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- 3641
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- 2026-01-30T20:48:36.270Z
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- 3575
- text
- the night-watches, they needed no long time now to perfect themselves
in their parts.
Accordingly, on the very next morning after the indulgence had been
granted by the Captain, the following written placard, presenting a
broadside of staring capitals, was found tacked against the main-mast
on the gun-deck. It was as if a Drury-Lane bill had been posted upon
the London Monument.
CAPE HORN THEATRE. * * * * * * * *
_Grand Celebration of the Fourth of July_. DAY
PERFORMANCE. UNCOMMON ATTRACTION. THE OLD WAGON PAID
OFF! JACK CHASE. . . . PERCY ROYAL-MAST. STARS OF
THE FIRST MAGNITUDE. _For this time only_. THE TRUE
YANKEE SAILOR. The managers of the Cape Horn Theatre
beg leave to inform the inhabitants of the Pacific
and Southern Oceans that, on the afternoon of the
Fourth of July, 184—, they will have the honour to
present the admired drama of
THE OLD WAGON PAID OFF! Commodore Bougee . . . .
_Tom Brown, of the Fore-top_. Captain Spy-glass . .
. . _Ned Brace, of the After-Guard_. Commodore’s
Cockswain. . . _Joe Bunk, of the Launch_. Old Luff .
. . . . . . _Quarter-master Coffin._ Mayor . .
. . . . . . _Seafull, of the Forecastle_. PERCY
ROYAL-MAST . . . . JACK CHASE. Mrs. Lovelorn .
. . . . _Long-locks, of the After-Guard_. Toddy
Moll . . . . . . _Frank Jones_. Gin and Sugar
Sall. . . . _Dick Dash_.
Sailors, Mariners, Bar-keepers, Crimps, Aldermen, Police-officer’s,
Soldiers, Landsmen generally. * * * * * * * * Long
live the Commodore! :: Admission Free. * * * * * *
* * To conclude with the much-admired song by Dibdin, altered to
suit all American Tars, entitled
THE TRUE YANKEE SAILOR. True Yankee Sailor (in
costume), Patrick Flinegan, Captain of the Head.
Performance to commence with “Hail Columbia,” by the Brass Band.
Ensign rises at three bells, P.M. No sailor permitted to enter in
his shirt-sleeves. Good order is expected to be maintained. The
Master-at-arms and Ship’s Corporals to be in attendance to keep the
peace.
At the earnest entreaties of the seamen, Lemsford, the gun-deck poet,
had been prevailed upon to draw up this bill. And upon this one
occasion his literary abilities were far from being underrated, even by
the least intellectual person on board. Nor must it be omitted that,
before the bill was placarded, Captain Claret, enacting the part of
censor and grand chamberlain ran over a manuscript copy of “_The Old
Wagon Paid Off_,” to see whether it contained anything calculated to
breed disaffection against lawful authority among the crew. He objected
to some parts, but in the end let them all pass.
The morning of The Fourth—most anxiously awaited—dawned clear and fair.
The breeze was steady; the air bracing cold; and one and all the
sailors anticipated a gleeful afternoon. And thus was falsified the
prophecies of certain old growlers averse to theatricals, who had
predicted a gale of wind that would squash all the arrangements of the
green-room.
As the men whose regular turns, at the time of the performance, would
come round to be stationed in the tops, and at the various halyards and
running ropes about the spar-deck, could not be permitted to partake in
the celebration, there accordingly ensued, during the morning, many
amusing scenes of tars who were anxious to procure substitutes at their
posts. Through the day, many anxious glances were cast to windward; but
the weather still promised fair.
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