New-York tribune., 1909-05-29

The comprehensive title composed in the copi-
ous vein Of the olden time is a characteristic
feature OF Commander Robinson's latest volume
which owes its origin TO the authors large and
apparently inexhaustible collection Of pictures
bearing on the life Of the British sailorman
We have here chapters dealing with the seaman
on the stage. in comedy and dramatic literature
and as he appears in poetry, in ballads sea songs
and doggerel Further chapters treat Of his ap-
pearance in history and fiction. and there IS also
& discussion Of the seaman and sea life in pic
torial art and from another hand some lively
comment on the place Of the sea officer in naval
history Where so large a field is explored IN
search Of what is pertinent or individual or en-
tertaiping Il would be unfair 70 demand or eX-
pect TO scientific a method, and rigid form
would moreover. be foreign TO the essence Of
book suggested and inspired by a heterogeneous
collection Of illustrations. 1t has been the au-
thor's congenial task TO assemble from wide
range OF literature anecdotes. dialogues and &c
scriptions bearing upon the theme in hand, and
the excerpts thus gathered together are as
varied and interesting as the illustrations
they are intended 70 accompany.
The sailors detachment and absorption in his
calling have always made him a creature apart
Gayety generosity. sentiment and romance, toll
erance ard a quaint unconventonaiity have
marked his conduct and his language and have
from his travels. So his speech has come TO be
applied 10 every vicisstude and condition Of
human nature. Thus:
II man progresses in the world, he goes
ahead; il he meets with reyerses. he is in IN
shallow water" or he goes 10 leeward i there
is anything TO which he can firmly hold: il IS his
sheet snehoT i ne ne Is Is inSI1G4'g S4sT mood e ay d fe
three sheets in the Wind; if he suffers depTiya-
1++er 6rase IS rare n these times but has been
hear
with the sea: If he has resources eXpedlents al
hand ne haS m ore e1 sto are N hpshape with the
orderliness Of ship. or they may be all a.taun, n
argument he gives him "a broadsde
4 very hastv sketch covers the whole period
of Jacks connection with English history, and
FIskluyt and Luke Fox and Hawkins quoted
10 illustrate the qualities that go TO make the
seaman a man Of knowledge shaped by "ex-
quisite experience The pressgang is, of
course. often referred TO. and not always with
disapprobation. Under the Tudors men were
obtained mainly by this system. which was in
tended 10 bring in mariners from the coast
towns who were acquainted with the working OF
ships At sea. Even at the present day it has
never been declared illegal, and il has been
frequently sanctioned by Parliament, even IS
recently as 1886 The Crimean War was the
first in which feet manned without
n course 10 it. Officers generally regarded It as
TI indispensable. and in spite Of attempts to en-
courage volunteers the supply was ever made
quate. The law allowed only seafaring men to
be pressed but officers were not squeamish. and
artisans and laborers were frequently carried
Of, some Of them. according to Pepys poor
patient laboring men and housekeepers" The
argument for inpressment is summed UP by
Barnaby Slush. author Of a now scarce tract
printed in 17es who declared that he who in
time Of peace follows the sea as his proper
vocation does and ought as naturally and Justly
expect being pressed when q war breaks out
as q blacksmith any other craftsman does to
bear a musket in the trained band when sum
moned TO the defence Of his country Our
island would be just island were the
authority Of inpressing abolished OF reputed
tyrannical' Steele, on the other hand, had
particular horror of the practice and gives a
graphic account OF brutalities incident to it
There Is T. long list OF writer's. critics and OBJ
servers who l>H"s devoted their attention TO
th5 z=- li@e Ned Ward, the scurrilous satirist,
ass Ezrnspy SlCsh. the sea cook. and chaplains
&Na -=-rcsists and serious minded persons
whose books and pamphlets are now known
only to collectors, and which afford abundant
material 10 SHOW what d patriotic hard work
ing. i'll fed, badly used. happy-go-lucI1y tndi-
YiGUai the British tar always has been and how
often his superiors have been but the greedy
and gorgeous offspring Of luxury. And then
there is the strange account OF the Fighting
Sailor turned Peaceful Christian. manifested in
the Confinement and Conversion OF Thomas
Lurting with short relation Of many great
Dangers and Deliverances he met yyithal." pub
ushed in ITO which narrates the astonishing
tale OF ;hc growth OF :. banG OF Qual1crs on
fighting man-of-war until the Friends num-
bered twelve Tnen and two boys who soreIy
tried the temper OF the captain until he threat
ened the offending peacemakers and beat them.
He, says the writer bitterly. was Baptist
preacher" With regard TO punishments the
sailor. like most schoolboys, did not object on
the score Of severity. but detested partiality.
Good mariners" says one OF these pamphlet
eers. grow not up like mushrooms, without care
or culture. Il is morally impossible, nay, it's
naturally impossible, too, to have a brave, ac-
tive. szilful resoiuts body of sailors without
just and generous as well as understanding Of
fcers"
When come to Jack on the stage We find
q replica OF the sailor afioat, but in a mirage,
an artificial atmosphere As early as the reign
OF Henry Y we see sailors playing part and
AT the pageants Of 1915 the shipwrights and
fishermen both selected the experiences Of Noah
the snbject for representation and with
coarse realism. profane buffoonery and rever-
ent sentiment reflected the conceptions and oc-
cupaaons of the mariner OF the day. After the
vessel is completed ana the animals are led on
board ;here is Il comic inUerlude in which
Noali's better half as typical fishwife re-
fuses 10 enter the ark. and mas to be carried
not without considerable turbulence and chas-
tise.sent bestowed upon tie long suffering pa
trlareh@ As for -Shakespeare's sailors. the nau-
tioal expression contained in his dramas and
those Of his contemporaries with that larger
view they seemed TO take of the possibilities