ich to charge it. Upon reference to the
Secretary, he decided that the coal had been ordered and supplied in
good faith, and should be left and paid for. In fact, however, if the
building was used it would have to be heated; the decision practically
was to let the College retain the building. It was an excellent
occasion to wipe us out by a stroke of the pen, but Mr. Whitney had
not yet reached that point. The fuel, I think, was charged to the
bureau to which the Training Station belonged, which would not tend to
mollify its feelings.

Coal was our prime necessity, but it was not all. The hostile interest
now began to cut us short in the various items which contribute to the
daily bread of a government institution. We lived the year from hand
to mouth. From the repairs put on the building a twelvemonth before
there was left a lot of refuse scrap lying about. This we collected
and sorted, selling what was available, on the principle of
slush-money. Slush, the non-professional may be told, is the grease
arising from the cooking of salt provisions. By old custom this was
collected, barrelled, and sold for the benefit of the ship. The price
remained in the first lieutenant's hands, to be expended for the
vessel; usually going for beautifying. What we sold at the College we
thus used; not for beautifying, which was far beyond us, but to keep
things together. This proceeding was irregular, and for years I
preserved with nervous care the memoranda of what became of the money,
in case of being questioned; although I do not think the total went
much beyond a hundred dollars. It is surprising how much a hundred
dollars may be made to do. For our lectures the hydrographer again
made for the College two very large and handsome maps.

The session of 1887 was longer and more complete than the year before;
but specifically it increased our good report in the service and added
to us hosts of friends. Many were now ready to speak in our favor, if
asked; and some gave themselves a good deal of trouble to see this or
that person of importance. This was a powerful reinforcement for the
approaching struggle; but with the Secretary biassed against us, and
resolute opposition from the chairman of the committee, the odds were
heavy. Mr. Whitney showed me a frowning countenance, quite unlike his
usual _bonhomie_; and yielded only a reluctant, almost surly, "I will
not oppose you, but I do not authorize you to express any approval
from me." Wi