From all this it would seem that the people of the United States at last realized that at all times, whether in peace or war, the country should have a powerful navy. This navy should be in keeping with the position that the United States has won among the nations of the world, and worthy of the brave officers and sailors who spend their lives in its service.
X.—Life on an American Man-of-War.
When a battleship is hurling shot and shell at an enemy, the brave deeds of the officers and men on board are told from one end of the land to the other; but how many people know how these men live from day to day, when the great ship is lying in the harbor, or cruising peacefully about the seas?
Who makes the lieutenant's bed and buys his food? Most people think that the government provides all that he needs; but this is not so. He must carry his own bed linen to sea with him and arrange for his own food.
The officers choose one of their number to buy the provisions, and he must give good meals at one dollar a day for each man. At the end of the month, every officer pays this amount out of his salary.
The first meal of the day is always eggs, and is served at any time from 7:30 until 8:30 in the morning. If ever a naval officer invites you to breakfast, he does not expect you to come to this meal. He calls a twelve o'clock luncheon breakfast, and will give you a substantial meal at that time. Dinner is served at 6 or 6:30, and, on the flagship, is accompanied by the band.
The ward-room boys who wait upon the officers are almost all Japanese. Because their names are so hard to pronounce, every one is called "William." When the big ship is hurling shot and shell in time of battle, where is William? In the pantry washing dishes? No, indeed.
Somebody must be down in the magazine putting the powder on the hoists which carry it up to the guns. This is William's work. In time of fire, it is he who holds the nozzle of the hose, or who brings hammocks to smother the flames.
Now "Jacky," as the sailor man is called, does not provide his food or his bed-linen. His bed is a hammock, and it is a very different one from those we swing on our porches in summer. It is made of canvas, with ropes in the ends. He has a mattress and a blanket in his bed, and he always keeps them there.
At five o'clock in the morning the bugle calls, and Jacky has six minutes in which to scramble out of his bed and get into his clothes. Then he must roll up his hammock and stow it away. Jacky then has some hard tack and coffee before he goes to work.