,,the ,,men ,,of ,,the ,,merchant ,,service ,,the ,,men ,,of ,,the ,,merchant ,,service ,,being ,,the ,,polity ,,of ,,the ,,mercantile ,,marine ,,for ',,longshore ,,readers ,,by ,,frank ,t4 ,,bullen1 ,f4,r4,g4,s4 ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,cruise ,,of ,,the ',,cachalot1' ,,the ,,log ,,of ,a ,,sea-,,waif1 ,,idylls ,,of ,,the ,,sea1 ,,etc4 ,,london ,,smith1 ,,elder ,,co41 #ae1 ,,waterloo ,,place #aijj 7,all rights reserved7 ,,printed ,,by ,,william ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1 ,,limited1 ,,london ,,and ,,beccles4 ,,to ,,rudyard ,,kipling ,,in ,,grateful ,,recognition ,,of ,,both ,,his ,,wonderful ,,genius ,,and ,,his ,,great ,,kindness ,,to ,,the ,,author ,,preface4 ,it has been repeatedly represented to me by disinterested friends1 that among the innumerable works of both fact and fiction dealing with the sea1 there are none telling in a comprehensive way what are the conditions of life in the ,merchant ,service2 in other words1 that there is no work to which a parent1 yielding to his son's importunity to be allowed to go to sea1 and seeking to know something of the nature of things on board of a merchant ship in detail1 can turn with the assurance that he may there find what he needs4 ,nor can the youth anxious to go to sea in the ,merchant ,service find any guidance which will at once be comprehensive and reliable compacted into one handy volume4 ,and as these same friends have done me the honour to suggest that ,i have the qualifications necessary for producing such a work1 ,i have1 not at all unwillingly1 acceded to their suggestions1 and undertaken the task4 ,the recollection of many kindly criticisms on the preface to the ,log of a ,sea-,waif1 scolding me good-naturedly for what it has pleased them to term my exaggerated modesty1 prevents me from sinning now in that direction4 ,i will merely say that ,i have done my best to justify my friends' confidence in me1 and that ,i earnestly hope the book will not fall too far short of their expectations4 ,the planning of such a work seems to be comparatively easy4 ,the first thing that suggested itself was the setting forth1 in a series of chapters1 the duties1 required qualifications1 difficulties1 privileges1 etc41 of the various members of a ship's company4 ,a doubt has naturally arisen in my mind as to how far it is justifiable to deal with sailing ships in these latter days4 ,my own personal knowledge and predilections are on the side of the wind-jammer1 and consequently ,i feel the less inclined to deal with her perfunctorily4 ,i cannot1 however1 conceal from myself the fact that the passing of the sailing ship is being greatly accelerated of late years1 and that in all probability another twenty years will witness her final disappearance4 ,on the other hand1 ,i should not be at all surprised to see a sudden recrudescence of sailing ship building4 ,considering the sailing ship's economy1 her vast carrying capacity1 the fact that her very slowness as compared with the steamer is actually no mean advantage in a great number of instances1 viz4 to quote one1 where goods are bought in a low market and are not required by the buyer for some months1 so that their shipment by a sailer actually saves warehouse charges as well as freight--,i cannot understand why the sailer should be suffered to disappear4 ,nevertheless1 as engineering science advances1 economies will doubtless be found possible in steamships which will so greatly lessen their expenses as to make the competition of sailers out of the question4 ,the opening of a ,panama ,canal1 too1 which will certainly not be much longer delayed1 will deal a tremendous blow at the vast sailing trade around ,cape ,horn4 ,it seems1 indeed1 destined to be the final factor in the elimination of the sailing ship4 ,meanwhile the white-winged fleets come and go in far greater numbers than landsmen have any idea of2 and as nearly all authorities are agreed that1 in spite of the immense strides taken by steam navigation1 the sailing ship is still the only school wherein to train a thorough seafarer1 she will certainly receive her full need of attention here4 ,care has been taken to avoid1 as far as possible1 all technical treatment of the subject4 ,i have not assumed the possession of too much nautical knowledge on the part of my prospective readers2 not nearly as much1 for instance1 as would be permissible in a work of fiction4 ,having before me1 too1 the hope that sons as well as parents will be able to read and enjoy1 as well as thoroughly grasp the meaning of this book1 ,i have aimed at making it entertaining1 giving a plentiful supply of anecdotes as well to illustrate as to lighten what might easily become rather stodgy4 ,finally1 ,i feel constrained to add that1 even if my friends are wrong1 and there are works with which they1 as well as myself1 are not acquainted1 better calculated to serve the purpose for which this book is intended1 ,i have the temerity to believe that no apology is necessary for its appearance4 ,the overwhelming importance of our over-sea commerce to ,great ,britain cannot be too greatly emphasized1 while the astounding ignorance of maritime matters manifested by ,british people generally makes one gasp in amazement4 ,any book1 therefore1 that does anything to popularize knowledge of ,mercantile ,marine details cannot be superfluous in this country2 and should this present one succeed in bringing home to our inland dwellers with any clearness the conditions of life on board the vessels upon whose regular advent depend our supplies of daily food1 ,i shall feel abundantly justified in issuing it to my countrymen4 ,dulwich1 ,july1 #aijj4 ,,synopsis4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,master 7,,ideal74 ,,page ,magnitude of the ,merchant ,service--,ignorance of its details ashore--,want of information upon the subject--,popularity of sea-fiction--,and unreliability of its details--,master or ,captain--,cadet ships--,their value--,the way up 7ideal7 #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,master 7,,real74 ,apprentice difficulties--,sketch of an officer's progress--,looking for a ship--,classification of masters--,range between ,atlantic liner and foreign-going schooner--,enviable position of the master of a liner--,pilots' responsibility--,reliable officers--,but the master is emperor--,all responsibility centres in him #i ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,master 7,,of ,a ,,tramp74 ,tramp masters--,less pay1 more work--,hardships of tramps--,economical owners--,anxious considerations--,and all-round qualifications--,the aristocracy of tramps--,shore berths for old skippers--,black sheep #ah ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,master 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,sailing ships--,their gradations--,the beauty of seamanship in ,sunda ,straits--,ship handling and pluck--,devilish ships--,local knowledge v4 book larnin'--,the ,horn--,swansea men--,a glorious old skipper--,overdue ships--,mediocrities #bf ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,master 7,,sailing ,,ship7--continued4 ,the skipper's temptations--,his power over young officers--,painting v4 sailorizing--,and the result--,various temperaments of skippers--,the discipline of the ,yank--,and of the ,blue-nose--,their seamanship--,the ,down ,easter--,the ,yankee clipper--,his passion for cleanliness--,and brutality--,elementary methods #cf ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,qualities4 ,the personal equation--,an ideal commander--,want of tact--,they do these things better in ,yanks--,good to have a hobby--,high standard of excellence--,difficulties of the ,british shipmaster with respect to his crew--,unpalatable truths--,the fear of ,god--,honesty of shipmasters--,incitements to dishonesty #de ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,duties4 ,a glimpse of navigation--,the unstable compass--,dead reckoning--,pilotage anxieties--,the shipmaster as trustee--,as lawyer--,as doctor--,rough-and-ready surgery--,a true hero--,the malingerer #ec ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,duties--continued4 ,voluntary duties--,knowledge of engineering--,of ship construction--,of natural history--,the danger of drink--,a drunkard or two--,a memorable voyage--,the ,blue-nose skipper--,his all-round excellence #fc ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,mate4 ,the mate and his duties--,an ancient and honourable title--,his range of importance--,a long step from mate to master--,both in position and pay--,education of ,british officers--,examinations #gc ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work4 ,a good mate precious above rubies--,some difficulties of the young mate--,sensitiveness--,manager of a large business--,a great gulf between tramp and liner for the mate--,low wages--,difficult generalship--,a scandalous miscarriage of justice--,again better in the ,yank--,compensations #hb ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work 7,,in ,a ,,sailing ,,ship74 ,peculiarities of status--,the excellence of the sailing-ship mate--,humouring a ship--,care of her aloft--,the mate's right-hand man--,keeping them at it--,the joy of a good sailing ship--,a happy mate--,keeping the log #ia ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work 7,,in ,a ,,sailing ,,ship7--continued4 ,ideal log-book literature--,ruffianly mates--,but splendid seamen--,a nigger-driver--,the mate as cargo clerk and warehouseman--,his temptations--,an exultant ,hebrew--,the drink question again--,the mate's privileges #aja ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,in ,,steam74 ,hazing a second mate--,his importance--,his assured excellence in a liner--,careful selection--,really first lieutenant in a liner--,but in the tramp a servant of servants shall he be--,an upper housemaid--,an anomalous position--,as stevedore--,the ,yankee second mate #aab ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,first ,,steps74 ,the passing of the ,board--,school-boy work--,theoretical navigation--,practical seamanship--,colour-blindness--,queer instruction--,a kindly examiner--,the astonishment of the schoolmaster--,only mate--,and bo'sun-second-mate #aba ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,of ,a ,,sailing ,,ship74 ,the difference between steam and sail--,a kindly skipper for a beginner--,the second mate's position as pupil--,the seamy side--,everybody's dog--,again the difference between lime-juicer and ,yank--,the second mate of the ,east ,lothian--,oh1 what a surprise6--,the value of muscle--,the want of discipline in our ships #aca ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,third ,,mate4 ,of great importance or none at all--,a suggestion from the ,navy--,no respect due to him--,the owner's pet--,the poop ornament--,his bringing up--,a lost opportunity--,the bully third mate of an ,american ship--,an error in judgment--,idlers #adb ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,bo',,sun4 ,a romantic figure--,rough but genuine--,the naval bo'sun--,the working foreman--,bo'sun and lamps combined--,the old-time bo'sun--,a thorough sailor--,a queer bo'sun--,a broken-down bo'sun--,a brevet bo'sun #aea ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,carpenter4 ,his general excellence--,and unique position--,a man of many qualifications--,all carpenters in ,british ,north ,america--,as in ,finland--,chips and sailor too--,an independent member--,always plenty of work--,the whaleship carpenters--,and boat-builder #afa ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,the ,,sailmaker4 ,an occupation that is passing--,its fascination for good sailors--,the art and mystery of sailmaking--,the ,yankee sailmaker--,his contempt for ,british sails--,like the carpenter1 the sailmaker always has plenty to do--,the beauty of sails #aga ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,steward 7,,in ,,steam74 ,wide range of status--,but always a steward--,wonderful management--,a small army to control--,work never done--,the tramp steward--,his duties and difficulties--,the providore #ahj ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,steward 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,the passenger sailing ship almost extinct--,consequently few chief stewards in sail--,the responsible steward--,the captain's pet--,funny little ways--,a bitter experience--,the ,yankee steward--,his onerous post--,the stewardess--,my friend's pathetic story #ahh ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,in ,,steam74 ,the most interesting figure on board ship--,a chef indeed--,where do they come from8--,difficulties of ship cookery--,under the best conditions--,careful1 hard-working men--,australian cooks--,black ,sam--,humpy ,bill--,his tribulations and triumphs--,the cook of a tramp #aie ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,his materials--,his usual qualifications--,no room for a good cook--,good sailing ships--,and bad--,from the food point of view--,bad food wasteful as well as dear--,the craving for vegetable--,the cook's day's work--,so different in ,yankee ships--,blue-nose cookery--,cracker hash--,duff #bje ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,sailing ,,ships7--continued4 ,salt junk--,the never-satisfied sailor--,pork and peas--,dirty cooking--,abysmal ignorance--,a lower depth--,bad weather #bae ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,suggestions74 ,a serious matter--,want of knowledge--,the system of apprenticeship--,need for revision--,the influx of foreign officers--,no want of aspirants here--,an experience of my own--,no-premium apprentices--,training ships--,the housing of sea apprentices--,a vexed question--,to stop the waste of young seamen--,an ,a4,b4 no mere labourer--,a good example--,a model ship for apprentices--,training ships in ,america #bbc ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,some ,,facts ,,concerning ,,his ,,life74 ,the average boy's helplessness--,the need for lessons in homely things--,an unhappy home--,waste of outfit--,need of personal supervision--,and honest treatment--,apprentices substituted for sailors--,some instances--,all depends upon the master--,wasted years--,the embryo officer in the ,u4,s4 and ,canada #bcd ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,some ,,practical ,,information74 ,how to get your boy to sea--,beware of the apprenticeship broker--,a typical instance--,some hints as to outfit--,a list of necessaries--,the choice of a ship--,personal relations of parents with officers--,hints to apprentices themselves #bdd ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,general ,,qualifications74 ,the common sailor--,his one-sided view of things--,his difficulties--,the reading sailor--,argumentative qualities--,his shyness ashore--,the religious sailor--,misconceptions of his duties--,hardships of good men from the shipment of duffers--,the skilled ,a4,b41 some of his duties--,the steamboat sailor--,one instance #bec ,,chapter ,,xxix4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,his ,,routine74 ,some details fixed--,others varying indefinitely according to the will of the master--,the incidence of watches--,difference of work in steamships and sailing vessels--,no easy times in ,american ships--,keeping them at it--,wheel and look-out case in point #bfc ,,chapter ,,xxx4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,his ,,position74 ,putting a premium on incompetency--,the steamship partly to blame--,are we getting lazy8--,the need for a ,naval ,reserve8 ,why does the ,reserve languish8--,not a bad life after all--,plenty of ,british seamen to be got--,but they must have discipline #bgf ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,,the ,o4,s4 7,,ordinary ,,seaman74 ,his elimination--,no system--,many better than ,a4,b4's in the same ship--,a typical instance--,an ,o4,s4's duties--,a piece of technical detail1 crossing a royal yard--,his position in the fo'c'sle--,a servant of servants shall he be--,a rough-and-ready way out #bhc ,,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,,the ,,boy4 ,a romantic figure--,changed conditions--,the bad old days--,better treatment forward than aft--,the unfair change for a boy from the training ship to the trading ship--,cleanliness barred--,bad advice--,what to do for him--,running away to sea--,an old-time shipping office--,small ships1 bad and good #bid ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,,the ,,engineer4 ,need for literary engineers--,a noble calling--,its perils and its pride--,no sea-joys for the engineer--,a nineteenth-century hero--,a unique profession--,producing a high-grade man--,the evolution of the marine engineer--,no foreigners allowed--,the ,e4,r4,a4--,in case of war--,no mere mechanic--,the blindness of the ,admiralty with regard to the engineer #cje ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4 ,,the ,,fireman ,,and ,,trimmer4 ,why do men become firemen8--,a terrible calling--,some of his duties--,the voice of steam--,better drunk--,cleaning fires--,the slavery of civilization--,a lower deep--,are we nearing finality8 #cag ,,chapter ,,xxxv4 ,,conclusion4 ,pertinent questions--,the whole truth--,does magnanimity answer8--,the peril of the alien--,no ,trade ,union for sailors--,the officer's chance--,a valuable educational factor--,our national safeguard--,finis #cbh ,,the ,,men ,,of ,,the ,,merchant ,,service4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,master 7,,ideal74 ,viewed from whatever standpoint we may choose1 it is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that the ,british ,mercantile ,marine is not only the greatest ,british industry1 but that1 for its overwhelming importance and far-reaching effect upon mankind1 it is the most stupendous monument of human energy and enterprise that the world has ever seen4 ,yet1 with that peculiar absence of pride in our own institutions1 that easy-going magnanimity which1 in spite of what not only foreign writers1 but many of our own authors assert1 is really the most distinctive characteristic of the ,british race1 we show but little appreciation of this marvel of commercial genius and concentrated effort4 ,dependent by our own action upon our ships for food1 we evince no alarm at the possibility of disaster to these main arteries of our national life4 ,go where you will1 up and down this country of ours1 and1 except among people directly engaged in shipping business1 or a few earnest souls who think it is their duty to know something of the conditions under which their dear ones live1 you will find scarcely any knowledge of the ,british ,merchant ,service at all4 ,the vast majority of people know of but one form of seafaring1 the ,navy1 as they call it1 par excellence2 and if a man tells them that he is a sailor1 they are disinclined to believe him unless he wear the familiar loose blue clothing and gold-lettered cap of the man-o'-war's-man4 ,but this is a trivial matter compared with the ignorance of the great matters of life and death wrapped up in our ,mercantile ,marine4 ,that lads eager to get out upon what has tacitly come to be regarded as our peculiar domain--the open sea--and there uphold the traditions of the race1 should not know where to go for information concerning it that can be relied upon1 seems strange to-day4 ,stranger still that1 instead of all manner of facilities being given to our own youths who wish to become seamen1 all manner of disheartening hindrances should be put in their way4 ,and what shall we say in face of the almost universal manifestation of malevolence towards us by foreign powers in what they believe to be our hour of tribulation1 of a ,british minister who from his high position declares he sees no cause for alarm in the prospect of our merchant ships being entirely manned by foreigners8 ,it is only one more proof that the ignorance of our greatest industry is universal2 that1 from the highest class to the lowest1 our people have grown to look upon this most important of our national assets1 this indispensable bridging of the ocean for the supply of our daily food1 as something no more needing our thoughtful attention than the recurrence of the seasons or the incidence of day and night4 ,and yet books about the sea are usually popular4 ,in spite of the technicalities involved 7usually wrong1 owing to the want of a first-hand acquaintance with the subject71 almost any sea-fiction will sell4 ,so long as the story be good1 the plot workmanlike1 the great mass of the reading public will not criticize the nautical technique from lack of ability2 they take it for granted1 and learn nothing from it4 ,exceptions may be gratefully remembered1 especially ,kipling1 whose nautical stories1 like his engineering ones1 have no flaws4 ,they might have been written by a man who had spent his life upon the sea1 and had served in all grades4 ,in like manner did ,r4,l4 ,stevenson grasp detail in the ,wrecker and the ,ebb-tide2 while to read ,morley ,roberts' work in this direction is to sit again in the dim fo'c'sle1 with the reek of the slush-lamp mingled with most pungent tobacco-smoke and a dozen other unholy odours making your nostrils tingle1 while outside the sea-voices murmur their accompaniment to the long yarn being spun within4 ,there are others1 but of them only one can be here mentioned--that brilliant1 wayward man of splendid abilities and attainments1 ,j4,f4 ,keene4 ,he has gone1 and left no one to fill his place4 ,intolerant of civilized life1 he fled from it to the freedom of the tramp or the fo'c'sle scallywag1 and drank deep of the cup of life as he loved it4 ,but his books do not make light reading4 ,they are compounded of blood and iron1 and bitter as the brine that stained his manuscript4 ,but this preliminary digression is keeping us from consideration of the important character we have to become acquainted with--the shipmaster1 or captain1 as he is1 by courtesy only1 usually styled4 ,no commander of a merchant vessel1 no matter how magnificent she may be1 is legally entitled to be called ,captain4 ,that honourable title belongs only to the ,royal ,navy4 ,mr4 ,so-and-so1 master of the ship ,so-and-so1 is all that the most experienced and highly placed merchant seaman may claim4 ,and yet it may well be doubted whether even the proudest captain of a ship of war has more varied qualifications for his splendid post than the ideal shipmaster4 ,difficulties that never trouble the naval man meet his opposite number in the ,merchant ,service at every turn1 not to be evaded1 but met and justified by success1 or else loss of appointment1 and the pinch of poverty follows promptly4 ,the road to this eminent position is a plain and simple one4 ,in its most favourable traversing the would-be master has parents who can afford to send him direct from school to such a nautical training college as ,h4,m4,s4 ,worcester or ,h4,m4,s4 ,conway--the former a splendid vessel of the old wooden-wall type1 moored in the ,thames off ,greenhithe1 and commanded by a most able merchant seaman1 ,david ,wilson-,barker1 ,esq41 ,f4,r4,s4,e41 ,f4,r4,g4,s41 ,f4,z4,s41 etc41 himself an alumnus of the ,worcester2 and the latter a kindred vessel moored in the ,mersey4 ,here the aspirant is thoroughly taught the theory and practice of navigation in all its ramifications1 while those branches of study which he was pursuing at school are carried on in a generous spirit4 ,seamanship1 as far as it can be taught on board a stationary vessel1 takes naturally a most prominent place in the training scheme1 while naval architecture1 languages1 engineering1 and nautical science all have their allotted place4 ,so useful are all the subjects taught to the average man1 that one is tempted to believe that no college course in the country is more admirably calculated to fit him for the battle of life1 whether he goes to sea or not4 ,dull indeed must the youngster be who does not emerge from the ,worcester or the ,conway1 upon the completion of his three years1 better calculated to make his way in the world than any lad of the same age is upon leaving a public school4 ,the ,board of ,trade have frankly recognized this by allowing the course on board these training-ships to count as one year's sea-service in the required qualification for second mate4 ,that is to say1 while the ordinary candidate for a second mate's certificate must produce either completed apprentice indentures for four years or certificates of discharge for the same length of sea-service1 one year of which must have been served as an able seaman1 the old ,worcester or ,conway boy need only produce a record of three years' sea-service to entitle him to enter as a candidate4 ,now1 assuming that the youngster has finished his training-ship course with credit1 and been duly bound as an apprentice in a fine sailing-ship belonging to a good firm1 his way is clear before him4 ,passing through his probationary period undaunted by the none too easy life he has led1 he appears before the examiners of the ,board of ,trade1 and if he has only kept up the most cursory acquaintance with the navigation he knew when he left the training-vessel1 his passing is ridiculously easy4 ,i do not propose to discuss here a much-vexed question1 but will merely state that it has often been proposed1 as a remedy for what has been considered the too low status of the shipmaster1 that the standard set by the ,board of ,trade should be periodically raised until the amount of education required for successfully passing it would enable those paying for it to demand higher salaries and more honourable recognition of their position4 ,no doubt it would greatly tend to lessen the numbers obtaining certificates of competency1 but1 alas6 there seems also no doubt that1 as things are at present1 it would greatly increase the number of alien officers in command of ,british ships4 ,well1 our young friend has his second mate's certificate1 but unless he be exceptionally fortunate he will have to make a voyage as third mate before he takes up the position to which it entitles him4 ,as third mate in his old ship1 or a similar one belonging to the same company1 he may be gradually permitted to keep a watch1 to stand on the quarter-deck in charge of a hundred thousand pounds' worth of property and thirty or forty lives4 7,of course1 throughout ,i am speaking of the sailing-ship1 since she is as yet1 in all but two or three instances1 the recognized medium for the beginner47 ,pursuing his career with care1 he reaches home ready to take a ship as second mate1 and if the firm he serves is what it ought to be1 no long time will elapse before such a berth is ready for him4 ,one twelvemonth's voyage as second mate1 and he may again approach the examiners for his chief mate's certificate4 ,again he should find not the slightest difficulty in passing1 the additional qualifications required from him being quite simple4 ,should he be very lucky1 he will get a berth now as chief officer2 but even if he be compelled to go another voyage as second1 he will be permitted to pass the ,board of ,trade examination for master on his return1 providing he can show that he has acted for two years as second mate4 ,with his master's certificate in his possession1 it is only a question of time until he stands in the proud position of monarch of his little realm1 and that time may be greatly shortened in many cases if he happen to have a comfortable sum of money to invest in the ship4 ,should he desire to equip himself with all the certificates which the ,board of ,trade can grant1 he will proceed at once to undergo the examination for ,master ,extra2 he will also pass in steam--an examination most necessary for those masters who propose to take command of steamships--and he will also take an examination in magnetism4 ,of all these extra examinations it may also be said that if our friend has kept up his cadet training1 they will have no terror for him2 they are only difficult to those who find mathematics irksome1 and never practise more than they are compelled to4 ,then1 of course1 they get rusty1 since the amount of mathematics really necessary to keep a ship's position accurately at sea is very small4 ,by the continual invention of clever mathematicians1 nautical astronomy has been reduced to mere expertness in handling tables1 and the indolent man will avail himself of these aids to the fullest extent4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,master 7,,real74 ,the ,liner4 ,so far1 ,i am afraid that in sketching out the possible rapid rise and progress from college to quarter-deck ,i have not been very amusing or enlightening4 ,the non-professional reader will be bewildered by the swift passage of the young sailor through the various grades without any elucidation of the how of each process1 while the professional seaman reading it will smile sardonically1 and endeavour to recall any instances within his knowledge of such an upward flight4 ,feeling this1 ,i hasten to explain that the foregoing is but an impressionist sketch of an ideal condition of things1 and that such a smooth attainment of the object of a young sailor's ambition is of the very rarest occurrence4 ,moreover1 it has to be remembered that only the favoured few can have the advantage such as is conferred by a ,worcester or ,conway training4 ,the great majority of youths who take to a sea life go direct to their apprenticeship from school--go1 too1 in vessels whose owners have but few ships1 and consequently small facilities for advancing their apprentices in the profession when once their indentures have expired4 ,as ,i propose to deal with the apprentice in a chapter devoted to him entirely1 ,i must be careful not to say too much now1 so ,i will merely indicate the undoubted fact that an apprenticeship to any firm of ship-owners1 no matter what the excellence of the individual apprentice may be1 carries with it no guarantee of employment after the apprenticeship is over4 ,in this1 as in many other respects1 the sea is unlike any other profession4 ,in a large engineering firm1 for instance1 it would be considered a waste of good material to discharge apprentices when out of their time unless they had proved themselves hopelessly incompetent4 ,but it is not possible for a firm owning1 say1 four ships and carrying six apprentices in each of them1 to find employment for those apprentices when they are fit to assume the position of officers4 ,the four masters are not at all likely to resign their berths frequently1 masters of ships in an employ such as ,i am now speaking of usually retaining their commands for many years4 ,they block the flow of promotion1 never very rapid1 so that it is no infrequent thing to see the same set of three officers1 master1 mate1 and second mate1 in one ship for several long voyages4 ,what1 then1 is the young newly passed officer to do when1 with his creamy new certificate in his pocket1 he finds nothing before him in his old firm but a voyage before the mast as an able seaman8 ,well1 if his folks have any acquaintances among ship-owners--in other words1 any influence in that direction--now is the time to use it4 ,or1 if they have any money to invest1 they will not find it difficult to purchase a certain amount of interest1 which should1 and generally does1 result in their son getting an opening for employment4 ,but if neither of these levers are available1 the aspirant is almost certainly in for a bad time4 ,probably the best course for him will be to put his pride in his pocket1 and take a berth before the mast1 always keeping his eyes open when abroad for an opportunity of slipping into a vacant second mate's berth1 where he will get the rough edges worn off his newness1 and become accustomed to command4 ,in the mean time he must keep carefully in touch with his old firm1 so that should he be on hand when there is a vacancy1 he may not miss it4 ,his great object1 of course1 will be to get a footing in a good firm1 owning many ships1 where promotion is fairly rapid for the smart officer4 ,of course1 he will hunger and thirst after a steamer2 but1 unless he makes up his mind to go in the lowest class of tramp1 and plod painfully onward at very low wages for a long time1 he had better stick to sailing-ships until he gets his master's certificate4 ,this for reasons which will appear later on4 ,into this stage of the officer's upward progress the element of chance or coincidence enters so largely that it is impossible to do more than generalize as to the probable time which will elapse before he reach the goal of his desire4 ,but there is one feature in such a career as ,i am now attempting to sketch that has not its counterpart1 as far as ,i know1 in any other form of employment whatever4 ,it is in the seeking for a berth4 ,i know of no more depressing occupation than that of a capable seaman looking for a ship as officer4 ,it does not greatly matter whether he wanders round the docks or goes to the owner's offices1 he is made to feel like a mendicant2 and on board most ships he is also made to feel like a supplanter when he asks for employment4 ,to go aboard of a likely looking ship seeking a berth1 say as mate1 and to meet the present holder of the office1 is the usual experience1 and a most awkward one it is4 ,here the pushful man will score heavily4 ,putting all diffidence in his pocket1 he will broach his message1 boldly disregarding the frowning face of the gentleman in charge1 who naturally looks upon him as a foe4 ,but the shy1 reserved man 7and both these qualities are very common among seamen7 will stammer and beat about the bush1 conceal the true nature of his errand1 and retire awkwardly in considerable confusion4 ,having obtained a berth1 however1 it will generally rest with himself how far he will be able to raise himself by its means4 ,true1 there are many things--which will be treated fully under the different headings of the various officers--which by no fault of his own may hinder and dishearten him1 but the unattached officer must not allow them to daunt him4 ,he must persevere1 keeping his weather eye lifting for every opportunity of advancement1 and especially perfecting himself in all the complicated details of his profession1 in anticipation of the day when1 a full-blown shipmaster1 he will be where his longings have led him4 ,it may be asked1 ,but what has all this to do with the master himself--his duties1 his position1 etc48 ,the question is quite reasonable1 and ,i feel the full force of it2 but there is a strong temptation to anticipate the succeeding chapters1 when one remembers the passage over the generally thorny way leading up to the chief position on board ship4 ,however1 ,i will do my best to avoid further digression1 and proceed at once to give1 to the best of my ability1 a sketch of that much-envied individual's privileges and responsibilities4 ,the first difficulty that presents itself is classification4 ,for1 although the ,board of ,trade certificate of master qualifies its possessor to take command of the most splendid liner1 it is absolutely essential to the assumption of chief charge of a tiny schooner engaged in foreign trade4 ,yet it must be obvious that between these two positions there is a great gulf fixed--not in qualification1 for there is really no reason why the holders thereof should not change places at any time4 ,in many cases it is accident alone that determines whether a man shall be master of a liner or a clumsy little brig1 lumbering painfully across to the ,west ,indies4 ,in spite of this fact1 one cannot expect that the grand gentleman who commands such a magnificent ship as the ,teutonic or ,campania1 for instance1 should be able to refrain from looking down upon his brother master of the ,susan1 brigantine of two hundred tons register4 ,to the liner master's credit be it said1 he does not show nearly the same hauteur towards his less fortunate fellow that he might reasonably be expected to do4 ,that sort of view of their respective positions is usually taken by people ashore1 who know just enough of the conditions to enable them to make such a tactical mistake4 ,the master of a great liner is in a really enviable position--not1 perhaps1 as regards his earnings in solid cash1 for it still remains to the discredit of ,british seafaring that its most highly placed officers are far worse paid than men greatly their inferiors engaged in business ashore4 ,but in power1 in importance in the eyes of his fellow-men1 in comfort1 he is far before them4 ,his are the responsibilities1 upon him rests the reputation of the ship among the people who pay the piper1 the passengers1 but beyond that his life is rightly looked upon by his less fortunate brethren as one long holiday4 ,no laborious keeping of accounts for him1 no worrying about freights or scanty passenger lists1 no anxious study of weather charts or calculation of course to be pursued in reference to the time of year and consequently prevalent winds4 ,at the appointed time for sailing he comes upon the bridge1 and greets most cordially or nods most frigidly to the pilot according to his temperament4 ,that individual1 one of the elect of his fine calling1 is paid by the company for his exclusive services1 and it is his duty to see the monster ship safely through the intricacies of the river mouth out into free and open waters4 ,the master's presence on the bridge is a matter of form--necessary1 however1 because by some queer twist of maritime law1 although ships going foreign are compelled to take a pilot who is responsible for her safe conduct out to certain limits1 the master's responsibility is always alive4 ,should the pilot lose the ship and the master not be on deck1 the latter would be held equally to blame1 although at what precise time his intervention would be permissible is left delightfully ambiguous4 ,the pilotage limit is reached1 and the pilot gets into his own place on board of his own cutter2 the voyage is begun4 ,now is the master lord indeed2 but such a ship as this will have at least six officers1 of whom most likely all will hold certificates as ,master ,extra4 ,each of these in their turn take charge of the ship under the master's orders1 subject to certain regulations peculiar to the different companies1 and the least tribute that can be paid to them is that every one of them is probably fully as competent to command the ship as is the master himself4 ,it is etiquette1 however1 for him to remain on the bridge while the vessel is in waters that may by any stretch of nautical terms be called narrow1 although he does not interfere in any way1 if he be a gentleman1 with the handling of the ship4 ,the navigating officer 7usually the second officer7 works assiduously at nautical astronomy1 calculating the position1 the error of the compass1 etc41 continually1 but his work is checked by the master and the other officers1 who work the main details independently of him4 ,no ships afloat are navigated with more jealous care than these1 no ships can show a more splendid record of actual correctness in working1 and it needs a strong personality indeed on the part of the master to avoid laxity4 ,having so fine a set of subordinate officers1 why should he trouble himself8 ,the love of holding the reins1 jealousy of the slightest encroachment upon his prerogatives1 will usually keep him from this1 but the temptations to enjoy the charmingly varied society in the midst of which he moves as king is certainly very great4 ,all honour to these capable gentlemen that so few of them succumb to it4 ,whenever stress of weather demands their presence on the high and lofty bridge 7,mount ,misery1 the wise it call71 they will be found there1 cheery and confident1 with apparently no sense of weight of responsibility upon them1 although they might well be excused if their brows were permanently furrowed with anxious thought4 ,to know that upon you rests the charge of two thousand souls1 to say nothing of from half to three-quarters of a million pounds' worth of property being hurled over the howling sea at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour1 is surely enough to give even the most jovial heart pause4 ,yet these splendid men conceal with great ease any appearance of worry1 and behave as though they had nothing more serious on their mind than the making of an ,atlantic passage pleasant to their guests4 ,the master of a ship cannot enjoy that peculiar repose common to every other member of his crew4 ,deeply as they may feel the weight of their special responsibility while on watch1 the moment they are relieved the relief is complete4 ,no matter how black the outlook1 it is the other fellow's business now4 ,the relieved one goeth unto his bunk1 and divesting himself of his clothing1 passes into dreamland as free from care as if in some cosy bed ashore4 ,not one vestige of his late anxieties trouble him4 ,they will come on again all too soon2 meanwhile he will get as much sleep into the allotted hours as possible1 and nothing short of a summons from his commanding officer shall disturb that calm4 ,the poor skipper1 on the other hand1 has no such relief4 ,he must cultivate confidence in his officers1 or want of rest will soon make an old worn-out man of him2 but in any case he must be always ready to assume full responsibility4 ,i have often wondered how the masters of swift ,atlantic liners can keep up their spirits as they do1 knowing what a number of derelicts there are lurking about the ,atlantic4 ,i suppose they say to themselves that1 remembering the wideness of the sea1 there are an infinity of chances against their striking against any one of those awful shifting dangers1 numerous though they be4 ,and they must cultivate a habit of refusing to contemplate possible disasters that are by no means inevitable1 else would they soon become unfit for their position4 ,it must not be forgotten that they are in the last resort also responsible for the performance of the tremendous giants below1 the steam-engines that thrust the vast fabric through the seas at such headlong speed4 ,but1 unlike their brethren in the ,navy1 they do not think lightly of the engineer4 ,they recognize to the full his wonderful ability and trustworthiness1 and ,i think ,i am well within the mark in saying that no department of the ship's management gives them less anxiety than the most important of all1 the engine and boiler-rooms4 ,for it is impossible to conceive of even a second-rate engineer rising to be in command of a liner's engine-room4 ,there is a process of weeding-out in action there that is very efficient1 so that while it is conceivable that by a combination of favourable circumstances and highly placed influence a duffer might come to command a fine ship1 the same thing could not happen in the engineering department4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,master 7,,of ,a ,,tramp74 ,from the liner to the tramp is by no means the great step that might be imagined4 ,indeed1 so fine are the gradations in the quality and positions of steamships that it is impossible to draw a hard and fast line anywhere4 ,for even among tramp steamers undoubtedly there are many shades of difference until we reach the very lowest class of all1 run on principles despised by all ship-owners of repute4 ,the hierarchy of merchant shipping1 the great floating palaces belonging to such firms as the ,p4 ,o41 the ,cunard1 the ,white ,star1 and the ,british ,india1 to mention only a few1 and without any invidious idea of selection1 fall easily into a class by themselves1 association with which in almost any capacity confers a sort of brevet rank upon a seaman4 ,but once they are left1 and the lines entered upon to whom cargo is the one thing needful and passengers are merely incidental1 we get a new order of things entirely3 first of all1 a great reduction of speed1 for the sake of economy in running2 consequent upon this1 a corresponding reduction of staff1 both on deck and in the engine-room4 ,yet in the highest class of cargo carriers and the lowest class of ocean-going passenger ships the master's position is still a proud one4 ,his vessel is often of immense size1 carrying up to ten thousand tons of freight1 and1 especially if she be one of the hand-maidens of a great company owning swift passenger ships as well1 his salary will be fairly good1 though probably fifty per cent4 below that of his more fortunate fellows in the liner pure and simple4 ,also his work will be increased4 ,for there is no difference at sea in the old axiom that the less a man does the more money he gets for it4 ,still1 where he is in a regular trade1 as in the highest class of cargo ships he will be1 his clerical work connected with the ship's earnings will be almost nil1 although he may not carry a purser to do the interior accounts of the ship or such matters as wages bills1 etc4 ,it may truly be said that the master of a first-class cargo steamer is in much better case than his brother in some small lines of passenger steamers that could be named4 ,he is better paid1 better housed1 and has far less worry4 ,some of those small passenger steamers going 7for steam vessels7 long voyages are run so economically that the master has hard work to keep up any sort of appearance at all4 ,i knew myself of one firm1 which shall be nameless1 whose advertisements for passengers were most persistent and alluring1 who thought it not shameful to pay their masters #ab a month1 at the same time insisting that they should invest at least #bej in the company4 ,cases like these are very disheartening to the striving seaman4 ,for where the master's wages are kept so low1 other economies are conducted in proportion4 ,such a vessel1 say of #aejj tons register1 would carry at most three mates and eight seamen4 ,the latter would be mostly foreigners1 the work for such a small complement being so hard that home-born men worth their salt fight shy of them4 ,and the officers' wages1 unfixed as the men's are1 would also be cut down deplorably low4 ,still1 even in such a ship as this the master's clerical work is very small4 ,agents of the company at each port await the vessel's regular arrival1 and see to it that she departs on scheduled time1 cargo or no cargo4 ,so that the master has no carking care as to how the ship is paying1 no responsibility beyond the navigation and management of the ship herself4 ,he has1 of course1 to consider his passengers1 with no buffer between him and their often querulous complaints and constant questionings1 such as his exalted brethren in the big liners have in their purser4 ,he is usually a man who has been passed over in the race1 and while his ability is of the highest order1 he feels naturally shelved upon a very much lower ledge of his profession than he once hoped to reach4 ,in command of these small passenger-carrying ocean-going steamers are to be found some of the very best of our merchant skippers1 whose worth and merit are so great that their reward strikes one as most shockingly inadequate4 ,beneath these comes the tramp proper4 ,it has just dawned upon me in time that often as ,i have used the word1 ,i have not yet given any definition of it for the benefit of those who ,i hope will read this book principally1 shore people4 ,a tramp steamer1 then1 is a vessel of large cargo-carrying capacity and low power of engines1 built upon the most economical principles1 and run likewise4 ,she goes wherever freight is to be had1 although usually built for certain trades1 and this is in itself a sore point with underwriters1 who complain bitterly that they are often led to insure a certain type of vessel on the understanding that she will be trading in such waters as the ,mediterranean and the ,baltic1 but presently find her braving the tremendous seas of the ,atlantic4 ,the best type of tramp is built and owned in north-east ,english ports1 where the highest shipbuilding science is brought to bear upon the construction of cargo-carriers that shall be at once cheap1 roomy1 economical1 and seaworthy4 ,and it must be said that many firms up there1 by careful attention to tramp building and owning1 have made tremendous strides in the direction of safety for the ships1 and even comfort for the crews1 although of the latter there can never be very much in a tramp4 ,the lowest type of tramp1 on the other hand1 is one that is built to sell to the first bidder--built so as to pass ,lloyd's surveyor1 but without one single item in her equipment that can be dispensed with4 ,such vessels as these merit all the hard words that have been said of them4 ,very slow1 very unhandy1 with dens for the crew to live in and upper works of the commonest material1 they are always coming to grief4 ,they are mostly owned by single-ship companies1 of which the shareholders are generally people knowing absolutely nothing of shipping matters1 who have been induced by speciously worded circulars1 issued by some deeply interested manager1 to invest their scanty capital in these dubious enterprises4 ,the master of such a ship as this may well feel that his lot is hard4 ,with wages cut down to a point that could only attract a man upon his last legs financially1 the manager always endeavours to get some investment1 however small1 out of the unfortunate master1 to give him an interest in the ship4 ,the food and stores supplied are of such bad quality as to make the life very much harder than it need be 7in any case it is hard enough71 while the number of men carried in proportion to the vessel's tonnage is appallingly small4 ,yet the master's work is far more onerous than in better ships4 ,in addition to the necessity he is under of nursing his ungainly1 low-powered vessel in heavy weather1 he is always being sent to fresh places1 entailing upon him the acquisition of an immense amount of local knowledge4 ,the purchase of coal in far-away ports1 with all the vicissitudes of price to which that indispensable commodity is subject1 makes his hair grey and his face wrinkled before he comes to middle age4 ,if he carries a good supply of coal for fear of a rise in price1 at his next port he may have to shut out cargo2 if he neglects to do so1 expecting to be able to buy well and be disappointed in his expectations1 he is held responsible4 ,low freights make him unhappy1 although he is powerless to alter economic conditions1 for his first duty is to make his ship pay4 ,worst of all his troubles are repairs4 ,such vessels as these are peculiarly prone to damage1 from their cheap construction1 yet any expense incurred abroad for repairs is looked upon as almost a crime4 ,then there is the necessity laid upon him for the most careful watching of the freight-markets4 ,although he may secure a good freight on one passage1 he may1 upon reaching his port1 find that freights there are either unpayably low or non-obtainable4 ,and his spirits fall1 because he knows how such an experience will lower his average earnings for the voyage4 ,the qualifications that such a master need have are1 although nominally the same as in any other branch of his trade1 immensely varied4 ,and it may be taken for granted that a successful tramp skipper is always a good all-round man--something of a diplomat1 of a lawyer1 of an accountant1 of a merchant3 all these qualities superadded to his ability to handle his vessel at sea in all weathers1 contend with crews of the smallest and of the lowest kind of men1 who are as far removed from the popular idea of what a sailor is as day is from night4 ,but such men are of inestimable value to the commerce of the country4 ,they seldom forget that their first duty is to their employers1 nor allow the thought of their hard1 laborious position to tempt them into neglect of it4 ,poor fellows6 the penalty for want of success is not easy to bear1 even though they may be in no way to blame4 ,these1 of course1 are the lowest kinds of tramps4 ,but there is an aristocracy among tramp steamers1 owned by wealthy firms of high reputation1 both for well and carefully built cargo-carriers and generous treatment of their faithful servants4 ,although these ships do also go wherever cargo is to be found on which a payable freight will be paid1 yet the conditions under which the officers serve are very much better4 ,they are not harassed1 either1 by the fear of making a loss upon the voyage1 since such firms will have their correspondents in most ports1 who make freight arrangements for the skippers4 ,between owners and masters in this class of vessel often subsist the most firm friendships1 men growing grey in one employ1 and feeling always that their faithful service is fully appreciated4 ,of course the pay is not high1 but the tenure is good1 and there is always the chance of picking up a tow1 a fellow-tramp with broken shaft1 or something of a like disabling nature4 ,and this may mean a small fortune1 often does so1 since the skipper never fails to take a most substantial share of the total award4 ,besides1 there is a prospect1 too1 that a well-known skipper may1 before he is worn out with sea-service1 get a comfortable berth as harbour-master1 or dock-master1 or ship's-husband1 or any of the congenial employments for which experienced shipmasters are so eminently fitted4 ,pilotage1 too1 may come their way1 although this can hardly be looked upon as comfortable retirement after a hard life at sea4 ,but whatever they get as a sort of retiring berth1 they may truly be said to have earned it4 ,unfortunately1 many of them must leave the sea with advancing years1 having nothing to support them but such scanty savings as they have been able to put by4 ,and as the days when skippers were able to amass fortunes have long passed away1 these hard-working seamen are often hardly bestead in their old age--far more hardly than any one knowing their long period of command1 but ignorant of their pay1 could possibly imagine4 ,in leaving the steamer-skipper for him of the wind-jammer1 as sailing vessels are contemptuously termed by steamer-sailors1 a few words may suffice for the ungracious task of dealing with the black sheep4 ,as in all other professions1 of course among steamship-masters there are drunken blackguards1 who in some mysterious way manage to get and keep command4 ,but the proportion is very small4 ,there is hardly any room for them4 ,the conditions of service are too onerous1 the necessity for constant care and forethought is too great1 to admit of many worthless men being in command4 ,especially is this the case in the north-east ports1 where every man's goings-on are known and discussed1 as villagers dissect one another's business in remote inland hamlets4 ,no2 taking them by and large1 to use a time-honoured sea phrase1 the tramp skippers need not fear comparison with any class of public servants in this country1 while for the importance of the duties they fulfil they are certainly second to none4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,master 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,so great is the difference in duties to be performed by masters of sailing ships from those of masters of steamers1 that they are almost like members of another profession4 ,the range1 too1 in status is exceedingly extensive4 ,between the man in command of1 say1 a small brigantine going foreign1 and the commander of a four-masted steel clipper carrying #ejjj tons of cargo to and from the ,colonies1 there is not only a great gulf of status1 but a large number of gradations4 ,yet it will readily be admitted by all shipmasters that the position of master of even a fifth-rate steamship marks a step upward from the same position on board of the finest sailing ship afloat4 ,and almost any shipmaster is glad to step down from the exalted pinnacle he may have occupied for years as master of a splendid wind-jammer and take a very subordinate position1 say1 as second1 third1 or even fourth officer in a liner1 as a means of rising to the coveted post of commander of such a ship4 ,but perhaps we have had enough of steamers for a little while4 ,for my part1 ,i shall only be too glad to quit that part of my subject for the far more congenial one of the wind-jammer1 as she is contemptuously called by steamer-men4 ,it is essential1 in order to success as a master here1 that a man should be a sailor4 ,that is1 in the original sense of handling ships1 a fine art1 demanding high skill and courage as well as constant practice4 ,a good master nurses his ship under sail with never-ceasing care4 ,if he be ably seconded by his officers1 his labour is of course greatly lightened2 but even then1 if a smart passage is to be made1 the master must never relax his vigilance4 ,never1 that is1 in the sense of allowing his officers to feel that the game is in their hands entirely4 ,to explain this for the benefit of my shore readers1 let me give a commonplace instance4 ,i was an able seaman on board a fine ship homeward bound from ,manila to ,london4 ,we were commanded by an elderly1 taciturn gentleman1 whose appearance was as unlike that of the typical sailor as could well be imagined4 ,yet every man on board knew him to be a consummate ship-handler1 and cool withal1 so that when1 on the outward passage1 we were tacking under a heavy press of sail to get through the ,sunda ,straits1 and in weathering a point of ,thwart-the-way-,island actually touched it with our bilge1 the seamed old face never blenched1 never lost its sphinx-like mask of serene watchfulness4 ,we did not know1 though1 until we had reached the eastern entrance to ,sunda ,straits again1 on the passage home1 how excellent his seamanship really was4 ,in company with a dozen other ships1 most of which had gained upon us1 we were becalmed in that dangerous vicinity when night fell4 ,darkness shut down upon us1 such a darkness as makes it necessary for the sailor to know the running gear intuitively--to develop some other sense to serve him in lieu of sight4 ,amidst a guttural growling of thunder which was almost continuous1 and a flickering glare of lightning that was bewildering1 it began to rain--not steadily1 but as if high overhead were passing a series of nimbus clouds that were letting fall their contents in intermittent lumps4 ,and from all quarters successively came light puffs of wind1 never steady for more than ten minutes at a time4 ,we had all the lighter sails made fast in case of a sudden heavy squall and for greater facility of working the ship4 ,then for the whole of that ,egyptian night1 making a bewildering tangle of courses that was enough to whiten a mathematician's hair to ravel out1 we toiled at the braces under the master's direct orders4 ,we had watch and watch1 but he was on duty all night4 ,standing by the compass1 watchful and alert in spite of his seventy years1 he utilized every favourable cats-paw1 manuvred against the unfavourable ones1 remembering the possibilities of the unknowable currents beneath1 and keeping before his mental vision a picture of the contour of that rugged coast4 ,when morning dawned he had his reward2 for we were almost through the ,straits1 with the first kiss of the south-east trade wind saluting us1 and the broad bosom of the ,indian ,ocean lying invitingly before us under a canopy of stainless blue4 ,and of our comrades of the previous day only one could be seen1 just discerned so far astern that she was only a speck on the horizon4 ,to grasp the significance of such a piece of seamanship1 it is necessary to remember that in a square-rigged ship the swinging of the great yards is not a momentary affair1 like the slipping over of a schooner's fore and aft sails4 ,time and much labour are required4 ,moreover1 the closest attention is necessary in order to utilize intermittent wind-breaths1 as these were2 for a big ship with little motion obeys her helm but slowly1 and soon loses1 if she be caught aback1 that is1 gets the wind on the wrong side of her sails1 what little way or forward motion she has--a loss that she is loth to make good4 ,again1 in a sailing ship native courage in the master counts immensely4 ,no amount of experience will atone for a want of this quality4 ,some men are so prudent1 in other words1 so lacking in courage1 that they will shorten sail at the first premonition of bad weather1 instead of reducing canvas as the weight of wind makes it impossible for the ship to carry it with safety4 ,of course there are circumstances where such prudence is absolutely necessary1 as in the case of ships who do not carry sufficient men1 or whose crews are of such poor quality that they are hardly competent to handle the sails in fine weather2 also when the equipment of a ship has been so shamefully starved that the carrying of sail in anything like a breeze is bound to end in wholesale loss4 ,and this matter of prudence in carrying sail has its dangerous side also4 ,many a dreadful storm has been endured by a ship that she would have escaped altogether had she kept up her speed2 many a ship has been overtaken by a following sea and left almost derelict by its onslaught that would have gallantly outraced it had she not been made helpless by the clipping of her broad wings4 ,of course1 when it is remembered how great is a ship's individuality1 how immensely circumstances vary1 even the least knowing of us will have small difficulty in understanding the impossibility of laying down hard and fast lines4 ,every master must needs work out his own salvation in these matters1 learn by experience and keep on learning2 happy if he can find a ship whose ways are ways of pleasantness1 and who has not either been built with or acquired some devilish habit of sea-spite that makes her an abode of misery to her crew1 and the command of her a martyrdom to her master4 ,such ships abound1 possessed by every vice known to seafarers1 yet presenting in dock1 when newly got up1 an appearance of smartness and seaworthiness that is deceitful to the last degree4 ,such a ship it was my evil hap to light upon once in ,london1 bound for ,new ,zealand4 ,every one of my shipmates were ecstatic in their praises of her beauty2 none doubted that she would be as comfortable as she was lovely4 ,but oh1 the awakening from our pleasant dream6 ,barely had we cleared the ,channel1 when1 meeting the full vigour of the ,atlantic swell1 she began her antics4 ,there was no dry place on board of her anywhere1 except under the hatches among the cargo4 ,for she had not all the vices of a ship2 she was well and staunchly built1 and did not leak4 ,but in finest weather1 almost in calm1 she invited the sea on board2 while in bad weather she was like a half-tide rock1 continually awash4 ,there were five passengers1 and ,i warrant that none of them could ever forget that passage of #aag days2 because the after part of the ship was even worse than the fore part4 ,a massive structure of timber1 like the palisading of a block-house1 was built across the front of the cabin for its protection4 ,she1 however1 thought nothing of sweeping away the whole erection1 and flooding the handsome state-rooms with a foaming torrent of salt water4 ,never shall ,i forget the sight of the podgy skipper1 like some unlively porpoise1 gambolling about the saloon1 swimming and scrabbling in water up to his waist in chase of his sextant1 which1 secure in its box1 was gleefully careering about at every roll of the ship4 ,that skipper was both smart and plucky1 but his command must have aged him at treble the ordinary speed4 ,when he carried on sail until the masts bent like fishing-rods and the stitch-holes in the sails became elongated so that they looked like columns of shining oats placed horizontally1 instead of keeping ahead of the sea1 she took it over in appalling masses1 both sides and astern at once4 ,and when it became suicidal to run her any longer1 and we hove her to--that is to say1 we reduced sail to a mere speck1 and turned her head as near to the wind and sea as it would go--she acted as viciously as any buck-jumping horse4 ,no one on board ever found their sea-legs1 as the saying is1 for you needed inch-long spikes or huge sucking-discs on your feet to keep on your legs at all4 ,then there is the needed acquaintance with the best routes at given times of the year--the ability to direct your course so that you shall find the minimum of calms with the maximum of favourable winds4 ,this is a prime quality in a successful shipmaster1 and it cannot be learned from weather-books or weather-charts4 ,i came home once from ,australia1 second mate of a magnificent ship1 whose sailing qualities were of the highest order1 her crew ample in quantity1 her equipment beyond criticism4 ,the master was a learned man1 but his experience of sailing ships was of the slightest4 ,he had all the weather-charts obtainable2 he studied them continually1 and faithfully followed their guidance4 ,in the result we made a four and a half months' passage home1 while a smaller ship1 not nearly so smart1 sailing from the same port three weeks after our departure1 arrived in ,london nearly four weeks ahead of us4 ,but her master had been sailing ships between ,england and ,australia for many years1 all the while accumulating first-hand knowledge of the conditions obtaining over all those seas he traversed1 learning by experience the weather-signs and all the grammar of the language that the ocean speaks in to its intimate friends4 ,this knowledge it is that constitutes the fine flower of seamanship as it was 7and is still in ships that depend upon sail only71 but which will soon be looked upon as a lost art as the sailing ship is gradually pushed aside by that wonderful outcome of engineering science--the steamship4 ,how great a factor in the making of a successful passage under sail this personal acquaintance with the route pursued is1 may be easily assessed from a superficial study of the ways of the ,swansea copper-ore traders4 ,these are1 or rather1 ,i ought to say1 were1 smart barquentines which sail1 or sailed1 from ,swansea1 bound round ,cape ,horn from east to west1 for the purpose of bringing home ore to the world-renowned smelting-works of ,wales4 ,their masters were not1 in any sense of the word1 fine gentlemen1 their calling hardly admitted of the cultivation of the graces of life2 but such was their knowledge of this1 the most arduous piece of navigation in the whole world1 that their passages were made with almost steamer-like regularity4 ,only seamen themselves could give to these perfect mariners all the praise that was their due4 ,for all sailors know1 either by experience or repute1 how cruelly hard are the conditions attached to forcing a passage around that awful promontory that reaches down almost to the ,antarctic ,circle1 deep into the chosen habitation of the fiercest and most persistent gales that rage around the planet4 ,here1 for weeks on end1 you shall feel the weight of an unfaltering westerly gale1 with all its accompaniments of snow and sleet and darkness4 ,one would say that the attempt to get round the ,horn from east to west1 in the teeth of such prevalent conditions1 was madness1 especially when the long record of disaster attendant upon these attempts is known4 ,many a case is on record where fine ships1 after weeks of abortive struggle to get to the westward round ,cape ,horn1 have at last given up the fight1 put the helm hard-up1 and fled before the