and more time is lost in getting the people out again than would have
manned them twice over, if any regular system had been prepared, and
rendered familiar and easy by practice beforehand.

I could give a pretty long list of cases which I have myself seen, or
have heard others relate, where men have been drowned while their
shipmates were thus struggling on board who should be first to save
them, but who, instead of aiding, were actually impeding one another
by their hurry-skurry and general ignorance of what really ought to be
done. I remember, for example, hearing of a line-of-battle-ship, in
the Baltic, from which two men fell one evening, when the ship's
company were at quarters. The weather was fine, the water smooth, and
the ship going about seven knots. The two lads in question, who were
furling the fore-royal at the time, lost their hold, and were jerked
far in the sea. At least a dozen men, leaving their guns, leaped
overboard from different parts of the ship, some dressed as they were,
and others stripped. Of course, the ship was in a wretched state of
discipline where such frantic proceedings could take place. The
confusion soon became worse confounded; but the ship was hove aback,
and several boats lowered down. Had it not been smooth water,
daylight, and fine weather, many of these absurd volunteers must have
perished. I call them absurd, because there is no sense in merely
incurring a great hazard, without some useful purpose to guide the
exercise of courage. These intrepid fellows merely knew that a man had
fallen overboard, and that was all; so away they leaped out of the
ports and over the hammock-nettings, without knowing whereabouts the
object of their Quixotic heroism might be. The boats were obliged to
pick up the first that presented themselves, for they were all in a
drowning condition; but the two unhappy men who had been flung from
aloft, being furthest off, went to the bottom before their turn came.
Whereas, had not their undisciplined shipmates gone into the water,
the boats would have been at liberty to row towards them, and they
might have been saved. I am quite sure, therefore, that there can be
no offence more deserving of punishment, as a matter of discipline,
and in order to prevent such accidents as this, than the practice of
leaping overboard after a man who has fallen into the water. There are
cases, no doubt, in which it would be a positive crime in a swimmer
not to spring, without waiting for orders, to the rescue of a
fellow-creature whom he sees sinking in the waves, at whatever hazard
to himself or to others; but I speak of that senseless, blindfold
style in which I have very often witnessed men pitch themselves into
the water, without knowing whether the person who had fallen overboard
was within their reach or not. Even in highly-disciplined ships this
will sometimes take place; and the circumstances which increase the
danger seem only to stimulate the boldest spirits to brave the risk. I
conceive there is no method of putting a stop to the practice but by
positively enjoining the people not to go overboard, unless expressly
ordered; and by explaining to them on every occasion when the ship's
company are exercised for this purpose, that the difficulty of picking
a man up is generally much augmented by such indiscreet zeal.

The following incidents occurred in a frigate off Cape Horn, in a gale
of wind, under close-reefed main-topsail and storm-staysails. At
half-past twelve at noon, when the people were at dinner, a young lad
was washed out of the lee fore-channels. The life-buoy was immediately
let go, and the main-topsail laid to the mast. Before the jolly-boat
could be lowered down, a man jumped overboard, as he said,
"promiscuously," for he never saw the boy at all, nor was he ever
within half-a-cable's length of the spot where he was floundering
about. Although the youth could not swim, he contrived to keep his
head above water till the boat reached him, just as he was beginning
to sink. The man who had jumped into the sea was right glad to give up
his "promiscuous" search, and to make for the life-buoy, upon which he
perched himself, and stood shivering for half-an-hour, like a shag on
the Mewstone, till the boat came to his relief.

At four o'clock of the same day a man fell from the rigging; the usual
alarm and rush took place; the lee-quarter boat was so crowded that
one of the topping lifts gave way, the davit broke, and the cutter,
now suspended by one tackle, soon knocked herself to pieces against
the ship's side. Of course, the people in her were jerked out very
quickly, so that, instead of there being only one man in the water,
there were nearly a dozen swimming about. More care was taken in
hoisting out another boat, and, strange to say, all the people were
picked up, except the original unfortunate man, who, but for the
accident, which ought to have been prevented, would in all probability
have been saved. Neither he nor the life-buoy, however, could be
discovered before the night closed.

The life-buoy at present in use on board his Majesty's ships, and, I
trust, in most merchant ships, has an admirable contrivance connected
with it, which has saved many lives, when otherwise there would hardly
have been a chance of the men being rescued from a watery grave.

