Beer in bottle was
substituted, at my suggestion, as being, if we must have drinks
of that nature, much the least harmful to men in a hot country,
besides, in the quantity that we were able to take, non-
intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of
schoolboys, making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and
laughter--all of which may seem puerile and trivial in the
extreme; but having seen liberty men ashore in nearly every big
port in the world, watched the helpless, dazed look with which
they wander about, swinging hands, bent shoulders, and
purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished that some
one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them
falling, from sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some
dirty, darksome gin-mill, to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and
Liverpool, who are wringing their hands for want of something to
do among their fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for
the purpose of getting up a personally-conducted party of sailors
to see the sights worth seeing.
Pages:
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439