inexorable westerly gale1 right round the world1 to reach such a port as ,san ,francisco1 for instance4 ,yet these little ,swansea men came and went1 from year to year1 with the utmost regularity2 their skippers having learned by experience how to out-manuvre even the terrible monarch of the southern sea4 ,no doubt it was a hard life2 but it was exultant1 triumphant4 ,these men knew how good their seamanship was1 how exact their weather-lore1 and they troubled meteorological charts not at all4 ,so1 too1 with the navigation of the ,bay of ,bengal4 ,while not so severe in any sense as that of ,cape ,horn1 it is difficult1 teasing1 and calling for constant watchfulness4 ,men who go that way only occasionally will make a good passage of1 say1 from eighty to a hundred days on one voyage1 and then with the same ship1 a year or two after1 make a passage that causes the owner to gnash his teeth as he cons the portage bill4 ,but to the men who used to sail there regularly how nearly an exact science did their navigation of that baffling bay become6 ,one especially comes to my mind--,thomas ,potts1 of ,messrs4 ,brocklebank's famous old ,east-,india line4 ,dozens of that old worthy's log-books have passed through my hands1 with their fair1 unblotted entries of business-like procedure from day to day4 ,and so regular seemed the rate of sailing that ,i once took the trouble to compile an average of his passages out and between ,liverpool and ,calcutta for six years1 and ,i found it to be eighty-five days2 a perfectly marvellous achievement in the eyes of a seaman4 ,of course1 such splendid work as this presupposes a speedy ship4 ,while it is perfectly true that seamanship and diligence on the part of the master can do great things in the way of passage-making even with a sluggish vessel1 yet it is heart-breaking work4 ,and when1 tired of the never-ending struggle against adverse circumstances1 the master becomes listless and slack in his attentions1 the result in such a vessel is that she becomes overdue1 and underwriters gamble feverishly on the prospects of her non-arrival4 ,such vessels are still to be met with in goodly numbers1 not all obsolete ships either4 ,one1 for instance1 that ,i have in mind at the present moment1 a huge steel ship not a dozen years old1 whose last few passages have been the cause of immense sums changing hands among underwriters owing to her being continually overdue4 ,another smart-looking barque that ,i saw in ,auckland1 ,new ,zealand1 once1 was actually eight months on the passage from ,liverpool thither1 having apparently been taken into regions of almost perpetual calm1 whence it was a miracle that she ever emerged4 ,between these two extremes of swiftness and slowness come all the host of mediocrities1 making passages of average length1 speedy enough to prevent owners grumbling1 yet not sufficiently smart to call for any praise4 ,as in all other professions1 these are the vast majority2 and the masters who thus quietly perform their duty without hope of honourable mention are none the less worthy because they do not1 cannot1 do anything that shall cause their names to be remembered among seamen as the lite of the profession4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,master 7,,sailing ,,ships7--continued4 ,hitherto ,i have endeavoured to pass lightly over the sailing ship master's work in making passages1 only showing the superior side of these responsible men's characters4 ,but if ,i were to go no farther in this direction1 many masters would rightly feel much aggrieved4 ,they would not feel satisfied that the public should imagine that they were all alike excellent1 and that the training and experience necessary for the command of a ship always succeeded in turning out a man who was really fit for the post he is called upon to occupy4 ,besides1 the picture would be a false one4 ,far too many masters1 having once obtained command1 instead of utilizing their extended opportunities of showing their fitness for such a post1 just settle down on their lees and become indolent1 careless1 and consequently worthless4 ,it must be granted that the temptation is great to a man not naturally energetic4 ,once freed from the oversight and control of his owners or their agents1 and out upon the sea1 he is in the position of an almost absolute monarch4 ,his officers are anxious to gain his good word1 since upon it depends their future4 ,this statement needs some explanation4 ,by a rule of the ,board of ,trade1 every officer coming up for examination in order to take a certificate of a higher grade must produce written testimonials from the master he has served with4 ,wanting these1 he is not allowed to enter for the examination at all4 ,now1 as by the common law no master is bound to give his servant a character1 it follows that a shipmaster need only withhold that essential scrap of paper from an aspiring officer to put an effectual bar before his rising any higher4 ,i do not profess to criticize the wisdom of this enactment1 ,i merely state the facts as they are4 ,and as an instance of how this power is regarded by shipmasters1 ,i may mention that1 recently writing upon the subject in the press1 ,i received an indignant letter from a shipmaster1 who said that if all shipmasters did their duty there would be far fewer officers obtain certificates than there are now4 ,also that no good officer need fear such treatment at the hands of any shipmaster--which was manifestly absurd1 since among shipmasters1 as amongst all other classes of men1 there must be both bad and good1 and the temptation to use arbitrary power like that is far too great to be resisted by a bad man4 ,but to return4 ,having1 then1 this potent lever in his grasp1 this guarantee for the good behaviour of his officers1 the indolent master may1 if he will1 leave everything to them1 except just the obtaining of the ship's position each day4 ,even that it has been my lot to see neglected by a shipmaster4 ,of course he will occasionally potter about and find fault1 if he be1 as well as indolent1 of a small1 mean character4 ,such a master is a sore trial to both officers and crew4 ,asked for instructions as to what he wishes done1 he will reply that he did not expect his officers would need to be shown their work1 and that he would prefer to have men about him who did not want dry-nursing4 ,which being translated means that he wants his officers to do things on their own initiative1 so that he can at any time1 if in want of a little recreation1 find it in quarrelling with them for doing that which they deemed to be right4 ,for instance1 ,i was once mate of a barque4 ,while lying in ,noumea1 failing any instructions from the master1 ,i decided to set up all the rigging1 which was so slack as to be dangerous supposing that we encountered any bad weather4 ,the work was well under way when the master came on deck from his cabin1 where he had been dozing all the morning1 and1 seeing what was going on1 called out loudly3 ,here1 ,mr4 ,bullen1 just stop that1 will you8 ,that can be done any time4 ,i want the ship painted outside4 ,far too well in hand to make any remark1 and really rather glad to get a definite order1 ,i had the gear unrove and put away2 and soon we were in the thick of painting4 ,we did not get another opportunity to tighten up that rigging before we left one of the northern ports of the island1 deep loaded with copper ore4 ,we were hardly outside the harbour1 bound to ,newcastle1 ,n4,s4,w41 when it came on to blow1 the vessel rolled tremendously1 the rigging worked slacker and slacker1 and in the middle watch that night she rolled her three masts over the side4 ,then1 of course1 ,i was blamed for not having had the rigging set up4 ,then there is the indolent skipper1 who leaves everything to the mate1 and never finds fault either4 ,amiable but lazy1 he spends most of his time in sleep4 ,he scarcely looks at a book1 does not meditate1 but leads a sort of fungus life1 indulging in a perpetual kief1 or cessation of all the nobler faculties4 ,naturally1 young officers like that kind of skipper1 since they have a perfectly free hand2 but they despise him1 and in their inmost heart they know that such a ship is very little good to them4 ,and in times of emergency or danger1 when naturally every one on board looks to the head for leadership1 it is disconcerting1 to say the least1 to find him altogether wanting in initiative either in energy or resource4 ,of course1 this is not saying that many masters will not be found who are fussy and meddlesome to the most irritating degree when the weather is fine and the ship is on the high seas1 who1 when danger looms near and the master's good qualities should shine brightest1 are but broken reeds4 ,one master whom ,i liked very much--a really good man1 but without back-bone--was looked upon by all hands with good-natured toleration as a sort of benevolent old female1 who1 if he did keep himself in evidence pretty much all the time1 did not interfere to any great extent4 ,but there came a day when we were running the ,easting down 7bound to ,calcutta7 that we were overtaken by a really heavy gale4 ,all our energies were needed to get sail off the deeply laden ship1 for she was wallowing dangerously1 and was not speedy enough to keep ahead of the sea4 ,while we were thus striving with all our powers1 under the smart mate's direction1 the skipper1 swathed in many clothes1 clung desperately to the weather-mizzen rigging1 a pitiful picture of fear1 his legs bending under him all ways1 and his grey beard beslavered with the foam of fright4 ,a more abject specimen of a coward ,i never saw4 ,all hands noted his behaviour1 and from that day forward he was treated with utter contempt4 ,his authority was a thing of naught1 and the discipline of the ship 7never very rigid in the ,merchant ,service7 was entirely gone4 ,at last the men refused to obey a most necessary order1 simply because it necessitated work in their watch below4 ,the offence was flagrant1 involving as it did the possible loss of the ship and all hands4 ,he summoned the recalcitrant watch aft and reasoned with them4 ,they merely gibed at and taunted him with cowardice and uselessness in reply4 ,when we arrived at ,calcutta he had them up before the shipping-master for punishment1 and that worthy fined them two days' pay--at which they laughed hugely4 ,now1 such a scene as that would be unthinkable on board of either an ,american ship or a ,blue-nose 7,british ,north ,american vessel74 ,there the traditions are all on the side of stern discipline1 which is not based upon law1 but upon force4 ,the foremast hand1 whoever he may be1 that signs in an ,american ship realizes at once that it is dangerous to play any tricks with his superior officers4 ,because1 although he does not reason it out1 he feels that it would be useless to invoke the law to protect him against the certain consequences of shirking work1 insolence1 or laziness4 ,and this leads me naturally to a consideration of the ,american skipper2 that is to say1 the skipper of the sailing ship1 the man who1 by dint of seamanship alone1 has risen from the lowliest position to command4 ,no better sailors ever lived than the masters of ,american ships2 and it should never be forgotten1 when the statistics of our marvellous ,mercantile ,marine are studied1 that not so many years ago the ,american merchant navy was more than equal to our own4 ,not only so1 but the shore population was also so deeply tinged with the maritime spirit that nautical terms were a part of the common speech of those who had never even seen the sea4 ,it is hardly fair to use the past tense1 because this is largely the case now2 so much so1 that a book bristling with nautical phrases will be read in ,america by both sexes with perfect ease1 from their familiarity with nautical terminology4 ,what sailor is there worth his salt who does not cherish proudly the remembrance of those magnificent ,down ,east clipper ships and their wonderful passages to and from the ,far ,east and ,san ,francisco8 ,their doings have passed into proverbs1 the runs they made from day to day1 the mountainous press of canvas they carried and the smartness of their crews4 ,many of them were built by rule of thumb1 and were sailed also much in the same way1 for their officers prided themselves far more upon their knowledge of sailorizing than mathematics1 but they flew over the wide sea at a speed that our clumsier wooden vessels could not begin to compete with4 ,in them the master was looked upon almost as a demigod4 ,no man-o'-war's man to-day regards even an admiral with such awe as did the foremost hand of an ,american packet ship or ,china clipper the saturnine1 deep-browed man who1 in spotless raiment and with an ,olympian air1 strode up and down the weather side of his immaculate quarter-deck4 ,and a man who had once made a voyage in such a flyer as the ,sovereign of the ,seas or the ,dreadnought before the mast1 was wont to brag of it loudly ever after4 ,it conferred a sort of brevet rank upon an ,a4,b4 that he had successfully survived all the hardships of such a voyage4 ,the watchwords on board these ships were ,good food and hard work4 ,no cook dare venture on board of them unless he could justify his title4 ,and unless he were clean enough to satisfy those hawk-eyed officers he had better never have been born than have ventured under the ,stars and ,stripes as cook4 ,i have myself seen a ,yankee skipper go into the galley1 and1 taking up the first saucepan to hand from the rack1 wipe it out with a snowy handkerchief brought clean from his drawer on purpose2 and if it showed a smear upon inspection1 there was at once a sound of revelry in that galley4 ,another one had a pleasant habit of going around the panelling of the saloon and state-rooms1 poking his handkerchief into the mouldings with a piece of pointed stick1 and examining it most carefully afterwards for any mark of dust4 ,this1 of course1 was carrying the ,yankee officers' passion for cleanliness to an absurd length1 but it may safely be said that nowhere on the sea was freedom from dirt maintained at so high a level as it was on board the now almost extinct ,american clipper ships4 ,these masters fought their way up to command by sheer merit and force of character1 allied to physical prowess1 dauntless courage1 and1 it must be said in the majority of cases1 ruthless cruelty4 ,laws for the protection of the common seaman undoubtedly existed1 but it was an unheard-of thing for them to be enforced2 and many dark stories are current of men being done to death by incessant brutality1 whose murderers1 whether officers or master1 quietly slipped ashore in the pilot-cutter upon reaching the offing of their home port4 ,then1 if such an unlikely thing happened as the dead man's shipmates taking the matter of his slaying before the authorities1 it was hopeless to attempt the murderer's arrest4 ,but brutal and reckless as ,yankee masters undoubtedly were1 the fact remains that they were unapproachable for seamanship and speedy passages4 ,they skimmed the cream off the ,far ,eastern trade1 and1 owing to the generosity with which they were treated by their owners1 took no long time to amass comfortable fortunes4 ,the knell of their supremacy was sounded1 however1 when ,britain took to building iron ships4 ,even before that time1 so well had the lessons taught by these dashing ,yankee shipmasters and born shipbuilders been learned1 that some of our firms had been able to build wooden ships that could hold their own in the swiftest ocean race4 ,then came the day of the composite 7wooden planking with iron frame7 ships--the famous tea-clippers of fo'c'sle story1 built by such firms as ,hall of ,aberdeen and ,steel of ,greenock1 against which no ,yankee clipper had any chance whatever4 ,and when the iron ship appeared in her turn1 in spite of the immense difficulty of keeping the hull under water free from encumbrances of weeds and barnacles1 she at once sprang into premier place4 ,this1 however1 is a part of my subject that belongs to another place in the book4 ,it is necessary to mention it here in passing1 because it is one of the prime reasons for the rapid decay and disappearance of a body of men whose seamanship was peerless--men who carried the ,stars and ,stripes triumphantly over all the seas of the world4 ,it must not be supposed1 either1 that ,american skippers were uneducated men4 ,many of them were1 of course1 but the proportion was far less than existed in our own service4 ,navigation as taught in the sea-ports of the ,united ,states1 on the lines of ,bowditch1 was no mere perfunctory business2 and although there were no compulsory certificates of competency necessary in those days1 there was a good deal of proper pride in mathematical attainment which those who employed officers of ships did their best to foster4 ,and if there were a goodly sprinkling of men among them who did not care1 so long as they could fudge their position out in the most rudimentary way by means of an old wooden quadrant or hog-yoke1 a ten-cent almanac1 and the barest acquaintance with a set of nautical tables1 why1 so there were1 and so there are now1 among our own people1 even with compulsory certificates granted by a vigilant ,board of ,trade4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,qualities4 ,if1 as is highly improbable1 the average landsman ever thinks anything about the duties of a shipmaster1 it would be most interesting to know what he imagines them to be4 ,most intelligent men and women know that the primary duty of a shipmaster is to take his vessel across the trackless ocean to her destined port and return again as speedily as possible4 ,so far so good1 but beyond this first reason for a shipmaster's existence there are a host of other duties1 in all of which he is supposed to be more or less proficient4 ,and there are certain qualities which he must also possess4 ,failing them1 he may be perfect in science1 full of energy1 and faultless in seamanship1 but as a commander he is naught4 ,of these1 the ability to command stands unquestionably first4 ,no doubt this quality is hard to define1 but the possession or the want of it makes all the difference between a comfortable and a miserable ship4 ,one man will seldom raise his voice during a whole voyage loud enough to be heard by any one except the individual to whom he is speaking2 the calmness and placidity of his demeanour is amazing1 yet in some mysterious way every one on board is made to feel that the master holds the reins of power with no slack or unready hand1 that to disobey one of his orders would be a most dangerous experiment1 and that he knows everything that is going on fore and aft4 ,such a man fulfilling this perfect attribute of command ,i once had the pleasure to serve under--an elderly1 prosaic-looking figure1 who used to come on deck shortly after daybreak every morning1 with a moth-eaten ,bombay-made dressing-gown flung over his pyjamas1 a mangy old fez upon his head1 and his bare feet thrust into sloppy slippers4 ,thus attired1 he would pace rapidly up and down the poop for the space of half an hour1 taking his constitutional--a most mirth-provoking figure4 ,yet no one ever laughed1 either behind his back1 on deck1 or in the privacy of the fo'c'sle4 ,when he spoke it was in a velvet voice1 but the man spoken to invariably took an attitude of profound respect on the instant4 ,he was old and feeble1 and our crew numbered among them some rowdies2 but from ,england to ,china and back again that old gentleman's commanding personality kept the ship in a quiet state of discipline which was as perfect as it was rare4 ,on the other hand1 ,i have seen a most stately figure of a man1 with a voice like a thunder-peal1 unable to obtain respect from his crew4 ,because in the ,merchant ,service1 as ,i am never tired of reiterating1 respect cannot be enforced2 it must come spontaneously1 a tribute to the personality of the officer to whom it is due1 or it does not come at all2 and then that ship is in a bad way4 ,another quality1 which is only second in importance to the one just mentioned1 is self-control4 ,since the shipmaster has no one above him in his little realm1 it is highly important to his whole well-being1 as well as to the comfort of the ship1 that he should command himself4 ,however irritated he may feel at a mistake on the part of one of his officers1 he should be able to conceal it before his crew4 ,and here the ,americans have shown ,british officers a good example4 ,so long as an officer remains an officer on board of ,american vessels1 so long is he upheld by all the authority of the master4 ,there is no sneering comment upon his movements indulged in before the crew1 no tacit information conveyed to those keen-witted fellows that the hapless mate1 first1 second1 or third1 as the case may be1 has lost the confidence and respect of his commander1 and that consequently there is little or no danger in them treating him disrespectfully4 ,perhaps this is one of the hardest lessons that a shipmaster has to learn1 especially in a sailing ship4 ,for three1 or perhaps four1 or even five1 months sole monarch of his small kingdom1 anxious to make a smart passage1 and often sadly hampered by adverse winds and calms1 it is no easy thing for a naturally hasty man to discipline himself in such wise as to win the maximum amount of obedience and deference from those around him4 ,happy man if he have a hobby of some kind--a thirst for learning1 a taste for natural history1 anything that will exercise the powers of his mind and keep him from the moral dry-rot that always sets in where men are at the top of things1 amenable to no authority but their own1 and without any definite object whereon they may work and feed that appetite for labour1 whether mental or physical1 possessed by every healthy human organism4 ,patience1 perseverance1 and a sense of justice are also indicated1 as they are1 of course1 in the leaders in every business or profession1 yet to an even greater degree at sea than anywhere else2 for where you can neither get rid of your men nor afford to lose their services by punishing them1 only the highest expression of these qualities is of any avail4 ,it may perhaps be thought impossible that1 except in the rarest instances1 such a combination of excellence should be found in any one man4 ,but that impression is not a true one4 ,i am not exaggerating in the least when ,i say that but for the possession of these qualities in an extraordinary degree by masters1 our ,mercantile ,marine would never have risen to its present splendid height in spite of so many hampering disabilities unfelt by masters of ships under other flags4 ,for1 to take one aspect only1 the disciplinary4 ,i have slightly indicated the manner in which discipline is maintained in ,american ships1 viz4 by the employment of violence1 which is forbidden by law1 yet is invariably winked at4 ,in the ships of every other nation but the ,english-speaking ones1 the merchant seaman is not only a native of the country to which his ship belongs1 but he is never free from the environment of naval law2 the same law1 that is1 which obtains on board of a warship4 ,for every seaman there is a man-o'-war's man1 bound to put in so much actual service in a vessel of war1 and1 as such1 under the articles of war2 so that disobedience to orders1 insolence1 or malingering 7shamming sickness7 are exceedingly expensive practices for the sailor to indulge in1 the penalties being not only heavy1 but their infliction certain4 ,in a ,british ship1 on the other hand1 a master may unwittingly ship a crew of scoundrels1 who have made up their minds to do as little as they can as badly as possible1 to refuse the most ordinary forms of respect to their officers1 and to either desert or go to gaol at the first port1 not because their ship is a bad one1 but just by way of a change4 ,and if the master or officers1 worried beyond endurance1 take the law in their own hands1 their punishment and subsequent ruin is almost certain to ensue promptly4 ,the rascals who have made the ship a hell afloat1 confident in the tenderness of ,british law1 and its severity towards all forms of oppression1 pursue their rejoicing way1 and if brought to court may be fined a trifle of wages1 which1 as they set no value upon money1 does not punish them in the least4 ,some decent foremast hands may feel that ,i am here unduly severe upon the rank and file2 that1 having been an officer1 and1 besides1 left the sea for good1 ,i have1 like so many others1 turned against my old shipmates4 ,but they would be utterly mistaken4 ,it is the merest platitude to say that every decent man's interest lies in having his eyes wide open to the faults of the class he wishes to benefit4 ,the most of my sea-service was spent in a ship's forecastle1 and ,i can assure my readers that ,i have never since felt more shame and disgust at the behaviour of some of my watchmates than ,i did then4 ,i cannot for my life see why the foremast hand should not be as self-respecting1 amenable to reason1 and competent1 as any good workman ashore4 ,sea life is not brutalizing in itself2 it is ennobling1 and it is a strange return for the benefits that a life at sea confers upon those who live it that so many of them should gratuitously become brutish4 ,of course there is more excuse for the unfortunate slaves of steam1 the firemen and trimmers4 ,yet even they can1 and do in many instances1 rise superior to their hard surroundings and show an example to men in positions where every comfort of life is enjoyed4 ,another quality which shipmasters should possess1 but whose necessity will be hotly debated by many1 is that of being a ,god-fearing man4 ,some people will say that this embraces all the rest4 ,that it should do so is undeniable2 that it does do so is1 unhappily1 seldom the case4 ,it is a great pity that in so many otherwise estimable men the spirit of godliness should be accompanied by a weakening of their power to command men4 ,they become afraid lest their necessary acts for the preservation of discipline should be misconstrued into a violation of the principles which they profess4 ,and this often results in their ,christian virtues being taken advantage of by unscrupulous subordinates1 so that the ship's condition becomes worse1 not better1 for the fact of a man being in command who is anxious to love his neighbour as himself4 ,needless to say1 perhaps1 that such a condition of things is altogether opposed to the true spirit of ,christianity1 which does not approve of allowing one's subordinates to break rules and defy rulers4 ,this1 however1 is far too large a question to be more than glanced at here1 especially as it is so hotly debated by many excellent seamen who hold that the practice of the ,christian religion in the ,merchant ,service is an impossibility4 ,a master should be honest4 ,eyes will open wide at this1 no doubt1 since all men should be honest2 but it must not be forgotten that all men are not so liable to temptations to be dishonest in a perfectly safe way 7as far as the law goes7 as a shipmaster is4 ,the ports of the world are thronged with scoundrels who tempt shipmasters to betray their trust in a variety of ways4 ,by bribery1 the most common form of corruption1 they are led into cheating the owner and the crew1 into downright robbery4 ,there is the temptation to rob the crew1 a perfectly safe operation1 and one that can be excused by its perpetrators on the ground that1 as ,jack will only squander his money upon the vilest forms of debauchery when he gets paid off1 a good percentage of it will be much better in their pockets than his4 ,it may be done in a variety of ways1 from the ostensible payment of blood money to a ,san ,francisco boarding master or crimp1 which is deducted from the seaman's wages and shared by the skipper and his ally1 to the commoner form of collusion with bumboatmen1 tailors1 etc41 whereby the sailor is overcharged for everything he buys aboard1 in order that a heavy percentage of his spendings may go into the master's pocket4 ,of course ,jack is not compelled to spend anything2 but it is unfair that he should be mulcted twenty-five per cent4 on such innocent outlayings as for soft bread1 eggs1 fruit1 or clothing4 ,in these latter days the temptations to dishonesty in respect of such larger operations as chartering1 towage1 etc41 are greatly lessened by the multiplication of appointed agencies of the owner's abroad1 but they do still exist1 and the sailing shipmaster especially is often tempted to be dishonest in out-of-the-way ports of the world1 temptations which1 for his own sake1 he should sternly refuse to countenance4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,duties4 ,as pointed out at the beginning of the last chapter1 the primary duty of a shipmaster is to get his ship from port to port in the speediest and safest manner possible4 ,and it may not be amiss to indicate here1 in the briefest and most popular way1 the broad principles upon which this is done4 ,i wish to disarm criticism by experts by disclaiming any intention of giving more than an idea of the process by which vessels are taken across the trackless ocean to those who do not know1 and are daunted by a mathematical treatise4 ,every school child that has reached the third standard knows that the globe is represented as criss-crossed by a large number of lines running from pole to pole1 that is from north to south1 and others right round the globe in the opposite direction1 or from east to west4 ,these lines cross each other at right angles4 ,the up and down ones1 from pole to pole1 are meridians of longitude2 the ,east-,west ones are parallels of latitude4 ,now1 since these are all numbered as degrees1 the space between them being #a1 the latitudes from the ,equator to the poles on either side of it as #a to #ij1 and the meridians from ,greenwich to its opposite point on the other side of the world #a to #ahj1 it follows that if a seafarer can ascertain at the same time what particular degree of both latitude and longitude he is in1 a glance at his chart or sea-map shows him the position of his ship4 ,this operation 7finding the latitude and longitude7 is performed in a variety of ways1 but the simplest1 and consequently the most universally used at sea1 is by measuring the sun's height above the horizon at noon for the latitude1 and about three hours before or after noon for the longitude4 ,this is done by means of a pretty instrument called a sextant with the greatest ease and speed4 ,at noon1 the moment the sun reaches his highest point for the day1 it is twelve o'clock1 and a calculation1 made in one minute1 shows exactly how far the ship is north or south of the ,equator4 ,the observations for longitude take a little longer4 ,from the sun's height1 at the moment of observation1 is calculated the exact time at the ship4 ,and as a chronometer1 which every ship carries1 shows the exact time at ,greenwich1 the difference between the two expresses in hours and minutes 7easily convertible into degrees and miles7 the distance east or west of ,greenwich1 the first meridian of longitude2 for every degree 7#fj miles7 is equal to four minutes of time4 ,having found the latitude and longitude1 the master makes a little dot upon the chart at the exact point where the lines of latitude and longitude which he is on cross one another1 and sees as plainly as if he were standing at a well-known street-crossing where he is4 ,from the position thus obtained he shapes his course in the direction best calculated to reach his destination2 that is1 if the way in which the wind is blowing will allow him to do so 7in a sailing ship74 ,this is done by bringing the desired point of the compass in a line with a mark drawn upon the side of the round box in which the compass swings1 which mark really represents the ship's head4 ,and if1 as is popularly supposed1 the compass needle always pointed true to the north1 navigation would be very simple4 ,but1 alas6 this instrument is full of vagaries4 ,apart altogether from such harassing complications as the attraction of the iron in the ship produces1 there is the variation of the compass itself from the north1 which changes continually as the vessel goes on her way4 ,then there is bad steering1 and1 worse still1 the effect of unknown currents1 which sweep the ship away in some direction which cannot be calculated until after it has occurred4 ,the speed of the ship is known by the use of a beautiful instrument1 called a patent log1 which1 towed behind the ship1 registers her rate of progress with an accuracy unobtainable by any cyclometer4 ,where1 for economical reasons1 the patent log is not used1 the mariner must rely upon a primitive instrument1 called a logship1 which1 being used once every hour or two hours1 cannot1 however good it may be1 give such true results as the patent log1 which records every foot of the distance travelled4 ,when1 however1 the heavenly bodies1 which are always faithful and reliable1 are obscured by bad weather1 and the master has to depend upon a position obtained by a calculation of the course made by compass and the distance run by log1 he may well be uneasy if he be in difficult waters near land4 ,for the compass can only be corrected by the aid of the sun1 moon1 or stars when at sea1 and if they are invisible it may be a very unsafe guide1 although an indispensable one4 ,roughly1 these are the principles upon which a ship is navigated1 modifications and extensions of which go to make up the perfect navigator4 ,and no matter how perfect a navigator a master may be1 he will always1 if he be wise1 see that the officers work out the ship's position independently1 so that a comparison may be made between the various workings1 and any errors detected4 ,this business of navigating the ship in deep waters is1 however1 always looked upon by masters as the lightest part of all their duties1 although ,i have been shipmate with masters who had grown too lazy to attend even to that1 leaving it to the mate4 ,when the ship comes to the tortuous passages of1 say1 the ,east ,indian ,archipelago1 or threads the mazy ways of the ,west ,indian islands1 the master has an opportunity to show what metal he is made of4 ,or1 reaching the vicinity of our own dangerous coasts in the long stormy or foggy nights of winter1 his anxieties become great4 ,steamship masters have here a tremendous advantage over their brethren in sailing ships1 whose best intentions are often frustrated1 their best seamanship rendered of none effect1 by the perverseness of the wind4 ,this is especially the case near home1 where the sea traffic is great and the appalling danger of collision is added to the perils of rocks1 quicksands1 and derelicts4 ,these are but few and feeble words wherein to outline the responsibilities of a shipmaster for the safe conduct of his vessel1 responsibilities which weigh so heavily upon some men that for several days and nights together they are unable to take the rest their bodies imperiously demand1 but they may serve to indicate them to the sympathetic reader4 ,and when the exceedingly small percentage of casualties is taken into consideration1 all will surely admit that the standard of ability among this splendid body of men is satisfactorily high4 ,the shipmaster's duty as a trustee of an enormous amount of valuable property and1 in a passenger ship1 of valuable lives1 is a most important one4 ,while he must see to it that there is no delay in their conveyance to their destination1 he must remember that safety is the first consideration4 ,recklessness is really unpardonable1 and must sooner or later end in his ruin4 ,he represents not only his owners1 but the owners of his cargo and the underwriters who insure that cargo4 ,he should be thoroughly well up in those sections of maritime law--and they are many--which affect the traffic2 know how to deal with grasping brokers in foreign ports into which he may be driven by distress2 be able to make good bargains and keep accurate accounts1 since none but the finest passenger steamers carry pursers and clerks to take these onerous duties off his hands4 ,in passenger ships he must see that his charges are made comfortable1 bear with their often unreasonable complaints1 be courteous and genial1 and generally exert himself to make his ship1 and consequently the line to which she belongs1 popular1 since popularity spells dividends4 ,in cargo ships he must be something of a doctor1 for on a long passage there will certainly be many ailments among his crew1 and probably some fractures4 ,ignorance of how to deal with these means a terrible amount of misery to the hapless sufferer lying groaning for assistance which is not forthcoming4 ,the present generation of shipmasters are greatly in advance of what smattering of leech-craft was possessed by their predecessors1 but even now there is a plentiful lack of this most humane and necessary knowledge4 ,one would hardly now expect to find a shipmaster so ignorant as he of whom the story runs that finding a dose out of ,no4 #g bottle prescribed for a supposed ailment1 he made up the draught out of ,nos4 #d and #c1 upon finding that ,no4 #g was empty6 ,or such a rough customer as the skipper of whom it is told in ships' forecastles that when it was reported to him that a man had broken his leg1 replied1 ,oh1 give him a bucket of salts4 ,but in one vessel where ,i was a foremast hand1 several of us caught severe colds upon coming into a lonely ,new ,zealand port1 where no doctor was to be obtained4 ,the skipper diagnosed our complaint as bronchitis1 and exhibited tartar emetic with peculiar and painful results4 ,still1 it cannot be denied that among the old school there were some wonderfully skilful1 if rough1 surgeons--men of iron who1 if need arose1 could and did practise the art upon their own bodies under circumstances of suffering that might well have reduced the stoutest frame to piteous helplessness4 ,such a case1 for instance1 as that of ,captain ,samuels of the ,dreadnought ,american packet-ship4 ,i have not his book by me1 so must quote from memory2 but the picture he drew was so vivid that ,i do not think any one could forget its essential details4 ,he relates how1 in one of his passages from ,new ,york to ,england1 he was midway across the ,atlantic when during a heavy gale a sea was shipped which dashed him against the bulwarks with such force that one of his legs was broken above the knee4 ,it was a compound fracture2 and although such attention as was possible under his direction was given him at once1 in a few days he recognized the necessity for having the leg cut off4 ,mortification had set in4 ,his mate was absolutely unable to attempt the job from sheer physical incapacity1 although in other respects a most able1 strenuous man4 ,so the sufferer1 in superhuman fashion1 rose to the occasion and performed the operation upon himself4 ,successfully1 too1 for when a few days after the vessel arrived at the ,azores1 there was nothing left for a surgeon to do4 ,another anecdote1 this time from the log of a whaleship1 the ,union of ,nantucket1 ,captain 787 ,gardiner4 ,while pursuing his calling off the ,west ,coast of ,south ,america1 the sperm whale he was fighting with flung its jaw upwards and across the boat1 catching him by the head and shoulders4 ,the blow did not sweep him overboard1 but laid his scalp back from his skull2 broke his right jaw1 tearing out five teeth2 broke his left arm and shoulder-blade1 and crushed the hand on the same side between the whale's jaw and the gunwale of the boat4 ,in this deplorable state he was carried on board his ship4 ,his young officers1 naturally bewildered by the appearance of his broken body1 did not know what to do for him4 ,they may well have been excused for considering his case hopeless4 ,his brave spirit1 however1 did not recognize defeat4 ,he gave directions1 mostly by signs1 for the preparation of bandages and splints1 and instructed his willing but ignorant helpers in the way of using them4 ,when all had been done that he wished or could think of1 he ordered the vessel to be taken into port1 and1 although apparently at the point of death1 he lay on deck in a commanding position and piloted his ship in4 ,a ,spanish surgeon was brought on board1 who1 as soon as he saw the sufferer1 advised sending for a priest1 as the case was hopeless4 ,this advice was lost upon the valiant ,yankee1 who sent a messenger a distance of thirty miles for another doctor--a ,german4 ,this gentleman hastened down to the ship1 dressed the skipper's wounds1 and had him transported on an improvised ambulance slung between two mules up to the healthy highlands of the interior4 ,in six months' time he was fit to resume command of his ship1 which meanwhile had made a most successful cruise under the mate4 ,his left hand1 unhappily1 had been so badly mangled that it was hardly more than a stump1 the first two fingers being so twisted in the palm that he was afterwards always obliged to wear a thick mitten to keep them from being entangled in a lance-warp while he was lancing a whale4 ,this good man was for a quarter of a century master of a whaler1 and lived to be nearly ninety years old4 ,so prolific is the source whence these anecdotes are drawn1 that ,i am embarrassed where to choose4 ,however1 ,i cannot help thinking that for a fitting close to this subject1 it would hardly be possible to select a story more thrilling than the following4 ,during a whale hunt the line kinked and dragged a man entangled by one arm and one leg deep under the sea4 ,he was released by the imprisoned members giving way under the frightful strain4 ,rising to the surface1 and floating there unconscious1 he was picked up and taken on board the ship4 ,there it was found that a portion of the hand1 including four fingers1 had been torn away1 while a foot was twisted off at the ankle1 leaving only the lacerated stump with its tangle of sinews hanging loosely4 ,from the knee downward the muscles had been dragged away by the line1 leaving the almost bare bone with just a veil of tendons and leaking blood-vessels2 so that it appeared as if the poor wretch had only been saved from drowning to die more cruelly1 unless some one should have the nerve to perform so radical an operation4 ,no surgical instruments were on board4 ,but ,captain ,james ,huntling was not the man to allow any one to perish without a great effort on his part to save them4 ,he had a carving-knife1 a hand-saw1 and a fish-hook4 ,the injury was so great1 and the poor fellow's cries so heartrending1 that several of the crew fainted while attempting to help the skipper1 while others became sick4 ,so1 unaided1 the skipper lashed his patient to the carpenter's bench1 cut off what remained of the leg1 and dressed the mangled hand2 then1 making for the ,sandwich ,islands1 he put the man in hospital1 where he recovered1 and returning to ,america1 passed the rest of his days in comfort as a small shop-keeper4 ,there is one more reason why it is so necessary for the master of a ship to have some medical knowledge1 and this has a humorous side in many cases4 ,it is that he may be able to detect that curse of a ship's company1 the malingerer4 ,often he is by no means easy to bowl out1 being1 like most lazy people1 of considerable inventive genius4 ,and although a humane man would much rather be imposed upon a dozen times than send a suffering man to work while unfit once1 it is intensely galling to find that a scalawag1 with absolutely nothing the matter with him but a constitutional aversion to work1 has been indulging himself at the expense of his already hard-pressed shipmates for a week or two4 ,a little practical knowledge of medicine will in most cases obviate this and enable the shipmaster to give the loafer a dose that1 while it will do him no harm1 will make him so uncomfortable that work will be a relief4 ,but ,i find that the recapitulation of the master's duties demands another chapter4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,master',s ,,duties--continued4 ,while we have thus lightly run over such duties of the master of a merchant ship as are imperatively demanded of him by his position1 it must not be lost sight of that there are many things that he should be and know that1 while not compulsory1 are most necessary1 and no master who is really attached to his profession will neglect them4 ,for instance1 the ,board of ,trade has a voluntary examination in steam1 which is based upon some of the most elementary facts connected with running marine engines4 ,a master may pass in steam or he may not1 as he pleases1 and it is doubtful whether many owners are influenced in their choice of a master to command one of their ships by the fact that his certificate is endorsed passed in steam4 ,yet it should be obvious to all that for a master of a steamship1 however small1 to be ignorant of at least the broad principles of marine engineering must be a terrible defect4 ,he should certainly be able1 in the event of his engineers dying or becoming incapacitated1 of taking charge of the obedient monsters below1 and running his ship1 if not to her destination1 to some port where the need could be supplied2 and1 in any case1 he should know well under what conditions those engines do their work1 that he may be the better able to appreciate his engineers' reports1 and for other reasons which need not be stated4 ,any lack of this knowledge on the part of a steamship master is the more to be deprecated because he has such splendid opportunities and such ample time for learning4 ,another subject which is not compulsory1 but which it is very necessary that the shipmaster should have more than a nodding acquaintance with1 is ship construction4 ,studied in books1 it looks formidable enough to any one but a student of the subject and an excellent mathematician2 but a few visits to a shipbuilding yard intelligently made1 and the things seen there carefully noted1 would be of inestimable service4 ,allied to this is the vast subject of magnetism1 which so intimately concerns every shipmaster in these days of steel1 when the compass1 poor thing1 is hard put to it to remember the location of the magnetic pole at all1 so sorely is it beset by diverting influences above1 below1 and around4 ,but for a fair list of the things that all shipmasters should know and might1 from their abundance of leisure1 in sailing ships especially1 so pleasantly and easily acquire1 reference should be made to a book which ,i remember as a bantling1 but which has now grown to most portly proportions1 ,wrinkles1 by ,squire ,t4 ,s4 ,lecky4 ,within the boards of this splendid book ,mr4 ,lecky has gathered a stupendous amount of information1 which he imparts in the most delightful manner4 ,for many years he commanded one of ,messrs4 ,holt's steamships running between ,liverpool and ,south ,america1 so that his practical knowledge is as extensive as need be1 while his theoretical learning is not only great1 but sound4 ,this book has been the hobby of his life2 and it may truly be said that any shipmaster who will read1 mark1 learn1 and inwardly digest it will be perfectly equipped for one of the most onerous of all professions if he only has the power of putting his learning to practical use4 ,i have never seen1 spoken to1 or had a letter from ,mr4 ,lecky in my life1 so that what ,i say is perfectly unbiassed by any personal consideration4 ,mr4 ,lecky is a magnificent example of what the merchant shipmaster may make of his opportunities for study1 if he be so inclined4 ,there are also branches of study1 such as the most fascinating one of marine natural history1 which can be pursued nowhere else so well as at sea in a sailing ship4 ,with a little aptitude for drawing1 a camera and a microscope1 the shipmaster might not only pass his plenteous spare time most pleasantly1 but accumulate a store of the most valuable material1 whereon the savants ashore might exercise their stock of wisdom4 ,and the study of languages1 too2 how necessary for a man who1 if he speak but his own tongue1 must of necessity be often severely handicapped in the race with foreigners1 who usually speak two or three--to say nothing of the ease with which a man may be imposed upon in a foreign port who is obliged to transact his business by the aid of an interpreter4 ,but the time is probably fast approaching when the knowledge of one other language at least besides his own will be made compulsory for the ,british shipmaster1 so that ,i will say no more about the matter here1 except that1 unless greater efforts are put forward by sea-going youths in this most valuable direction1 they will find it harder than ever to compete with the constantly increasing numbers of foreigners who are pressing into the afterguards of our ,mercantile ,marine4 ,and now for the least pleasant portion of this section of my subject1 the question of drunkenness4 ,for the reasons already quoted1 this vice is one to which the shipmaster is continually being tempted4 ,being1 when at sea1 a law unto himself1 he may1 if he will1 become a steady tippler1 gradually sinking lower and lower into the helpless drunkard4 ,if he have any tendency that way there is only one thing for him to do--that is1 become a total abstainer from intoxicants4 ,sad it is to say1 on the testimony of many such men1 that such a virtuous resolve should be often detrimental to a man's chances of doing his business in foreign ports1 where that business is only carried on over drink4 ,i know that by some good people ashore this statement will be pooh-poohed2 but it is nevertheless true1 and the hindrance it puts in the way of the teetotaller doing justice to himself and his employer very real4 ,many a smart skipper has been thus ruined1 having laid the foundation of drunken habits in ports where the first questions and the last to be put to him were-- ,well1 cap'n1 what are you going to have8 or1 ,what are you goin' to stand8 ,again we may take comfort in the thought that sobriety is the rule among shipmasters of to-day1 and not the exception1 as it once was4 ,i speak feelingly1 having suffered many things at the hands of drunken skippers4 ,vividly do ,i remember1 on my last voyage as mate on the first night in the ,channel outward bound1 my skipper saying to me confidentially1 ,i always live on brandy while we're in the ,channel1 and the sick feeling that ,i experienced at his remark4 ,let me hasten to add that he was wrongly accusing himself1 being at the time half-seas-over1 and exaggerating1 as was his wont at such a time4 ,he certainly did drink1 and very much more than was good for him1 but his tippling never gave or made any trouble4 ,what made his remark so terrible to me was that two voyages before ,i had been mate of a brig with a man who1 from the day that ,i joined her until the day1 nearly four months afterwards1 when ,i refused to stay on board any longer1 never drew a sober breath4 ,i may1 perhaps1 be excused for dwelling a little upon the plain facts of this short sea-experience of mine1 which1 in the words of ,mr4 ,justice ,day1 who heard some of it recapitulated and proved in the ,court of ,queen's ,bench1 surpassed the wildest flights of imagination4 ,sordid1 certainly1 yet not without a certain romantic outcome4 ,the vessel1 whose name ,i suppress1 was the property of a hard-working man in one of our northern sea-ports1 who had toiled and saved until he became her owner4 ,at the time when ,i joined her as mate she had been absent from her first port of departure in ,england for nearly two years4 ,during that period she had visited many ports1 in each of which the master had abandoned himself to drunkenness1 spending recklessly every penny upon which he could lay his hands1 and ignoring all the owner's complaining letters4 ,five different mates had been engaged1 had sickened of their position and had left4 ,at last my turn came1 and1 all unknowing what awaited me1 ,i went on board4 ,i found the poor old vessel most shamefully neglected1 the crew looking woe-begone and disheartened1 and the only officer1 the second mate1 firmly determined to work no more4 ,i took charge1 and did what ,i could1 going ashore persistently for such instructions as ,i needed1 but ever finding my commander in a state of maudlin drunkenness4 ,after a few days the vessel was loaded1 and made as ready for sea as her condition rendered possible4 ,i duly informed the master--who had never even seen the vessel since ,i joined--of our readiness to proceed1 but he was of opinion that there was no hurry4 ,so day after day slipped by for three weeks1 until the consignee of the cargo wired from ,new ,brunswick1 protesting so vigorously1 that the shipper took steps to expedite our departure4 ,he told the fuddled skipper that unless he went to sea forthwith ,i should be ordered to leave without him1 the shipper taking all responsibility4 ,this ultimatum aroused him sufficiently to get him on board1 and to sea we went4 ,but he immediately sought his berth1 and continued his spirituous exercises1 varied by attacks of delirium tremens1 while alone and unaided except by the weary crew1 ,i endeavoured to navigate the clumsy vessel down the ,nova ,scotian coast in mid-winter4 ,to add to my troubles1 the chronometer was hopelessly out of order1 having been1 ,i believe1 tampered with by the mutinous second mate4 ,how many hairbreadth escapes from destruction we had in that stormy passage of three weeks ,i have no space to tell in detail2 but at last we obtained a pilot1 who brought us safely into the harbour of ,st4 ,john1 ,new ,brunswick1 in a night of inky blackness and drenching rain1 and there left us entangled amidst a motley crowd of coasters4 ,next day we were extricated and laid by a wharf1 when1 to my astonishment1 my worthy commander appeared and went ashore1 his first public appearance since coming on board in ,cape ,breton4 ,that night1 when the vessel had settled down upon the mud1 by reason of the great fall of the tide1 so that her tops were nearly level with the wharf-edge1 the skipper returned and1 avoiding the lighted gangway carefully placed for him1 walked over the unprotected side of the wharf and fell fifty feet4 ,he passed between the vessel's side and the piles of the wharf without touching1 and entered the mud feet first with a force that buried him to his arm-pits4 ,his cries aroused us1 and we rescued him1 actually unhurt1 but nearly sober4 ,again he disappeared from our midst1 having now a good excuse--shock to the system6 ,having discharged the cargo1 and taken in ballast according to instructions from the consignee1 ,i again danced attendance upon him at his hotel until he at last decided to make a move1 and came on board attended by a most finished rascal of a longshoreman1 who had apparently been his drinking crony all the time he had been ashore1 and who was now1 save the mark1 coming with us to our next port to stow the cargo of lumber we were to take home4 ,we towed across the ,bay of ,fundy to ,parrsboro' in charge of a pilot1 the skipper and his friend both shut in the skipper's state-room below1 drinking4 ,when we arrived1 ,i was in serious difficulty as to a berth1 because the master was so drunk ,i could get no instructions4 ,but after a while ,i succeeded in finding a berth1 where we lay quietly all night4 ,in the morning early my skipper sent for a sleigh and again departed to an hotel1 where he remained until the vessel was loaded4 ,i frequently saw him in bed1 and protested with all my power against the shameful way in which the quondam stevedore was stowing the cargo2 but all my remonstrances were unheeded4 ,at last the cargo was complete1 including a deck-load six feet high1 and the vessel was so unstable 7crank1 as we call it7 that she would hardly stand up at the wharf4 ,then ,i sought the skipper for a final interview1 telling him that1 having regard to the condition of the ship1 his own continued drunkenness1 and to the fact that ,i was the only officer on board 7the second mate having obtained his discharge in ,st4 ,john71 ,i wanted to leave the ship4 ,i felt that it would only be tempting fate to undertake a ,north ,atlantic passage in mid-winter in such a vessel under such circumstances4 ,moreover1 ,i warned him that in my estimation he did not intend that the vessel should reach home1 hoping by shipwreck to wipe out the effects of his two years' drunkenness and dishonesty4 ,of course he laughed at me and bade me go to hell4 ,i then took the only course open to me there--,i left the ship1 writing a letter to the owner1 in which ,i detailed matters4 ,two days afterwards a tug-boat was engaged1 and the brig was towed back to ,st4 ,john1 where ,i heard that another fortnight's spree was consummated4 ,another mate was engaged1 and she sailed for home4 ,four days after1 in a gale1 with frost1 fog1 and snow1 she was run ashore on the coast of ,maine1 becoming a total wreck1 and destroying four of her crew1 not1 of course1 including the skipper4 ,yet this man had the effrontery to sue the owner upon his return to ,england for his wages for the whole voyage4 ,not only so1 but he would certainly have won his case but that the owner succeeded in discovering me4 ,my evidence was final1 supported as it was by the entries in the log-book1 which was1 unfortunately for the skipper1 saved from the wreck4 ,before closing my remarks upon the master1 which1 lengthy as they are1 only skirt the subject1 ,i would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to that splendid body of master-mariners commanding the great ,mercantile ,marine of our ,north-,american colonies4 ,many1 nay1 most of them1 have risen to command their ships in the teeth of great disabilities and drawbacks4 ,they have little polish1 but a great deal of capacity1 for the ,blue-nose1 as the ,british ,north-,american seaman is called by all other ,english-speaking mariners1 is a born seaman as well as a born shipbuilder4 ,in only one other part of the world1 viz4 ,scandinavia1 is it possible to find men who are capable of building a ship1 farming and timber-felling between whiles1 then1 when the hull is finished1 rigging her and loading her with their own produce1 and sailing her to any part of the world4 ,these qualities seem indigenous to the soil of the coast of ,british ,north ,america and the north-eastern shores of the ,united ,states4 ,but it is to be noted that the final extinction of this splendid industry is near at hand4 ,iron and steel and steam have compelled those sturdy seamen of the north to give up their beloved and stately wooden ships1 all but a few that are holding on almost despairingly against the steadily-rising tide4 ,yet1 when all has been said for the ,blue-nose master that ought to be said1 it must not be forgotten that his reputation for humane dealing with his crews is far worse than that of the ,yankee4 ,he has learned the ,american lesson of how to enforce discipline without law--in defiance of law1 in fact--and learned it so well that any old sailor will tell you that a ,blue-nose is the hardest of all ships to sail in4 ,perhaps this is hardly to be wondered at when the motley character of the crews they are obliged to carry is remembered1 their own spare population only sufficing to supply them with officers4 ,that their high courage and stern resolution to be master in fact as well as name often leads them into deplorable excesses of cruelty cannot be denied truthfully4 ,and yet it may be doubted whether a good seaman would not rather sail in a ship under stern discipline1 even if it were enforced by an occasional broken head1 than be one of a crew who were permitted to act and speak as their fancy listed1 to the misery of all on board1 as is undoubtedly the case in so many of our ,british ships4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,mate4 ,naturally1 perhaps1 seeing that most of my own sea-service as an officer was spent in this capacity1 ,i come to the consideration of the mate's position with very cordial feelings2 a little shamefacedly1 too1 for ,i remember an admirable little book which used to have 7and may have now1 for what ,i know7 a good sale among ,mercantile ,marine officers in embryo4 ,it was called ,the ,mate and his ,duties1 and was written entirely for the use of the profession1 so that it would not be appreciated by shore people at all4 ,to us it was of great use1 although few young officers reading it for the first time could help a feeling of despair stealing over them as they studied those counsels of perfection4 ,it did not seem possible that any one man should be sufficient for all these things4 ,so we tried to forget the whole duties of a mate1 and concentrated our ideas upon the present duty to be performed1 trusting that we might rise to each occasion as it presented itself4 ,but to begin at the beginning1 let us take the title1 ,the ,mate4 ,it is a word of simple origin1 easy of derivation1 ancient enough to make it honourable1 and therefore it is a matter for congratulation that the ,board of ,trade has seen fit to retain its use instead of the more modern and finical first officer4 ,it is used almost always on board ship1 without any prefix1 as needing no distinctive mark like the other mates1 i4e4 second mate1 bo'sun's mate1 cook's mate1 etc4 ,the mate is the chief executive officer1 the companion of the master1 who should1 except when all hands are on deck1 issue all his orders through the mate as a matter of etiquette4 ,upon him devolves the working of the ship and her command upon the death or incapacity of the master1 to whom he comes next in importance on board4 ,perhaps in this latter respect ,i ought to except steamers1 where the chief engineer is a man of great weight1 and is apparently bound to be of greater weight in the near future4 ,yet1 although the chief engineer's pay be so much larger than that of the mate1 and his importance so great1 there is one aspect of their relative positions which cannot1 to my mind1 be ignored in considering this vexed question of precedence4 ,it is that at all times the engineer1 who is below1 must obey the orders of the officer1 who is above1 immediately1 unquestioningly1 under severest penalties1 as is only fitting1 seeing that any slackness1 not to say disobedience1 might result in a terrible calamity1 such as running down another ship4 ,let us1 however1 pass this matter by for the present1 since it must be dealt with when speaking of the engineer later on4 ,again it must be noted1 as in the case of the master1 that there is a vast range of difference among mates--from him who manages a monster like the ,oceanic1 down to the mate of a footy little brigantine going foreign4 ,yet in the eyes of the ,board of ,trade they are both equal2 the same certificate is required of both4 ,as a matter of detail1 however1 it will be found that not only the mate1 but the long list of junior officers in such a ship as the ,oceanic1 will have passed the examination for master at least1 most of them for master extra1 and many of them1 as hinted at in a previous chapter1 will have commanded magnificent sailing ships4 ,but it is almost ludicrous to see how1 in a sailor's eyes1 the fact that a man is in command--of no matter what--will weigh1 as far as his importance goes1 against the man who is not4 ,there cannot be much doubt as to which occupies the more important position--the mate of an ocean liner like the ,campania1 or the master of a sailing vessel of1 say1 some five hundred tons1 creeping wearily about the world wherever it may be found possible to secure a bit of cargo4 ,but--and it is a mighty big but--one is1 in nautical phrase1 ,captain ,brown1 and the other is only ,mr4 ,jones--and there is an end of discussion4 ,apart1 however1 from sentimental consideration1 there are many reasons why the grade of mates should be held so different4 ,for instance1 the master of one ship1 however small1 if only he be gentlemanly and accustomed to command1 will find little or no difficulty in springing suddenly to the command of another ship1 no matter how large4 ,because the minor details are attended to by his subordinates1 who are usually competent men1 and he1 being at the head of the position1 can calmly observe matters without letting any one see that he is strange to such a giddy height4 ,not so the mate4 ,if it were possible to transfer1 say1 a mate of a schooner into the position of mate of a three-thousand-ton sailing ship without much previous training1 he would be lost4 ,his new duties would overwhelm him4 ,as well expect a small tradesman1 who has been grubbing away in a little suburban shop on a turnover of #d a week1 to suddenly assume charge of one of the largest departments at ,whiteley's1 or the ,army and ,navy ,stores4 ,for the mate does not merely command the ship during the master's absence1 or act as the master's mouthpiece3 it is his to see that orders given are carried out1 and to hold the proper person responsible for neglect4 ,but perhaps we are getting along too fast4 ,to return1 then1 for a moment to a consideration of how the mate attains his position1 that last rung but one on the ladder of promotion1 which1 alas6 is separated by so wide a gulf from the next one above4 ,it is hardly necessary to go over again the various steps which have been already mentioned in the case of the master1 except in the most cursory manner3 ,first1 usually1 but not compulsorily1 the serving of a term of apprenticeship fixed at four years by law1 the last year of which is counted as the service of able seaman4 ,or1 as the rules merely specify that the candidate for a second mate's certificate shall have been four years at sea1 one year of which he was an able seaman1 he may have simply entered as boy and gone on to ordinary seaman1 and then to ,a4,b4 ,this course is the one adopted in ,american and ,canadian ships1 where apprenticeships are unknown2 but there the candidate is usually in far better case than any apprentice in a ,british ship1 because he is sure to be put on board by some one whom the master is anxious to please1 or1 more probably1 he is a friend or relative of one of the officers themselves2 in which case1 although his designation may be humble enough1 he will live in the cabin1 and have his profession thoroughly burnt into him--a process which he will in nowise be able to escape4 ,our mate1 however1 having served his allotted time1 and received the essential recommendation from his last commander1 makes his way to a navigation school1 not that he1 unless he be a hopeless idiot1 has waited until now to be taught navigation1 but in order that his knowledge may be suitably arranged for production at the right time and in the accepted fashion4 ,some young would-be officers are foolish enough to imagine that the master of a navigation school can also help them in their seamanship1 but with lamentable results4 ,for the navigation is in cut-and-dried exercises which any ordinarily capable scholar may learn with little difficulty1 since all of them may be satisfactorily done without the slightest knowledge of the higher mathematics4 ,there are thousands of ,mercantile ,marine officers holding certificates1 good men too1 who could not work a problem in trigonometry without the tables to save their lives1 and to whom ,euclid is a sealed book2 