The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-14
SAILORS PLEASURES.
Hobbies Ridden at Sea With Endless
Perseverance.

Hobbies Ridden at Sea With Endless
Perseverance,
On board ship Sailors pleasure Is
well understood term with only one
meaning, instead of the general cata-
logue that might have been expected.
1t is the turning out of the sea chest or
donkey" the sea name for overhauling
the contents and putting them back
again. 1t is most satisfactory when a
| chum looks on, to whom you can tell
| the history of each article, and who
will refrain from n1udicious comment
upon any photographs of your lady
friends. And indeed, where man has
been fairly steady and secretive the old
donkey often contains a most interest
ing assortment of odds and ends, each
with matter for chat pertaining to it,
so that a review of these treasures Is
quite a pleasant way Of passing an idle
hour.
But, except in rare instances, most
men have some hobby or another which
they will ride with the utmost energy
and perseverance. no matter what may
be the difficulties In the way One of the
chief of these Is model making. With
no other tools but knife and an awl
made out Of broken sail needle some
men will turn out a model worthy of a
place in any museum. Entirely alb
sorbed in their work, they will sacrifice
much needed sleep, white away in the
bright moonlight of the tropics, and
seem to have no other object in life but
to turn out piece of carving that shall
be a credit to their patient talents.
The pathos of these labors often lies in
the fact that they are friendless men
who have no one to give their pretty
handiwork to--no one, that is, who will
value it for the givers sake; and conse-
quently these long elaborated models
may be found in great numbers in wa
terside boarding houses and public
house parlors-and in worse places. AS
to selling them, I doubt If the idea
ever enters their heads. But doubtless
the doing of the work is what his poe
try was to Coleridge-its own exceeding
great reward-and the same may be
said with truth of the many directions
III WHICH lllc SdllOl Ingenuity anu LII
dustry find a vent
One particular hobby that I have
seen carried to great lengths is the
making of photograph frames out of an
enormous number of tiny pieces of
wood; one in particular that I remember
contained over three thousand pieces of
mahogany, pine, deal and ebony, none
of which were a quarter of an inch in
thickness and six inches long. There
were openings for eight photographs,
and the whole fabric looked like a
Gothic church front. 1t took the artist
three months steady application in
watches below and at night to finish it,
and then one night in port he got drunk,
took it from its shelf in his bunk, and
jumped on it, Another form Of pleas
ure largely INDUCED in is the making of |
mats. Some men-only few, though
will buy a few pounds of gayly colored |
carpet thrums from the ship chambers, |
and begging piece of tarpaulin can |
vas from the salmaker, or whoever has |
the power to grant the request will |
stitch the thrums into the canvas in
designed patterns, leaving a
pile when finished half an inch deep, the
whole forming most handsome and !
durable hearth rug. Others, however,
who cannot keep sober long enough
while ashore to lay in stock of thrums
and yet must make mats, use homely