THE PENNANT.
The following shows the derivation of pennant at the head of the mainmast of a man of war:—
When Van Trump was sweeping the seas with his men of war, by way of a boast he put a broom at the head of his mast, for which, when Elizabeth had notice, she desired all her men of war to mount a long strip of linen at the head of their masts, as much as to say she would flog them soundly if they dared to molest her.