for clever men have long been at work simplifying navigation problems1 until their execution is just a matter of simple arithmetic and acquaintance with a set of nautical tables4 ,this state of things gives rise to much controversy among those who are interested in ,mercantile ,marine officers4 ,some say that every officer should make a point of knowing not merely how to work his problems1 but why certain tables are used2 in other words1 that he should not merely work by rule of thumb1 but be a competent mathematician4 ,then1 these gentlemen add1 he would be able to command not only higher wages1 but more consideration from his employers1 besides being better able to compete with the carefully-educated foreigner4 ,others contend that the business already laid upon ,merchant officers is fully as great as they ought to bear1 and that1 supposing they had learned the mathematical theory of navigation1 they would still in practice use the rule of thumb method4 ,not feeling at all capable of deciding between these two contestants1 ,i merely present their views1 contenting myself with the passing remark that1 supposing a man to be a good seaman1 it cannot be to his detriment to make himself as proficient in the mathematical theory of navigation as his capacity will enable him4 ,but with regard to seamanship1 matters are totally different4 ,here there can be no difference of opinion4 ,seamanship1 that is the handling of a ship under all circumstances of weather1 the fitting and keeping in repair of her masts1 rigging1 sails1 etc41 and the stowage of her cargo1 cannot be learned from books4 ,the unhappy neophyte who has scrambled through his apprenticeship without attempting to learn the business1 and comes at the last moment to his crammer for assistance1 is in evil case when standing before the keen-eyed old shipmaster who is to examine him4 ,he tries to recall book answers to questions that are not in the books4 ,even the rule of the road1 that most essential part of all a seaman's education1 though it be found in a set of iron-bound articles1 is apt to vanish entirely away from a man who has only studied it in book form4 ,when the examiner hands him a model1 and telling him to imagine himself in command of her1 places other models at various angles to her course1 asks him what he would do1 he will1 if his knowledge be theoretical1 surely find it depart from him in his sore need1 and leave him dumb and witless4 ,and so it will be with all the various branches of seamanship4 ,the ordeal of a viv voce examination is too great for any mere theorist to come through successfully--and failure means not only a forfeiture of fees1 but a compulsory going to sea again for six months before the next presentation for questioning4 ,the navigation1 on the other hand1 is considered so much less important that failure to pass that part of the examination carries with it only forfeiture of fees1 and a space of three months before appearing again1 during which time the candidate may remain on shore at school4 ,let us suppose1 however1 that our young aspirant has so well prepared himself that he has gone flying through his first examination1 emerging a full-fledged second mate4 ,in that case1 as already remarked1 much will depend upon his position with regard to influential friends among ship-owners or vacancies in the firm with which he has served his apprenticeship4 ,so many are the difficulties1 so varied are the conditions under which the young officer works his way upward1 that it is impossible to speak definitely as to the length of time that will elapse before he again approaches the dread tribunal for another inquisition as to his qualifications for the post of first mate4 ,since ,i left the sea there have been several modifications in this matter4 ,one of the most important--made certainly as a concession to the needs of officers in steamships--is that a man with two years' service as second mate1 having in the meantime passed his first mate's examination1 may pass his examination for master1 although he has never served as first mate4 ,this1 in view of the almost invariable rule in steamships that a man must have a certificate of higher grade than the one he intends to serve in1 is no more than bare justice4 ,and much as we who have been through the grinding of the sailing-ship mill may gird at it1 there can be little doubt that before very long it will be found impossible to insist upon the candidate having served his time in sailing ships4 ,the sailing ship has not gone yet1 by a very long way1 as one visit to the docks will show any one who cares to inquire2 but the day of her extinction is within measurable distance4 ,if once the ,panama or other interoceanic canal connecting the ,atlantic with the ,pacific becomes an accomplished fact1 sailing ships will be worth old iron price1 and no more4 ,to return to our candidate4 ,let it be granted that he has been so well supported in his application for employment as second mate that1 while yet the ink is tacky upon his certificate1 he has got a berth for a round voyage lasting a year4 ,upon his return he again looks up his old schoolmaster1 and gets coached for another visit to the examiners4 ,this second ordeal should be comparatively easy4 ,for while there is very little navigation added to what he has already done in the examination for second mate1 he ought by this time to have perfect confidence in his ability to answer any question put to him about seamanship1 since he has had practice in ship-handling4 ,in my own case1 ,i can only say that passing for mate was a mere bagatelle as compared with passing for second mate4 ,and as soon as he hears the blessed words1 ,where will you have your certificate sent8 which is the formula used by the examiner to intimate that he has passed1 he feels now that his course is clear2 he has entered the charmed circle1 and become that much envied individual1 a full-blown first mate4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work4 ,happy indeed is the master who finds a good mate1 but happier still is the mate who has the joy of serving under a master who1 while never neglecting his own duties1 is not for ever fussing about finding fault with the way in which work is being carried on--a master who will treat his mate as his right-hand man1 not only trusting him but confiding in him4 ,and even while finding out whether he be worthy of trust1 such a master will make his observations in an unostentatious manner1 most careful that no one may suspect that the mate is being weighed in the balance of his mind4 ,whether a man make a success or a failure as mate1 and1 consequently1 as master--supposing that he ever reach that coveted position--is more largely due to the treatment he receives at the hands of his first master than is generally admitted4 ,everywhere1 unfortunately1 are to be found men who1 while indignantly repudiating any description of themselves as persecutors1 are yet saturated with the idea that it is necessary to treat the beginner who comes under their control with studied harshness2 to comment upon his slightest mistakes--not due to ignorance1 but to a nervous anxiety to do his best--as if they were indisputable proofs of his being a fool2 to find out his tender spots and probe them1 so that the hot flush of shame rises1 and the tongue is almost bitten through in the endeavour to restrain the furious reply that would be fatal2--more than all1 and worse than all1 to comment upon a beginner's shortcomings openly before the men and boys over whom that beginner is placed in authority1 thereby laying him open to the covert sneer1 the insolent retort1 and the slackly-performed obedience4 ,such treatment is diabolical cruelty to a highly-strung1 sensitive man1 no matter how expert1 how clever he may be4 ,that upon first entering a new position he will make mistakes is an axiom1 for1 as has often been said most truly1 the man who makes no mistakes makes nothing--especially when one realizes that he then for the first time feels the burden of responsibility1 feels it with a keenness that use will presently dull the edge of1 knows that swiftness and decision1 readiness in action1 must be joined to accuracy of knowledge and fertility of resource4 ,to the man who is not sensitive1 yet not dull1 these early experiences are not nearly so full of painful experiences1 but the majority of modern officers bear about with them still the scars of their early memories1 when their ears caught the faintest whisper of disparagement1 their eyes saw every shade of expression that flitted across the skipper's face1 and they were continually torturing themselves with questions as to whether or how they had failed to come up to the mark4 ,but to return to the actual duties of the mate4 ,undoubtedly his prime duty is that of an overseer1 the manager of the business wherein the skipper occupies the position of chairman of the ,board of ,directors4 ,in the great liners1 while the foregoing still holds true1 it must necessarily be modified somewhat4 ,there are in these splendid vessels many officials who1 nominally responsible to the mate for all they do1 really report direct to heads ashore4 ,still1 for all practical purposes1 the mate is the centre around which all the working interests of the ship outside the engineer's province revolve4 ,he it is who sees that the routine of duty goes steadily forward1 without any slackness or neglect2 who must know the condition of the ship--again as distinguished from the engineer's department and the chief steward's domain1 and who must see that her condition is first-class and kept so4 ,of course1 in such a ship as the ,lucania1 for instance1 the work of the mate resolves itself more and more into generalship4 ,he has such an army of subordinates1 each of whom is charged with some particular duty and responsibility to the mate for its being carried out1 that he does not need to be for ever seeing for himself that the work is being done4 ,in such a ship the mate keeps no watch4 ,he is on duty all day1 and sleeps in all night1 although he would doubtless say that he was really always on duty1 and that the fact of his not keeping a particular watch means only that he gets much less rest than if he did4 ,but one thing may be taken as undeniable1 the mate of a liner occupies a position of tremendous responsibility and honour4 ,he is the real commander of the ship1 the master being1 like the captain of a man-o'-war1 a sort of veiled prophet with whom the crew and junior officers seldom come in contact except in extra bad weather or entering and leaving harbour4 ,yet--and here comes the curious pinch--between the mate's salary and the master's1 how great a gulf is fixed6 ,it seems such an anomaly that a man who really bears the whole burden of the ship's working1 who can be1 and who is1 called to account by the master when anything goes wrong1 and who is generally well into middle age before he gets command himself1 should be so poorly paid as compared with the master4 ,it works out roughly like this3 ,a friend of my own was second officer of a liner for four years4 ,he had in his pre-steamer days been master of a large sailing ship1 so that he was getting on in years4 ,then1 as he began to fear that he was fixed in that subordinate position1 he suddenly succeeded to the mate1 who obtained a command elsewhere4 ,for one year only he was mate1 then1 on the master's retirement1 he obtained the command4 ,we will not inquire what powerful influences were at work to push him on so suddenly4 ,the net result was that in one year his income was nearly trebled1 his salary as mate being only #c per month more than it was as second mate4 ,it does not appear easy to explain why1 since the mate may at any moment be called upon to become master1 it should be considered necessary to have so serious a difference between their salaries4 ,but it explains the statement that is often truly made1 that unless a man has a private income he must not only be very economical to live upon his pay while he is an officer in a swagger line1 he must forego all idea of getting married4 ,that is1 if he wishes his wife and children to get enough to eat4 ,the next step down the scale of ships is a long one4 ,from the mate of a liner to the mate of a cargo steamer1 or tramp1 is indeed a fall4 ,and not only in status1 but in decreased pay and increased work2 for in the liner1 as ,i have before noted1 there are not only numerous officers below the position of mate to relieve him of onerous duties1 such as tallying of cargo1 charge of stores1 etc41 but he is practically relieved from any necessity of looking after these subordinates1 as they are controlled from the offices ashore4 ,in the cargo steamer1 on the contrary1 it is the mate who must look after the shipment of cargo1 examine bills of lading1 and1 indeed1 do the tallying as well4 ,moreover1 since the number of mates in most cases is rigidly limited to three1 and often to two1 he must take his watch on the bridge1 must work up the position of the ship1 look after the compasses1 with all their heart-breaking divagations1 attend personally to the care of the ship in cleansing1 etc41 and last1 but by no means least1 keep in order the motley crew4 ,and for this his pay is sometimes1 nay1 frequently1 so small that mention of it excites disbelief among responsible persons ashore who know nothing of shipping matters4 ,i have myself been offered five guineas a month to go mate of a steamer bound to the ,baltic for timber1 a steamer of #bjjj tons burden4 ,i would have gone1 too1 but that a ,german stepped down before me and agreed to have the five shillings a month knocked off4 ,perhaps the tramp mate's lot is harder than that of most other sea-officers1 in that his work is never done1 his responsibilities are very heavy1 and his pay is so small that he must forego the delights of wife and children if he has only that pay to live upon4 ,yet these men form the marrow of our ,merchant ,service1 and should certainly not be treated shabbily4 ,how their work is done let owners and shippers declare1 who know full well that while the master gets all the credit that his position entitles him to1 the mate1 working silently but strenuously in the background1 must wait for any recognition until he has at last emerged from his obscurity into the coveted post of master4 ,not so1 however1 in the case of disaster to his ship4 ,no amount of theory as to the master bearing the whole responsibility will avail to save the unhappy mate from the most severe punishment that can fall upon a ,merchant officer--suspension or cancelling of his certificate--if any leather-headed court of inquiry choose to bring him in to blame in any way4 ,i do not mean to speak evil of dignities1 ,god knows2 but the proceedings of some of these courts1 abroad especially1 are sufficient to make angels weep4 ,we all know the rest of that wise quotation4 ,in ships of this kind the mate's lot is seldom a happy one2 it may easily be made intolerable if the master be not kindly disposed towards him1 or so blind to his obvious duties as to neglect or refuse to give him all the weight of his own authority in the event of any trouble arising4 ,i said in the event of any trouble arising4 ,well1 to tell the truth1 trouble in a foreign port1 especially where the ship lies alongside a wharf1 is the tramp mate's normal environment4 ,not only has he the entire conduct of the ship's business on board1 as distinguished from that which the skipper performs on shore1 but he must see to it that the work goes on4 ,each one of his crew will probably be devoting all his energy to the endeavour to do as little as possible1 and to getting drunk4 ,the motley crowd that are working the cargo work only under steady stress of compulsion4 ,if receiving cargo1 the second mate must keep an eye on the stowage1 so that he cannot assist his superior on deck2 and there are the innumerable horde of touts of one sort and another to keep at bay4 ,every one else will be complaining of the heat or something2 the mate must bear all such personal inconveniences without noticing them1 and keep the ball rolling steadily as well4 ,and as if these things were not sufficient1 he must compete with whatever personal abuse or violence a drunken seaman chooses to offer him1 his only remedy to report the offender to the master1 when he can get hold of him4 ,should he defend his own life1 take a deadly weapon and use it1 he is guilty of manslaughter1 and sent to herd with criminals for years4 ,this is by no means vague generalization4 ,the particular instance that excites my whole-hearted indignation is the case of the mate of the ,lanarkshire4 ,he was threatened all day by a negro seaman who1 instead of working1 was oscillating between the ship and a grog-shop1 and filling up the intervals by using the foulest abuse to his long-suffering officer4 ,the most sanguinary threats were made by this scoundrel against the mate1 who1 naturally alarmed1 loaded his revolver and carried it in his pocket4 ,then1 when in the gloom of the evening he suddenly realized that the fellow was making for him with murderous knife uplifted1 he fired and killed him4 ,surely if ever there was a case of justifiable homicide1 this was4 ,yet1 to the lasting injury of our ,merchant ,service1 and the indelible shame of our laws1 this hapless gentleman was sentenced to two years' imprisonment1 and as ,i write he is undergoing this shameful sentence for doing what was his obvious duty4 ,to have failed to do it would not only have been to have lost his own life1 but to have put a premium upon murdering others4 ,again ,i say that in the ,american ,mercantile ,marine such a thing would be inconceivable4 ,in the first place1 the man would never have been allowed to wander at his own sweet will backwards and forwards2 and had he made a threat to murder1 there is no doubt whatever that he would at once have been physically incapacitated from carrying it out4 ,had he1 without threatening1 attempted murder1 there is also no doubt that he would have been instantly shot dead4 ,and the officer acting in any of the ways hinted at above would have been held to have done not one jot more than his obvious duty4 ,as to even bringing him to trial--the idea would have been scouted as absurd4 ,nevertheless1 it is certain that such a training as the mate of a tramp steamer gets is admirably calculated to bring out all a man's sterling qualities3 patient persistence in the face of difficulties1 ability to deal with refractory races by diplomacy rather than by force1 orderly marshalling of thought--absolutely necessary where so many things must be kept going at one time2 and1 certainly1 endurance of hardness4 ,this is no easy way of getting through the world4 ,it makes a man thankful for small mercies2 as1 for instance1 when1 after a harassing time1 with all the worries of harbour1 the mate heaves a sigh of relief upon mounting the bridge to keep watch through four hours of a dark1 dirty night4 ,with keen eyes1 smarting under the incessant pelting of driving rain and spray1 he peers over the edge of the weather-cloth into the blackness ahead1 heeding not at all the bucking beam-sea roll or the thumpity-thump-thump of the untiring engines below him4 ,now he can send his thoughts a-roaming4 ,such tender musings as of love and home and rest may be admitted while the almost invisible blackness of the hull beneath him is thrust into the hungry expanse of darkness ahead1 the only sure point being beneath the tiny circle of light in the binnacle4 ,here we will leave him1 steady1 resourceful1 and alert1 not without an affectionate remembrance of all his fellows at their posts on all the seas at this present1 worthy members of the worthiest of all commercial enterprises1 the ,merchant ,service4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work 7,,in ,a ,,sailing ,,ship74 ,there is no small difficulty1 ,i find1 in presenting for landward folk the various gradations of officers in the ,merchant ,service4 ,as far as ability in his profession is concerned1 there can be no question at all that the mate of a sailing ship is far before the mate of a steamer2 only1 the mate of a steamer is so much better paid1 as a rule1 that he naturally regards his status as much higher than that of the mate of a wind-jammer4 ,but here enters another complication4 ,it is necessary for the steamer mate to have been a sailing-ship mate first4 ,it has hardly been admitted yet by those in authority that any man is fit for an officer's position in steam until he has served in sail4 ,there alone1 they consider1 does a man develop the true characteristics of the sailor--his all-round ability for dealing with unforeseen contingencies as they arise1 his resourcefulness and skill in dealing with the wise old sea by the aid of the wind4 ,this view still obtains among naval authorities1 where it is considered indispensable for the young sailor to become expert at sail-handling before he goes to his life-work on board of a vessel where sails would be as great an absurdity as means to her propulsion as oars4 ,one cannot help feeling that this idea is indefensible1 since the man-o'-war sailor of to-day is1 before anything1 a trained artillerist1 a man of mechanics1 almost an engineer1 in that he is always dealing with engineering appliance of so much complexity that every hour at his disposal in his preparatory time is all too brief for the acquirement of such knowledge as he must have if he would be worth his salt4 ,but in merchant steamers1 except big liners1 the case is different4 ,in very many cases the knowledge of how to handle sails and rig jury-masts means the safety of the ship4 ,therefore it seems only wise and proper to insist upon the would-be steamship officer learning thoroughly the art and mystery of sail-handling before quitting the embryo stage for that of a full-blown steamship mate4 ,it is impossible1 however1 to help feeling that in all respects1 except the single one of pay1 it is a decided descent in dignity from the poop of a sailing ship to the bridge of a steamer4 ,handling the former efficiently is a fine art1 a mystery full of grace and deep dexterity4 ,many a man1 fairly successful in his calling1 too1 never learns to get the best out of a sailing ship that is in her--never1 in short1 is anything but a novice at the higher seamanship4 ,in fact1 ,i really believe that the highest type of sailor1 using the word in its original sense1 is born1 not made4 ,i have been shipmate with men who seemed instinctively1 and by rules of their own1 to fathom all the secrets of their ships1 to get just what they wanted without apparent effort4 ,put them on board a vessel with a bad name for unhandiness1 apparently possessing some inherent defect that puzzled and exasperated beyond measure every man who had hitherto essayed to work her2 under the delicate1 instinctive handling of these born sailors her ingrained clumsiness disappeared1 she became docile and handy1 and presently the gratified officer would remark nonchalantly1 ,i don't see anything wrong with her4 ,men like these seem able to overcome such radical faults as the misplacing of masts1 bad trim 7that is to say1 a vessel being1 through careless loading1 too much tilted by the head or the stern1 awkwardness of build producing bad steering1 etc474 ,seldom can they impart these gifts to others1 because they are not exercised by rule1 but by instinct4 ,in precisely the same way you shall get a man who is a good sailor in all respects but one--he can't steer2 and another who is good for nothing else4 ,in some mysterious way an ideal steersman 7of a sailing ship7 holds communication with a vessel herself3 little subtle touches are conveyed to him through the wheel-spokes1 so that he knows in the blackest night1 with even the binnacle 7or compass-box7 in darkness1 exactly what she requires of him4 ,now the mate of a sailing ship is placed in the most favourable position imaginable for cultivating such a science as ship-handling undoubtedly is4 ,unlike his compeer of a steamship1 his first care is of his vessel's propelling machinery4 ,that towering fabric of sails and cordage1 which appears to a landsman's eye such a mass of intricate entanglement1 requires his unceasing attention4 ,his sight should be1 and usually is1 keen as a hawk's1 able to note even from the deck anything that goes wrong4 ,he must nurse his ship tenderly1 especially aloft1 bearing in mind before all things the homely adage of the stitch in time4 ,no loose ends1 frayed seizings1 or chafed running gear 7as the ropes are called which are hauled upon in distinction to those which are tightened and remain stationary7 must be neglected1 since such neglect may be fatal and in any case must be expensive4 ,of course in large ships1 according to the universal rule1 his labours are somewhat lightened1 since he will have a boatswain1 whose chief duty is to keep things in order under the mate's supervision1 and who must keep careful watch over things aloft and report to his superior4 ,but where no boatswain is carried the mate must see to things himself4 ,the practice varies in different ships slightly1 according to the idiosyncrasy of the master1 but perhaps the ideal relation between master and mate is where the master1 in consultation with the mate1 keeps in touch with everything that is going on1 never interfering in public with the everyday work of the ship4 ,to use a homely simile1 the master should be like the lady of the house and the mate the housekeeper4 ,i think this will appeal to ladies1 who know that1 while nothing is more beneficial in a great household than the knowledge by all that the mistress knows everything that is going on1 so nothing is more fatal to the efficient working of such a household than the incessant1 fussy interference of the mistress with individual servants behind the housekeeper's back4 ,the self-respecting and competent housekeeper would leave1 of course2 but the mate cannot4 ,he must endure as best he can4 ,naturally this theory of non-interference presupposes that the mate is up to his work4 ,where he is not1 it becomes essential to every one's well-being that the master should take the direction of things out of his incompetent hands4 ,but no one would be more ready to admit than masters themselves that such drastic measures are rarely necessary4 ,the incompetent mate rarely reaches the position1 or1 reaching it by favouring accident1 long retains it4 ,first1 then1 the mate of a sailing ship must keep his charge in order aloft2 next1 he must see that every working hour of every day is fully occupied4 ,there is no more certain proof of something being wrong with the mate than the sight of men standing about waiting for a job4 ,the men are quickest at noticing this4 ,not that they love to be kept at work1 but it is so generally accepted as an axiom that there is always work to be done on board ship1 that they pounce upon any unusual lapse of the kind on the part of a mate as proof that they have a duffer to deal with4 ,he must see that she is kept clean1 for cleanliness at sea is indispensable1 as are order and regularity4 ,even here it will sometimes be found that1 although the men are kept pottering around continually1 the ship never looks smart1 owing to a lack of method on the mate's part4 ,i have been in a ship twenty years old that looked as if she were on her first voyage2 not a rope-yarn out of place1 not a streak of rust on the bulwarks1 no unsightly stains on masts and yards1 or dirty corners4 ,and ,i have sailed in another on her second voyage that looked as if she had been lying up in dock with only a doddering old ship-keeper in charge of her for months1 weather-worn1 dilapidated1 and miserable4 ,everybody on board discontented1 because such a ship works hard4 ,whenever a ship is carefully looked after1 you may be sure that the ropes run cheerily through the blocks with a merry rattle1 and the great sails go up or the massy yards swing to and fro easily4 ,but in a neglected ship those blocks will be found with their pins rusted in their sheaves 7the wooden wheels upon which the ropes travel71 moving reluctantly1 so that it is often the work of one man to pull a loose rope through them4 ,and that means a great deal of hard swearing upon the part of the men1 who are thus laden far beyond what there is any necessity for4 ,so far from this part of a mate's duties being irksome or wearying1 it will usually be found that it is the most joyous part of an active seaman's career4 ,given a well-found ship1 so that it is possible to do justice to her up-keep2 two or three men among the crew who can sailorize1 that is1 work with rope and wire as required2 a master who will let them do their work without public interference--and a mate may be1 and often is1 as happy as any man ought to be in this world4 ,for consider how many delights he has4 ,a big sailing ship to a man like that is just a hobby on a large scale1 a beautiful thing for whose welfare he has the most solicitous regard4 ,an ,irish pendant1 i4e4 a ragged end of yarn fluttering aloft1 makes him feel as badly as would the sight of one of his children walking in the park with torn stockings and shoes down at heel make a gentleman ashore4 ,an accident1 such as the blowing away of a sail or the snapping of a spar1 gives him no such pang1 because he has a stern joy in putting forth his skill and proving in how short a time he can restore his pride to her trim appearance again4 ,i have a very vivid recollection of an old mate with whom ,i sailed when ,i was a boy who was an almost perfect type of the man ,i mean4 ,i have no idea how long he had been in the ship1 but ,i know that he struck me as being a perfectly contented man1 to whom his work itself1 not the result of it1 was the passion of his life4 ,we were bound from ,london to the ,west ,indies1 and enjoyed the usual fine weather after entering the tropics--so fine that1 as far as handling went1 she1 the old barky1 might safely be left to herself except for steering4 ,one morning at eight bells 7#h a4m47 the mate appeared on deck with a radiant face4 ,the forthcoming watch1 as they slouched one by one into the sunshine from their darksome cavern1 tightening their belts or giving a final touch to their simple toilet1 muttered one to the other1 ,looks as if he'd got something extry-special on hand this mornin'4 ,more nigger-driving1 etc4 ,but it was only the orthodox growl4 ,they did not look displeased4 ,the next minute the mate was amongst them1 his orders flying like hail1 and in half an hour the look of the vessel was entirely changed4 ,he had persuaded the master to allow him to shorten all the standing rigging1 which was of rope--not wire1 as is universally the case now4 ,for such a crew it was a tremendous task1 but it was pure sailorizing1 such as a man could take an interest in1 and the younger members of the crew would have an opportunity of actually seeing done what they had hitherto only heard talked about--such operations as turning in deadeyes1 re-bolstering1 lower-rigging1 etc4 ,all hands took matters so well1 being really infected by the mate's amazing energy1 that they forgot to growl at being kept on deck in their watch below in the afternoon4 ,but the joy of the mate was something to wonder at4 ,he was untiring4 ,clad only in a blue shirt1 trousers1 slippers1 and a mangy old cap1 he was ubiquitous2 teaching1 toiling1 superintending1 riding his hobby at full gallop4 ,and when at last the day's work was ended1 and we boys were putting away tar- and grease-pots1 gathering shakings and sweeping decks1 he sat perched upon a hen-coop on the weather side of the poop1 smoking in perfect peace1 beaming benignantly upon all his surroundings with the air of a man who was at the summit of earthly desires4 ,nor did his brow become clouded over again until we reached port1 and the worry of tallying out the cargo devolved upon him4 ,the second important duty that devolves upon the mate of a sailing ship is that of navigating the ship independently of the master1 so that they may mutually check each other4 ,there may possibly be some of my fellow-seamen who dissent from this1 some masters who feel that it touches their dignity to be found out in an error by the mate2 but ,i do not think any argument is needed to prove that they are entirely in the wrong4 ,i have known skippers who would not allow the mate to assist in the navigating of the ship at all1 as far as nautical astronomy went4 ,they could not prevent him from keeping the dead reckoning1 but he was dependent upon them entirely for the ship's position by celestial observation for entry in the log4 ,utterly wrong and foolish1 as well as illegal2 but when a man is so much a monarch1 he is apt to go like that sometimes4 ,in a well-conducted ship1 the skipper and the mate assist each other with all observations where assistance is necessary1 but they work up the results entirely apart1 and then compare4 ,if any error arises1 it is thus almost certain to be discovered1 and no properly-minded skipper should feel any umbrage at being bowled out in a blunder by his mate1 as will almost certainly happen now and then4 ,when all the observations are worked up to noon1 the dead reckoning completed1 the mate enters up all the details demanded by law in his log-book--that veracious record of day-to-day proceedings1 which it is the mate's duty to keep recorded each day4 ,there are few better tests of a mate's quality than the appearance of his log-book4 ,some men1 while they write neatly and keep the book clean1 will give for all remarks1 wherever it is possible3 ,as yesterday4 ,wind steady1 weather fine4 ,so ends this twenty-four hours4 ,they fill up just as few of the ruled spaces as they dare1 put down the rate per hour by guess-work1 and altogether ignore the purpose for which a log-book is ordered to be kept4 ,others will neglect the book's appearance1 too1 until it is hardly fit to be seen1 while1 as for information1 it may truthfully be said that what little is given would better have been suppressed4 ,but ,i have seen log-books that were invaluable1 giving a most interesting account of the voyage in plain and simple language1 while the appearance of every page was perfect4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,mate',s ,,work 7,,in ,a ,,sailing ,,ship7--continued4 ,finding that this log-book business takes me farther than ,i anticipated1 ,i judged it best to break off the last chapter somewhat abruptly1 since ,i find that the average reader is not partial to long chapters1 and ,i have rigidly limited mine to eight pages of manuscript4 ,a log-book is popularly supposed to be 7and certainly should be7 an absolutely truthful record of day-to-day happenings1 of the ship's progress1 and of the weather conditions4 ,and while there is no room for literary ability1 there is no doubt that ideal log-book keeping is a fine art4 ,in the small space at disposal1 to state succinctly what has occurred1 rigidly excluding the irrelevant1 but carefully noting everything that is of importance for owners1 underwriters1 or lawyers to know--this is an accomplishment by no means general1 and one that might be more carefully cultivated than it is4 ,for it is only stating the baldest fact to declare that no day passes at sea wherein there is nothing worthy of record4 ,the loss to literature and science1 through the lamentable habit of scamping log-book remarks1 has been incalculable1 while the loss to the individuals themselves is equally incapable of assessment4 ,remembering how splendid a training it is for any one to record1 as he roams about the world1 all that he possibly can that he sees of interest1 one must be filled with regret that this practice is so seldom carried on4 ,if it were1 the mate's log-book would be a mine wherein might be found much fine gold--there is no room for dross4 ,and the habit1 growing by what it fed upon1 would soon compel an ardent observer to keep a private log-book1 where he could enter those things for which the ship's log-book afforded no room1 and the result would be educational and refining in the highest degree4 ,i have seen log-books like this4 ,one ,i remember even now1 with the keenest delight1 kept by the third mate of a large ship in which ,i made a voyage before the mast from ,london to ,china and back4 ,this gentleman1 besides writing a very neat hand1 was an artist1 and wherever it was possible he decorated his book with little sketches4 ,landscapes especially attracted him1 of course2 but passing ships1 birds1 porpoises1 fish1 deck scenes1 fronds of fucus or gulf-weed1 were all utilized1 and the result was a book beyond price4 ,as he did a little every day1 there was no sense of labour attached to it2 yet the finished work gave the impression of a stupendous amount of work having been spent upon the result4 ,i do not know what became of that young man1 but ,i am prepared to hear that1 if he lived1 he rose to the top of his profession in a very short time4 ,for1 as might have been expected1 he was no less keen about his duties than he was in his observations and in his efforts to record them4 ,he loved the sea and all that belonged to it1 and1 in return for that love1 the sea was to him an untiring teacher as well as a faithful friend4 ,another gentleman ,i know always carried a camera with him1 and ornamented his log-book with well-developed snapshot photographs1 in this way interpreting his keen remarks upon things in a wonderful way1 although his book lacked the artistic grace and finish of the other4 ,perhaps it may be said that1 looking at this matter from a literary point of view1 as well as from that of the sailor who has forsaken the sea1 ,i am laying too much stress upon it1 and that1 after all1 it is the sailor-man that is wanted in a mate1 and not a bookworm4 ,such a way of putting the matter is1 ,i maintain1 manifestly unfair4 ,i admit that a man may be super-excellent in all that pertains to the working of his ship1 and yet be unable to keep a log as it should be kept2 but1 on the other hand1 ,i am sure that it will be seldom found that a mate who keeps a good log is a bad sailor-man4 ,the efficient officer will not be less but more efficient1 if to his capacity for work he brings the seeing eye and the imaginative brain4 ,and1 like all other mental or physical faculties1 this faculty of observation will improve continually by being exercised1 and add to the stature of the inner man1 making him more complete4 ,besides1 how immensely it will add to his enjoyment of life4 ,his ideas will be enlarged1 his capacity for enjoyment will widen2 and instead of being1 as so many otherwise good seamen are1 discontented with his lot1 and looking forward anxiously to the time when he shall look his last upon the solemn wideness of the sea1 he will find his days all too short for the full appreciation of the pleasures that will crowd into them4 ,there is1 of course1 another side to the question1 and it applies almost exclusively to the fine seamen that are reared in ,america and the ,british ,north ,american colonies4 ,strangely enough1 these splendid men do not profit as they might be expected to do by the facilities for education provided in their go-ahead country4 ,it would seem as if they thought that it was necessary for a man of action to coarsen himself2 to become--,i say it without any intention of giving offence--more or less of a ruffian4 ,the quiet1 firm authority which marks the native-born gentleman does not appeal to them4 ,the ideal ,yankee or ,blue-nose mate is a splendid seaman1 with a voice of brass and a fist of iron4 ,when work is afoot he may be heard all over the ship1 and it is impossible to conceive of him being a silent1 reserved1 and thoughtful man4 ,in the practice of seamanship this plan seems to work well4 ,i shall never forget while lying in ,hong ,kong harbour a fine ,american ship1 the ,colorado1 coming in one evening4 ,we had done work for the day1 and were smoking the after-supper pipe on the forecastle head4 ,therefore we were keenly observant of the doings of the newcomer1 and with that minute admiration of smartness possessed by all seamen1 even the laziest1 we watched her4 ,she came grandly up to her moorings close to us1 amidst a very hurricane of roaring orders1 and presently was securely moored4 ,then1 instead of furling sails and coiling up ropes1 as would have been the case with an ,english ship1 the crew began to strip the yards of the sails and stop up the running-gear4 ,the mate was ubiquitous4 ,his tremendous tones reverberated over the quiet harbour incessantly1 weighted by the weird profanity affected by ,american seamen4 ,the men flew from spar to spar1 sails descended magically1 were seized1 stopped up1 and stowed away immediately4 ,before it was quite dark the ship was in as complete harbour trim as if she had been anchored a week1 and even the few sea-marks upon her outside had been carefully removed4 ,then1 and not till then1 were the hard-driven crew permitted to seek the forecastle and rest from their labours4 ,and although every one of our crew were loud in their condemnation of the infernal nigger-drivin'1 as they called it1 they did not withhold their admiration of the consummate smartness of the whole business1 and added in chorus3 ,yes1 but y' sh'd see th' grub them fellows hev got ter go below ter4 ,when a man gits 'nough t' eat 'ee don' mind workin'4 ,it is conceivable that the splendid officer who thus made things fly could hardly write his own name1 since it is the good sailor-man an ,american skipper looks for1 not a gentleman4 ,more than that1 ,i'm afraid the more bucko he is the better1 from the skipper's point of view4 ,to be quiet and reserved is decidedly against him4 ,i was once in an ,american ship where the skipper was old--too old to go to sea really1 although he had no doubt been a smart man in his day4 ,he shipped a mate in ,london who was an ,englishman1 and had commanded some first-rate ,english ships4 ,as far as ,i can remember1 he was a good seaman1 although a little rusty from having been long in command4 ,but he certainly was a gentleman1 and he had not been on board a week before the old man hated him with an intensity of fervour that was almost comical to see1 simply because he could not roar1 neither could he kick4 ,i heard the old man say to him one day1 ,see here1 ,mr4 ,small1 ,i hain't no use fer a man as mate of my ship that creeps aroun' 's if he wuz dum 'n paralytic4 ,for ,god's sake1 try an' hustle them squarheds some1 'r we shain't get t' ,melbun this fall4 ,yet the ship was well handled2 no thanks1 ,i am bound to say1 to the mate's quietness1 but to the traditions of the ,american ,merchant ,service1 which have been followed and improved upon by the ,blue-nose1 and may be summed up in the following words of the ,yankee mate to his crew3 ,w'en ,i say 'walk1' ,i want ye t' run2 w'en ,i say 'run1' ,i want ye t' fly4 ,and also the typical words of the mate of the lumber-carrying ship to his crew3 ,here1 knock off work and carry deals4 ,to their prayer for a little rest he says1 in tones of bitterest scorn1 ,rest6 ,rest when you're dead4 ,but enough1 perhaps1 of this ruthless side of smart men's characters4 ,let us return to the mate's duties again4 ,he is responsible for the due shipment and delivery of the cargo4 ,in a vessel where his whole time may be given up to the duty of tallying 7counting7 it in1 this is all very well2 but when1 as often happens1 he has many other duties to attend to simultaneously1 and must therefore trust to others1 he often finds himself in difficulties4 ,i speak feelingly1 having once loaded government stores in ,london for ,zanzibar1 and1 being unable to watch both hatches at once1 ,i was obliged to delegate the tallying forward to some one else4 ,when ,i came to sign the bill of lading1 ,i found a serious discrepancy4 ,my assistant reported having taken in six dozen ash oars1 but ,i found that the bill of lading specified eight dozen4 ,now1 these oars had all been stowed away as they were shipped1 so that to get at them again meant much work4 ,the officials stuck to their bill1 of course1 and ,i wasn't sure4 ,so ,i signed the bill in dispute1 and bore about with me all the passage out the dread of being called upon to pay for two dozen oars at about eight shillings apiece1 or about two months' wages4 ,as soon as ,i arrived at ,zanzibar1 ,i went to the ship's steward of ,h4,m4,s4 ,london1 to whom the goods were consigned1 and asked him to tell me how many oars he wanted from me4 ,he replied1 ,six dozen1 and ,i was happy4 ,yet those bills of lading had been signed and countersigned at ,deptford by at least six different officials1 each of whom had left it to the other fellow4 ,yes1 the care of cargo1 often of vast value1 is doubtless one of the most responsible of all the duties of a mate4 ,at the same time1 it is one which he performs with wonderful accuracy and satisfaction to all concerned1 on the whole1 especially when it is considered under what varied conditions the work must be done3 in open roadsteads1 on storm-beaten shores1 in foreign harbours1 pestered by all the motley crew who1 in mysterious ways1 make a living out of ships1 and must of necessity come to the mate first2 in ports where1 in addition to keeping an overseeing eye upon the never-ceasing work of the ship1 he is worried by his crew continually dodging ashore1 getting drunk1 and returning abusive4 ,and the lower down the scale of ships his position is1 the harder his work must necessarily be1 since he can get less help1 while his responsibility remains the same4 ,all the ship's stores are also under his charge1 and it is his duty to so husband them that they shall last the voyage1 yet see that their expenditure is conducted on such lines as to produce the best effects4 ,and if he succeeds in this onerous duty1 he may have the supreme satisfaction of hearing the ship's husband say1 when he comes on board upon the ship's arrival home1 ,good day1 ,mr4 ,brown2 your ship looks very well1 which naturally makes him feel that his labour has not been all in vain1 especially if1 as has been my own experience1 he himself has not only contributed mind1 but muscle1 to the desired result4 ,he has many temptations4 ,interested touts will come aboard1 veiling their real intentions under a mask of bonhomie1 and invite him to dissipations ashore2 will offer him money out of pure affection for him1 of course1 but with a suggestion that he shall hold their axes to the grindstone4 ,and if he be strictly honest1 he will often find that his honesty must be not only its own reward1 but in many cases it will be a serious loss to him4 ,i have never been able to get over an experience ,i had in ,rotterdam4 ,i came home mate of a barque from ,mexico with a cargo of mahogany4 ,unfortunately1 ,i had joined the ship in ,barbadoes1 finding that the skipper and the bo'sun 7we carried no second mate7 were on exceedingly intimate terms4 ,anxious to please1 and looking forward to passing for master1 ,i said nothing about this queer state of things1 not even when the skipper and bo'sun went off day after day shooting1 leaving me to get the cargo in1 keep things going generally1 and between whiles hunt along the beaches for derelict logs1 saw them up1 and bring the pieces on board for broken stowage4 ,owing to my placable disposition1 and partly1 ,i suppose1 to my cowardly fears of a row1 there was peace on board throughout the voyage4 ,we duly arrived in ,rotterdam1 and were boarded by a gang of touts after shakings1 tailors' orders1 etc4 ,one ,jewish gentleman was specially attentive to me1 knowing that we carried an enormous number of pieces of mahogany1 which were the perquisites of the officers4 ,he wanted to buy them1 and while he did not wish to bias me in any way1 he was anxious to give me a five-pound note as a proof of his regard4 ,i refused it1 from what ,i now feel to have been a mistaken sense of duty4 ,the cargo was discharged2 my importunate ,jewish friend bought the broken stowage at his own price1 and then came to me exultant1 saying1 ,you vas fery foolish mans4 ,if you haf dake my vife pounts you vas do nodings wrong4 ,now ,i haf my vife pounts1 unt you haf nodings4 ,he said more truly than he knew4 ,for my skipper divided the proceeds with the bo'sun1 and gave me nodings1 although ,i had toiled early and late to procure the wood4 ,i have often tried since to console myself with the thought that ,i did the right thing1 but ,i cannot help an uneasy feeling stealing over me that1 after all1 ,i was somewhat of a fool4 ,upon another occasion1 when mate of a brig that had been fitted with wire rigging in ,santos1 ,brazil1 shortly before ,i joined her1 ,i was much pestered in ,st4 ,john1 ,n4,b41 by junkmen coming on board wishing to buy the old rope rigging4 ,it was a mystery to me how they got to know of its presence there1 but they certainly came swarming around like sea-birds to a dead whale4 ,one man was especially persistent1 and at last1 in a sort of desperation1 said1 ,look-a-heah1 ,mr4 ,mate1 ,i'll give a hundred dollars for that junk1 an' ef ye k'n get the skipper t' take that ,i'll give you another thutty fur y'rself4 ,i refused with some roughness1 and ordered the fellow ashore4 ,my feelings may be imagined when the next day my gentleman appeared triumphantly flourishing an order from the skipper to let him have the rigging1 which he had purchased for seventy-five dollars4 ,knowing my commander's unquenchable thirst1 he had laid his plans accordingly2 and1 after a carouse at the groggery where the skipper was putting up1 had induced him to sell the stuff for what was certainly no more than half its value4 ,and even that poor yield never reached the owner's pocket1 nor any part thereof4 ,but the great temptation is drink4 ,it assails the mate in every harbour2 and by not yielding to it1 while he is taking the only really safe course1 he cuts himself off effectually from any society at all4 ,some fortunate mates find friends in port who can and do invite them to spend their scanty leisure in the midst of pleasant family life ashore4 ,but they are few4 ,the majority of mates must for a season learn to rely upon themselves for society1 to be happy although alone1 and to find companionship in books and self-culture4 ,it will be remembered that ,i am now speaking of sailing ships4 ,in steamers the case is very different4 ,the mate can associate with the engineers1 and does so1 in cargo ships2 in passenger vessels he gets rather more company than he wants or is good for him4 ,and now ,i must part company with the mate1 reluctantly1 and with many a backward glance over the long line of fine fellows under whom it has been my privilege to serve4 ,of all the different positions on board ship that ,i know of1 none is so favourable to the formation of fine characters1 none that a man can hold with greater dignity and benefit to himself4 ,he has a scope for his energies that is practically denied to the master2 and where he has the good fortune to serve under a man who has not forgotten the days when he himself was mate1 and treats his immediate coadjutor as his mate1 there is no reason why he should not be perfectly happy4 ,i know that it was the happiest time of my own sea life4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,in ,,steam74 ,upon approaching this portion of my subject ,i am somewhat alarmed at the prospect before me4 ,for in all that ,i set down in this book ,i strive to be perfectly truthful1 not only according to the light of my own experience1 but in compiling the traditions of the service as they have become known to me4 ,in doing this ,i am quite well aware that many whose opinions ,i value will be offended--it is but natural that they should be4 ,we often invite criticism from our friends1 and really think that we desire to be told the truth about ourselves4 ,and so long as the truth is pleasant we enjoy hearing it so much1 but when our weaknesses come up for review1 however gently1 we seldom succeed in keeping our temper1 even though we know full well we should be grateful4 ,in what has gone before ,i hope ,i have not trodden too heavily upon any of my friends' pet corns1 but in what is now to come ,i fear that some heart-burnings will be unavoidably produced2 because the second mate has to pass through that most unpleasant time1 common to nearly all professions1 when those above him feel it somehow to be their duty to snub1 annoy1 and discourage him1 with a view perhaps to stiffening his moral fibre4 ,yet the impression produced is usually that of a time of misery such as we would not go through again for a great deal4 ,but here again there is a great range of status4 ,between the second mate of a large passenger steamer--who is usually a man of large experience1 holding a master's certificate1 and having occupied many superior positions before--and the second mate of a small sailing ship making his first appearance on the quarter-deck in charge is all the difference imaginable4 ,the one is a most important officer1 usually the navigating officer of the ship and principal watch-keeper4 ,his pay is equal to that of many a master of a splendid sailing ship1 and his superiors would no more dream of insulting him or bullying him than they would think of flouting the chief engineer4 ,they are perfectly well aware of the fact that before he reached such a post as that he must have proved himself a competent man4 ,the poor fellow1 however1 who for the first time mounts the quarter-deck the ink scarcely dry upon his certificate1 may1 and very probably will1 have reason before long to wish that he had been content to remain in the obscurity of the forecastle4 ,according to the bent of mind possessed by his commander and1 in a less degree1 the mate of his ship1 so will he be4 ,in some cases it will turn out that no amount of kindness and help given by his superiors is of any avail4 ,the neophyte is no good4 ,in some mysterious manner he has managed to satisfy the examiners at an outport where rules are not so rigidly maintained as they are1 say1 in ,liverpool or ,london4 ,so he has a certificate1 but he is a dunderhead without resources1 untrustworthy1 not able even to keep awake in his watch on deck1 and ignorant of the first principles of his calling4 ,much may be excused in a skipper who finds that he dare not trust his second mate in charge of the watch except in a dead calm2 who1 coming on deck to have a glance round1 will discover his junior officer1 instead of being acutely anxious to justify his elevation to command1 is lolling on a hen-coop asleep1 while the vessel1 with yards untrimmed1 is wasting the wind1 and the man at the wheel is making mental notes for future reference4 ,under such exasperating conditions1 especially if the master has had no voice in the selection of this young officer1 but has been compelled to receive him because he was sent on board by the owners1 it is hardly to be wondered at if1 his indignation getting the better of him1 his remarks are calculated to make the offender very unhappy4 ,such an occurrence1 however1 is1 for the reason ,i have already given1 impossible in a fine passenger steamer4 ,so carefully are the officers chosen1 so rigidly is their previous experience insisted upon1 that only those who have proved their trustworthiness are allowed upon the bridge at all to take charge of the ship4 ,and of them the second mate is the principal4 ,it is1 ,i believe1 in most lines of passenger steamers--,i know it is in some--the practice to keep a list of officers employed1 and every accession to their ranks--no matter how high his previous qualifications may have been--must go in at the bottom4 ,and it is of no earthly use attempting to get one's name upon that list unless one's record is a good one4 ,then1 when appointed to a ship1 she will be the least important of the fleet1 and the recruit commences his upward climb1 his career carefully watched every step of the way and its incidents recorded4 ,by this means it is assured1 as far as is humanly possible1 that by the time the officer takes command he is the very best man for the position that care and forethought can procure4 ,and how wonderfully is this carefulness justified6 ,analyze the records of our great passenger lines and see--despite the dangers of the seas1 the high speed1 and absolute necessity for punctuality--the almost invisible percentage of disasters occurring4 ,it is a truly wonderful proof of the value of our ,merchant officers4 ,the second mate1 then1 of a liner has attained unto an exalted and honourable position4 ,he may1 it is true1 be a long time yet before he gets command1 but he has soared far above the contemptuous estimate in lower circles of a second mate's position4 ,beneath him are quite an army of juniors4 ,i well remember the awe ,i felt when1 some years ago1 fortified by a letter from a gentleman to whom ,i had been introduced1 ,i went to the stately offices of the ,p4 ,o4 ,company in ,leadenhall ,street4 ,i had a first mate's certificate1 and1 being unmarried1 felt that ,i could take a very subordinate position for the privilege of getting my foot upon the ladder of such a company4 ,but my hopes were dashed at the outset by ,captain ,angove1 the marine superintendent1 who said that while my papers were all they could wish1 ,i must have some experience in steam 7which ,i had not74 ,if ,i could again come before them with six months' experience as an officer of a steamer1 no matter how small1 they could put me on their list1 and ,i should enter as sixth supernumerary mate of such a ship as the ,rome or ,carthage1 which were then new6 ,my heart sank within me4 ,i had never imagined a ship with seven or eight mates before2 and1 disregarding the positive evidence before my eyes of the rapidity 7comparative7 of promotion1 as shown by the commanding presence of several masters who were then in the office1 ,i gave up the idea1 feeling that life was not long enough4 ,promotion by seniority is a good rule1 when it is tempered by careful watchfulness of the candidates2 and ,i do not believe that it is anywhere more wisely used than it is in our great steamship lines4 ,when once the candidate has passed the preliminary stages of his novitiate1 and has entered the service of a great line1 he has only to do his duty1 and in due time he will1 if he live1 certainly arrive at one of the most coveted positions known to seamen--that of master of a great steamship4 ,but this is1 perhaps1 straying from the second mate too far4 ,indeed1 there is little more to say of his most enviable and onerous position in this type of ship4 ,the very fact of his being navigating officer speaks for itself1 for the navigating of a ship that is flying over the sea at a speed little less than that of one of the ,metropolitan trains for a week at a time is of itself a great task4 ,and the man to whom it is entrusted holds a position the honour and responsibility of which cannot be lightly esteemed4 ,when1 in addition to this1 he is known as the first of that fine band who take it in turns to handle the vessel by day and night upon the exalted bridge1 and1 going into harbour1 has charge of the after-part of the deck1 while in port he is responsible for what goes on in the hold with respect to the stowage of the cargo1 ,i am sure it will be conceded that his position is one that can be held only by a good man4 ,his comforts are many1 quite compensating him for the hardship of watch-keeping4 ,he has plenty of society1 for1 besides the number of junior officers and engineers1 association with whom is as free and unrestricted as it is among the commissioned officers of a man-o'-war--and1 for the same reason1 the equality of status1 though not of rank--there are the passengers4 ,and although his pay is not large1 his treatment is so good that many a man ashore with far higher pay might well envy him4 ,he has the very best of food and accommodation--as good1 in fact1 as he could obtain at a high price in a first-class hotel4 ,on all of which accounts1 if he isn't happy1 he ought to be4 ,but as with the master and mate1 so with the second mate1 when once we step down from the great liners to the smaller passenger ships4 ,more work1 fewer comforts1 much less pay2 no crowd of junior officers1 or great crews amply sufficient to do all that there is to be done4 ,still1 even here there are many advantages1 and a second mate1 remembering that he is working his way upward1 has little to complain of4 ,it is the same in the biggest cargo steamers1 tramps of the highest type4 ,in fact1 some of these are1 for the officers1 the most comfortable ships afloat1 and the pay does not differ much from that given in the liners proper4 ,they are the plums of the profession1 and1 as such1 according to the universal law1 seldom attainable by the friendless young man1 struggling by his own merits to climb from the forecastle to the quarter-deck4 ,when we have left these splendid specimens of marine architecture1 and come to the tramp proper1 we begin to wonder how it is that second mates persevere at all4 ,they have a thankless task4 ,the manning of these vessels is on such a meagre scale that the second mate will usually have to work harder than any of the crew4 ,that1 of course1 is no evil in itself1 but it becomes an evil because it lessens the respect in which an officer is held by his watch1 generally composed of men who are never inclined to be over-respectful4 ,many and many a large tramp to-day is steadily boring her way through opposing seas1 outward or homeward1 on a voyage of several thousands of miles1 where the watch on deck will consist of the second mate and three men4 ,the second mate's orders are never to leave the bridge upon any pretext1 unless relieved by an officer4 ,well1 besides himself there are only the master and mate4 ,the first he dare not call to relieve him2 the second1 having his own watch to keep in his turn1 must not be disturbed4 ,yet there is much work to be done--cleaning ship principally1 but also setting and taking in sail4 ,i know there is a prevalent idea ashore1 very naturally1 that steamships never carry any sails unless they break down4 ,but that is quite wrong4 ,the few sails that a tramp steamer carries are set whenever the wind is favourable1 or it is imagined that they will help in the slightest degree4 ,and who is to set them8 ,one man is at the wheel1 for no one has yet been clever enough to invent a ship that will steer itself2 one man should be on the look-out night and day4 ,but where is the tramp steamer that can afford such extravagance as that8 ,at night he will be at his post1 of course1 and the remainder of the watch--one man--will be resting4 ,if a sail is to be set or taken in1 what is to be done8 ,according to the law the second mate should refuse to quit his post on the bridge1 and since it is absurd to suppose that one man could accomplish such a task as setting a sail1 he would leave it unset4 ,such independent behaviour would1 however1 certainly result in his services being dispensed with at the earliest possible moment4 ,so the practice is for the second mate to come off the bridge1 the man to be called off the look-out1 and the trio having left the ship plunging blindly along over the gloomy sea1 at dire peril to herself and any other vessel that may be near1 do their best to accomplish their task in as short a time as is possible4 ,in the day no pretence of a look-out is kept from the forecastle1 and1 during the second mate's watch1 the bridge is usually vacant also1 unless the master choose to remain up there while the second mate1 with his two grubby assistants1 scrubs and polishes about the deck like any overworked housemaid4 ,theoretically1 of course1 this menial occupation is no part of his duty4 ,moreover1 in the event of any accident occurring1 he is certain to be severely censured1 if not deprived of his certificate1 for being off the bridge during his watch on deck4 ,and it will not avail him in the least to declare that it would be impossible for him to keep the bridge and do what was expected of him as well4 ,as before stated1 should he refuse to do work about the deck with the men and insist upon obeying the law1 he would certainly lose his berth at the end of the voyage4 ,therefore1 in practice1 he trusts to luck1 and does the only thing open to him if he would keep his berth1 i4e4 risks the lives of all hands and the safety of the ship continually4 ,it is said of the second mate that he doesn't get his hands out of the tar-bucket by becoming a second mate4 ,that is only partially true1 as ,i have shown2 but it is absolutely true to say that no tramp second mate can hope to keep his hands out of the paint-pot1 or the soogee-moogee bucket1 or off the coal shovel4 ,he may be called ,mr4 ,brown1 second officer of the s4s4 ,albacore1 but he is nothing else than a maid-of-all-work on a trifle more than an able seaman's wages4 ,in harbour he has the holds to look after4 ,here1 perhaps1 he is slightly better off than his harassed superior on deck1 whose distractions ,i have endeavoured to sketch briefly in preceding chapters1 because he has only one thing to attend to4 ,but he also has often a gaudy time1 as the ,americans say1 with native stevedores1 whose one aim in life is to do nothing1 and failing that1 to do as little as possible wrongly4 ,and he1 knowing how essential it is for the safety of the ship that her cargo shall be properly stowed1 has many anxieties1 unless he quite neglects his duty and dozes peacefully1 trusting to luck that things will somehow come all right4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,first ,,steps74 ,ever since ,i began to write upon this subject ,i have been sorely tempted to try and explain to shore readers what it is that the ,board of ,trade require of a man who presents himself before them as a candidate for a second mate's certificate4 ,i have hitherto been deterred by the fear of being too technical1 and yet ,i cannot help feeling that ,i ought to try4 ,that feeling has grown so strong that ,i can no longer help making the attempt1 knowing that every reader has his remedy if he finds that the subject bores him--he can skip the matter altogether4 ,this seems to be the proper place to make the explanation if it is to be made1 since it is the first certificate that a ,merchant seaman is called upon to take--the threshold1 as it were1 of his career as an officer4 ,may ,i1 without suspicion of egotism1 take a specific case1 the one best known to me1 my own8 ,i had been at sea more than double the required time 7four years7 before ,i made any serious attempt to prepare for the examination4 ,when ,i began1 my arithmetic was very shaky1 and of mathematics ,i was entirely innocent4 ,my first step was to procure a handbook to the examinations1 wherein all the problems were carefully worked out step by step4 ,a ,norie's ,epitome of ,navigation1 which contains all the necessary tables1 and a blank book1 comprised my educational outfit4 ,i was at the time before the mast1 in a comfortable iron barque sailing from ,new ,zealand to ,oregon1 and thence home4 ,we were a happy crew1 young and lively1 and the forecastle was1 to put it mildly1 not an ideal study4 ,but the racket going on around me while ,i was wrestling with the unfamiliar mental exercises did me good in one