461 The Ship-Clergyman. [Nov. 



clergyman of the quarter-deck. The boatswain prefers no complaint to his 

 orthodox shipmate the helmsman confers not with him on the quarter of 

 the wind nay, we much doubt, whether, if. we were to examine the 

 whole navy, we should find that " the gentlemen of the cockpit" ever once 



sent up ' their compliments to the Reverend Mr. , and begged for 



his decision in an argument on the Hebrew roots.' 5 Indeed we much doubt 

 the probability of the occurrence. Now this very consciousness of unim- 

 portance acts as a slow fire in the heart of every man this tacit prohibition 

 of all display of acquirements is, in itself, a grievous evil. If we were to 

 bind round with packthread the tail of a peacock if we were thus 

 inhumanly to prevent an exhibition of its glories the animal would 

 doubtless pine and die. And so would man, had he not, when deprived 

 of one resource, reason wherewithal to put forth another and thus we 

 have known a worthy marine clergyman, whose exquisite tact in hair- 

 breadth points of faith was never called into exertion, gain immortal fame 

 throughout a ship's-crew, by making grog in the emphatic language of 

 his admirers " like an angel." 



Our readers must not start at this praise ; but must duly consider the 

 many circumstances, morally and bodily, which urge our clergyman to gain 

 such reputation. The elements which he has to confront demand of him 

 a firmness uncalled for in his land brethren. Even a clergyman, whose 

 black becomes drenched when the vessel ships a sea, cannot always retire 

 to his birth to dry himself over Latimer or Baxter alone a thousand 

 seductive examples show a different mode. We must own that a roystering 

 lieutenant, slapping the powder out of the reverend gentleman's collar, and 

 telling him to " mix for the mess," has in it something averse to the 

 respect due to the primitive church ; we feel a surprise, akin to that excited 

 by Marlowe, who, in his Dido Queen of Carthage, makes JEineas say to 

 his taciturn and dull-headed friend : ; 



" Gentle Achates, reach the tinder.box !" 



A Trojan warrior and a tinder-box orthodoxy and cold rum and water ! 

 What startling contrasts! A little consideration, however, destroys our 

 wonderment, and we recognise in both a propriety begotten by a rigid 

 necessity. As the clergyman cannot induce his shipmates to come over 

 entirely to him, he must step a little way out of his road to shake hands 

 with them. The first lieutenant declares he will not sit down to the 

 book of Job ; but kindly invites the reverend gentleman to a glass of 

 rum and water. And an invitation from a first lieutenant but, stop, we 

 are doubtless conferring with the uninitiated ; we must, therefore, explain 

 ourselves by affinities. Our ship-clergyman cannot refuse the first lieu- 

 tenant. Why ? Can a poor curate reject a wealthy holder of livings ? 



A ship-clergyman is, in fact, a kind of negative ornament : something 

 like the figure at the head of the ship ; there is an air of propriety about 

 the appointment, but little opportunity is afforded for a display of utility. 

 Indeed our clergyman is in every way a victim to naval discipline. 

 The sailors follow up their exclamations with fearful expletives, and pass 

 on, unrebuked by their reverend pastor. The fault rests not with our sub- 

 ject. Let him, however, commence a lecture in condemnation of profane 

 swearing, and he would have to contend with the shrieks of the boat- 

 swain's whistle, and the " Sway away, there !" from his mates. What 

 then ? He must endure the evil in silence. He must " compress the God 



