NOTES ON THE SECOND CANTO.
[Page 66], l. 20.
And the dark scud in swift succession flies.
The scud is a name given by seamen to the lowest and lightest clouds, which are swiftly driven along the atmosphere by the winds.
[Page 66], l. 22.
Low in the wave the leeward cannon lie.
When the wind crosses a ship’s course, either directly or obliquely, that side of the ship upon which it acts is termed the weather side; and the opposite one, which is then pressed downwards, is termed the lee side; all on one side of her is accordingly called to windward, and all on the opposite side to leeward: hence also are derived the lee cannon, the lee braces, weather braces, &c.
[Page 66], l. 24; and [Page 67], l. 2.
Topsails, reef, blocks.
Topsails are large square sails, of the second magnitude and height; as the courses are of the first magnitude, and the lowest.—Reefs are certain divisions of the sail, which are taken in or let out in proportion to the increase or diminution of the wind. Blocks are what landsmen would rather term, from the French word, (poulie) pullies.
[Page 67], l. 15, 16, 19.
Halyards—bow-lines—clue-lines—reef tackles—earings.
Halyards are those ropes by which sails are hoisted or lowered. Bow-lines are ropes fastened to the outer edge of square sails in three different places, that the windward edge of the sail may be bound tight forward on a side wind, in order to keep the sail from shivering. Clue-lines are fastened to the lower corners of the square sails, for the more easy furling of them. Reef-tackles are ropes fastened to the edge of the sail, just beneath the lowest reef; and being brought down to the deck by means of two blocks, are used to facilitate the operation of reefing. Earings are small ropes employed to fasten the upper corners of the principal sails, and the extremities of the reefs, to the respective yard-arms, particularly when any sail is to be close furled.
[Page 68], l. 6.
Brail up the mizen quick.
The mizen is a large sail bent to the mizen mast, and is commonly reckoned one of the courses, which consist of the main-sail, fore-sail, and mizen. As the word brails is a general name given to all the ropes which are employed to haul up the bottoms, lower corners, and skirts of the great sails; so the drawing them together, for the more ready operation of furling, is called brailing them up. The effect which the operation of brailing up the mizen produces, is noticed in the last note of this Canto.
[Page 68], l. 7.
Man the clue-garnets, let the main-sheet fly!
Clue-garnets are the same to the main-sail and fore-sail, which the clue-lines are to all other square-sails, and are hauled up when the sail is to be furled or brailed. Sheets: it is necessary in this place to remark, that the sheets, which are universally mistaken by our English poets for the sails, are in reality the ropes that are used to extend the clues, or lower corners of the sails, to which they are attached.
[Page 68], l. 13.
Bear up the helm a-weather!
The reason for putting the helm a-weather, or to the side next the wind, is to make the ship veer before it when it blows so hard that she cannot bear her side to it any longer. Veering, or wearing, is the operation by which a ship, in changing her course from one board to the other, turns her stern to windward; the French term is, virer vent arriere.
[Page 68], l. 20.
Timoneer—
The helmsman, from the French, timonnier.
[Page 69], l. 8.
While the fore stay-sail balances before:
Called with more propriety the fore top-mast stay-sail: it is of a triangular shape, and runs upon the fore top-mast stay, over the bowsprit: it consequently has an influence on the fore-part of the ship, as the mizen has on the hinder part; and, when thus used together, they may be said to balance each other. See also the last note of this Canto.
[Page 69], l. 10.
... th’ extended tack confin’d.
The main-sail and fore-sail of a ship are furnished with a tack on each side, which is formed of a thick rope tapering to the end, having a knot wrought upon the largest extremity, by which it is firmly retained in the clue of the sail: by this means the tack is always fastened to windward, at the same time that the sheet extends the sail to leeward.
[Page 69], l. 13.
... the bunt-lines gone!
Bunt-lines are ropes fastened to the bottoms of the square sails to draw them up to the yards, when the sails are brailed or furled.
[Page 69], l. 19.
... and yards to starboard braced.
A yard is said to be braced, when it is turned about the mast horizontally, either to the right or left: the ropes employed in this service are called the larboard and starboard braces.
[Page 69], l. 23, 24; and [Page 70], l. 1, 2.
