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Article CHIT-CHAT. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Chit-Chat.
you be persuaded to part with them ? I'll give you anything that I have which you may like . " "AVell , " said I , " I should like to have that long spy-glass of yours ; for it ' s a very good one , and as signal midshipman , will be useful to me . " " Til give it you , with all my heart , " replied he , " if you tell me the signs . " " \ A ell then , come down below , give me the glass , and 1 will tell them to you . " Mr . Green and I went down to the berthand I received the spy-glass as a presentin due form . I then
, , led him to my chest in the steerage , and in a low , confidential tone , told him as follows : — " You see , Green , you must be very particular about making those signs , for if you make a mistake , you will be worse off than if you never made them at all ; for the first lieutenant will think you are trying to persuade him that you are a Mason , when you are not . Now , observe , you must not attempt to make the first sign until he has scolded you well ; then , at any pause , you must make it ; thus , you see , you
must put your thumb to the tip of your nose , and extend your right hand from it , with all your fingers separated as wide as you can . Now , do it as I did it . Stop—wait a little , till that marine passes . Yes , that is it . AVell , that is considered the first proof of your being a Mason , but it requires a second . The first lieutenant will , I tell you frankly , be—or rather pretend to be—in a terrible rage , and will continue to rail at you ; you must , therefore , wait till he pauses ; and then , you observe , put up your thumb
to your nose , with the fingers of your hand spread out as before , and then add it to your other hand , by joining your other thumb to the little finger of the hand already up , and stretch your other hand and fingers out like the first . Then you will see the effects of the second sisrn .
Do you think you can recollect all this ? for , as I said before , you must make no mistake . " Green put up his hands as I told him , and after three or four essays declared himself perfect , and I left him . It was about three days afterwards that Mr . Green upset a kid of dirty water upon the lower deck , which hatl been dry holystoned , and the mate of the lower deck , when the first lieutenant went his round , reported the circumstance to exculpate himself . —Mr . Green was consequentl y summoned the
on quarter-deck , and the first lieutenant , who was very angry , commenced as usual , a volley of abuse on the unfortunate youngster . Green , recollecting my instructions , waited till the first lieutenant had paused , and then made tlie first Freemason sign , looking up very boldly at the first lieutenant , who actually drew back with astonishment at this contemptuous conduct , hitherto unwitnessed on board of a man-of-war . " AA ^ hat ! sir , " cried the first lieutenant . " AVhy , sir , are you mad
?you—just come into the service , treating me in this manner . I can tell you , sir , that you will not be three days longer in the service—no , sir ! not three days ; for either you leave the service or I do . Of all the impudence , of all the insolence , of all the contempt , I have heard of , this beats all—and from such a little animal as you ! Consider yourself as under an arrest , sir , till the captain comes on board , and your conduct is reported ; go down belowsirimmediatel" The lieutenant paused
, , y . , and now Green gave him sign the second , as a reply , thinking that they would then come to a right understanding ; but , to his astonishment , the first lieutenant was more furious than ever , and calling the serjeant of marines , ordered him to take Mr . Green down , and put him in irons , under the half-deck .
The conclusion of this affair is equally entertaining , but we have only room to observe , that the good-humoui of the lieutenant was ultimately restored , and the delinquent forgiven .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Chit-Chat.
you be persuaded to part with them ? I'll give you anything that I have which you may like . " "AVell , " said I , " I should like to have that long spy-glass of yours ; for it ' s a very good one , and as signal midshipman , will be useful to me . " " Til give it you , with all my heart , " replied he , " if you tell me the signs . " " \ A ell then , come down below , give me the glass , and 1 will tell them to you . " Mr . Green and I went down to the berthand I received the spy-glass as a presentin due form . I then
, , led him to my chest in the steerage , and in a low , confidential tone , told him as follows : — " You see , Green , you must be very particular about making those signs , for if you make a mistake , you will be worse off than if you never made them at all ; for the first lieutenant will think you are trying to persuade him that you are a Mason , when you are not . Now , observe , you must not attempt to make the first sign until he has scolded you well ; then , at any pause , you must make it ; thus , you see , you
must put your thumb to the tip of your nose , and extend your right hand from it , with all your fingers separated as wide as you can . Now , do it as I did it . Stop—wait a little , till that marine passes . Yes , that is it . AVell , that is considered the first proof of your being a Mason , but it requires a second . The first lieutenant will , I tell you frankly , be—or rather pretend to be—in a terrible rage , and will continue to rail at you ; you must , therefore , wait till he pauses ; and then , you observe , put up your thumb
to your nose , with the fingers of your hand spread out as before , and then add it to your other hand , by joining your other thumb to the little finger of the hand already up , and stretch your other hand and fingers out like the first . Then you will see the effects of the second sisrn .
Do you think you can recollect all this ? for , as I said before , you must make no mistake . " Green put up his hands as I told him , and after three or four essays declared himself perfect , and I left him . It was about three days afterwards that Mr . Green upset a kid of dirty water upon the lower deck , which hatl been dry holystoned , and the mate of the lower deck , when the first lieutenant went his round , reported the circumstance to exculpate himself . —Mr . Green was consequentl y summoned the
on quarter-deck , and the first lieutenant , who was very angry , commenced as usual , a volley of abuse on the unfortunate youngster . Green , recollecting my instructions , waited till the first lieutenant had paused , and then made tlie first Freemason sign , looking up very boldly at the first lieutenant , who actually drew back with astonishment at this contemptuous conduct , hitherto unwitnessed on board of a man-of-war . " AA ^ hat ! sir , " cried the first lieutenant . " AVhy , sir , are you mad
?you—just come into the service , treating me in this manner . I can tell you , sir , that you will not be three days longer in the service—no , sir ! not three days ; for either you leave the service or I do . Of all the impudence , of all the insolence , of all the contempt , I have heard of , this beats all—and from such a little animal as you ! Consider yourself as under an arrest , sir , till the captain comes on board , and your conduct is reported ; go down belowsirimmediatel" The lieutenant paused
, , y . , and now Green gave him sign the second , as a reply , thinking that they would then come to a right understanding ; but , to his astonishment , the first lieutenant was more furious than ever , and calling the serjeant of marines , ordered him to take Mr . Green down , and put him in irons , under the half-deck .
The conclusion of this affair is equally entertaining , but we have only room to observe , that the good-humoui of the lieutenant was ultimately restored , and the delinquent forgiven .