On the lower deck there were four studies at the stern; then a large space was occupied by the cadets’ messroom; forward of this was the “galley” or kitchen; and then the mess deck for the ship’s company, which was a small one, only including a sufficient number of seamen to keep the ship in order, and the seamen instructors, etc. On the middle deck at the after end was the wardroom, and further forward the French study. Service was held on this deck on Sunday, and seamanship was also taught there. The after-part of the main deck was occupied by the captain’s quarters, and there was one small study there also. At the fore end was the sick bay. Under the poop was the drawing study, and also two others; and these were utilised for some time as a place of recreation in the evening, one of the cadet captains being on duty there to keep order—which, if he chanced to be one who had been promoted rather for mental and moral than physical qualifications, he sometimes found a little beyond his powers.
The cadets were roused from their morning slumbers by a long roll on the drum. Lying half awake, in sad consciousness that turning out time was very near, one would hear the marine drummer come down the ladder, his drum giving out unmistakable sounds as it touched a step or two; then the drummer could be heard settling himself and his instrument of torture into a firm and convenient posture against a stanchion; and, after a preliminary double tap, the hideous sound reverberated through the cockpit. And it is a hideous sound, whether from the point of view of a sleepy cadet or a person of any station in life with a sensitive or musical ear.
No sooner had this aggressive salvo died away, than a chorus of corporals would ensue, as they marched along the deck between the chests, shaking a hammock here and there if the occupant appeared to have been oblivious to the drummer’s dulcet strain: “Turn out, sir, turn out, if you please! Now, young gentleman, are you going to rouse out over there?” Then, in a persuasive, almost regretful tone, “Come, sir, come, show a leg, now, do!” There used to be one corporal who indulged in flights of fancy, such as—“Now, sir, make a stir, do! ’Ere’s the sun a shining through the scuttle fit to burn your eyes out!”
There were, of course, always some incorrigibles, to whom turning out promptly was a moral or constitutional impossibility, and repeated offences of this nature were liable to end with a mandate to “muster under the half deck at seven bells”—i.e. to come before the first lieutenant at half-past eleven, and receive sentence, which usually took the form of turning out an hour earlier for a week.
Among the most severe punishments were “cockpit mess,” and “lower deck mess,” the former being awarded for somewhat serious offences. The culprit took his meals—which were of extreme simplicity—at a table rigged up under the eye of the marine sentry in the cockpit, and various privileges were stopped in addition. It was a particularly dreary sort of punishment, unless there happened to be two or more brothers in affliction, when they would make it a little more lively for themselves, and sometimes for the sentry, who might if unwary, be induced to pursue one of the evil-doers, who persisted in making an excursion towards the other end of the deck, while his companion would receive some “tuck” from a confederate on the ladder, at the risk of being himself sent below for a few days, if detected.
It was in the early days of the ’sixties that the most appropriate title to be bestowed upon new arrivals was tacitly settled. No one ever knows how these matters get decided; but certain it is that about this period a boy arriving on board would find himself styled a “cheeky new fellow.” He might be the most retiring and timid of youths, but the adjective was applied all the same; by way, no doubt, of keeping him in his place, and making him understand how immeasurably inferior he was to an individual who had entered six or nine months before him.
On the arrival of the next batch he would, however, receive a sort of negative promotion, and become simply a “new fellow”; in which capacity he was at liberty to lord it over “cheekies,” if they would stand it from him. Another three months would see him raised to the dignity of “six monther”; the next step was a “nine monther,” and at the end of a year he would become a “passing out number.”
This, however, is anticipating somewhat; and it is now time to hark back a little, and see how it came about that a boy should of necessity be over a year in the ship.
The initiation of this change was actually in the ’fifties, for it was inaugurated by an Admiralty circular dated October 23rd, 1859; which, however, did not come into force until April, 1860.
Some important modifications were introduced: the limit of age was altered to between twelve and fourteen; the easier form of entry examination was retained, and any lad who failed was to be allowed a second trial within three months.