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- a Captain once ventured to dine at five, when the Commodore’s hour was
four. Next day, as the story goes, that Captain received a private
note, and in consequence of that note, dined for the future at
half-past three.
Though in respect of the dinner hour on board a man-of-war, _the
people_ have no reason to complain; yet they have just cause, almost
for mutiny, in the outrageous hours assigned for their breakfast and
supper.
Eight o’clock for breakfast; twelve for dinner; four for supper; and no
meals but these; no lunches and no cold snacks. Owing to this
arrangement (and partly to one watch going to their meals before the
other, at sea), all the meals of the twenty-four hours are crowded into
a space of less than eight! Sixteen mortal hours elapse between supper
and breakfast; including, to one watch, eight hours on deck! This is
barbarous; any physician will tell you so. Think of it! Before the
Commodore has dined, you have supped. And in high latitudes, in
summer-time, you have taken your last meal for the day, and five hours,
or more, daylight to spare!
Mr. Secretary of the Navy, in the name of _the people_, you should
interpose in this matter. Many a time have I, a maintop-man, found
myself actually faint of a tempestuous morning watch, when all my
energies were demanded—owing to this miserable, unphilosophical mode of
allotting the government meals at sea. We beg you, Mr. Secretary, not
to be swayed in this matter by the Honourable Board of Commodores, who
will no doubt tell you that eight, twelve, and four are the proper
hours for _the people_ to take their Meals; inasmuch, as at these hours
the watches are relieved. For, though this arrangement makes a neater
and cleaner thing of it for the officers, and looks very nice and
superfine on paper; yet it is plainly detrimental to health; and in
time of war is attended with still more serious consequences to the
whole nation at large. If the necessary researches were made, it would
perhaps be found that in those instances where men-of-war adopting the
above-mentioned hours for meals have encountered an enemy at night,
they have pretty generally been beaten; that is, in those cases where
the enemies’ meal times were reasonable; which is only to be accounted
for by the fact that _the people_ of the beaten vessels were fighting
on an empty stomach instead of a full one.
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