The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-29
THE STORY OF A "L1oN."
Life of an Old East Indiaman De-
scribed by Frank T. Bullen.


sea-farers gathered one day long ago a
BLACKWELL to witness the launching o
the Lion, Every man among them fel
"a personal interest in the majestic fabri
that, under the proud labors of thos
skillful shipwrights, had gradual.
grown up out of the trim piles of oak
green-heart and teak, and taken on tn
splendid shape Of an East Indiaman, il
the days when those grand vessels were
nowned draughtsmen had lavished al
their skill upon her design, every device
known to men whose calling was theil
pride, and to whom the Blackwell Yart
was the center of the ship building
world, had been employed to make thu
Lion the finest of all the great fleet that
had been brought into being there
Decked with flags from stem to stern
the sun glinting brightly on the ram
pant crimson lion that lowered proudly
on high from her stem, she glided grace
fully from the ways amid the thunder OF
cannon and the deafening shouts of ex-
ultant thousands. And when, two
months later, she sailed for Madras with
eighty prime seamen forward and a
hundred passengers in her spacious cud-
dy, who so proud as her stately COM
mander? His eye flashed as he watched
the nimble bluejackets leaping from
spar to spar, and he felt that, given fit
ting opportunity, he would have no over
wheming task to tackle French line
of-battle ship, even though he was but a
peaceful merchantmen. For ranged on
either side of her roomy decks were ten
eighteen-pounders under the charge Of a
smart gunner, whose pride in his new
post was pleasant thing to see. And
besides these bulldogs, there We're many
rifles and boardingpike neatly slowed
in small armory in the waist. But
above and beyond all these weapons
were the men who would use them
sturdy square-set British seadogs, such
as you may now see any day swarming
upon the deck of a British man-o' war,
but may look for almost in vain on
board the swarming thousands of ves-
sells that compose our merchant fleet.
The Lion soon justified all the high
hopes of her builders and owners. In
spite of her then) great size and the
taut spread of her spars. she was far
handler than any "Billy-boy' that ever
turned up the Thames estuary against a
head wind, and by at least knot and
half the fastest ship in the East India
trade. Her fame grew and waXed eX-
ceedingly great There was as much in
triguing to secure berth in the Lion
for the outward or homeward passage as
there was in those days for positions in
the golden land she traded to. Almost
all the hierarchy of India spoke of her
affectiOnately as one speaks of the old
home, and the newly arrived in her
knew no lack of topics for conversation
If they only mentioned her name in any
company. For had she not borne safely
and pleasantly over the long, long sea
road from home hundreds and hundreds
of those pale-faced rulers of dusky mil
lions, bringing them in their callow boy
hood to leap at bound to posts of trust
and responsibility such as the proud old
Romans never dreamed of? She was so
tenderly cared for, her every want SO
Immediately supplied, that this solicit
tude, added to the staunchness and hon.
esty of her build, seemed to render her
insusceptible of decay Men whose work
in India was done spoke of her in their
peaceful retirement on leafy English
country-sides, and recalled with old GRO
MES ''our first passage out in the grand
old Lion" A new type of ship, a new
m nf nm,
all around her. But whenever any Of
the most modern fliers forega thered
with her upon the ocean highway, their
crews felt their spirits rise in passionate
admiration for the stately and beautiful
old craft whose graceful curves and per-
feet ease seemed to be of the sea sui gen.
eris. moulded and caressed by the noble
element into something of its own mo-
bility and tenacious power.
1t appeared almost a loss of dignity
when the company took her off the India |
route and held her on the Australian
berth. But very soon she had taken the
place that always appeared to be hers |
of right, and she was the ship of all 9TH |
ers wherein to sail for the new world be-
meath lis. And in due course the sturdy
empire builders scattered all over the
vast new country were speaking of her
as the Anglo-Indians had done a gene
ration ago, and the new chum' who
had "come out in the Lion found him
self welcome in far away bush homes,
from Adelaide to Brisbane, as one of the
same family a protege of the benevo-
lent old ship. She held her own well,
too, In point OF speed with the new steel
and iron clippers, in spite of what fool
ish youngsters sneeringly said about her
extended quarter galleries, her far
reaching head, and immense many-win-
dowed stern. But gradually the fierce
stress OF modern competition told upon
her and 1t needed no great stretch of the
to suppose that the magnif-
icent old craft felt her dignity outraged
as voyage after voyage saw her crew
lists dwindle until instead of the eighty
able seamen of her young days, she car
ried but twenty-five. The goodly COM
pany of officers, midshipmen and artif-
GERS We're cut down also to a third of
their old array, and as necessary con-
much of her ancient smartness
IF appearance went with them. Then
she should have closed her splendid ca J
,eer in some great battle with the ele- {
nents, and found a fitting glory of de- !
eat without disgrace before the all-con-
Yuerinp sea That sOlace was not to be I