l. 37. Sea-goales, i.e. sea-gaols. 'goale' was a common spelling. See next poem, l. 52, 'the worlds thy goale.' Strangely enough, neither the Grolier Club editor nor Chambers seems to have recognized the word here, in The Calme, though in the next poem they change 'goale' to 'gaol' without comment. The Grolier Club editor retains 'goales' and Chambers adopts the reading of the later editions, 'sea-gulls.' A gull would have no difficulty in overtaking the swiftest ship which ever sailed. Grosart takes the passage correctly. 'Sea-goales' is an accurate definition of the galleys.' Finny-chips' is a vivid description of their appearance. Compare:
One of these small bodies fitted so,
This soul inform'd, and abled it to row
Itselfe with finnie oars.
Progresse of the Soule, I. 23.
Never again shall I with finny oar
Put from, or draw unto the faithful shore.
Herrick, His Tears to Thamesis.
l. 38. our Pinnaces. 'Venices' is the reading of 1633 and most of the MSS., where, as in 1669, the word is often spelt 'Vinices'. But I can find no example of the word 'Venice' used for a species of ship, and Mr. W. A. Craigie of the Oxford English Dictionary tells me that he has no example recorded. The mistake probably arose in a confusion of P and V. The word 'Pinnace' is variously spelt, 'pynice', 'pinnes', 'pinace', &c., &c. The pinnaces were the small, light-rigged, quick-sailing vessels which acted as scouts for the fleet.
l. 48. A scourge, 'gainst which wee all forget to pray. The 'forgot' of 1669 and several MSS. is tempting—'a scourge against which we all in setting out forgot to pray.' I rather think, however, that what Donne means is 'a scourge against which we all at sea always forget to pray, for to pray for wind at sea is generally to pray for cold under the poles, for heat in hell'. The 'forgot' makes the reference too definite. At the same time, 'forgot' is so obvious a reading that it is difficult to account for 'forget' except on the supposition that it is right.