84 



THE IRR1GAT\ OX AGE. 



early in the 1 morning. This animal 

 is an object of aversion to all sea- 

 men; there is scarcely an article on 

 the superstitions of the sea that I 

 have read that does not allude to 

 his Jonah-like propensities. 



Our blue-jackets object to meet- 

 ing a priest previous to setting out 

 upon a cruise. Clergymen, law- 

 yers and women were ever looked 

 on with disfavor on sailing ships 

 as sure to bring ill luck. The first 

 named are unlucky, probably on 

 account of their black gowns and 

 their duty of consoling the sick and 

 burying the dead; lawyers, from 

 the antipathy of sailors to the class; 

 women, because a ship is the last 

 place for them, and because of the 

 dread of witches who are supposed 

 to live by selling contrary winds 

 and wrecked vessels, In these 

 days we are apt to ]ook upon the 

 sea as an electric railway, to think 

 that the romance Of ocean has 

 passed away, and with the Atlantic 

 "greyhounds" the last glamour of 

 mystery has faded from the pages 

 of marine history. The sailors 

 form part of the poetry of ocean; 

 they are the heroes that shine from 

 its terrible pages; they must be 

 brave, or nature brands them as 

 cowards. 



In making the passage of the 

 Straits of Magellan, sea-gulls hov- 

 ered constantly about the ship. 

 Indeed, bad weather may always 

 be looked for whenever these birds 

 leave the open sea and hover near 

 the shore. The sea legends that 

 have to do with birds are of very 

 ancient date. The stormy petrel 

 presages bad weather. Of the 



kingfisher it used to be said that 

 while this bird was hatching her 

 eggs, the sea remained so calm 

 that the period became known as 

 the halcyon days. The Russian 

 Finns are considered wizards of 

 high degree. Hurricanes blow, 

 calms beset, gales roar as they 

 will. If they wish to drive rats 

 out of a vessel, they shove the 

 point of a snickersnee into the deck, 

 and every rat is supposed to run 

 for the blade and perform hara- 

 kiri. The proverbial desertion of 

 sinking ships by rats is founded on 

 reason, for rats like to prowl about 

 dry footed. A ship rat on the 

 other hand is no^ usually a cher- 

 ished object of affection. Its chief 

 value to its owner is to keep his 

 stateroom clear of all winged in- 

 sects and make a riot among the 

 ants and roaches of the wardroom. 

 During its stay, the cat is not al- 

 lowed aft. The great auk never 

 wanders beyond soundings; and 

 thus, taking their clue from him, 

 the Jackies know that land is not 

 far off. 



NOTHING BUT NUTS. 



Mr. McClure, the well-knnwn American, 

 publisher, was once crossing the Atlantic 

 with his seven-year-old boy, when the fol- 

 lowing amusing and suggestive incident 

 took place. 



The boy was given his choice of the 

 vast, varied menu of the White Star. The 

 boy, bewildered by the variety, hid his 

 face in his father':? side, and whispered, 

 ''Nuts!' Not another thing would he 

 have for dinner; and nuts he had, and 

 nothing else. 



Later in the evening, as they psced the 

 deck together, McClure told the writer of 



