Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1925-12-02
OLD DAYS ON THE SEA.
Singing Sailors and Some of Their
Songs and Superstitions.

experiences which will not be re-
peated by the present or coming |
generation. Times have changed,
and there will be no more sailor-boy |
like those of my early
days.
| sailed in the topsail schooner,
Agnes, with Capt. Jordan Treworgy. |
He was a man of good character,
neither swore nor drank, and was
but he kept severe |
discipline on shipboard. I got alons
well with him, for | knew better |
than to be saucy or disobedient.
He had son, Eugene, about my |
age, who sailed with us. One night, |
off Boon island, we encountered quite
a storm. The captain ordered us
aloft to take in the itopsail When
we got onto the yard-arm, the wind
lightning and rain were furious, but
we stuck to it till the sail was furled
and then came down feeling proud
that, though we were mere boys, we
had done the work of men.
We got safely into Boston harbor,
and when Sunday morning came the
vessel was at the wharf. 1t was a
fine morning, and about 8 o'clock
church bells began to ring, among
them the chimebells which chmed
out several old timers, among them
the Missionary hymn:
From Greenland'S icy mountains
From midas coral strand" etc.
We listened a while and Eugene
said: Lets go to church" So we
walked up the street few rods and
came to place where we heard
music. A man at the door invited us
to come in. We went upstairs, en-
tered room and sat down A
man was playing the organ and
pictures of Christ and the apostles
were hanging on the walls We had
been there but a few minutes, when
Eugene seized my coat sleeve and
giving it jerk started for the stree
and | followed. AS soon as we got
out Eugene said: "That's the blasted
Church of England. We don't want
any OF that stuff let's get something
American Going little farther
up the street, we came to Father Tay-
lor's "Seaman's Bethel"
Father Taylor had been a mariner,
but was now preaching to sailors
Many of those who came to the
Bethel were hard men They were
prOfane, immoral and Incorporate,
but they were generous with their
money and quite inclined to be re-
ligious, that is, they were emotional
and supersttious. Father Tay-
lor was very successful in gettin :
the attention and confidence of men
of that kind.
At that time, Theodore Parker was
prominent Unitarian minister, and
he had said Something about the
bible which Father Taylor thought
was very wicked. AS we entered the
! Bethel, he was preaching very
earnestly about the value of the
bible. He held it up and shook it,
and said: "This is the word of God.
Theodore Parker has been belittling
this sacred book, but, my dear ship
mates, this book will be read and
believed and revered when that old
Unitarian has been so long in hell
that he can't remember that he was
ever anywhere else"
Eugene and I were Baptists, and
we had never before heard anything
about Unitarians, but we came away
fully satisfied that we had heard
something American.
A very enjoyable experience of the
sailor boy was the mariners singing.
If, on a calm day, he was in a har-
Dor where a ships crew was weigh
ing anchor" he would sometimes
hear some fine chantey songs, and at
! viii hic III n q
chantey songs. and they often sang
other songs, for in the crew there
were often men who had good voices
and sang with good taste. Some OF
these were sacred songs given them
bv seamen's missions. The follow
ing is one of them:H
"Tossed upon life's raging billow
Sweet it is. O. Lord, to know
Thou dost press the sailors pillow,
And canst feel the sailors woe.
Never slumbering, never sleeping,
Though the night is dark and drear,
Thou the faithful watch art keeping,
All is WE'LL thy constant cheer.
"And though loud the wind is hoWlIng.
Fierce though flash the lightning red,
Darkly though the storm clouds
scoWling
Ger the sailors anxious head,
Thou canst calm the raging ocean
And it's noise and tumult still,
Hush the tempest's wild connection
At the bidding of Thy Will"
And they sometimes sang in praise
of their vessel. Here is one of those
songs:
II sailed from the Downs in the Nancy,
My jib, How she smacked through
the breeze!
She's a vessel as close to my fancy
AS ever sailed on the salt seas.
So adieu to the white cliffs of Briton,
Our girls and our dear native shore,
For if some hard rock we should split
We ne'er shall see them any more"
The songs, Lord Bateman" and
"Joe Bowers" were always favcrlte
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