Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-12-24
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pair OF binoculars in the form of two quart wine
bottles dashed together, to his eyes and makesfa
pretense OF getting his bearings by, scrutinlzlng
the sailors about him. Presently ne reports 70
Sanity who has deposited his basket OF presents 4
on the quarter deck "Sir, see we are now In the
Cannibal isles" % n $5s ID f$$ stfss AL tIj q
n Sanity begins then to pick UP presents and \
read the names aloud, giving them to the crew Of
Y"Der Prosit' and the admirals wife, and even to
the admiral himself, who distributes them accord
Tingly cutting many ridiculous capers ,$ f& .s}
$. The presents are Of type that bring Laughter
h They are gotten up and made by the friends OF
those to whom they are sent, with an idea to-
wards characterizing the ambition, the whim or
the standing jokes that mark the receiver. II
the captain is four striper he will probably get
an admirals star, unless he has some other whims
! by which he is more properly known. When he is
presented with this he can only blush IN the
presence of everybody. and take his tdose, as
Sanity is supreme Christmas day.
But. the greatest gift that Sanity can bestow
falls to the lot of those who, through some mis-
fortune or slip have come in line for punishment
4 It Is customary for Sanity to walk boldly up to
I the captain and ask him to Whitewash' the
\ books. In the face of everybody and on Christ
mas day the captain can not very well refuse this
request, although some captains have been seen
to vince and cough before granting the immeas-
urable favor The report book, in which all pun
ishable acts are entered, is swept clean and the
culprits reinstated to frst-class standing and
enjoy all the privileges held by their more for
tunate shipmates who have not fallen before the
multiplicity Of temptations that daily assail the
mano.warsman. %f5t [$f IA IS
The event which forms background for all this
merriment is the regular "bg feed" as the sail
ors call it. For the last week this has crept into
their conversation. Pie, turkey and plum dun
are the three great delicacies to the sailors, and
they have more respect for them than for the
three graces. - sE ~
what kind of feed Is the commissary gonna
hand us?" one sailor asks Of another. During this
time of anticipation excitement runs high and the
commissary is very much respected person. In
fact he is retired person, for his billet Is
hard one to fill to the satisfaction Of every one
who eats at the general mess. There is always
some old tar or other who imagines himself to
be sighted by the quality Of his food, and the
apprentice boys take from him the habit OF COM
planning with very little reason on their side.
Z Quarrels often result and have to be referred to
the mast" where the first lieutenant first lun)
settles the matter in favor of the commissary so
that the sailor arranges private settlement with
the commissary later on where the first luh has
nothing to say about it. . ..itE571s
The burden of the repast falls naturally upon
the cooks and mess attendants. 1t is far from an
enjoyable affair with them, although they are an