Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 5, November 1847Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 5, November 1847
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Rose was principally struck with the quiet that prevailed in the ship,
Capt. Mull being a silent man himself, and insisting on having a quiet
vessel. The first lieutenant was not a noisy officer, and from these
two, every body else on board received their cues. A simple “all ready,
sir,” uttered by the first to the captain, in a common tone of voice,
was answered by a “very well, sir, get your anchor,” in the same tone,
set every thing in motion. “Stamp and go,” soon followed, and taking the
whole scene together, Rose felt a strange excitement come over her.
There were the shrill, animating music of the fife; the stamping time of
the men at the bars; the perceptible motion of the ship, as she drew
ahead to her anchor, and now and then the call between Wallace, who
stood between the knight-heads, as commander-in-chief on the forecastle,
(the second lieutenant’s station when the captain does not take the
trumpet, as very rarely happens,) and the “executive officer” aft, who
was “carrying on the duty,” all conspiring to produce this effect. At
length, and it was but a minute or two from the time when the “stamp and
go” commenced, Wallace called out “a short stay-peak, sir.” “Heave and
pall,” followed, and the men left their bars.
The process of making sail succeeded. There was no “letting fall” a
foretop-sail here, as on board a merchantman, but all the canvas dropped
from the yards, into festoons, at the same instant. Then the three
topsails were sheeted home and hoisted, all at once, and all in a single
minute of time; the yards were counterbraced, and the capstan-bars were
again manned. In two more minutes it was “heave and she’s up and down.”
Then “heave and in sight,” and “heave and pull again.” The cat-fall was
ready, and it was “hook on,” when the fife seemed to turn its attention
to another subject as the men catted the anchor. Literally, all this was
done in less time than we have taken to write it down in, and in very
little more time than the reader has wasted in perusing what we have
here written.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account