CHRISTMAS IN THE NORTH SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1915, Page 9

CHRISTMAS IN THE NORTH SEA.

LIFE ON A DANCING DESTROYER. (By Commander Evans, C.8., R.N.) "Your tea, sir." A bedraggled-looking individual halfemerged from his sleeping-bag on ,the very narrow settee of a destroyer's chart-house. He was the captain of his Britannic Majesty's ship Nameless, and he rose to a sitting position with his legs still in the sack-like shroud which , did duty for his bed at sea. The skipper held out his hand for the enamelled mug now being filled from a small earthenware teapot by a seabooted able seaman. "What sort of weather, Twine?" "Sea's gone down a lot, sir, and the sky's breaking." "Good; we may have a decent Christmas after all." The skipper made his way on to the bridge, \vHere he was greeted with a cheery "Happy Christmas" from his first lieutenant. > few sentences were exchanged between these two healthy-type specimens of the British naval officer, and Number One disappeared down the steep iron ladder to clean up his tiny cabin, and then to partake of the steaming break- ; fast sausages, for which three and a-half hours of biting wind and keen vigil had prepared him. The captain perched himself up on the ! searchlight platform above the little bridge, and took a carefjil look around, i focussing his glasses on the horizon, which was then dimlv visible in the cold I <»rey winter dawn. He could see nothing . beyond a division of friendly destroyers returning from a night patrol. There is supposed to be very little ; romance in the present-day chapter of ''The Story of the Sea," but to the ■ present-day sailor the same historic love for ships obtains. To t-he destroyer offi--1 eel's the ships of their flotillas each have their peculiar beauty, and in their - opinion, it is a very graceful beauty, ) too. So our oil-skinned captain thought as he watched those distant destroyers—to him the black hulls of the surf-deer meant "The Ships that Keep the Seas." Thus far the destroyer had been the only craft of which the German submarine had confessed itself afraid, and in this limited area of naval operations 1 i —which once was styled the German Ocean—destroyers had searched, scouted and patrolled without cessation, keep- 1 ing in wireless touch *ll fi their respec- ' tive senior officers, who correlated the '■ individual reports, acted accordingly, and 1 for their part held Germans in Germany < with a grip of steel. 1 From the leading one of the distant destroyers a series of dazzling white t Hashes commenced, and the Nameless' < signalman spelt out "Hope you enjoy * ■.our Christmas out. We are going in 1 to stand off, ha, ha!" The signalman < smiled and looked up at his officer en- 1 luiringlv, hoping that the latter would ( •ne fit to send a rude reply. The skipper i aid nothing. "Rubbing it in, aren't f they?" urged the signalman , „pealingly. i "Yes," replied the skipper. "Write s this down, and make it: 'Fail thee all f meat, save mouldering corpse flesh, you -■onfounded. uncharitable Hun.'" 1 Now, the last person to gloat over T a friend's discomfiture was the captain f of the Nameless; but he laughed loudly f and heartily when an intercepted signal c informed him that the four destroyers t he had just seen were to return to their That laughter wps nothing r compared to the shouts of joy which j greeted a later wireless signal informing i the Nameless that she was to return to s harbor and complete with oil-fuel pre- f paratory to carrying out special duty. a Consequent upon the receipt of this c message, by 9 a.m. the Nameless was x steaming at twenty-five knots for her c base. \ The destroyer division commanded by the "Uncharitable Hun" was soon fallen t in with, and a message of condonation c was passed by the waving arms of the Nameless' semaphore. \ By ten o'clock the trim torpedo-boat s destroyer was in harbor with two great t flexible metal hoses pouring tße "life- c blood" into her oil-fuel tanks. j No sooner had the long, snak*> j like vessel been bei-thed alonside the oil de- j pot than & boat darted from her side to collect the Christmas mail. t The captain descended to his cabin to f enjoy a refreshing "tub" in the cockle- " shell sized bath, and presently to re- f appear li.snlendeiit in lilue and gold the v "god" of that little ship. T During the per.od of his ablutions the p ship's company prepared for their Christmas inspection. jtopes were neatly t coiled down, the guas laid