Evening star., 1928-12-23
BY FRANK II. SHAW.

AOl dlE lldA 0~SCh W llklO IIbNAl
a ference between a liners celebra
tion and what you might expect Il
meet ashore. You are assured OF q
Christmas dinner of almost overwhelm.
ing magnificence; with turkey, roast.
beef. plum pudding. mince pies and al
other Yuletide concomitantS in rare
perfection, prepared by the cunning
hands of chef who probably holds the
Gordon bleu.
There are masqueraderS and Christ
mas trees, for both the children and
the adults. There is every opportunity
to procure rich presents from the no
tions store. Fresh flowers-Christmas
roses for preference-adorn every snowy,
glittering table. Except under extreme
! conditions the rocklike steadiness OF
the ship will diSabuse your mind of
every impression Of being af1oat, and
the trained choir of stewards will rem
der a moving program of carols to
fetch back memories Of ChristmaSes
past.
But they wont-unless you have ex-
perienced the sensation - bring back
pictures of what a Windjammer Christ
mas was like: because the flight OF
of time has brought about the eXtinc-
ton of such stark functions. Let me
explain.
We certainly celebrated the festive
season in those ancient. fighting days.
We usually made point of real slap
bang celebration; because Christmas
meant a lot to us wanderers who seldom,
df ever, spent Christmas at home, and
so were compelled to exist on memories
those memories which thicken the
throat and cause the eyes to smart.
But not infrequently the celebrations
we're carried out under difficulties. II
L we had the good fortune to be in port
well and good have Christmased in
a South Australian gulf with the ther-
mometer registering 125 degrees in the
shade and ourselves compelled to keep
swimming all day in order to exist. l
have also spent the day of days in even
less appetiZing circumStanceS-down the
Fasting: off the Horn; in that tempes-
J tuous Bay of Biscay which no longer
possesses terrors for such as have their
business in great waters but which then
was a lively menace to our peace OF
mind.
The fattening of the pig was the
preliminary event when the festive
time approached. Mr.. Murphy was to
be the great piece de resistance, for he
was the only item of fresh meat aboard,
and after many months of salt feeding
We felt as if our very souls we're caked
in brine So that the function of the
pigs feeding was almost rite, and we
cheerfulIy saw the measly potatoes
which should have formed hash for
ourselves surrendered to gladden. the
guzzling and unconscious potential
sacrifice. If our daily ration of biscuit
became smaller until it threatened to
vanish altogether, we did not grumble
unduly, because we knew the flinty
pantiles were being surrendered in the
good cause of Christmas faring.
X X
iRUT apart from this sacrificial prepa-
= ration there never was much sug-
gestion of what one might designate the
real Christmas spirit aboard the grubby
Mindiammer that was a month or two
months, or maybe three, from port.
The Woodworking, slaye-driving mate
esteemed the day a cursed nuisance, be-
cause even he couldn't force us to labor
on that occasion, unless the actual safe
working of the ship demanded it. For
Christmas day was the one holiday PERI
mitted in those eaSeleSS days, when
day was presumed to possess "a work
ing hours and week seven working
days.
It is different now. Seamen adhere
as closely as possible to trades union
hours, and if the few exigencies OF
their calling infrequently demand labor
Dl~k Oh 1lONISt llICIl OfCAtA1AAC 40 PoJSS-N
according to schedule But old wind
sammer sailors are likely to declare
sorrowfully that sailors have ceased to
exist with the passing of the slave
6riying WindjammerS, when men had
TO work or go under. Anyway, no mod
ern Seafarer will ever realize the eXpec-
fancy with which we of the near-for-
gotten era looked forward to our annual
celebration
~. - =,
else. it certainly meant a chance to eat
TO safety of something novel in the way
of food-fresh pork and the tasty odd
tnents derivable from a porker prepared
for immoIation. Too, the flint-hard
soul of the cheeseparing steward might
conceivably be softened to the point OF
adding extra delectable luxurieS, such
as an extra ounce or two OF So-called
butter to exc out scanty ration that
never would extend the expected week,
try we ever so nobly to economic; or
, maybe slop or turnipy narmalade: or
even, If the gods were propltious, a
Fistful of soft cabin biscuit that to us
meant more than all the Partisan pastry
In the world.
And the skipper might unbend to the
further extent of issuing tot OF rum.
Of present giving, decorations or dress
Ing up in the accepted way there was
likely to be no hint. any more than
there would be any Christmas letters or
radio messages from friends at home
10 cheer our loneliness.
k* X
THE most vivid seafaring Christmas
in my memory found the weary old
Mindjammer battling with rip-snorter
/ of a Biscayan gale that was one OF the
siercest in my wide experience. There
was another spent off the Horn
: that almost epualed it, but not quite; on
that day we had to share our dinner
with tbs crew of foundered ship we
had providentially been permitted to
rescue after pretty tough struggle, and
the extra mouths made for lean farlng
But perhaps the Biscay Christmas
merits description.
we were homeward bound, but our
hopes of reaching home in time for the
function had been dashed by an annoy
/ ing sequence of calms and head winds
i'm the equatorial latttndes and. though
we had been four months on the voyage
we saw no prospect of making port be-
fore New Year Not all the whistling
in the world had brought the desired
fresh breeZes in the tropics, but as we
bounded north, the good northeast
trade that We hand found quickeneo
End took to itself the vigorous note OF
storm.
TWO days before December Is we were
Haunting royals and skyscrapers, with
kites everywhere it was possible to sci
them; romping northward at an eleven
knot clip and not being unduly troubled
by it. It was for all the world as If the
honest fabric shared our desires tc
reach home in time, and was putting
her best foot foremost to fulfill oul
hopes. She presented glorious picture
as. robed in her clamorous white from
truck to waterway, she reeled off the
boisterous knots that left the wallowine
cttIlt cIyx urifI