direction--it helped me to concentrate my thoughts4 ,i began at the very beginning1 with decimal arithmetic1 and worked at that until it led me naturally to the use of logarithms4 ,then ,i began to get interested1 and the work was really a pleasure4 ,whenever ,i came to a dead wall ,i went and asked the mate for an explanation1 and he1 an amiable little ,jerseyman1 always did his best to enlighten me4 ,my progress was slow1 but fairly satisfactory2 and when ,i shipped for my next voyage before the mast to ,china1 ,i felt fairly certain that on my return ,i should be able to face the examiners without any dread of the result4 ,at that time the programme on the navigation side was as follows for second mate3 ,multiplication by logarithms1 division by logarithms1 the day's work4 ,this latter was really a formidable task to me1 from its length and complication1 and it must have been so to many others1 since ,i was told that there were more failures in it than in any other part of the examination4 ,the day's work is the summing-up of all the various courses made and distances run by a ship from one noon to another1 so as to find where she has arrived after all her zigzagging about4 ,in the example set the ship is always supposed to be at starting within sight of some point of land whose position is known4 ,a bearing of this is taken by the compass1 and this1 with the distance she is off1 is known as the departure course and distance4 ,the operation is technically termed taking her departure1 one of the very few purely nautical phrases which have passed into common use in this country4 ,then follow six other courses1 all differing fairly widely1 such courses as a sailing ship might be supposed to make with foul winds of varying strength4 ,lastly comes a current stated to be setting1 say1 ,s4,s4,e4 twenty-two miles in the twenty-four hours4 ,this is called the current course4 ,the variation of the compass is given which will be the same for all the courses1 deviation of the compass is given which is different for every course1 and leeway is occasionally given1 which is another disturbing element in calculating a true course4 ,so that each of the eight courses must be carefully calculated1 and then the mean of the whole obtained4 ,it is then a simple problem to find at what point she has arrived1 which must be done within one mile of a correct result4 ,then the problem of how to find the ship's latitude by a meridian altitude of the sun 7very simple71 the time of high water at any given place1 a longitude by chronometer1 etc4 ,definitions of terms used in navigation come next1 which must be written out more as a test of penmanship and spelling than anything else2 an exercise on the sextant1 showing the candidate's ability to adjust as well as use it1 and the navigation examination is over4 ,as ,i think ,i said before1 it should present no difficulty to any intelligent school-boy at the age of sixteen1 while many would be able to do all the problems by trigonometry instead of by the rule-of-thumb method almost universally employed4 ,for1 as the candidate may do the work in whatever way he is accustomed to1 it follows that the great majority do it in what1 to them1 is the easiest way1 i4e4 by the use of such tabular matter as is necessary and very easy to learn4 ,but once the school work is over the candidate's real trial begins4 ,now he finds the value of having attended to his business while at sea and the futility of cramming up seamanship from manuals written for the purpose4 ,for the examiners are all old captains1 and the examination is viv voce4 ,in my own case ,i followed the usual routine4 ,as soon as ,i came home ,i went to a navigation school1 or crammer's1 and paid my fee1 not imagining that ,i should learn anything1 but expecting to have what ,i did know marshalled in the most useful order4 ,i afterwards found that ,i need not have spent my money4 ,i can honestly declare that in my case1 at any rate1 ,i got no good whatever4 ,indeed1 ,i got a certain amount of harm1 which1 however1 did no damage beyond making a bit of fun1 as it happened4 ,one of the last things my crammer did was to test my sight for colour-blindness4 ,it was the first ,i had ever heard of such a thing2 and when he held up various squares of coloured glass between me and the light1 ,i named them promptly according to their shades1 having a very keen and acute eye for colour4 ,to my petrified amazement he suddenly slammed the glass into the box he was holding1 and said1 ,you are absolutely colour-blind4 ,whatever do you mean by inventing all those names for these glasses8 ,there are only two colours here1 red and green2 the others are white and black4 ,i promptly selected a glaring gamboge glass and asked him what that was4 ,he said1 ,green4 ,a bright purple puzzled him for a moment1 but was then cheerfully pronounced green also6 ,secretly ,i felt sure that there was a blunder somewhere1 but ,i had long learned not to argue with those in authority1 so ,i said resignedly1 ,well1 ,i suppose ,i must take my chance4 ,but ,i confess ,i felt very uncomfortable4 ,then he brought out an amazing diagram of his own invention for teaching the rule of the road4 ,i had seen the thing before1 but carefully avoided having anything to do with it4 ,i felt sure that ,i knew the rule of the road in actual practice1 as well as all the articles1 by heart1 and the late ,thomas ,gray's admirable rhymes1 and ,i didn't propose being worried by any old diagrams4 ,however1 he insisted1 so with a sigh ,i submitted4 ,and before ten minutes he solemnly assured me that ,i was a hopeless ass to think of going before the examiners at all2 that ,i didn't know the first little thing about the rule of the road1 which was the most important part of the examination1 and that my only hope was to go home and sweat it up4 ,as if any man could learn the rule of the road for practical use out of a book ashore6 ,i didn't say anything1 but as soon as ,i got outside ,i dismissed him and all his discomforting remarks from my mind entirely1 amusing myself in various ways unconnected with either navigation or seamanship until bedtime4 ,in the morning ,i went straight to the ,board of ,trade office opposite the ,mint1 and paid my fee1 which is the first step4 ,from thence ,i was sent into a room where sat a gentleman with a boxful of slips of coloured glass before him4 ,he began at once testing my eyesight1 and a cold shudder ran through me as ,i realized that if my sight was wrong my career would be permanently stopped4 ,and ,i could not help reflecting how shameful a thing it was to allow a man to enter a profession without applying so radical a test as to his fitness for it until just as he was about to step up the ladder of promotion4 ,yet this wickedness still goes on4 ,you may send your son to sea1 paying large money for his apprenticeship1 and doing all that lies in your power to make him fit for any post1 only to find out when he has reached manhood he is colour-blind1 and1 of course1 cannot be allowed to go any farther4 ,it would be so easy to enforce a rule that no one should become a sailor at all who was colour-blind4 ,well1 bearing in mind what my crammer had told me1 ,i began describing the various shades the examiner held up before me as red or green1 according as ,i judged them to be nearest to one or the other4 ,i thought he looked queerly at me1 but he said nothing until ,i called a vivid magenta red4 ,then he said1 ,i have never met a more perfect case of colour-blindness than yours4 ,in despair ,i implored him to listen to me a moment1 while ,i told him of my lesson4 ,his face darkened1 and turning to the box again1 he held up a slip1 saying1 ,tell me just what you think this colour is1 without reference to ,mr4 ,so-and-so4 ,i did1 and all was peace4 ,my sight was pronounced perfect4 ,thence ,i went into the navigation room1 feeling better1 and did very well until ,i came to the third paper1 which1 on taking it up to the examiner1 was pronounced wrong4 ,i stood still1 not knowing what to do4 ,he said nothing1 until ,i asked1 ,have ,i failed1 then1 sir8 ,if you can't get it right you have1 he replied4 ,i needed no second hint1 returning joyfully to my table and going over it again until ,i had discovered the error4 ,i was now sure of passing this portion of the examination1 because ,i had carefully trained myself to find errors in examples ,i had brought to a wrong result1 instead of just letting them go and beginning another one4 ,but ,i had no more trouble4 ,the rest of that part of the exam1 passed without a hitch1 and ,i light-heartedly bounded off4 ,i was immediately recalled1 however1 and told that ,i must go on with the seamanship now4 ,i had been under the impression that two days were always allowed4 ,but ,i was wrong4 ,feeling rather sick1 ,i was ushered in before a very handsome old gentleman1 who was courtesy itself--,captain ,john ,steele4 ,noticing that ,i was nervous1 he said a few pleasant words on ordinary topics1 just to put me at my ease1 and then quietly1 without any parade1 asked me how ,i would begin to stow a cargo of beer in casks4 ,question after question followed1 without any particular sequence1 but in such a manner that it must have been impossible for a book-instructed sailor to have answered them4 ,then he came to the rule of the road4 ,handing me one model of a ship1 he took two others himself1 and bidding me consider myself at the helm of the ship ,i was holding1 he began to manipulate his models and ask questions4 ,at the expiration of ten minutes he was good enough to say that he had rarely come across any one with a clearer knowledge of this most important part of an officer's education4 ,in thanking him1 ,i could not help telling him of my experience with the schoolmaster's diagram1 at which he laughed heartily4 ,thenceforward the examination proceeded smoothly to its close1 which was considerably before the expiration of the time allowed for doing the navigation part only4 ,with my blessed slip of blue paper in my pocket1 which ,i should exchange for my certificate as soon as the latter was prepared1 ,i returned to the school to tell the crammer my good news4 ,as soon as he saw me come in1 he asked1 ,have you got through your navigation8 ,yes1 ,i replied4 ,that's good1 said he2 now you must just hammer away at the rule of the road to-night as long as ever you can4 ,if you do1 you may squeeze through4 ,i answered carelessly that ,i didn't think ,i could do much good like that4 ,oh1 well1 he snapped2 do as you like1 of course4 ,only1 don't blame me for your failure4 ,for all answer ,i handed him the order for my certificate4 ,as compared with some examinations ,i know1 the above appears a very trivial business1 and yet ,i am firmly persuaded that1 as far as the seamanship goes1 nothing could be more searching and complete4 ,the navigation part is1 no doubt1 very easy1 even the extra master's examination presenting no serious difficulty to a well-educated lad4 ,that part may be learned--often is learned--without the learner possessing any knowledge of the sea at all4 ,but the other1 especially for master1 with its searching questions into maritime legal matters1 knowledge of the coasts added on to the intricacies of ship-handling under all circumstances of peril1 is1 ,i should say1 perfect for its purpose1 and such as no mere theorist can hope to pass4 ,it may be true--,i express no opinion--what ,i have been told about the laxity of examiners in some outports allowing duffers to slip through1 but that is certainly not the fault of the examination as arranged4 ,and now ,i must apologize for having taken up so much space over this portion of my subject1 and proceed to discuss the second mate's position in sailing ships4 ,before opening a fresh chapter1 however1 to which the importance of the matter fairly entitles it1 ,i should like to say that there is an intermediate certificate which may be taken1 of a higher grade than second mate1 which is for use in small sailing ships which are not compelled to carry three certificated officers4 ,it is called ,only ,mate1 and is rarely used4 ,its possession entitles a man to act as mate of a ship of a certain size trading to any part of the world4 ,when an only mate is carried there will also be a second mate1 but he need not be a certificated man4 ,in practice he is usually a first-class seaman without any knowledge of navigation in the arithmetical sense1 although ,i have been in two vessels as mate where my coadjutor in each case was a ,russian ,finn of fine mathematical qualifications1 who had never troubled to take an ,english certificate nor ever practised his knowledge1 confining himself solely to such practical seamanship as required doing1 and also acting as carpenter and sailmaker4 ,both these men were perfect treasures1 but only found scope for their varied abilities in small ships1 where a man must be a jack-of-all-trades4 ,such men may also be found in the down east ports of the ,united ,states1 and in ,british ,north ,america--seamen in the truest and fullest sense of the word2 and ,i trust it may be long ere the advance of steam leaves them without occupation4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,second ,,mate 7,,of ,a ,,sailing ,,ship74 ,it may be taken for granted by the uninitiated that there is almost as much difference to the beginner between taking charge of a steamer and a sailing ship as there is between wheeling a perambulator and driving a four-in-hand4 ,in fact1 ,i do not know but that ,i should be justified in saying that there is more4 ,the young officer of a steamer has only to forget what gigantic forces he is controlling1 be perfect in the rule of the road1 and he may go on serenely4 ,but a new second mate1 who has never in his life trimmed a sail to the changing wind1 who has never had to exercise his judgment as to the taking in or making sail1 whose knowledge1 in fact1 is as yet all theory1 does not1 as a rule1 have a very good time when he is first compelled to put his theory to practical use4 ,i was very fortunate4 ,i joined my first ship as second mate in ,port ,lyttelton1 ,new ,zealand1 the ,bulwark1 of #acjj tons1 belonging to ,messrs4 ,shaw1 ,savill ,co4 ,her master was an elderly gentleman named ,seator1 one of the most lovable of men1 and withal a first-rate seaman4 ,he received me as if ,i had been a veteran1 instead of a man coming straight from the fo'c'sle4 ,and the mate1 who was also elderly1 was kind in a quiet way4 ,i was then barely twenty-one years of age4 ,my first assumption of responsibility took place when the ship was lying out in the bay ready to sail4 ,the mate had unfortunately had a severe fall1 which confined him to his berth1 and the master was ashore4 ,at about #aj p4m4 the wind had increased to a gale1 and anxious watching had assured me that she was dragging her anchor4 ,therefore ,i took upon myself to let go a second anchor4 ,just as ,i did so the master arrived1 and seemed gratified that ,i had acted so promptly4 ,we left the next morning1 and ,i very proudly took the mate's usual place on the forecastle while getting under way4 ,never once did the master interfere with me in the conduct of the work1 his apparent confidence in me giving me such confidence in myself that ,i felt as if ,i could not make a mistake4 ,and when night came the good old man on going below and leaving me in charge1 said1 ,if you want me1 don't hesitate to call me at once4 ,but don't call me if you can help it1 as ,i am very tired2 and1 besides1 ,i want you to feel free to do your own work4 ,under such cheery and sensible treatment ,i naturally developed rapidly1 as any man not absolutely worthless would have done4 ,yet ,i am sure that had ,i met on this1 my first venture1 with the skipper ,i was unfortunate enough to serve under two voyages after1 ,i should have been completely spoiled at the outset4 ,i have1 however1 alluded to this matter before1 and gladly drop a very disagreeable subject4 ,the first duty of the second mate is to work his watch under the orders of the mate or the skipper4 ,with regard to what ,i may call the secular work of the ship--repairs to rigging1 cleaning1 painting1 etc4--it is etiquette for the second mate to receive all his instructions from the mate4 ,but with regard to the working of the ship1 setting or taking in sail1 the second mate1 being in charge of his watch while the mate is below1 must receive any orders that may be given from the skipper direct4 ,really the starboard watch1 which is always presided over by the second mate1 is the master's watch1 which the second mate keeps for him2 and while it would be a decided slight to the mate for the master to come on deck during his 7the mate's7 watch1 and begin giving orders over his head as it were1 there is nothing of the kind involved in the master's doing so while the second mate is on watch4 ,it is a usual practice in sailing ships when any large evolution is to be performed1 such as tacking or wearing ship 7that is1 turning her round in the first case against the wind1 in the second away from the wind71 all hands shortening sail1 getting under way or coming to an anchor1 for the master to take charge4 ,then the mate goes forward1 the second mate remains aft1 and all general orders are issued by the master4 ,i was1 however1 second mate of one fine ship where the master merely issued his order to tack or wear ship1 as the case might be1 to the officer of the watch1 whether myself or the mate1 and take no further part in the matter himself4 ,this was very nice indeed for me1 for it gave me practice4 ,up till that time ,i had never had an opportunity of putting a ship about2 and although ,i knew very well how to do it1 there is nothing like practice4 ,and some men are never better than bunglers at this beautiful evolution4 ,whether he is respected by his watch as an officer should be depends1 of course1 upon himself in the first instance4 ,sailors are always keen to take advantage of a second mate1 whom they regard as everybody's dog2 and if he has not a masterful air1 allied to a thorough knowledge of his duties1 their behaviour towards him will very soon degenerate into downright insolence4 ,especially at night1 when the sails require trimming4 ,they know as well as he does that it is essential that he should have this done immediately it becomes necessary1 and if he hesitates to do it from any fear of their grumbling1 they will never do anything without a rumbling accompaniment of cursing1 and he will soon find himself in hot water with the skipper for neglecting his most obvious duty4 ,but if1 on the other hand1 he be ever so smart and willing1 and the skipper be continually finding fault with him before the men1 or taking work out of his hands1 he will need all his patience to save himself from becoming utterly discouraged4 ,in very few ships will he be allowed to do any navigation4 ,never once in the whole course of my experience did ,i see a second mate taking the sun1 and1 in consequence1 unless he be careful to practise in his watch below1 he will find his navigation soon growing rusty4 ,in large ships where a boatswain is carried his position is peculiar1 for the boatswain1 being on deck all day1 gets his orders from the mate1 and the second mate has no business to interfere with him unless the yards want trimming or sail is to be made4 ,and as in very few large ships is it the practice for the second mate to stick to the quarter-deck and attend solely to the handling of the ship by day as well as by night1 he is often at a loss what to do4 ,he cannot work under the boatswain2 he cannot work with him1 because there would be a conflict of jurisdiction2 he must find some little job of his own4 ,where there is no boatswain this awkwardness does not arise4 ,here the second mate must carry on the work in his watch1 and he will be thought all the more of if he be a good sailor-man4 ,he will have to work as hard as1 generally harder than1 the crew2 but that will do him no harm1 rather good1 for sailorizing is interesting work4 ,few sailors 7who can do it7 ever growl at being put to a job of splicing or kindred work4 ,they feel it a dignity2 and if you want to make a sailor quite happy and contented1 the envy of all his shipmates1 put him on sailmaking4 ,he will never give any trouble1 never shirk his work1 and will seldom have any objection to working overtime4 ,so much for the second mate's duties while at sea4 ,it will at once be seen that the best place for a second mate to get a thorough grip of his profession is in a small sailing ship1 although he will1 of course1 look upon such a position only as a stepping-stone to something bigger and better as soon as possible4 ,in harbour his duties are very clearly defined4 ,whenever any cargo is being dealt with his place is in the hold1 unless1 indeed1 it be such a cargo as coal4 ,he is held responsible for the careful stowage1 the careful discharge of cargo4 ,in the majority of ports there are professional stevedores1 who have made the placing of cargo in ships' holds their business1 and understand it thoroughly4 ,these are always engaged where they can be got1 for obvious reasons1 chief among which are the facts that good stowage makes a ship hold more1 and that1 especially with certain cargoes1 bad1 careless stowage renders a ship unseaworthy4 ,but they always require careful watching1 because there are certain fundamental details which they will neglect in almost all cases unless there be some one on the watch4 ,moreover1 there are many things1 in a general cargo for instance1 that are easy to pilfer1 and this necessitates a close watch being kept4 ,where no stevedores are to be obtained1 the second mate is expected to be competent to stow the ship4 ,and he then becomes1 if he has thoroughly mastered the details of the work1 quite an important personage1 with nearly all hands under his command4 ,yet it must be said that a young second mate suddenly called upon to stow a ship would be very unfairly handicapped4 ,his knowledge of the business would almost certainly be theoretical2 and to be suddenly expected to put it into practice in an extensive manner1 with perhaps twenty men under his orders1 would be a severe strain4 ,it would not be lessened1 either1 by the consciousness that most likely several of the men under his command would have had considerable practice1 and would be by no means backward in their criticisms upon the young officer's movements4 ,herein lies the essential difference between second mates in ,english ships and those in ,american and ,canadian vessels4 ,here1 in the majority of cases1 the second mate is a youngster1 gentlemanly1 well educated1 but unpractised4 ,in handling neither ships nor men has he had any extended experience4 ,he is really still at school1 and he will often be made to feel the truth of that statement very acutely4 ,but in the ,yankee or ,blue-nose ship the second mate will be generally found a large man with horny fists and hairy chest1 a voice of thunder1 and a will of iron4 ,long and arduous service at sea has raised him no higher than this1 for he thinks scornfully of book-larnin'2 but he is a sailor of the very best type4 ,as old seamen are wont to say1 ,every hair of his head's a rope-yarn1 an' every drop of his blood ,stockholm tar4 ,he never has any trouble with his men1 for he will probably begin the voyage by knocking a few of them down on the first shadowy appearance of insubordination1 which thereafter never dares to show its head4 ,woe unto the sleepy man who1 at the cry of ,lee-fore-brace in the middle watch1 should heave himself slowly up from some comfortable corner1 and grunt loud enough to be heard1 ---- and ---- the lee-fore-brace1 an' the ship'n everybody aboard of her6 ,but such a thing on board of a ,yank or a ,blue-nose is unthinkable4 ,in the first place1 the unemployed members of the watch on deck would be well in evidence near the break of the poop1 marching up and down to keep themselves awake--if1 indeed1 they were not at work scraping woodwork bright--and on an order being given they would spring1 without other remark than a repetition of the order1 cheerfully4 ,no2 the second mate does not suffer from insubordinate men there4 ,one of my earliest recollections of the prowess of a second mate was in ,bombay1 on board that ill-fated ship1 sunk the other day by the ironclad ,sanspareil1 the ,east ,lothian4 ,her second mate1 one of the ordinary1 mild1 callow1 just-out-of-his-apprenticeship type1 had been discharged1 and the skipper had shipped a fresh one ashore who had been for some time in ,nova ,scotian ships4 ,he was a splendid specimen of a seaman1 not too tall1 but finely proportioned1 and of a very pleasant face4 ,the first morning he was on board we were washing decks under the boatswain's direction4 ,mr4 ,eaton1 the new second mate1 was having a look round the ship1 and strayed forward1 where two men were passing water out of the big wash-deck tub4 ,as ,mr4 ,eaton passed1 one of them1 carelessly slinging a bucket towards the other1 dropped it1 cutting the deck badly with its edge4 ,with a glance at the new officer1 he burst out into furious cursing at the other man for not catching it1 and wound up with a few remarks about the ship and all on board1 as the custom is in such exercises4 ,mr4 ,eaton turned quietly to him1 and said1 ,if you don't shut that foul head up1 ,i'll shut it for you4 ,the man1 a huge ,new ,york nondescript1 stared aghast for a moment1 and then1 deceived by ,mr4 ,eaton's pleasant look1 strode up to him1 swearing horribly1 and threatening to cut his liver out1 among other pleasant things4 ,for all answer the second mate leapt at him1 seizing him by the throat and waistband1 and next moment he was flying over the rail into the sea6 ,turning swiftly1 ,mr4 ,eaton was just in time to catch the other man in mid-rush at him with a squarely-planted blow on the chin1 which landed him a clucking heap in the scuppers4 ,but by this time the other men had seen the fray1 and rushed forward1 shouting1 ,kill him6 with many lurid accompaniments4 ,the boatswain did not stir to interfere1 and presently ,eaton was the centre of a howling gang threatening his life4 ,but he had armed himself with a norman1 a handy iron bar from the windlass1 and none of them dare face him with that terrible weapon4 ,the skipper and the mate came rushing forward1 and1 like sensible men1 ranged themselves by the side of the second mate4 ,in two minutes the whole tone of that ship was altered4 ,it was never again necessary to resort to violence1 for the men were respectful and willing1 whereas on the passage out the unhappy second mate was afraid for his very life to give an order at night for fear of the volley of abuse to which he was invariably subjected by his watch4 ,so he neglected or1 rather1 put off things which he should have done1 until the skipper could stand it no longer1 and gave him a severe scolding1 and at his request discharged him in ,bombay1 a broken-spirited1 almost worthless young man4 ,i earnestly hope that it will not be supposed from this that ,i love bullying or violence1 or would advocate it4 ,but where there is no weight of force behind an order1 men will always be found to disobey or neglect it2 and in the ,british ,mercantile ,marine it will often be found that a promising young officer's career is ruined just because he has once allowed a truculent bully to tell him to go to hell1 and has not knocked that man down4 ,often and often my blood has boiled when ,i have been before the mast to hear the language used by my shipmates to the second mate1 who was only doing his duty in giving necessary orders at night4 ,foremast hands will growl at this1 ,i know full well2 but they know it is true4 ,and it is a shameful thing that in ships where a man is simply treated as a dog1 knocked down and jumped upon for half a word or even a wry look1 the discipline should be perfect1 the work1 far harder than in any ,british ship1 be smartly and willingly done2 while in our own ships1 where such brutality is impossible1 and the work is reasonable1 except in cases of emergency1 discipline is almost unknown1 and officers are subjected to the foulest abuse by men who thus take a mean advantage of our kindly laws4 ,i have dwelt upon this at so much length1 because ,i do believe that it has a most distinct bearing upon the most important question concerning our ,mercantile ,marine of to-day4 ,i allude to the matter of the employment of foreign seamen4 ,foreign seamen1 especially ,scandinavians1 are not only biddable1 they do not growl and curse at every order given1 or seize the first opportunity to get drunk and neglect their work in harbour4 ,occasionally a truculent ,norseman will be found who will develop all the worst characteristics of our own seamen1 usually after a long service in ,british ships4 ,and he is then a bad man to deal with4 ,but insubordination in the absence of any means of maintaining discipline is a peculiarly ,british failing4 ,there are no finer seamen in the world than ,british seamen1 ,english1 ,irish1 or ,scotch does not matter2 but they must have discipline4 ,if any proof of this be needed1 ,i have only to point to the personnel of the ,navy4 ,there are no aliens there4 ,and for smartness1 for the ability to rise to the occasion1 and do deeds at which even our enemies stand amazed1 they have no equals4 ,why8 ,because no breach of discipline can be made without its being swiftly followed by its due punishment4 ,at least that was the reason4 ,now1 ,i believe that a race of men-o'-war's men have arisen who are capable of maintaining discipline among themselves1 having so high a pride in their service1 that they do not need any disciplinary restraint to keep them what they are--the finest body of men in the world4 ,a state of things exists where1 for the pure joy of service1 the blue-jacket yields ready1 implicit obedience to the youngest wearer of the ,queen's uniform1 even though the obeying one may1 and probably will1 be so able a seaman as to be capable of training1 in all the intricate duties of a man-of-war1 any officer on board4 ,loyal1 earnest1 and fearless1 the man-o'-war's man of to-day is the fine flower of the sea2 and if only it were possible to raise up such a body in the ,merchant ,service1 no price would be too high to pay for the benefits it would confer upon ,great ,britain4 ,i have dwelt upon this subject more fully in this chapter1 for the reason that ,i know there is more of the spirit of insubordination in the second mate's watch than in the mate's2 because ,i feel sure that1 if the second mate were only more thought of and more loyally supported by masters and owners1 something might be done to make our ,merchant sailors a more decent lot all round4 ,at least1 so it appears to me4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,third ,,mate4 ,we have now exhausted1 as far as the present work goes1 the three official titles used in the ,merchant ,service2 that is to say1 with regard to the certificates issued4 ,master1 mate1 and second mate are alone recognized as responsible officers by the ,board of ,trade4 ,yet1 with the growth of the steamship1 it has become inevitable that more officers should be employed1 and so1 as ,i have pointed out before1 in some big ships you may have eight or more officers1 of whom only two have officially recognized titles4 ,notwithstanding this1 they will all be certificated men1 and some of them1 perhaps all1 will have passed through all the grades before beginning at the bottom of the ladder in the great company whose service has attracted them4 ,thus1 in many cases it will be found that the third mate of a fine steamship holds a certificate as master extra1 and is as good a seaman and navigator as can be found anywhere4 ,his duties are responsible and important1 for he keeps a watch1 taking charge of the great ship alone4 ,from what has preceded this1 it will be seen that he must be eminently fitted for such a responsible position1 and not only he1 but the fourth or fifth mate likewise1 with neither of whom1 however1 do ,i propose to deal here4 ,their position being1 as ,i have said1 unofficial and abnormal1 and their duties varying with the ship and her peculiar service1 it would be impossible for me to deal with them extensively4 ,but let no one imagine1 therefore1 that they are to be ignored4 ,true1 their pay is small1 but their prospects are good4 ,they are in the direct line of succession to the hierarchy of the sea1 and in due time1 failing accident1 they will command one of those splendid leviathans that are the pride and glory of ocean traffic4 ,of these unofficially-recognized officers the third is the doyen4 ,at any moment he may be called up higher and become one of the great three4 ,and no one connected with the great liners thinks lightly of him4 ,he holds an honourable post and leads a not at all unpleasant life1 always cheered by the prospect of immediate promotion4 ,he is very seldom called the third mate1 but the third officer1 in the endeavour to add1 if possible1 a more dignified air to his rather commonplace title4 ,it almost seems a pity that these great steamship lines do not have a system analogous to that of the ,navy1 where1 once a lieutenant has passed his examinations1 he is then eligible for the highest posts1 his promotion being only a matter of time4 ,and once he takes his place as a lieutenant he is on perfect equality as regards rank with all the other lieutenants on board1 with the sole exception of ,number #a1 the first lieutenant4 ,none is afore or greater than another4 ,so ,i should think it might be in a great liner1 where all the officers will likely hold the same certificate4 ,below the second1 or navigating officer1 they might all rank alike as watch officers1 or some such title1 and their pay should be on the same level1 as with the naval lieutenants1 where the only difference is in small increases for special duties4 ,when we step down from the liner into the tramp there is a woeful collapse4 ,of course only the very best type of tramp and the largest will carry a third mate at all1 and he has no position worth talking about4 ,from what ,i have said in the foregoing pages about the life of a second mate on board a tramp some idea will be gathered of what sort of a post a third mate would hold in such a ship1 where one is carried4 ,it is an even chance that he would not receive the poor compliment of a handle to his name4 ,thus it comes about that he is usually in evil case1 without respect from the crew1 and generally looked upon as a loblolly-boy to the mate1 or a call-boy to the skipper when going in or out of harbour1 standing by to work the engine-room telegraph when required4 ,yet he does get some practice on the bridge at sea1 where the mate will use him for a relief at times1 and as he gets experience allows him to take a watch in the day while he 7the mate7 is busy elsewhere4 ,nor is his position greatly different in a sailing ship4 ,of course only the largest sailing ships will pretend to carry a third mate1 who is almost always the senior apprentice in the last year of his time1 or making another voyage after his time is up1 on an able seaman's wages but with quarters aft4 ,it may be stated at once that he has no settled duties4 ,he is always attached to the mate's watch1 and may be of considerable use to that hard-worked officer1 or a source of much annoyance to him4 ,where 7and ,i have personally known such cases7 he is a blockhead1 but has sufficient owners' interest to keep him in a post where he is of no use1 he will make the mate so angry that he will implore him to do whatever he likes as long as he doesn't get in the mate's way4 ,and he will probably then divide his energies to killing time1 lounging in the boys' house1 yarning1 and generally exhibiting that sad spectacle--a young man wasting his life1 squandering opportunities that many a friendless youngster would give all he possessed to obtain4 ,the men make a butt of him except in harbour1 where1 as he is usually well supplied with money by his fond parents1 they are full of compliments to him in exchange for sundry drinks or the price of them4 ,he is to be seen in all his glory1 with a well-fitting uniform on and his gilt-badged cap stuck right on the back of his head1 dawdling about the bars in ,melbourne or ,sydney1 or parading the streets with questionable lady friends1 who1 when his back is turned1 allude to him as the poop ornament4 ,now1 ,i would not have it supposed for a moment that ,i intend this to be a picture of the average third mate4 ,by no means4 ,but this particular type of third mate is very well known to most officers of fine sailing ships and as cordially detested4 ,he is bred of careless skippers1 influential friends1 and parents who dote on him and supply him with far too much money4 ,there is1 happily1 a far more general type of third mate1 who is thoroughly anxious to make himself fit for the position he hopes presently to occupy4 ,he is not noticeable for being extra well dressed when at sea1 for he is too fond of having his fist in the tar-pot or manipulating a marline-spike to admit of his wearing much finery4 ,and in bad weather it is his pride to be first aloft at shortening sail2 and if he can only beat the smartest man forward in getting out to the weather earing1 at reefing top-sails or a course1 he is delighted beyond measure4 ,such a young mate1 if he has the master he deserves1 will often find1 on the passage home1 the mate's watch handed over to him entirely at night1 the mate remaining on deck all day and devoting all his energies to getting the ship as spick-and-span as possible for going into dock4 ,in this way he gains just the experience he needs for taking up his position as second mate when the opportunity arises1 and he becomes an officer who can not only tell a man to do a thing1 but can show him how to do it if he doesn't know4 ,in a fine ship which ,i will not name there was a third mate of the dandy type ,i have endeavoured to portray on the preceding page4 ,the master was a gentleman who tried to have man-o'-war conditions on board as far as possible1 and consequently never interfered with the work of the ship beyond consulting with the mate4 ,and the mate1 a splendid seaman of the old school1 was so disgusted with the third mate that he allowed him to loaf away his time just as he chose4 ,he never reported him to the master for inefficiency1 but just ignored him4 ,upon the vessel's arrival in ,adelaide the second mate received an offer to go mate of another ship1 and the master allowed him to go4 ,now1 had ,mr4 ,third ,mate been any good he would of course have stepped into the second mate's berth1 but1 as the mate said1 ,he's about as much fit to be second mate of this ship as ,i am to be ,prime ,minister of ,england4 ,i joined the ship in ,adelaide as second mate1 being two years younger than he was4 ,but ,i was strongly recommended by my old skipper1 whose ship was laid up for sale1 and ,i obtained the post with ease4 ,this so exasperated the third mate that he actually dared to sulk in his cabin1 and refused to even pretend to work on the passage home4 ,i cannot tell how it was he was allowed to do this1 but it was even as ,i say1 until1 when we put into ,cape ,town to land some passengers1 the skipper discharged him4 ,he went ashore a disgraced man1 who stood no possible chance of getting a ship again as an officer1 and probably went to the dogs entirely1 all the money that had been spent upon him entirely wasted4 ,in many of the large ,american and ,blue-nose ships a third mate is carried1 but he is of a different type altogether4 ,as these ships do not carry apprentices1 they usually breed their officers up from lads who are protgs of the master or mate4 ,they come on board young1 and while they have an exceedingly good time1 they are rigorously trained both in seamanship and navigation4 ,they are taught that the cardinal virtues are smartness and cleanliness4 ,so well is this training pursued1 that ,i verily believe no smarter young men are to be found anywhere1 and while they are still mere boys they are made third mates with full authority and a handle to their name that no man dare refuse to give them4 ,they are expected to lead the way whenever anything of importance is being done aloft1 and are encouraged to lift up their voices with no uncertain sound in giving orders4 ,what splendid men they do make1 to be sure4 ,there are1 it is true1 many foreigners in ,yankee ships who have by sheer merit risen to be officers1 having first perforce become citizens of the ,great ,republic2 but for the beau-ideal of a smart sailing-ship officer commend me to the pure ,american lad caught young and trained in a big ship4 ,one ,i have in my mind's eye now1 who was second mate of the ,pharos1 of ,boston3 tall and lithe1 with a clean-shaven1 boyish face 7he was just twenty71 close black curling hair1 sparkling eyes1 and a springy step4 ,we had a hard bitten crew1 shipped in ,london1 and ,i heard one of the hardest of them1 an ,englishman who boasted that he had been in gaol over forty times1 say1 as he caught sight of the second mate for the first time1 ,what a ---- baby4 ,boys1 we're in for a soft thing here4 ,but he was quite mistaken4 ,ten minutes afterwards there was a melodious thundering voice reverberating along the decks1 ,lay aft1 here1 an' rush this hawser forrard4 ,lively now4 ,and the astonished crowd skipped aft1 the gaol-bird at their head1 to find the clean-limbed baby looking quite unlikely to bear trifling with4 ,they recognized the able man at once1 and thenceforward there was never any trouble4 ,i never saw men work harder than his watch did for him1 or speak more highly of a man than they did of this bright-faced youth1 who not only knew his own work thoroughly1 but knew how to get the last ounce out of the men under his command4 ,the only thing that puzzled me about him was the almost abject reverence he had for the skipper1 who was an old man1 but by no means one whom ,i should have thought capable of commanding respect4 ,but that grand young second mate always spoke to him with bated breath1 esteeming his lightest word as a dread law1 nor did he ever1 even in jest1 speak of him but as one should speak of their sovereign4 ,the third mate of an ,american ship is1 however1 often a man of mature age1 who takes the place that would be taken in an ,english ship by the boatswain4 ,he is no mate's loblolly-boy4 ,so far from that being the case1 he often is the bucko of the ship1 the man who may be depended upon to leap1 striking with hands and feet1 like an enraged tiger into the midst of a mutinous crew4 ,he has often a lurid history1 and can show you a network of scars1 each one a palpable reminder of some furious struggle in such lawless ports as ,callao or ,san ,francisco4 ,in fact1 he is the fighting man of the ship1 and1 as such1 is treated with due respect4 ,but he has not seldom the defects of his qualities2 and though he may be depended upon to drive his men till they drop1 working harder than any of them1 and cursing them all at the finish for a set of weaklings1 he sometimes gets out of hand himself4 ,had it not been for the drink1 he would long ago have been master2 but he cannot resist its temptations1 and when in port 7never at sea1 for ,american ships are strictly teetotal7 he gets a drop too much1 he is far too apt to start a fight for the pure frolic of the thing1 and his fighting is usually of the nature that ends in manslaughter4 ,on the whole1 ,i am very glad that we do not carry this kind of third mate in ,british ships1 although there have been times when ,i could have wished for his aid for an hour4 ,but his habit of kicking or striking with little or no provocation1 his utter disregard for human life--either his own or anybody's else--and his incessant blasphemy1 are hardly compensated for by his tremendous courage1 his magnificent seamanship1 or his power of command4 ,one feels that he is out of place on board a peaceful merchantman--he should command a pirate or a privateer4 ,with this brief sketch of the third mate we must leave the afterguard1 as the officers who live aft are called on board ship1 and come to the idlers1 or petty officers4 ,it is hard they should be labelled idlers1 since they are usually the hardest working men on board2 but ,jack only means that they do not keep a watch at night4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,bo',,sun4 ,it is impossible to help regarding the boatswain as a great figure of romance4 ,his title rings on the ear like the voice of the sea4 ,and although not one person in ten thousand among our crowded populations could give a definition of his position that would not be a caricature1 there are few1 very few1 who do not feel a responsive thrill when the word is mentioned4 ,but ,i am compelled to take for granted that the average man or woman has formed some hazy idea of what a bo'sun is like4 ,for one thing1 it is certain that to speak of a gentlemanly bo'sun would be considered as absurd as to speak of a fair negro4 ,he is1 of course1 to the general1 the beau-ideal of a ,jack ,tar1 a magnificent monster with a bull's voice1 burned almost black by the tropical sun1 with eagle eyes forth-looking from a thicket of beard1 and great hairy arms whose innumerable devices of ,indian ink or gunpowder are almost hidden by a hirsute covering that would shame an ape4 ,brave as a man can be1 he is terrible in his wrath1 yet his heart is tender as a little child's1 and any tale of pity never fails to empty his pockets4 ,now1 it has so often been my ungrateful task to shatter old beliefs in the untrue and impossible1 that ,i am quite glad that no necessity is laid upon me for doing so at this present4 ,there are bo'suns to whom the above fancy description would apply precisely1 only it would not be complete4 ,other qualities1 not so picturesque1 perhaps1 but far more useful1 would have to be added to finish the picture4 ,and then you have a man whose better it would be almost impossible to find in the wide world4 ,in the ,navy1 the bo'sun1 upon rising to the full height of that position1 becomes for picturesque purposes spoiled4 ,he wears a frock-coat1 a boiled shirt1 and carries a sword4 ,he is a warrant officer at the head of his profession1 as far as concerns any man who enters the service as a seaman4 ,no amount of ability1 education1 or conspicuous courage can elevate him another step4 ,but his mates1 who may go barefoot1 who wear the characteristic and eminently suitable rig of the blue-jacket1 distinguished only by devices upon their sleeves1 and a silver whistle or pipe--these are the typical bo'suns of the popular fancy1 the fine flower of the naval seamen4 ,as with all the rest of the officers1 there are differences1 not exactly in status1 but in duties1 between bo'suns of the highest class of steamships and the sailing ships which are big enough to carry bo'suns properly so called4 ,but these differences are not nearly so great as among the certificated officers1 for the bo'sun1 whatever his ship may be1 is essentially a foreman1 a working man who1 by reason of his superior qualifications1 has risen above his fellow workers1 and takes the oversight of them4 ,it is his duty1 not to originate work1 but to see it carried out4 ,he is no theorist1 but a practical seaman of the best kind4 ,in steamers his seamanship is seldom called upon1 but his power of carrying on work is tested to the utmost4 ,and in case of a sudden emergency1 such as the outbreak of fire1 breakdown of engines1 or falling in with a helpless sister that requires a tow1 the boatswain is of the utmost importance4 ,a good boatswain in a big steamship is a treasure of great price1 although he does not command very high wages4 ,he it is that makes all the difference to the mate between a happy life and one full of those minor worries that whiten the hair and wrinkle the face4 ,it cannot need any argument to enforce this fact4 ,when the mate can call the boatswain to him1 and give his orders1 secure in the knowledge that the work will proceed without hitch or neglect1 he may attend to his other duties with an easy mind4 ,the boatswain looks to the mate1 and to him alone1 for his orders1 and would be indignant at interference by any officer of a lower grade4 ,that is1 supposing him to be1 as usual1 a man fully competent4 ,where1 by some accident1 he has slipped into the position without ability to command or knowledge to carry out1 he will generally be glad to curry favour with anybody1 not merely junior officers1 but with the men under him--which is fatal4 ,the boatswain's position is not affected greatly by a change from a liner into a big cargo steamer1 unless it be in cases where1 from mistaken notions of economy1 he is called bo'sun and lamp-trimmer4 ,this degradation of an ancient and honourable position is quite unfair to the man who in a moment of folly or being hard up accepts such a queerly-associated employment4 ,for how can a sailor be expected to show due deference to a man who1 after all1 is only lamps8 ,in all the steamers of the ,australasian colonies a lad is carried as lamp-trimmer1 and his duties are confined to that and cleaning brass-work1 both tasks that are quite unfit for a man who is a leader and commander of the crew1 as a bo'sun is4 ,small tramps1 of course1 do not carry a bo'sun4 ,the duties which he should perform fall upon the hapless officers1 as aforesaid4 ,but if you would see the bo'sun in his glory go on board a large sailing ship4 ,there he has room and scope for his talents1 can show of what metal he is made4 ,even the radical changes that have taken place in the rigging of sailing ships during the last quarter of a century do not affect him much1 except in so far as undermanning has reduced the number of men available to carry out his directions4 ,i am old enough to remember the stately ships of ,messrs4 ,green or ,wigram or ,devitt and ,moore coming into ,melbourne and ,sydney with crews more than double what they would now carry if afloat4 ,the bo'sun with his two mates were most prominent figures1 while their hoarse voices and the shrill scream of their pipes resounded over the adjacent water as the vessel came up to her berth4 ,those grand old vessels are gone1 and with them the fine complement of ,british seamen they used to carry1 men who were so disciplined that transference to a man-o'-war would have come as the easiest and most natural thing in the world4 ,yet it must not be supposed that the type of bo'sun they carried is yet extinct4 ,fortunately1 no2 for he would be a heavy loss indeed4 ,he has grafted the old on to the new1 and may be found to-day aboard the great sailing ships1 that still do a fair share of ocean traffic1 carrying on the work under the changed conditions1 even as his forerunners did4 ,one of the greatest changes made in modern sailing ships has been the substitution of wire rope for hemp4 ,first of all wire was used for the standing rigging1 that is1 for the great stays which support the masts4 ,then came the invention of mild steel1 and the discovery that ropes made of mild steel wire were sufficiently pliable to be used for a great deal of the running gear1 that is1 ropes that had to run through blocks or pulleys4 ,then it was found that1 instead of having a cumbrous arrangement of stout ropes called lanyards to set up 7tighten7 the standing rigging1 stout screws would answer the purpose equally well2 and instead of needing a large number of men1 much complication of tackles1 and many hours to set up the rigging1 one man with a short iron bar to turn the screws could do all that was required in about a couple of hours4 ,but this innovation1 although it lessened labour in one direction1 did not make any difference to the work of the ship aloft1 where1 on account of increased sail area and the practice of carrying an additional mast1 the work was more onerous than ever4 ,so the bo'sun of to-day must1 in addition to the knowledge possessed by those of bygone days1 be an expert at handling wire rope1 that is1 splicing the refractory stuff4 ,he cannot be content with simply knowing how it should be done1 but he must be prepared to educate a crew such as he may very easily find under him--a crew whose only previous experience has been in steamers1 and who hardly know one end of a marline-spike from the other4 ,he must be able to keep a ship in thorough repair1 going over the mastheads himself1 and prying into every detail for little defects1 which may bring disaster if not attended to in time4 ,and his mastery of ships' work should be such that it will be sufficient for the mate to say to him1 ,bo'sun1 ,i want so-and-so done to-day1 and then turn away completely easy in his mind1 because he knows that the work will be done1 and done well4 ,i have had the misfortune to be once shipmates with1 ,i was going to say1 a bad bo'sun2 but perhaps the better description of him would be that he was not a seaman at all1 much less a bo'sun4 ,we used to call him the ,curiosity1 abbreviated to ,curio4 ,he said that he had been bo'sun of the ill-fated ,la ,plata4 ,that may have been so1 because the vessel was lost only two days after leaving port1 although none of us could in the least understand how he had been able to obtain such a berth4 ,at any rate1 he managed to get shipped with us in the ,herat as bo'sun1 and as she was a #acjj-ton sailing ship1 there was a fair scope for his abilities4 ,we found him out on the first day1 although1 as nearly all hands were suffering from the last drunk1 little notice was taken4 ,but before we cleared the ,channel he was made of less account than one of the boys4 ,he was actually ignorant of how to do the most trivial job4 ,even as a foremast hand he would have had a bad time2 as a bo'sun1 his sublime audacity took our breath away4 ,the officers were all good men1 and were able to carry on the work easily enough1 leaving nothing to him but such matters as washing decks or repeating their orders4 ,then he took to coming into the fo'c'sle1 and trying to curry favour with the men by telling them of his varied experiences ashore4 ,by his own confession1 he had been a salesman at ,mortlock's in ,oxford ,street1 a door-keeper at a ,west ,end restaurant1 something in the ring at a circus1 and other equally curious1 out-of-the-way employments4 ,his impudence as well as a certain bonhomie1 which1 however out of place in a bo'sun1 would have been admirable in any of the positions he had occupied ashore1 softened the crew towards him1 and really he did not have such a bad time4 ,of course he was discharged as soon as we reached ,calcutta1 the master informing him that he would not carry him but for ballast1 giving him a declines-to-report discharge1 which is equivalent to useless1 but paying him on the seamen's wages scale4 ,three days afterwards he visited us1 an overpowering swell of distingu appearance1 and grandly informed us that he was ring-master in a great travelling circus4 ,after distributing orders lavishly1 and inviting all hands to come ashore and drink at his expense1 he left1 and ,i saw him no more--the most amazing bo'sun ,i have ever even heard of4 ,at the other end of the scale ,i place the bos'un of the ,harbinger1 a man of rot more than thirty1 a giant in stature and strength1 and completely master of his profession4 ,of all the seamen ,i have ever known1 he was the most perfect specimen as far as rigging work was concerned1 and the handling of a ship's company4 ,so splendid was his work that1 in conversation with him one day1 after watching him splice a two-inch wire grummet round the goose-neck of the spanker-boom with far greater ease than most men would have done the same thing in rope1 ,i asked him whether he had not received some special instruction in handling wire4 ,he then told me that he was a ,blackwall rigger1 i4e4 a man whose trade is rigging ships in harbour1 and that he only went to sea when he could find a ship that suited him4 ,that explained a great deal2 but ,i must admit that he was just as smart at handling sails aloft in bad weather as he was at rigging work proper1 so that ,i should say he never allowed himself to get in the least rusty4 ,other bo'suns ,i have known intimately by being shipmates with them1 good men as one would wish to sail with1 but never one that came quite up to this paragon among sailor-men4 ,for some were perfect in all their ways as far as sailorizing was concerned1 yet could not get the work out of their men2 others were good drivers1 but were weak in their technical knowledge--at least1 not quite so good at certain work as some of the seamen under them2 others were lazy1 and one especially do ,i remember1 although a splendid seaman1 was so great a coward1 that he was a by-word fore and aft4 ,he was an ,alsatian from ,metz1 who had somehow got to sea1 and after serving several years in ,british ships1 had become a bo'sun1 a post for which his one defect eminently disqualified him4 ,and he never learned to talk intelligible ,english4 ,sailors can understand almost any jargon that is spoken at sea under the guise of ,english1 but this man's talk was too funny for anything4 ,he would come to the fo'c'sle door as the watch was turning out1 and say1 ,now1 poys1 gum lonk4 ,ve shrub und shrabe mit sant unt racks alla now2 which1 being interpreted1 was1 ,now1 boys1 come along4 ,we'll scrub and scrape with sand and canvas to-day4 ,poor fellow1 his abilities and long service deserved a better fate than he met with at last4 ,a couple of years after ,i left the ship ,i met him in ,old ,gravel ,lane1 hopelessly crippled by a fall from aloft on his last passage home4 ,he was hobbling off to the workhouse to try and get in1 to be saved from starvation1 for there is no redress for the sailor who is maimed in the execution of his duty4 ,as ,i have said in the previous chapter1 bo'suns are seldom carried in ,american ships1 where the third mate or second mate1 as the case may be1 will efficiently perform a bo'sun's usual duties4 ,but where they are carried1 they will be found1 like all the other ,american officers of whom ,i have spoken1 the best seamen that can be found anywhere1 but in general conduct undoubtedly brutal to those under them4 ,one case of a brevet bo'sun is1 ,i believe1 sufficiently quaint to be noticed here4 ,a friend of mine1 a man of rather small build1 was second mate of a ,nova ,scotian barque bound from ,new ,york to ,hong ,kong4 ,when the crew came on board--eight of them--he saw with some trepidation that they were all huge negroes1 and he did not feel any too comfortable at the prospect of keeping them in order if they should turn out to be a rowdy lot4 ,but1 putting a bold face on the matter1 he mustered them4 ,as they trooped aft he noticed that1 big as they all were1 one towered above all the rest1 a black giant4 ,a bright idea struck him1 and as soon as they had answered to their names he turned to the monster and said1 ,now look here1 bo'sun1 ,i want you t' hurry up 'n git these spars lashed4 ,ay1 ay1 sah1 bellowed the delighted black man1 ,i put de b'ys froo1 sah4 ,and put them through he did4 ,there was never any trouble from that day1 the black bo'sun doing his work well1 just for the sake of the title with which he had been so suddenly honoured4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,carpenter4 ,how shall ,i do fitting justice to the dignified1 invaluable petty officer 7warrant officer in the ,navy7 whose title stands at the head of this chapter8 ,the honest journeyman ashore hearing the same title has always had a peculiar fascination for me1 whether joiner or cabinetmaker4 ,but he is no more to be compared with the carpenter of a ship than a hod-carrier is with an architect4 ,it is not every port that can produce ships'-carpenters4 ,any shipyard where work is specialized1 as it is in many that ,i could name1 is fatal to the breeding of such men as ships'-carpenters must be4 ,like all the rest of the officers ,i have written of1 there is1 of course1 considerable difference in the duties of a carpenter in steam and sail1 the former being much the easier billet for him4 ,in a fine passenger steamship his duties are mainly confined to seeing that certain gear is in working order1 attending to the shipping and unshipping of gangways1 etc41 but of actual constructive work he seldom does any at all4 ,that1 owing to the shortness of the voyages1 is done when the vessel reaches home2 but it is essential that any needed repairs or alterations should be noted during the voyage2 and for this particular oversight a carpenter is invaluable4 ,and any remarks such as have been made hitherto about incompetent men may be safely left out when considering the carpenter4 ,i do not go so far as to say that there is no such thing as an incompetent ship's-carpenter4 ,but ,i do declare that ,i never yet met or heard of one4 ,he is the man who may be relied upon to give less trouble than any other man on board a ship4 ,as to his position1 it is unique4 ,he is a tradesman1 of the mysteries of whose craft the sailor does not pretend to knowledge4 ,but he is usually an old salt of keen observation1 able to criticize sailor work in all its branches1 and with the proud conviction that he is indispensable to the safety of the ship1 a conviction that is based upon expert knowledge of the constructional needs of the ship4 ,the real glory of a ship's-carpenter1 however1 does not shine out in any steamer4 ,it is in the sailing ship that he finds his opportunity for the display of those abilities in which he is not to be approached by any other man on board4 ,i have often spoken in the highest terms of admiration of the wonderful versatility of ,canadians1 ,down ,easters1 and ,finns1 who seem to be born with the power to use either marline-spike1 adze1 plough1 or sextant with equal facility4 ,but their carpentry1 though sufficient for sea needs1 is rough4 ,it is1 as they would be the first to admit1 only to be used where poverty or pressure of circumstances forbids the employment of a man who has been through the curriculum of the yards and has emerged ready to do all that a ship in her utmost need can require at the hands of a man4 ,perhaps the best ships'-carpenters known come from ,scotland4 ,in all my experience ,i have only met with one who did not1 and he was one of the fine old school that used to be bred forty years ago in ,thames shipbuilding yards4 ,but on the ,clyde and in ,aberdeen they breed a race of men as ship-carpenters who are silent1 thoughtful1 and strong1 men who study the requirements of their ship as a great surgeon studies his patients1 and who never need telling what should be done4 ,and this is so recognized by masters that it is popularly supposed on board ship that if the chronometer went wrong the carpenter would be called upon to put it right4 ,for he is no mere specialist4 ,a ship's-carpenter who was only a carpenter would be of very little use on board a modern sailing ship4 ,he must be also a blacksmith1 a block and spar maker1 a joiner1 a sartor1 and a boat-builder4 ,of course he must be a caulker4 ,i should not mention the latter were it not that in the minute subdivision of labour1 that for economical purposes obtains almost everywhere to-day1 caulking1 roughly the stuffing of seams between planking with oakum to keep out the water1 has become a trade by itself4 ,the pumps are under the carpenter's charge4 ,he knows not only how to fit their boxes and renew the packing--many sailors have that knowledge--but he can invent in time of need substitutes for leather1 and by all sorts of devices make it possible to keep the hold clear of water4 ,also he is responsible for the due working and up-keep of the iron-work aloft4 ,the great trusses and goose-necks upon which the massive yards are balanced1 so that they swing from one side to the other1 are his care2 he visits them at regular weekly intervals with oil feeder and scraper1 and with minute scrutiny assures himself that there are no flaws in them which may in a moment of stress extend into breaks1 and let half the ship's company go howling to leeward1 and be swallowed up in the hissing vortex of white foam that surges hungrily upward4 ,he attends to the due working of iron block and sheaves1 and examines with a critical eye both masts and yards for flaws4 ,to do this1 it is necessary that he be able to climb in any weather1 since the gear is permanently fixed aloft1 and thither he must go to examine it4 ,but it is seldom that he is called upon to work aloft unless he be an ardent seaman as well as a carpenter4 ,some members of the honoured family of ,chips ,i have known who scorned to be left on deck when a rising gale demanded the services of all hands to shorten sail4 ,they were as keen and eager to wrestle with the mighty wings thundering at their confining gear as any purely seafaring man that ever hung on to a jackstay by his eyebrows1 or scorned to secure himself on a yard by thrusting his arm through a becket4 ,there was never any need to call them specially when it was all hands2 they were always on deck with a leap1 as if they had been waiting ready rigged for the word1 although had one gone into their berths for anything an instant before the cry was given he would have found them sleeping with the care-free soundness of the sailor4 ,the bo'sun1 carpenter1 sailmaker1 and cook generally live together in a compartment of the forward house on deck4 ,formerly their berth was known as the half-deck1 a survival of ancient days1 when they were really berthed in a horrible dungeon that rightfully bore the name4 ,but now the title is often carried by the berth set apart for the apprentices1 and the petty officers' quarters are as often divided in two1 one for the bo'sun and carpenter1 and the other for the sailmaker and cook4 ,they are attended in simplest fashion by a boy1 not at all as a servant1 but just to carry in their simple fare1 wash their mess-traps1 and scrub out the berth4 ,they may feed a little better than the men1 but not much1 and the manner of their table is practically the same1 the table1 indeed1 being often non-existent1 as they eat their meals in the good 787 old way1 that is1 with their plates upon their knees or on a chest at their sides4 ,but the carpenter has1 in addition to this home1 which he shares with one or two others1 a place of retreat1 sacred to him alone1 wherein no man has any right to enter1 save the master and mate1 and ,i am doubtful about the mate4 ,it is his shop4 ,here is his bench2 here he does such small work as comes under the head of carpentering proper1 or1 on a long passage1 makes cabinets1 writing-desks1 or bookshelves for the skipper4 ,it is a temple of peace1 fragrant with the scent of new wood1 with a sub-tone of pungent tobacco smoke1 for here the presiding genius may1 and does1 smoke1 with no one to say him nay4 ,unlike any other officer in the ship below the rank of mate1 ,chips finds his own work2 unless1 indeed1 the master may have some special piece of work that he wishes done4 ,and even then it would probably not be undertaken if ,chips did not think it was feasible4 ,under ordinary circumstances the carpenter goes on his own even way1 no man interfering with him1 and few knowing what he is employed upon4 ,once1 when on the homeward-bound passage of a long