{"id":"01KG8AKTGRQ8VWD72NXD2YKXCK","cid":"bafkreid6a2fjdtofklaaqzaa5iwtlgrgpaiuhczgnoonfsly4kgeutjzem","type":"section","properties":{"description":"# The First or Senior Lieutenant\n\n## Overview\nThis section, titled \"The First or Senior Lieutenant,\" describes the role and character of the first lieutenant on a man-of-war. It details the responsibilities and social standing of this officer, who serves as the chief executive officer of the ship. The text is extracted from the file [white_jacket.txt](arke:01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY) between lines 983 and 999.\n\n## Context\nThis section is part of [CHAPTER VI. THE QUARTER-DECK OFFICERS, WARRANT OFFICERS, AND BERTH-DECK UNDERLINGS OF A MAN-OF-WAR; WHERE THEY LIVE IN THE SHIP; HOW THEY LIVE; THEIR SOCIAL STANDING ON SHIP-BOARD; AND WHAT SORT OF GENTLEMEN THEY ARE.](arke:01KG8AJPBQJ0Q2SB2WPXFS2KHD). It follows the section [The Captain](arke:01KG8AKTHC8FS4A2E7ZRD6YACY) and precedes [The Ward-room Officers](arke:01KG8AKTGA4VX7AG8CWDZ2DDZN). The content is part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.\n\n## Contents\nThe section provides a personal, yet objective, account of the First or Senior Lieutenant. The narrator expresses a personal grievance against a particular gentleman who held this post, attributing his \"soakings and drenchings\" and subsequent rheumatism to the lieutenant's refusal to provide black paint for his white jacket. Despite this, the narrator acknowledges the lieutenant's professional competence, describing him as an \"excellent seaman; prompt, loud, and to the point\" and a good disciplinarian. The text emphasizes the demanding nature of the role, noting that the captain holds the First Lieutenant responsible for everything and expects him to be \"omnipresent\" throughout the ship.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:49:48.932Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"The First or Senior Lieutenant","end_line":999,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:16.646Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"The First or Senior Lieutenant","source_file":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","start_line":983,"text":"Next in rank comes the First or Senior Lieutenant, the chief executive\r\nofficer. I have no reason to love the particular gentleman who filled\r\nthat post aboard our frigate, for it was he who refused my petition for\r\nas much black paint as would render water-proof that white-jacket of\r\nmine. All my soakings and drenchings lie at his state-room door. I\r\nhardly think I shall ever forgive him; every twinge of the rheumatism,\r\nwhich I still occasionally feel, is directly referable to him. The\r\nImmortals have a reputation for clemency; and _they_ may pardon him;\r\nbut he must not dun me to be merciful. But my personal feelings toward\r\nthe man shall not prevent me from here doing him justice. In most\r\nthings he was an excellent seaman; prompt, loud, and to the point; and\r\nas such was well fitted for his station. The First Lieutenancy of a\r\nfrigate demands a good disciplinarian, and, every way, an energetic\r\nman. By the captain he is held responsible for everything; by that\r\nmagnate, indeed, he is supposed to be omnipresent; down in the hold,\r\nand up aloft, at one and the same time.\r\n\r","title":"The First or Senior Lieutenant"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJPBQJ0Q2SB2WPXFS2KHD","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKTHC8FS4A2E7ZRD6YACY","peer_type":"section","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AKTGA4VX7AG8CWDZ2DDZN","peer_type":"section","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:16.920Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:49.136Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}