The record-union., 1898-07-22

GAGIClSCS- -SdAlStii~AiS0 VI q oOiA ~ AAS
means adapted to kindergartens. Most
Of the men come in for single-stick drill
"a rather antiquated drill, this, when it
is considered how remote the probable
ity is of modern men-o'-war getting
sufficiently close together for cutlasses
to be of use. All hands also have to
master the use of the rifle. The navy
tactics differ widely from the army
manual on the handling Of the piece.
When a man-o'-war is tied up at a
navy yard all hands generally get
daily dose Of battalion drill in infan-
try formation ashore in the yard on
the marines parade ground. In foreign
ports these battalions are called land
| ing parties" The major portion of
| ships company makes up a landing
party, and the men and officers accom-
| panying them go ashore in heavy
| marching order They often cover
| twenty miles day on the march, these
| landing parties. in foreign ports. The
other drills aboard ship are almost too
numerous to be specified-drills on the
great guns; cordage drill, which means
the mastery of all knots used on ship
| board; drills on scientific Instruments;
'arm and away a hurry affair re-
/ quirng extreme alertness in manning
the boats; ''repelling boarders," another
| antiquated but exceedingly athletic
| drill; abandon ship" when all hands
| hastily provision the boats and sheer
| off in them, often in midocean, when
the sea is CLASSY; collision quarters,
| lightningquck closing of the doors of
the water-tight compartments; fire
| quarters a huStling bit of hose
| stretching work; target practice, with
rifles and revolvers and drills a-plenty,
| besides, too technical to be referred
] to here.
| The drills of the morning ordinarily
| last for an hour and a half, or until
about 10 O'Clock, when the men are dis
| missed to indulge in another much
required smoke. After half an hour s
smoking turn to- is again sounded by
the bo'sun's mate, and the men put the
| finishing touches to their cleaning work
of the morning, remaining at this until
| knock Off" is sounded at a quarter
| of i, when they wash up for dinner.
Mess gear for dinner is piped precisely
| at noon. About five minutes before this
| the men begin to form the beer line.
| The chief master tarms, at the main
| mast, serves out beer (Which the men
| pay the bumboatmen for) at noon mess
| gear, and the beer drinkers have to get
| in line to get their bottles. They are
not permitted to take the beer at the
mess tables Qest they secrete it and
| store up enough for a little spree
| aboard), and so many of them bring
| their dinners in their hands out to the
| beer line, and give the swinging tables
| the go by.
| At / o'clock turn to- goes again,
and then for three or sometimes four
| hours the men forward put in the heavy
| work OF the day. The chief bo'sun's s
mate, like a provost sergeant in the
army, always knows where to find work
for the blue jackets. There is always
| PaymaSter's storeroom to be broken
| OUT and restowed; always a magazine
that needs overhauling (Which the men
forward despse for the reason that no
| smoking is allowed aboard ship while
a magazine is open); always ashes to be
| hauled up on elevators from the fire
| rooms, anchors TO be chipped and re-
painted, ammunition boxes to be red
leaded ships sides to be scraped and
| scrubbed to a dazzling whiteness-in
brief, the bosun's mate of a modern
man-owar could find some work to do
| on the highly polished surface of a
| SIildll Ivy NdW dSdlS. ne 10 lICfcf
at a loss and one of the requirements
of his rate is that he must always be
able to find labor for four times the
number of a ships company.
EVENING RECREATIONS.
When the men finally knock off at
4 or 3 o'clock the only remaining duty
staring them in the face is the stand
ing of evening quarters about sundown.
g. cI1
for this, which is about the same sort
of rollcall with the addition of ten
minutes preliminary calisthenics, as
the rollcall in the morning. Then mess
gear for supper is piped, and when the
meal is over all hands shift into the
slouchiest clothes they possess in their
ditty bagS-those of the crew, that is,
who have not earlier in the day put
down their names for visits, more or
less tempestuous, ashore-and settle
down for an evening of comfort and
enjoyment aboard. The studious men
lay aft to the library, but the library
is never overcrowded with men forward
seeking books. There is always too
much going on on deck to make read
ing, letter writing or other sedentary
pursuits possible, except for the most
serious men. The blue jackets and ma
rines who possess musical instruments
break them out of their ditty bags, and
| all hands among the musicians play
different tunes at one and the same
time in close proximity to each other
, the singers-also singing different bal
lads, as rule-at no very great dis
tance away The boxers baste each
other with the gloves on the main deck
the jig dancers form their especial par
ties of admirers, the "man-o'-war
chaws," otherwise the yarn spinners
gather their clienteles about them and
from Immediately after supper until
"hammocks" is sounded, at 7:30 O'Clock
when the sleepy men may turn in if
they SO elect there is life and move
ment and whirl on deck The men
, must remain a bit quieter after ham
, mocks, and after pipe down" is sound
ed by the buglers-"pipe down" being
the taps Of the army-all lights, except
, the standing ones, are extinguished
and the man-o'-war day officially ends
. at $50 o'clock at night-Washington
, Star.
The imagination of some BOYS is
worth having. The other night. wher
Mr.. Wallypug was lying asleep on his
; library sofa and snoring away for dea,
!, | life Mrs. Wallypug remarked that chs