The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-19

MS tNl rank, uof with the captain on deck
tue f;hlef mate takes the lee side. But
sincsi in steamers there is often no lee
Sue, the custom In them has completely
dlssi out To etiquette also belongs the
~ ict observance OF the rule in all vessels
~ lacking sir' on 20 every rep.y 20 an
0Hicer. or the accepted synonyme for his
position TO a tradesman who is a petty Of
+ ncer, as boss" for bOatswaiu Chips
for carpenter, sails" for sailmaker and
doctor for cook. A woful breach of eti-
quette Is committed by the, captain who,
coming on deck while one of his mates is
SdIrylns out some maneuVer, takes upon
hlmseit 10 give orders direct TO the men.
II As seldom resented by junior officers for
OBVIOUS reasons, but the chief mate would
PROBABLY retire to another part OF the yes
sci at once with the remark THAI il was
only one mans work.
IN many cases etiquette and discipline
az SO ctosety interviewer that il is hard
70 KNOW where one leaves off and the
olher begins, but in all such cases Observ-
ahee Is strictly enforced as being one of
we rev remaining means whereby even
a slmuiacruuf of discipline is maintained
~ undermanned and oversparTed sailing
splPs-sueh as the repetition of every or
der given by the nearer the careful
avoidance of any interference by one man
win anothers work in the presence of
an oineer, and the preservation of each
S Sar righttul attitude toward those un-
ger MS charge and his superiors. Thus
during the secular work of the day, work
that IS apart from handling the ship, the
mate gives his orders TO the boats vain,
VINO sees them carried out. Serious fric-
tlon always arises when during any oper-
atlon the pale comes between the boats
swain and his gang, unless, as sometimes
happens, the boatswain be hopelessly in
competent
$50 to Your Room, sir'
IN the private life of the ship every Of
l1cer's berth is his house sacred. inviola-
pie, wherein none may enter without his
invitation. And in case of serious dere-
LECTION of duty or disqualification H. be-
comes his prison. Go to your room, sir,
is sentence generally equivalent 10 pro-
tessional ruin, since a young officers fu-
Cure lies in the hollow of his commander S
hand. The saloon is free to officers only
at meal times, not a common parlor
wherein they may meet for chat and rec
reation, except in port with The captain
ashore. And as it is aft SO in its degree
| is il "forrard." In some ships the car
penter has berth to himself and a work
shop besides, into which none may enter
under pain of his instant wrath-and
| Chips" Is not a man to be lightly Of
| fepdeda But in most cases all the petty
officers berth together in an apartment
| called by courtesy the ''half-deck," al
though ii seldom resembles In a remote
degree the dingy, fet.d hole that original
~ bore that name.
Very dignified are the petty officers,
gravely conscious of their dignity, and
sternly set upon the due maintenance of
their rightful status as the backbone Of
| the ships company. Such a grave breach
of etiquette as an "A. b." entering their
| quarters, with OF without invitation, is sell
| dom heard of, and quite as infrequent are
| the coca sions when an. officer does SO. In
| large ships. where six or seven apprentices
| are carried, an apartment in a house on
! deck is set apart for their sole occupa-
| ton and the general characteristic of such
! an abode is cnaoS-unless, lndee1, there
| should be a senior apprentice of sufficient
| STABILITY to preserve order, which there
| seldom is. These boys houses are bad
| places for a yOungster fresh from school,
! unless a conscientious captain or chief
| mate should happen to be at the head Of
| affairs and make it his business 70 give an
| eye 10 the youngsters proceedings when
| off duty. OF course, etiquette may be look
| ed for in vain here unless il be etiquette
| of Tagging in its worse sense.
The mems quarters, always called the
forecastle, even when more humane ship
| owner than usual has relegated the fore
! castle proper to its rightful use as lockers
| for non-perishable stores. and housed MS
| men IN a house on deck, is always divided
| fongitudinally in half. The port or mate S
watch live on the port SIDE, the star
board or second mates watch on the star
! board side. To this rule there is no sNcep-
| ton. And here We have etiquette in eX-
| celsis Although the barrier between the
two sides is usually of the 1imsiest and
| often quite imaginary in effect, it is a
| wall of separation with gates guarded and
| barred. The visitor from one side 10 the
| other, whatever his excuse, approaches
! humbly feeling III at ease until made wei
| come. And from deck to dock it is an un-
| heard-of thing for any officer save the
captain to so much as look into the fore
|
stances do arise, such as a general out
| break of recafc.trancy, but the occasion
| must be abnormal for such breach OF
| etiquette TO be made. Some captains very
wisely make it their duty 10 go the round
| of the ship each morning seeing thar every
thing is as il should be- and these enter the
| foTecastie as part of their examination.
But this is quite the exception 10 tne
general rule, and is always felt 10 he more
or less of an infringement of immemorial
right
In what must be called the social life
| of the forecastle, although 1t is common
| ly marked by an utter absence of social
| obserVances, there are several well-denned
! rules of etiquette which persist in spite
| of all other changes. One must not lock
his chest at sea. AS soon as the lasi
| landsman has left the ship unlock the
donkey" throw the key ostentatiously
| into the till, and letting the lid fail, seat
yourself upon it and light your pipe. 1t il
| a Masonic sign of ood-fellowship, known
and read of all men, that you are q Sou
| Spainer," indeed, at home again. The
| first time that the newly assembled crew
sit down gypsy fashion 10 meal (fol
| tables are seldom SupplieD there may be
his cap. Then does the nearest mans
hand seek the 'bread-barge' for a whole
biscuit, generally of tilelike texture and
consistency. Grasping it by spreading his
fingers all over its circumference, the
| mentor brings il down crushingiy upor
the covered head of the offender, who is
| thus Initiated as II were, TO the fact tina
| he must ''show respect to his grub' al
the term goes. But often when the com
mons have been exceptionally short or bad
| an old seaman will deliberately put or
his cap again with the remark: 6 Tain'i
with ii"
| II a man wants to smoke while meal II
| in progress let him go outside, unless he
| desires deliberately TO raise a storm. Ane
when on the first day of serving our stores
| a man has; been induced 10 undertake the
| onerous duty of dividing TO each one hi.
weekly portion-"w llacking out'-gross in
| deed must be his carelessness or unfair
ness before any sufferer viii raise a pro
| test 1t used to be the practice to load the
| boys or ordinary seanen Ga grade between
| "A b. and boy with all the mental ser
| vice of the forecastle, such as food-fetch.
| ing washing up utensils, scrubbing, etc
| But juster and wiser pan has been Dor
| rowed from the navy whereby each mar
| takes in rotation a week as cook of thC
4 mess" He cooks nothing, the doctor
| viii take care Of that, but he is the ser
want of his house for that week, respon-
| sible for its due order and cleanliness. The
| boys are usually kept out of the forecastlt
| altogether, and berthed with the petty Of
| 6cers pan which has with some ad-
| vantages grave drawbacks.
one curious old custom deserves passing
notice Upon vessels arrival IN port:
where it is necessary 10 anchor il Is us
/ Ia