This life-buoy, which is the invention of Lieutenant Cook of the Navy,
consists of two hollow copper vessels connected together, each about
as large as an ordinary-sized pillow, and of buoyancy and capacity
sufficient to support one man standing upon them. Should there be more
than one person requiring support, they can lay hold of rope beckets
fitted to the buoy, and so sustain themselves. Between the two copper
vessels there stands up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is
inserted, from below, an iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded
with lead, in such a manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod
slips down to a certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the
lead at the end to act as ballast. By this means the mast is kept
upright, and the buoy prevented from upsetting. The weight at the end
of the rod is arranged so as to afford secure footing for two persons,
should that number reach it; and there are also, as I said before,
large rope beckets, through which others can thrust their head and
shoulders, till assistance is rendered.

On the top of the mast is fixed a port-fire, calculated to burn, I
think, twenty minutes, or half-anhour; this is ignited most
ingeniously by the same process which lets the buoy down into the
water. So that a man falling overboard at night is directed to the
buoy by the blaze on the top of its pole or mast, and the boat sent to
rescue him also knows in what direction to pull. Even supposing,
however, the man not to have gained the life-buoy, it is clear that,
if above the surface at all, he must be somewhere in that
neighbourhood; and if he shall have gone down, it is still some
satisfaction, by recovering the buoy, to ascertain that the poor
wretch is not left to perish by inches.

The method by which this excellent invention is attached to the ship,
and dropped into the water in a single instant, is perhaps not the
least ingenious part of the contrivance. The buoy is generally fixed
amidships over the stern, where it is held securely in its place by
being strung, or threaded, as it were, on two strong perpendicular
iron rods fixed to the taffrail, and inserted in holes piercing the
framework of the buoy. The apparatus is kept in its place by what is
called a slip-stopper, a sort of catch-bolt or detent, which can be
unlocked at pleasure, by merely pulling a trigger. Upon withdrawing
the stopper, the whole machine slips along the rods, and falls at once
into the ship's wake. The trigger which unlocks the slip-stopper is
furnished with a lanyard, passing through a hole in the stern, and
having at its inner end a large knob, marked "Life-Buoy;" this alone
is used in the day-time. Close at hand is another wooden knob, marked
"Lock," fastened to the end of a line fixed to the trigger of a
gunlock primed with powder: and so arranged, that, when the line is
pulled, the port-fire is instantly ignited, while, at the same
moment, the life-buoy descends, and floats merrily away, blazing like
a lighthouse. It would surely be an improvement to have both these
operations always performed simultaneously, that is, by one pull of
the string. The port-fire would thus be lighted in every case of
letting go the buoy; and I suspect the smoke in the day-time would
often be as useful in guiding the boat, as the blaze always is at
night.

The gunner who has charge of the life-buoy lock sees it freshly and
carefully primed every evening at quarters, of which he makes a report
to the captain. In the morning the priming is taken out, and the lock
uncocked. During the night a man is always stationed at this part of
the ship, and every half-hour, when the bell strikes, he calls out
"Life-buoy!" to show that he is awake and at his post, exactly in the
same manner as the look-out-men abaft, on the beam, and forward, call
out "Starboard quarter!" "Starboard gangway!" "Starboard bow!" and so
on, completely round the ship, to prove that they are not napping.

After all, however, it must be owned, that some of the most important
considerations, when a man falls overboard, have as yet scarcely been
mentioned. These are,--

First, the quickest and most effectual method of arresting the ship's
progress, and how to keep her as near the spot where the man fell as
possible.

Secondly, to preserve entire, during these evolutions, the general
discipline of the ship, to maintain silence, and to enforce the most
prompt obedience, without permitting foolhardy volunteering of any
kind.

Thirdly, to see that the boat appointed to be employed on these
occasions is secured in such a manner that she may be cast loose in a
moment, and, when ready for lowering down, that she is properly
manned, and fitted, so as to be efficient in all respects when she
reaches the water.

Fourthly, to take care in lowering the boat neither to stave nor to
swamp her, nor to pitch the men out.

And, lastly, to have a sufficient number of the sharpest-sighted men
in the ship stationed aloft in such a manner as to give them the best
chance, not only of discovering the person who is overboard, but of
pointing him out to the people in the boat, who may not otherwise know
in what direction to pull.

It is conceived that all these objects may be accomplished with very
little, if any, additional trouble, in all tolerably well-disciplined
ships.