voyage1 ,i asked our carpenter whether he was not sometimes puzzled to know what to find to do4 ,it was a piece of daring on my part1 for he was a dour ,aberdonian of middle age1 so taciturn that his voice was seldom heard1 and with a grim expression on his face that discouraged familiarity4 ,but he had thawed out a bit on this occasion1 and told me several yarns1 so ,i ventured to put the question1 which had often occurred to me4 ,mahn1 he growled1 with lowering brow1 ,ah cud fin' wurrk fur seven year1 'f we wur oot sae lang4 ,fat du ,ah fine tae dae8 ye say4 ,did ye ever see ma idle in wurrkin' oors8 ,i shook my head vigorously1 feeling that ,i was on exceedingly delicate ground4 ,nah1 he muttered1 there's nae lack o' wurrk1 but ther's plenty wantin' wull tae dae it4 ,but ,ah niver hahd ta worry aboot siccan a thing in a' ma life4 ,and ,i said no more1 being no wiser than ,i was before1 but feeling that what he said was true4 ,on the other hand1 it may very well be that a ship's-carpenter sometimes comes in for an overwhelming pressure of work which taxes all his energies to cope with4 ,on one occasion1 in my own experience1 the skipper of a big ship1 as we then considered her1 bound from ,liverpool to ,bombay brought with him to sea a number of huge rough spars1 bought cheaply1 ,i suppose4 ,these he purposed to replace the yards that were already doing duty aloft1 and as soon as opportunity offered the work was begun4 ,it was a tremendous task for one man to undertake2 but our ,chips1 although it was only his second voyage to sea1 was fully equal to the demand made upon his skill and strength4 ,more than that1 he was able to train sundry members of the crew in the handling of broad axe and rip-saw1 so that they could take off him the most laborious part of the work4 ,during a calm that persisted for eight weeks1 we practically shifted every yard in the ship1 working all day long1 and--shall ,i say it8--sleeping all night4 ,i will not go so far as to say that the man at the wheel went to sleep1 but ,i dare not say that he did not1 for no demand was made upon his steering skill by the ship--she lay as nearly motionless as a ship can lie upon the ocean4 ,it was then that ,i learned how wonderful a tool in the hand of an expert is the adze4 ,our ,chips seemed to prefer it to all his other tools1 and the way he made it serve him was marvellous4 ,i heard him tell a story of how some braggart was boasting in the yard of his skill with the adze1 when an old carpenter challenged him to take off a shaving under his foot1 staking his week's wages that he1 the challenger1 would take off the thinnest4 ,the boaster tried1 and succeeded in slitting the sole of his new boot1 at which there was much laughter4 ,then the veteran1 taking off his shoe and stocking1 placed his naked foot upon the plank1 and swinging his adze over his head1 brought it down with a whir4 ,on removing his foot1 a shaving no thicker than note-paper lay upon the broad blade of the adze4 ,and the old man slyly said1 ,ah dinna keer fur reskin' a guid peyr o' butes in a ploy laik this yin4 ,but it'll mebbe teach ye no' to give way tae ungodly boastin' agin4 ,i have no difficulty in believing the story1 having seen the truly marvellous way in which this awkward-looking 7to a novice7 but ancient tool is handled by an expert shipwright4 ,that same carpenter mended the skipper's wife's sewing-machine1 sorrted1 as he would say1 the same lady's bracelet4 ,in fact1 he was always being called upon to do some job as far removed from carpenters' work as one could well imagine1 and always-succeeded4 ,carpenters in ,american ships are1 of course1 super-excellent1 but they are not so good at iron-work as a ,scotchman4 ,for a ,scotch carpenter seems equally at home in handling wood or iron1 as a result1 ,i suppose1 of the thorough training he receives while an apprentice4 ,but in woodwork1 in extensive repairs to a ship1 the ,yankee cannot be beaten4 ,indeed1 he must needs be good1 for otherwise he would almost certainly find some of the officers who would offer to teach him his trade4 ,and in ,british ,north ,american ships a carpenter is not often carried1 since nearly every ,blue-nose sailor is a born worker in wood1 and would consider the carrying of a carpenter a superfluous expense1 quite unwarranted by any ship needs whatever4 ,although not strictly within the purview of the present work1 ,i may be pardoned for paying a belated tribute to the excellence of the ,american carpenters carried in the whaleships4 ,their strong point was in boat-building2 and to see what they could and did do with a batch of broken boats1 some of them indeed with hardly any vestige of a boat remaining6 ,without any help1 without rest for a couple of days and nights1 except for necessary food1 they would toil until they had again made it possible for the pursuit of the whale to be undertaken2 and they had to work in such cramped quarters1 not free from the all-pervading greasiness of trying out1 that how they managed to do anything at all in workmanlike fashion was a mystery4 ,one of them that ,i knew was also an artist in ivory and bone4 ,he had a lathe of his own construction1 and by its aid he turned out such exquisite pieces of ornamental work that they would not have been put to shame in any exhibition in the world4 ,these ships also carried another artisan--the cooper--whose province it was to make casks1 barrels1 tubs1 buckets1 piggins2 anything that could be made with hoops and staves4 ,consequently utensils that in other ships would have been of iron were in the whalers of wood1 and ,i once heard our old cooper declare that he'd undertake to make a lady a pair of stays if he was favoured with the order4 ,and ,i have no doubt that he would have done so1 a pair that would have lasted a lifetime4 ,no one on board would have had the slightest difficulty in believing that1 given a sufficient number of trees and a little iron1 these two worthies would have speedily constructed a ship1 in case of our vessel's loss1 in which we might have sailed round the world4 ,one more old carpenter ,i must mention who1 with a broken leg and covered from head to foot with suppurating mosquito bites1 crawled from his bunk when our vessel was found to be on shore in the middle of the night4 ,in this pitiable condition of body he immediately began to caulk the only serviceable boat we had1 which1 lying bottom upward upon the skids1 had got so impoverished by the sun that her seams were gaping wide1 rendering her absolutely useless4 ,and from thenceforward1 without one word of complaint1 for over twenty hours that heroic man laboured on until all that he could do was done4 ,he did not seem to think that his doing so was in any way extraordinary4 ,perhaps the carpenters who read this may smile at the presumption of a mere sailor in praising their work1 but ,i hope they will believe that ,i do but express toward them the ordinary sentiments of their shipmates of all grades4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,the ,,sailmaker4 ,this most useful man's position on board ship will give me less trouble to deal with than any other that ,i have either handled or shall handle2 for the sufficient reason that steam knows him not--has no need of him4 ,it is quite true that on board ships of war the sailmaker is still in evidence1 is still most busily employed1 but not in making sails4 ,his work is much simpler now4 ,it consists of making deckcloths1 awnings1 mast and yard covers1 and all the varied canvas screens whereby alone it is possible for so complicated a machine as the modern ship of war to be kept in anything like cleanliness4 ,people are apt to inquire what can be found for so large a crew to do as a man-of-war carries4 ,they either forget or do not know how defiling1 how all-pervading is the grime from the funnels and the dust of the coal used4 ,as far as making work goes1 it far more than compensates for the disappearance of sail power4 ,even with all the canvas protectors that are made and kept in repair by the sailmaker and his crew1 the dirt is so persistent that one is tempted sometimes to cry despairingly1 ,all the protection we get from these covers is so inadequate that it is more than counterbalanced by the necessity for keeping them clean2 we should be better off without them4 ,on board the sailing ship1 however1 going as she does for long voyages1 sometimes extending to two or even three years before returning home again1 the sailmaker is indispensable4 ,not that even in ships like these a sailmaker as such is always shipped4 ,sailmaking has always exercised a certain fascination upon seamen1 and it will sometimes happen that a master or mate will be so excellent at the business that they will dispense with a sailmaker altogether1 relying upon finding among the crew some men sufficiently expert to do the stitching as it should be done1 while they design1 cut out1 and fit4 ,but where it is any one else than the master who thus adds the sailmaker's duties to his own1 the practice is rather dangerous4 ,for there may be many things happen which will cause the amateur sailmaker to declare rather suddenly that he will have no more to do with it1 that he has quite enough of his own work to do2 and then the consequences may be awkward4 ,owing to the tremendous stress of competition1 and the resultant cutting down of crews1 a far less number of sailmakers are carried than used to be1 ships of #ajjj tons now being turned into barques1 and all their complement reduced1 until it seems marvellous how she is handled at all4 ,in vessels of this size the sailmaking must be done by the seamen1 and with the decrease in number of thorough seamen who along with their other accomplishments are capable sail-sewers 7it would hardly be fair to call them sailmakers71 the problem of how to keep the vessel clothed aloft is not an easy one to solve4 ,possibly landsmen think very little about the matter1 but they may be assured that the making of a sail is by no means what they might suppose--say1 as easy as preparing a pair of sheets for a bed4 ,there is considerably more art required in cutting out a jib1 for instance1 than there is in cutting out a suit of clothes4 ,in a properly equipped sail-loft ashore the various measurements may be laid off upon the floor in chalk1 and then it is comparatively easy to cut the numerous cloths of canvas out by simply laying them down4 ,there need be no calculation of angles1 only allowances made for roach1 i4e4 curves at the edges1 so that the sail shall set properly1 not hang like a wrinkled rag when it is hoisted4 ,but to do this on board ship in the same way is impossible1 so the sailmaker must make a tiny draft of the sail to scale4 ,from this he must calculate the length of each cloth required1 and1 what is more important still1 if possible1 the number of cloths which the width of the sail will take4 ,for a cloth of canvas is only two feet wide1 and from this must be deducted the width of the seam1 which is usually about an inch and a half1 but varies a little according to individual fancy4 ,then there are the angles to be calculated1 and certain allowances made1 which only practice can estimate so correctly as to insure a well-fitting sail when finished4 ,even with all the care imaginable in cutting1 a bad workman will spoil the set of a sail by not keeping the right amount of stress upon each cloth as he stitches4 ,it would not be an easy task to cut out a sail if the material were all in one piece2 when it is made up of a number of pieces as it is1 the work needs a master of the trade in order to produce a well-finished article4 ,and when it is remembered that some sails will contain forty-five cloths of canvas1 each ten yards long1 canvas1 too1 that is stout enough for the heaviest work that ship-sails are called upon to do1 it ought to be seen that sailmaking has nothing in it of the nature of unskilled labour at all4 ,in fact1 so much skill is required for sailmaking1 so much innate ability1 that it may be truly said of the perfect sailmaker that1 like the perfect tailor's cutter1 he is born1 not made4 ,even then the dead hand of tradition weighs heavily upon the sailmaker4 ,certain fashions in sail-cutting exist in this country which are scouted in ,america as being in the last degree clumsy4 ,and the ,yankee sailmaker goes so far as to say that a ,british sailmaker cannot cut a sail6 ,this taunt does really seem justified to an impartial observer when looking at the difference between a ,british and ,american ship's sails set side by side4 ,i have often seen a new set of sails hoisted on board a ,british ship that looked more like a miscellaneous collection of rags hung out to dry than the white wings famous in song4 ,and it was not till long after1 when a great deal of stretching and humouring had taken place1 that the sails came to look at all neat and unwrinkled4 ,i don't know whether it is justifiable in a work of this kind to say so much about sails2 but ,i feel that since the popular imagination is so stimulated by a sight of that most beautiful picture1 a ship under full sail1 that it would hardly be fair to pass the subject over perfunctorily1 especially when it is so deeply studied and argued upon board ship4 ,there is nothing in a ship's equipment that excites so much interest among her crew as the sails4 ,every one on board who has any claim to be called a sailor poses as a critic when a new sail is set1 or when another ship heaves in sight1 and as many intelligent opinions may then be heard as might be expected from a party of trained workmen going through an exhibition of work with which they were well acquainted4 ,it must not be supposed that sailmaking is merely a matter of stitching together a certain number of pieces of canvas of a certain shape4 ,far from that being the case1 the strength of the sail lies in its borders4 ,these are first tabled1 i4e4 a broad piece is turned over and stitched down all round the sail4 ,then a tarred rope1 technically bolt rope1 of the very best make1 is carefully stretched1 having a number of turns taken out of it to prevent its cockling up the sail when it is wet4 ,it varies in thickness1 not only on each sail1 but on different parts of the same sail1 according to the strain that it may be expected to bear4 ,when duly prepared it is stitched on to the tabling with several parts of stout twine 7roping twine7 well tarred4 ,this work demands considerable skill1 for the canvas must be gathered up in the process1 so that the strain shall come on the rope1 yet not so much as to leave wrinkles in the sail4 ,and at intervals small loops of rope 7technically cringles7 must be worked on the rope1 from which they stand out at right angles4 ,they have grooved iron rings fitted into them1 so they be not chafed through by wear1 and they serve to secure the sail by sheet1 tack1 or earing 7although the earing cringles are seldom iron-lined74 ,of late years the fine hemp bolt-rope has been much discarded in favour of flexible wire rope1 neatly covered with canvas and spun-yarn to prevent rust4 ,this is stronger and more durable in itself1 but it makes the sail far more refractory to handle1 and cannot be stitched on to the canvas as of old by pushing the big needle in between the strands of the rope4 ,it has to be marled on1 a method of securing it that always looks clumsy and insecure4 ,but ,i fear that in all this ,i am straying far away from the sailmaker himself4 ,it may very reasonably be supposed that on leaving her home-port a ship would have a sufficient supply of sails to last her 7barring accident7 for the voyage4 ,that is really so in all well-found ships4 ,two1 and sometimes three1 complete suits of sails are carried1 the best or newest suit for seas where the stormiest weather may be expected1 the next best suit for general use1 and the fine-weather suit for regions where light1 variable airs are always found1 and where it would be a great waste of money to allow good canvas to bang itself all to pieces against the masts as the vessel rolls idly upon the sleepy swell4 ,now1 the sailmaker's first duty is to keep these sails in repair2 and since they have a great deal of wear1 it will usually be found that he has not only quite sufficient to do himself1 but can find constant employment for some favoured seaman out of each watch at sewing seams4 ,generally speaking1 he is a man who has served his apprenticeship to the trade1 although a good discharge from his last ship where he has been engaged in a similar capacity is all that a skipper looks for from him upon engagement4 ,that is hardly correct1 though3 many skippers will ask in addition for a written personal reference1 regarding the official certificate of discharge as a mere formality that signifies little concerning the quality of the man4 ,but this applies generally to all seamen above the rank of ,a4,b4 ,it will often be found1 however1 that a master who is an observant man will have noted during the voyage that one of his ,a4,b4's has shown a special aptitude for sailmaking4 ,then1 at the end of the voyage1 he will inform such a man that if he cares to come next voyage as sailmaker he will employ him--of course at a lower wage than he would give a regular tradesman4 ,in this way many seamen have risen from the forecastle to be sailmakers4 ,very good men they are1 too2 but ,i never saw or heard of one of them who had attained to the competency of cutting and fitting new sails4 ,not that there is any personal reason why they should not do so1 but they do not get sufficient practice4 ,they are smart hands with the palm and needle and the fid1 that is all4 ,of course regularly trained sailmakers are very wroth at this cheating them of their privileges1 as they consider it1 but they are quite powerless in the matter4 ,sometimes1 however1 they have their revenge1 as in the case of a ship carrying an amateur sails that meets with a dreadfully sudden squall and carries away all her sails4 ,this term does not mean that the sails are stripped entirely from the yards1 but that they are rent into ribbons1 mere outlines of sails4 ,an enormous amount of construction as well as repairing sailmaking is thus thrown suddenly upon the sailmaker1 and every available stitcher on board is then pressed into his service4 ,then1 if he be a regular tradesman1 he is in his glory2 but if a promoted seaman1 he will usually be just a terrified unit of the crew1 badgered by the master and flouted by the men4 ,and the ship herself suffers accordingly4 ,it is false economy1 saving at the most but a few shillings a month1 and should never be indulged in4 ,the sailmaker1 poor man1 useful though he may be1 is never very well paid1 fifteen shillings or a pound a month more than the ,a4,b4's wages being about his maximum4 ,and1 like the carpenter1 although not so indispensable1 he is almost always a good1 reliable man whom it is well to have on board a ship in a position of some responsibility4 ,as with the bo'sun1 it will be found in ,american and ,canadian vessels that a sailmaker as such is rarely carried4 ,the business of sailmaking1 like carpentry1 is in those vessels considered tacitly to be part of the education of a thorough seaman1 and it would be a rare thing to find one of them without an expert amateur sailmaker among the officers4 ,they get some beautiful patterns to work from when leaving home1 and doubtless study them deeply1 for1 in spite of their habit of not carrying professional sailmakers1 it is an unknown thing to meet one of them anywhere with badly-fitting sails4 ,i know of no lovelier sight than a full-rigged ,american ship on a bright day with a new suit of sails set to a good beam wind4 ,the canvas being of cotton 7ours is made of flax unbleached71 is dazzlingly white4 ,catching the glint of the sun1 it gleams against the deep blue of the sea or the lighter azure of the sky like the wing of a mighty angel1 so pure and clean that the eye cannot bear more than a passing glance at it4 ,not a thread is slack1 not a curve untrue2 she has the very poetry of motion induced by a gloriously beautiful arrangement of wings1 that make her look like nothing earthly4 ,alas1 that this splendid canvas should1 when wet1 become like a plank for stiffness1 so that in the stormy ,atlantic1 when searching cold1 howling gale1 and drenching rain combine1 and the hapless sailors are strung aloft to furl those fiercely-straining wings1 the task is too terrible for words6 ,the naked hands1 torn and bleeding1 cannot bend the stiffened canvas1 and in the fight many a broken sailor has gone to the rest that was denied him in life4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,steward 7,,in ,,steam74 ,the consideration of this worthy official's position has flung me back again into all the difficulty of differentiation from which my dealing with the sailmaker was free4 ,more2 because of all the men who serve in the ,mercantile ,marine1 there are none who know such changes of fortune1 such a range in value of their position as does the steward4 ,from the chief steward of an ,atlantic liner to the cook-and-steward of a small foreign-going brig what a tremendous distance there is6 ,and yet1 given push1 a gentlemanly appearance1 and ability in organization1 there is really no reason why the holder of the latter position should not aspire to1 and reach1 the former1 with all its emoluments and the command over a couple of hundred men4 ,these hierarchs of the steward order are really very closely allied to the managers of great hotels4 ,in fact1 speaking from an outsider's point of view1 ,i am inclined to think that a man who can manage the domestic arrangements of a couple of hundred people at sea--that is1 in a floating hotel which is quite cut off from any external source of supply for a week or more--has a far greater task in hand than any hotel manager ashore can have4 ,such an official has naturally enormous weight in deciding the question of a certain ship's popularity4 ,her master may be one of the most splendid and genial of seamen1 her officers the best of their kind1 but after all1 if the creature comforts are not well looked after she gets branded as an uncomfortable ship4 ,therefore the chief steward is in close touch with the office ashore4 ,he and the purser--an officer whom ,i have left out of my list1 because he is really one of the shore officials carried to sea for business purposes--are really the autocrats of the passenger department4 ,like every one else on board1 they are under the master's command1 but he has nothing else to do with them4 ,carefully selected men as they are1 they take care that their part of the business shall not trouble his majesty4 ,if he were troubled by them the chances are that there would be changes in the personnel of their department very soon4 ,most people will need no argument to convince them that the position of chief steward of a big liner is a most lucrative post4 ,it is also one whereof the holder should be a man of good appearance and gentlemanly manners4 ,yet--and ,i say this delicately1 because ,i would not for a great deal give pain to any member of a most estimable body of men--every seaman1 no matter how humble1 feels towards them1 no matter how high1 a certain disdainful sense of superiority4 ,he can never quite get rid of the feeling that they are menials4 ,i do not excuse or encourage such a feeling1 but that it exists is quite certain4 ,nor1 in spite of the rich prizes that are to be won in the business1 do you ever find parents who can afford to pay a premium for their youngsters being apprenticed to the sea contemplating their being made stewards4 ,i see no reason why the steward's post should not be considered as honourable as the master's myself1 and certainly1 taking the chances of promotion one with the other1 the prospects of fortune are far brighter for the accomplished steward than they are for the most valuable master to-day4 ,but there is among sailors a marked repugnance to the tip1 to being expected to do body-service to other people1 unless in an emergency or as an act of charity1 and this feeling can by no means be explained away4 ,below his high mightiness the chief steward in a liner come a host of subordinates in as many varying grades as are to be found in a big hotel4 ,unto each is allotted work1 which goes on like clock-work1 day and night1 in fair weather or foul4 ,efficient service in your hotel means a great deal1 one cannot help feeling1 not only a great deal of thought on the part of the management1 but a great deal of hard work and manual dexterity on the part of those who actually do the work4 ,and these toiling ones are always expected to wear a smile1 no matter what their physical condition may be2 must always be ready to spring at your call1 and do for you whatever you choose to desire4 ,but what does such service as this mean at sea8 ,when what the sailor calls a stiff breeze is blowing1 with a nasty bit of a cross sea on1 and the big ship is writhing her way through the green masses with a perfectly indescribable combination of pitches and rollings1 the seasoned passengers must have their meals in due order1 with all the usual accompaniments2 the helpless ones must be waited on4 ,how is it done8 ,only by the most loyal1 eager subordination of self in the desire to please1 backed up1 if you will1 by a wish to get on1 and tempered by the prospect of a substantial tip by-and-by4 ,whatever the motive1 the work goes on with a regularity that is so unostentatious that the passenger ceases to wonder at it after a day or two1 and accepts it as he does the unseen machinery below4 ,at the head of each department of bed-room stewards1 waiters1 pantrymen1 and what-not--,i do not know the designations--is a gentleman who is steadily working his way to the top1 climbing to the giddy height where he may go about all day long in the dress of a private gentleman1 and use only his brains1 not his hands1 for the prosecution of his work4 ,as in all businesses1 efficient devolution is the whole secret of success4 ,but let the work be devolved as much as it may1 every one beneath the chief has quite as much as he can do by steadily working on with little sleep1 little rest1 but abundant food4 ,this is so in the finest weather at sea and in harbour2 in bad weather at sea work is greatly added to1 not only in quantity1 but in the difficulty of doing it4 ,there is no mere child's play in the distribution of food alone1 without the arrangement of all the paraphernalia of the meal tables4 ,and in the cleaning up afterwards1 and carrying away of china and glass1 the washing and stacking thereof in secure places while the decks dance beneath the feet and every little bit of panelling complains1 there is very much severe toil1 done no less thoroughly because out of sight4 ,this ocean hotel service has grown to great dimensions1 but not without dragging into its toils a great many burden-bearers1 whose labours are essential to the luxurious comfort of latter-day passengers4 ,it is to be hoped that those who enjoy this wonderful attendance while crossing the great and wide sea do at times give a thought to the human machinery ever at work on their behalf4 ,for a little thought would surely make them less intolerant of mistakes or seeming neglect4 ,as we come down the scale of passenger steamers and lengthen the voyages1 the position of the stewards gets worse1 while their wages 7that is to say their entire gains1 which means wages and backsheesh7 get less4 ,their labours increase by reason of the shortness of hands and lack of accommodation provided for them4 ,they are not to be envied at all4 ,yet they are a cheerful crowd and a respectable1 for any dereliction of duty1 misbehaviour of any kind1 means dismissal from the ship1 a serious matter1 which often carries with it a great difficulty in finding another4 ,coming down still lower1 to the cargo-carrying steamer1 or tramp pure and simple1 the stewards have dwindled to one1 and a mess-room boy1 who waits upon the engineers2 and although the steward of a tramp does not get much of a salary1 his duties are simple and his masters are few4 ,indeed1 he may be said to have but one master--the skipper--if he be well up to his work4 ,with that proviso and civility1 no other officer in the ship will ever interfere with him4 ,even here he is a most responsible man4 ,upon him devolves the outlay of the consumable stores4 ,they are placed under his charge1 and he is expected to see them duly served out to all1 keeping due record of their going1 so that he may not be unable at any time to answer a question put to him by the master as to how the ship is prepared for the next portion of her voyage4 ,his part it is1 too1 to do battle with wily dhubash or compradore in the far ,east1 who will cheat not only in quantity1 but quality of stores on every possible or even impossible occasion4 ,upon entering ports abroad1 one of these worthies1 or their prototypes1 is always engaged to supply harbour-food1 fresh meat1 vegetables1 fruit1 etc41 and a good1 honest steward will make a tremendous difference to the comfort and well-being of the ship's company4 ,a dishonest one is of the devil1 because bribes will be offered him to wink at short weight and inferior quality1 and he will accept4 ,then there is discontent1 and often blame cast upon the wrong shoulders4 ,his other duties consist in keeping the saloon and the skipper's berth clean--the officers must get their berths cleaned by somebody else1 usually a deck-boy1 the steward being no body-servant of theirs--and waiting at table4 ,where the cook is incompetent1 the steward will have1 in addition1 the duty thrown upon him of preparing food for cooking4 ,in fact1 some stewards prefer to do this1 considering that their pastry-making cannot be excelled by anybody4 ,but the practice is by no means so common in steam as it is in sailing ships4 ,i can hardly close this portion of the subject without an allusion to the curious principle that obtained when ,i was sailing in inter-colonial steamers1 and may still be in force for all ,i know to the contrary4 ,it was there usual for all the ship's provisions to be supplied by a speculator on shore1 whom we called the providore1 at a fixed rate per head for every member of the crew1 i4e4 so much for a sailor per day1 for a fireman1 for an officer1 for a second-class passenger1 for a saloon passenger--the rate varying from one shilling to half a crown a day4 ,for this the providore not only supplied food1 but cooks and attendance4 ,the chief stewards were always supposed to be deeply interested in making the scheme pay1 but their peculiar position often led to their being very unjustly abused4 ,any attempt on their part to stop waste was almost certain to be met by the accusation that they were stinting the food in the interests of the providore1 and naturally they could look for no countenance from the master or officers4 ,and as the waste forrard was simply abominable1 they were always in more or less hot water4 ,of course they could1 and did1 control the expenditure of food aft and among the passengers1 but the crew did as they liked4 ,i have seen a man go to the galley for breakfast1 and receive a tin dish containing four or five pounds of chops and steaks for six men4 ,it is true that they were vilely cooked1 and therefore usually as tough as leather4 ,the fellows would turn the meat over1 saying bad words the while1 and presently one would say1 ,well1 this isn't good enough for me4 ,then taking the tin to a port1 he would cast its contents overboard1 and go calmly to the galley for more4 ,and if he were refused he had only to complain to the master1 who would1 of course1 give no sympathy to a providore's man4 ,enough food was wasted on that ship to feed a large ship's company every day1 and by men who had all known what it meant to be very hungry4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,steward 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,there are even now a few sailing ships which carry passengers1 but in these no such luxury is to be expected as in steamers1 for obvious reasons4 ,nevertheless1 a great deal of comfort may be got out of a voyage in one of these grand flyers--comfort of a kind that1 while it does not appeal to the passenger pressed for time1 is to the invalid a perfect godsend1 one of the most sumptuous rest-cures in the world4 ,in such vessels the steward is a man of some importance1 as well as skill1 for he must do a great deal of contriving in order that such food as may be carried on a passage lasting1 perhaps1 for over a hundred days without a break by calling at any port1 may not become too monotonous to a landsman's pampered appetite4 ,live stock is carried--poultry1 and sheep1 and pigs2 and the steward is a good deal exercised about the care of these useful passengers1 although it is a matter over which he has little control4 ,he attends to their feeding1 but the cleaning of them and their protection from the weather does not rest with him1 while it makes all the difference possible to their condition4 ,a bad feeling towards him by the crew may often mean serious trouble in respect of his live-stock4 ,or for other reasons trouble may be made4 ,as1 for instance1 in one ship wherein ,i was an ordinary seaman there were two fine sets of coops on the forward-house1 which contained ducks and geese4 ,now1 geese at sea are a great nuisance1 owing to their noise and wakefulness4 ,we had many passengers2 and it was well known among the crew that not one fragment of the meat we carried alive would ever find its way to their mouths1 although the food supplied to the crew forward was disgraceful to the last degree4 ,therefore1 after enduring the brutal cackling of the geese for a few nights1 some revengeful fellow's climbed up to their quarters in the darkness1 armed with belaying pins1 and as the long necks were thrust out between the bars to give vent to strident songs1 one after another received a blow which quieted them effectually4 ,in the morning there was not one left alive4 ,the steward was inconsolable1 but all efforts to find out the perpetrators of the deed were in vain4 ,it is1 however1 rather late in the day1 ,i fear1 to talk about stewards in passenger sailing ships4 ,their palmy days are over4 ,but in the ordinary sailing cargo-carrier they still flourish1 a race apart1 and as distinct from the steamship steward as can well be4 ,their berth is by no means a bad one1 assuming that they know their duty and do it4 ,there are many instances where a steward has sailed so long in the same ship as to be almost as much a part of her as the mizen-mast1 a faithful servant of the owners1 and a privileged member of the ship's company1 who is a prime favourite with all on board4 ,occasionally a master will make a favourite of the steward1 allowing him privileges which he denies to any of his officers4 ,this is exceedingly bad1 leading to all sorts of trouble on board with both men and officers2 for it is too much to expect that any man occupying such a position1 and pampered in such a way1 should retain his respect for those whose rightful claims to authority are ignored by the head of affairs4 ,i have in mind two such cases4 ,in one of them the steward was undoubtedly a clever man1 who ran his department like clock-work1 and although undoubtedly petted overmuch by the skipper1 did not take the advantage that he might have been expected to do2 at least1 not until we arrived in ,india1 where he suddenly exhibited an amazing aptitude for getting drunk1 and keeping so for intervals of about a week at a time4 ,this led to complications of various sorts1 and disagreeable scenes in the cabin1 where the skipper1 when he was exasperated beyond measure by the filthy behaviour of his favourite1 often went the length of rope's-ending him4 ,but he 7the skipper7 expected his officers to endure all the drunken abuse and neglect that the steward was inclined to favour them with1 and make no demonstration4 ,the whole thing ended in a fierce fight between the master and the mate1 much to the edification of the crew1 peace being restored only by the discharge of the steward4 ,the other was in a big ship where ,i was second mate4 ,i joined her in ,india1 and on the first day of my service was struck by the calm way in which the steward bandied doubtful jokes with the mate and third mate4 ,me he had not yet become sufficiently acquainted with4 ,not1 of course1 that there was anything wrong or unpleasant in that of itself2 it might1 ,i reasoned1 be merely exercising the freedom of an old servant1 who meant nothing like insolence4 ,but ,i could not help wondering very much at the way in which that steward omitted to give the mate his title of ,sir1 or ,mr4 ,evans4 ,i had never heard a chief mate called by his surname1 all short1 before1 by any inferior1 without a full measure of immediate trouble ensuing4 ,yet this man did this amazing thing1 while the mate made no objection4 ,the master was not at the table4 ,i1 of course1 said nothing1 but meditated much1 and at the earliest opportunity broached the subject to the third mate1 a very fine young officer just out of his time in that ship1 asking him what ,i was to understand by it4 ,his explanation was that the steward1 a gross1 flabby man1 by no means smart or remarkable for ability in any way1 was so great a favourite with the skipper that he was allowed to do practically whatever he chose4 ,and this was the more remarkable because the skipper was not only part owner1 but a man who was very sharp with his subordinates as a rule4 ,for a month ,i was very comfortable4 ,the master used to chat with me amicably during my dog1 or first watches1 and even went out of his way to compliment me on the way ,i did my work1 until1 in an evil hour1 ,i offended the steward4 ,it was in this wise4 ,he came to my room door in my watch below1 saying to the third mate as he passed his door1 ,where's that feller ,bullen8 ,and then he flung my door open1 crying1 ,here1 you1 ,i want a cask o' beef got up as soon as the devil'll let ye after eight bells4 ,now1 ,i maintain that if an officer is to have any authority on board a ship1 such language from one of his subordinates to him cannot1 must not be permitted at all4 ,the man was not drunk2 he was deliberately insolent1 because backed by a foolish skipper4 ,of course ,i resented his words1 receiving more insolence2 and then1 instead of knocking him endways1 as ,i ought to have done1 ,i went and reported him to his master1 who jeered at me1 and warned me that ,i had better let his steward alone4 ,i tried to explain1 but only succeeded in drawing abuse from the skipper4 ,and from that day forward my life was utter torment1 such misery as ,i have never experienced on board ship before or since4 ,but such cases as these are by no means common4 ,the average sailing-ship steward of to-day is a quiet1 inoffensive man1 who does his duty unostentatiously1 lives rather a solitary life1 since the only person he can associate with is the cook1 and endeavours to serve out the provisions to the men with perfect justice4 ,if the master carries his wife with him1 the steward may be very happy or very much the reverse--he can never plod along in the same easy1 jog-trot way as is usual when there is no woman on board4 ,in ,american and ,canadian vessels he is often a negro1 and sometimes a ,chinaman2 but it may be taken for granted that whatever countryman he may be1 he is also a paragon1 because the ,american skipper will have nothing less than perfection in cleanliness and service4 ,that must be rendered him whether the steward be white1 black1 or yellow4 ,and he is ready to enforce it by the rudest and readiest means to hand4 ,wherefore it follows that he is served as probably no other seafarers in the world are served4 ,but even here the officers are not personally attended by the steward1 except when they are at meals4 ,it is the commander who must needs have his every wish anticipated1 his linen kept spotlessly white1 and the woodwork and the adornments of his cabin as clean1 yea1 cleaner than on the day they were first fitted into place4 ,many of the old ships carried stewardesses instead of stewards1 often the wife of the cook2 and although to some people such an experiment might seem to be one of the extra-hazardous kind1 it was not so4 ,the ,american is a wonderfully chivalrous man towards all women-folk1 especially when under his protection4 ,stewardesses are carried1 of course1 in ,british steamers--must be1 for attendance upon the ladies4 ,they are well treated by everybody on board except their charges1 but some of them can tell some queer stories of endurance at the hands of these1 who owe them so much comfort4 ,these quiet1 deft-handed women1 who balance themselves so featly1 roll the ship never so heavily1 could tell many strange tales4 ,strange1 is it not1 in these days of reminiscence-writing1 how carefully they hold their peace8 ,once ,i was shipmate with a lady passenger1 one of the most accomplished ladies that it has ever been my privilege to speak to4 ,she knew all that a woman should know1 and many things that good1 useful men did not know4 ,and whatsoever she learned1 if it seemed good to her1 that she would put into practice4 ,she was going out to that far country with a little capital1 to prove to a sceptical world that a lady who could ride1 shoot1 swim1 and run a farm as well as play the piano1 sing1 paint1 and talk several languages1 could make her way alone in a new world as well as any man4 ,but fortune was unkind to her1 and she failed in those days4 ,then she took on a stewardess's berth in a coasting steamer that carried some hundreds of passengers from port to port around one of the stormiest coasts in the world4 ,we met when she had been at this for some months1 and she had aged ten years in appearance4 ,she was weary of life by her look1 but she made no moan4 ,then in an awful gale her ship went ashore on an outlying reef4 ,there were ninety female passengers on board1 whom she considered a sacred charge4 ,that charge she fulfilled1 seeing them all safely boated away1 while she retired to her cabin and locked herself in to meet the death that she had grown to look upon as a delivering friend4 ,i would not close this all-too-brief account of the steward without again emphasizing the fact of his heavy claim to the consideration of all men4 ,his business is not a showy one1 and ,jack is far too fond of hurling the opprobrious epithet1 flunkey1 at him2 but there is a great deal of quiet heroism in his annals1 and1 in any case1 his work is just as important as any other seafarer's4 ,for men must be fed and their food taken care of4 ,the doing of this with regularity1 cleanliness1 and cheerfulness is the part of the steward1 and how well he does it let all sailors testify4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,in ,,steam74 ,in many respects the cook is the most interesting figure on board ship4 ,from him of the vast floating hotel1 where the cook is a man of many attainments1 an artist in foods1 who should1 but does not1 command as great a salary as the chef of a first-class ,london hotel1 down to the miserable urchin who crouches low over his scarcely-shielded pot on the open deck of a foreign-going barge1 they not only deserve our attention1 they demand it1 dumbly yet imperiously4 ,how are the cooks of first-class passenger steamers trained8 ,whence are obtained those able manipulators of provisions who are always to be found on board of excursion steamers that are laid up half the year1 as soon as they commence running8 ,what do they do in the dead seasons1 these magicians who1 in a space no larger than a reasonably-sized cupboard1 succeed in turning out a dinner of several courses for five hundred people1 no matter what the weather may be8 ,magician is surely the word1 if only for the marvellous way in which every corner of cramped space is utilized1 every trick of the culinary art--whereby the same thing is presented under two or three totally different aspects and flavours1 and roasting1 boiling1 frying1 and stewing go on apparently in the same glowing chamber at the same moment--is practised4 ,these things amaze me2 but1 after all1 much of the work may be done ashore1 or in the quiet of the moorings before starting-time in the morning1 and pastry may be bought all ready for table1 also cold side-dishes4 ,but none of these adjuncts are available to the sea-going ship4 ,his dinners must be prepared1 down to the smallest item1 by the cook himself and his subordinates4 ,it is true that he has a large staff in a liner1 and that those assistants are carefully selected for their several duties2 but he has not1 as his far better paid brother ashore has1 the power of dismissing any assistant summarily if that assistant be incompetent or worse4 ,that is1 he has not such a power at the time when it would be of use4 ,in the day of battle1 when the great organization of an ,atlantic liner's catering is going on1 he must use such men as he has2 they cannot be exchanged for others4 ,but how very striking is the moral to be drawn from such a state of affairs4 ,it is that1 considering the excellence of the work performed by these men1 there must be a most exalted standard of quality among them4 ,and they would seem to be a contented folk4 ,we know1 most of us1 that the great steamship companies have a reputation for treating their servants generously1 but generously-entreated workpeople are not always the most contented4 ,the cook and steward class in these vessels must be1 or we should hear them1 for they are by no means a feeble folk4 ,you will find them occupying comfortable positions ashore while still in the prime of life1 having earned sufficient within a few years to enable them to abandon the strenuous toil demanded of them at sea4 ,they have earned every penny1 and have not been compelled to carry the banner in order to get more4 ,and in strangest out-of-the-way places of this wonderful ,england of ours1 you will come across quiet1 gentlemanly men who1 upon opportunity arising1 will inform you that they were cook of the steamship ,so-and-so1 or steward of such another one4 ,they enjoyed the life1 but presently1 like sensible men1 they felt the need of a wife and home and children1 and they therefore looked about for something suitable ashore1 found it1 and made room for a younger man4 ,no one1 unless he belongs to the cooking-staff1 has much opportunity afforded him for prying into the galley on board a big passenger ship during working hours4 ,those splendidly-fitted hives of industry may be viewed at other times1 but then they reveal nothing to the outsider4 ,this exclusiveness is not malicious1 or for fear of being found fault with4 ,it is solely because there is no room for any but the workers1 who work indeed4 ,every inch of space is needed4 ,look down through the hatch above1 or peer in through the ports1 and you will be astounded at the way in which the cooks are handling the food1 how in a space where1 by all ordinary rules of cookery1 they should not have room to move1 they are turning out with conjurer-like dexterity a state dinner of ever so many courses for a couple of hundred saloon passengers4 ,and then contrast their surroundings1 if your previous experience enables you so to do1 with the palatial spaces of a grand hotel kitchen4 ,only1 you must remember at the same time the gale raging over the wide sea1 and the complicated movements indulged in by the ship as she strides over the tremendous waves4 ,so shall you acquire a respect for the sea-cook that will endure all your days4 ,to compare great things with small1 this mental picture brings before me by association the cooks in the ,australian coasting steamers4 ,we have nothing like the same lavish arrangements for cooks and stewards on our own coasts1 because our system is different4 ,here the fare is exclusive of food4 ,you may dine or not as it suits your purse or your appetite4 ,when you dine1 you pay4 ,but in the colonies the fare between ports includes sumptuous feeding arrangements for the first-class passenger1 for the second--there are no third or deck passengers1 as with us--rough accommodation1 but an unlimited supply of excellent plain food4 ,australasia is truly the land of plentiful eating4 ,and the cooks--well1 they are good1 some of them super-excellent1 and all of them trained by hard experience to do much work in a very small compass and with a tiny staff4 ,the cook of the ,wonga ,wonga stands out boldly in my memory as one of the characteristic figures of my sea experience4 ,a huge negro with a voice of thunder1 and an effervescing humour that made him a prime favourite1 he succeeded in his vocation where many a better man might have failed4 ,he was a fairly good cook1 but in his details of work reminded me strongly of the elderly negress in ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 who dished up a dinner out of chaos and old night somewhere down below4 ,such an extraordinary jumble of pastry-making1 poultry-trimming1 and all the varied operations required in the preparation of a dinner was surely never seen4 ,and out from the weird confusion of things ,sam would burst1 smeared with blood and grease and dusty with flour1 brandishing a big knife and declaiming ,shakespeare on the slightest provocation4 ,but in spite of the fact that the whole preparation of a dinner for sometimes as many as five hundred people1 except peeling potatoes and the actual cooking1 devolved upon ,sam alone1 he was always up to time4 ,it was dangerous to come near him1 though1 as that time drew near4 ,for then he drew perilously near being a howling maniac4 ,yet no sooner had the last dish disappeared aft1 than ,sam would sally forth from the galley1 his ebony countenance aglow with satisfaction1 and a big pipe in his mouth4 ,down anywhere he would fling himself1 ready to discuss any question in the world1 from the ruling of an empire to the winning moves in a game of draughts4 ,his successor1 when he got promoted to the ,city of ,melbourne1 was a far better cook1 and a paragon of order and cleanliness1 but there wasn't a man in the ship to say a good word for him4 ,he was a shy ,englishman4 ,then1 dropping still lower1 ,i have every reason to remember the cook of the ,helen ,m',gregor1 sweetest of small passenger steamers had she been on the ,london-,margate route1 but a grisly terror when scaling the steeps of the ,southern ,pacific waves in a southerly buster between ,grafton and ,sydney4 ,she was far too small for such an arduous service4 ,yet we carried over a hundred passengers when full4 ,all her cooking was done in a caboose--just such a square box as may be seen on the deck of any old sailing barque--a cube of about eight feet clamped to the deck by iron rods4 ,there was no table within it1 only a locker seat which contained coals running across it in front of the stove4 ,two men could not pass between this locker and the stove without careful edging or one of them getting burnt4 ,most of the implements had permanent abiding places on the stove1 but a few lived on racks above when not in use2 and when the skittish little ship was dancing they would clatter down at intervals4 ,outside1 in an angle between the back of the galley and the steam-chest1 was a movable board for pastry 7and other things74 ,its dimensions1 with liberal measurement1 may have been two feet square--not another inch1 if ,i were bribed to say so4 ,the presiding genius of this most primitive of arrangements was a hunchback1 a shrewd little ,yankee with a ,french face1 who received #aa per month and earned #ej4 ,he had one assistant1 a nondescript man of indefinite age1 who never wore an apron1 and whose duties were confined to peeling potatoes1 stoking the fire1 plucking fowls1 and washing up pots4 ,but these things he would do as long as there were any of them to do1 mechanically1 even though1 as was frequently the case1 the conditions all about us looked as if another ten minutes would see us all at the bottom of the sea4 ,he earned #e a month4 ,but what he lacked in ability or initiative was more than made up by his chief4 ,that man was a miracle4 ,on that two-feet slab he would make pastry of all kinds1 prepare most elaborate dishes1 yes1 although the salt spray whistled around him1 and on occasion an eddy of the gale would flip a dish with its contents off his board far away to leeward4 ,he would shout an order to his acolyte for half a dozen fowls and a bucket of boiling water4 ,a few rapid motions of the hands1 and they were all gyrating in the scuppers1 while one after another he plunged them into the steaming bucket and slithered the feathers off1 flinging each as he did so to his waiting henchman for the minor picking4 ,thus ,i have seen him serve six fowls at noon--at #ab4ce they were being eaten4 ,ask me not how1 for the details are unpalatable4 ,but his great achievement was butchering in bad weather--butchering sheep4 ,stolid ,joe would bring the sacrifice along1 mercurial ,bill would seize it1 stab it1 and unaided commence to rip off its hide immediately4 ,there1 on the deck1 outside his galley door1 the struggle would go on as if it were a fight to the death1 so great was the fury that little man displayed4 ,and it was one of the commonest sights to see1 in the midst of the operation1 a green comber of a wave come hissing along1 embracing carcase and cook1 and sweeping them clean off in a dishevelled heap bang aft up against the second-class berths4 ,knife in one hand1 half-skinned sheep gripped by the other1 he had no buffers wherewith to ward off bruises2 but he had a voice4 ,and he used it1 not in canticles of praise4 ,yet punctually the meal for which that sheep was being prepared would appear on the table4 ,and it would not be an unsavoury dinner1 either4 ,the one thing that always seemed to dishearten him was the lifting clean out of its fiery bed of a copper or kettle1 that fitted into a hole on the stove-top1 by a vicious plunge of the vessel4 ,and as such an event was usually followed by a green sea thundering over all1 and flooding him and his lieutenant clean out of the galley amid a smother of steam1 coal grit1 and spoilt food1 his temporary subdual could not be wondered at4 ,but ,i must forbear4 ,mental pictures of that super-excellent cook's doings arise before me in almost interminable succession1 tempting me to forget the fact that there were many others doing almost precisely the same things unsung1 and unrewarded save by the meagre pay they drew4 ,who1 for instance1 could envy the cook of a weekly tramp8--a steamer1 that is1 which1 making quite long voyages1 has engaged her crew at so much a week and find themselves4 ,perhaps there are no cooks at sea who are more worried than these4 ,for ,jack1 left to his own devices for supplying himself with food1 does some of the queerest things that ever were or could be recorded4 ,and each individual expects his own mess to be as carefully looked after as a whole saloon dinner4 ,natural1 perhaps1 on his part1 but for the hapless cook purgatorially inconvenient4 ,i was once a passenger from an ,irish port to ,liverpool in a weekly boat1 and in the grey of the dawn was waiting at the galley door to buy a cup of coffee4 ,men came and went incessantly1 banging oven doors and flinging utensils from side to side of the red-hot stove-top4 ,the cook was absent1 engaged aft in some business or other4 ,presently he appeared with a teapot1 and immediately snatched at a huge copper kettle which stood on the stove in the middle1 where the top plate was almost transparent with heat4 ,the kettle flew up in his grasp1 being empty4 ,why1 there's nothin' in it6 he screamed4 ,no1 replied a fireman who was groping in the starboard oven2 ,i tried it ten minutes ago1 and it was empty then4 ,an' you putt it back on that stove6 said the cook tragically4 ,course ,i did1 was the calm reply2 think ,i was goin' ter fill it8 ,i really thought the cook would have died of suppressed emotion before he found words wherein to express himself4 ,but his tongue was loosened presently1 and then his remarks1 if sulphurous1 were fairly comprehensive4 ,the fireman only laughed4 ,what shall ,i say of the cook of the tramp pure and simple8 ,only this1 ,i am afraid that1 while he has a bitter1 hard berth of it1 he gets little better pay than his brother of the sailing ship4 ,one consolation he has1 and that not a little one--he has more to cook1 and consequently he is1 taken generally1 a better workman4 ,for there is nothing tends to disgust a man more1 no matter of what trade he be1 than the being compelled to make bricks without straw4 ,and there can be no doubt that1 hard as are the tramps in many respects for their crews1 the food is much better than that provided in sailing ships1 taking the average4 ,having such a rough crowd to cater for1 however1 does not tend to improve the quality of the cooks carried in tramp steamers4 ,a decent man hardly cares to face the possibility of being violently assaulted1 for no fault of his own1 by members of a gang of ruffians of every nation under heaven save his own countrymen4 ,and this is the state of affairs that any man in such a position as a cook holds must be prepared to face in most tramps4 ,if he be fortunate enough to get into one of the north-east coast tramps1 owned by canny firms1 who like to have their ships manned by their own people1 and whose highest ambition is to see efficiency combined with comfort on board of them1 he will be as well off as any sea-cook1 not an artist1 can reasonably ask to be4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,sailing ,,ships74 ,it may1 perhaps1 have appeared strange to many that1 in dealing with the cook in the preceding chapter1 ,i hardly mentioned anything about the materials with which he is called upon to deal4 ,most people have heard something about the badness of food in the ,merchant ,service1 and therefore it might seem at first sight a great mistake to write a chapter on the sea-cook1 and say nothing about the kind of food4 ,my excuse must be1 that in the kind of ships with which ,i have been dealing the food question rarely causes any trouble4 ,in the finest steamships ,i doubt very much whether the workers are not fed quite as well as are any corresponding class of toilers ashore2 and even in the lowest tramps there is not that general lack of decent food which does press so hardly upon the seamen in sailing ships4 ,for one reason1 the steamship is never so long away from port1 except she breaks down1 as to give the same excuse for carrying the kind of food considered necessary in sailing ships4 ,and in many1 as ,i have said1 there is a system in vogue of paying the men so much per week1 and permitting them to find themselves--a hateful system1 and one that can only be indulged in by the authorities at the cost of much suffering and loss of efficiency by the improvident men who are under it4 ,how can a man do his work who1 without more forethought than a babe1 comes to sea for a fortnight's passage with a few ship-biscuits and a dozen salt herrings8 ,without any of the minor comforts1 such as tea1 coffee1 cocoa1 or sugar1 he is in misery all the time1 besides being an unmitigated nuisance to those of his shipmates who have come provided with what they need4 ,then when the vessel arrives in port1 and such a man gets his pay1 it is but rarely that his bitter experience results in his being more careful4 ,he will have an extensive drunk1 and again face the passage in a condition of starvation4 ,but1 in any case1 his behaviour does not affect the cook4 ,therefore1 to see what manner of man it is whom sailors have had to deal with their food in the majority of vessels up till the advent of the great passenger-steamers1 and who is carried as a cook of to-day in thousands of sailing vessels1 it is necessary to take a trip in a vessel dependent upon sail-power for propulsion--a vessel wherein you may be a matter of five or even six months at sea without making a call anywhere1 for ever so short a time4 ,it is perfectly safe to say that1 even at the present day1 seven out of ten sailing-ship cooks are only so styled by courtesy1 or for want of a better name to give them4 ,and this is in despite of the well-meant1 and1 in most cases1 philanthropic efforts that have recently been made to train cooks for ship work4 ,the good people who1 with the welfare of the seaman at heart1 take so much pains in order that he shall have his food properly prepared are undoubtedly doing a good work for their pupils2 but the unhappy sailing-ship man seldom gets the benefit from those educated cooks that their teachers hope for4 ,and this for the simple reason that1 when once a ship's cook has really learned cookery1 he will use his utmost endeavours to get a ship where there is something that requires skill in cooking4 ,so he gets into steam1 and1 once there1 only some dire misfortune will bring him back to a wind-jammer again4 ,yet1 strangely enough1 even the elementary skill required for cooking the staple food served out in the great majority of sailing ships to-day is generally wanting4 ,surely it is only reasonable to expect a man who engages to serve as cook of a ship to be able to boil salt beef and pork1 make pea-soup1 and bread1 and boil rice4 ,nothing more is required of him at sea than this1 for the better food carried for the cabin is prepared by the steward1 who will generally give an eye to it also during preparation4 ,but it is seldom that you will find a sailing-ship cook who will1 or who can1 do these things properly4 ,and as to taking a little trouble to make this coarse food palatable by varying its treatment1 such cooks would be astounded1 indignant1 at the revolutionary idea4 ,then1 when in port the fare is changed to that of fresh meat and vegetables1 the only thing that the cook seems capable of doing is to make one kind of soup4 ,that is usually good1 but soon becomes monotonous4 ,as to roasting meat or cooking potatoes nicely1 such a thought is not to be entertained2 or1 if the cook does try to do such a thing1 the meat is usually so hard as to be uneatable by any one but a sailor or a savage4 ,now1 ,i am aware that these statements of mine will be met with indignant denials in some quarters4 ,i shall be told that things have altered so much for the better since my day 7sixteen years ago7 that ,i should hardly recognize them4 ,unfortunately for the makers of such remarks1 ,i have taken pains to find out whether this is really the case1 ready and eager to rejoice in the fact1 if it were a fact4 ,and ,i have found to my sorrow that among sailing ships the improvement is practically nil4 ,when ,i was going to sea there were good-living ships1 where plenty of preserved meats were carried1 and the crews treated periodically to fresh messes2 ships where abundance of potatoes and turnips and onions were put on board1 and served out liberally to the crew forward as well as the officers2 where a regular allowance of butter and pickles was made1 and in cold weather oatmeal porridge was served out for breakfast4 ,and there were lines of sailing ships where a scale of provisions such as these was drawn up on generous lines1 and incorporated in the ship's articles instead of the shameful ,board of ,trade scale4 ,there are such ships to-day1 but their proportion is no greater than it was then4 ,and if any will speak of official inspection of provisions1 in order to ensure a high standard of quality1 ,i would respectfully call their attention to the innumerable statements made and uncontradicted this present winter of the abominable condition of the food supplied on board many of the transports to our troops on their way to ,south ,africa4 ,not that ,i believe such food would find its way into the kids of the crews of those transports in the ordinary course of things4 ,no2 but such food as that is in the ordinary course of things carried by sailing ships1 the majority of them for the supply of their foremast hands4 ,now1 in these days such behaviour on the part of those whose business it is to supply ships with food is unpardonable1 not only because it is cruel1 but because it is unbusinesslike4 ,it would be cheaper to supply preserved fresh meat than salt1 cheaper to vary the food instead of giving hapless men the infernal monotony of beef and duff1 pork and pea-soup1 every other day for a matter of a hundred to a hundred and fifty days on end4 ,there is really no reason why every ship afloat should not have a pound of butter per week served out to each sailor1 or why a sufficient quantity of such easily kept vegetables as potatoes1 turnips1 and onions should not form a regular portion of a sailor's dietary4 ,it is also very well to talk of the healthiness of sailors2 but you will very seldom find a hale1 deep-water sailor over fifty years of age4 ,nor is this due to volcanic outbursts of intemperance and other forms of vice while on shore4 ,it is due to privation of vegetables1 and bad1 highly-salted meat as the only flesh food for long periods4 ,dried peas can never make up for the want of fresh vegetables1 although apparently they are expected to do so1 even when flavoured by the boiling with them of pork so salt that if allowed to remain in the soup for more than half an hour the latter is rendered uneatable4 ,and then so many cooks are fond of an over-dose of carbonate of soda in the soup in order to ensure the peas bursting4 ,no one ashore can have any idea of the craving which seamen on long voyages feel for fresh vegetables1 the thought of them at times being almost maddening4 ,it may be said--although1 from the real importance of the subject just touched upon in the few preceding paragraphs1 ,i sincerely hope it will not be--that ,i have been making a purely gratuitous digression from my text4 ,at any rate1 ,i will now drop the subject-matter of cookery1 and proceed to deal with the cook himself as fairly as ,i may4 ,unfortunately1 my experience has been so unhappy that it is rather difficult for me to remember that there must be many good cooks in sailing ships1 even if ,i have not had the good fortune to be shipmates with them during my sailing-ship voyages4 ,however1 ,i will do my best to be impartial4 ,in the first place1 the routine of a cook's duties in a sailing ship is fairly fixed2 there is not much room for variation4 ,we will suppose that it is ,monday morning in the middle of a long passage4 ,at #d a4m41 when the middle watch is relieved1 the cook is called4 ,going at once to his galley1 he lights his fire with a handful of tarry yarns and a little wood1 and pops the kettle on4 ,then a grating noise and a pleasant smell are manifest2 he is grinding coffee4 ,while the water is boiling he will attend to the mixing of the sponge set overnight for bread or duff1 whichever it is his custom to make out of the half-pound of flour which every man is entitled to on that day of the week4 ,at two bells 7five o'clock7 he puts his head out of the galley door and cries ,coffee4 ,on the word every man of the watch on deck1 except the steersman1 brings his pannikin to the galley door and receives a little more than half a pint of--well1 we'll call it coffee2 but really1 when you come to think of it1 the name is somewhat misapplied4 ,for the daily allowance is half an ounce of green