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_—