I
Like His Society Under Most Circumstances, But Let Me Never Again
Join With Him In Public Gambols.
But the impulse to sing was strong, and triumphed over modesty and
even the inclemencies of sea and sky.
On this rough Saturday
night, we got together by the main deck-house, in a place sheltered
from the wind and rain. Some clinging to a ladder which led to the
hurricane deck, and the rest knitting arms or taking hands, we made
a ring to support the women in the violent lurching of the ship;
and when we were thus disposed, sang to our hearts' content. Some
of the songs were appropriate to the scene; others strikingly the
reverse. Bastard doggrel of the music-hall, such as, 'Around her
splendid form, I weaved the magic circle,' sounded bald, bleak, and
pitifully silly. 'We don't want to fight, but, by Jingo, if we
do,' was in some measure saved by the vigour and unanimity with
which the chorus was thrown forth into the night. I observed a
Platt-Deutsch mason, entirely innocent of English, adding heartily
to the general effect. And perhaps the German mason is but a fair
example of the sincerity with which the song was rendered; for
nearly all with whom I conversed upon the subject were bitterly
opposed to war, and attributed their own misfortunes, and
frequently their own taste for whisky, to the campaigns in Zululand
and Afghanistan.
Every now and again, however, some song that touched the pathos of
our situation was given forth; and you could hear by the voices
that took up the burden how the sentiment came home to each, 'The
Anchor's Weighed' was true for us.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 19 of 262
Words from 4887 to 5171
of 70588