beans1 which1 by the time they are roasted and ground1 are hardly capable of yielding sufficient caffeine to make a pint and a half of drinkable infusion1 or rather decoction1 since the cook must boil it to get any flavour at all4 ,but that is a detail4 ,at any rate1 the liquid is hot1 and it may be sweet1 if the drinker is economical with his twelve ounces of sugar1 careful enough to make it last him the week4 ,this morning coffee is a great institution4 ,however unsavoury it may be as a beverage1 it is looked forward to as no other meal of the day is1 for it breaks up the long and sleepy morning watch1 it ushers in the day1 and its medicinal effects are undoubted4 ,after it has been drunk1 the man at the wheel relieved for his share1 and a smoke indulged in1 the cry of ,wash decks is heard1 and the day's work begins4 ,the cook's duties are light4 ,he has nothing to prepare for the men's breakfast--that is1 in eight ships out of ten--except another jorum of questionable coffee1 about a pint for each man4 ,in most ships breakfast for the men is the grimmest farce imaginable4 ,a few fragments of dry ship-biscuit1 and a pint of coffee1 cannot by any stretch of courtesy be called a meal4 ,a little butter would go far to make it one4 ,a few potatoes wherewith to make dry hash or lobscouse with a few remaining fragments of meat left from the two preceding meals1 and an onion to flavour it with1 would cause the ship to be gratefully regarded as a good-living packet4 ,in ,american ships this is the rule2 few indeed of them are to be found where a good breakfast is not provided for the men1 and1 what is quite as important1 the quality of the bread 7biscuit7 supplied is usually superior to that found in the cabins of ,british sailing ships4 ,not so in ,canadian vessels4 ,it is a profound mystery to me1 the way in which ,canadian sailors1 or1 for the matter of that1 longshoremen in ,canadian coast villages feed4 ,the fattest of fat pork1 potatoes1 and salt cod seem to be the staple food in the coasters1 and as often as not coffee is made with burnt bread1 and sweetened with exceedingly dubious molasses4 ,lying in a ,nova ,scotian harbour once1 loading lumber from a large schooner1 ,i went on board at breakfast time4 ,i found the skipper preparing breakfast for all hands--four of them4 ,they did not muster a cook4 ,he unearthed a mass of cold cooked potatoes and a block of pale pink fat1 got out a big square tin1 which he put on top of the hot stove1 and1 carving up the lump of fat into dice1 sprinkled them over the bottom of the pan4 ,he then peeled his potatoes1 and dropped them into the pan on top of the hissing fat1 stirring them round with his knife4 ,as soon as the mass was warm through1 breakfast was ready4 ,the coffee was warmed up from yesterday1 and its aroma was enough to kill a mosquito4 ,i should think it would have made a fine disinfectant4 ,yet in that splendid country there is no want of the best food4 ,there is a serious lack of cooking ability4 ,i stayed in a hotel in one coast village for nearly two months one winter1 where at least thirty always sat down to meals4 ,those meals never varied4 ,fried blocks of meat1 potatoes boiled in their skins1 soggy bread1 and pies1 a sort of stew of cranberries or dried apples1 spread over a dough-covered plate1 and indurated in an oven1 always formed the menu3 never a bit of green vegetable1 or any suggestion that even the same kind of meat might be made just as palatable1 if not more so1 by being treated in a different kind of way4 ,i suppose these strong men look down with a certain contempt upon any careful treatment of food as being effeminate4 ,but to return to the ,british sailing-ship cook getting ready for breakfast4 ,as ,i have said1 the men's repast does not burden him4 ,he may have in the oven a panful of cracker-hash1 a mess of pounded biscuit1 chopped beef or pork mixed with water1 and plentifully anointed with grease skimmed from the cook's coppers4 ,this will have been got ready overnight by the younger members of the forecastle crowd4 ,in many ships1 however1 this form of filling is strictly forbidden2 that is to say1 the cook is not allowed to have it in his oven1 because it is well known to be most unwholesome1 producing various intestinal disorders1 and covering the men with boils4 ,but the temptation to invent some means of distending the craving stomach is great1 so most men break up the biscuit into their coffee1 and shovel it down soaked1 to the ruin of their digestions4 ,meanwhile the watch on deck are getting a razor-keen edge on their appetites4 ,the strong1 pure air1 and the vigorous exercise of thoroughly cleansing the decks with a flood of water and much scrubbing1 from stem to stern1 is enough to do this1 even if it were not aided by an occasional appetizing whiff from the galley of frying bacon or cunning stew1 which is being got ready for the officers' morning meal4 ,those who have been sleeping in the crowded forecastle are naturally not so sharp set2 they can do with a drink of coffee and a smoke4 ,but when at eight bells 7#h a4m47 the watch is relieved1 and those who have been at work all the morning come below to the mockery that awaits them1 there is much bitterness and bad language4 ,no sooner has the cook cleared off the cabin breakfast than he turns his attention to the duff or bread4 ,the former curious compound is peculiar to ,british ,merchant sailing ships4 ,it is really boiled bread4 ,it is made1 like bread1 with hop yeast1 but a certain quantity of grease is mixed with it1 and it is not put into the bags dry1 like dough1 but slack enough to run4 ,the bags are made of canvas1 conical in shape1 to allow of the duff being turned out easily4 ,before the mixture is poured into them they are dipped in hot water--salt1 of course2 you cannot afford to use fresh at sea for such cooking purposes1 except in steamers1 where a condenser is always at work4 ,when the due amount is poured into each bag it is loosely tied to admit of its rising1 and plunged into a boiling copper1 whence1 if all be well1 it will emerge at seven bells light and spongy4 ,usually a modicum of molasses is provided1 to give it some flavour2 but ,i have been in ships where even that poor adjunct was wanting4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,cook 7,,sailing ,,ships7--continued4 ,having got the duff off his mind--and allow me to assure you that a sailing-ship cook's reputation hangs principally upon his ability to turn out a satisfactory duff--there is the beef4 ,it has been soaking in sea water since the previous evening1 to mollify in some measure its terrible salinity1 and now the cook removes it therefrom1 unless1 as often happens in small ships1 the steep-tub is the wash-deck tub also1 in which case the meat must be taken out at #f a4m4 in order to allow the tub in which it has been soaking to play its part in the cleansing of the ship4 ,but that is only a detail4 ,if the cook be a clean man he will now wash the meat carefully 7it needs washing badly7 before putting it in the copper4 ,but he may1 and often does1 think that process not at all necessary2 it will be clean enough by the time it is cooked4 ,with the duff bubbling fiercely1 and the beef on the other side of the stove keeping in tune with it1 the men's dinner needs no more thought on his part except to keep the fire going2 so that he will be able to do a bit of cleaning up1 if he has a weakness in that direction1 or he may sit and smoke and meditate4 ,the steward is preparing the cabin dinner aft in his pantry3 a fruit pie1 some tasty combination of tinned meat and potatoes1 or even a fowl1 if they are carried4 ,in any case1 as a rule the cook has only to see the food for the cabin through the actual cooking4 ,at seven bells 7twenty minutes past eleven1 the ten minutes to the half-hour being allowed for the men to turn out7 some one1 usually an ordinary seaman1 or boy where they are carried1 in other cases the cook of the mess1 comes to the galley for the dinner4 ,it must be ready1 and is1 almost invariably4 ,any delay is unpardonable1 for there is only the chunk of beef and the phallus of duff4 ,since they have probably been fasting since the previous supper time1 except for such few morsels as they have been able to get down at breakfast or coffee-time1 the arising watch are usually very sharp set1 and the duff disappears like magic4 ,the beef1 too1 although there be nothing to eat with it but the flinty biscuit1 receives considerable attention1 but is generally spared for supper1 as it is better cold--if better can be used in connection with it at all4 ,but the watch that have been working all the forenoon on an empty stomach are ravenous4 ,at eight bells 7noon7 they come below1 and eat like starving men4 ,if it were not for the filling whack of duff1 though1 their hunger would soon be destroyed1 not satisfied4 ,in some ships the cook is not allowed to make duff1 for the same reason that he is not allowed to cook cracker-hash2 and then the men's principal meal on flour days is a sad business4 ,a roll of just-made bread1 seldom palatable1 and a chunk of salt beef1 is not a fair meal for a hard-worked man under such conditions2 and in these days of cheap1 good1 and tasteful food ashore1 it is not to be wondered at that seamen before the mast embrace the earliest opportunity available of quitting such positions and getting work ashore1 where even the convicts in our prisons are far better fed4 ,this is the more to be deplored because it is so totally unnecessary4 ,the difference between a good-living ship and a bad one to the sailor may be expressed in the simplest terms4 ,it is not true that the sailor is never satisfied4 ,men will speak for years afterwards of a ship in the most grateful terms where1 instead of the incessant salt meat1 they had a fresh mess three times a week1 where potatoes and onions were served out occasionally1 and where butter and pickles were given4 ,and these things make a mighty small difference to the total expenses of the voyage--nay1 by slightly reducing the quantity of salt meat1 the expenditure might be kept almost1 if not quite1 at the same level4 ,and then good cooks would become the rule4 ,american ships have earned their reputation for good living solely on the strength of their bountiful supply of potatoes and onions and flour1 their lavishness in the matter of dried apples and cranberries1 and their high standard in the matter of cooks4 ,and ,americans are not extravagant in business matters1 either4 ,they know how to run a ship economically as well as any seafarers in the world1 and they think it is the most wasteful thing imaginable to starve a ship's company for the sake of a little attention to detail4 ,this is a vital principle with them4 ,they will work their crew to the last ounce1 often in what cannot by any stretch of courtesy be called necessary tasks4 ,i have been with men who have actually known what it is to be slung aloft scraping yards in a gale of wind at night2 but they said that when they got below there was always a tasty meal ready for them1 and any neglect on the part of the cook would have resulted immediately in his feeling the burden of severe suffering4 ,once the dinner is over and the gear washed up1 the cook's work is practically done for the day4 ,he may find a few minutes' relaxation in burning coffee1 as the sailors call it--that is1 roasting it in the oven4 ,but that is about all4 ,he has nothing to prepare for the men's supper4 ,he may have a little dry hash to get ready for the cabin1 but in many cases the steward will do even that2 so that there is really no excuse for his being dirty4 ,yet1 unless the skipper is a man who rigorously practises that most essential part of a shipmaster's daily round1 i4e4 goes all over the ship every day1 a cook will often get so dirty that it is a wonder the men are not poisoned4 ,and ,i am sorry to say that this is by no means confined to negroes and ,asiatics1 who have the worst reputation4 ,i can remember three cooks1 each of whom was my countryman1 and ,i do not believe it would have been possible to find dirtier men4 ,tuesday's work is like ,monday's1 except that instead of bread or duff1 pea-soup is the staple2 and since board-ship pea-soup is simply peas boiled in water1 with a piece of pork allowed to simmer with it for about half an hour to give it flavour1 one would think that on pea-soup days1 at any rate1 the poor sailor would be sure of getting his meal properly prepared4 ,but if you ask a foremast hand bow often he gets good pea-soup1 please look out for strong language4 ,he will most probably tell you1 although that would be an exaggeration1 that the only time the pea-soup is good is when there's a heavy sea on1 so that the tumbling about of the ship renders stirring unnecessary--otherwise it is almost sure to be burned1 because the cook is too lazy to stir it4 ,and therefore it is often burnt4 ,now1 burned pea-soup is perhaps one degree worse than burned oatmeal porridge1 which1 it is said1 a pig will refuse4 ,or it may be that the cook cannot learn the secret of getting the peas to mash1 so that the soup is like yellowish water with a collection of yellow shot at the bottom1 a food that would disarrange the digestion of an ostrich4 ,another thing that always seemed radically wrong to me was the making of tea and coffee in the same pot used for soup1 and making these infusions as if they were soups2 serving them out1 too1 like soup1 by ladlefuls1 stirring up the leaves or grounds1 as if afraid of defrauding some critical sailor of his due allowance4 ,surely it should not be so difficult to utilize a kettle for making tea and coffee4 ,but these observances grow into the most conservative of customs1 and it is like suggesting mutiny if some enterprising individual dares to hint at a change4 ,one cook that ,i was shipmates with1 a ,maltese1 perpetrated a piece of cookery that ,i am never able to forget4 ,some one had caught a dolphin1 and1 instead of frying it 7in the oven7 as usual1 the cook boiled it1 and indeed it was very palatable4 ,but the next morning at coffee-time the coffee was too funny for anything4 ,we were not at all dainty1 but that mixture would not go down4 ,so one of our number1 a sarcastic old ,yankee1 went to the galley and said1 ,hyar1 cook1 what in thunder hey ye ben improvin' th' coffee fur8 ,it may be all right1 but ,i'll be doggoned ef ,i kaint do better with it ez before4 ,i've gut used t' it4 ,so saying1 he held out his pannikin invitingly4 ,the cook took it1 smelt it1 tasted it1 looked puzzled for a second or two1 and then said triumphantly1 ,oah1 yez1 ,i know4 ,i boil him in de same pot ,i boil de fish las' night1 'n' ,i don' wash her out1 see6 ,he was quite struck with his ingenuity in finding it out4 ,and he wasn't punched either4 ,i mentioned the cook of the mess just now--but that is a term applied solely to a man who takes his turn with the others1 where there are no boys or ordinary seamen in the fo'c'sle1 to carry in the food1 wash up the plates1 or clean the fo'c'sle out1 and trim the lamp4 ,now1 in an ,american ship the crew's plates are washed by the cook1 who also keeps the tin dishes in which their food is served to them as bright as silver4 ,that1 again1 is a point where an ,american ship's cook differs widely from his ,british confrre4 ,indeed1 it is not too much to say that a cook who would be called a very clean man in a ,british ship would be looked upon as dirty on board of a ,yank1 so high is the standard maintained there in matters of cleanliness4 ,really ,i am half afraid to say what ,i have seen done by cooks on board ,british ships1 it seems so incredible to landsmen4 ,but the subject is so important in its bearing upon the well-being of the men1 that one hardly likes to leave it without telling all the truth4 ,i have seen a cook who did not know how to open a tin of meat1 who tried to chop it in half with an axe2 who was too lazy and filthy to wash the saucepans out1 but wiped them out instead2 another1 who made duff without yeast1 and boiled it in salt water without a bag--a lump of dough that was like a piece of grey india-rubber when it was served up2 another1 who did not use a frying-pan for steaks in harbour1 but flung the chunks of meat upon the top of the red-hot stove1 and unblushingly sent the charred flesh into the fo'c'sle for the men to eat4 ,but the strangest thing of all1 a thing that puzzles me to this day1 was the action of a crew in one vessel where we were cursed with the queerest specimen of an incapable for cook4 ,we shipped a man in ,rangoon as ,a4,b4 who was really a good cook as ship-cooks go2 and as soon as he found out how things were1 he volunteered to teach that wretched food-spoiler his duties in his 7the seaman's7 own time4 ,then1 wonderful to relate1 the very men who were suffering from the vile messes the pseudo-cook was making1 turned round upon that volunteer1 saying that if they were the cook they wouldn't allow no ---- interloper to meddle with their work1 so they wouldn't4 ,of course this discouraged the reformer1 and he desisted from his laudable efforts1 with the result that we were in a state of semi-starvation all the way home4 ,truly a sailor is a strange being4 ,there is a lower depth still1 impossible as it may seem--in small vessels where the galley dwindles to a caboose1 a sort of sooty cupboard on deck1 too small for the miserable youth who is both cook and steward to get into4 ,so he stands on deck1 often swathed in oilskins1 his head in the grimy hole1 with the smoke from the stove nearly stifling him1 doing his cooking4 ,does this state of things need any comment8 ,fancy cooking under such conditions1 if you can4 ,in bad weather1 of course1 the fire cannot be kept alight1 so that the crew must go without any other comfort for their craving stomachs than biscuit and cold water4 ,a short meditation upon such conditions of living should bring to many of us a sense of shame for our complainings at food which1 were it ten times as bad1 would be an unheard-of luxury to the sailors on board some of our ships4 ,let me conclude with one more reminiscence4 ,in a brig of which ,i was mate1 on the ,east ,african coast1 we shipped two ,zanzibar ,arabs as cook and steward4 ,the skipper had his wife on board1 and she1 poor woman1 on the passage home1 was in danger of being starved to death4 ,so the bo'sun and myself took it in turns to oversee those savages1 cannily1 too1 for they valued not their life one jot1 and would as soon have murdered us as look4 ,oh1 how we suffered6 ,at last we reached ,st4 ,helena1 and got some fresh beef and vegetables4 ,i cooked a dinner of these luxuries1 and when it was brought into the cabin1 the lady actually wept with delight at the prospect of one decent meal4 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,suggestions74 ,i may as well admit at the outset of this chapter that ,i approach it with a heavy sense of responsibility4 ,for many reasons4 ,i am exceedingly anxious about the future of our ,merchant ,service2 and the decay of the apprentice system at sea is full of menace for that future4 ,again1 ,i know that many dear friends throughout the length and breadth of this land of ours are looking with pathetic eagerness for some guidance upon this subject4 ,they want to gratify their sons' inbred craving for a sea-life2 but what are the prospects8 ,how will it affect their boys1 supposing they find1 after a short acquaintance with the sea1 that they are not fit for it at all8 ,in short1 there are so many middle-class folks ready to apprentice their boys in the ,merchant ,service1 if that service is worth their attention as a probable life occupation1 and they are so pathetically eager and earnest to obtain reliable information and enlightenment on their utter ignorance of all the details of a nautical life1 that it behoves all who have that information1 to give it carefully1 without bias1 and intelligibly4 ,that is therefore no reason why they should withhold it altogether1 from craven fear of being upbraided for after-consequences of following the advice they had given4 ,with this in my mind1 ,i would say at the outset that ,i believe the system of apprenticeship might be revived1 with great advantage to the country and to individuals1 but it needs revision4 ,as it exists at present its only effect is to flood the ,merchant ,service with an enormous number of certificated men1 who cannot get ships as officers1 and who find the fo'c'sle society disgusting1 having trained themselves to expect something better4 ,worse still1 it will be found to have unsettled many lads for any steady land occupation1 while completely disenchanting them as to the fine life they expected at sea4 ,it has just aroused in these well-brought-up1 home-keeping youths the nomad instinct that is latent in every human breast1 and the love of wandering once established1 nothing short of main force will make that man a settled citizen again until he reaches middle age4 ,apprenticeship is often spoken of as a means to the laudable end of replenishing the ,british ,merchant ,service with ,british seamen4 ,but in its present form such a suggestion about apprenticeship is utterly absurd4 ,respectable people who have spent money upon their sons' education do not pay a heavy premium1 and apprentice him to a ship1 with the object of his becoming an able seaman4 ,they expect him to be an officer as soon as possible1 and that is the goal to which the lad looks forward4 ,now1 it must be said at once1 plainly and frankly1 that the supply of officers far exceeds the demand4 ,the fact that there are many foreign officers in our ,merchant ,service does not affect this statement at all4 ,all that it means is1 that as the pay of officers is a matter of individual bargaining1 and not a fairly fixed quantity like that of the seamen1 there is always an opportunity for underselling4 ,let me give an instance4 ,before my last voyage ,i had been prowling about the docks1 looking for a ship1 until ,i was in very low water indeed1 and glad of almost anything4 ,yet1 as ,i was married and had one child1 there was a minimum wage below which ,i could not go without the prospect of my dear ones starving4 ,receiving information that there was a brig in the ,st4 ,katherine dock wanting a mate1 ,i hastened down to her1 finding the master a pleasant1 genial man1 and ,english4 ,i told him my errand1 showed my credentials1 and was asked what wages ,i wanted4 ,i suggested #f #ajs4 per month1 feeling as ,i did so that ,i might as well ask for the moon while ,i was about it4 ,we finally agreed upon #e #aes4 a month1 which made my wife's income while ,i was at sea about #ads4 a week4 ,but ,i went home light-hearted enough in the feeling that ,i was no longer a dock-slouching mendicant1 and that something was sure for at least twelve months4 ,the next morning1 when ,i came on board to work1 the skipper told me that he had received an offer from a ,german1 fully certificated1 to come as mate for #c a month1 and one from an ,englishman1 who said that1 as he had money of his own1 and only wanted to get his time in for master1 he would come for nothing4 ,i didn't take the ,german1 said ,captain ,w----1 entirely because ,i had given you my word1 but because ,i hold that it is a national crime to permit foreign officers to have charge of our ships1 apart altogether from the shame of having them cut the already too scanty wages4 ,and ,i didn't take the other fellow1 because ,i wanted a man to earn his wages1 and ,i knew that he was likely to earn what he offered to go for--nothing4 ,so ,i kept the berth1 but1 as the skipper truly remarked1 had the owner known that he was paying much more for my services than there was any necessity for him to do1 he would have been very angry4 ,my contention is that the apprentice should be classified4 ,if there were two grades established1 one with a view to making foremast hands1 and another for training officers1 ,i think much good might be done4 ,for instance1 the poor lads who go in such charitable training ships as the ,warspite and ,chichester1 the ,exmouth1 ,shaftesbury1 and ,cornwall1 should not be sent adrift as they are now1 shipped as boys in whatever ship will take them1 and discharged with the rest of the crew on their return to the home port4 ,it is true that the authorities ruling the training ships are always ready to befriend these young sea-boys when they return1 to a certain extent2 but it should be remembered that there are always many fresh lads to be disposed of1 boys who have finished their training-time1 and are waiting for a ship in which to begin their sea-life4 ,it is not always an easy task to provide ships for them either1 and therefore it is hardly fair to expect the training-ship people to handicap them by looking after the shipment of old boys as well4 ,but if those lads were apprenticed without premium1 at a small wage1 increasing each year1 and with the definite object of making good foremast hands of them1 ,i am sure much good might be done4 ,they would certainly be no worse off than any lad ashore who serves his time as a mason1 a carpenter1 or a plumber4 ,in the vast majority of cases the horizon of such apprentices is bounded by the prospect of becoming a good journeyman1 for which the demand is always greater than the supply4 ,if they develop habits of thrift1 a faculty of organization1 and power of command1 the way is open for them to become master1 and in like manner there would be nothing to prevent the non-premium apprentice from rising higher than a mere journeyman sailor1 if ,i may thus use the expression1 in the fact that he had been apprenticed on a lower grade than those intended for officers from the beginning4 ,the treatment of such apprentices would be no different to that in force now on board ship for boys so called4 ,they would probably live in the forecastle among the men1 or with the petty officers4 ,i know that some people will raise an outcry against the idea of boys being sent to live in the forecastle with the men1 but from experience ,i am sure that this would not be detrimental to the boys at all4 ,when a boy has spent two or three years on board a training ship 7,i do not mean a training college like the ,worcester or ,conway1 although ,i don't suppose all the boys there are unfledged angels71 he has nothing to learn in the way of evil in a ship's fo'c'sle4 ,please1 my good friends the officers in charge of these ships1 don't imagine that ,i am casting any reflections upon you4 ,you do your best1 but it is simply impossible for you to keep such a crowd of young rascals as you have to deal with like an ideal ,sunday school4 ,i have been shipmate with a great number of these boys--good1 bad1 and indifferent2 but in one respect their education was never wanting3 the knowledge of such evil as we do not write about1 only hint at in conversation4 ,i have heard--of course ,i do not assert it--that even our great public schools are not above suspicion in these matters4 ,but there they are all sons of gentle parents2 they have led a guarded life from their childhood1 the foul innuendo and salacious gabble of the streets have never reached their ears4 ,so that if they in the carefully-guarded precincts of these homes of education acquire a knowledge of the grosser forms of evil1 we need not be surprised at the poor street boy who joins the ,arethusa or the ,cornwall being wiser even than they are4 ,i have often seen a boy checked in a ship's fo'c'sle for using an expression that was not1 well1 fit for ears polite1 although the man who checked him was constantly in the habit of talking in that strain4 ,it is perfectly true that one occasionally finds a low-minded beast of man's age1 who will deliberately encourage a boy to swagger in foulness for his private ear1 but it is always in private2 such a practice would never be tolerated in the midst of the watch4 ,and such loathsome company will always be open to the boy1 whoever he lives with on board4 ,no2 it is not nearly as dangerous for boys to live with the men in the open fo'c'sle as it is for them to live with one or two petty officers1 or1 worse still1 by themselves4 ,the latter should never be allowed at all--it is as bad as it can be4 ,living with the men they hear foul language continually1 but they have always heard it2 most of them have long been proficient in its use1 and none of its shades of meaning are lost on them4 ,but they must not use it themselves1 now4 ,they will not be ill-used1 that is1 beaten1 because of that growing tenderness for the young which is such a fine feature of our day1 and one that has been just as fully developed on board ship as it has ashore4 ,they must be civil and obliging1 and if willing to learn1 will always find some one willing to teach4 ,the fact of their being bound to serve for a period of four years would operate powerfully against that tendency1 so fatal to the replenishment of our ,merchant ,service with young ,british seamen1 to quit the sea after the first voyage or two1 and get some job1 requiring no skill1 ashore4 ,at present1 when first the training-ship boys go to sea1 they are sure to find some fellow who will lay before them a lurid picture of the hopelessness of ever doing any good at sea4 ,he will din into the young ears continually the advice to sweep a crossing1 become a dung-puncher1 anything rather than lead such a dog's life as he says the common seaman always endures4 ,with what results let the ,registrar-,general of ,shipping and ,seamen's ,reports tell4 ,according to them1 there is a constant drain of young men out of the ,merchant ,service1 lads who had served one1 two1 or three years1 and1 consequently1 the supply is cut off at its source4 ,now1 this sad thing is distinctly traceable1 in my mind1 to three great causes4 ,the first is the want of provision made for keeping these lads a reasonable time at sea by some binding agreement like apprenticeship indentures4 ,the second is the utter carelessness manifested in the majority of cases about food and accommodation4 ,and the third is undermanning4 ,these last two do not in any way apply to the highest class of liners1 which is above reproach in these matters4 ,but it does apply to most of the ships we own in ,britain2 and until the ,european standard of what is due to a workman's needs more closely approximates to our own1 either by our sinking to their level or them rising to ours1 it will continue to operate in the direction of displacing ,british subjects by aliens4 ,i do not believe that the question of wages enters into it at all4 ,wages do not affect the officers1 who1 as ,i have before said1 make their individual bargains1 but if a crew of ,scandinavians or a crew of ,britons are shipped before the mast1 the wages paid will be the same in both cases4 ,and when you come to think of it1 foremast hands are not at all badly paid4 ,when the ,a4,b4 was a skilled mechanic and received #b #ajs4 a month1 while a carpenter1 a joiner1 or a mason was getting #ces4 a week ashore1 the former had some ground of complaint2 but when1 as is the case now1 the majority of seamen before the mast1 in steamers at any rate1 are really little more skilled than labourers1 #c #ajs4 to #d #ajs4 per month1 with board and lodging1 is better pay than any of their fellows ashore are getting4 ,sailing-ship ,a4,b4's deserve more1 but they get less than steamboat men1 for some strange reason that has always puzzled me4 ,it must not be supposed that ,i am advocating anything revolutionary4 ,what ,i propose with regard to this second grade of apprentices is already in operation1 owing to the far-sightedness and liberality of a north-country firm1 ,messrs4 ,walter ,runciman and ,co4 of ,newcastle4 ,of course they are steamship owners--tramp owners1 if you will2 but1 as ,i have before hinted1 tramps hailing from the north-east coast of ,england have good reputations4 ,the canny ,geordie has made a speciality of tramp-owning1 and1 backed as he is by a long course of most successful experiences in all matters pertaining to the sea1 he is going remarkably strong4 ,the men of the ,coaly ,tyne have the well-deserved reputation of being the pioneers in several of our most notable reforms in shipping matters4 ,to quote only two3 ,board of ,trade certificates and ,lifeboats will give an idea of what our hard-headed north-country folk are capable4 ,mr4 ,walter ,runciman says that his system of carrying non-premium apprentices is most successful1 and ,i am sure that his word may be relied upon4 ,then there is the premium-paying grade4 ,a great many alterations might be made on their behalf1 to the end that a parent who is put to the expense of outfit1 premium1 etc41 may have something definite for his money4 ,it need hardly be said that if a boy is a born duffer1 one can hardly expect any skipper or officer to make him anything else2 but there is a medium in all things1 and every sailor knows that there is no trade in the world where the first duty to an apprentice is so much neglected as it is at sea4 ,i can honestly assert that ,i was never on board of but one ship in my life where any attempt at all was made to teach the apprentices their trade4 ,that ship was the ,harbinger1 before she was taken over by ,lord ,brassey's committee1 and made a special sea-training ship for cadets4 ,in my day she was just a fine merchant ship1 belonging to ,messrs4 ,anderson1 ,anderson1 and ,co41 and commanded by ,lieutenant ,henry ,y4 ,slader1 ,r4,n4 he formulated stringent rules that every apprentice on board should have a share in all sailorizing that was going on2 that1 as far as lay in their power1 these young gentlemen should work the sails on the mizen1 the smallest mast of the three2 that one apprentice should always be on duty on the poop1 so that he might be in touch with the officer of the watch1 who was supposed to lose no opportunity of imparting to him practical instruction in handling sails1 trimming yards1 etc4 ,in addition to all this1 ,captain ,slader was himself in the habit of taking these young men through a practical examination in navigation at stated intervals1 and inviting them to dine at the saloon table in rotation on ,sundays4 ,now1 this treatment had its due effect in the building up of those apprentices into first-class seamen and officers1 as indeed it might have been expected to do4 ,yet it was only on a par with common-sense workshop treatment1 and it was certainly no more than any parent who had paid a premium of #gj to #hj had a right to expect4 ,but even on board that fine ship the lads were left entirely to themselves in their watch below4 ,they all lived together in the fore part of a small afterhouse1 and unless the senior apprentice happened to be a young man of fine1 forceful character1 the tone of their diggings could not help being bad4 ,be it noted that among that splendid set of youngsters1 the midshipmen of the ,royal ,navy1 there is always to be found a sub-lieutenant who is responsible for the behaviour of the gun-room--who rules it1 in fact1 in despotic fashion4 ,and the conditions there are very different to what they are in the ,merchant ,service4 ,the lads don't sleep in the gun-room4 ,they are not herded together in one small apartment which serves as bed-room1 bath-room1 dining-room1 and sitting-room4 ,in the ,united ,states1 the two great cities of ,philadelphia and ,new ,york maintain out of their public funds a fine vessel each1 the ,saratoga and the ,st4 ,mary's4 ,these are sea-going ships1 especially set apart for the training of men and officers for the ,mercantile ,marine4 ,the idea is distinctly a good and public-spirited one1 and might1 one would think1 be advantageously copied over here4 ,but ,i fear that such a thing is too much to hope for4 ,at least not until our shore-folks are aroused to the enormous importance of our ,mercantile ,marine4 ,if only we could get one-tenth as much interest manifested in the gigantic business by means of which we are all fed1 as is shown in one great horse-race or a dozen first-class cricket matches1 ,i should feel hopeful4 ,but ,i am afraid that is far too great a blessing to expect4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,some ,,facts ,,concerning ,,his ,,life74 ,perhaps it may be thought that in hammering away at this point of the apprentices' lodging-place ,i am doing an unwise thing1 as no alteration is likely to be made2 but ,i beg to say that ,i am speaking from practical knowledge of the subject1 allied to absolute conviction that the worst possible thing you can do with a boy fresh from school is to put him with half a dozen other lads about his own age into a house with no authority therein to keep them in order1 save1 perhaps1 one of themselves who has made a voyage4 ,such a lad is usually to be found among them1 and is better than no one1 for he has had some experience2 but in cases where all the lads are new to the sea it is absolutely shameful to cast them thus upon their own resources4 ,if the master made it his business to give them a visit every day1 things would not be so bad1 because presumably he would tell them what to do2 but even then it must be remembered that there are twenty-four hours in the day1 and mischief may be going on in every one of them4 ,to take the simplest matter1 personal cleanliness4 ,how many lads are there to be found1 ,i wonder1 leaving good homes1 such as the majority of sea-apprentices do leave1 who have ever washed a shirt or a plate1 made a bed1 or sewn on a button8 ,not one in a thousand4 ,these things have always been done for them1 and had they decided upon going into any trade or profession ashore would have still been done for them4 ,it is one of the gravest defects of modern education1 to my thinking1 that it leaves a man so helpless when thrown upon his own resources4 ,i would have every lad1 no matter what his position in life1 taught to do for himself those personal services which1 under settled conditions of shore-life1 are done for him by the other sex4 ,he might never be called upon to exercise these abilities2 but what of that8 ,the knowledge that he was able to help himself could not fail to be of service to him in any event4 ,the cadet ships do a great deal for sea-apprentices in this respect4 ,not that they prepare a lad for the utter reliance upon himself which will be suddenly thrust upon him in almost any ship he joins1 for parents would object2 but still it may be taken for granted that a lad who has been through a ,worcester or a ,conway course will not be nearly so helpless as one who has come direct to sea from some quiet country home4 ,i was once on board a large barque as ,a4,b41 where every apprentice 7there were six7 was on his first voyage4 ,sixty pounds each had been paid as premium for them1 and an average of thirty-five pounds each for their outfit4 ,they were nice boys2 but one day1 when we had been a month at sea1 ,i was invited into their house4 ,and the first thing ,i said to my host was1 ,i wonder what your poor mother would say if she could see this place4 ,it smelt2 that rank aroma which is the product of deficient ventilation1 foul clothes1 and stale food1 caught me by the throat as ,i entered4 ,the bunks of those young gentlemen were like the bins in a rag-dealer's shop1 their chests were little1 if any1 better1 and there was a thriving population of vermin of various sorts4 ,not a plate1 knife1 fork1 spoon1 or mug had been washed since our departure from ,london4 ,in short1 the place was like the abode of a group of savages1 who had suddenly been introduced to 'board-ship life1 and given the habiliments and utensils of civilization to play with4 ,i made a few remarks to my young friend upon the state of affairs1 to which he replied1 with a shrug of his shoulders-- ,yes1 it's pretty bad1 ,i know2 but what can we do8 ,nobody ever comes in here1 nobody seems to care what we do when we're below1 as long as we're out on deck at eight bells4 ,i'm sick of it4 ,i've written a letter to my father to tell him ,i've had enough of it already4 ,i didn't know ,i was coming to sea to live like a pig1 and to be taught nothing but sweeping up decks and cleaning out pig-sties and water-closets4 ,i had nothing to say to that1 because ,i saw the full force of his remarks myself4 ,but ,i made him an offer to wash his clothes for him for a pound of tobacco a month1 and ,i told him that ,i was sure the other fellows would find plenty of chaps forward who wouldn't mind doing them the same service on the same terms4 ,but1 as he said1 how was he to know that he could get such things done for him unless somebody told him8 ,he wouldn't have dared to ask anybody such a question1 for fear of giving offence4 ,then he confided in me to the effect that during his period of sea-sickness he had spoiled a large quantity of clothing1 which1 becoming offensive1 he had flung overboard under cover of night1 and that out of his expensive outfit he was afraid he should have hardly enough left to carry him home4 ,he was quite astonished when ,i told him that was no news to me4 ,over and over again ,i have seen an apprentice come on board ship with an outfit costing between #cj and #dj who at the end of a twelve-months' voyage has not had enough to dress himself decently4 ,and then the lad scarcely ever looked decently clothed4 ,the fact of the matter is that one of the first necessities of an apprentice at sea is a little personal supervision by the master or the mate4 ,some1 esteeming it their duty1 give this supervision2 others1 and these the majority1 look upon the hapless apprentices as a rather troublesome and unhandy portion of the crew1 more bother than they are worth at any time1 and certainly not entitled to any personal care4 ,i do not understand what kind of mind a man must have who will thus deliberately neglect the interests of a crowd of youngsters committed to his charge1 but there is the fact4 ,if any evidence to the truth of it were needed1 there are hundreds of men scattered about the country who have served the whole or a portion of their time and have then quitted the sea for good1 who could and would supply it4 ,so much for their private life4 ,as to the prime purpose for which they become apprentices1 it may be said roughly that they are more likely to learn their profession in a ship where they are used dishonestly than in one where they are treated with the contemptuous neglect which is so often their portion4 ,by dishonest treatment ,i mean their being utilized to make good the deficiency of a purposely-reduced crew4 ,again ,i draw upon personal reminiscences4 ,i have often seen the sons of well-to-do parents1 who had given them a costly education1 paid a heavy premium with them1 and provided them with a gorgeous outfit1 driven harder than any other item of the ship's company4 ,now1 ,i do not suggest that hard work is bad for anybody who is otherwise well-treated1 but ,i do assert with emphasis that to carry premium apprentices and make them do what the men refuse1 to make them the lackeys of the men1 in fact1 is scandalous dishonesty4 ,there is a certain amount of dirty labour to be performed on board of every ship--any one will see that this must be so2 but that is no reason why the apprentices should be set to do it because of the shorthandedness of the men4 ,moreover1 in properly manned ships this is not allowed4 ,such work would naturally fall to the lot of the lower grade of apprentice to which ,i alluded in the last chapter1 whose preparation should be for an ,a4,b4's life4 ,some one must do it1 and as it is generally boys' work1 boys are usually carried to do it4 ,still1 where apprentices are thus served it cannot be denied that they do learn thoroughly the rougher part of a sailor's curriculum4 ,they speedily become expert sail-handlers and helmsmen1 because in that way they can best replace men4 ,sailorizing--a comprehensive term which ,i am of necessity continuously using1 but am leaving the explanation of for a fitting occasion--they do not learn so readily1 because they are not allowed to watch a man at work unless they are told off to assist him4 ,the handling of a ship very often remains a sealed book to them during the whole of their apprenticeship1 because1 treated as they are1 they acquire the habit of mind which is characteristic of the foremast hand--that is not to bother their heads about anything except what they are told to do4 ,besides1 they are so hard worked that they are usually weary and disinclined to waste one minute of their watch below in an endeavour to gather information2 while in their watch on deck at night1 a good opportunity for learning many things1 they will be trying to do as they see the men do--steal as much sleep as possible4 ,in a word1 they are just ship-boys1 fed like the men1 worked harder than the men1 but living apart from the men in a little den of their own1 where they may1 unhindered1 sink into savagery4 ,this is a lurid picture1 ,i admit1 yet ,i dare not soften its details one iota4 ,i can only say that it is not universal4 ,there are fortunately a good number of ships in which conscientious masters consider themselves in honour bound to act towards their apprentices as honest guardians of their best interests1 who would no more think of allowing them to be set to cleaning out latrines1 pig-sties1 and fowl-coops1 while the men were comfortably engaged upon cleaner work1 than they would think of putting their own children to do it4 ,but such treatment ought to be made impossible4 ,it should also be very distinctly laid down that no apprentice with whom a premium is paid should be put to work cargo in tropical ports4 ,that is a task under which the strongest ,european sailors often fail4 ,shovelling coal1 guano1 or nitrate1 for instance1 with a temperature of over #ajj in the shade in a ship's hold1 is an employment that no boy on board ship should ever be subjected to1 much less a lad whose parents have paid for him to be well treated4 ,so curiously are some men constituted1 that ,i have seen two lads from the ,chichester on board one vessel in which ,i was ,a4,b4 much more carefully taken care of than ,i ever saw apprentices but once4 ,those two boys were not even allowed to grease down any of the masts1 because it was their first voyage2 they were never sent into any position of danger on any pretext whatever2 they were taken in hand by the mate in their watch below1 educationally2 in fact1 they received what ,i should call the ideal treatment for an apprentice4 ,yet in my next vessel there were three apprentices1 two on their first voyage1 with each of whom #ej premium had been paid1 whose treatment was so scandalous that even the men cried out against it4 ,i did not join the ship until half the voyage was over1 so ,i did not witness their early training2 but while ,i was on board they did all the greasing down1 and all the extra dirty work of the ship1 while for a season one was acting cook 787 and another was acting steward4 ,i am glad to say that one of them had the nous to prevail upon his widowed mother to write to the owner upon the ship's arrival home1 protesting against the most scandalous treatment of her son4 ,in this case the owner was certainly not to blame1 but that mother's letter had the effect of opening his eyes to what might be going on in his ships without his knowledge or privity4 ,but in one most painful case which recently came under my notice1 a boy was actually done to death by overwork and neglect1 both of which crimes against him were abundantly proved1 but went unpunished1 owing to official shielding of the criminal4 ,and the broken-hearted mother was advised to let the matter drop1 as she could not possibly do any good1 and1 in any case1 she could not bring again her dead to life6 ,from all of which it may be gathered that ,i am of opinion that the sea-apprentice system needs considerable overhauling4 ,at present everything depends upon the master4 ,where he is an energetic and conscientious man1 the apprentice will doubtless be thoroughly well looked after1 will be taught his profession1 and his lot will compare favourably with that of an apprentice in any other trade or profession going4 ,but such an important matter should not be left to individual caprice at all4 ,certain rules for the treatment of apprentices by the officers should be laid down by the owners1 and it should be insisted upon that those rules shall be carried out4 ,ashore1 if a man binds his son to any profession1 he is in constant touch with him1 able to ascertain whether he is being taught1 or just being used for an errand-boy or odd-man4 ,and if he be not satisfied1 his remedy is always at hand4 ,but once a lad has gone to sea he is cut off from everybody who might help him2 he is at the absolute mercy of the skipper1 and it has not seldom happened that he has run away in a foreign port1 to the terrible grief of his parents4 ,it has long been the current remark concerning sea-apprenticeship1 that it is the only apprenticeship in the world where a lad is supposed to learn his profession without being taught1 as if in some mysterious way he could absorb practical knowledge without ever having an opportunity to do any of those things he is to be examined in presently4 ,in no other trade in the world would it be possible for a young man who had spent four years at it to be so ignorant of its working details as to require coaching in them when going up for an examination4 ,i have seen young fellows at the crammers' in ,london being taught such elementary matters as sending up spars1 bending sails1 etc41 for the purpose of facing examiners1 but ,i never heard of any of them passing until they had learned it in the proper way1 i4e4 by assisting in the doing of such work at sea1 and taking careful note of how it was done4 ,it is quite true that there are some youngsters who will learn1 no matter how great may be the difficulties in their way4 ,they belong to the class from which spring all our leading men in every profession1 fellows whose thirst for knowledge and industry of application is so great that1 no matter where you put them1 they would speedily rise4 ,but they are few4 ,the great majority need to be taught1 to be spurred on1 to be scolded for laziness or inattention1 to be driven with a tight rein4 ,having all the thoughtlessness of youth1 they need to be continually reminded that its days are brief1 and that very soon they will be called upon to stand alone1 to take a hand in the working of the world's big machine1 no longer boys1 but men4 ,in the ,united ,states and ,canada1 as ,i have before hinted1 the apprenticeship system finds no favour4 ,it may be taken for granted that every youth carried in those ships for the purpose of becoming an officer has not only every facility afforded him of learning his profession most thoroughly1 but is compelled either to learn or quit4 ,usually the master or mate has a personal interest in him 7it is seldom that more than one is carried71 and they spare no pains to teach him all that they know themselves4 ,he is well looked after4 ,no dingy berth1 shared only by other boys1 for him2 no hard and scanty fare1 differing in no respect from that of the sailors1 as in most ,british ships4 ,he lives in the cabin1 eats at the cabin table1 associates with the officers1 and breathes the air of authority4 ,therefore it is no wonder that when he has grown old enough to become an officer himself1 his promotion comes perfectly natural to him3 he has had for it the best preparation that could be given him4 ,it may be said1 and with truth1 that such a system would not answer our heavy needs1 even if a sufficient number of masters could be found to give so careful an amount of attention to aspirants as is here indicated4 ,but surely some middle course might be taken1 more closely approximating to the treatment of midshipmen and naval cadets on board of a man-o'-war1 but without giving the youngsters the status of officer from the outset4 ,i believe1 however1 that a definitely drawn up programme for the treatment of apprentices by officers such as ,i have hinted at in a preceding paragraph would answer all needs4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,apprentice 7,,some ,,practical ,,information74 ,and now1 as a relief to all this gloom and vituperation1 ,i wish to give parents and guardians a few practical hints as to the course they should pursue if their sons or charges insist1 as so many do1 upon making trial of a sea life4 ,perhaps it is hardly necessary1 after what ,i have already said1 to repeat that the ideal preparation for a lad who is destined to become an officer is a preliminary training on board of either the ,worcester or the ,conway4 ,here a lad will not only be thoroughly grounded in navigation and such seamanship as can be taught on board a stationary vessel1 but he will become familiar with life on shipboard1 in itself no small item4 ,and his general education will not be neglected either4 ,in fact1 whether a lad is intended for the sea or not1 ,i know of no more profitable place for him to spend a couple of years than on board ,h4,m4,s4 ,worcester or 7although ,i have not the same personal knowledge of the matter7 ,h4,m4,s4 ,conway4 ,but there are many estimable people whose incomes will not bear the modest strain put upon them by the fees chargeable in these floating colleges--a much lower fee1 by the way1 than would be payable at any public boarding-school of repute4 ,it is as much as they can afford to pay a premium of1 say1 sixty pounds and provide the lad with an outfit4 ,and this last word brings me to a subject that ,i have often wished to enlarge upon for the benefit of parents sending their sons to sea as apprentices in merchant ships4 ,it is associated in my mind with a great deal of downright robbery1 heartless swindling4 ,the ,registrar-,general of ,shipping does his best to warn parents and guardians of the wiles of those landsharks who lurk in our great shipping ports ready to prey upon the unwary1 but often his warning does not reach those for whom it was intended4 ,therefore ,i would say1 beware of all advertisements in the newspapers for sea-apprentices4 ,remember that no ship-owner of repute needs to advertise for apprentices4 ,if you go to a firm like ,messrs4 ,devitt and ,moore1 for instance1 you will probably1 almost certainly1 find that they have no vacancies--that if you wish to enter your boy with them you must put his name at the bottom of their list1 and he must await his turn4 ,it will be found almost invariably that these advertisements emanate from shady firms of outfitters1 or shadier firms who are nothing at all but blood-suckers--people who can most assuredly do nothing for you but that which1 with a very little trouble1 you could do much better yourself1 and who will mulct you in heavy fees and commissions before you get out of their clutches4 ,and1 in addition1 be quite sure that you are unlikely to find through such agencies a good ship for your son4 ,you may1 but all the chances are dead against it1 because1 as ,i have said1 firms of repute do not do business in that way4 ,moreover1 in handing yourself over to the apprenticeship-broker1 or whatever he calls himself1 you will surely be let in for a far heavier expenditure upon outfit than there is any necessity for1 and in addition you will surely get an outfit that will not be worth carrying away4 ,i well remember one case in particular1 of a young friend of my own1 whose outfit cost the modest sum of thirty-five pounds4 ,it was bought from a great firm of outfitters in ,london that ,i dare not name1 for fear of the law of libel1 and would certainly have been dear at one-third of the money4 ,indeed1 ,i believe ,i should be justified in saying that it would have been dear at any price1 since it was of the veriest shoddy throughout4 ,when my friend showed it to me1 or rather what remained of it after a month at sea1 ,i was almost speechless with indignation4 ,i should say that such rubbish must be specially manufactured for such purposes1 since ,i cannot imagine anybody ashore buying such stuff4 ,a pair of sea-boots to reach below the knee was among this precious outfit4 ,their price was forty-five shillings4 ,now1 a sailor can always get a really good pair of sea-boots for twenty-five shillings--a swagger pair of best make1 with high fronts to cover the knees1 for thirty-five shillings4 ,the first time my friend put his sea-boots on they naturally got wet1 and when he came below1 four hours after1 they hung in graceful folds about his ankles4 ,as to keeping out water1 you might just as well expect a sponge to keep out water4 ,they could be wrung like a piece of flannel4 ,in a word1 they were absolutely worthless1 and the sale of them was a heartless fraud4 ,this outfit business requires only a little common sense to be conducted economically4 ,in the ,navy a list of articles required for a naval cadet or midshipman is supplied to him1 and no deviation therefrom is permitted4 ,but no such hard-and-fast rule obtains in the ,merchant ,service4 ,uniform1 of course1 is compulsory1 but beyond that the parent may use his own discretion4 ,in the matter of underclothing1 for instance1 it may be taken for granted that what the lad already possesses will answer excellently well4 ,flannels1 too1 boating or cricketing1 come in very useful2 in fact1 any of his old clothes are good enough to work in4 ,in any case he should not have too large a stock1 for however many clothes he may take with him1 they will certainly require washing before a long sea passage is over2 and too great an accumulation of dirty clothes is1 for many reasons1 undesirable4 ,if ,i were asked to draw up a list of the requirements of a lad on his first voyage as apprentice in a southern-going ship1 it would be something like this3-- ,a strongly-made chest1 of three-quarter inch pine1 dovetailed throughout1 and without any iron about it1 the lid and bottom very carefully fitted1 should first be procured2 such a chest as a working carpenter would be willing to make for a pound1 but would cost at least double in a shop4 ,it should have a small mirror fitted inside the lid1 but removable1 and also a tray dividing it into upper and lower compartments4 ,above all1 it should be perfectly watertight when closed4 ,it should be painted black1 with brass drop-bandies1 and inch rising-pieces on the bottom4 ,two suits of uniform clothing--one of fine blue cloth1 the other of good blue serge4 ,six white and ,french pique shirts for shore wear1 with collars and ties4 ,three woollen shirts ,not necessarily new1 but such ,three cotton shirts as he has been wearing at home or at school4 ,three thick vests4 ,three thin vests4 ,three thick pairs of pants4 ,three thin pairs of pants4 ,six pairs of socks--three heavy and three light4 ,four pairs of working trousers4 7,any old ones that he has been wearing47 ,three pairs of blue jean overalls 7,dungaree74 ,three blue jean blouses4 ,three coarse towels4 ,several caps4 7,old golf or cricketing caps are just the thing47 ,a stout1 wide-brimmed straw hat for harbour use in the country4 ,one dozen coloured cotton pocket-handkerchiefs4 ,one pair of woollen mittens without finger spaces4 ,two pairs of suspenders4 ,a leather belt with a sheath attached for holding an open knife4 7,note4--,the above should never be worn tightly for the purpose of keeping the trousers up4 ,such a practice is a most frequent cause of rupture47 ,a horsehair mattress1 cot size4 ,a full-sized feather pillow1 with three stout slips4 ,three coloured cot blankets4 ,one pair of shore-going boots4 ,two pairs of canvas shoes of very best quality4 ,two pairs of working boots without any iron in their soles4 ,one pair of sea-boots reaching to the knee1 and either sewn or pegged soles1 preferably the latter4 ,a box of dubbin1 also blacking1 and a pair of very small shoe-brushes4 ,a small clothes-brush4 ,a tooth-brush1 hair-brush1 and two combs4 ,a housewife1 well supplied with needles and thread 7not cotton71 and mending wool1 scissors1 and tweezers4 ,three bars of good yellow soap4 ,one dozen boxes of safety matches4 ,one block-tin plate4 ,one block-tin basin4 ,one block-tin quart pot4 ,one block-tin pint cup4 ,knife1 fork1 and spoon4 ,a complete suit of good oilskins4 ,a pilot coat4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from this it will be seen that much of his old clothing will come in useful2 but it should be remembered that he will probably grow rapidly1 so that he may not be sent away with clothing that will presently be of no use to him4 ,if the supply be thought meagre1 ,i would suggest that a larger quantity would probably only lead him to waste2 the above will be found quite sufficient for all his needs1 and he should never miss a single opportunity of having his clothes washed1 or1 better still1 washing them himself4 ,provide him with some good books1 especially a copy each of the ,bible1 ,shakespeare1 and some good book of poems2 lighter reading at discretion4 ,he must have an epitome of navigation1 and a blank book to work examples in1 also plenty of writing-paper and envelopes to encourage him in writing home--a duty that lads are prone to shirk4 ,a pair of good binoculars are very useful things to have1 but not at all necessary2 while a sextant1 for the first couple of voyages at any rate1 had better be left at home4 ,it usually receives very rough treatment1 and its use requires little practice to make one perfect in when the time arrives that it is necessary4 ,but ,i would strongly advise1 in addition to this outfit1 that a boy be provided with the ability to wash a shirt1 to sew a button on1 and to keep his eating utensils clean4 ,a few lessons in the kitchen before he goes away will save him a world of trouble in this respect1 besides saving the parent a good deal of expense4 ,i need say no more on this head1 as ,i have spoken very strongly about it before4 ,of course the list ,i have given1 although ,i consider it quite sufficient for a twelve-months' voyage1 represents the minimum4 ,any additions may be made that are considered desirable1 but it can be taken for granted that to burden a lad with the care of too much clothing at sea is to invite him to fling some of it away on very small provocation4 ,then as to the choice of a ship4 ,it is here impossible to give any written advice4 ,if you have no seafaring friends the matter is difficult4 ,there is really no recognized medium of communication with ship-owners for this purpose4 ,this is why one is so often tempted to reply to the specious advertisements1 since they seem to provide a royal road out of the difficulty4 ,a little1 very little knowledge of shipping matters would enable them to select from the columns of the ,mercantile ,navy ,list a good firm of sailing-ship owners2 but assuming that they do not know that much1 the next best thing would be to apply to the shipping master in any of our large shipping centres4 ,he would almost certainly forward a list of the best reputed shipping firms4 ,but the services of an old seafaring friend 7not naval7 would here be of great value1 not only in the selection of a suitable firm1 but in the little matters of advice to the boy himself4 ,there are many dangers which beset the path of the young sailor1 especially in foreign ports1 against which a word of warning from the initiated is worth much fine gold4 ,it is not fair to send a gently-nurtured boy to sea unwarned of these things1 lest he learn of them by bitter experience1 which may cost him a lifetime of fruitless repentance4 ,having found a ship and gone through the official routine1 it is always wise to try and enlist the sympathies of the skipper and the mate4 ,they have probably heard it all before2 but1 in spite of that1 it is pleasant to be consulted1 pleasant to feel that their importance is recognized by any one ashore4 ,and if you cannot do much good1 you will at least do no harm by reminding a skipper that you are entrusting him with one of your most precious possessions4 ,as to the duties of the apprentice1 they may be dismissed in a very few words4 ,his first duty is implicit obedience4 ,he has come to sea to learn1 and he can only learn by obeying4 ,it is unlikely that he will learn much on his first voyage besides familiarity with his ship1 on deck and aloft1 by day or by night1 and to be of use in assisting to furl sails1 etc4 ,and this is no trifle4 ,he should remember1 too1 that it is not enough to obey in a lazy1 sulky manner2 he must1 if he would ever be worth anything1 cultivate smartness1 the habit of ready and cheerful obedience4 ,he must not slouch1 he must spring2 he must not skulk1 he must keep in evidence--not merely for the sake of gaining the good word of those in authority over him1 but for his own sake1 because he is now laying the foundation of his future career as an officer4 ,the lazy1 skulking1 slouching apprentice becomes the miserable1 discontented1 and generally worthless seaman1 if indeed he ever becomes a seaman at all1 which is in the highest degree problematical4 ,let him never be afraid to ask anybody for information1 never ashamed to inquire what he had better do1 and especially1 emphatically1 avoid becoming dirty in his personal habits because he has not on board ship the conveniences of home4 ,some day1 perhaps1 our fine sailing ships will provide a bath-room for lads and men1 and water to wash with more frequently than once a week2 at present it must be admitted that the way of personal cleanliness on board a sailing ship is hard4 ,and ,i earnestly hope that the few hints ,i have been able to give may be of good practical service to many4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,general ,,qualifications74 ,and now we approach the discussion of the ,a4,b41 the man of the rank and file1 the common sailor1 as he is sometimes contemptuously termed by those who1 ,god forgive them1 know absolutely nothing of his uncommon trials1 virtues1 and temptations4 ,it is most probable1 nay1 almost certain1 that for what ,i have written in the preceding pages the ,a4,b4 will bear me little good-will4 ,he will most likely set me down in his own mind as another mercenary scoundrel1 paid by the owners to vilify the fo'c'sle man4 ,when you come to look at the matter you will see that it must be so4 ,such a one-sided view of themselves is not confined to the sailor4 ,it is rampant among men who should be able to weigh questions impartially--intelligent workmen ashore of all kinds4 ,as a general rule1 they lay themselves open to the charge of grossest unfairness1 because they will not abide the truth about themselves4 ,one need not use any names1 because they will occur to all who keep in touch with current events--names of men who have been chosen from among their fellows for their exceptional abilities1 and empowered to represent them in various councils4 ,as long as such representatives could see in capital no white and in labour no black they were popular1 cheered to the echo2 but as soon as they learned the fundamental fact that there are two sides to every question1 and wisely endeavoured to use that knowledge1 they were subjected to much abuse1 gross misrepresentation1 and perhaps the mildest suggestion made about them was that they had been got at4 ,but although the foremast hand finds it impossible to be fair2 although he1 taken collectively1 regards all