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._