AN OLD-TIME SAILOR.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 39, 16 February 1928, Page 10

AN OLD-TIME SAILOR.

APPRENTICE IN THERMOPYLAE

SHIPMATE OF CONRAD.

INTERESTING REMINISCENCES.

An apprenticeship served in the famous clipper ship Thermopylae, and a voyage as a shipmate of the late Joseph Conrad, are but two of the chapters in the varied career of Mr. Alfred Bevins, of Remuera. He served his time in tlie Aberdeen White Star Line, the Thermopylae being

hia first ship. He was in her when she put up the unbeaten record fqr a sailing ship of 60 days from London to Melbourne.

From the Thermopylae he was transferred to the Lucadia, which also bad some very fine passages to her credit. The Far East was really the "Fa*" Fast in those days, when the finest ships the fiand of man ever made used to lie in scores in the river off Shanghai* waiting to race homeward with the first of the season's tea. Of the Chinaman oi that day, unspoiled by sectarian .missionaries and grasping tradeis, Mr. Bevins entertains a high opinion. With Conrad. One interesting episode in his career was when Mr. Bevins was shjpmate with a man who has since risen to fame — Joseph Conrad. It was not until many years afterwards that he identified the 1 name of the great author with that of the <|uick Polish youth that had shared i his cabin as third mate under him in the r ship Loch Etive.

The Loch Etive was commanded by Capt. Stuart, a well-known and popular master in the Australian trade in the 'seventies and 'eighties. Under him were a Mr. Purdic, who was first mate, Mr.

Bevins second, and Joseph Conrad third. The voyage-provided a number of unusual opisodes, some of which were afterwards used by the author in the " Mirror of the Sea."

The vessel sailed from Glasgow with h: a cargo of whisky for Sydney, and t< anchored _for the first night, off E Greenock, to give the crew a chance to p sober up. The mate, who was fond of g acting the bully, decided to call the men I up to work,, and went for'ard to roust t them out of the fo'c'sle. Mr. Bevins saw a him disappear down the fo'c'sle com- ( panion-way, and, a few seconds later, t nearly caught him as he came flying out j on deck, pursued by a volley of oaths I 1 and sea*boots.' • A Trying Voyage. i This was a fair indication of the ; mate's calibre. Unable to handle hia " men without continual quarrelling and i unpleasantness, he exchanged watches s with Mr. Bevins, and was even worse off ithan befor«» Added to this, he wa»

somewhat deaf, and could never tell when it was time to shorten sail. Thus] the ship was driven unmercifully, though, fortunately, only one spar was lost, the main topgallant yard. Both braces carried away, and the yard snapped at the parrel, both yard arms going for'ard with the weight of the I Bail.

Even when port was reached, things were no pleasanter. In Sydney, one evening, the crew got drunk and waited on deck for the mate to return, so that they could get some of their own back." Mr. Bevins, returning to the ship before the mate, had them all arrested, to keep them out of mischief.

During the whole of this ratliev tryin /oyage, to say the least of it, Mr. Bevin shared his cabin with the young Pol» L'onrad. "He was a most pleasant eon sanion for one who preferred to b juict-," says he, recalling his forme hipmate. 11 1 do not think that he eve n those days contemplated taking xi] iterature, or, at least, he never men ;ioned it, nor did he study very much ie was very quiet and gentlemanly, with »ut a vice in his make-up, but a mos lompanionable fellow; one who never los lis temper. He spoke with a foreigi ntonation, but always most correctly hough without that command of lan ruage which I have since enjoyed in hi: iooks. He was then, of course, little ove wenty, and the pointed beard so charac eristic of later portraits was then i ery youthful and straggling growth le had well-marked features, a frdsl omplexion and rather prominent eyes [ndeed, when I come to think of it, 1 •elieve his eyes were rather weak, ant hat was possibly one of his reasons foi jiving up the sea. He was a thorough ind conscientious, if not brilliant, sea nan, and seemed to get on well with the :rew. Of course, being in the mate's patch did not give him much of a chance iut, even then, he never seemed to have ,ny difficulty with the men. In fact, or lie night I have mentioned, when tht rew. all half drunk, were waiting or he deck to attack the mate, they nevci hreatened Conrad, and it was he whon [ despatched to bring down a squad oJ jolice." Prosperity Ashore. Although he has the greatest admira ion for his former shipmate's rise U ame, Mr. Bevins has also carved out foi limsclf a cosy niche of his own. Coming ,o New Zealand as second mate of the Sermione, he joined the Union Com>any's chartered steamer lona, and spent some years in the inter-Island trade Returning to New Zealand, lie decided .0 settle down ashore, so, with a sailor's adaptability, he took up work on tht Otago gold-fields. Coming to Auckland he, with two partners, acquired th< Auckland freezing works, and later lit founded the Whangarei works. Now, retired from the active list, he

loves to yarn to old-timers who have; paused through the same school of seamanship and hard knocks, or to read, never without surprise and admiration, ~ ? literary achievements of the former nul Etive, and recogad J venture!l and incidents which he shared with the author.