The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-07-17
WARDROoM LEE On, WARsHIPS|


room. The officer who presides at the
head Of the wardroom table is no long:
er grizzled veteran who has eaten
his heart out with 20 years of monot-
onous service in the grades below
lieutenant commander. Bearded en-
signs 80 years of age, and drawing pay
that barely enables them to live, no
longer haunt the ships Of the United
States navy Promotion and command
come earlier, and men who even ten
years ago would have been seated well
toward the foot of the wardroom ia BILE
now dine in. the lone dignity of the
cabin. With the fuller table of the
wardroom there is more variety OF
character and conversation, and with
greater activity everywhere through
out the service men have livelier inter-
.ests. Old stories are not heard 80 fire.
quently. and men do not harden into
set peculiarities Of views and manner
as they did when promotion was slow
and duty, from being the same for long
years together, was dull and insipid,
says the New York Times.
Some things remain, however, much
as they we're, because tradition is pow
erful in the navy. Chaff? Yes, good
deal of it as of yore. There is always
some man in, the 20 or more who live
in the wardroom keen enough to pene-
trate the most secretive of his fellows
and discover their lurking weakness.
Once discovered, that weakness is a
proper subject for chaff. The fresh
ness of "the young DOCTOR" the indo-
lence of the paymaster, the suscepti-
biity of the junior lieutenant, are sub
jects that furnish unfailing amuse-
ment when conversation runs low. On
the whole the chaff of the new navy is
fresher and less monotonous thantha
of the old, because there is a wider
range of Individual peculiarities.
The old dicebox still rattles after the
wardroom dinner, and the United
Sttaes navy will be reduced to sad
condition when this innocent source of
amusement is banished. 1t passes
from hand to hand as one after another
the occupants of the table throw for
cigars, and after it has made the Sec
ond round, somebody WHITES a chit, y
to be paid at the end of the month,
| when the mess accounts are squared.
The dice are smooth and yellow with
age. A dozen admirals have handled
them, and have found solace in the
game of chance that. delights the
| youngsters of to-day.
Wardroom hospitality is of the old
flavor, though perhaps the increased
variety of wardroom life makes the
landsman little less welcome as dis
peller of monotony.-I It is singularly
hearty and courteous receptions, how
ever, thet awaits the guestin the bow
els of the great iron pots in which
American naval officers now 60 to sea.
The presence of a guest always carries
with it certain privileges. Then it is
matter of course that the executive
officer at the head of the table mods in
the affirmative when the request is
made that smoking be permitted after
dinner. Ordinarily the smoking is
done on deck above matches, but q
iandsman may be supposed to find it
more agreeable not to leave his seat
at, table when the time to smoke ar
rives. There is no hard liquor on the
table, but if the guest is in need of the
stay that a cocktail gives man before
dinner, the surgeon, who keeps-fn his
medical stores articles contraband
elsewhere, may prescribe the cocktail,
and perhaps mix it for the visitor. !
The landsman's breeding is put to a
pretty test when he becomes a guest
aboard ship, and the officers are quick
to detect the fact that the visitor has
failed to realize that the wardroom is
both drawing-room and dining-room,
and to comport himself accordingly.
He may not feel any marked GOODNESS
in the attitude of those with whom he
is dining, but his individual host is
likely to hear something from his
messmates that will prevent the reap
Pearance of the offensive guest. The
| visitor who makes no mistakes and has
something to say worth hearing is sure
of a welcome, and is made to feel that
he is the guest not only of the officer
| who brings him on board, but of every
denizen of the wardroom. To the
guest the talk of the table is likely to
be fresh and interesting, no matter
how trite itg may be to some of his
hosts. Nobody objects to an old story
SO long as the guest seems to relish it,
th1oughAafter his departure ample re-
yenge may be taken upon the offender.
. DISASTROUS Mistake. 1
HE made a miscalculation. didn't
hep" f. .-..-,@~ 60 -. *9. d.
"Oh, it was more than miscalcula-
ton; it was complete mistake. He
thought he had invented a flying ma
chine, and when he made trial Of It
from roof top it proved to be diving
machine Chicago Post. s:ss=2.. s
.zS s><-s A Melancholy Joke.
81 wonder why Grape is the emblem
tof sorrow?'' asked the handsome