The Irish standard., 1897-01-09

wearing around their shoulders the
woven wreathes of flowers SO commonly
used for personal adornment even by
staid, middle-aged business men dur
in Honolulu.
The Baltimore was flagship, and
the music Of the mass, which was one
of Mozart's, was under the direction OF
the bandmaster, who utilized the ser
vices Of his fine string orchestra to rem
der the music effectively. But the real
feature Of the music was the singing of
some twenty-five Roman Catholic
priests, bearded men of a monastic or
der, with it's Hawaiian headquarters
in a monastery on the outskirts OF
Honolulu. The. chaplain had invited
these priests to assist him in the cele-
bration. They were all trained singers
with noble voices, like the male voices
heard in the Sistine Chapel in Rome,
One of the monks presided at the small
cabinet organ. The young chaplain
was fine baritone singer, who easily
discounted all the wardroom officers In
the singing of deep water and other
songs at the mess table. He sang the
difficult mass well, and the swelling
answers to his intonations by the choir
of priests was beautiful and inspiring.
Naval officers of experience in every
corner of the world afterward declared
that they had never heard such music
before.
Only about one-third of the men,
bers of the crew present at the mass
were Catholics, and not more than
fifth of the ships. visitors from Homo
lulu belonged to the Church of Rome,
yet the enthusiasm of all after the cere-
mony was over was remarkable. 1t ap-
peared that the bearded priests who
assisted in the chanting Of the mass
were very rarely seen by the residents
of Honolulu, one of the requirements of
their order being that they keep to
themselves. :-r.
The office of a. ship chaplain in the
United States navy, to whatever re-
ligious denomination he may belong, is
a singular one. The chaplain must be
a man of great natural tact to preserve
properly his somewhat difficult rela-
tionship with officers and men. He is,
of course, an officer, and lives aft
among the wardroom officers, but the
functions of his office are mainly exer-
cised among the men forward. In Or
der to be of any actual spiritual service
to the men he must move among them
and enter into their ideas, which are
often peculiar and perplexing. Naval
officers who are attached to the Bal
timore, while that ship was on the
China station often speak of the re-
markable hold which the young athletic
Catholic priest who served as it's chap
lain got upon the affections of all the
blueiackets to man, as we'll as on those
OF the watch officers with whom he
lived aft. -
He was a first rate boxer, and COM
monty put on the gloves with the crack
bluejacket sparrers on the ship. There
was not man among them who could
handle him in boxing bout. He rath-
er enjoyed donning the mittens with
bluejacket boxer of ruffianly instincts
and giving him a thoroughly good
pulnmeling, all in good nature and as
part of the game. The men whom he
thus man-handled, although compelled
for awhile to pipe low and sing small,
like fellows just out from ten days
cruise in the brig, afterward became
the priests sworn friends. The COM
manding officer of the Baltimore often
remarked to his officers that the twen-
ty-six-year priest could reduce the
bad men of the ship to subjectien and
decency a good deal more effectively
and quickly than he himself could with
the aid of all his masters-at-arms,
ships corporals, and double irons. He
talked with the men on equal terms,
wrote their letters for them if they were
insuffciently educated to write we'll
themselves, took personal interest
in their little affairs at their solici-
tation, and often interceded for them
when they got themselves into scrapes
either aboard ship or ashore. He re-
Trained from talking religion with them
at all unless they questioned him,
which they often did, after they got to
know him pretty well, and then he
talked with them straight from the
shoulder, without any superf1uous beat
ing about the bush, which man-of
wars men despise.
Without any particular effort this
young priest practically put an end to
drunkenness among the men forward
on the Baltimore. His influence over
them was such that they gradually
grew ashamed to lumber over the gang
way drunk from shore liberty. so that,
in order to come off to the ship sober
and meet the sglance of the chaplain's
big brown eye with as clear a gaze they
got into the habit of letting the liquor
ashore alone. He made babies of the
professedly hard cases of the ships
aoor,, rop1~ forward cn that thew f1ronne6