In due time the bather
came out.
Said the steward, as he swabbed out the tub for his successor: 'That was
the Chief Engineer. 'E's been some time. Must 'ave 'ad a mucky job
below, this mornin'.'
I have a great admiration for Chief Engineers. They are men in
authority, needing all the comforts and aids that can possibly be given
them - such as bathrooms of their own close to their own cabins, where
they can clean off at leisure.
It is not fair to mix them up with the ruck of passengers, nor is it
done on real ships. Nor, when a passenger wants a bath in the evening,
do the stewards of real ships roll their eyes like vergers in a
cathedral and say, 'We'll see if it can be managed.' They double down
the alleyway and shout, 'Matcham' or 'Ponting' or 'Guttman,' and in
fifteen seconds one of those swift three has the taps going and the
towels out. Real ships are not annexes of Westminster Abbey or Borstal
Reformatory. They supply decent accommodation in return for good money,
and I imagine that their directors instruct their staffs to look pleased
while at work.
Some generations back there must have been an idea that the P. & O. was
vastly superior to all lines afloat - a sort of semipontifical show not
to be criticised.
