Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1904-04-07
WISE OLD ADMIRAL
HOW AMERICAN SAILOR DiScoM.
FITTED ENGllSHMAN.
Disposed Of His Grog, But Not in the
Manner Usually Considered Proper
Incident That Shows His Sterling
Sense Of Honesty.

At one of the regular Saturday night
meetings OF young Mr.. Rockefeller's
bible class recently Col. Church told a
story about bluff old Admiral Greg
DRY which made the Bible class laugh.
admiral Gregory-Capt. Gregory
he was then-was in Portsmouth,
England, in command OF frigate,"
said Col. Church, and he was the re-
cipient of many hospitable attentions.
That was back in the days when
naval hospitality meant grog, and the
host and guest drank healths till one
or both were under the table.
There was at Portsmouth in COM
mand OF the Elgin fleet seasoned old
seadog in the matter OF alcoholic bev-
erages, and he soon invited Gregory to
dine with him, tipping the wink to his
officers that he was going to fill that
Yankee naval officer so full of grog
that he wouldn't know a captain from
Delaying pin.
Gregory was a tolerably well sea
soned vessel himself; so he took to
strategy. His troubles began when
the Englishman He'd in his officers
one by one and troduced them to
Gregory, this, OF course, meaning an
extra drinking with each as the offic-
ers were brought in.
"In those days the naval officers
wore stocks coming high up under
their chins under tightly buttoned
coats. Gregory was adroit enough to
empty about 80 per cent of the drinks
that came his way into the space be-
tween his stock and his chin. The
consequence was that the more he
seemed to drink the soberer he got,
while the Englishman at last landed
under his own table. Then Gregory
went OH 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 a judge. But there was one thing
never saw man sweat so In my life.
Why, the front of his coat was 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
when he died, here in New York in
1866, and his service in the United
States navy went away back before
the war Of 1912. -
In the civil war he was appointed
to superintend the construction OF
ironclads, with headquarters at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard. Boodling In
government contracts ran wild and
one of the first things he received
after he took charge was a 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 of
the damned scoundrels." Then he sat
down and wrote letter to this eff
feet:
yours inclosing 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 1t is contri-
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
eminent and afterward made restitu-
tion.-New York Sun.