Man-of-war's Men

On the flay after his enlistrnent for a periodof threo years the American manof-war's man begins to figure ou the amount of time that is to intervene before his discharge. He has "tvvo years and a butt" to do, the "butt" being the remaining 11 rnonths and 29 daysof the first year. Ou the day following his completion of the first year of his enlistment he has only a year and a butt to get through. No matter if the butt is only a single day under a year in length, the bluejacket contémplales the term with the blandest complaisance. It is, at any rate, not a whole year, even though it be 364 days, and this fashion of throttling each year of his service makes him happy; it seems to bring bis discharge and the more or less tempestnous joys hecarefully mapsout long before his discharge within closer range. When he has put in 18 montas of an enlistment, he breaks out the homeward bound pennant; he is going down the bilí, and when he has finally achieved two years and has only the butt to accomplish joy filis his cup. "Once a sailor always a sailor" is not strictly true of man-of-war's men of the American navy. Only about onehalf of the men who complete one enlistment ship for another three year ornise, but about nine-tenths of the men who put in two cruises settle down to a lifelong contiuuance in the service. Six years of navy life seem thoroughly to inocúlate tbeni with what the Germana cali wanderlust. When a bluejacket passes a few of his summers in the latitude of the North cape and a ' couple of winters down among the j mudas or in the salubrious south Paciflo, he is likely to acquire a dislike for the climate of the United States, and this dislike has more weight than anything else in forming his decisión to remain in the navy. Horeover, after a few years in the navy the bluejacket seems to become possessed of the odd idea that he is really doing nothing aboard ehip to earn his pay, that the perpetual scurry in which he is kept from all hands in the morning until pipe down at night is really not work, and with this quaint notion be also acquires an exceedingly exaggerated idea of the terrifio amount of grinding labor a man has to perform in order to gain a livelihood ashore. Put to a bluejacket who has put in a conpleof naval cruises the direct question, "Are you going to 'take on' again when your timéis out?" In nine cases out of ten he will look you in the eye with an expression of stupefaction and inquire, "What the devil do you think I'm going to do - work?" But for all of the resignation with which he in time comes to regard a lifelong career in the navy the bluejacket gazes forward at first vpith a wistf al eye to the arrival of the .day of his discharge, and when that day finally approaches withiu clear view - is only about a ruontb in the perspective, for instance - he presents a singular picture of nervous anticipation and is not worth a water rotted rope yarn for ■work. He moons ubout his ship like a man iu a drearn, consuming great quantities of tobáceo tbat ho fiuds flavorless, and during this period ho is pretty likely to miss a few ship's calis in his abstractiou aud get himself jumped upon at the mast for the delinqueucies. His shipmates with comparatively long periods still to serve ou their enlistments regard him with the jaundiced eye of envy, which they show by pioturing to the short time man the most gloomy things that await him as soou as ho steps over the gangway, beach bonnd, with his bag and hamuiock. Overtime men beiug shipped back to this country ou a man-of-war are not compelled to do any of the ship's work. They simply stand the military calis, eat their meals aud sinoke their pipes, watching the while with lazy happiness the daily round of labor of the less fortúnate bluejackets attached as merubers of the crew of the ship ou which they themselves are practically passengers. The overtime men occasionally emit arrogantly hurnorous directious to these temporary shipmates, the ship's company of the boat that is hauling themhome. "Gwan, now, and shiue up that bright work, you long time dubl" they will shout to a deckhand when the offleer of the deck is aft and out of hearing, and "Get down to your bunker, you grinjy flatfoot and rake out your coal" is the kind of thing the man of the black gang below hears from the passengers -whenever he tries to smoke a peaceful pipe on the topgallant foreoastle. One of the immemorial customs of the navy jacks is to secrete in the ditty bag of thedischarged shipmate whois about to go ashore a can of comed beef, a few potatoes and perhaps one or two other articles of sea food. This is done in order to remiud the discharged man when he opens his bag ashore that iu the opiuion of his shipmates he will be unable to earn enough to eat on land if he takes it into his head not to ship over, and that they bave, tberefore, taken a smal] measuro to shield him from starvatiou with a little uavy grub when he bas speut his pay day Discharged men try all sortsof schemes tokeep this stuff from being placed in their bags, but nevertbeless they nearly always find it