Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-11-04

respect. Ahd inc supreme We'll done
which you may earn is made ov..
her
Il is my deep conviction. or. perlla ps
] Ou=nt TO say my deep fe.ii', z bor:
from personal experience. that IL Is not
the sea. but the things Of the sea that
Ru!d" and comman,i tn't spirit OF ad
natur% OF British men. don't want to
provoke q controversy tfor intei!ectu-
ally ! am rather Qmietist). bu; ven
turc 10 affirm that tho main character
istic of British men. spread all over
the World Is not the spirit Of adven-
! think that this could be demonstrated
~, ne genera activity of the race. That
service 10 he adventurous rather than
otherwise cannot be deuicd. for each
British man began by, being young in
Afterwards. with the course Of yea
risE became ne, !: part 81 his daily worh;
sid. as one missc familiar COM
paninn.
NOT SAVING GRACE
The mere love OF adventure is no
lays "a man under no obligation a.:
fa!thfuiness to an idea and not even 10
ad"enturer may bc expected 10 have
courage. orr AZ amy rate may be said
s 40 "f iGsa it. hut in ,ssit is
showed courage OF a sort. and pirate.
crews have been known to fight with
courage or perhaps only with reckless
desperation IN the manner Of corutred
rats. There is nothing in the world to
prevent Il mere lover or pursuer OF
ment There is himself. his mere taste
for excitement. the prospect of some
sort OF gain. but there is no sort or
loyalty 10 bind him in honor to consist
ent conduct Going about the world
nav. noticed that the majority OF
he. Of
"f II Is that so many Of them mana Ee
10 Keep II whole 10 advanced age. You
anu continents. mostly red-noscG and
"a't' eyed and not even amuainc!v
Donsttui There is nothing more futile
tie might have loved at one time
Which would have been ~ saving grace.
ii so. he was. bound to lose this grace
very soon. Adventure by itself il but
= =, phanI,om' a dubious shape Without u
fnti>e Than an adventurer in his pur-
suii Of acute sensations. hut nobody
can say mat the adventurous activities
ct the british race are stamped with
the fUtiiity of 4 mere chase after
empty emotions.
The successive generations that Went
on; from those isles over the sea went
out TO toi: desperately In adventurous;
G E. \ man is worker. II he
tng-.lke {. mere adventurer Those
men understood the nature .; thei:
degrees Of impcrfec,ion. The best ana
greatest of their leaders even, had
never seen ii clearly. because OF its
nagnitnd. and the rcmoteness OF its
end. This il the common fate OF man
Kind. whose most positive ACHE Vcinents
are born from dreams and visions fol-
lowed loEa'ly 10 an unknown destina-
ton. Ana 1t doesn't matter. For the
great mass Of mankind the only say
fidelity 10 what is nearest 10 hand and
h"ait in the short moment 81 each hu.
man effort: In other and in greater
immediate duty. n feeling OF impalpahl.
constraint. And. indeed. Seamen and
duty are al the time inseparabie com
that this sense Of duty is not Il patriotic
sense or religious sense. or even II
forial sens. in seaman. I don, know.
may he an unconscious compound Of
these three. something perhaps smaller
than either but something much more
definite, for the simple minds and more
adapted 10 the huMbleness Of the sea
mans task. II has been suggested also
upon III. mature Of a seaman by the
spiri' OF the sea. which he serves with
dumb and logged devotion.
ThoS" ara tine words conveying II Rnt.
idea. bnt this 90 know. that it j.
very diftcu.t Ia display !, dogged dev"-
IL every day life ordinary men reauirc
something much NOR. material. effcc-
tive definite and symbol: on which 10
ton Aud then. what is il. this spirit
o, me sea II Is TOO great and too
elusive 10 he embraced and taken to a
human breast. All that Il guileicss o.
svnefui seaman knows or II is its hos
!!rilE UT Its sSasli9n Of toll or >end!ess, as
awakems the seaman's sense Of duty.
what lays that hnpalpahle comstraint
uponi The strength Of his maniincss.
Il always dogged devotion? ii is not
me spirit OF the sea. hut something
that in his eyes has q body. II character.
= fascination and almost II soul.-it is
his ship.
There Is not day that has nrssed
for Tnanv centuries VOW without, the sun
groups of british men whose
material and moral existence was CON
and their faithful devotion TO the ship.
Each age has sent it's contingent. not
or sons tfor the great mass of seameu
have always been II childlcss lop. but
of loyal and obscure successors taking
up the modest. but spiritual Inherit
ancs OF Il hard lie aud simple duties:
could shake The traditional attitude
born from the physical conditions of
h Ihn sfr om ltnMai i, aways 'i'T snir.
service OF the nation. that has been The
stage for the exercise OF Seamen'S very
sr"at dis,ancrs and the the o %m"fnS o"
lives protected them from the nations
admiTing gaze. Those scattered dis
eyes Of the earth only one degree RE-
moved con the right side. supposcJ
from the other strange monsters Of the
deep. IL spoken of ut all they were
smoker Of IN tones Of half coMtemut-
uous indulgence. y good many years
ago it has been my lot 10 present one
OF those, ships companies on "a certain
sea, under certn In circumstances. In IL
book of no particular length.
That small group Of men whom
.ried TO depict with loving care but
Sparing none of their weak ncsses. was
characterized by II friendly reviewer
As Il lot Of engaging ruliians. This
gave me some food for thought. Was
H. then. in that Suisc that they ap.
neared through the misis Of he sen.
distant. perplcNea and simple minded"
And what on earth iS AN "cnEaginE
rufiian"? lie must be Il creature OF
literary imagination. thought. for
the two words did not match in my per-
IRE 30 meet II few ruffinns here and