Mr Midshipman Easy
Page 43
Mesty held his post with dignity, and proved himself trustworthy. Gascoigne, by the interest of the conservative member, soon obtained the rank of post-captain, and was always his devoted and sincere friend. And thus ends the history of Mr Midshipman Easy.
THE END
SQUARE SAILS
1 Mizzen-royal
2 Main-royal
3 Fore-royal
4 Mizzen-top gallant
5 Main-top gallant
6 Fore-top gallant
7 Mizzen-top
8 Main-top
9 Fore-top
10 Driver
11 Main-course
12 Fore-course
FORE-AND-AFT SAILS
1 Main-top-gallant-stay-sail
2 Mizzen-top-mast-stay-sail
3 Main-top-mast-stay-sail
4 Mizzen
5 Mizzen-stay-sail
6 Main-stay-sail
7 Fore-stay-sail
8 Fore-top-mast-stay-sail
9 Standing jib
10 Flying jib
GLOSSARY
abaft
(Also aft) Toward the rear of a ship.
amidships
The middle of the ship either lengthwise (midway between stem and stern) or widthwise.
a-taunto
(Also ataunt) With all sails set; shipshape.
banns
The notice of a forthcoming marriage, read in church for three consecutive Sundays before the wedding.
battery
An emplacement for artillery. Also, a number of pieces of artillery.
belay
Secure a rope by giving it several cross-turns around each end of a cleat-pin, etc. Also used as a command meaning “stop!” or “enough!” or “disregard!”
belaying pin
A heavy wooden or iron pin which can be fixed in position and upon which a rope may be belayed. Sometimes used as a weapon.
binnacle
The receptacle, near the helm, for the ship’s compass.
bitts
A frame composed of two upright timbers (pins) and a cross-piece fastened horizontally between them near their upper ends. Ropes or cables may be belayed to the bitts or may be wrapped around the bitts.
blackguard
A scoundrel or villain.
blunderbuss
A short, large-bored, hand-held gun loaded with shot and used at short range.
boatswain
(Also bosun) The naval petty officer who inspects the rigging, sails, anchors, cables, and ropes. He also hurries the men to their duties.
bombardier
Artilleryman.
booms
Long poles (spars) rigged from the ends of yards to extend sails.
bow-chaser
A forward-firing, long-range gun at the bow of a ship.
bower-anchor
(Also bower) Either of two anchors carried at a ship’s bow.
brace
A rope to swing yards and sails horizontally around the mast.
brails
Small ropes used to truss up the mizzen sail.
brevet rank
A nominal rank conferred by an official government document, without corresponding pay.
brig
A two-masted ship rigged similarly to a frigate but lacking a mizzen-mast.
broached-to
A ship turned to present its side to the wind and waves.
broadside
The simultaneous firing of all guns on one side of a ship.
bulwark
The portion of a ship’s side that extends above the deck.
canister
(Also canister-shot) Ammunition consisting of small bullets packed in tin cases. When fired from a cannon the cases open and the bullets spread in a destructive pattern.
caparison
An ornamental saddle cover or similar trappings and harness.
capstern
(Also capstan or cap) A revolving cylinder, set on a vertical axis, used to heave up (weigh) anchors.
carronade
A very short, large-calibre naval gun, somewhat like a mortar.
censer
An incense burner used in religious ceremonies.
clew
The lower edge of a sail. As a verb, to draw up the lower edge of a sail to the boom in preparation for furling.
cochineal
A scarlet dye made from the dried bodies of a species of Mexican insect.
codicil
A written supplement to a last will and testament.
companion-hatch
The opening in a deck leading to a cabin.
cooperage
The place of business of a barrel-maker.
corvette
A small man-of-war with one tier of guns.
coxswain
The steersman of a ship’s boat, usually the petty officer in charge of the barge used by a commanding officer.
cross bulk-heads
Substantial upright partitions located below deck, running widthwise across a ship, dividing it into compartments.
cross-trees
A pair of horizontal struts, attached to a mast to spread rigging or support a top (platform).
cutter
A short, wide ship’s boat fitted for rowing or sailing, used for carrying passengers and light stores.
damme
An oath meaning “damn me.”
davit
A curved timber, used as a crane, to hoist the flukes of the anchor without damaging the ship’s side.
dead lights
Wooden shutters that can be sealed over the cabin windows to prevent the ship from taking on water in bad weather.
embayed
In a bay, as when a vessel is trapped there by the wind.
ensign
The flag flown on the gaff or stern to identify the vessel’s nationality.
escritoire
A writing desk with drawers.
escutcheon
The shield on which a coat-of-arms is displayed. Figuratively, a family reputation.
felucca
A small Mediterranean vessel propelled by lateen sails or oars.
flotilla
A small fleet.
flukes
The triangular blades at the ends of the arms of an anchor.
forecastle
(Also fo’c’sle) A short raised deck at the bow of a ship.
foretop
The platform at the head of the lower fore-mast.
frigate
A fast, maneuverable three-masted man-of-war, usually carrying between 26 and 38 guns on a single gundeck.
funnel
The cylindrical metal band around the head of a mast to which rigging is attached.
gaff
A pole used to extend the head of the mizzen or spanker sail.
galliot
A small, fast, single-masted galley used in the Mediterranean.
garrison
A body of troops stationed in a town for defensive purposes.
