y
shine as bright as silver, and the watch on deck coils the ropes and
polishes the brass work. At 8.45 the bugler sounds the 'general
assembly.' Each watch falls in for inspection on its respective side
of the deck--that is, the starboard watch on the right side, the port
watch on the left. This being done, the band assembles on the poop,
and the officers' call is sounded, in response to which they troop up
from quarterdeck hatchways. "Attention!" shouts the instructor, at
the same time saluting the inspecting officer. Every boy stands as
erect as possible Then begins the inspection. Nothing escapes the eye
these officers. Woe betide the boy whose duck suit is not spotlessly
clean, or who has a button off his trousers, or whose suit is in need
of a few stitches. He is severely reprimanded--the instructor makes
a note of it in his book; and should this be repeated, the boy is put
in the Commander's report and receives six cuts with the cane.

Each officer reports to the Commander when he has inspected his
division of boys, and then the bell is tolled for morning prayers,
which are said by the chaplain. All Roman Catholics are weeded out of
the two watches, and are marched forward under the forecastle during
prayer-time.

Now, should it be Monday morning, sail drill is engaged in until
noon, but only on this day, whilst on other mornings one watch
attends school, and the other, gunnery and seamanship classes. The
advanced gunnery classes receive their training ashore in the drill
field. Seamanship classes are held on the lower deck, and every boy
has to pass out of one instruction before being admitted to the
other. In these lower-deck instructions the first is the lashing up
of the hammock and in the laying out of the kit in the uniform
manner; then follow the 'bends and hitches' class, the reading of the
semaphore, knots and splices, and so on. I may Say that boat sailing
and swimming and heaving the lead are also included under the
seamanship course.

To most of the local boys, swimming exercise was as play, and
accordingly they received V.G. (very good) on the instructor's class
book on passing-out day. To pass out, the boy must be an efficient
swimmer, and able to swim in a duck suit a considerable distance.
Boys on the other hand who had been brought up as strangers to the
sea, regard this instruction with much fear, and it becomes a terror
to them. All these exercises passed through, which in most cases
requi