Brails, head-ropes, robands.
Brails: a general name given to all the ropes which are employed to haul up, or brail the bottoms, and lower corners of the great sails. A rope is always attached to the edges of the sails, to strengthen and prevent them from rending: those parts of it which are on the perpendicular or sloping edges, are called leech ropes, that, at the bottom, the foot rope, and that on the top, or upper edge, the head-rope. Robands, or rope bands, are small pieces of rope, of a sufficient length to pass two or three times about the yards, in order to fix to them the upper edges of the respective great sails: the robands for this purpose are passed through the eyelet holes under the head-rope.
[Page 70], l. 3-6.
That task performed, they first the braces slack,
Then to the chess-tree drag th’ unwilling tack.
And, while the lee clue-garnet’s lower’d away,
Taught aft the sheet they tally, and belay.
The braces are here slackened, because the lee-brace confining the yard, the tack could not come down until the braces were cast off. The chess tree, called by the French taquet d’amure, consists of a perpendicular piece of wood, fastened with iron bolts, on each side the ship: in the upper part of the chess-tree is a large hole, through which the tack is passed; and when the clue or lower corner of the sail comes down to it, the tack is said to be aboard. Taught, the roide of the French, and dicht of the Dutch sailors, implies the state of being extended, or stretched out. Tally, is a word applied to the operation of hauling the sheets aft, or toward the ship’s stern. To belay is to fasten.
[Page 71], l. 21, 22.
They furled the sails, and pointed to the wind
The yards, by rolling tackles then confined.
The rolling tackle is an assemblage of blocks or pullies, through which a rope is passed, until it becomes four-fold, in order to confine the yard close down to leeward when the sail is furled, that the yard may not gall the mast, from the rolling of the ship. Gaskets are platted ropes to wrap round the sails when furled.
[Page 72], l. 3-8.
Top-gallant-yards, travellers, back-stays, top-ropes, parrels, lifts, topped, booms.
Top-gallant-yards, which are the highest ones in a ship, are sent down at the approach of an heavy gale, to ease the mast-heads. Travellers are iron rings furnished with a piece of rope, one end of which encircles the ring to which it is spliced: they are principally intended to facilitate the hoisting or lowering of the top-gallant yards; for which purpose two of them are fixed on each back-stay; which are long ropes that reach on each side of the ship, from the top-masts (which are the second in point of height) to the chains. Top-ropes are employed to sway up or lower the top-masts, top-gallant-masts, and their respective yards. Parrels are those bands of rope, by which the yards are fastened to the masts, so as to slide up and down when requisite; and of these there are four different sorts. Lifts are ropes which reach from each mast-head to their respective yard-arms. A yard is said to be topped, when one end of the yard is raised higher than the other, in order to lower it on deck by means of the top-ropes. Booms are spare masts, or yards, which are placed in store on deck, between the main and foremast, immediately to supply the place of any that may be carried away, or injured, by stress of weather.
[Page 73], l. 11.
But here the doubtful officers dispute—
This is particularly mentioned, not because there was, or could be, any dispute at such a time between a master of a ship, and his chief mate, as the former can always command the latter; but to expose the obstinacy of a number of our veteran officers, who would rather risk any thing than forego their ancient rules, although many of them are in the highest degree equally absurd and dangerous. It is to the wonderful sagacity of these philosophers, that we owe the sea maxims of avoiding to whistle in a storm, because it will increase the wind; of whistling on the wind in a calm; of nailing horse-shoes on the mast to prevent the power of witches; of nailing a fair wind to the starboard cat-head, &c.
[Page 74], l. 5.
The tack’s eased off!
It has been already remarked, that the tack is always fastened to windward; consequently, as soon as it is cast loose, and the clue-garnet is hauled up, the weather clue of the sail immediately mounts to the yard; and this operation must be carefully performed in a storm, to prevent the sail from splitting, or being torn to pieces by shivering.
[Page 74], l. 7.
The sheet and weather-brace they now stand by.
To stand by any rope is, in the language of seamen, to take hold of it. Whenever the sheet is cast off, it is necessary to pull in the weather brace, to prevent the violent shaking of the sail.
[Page 74], l. 13.
