New-York tribune., 1917-07-15

ished. But now with brave iron' '"''
old relics are filing the need for yes
sei,-.nd tho brave front OF the eigh-
teenth century ship, with Its heroic
fgurehead, is again seen in New i0iA
Harbor after many years.
The fgurehead at the prov OF a
sailing vessel, once the necessary anu
characteristic emblem Of the vessel
the personification Of her identi'y' ]"
to-day retained only in the herman
navy. The Deutschland and the I'M
perator have we'll known emoiems' 'he
carved imperial eagle and motto Meih
Field ist die Welt" Of the latter were
criticised mildly only a few years ago
by Colonel Cyril Field, of the BRUSH
navy as being "a bit previous"
But the figurehead died hard among
other nations. As an expression OF the
poetry and superstition Of seamen II
has lived since the Egyptians and
Phenicians decorated their prows with
the carved figure of an ibis, lotus, a
phanix or sometimes a gigantic and
all-seeing eye, and then confidently set
sail under its projection. For these
| thousands of years the fgurehead mas
been the seaman's god. He has trusted
! the figurehead no less than his compass
or his captain, and there is not sailor
TO-DAY of the old school who would not
vsIcome its return to modern vessels.
The Seaman's God
Particularly have the sailors been
| fond of the beautiful lady who breast
ed the waves as the ships guardian
angel. They used to spend hours
painting and retouching her hair, lips
and ewes. and they treated her with all
! the gallantry and tenderness that
ladies on land receive. In l7!9 brit.
| ish sailor wrote that "the British meet
had fed before the enemy and that the
seamen hung their hammocks pelore
the Victory's head that she might not
see such days!" Captain Basil maze
tells of one gilded lady who furnishe91
the captain Of the ship with an 0du
means of getting action out OF ms
crew. The ship was sailing IN COM
pany with several others OF the same
class, and when they all came TO reet
topsails together she was beaten on
! the first occasion. AS they were set-
/ ting about a second trial the captain
/ called out to the sailors aloft, NOW,
ri tell you what it is, my lads, unless
YOU are off the yards and the sails are
/ hoisted up again before any otner snip
in the squadron I'll paint your hgure-
/ head black" This die threat had its
bat
was the first in the feet.
The figurehead, II not representing q
deitv or an animal, was often the figure
Of one of the royal family. Sir Charles
Hardy in 1897, under orders from the
/ Admiralty, declined an engagement
with the French feet. A lieutenant
aboard the Royal George of the heet
saw the boatswain's mate busily lash.
ing his hammock around the head OF
the king. "What are you dong
there 2" he asked. "Only securin,, MS
neeners sir. We arn't ordered TO
break the old mans heart, are weT
Feeling Still Evident
And even now you don't find the An
napolis midshipman passing lightly py
Tecumseh, the old tigurehead OIL tns s
Delaware. Indeed, they salute the old
chief with all the respect in the world,
for every MILDLY who has ever tried
defving him yet has funked his ex-
aminstions.
But along with the love and rever-
ence Tor the fgurehead there was
fear among nations, too, of other
navies' figureheads. The 4celanders,
for example. would not allow a vessel
,, 10 come within sight Of the island until
she had removed her fgurehead: All
because the Icelandic king himself used
TO offer human heads as sacrlflces 70
the gods. thus calling the curse upon
Norway. and the head on the PROV
OF a foreign ship coming toward his
own shore reminded him unpleasantly
of this rite.
Usually. however. the figurehead was
dressed up for the occasion OF enter
ing port. During the voyage all the
delicate projecting parts OF the hgure
were unscrewed, the trumpet, cornu-
COMA. trident; but when the hour tor
the triumphal entry arrived all these
parts were screwed on with great care
and ceremony.
A mishap to the fgurehead was the
most portentous omen that could befall
the ship. and the repair of the break
age was the first consideration when
the ship reached port again.
Lion England's Favorite
The Vikings were very particular
about their figureheads, but after
them the figurehead was rather un-
popular until Henry the Eighth set a
souatting lion on the famous Henri
Grace a Dieu and salamander with
ST. Francis on the Grand FRANCHISE.
Lions were Englsnd's favorite figure
head subjects, lions both fierce and
mild.
To-day the Japanese and the Chinese
have a uniform bow decoration that
takes the place OF the hgurehead. The
japanese emblem is the national
dragon. with the head of a camel, horns
of a deer, ears of q COW, neck of a
snake and other features of other ami
mails; the Chinese is the imperial
chrysanthemum. The United States
ships have as a substitute bronze fig
ures placed between the guns on the
fore turret, which device Colonel Field
SAYS would be a welcome addition on
all vessels.
In the merchant marine the figure
head has been an object both of senti-
ment and reverence. Often the owner
or builder of ship would have like
ness of sweetheart, wife or daughter
carved to put on the bow of his best
vessel. and usually the ship would bear
the name of the woman he had so hon
Ored.
In other cases the fgurehead is sup
posed to represent some water nymph
or other heroine Of local tradition after
which the ship is named. Brabloch is
an ohscure Norwegian ford. Like all