owners as blood-suckers1 and all officers as traitors or tyrants1 every one of his well-wishers--of whom ,i claim to be one of the warmest--can1 and do1 find many excuses for him4 ,please to consider his position4 ,for the great majority of his days he lives in the utmost ignorance of what is going on in the world4 ,he is like the inhabitants of some undiscovered country where-into none of the latter-day adjuncts of civilization had penetrated4 ,from year's end to year's end he never reads a newspaper1 at least not until it is long out of date4 ,during his quiet voyaging from one side of the world to the other1 the whole political aspect of the planet may be changed1 but he knows nor recks nothing of it4 ,speak to him of the rise and fall of governments1 the strife of parties1 the hubbub of a general election1 and he will look upon you as one that talks in an unknown tongue4 ,to those of his class who read1 supposing that they possess the right books1 this aloofness from the world-movement is all to the good3 they can enter into the spirit of those giants of literature as no other men can4 ,bringing to the consideration of immense topics minds unfettered and undisturbed by the petty squabbling and sordid tricks of politics1 whether ,imperial or local1 they enjoy their reading as few other men do4 ,one of my chief delights when ,i was before the mast was to sit on deck in the brilliant tropical moonlight1 or on a lotus-eating evening before the dark had arrived1 and read aloud to the assembled watch4 ,i had no inattentive listeners4 ,hardly breathing1 except to keep their pipes aglow1 they drank in every syllable1 their long acquaintance with all sorts of hybrid variants of ,english enabling them to catch the sense1 even if they were unable to grasp the full meaning of the sonorous sentences4 ,for ,i never would read them rubbish1 or what ,i considered rubbish4 ,i carried with me for years three volumes of the ,chandos ,classics1 the ,odyssey1 the neid1 and ,longfellow4 ,shakespeare ,i always had1 and ,i should be puzzled indeed to say which of the two1 the ,odyssey or ,shakespeare1 they relished most4 ,they did not favour discussion of the books read very much2 they were content to enjoy4 ,i grieve to say that their discussions were usually most trivial and unprofitable4 ,they would start an argument upon some question about which none of them knew anything1 and carry it on with the utmost fierceness and heat1 even unto blows4 ,once ,i used to intervene with some reliable information1 but ,i found that when1 in reply to the query1 ,who told you that8 ,i admitted that ,i had learned it from books1 ,i was thenceforward scouted as a purveyor of second-hand information1 and ,i desisted4 ,it is a poor task bringing book evidence to the average sailor4 ,marshal your authorities as you may1 you will ever be met with the stolid question1 ,how do you know8 ,you wasn't there6 etc41 until you retire like a man who in the dark has run head first against a stone wall4 ,it is no good to argue with the average sailor1 either4 ,he lives in a little world of his own1 its horizon bounded by the blue sky1 and unbroken by any vision of the movements of shore-dwellers except at long intervals4 ,then when those brief periods of contact with landward folk arrive1 he is like a boy suddenly let loose from school4 ,he forgets his sea-troubles1 his long confinement1 in the strange sensation of liberty4 ,how can these men be expected to use their freedom wisely8 ,their experience of it is so limited1 their ignorance of shore ways so pathetic1 that it would be surely a miracle to see them behave themselves in reasonable fashion4 ,but one peculiarity ,i have often noticed among sailors is their preternatural suspicion1 allied to a blind trustfulness--two opposite qualities meeting4 ,only1 with the perversity of poor human nature1 they exercise suspicion where they should be trustful1 and confidence where they should be most cautious4 ,any scoundrel that lays himself out to cajole and cheat a sailor is almost certain to succeed1 while a philanthropist1 aiming only at the seaman's highest welfare1 will find it a most difficult and disheartening task to gain his confidence or even attention4 ,and so it comes to pass that at seamen's missions1 wherever anything is being done for destitute sailors1 the greatest care has to be exercised1 the wisest discrimination used1 in order that meals1 etc41 provided are not entirely monopolized by longshoremen1 and the sailor conspicuous by his absence4 ,it must always be borne in mind that the sailor is just a big child1 whose opportunities for being understood by shore people are almost nil1 who cannot tell you what he wants1 and whose life is hidden from you4 ,herein is one of the greatest difficulties confronting missions to seamen4 ,they have but a very short time to work upon any individual sailor1 only a few days wherein to teach him things that shore people1 when they learn them at all1 often take years to acquire1 and then the exigencies of his calling remove him from all those hallowed influences for perhaps four or five months on end4 ,on shore it is recognized by all the ,churches that if you would do good it is not sufficient to preach godliness to people3 you must provide for them the right kind of society in lieu of that which they must abandon1 you must nurse them through their period of babyhood in grace until they are able to stand1 or walk1 or run1 in the way of righteousness4 ,but the poor sailor gets no such nursing4 ,before he has scarcely awakened to the fact that old things have passed away1 all things have become new1 he is back again to the fo'c'sle4 ,and now he is very lonely1 because he knows that the only things that are continually talked of are those that should not be so much as named4 ,his quietness is taken for moroseness1 he gets nicknamed the queer fellow1 all sorts of influences are brought to bear upon him1 tending to push him back into the slough2 and if he stand firm1 be very sure that he is a man1 in the highest sense of that much-abused word4 ,i feel1 however1 that ,i must apologize for straying into this side issue1 which1 although it is so important to me1 hardly comes within the scope of the present work4 ,perhaps ,i ought to have begun this chapter with a definition of the ,a4,b4's position4 ,it is popularly supposed1 even at sea1 that the able-bodied seaman1 a term whereof the initials ,a4,b4 are the recognized official contraction1 is a man who can hand1 reef1 and steer4 ,these three duties mean1 first1 the furling of sails--that is1 rolling them up1 and making them secure2 secondly1 the reducing of a sail's area by enfolding a portion of it1 and securing it by a series of short pieces of rope sewn into a doubled or trebled band of canvas across it1 technically reef points2 and the third requires no explanation for any one4 ,but while it is undoubtedly true that a seaman who can do these things1 and no more1 cannot have his wages reduced for incompetency1 it is absolutely certain that an ,a4,b4 on board a sailing ship1 at any rate1 who could do nothing more than these things would be looked upon as an impostor1 not only by the officers1 but by his shipmates4 ,yet there are an immense number of ,a4,b4's whose qualifications are hardly up to that primitive standard4 ,more than that1 their number is increasing2 for in steamships the handling of sails is reduced to a continually lessening minimum1 reefing is a vanished art1 and as for steering1 well1 steamships of any importance carry quartermasters1 who do all the steering1 receiving a few shillings a month extra pay therefor4 ,so that you shall often find a man occupying an ,a4,b4's position who is really only an unskilled labourer4 ,placed on board of a sailing ship he would be as helpless and useless as any landlubber1 except that he would not be seasick4 ,an ,a4,b41 properly so called1 is a skilled mechanic with great abilities4 ,in the first place1 he is able to splice hemp- or wire-rope1 work that requires a considerable amount of technical skill1 for splicing is not by any means simply the joining of two pieces of rope together in a certain way4 ,there are many kinds of splices3 short splices1 long splices1 eye-splices1 sailmakers' splices1 grummets1 etc41 etc4 ,and it is not sufficient to be able to make a splice2 it must be done neatly1 in workmanlike fashion1 so that when it is wormed1 parcelled1 and served1 it shall only show as a smoothly graduated enlargement in the rope1 or1 as in the case of a sailmaker's long splice1 be without any covering1 hardly visible at all as a splice4 ,he must be able to make all the various seizings1 or securing of two parts of a rope together by a neatly passed lashing of tarred cord or wire--make them1 too1 in any position aloft1 while the ship is tumbling about1 and not merely in a comfortable corner on deck4 ,he must know the right method of bending sails--that is1 of fastening them to yards or stays1 for setting by robands and earrings1 so that they shall remain doing their work1 no matter how severe the weather4 ,he must understand the technique of sending up or down yards and masts1 be able to improvise lashings for the securing of sails when carried away in a gale1 or broken spars dangling aloft like fractured limbs4 ,he should know how to handle a palm and needle--that is1 sew canvas for making or mending sails1 and understand the manipulation of purchases 7pulleys and ropes71 the rigging of derricks1 and the distribution of strains2 how to set up rigging1 rattle down1 and heave the lead1 of course4 ,now1 all these queer-sounding names of duties that the good ,a4,b4 must be able to perform would require a vast amount of laborious explanation to make their meaning and purpose clear to any landsman1 and it is doubtful whether one person in ten thousand would take the trouble to master their details if an attempt were made to give them4 ,but ,i think that few will assert that a man who can do all these things as they must be done at sea can be in any sense classed as an unskilled man4 ,and ,i must add that what ,i have given are only the broad features1 as it were4 ,there remain still an enormous number of smaller matters1 knowledge of which is expected of an ,a4,b4 ,but ,i must admit that the class of ,a4,b4 which is capable of answering to such a description as this is growing yearly smaller and smaller4 ,that1 of course1 is the fault of steam4 ,while sailing ships endure there will always be some of them--there must be--but they are not wanted in steamships1 and so the supply dwindles with the demand4 ,but it is a great pity1 because these men are capable of rising to the height of an emergency4 ,they have individuality and resource as well as technical ability4 ,and when1 as so often happens1 a steamer gets into trouble at sea1 breaks down1 or is overtaken by a gale against which her low power is helpless1 the need of skilled seamen is often sorely felt4 ,an old shipmate of my own was telling me the other day of a case in point4 ,he was one of the ,a4,b4's in a large steamer called the ,bengal1 outward bound to ,japan4 ,they were overtaken in the ,bay of ,biscay by a tremendous gale1 before which they scudded with the huge square foresail set1 in order to keep her ahead of the sea4 7,it was being overtaken by such a sea that caused the awful loss of the ,london47 ,but at last it became necessary to take in that foresail1 and heave the ship to2 it was unsafe to run her any longer1 especially as the sail might carry away at any moment1 and the very evil they dreaded come upon them instantly4 ,so all hands were called aft1 eight of them1 and the skipper said1 ,d'ye think ye can take that foresail in1 my lads8 ,at which question they were amazed1 for none of them had ever heard such a question put before4 ,after a moment's silence one fellow shouted1 ,take it in6 ,why1 'course we can1 sir4 ,we c'd eat it6 ,that comforted the old man1 and he gave orders to haul it up1 at the same time manipulating the spanker so that she came round cannily1 head to sea1 and did not ship any heavy water4 ,they furled sail without any difficulty more than usual2 but when they had cleared up the gear1 the old man's voice rang out again1 ,splice the main-brace4 ,pelting aft at the double1 they received each a glass of grog1 and the old man's heartfelt thanks4 ,he told them that on the previous voyage he had a crew of steamboat sailors1 who in just such a night as that refused to go aloft--they were afraid2 and he had to see the sail blow away1 see also a great deal of damage done to his deck-gear1 and at one time it looked as if the vessel would be lost4 ,so this voyage he had been careful to select sailing-ship sailors1 and the result had entirely justified him4 ,yes1 said one man1 that's all very well for you1 sir4 ,but how about our getting a ship next voyage8 ,we shall be called steamboat sailors now4 ,of course the poor shipper had no answer to that1 but ,i have no doubt he felt the full force of the remark4 ,for therein lies the great difficulty4 ,no skipper of a sailing ship dare take steamboat men1 unless he has absolute proof that they know the work on board a sailing vessel4 ,and even then he is sure that a few months in steam rusts a sailor2 he is not likely to be very smart getting aloft1 or to be as expert as a man in training when he gets there4 ,more than that1 the steamboat sailor being1 as ,i have said1 almost invariably better fed than he is in any sailing vessel1 does not take at all kindly to a return to the same miserable way of living1 neither does he appreciate being so long at sea4 ,and all these things tend to assist the influx of the foreign element which1 flocking into our sailing ships1 speedily overflows into steamers1 and1 having once obtained a secure foothold1 never returns to its own place again4 ,,chapter ,,xxix4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,his ,,routine74 ,nautical routine1 although in certain broad features alike in all ships of all nations1 varies almost indefinitely in detail1 not merely in ships belonging to different countries1 but in ships of the same flag and of the same character4 ,and this is not only true of the details of duties to be performed1 but of the method of rigging1 sail-setting1 etc4 ,the master1 having a free hand1 may1 and does1 use his own discretion as to how and when he will have work done4 ,there is no one to gainsay him1 although his fads will certainly be keenly criticized in the fo'c'sle4 ,but where a certain routine is fixed and universal there are no exceptions to its rule2 as1 for instance1 the incidence of the watches4 ,the first thing to be done after a vessel has cleared her home-port outward bound is to muster the crew by their names4 ,then the mate and second mate face the assembled seamen and draw each a man alternately1 the mate beginning1 until each has a moiety4 ,if there is an odd man the mate gets him1 unless some private arrangement is come to between the two officers4 ,the number of men under each officer is called his watch1 and for further convenience of definition the mate's is called the port watch and the second mate's the starboard watch1 the left side of the ship1 looking towards the bows1 being the port side1 and the right the starboard4 ,thus divided1 the crew select their bunks on the side of the forecastle answering to their watches1 and so they remain throughout the voyage4 ,now1 there is an unwritten sea law which says that the cap'n takes her out1 and the mate brings her home1 which1 being interpreted1 only means that the starboard watch have the eight hours out on the first night of the outward passage1 and the port watch the first eight hours out on the homeward passage3 which again needs explaining4 ,a simple method of dividing the twenty-four hours into watches would be to have six of four hours each1 but it would have the demerit that the same men would be on watch for the greater part of every night4 ,so a simple plan was long ago devised for the continual change of watches4 ,the day was1 indeed1 divided into six watches of four hours each1 but the last watch of each working day1 viz4 that from #d to #h p4m41 was subdivided into two dog watches of two hours each4 ,nearly all the pleasant memories of fo'c'sle life cluster around the second of these4 ,from #d to #f p4m4 7,i speak of an ordinary ,british ship7 the watch on deck round up the day's work1 put things away1 sweep up decks1 etc41 preparing for the night4 ,the men of the watch below get their tea 7supper it is called on shipboard71 and at four bells 7#f o'clock p4m47 the members of the other watch go below and get their evening meal4 ,the watch that have relieved them have now no work1 unless sails require trimming1 with the exception of the helmsman1 and when supper is finished all hands can1 and do1 foregather on deck or in the forecastle1 according to the state of the weather1 and exchange yarns or read4 ,all smoke if they list4 ,it is the time of the day when all hands meet1 and it is looked forward to with a good deal of interest in every ship where things are as they should be4 ,at eight bells 7#h p4m47 the night begins4 ,the watch that have the eight hours out1 that is1 the watch that cleared up decks from four till six1 begin their vigil1 which will last till midnight2 the watch below turn in4 ,in every decent ship the bell is struck every half-hour1 increasing by single strokes1 i4e4 half-past eight1 one bell2 nine o'clock1 two bells2 and so on up till four1 when the helmsman and the look-out man are relieved2 then five1 six1 seven1 until five minutes to twelve1 when little one bell is struck1 and the watch below are called to be ready for appearance at eight bells 7midnight71 when they are mustered by the appearing officers4 ,the watch going below then turn in1 and the bells begin again and go on up till #d a4m41 eight bells again4 ,then the eight hours' out men reappear1 and at two bells 7#e a4m47 coffee is called4 ,at four bells wash decks begins1 and with it the secular work as distinguished from the mere handling of the ship's sails1 etc41 steering1 and look-out4 ,at seven bells 7#g4bj a4m41 really #g4cj1 the ten minutes being slipped in for coming up1 as we say7 the watch below are called for breakfast1 and at eight bells 7#h a4m47 they come on deck ready for work1 the retiring watch going to breakfast and afterwards to bunk1 or whatever they think fit1 until seven bells 7#aa4bj a4m474 ,then they rise for dinner1 and at noon1 which is made by the sun1 and never by the clock1 unless the sun is obscured1 they come on deck for the afternoon's work1 while the other watch retire4 ,with their going below again at eight bells 7#d p4m47 the twenty-four-hours' day is completed4 ,and it will be found that at #h p4m4 the watch coming on deck are the watch that on the previous night were at that time turning in4 ,now1 this routine of watch-keeping is universal1 but not so by any means the distribution of work4 ,i have just sketched the outlines of duty in a commonplace sailing ship or tramp steamer under the ,british flag4 ,but when we come to a smart liner or an ,american ship this humdrum1 jog-trot round is shattered like a bubble4 ,in the former it is necessary for the comfort of the passengers that their promenade decks shall be clean and dry at an early hour1 therefore the deck-scouring1 paint-washing1 etc41 must be got through before the time at which work is usually commenced in a non-passenger-carrying ship4 ,i do not suppose that any one can be so thoughtless as to wonder what on earth the sailors find to do who has ever made a passage across the ,atlantic in a big liner4 ,such a foolish question is often asked about ships in general1 but surely even the dullest must comprehend that the splendid cleanliness and order on board those floating hotels means a vast amount of work done while the passengers are sleeping1 since it is never obtruded upon them in their waking hours4 ,it must also occur to the more thoughtful among them that the modern sailors duties are largely made up of housemaid's work4 ,yet1 with so little opportunity for keeping up his acquaintance with the higher duties of his calling1 he is expected to rise to the fullest heights of a sailor's duty at the first call4 ,i submit that the meagre drill he gets in boat-handling and fire stations can hardly be sufficient for that purpose1 i4e4 the keeping him up to sailor pitch4 ,in ,american ships1 on the other hand1 sailing ships1 that is to say1 no such easy-going precession of duties is allowed4 ,the first thing that a seaman learns when introduced to an ,american ship is that his time belongs to the ship1 that if he is allowed to have any for himself at all it is a matter of grace1 not of right4 ,he must at all times hold himself at the disposal of his officers1 and whatever work they consider it necessary to undertake he must1 on the word being given1 throw himself into it as if it were a matter of life or death4 ,theoretically this is the case in all ships1 but it is nowhere carried out as it is in ,american vessels4 ,it is their tradition1 and they have a pride in its maintenance4 ,what it means to the sailor under the despotic rule of a bowelless master and iron-fisted officers it is impossible to convey to any one who has not seen the process4 ,it sometimes happens in ,british ships that all hands will be kept at work in the afternoons at sea1 usually on the passage home1 when the vessel is being thoroughly overhauled and renovated1 but where this is done a great deal of laxity is permitted at night4 ,the watch on deck during the hours of darkness1 with the exception of the man at the wheel and one on the look-out1 are allowed to sleep1 unless the sails require trimming1 and even this very necessary work is performed with a great deal of grumbling and bad language4 ,but in ,american ships it is often the proud boast of a skipper that he keeps his men at work in the watch on deck throughout the voyage1 by day or night1 in gale or calm2 and as for an afternoon watch below--absurd1 makes men fat and lazy6 ,no grumbling is permitted1 no dilatoriness of movement1 and due attention to all these severe rules is enforced by blows1 and1 if necessary1 by shooting4 ,it is the other extreme of the scale4 ,we are much too slack in our discipline2 the ,americans1 as a rule1 are far too severe4 ,of course there are exceptions on both sides1 but ,i speak of the rule4 ,sailors often wonder whether landsmen realize what it means for a ship to be always watched and tended1 from the time she leaves port until she arrives at her destination2 whether1 when coming on board a ship in harbour1 and looking curiously at the deserted wheel aft1 they appreciate the fact that for every minute of perhaps five or six months there is a man at that wheel1 steering the ship over the trackless sea1 guided alone by the compass4 ,this ceaseless care of the vessel has always struck me as a very impressive thing1 especially where1 as in an ordinary sailing ship1 every man in the fo'c'sle takes his turn1 or trick1 as it is called4 ,at the commencement of the voyage the men settle among themselves1 in an informal manner1 the order in which they shall follow each other at the wheel1 and1 subject to alterations in their number1 this order is preserved throughout the voyage4 ,some curious terms are current among them about the steering turns4 ,for instance1 when a man has neither wheel nor look-out occurring in a watch he solemnly announces he is a farmer2 when it happens that his wheel occurs from #d to #f a4m4 he growls at the idea of his having the gravy-eye wheel1 a coarse but most expressive designation for that sleepiest of watches4 ,this is the time when more accidents1 through lack of watchfulness1 occur than any other in the twenty-four hours4 ,his duty of steering varies greatly with the ship and the man4 ,some vessels are beautifully docile1 responsive to the lightest touch on the wheel1 and actually sympathetic--,i can use no other word--to a good helmsman4 ,i have been in vessels that one could almost steer blindfold by the feel of the wheel1 where the making of a serpentine course was a certain proof that the helmsman was either a bungler or grossly careless4 ,it is popularly supposed that a ship is always steered by the apparent movement of the compass1 and this is fairly true of steamships1 but it is ridiculous when applied to sailing ships4 ,the compass must be watched1 of course2 but the man who keeps his eye fixed upon it will soon find that not only must he work like a slave1 but that no amount of wheel-twisting will keep his ship steady on her course4 ,he must watch the movement of the ship's head against the sky1 the clouds1 the stars1 for he can then see instantly what amount of helm she requires1 whereas the compass does not tell him until too late1 or it is so lively that it is no guide at all1 except that its average swing from side to side of the point he is told to steer by will be approximately the same4 ,i have often been steering a large iron ship running before a heavy westerly gale in high southern latitudes when the compass has swung continuously round through its whole thirty-two points4 ,some men get so bewildered by this that they are useless as helmsmen4 ,others1 again1 when steering before a heavy following sea1 will lose their nerve4 ,the mighty waves thundering up astern like ravening monsters1 only to be satisfied by the overwhelming of the vessel1 are terrible to see1 and a prudent officer who notices the helmsman looking astern at such times1 with a wild eye and a blanched face1 will have him relieved at once1 before that appalling disaster broaching to takes place4 ,this occurs when a ship running dead before a gale of wind1 with her yards square1 is suddenly caught a little on one side by a furiously rushing wave and whirled round until her sails get caught aback1 the sea thunders over her broadside1 and she is in the greatest danger of being dismasted1 turned over1 or smashed up altogether4 ,many a ship posted as missing has thus been destroyed2 she has disappeared from the face of the sea in five minutes1 without giving any one on board the slightest chance of life4 ,as far as the ,a4,b4's workaday duties are concerned1 the same rules that apply to other workmen ashore do not apply1 for obvious reasons4 ,if a carpenter1 for instance1 were employed in the building of a house1 and it were found that he could only boil glue1 sweep up the shop1 or turn a grindstone1 he would be discharged on the instant4 ,but you cannot discharge a sailor until his return home1 unless he is willing to go1 and1 in a foreign country1 unless the consul is also willing to allow him to be discharged4 ,he may be absolutely worthless from the seaman's point of view1 which1 as ,i have shown1 must be considered in relation to the ship1 whether she is a steamer or a sailing ship1 but unless he is unable to steer1 it is almost impossible to reduce his wages4 ,i well remember a case1 years ago1 tried before the late ,mr4 ,raffles1 where the master of a ship had reduced one of his ,a4,b4's wages for the voyage by #a a month1 that is to the level of an ,o4,s4 7ordinary seaman74 ,there was no doubt whatever as to the kind of man the quondam ,a4,b4 was4 ,he had never been to sea before that voyage1 but some enterprising boarding-master had supplied him with another man's discharge1 rigged him up like a seafarer1 and got him shipped in a big southern-going sailing ship as an ,a4,b41 at #c a month4 ,but he had the wit to put his case into the hands of a smart lawyer1 who bullied the master to the verge of desperation4 ,among other things1 he said1 ,did you have your ship's decks washed1 ,mr4 ,brown8 ,of course ,i did1 replied the sorely-tried skipper4 ,oh1 you did4 ,was this man able to assist in washing decks8 ,oh1 well1 ,i suppose he could do that4 ,i don't require any of your supposing1 sir2 could he do his duty in this respect1 or could he not8 thundered the counsel4 ,yes1 he could4 ,thank you 7ironically74 ,now1 did you carry any pigs8 ,yes1 answered the bewildered commander2 there was---- ,that is sufficient4 ,kindly answer my questions without comment4 ,i suggest to you that those pigs required their sty to be cleaned occasionally4 ,yes2 and it---- said the skipper1 getting redder in the face as the lawyer stopped him again4 ,could this man clean out the pig-sty8 ,yes or no8 ,yes1 he could2 but---- ,answer my questions in a proper manner1 roared the lawyer4 ,and so on1 until1 in triumphant tones1 the legal gentleman exclaimed1 ,then ,i submit that you have no right at all to deduct one penny from my client's miserable earnings4 ,by your own admission he could perform all those duties1 very necessary duties1 about which ,i have questioned you4 ,they had to be performed by some one1 and surely you do not expect to get the work of your ship done for nothing1 etc4 ,in the result the man got his wages in full1 and the skipper went away in the belief that the law was a dangerous thing to meddle with1 even if you knew you were right4 ,but every sailor worth his salt knows what it means to get a few of these yokels foisted upon a ship4 ,they can be1 and they are1 put upon the dirty work1 the unskilled labour1 of which there is so much to be done2 but1 in addition to the fact that they cannot do even that work in sailor fashion1 all the work which they cannot do at all falls upon their shipmates who can4 ,this often means terrible overwork and suffering for everybody on first leaving home1 before useless articles have been taught their work aloft4 ,i know of no more difficult position to be in than aloft on a top-gallant yard1 for instance1 in a snowstorm in the ,channel1 with three other men1 for the purpose of furling the sail1 and finding that two of them are not only useless1 but helplessly in the way4 ,poor wretches1 they are suffering1 too1 no doubt1 clinging to the yard in an agony lest they shall fall1 sick with fright2 but the men who must do their work are the ones deserving of pity4 ,they get neither pity nor pence for the extra work they do4 ,of all the injustice from which the sailor suffers1 ,i know of none that he feels more keenly than this4 ,to be shipmates with half a dozen wasters who are getting the same pay and treatment as himself1 to be overworked because they cannot do the first thing at sailorizing1 and as likely as not obliged to keep very quiet in the fo'c'sle1 because of them being in the majority1 is a bitter pill to swallow4 ,one very unpleasant recollection of my own is of a ship where ,i was an ,a4,b4 ,in my watch1 besides myself1 there was a ,swede1 a very good man2 a little ,frenchman from ,st4 ,nazaire1 who was also a smart sailor-man2 a ,finn1 who knew how to do his work1 but was so slow and stupid that he was very little good2 another ,frenchman from the vicinity of ,nice1 who1 strange to say1 was useless1 and1 in addition1 knew only about half a dozen words of ,english2 a big1 brutal bully of a fellow1 who was a ,briton1 ,i grieve to confess1 and one of the basest sort2 also a negro ordinary seaman4 ,with such a watch1 those of us who could do what we were asked had a very hard time of it2 and1 to make matters worse1 the big ,briton was1 although as worthless an animal as ever stepped on a ship's deck1 the boss of the forecastle4 ,i was working hard for my certificate1 and did not care to complain2 until at last1 in ,hong ,kong1 while that great loafer was quietly sitting in the shade1 toying with the task of chipping the iron rust off the cable1 ,i was sent over with the negro to scrape the ship's side in the blazing sun4 ,i went1 feeling very hard done by2 but presently the fine dry dust of coal tar which ,i scraped off the planks stuck to my sweating face and began to blister it1 just as a mustard-plaster would have done4 ,then ,i felt that1 under these conditions1 life was not worth living1 so ,i left my job and sought the mate4 ,i appealed to his sense of justice4 ,here is a man1 ,i said1 who has not been able to do a single job of sailor-work1 except take his trick at the wheel 7and he's a gorgeous helmsman71 since we left ,cardiff4 ,i1 on the other hand1 have been continuously at work1 splicing1 serving1 sailorizing in all its details1 with never a complaint of my work4 ,yet because this man is a truculent beast1 who growls blasphemously whenever he is put on a job1 he is allowed to carry things so pleasantly that he might as well be on a perpetual picnic4 ,is it fair or just8 ,to the mate's credit ,i record it that the champion loafer was immediately sent overside to scrape1 and ,i went below to poultice my blistered visage4 ,but even there he scored1 for he quietly shifted his stage under the counter1 where he could not be seen1 and there sat in the shade and smoked his pipe4 ,still1 the business did not suit him1 and two days after1 to the delight of every one on board1 he deserted4 ,he had the assurance to come back for his kit2 but he was not allowed to come on board1 so ,i lowered it over the bows to him4 ,he knew that the skipper was too glad to be rid of him to prosecute4 ,,chapter ,,xxx4 ,,the ,a4,b4 7,,his ,,position74 ,from all of the foregoing it will doubtless be rightly assumed that the ,a4,b4 is in a most anomalous position at the present time4 ,he may be a skilled mechanic1 a man of energy1 resource1 and great abilities1 or he may be just an unskilled labourer1 with precisely the same pay and treatment as the best seaman afloat of the same grade4 ,this is a bad state of things1 but it is to be hoped that the system of continuous discharges now being introduced will make some alteration for the better4 ,the maritime nations of ,europe have long ago recognized the importance of having some definite record of a seaman's service1 some means whereby it could be told at a glance whether he was a sailor or not4 ,so that each ,french1 or ,german1 or ,italian sailor has a little book wherein is entered what manner of man he is in appearance1 and the date of every shipping and discharge he has experienced during his seafaring career4 ,his behaviour also is there set down1 and visd by consul or shipping-officer1 as the case may be4 ,without this book he can in nowise get a ship of his own country's flag1 but he can1 and does1 ship in ,british vessels where the rules are lax2 where a discharge may be bought from a brother seaman outward bound1 and used with impunity2 where a man may be a worthless loafer1 and yet suffer no penalties for taking a job for which he has no qualifications whatever4 ,let us hope that the system of continuous discharges will be all to the good4 ,but the prime cause of the lowering of the ,a4,b4 and of the anomalies in his position is undoubtedly the advent of the steamship4 ,blink the fact how we may1 it remains true that what is wanted in a steamer is only a burly labourer who is able to steer--that is1 as long as all goes well2 and the percentages of disaster year by year are so small that no steamship owners need fear to take the risk of sending their ships to sea without a sailor1 properly so called1 except the officers on board4 ,as ,i have said1 matters are very different in the sailing ship4 ,there the sailor must be had1 but the supply of ,british seamen dwindles so fast1 that the foreigner from ,scandinavia1 from ,germany1 from ,italy1 comes in ever-increasing numbers for the sake of the higher pay and the easier life4 ,and if the influx of foreign seamen was only confined to the sailing fleet the situation would not be so perilous4 ,in one sense1 of course1 it will always be a danger1 as long as sailing ships are considered1 and rightly so1 the only real training places for seamen4 ,because it means that we are not raising any more seamen to fill the places left vacant by death1 and by men leaving the sea for shore-life4 ,but1 unfortunately1 foreign seamen flow into the steamships as well1 also in ever-increasing numbers4 ,this is not at all easy to understand in the face of the facts that so little technical ability is required of the ,a4,b4 in steamers1 and the number of unemployed men there are about our streets4 ,it may be that what is frequently said by our critics at home and abroad is true3 that ,britons are getting more and more loth to work at all2 that when they get a job their first care is not to see how they can best satisfy their employer1 but how little they can do for their money4 ,if this be so1 it is a fatal mistake on their part4 ,it would be bad enough for themselves personally1 if they had the monopoly of the world's labour markets2 but1 confronted with the down-trodden millions of ,europe1 who will work till they sink from exhaustion1 without a complaint1 who learn our language easily1 and swarm into every opening that presents itself1 such behaviour on the part of our workers is surely suicidal4 ,this is especially true of seamen1 where no restrictions are placed upon the number of foreigners employed1 and when they can always be obtained4 ,if a shipmaster happens to have had much trouble with a crew of his own countrymen on a voyage1 he is almost sure to look out that he has foreigners next time4 ,they are fully qualified--it is the rarest possible thing to find a foreign sailor who cannot do his work--and they will obey orders without grumbling4 ,personally1 ,i feel absolutely sure that the ,british seaman1 properly so called--,i do not mean a ship-navvy1 who couldn't make a short splice1 or seize a ratline on properly to save his life--is the finest in the world4 ,for endurance1 for skill1 for reliability in time of danger1 for resource in time of difficulty1 he has no better4 ,but1 alas for the truth1 he is departing2 and ,i fear it will be no long time before his place in the ,merchant ,service will know him no more4 ,what ,british seamen are capable of may be seen in the ,navy1 whose splendid handy-men are the envy of the world4 ,is it too much to hope that by some better method of training and treatment we might get just as fine a body of men in the ,merchant ,service8 ,perhaps it is1 and yet--and yet there are those among us who do dream such a dream as this4 ,we think that by means of a properly fostered and trained ,naval ,reserve we might build up a magnificent body of ,merchant seamen with characters to lose2 men who would take a pride in their position1 and be a real bulwark to the country4 ,but such a ,reserve would require the whole-hearted support of the ,admiralty1 not hardly-veiled enmity4 ,every seafaring man1 with the best interest of his country at heart1 knows full well how pitifully the grand opportunity afforded by the institution of the ,royal ,naval ,reserve has been allowed to go to waste4 ,perhaps some day1 before it is too late1 the history of the ,royal ,naval ,reserve will be written with inside knowledge of all the facts1 and an amazing document it would make1 though not more amazing than many similar documents dealing with the non-understandable ways of the great departments who spend the country's money4 ,theoretically the ,royal ,naval ,reserve should be a success4 ,as far as the obtaining of officers is considered there is little doubt that it is a success1 even though ,merchant officers who seek to pass into the ,navy vi the ,royal ,naval ,reserve are known by the invidious sobriquet of the hungry half-hundred4 ,great shipping companies make it known that they wish their officers to belong to the ,reserve1 and straightway the thing is done4 ,there is no compulsion1 the suggestion is sufficient1 and the retaining fee1 being quite a nice little sum per annum1 is also an inducement4 ,but the numbers of the seamen in the ,royal ,naval ,reserve do not increase4 ,why8 ,there is a retaining fee of #f per annum2 there is also a guinea a week pay during drill1 of which every member is supposed to put in six weeks a year4 ,seeing what sailors are1 one would have thought that such a bait would have allured them in large numbers4 ,and yet there is only about one-quarter of the number there should be4 ,it is to be hoped most devoutly that1 in the present agitation about the ,navy and its various shortcomings1 this will not be forgotten1 and that it will be fully recognized that the only possible source of supply for the ,navy in case of war is the ,mercantile ,marine4 ,to secure such a supply1 it is imperative that the ,a4,b4 shall be looked after1 made to feel that he is a man of some importance to the state1 and that the good men shall not be handicapped by the wastrel2 that a man shall earn the title of ,a4,b4 before he is permitted to take it1 and that every man shipping as an ,a4,b4 who has no qualifications for that honourable post shall suffer for his misdeeds1 his fraudulent burdening of his shipmates with work that he is unable to perform4 ,then ,i believe that we should get in the ,merchant ,service a good class of seamen1 men who would not say that the sea was a life fit only for dogs4 ,under proper conditions1 such as may even now be found1 that statement is a libel4 ,speaking for myself1 ,i can say with perfect candour that ,i have been as happy in ships before the mast as any workman could hope to be ashore4 ,where there is a good crew of men who know their work and will do it1 decent food of good quality1 and experienced officers1 a sailor before the mast may1 and does1 have a very good time--infinitely better than any journeyman ashore1 with all the worries attendant upon loss of employment1 rent1 strikes1 etc4 ,only get the sailor to see that his business is a business that requires a trained man to make any hand at it1 that the door into it is closed against the dock-walloper and the loafer1 and that the same consideration that is meted out to mechanics ashore is accorded to him1 and ,i am sure there would be a steady increase in the number of ,british seamen in ,british ,merchant ships3 aided1 of course1 by the institution of such a feeder as the non-premium apprenticeship ,i have already spoken about would be4 ,i am quite sure that ,british seamen are to be got and kept1 if the powers that be will only go the right way to work1 remembering that what is wanted is not so much fresh legislation as a little more use of the legislation already existing4 ,ship-owners are not anxious to carry foreign seamen1 except1 perhaps1 in eastern trades1 where lascars and ,chinese come in handy4 ,and even in those ships there will usually be found a stiffening of most excellent white seamen1 who are usually ,british4 ,no2 the only question for the average ship-owner is1 ,how1 in the face of the fierce and unscrupulous competition against which ,i have to fight1 can ,i get my ships efficiently manned8 ,he wants men to earn their pay1 pay which is higher than that of any other country1 except ,america and ,australia1 and he does not at all concern himself about the nationality of those men4 ,he leaves them1 very properly1 to those who will have to command them2 but if masters of ships are made to believe that1 no matter how good the pay and provisions given1 they can never rely upon getting1 in the first place1 sailor-men of their own race at all1 and1 in the second1 men of their own nationality who will work cheerfully for their pay without a constant succession of worrying rows1 it must not be wondered at if they prefer the foreigner1 who comes already broken in1 trained in seamanship1 polite1 and hard-working1 no matter where he hails from4 ,in bidding farewell to the ,a4,b41 ,i again earnestly express my full sympathy for and with him1 and trust that ere long ,i shall have the joy of seeing ,a4,b4's of my own race again increasing in the ,british ,merchant ,service4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,,the ,o4,s4 7,,ordinary ,,seaman74 ,in the days when the ,a4,b4 was properly considered to be a man who had learned his trade1 and would have been ashamed to ship as an ,a4,b4 unless he were fully capable of doing any job of sailorizing that was given him1 the ,o4,s4 was quite an institution4 ,he was a young seaman who had been through a time of considerable tribulation as a ship-boy2 but1 having grown bigger and stronger1 able to take his trick at the wheel1 and make himself felt in furling sails1 he ventured to take a step up the ladder4 ,there was no specified manner in which this was to be done4 ,with that haphazard disregard of the seamen's best interests which has characterized our ,mercantile ,marine for many generations1 it was left to chance4 ,one would have thought that a recognized method would have been for a boy to present himself before certain properly constituted authorities for an examination into his qualifications1 and that1 having satisfied them that he was able to do all that an ordinary seaman should be capable of1 they would grant him a certificate to that effect4 ,nothing of the sort4 ,sometimes a boy would make friends with an officer1 who would report favourably upon him to the master at the end of a voyage1 and then that master might1 if he remembered it or felt so disposed1 give to the boy an ordinary seaman's discharge4 ,or if he were a big fellow1 the boy might get a master to ship him as an ,o4,s41 even though he had nothing but a boy's discharge to show4 ,the whole business was as slipshod as it could well be1 for it depended entirely upon the caprice or kindliness of the master granting it4 ,there was just this in its favour1 that it recognized an ,a4,b4 as a seaman who had been through the regular routine of boy and ,o4,s4 before he became an ,a4,b41 so that the presumption was entirely in favour of his having learned his business4 ,but1 as ,i have shown1 perhaps with what might be brutal clearness1 in the preceding pages1 that has all been changed4 ,under present conditions you may occasionally find an ordinary seaman on board of a ship1 but be very sure that if you do he is having it drummed into him every watch that he is a fool4 ,why1 he will be asked1 should you ship as ,o4,s4 when there's plenty of ,a4,b4's going that don't know the knight heads from the main-brace1 bumpkin8 ,don't be a fool4 ,you might just as well have the other pound or thirty shillings a month as them fellows that ain't half as good as you are6 ,and presently he thinks so too1 so that he makes up his mind that he'll never be an ,o4,s4 any more4 ,that determination is mightily strengthened if he happen to be on board of a ship where there are two or three modern ,a4,b4's1 wastrels who would be dear if they came for nothing a month and found themselves2 as1 for instance1 when ,i was an ,o4,s4 in a big ship going out to ,new ,zealand4 ,there was never a job of work came my way that ,i didn't do as if it was going before a ,bench of ,examiners4 ,i was as nervous of blame and delighted at commendation as if ,i had been striving for a valuable prize4 ,but we had among our ,a4,b4's four men 7if ,i can call them so7 who were not worth a penny a day1 and one black night it was my hap to be on the main royal yard with one of them for the purpose of furling the sail4 ,had the weather been what it should at the furling of this1 the loftiest sail in the ship1 ,i should not have so much minded2 but our redoubtable skipper was always loth to waste one breath of a fair wind1 and so he had hung on until it looked as if the three huge masts would have been blown clean out of her4 ,then all hands were called in hot haste1 royals1 top-gallant-sails1 and other top-sails were lowered all at once1 and a pretty fine job it was with our crowd4 ,however1 as ,i have said1 ,i found myself up there on that giddy height1 with all those vast sails battering far below me1 a gale of wind roaring against me1 a sail before me that was straining madly to tear itself away from its confining gear1 and a helpmate who was absolutely paralyzed with fear1 an ,a4,b4 an't please you4 ,i did not know what was the matter with him4 ,being on the weather-side of the yard1 ,i was doing my best to get the sail quiet2 and although ,i wondered greatly what had become of ,johnnie1 ,i could not go round and see4 ,at last1 after a hard struggle1 ,i succeeded in getting the sail snug1 only to find that there were no gaskets on the yard 7gaskets are small ropes used to wind round the sails and the yards to keep the sails fast when they are furled74 ,all there was available for the securing of what ,i had gained was the bunt-gasket1 a little criss-crossed piece of plaited spun yarn1 which is fitted to hold fast the centre or bunt of the sail when it is furled--a feeble thing at the best1 but1 such as it was1 ,i made use of it to the best of my ability4 ,then1 twisting my legs round the royal back stay1 ,i slid down to the deck1 rushed below into the bo'sun's locker1 and cut off several fathoms of ratline stuff 7small rope74 ,i must here admit that she was a very slackly ruled ship4 ,such a piece of impudence by any seaman would never be allowed1 because it would not be necessary1 on board of a properly managed vessel4 ,having secured my gaskets1 ,i hurried aloft and made the sail fast4 ,when the work was done1 ,i discovered ,johnnie1 clinging like a bat to the extreme lee-end of the yard4 ,i shouted to him till ,i was hoarse1 but he made no sign1 so ,i left him1 for ,i did not care to run the risk of putting two men's weight upon the lift2 and1 moreover1 ,i was something scornful at that ,a4,b4's behaviour4 ,i went below and helped in the work that was being done until the time came for us to go below1 and there was ,johnnie1 the ,a4,b41 talking as boldly as the rest1 and ordering me to do this1 that1 and the other4 ,then a little explanation ensued1 and from that night forward ,i took orders from him no more4 ,but ,i had learned something1 and when the time came ,i met the bo'sun1 and put the question to him whether he did not think ,i was as well worthy of an ,a4,b4's discharge as some of the fellows who had been unable to do the work that ,i had undertaken4 ,in the result ,i got my coveted piece of paper1 and never sailed as ,o4,s4 afterwards4 ,the precise definition of an ordinary seaman's duties has never been laid before me4 ,but ,i fancy that those three qualifications which are often spoken of as the desiderata for an ,a4,b4 should more properly be applied to the ,o4,s41 viz4 that he should be able to hand1 reef1 and steer4 ,once1 and once only1 was any question raised with me when ,i was an ,o4,s4 about my qualification1 and that was by a man who was very sore indeed at having to pay #c per month for my services4 ,i joined the vessel in ,sydney1 where ,a4,b4's wages were1 at the time1 #e a month for deep water1 resisting all the skipper's efforts to get me for #b #ajs4 a month4 ,this so annoyed him1 that he tried in various ways to pick holes in my work1 and at last declared that ,i could not steer 7although ,i never missed a trick during the whole voyage71 and also that ,i was not competent to cross a royal yard1 which was fantastically untrue4 ,i should very much like to explain how this piece of work is done1 but am almost afraid1 because of the inevitable use of technical terms4 ,still1 ,i feel that ,i have not worried my readers much1 so far1 with sea language1 and that perhaps some would like to hear just a little bit of sailor-talk4 ,it must be understood that this piece of work is one of the smallest of rigging manuvres that is performed on board ship4 ,by rigging manuvres ,i mean work aloft which is not always being done or undone1 such as furling or setting sails4 ,in fact1 the work aloft of a ship may be divided into three categories--the temporary1 the sub-permanent1 and the permanent4 ,under the heading of temporary work comes the setting and furling of sails4 ,sub-permanent work is the shifting of sails--heavy-weather canvas for that carried in the doldrums and trades1 and the manipulation of studding-sail gear--although this latter1 except in old ships1 rarely troubles sailors much to-day4 ,but permanent work1 by far the most important1 and demanding the greatest amount of seamanship1 includes all the care of the standing rigging1 the sending up or down of masts and yards1 and the thousand and one repairs that are necessary in order that the mazy fabric of a sailing ship's top-hamper may do its work of propulsion in association with the wind4 ,of all the heavier work of this kind1 i4e4 shifting the yards and masts1 that of handling the royal and sky-sail yards is the most frequently indulged in2 for many skippers commanding old ships dare not put too much strain upon the lighter masts in heavy weather1 and they therefore make a rule of sending down the loftiest yards when they bend their heavy-weather sails4 ,now1 a royal yard in situ is a spar of1 say1 thirty-five feet in length 7varying1 of course1 with the size of the ship71 seven or eight inches in diameter in the slings 7the centre71 and tapering at both ends1 or yard-arms1 to four inches1 or even less4 ,by means of three 7sometimes only one7 encircling iron sling-bands in its centre1 it is attached to an iron1 leather-lined collar1 which goes round the royal mast1 and is called the parral4 ,it is also suspended by a chain tye1 which leads through a sheave-hole at the masthead1 and is connected on the after-side to a purchase for hoisting the yard1 the whole tackle constituting the royal haulyards1 halliards1 or halyards1 the latter for choice4 ,from each yard-arm to the masthead run pieces of rope1 which are tight when the yard is lowered4 ,they are called lifts1 and are for the purpose of keeping the yard horizontal1 and of sustaining the extra weight put upon it by men who go upon it for any purpose4 ,looped abaft the yard are the foot-ropes1 upon which the men stand when furling or bending the sail1 and attached to each yard-arm are the braces for the purpose of slinging the yard from one side to the other4 ,all this gear is for the yard alone4 ,then there is the sail1 with a rope running through a block under both quarters of the yard1 and down to the corners of the sail abaft all1 the clew-lines1 while from a block at the masthead another rope runs down through a block or bull's-eye seized on to the tye close down to the yard1 and so1 being forked before-all to the foot of the sail1 where it is seized1 one leg on either side to the foot4 ,this is the bunt-line4 ,the clew-lines1 bunt-lines1 halyards1 and braces are worked from the deck1 and constitute the running-gear of the sail4 ,from the foregoing perfunctory description of the gear attached to one of the lightest yards in the ship1 some slight idea may be gathered of the immense combination of cordage required to work about thirty sails1 some with much more gear than a royal1 of course4 ,but my principal object in attempting to describe the gear of the royal yard was to show what used to be considered fair work for an ordinary seaman in crossing it4 ,the running gear was1 of course1 already aloft2 the standing gear and the sail were sent up with the yard1 which was swayed aloft by a long rope running through the sheave-hole in the masthead1 from which the halyards were temporarily unrove4 ,the youngster charged with the duty of crossing the yard goes aloft as it is swayed up1 guiding it clear of the rigging as it jerkily ascends4 ,of course it is so secured that it rises vertically1 and the work of keeping it clear of the rigging when the ship tumbles about is by no means easy2 and1 of course1 the higher it ascends the greater is the motion1 until1 when it is high enough1 it often taxes the utmost strength and skill of the smartest youngster to deal with it4 ,as the upper yard-arm reaches the top-gallant masthead he must put on the brace and lift for that side and cast off the yard-arm stop1 then1 as speedily afterwards as possible1 get the lower brace on1 and the lift for that side also secure4 ,as soon as that is done1 he can1 by casting loose the quarter stop1 allow the yard to be lowered in its proper horizontal position4 ,it will now be supported by the lifts1 so that he can fix the parral to the mast1 and those on deck having steadied the braces tight1 the worst of his troubles are over4 ,he can now come up the yard rope by which the yard has been hoisted1 and1 letting it run down on deck1 reeve the tye of the halyards in its place4 ,then he must secure all the gear to the sail properly1 sheets1 clew-lines1 and bunt-lines1 loose the sail1 sing out ,sheet home the royal1 light up the gear1 and1 when the sail is set1 stop it loosely with one turn of roping-twine1 so that it will not chafe the sail by being stretched tightly over it1 and come down4 ,if he can do all that smartly and well1 in spite of the ship's uneasy motion1 he is superior to two-thirds of the so-called able seamen of to-day4 ,in the absence of a boy1 the ordinary seaman is also the lackey of the watch in an ,english ship4 ,the law in this respect is unwritten1 and ,i have seen a sturdy youngster successfully appeal against it4 ,there is really no reason why an ,o4,s4 should be compelled to sweep up the fo'c'sle after every meal1 keep the men's plates1 knives1 and forks clean1 trim the lamp1 make the cracker-hash1 etc4 ,but few indeed are the fo'c'sles where an ,o4,s4 would be able to claim exemption from such servitude4 ,and if he did get off from dancing attendance upon the men in his watch below1 he would almost certainly be made to do much of their legitimate work during the watch on deck4 ,for that is one of the worst features of ,british ships--that1 owing to the peculiar want of discipline which obtains1 so much work that should be fairly distributed falls upon those who are either indisposed to grumble or are in a junior position4 ,for instance1 in a sailing ship1 let us say1 which carries no boys or apprentices1 but an ,o4,s4 in each watch1 that young man during his watch on deck will certainly be expected to keep on the qui vive4 ,if he have the good fortune to be commanded by a thoughtful officer1 he will probably be allowed to take a regular trick at the wheel1 in spite of the grumbling of the men1 many of whom will be no better than he is1 if as good4 ,but in the great majority of cases he must mount guard near the break of the poop during his watch on deck at night1 solely in order that he may pass the word along to the sleeping men1 or do himself any job that he can manage without disturbing them4 ,when any work has been done that requires them all1 he will do the lion's share of it--,i have often seen the whole watch standing waiting for an ,o4,s4 to do something1 because every one of them was too lazy to make a start1 and the young officer did not care to risk a row by sending any particular man2 and when the pulling and hauling is done1 the last belay or well has been cried1 the men all slouch off to their corners and pipes1 or sleep again1 leaving the ,o4,s4 to go the round of the ship and coil up all the ropes4 ,of course ,i am not quoting this as a great hardship4 ,i only mention it to show how peculiar are the notions held by foremast hands of the duties of boys and ordinary seamen4 ,it was doubtless a very good training for the latter1 this being made to do everything possible while the men looked on criticizingly1 but it was often carried to cruel lengths4 ,i have myself seen as well as experienced such treatment of an ,o4,s4 in a ship's fo'c'sle at the hands of men1 who certainly did not deserve to wield any authority1 as was sufficient to make a lad wish himself dead4 ,worse1 remember1 for the ,o4,s4 than the boy4 ,what do you think of a fine young man being compelled to wait for his food till every one else in the fo'c'sle is served1 to find then that of his poor allowance he had been robbed nearly half2 made to feel at all times that the only object of his existence during his watch below was to be the body-servant of eight or ten men1 to preserve before them a silent1 respectful demeanour1 and to consider himself honoured if any of them addressed him in any other than terms of opprobrium8 ,yet all this might be changed1 has often been changed1 in a moment4 ,if one of the little kings in a burst of magnificent rage at some dereliction of duty on the part of his slave--fo'c'sle not swept clean1 or plate not washed quickly--struck the ,o4,s4 a shameful blow1 and the latter had the grit to return it with interest1 following it up with a victory over his aggressor1 thenceforward that fo'c'sle would not be a bad place for the hitherto-put-upon junior4 ,but under the altered conditions of modern sea-service this fo'c'sle etiquette is being swept away1 and soon will have as completely disappeared as the reluctance to sail on ,friday has before the necessities of steam4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,,the ,,boy4 ,at last we have arrived at the very bottom of the social scale of board-ship life4 ,the boy1 as distinguished from the cabin boy1 has long posed as a hero of romance in sea fiction4 ,we all know that boy4 ,his marvellous deeds have inspired generations of home-bred youths with an unquenchable thirst for the sailor's life1 where1 to quote one of the most charming of song-writers1 ,we watch the waves that glide by our vessel's stately side1 ,or the wild sea-birds that follow through the air2 ,or we gather in a ring1 and with cheerful voices sing2 ,oh1 gaily goes the ship when the wind blows fair4 ,how many youngsters1 lured by the mysterious air of adventure pervading all things connected with the sea1 have run from comfortable homes1 and1 after hardships innumerable1 have compassed the goal of their desire--have found a shipmaster willing to take them to sea with him as boy6 ,and then--well1 happily1 the young seafarer soon develops a wonderful capacity for patient endurance of evils not to be avoided1 and1 if of the true grit1 in time looks back upon his probationary period of suffering as a training which he was glad to have endured4 ,and the older he grows the more complacently does he recall the days when he learned to expect the blow first and the explanation afterwards1 learned to eat what he could get with an appetite like an ostrich1 could sleep in drenched clothing with a bare plank beneath him1 and find all his consolation in the fact that soon he would be able to look down upon a newcomer with the lofty superiority of the full-blown mariner4 ,at the risk of being thought tedious1 ,i must repeat that for the ship boy1 as for boys everywhere else in our favoured land1 a brighter day has dawned4 ,within the memory of middle-aged men a boy on board a ship was the butt1 the vicarious sacrifice to all the accumulated ill-temper of the ship4 ,to-day tales are told of the treatment of boys in ,geordie colliers that are enough to make the flesh creep to hear4 ,in those days it was the privilege of every man on board to ill-treat the boy2 and if1 as very often happened1 the poor little wretch died under it--well1 what of it8--it was only a boy4 ,and the peculiar part of it all was that the brutes who did these evil deeds prided themselves that their actions were right and proper4 ,there was only one way of training a boy--with a rope's-end if it were handy2 if not1 a fist or a boot would do1 but he must be beaten4 ,one man1 whom ,i shall always remember1 as smart a seaman as ever trod a ship's deck1 beat me until there was not a square inch of my small body unbruised4 ,scarcely a watch passed that ,i did not receive some token of his interest in my welfare1 and on two occasions he kicked me with such violence that1 with all the will in the world to obey his orders1 ,i was perfectly helpless4 ,my only wonder is that he did not kill me4 ,yet when ,i left the ship he bade me quite an affectionate farewell1 bidding me remember how hard he had laboured for my benefit1 that every blow he had given me was solely aimed at making me more useful1 and fitting me for my duties4 ,at the time ,i felt that he was lying1 and that his treatment of me was dictated by that savage lust of cruelty to an unresisting victim that grows alarmingly with the yielding thereto1 and that had ,i only possessed the strength and courage to retaliate1 he would speedily have altered his mind4 ,but now ,i do not know4 ,i feel that perhaps he may have been sincere4 ,men were self-deceivers ever2 and there are few self-deceptions more common among mankind than this--that cruelty is a splendid aid to education4 ,but here let me say that cruelty to boys was far more common among the officers than the men4 ,if a boy was willing and respectful and clean1 it was very seldom that he got beaten in the fo'c'sle4 ,there was almost always a certain amount of public spirit which made for justice where half a dozen of even the roughest men were gathered together4 ,i have known one exception to this good rule--have experienced it in my own person--where out of a whole crew of eight there was not one man enough to protest against the daily practice of cruelty to me4 ,more than that1 they encouraged a big boy1 who was getting the same pay as myself1 but whose qualifications1 except strength1 were far inferior to mine1 to pummel me too4 ,such a gang ,i have never met with before or since1 and ,i am sure that the combination is uncommon4 ,the majority of the boys going to sea to-day unapprenticed are drawn from the training ships1 those good schools for the boy who is said to be unmanageable ashore4 ,coming from the wild and precarious life of the streets into such a ship as the ,warspite1 ,arethusa1 or ,cornwall1 is such a revelation to a boy1 that for a little while he feels as if the bottom had fallen out of his world4 ,for the anarchical condition1 tempered by a salutary dread of the policeman1 under which he has been living1 there are substituted law and order1 cleanliness and discipline2 for regular short commons and dog-like snatching of sleep come good food regularly eaten1 regular sleep at set times1 regular play1 and a sound prospect of benefits1 very real indeed1 for the patient worker in well-doing4 ,here the boy is taught all the essentials of seafaring except the actual going to sea1 and in at least one instance that practical want is supplied1 in that a small square-rigged vessel is kept1 which1 with selected boys for a crew1 under the charge of experienced seamen1 plies up and down the river under sail4 ,and it may truly be said that a boy who has passed a couple of years under such treatment as this is as well prepared for becoming a good seaman as it is possible for a boy to be4 ,but1 strangely enough1 the training is of very little real service to the lads when they go to sea to earn their living4 ,for at once they find themselves under such conditions as they never before dreamed of4 ,in place of the perfect discipline and stringent rules to which they have been accustomed1 they find the greatest laxity prevailing4 ,rules are almost non-existent4 ,in the training ship each of them had his work allotted to him4 ,when the signal was given he knew just what to do1 and how to do it2 and when it was done1 he was done too4 ,in the merchant ship the rigging is different1 the method is different1 and instead of his having any set duties1 he is at everybody's beck and call1 given tasks to accomplish single-handed that he has been taught to do man-of-war fashion--that is1 with so many hands that the work was done like magic1 and in a few seconds a sail was furled or set1 or a mast was sent up or down4 ,they cannot now keep themselves clean and smart-looking4 ,for1 in the first place1 they have little time allowed1 and1 in the next1 