Various opinions prevail amongst officers as to the first point; but,
I think, the best authorities recommend that, if possible, the ship
should not merely be hove aback when a man falls overboard, but that
she ought to be brought completely round on the other tack. Of course,
sail should be shortened in stays, and the main-yard left square. This
plan implies the ship being on a wind, or from that position to having
the wind not above two points abaft the beam. But, on one tack or the
other, this will include a large portion of the sailing of every ship.

The great merit of such a method of proceeding is, that, if the
evolution succeeds, the ship, when round, will drift right down
towards the man; and, although there may be some small risk in
lowering the boat in stays, from the ship having at one period
stern-way, there will, in fact, be little time lost if the boat be
not lowered till the ship be well round, and the stern-way at an end.
There is more mischief done, generally, by lowering the boat too soon,
than by waiting till the fittest moment arrives for doing it coolly;
and it cannot be too often repeated, that almost the whole depends
upon the self-possession of the officer of the watch. This important
quality is best taught by experience, that is to say, by a thorough
and familiar practical knowledge of what should be done under all
circumstances. The officer in command of the deck ought to let it be
seen and felt, by his tone of voice, and by the judicious promptness
of his orders, that he, at least, is perfectly master of himself, and
knows distinctly what course it is best to adopt.

If the ship be running before the wind, or be sailing large, and under
a press of sail, the officer must exercise his judgment in rounding
to, and take care in his anxiety to save the man, not to let the masts
go over the side, which will not advance, but defeat his object. If
the top-gallant-sheets, the topsail, and top-gallant-haulyards, be let
fly, and the head-yards braced quickly up, the ship when brought to
the wind will be nearly in the situation of reefing topsails. Under
these circumstances, it will hardly be possible to bring her about,
for, long before she can have come head to wind, her way will be so
much deadened that the rudder may have ceased to act. Still, however,
I am so strong an advocate for the principle of tacking, instead of
merely lying-to, when a man is overboard, that, even under the
circumstances above described, as soon as the boat is lowered down and
sent off, and the extra sail gathered in, I would fill, stand on till
the ship had gained head-way enough to render the evolution certain,
and then go about, so as to bring her head towards the boat. It must
be recollected, that when a ship is going well off the wind, in the
manner here supposed, it is impossible to round her so quickly as to
replace her on the spot where the man fell; to reach which a great
sweep must always be made. But there seems to me no doubt, that, in
every possible case, even when going right before it, the ship will
always drift nearer and nearer to that spot, if eventually brought to
the wind on the opposite tack from that on which she was luffed up.

It will conduce greatly to the success of these measures, if it be an
established rule, that, whenever the alarm is given of a man being
overboard, the people, without further orders, fly to their appointed
stations for tacking ship; and that only those persons who shall be
specifically selected to man and lower down the boats, and for other
duties, shall presume to quit the places assigned to them on going
about. It so happens that when the men are in their stations for
tacking, they are almost equally in their stations for shortening
sail, or for performing most other evolutions likely to become
necessary at such moments.

The excepted men should consist of at least two boats' crews in each
watch, and of others whose sole duty it should be to attend to the
operation of lowering the boats, into which no men but those expressly
appointed should ever be allowed to enter. These persons, selected for
their activity, strength, and coolness, should belong to the
after-guard, main and mizen-top, and gunner's crew, men whose duties
lie chiefly abaft or about the mainmast. Midshipmen in each watch
should also be named to the different boats; and their orders ought to
be positive never to allow more than the proper crew to enter, nor on
any account to permit the boat to be lowered till fully and properly
manned. I grant that it requires no small nerve to sanction the delays
which an attention to these minute particulars demands; but the
adequate degree of faith in their utility will bring with it the
requisite share of decision, to possess which, under all
circumstances, is, perhaps, one of the most characteristic
distinctions of a good commanding officer.

There ought, in every ship, to be selected a certain number of the
sharpest-sighted persons, who should be instructed, the instant the
alarm is given, to repair to stations appointed for them aloft.
Several of these ought to plant themselves in the lower rigging, some
in the topmast shrouds, and one, if not two, might advantageously be
perched on each of the cross-trees. Those persons, whose exclusive
duty is to discover the man who is overboard, should be directed to
look out, some in the ship's wake, some on either side of it, and to
be particularly careful to mark the spot near which the ship must have
been when he fell, in order that when she comes about, and drifts near
the place, they may know where to direct their attention, and also to
take care that the ship does not forge directly upon the object they
are seeking for. The chief advantage of having look-out-men stationed
aloft in this manner consists in their commanding a far better
position compared to that of persons on deck, and still better when
compared to the people in the boat; besides which, having this object
alone to attend to, they are less likely to be unsuccessful.
Moreover, from their being in considerable numbers, and scattered at
different elevations, their chances are, of course, much increased of
discovering so small an object as a man on the surface.

