There are incidents of it too painful to relate, and I am
quite sure I am consulting the wishes of the narrator by
abstaining from going too minutely into detail. The main
facts are given, and they may be relied on as absolutely
true.
The seamen of the middle of the nineteenth century were
trained to be ingenious and resourceful in emergencies, and,
as a rule, they did not disgrace their training. If a
jib-boom was carried away, a mast sprung, or a yard
fractured, they had only to be told to have it fished. They
knew how to do this as well as their officers did, and would
not brook being instructed. If a mast was carried away they
regarded it as a privilege to obey the captain's
instructions to have jury masts rigged, and it is not an
exaggeration to say that astonishing feats of genius have
been done on occasions such as these.
In 1864 I was an apprentice aboard a brig bound from the
Tyne to the Baltic; Tynemouth Castle bore west 60 miles. A
strong north-west wind was blowing, and the sea was very
cross. A press of canvas was being carried. The second mate
being in charge, orders were given to take in the
foretopgallant sail.
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