To the Kditor of the *"Nowri-Cuiwa Darcy Ney Sit,—I have often found, when desiring to ascertain the origin or verification of some well-nigh forgotten item of ocean lore or custout of the people who "go down to the sea in ships," that a few lines in some influential newspaper, published in a great foreign cosmopolitan seaport, will more readily appeal to the attention of the ancient mariners, well informed in the customs and etymologies of their one-time professional surroundings, than when the space of a home journal is used for such purpose of inquiry; and deep-water sailors, who were once familiar with those huge and graceful fabrics,. the old. clippers, uplifting their clouds of canvas to the sky, so picturesquely described in the best writings of Herman Melville and Clark Russell, yet frequent, if sparingly, these cosmopolitan waters of the Far East. 'Therefore, addressing those " old-timers" particularly, I venture to soli space, in your widely appreciated columns to make the following inquiries and in: ilen' remarks on the subject of Sea Lore.
(1) A' blue shirt "stopped" to lift or Iraco-of fore, or fore top-sail, yard-arm, was regarded as sailor's signal of distress, appealing for aid from captain of man-of-war, encountered, which was promptly "by the sending of a boat to the sel, flying the signal. Forty heard the story often, recite by some voluble merchant sailor, but could never pin down any actual time or place of its occurrence; it seemed then to be merely memory, resting upon the assertion that the signal bad been seen or heard of by some former shipmate. The late Admiral Preble, U.S.N., informed me that he had seen such a signal once, in his midshipman days; but of the origin of the custom he knew nothing. He died nineteen years ago. I shall be glad to learn anything relating to the origin of the blue shirt signal, or to postes any precise information regarding its appearance; where and when displayed or whether Dutch or English in its source of significance?
(2) When I was a youngster, forty years ago, I remember that fanciful old seamen vould say, referring to the Southern Cross, the Cross begins to bend; " an allusion, I think, to those glorious weather conditions which the sea-farer experienced while sailing, particularly under canvas, the South Atlantic Ocean. I shall be glad to learn of the astronomical significance of the saying.
(3) remember hearing a favourite capstan song, or charity, the chorus of which was sung with lusty' vigour by "all hands " at the capsian-bars, when breaking the anchor away from its holding ground. I recall two ines-only, being the last of the chorus "My Mary's on the island, Oh, yonder's Mary, yonder."
Can any of your interested readers recall for me the words of the song, or give me any information concerning the particular Mary or iskund, to enable me to get at the of the song? Because of a dim memory otherwise relating to the words of the song, I think it possessed some political significance.
Clark Russell once wrote,—"Then give us one of the old chanteys..... Why the mere sound of those old songs takes me back forty years." Of sea songs—so called—we have aplenty; but the charity, the real sea song, whose rude chorus was lustily bawled by little knots of rough men, groping about their duties on board of storm-lashed vessels, in the dark night watches; the charity' that inspirited labour-worn sailors, when a fair dawn smiled through a tempest-riven sky, and topsail yards were mastheaded; the charity and the chantyman are passing away; passing, like the picturesque figure-heads, the carved and scrolled quarter-mails, and the "flying kites" of the old wind-jammers, to be known nevermore, but familiar to the sea-farer of forty years ago. The patient, grumbling, generous, tar-stained, deep-water sailor is passing also; and it is well to preserve his quaint folk lore, and rescue, if possible, the fragmentary sea customs of a still further removed antiquity. I believe, with Admiral Luce, that America and England, the descendants of the Sea Kings of the North," should "hold on" to whatever illustrates he literature of the sea, its laws, its customs, its realities, and its traditions.
Believing these things, and because I am making a little volume, for publication, on the "Laws, Customs, Songs, Legends and Superstitions of the Old Time Sea-farers," I venture, Mr. Editor, to ask your assistance in the matter, as already indicated; and, in anticipation, thanking you for the courtesy, World-famed Blood Mixture is warranted to cleanse the blood from all impurities from whatever cause arising. For Scrofula, Scurvy, Eczema, Bad Legs, Skin and Blood Diseases, Pimples, and Sores of all kinds, its effects are marvellous Thousands of wonderful cures have been effected by it. Sold everywhere at 2 Sd, Beware of worthless imitations
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.