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Page 10
On the left of the companion-way, descending the stairs, was the "old
folks' cabin," as it was called by the students. It was in the locality
corresponding to that occupied by the ward room of a man-of-war. Though
the after cabin is the place of honor on board a ship, Mr. Lowington had
selected the ward room for himself and the teachers, in preference to
the after cabin, because it was next to the steerage, which was occupied
by the larger portion of the pupils, and because the form of the ship
did not contract the dimensions of the state rooms. This cabin was
twenty-two feet long and fifteen feet wide, with no waste room, as in
the after cabin, caused by the rounding in of the ship's counter. On the
sides were five state rooms, besides a pantry for the steward, and a
dispensary for the surgeon.
The forward room on the starboard side was occupied by Mr. Lowington
alone; the next on the same side by the chaplain and doctor; and each of
the three on the port side by two of the teachers. This cabin was
elegantly finished and furnished, and the professors were delighted with
its cheerful and pleasant aspect.
From the main cabin, as that of the "faculty" was called, were two
doors, opening into the steerage, fifty-two feet in length by fifteen
feet in width of clear space between the berths, which diminished to
nine feet abreast of the foremast. This apartment was eight feet high,
and was lighted in part by a large skylight midway between the fore and
main mast, and partly by bull's eyes in the side of the ship. There were
seventy-two berths, placed in twelve rooms, opening from passage-ways,
which extended athwartships from the main steerage, and were lighted by
the bull's eyes. There were no doors to these dormitories, each of which
contained six berths, in two tiers of three each. It was intended that
the six boys occupying one of these rooms should form a mess. Between
the gangways, or passages, were mess tables, which could be swung up
against the partition when not in use.
The steerage was neatly and tastefully fitted up, and furnished, though
not so elegantly as the cabins. It was to be the school room, as well as
the parlor and dining room of the boys, and it would compare favorably
with such apartments in well-ordered academies on shore. There was
plenty of shelves, pouches, and lockers, under the lower berths, and
beneath the bull's eyes at the head of the main gangways, for clothing
and books, and each boy had a place for every article which regulations
allowed him to possess.
Forward of the foremast there were two large state rooms; that on the
starboard side having four berths, for the boatswain, carpenter,
sailmaker, and head steward; and the one on the port side with six, for
the two cooks and the four under stewards, all of whom were men skilful
and experienced in their several departments. Forward of these was the
kitchen, from which opened the lamp room, a triangular closet in the bow
of the ship. Mr. Lowington had taken the idea of locating the cooking
apartment in the extreme forward part of the vessel from the Victoria
and Albert, the steam yacht of the Queen of England.
The hold beneath the berth deck contained the water tanks, bread room,
chain lockers, and a multitude of store rooms for provisions, clothing,
and supplies of every description needed on board during a long voyage.
The Young America was to be officered and manned by the students. They
were to work the ship, to make and take in sail, to reef, steer, and
wash down decks, as well as study and recite their lessons. They were to
go aloft, stand watch, man the capstan, pull the boats; in short, to do
everything required of seamen on board a ship. Mr. Lowington was to lure
them into the belief, while they were hauling tacks and sheets, halyards
and braces, that they were not at work, but at play. The labor required
of them was an essential element in the plan, by which the boys were to
obtain, the necessary physical exercise, and the discipline they so much
needed.
By the first of April the last of the students had reported to the
principal on board, and the professors, as the boys insisted upon
calling them, had taken possession of their state rooms. Though some of
the pupils had been on board nearly a month, the organization of the
ship had not been commenced; but classes had been formed in some of the
studies, by the teachers, and the pupils recited every day. The
boatswain had instructed the boys in rowing, and some temporary
regulations had been adopted for the eating and sleeping departments.
But not a boy had been allowed to go aloft, and nothing more than
ordinary school discipline had been attempted.
The boys, as boys always are, were impatient at this delay. They wanted
to be bounding over the ocean--to be on their way to some foreign port.
They were anxious to work, to climb the rigging, and stand at the wheel.
As yet they knew very little of the purposes of the principal, and had
but a faint perception of the life they were to lead in the Academy
Ship. It was understood that the officers were to be selected for their
merit, and that the ship, some time or other, was to cross the ocean;
but beyond this, all was darkness and uncertainty.
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