CHAPTER LIII.
SEAFARING PERSONS PECULIARLY SUBJECT TO BEING UNDER THE WEATHER.--THEEFFECTS OF THIS UPON A MAN-OF-WAR CAPTAIN.
It has been said that some midshipmen, in certain cases, are guilty ofspiteful practices against the man-of-war's-man. But as thesemidshipmen are presumed to have received the liberal and lofty breedingof gentlemen, it would seem all but incredible that any of their corpscould descend to the paltriness of cherishing personal malice againstso conventionally degraded a being as a sailor. So, indeed, it wouldseem. But when all the circumstances are considered, it will not appearextraordinary that some of them should thus cast discredit upon thewarrants they wear. Title, and rank, and wealth, and education cannotunmake human nature; the same in cabin-boy and commodore, its onlydifferences lie in the different modes of development.
At sea, a frigate houses and homes five hundred mortals in a space socontracted that they can hardly so much as move but they touch. Cut offfrom all those outward passing things which ashore employ the eyes,tongues, and thoughts of landsmen, the inmates of a frigate are thrownupon themselves and each other, and all their ponderings areintrospective. A morbidness of mind is often the consequence,especially upon long voyages, accompanied by foul weather, calms, orhead-winds. Nor does this exempt from its evil influence any rank onboard. Indeed, high station only ministers to it the more, since thehigher the rank in a man-of-war, the less companionship.
It is an odious, unthankful, repugnant thing to dwell upon a subjectlike this; nevertheless, be it said, that, through these jaundicedinfluences, even the captain of a frigate is, in some cases, indirectlyinduced to the infliction of corporal punishment upon a seaman. Neversail under a navy captain whom you suspect of being dyspeptic, orconstitutionally prone to hypochondria.
The manifestation of these things is sometimes remarkable. In theearlier part of the cruise, while making a long, tedious run fromMazatlan to Callao on the Main, baffled by light head winds andfrequent intermitting calms, when all hands were heartily wearied bythe torrid, monotonous sea, a good-natured fore-top-man, by the name ofCandy--quite a character in his way--standing in the waist among acrowd of seamen, touched me, and said, "D'ye see the old man there,White-Jacket, walking the poop? Well, don't he look as if he wanted toflog someone? Look at him once."
But to me, at least, no such indications were visible in the deportmentof the Captain, though his thrashing the arm-chest with the slack ofthe spanker-out-haul looked a little suspicious. But any one might havebeen doing that to pass away a calm.
"Depend on it," said the top-man, "he must somehow have thought I wasmaking sport of _him_ a while ago, when I was only taking off oldPriming, the gunner's mate. Just look at him once, White-Jacket, whileI make believe coil this here rope; if there arn't a dozen in that 'ereCaptain's top-lights, my name is _horse-marine_. If I could only touchmy tile to him now, and take my Bible oath on it, that I was onlytaking off Priming, and not _him_, he wouldn't have such hard thoughtsof me. But that can't be done; he'd think I meant to insult him. Well,it can't be helped; I suppose I must look out for a baker's dozen aforelong."
I had an incredulous laugh at this. But two days afterward, when wewere hoisting the main-top-mast stun'-sail, and the Lieutenant of theWatch was reprimanding the crowd of seamen at the halyards for theirlaziness--for the sail was but just crawling up to its place, owing tothe languor of the men, induced by the heat--the Captain, who had beenimpatiently walking the deck, suddenly stopped short, and darting hiseyes among the seamen, suddenly fixed them, crying out, "You, Candy,and be damned to you, you don't pull an ounce, you blackguard! Stand upto that gun, sir; I'll teach you to be grinning over a rope that way,without lending your pound of beef to it. Boatswain's mate, where'syour _colt?_ Give that man a dozen."
Removing his hat, the boatswain's mate looked into the crown aghast;the coiled rope, usually worn there, was not to be found; but the nextinstant it slid from the top of his head to the deck. Picking it up,and straightening it out, he advanced toward the sailor.
"Sir," said Candy, touching and retouching his cap to the Captain, "Iwas pulling, sir, as much as the rest, sir; I was, indeed, sir."
"Stand up to that gun," cried the Captain. "Boatswain's mate, do yourduty."
Three stripes were given, when the Captain raised his finger."You----,[3] do you dare stand up to be flogged with your hat on! Takeit off, sir, instantly."
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[FOOTNOTE-3] The phrase here used I have never seen either written orprinted, and should not like to be the first person to introduce it tothe public.
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Candy dropped it on deck.
"Now go on, boatswain's mate." And the sailor received his dozen.
With his hand to his back he came up to me, where I stood among theby-standers, saying, "O Lord, O Lord! that boatswain's mate, too, had aspite agin me; he always thought it was _me_ that set afloat that yarnabout his wife in Norfolk. O Lord! just run your hand under my shirtwill you, White-Jacket? There!! didn't he have a spite agin me, toraise such bars as them? And my shirt all cut to pieces, too--arn't it,White-Jacket? Damn me, but these coltings puts the tin in the Purser'spocket. O Lord! my back feels as if there was a red-hot gridiron lashedto it. But I told you so--a widow's curse on him, say I--he thought Imeant _him_, and not Priming."