[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION TO SHOW AN ELIZABETHAN HELMSMAN STEERING A SHIP BY MEANS OF WHIPSTAFF. (Sketched on board the replica of the _Revenge_ at Earl’s Court.)] There was not very much room in the fo’k’sle--just enough to sleep a few of the crew and for stowing coils of rope and the like. The galley was erected at the bottom of the hold on a brick floor. Below the upper deck came the main deck. Here were disposed the heavier guns, and here the crew were berthed. Between this and the hold was a false orlop, where the bread-room and the cabins of the petty officers were placed. But what was perhaps especially noticeable about these ships was the extent to which the poop and the beak projected away from the hull. Consequently, not only did these craft roll, but they pitched considerably as well. The interiors of the cabins were painted green, and there was a certain amount of carving externally both at beak and stern. So much for the “high-charged” type of ship. But there was also the pinnesse or flush-decked species, such a craft as brought home to England the body of Sir Philip Sidney, and such a craft as often formed a unit in those long, perilous transatlantic voyages of discovery. These craft had no raised forecastle other than a small platform, and only a short quarter-deck. There was no such thing as triangular sails on the full-rigged ships of those days. There was, indeed, a spritsail, which was a squaresail set on a yard depending from the long, steeved bowsprit, and this was the only headsail. The foremast and mainmast each set a course and topsail, while the mizzen and bonaventure each carried a lateen fore-and-aft sail. The fore-topmast and main-topmast could be struck if necessary. Elizabethan prints show, situated just above the lower yard on the bigger ships, a round top or platform from which quick-firing guns and arrows could be fired. At the yard-arms were sometimes fitted hooks, which, catching the enemy’s rigging and sails, would do him considerable damage. [Illustration: SIXTEENTH-CENTURY SHIP CHASING A GALLEY. By a Contemporary Artist. The lead of the ropes, the parrals round the masts, the rigging and other details are here most instructively shown.] The following represent the different types of “great ordinance” carried by a ship of war at this period:-- ARMAMENT OF AN ELIZABETHAN SHIP Weight Shot Ordnance. in lbs. in lbs. Cannon 8000 63 Demi-cannon 6000 32 Culverin 5500 18 Demi-culverin 4500 9 Saker 3500 5¼ Minion 1500 4 Falcon 1100 2¼ Falconet 500 1¼ But it was seldom that any ordnance greater than a demi-cannon was used on board ship.