Читать книгу Ralph Osborn, Midshipman at Annapolis. A Story of Life at the U.S. Naval Academy онлайн

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“It was my father’s name, sir, and my grandfather’s before that; I’m a Jew, sir.”

“Well, you’re a blame good man, Mister Himski and so forth. Shake hands, will you? And if you want a friend just send for ‘Gruff’ Smith. You’ll find a Jew at this school is as good as anybody else if he’s got the stuff in him. And what is your name, mister?” continued “Gruff” Smith, turning to a small, round-faced, blue-eyed little fellow.

“William Hamm, sir.”

“The next time anybody asks you your name tell him it’s Billy Bacon; now don’t forget. There’s the bugle for formation and you’d better get in ranks or you’ll hit the pap for being late.”

It was in this manner that Ralph Osborn received his introduction to the battalion of midshipmen.

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On Friday of this week the senior or first classmen were to be graduated, and each of the lower classes was to be promoted one class. Up to this time Ralph’s classmates were derisively called fifth classmen and functions. Though the upper classmen, from the midshipmen point of view, esteemed fourth classmen, or plebes, to be the lowest things in the Navy, having no privileges and but few rights, yet the new midshipmen had not even yet arrived to that low estate.