Any work involving the
use of new material had been put off from time to time during the
previous part of the voyage till the ship aloft was really in a
dangerous condition. This was due entirely to the peculiar
parsimony of our late skipper, who could scarcely bring himself
to broach a coil of rope, except for whaling purposes. The same
false economy had prevailed with regard to paint and varnish, so
that the vessel, while spotlessly clean, presented a worn-out
weather-beaten appearance. Now, while the condition of life on
board was totally different to what it had been, as regards
comfort and peace, discipline and order were maintained at the
same high level as always, though by a different method--in fact,
I believe that a great deal more work was actually done,
certainly much more that was useful and productive; for Captain
Count hated, as much as any foremast hand among us, the constant,
remorseless grind of iron-work polishing, paint-work scrubbing,
and holystoning, all of which, though necessary in a certain
degree, when kept up continually for the sole purpose of making
work--a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact--becomes the
refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
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