The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1898-07-21
LIFE IN A WARDROOM
THE OFFICERS QUARTERS ON BOARD
A MAN-OF-WkR.

living place Of all the cider officers II
the ship, with one exception, the com.
handing officer. He lives by himself,
has his own cabins, his own mess, Lis
own servants. Naval etiquette and Gus
tom have established this habit Of isola-
ton for the man on the snip who has
command Of all the rest The reason Is
undoubtedly To be found III the very
fact that be represents extraordinary
power. Under THESE circumstances any
attempt to forget the superiority Of his
rank by means Of a common cabin q
meAsroon for him and his suWrdi$ites
would only result III embarrassment on
both sides.
This does not mean that he may not
be sociablc, for much depends upon the
man. But ii is safe TO say that any show
of effusiveness among those who live
abaft the mast must come from his side.
If he wishes it to be general The situa-
ton is delicate one
In the freer air of the wardrOom we
find from 10 to 20 officers living togeth.
er, the number varying with the size Of
the ship. Their ages may range from p
to 80, and they are of all ranks above
that of naval cadet and Of all corps
Engineer officers, line officers, medical
officers, marine officers, one pay officer
and one chaplain, may all be included
in the wardroom of a large ship. These
men live in staterooms arranged about a
common space, which Is known as the
of a space of prajrielike dimensions is
! comparatively truthful in the cramped
quarters of ship In this country.
exists the social life of the wardroom
Here these men of varied callings, yet
all of the seas following, live, move
and have their social being
y day spent i'll wardroom by a land
lubber would reveal many interesting
differences between naval officers and
their brethren on shore. To begin with
| they are more cosmopolitan i'll their
speech. The men III our wardrOOms a.e
| gathered together from all parts of the
| Union. Local discussions find but an
uninterested audience, or even derisive
one, SO that naval officer gets aecus-
/ lOillttl W ljttlh tllltl lullIh VI al lilt IL
states as belonging equally to him. Out
side of his own country he is so great a
! traveller THAI very few civilians can keep
up with the way he skips i'll CONVERSE
| ton from China to Peru or to Tasma-
MIA. Other characteristics that are
! quickly noticeable are his simplicity.
| his cheerfulness and his heartiness. The
wardroom is constantly resounding with
laughter. The men i'll 1t are healthier
| than men who live in houses They get
up earlier i'll the morning and 20 to bed
earlier at night Most of our wardrooms
are bustling with officers ut Z o'clock in
the morning
/ A glance ut the breakfast table shows
the senior line officer presiding, and the
other officers placed near him according
to rank. At the other end of the table
is the man who has been elected by his
messmates to direct the catering of the
mess. Between this early meal and the
| breakfast proper, which comes at half
past | / or II O'Clock, there is not much
! life i'll the wardroom, for the daily mil
itary routine is full of drills and exer-
cises which keep most of the officers on
deck. There are drills with great guns
and with small arms, drills in clearing
ship for action, drills in handling am
munition and many others-all of them
rooted in the one idea that you must
preserve your own life by destroying
that Of your enemy.
As soon as an officer returns to the
!
conversation or perhaps huns a song he
is interrupted by the bugles on deck and
must buckle on his sword and return to
another drill.
AT every call to quarters all officers
must report themselves ready for duty
The chaplain and paymaster having
much less to do with drills than the
other officers are usually the first to be
back III the wardroom, where there Is
other work for them. The medical of1-
Ger has gone forward to the sick bay 10
look after his patients
When the midday breakfast comes,
there is the first breathing space for
little leisure and relaxation. But the
drills for the day are not yet over, and
at / O'Clock the hustle is resumed
throughout the ship. A sudden call may
come for collision drill, or fire drill, 81
battalion drill. If at sea, a floating tar
get may be dropped overheard, and for
an hour the ship be shaken from stem
to stern by the discharge of guns. From
to o clock i'll the afternoon there Is
generally respite from work, and the
wardroOm begins to show signs Of be
ing home, Some in it are reading or
writing, others are smoking or playing
games or loating. Still others are in
their rooms taking the seaman after
moon nap But at O'Clock the drills
and exercises come again
By 30 O'Clock there Is feeling that
of interruption. The mess as d whole is
now gathered together and the meal Is
generally thoroughly enjoyable and
delightful affair After il Is over there
are cigars, games, music or the right To
withdraw within oneself without eX.
citing remark by 10 O'Clock most OF
these sailors are IN bed, but even now
the drills may not he over. Atmldmght
the bugles may sound, and IN two min
utes all the snip company be rapidly
making ready Tor an enemy. New
York Post.
1t Is strange to notice how many old
classical expressions still survive III
Tuscany. The people >till swear BY