The Freemason in the Foc'sle.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 147, 31 December 1901, Page 1

The Freemason in the Foc'sle.

I , • - "** ■ " The new hand's come aboard nr,' ,v said the male, putting his bead into our state-room. " Camedown in a cab> like a passenger for-a uner, and sang I out for the boy to help his ttaps down to the foc'sle as if he were a Krujer." When the London Pride had bean towed out of Table Buy and set on her course, the captain and mate oonferred unent the'new arrival. •'* Gives 'himself airs, you say ? rt queried the'captain, " I should think so, indeed, He fcbld the men his name was James, noD " Jim," and made nas*y remarks about his bunk not being too clean-" " Oh, he'll soon gut past himself,'* returned the other'confidently; but in this he was over sanguine. Mr James Tampiin had not been ori board many hours before his colleagues gave vent to their varied opinions concerning him, his ancestors, his belongings, and all that was his, with freedom and profanity. The cab incideat had nettled thorn to begin with, and his fault finding was irritating. When Bill ironically suggested his own berth instead of the one ssigned to the new-comer, the latter injected the oiler critically, but it, on : the ground that, ir p-jßsibit'ii; was worse than the other. This rouse tn 9 united enmi y of the men, for xi\' a bunk was specially coveted by hem all, in that it was nearest t e s t ov e and farthest from the scuttle. At supper, Mr i<apii Q produced a Cape Argus for -.tablecloth, and shifted his tea-can up %m j down the " Fashionable Intelligev column as he read, with more apj. rQnt re ji g h ' than he showed for the He finished his, meal with th Teg i„ ne( j air of a gourmand indulging p. ? 9ua# in a biscuit and soda-water diet u»i,, r medical advice. The seaman resente. it naturally, but worse was to follow. Ho lined his berth with sheets of newspaper, to the amazement of the crew, and added a dilipidated mosquito net amid the sniggers of the boy, and to the imminent apoplectic danger of the cook- When, finally, he removed all his clothes before turaiug in, and dounod a complete suit of p\yjamasi the men's exasperation reaohed white heat. "Boy!" shouted Sill fcavagelvj "boy, ask the gentleman what time he'd tike his shav'ng water, an' if he's partic'lar as to]the pattern on the mug. 1 But Mr Tampan's face was turn to the , wall." .' . . . . .Secretly the crew, of- lh§,. London Pride couid not but acknowledge that the new hand was a person of conse' quence.-'/ "•*' ~ -, , " Sato," said .Mr Tampiin, on the third day* of their acquaintance, " you seem to have uiore sense than the' others.' Do I look as ill were one ofyott No, Jim—James, 7 I meanf-you oughter be on ths bridge, so to speak ( or maybe in dock"—(TarnpUn .-started violently at the word, used in all innocence) —" As 'arbour-ma3ter."

'■Well, well, Sam, when you ban call* the Prince of Wales —or King Edward, : as he,how is—" brother," like I can, p'rhaps you'll understand me better."

"Lor," sir"! you don't mean tet u&f you an'the E'yal Family are—~— " Others of the crew gathered round open-mouthed. "Yes," said Mr Tampiiu simply, "we meet on common ground as members of one society." "Buffalo ?" inquired the boy, but it was loftily ignored by James. "Foresters, I suppose," said the cook.;»Dx'ous to show his versatility os knowledge,. •. •* Batter tT:aa thy.;:," was tjie answefci " Ther-.'s u, 'all down Wapping \Va-y—ii .aiii't ;ha£, I suppoo?" queried another. ' "No, it.ana's," said James," " but it's mora ..than all of 'em put together. I'm a Freemason!"

The men looked incredulous, &nd Tamplin went on: " Yes, a Freemason, I may toll you-the King of England is proud to 30111 us, and more than half tee nob jity. We drop all rank whenwe 10 ! i Lo igo. and are just " "brother Ro'l 'hiul " B-other Tamplin," or " ,J >ui„r dv, ud" (that's the King)) u *. v -b' J LUf»y o^. 1 ' Th-j aJ.Oiica vras relieved fay r,\\). •■ 1 aikb yer pardon, sir, for iny" 1". r omits wLen jou iirst comu ' ho' s<*pd you ' t xs a