The people in the boat possess no such advantages, for they are
occupied with their oars, and lose between the seas all sight of the
surrounding objects near them, while they can always see the ship's
masts; and as soon as they detect that any one of the look-out-men
sees the person who is overboard, and points in the proper direction
for them to pull, they can shape their course accordingly. Presently
another look-out, instructed by the first where to direct his eyes,
also discovers the man; then another sees him, then another, and so
on, till all who are aloft obtain sight of the desired object, and
join in pointing with their hands to where it is to be found. The
officer in the boat, thus instructed by innumerable pointers, rows at
once, and with confidence, in the proper direction, and the drowning
man is often rescued from his deep-sea grave, when, had there been no
such look-outs, or had they been fewer in number or lower down, he
must have perished.

It is curious to observe the electric sort of style in which the
perception of an object, when once pointed out, flashes along from man
to man. As each in succession catches sight of his shipmate, he
exclaims, "There he is! there he is!" and holds out his hand in the
proper direction for the guidance of the boat. Indeed, I have seldom
witnessed a more interesting sight than that of eighty or a hundred
persons stationed aloft, straining their eyes to keep sight of a poor
fellow who is struggling for his life, and all eagerly extending
their hands towards him, as if they could clutch him from the waves.
To see these hands drop again is inexpressibly painful, from its
indicating that the unfortunate man is no longer distinguishable. One
by one the arms fall down, reluctantly, as if it were a signal that
all hope was over. Presently the boat is observed to range about at
random; the look-out-men aloft, when repeatedly hailed and asked, "if
they see anything like him?" are all silent. Finally, the boat's
recall-flag is hoisted, sail is again made on the ship, the people are
piped down, and this tragical little episode in the voyage being
concluded, everything goes on as before.




CHAPTER X.

SUNDAY ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR.--MUSTERING BY DIVISIONS.


The first article of war runs as follows:--"All commanders, captains,
and officers, in or belonging to any of His Majesty's ships or vessels
of war, shall cause the public worship of Almighty God, according to
the Liturgy of the Church of England established by law, to be
solemnly, orderly, and reverently performed in their respective ships;
and shall take care that prayers and preaching, by the chaplains in
holy orders of the respective ships, be performed diligently, and that
the Lord's day be observed according to law."

The precision with which these injunctions are attended to will depend
chiefly on three things:--The personal disposition of the captain; the
nature of the service upon which the ship is employed; and the state
of the weather. It is nearly always in the captain's power to make the
Sunday a day of rest to the people committed to his charge. Sooner or
later he is sure to reap the fruits of his conduct in this matter, and
is made to feel, that, to command the respect or to win the regard of
his crew, he must show them, on all ordinary occasions, that he is
himself under the guidance of right principles. In the same spirit,
his authority will be strengthened by every touch of consideration
with which the inevitable sternness of his rule is softened; and the
more he manages to impart to all such indulgences the character of
routine, or matters of course and constant usage, so much the better.
We feel obliged to a person who confers almost any favour upon us; but
if this favour be one of daily or weekly occurrence, and, at each time
of its concession, we are reminded of the weight of our obligation,
all kindliness is in danger of being removed from it, and we would
sometimes rather go without than hold the advantage by a tenure thus
avowedly capricious.

A captain of sense and feeling, therefore, makes it his business, in
the first place, to find out what is right and proper, consistently
with the rules of the service, and then to ascertain how far the
peculiar nature of the employment upon which the ship is engaged will
admit of indulgences. Having settled with himself what is possible to
be done with propriety, he should grant it not as a matter of personal
favour, but simply because it is fitting in itself.

