The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-30
n. NJ. 8. PINAFORE'S RIO.
An Old salt Of the Seven seas Replies
IN 4 Learned Critic.

n . Learned CrItlC.
To THE EDITOR or THE SUH-Str: From
"P. X. DIS" letter about II. NJ. 3. Pima
fore at the Hippodrome performance In
THE SUN of April 2S II appears to me
that the man In a landlubber who has
had a Sailors Manual and q few ship
charts naming each individual part OF
a "windjammer" before him and does not
write as a true seaman. l myself was
at one time the quartermaster OF the
sailing vessel May Flint owned and con-
trolled by the Flint Eddy company. Be-
fore this I was a student OF tho school,
ship St Marys. ''windjammer," and
have served in the navies Of several ooun-
tries. which to mention separately would
take up too much space.
up. II. D." informs US In HIS letter
that he sat at the opening night OF the
performance Of III. NJ. s. Pinafore" seve n
rows from the front and looked at the
break of the topgallant focastle ten
feet In front of tho foremost: in the ship
at the Hippodrpmc the foremost Is not
shown only the main and mizzen are
visible to the eye.
How can our friend "P. r. D." figure
that the fo'castle is ten feet in front of
the foremost when there Is no foremost
visible to the eye? This is minor de-
tail, but, as ! have said before, II seems
to me that "P. X. H." is landlubber
with no real knowledge of the subject.
Up. II. D." takes exception to critic
OF one Of the New York newspapers who
speaks Of the great cross booms" instead
OF the yardarrns. II ought not TO be
expected that a music critic. who is en-
gagged by a paper to criticise musical per-
formances. whether they be of nautical
M mr. m shpild he VergNd In
technicality about the navigation of \
ship The ordinary newspaper critic
could not OF course tell the difference
between a dolphin striker and a marlin
spike; so why does our friend up. r. d."
bring into his criticism OF the wind
TANNER Pinafore" the music critics of
the New York papers?
Referring to up. r. DIS" question, Did
any man-o -warsman ever see the Adj
miral. or any other officer. officially visit
ing the ship come aboard through the
port side?" might say they never come
through" but sometimes come aboard
on the port side. I would also like to
say that I have seen an Admiral Of the
German navy come aboard a man-o war
which was lying outside the port of Lis
bon on the port side, for the simple rea-
son that there was a storm. The wind
was blowing about sixty-five miles an
hour 80 the gangway was lowered on the
port or lee side. You will find that when
there is a storm the Admiral Commander,
Captain or whoever II may be visiting "A
man-o'war will always board the ship to
leeward. never to windward.
Let us put the fact OF Buttercup
coming aboard on the starboard side down
to pure accident and not naval s>acrlege.
Many a stowaway has come aboard un-
noticed by the most vigilant twentieth
century watch. So that leaves loop
hole for poor little Buttercup.
In speaking OF the armament OF the
Pinafore our sea wolf leaves nothing
to the imagination. OF course I can see
his point of view that is. 1t is all star
board sided. The schoolsh,p 81. Mary's, so
far as ] know. was built many years
before the civil war, and she was then of
the same rig as she was in my time as
a cadet. In other words, she carried a
mizzen foresail. At the time I was a
student l was about five foot in height
and was then head and shoulders above
the bulwarks. ! am now an average sized
man OF five foot eight inches, SO "P r.
DIS" exception TO the height OF the bull
warks of the Pinafore can he classed
among a few OF his miscopled nautical
terms from the Sailors Manual
I might further suggest to up. r. D."
that he request the management OF the
Hppodrome 10 put the frigate Pnafore
in dry dock. so that he may take his yard
stick. Sailors Manual, and whatever other
backs he may have AT his command. and
convince himself as we'll as his Uisin-
formed public that tho Pinafore is UP 10
calls for. that IL. MS much as is shown
of her IN the Hippodrome production.
Captain A. VAN BENzI1.
NYw York. April %