Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-08-18
HOW AMERICAN SAILOR ClSCOM.
FITTED ENGLISHMAN.
disposed of His Grce, But Not in the
Manner Usually Considered Proper
incident That Shows His Sterlino
Sense of Honesty.

AL one o. the regular Saturday ninlt
meetings Gf goaHg Mr.. Rockefener's
bible class recently Col. Churcn told a
story about bluff old Admiral Greg
ory which made the Bible class laugh
Admiral Gresory-Capt. Gregory
he was then--was in Portsmouth.
Ehglard. in command of a fr;gate,'
said Col. Church. and he was the re-
clp1ent of many hospitable attentions
That was back in the days when
naval hospitality meant srog. and the
host and guest drank healths till one
or both were under the table.
There was at Portsmouth in com
mand OF the Elejn feet seasoned old
1ea-dog in the matter Of alcoholic bev.
erages, and lie soon invited Gregory to
dine with him, tipping the wink to his
officers that he was going to fill that
aGkee naval officer so full Of grog
that he wouldn't know captain from
a Delaying pin.
Gregory was a tolerablv we'll sea.
soned vessel himself; SO he took to
strategy. His troubles began when
the Englishman called in his officers
one by one ana introduced them To
Gregory, this. Of course. meaning an
extra drinking with each as the of1lc
ers were brought ill.,
In those days the naval officers
wore stocks coming high UP under
their chins under tightly buttoned
coats. GREGORY was adrcit enough to
empty about 80 per cent OF the drinks
that came hts way into the space be
tween his stock and his chin. The
consequence was that the more he
seemed to drink the soberer be got
while the Englishman at last landed
under his own table. Then Gregory
went on deck. talked with the officers
looked over the strip and finally went
over the side into his gig and away to
his own ship.
Wasn't he drunk?" asked the Eng
lishman when he inquired about his
guest the next morning.
Drunk? Not a bit of it. sir an.
swered the officers. "He was sober
as Judge. But there was one thing.
never saw man sweat so in my life
Why, the front of his coat wef wet
through
OF all the old type of American
naval officers there is none about
whom more stories are told by the old
timers than about Admiral Francis
Hoyt Gregory. He was Y years old
when he died here in New York in
1866, and his service in the United
States navy went away back before
the war Of 1872
In the civil war he was appointed
to supe::htend the construction OF
lronclads, with headquarters at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard. Boodling IL,
government contracts ran wild and
one Of the first things he received
after he took charge was polite let
ter from one of the big iron firms
which had been doing a good deal of
business with the government, inclos.
ing check made out to Gregory per-
sonally for the sum of $4,000.
The old warrior, bristling with
wrath, expressed himself in chosen
sea language about the "impudence o;
the damned scourdrels." Then he sal
down and wrote letter to this ef
feet:
Yours inclosirg a check made out
to me personally for the sum of $10,-
900 is at hand. AS can conceive Of
no other reason for your sending
money to me. | assume it is contr.
button to the conscience fund, and
have so disposed of it"
And that is precisely what he did
sent it to Washington to be credited
to the account of those who had in
one way and another swindled the gov.
ernment and afterward made restitu
Von.--New York Sun.