It is not possible, at sea, to comply to the letter with the fourth
commandment; but we have no right on that account to dispense with its
spirit, which is at all times and in all places within every man's
reach. The absolute necessity, however, of performing some work,
appears a sufficient reason with many people for doing away with the
ordinance of Sunday altogether, and converting it into a day of hard
and irksome toil, instead of a season of at least comparative rest. On
the other hand, some officers either allow essential public interests
to be neglected which ought to be attended to, or they harass their
people by exacting more attention to religious observances than the
poor sailors can bestow with any chance of profit. Which of these
courses is the worst, I really cannot say. If Sunday be made a working
day, and no attention is paid to its appropriate duties, the crew are
by no means satisfied, and but too readily contract, by degrees, the
habit of neglecting their obligations both to God and man. On the
contrary, if the day be entirely taken up with devotional exercises,
to the fatigue of their minds and bodies, they are exceedingly apt,
after a time, to vote the "whole concern," as they call it, a bore,
and to make up for this forced attention by the most scandalous
indecencies, when out of sight of their "psalm-singing captain."

I would accordingly recommend every officer in command of a ship to
bring as many of the arrangements of his Sunday as possible into a
jog-trot order, not to be departed from unless there should arise an
absolute necessity for such deviation. Nineteen Sundays might, indeed,
pass over without any apparent advantage being gained from this
uniformity, but on the twentieth some opportunity might occur, of
infinite value to all concerned, which opportunity might, in all
probability, prove unavailing but for the previous preparation. To
borrow a professional illustration of the most familiar kind; it may
be asked, how many hundred times do we exercise the great guns and
small arms, for once that we fire them in real action? And why should
it be supposed that, for the useful application of our mental
energies to the most important of all warfare, habitual training is
less necessary?

Without going needlessly deep into these speculations, I may observe
that, even in the least regularly disciplined ships, there is now a
marked difference between Sunday and any other day in the week.
Although the grand object seems to be to have everything as clean as
possible, and in its most apple-pie order, great part of the labour
employed to produce this result is over before Sunday arrives. The
decks, for instance, receive such a thorough allowance of holy-stoning
and scrubbing on Saturday, that a mere washing, with perhaps a slight
touch of the brushes and sand, brings them into the milk-white
condition which is the delight of every genuine first lieutenant's
heart. All this is got over early in the morning, in order that the
decks may be swabbed up and the ropes nicely flemished down before
seven bells, at which time it is generally thought expedient to go to
breakfast, though half-an-hour sooner than usual, in order to make the
forenoon as long as possible. I should have mentioned that the
hammocks are always piped up at seven o'clock. If they have been slung
overnight, they are as white as any laundress could have made them;
and, of course, the hammock-stowers take more than ordinary care to
place them neatly in the nettings, with their bright numbers turned
inwards, all nicely lashed up with the regulated proportion of turns,
each hammock being of a uniform size from end to end.

While the people are at breakfast, the word is passed to "clean for
muster," in any dress the commanding officer may think most suitable
to the climate or weather. Between the tropics, the order for rigging
in frocks and trousers is generally delivered in these words:--

"Do you hear, there! fore and aft! Clean for muster at five
bells--duck frocks and white trousers!"

In colder regions, it is "Blue jackets and trousers;" and in rainy,
cold, or blowing weather, the following order is sung out along the
lower deck, first by the husky-throated boatswain, and then in a still
rougher enunciation by his gruff satellites, the boatswain's mates:--

"D'ye hear, there! Clean shirt and a shave for muster at five bells!"

Twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, the operation of shaving is
held to be necessary. These are called "clean-shirt days." Mondays and
Fridays are the days appointed for washing the clothes.

It is usual to give the men three quarters, instead of half-an-hour to
breakfast on Sundays, that they may have time to rig themselves in
proper trim before coming on deck. The watch, therefore, is called at
a quarter-past eight, or it may be one bell, which is half-past. The
forenoon watch bring their clothes-bags up with them, in order that
they may not be again required to leave the deck before muster. The
bags are piled in neat pyramids, or in other forms, sometimes on the
booms before the boats, and sometimes in a square mass on the after
part of the quarter-deck of a frigate. It strikes my recollection that
in most ships there is a sort of difficulty in finding a good place on
which to stow the bags.

As soon as the forenoon watch is called, the between decks, on which
the men live, is carefully cleaned, generally by what is called dry
holy-stoning. This is done by rubbing the deck with small smooth
pieces of freestone, after a layer of well-dried sand has been
sprinkled over it. This operation throws up a good deal of dust; but
it makes the deck white, which is the grand point aimed at. The wings,
the store-rooms, and the cockpits, undergo a similar dose of rubbing
and scrubbing; in short, every hole and corner of the decks, both
above and below stairs, as folks on shore would say, is swept, and
swept, and swept again, on a Sunday morning, till the panting sweepers
are half dead; indeed, the rest of the ship's company are worried out
of all patience, from eight o'clock to half-past ten, with the eternal
cry of "Pipe the sweepers!" followed by a sharp, interrupted whistle,
not unlike the note of a pet canary.

