary looked
so much like his skipper that, could The two
men ever have stood side by side on the quar-.
Ter deck, both in n Captains Iull-dress uni
form, II would have puzzled even some OF the
officers of tho ship,to decide instantly which or
the pair was the commanding officer. They
were precisely alike in stature and build aud
there was II difference of only two pounds in
weight between them. They were within n
year of an Hgc. Their resemblance Ia feature
WINS astonishing. There was hardly y single
point OF difference III their faces. 10th mad
Hight hair, blue eyes, and broad noses. ana both
wore closely cropped reddish Van Dyke boards.
The apothccary was II highly educated man.
whose tuInultuous career ashore had finally
foatcd him into the enlisted ranks of the navy.
At Yokohama, Japan, an enthusiastic re.
ccption was bestowed upon tho cruiser, and
her officers were f1tcd and dincd by;nativo and
foreign residents The skipper, n man Of socinl
temperament. was ashore rather more than he
WAS aboard his ship, and he became very popu-
lar. The npothecary did not go ashore until
two weeks after the cruiser arrived n Yoko-
hama harbor. When he did he exchanged
his chief petty officers uniform for multi. He
arravcd himself in n froCk coat, high hat,
pointed patcn; leather shoes, tan gloves. and
finished his m'kc.up with n choice Japanese
~ r,.n, so A,. ,,, 1.,- - a
monds that he had picked up. on n South Atri.
can cruise. He was staggering idly through
the beautiful streets of Yokohama, swinging
his stick, when an; open barouche was drawn
up alongside the curb. The apothccary heard
himself hailed by both of the handsome young
English women NhO were seated in the ba
roqche' lie turned and raised his hat with
was capable Of.
"Ah, Captain-so delighted!' exclaimed the
with us a bit. we are both onesome-and
dying to be fiattercd!"
The apothccary had his cue, and the tempta-
tion was grea.. He stepped into the carriage,
and for two hours he made himself agreeable
to the two girls. They carried him around to
half a dozen houses for afternoon calls and he
parted difficult questions in tho small talk
with a skill he had employed in former years,
before he had become an enlisted man. He
passed everywhere AS the commander of the
white cruiser in the harbor, although he
scrupulously refrained from making any claim
- 80" ,Ahh. buiiN hoioN Siiilig
in his acquicscence in the natural error of his
shippers friends, In the course of the after
noon the skippcr's friends extended any num-
Der of invitations, TO him for dances, dinners,
musicalcs and all sorts Of functions. The
apothecary accepted them rcscrvcdly, on the
score that his ship might be ordered away at
any time. When the afternoon was on the
wnnc the two English girls drove him to a curio
emporium. where. he told them. he wanted to
But before they dropped him the npothccary
OUlttr VINO WAS HWlnKlnV nlnny Tho sidewalk
OF one of the main streets.
When the apothecarv went off to his ship he
hnd 1t figured out that he would get a general
court-martia!, and he wondered how he would
make out in Japan il he should happen to find
Captain was not aboard when the apothccary
reached his ship in the steam cutter. and he did
not see him until quarters the following morn
ing. The skipper appeared at quarters minus
his fine Van Dyke beard. Immediately after
quarters the apothccary was called to the Cap
tain,s cabin.
Now" said he to himself, "for the searching.
~ be in the brig in double irons in six min
Morning. said the Captain when the apothe-
cary stepped into the after cabin.
Good morning, sir" said the apothccary,
s%aluting.
You enjoyed Yourself yesterday afternoon"
paper weight.
. ..To ! found the young ladies Interestingly
"Apothccary." resumed the skipper after a
pause. IF ! were to net strictly in accordance
win the regulations, l should he compelled To
punish You. am not going to act strictly in
accordance with the regulations, and l am not
going 10 punish you. Instead, | congratulate
YOU. The deception was not of your origina-
tion or seeking. You did yourself credit yes
tcrday afternoons; also, you did me credit. l
hear you said some very good things. and you
appear quite to have superseded me ashore,
even now that the matter is being laughed
about all over Yokohama. As n man simply.
and not as II naval officer, ii is IL pleasure 10
me 10 know that there are men in the United
state, navy. up forward. who know so well how
to hnnc!c themselves in tight places. As II
naval officer, and the commander of this ship.
| really regret that you belong up forward.
and not aft. But these things are the misfor.
tunes of the service. You will continue TO
wear your beara. | could not request you to
remove 1t, and so | have sacrificed my own.
the service after tho close Of your present en-
lislmcnt. You. could do very much better
ashore. That is all
The arothccary saluted and started TO leave
the cabin.
oh, BY the way the Captain called after
him. the young ladies with whom you drove
charged me with the delivery OF this to YOU
This. was a very beautifully bound copy
of Hopes prisoner OF Henda." that tale OF
note: signed by both the young English women.
I'VE have. TO thank You for n very delightful
afternoon 1t read. land TO assure you that.
while We are reluctantly forced to counte-
nance them, We in no wise approve. nor even
understand. the rules which create such II
yawning abyss between forward and aft on
never framed this grievance even in thought
until yesterday afternoon. when we met your
commanding officer, and explanations were
The apothccary is now the proprietor OF one
Of the largest drug stores in Chicago. He still
has the note which marked tho end Of his
Yokohama adventure.
GLOON IN JAMAICA.
The Planters Say sugar Culture IL Doomed