1 884-]
��Captain George Hamilton Perkins ^ U.S.N.
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��exacting, and the officers of the institu- tion of a sterner and more experienced sea-school, than now ; and the three months' practice cruises across the Atlantic, which the different classes made on alternate summers, when the "young gentlemen" were trained to do all the work of seamen, both alow and aloft, and lived on the old navy ration of salt junk, pork and beans, and hard- tack, with no extras, were anything but a joke. The Academy, too, was in a transition state from the system in vogue, up to 1850 inclusive, prior to which period the midshipmen went to sea immediately after appointment, pretty much after the fashion of Peter Simple and Jack Easy, and after a lapse of five years came to the school for a year's cramming and coaching before graduating as passed midship- men. The last of such appointees was graduated in 1856, and the sometime hinted contaminating influence of the " oldsters " upon the " youngsters " was a thing to be known no more forever, albeit the hint of contamination always seemed, to the writer, questionable, as, in his experience, the habit and pro- pensity of the youngsters for mischief appeared to require neither promotion nor encouragement. Indeed, their methods and ingenuity in evading rules and regulations and defying discipline were as original as they were persever- ing, and could the third-story room of the building occupied by the subject of this sketch be given tongue, it would tell a tale of frohc and drollery that would only find parallel in the inimita- ble pages of Marryatt. Convenient apparatus for the stewing or roasting of oysters, poaching of eggs, or the mix- ing of refreshing drinks, could be readily stowed away from the inspect- ing officer, or a roast goose or turkey
��be smuggled by a trusty darkey from some restaurant outside ; and it was but the work of a moment after taps to tack a blanket over the window, light the gas, and bring out a dilapi- dated pack of cards for a game of California Jack or draw -poker; or to convert the prim pine table into a bill- iard-table, with marbles for balls, with which the ownership of many a collar, neckerchief, shirt, and other articles of none too plentiful wardrobes, were de- cided in a twinkling, while the air of the crowded room grew thick and stifling from the smoke of the for- bidden tobacco. One of the company would keep a sharp lookout for the possible advent of the sometimes rubber-shod passed midshipman doing police duty, and, if necessary, danger signals would be made from the base- ment story, by tapping on the steam- pipes, which signal would be repeated from room to room, and from floor to floor, generally in ample time for the young bacchanalians to disperse in safety. If, perchance, the revelers got caught, they would stand up at the next evening's parade and hear the offence and demerits accorded, read out in presence of the battalion, with an easy sang-froid that piqued the sea-worn experience of the oldsters while they marveled. Let no one judge these lads too harshly, for the day came, all too soon, when they were to stand up in face of the enemy, and, with equally nonchalant but sterner courage, go into battle in defence of the flag they were being trained to defend, many winning undying honor and fame, some meeting untimely but heroic graves, in " the war that kept the Union whole."
Our midshipmite soon became a favorite with all, from the gruff old superintendent down to the littlest
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