On Board the "Rocket"

by Robert C. Adams

So it is with an old sailor, he must growl. Officers of ships often say, they would not give a snap for a sailor that didn't growl, and there is a good deal of truth in the remark. It by no means follows that all who growl are good men, but it is certainly a fact that most of the thorough-going old sailors are inveterate growlers.

This growling is a natural result of the life they lead. Spleen enters more or less into the constitution of every one's character, and all, at times, desire an opportunity of exercising this latent spite upon some person or thing.

The man on shore has a wide range of objects upon which to scatter it. There are his household and family arrangements, his employment and business relations, the religious tenets of others, the affairs of his city and the politics of the country. He comes home from his day's business with an accumulation of spleen, resulting from numerous annoyances. His good breeding and consideration perhaps keep him from venting it upon his family, and he holds it in until after tea; then he takes up the evening paper, glances over its contents and entertains his patient wife or a friendly neighbor with a good, hearty growl about the stupidity of the cabinet officers, the short-sightedness of the President, the absurdity of the financial policy, and then berates a politician for his foolish speech. Now his pent-up wrath has escaped. He feels easier. Gradually cheerful conversation creeps in as his shrewd companion notices his subsiding temper. Soon all his vexations have escaped his mind or become far lighter burdens, and the next morning he walks down town with a good courage and joyous heart.

But as for Jack, what are his diversions of mind? What does he care for politics or religion or finance? Or, if he does care, where are the newspapers and the evening caller? Where are the public amusements or the endearments and consolations of social life? There are almost no occurrences to direct his thoughts away from a continual contemplation of, and brooding over the unpleasant circumstances of his life, and for lack of these he must continue to dwell upon the sole objects which interest him, and as a natural result their importance is magnified and the habit of such contemplation increases with every voyage.

When the mate reported the "growl" he had overheard, I said, "If I was a betting man I would lay a heavy wager that the day old Nielson arrives in port he will say I am the best captain he ever sailed with, and he never in his life sailed in such a good ship before." An exact verification of this remark occurred on arrival. It happened that the mate was riding in a horse-car, when old Nielson came in and sat beside him. He began to talk over the voyage, and soon exclaimed, "I've been to sea thirty-two years and that's the best ship ever I sailed in, and if I go to sea all my life, I never expect to find another man like our captain." This speech was very likely as far from the truth as were the growls uttered at sea, but it illustrates a proverbial habit of the sailor, to complain of his present circumstances and speak well of the past. Amidst the growling of the forecastle it is seldom that "last ship that I was in" is mentioned without praise. This fact ought to be remembered to the sailor's credit. However ungrateful and unappreciative he may appear with regard to his lot, in his memories the bright things are uppermost, and he is not prone to speak evil of old scenes and associates without good reason.

Reflections upon the incident narrated led to the attempt to illustrate the subject in rhyme, by verses, to be called "Sailors' Opinions," which were to be divided into two parts, entitled "This Ship," and "Last Ship." In this effort it was designed to portray a sailor's comments upon the ship he was then sailing in, and the same man's expressions concerning the same ship, uttered during his next voyage in another vessel. They are produced here, as they may be recognized as truthful by some who have lived in a ship's forecastle. It may be premised that sailors in the watch below generally talk in the evening from eight till half-past eight (one bell), and this is a favorite time for "growls." When one bell strikes, pipes drop from the mouth, growls cease and snores begin.

SAILORS' OPINIONS.

Part I.

"THIS SHIP."

SCENE.—A ship's forecastle—Crew in their bunks—Jack loquitur.