What with cleaning the decks and cleaning themselves, the watch below
have fully enough to do to get all ready by five bells. It must be
remembered, too, that they have had the morning watch to keep, since
four o'clock, and the whole trouble of washing the upper decks,
shaking out the reefs, stowing the hammocks, and coiling down the
ropes; all easy matters of routine, it is true, but still sufficiently
tiresome when multiplied so often.

At the appointed hour of half-past ten, to a single stroke of the
bell, the mate of the watch, directed by the officer on deck, who
again acts in obedience to the captain's orders, conveyed to him by
the first lieutenant, calls out,--

"Beat to divisions!"

It should have been stated, that, before this period arrives, the
mate of the decks and the mate of the hold, the boatswain, gunner, and
carpenter, have all severally received reports from their subordinates
that their different departments are in proper order for inspection.
Reports to the same effect being then finally made to the first
lieutenant by the mates and warrant-officers, he himself goes round
the ship to see that all is right and tight, preparatory to the grand
inspection. I ought also to have mentioned that the bags of the watch
below are piped up at ten o'clock, so that nothing remains between
decks but the mess-tables, stools, and the soup and grog kids. Long
before this hour, the greater number of the whole ship's company have
dressed themselves and are ready for muster; but the never-ending
sweepers, the fussy warrant-officers' yeomen, the exact purser's
steward, the slovenly midshipmen's boy, the learned loblolly boy, and
the interminable host of officers' servants, who have always fifty
extra things to do, are often so sorely pressed for time, that at the
first tap of the drum beating to divisions, these idlers, as they are
technically much miscalled, may often be seen only then lugging their
shirts over their heads, or hitching up their trousers in all the
hurry-scurry of a lower-deck toilet. I should have recorded that in
the ship's head, as well as on the fore-part of the main-deck, and
likewise between the guns, chiefly those abreast of the fore-hatchway,
there have been groups assembled to scrape and polish themselves ever
since breakfast-time, and even before it. Some are washing themselves;
others cutting, and combing, and trimming their hair; for, now-a-days,
there are none of those huge long tails, or club ties, which descended
along the back of the sailors who fought with Benbow and Rodney. The
dandyism of Jack has now taken another turn, and the knowing thing at
present is to have a parcel of ringlets hanging from the temples
almost to the collar-bone. Some of the youngest and best-looking of
the foretop-men would also very fain indulge in the feminine foppery
of ear-rings; but in the British Navy this is absolutely forbidden.

I remember once, on the beach of Madras, witnessing an amusing scene
between Sir Samuel Hood, then commander-in-chief in India, and the
newly-promoted boatswain of a sloop-of-war belonging to the squadron.
The Admiral, who was one of the bravest, and kindest, and
truest-hearted seamen that ever trod a ship's decks, was a sworn foe
to all trickery in dress. The eye of the veteran officer was directed
earnestly towards the yeast of waves, which in immense double rows of
surf, fringe and guard the whole of that flat coast. He was watching
the progress of a Massullah boat, alternately lost in the foam, and
raised in very uncertain balance across the swell, which, though just
on the break, brought her swiftly towards the shore. He felt more
anxious than usual about the fate of this particular boat, from having
ordered on shore the person alluded to, with whom he wished to have
some conversation previous to their parting company. This boatswain
was a young man, who had been for some years a follower of the Admiral
in different ships, and to whom he had just given a warrant. The poor
fellow, unexpectedly promoted from before the mast to the rank of a
warrant-officer, was trigged out in his newly-bought, but marvellously
ill-cut uniform, shining like a new dollar, and making its wearer,
who for the first time in his life had put on a long coat, feel not a
little awkward.

As soon as the boat was partly driven up the beach by the surf, and
partly dragged beyond the dash of the breakers by the crowd on shore,
this happiest of warrant-officers leaped out on the sand, and seeing
the Admiral above him, standing on the crest of the natural glacis
which lines the shore, he took off his hat, smoothed down the hair on
his forehead, sailor fashion, and stood uncovered, in spite of the
roasting sun flaming in the zenith.

The Admiral, of course, made a motion with his hand for the boatswain
to put his hat on; but the other, not perceiving the signal, stood
stock-still.