j'i;o smiled and pr - ineed a *’ Perhaps the cooK , jouid get ub .ajitlle somethingfrom :ffe idate/'as'h sihy birthday,” he said persuasively.- ~, • The ’ effect 'Was magical. Sabsd-' ..V.juehtly Sam was overheard admonishng the boy, with a small ibpe, - or what might have been treasonable the part of youhgster* - ‘ Pickaxe tad spade be.falowedd”*said ‘ iam,; (whack, whiipkjr' ‘hH’yotb stfp>osb the Prince inf Wales always , larries his shovel and trowel; around vhb him (whack) to show to ilnbaliev* ng little .cusses like you T* (wfaadkj vhaok, whack); • The victory waS complete} tad the lew hand laid himselfout to be agree- .= • .ble. He ibid yarn* more or mprobable djjfhis wealthy -friends*-all >J» freemasons';’ and hbw he, James J Damplin, beginning - as a shoeblack, lad risen until .he Was never hard up or a shilling to get a 'little something fhe felt faint. . ' ■ arriirtfli taß iMth U ftam§ lamplin’e olystomngi' 'tithet amenities of ailor life,, “ Hi!},” said thd new hand onfidentially, ,r jBUl. in a ’ole, iere’e this bit pf: braas-oleaningto.-;beh one. I wantto doft, mind you J yeS' i against the rtflea of my Lodge to olish brass on Saturday, afternoons. > 'hey're werypartio ! lar. Of bourse, I. aouldn’t .like anything unpleasant ’ith the slripper, IPyouthinka twist r/ ltob|cco would-^ar;^;'-*^ 1 ' 1 rfr?*’ ~ Oertainlyj Junes; I’m sure it ouldi -‘Sam II be only, to; plftased to /': r , ike a bit o’ polishing for you, won’t. 4 ou. Sani i Ye—esi*’ said that 'gentleman * ■ agasiiy,; : bejng . udMrtton as to tha jstmation of the tobacco; but MBillj ith an absent-mindedness that

deceived no one, bonded the black twist in his. own trdnsers pocket. Later.it appeared that mast-scraping svas another profession' denied Mr 1 Tamplin'by the rigid tenet of tho Lodge, and : tbe long-suffering Sain assured the mate that to be slung up to themaatin a rope chair , was the - height of.his ambition. ■ ■ The men's curiosity regarding Free* masonry at lact overcome their discretion. With'a fine show of redactance Tamplin assorted them that not even a man-o’-war witlr all the guns in the navy could extort the secret from him. Yet that night, in a moment of weakness, he confided to the crew of the London, having’ previously put the boy on deck, that' the real secret of Freemasonry warthe payment of pensions, up to ten ' shillings a week, to all deserving members.

"But why is it such a seoret ?'■ asked Bill increduously "Well," admitted Me Tamplin, "its a beautiful scheme whereby a married man always has a little pocket money unbeknownst to his missis. If you look at it in that light, I think you'll agree there's a good deal in it." They did t " An' where the money come from ?''queried another. "From Brother Rothschild, of course. But you mustn't . ask too many questions. My Lodge might think you knew too muoh already. I'll tell you what I'll do, though. There's no reason why you shouldn't have a Lodge of your own aboard this ship. It's a fine thing, partic'ly when a man wants to give up sailoring, to have a good steady income ashore.'' And with sundry inuendoes" Mr.Tauljplin worked on the imagination of those honest sail- r men Until they tied 'with one another in relieving the Freemason from his night watches land other labours, in order that he [might lie in his bunk and think 'out his plans. For him the cook helected the freshest-looking biscuit he could find, and likewise reserved the tenderest oorner of junk, when it wae possible to differentiate. " There's only one thiug I see In the way 'of a Lodge,", said Tamplin musingly one day, " and tbat is the deposit. Every Freemason puts down a deposit of five pounds to begin with, like a savings bank, and you can have it out at the end of the year. You see," be went on, "these millionaires have such fine ways of investing that five hundred per cent. —if you know what that msans—»is quite easy."' Nobody did know, all agreed, that Freemasonry was fat wonderful thing for helping on deserving men.

[ The London Pride was duly berthed in the London Docks, and it was a comparatively simple matter for Mr Tamplin to take charge of five pounds' out of each man's wages; and he left the ship to deposit the guarantee fund with Brother Rothschild. '

When Mr Tamplin entered the private bar of ''The Bag. 01,o 1 , Nails," Poplar, he was quietly followed by two men, who took a lan >uid interest irf his doings. Finally one of them addressed him by a name Which may jhave been bis baptismal name, but it certainly was not James, and added a jsurnam© which did not coincide with "Tampjin." At this juncture a small youth squirmed into the bar and listened to.£h.?.ccnvorßation.

"Look here, Watson," said- the interrogator again, " let's get to business, If you want details, I'll' begin when you were first-class steward on board the Kimberley Castls. Berth 47 lost a gold watch and a jewel-case, I fancy ? Then there was No. 22—01 d gentleman, very fussy about his early morning tea and toast, you remember —pockot-book, wasn't it'? After that you changed to the Matabele. The door of berth No. 17 was alwaya locked, but thej left the porthole open at night. A walking-stick with a hook on the end makes a capital fishing-rod, eh ?" The Freemason collapsed.. 'Please sir," interposed the boy, " what about the thirty pound he've just taken from our men?" The youngster's further explanations were so interesting that he was persuaded to relate them at the nearest police-Btation to the inspector on duty, who.entered the charge and likewise took care of the money. . " Better cut away to your ship and tell your captain," said the detective to the boy; but the latter hung back, "I say, mister, is it all gammon about 'im " (nodding in the direction of a closed door) " being a Freemason ?"

The officer chuckled. " Your friend's a very old hand," was his only comment.