horizontal, n and the torpedo-tubes placed fore and 3 *ft, to give a clear passage along the n deck. These operations are complete, and now the first lieutenant reports all ready I 1 for divisions. "Muster by open-list," replies the skipper. "Ave-aye, sir." T The officers move on deck, and beside a little table stands the captain. On 81 the table is a hook from which the torpedo coxswain reads the .list of the tl ship's company. As each man steps for- tl ward the sub-lieutenant hands him a little package, a cardboard box, contain- Cl ing a sensible briar pipe, and a gilt tin ft box, which in its turn is found to con- r< tain two other packages—cigarettes and oi tobacco. The sailor, knowing nothing about m this little secret, eyes the box, and notes di with surprise and satisfaction that it is in a present from the Princess Mary. fe As he goes forward to the forecastle, he examines the gilded box again, and ; n seeing its substantial make, he decides q to keep it in the little cottage near f 0 Portsmouth if he lives to win home to re the arms of his loved ones. This is the first act in the Christmas pantomime. After the inspection comes j;, divine service, performed by the skip- it ' per who has a very guilty conscience in the matter; for there was that little incident this morning when a boat m crossed his bows and acted with culpable indecision. The small boat's clumsy manoeuvring- had spoilt that commanding dash with which the destroyer cap- ™ tain loves to enter harbor. A torrent of strange oaths had greeted the unfor- a ! tunate transgressor, who modestly accepted it all, knowing that he should have kept clear. But to continue. The skipper does read prayers. He notices his sub-lieutenant smile, however, or m thinks he does, when he reads from the | la Coleet for the day, "Grant that we, be- ;b ing degenerate," etc.; but he goes on 30 unheeding, and finally wins through. S p , The little bareheaded band oi officers, wi sailors and stokers sing two hymns, one at the beginning, "Hark! the Herald a ] Angels Sing," and one concluding, "The a s •Hymn for Absent Friends." The latter p r hymn is not sung so boisterously as the j n former; but it carries a meaning to s h these seventy cheery souls. Perhaps th there is a lump in one 'or two throats, to fm- the ship has been in action, and tli members have been killed; one or ,th m thsywftteh the mi

musically-talented signalman vamping out tile accompaniment, on "tile squeezebox" whether the Master Pilot will call their names before those absent friends are again clasped in their arms. Tlie simple ceremony is brought to a finish by the singing of the National Anthem, and. the ship's company is dispersed. After the cliurvh service, a "super-god'' visits the ship in the person of the Captain (D.) This much-feared and respected officer has charge of the whole- flotilla, with the three or four light cruisers affiliated to his company. He is "piped" over the side and treated with a marked deference; in his presence the destroyer Captain, the erstwhile "giltedged god," becomes just an anxious boy. Here it may be mentioned that the destroyer captain i,s but a young lieutenant, while the Captain (D.) is a postcaptain with gold stripes, like in number unto those of a zebra. A little private conversation taKes place between the skipper and his Captain (D.), the latter glances round the ship, speaks a kindly word or two to the engineer officer, an old shipmate of his. and with a nod to the skipper he departs in his steam pinnace, acknowledging with a light salute the renewed "piping" and the homage of the Nameless' officers. The skipper smilingly—in fact, gleefully—tells his first lieutenant that the special duty does not commence till midnight, and Number One is allowed to "pass the word," so that Christmas festivities may be tlie order bf the day. The officers dive below and eagerly open their Christmas letters. How splendidly their friends have remembered them! What generosity they display! dancing round the ward-room one sees cakes,, chocolates and other sweets, a case of champagne, tins of cigarettes, crystallised fruits, and marrons glaees. Several hampers are opened, and on consultation with the coxswain it is found that geese and turkeys have been sent enough for all except one small mess. For the one small mess a pair of ducks is found, so all is well. A steamboat comes alongside, and yet more Christmas fare is handed on board. The jovial face of- the mail officer is seen at the bottom of the ladder. He is welcomed to the ship, and almost blushingly he asks the skipper's permission to bring a lady on board. "A lady on board in war-time!"