By spilling lines embraced—
The spilling lines, which are only used on particular occasions in tempestuous weather, are employed to draw together, and confine the belly of the sail, when inflated by the wind over the yard.
[Page 74], l. 18.
Below, the down-haul tackle others ply;
The violence of the gale forcing the yard much out, it could not easily have been lowered so as to reef the sail, without the application of a tackle, consisting of an assemblage of the pullies, to haul it down on the mast: this is afterwards converted into rolling tackle, which has been already described in a former note.
[Page 74], l. 19.
Jears, lifts, and brails, a seaman each attends,
And down the mast its mighty yard descends.
Jears, or geers, answer the same purpose to the main-sail, fore-sail, and mizen, as haliards do to all inferior sails. The tye, a sort of runner, or thick rope, is the upper part of the jears.
[Page 74], l. 23, 24; and Page 75, l. 1-12.
Reef-lines, shrouds, reef-band, outer and inner turns.
Reef-lines, are only used to reef the main-sail and fore-sail. Shrouds, so called from the Saxon scrud, consist of a range of thick ropes stretching downwards from the mast heads, to the right and left sides of a ship, in order to support the masts, and enable them to carry sail; they are also used as rope ladders, by which seamen ascend or descend to execute whatever is wanting to be done about the sails and rigging. Reef-band, consists of a piece of canvass sewed across the sail, to strengthen it in the place where the eyelet-holes of the reefs are formed. The outer turns of the earing serve to extend the sail along its yard; the inner turns are employed to confine its head-rope close to its surface.
[Page 75], l. 21.
A Sea, up-surging with stupendous roll.
A sea is the general term given by sailors to an enormous wave; and hence, when such a wave bursts over the deck, the vessel is said to have shipped a sea.
[Page 77], l. 3, 4.
Too late to weather now Morea’s land,
And drifting fast on Athen’s rocky strand.
To weather a shore is to pass to windward of it, which at this time was prevented by the violence of the gale. Drift is that motion and direction, by which a vessel is forced to leeward sideways, when she is unable any longer to carry sail; or, at least, is restrained to such a portion of sail, as may be necessary to keep her sufficiently inclined to one side, that she may not be dismasted by her violent labouring produced by the turbulence of the sea.
[Page 77], l. 10.
And try beneath it the sidelong in the sea.
To try, is to lay the ship with her side nearly in the direction of the wind and sea, with her head somewhat inclined to windward; the helm being fastened close to the lee-side, or in the sea language, hard a-lee, to retain her in that position. See a further illustration in the last note of this Canto.
[Page 77], l. 12.
Topping lift, knittle, throt.
A tackle, or assemblage of pullies, which tops the upper end of the mizen-yard. This line, and the six following, describe the operation of reefing and balancing the mizen. The knittle is a short line used to reef the sails by the bottom. The throt is that part of the mizen-yard which is close to the mast.
[Page 80], l. 13.
Companion, binacle.
The companion is a wooden porch placed over the ladder that leads down to the cabins of the officers. The binacle is a case, which is placed on deck before the helm, containing three divisions; the middle one for a lamp, or candle, and the two others for mariners’ compasses. There are always two binacles on the deck of a ship of war, one of which is placed before the master, at his appointed station. In all the old sea books it was called bittacle.
[Page 80], l. 19.
They sound the well.
The well is an apartment in a ship’s hold, serving to inclose the pumps: it is sounded by dropping down a measured iron rod, which is connected with a long line—The brake is the pump-handle.
[Page 83], l. 3.
Meanwhile Arion traversing the waist.
The waist is that part of a ship which is contained between the quarter deck and forecastle; or the middle of that deck which is immediately below them. When the waist of a merchant ship is only one or two steps in descent from the quarter deck and forecastle, she is said to be galley built; but when it is considerably deeper, as with six or seven steps, she is then called frigate built.
[Page 85], l. 13.
Her place discovered by the rules of art.
The lee-way, or drift, in this passage are synonymous terms.—The true course and distance resulting from these traverses is discovered by collecting the difference of latitude, and departure of each course; and reducing the whole into one departure, and one difference of latitude, according to the known rules of trigonometry: this reduction will immediately ascertain the base and perpendicular; or, in other words, will give the difference of latitude and departure, to discover the course and distance.