gig
A light, narrow clinker-built ship’s boat that may be rowed or sailed.
gibbet
An upright post with a projecting arm used for hanging criminals or for displaying their bodies after they were hung.
goose-wings
A sail with its middle drawn up to the yard, used when the wind is strong and the ship is scudding.
grape
Multiple small cast-iron balls, sometimes in a canvas bag, used as shot in a cannon.
grapnel
A small anchor, with four or five flutes and no stock, used for small boats or as a boarding hook.
grego
A rough Mediterranean jacket with a hood.
gunwale
The upper edge of a ship’s side.
halyards
(Also halliards or haul-yards) Ropes and tackle used to hoist and lower sails, yards, and flags.
handspike
A wooden bar used as a leve
r on a handle on a windlass or for moving artillery pieces.
hatchway
An opening in a ship’s deck through which one can descend into the ship or lower cargo.
hawsers
Small cables used, for example, to hoist up (sway) a top-mast.
houris
Beautiful women. (Originally, the virgins promised as wives to true believers in Muslim paradise.)
hove-to
Brought (a vessel) to a standstill without anchoring.
jolly-boat
A clinker-built ship’s boat, wide and smaller than a cutter, usually hoisted at the stern of a vessel.
jury mast
A makeshift mast put up as a replacement for one that has been destroyed.
jury rigging
Temporary replacement rigging.
kedge
To move a ship by hauling in the hawser of a small anchor dropped by a boat a small distance away.
keel
The lengthwise timber “backbone” of a ship.
larboard
Left side.
lateen
A triangular sail suspended from a long yard attached to the mast at a 45° angle.
lee
(Also leeward) The side turned away from the wind.
long nine
A long-barrelled gun that fires nine-pound balls.
loom
The indistinct appearance of an object near the horizon. Also, the handle of an oar between the grip and the oarlock.
luff
To turn further into the wind.
magazine
The compartment deep in a ship where the gunpowder is stored.
main-top
The platform at the head of the lower main mast.
man-of-war
A vessel equipped for warfare or belonging to a recognized navy.
middies
Midshipmen.
midshipman
A young British naval officer, ranking below a lieutenant.
mole
A massive structure of stone serving as a pier or breakwater.
mole-head
The seaward end of a mole.
mufti
Plain clothes worn by a member of the military, as contrasted with a uniform. Also, a Muslim cleric.
nugatory
Trifling.
osier
A pliant willow shoot.
palaver
A conference between tribespeople and traders or travelers. Also, unnecessary, idle talk.
pinnace
A small two-masted, schooner-rigged vessel often used for intrafleet communication.
planeshear
(Also plank sheer) The outermost deck planking on a man-of-war. It forms a shelf below the gunwale.
pratique
Permission to use a port after a ship passes quarantine.
provender
Food and provisions for livestock or people.
purser
The naval warrant officer who looks after the ship’s provisions and “slops” (clothing sold to the sailors).
quarter
The rear half of a vessel.
quarter-master
A naval petty officer in charge of signals, steering, and stowing the hold.
ratiocination
The process of logical reasoning.
rattan
A palm stem used as a walking stick or an instrument of punishment.
relieving tackle
A tackle used at the front end of the tiller in action or in bad weather.
round
(Also round shot) Spherical cast-iron cannonballs.
sally-port
A landing place reserved for naval vessels; the opening in a ship’s side used for entry.
sarcenet
(Also sarsenet) A fine, soft cloth of silk or cotton.
scion
An heir.
scud
Run before the wind with minimal sail.
scuppers
Openings in a ship’s side to allow water to drain from the deck.
sea-mews
European seagulls.
sheet-anchor
A back-up anchor, often the largest anchor onboard a ship, to be used in emergencies.
sheet home
To pull a sail into place by tugging on the sheet (the rope attached to the lower corner).
sloop
A light man-of-war.
snaffle
A mild restraint. Originally, a simple horse’s bridle and bit without a curb and with a single rein.
speronare
(Also speronara) A large sailing or rowing boat used in Italy and Malta.
staves
(Plural of staff) The thin curved pieces of wood which are hooped together to make a cask or barrel.
steward
The seaman who caters for the captain and officer’s mess.
studding-sail
(Also stunsail) A sail set on extra yard at the outer edge of a square sail to catch more wind in a light air.
syncope
Fainting.
tackles
(Pronounced taykles) Arrangement of ropes and blocks (pulleys) used to achieve mechanical advantage.
taffrail
The rail at the stern of a ship, sometimes decoratively carved.
tarpaulings
(Also tarpawlings) Canvas, covered with tar, used to cover hatches and otherwise keep out water.
thole-pin
(Also thole or thoel) A pin set vertically in the gunwale of a boat to serve as a part of an oar-lock.
trump
An admirable, excellent person.
unction
The anointing with oil as a religious rite. Extreme unction (now called “Anointing of the Sick”) is a Roman Catholic ritual in which a priest prays for a person in danger of death.
usury
The lending of money at an excessive interest rate.
wheals
(Also weals) Ridges of raised flesh caused by blows of a whip or cane.
wheft
(Also waft) A flag used for signaling.
windlass
A winch with a horizontal axis.
xebeque
(Also zebec or chebec) A small three-masted vessel with lateen and square sails, used in the Mediterranean.
yard
A long tapered pole, hung horizontally from a mast, which supports the head of a sail.