"I say, put on your hat!" called the commander-in-chief, in a tone
which made the newly-created warrant start. In his agitation he shook
a bunch of well-trimmed ringlets a little on one side, and betrayed to
the flashing eyes of the Admiral a pair of small round silver
ear-rings, the parting gift, doubtless, of some favoured and favouring
"Poll or Bess" of dear, old, blackguard Point Beach. Be this as it
may, the Admiral, first stepping on one side, and then holding his
head forward, as if to re-establish the doubting evidence of his
horrified senses, and forcibly keeping down the astonished seaman's
hat with his hand, roared out,--

"Who the devil are you?"

"John Marline, sir!" replied the bewildered boatswain, beginning to
suspect the scrape he had got himself into.

"Oh!" cried the flag-officer, with a scornful laugh. "Oh! I beg your
pardon; I took you for a Portuguese."

"No, sir!" instinctively faltered out the other, seeing the Admiral
expected some reply.

"No! Then, if you are not a foreigner, why do you hoist false colours?
What business has an English sailor with these d----d machines in his
ears?"

"I don't know, sir," said poor Marline. "I put them in only this
morning, when I rigged myself in my new togs to answer the signal on
shore."

"Then," said Sir Samuel, softened by the contrite look of his old
shipmate, and having got rid of the greater portion of his bile by the
first explosion, "you will now proceed to unrig yourself of this top
hamper as fast as you can; pitch them into the surf if you like; but
never, as you respect the warrant in your pocket, let me see you in
that disguise again."

When the drum beats the well-known "_Generale_," the ship's company
range themselves in a single line along both sides of the
quarter-deck, the gangways, and all round the forecastle. In a
frigate, the whole crew may be thus spread out on the upper deck
alone; but in line-of-battle ships the numbers are so great that
similar ranges, each consisting of a division, are likewise formed on
the opposite sides of the main-deck. The marines, under arms, and in
full uniform, fall in at the after-part of the quarter-deck; while the
ship's boys, under the master-at-arms, with his ratan in hand, muster
on the forecastle.

In some ships the men are sized, as it is called, the tallest being
placed at the after-end, and so on down to the most diminutive, who is
fixed at the extremity. But this arrangement, being more of a
military than of a naval cast, is rarely adopted now-a-days. It will
seldom happen, indeed, that the biggest and burliest fellows in a
ship's company are the leading men. They may chance, indeed, to be
poulterers, cook's mates, or fit only to make sweepers of; personages
who after a three years' station barely know the stem from the stern,
and could no more steer the ship than they could take a lunar
distance. Officers, however, on first joining a ship, are very apt to
be guilty of some injustice towards the people by judging of them too
hastily from appearance alone. We are insensibly so much prepossessed
in favour of a fine, tall, good-looking sailor-lad, and prejudiced
against a grizzled, crooked, little wretch, that if both happen to be
brought before us for the same offence, we almost instinctively commit
the injustice of condemning the ugly fellow, and acquitting the
smart-looking one, before a tithe of the evidence has reached our
ears.

Leaving these speculative questions, however, for the present, let us
return to the divisions, which are arranged along the deck, not, as
formerly, by sizes, but, in the proper way, by the watch-bill. The
forecastle-men, of course, come first, as they stand so in the lists
by which they are mustered at night by the mate of the watch; then the
foretop men, and so on to the gunners, after-guard, and waisters.
Each division is under charge of a lieutenant, who, as well as the
midshipmen of his division, appears in full uniform. The people are
first mustered by the young gentlemen, and then carefully inspected by
the officer of the division, who sees that every man is dressed
according to order, and that he is otherwise in proper trim. It is
also usual in hot climates for the surgeon and his assistants to pass
along the lines, to ascertain, partly by the men's looks, and partly
by an examination of their limbs, that no traces of scurvy have begun
to show themselves.

While the mustering and inspecting of the divisions is going on, the
captain paces the quarter-deck, in company with the first lieutenant.
No other voices are heard except theirs, and that of the midshipmen
calling over the names of the men, or the officers putting some
interrogatory about a spot of tar on a pair of duck trousers, or an
ill-mended hole in the sleeve of a shirt. In a few minutes even these
sounds are hushed, and nothing is distinguishable fore and aft but the
tread of the respective officers, on their way aft to report to the
captain on the quarter-deck that all are present, properly dressed,
and clean, at their different divisions. The marine officer likewise
makes a report of his party and their equipments. The first lieutenant
now turns to the captain, takes off his hat, and says,--

"All the officers have reported, sir."

