The times., 1901-03-31
PIANOS ABOARD SHIPS.
Music in These Days not Confined to
Ocean Liners.
lFrom The Boston Transcript.)


There's many a ship that enters and
( leaves the port of Boston which has on
/ board a fine piano or organ, and strange
as il may seem, classic music is now and
then heard on a coaster laden with lumber
or coal The day of the black, smoky AND
Uniuviting cabin has long since passed;
no longer does the captain coop himself
up in a poorly ventilated box. All of the
larger vessels now have fine, cOmmodious
prettily furnished quarters astern-of
course there are still a few OF the anti
Quated cabins remaining on the very cid
ships. To-Day the captain may have his
family with him. and they can live very
comfortably IN a nice suite Of rooms the
number and size Of which depend on the
size OF the ship he sails. 1t is to the pres
cnce Of women on board that most every
piano owes its berth ia the cabin. And
why should not the captain wife or
daughter have the advantages Of a piano
when she accompanies him on his voy-
ages2 It seems q little unusual 10 the
! landsmau. whose idea of a sea captain $
| life is that he simply exists when
aboard ship and dlssipates when on shore,
/ but TO one better acquainted with their
1 habits il is only the natural thing. Pianos
and organs are the most common Of mu-
4 steal Instruments in the cabins. but
among the sailors almost every variety
/ is represented.
When I was goin' mate Of vessel
runnin from Frisco TO Seattle, some two
! years ago said the first mate of the big
! siX-master George W Wells, we had a
pretty good band aboard. The boys would
get out their horns whenever they had a
| chance, and tell YOU il was pretty good
/ to hear them, especially after hard
/ blow. Was ever on vessel which had
! a piano aboard Why. yes. the very last
| cap n ! sailed under bought nice upright
/ for his sister who lived broad. Another
! schooner ] was on, and which was en-
! gagged in the South American trade, had
/ a piano built especially to tit a queer
! shaped corner Of the cabin
! Pianos and organs amt uncommon on
/ these
the first mate. who had been putting an
| old clay pipe and listening to the younger
| man. You see. whenever there are
| women folks aboard, the cap'n usually
! wants something to keep en- from goin'
| down IN the galley and botherin the
! cook so he buvs an organ or a piano
Just which they like the best. IT Is pretty
( good now and then to have q little music
sort O lIvcns a fellow up bit. ! could
| name a dozen or more Schooners which
| have pianos, and q lot more with organs.
| 4 retired sea captain who lives In East
Boston. when asked if he remembered
many VI ssels with musical instruments
in either the cabin or the foreCastle. re
piled In the days when ships were
! smaller and the cabins less roOmy IT was
a rare thing 10 find piano or an organ
i'm the cabin Of even the wealthiest cap
! tain. The sailors not infrequentiy had a
| concertiua or an accordion for amuse-
mcut with the enlargement Of the ships
the quarters have become more roomy
both fore and aft. and pianos and organs
are common enough in the captain $
| rooms. the sailors bring along their pet
instruments. too. it is certainly a fact
that the men who 90 down 10 the sea IN
/ ships are about as well supplied with
/ music as their friends on the land. or
gans are not as popular with the seamer
/ As pianos. nevertheless. there are many
! Of them aflUat. probably owing 10 the
1 fact that they are much cheaper Some
| times Il coaster Of two or three hundred
| tons Will have very good plano ! ne
1 wide range OF the selections played or
] af q - Hf
1 walking from the fOrecastle to the cabin
one may hear the latest popular rag
! time" songs replaced by compositions
| from tho great masters
/ In sharp contrast to the presence OF
I pianos aboard merchant vessels Is the
| fact that they are rarely found on tn,
( ships Of the United States Navy. Proba
| bly, there are not more than halt a doZef
| Warships which have them. The armOrcC
| cruiser New York, flagship of Admira
| Sampson during ting war with Spain, ha'
| "A fine upright. bought just before the out
| break Of hostilities. Each officer contrib
uted toward the purchase Of the instru
| ment, and owned a share IN 1t. ines,
| shares deteriorated slightly In value caci
| month so that at the end of two year
| nothing was LETT When new ohlce
| Joined the mess h. was requested TO con
! tribute his share. After A while, how
over. the newcomers declined 10 pay any
thing. and finally the piano became tn
| property Of Lieut.. Ernst l.. Bennett, Ad
| miral Simpsons aide, and fellow OH
, Ger. When they were detached they CAV
il to the mess. and it is now permanen
! fixture on the ship. Some OF the othc
hagships have pianos bought by the ON
GERS IN this same way. but most OF then
, | deem their bands sufficient. The Nav.
Department never buys the pianos
Every ship with a chaplain aboard i
| supplied with an organ, TO be used In con
nection with the religious services. Thes
organs are furnished by church organiZa
tionS, and are never purchased by the de
partment The bluejackets amuse them
gefR VIII
| Inns on some warships the men are al
lowed to get together OCCASIONALLY for al
; impromptu concert Then II Is that IN
musical resources OF the ship are taxed
70 gtimes and quicksteps follow one an
other in quick succession, and Jackie !
happy.