Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-27
TRIBUTE TO THE OtY
Wardroom Stories OF Hull,
PrebIe and cambridge.
WHEN JACK CAME ASHORE
How He Painted Out Shop Signs OF
Honolulu.
SHIPS MANNED BY BRITISH
Officers and Men Better Behaved Now
Mo Ground for Popular
Wrong Impressions.

When the wardroom dinner got down to
coffee. a visiting officer. a commander VINO
had gunboat lying at the yard. began 10
speak of Jack ashore" and the wrong I'M
pressions the public has In regard to the
matter
But it was not always thus" ventured
tho doctor Don't you really think that
I'm the old times there was some ground for
the popular idea?'
''Oh. yes" answered the commander Il
think that both officers and men are peter
behaved on shore than they were only
few wears ago Why, when l was kid
Newfoundland that was not so very long
ago-we Junior wardroom officers used to
cut up in a most undignified manner In
foreign ports sometimes. SO dlo our Eli
glish cousins of the briny.
81 remember once of going into Honolulu
and finding the merchants of the city In an
exasperated mood against the officers OF
British man-of-war which had sailed that
morning. 1t seems that among the omcers
of that ship was Lord Charles Beresforo
then a Young and effervescent lieutenant
now an old and stately admiral Lord
Charles and his crowd of roisterers hao
been doing the town the night before ana:
after the populace had retired TO bed hao
amused themselves by painting out every
shop sign in Fort street. the principal bust
ness thoroughfare of the city. TO TINS Gay
they Will tell you stories III VI
the doings of Charley Berestoro anu MS
wild young harumscarums
Livened Up Rio.
1T was In the eighties that my ship
went to Rio and found the British gunboat
Ruby lying there. We younger officers for
gathered on shore that night-British and
Yankee-and livened up the ancient capital
OF Dom Pedro a bit. When we put off from
no I tric in ba uaa
hours our boats We're loaded with signs
which we had picked up in the Rua d Ouvi-
dor and the Primero Marco.
Our course lay by the Ruby. and the
British officers insisted that we stop on
board and have parting smile'-we did
AS the British on board began to take
the signs they had acquired. we followed
with our spells of war; both hilarious par
ties pilng up the purloined dunnage in the
little wardroC of the gunboat until you
could scarcely move In 1t. 1Aen we re-
paired on board own ship-it was high
time. There was wrath and dismay next
morning in the Ouvidor and the Primero
Marco. and reckon there was also little
wrath and dismay on board the Ruby when
the state of the wardroom. However. as
the gunboat sailed that day. l never knew
exactly what did happen on board.
But bless you. that was years ago.
Young officers ofthe navy do not behave SO
nowadays when they strike the beach. or.
II they attempt it, the devouring court
martial catches EN-"
Well. said lieutenant I'VE are
pretty well-behaved lot even In cal
low youth. and so are our men-all good
Americans now-a days. practically al; the
enlisted force. But do you know that in
the early part of the last century our
navy was woefully short of native sail
ors. and only the war of 1912 brought
them into the service again.
when treble went out to the NJ ,dter
ranean. in 1902, in the Constitution. he
wrote TO the department: 1 do not be
lieve have twenty native Americans in
my crew; and when the Philadelphia was
captured by the Tripolitans three foI rths
of her crew were British subjects. So
you see. the British had some grounds for
their claim of the right of seal cha
claim, by the way which they have
never given up. but which, / think they
would be rather chary of trying 20 ex-
ercise in these days
Scramble for Sailors.
AT the same time that so many Dii.ish
sailors were serving on board American
ships large numbers of Americans were
serving board British men-of-war
Some had been pressed in British poets.
some had been taken out of American
merchant ships. and even American mem
of-war. and some had enlisted volunta-
rily. Mad Jack PercivaL afterward
navy. and American born. was Captain
of-the-top on Nelson's flagship at the bat
tie of Trafalgar. One of Nelson's cap
tains-l have forgotten which one was
American born, believe.
1T was scramble for sailors among
the maritime powers in those days. and
even the British used to have men taken
from their ships by rival nations The
story is told of a British captain who
was dining on board Dutch man-or- war
In a neutral harbor when his host an
nounced to him that he was exit emely
sorry. but a Dutch subject had been dis
covered among the nf q "a m aiy,'a
gig and had been taken out and sent for
ward.
Put him back sir. Put him back"
exclaimed the British captain.
And If 1 do not?" asked the Dutch
captain.
Then. sir replied the Britishcr. 7
and mind. sir. he never disobeys orders
to open fire on you. sir. and will walk
your quarter deck, sir, until he u;ows
you out OF water
cambridge was the boy for the Brit
ishers when it came to impressiny sea-
men from Yankee ships" remarked the
navigator When he was a merchant
skipper in the ship Hope before he en-
tered the navy. he had a sailor taken out
Of his vessel by the British man-of-war
Indefatigable. Captain Sir Edward Pei
lew. although the man was American
born. and cambridge proved 1t to the
boarding officer. Five days after ward
cambridge came across a British mer-
chant brig and heaved her to with q shot
dCIOSS DOWS, LOT tHe nope Carried
guns. Then he sent one of his officers on
board with instructions to bring back a
healthy Johnny Bull single, sober and
Industrious The order was obeyed and
cambridge sent the brig on her way with
request to report that Captain William
cambridge has taken one of his maj
esty's subjects in retaliation for a SEAMAN
taken from the American ship Hope by
Lieut. Norton Of the interchangeable razee.'
Something Of a Tartar.
"Old Commodore Preble was something
OF a Tartar. too. when 1t came to cali
Sng down the naughty Britisher. Once,
When he was captain Of the Constitution,
he sighted a strange vessel on u dark
night near the Straits OF Gibraltar. Send
ing his crew to quarters Preble naiied
What ship is thatr Instead of deciar-
ing himself the stranger replied: What
ship Is thatT Three times the captain
hailed and demanded the strangers lame
and nationality and each time the strang-
er answered with a like demand.
&c am now going to hail for the last
time shouted Preble through his tram
pet. and II a proper answer Is not re-
turned 1 will fire through you
IF you fire a shot / will iCtLrn :,
hrnnHSfda' ha