The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-13
A WANDERER AND HIS BOOK.
WHlTMARSH, AUTHOR OF "THE
WORLDS ROUGH HAND

cred "A Gold Mine, and Hunted
Pearls on BOrneo-TerriIHc Fight
With n HaNk-Adventure of the
Broken Backstay-The Charm of a
Retired Sea Captain who Has Seen
the World and Is Not Yet 35-HOw
He Writes hooks.
New York, March 10.-There is a charm
about a retired sea captain. Any man
who has lived a rowing life and stored his
memory with strange adventures on land
and sea, is easily a hero. And IL a man
has crowded into few short years more
experiences than usually occur in a life
time, and. in his sturdy young manhood
he can tell about them in a frank, modest,
manly fashion, he is easily am author.
When a man has done this, as H. Phelps
Whitmarsh has done 1t In his picturesque
book, THE Worlds Rough Hand" which
has recently been making so much talk,
and left the public with an appetite for
more, then the fragments of experience
which he drops in informal talk, sitting
with pipe and slippers before the evening
fire, are worth having.
Il never had much training for writ
ing" said Mr.. Whitmarsh, rather gloom
lily, after he had been persuaded to talk
about himself "You see, / was too busy
to go to school, and have read very lit
tea few stories as a boy and a few
others on shipboard. My father is an
English clergyman, and as l was his only
son, Il was arranged that l should become
the Bible and the prayer book, but. boy,
like, preferred to read the Waverly
novels, which were all had until was
thought to be old enough to read one of
Capt Marryats sea stories. / was de-
lighted with Capt. Marryat but the
quaint, direct phrases of the Bible proba-
bly, more than anything else, helped me
to means of expression
of course, l had no serious notion of
becoming a parson. There had been sew
eral sea captains in my family, and a row
ing disposition came to me by Inherit
ance. Then there were many things that
encouraged in me longing for the sea.
l happened to be born in Canada, where
my father was doing his first work as a
missionary When / was years old my
parents took me back to England, ana
that first voyage made great impression
on me. ! still have vague recollection
o. it,
Il was troublesome lad from the very
first, and the fact that ! was the only
son and the eldest of the family did not
help matters. After l had reached my
teens, / took matters into my own hands
and told my father that l was going to
sea. AS he saw that l was determined to
go, one way or another, he put me on
board the training ship Conway at Liver
pool. On the Conway we divided our time
between navigation and practical seaman
ship. We learned the use of the sextant
and the theory of solar and luna observa-
tons, and also were exercised in manning
the boats and yards and in doing the ac-
tual work of sailors"
1t was significant that Mr.. Whitmarsh
could recall with great distinctness the
ships punishments. He also recalled how
as petty officer he took his turn making
love TO the captains daughter. He would
lower himself over the side during prayers
and clasp hands with her through the
window of her stateroom. But in spite
of his nonsense, he proved an apt pupil,
and won prizes for special work in navi-
CATION. After his two years on the train
ing ship, be had no difficulty in shipping
as an apprentice on a southwark bound
merchantmen.
There were three other apprentices on
the ship. and although they did the work
of ordinary seamen, they had their own
mess and a part of the deckhouse to them
selves. The ships first destination was
Australia, and after putting In at Adelaide
she sailed across to the west coast of
South America and came around the
Horn to England, so that the lads first
voyage took him around the world.
ION the first voyage" said Mr.. Whit
marsh, I'VE got plenty TO eat, but often
longed for delicacies that we had no means
of getting I agreed with the other appren-
tees, who were on the same voyage, that
there should be no such lack on the second
trip. We filled our quarters with such
stock of timed goods. marmalades, hams
and other luxuries, that there was barely
room to get In ourselves. AS the ship stood
out the harbor with lively breeze, was
sent aloft to clear the fone-gaffsail In the
tack l was standing upon the masthead
and with my foot tried to push the sail
clear of the stay. While l had my weight
upon 1t the sail suddenly came clear, and
losing my balance, / felt myself falling
through the air and wondered where /
would strike. When my senses returned 1
found myself lying in the cabin. Much to
my surprise, the captain was having his
head fixed up with strips of court plaster,
and the cabin was Uttered with bits Of
glass. They told me that had fallen upon
the skylight breaking the heavy glass and
bringing il down upon the head of the
captain, who was working on some papers
at the table underneath. His scalp had
been cut open from his crown to his fore
head, while l had lot of bones broken
"A small steamer was hailed and / was
sent ashore TO spend months in a hospi-
tai, but l was not so troubled by my in
juries as / was by the thought of leaving
all the good things TO eat that we had laid
in for the apprentices mess.
1T was nine months before I was able
to go TO sea again, and then l shipped on
a vessel bound for the west coast. In
the channel hawk which had been driv-
en- off shore by the wind alighted on the
tip Of a yardarm. At that time made
a fad of taxidermy, and that hawk pre-
scented an opportunity too good 20 be lost.
I went aloft just as 1 was, with a waist
coat on but without coat, and it was
not until / was out on the foot ropes that
IL occurred to me, the hawk might put
up a fight. To save my hands l took
off my waistcoat and threw IL over the
bird, which was too exhausted to he
frightened from its perch. Then there
was struggle, during which the hawk
got partly out Of an armhole OF the waist
IL 81.