[Page 89], l. 42.
Yet where with safety can we dare to scud
Before this tempest and pursuing flood?
The movement of scudding, from the Swedish word skutta, is never attempted in a contrary wind, unless, as in the present instance, the condition of a ship renders her incapable of sustaining any longer on her side, the mutual efforts of the winds and waves. The principal hazards, incident to scudding, are generally a pooping sea; the difficulty of steering, which exposes the vessel perpetually to the risk of broaching-to; and the want of sufficient sea-room: a sea striking the ship violently on the stern may dash it inwards, by which she must inevitably founder; in broaching-to suddenly, she is threatened with being immediately overset; and, for want of sea-room, she is endangered with shipwreck on a lee-shore; a circumstance too dreadful to require explanation.
[Page 91], l. 9.
Thus water-logged—
A ship is said to be water-logged, when, having received through her leaks a great quantity of water into her hold, she has become so heavy and inactive on the sea, as to yield without resistance to the efforts of every wave that rushes over the deck. As in this dangerous situation the centre of gravity is no longer fixed, but fluctuates from place to place, the stability of the ship is utterly lost: she is therefore almost totally deprived of the use of her sails, which operate to overset her, or press the head under water: hence there is no resource for the crew, except to free her by the pumps, or to abandon her for the boats as soon as possible.
[Page 96], l. 3, 4.
Hatches, lanyard.
Hatches, a term which seamen sometimes incorrectly use for gratings; a sort of open cover for the hatchways, formed by several small laths, or battens, which cross each other at right angles, leaving a square interval between: these gratings are not only of service to admit the air and light between decks, but also to let off the smoke of the great guns during action.
Lanyard, or laniard, is a short piece of line fastened to different things on board a ship, to preserve them in a particular place; such are the lanyards of the gun-ports, the lanyard of the buoy, the lanyard of the cat-hook, &c.; but the lanyards alluded to in the above line, were those by means of which the shrouds were extended; or, as a sailor would express himself, taught.
[Page 99], l. 5.
Both stay-sail sheets to mid-ships were conveyed.
The fore stay-sail being one of the sails which command the fore part of the ship, is for that reason hoisted at this time, to bear her fore-part round before the wind: for the same reason, after it is split, the foremast yards are braced aback; that is, so as to form right angles with the direction of the wind. For a further illustration of this, see the subsequent note.
[Page 99], l. 18.
And hew at once the mizen-mast away!
“When a ship is forced by the violence of a contrary wind to furl all her sails, if the storm increases, and the sea continue to rise, she is often strained to so great a degree, that, to ease her, she must be made to run before their mutual direction; which, however, is rarely done but in cases of the last necessity: now, as she has no head-way, the helm is deprived of its governing power, as the latter effect is only produced in consequence of the former: it therefore necessarily requires an uncommon effort to wheel, or turn her, into any different position. It is an axiom in natural philosophy, that ‘Every body will persevere in its state of rest, or moving uniformly in a right line, unless it be compelled to change its state by forces impressed; and that the change of motion is proportional to the moving force impressed, and is made according to the right line in which that force acts.’
“By this principle it is easy to conceive how a ship is compelled to turn into any direction, by the force of the wind acting upon her sails in lines parallel to the plane of the horizon: for the sails may be so set, as to receive the current of air either directly, or more or less obliquely; and the motion communicated to the ship must of necessity conspire with that of the wind. As therefore the ship lies in such a situation as to have the wind and sea directly on her side; and these increase to such an height, that she must either founder, or scud before the storm; the aftmost sails are first taken in, or so placed that the wind has very little power on them: and the head-sails, or fore-mast sails, are spread abroad, so that the whole force of the wind is exerted on the ship’s forepart, which must therefore of necessity yield to its impulse. The prow being thus put in motion, its motion must conspire with that of the wind, and will be pushed about so as to run immediately before it; for this reason, when no more sail can be carried, the fore-mast yards are braced aback; that is, in such a position as to receive all the current of air they can contain directly to perform the operation of head-sails; and the mizen-yard is lowered to produce the same effect as furling, or placing obliquely the aftmost sails; and this attempt being found insufficient, the mizen-mast is cut away, which must have been followed by the main-mast, if the expected effect had not taken place.”