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Thursday, November 5, 2020

Regard

USS Constitution Gun Deck

I'm reading the Ionian mission by Patrick O'Brien and on page 177 Killick (the captain's steward) and the ship's carpenter come into Jack's cabin because they're clearing for action (i.e. packing up all of Jack's stuff and carrying it down three or four flights of stairs and storing it in the hold, and then knocking down Jack's apartment walls to make room for the gun crews to serve the pair of six thousand pound cannons that share his apartment with him).

'Just let me down this cup, Mr. Watson,' said Jack, drinking the last of his ill tasting coffee, 'and the place is yours. You will take particular care of the Doctor's - the Doctor's object will you not?' he added, pointing at Stephen's dressing-case, now doing duty as a music stand.

'Never you fret, sir,' said the carpenter, pointing at the joiner in much the same manner. 'Pond here has made a special case for it, lined with junk.'

'It is not an article that should ever have gone to sea,' said the aged joiner in a discontented voice. 'Still less into action.'

Stephen, being who he is, is probably totally unaware of the amount of trouble the captain and crew go through on his behalf. That they do all this without complaint and without even mentioning it tells you how highly regarded he is. 

P.S. 'Clearing for action' is like an everyday affair aboard Jack's ship. Repeating the same procedure over and over again is no doubt tedious, but practice makes perfect, and if you ever need to do it in a crunch, which is generally the only time it really needs to be done, it's best to have the procedure down pat. Crunch time is not the time to be figuring out where to store the commander's favorite bowl.


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