To which the other replies,--

"We'll go round the ship, then, if you please;" and off they trudge,
after leaving the deck in charge of the second lieutenant, or the
master, as may be determined upon at the moment.

As the captain approaches the first division, he is received by the
officer commanding it, who touches his hat, and then falls into the
train behind. Of course, the moment the skipper appears, the men along
the whole line take off their hats, smooth down their locks, make many
clumsy efforts to stand erect, fumble interminably with the waistband
of their trousers, and shuffle, to more or less purpose, according to
the motion of the ship, to maintain their toes exactly at the line or
seam in the deck along which they have been cautioned twenty times
they are to stand. The captain, as he moves slowly past, eyes each man
from head to foot, and lets nothing pass of which he disapproves. The
officer of the division is ready to explain, or to take a note of what
alteration is required; but supposing all to be right, not a syllable
is spoken, and at the end of the division the captain again touches
his hat to the officer, who returns the salute, and remains with his
people.

He then proceeds to the forecastle, at the break of which he is
received by the three warrant-officers, the boatswain, gunner, and
carpenter, in their best coats, cut after the fashion of the year one,
broad-tailed, musty, and full of creases from bad packing and little
use, and blazing from top to bottom with a double-tiered battery of
buttons of huge dimensions. Behind these worthy personages, who seldom
look much at home in their finery, stands the master-at-arms, in front
of his troop of troublesome small fry, known by the name of the ship's
boys, destined in good time to be sailors, and perhaps amongst the
best and truest that we ever number in our crews.

In this way, in short, it is a most important, and almost an
imperative duty, on the officers of every man-of-war, to ascertain, by
actual investigation, how far their people are entitled to the ratings
they claim. If we do not see to this, we are perpetually misapplying
the resources of the nation, by mistaking their true quality.

I should have mentioned, that before leaving the upper deck the
captain proceeds to inspect the marines, who are drawn up across or
along the quarter-deck abaft. Most captains think it both judicious
and kind to visit the marines first, and I have never seen this
practice adopted without manifest advantage. The marines are excellent
fellows, well-trained, hardy, cheerful, duly respecting themselves,
and proud of their service: while, from belonging to a fixed corps,
and from not being liable to be perpetually disbanded and scattered,
they acquire a permanent interest, or an inherent _esprit de corps_,
as well as a permanent footing in the Navy. In like manner, the marine
officers constitute one of the most gentleman-like bodies of men in
the King's service. They are thoroughly imbued with all the high
sentiments of honour belonging to the military character; and they
possess, moreover, in a very pleasant degree, the freedom of manner
and versatility of habits peculiar to those who go down to the sea in
ships.

The utility of this important body of men on board a man-of-war is so
great, that it becomes the duty of every lover of the profession to
support all its ranks and classes, and to render their situation when
afloat one of respectability, happiness, and contentment. In speaking
of the utility of the jolly marines, as they are kindly enough called
by the sailors, who, in spite of all their quizzing, really esteem
their pipe-clayed shipmates, I refer less to their services in action,
than to their inestimable value in sustaining the internal discipline
of the service. The manner in which this is brought about forms one of
the most interesting peculiarities in the whole range of naval
affairs; but it deserves to be treated of separately, and at length.

The two divisions ranged along the main-deck, supposing the ship's
company so distributed, next engage the captain's attention. I think
it is usual to take that first which stands on the starboard side of
the deck, with the after-end, or its left, as military men would say,
close against the bulkhead of the captain's cabin, while the foremost
men of the division extend under the forecastle. On arriving at the
galley or kitchen, the captain is received by the cook (or as much as
may be left of him, according to the Greenwich Hospital joke), behind
whom stands his mate, generally a tall, glossy, powerful negro, who,
unlike his chief, has always a full allowance of limbs, with a round
and shining face, about as moist as one of the tubful of huge suet
puddings, tied up in bags alongside of him. The cook, aided by
"Quamino," lifts the lids off the coppers, that the captain may peer
into them, and ascertain whether or not all is clean and nice. With
the end of his wooden leg the cook then gives a twist to the cock of
the coppers, to let some of the pease-soup in preparation run off and
show itself to the noble commander's inspection. The oven-doors are
next opened, the range or large fire stirred up, and every hole and
corner exposed to view; the object of the grand visitation being to