there is not much water 7in sailing ships74 ,no longer is it necessary that they should present themselves at stated hours for inspection2 no longer is every movement of theirs regulated as if by clock-work4 ,they may be as slovenly1 as dirty as they list1 there is no one to enforce upon them the keeping of the good rules they have so long been under2 and that principally because those who bear rule over them know that such enforcement is impossible4 ,so that the carefully instilled habits of order1 regularity1 and cleanliness are broken down at once1 and in place of the smartly-clad1 well-set-up youth who joined the ship1 there is presently seen a slouchy1 shifty-eyed gamin1 who is a profound student of the art of dodging ,pompey1 who gets the well-deserved character from his shipmates of being a young sailor1 but a d---- old soldier4 ,there is a greater evil1 if possible1 than this impending4 ,it is that all the careful training of the lad shall presently be of no avail whatever2 because1 mixing freely with the crew1 he is sedulously taught that the sea as a profession or calling is played out4 ,why1 just look at it a minnit1 says his mentor4 ,you've never got no time to call yer own 7which is a lie1 in an ,english ship1 at any rate71 yer everybody's dorg1 yer fed wuss'n a pig1 and what y' got t' look forrward ter8 ,t' die in the wukkus4 ',sides1 'n ,englishman don't like ter be mucked up all the time with a lot er foreigners in one of his country ships4 ,why1 they looks down on us now 'sif we wus a---- lot of interlopers wot got no right to sail under owr own flag4 ',n1 after all1 wot are yer8 ,never nothin' but a dirty sailor all yer days4 ,nobody 'shore knows nothin' about yer2 'n don' care neither4 ,y' ain't got no vote1 y' ain't got no home1 y'r jest a bit of wreckage4 ,quit it1 me son1 'n git a job ashore1 where1 if you're a bloomin' scavenger1 you've got yer pull on the vestrymin1 because you've got a vote1 an' if they don't look after your interests1 w'y1 out they goes2 see6 ,this is the kind of pernicious stuff 7all the more dangerous because of its half-truth7 that the boy is regaled with1 along with a great deal more that cannot be reproduced1 for reasons that need not be given2 and again ,i say1 without fear of being hauled over the coals for repetition1 it is quite sufficient to account for the falling off in the numbers of young ,british seamen4 ,but ,i feel certain that some such scheme as ,i have sketched out in the ,apprentice chapters would be efficacious in preventing this wholesale waste of good material4 ,from the lowest class of seamen up to the second mate 7except in the first-class liners7 the evil to be battled with is the lack of continuous employment4 ,it does not admit of the sailor acquiring any interest in his ship4 ,moreover1 there is ever dangling before his eyes the terror of being outward bound--those two fateful words that convey such a mountain of meaning to every seafaring man4 ,to be outward bound means that he is ashore penniless1 dependent upon the kindness of a boarding-master for a little food2 to prowl about the docks1 boarding ship after ship1 in the remote chance of securing a berth1 and to meet with black looks everywhere2 to be told continually that he is a cumberer of the ground1 a loafer1 a fellow that might1 if he would1 get a ship1 but prefers instead to hang around maritime liquor shops1 keeping a keen look-out for homeward bounders who will treat him1 instead of being1 as he really is in nearly every case1 feverishly anxious to get back to sea again3 these are some of the greatest drawbacks to a deep-water sailor's career4 ,and they tell with tremendous force against the boy4 ,friendless and homeless in many cases1 or with parents so poor that they can do nothing to help him1 earning such small wages that he can hardly purchase necessary clothing1 much less pay for board and lodging1 and with all a boy's natural carelessness1 he is sorely tempted to take the first job that comes in his way1 and quit the sea altogether as a means of livelihood4 ,if he does so1 even though the new employment may only last for a few months1 he will hardly go to sea again4 ,and no one knowing the peculiar difficulties of his lot will be able to blame him4 ,i have often wished that it were possible to make lads who at school chatter so glibly about running away to sea1 understand how impossible it is to do any such thing nowadays1 except1 indeed1 in such vessels as are the last resort of the unfortunate4 ,even after ,i had been at sea for a couple of years ,i found it difficult to get a ship1 on account of the competition of the training-ship lads1 who1 with their well-replenished outfits and sturdy appearance--to say nothing of the persistence of the agent charged with the duty of getting them shipped--were readily accepted by skippers1 to the exclusion of outsiders4 ,the unfortunate vessels of which ,i speak are those small sailing craft which still drag out a precarious existence in competition with steam4 ,they may be seen in all our smaller ports1 often lying disconsolately upon mud-banks at ebb-tide1 or1 looking woefully out of place1 at some wharf belonging to a seaside place like ,margate or ,ramsgate4 ,oh1 so dirty1 so miserable they look6 ,they only carry such rough cargoes as it does not pay to put in steam1 and1 in consequence1 their freight-earning capacity is very low4 ,that1 again1 reacts upon the equipment4 ,worn-out gear1 wretched food1 and not enough men or boys to do the heavy work1 they provide a hard school for the young seaman4 ,in them may still be found lingering some of the bad traditions of half a century ago4 ,yet among even these poor relations of the sea may be found varieties of grade4 ,the great majority of them are coasters--that is to say1 they do not leave the vicinity of our shores except for ports just across the ,channel4 ,in these1 though the conditions of life are hard for a boy1 who usually does the cooking 787 at an open stove on deck1 the food1 if coarse1 is much better than it is on vessels of the same kind going deep water4 ,there no relief can be found for months1 while in the home trade it is but a few days from port to port1 so that the ill-used or aggrieved youngster has but to step ashore and be off4 ,and under the peculiar slipshod method of engagement and discharge in these vessels there is little danger to the deserter4 ,in my day there used to be regular houses of call for men and boys shipping in such vessels in ,london4 ,one public-house of the kind ,i knew well1 having1 when very young1 spent many a weary hour in its dingy tap-room waiting for a chance of shipment4 ,to it used to come burly skippers clad in pilot-cloth1 with blue jerseys in lieu of vests1 and fur caps4 ,they sought first a stout1 well-spoken man1 who was always hanging about there from ten till six1 and told him their requirements4 ,he knew what men and boys were available1 and where to find them--in the tap-room or just at the door4 ,he introduced master to man1 and the first preliminary was always to feel the applicants' hands4 ,if they were horny enough to satisfy the skipper that their possessor had not been too long out of work1 a few questions ensued relative to wages1 destination1 etc4 ,there was seldom any difficulty raised by the sailors4 ,poor fellows1 by the time they had got to waiting at the ,king's ,head or ,arms1 they were in no mood for haggling1 and in this way wages were often cut down very low for men1 while ,i have seen boys going for five shillings a month4 ,when the bargain was made1 a handsel of a shilling was given to the sailor4 ,whether he gave the agent anything ,i never knew1 for although ,i waited there a long time--some three months off and on--,i never got a ship or a barge there4 ,of course the skipper paid something to the agent1 who looked fat and prosperous2 but beyond the shillings ,i never saw any money change hands4 ,and that money was always spent forthwith in the same manner--it was like performing a mystic rite4 ,two pots of four ale and two half-ounces of shag were purchased at the bar1 and all the waiting hands1 without being invited1 stepped up and partook4 ,it looked so strange to me1 ,i remember1 for many of the poor fellows looked as if a meal would have done them so much more good4 ,there were never lacking participants1 either4 ,no matter if the tap-room was quite deserted by candidates when the bargain was concluded1 the appearance of the beer and tobacco always found them present--drawn thither1 ,i suppose1 by some mysterious influence4 ,another peculiar thing about that place was that men with money did not frequent it--sailor men1 that is to say4 ,it had its own customers among the workers of ,thames ,street1 but they never intruded upon the apartment sacred to the shipping interest4 ,it was all very sordid and pitiful1 a side path of seafaring that must have lent itself to many abuses1 through which many a poor misguided lad got away to sea1 and found no place for repentance until too late4 ,i have only mentioned it here1 because in speaking of the boy ,i am painfully reminded of the great number of miserable little sea-drudges who are still to be found in these vessels1 leading the hardest of lives1 and uncared for by any one4 ,they are worthy of all sympathy1 being so helpless1 so unable to raise themselves4 ,their environment is as bad as it can well be1 for1 whether ashore or afloat1 the company they are in is usually of a very bad kind4 ,now and then1 of course1 such a vessel will have a good1 steady seaman1 who has an interest in her1 for a skipper4 ,a man like that will often carry his wife1 and will endeavour to keep a respectable crew with him voyage after voyage4 ,and as likely as not he will take an interest in the boy1 and try to make something of him4 ,here1 as far as the sailor personnel of merchant ships is concerned1 my task ends4 ,several times during its performance ,i have felt that perhaps ,i should have done better to begin with the boy and end with the skipper1 as being the more natural way4 ,but ,i hope that what ,i have done1 as well as the way in which it has been done1 will be acceptable to shore-folks1 for whom it is written4 ,sailors do not require any information of the kind4 ,and now for a few words on behalf of the men of iron who toil below4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,,the ,,engineer4 ,these concluding chapters should be written by an engineer2 for no sailor1 whatever his position may have been1 is fully competent to judge of the work performed by the handlers of marine engines4 ,much less is he able to appreciate the position of those toiling helots of civilization1 the firemen and trimmers4 ,the benefits of steam are vast and undeniable2 but it is not good to forget that the service of steam to-day means a truly awful burden of labour and risk laid upon a large army of civilized men4 ,i believe ,i shall carry with me the assent of every one who knows anything about the facts when ,i say that of all modern occupations there is not one so terribly exhausting1 so full of peril1 as that of the servants of the marine engine at work4 ,the marvel of marvels to me is that men can be found to undertake the task so readily4 ,and if this be true of the ,merchant ,service1 as ,i hold it is1 plain unvarnished truth1 it is doubly true of the same work1 or what answers to the same description of work1 in the ,royal ,navy4 ,for there the manifold complications of ship-propelling machinery are immensely more intricate1 the conditions under which the men labour are far more arduous1 and1 in addition1 there is always the fighting risk superadded4 ,but ,i must not stray into the fighting line of engineering--,i have said1 perhaps1 more than enough on that subject recently4 ,nevertheless1 ,i honestly believe that ,i have only been able to put in the tamest and most colourless way what ,i feel about these men4 ,when ,i say that such a chapter as this should be written by an engineer1 ,i mean that only an expert in the wonderful profession can fully appreciate the difficulties and dangers thereof4 ,outsiders may1 as ,i do1 admire and wonder1 but we cannot fully enter into these things as an engineer can4 ,the country badly needs a writer on engineering matters who knows his business thoroughly1 and at the same time is able to tell the people who don't know1 what marine engineering means4 ,no amount of sympathy and admiration can make up for lack of expert knowledge1 yet1 as far as it is possible1 ,i feel constrained to draw the attention of my countrymen to the work of the men who1 far below the water-line1 amid the clanging chorus of their gigantic slaves1 bend watchful brows to their mighty task2 who for the four hours of their watch on deck 7see how the sailor crops up71 no1 their watch below at work1 know not one moment's respite4 ,vigilance unremitting is theirs2 the price of effective manipulation must be paid1 for no eastern ,afrit was ever more jealous of the power over him held by the enunciator of the master-word than is the high-pressure marine engine of the governance of the engineer4 ,the casual observer1 glancing down into the engine-room of a sea-going steamer1 is apt to imagine that the men who wait upon the engines have an easy time of it4 ,he is inclined to think that once the engines are started--full speed ahead sounded--watch after watch need only sit and look at them doing their work4 ,nothing could well be more false1 while nothing is more natural4 ,for engineers1 like the best workmen everywhere and of every sort1 make no fuss about their work4 ,quietly1 without ostentation1 they tend their engines1 their trained ears noting the faintest change of tone in the uproar which sounds so chaotic to the ear of the outsider4 ,every single part of those engines1 the amount of strain that it is bearing1 the need for nursing1 lubricating1 watching that it has1 is in the mind of that quiet1 nonchalant man who steps cat-like into the thick of the flying steel cranks1 and accommodating his movements to the swing of the thrusting shafts1 feels their temperature1 the amount of lubricant they are carrying1 and regains his perforated platform with an air of indifference as if he had merely looked over the side on deck1 instead of having been on the most intimate terms with an unspeakable form of death4 ,perhaps the most noticeable feature about the marine engineer in the ,merchant ,service is the high respect in which he is held by every one4 ,the merchant seaman instinctively recognizes in him a man whose attainments are not merely theoretical1 but eminently practical4 ,every merchant seaman realizes that with the engineer has arrived a new stamp of seafarer1 whose stern stress of duty cuts him off from those enjoyments common to all seamen4 ,for him there is no meditative contemplation of the glories of the tropical night1 when in the midst of the mighty solitudes of the untainted ocean man draws near to the great heart of ,nature1 feels himself akin to the stars and the wind and the waves2 no heart-uplifting view of the apocalyptic splendours of the dawn1 when the grey shadow of night melts away before the palpitating glow of the approaching sun2 no speechless delight in the indescribable panorama sweeping past when the swift ship skirts closely the wonders of many shores4 ,at such times the engineer and his crew1 deep in the bowels of the ship1 are shut in from all sights and sounds and perfumes save those of the engine-room and stokehold1 which are akin to those of ,tartarus4 ,and when through the swart night the vessel plunges madly athwart the raging seas1 remorselessly driven against the combined forces of wind and wave and current1 the engineer works on1 all depending upon him4 ,then do his anxieties enormously increase1 as at one moment the whirling blades of the propeller are buried deep beneath the surface and their thrust vibrates through every fibre and rivet of the ship1 and the next by a downward plunge of the vessel's head they are lifted into the air1 spinning madly with a frightful acceleration of speed on their release from the element in which they have been toiling4 ,then1 see the engineer erect upon his iron platform1 facing his ,titanic charges1 throttle-valve in hand1 and steady eye fixed upon index glasses2 every sense on the alert1 muscles tense to shut off the supply of force sooner than the governor can act1 so that the engines shall not be torn from their foundations by the fearful strain imposed upon them by the sudden taking away of their work while the driving steam is still bursting in through the main feed and slide-valves4 ,no other engineering in the world can for one moment compare in vital importance with this4 ,the conditions are so onerous1 the complications are so many1 the need for watchfulness is so great1 that a new race of men has been bred to compete with them4 ,the engineer ashore may1 and does1 have all his repairs done by other people2 the engineer at sea must1 in the very nature of things1 be not only the prince of engine-drivers1 whose care of his charge1 under the most severe tests1 not applied occasionally but continuously1 is beyond all praise1 but he must be ready at any moment by day or night to undertake the most radical repairs4 ,with improvised adjuncts he must undertake on the instant to do such things with masses of steel that if they were described would sound impossible except to the large room and full equipment of a first-class factory ashore4 ,not only so1 but the work must be done under conditions of heat1 imperfect lighting1 and cramped space that render the duty enormously more difficult4 ,yes1 it must be done1 because if not----8 ,well1 they have taken away the steamship's masts1 so that the sailor1 even with the best ability and good-will in the world1 can hardly get steerage way on the vessel by means of sails1 and then there is a great ship1 perhaps with an immense perishable cargo and a large number of passengers1 lying like a log upon the ocean1 at the mercy of currents that are most likely to be drifting her away out of the track of ships1 away into the ocean solitudes that are to-day1 owing to the method of following beaten tracks which is so universally pursued1 more solitary than they have been for centuries4 ,the performance of duties like these calls for the highest qualities of mind and muscle ever possessed by men4 ,the forces dealt with are so terrific1 the dangers so great1 that a weak man could not so much as face them1 much less perform the wonderful pieces of work that are necessary in opposition to them4 ,occasionally a curt paragraph appears in the shipping papers1 conveying to underwriters and owners the information that the steamship ,so-and-so1 long overdue1 has arrived1 her broken-down machinery having been repaired by the engineer4 ,beneath that brief intimation lies a volume of tragic story--the dauntless conflict of man with fire1 steam1 and steel1 and his final triumph over them4 ,but these stories are never told as they ought to be4 ,some day1 perhaps1 an engineer-writer will step forth and unfold to an admiring world the ,iliad of the engine-room4 ,may ,i live to read it4 ,for the evolution of a marine engineer1 it is first of all necessary that he serve his apprenticeship in a shop where marine engines are made4 ,this is essential1 and a moment's consideration will convince any one that it must be so4 ,then1 having mastered all the details of engine construction1 if the aspirant has a desire for the sea1 he will1 in some way1 of which ,i do not pretend to understand the details1 obtain a subordinate position in an engine-room of some sea-going steamship4 ,here will he become conversant with the duties expected of him as an engineer-in-charge1 and will1 moreover1 devote all his spare time to scientific study1 in order that he may be fit to pass his examination in theoretical engineering4 ,and if he shows himself worthy of the position1 there will be little doubt that1 having passed the required examination before the ,board of ,trade officials appointed for that purpose1 and received his second engineer's certificate1 he will find little difficulty in getting a berth as junior engineer4 ,his foot once upon the ladder1 the ascent is easy4 ,there is only one more examination to pass compulsorily1 that of chief engineer1 although there is1 as in the seafaring branch1 a voluntary examination which all self-respecting engineers will take1 ,chief ,engineer ,extra4 ,now he may rise to be chief engineer of the ,oceanic or the ,lucania1 with twenty or thirty engineers under him1 and a whole host of firemen and trimmers4 ,it would ill become a mere sailor like myself to say anything about the polity of the engine-room1 even if ,i had ever been in a position to study it4 ,no doubt there are occasional hitches1 instances of petty tyranny1 of jealousies1 of hindrances to getting on1 since1 with all their virtues1 engineers are but human4 ,but ,i do not know4 ,i know that1 except in the way of official routine1 such as the control of the engines from the bridge1 the officer of the watch has nothing to do with the engineer at all4 ,the chief engineer is responsible to the master1 and to him alone4 ,only the master can punish1 and all cases of insubordination1 etc41 among the black gang must be reported to him4 ,the master is in supreme command1 and knows quite well what is due to the engineer4 ,more1 he seldom fails to grant him his full due4 ,but ,i should be sorry to sail in any steamships where the officers took upon themselves to meddle with engineering matters4 ,there would be much unpleasantness1 from which the officers would suffer most4 ,in brief1 the engineer's importance is recognized4 ,they live1 too1 in a little world of their own4 ,they have their mess-room1 with a steward to wait upon them1 and the best food the ship can supply4 ,their accommodation1 too1 is good1 and their pay--well1 it varies much with the class of ship1 but1 taken all round1 it is much better than the officers'4 ,and they are ,british to a man4 ,i would not give much for the peace of a foreign engineer who by any chance found himself in a ,british ship's engine-room4 ,the engineers in this respect enjoy peculiar advantages4 ,some people begrudge them their unique position in the seafaring world1 and profess to see danger ahead because of it4 ,i do not4 ,i confess that my feeling with regard to the engineer is that1 remembering the awful stress of his duties1 the way in which he is not only cut off from home delights1 like the sailor1 but is also debarred from participation in the real joys of the sea1 he deserves every advantage in pay1 position1 and prospects that he can obtain4 ,the unique position he holds among seafarers of which ,i speak is1 that he is in close touch with powerful ,trade ,unions ashore4 ,since every engineer must learn his business ashore before going to sea1 he becomes a member of the hierarchy of mechanical workers4 ,let him go to sea for never so many years1 he must remember the workshop where he received his training2 he has numbers of associates and relatives who are still working ashore1 and who1 in safeguarding their own interests in parliamentary ways1 are all unlikely to forget him4 ,they are his proxies1 can speak for him1 can use their votes on his behalf4 ,presently we shall find this great organization having something to say about the prototype of the ,mercantile ,marine engineer in the ,navy1 the engine-room artificer4 ,the ,admiralty1 in their wisdom1 have chosen to train up the naval engineer officer themselves1 so that he shall be free from the influence of the workshop1 shall become a class apart from and above the mechanical engineer4 ,but in the doing of this they have been compelled to build up another corps to do the work4 ,they are known in the ,navy as ,e4,r4,a4's 7,engine ,room ,artificers71 and it may be said1 without any fear of contradiction1 that they are1 as far as ability and experience go1 always the equals1 and often the superiors1 of the merchant engineer4 ,indeed1 their period of service and the knowledge required of them before they can become ,chief ,e4,r4,a4's in the ,navy is much greater than the ,board of ,trade require for the granting of engineers' certificates for the ,mercantile ,marine4 ,then comes the great anomaly--the immense gulf that divides the two classes of men4 ,as ,i have said1 the merchant-ship engineer knows no superior on board the ship except the master4 ,he deserves the best treatment1 the best pay1 and the greatest respect2 and he gets them4 ,his work cannot be made lighter1 it must always be full of danger and toil1 but all that can be done by way of mitigation of these onerous conditions is done4 ,on the other hand1 the ,e4,r4,a4 in the ,navy is a nobody4 ,his pay is trivial compared with his congener in a merchant ship1 he gets no respect from anybody1 the youngest officer in the ship is his despot1 whom to answer back means degradation and loss of pension1 and he is berthed and fed much as a fireman is on board a merchant steamer2 so that he continually smarts under a sense of injustice1 and looks with longing and envious eyes upon his chums who1 wiser than he1 have gone into the ,merchant ,service4 ,more than that1 he knows full well that there are no reserves of ,e4,r4,a4's1 there are not nearly enough of them to man properly the ships that are now afloat2 in case of an outbreak of war with a ,european ,power1 huge bribes would be offered to merchant-ship engineers to come and help in the ,navy2 knows1 too1 that not one of them would come without being rated as an officer1 and receiving all the deference due to an officer in her ,majesty's service4 ,and so he may find himself1 after years of the most arduous experience1 ruled by a nephew who was a babe in arms when he served his time1 who has all his life been engaged in one steady occupation on the same kind of engines1 never hurried1 never bullied1 and probably with a sea experience of one-third of his uncle's1 the ,e4,r4,a4 ,therefore1 because of these reflections and this knowledge1 the ,e4,r4,a4 is continually warning youngsters from the home shops not to enter the ,navy by any means4 ,the ,merchant ,service is the place for them if they want to be treated properly2 the ,navy is a place where they will never be anything else but a dirty ,tiffy1 looked down upon by the youngest blue-jacket1 and liable to be docked of many years' hard-earned pension for pointing out a mistake to an officer who1 instead of accepting expert information gratefully1 reports them for insolence4 ,i trust that these remarks about the ,e4,r4,a4's may not be considered malapropos1 remembering the great importance of the subject2 remembering1 too1 that in the engineer of to-day we have not a mere mechanic1 a man with no thought beyond his day's work and the receipt of his wages4 ,i am afraid that the importance of the engineer1 especially at sea1 is insufficiently recognized by non-engineers4 ,every class of the community is benefited by the work of the engineer1 and in modern sea-traffic he is1 as ,kipling has finely said1 the kingpin of the ship4 ,he cheerfully takes upon himself a burden of toil and danger such as the ancient world never knew--takes it1 too1 with the full consciousness of what he is doing2 holds himself ready at any time to sacrifice his body for the safety of those whom he is serving1--and the least we who are thus served can do1 is to recognize his value to the full4 ,for my part1 ,i look upon the modern marine engineer as the true nineteenth-century hero4 ,some day ,i hope that a roll of honour will be drawn up1 giving a list of heroic deeds performed by engineers out of sight1 unostentatiously1 just as a part of their duty4 ,it would be an inspiring record2 and from no source would more details be drawn than from the engine-rooms in the ,navy1 where1 as has been abundantly proved1 the engineer is thought but little of2 so little1 indeed1 that all his efforts to obtain some meed of official recognition are at present in vain4 ,good for us that this does not obtain in the ,merchant ,service4 ,there the engineer is estimated by his shipmates at his proper worth4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4 ,,the ,,fireman ,,and ,,trimmer4 ,it is a standing mystery to me however men can be found who are willing to become the firemen of marine boilers4 ,use dulls the edge of apprehension1 of course1 and in time the mind refuses to be impressed by the sense of imminent danger4 ,whether on the battle-field or in the stokehold this is so2 but apart altogether from that1 the nature of the work is such that ,i always wonder what the state of a man's mind can be who is willing to undertake it1 or who1 having undertaken it1 remains in such a business4 ,the engine-room of a large steamship is a terrible place1 with its infinite suggestions of incalculable forces exerting themselves in orderly ways under the steady control and guidance of man2 but there is a sense of exultation1 of high satisfaction1 in the realization of their own powers that goes a long way towards compensating the engineers for the dangers they confront1 the discomforts they undergo2 and where1 as in the ,mercantile ,marine1 their high abilities and undaunted courage are fully recognized1 their treatment in pay and provisioning and accommodation as good as can be got1 they have also something which atones for a great deal of physical suffering4 ,yes2 ,i can understand a man choosing to become a marine engineer4 ,but a fireman6 ,the very thought of such a life is terrifying4 ,the sailor in his watch on deck at night is seldom called upon to do anything but stand quietly at the helm or on the look-out4 ,if he be a man of any observation1 he may hold sweet communion with ,nature1 may meditate in the sweetest solitude in the world1 gazing out upon the ever-beautiful face of the deep4 ,in any case he may smoke1 or doze undisturbed by any call to duty1 except some shift of wind calling for trimming or setting sail4 ,it is a pleasant mellow time for the sailor1 the night watch at sea4 ,the fireman is called with the sailor at eight bells4 ,hastily putting on his shirt1 trousers1 and boots1 he descends by many iron ladders past grim walls of iron that glow with fervent heat1 and give out a vibrant hum1 telling of the pent-up power within4 ,down1 down he goes1 until at last he stands upon an iron floor slightly raised above the very bottom of the vessel4 ,over his head there is a circular opening1 down which comes a steady draught of cool air--that is1 if the ship be in regions where the temperature will allow of the air being cool4 ,at any rate1 this air is fresh4 ,it is conducted below by the intervention of those huge bell-mouthed ventilators1 which are so prominent a feature of every steamship's deck equipment4 ,in front of him towers the face of the boiler1 that now claims him as its slave for four hours4 ,it is ornamented by divers strange-looking taps and gauges and tubes1 with the use of which he must be familiar4 ,and it has a voice1 an utterance that1 while not loud1 is so penetrating that soon it seems to a novice as if it were reverberating within his skull4 ,it is the speech of imprisoned steam that finds no outlet by any channel except the one provided for it1 the complaint of the awful giant who is rending at every square inch of his prison walls in the one supreme1 never-ceasing effort to escape4 ,it is utterly disregarded by the fireman3 doubtful1 indeed1 whether he even hears it1 or is in any way conscious of it1 for it is more to be felt by the whole of the nerve centres than merely through the ears4 ,his concern is with the three vast throats that occupy the lower third of the boiler4 ,and there is no time to be lost4 ,seizing a shovel1 he lifts with it the latch of one of the doors1 and flings it wide open with a clang4 ,the ship may be rolling furiously1 tumbling to and fro with that peculiarly disconcerting motion that seems to a landsman the subversion of all principles of uprightness1 but he must balance himself somehow4 ,with legs spread wide apart1 he stands upon that slippery iron floor1 stoops1 and peers within at the roaring cavern of almost white-hot coals4 ,his trained eye can see just how they are burning2 where clinkers are forming1 whether perfect combustion is going on1 or certain expert manipulation is necessary in order to make it do so4 ,if all is satisfactory he shifts his position slightly sideways1 so that he can swing his shovel on one side to the bunker door1 at the sill of which a heap of coal is lying1 fill it1 and then1 with a peculiar stroke1 send its contents broadcast over the lambent surface of the furnace bed4 ,the mere shovelling of coals into a fire has no relation to the careful1 intelligent stoking of a steamship's furnaces1 as engineers are never weary of saying4 ,there is as much difference between a good fireman and an incompetent one--although the latter may work far harder than the former--as there is between a good and bad carpenter1 or any other skilled worker4 ,when ,i was lamp-trimmer in the ,a4,s4,n4 ,company's employ on the ,australian coast ,i was shipmate with an old ,scotch fireman whose invariable practice it was to get most methodically drunk every time we left port4 ,so drunk did he always become1 that he could not stand1 much less walk4 ,but1 crawling to the fidley1 sometimes on hands and knees1 he would somehow get down into the stokehold when his turn came1 and there1 balancing himself in some mysterious fashion1 he would feed his fires4 ,no sooner had he slammed to the furnace door than he would collapse1 his legs bending every which way1 as if they had been made of india-rubber4 ,yet the chief engineer used to declare that ,andra could keep steam better drunk than any other fireman in the ship could sober4 ,i have known him after a watch of firing to be still so drunk that he could not climb on deck1 but lay huddled up in one corner of the stokehold like a heap of rags1 utterly oblivious of the work going on around him4 ,it must1 however1 be remembered that pitching coal into the furnace1 though it is the principal work of a fireman1 does not by any means complete his work4 ,after he has been firing for a certain length of time he perceives the necessity for cleaning fires4 ,he has been carefully raking and poking his fires at intervals so that no clogging of the bars shall hinder the free upward draught1 and this operation1 performed with long tools called a slice1 a rake1 and a devil1 is very severe4 ,the operator must stand very close to the furnace mouth and peer within at the fervent glow1 while he searches the vitals of his fire as quickly and deftly as may be1 lest the tell-tale gauge shall reveal to the watchful engineer that the pressure of steam is lessening1 bringing him into the stokehold on the run to know what the all-sorts-of-unprintable-words that particular fireman is doing4 ,but this is only the merest child'splay to cleaning fires4 ,when that time comes the other furnace or furnaces 7each fireman has two or three under his charge7 must be at the top of their blast1 doing their very utmost4 ,then the fireman flings wide the door of the furnace to be cleaned1 plunges his tools into the heart of the fire1 and thrusts1 rakes1 and slices1 until he presently1 half roasted1 drags out on to the stokehold floor a mass of clinker4 ,this sends out such a fierce upward heat that it must needs be damped down1 the process being accompanied by clouds of suffocating steam-smoke4 ,but there is no time to be lost4 ,again and again he dives into the heart of the furnace1 each time purging it of some of the deadening clinker1 until1 at last1 with smarting eyeballs1 half choked1 half roasted1 and wholly exhausted for the time1 he flings a shovelful or so of coal upon the now comparatively feeble fire1 and retires to call up his reserve of strength4 ,and this work1 of course1 must go on continuously1 no matter how the vessel is behaving1 even if1 as often happens1 there descends occasionally from on high a flood of sea-water as waves break right over the labouring ship4 ,the fireman must1 to be efficient1 nurse his fires1 keep them clean1 and hand them over to his successor in first-class going order1 with the steam up to its ordered pressure2 and failure to do this is provocative of bad language and much ill-feeling4 ,surely it hardly needs pressing upon the reader that such an occupation involves a truly awful strain upon the human animal1 especially in tropical climates4 ,the amount of strain has been officially recognized in the arrangement of firemen's watches4 ,instead of getting four hours on and four hours off1 as do the sailors1 they have four hours on and eight hours off1 so that the exhausted frame may be able in some measure to recuperate4 ,and in addition1 wherever it is possible to do so1 they get somewhat better food4 ,i do not know certainly whether the institution is general1 but ,i have been in several steamers where1 at supper time1 the firemen received a mess from the galley called the black pot4 ,it consisted of the remains of the saloon passengers' fare1 sometimes made into a savoury stew1 sometimes simply of itself1 according to its component parts4 ,but it was looked upon as the firemen's right1 and no sailor ever participated in its contents4 ,it has probably occurred to the reader before this to ask the question1 ,how1 if the fireman is so hard-worked in the stokehold and the space there be so limited1 does he manage to get at the truly enormous quantity of coal that must be required to feed those devouring furnaces8 ,the explanation of this brings us to the lowest deep of all on board-ship life to-day4 ,the providing of the coal for the use of the firemen is the duty of the trimmer1 the nature of whose work is so terrible that he should receive the sympathy of every kindly man and woman whom he serves4 ,the coal is kept in vast magazines called bunkers1 giving on to the stokeholds by means of watertight doors4 ,in merchant ships these bunkers are placed so as to be most convenient for the transmission of coal to the stokeholds1 and are as little subdivided as possible4 ,what their capacity is may be imagined from the fact that some ships require three thousand tons of coal for a single passage1 it being consumed at the rate of between twenty and thirty tons per hour6 ,at the commencement of the passage the trimmer's work is comparatively easy4 ,the coal lies near the outlet1 and by a little skilful manipulation it is made to run out upon the stokehold floor handy for the fireman's shovelling4 ,but as the consumption goes on1 and the face of the coal recedes from the bulkhead1 the trimmer's work grows rapidly more heavy4 ,his labour knows no respite as he struggles to keep the fireman's needs supplied4 ,and there is no ventilator pouring down fresh air into the bunker4 ,in darkness1 only punctuated by the dim light of a safety-lamp1 in an atmosphere composed of the exhalations from the coal and a modicum of dust-laden air1 liable at any moment to be overwhelmed by the down-rushing masses of coal as the ship's motion displaces it1 the grimy1 sweat-soaked man works on4 ,by comparison with him the coal-hewer in the mine has a gentleman's life4 ,darkness and danger and want of breath are his inevitable environment4 ,what wonder is it that he becomes a hard citizen8 ,the fact is that no man with longings for decent life would or could remain in such employment4 ,only those who by carelessness and disregard of all that for the majority of us makes life worth living stay in it1 and enable the ocean traffic of to-day to go on4 ,it is absolutely impossible to exaggerate the miseries of such a mode of life1 made necessary by the imperious demand for swift travel4 ,yet1 severe as is the lot of the coal-trimmer in an ocean liner1 it again is comparatively easy when compared with the lot of the second-class stoker in her ,majesty's ,navy4 ,for him another set of conditions comes into play4 ,the necessity for using the coal as a means of protection from shot and shell leads to the bunkers being subdivided into a host of pockets holding but a few tons and communicating with each other deviously4 ,the work of getting the coal passed from one to the other of these is far worse than anything of the kind in the ,merchant ,service1 as much worse as is the firing under forced draught for a ,belleville boiler than the steady supply of fuel to a well-equipped1 natural-draught stokehold of any of our great merchant steamships1 where ,belleville boilers1 thank ,god1 will never be used4 ,and1 coming deeper still1 there is the firing and trimming of a destroyer4 ,that occupation defies any attempt to describe it4 ,no words could give an adequately forceful idea of what the firemen1 trimmers1 and ,e4,r4,a4's must endure in order that a vessel no larger than an above-bridge steamer shall be driven by engines of five thousand horse-power at the rate of thirty miles per hour4 ,we do not seem to have reached finality yet in this direction2 but ,i should think that since human endurance has its limits1 there must of necessity be a halt soon from the utter impossibility of finding human beings able to live and work under such awful conditions4 ,when you find the long quivering hull of a destroyer1 only a plate of steel not much thicker than a crown piece keeping out the sea1 packed full of boilers1 whizzing machinery1 and coal1 the tiny air space left containing something1 of which one inhalation would make you or me1 reader1 feel as if we had been suddenly strangled1 and the heat greater than one would find in the hottest room of a ,turkish bath1 it seems time to consider whether there can be any justification in compelling our fellow creatures1 whom the need for bread has driven to accept such employment1 to endure imprisonment like that1 let alone work in it4 ,it is somewhat comforting to know that the exigencies of peaceful travel1 severe as they are undoubtedly1 do not require such suffering as that from their servants4 ,of course there are times1 such as upon the outbreak of fire or the sudden springing of a leak1 when the toilers below are literally between the devil and the deep sea4 ,also in the case of a boiler explosion or a sudden breakdown of machinery in full career1 when the danger and attendant suffering are very great4 ,but then1 we all have to face dangers at times in burning houses1 railway accidents1 and so on1 which come so seldom that we do not lose any sleep in anticipating them4 ,therefore we do not reckon the possibilities of calamity among the drawbacks to a fireman's or trimmer's business4 ,it is the steady stress of such conditions of labour which is to be deplored4 ,before the black watch below can be relieved there is always a duty to be performed that makes no unfitting climax to the preceding tale of toil4 ,it is ashes up4 ,some steamers have been fitted with a contrivance for obviating this piece of hard work--the fitting of a sort of valve in the ship's side or bottom through which the ashes and dbris of the fire can be blown into the sea4 ,these1 however1 are few4 ,the usual way is for the ashes to be filled into long iron buckets1 just as much as a strong man can lift when full1 down in the stokehold4 ,some of the trimmers go on deck 7how sweet the sea air is after their long sojourn below671 and sliding open a door in the tube of one of the ventilators1 discover there a winch4 ,the chain of this winch runs down into the stokehold1 where it is hooked on to the ash-bucket4 ,the trimmers on deck heave away with all their might 7for when their task is ended they may go below71 and when the bucket reaches them1 they snatch it and carry it to the ash-shoot1 where they dump its contents overboard4 ,in some very well-found ships there is a small steam-winch for doing this work1 but usually it is performed as described1 and a heavy piece of business it is1 involving the raising of several tons of ashes from the bottom of the ship4 ,here ,i must leave the fireman and trimmer4 ,i hope that engineers and their crews will forgive me1 being a sailor1 for having had the hardihood to say anything about them at all4 ,they know very well the prejudice that even now exists against them in the minds of most sailors1 and they will probably look closely into what ,i have written for some sign of sneering depreciation4 ,but they will not find it4 ,my sympathies are most fully with them4 ,my admiration for them is great4 ,and ,i think that as regards the firemen and trimmers1 that their work in tropical seas is so utterly unfit for white men to do that1 in spite of the hardship attendant upon loss of employment at first1 it would be a good thing if stokeholds were entirely manned by negroes1 who1 from their constitutional experience of heat1 must be far better fitted to endure the conditions of the stokehold4 ,many southern-going ships carry them now4 ,i should not be sorry to see them the rule1 and my countrymen doing something better4 ,,chapter ,,xxxv4 ,,conclusion4 ,and now1 approaching the conclusion of the whole matter1 the end of what ,i feel to have been an important task1 while the way in which it has been performed is an open question1 ,i ask myself1 ,what is likely to be the effect of this book upon the minds of those for whom it has been written8 ,will they think that the ,british ,mercantile ,marine is a profession which they should exert all their influence to keep their young friends and relatives out of1 or will they feel1 as ,i do1 that1 in spite of all its obvious drawbacks1 it should be by no means neglected as an opening for enterprising adventurous youngsters1 the right stuff of which ,british sailors are made8 ,i have been compelled1 in truth1 to say many hard things of the ,merchant ,service1 but there is such a thing as speaking the truth in love4 ,and as ,i love the ,merchant ,service with all my heart1 and desire most earnestly to see it flourish and prosper more and more1 ,i am the more anxious that nothing ,i have said will be taken as spoken in a carping or pessimistic spirit4 ,i want to see the ,mercantile ,marine purged of the foreigner1 not because ,i hate the foreigner of any nation1 but because this peculiarly and particularly maritime nation of ours cannot afford1 in the face of the undoubted hatred manifested towards it by practically every continental people1 to allow the life of its citizens to be dependent upon the good-will of aliens4 ,in spite of what not only continental writers1 but many of our own scribes1 may and do say about our unctuous hypocrisy1 there can be no doubt that the chief characteristic of the ,british nation to-day is its careless magnanimity4 ,warned by innumerable writers of the risks we wilfully expose ourselves to1 we go on with a good-natured shrug of the shoulders in the same reckless fashion4 ,we welcome1 as if we were in a new colony with millions of acres undeveloped1 with all our resources at their spring-tide1 a continuous flood of aliens to our shores and in our ships4 ,we not only give them all the advantages we ourselves possess1 but actually strain a point1 wherever possible1 in their favour4 ,finding no reciprocity anywhere1 no feeling of kindliness for all our generous treatment of aliens1 we are unmoved1 nor is our policy1 or want of policy1 altered4 ,and this grand air of indifference1 which is not assumed1 but real1 is to the last degree galling to our continental neighbours4 ,their attitude becomes daily more difficult to understand4 ,rejoicing to see how we are1 as they firmly believe1 exposing all our most vital1 most vulnerable points to their attack1 both in matters of war and peace1 they are yet almost frantic with rage at what they are pleased to call our abominable insular insolence1 our refusal to be frightened of them4 ,i do not pretend to justify our insouciant attitude1 ,i only note its universal presence4 ,in the matter of our ,mercantile ,marine1 ,i feel sure that we are heaping up for ourselves a most awful mountain of disaster in the way in which we are allowing it to become really a foreign service4 ,one thing we could do1 and should do at once--apply the same rule to the ,merchant ,service that is in force in the ,royal ,navy4 ,there no alien1 unless he has become naturalized1 can hold any post whatever4 ,it sounds a small reform2 but it would have1 ,i am sure1 the most far-reaching effects4 ,at present it is quite possible--indeed1 it will be found actually the case in some instances--for a ,british ship to be wholly manned by foreigners1 from the master to the boy--sailing ships1 that is4 ,foreigners in steam are mostly confined to the crew2 and1 as ,i have said before1 ,i know of no instance where foreign engineers are employed in our ships at all4 ,because1 in the first place1 they1 our home-bred engineers1 are the best in the world2 and1 secondly1 because they have behind them the support of a great ,trade ,union1 that--although ,i do not suppose many sea-going engineers are active members of it--would speedily make its voice heard and its influence felt1 if any attempt was made to bring in foreign engineers4 ,for reasons which ,i hope ,i have made abundantly clear in the preceding pages1 such support cannot be found for the seaman--that is1 for the foremast hand4 ,but the officers might do much more than they are doing4 ,there are several societies for the mutual help and defence of ,mercantile ,marine officers1 some doing excellent work1 others doing scarcely anything at all4 ,i will not particularize1 for that would do no good4 ,i will merely say that if all these societies would amalgamate1 would all pull together and enlist the sympathy and active support of shipmasters and officers1 retired as well1 they would be a body extremely powerful in their influence on behalf of the best interests of their profession4 ,such a body1 composed of serious-thinking1 well-informed1 and trustworthy men in full touch with the subject1 could do more in one year for the upraising and nationalizing of the ,merchant ,service than will ever be done by isolated efforts1 however earnest4 ,for their own sakes they would not neglect the foremast hand2 in the best interests of the service they could not4 ,even by the present local efforts of some of these societies much good has been done1 enough to show what might be done were they all united4 ,as to the ships themselves1 perhaps enough has been said already to indicate the transition stage through which we are passing4 ,for while it is undoubtedly true that the sailing ship is doomed to extinction in the near future1 at the present day there is still an enormous amount of sailing tonnage afloat4 ,thousands of good seaworthy sailing ships still come and go between distant shores1 doing good work1 not only in earning profits for their owners1 but in rearing sailors for the ,british ,mercantile ,marine4 ,but we are not building any more to replace them4 ,we have come to the conclusion that the future of sea-traffic is to the steamer4 ,doubtless many ship-owners1 in the present abnormally inflated state of the coal market1 are sighing over the fact that they are so dependent upon the black dirty stuff for the due working of their ships1 and vainly wishing for the days to return when the clean free winds furnished all the motive power needed4 ,but we cannot go back again to sail4 ,even the ,norwegian timber droghers are taking to steam1 and that is a portent indeed4 ,it is the beginning of the end4 ,the end will come1 for all sailing ships still making long voyages1 with the opening of the ,panama ,canal4 ,then1 at one fell swoop1 the ',frisco trade in grain1 the ,south ,american trade in nitrate1 will pass into the hands or holds of the steamships4 ,huge cargo carriers1 able to stow eight or ten thousand tons away with ease1 will go lumbering steadily down the gulf and through the canal4 ,they will range the western sea-board of the ,americas1 sweeping into their capacious maws every ounce of cargo1 and stimulating production in an amazing way4 ,presently also will come the petroleum-propelled ship1 the electrically-engined ship1 as the carriage of coal becomes more and more of a burden1 while its price steadily rises4 ,meanwhile1 the inventive genius of ,america will surely find some way of re-creating for herself a splendid ,mercantile ,marine4 ,i cannot think that she will always be content to see all her vast carrying trade over-sea practically in the hands of ,britain and foreigners4 ,at present it seems to be evident to all1 except the average ,americans1 that such efforts as have recently been made with that object in view are foredoomed to failure4 ,only one thing is required for the rehabilitation of the ,american ,mercantile ,marine1 and that is1 that owing to the rapid filling up of all uninhabited land on the ,american continent1 the teeming millions along her sea-board shall turn their earnest attention to the possibilities of money-getting that there are in ship-owning and sailing4 ,then they will insist upon some reasonable laws being passed that shall help1 not hinder1 the expansion of ,american sea-traffic1 and the thing will be as good as done4 ,that1 however1 will require some considerable time yet4 ,meanwhile1 the sailing ships1 wooden ships too1 will probably linger longest in our ,north ,american colonies4 ,but they too must disappear4 ,already they are feeling the pinch very sorely1 with economically run tramp-steamers cutting them out everywhere4 ,this is obvious now when the thrifty ,norwegians are running tramp-steamers in lieu of the ramshackle old craft with which they have so long monopolized the lumber and ice trade4 ,to a seaman the spectacle of steamers in the home ports discharging ice comes as something of a shock1 for he remembers what class of vessels have always been used for this1 perhaps the roughest of all the carrying trades known4 ,but the great work to be done is the dissemination of popular information with regard to maritime matters4 ,to burn into the minds of our people at home what the merchant ship means to them2 to make the villager understand that the cheap and abundant food1 which may be purchased even in remotest inland hamlets1 has been brought thus to his door from the other side of the world by the unceasing strenuous labours of seamen and the sleepless enterprise of ship-owners4 ,i look earnestly for the day when every newspaper in the kingdom will be considered incomplete without its column of readable shipping matter--true tales of latter-day daring1 of courage as high as any manifested in the attempt to destroy life in battle2 when the ,british seaman shall no longer feel that he is as completely isolated from the thoughts and sympathies of his countrymen as if he were an inhabitant of another planet2 when the ,british man-o'-war's man1 whether he be blue-jacket or stoker1 shall know of a truth that his friends at home realize what he is doing during his long absence from home3 how he1 for their sakes1 in order that the steady stream of food-bearing ships from prolific lands far away shall never cease by day or by night through the years1 keeps sleepless watch all round the world4 ,let no one think that this is a small matter4 ,the acquisition of knowledge like this is not only of the highest importance in itself1 but it will bring with it a vast amount of cognate information that now is much neglected4 ,geography will become what it should be1 a popular science1 because the immense value of it will be recognized4 ,economical science will also assume an interest which it has long lacked for all but the minutest percentage of fairly well-educated people4 ,politically1 such an education of the people will be of the highest value1 preventing them from being led away by clap-trap and jargon1 and enabling them to understand why our country has risen to its present enviable height of prosperity1 and how essential it is to the well-being of every man1 woman1 and child in the community that the peaceful flow of over-sea traffic shall never be interrupted4 ,beyond and above all this there is the liquidation of the debt due to the sailor2 the recognition of the fact in practical ways that without him we should not merely be without at least half of what he has taught us to look upon as the necessities of life1 necessities which less than a century ago were looked upon as the highest luxuries1 but that we should be a feeble population of slaves groaning under the iron rule of some military continental despot1 who would rob us of our very blood and marrow1 and give us in return leave to live that we might toil for him and his satraps until1 early worn out1 we were flung aside to die and obtain that liberty in death that we were denied in life4 ,we want to atone as far as we may for our long neglect1 through ignorance1 and by our united intelligent efforts to show that at last we have awakened to the fact that in our ,mercantile ,marine we possess the most magnificent heritage ever built up for a free people by the courage and endurance of its sons4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,printed ,,by ,,william ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1 ,,limited1 ,,london ,,and ,,beccles4 ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,sixth ,impression4 ,with #h ,illustrations and a ,chart4 ,large post #hvo1 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,cruise ,,of ,,the ',,cachalot' ,,round ,,the ,,world ,,after ,,sperm ,,whales4 ,by ,,frank ,t4 ,,bullen1 ,first ,mate4 ,the ,volume includes a ,letter to the ,author from ,rudyard ,kipling4 ,,times4--',mr4 ,bullen has a splendid subject1 and he handles it with the pen of a master4444 ,the ,cruise of the ',cachalot' is a book which cannot but fascinate all lovers of the sea1 and all who can appreciate a masterly presentation of its wonder and its mystery1 its terrors and its trials1 its humours and its tragedies4' ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,,horton1 in his ,sermon on behalf of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society1 referred to ,mr4 ,bullen's ',cruise of the ,cachalot' in the following terms3-- ',it is a very remarkable book in every way3 it seems to me worthy to rank with some of the writings of ,defoe4 ,it has absolutely taken the shine out of some of the romantic literature of such writers as even ,stevenson and ,rudyard ,kipling4 ,by the strange law that truth is more wonderful than fiction1 this book is more wonderful than the wildest dreams of the creator of imagination4' ,second ,impression4 ,with #h ,full-page ,illustrations specially drawn by ,,arthur ,,twidle4 ,large post #hvo1 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,log ,,of ,a ,,sea-,,waif4 ,being ,recollections of the ,first ,four ,years of my ,sea ,life4 ,,world4--',in ,the ,log of a ,sea-,waif1 ,mr4 ,bullen has surpassed all his previous efforts4 ,we have read many stories of sea life1 but do not remember to have been so fascinated and enthralled by any of them as by this masterly presentation of the humours1 hardships1 and minor tragedies of life in the forecastle4' ,,times4--',full of thrilling adventure1 admirably told4444 ,we must leave ,mr4 ,bullen's touching story of his early struggles and adventures to speak for itself4 ,his descriptive powers are great1 his literary imagination is vivid1 and he finds abundant opportunities for the display of both4' ,,review ,,of ,,reviews4--',to most of us ,the ,log of a ,sea-,waif will come almost as a revelation4 ,we know of no other book1 with perhaps the sole exception of ,two ,years before the ,mast1 which can compare for a moment with ,mr4 ,bullen's work4' ,,literature4--',the book is one of uncommon interest4 ,mr4 ,bullen has the art of the narrator1 and a power of putting a scene vividly before the reader1 with occasionally a masterly vigour of description4 ,it is well worth buying2 the stamp of reality is impressed upon every page4' ,,bookman4--',a mine of information and of interest for those who concern themselves with seafaring folk4444 ,a brave and inspiriting story4' ,,pall ,,mall ,,gazette4--',those who love the sea1 and have a soft spot in their hearts for the men who make their living upon it1 will heartily enjoy ,mr4 ,bullen's book1 as we have done4' ,crown #hvo1 paper covers1 #as42 cloth1 #as4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,way ,,they ,,have ,,in ,,the ,,navy4 ,being a ,day-to-,day ,record of a ,cruise in ,h4,m4 ,battleship ',mars' during the ,manuvres of #ahii4 ,london2 ,,smith1 ,,elder1 ,,co41 #ae1 ,waterloo ,place1 ,s4,w4 ,,new ,,six-,,shilling ,,novels4 ,,eleanor4 ,by ,mrs4 ,,humphry ,,ward1 ,author of ',robert ,elsmere1' ',marcella1' ',sir ,george ,tressady1' etc4 ,,the ,,isle ,,of ,,unrest4 ,by ,,henry ,,seton ,,merriman1 ,author of ',the ,sowers1' ',in ,kedar's ,tents1' ',roden's ,corner1' etc4 ,,the ,,brass ,,bottle4 ,by ,f4 ,,anstey1 ,author of ',vice ,vers1' ',the ,giant's ,robe1' ',a ,fallen ,idol1' etc4 ,a ,,daughter ,,of ,,the ,,fields4 ,by ,,katharine ,,tynan1 ,author of ',the ,dear ,irish ,girl1' ',she ,walks in ,beauty1' etc4 ,,the ,,marble ,,face4 ,by ,g4 ,,colmore1 ,author of ',a ,daughter of ,music1' ',the ,strange ,story of ,hester ,wynne1' etc4 ,,love ,,in ,a ,,mist4 ,by ,,olive ,,birrell1 ,author of ',the ,ambition of ,judith4' ,,the ,,man ,,trap4 ,by ,sir ,,william ,,magnay1 ,bart41 ,author of ',the ,pride of ,life1' ',the ,heiress of the ,season1' etc4 ,,love ,,and ,,honour4 ,by ,miss ,,carr4 ,a ,,cardinal ,,and ,,his ,,conscience4 ,by ,,graham ,,hope4 ,london3 ,,smith1 ,,elder1 ,,co41 #ae1 ,waterloo ,place1 ,s4,w4 ,,new ,,publications ,,the ,,great ,,boer ,,war4 ,by ,a4 ,,conan ,,doyle1 ,medical ,officer in charge of the ,langman ,field ,hospital2 ,author of ',the ,white ,company1' ',rodney ,stone1 ',the ,green ,flag and other ,tales of ,war and ,sport1' etc4 ,with ,maps1 large post #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,this work is the outcome of ,dr4 ,doyle's experiences with the ,army in ,south ,africa4 ,the author's painstaking methods in historical work are as well known to readers as his skill as a story-teller2 and this history of the ,boer ,war is differentiated from other accounts in that it covers the whole arena of the military operations4 ,,fifty ,,years ,,in ,,south ,,africa3 ,being the ,recollections of the ,first ,premier of ,natal4 ,by the ,hon4 ,,sir ,,john ,,robinson1 ,k4,c4,m4,g4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,domesticities4 ,by ,e4,v4 ,,lucas4 ,small fcap4 #hvo4 ,,conferences ,,on ,,men ,,and ,,books4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,thomas ,,littleton1 ,fourth ,baron ,lilford4 ,by his ,sister4 ,with an ,introduction by the ,right ,rev4 the ,bishop of ,london4 ,with a ,portrait1 #af full-page ,illustrations1 and a ,facsimile ,letter4 ,large crown #hvo1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,an ,,anthology ,,of ,,anglo-,,irish ,,verse4 ,a ,,treasury ,,of ,,irish ,,poetry ,,in ,,the ,,english ,,tongue4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,,stopford ,a4 ,,brooke and ,t4,w4 ,,rolleston4 ,crown #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,among the ,contributors to the ,volume are ,mr4 ,,lionel ,,johnson1 ,mr4 ,a4,p4 ,,graves1 ,professor ,w4 ,,mcneil ,,dixon1 ,,dr4 ,,george ,,sigerson1 ,,dr4 ,,douglas ,,hyde1 ,,mr4 ,d4,j4 ,o',,donoghue1 ,mr4 ,w4,b4 ,,yeats1 and ,mr4 ,,george ,,russell 7',a4,e4'74 ,,shakspere',s ,,predecessors ,,in ,,the ,,english ,,drama4 ,by ,,john ,,addington ,,symonds4 ,large crown #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,this ,volume will be uniform with the ,new ,editions of ,symonds' ,travel ,sketches and ',the ,renaissance in ,italy4' ,,new ,,volume of the ,,historical ,,series ,,for ,,bible ,,students4 ,edited by ,professor ,,charles ,,foster ,,kent and ,,frank ,,knight ,,sanders4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,jesus ,,of ,,nazareth4 ,by ,professor ,,rush ,,rees1 of ,newton ,theological ,seminary4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 ,london3 ,,smith1 ,,elder1 ,,co41 #ae1 ,waterloo ,place1 ,s4,w4 ,,pall ,,mall ,,gazette4--',when the ,haworth ,edition was announced we expected something with which no other version has provided us1 and we are not disappointed4' ,in #g ,volumes4 ,large ,crown #hvo4 cloth1 gilt top1 #fs4 each4 ,,the ,,haworth ,,edition ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,charlotte ,,bront 7,,currer ,,bell71 ,,and ,,her ,,sisters ,,emily ,,and ,,anne ,,bront 7,,ellis ,,and ,,acton ,,bell74 ,,with ,,portraits ,,and ,,illustrations4 ,including ,views of places described in the ,works1 reproduced from ,photographs specially taken for the purpose by ,mr4 ,w4,r4 ,,bland1 of ,duffield1 ,derby1 in conjunction with ,mr4 ,c4 ,,barrow ,,keene1 of ,derby4 ,introductions to the ,works are supplied by ,mrs4 ,,humphry ,,ward1 ,,and ,an ,introduction and ,notes to ,mrs4 ,gaskell's ',life of ,charlotte ,bront' by ,mr4 ,,clement ,k4 ,,shorter1 the eminent ,bront authority4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,volumes3 #a4 ,,jane ,,eyre4 ,by ,,charlotte ,,bront4 ,with a ,photogravure ,portrait of ,charlotte ,bront1 from a ,drawing by ,g4 ,,richmond1 a ,photogravure of ,rochester and ,jane ,eyre1 from a ,water-colour ,drawing by ,,frederick ,,walker1 ,a4,r4,a42 a ,facsimile of the ,title-page of the first edition1 and #h ,full-page ,illustrations4 #b4 ,,shirley4 ,by ,,charlotte ,,bront4 ,with a ,facsimile of the ,title-page of the first edition1 and #aj ,full-page ,illustrations4 #c4 ,,villette4 ,by ,,charlotte ,,bront4 ,with a ,photogravure ,portrait of ,m4 ,heger1 ,facsimiles of the ,title-page of the original edition and of a page of the original ,,ms41 and #h ,full-page ,illustrations4 #d4 ,,the ,,professor1 by ,,charlotte ,,bront1 and ,,poems1 by ,,charlotte1 ,,emily1 and ,,anne ,,bront1 and the ,rev4 ,,patrick ,,bront1 c4 ,with ,facsimiles of the ,title-pages of the first editions1 and #h ,full-page ,illustrations4 #e4 ,,wuthering ,,heights4 ,by ,,emily ,,bront4 ,,agnes ,,grey4 ,by ,,anne ,,bront4 ,with a ,preface and ,biographical ,notice of both ,authors by ,,charlotte ,,bront4 ,with a ,portrait of ,emily ,bront1 ,facsimiles of the ,title-pages of the first edition1 and #h full-page ,illustrations4 #f4 ,,the ,,tenant ,,of ,,wildfell ,,hall4 ,by ,,anne ,,bront4 ,with a ,portrait of ,anne ,bront1 a ,facsimile of the ,title-page of the first edition1 and #f ,full-page ,illustrations4 #g4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,charlotte ,,bront4 ,by ,mrs4 ,,gaskell4 ,with an ,introduction and ,notes by ,,clement ,k4 ,,shorter4 ,with ,photogravure ,portraits of ,mrs4 ,gaskell and of the ,rev4 ,a4,b4 ,nicholls1 a ,portrait of the ,rev4 ,patrick ,bront1 #aa ,new ,illustrations1 ,facsimiles of a letter by ,charlotte ,bront1 and of a page from ,charlotte ,bront's ,,ms4 of ',the ,secret1' c41 c4 ,the ,,life ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,the ,,sisters ,,bront are also to be had in #g vols4 large crown #hvo4 handsomely bound in cloth1 price #es4 each2 in small post #hvo4 limp green cloth1 or1 cloth boards1 gilt top1 price #bs4 #f;d4 each3 and in small fcp4 #hvo4 bound in cloth1 with gilt top1 with ,frontispiece to each volume1 price #as4 #f;d4 each2 or the ,set1 in gold-lettered cloth case1 #abs4 #f;d4 ,london3 ,,smith1 ,,elder1 ,,co41 #ae1 ,waterloo ,place1 ,s4,w4