Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-05-21
4 SEA PICTURE CRIT|C'
He Knew All About Ships and the
Wild Ocean.
ART COMMENTS OF A SAILOR
The death of Nelson" Reminded Him
of How 'Arkness Come OFF the Main
Yard-The Blood Red Sky Without a
Cloud That EoreteIs a Storm.

OF ROW 'Arkness Come OFF the Main
Yard-The Blood Red Sky Without a
Cloud That ForeteIls a Storm.
Crude perhaps and curious, the out
come of life apart, sailormen have
yet an appreciation of the arts, writes
David w. Bone in the Manchester
Guardian
Once in the Walter gallery was
looking at THE Death of Nelson" :"
There was a man with the look of a
seaman standing near. He had a slight
smell of drink and was chewing tobac-
co. He, too, was interested in the pic
ture, and, recognizing me as seaman
like, he said something, and we got to
talking about Nelson and his times.
about ships and pictures. ''B'gad,
mate. them felers" (the painters he
meant 'knowed what they was
a-doin'. Look at that ERE glim" dan
term. Looks as its trimmin' was for
got Wen they brought tn admiral
down. An them eyes" point
Ing to a wounded seaman in the near
foreground, "them's tn eyes o. poor
'Arllness wot come off tn main ward
las voyage an struck tn fife rail full
on
He told me of the accident. how it
happened, and by his eyes and rude.
simple speech saw it ALL AS plain be-
fore me as the figure of the stricken
seaman ] saw 'Arkuess come off the
main yard. clutching wildly at the
sheets and lifts as he fell heard him
strike the rail with a sickening thud
and lie stretched. l saw the running
figures on the deck, and-"'e never
larsted tn night. We buried i'm out
there. Taltal it was" said my speaker,
involuntarily twisting a shoulder to an
imaginary southwest.
There was q sea picture, a ship com.
ing up to the Isle of Wight-clean
curving sails, a good sense of move
ment and fine, breezy atmosphere.
Jest wot it is said my friend.
"'omeward bound. Let 'er go. boys"'
a burst of enthusiasm that made some
visitor glance around, alarmed. Come
ward bound it isr' There were other
fine pictures, but we did not feel that
we had right to do more than look at
them and admire. With sea pictures 1t
was different They were our world
and who had the right to criticise the
way sea was moving off the sky IL
we had not? Too often had we watch
ed, anxious eyed, for q break In the
clouds not to know the way of wind
on the water. the scud of n cloud
breaking free In Il welcome shift. Well
we knew the curve of a standing sail
and the relation it bore to the sense of
movement.
For city of the sea Liverpool has
no great representation of her fore
most industry on her chamber walls
Sea pictures have apparently no at,
traction for her chiefest citizens. There
was little call for sea critics down
stairs, so we went to an exhibition of
modern art in the upper galleries.
Here we found ourselves properly con-
fronted. Setting Sail After Blow" it
was, a large canvas, ship pitching
heavily in the swell of a recent gale
and the crew putting the canvas on
her. 1t held a great message for my
mate (black smoke and an ever throb-
bins screw had not yet dulled his sea
fancy. He was highly pleased. "Them
seas wot ye gets off tn Plate" He
wanted to show some word of cheer, to
swing his right hand to the left shoul-
der in seamanlike admiration. but the
cold gray eye of n tall hated official
was unon uS.-"HCh. sailorsr'-and
tnere was a group of young ladies'
near by worshiping at the shrine of a
corporation purchase, 50 he contented
himself by nudging me furiously.
That's wot l calls a picture" he said.
y sunset over water claimed our at
tention. A blood red sky with no
clouds, only a slight density near the
horizon. l said 1t was remarkable.
perhaps unreal. That's where We
amt in it, mister Look a here! If
We wos t take all tn colors in tn lock-
er SOS We 'ad lots o. red an yeller in,
ye'd find a sky t match it. Amt ye
never card O. what them dagos calls
blood o Chris'-them dagos wot loads
ye ballest in tn Plate?" l had not
heard. well, it's a sky like that, an
1t comes afore one of them 'pamperos.'
Min l wos lyin in Monte Video
oncet, an we 'ad sky all blood red
an never cloud, an tn fishin' boats
wos all comm In; not rowin' shipshape,
same IS me an you 'ud do; them
shown tn oars S If they wos pushin'
barrer." He spat into dark corner
and said something more about dagos,
then continued: Mex day we 'ad
gale. 'Owlin', it was, an her drivin'
into it same s we wos off tn Horn,
an big German bark driv' down on
us an took tn fore to'gal'n'mast out O
'er an tn boom an started all tn
'eadgear. Two ships wos driV' ashore,
an that's wot comes out O them skies
wot they calls til blood o Chris"
1t was an impressionist picture that
annoyed my mate-an impression of a
scene in dock, with masts and tunnels
and hulls all mixed up. The coloring
was good, but the ships might have
been ninepins or egg boxes or any
thing. At first he was perpleXed, then
amused, then indignant "Oh, -w he
said. whats this? Ships b'gad, or
I'm Dutchmanr lie burst into a fit
or rude laughter. "Ships it is, mister,
an look at them tawps'l yards! Ships
wi tawps'l yards below the main, an
a hangman's gibbet fer tn mizzen gaff.
Them fellers s got some cheek, mate.
That's VT coils