—with a mock expression of wonderment. "Why, of course you may, old bird." So the dainty and charming creature is helped up the steep ladder and invited down into the ward-room. She is interested to behold the countless gifts, and, after some gentle persuasion, the young woman accepts a glass of champagne to drink ".A Happy Christmas to the Nameless." For a short space the war is forgotten, the visitors are delighted with the concrete ehe'erfulness of the sailormen, and almost amazed at their fitness, for they had pictured a far more wearied, dirtier crew. But no, everyone is in radiant health, and it is earefullv explained by the engineer-lieutenant that "the N 1 "" is grateful for the practical and material attention of the Ladies' Emergency Committee of the Navy League and other such organisations for their untiring efforts and splendid generosity." The engineer officers gets a bit out of his depth in his unstinted praise of the personally unknown benefactors: *>ut, fortunately, while this '•'mutual admiration talk" is going on, a welcome relief comes in the shape of the ship's funny troupe. A pierrot, a "<3ott-Strafe." a policeman and a nigger arrive with an accompaniment of lower-deck music and song. At first the talent is very real, but after a "tot" the funny men's high spirits get the upper hand. The "Gott-Strafe" and the nigger for an encore give a vocal duet, which "sails rather close to the wind," with its chorus of "We're a pair of respectable girls, and we don't know what you mean.'' This rather naughty song gives a hint tc the guests that it is time they moved on. which accordingly they do. The captain and officers are now invited to visit the mess-deck, and with sheer delight the party witness the artistic decking of the messes—a sure sign (If a happy and contented ship's company. Quite a meal is taken by the little party, who taste from every mess. The stokers have proudly learnt that their ship is so far facile prineeps in the flotilla for "Distance steamed" and "Engineering efficiency." The show their delight by nresenting the skipper with a silk table-centre on which is worked in colored silk and sequins a picture of the Nameless. The work is clever rather than artistic; but it represents to the skipper far tiore than tlie most eloquent speech. It shows him the unswerving loyalty of his nen. Fortunately this lieutenant-in-com-nand is not of a conceited type, and lie ;lianks the,stokers in a few well-chosen vords, and, tactfully explains that it is le who should be grateful to them for 10 cheerfully "playing the game." He does not forget, either, to thank he engineer-office for bringing about ;liis state of efficiency. The skipper's imple words bear the hall-mark of sincerity, and the "chief" covers his conusion by slithering off to the wardoom, where he expertly prepares five if Iris famous "Bosch" cocktails. The inspection comes to an end, We nen 'weigh in" with their Christmas inners, and the officers, after demolishng the cocktails, sit down to the royal east. The skipper tells of a Christmas spent i the sweltering heat of the Persian lulf, when searching in an open boat or gun-running dhows, when they*Vere educed to drinking rum out of a t eapoon, for they were so short of stores. Another has reminiscences of Austra'a, with its unbounded hospitality and is pretty, companionable girls. The unner talks of China, and the engineer f Scotland, and then the toasts comler.fce. The meal concludes with a cloud of obaeco smoke, and at .3 p.m. the wardoom party mostly retire to sleep, for heir last night kept them up awtiiie, nd the special duty will need their best (Torts and energy to-night. As a distant cliurcli clock chimes th« lidniglit hour, the Nameless clears the arbor entrance, aiul with no light visile she quickij stains a speed of over [) knots. It is freezing hard, and the pray settling on -the deck and upper 'orks coats them with ice-ervstals. The skipper remains on the bridge, ltering course from time to time, and 3 he peers into the darkness he almost rays that the special duty will resuH i an encounter with at least one enemy lip. He shares with every member of ie crew an anxious ar t d sincere desire ) fight, and justify the trust, reposed in ie Navy bv those who .'persistently lank and ■service' for ' terely "doing 1