Naval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-manBartimeus
History
Naval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-man
Bartimeus
Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 20th century -- Fiction; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Fiction; Sailors -- Fiction; Sea stories, English
Private Phillips, R.M.L.I., in all subsequent narrations of the events
of the day—and they were many and varied—was wont to preface each
reminiscence with "Me an’ the Torpedo Lootenant..." And indeed he did
both indefatigable workers bare justice. Whether it was opening
carriage doors or bottles of champagne, fetching fresh supplies of
glasses or labelling and strapping portmanteaux, Private Phillips
laboured with the same indomitable stertorous energy. He accepted
orders with an omniscient and vehement nod of the head; usurped the
duties of enraptured maid-servants with, "You leave me do it, Miss—I bin
married meself. I knows the routine, as you might say...."
And Torps, superintending the distribution of beer to panting
blue-jackets (whose panting, in some cases, was almost alarming in its
realism); fetching cups of tea for stout dowagers, and ices for giggling
schoolgirls; begging a sprig from the bridesmaids’ bouquets; tipping
policemen; opening telegrams; yet always with an attention ready for the
Bridegroom’s aunt who remembered Guns as such a _little_ boy....
Helpful even to the ubiquitous reporter of the local paper....
"A picturesque ceremony—if I may say so. A _most_ picturesque ceremony."
The reporter would feel for his notebook. "Might I ask who that tall
Officer is with the medals...? My Paper——" And Torps, with his gentle
manners and quiet smile, would supply the information to the best of his
ability, conscious that at a wedding there are harder lots even than the
Best Man’s....
The Indiarubber Man drifted disconsolately about in the crush, finally
coming to a momentary anchorage in a corner beside his Bridesmaid.
"Miss Betty, no one loves me, and I’m going into the garden"—he dropped
his voice to a confidential undertone—"to eat worms."
The girl giggled weakly. "Please don’t make me laugh any more! Won’t
you stay here and have an ice instead? I’m sure it would be much better
for you."
"Would it, d’you think? I’ve been watching the sailors drinking beer.
Have you ever seen a sailor drink beer, Miss Betty? It’s a grim sight."
She shook her head, and there was both laughter and reproach in the
young eyes considering him over the bouquet. "You forsook me—and a nice
Midshipman had pity on my loneliness and brought me an ice."
The Indiarubber Man eyed her sorrowfully. "I turn my back for a moment
to watch sailors drink beer—I am a man of few recreations—and return to
find you sighing over the memory of another and making shocking bad
puns. Really, Miss Betty—Ah! _Now_ I can understand...."
A small and pink-faced Midshipman approached with two brimming glasses
of champagne. The Indiarubber Man faded discreetly away, leaving his
charge and her new-found knight pledging each other with sparkling eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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