Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Christmas Day On Board Her Majesty's Ship "Nonsuch."
Dong ! At last ! A procession is immediately formed , headed by the band , led By the Admiral , Sir Charles Reefpoint , and consisting of an immense concourse of officers and visitors , starting , to the merry tune of " The Roast Beef of Old England , " to inspeet the mess decks . Passing under an archway , with oranges and paper flags peeping oiifc in wild profusion from the thick masses of evergreens that formed it , a scene meets our gaze baffling description , and far surpassing all that the mind ever pictured of the enchanted palaces of Arabian Nights' sweet memory . The port-holes had been darkened , ancl on every side the blaze of a thousand candles ,, curiously ancl wonderfully fixed , lent their aid in producing a scene of brilliancy rarely equalled . It was not the deck of a man-of-war : everything that coulcl possibly tell of
everyday life had been carefully hidden by evergreens , draped with flags , or enveloped with coloured tissue paper ancl flowers . Each table was bountifully provided with Christmas cheer , whilst at the end stood the cook of the mess with offerings of pudding or cake , and as the Aclmira without distinction patronised tliem all , he soon had his hands full and was obliged to send for his valet to bring a basket . To describe each mess , with its varied emblems and devices , in which sailors love to revel at this season off the year , would be o ' ertasking memory ' s powers , yet we cannot pass on without culling
here ancl there from amongst such an array of beauty a blossom fairer than the rest . Such an one have we in the Petty Officers' mess—a pretty and tastefully got up chandelier formed by two equilateral triangles , composed entirely of many-coloured flowers , whilst on each point of the star that it forms glitters a light . Another , is the shield formed of drawn swords , whose burnished surface reflects in waves of light the rays from the mystical seven candles burning- in front of it . A little further on , just opposite the cabin of the master-at-arms ( chief of police ) we notice a large placard bearing the
inscription"REFUGE FOB THE HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE . " IHF Opposite the Police Station . Whilst on the lower deck water tank is pinned a scroll , with the words , " Temperance Hotel . " On all sides are innumerable "Merry Christmas" wishesexpressed variousl
, y in flowers , coloured papers , evergreens , or lights . For ' arcl , at the point where we turn to go back on the opposite side of the deck to 11113011 we have come , there is placed a highly ingenious representation of the "Nonsuch" minstrel party , the whole formed of cardboard and tissue , paper—stage , instruments , and figures so wonderfully true to life , that those who had seen them had no difficulty in picking out the originals from amongst the officers and men . Our progress has been necessarily very slowbut now going back on
, the other side wc get along faster , for there is much that is similar to what we have already seen . A novelty , indeed , is the Admiral's arms and motto ( borrowed , no doubt , for tho occasion ) shown in coloured papers against a bright light—a cockle shell with the motto , —
' ' Magni nominis umbra . And now , just before emerging from the labyrinthine mazes of brilliancy we have been treading , we come to one mess whose single solitary light hardly suffices to show the scant preparation for Christinas which has been made ; two boys stand , one on either side of the table , almost enshrouded in the funereal darkness—sole representatives of the mess able to spend their Christmas clay " at home , " for by a strange coincidence the
boat's crew , drowned and injured yesterday , all belonged to No 34 . None of the survivors are well enough to spend the day with their two messmates —though three of them are only a little way removed—in the sick bay . The old Admiral , whilst contrasting the loneliness of its two inmates with the joyous gaiety and mirth around , pauses in front of the mess , and placing a hand on the head of each bids them "Never fear ! their messmates will soon be back with them , save those who lost their lives in the discharge of their duty , " recalling to their memory the beautiful words of Ferguson , —
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Christmas Day On Board Her Majesty's Ship "Nonsuch."
Dong ! At last ! A procession is immediately formed , headed by the band , led By the Admiral , Sir Charles Reefpoint , and consisting of an immense concourse of officers and visitors , starting , to the merry tune of " The Roast Beef of Old England , " to inspeet the mess decks . Passing under an archway , with oranges and paper flags peeping oiifc in wild profusion from the thick masses of evergreens that formed it , a scene meets our gaze baffling description , and far surpassing all that the mind ever pictured of the enchanted palaces of Arabian Nights' sweet memory . The port-holes had been darkened , ancl on every side the blaze of a thousand candles ,, curiously ancl wonderfully fixed , lent their aid in producing a scene of brilliancy rarely equalled . It was not the deck of a man-of-war : everything that coulcl possibly tell of
everyday life had been carefully hidden by evergreens , draped with flags , or enveloped with coloured tissue paper ancl flowers . Each table was bountifully provided with Christmas cheer , whilst at the end stood the cook of the mess with offerings of pudding or cake , and as the Aclmira without distinction patronised tliem all , he soon had his hands full and was obliged to send for his valet to bring a basket . To describe each mess , with its varied emblems and devices , in which sailors love to revel at this season off the year , would be o ' ertasking memory ' s powers , yet we cannot pass on without culling
here ancl there from amongst such an array of beauty a blossom fairer than the rest . Such an one have we in the Petty Officers' mess—a pretty and tastefully got up chandelier formed by two equilateral triangles , composed entirely of many-coloured flowers , whilst on each point of the star that it forms glitters a light . Another , is the shield formed of drawn swords , whose burnished surface reflects in waves of light the rays from the mystical seven candles burning- in front of it . A little further on , just opposite the cabin of the master-at-arms ( chief of police ) we notice a large placard bearing the
inscription"REFUGE FOB THE HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE . " IHF Opposite the Police Station . Whilst on the lower deck water tank is pinned a scroll , with the words , " Temperance Hotel . " On all sides are innumerable "Merry Christmas" wishesexpressed variousl
, y in flowers , coloured papers , evergreens , or lights . For ' arcl , at the point where we turn to go back on the opposite side of the deck to 11113011 we have come , there is placed a highly ingenious representation of the "Nonsuch" minstrel party , the whole formed of cardboard and tissue , paper—stage , instruments , and figures so wonderfully true to life , that those who had seen them had no difficulty in picking out the originals from amongst the officers and men . Our progress has been necessarily very slowbut now going back on
, the other side wc get along faster , for there is much that is similar to what we have already seen . A novelty , indeed , is the Admiral's arms and motto ( borrowed , no doubt , for tho occasion ) shown in coloured papers against a bright light—a cockle shell with the motto , —
' ' Magni nominis umbra . And now , just before emerging from the labyrinthine mazes of brilliancy we have been treading , we come to one mess whose single solitary light hardly suffices to show the scant preparation for Christinas which has been made ; two boys stand , one on either side of the table , almost enshrouded in the funereal darkness—sole representatives of the mess able to spend their Christmas clay " at home , " for by a strange coincidence the
boat's crew , drowned and injured yesterday , all belonged to No 34 . None of the survivors are well enough to spend the day with their two messmates —though three of them are only a little way removed—in the sick bay . The old Admiral , whilst contrasting the loneliness of its two inmates with the joyous gaiety and mirth around , pauses in front of the mess , and placing a hand on the head of each bids them "Never fear ! their messmates will soon be back with them , save those who lost their lives in the discharge of their duty , " recalling to their memory the beautiful words of Ferguson , —