Middletown transcript., 1898-06-11

The engineer comes up from the
bowels OF the ship and says the boiler
is all right. There is less style about
the engineer, because be has been do
ing this for many years. His salute is
merely Renaissance, not half SO prin
as the young cadets, who was having
colicwhen the engineer had bis COM
mission. All the officers report and then
the executive officer tells the captain
as much as he thinks fit. Immensely
solemn function it is, almost pontifical
in it sritual. The bugler toots a tune
and then begins the monkey drill, +"
as the sailor calls his exercise. The
ranks separate and the space between
each man is increased and squads are
formed, with a corporal or bosun's
mate in command.
There are eighteen movements which
have to be gone through every evening.
They are like those that used to be
taught in the public schools, only bet
ter. The men double up their fists
and shove out first one arm and then
the other with enough violence to get
the good of it. They extend arms hor-
izontally, then reach them up and drop
them down. They reach the arm out
front and swing them back as far as
possible. They extend the arm hori-
zontalIy, and wabble them SO as to de-
scribe small circles in the air. They
bend the body forward as far as pOssi-
BILE, then bend back to the same limit,
stopping at straight up between each
motion, because Jacks brain cannot
stand Eeing sloshed around violently
any more than anybody else. They
lean over sidewise SO as to look up to
the fighting tops with the right eye and
then with the left eye. This motion is
almost duplicated later on, when the
same thing is gone through with, but
in the latter motion the arms are ex-
tended. That opens the upper part of
the lungs.
Then comes the hardest movement
of all. The men stand stiff-legged,
heels together, and bend over until
the knuckles Of the closed fist touch
the deck. 1t looks easy. Try it. II
you are not in training you will find
that it isn't. Link your thumbs to-
gether and swing for it. and IL il
doesn't stretch the muscles of your legs
and back, then Jacks dead and SAILS q
widow.
There are other motions Of stepping
out wide with one foot and then the
other that show off the muscles of the
upper leg to the best advantage,
though the squatting motion, perhaps
does the best of all.
The skipper keeps an eye on such Q
man, and if he thinks Jack is trying te
dodge little health-giving exercise
the chances are that here will be a lit
tie two hours extra duty ready for him
KEEPING HIM IN TRIM.
In the army these setting-up drills
are the perquisite of new recruit
They timber him up, and he is kept al
it until he is as sore as boil all over
But in the navy it is an every day
thing. Maybe then his stomach would
behave better and be wouldn't dream
about falling off roofs and things llk'
that.
Jack is undeniably picturesque. bu
never is he more interesting to lOol
upon than at this same Monkey drill.
He looks well when he is swinging th'
big guns; "Extreme range forward
Extreme range aft Extreme elevation
Extreme depression ~ Then you Sc,
him putting his back to it and doing
his best to swing the long, glossy stee
tube OF gun in the best possible time
but the gun itself and the mechanism
and the rest of the drill detract tht
mind from the contemplation Of Jacl
himself as well-put-up man. TIT
"monkey drilp' accentuated that.
That is not to say that the man-of
wars man is always an Adonis or
Hercules for manly beauty. Some o
them, however, come pretty near it
Their trousers are laced up at the bacl
and fit so snugly above the knees tina
If they have any kind of figure at al
they look fine. The loose shirt gives
big look to the chest, and their neck
being free, the muscles have more of
chance to develop than if they wer
boxed up in starched collar and shirt
You can see the play of the muscles
and the monkey drill" is always
pretty sight.