Officers and men knew their duty, and all went well.
As soon as she was hove short, the mate,
On the forecastle, gave the
order to loose the sails, and, in an instant, every one sprung into
the rigging, up the shrouds, and out on the yards, scrambling by one
another, - the first up the best fellow, - cast off the yard-arm gaskets
and bunt gaskets, and one man remained on each yard, holding the bunt
jigger with a turn round the tye, all ready to let go, while the rest
laid down to man the sheets and halyards. The mate then hailed the
yards - "All ready forward?" - "All ready the cross-jack yards?" etc.,
etc., and "Aye, aye, sir!" being returned from each, the word was
given to let go; and in the twinkling of an eye, the ship, which
had shown nothing but her bare yards, was covered with her loose
canvas, from the royal-mast-heads to the decks. Every one then
laid down, except one man in each top, to overhaul the rigging,
and the topsails were hoisted and sheeted home; all three yards
going to the mast-head at once, the larboard watch hoisting the
fore, the starboard watch the main, and five light hands, (of whom
I was one,) picked from the two watches, the mizen. The yards were
then trimmed, the anchor weighed, the cat-block hooked on, the fall
stretched out, manned by "all hands and the cook," and the anchor
brought to the head with "cheerily men!" in full chorus. The ship
being now under weigh, the light sails were set, one after another,
and she was under full sail, before she had passed the sandy point.
The fore royal, which fell to my lot, (being in the mate's watch,)
was more than twice as large as that of the Pilgrim, and, though I
could handle the brig's easily, I found my hands full, with this,
especially as there were no jacks to the ship; everything being for
neatness, and nothing left for Jack to hold on by, but his eyelids.
As soon as we were beyond the point, and all sail out, the order
was given, "Go below the watch!" and the crew said that, ever since
they had been on the coast, they had had "watch and watch," while
going from port to port; and, in fact, everything showed that,
though strict discipline was kept, and the utmost was required
of every man, in the way of his duty, yet, on the whole, there
was very good usage on board. Each one knew that he must be a
man, and show himself smart when at his duty, yet every one was
satisfied with the usage; and a contented crew, agreeing with
one another, and finding no fault, was a contrast indeed with
the small, hard-used, dissatisfied, grumbling, desponding crew
of the Pilgrim.
It being the turn of our watch to go below, the men went to work,
mending their clothes, and doing other little things for themselves;
and I, having got my wardrobe in complete order at San Diego,
had nothing to do but to read. I accordingly overhauled the
chests of the crew, but found nothing that suited me exactly,
until one of the men said he had a book which "told all about a
great highway-man," at the bottom of his chest, and producing it,
I found, to my surprise and joy, that it was nothing else than
Bulwer's Paul Clifford. This, I seized immediately, and going
to my hammock, lay there, swinging and reading, until the watch
was out. The between-decks were clear, the hatchways open,
and a cool breeze blowing through them, the ship under easy way,
and everything comfortable. I had just got well into the story,
when eight bells were struck, and we were all ordered to dinner.
After dinner came our watch on deck for four hours, and, at four
o'clock, I went below again, turned into my hammock, and read
until the dog watch. As no lights were allowed after eight o'clock,
there was no reading in the night watch. Having light winds and
calms, we were three days on the passage, and each watch below,
during the daytime, I spent in the same manner, until I had
finished my book. I shall never forget the enjoyment I derived
from it. To come across anything with the slightest claims to
literary merit, was so unusual, that this was a perfect feast to
me. The brilliancy of the book, the succession of capital hits,
lively and characteristic sketches, kept me in a constant state of
pleasing sensations. It was far too good for a sailor. I could
not expect such fine times to last long.
While on deck, the regular work of the ship went on. The sailmaker
and carpenter worked between decks, and the crew had their work to do
upon the rigging, drawing yarns, making spun-yarn, etc., as usual in
merchantmen. The night watches were much more pleasant than on board
the Pilgrim. There, there were so few in a watch, that, one being at
the wheel, and another on the look-out, there was no one left to talk
with; but here, we had seven in a watch, so that we had long yarns,
in abundance. After two or three night watches, I became quite well
acquainted with all the larboard watch. The sailmaker was the head
man of the watch, and was generally considered the most experienced
seaman on board. He was a thoroughbred old man-of-war's-man, had
been to sea twenty-two years, in all kinds of vessels - men-of-war,
privateers, slavers, and merchantmen; - everything except whalers,
which a thorough sailor despises, and will always steer clear of,
if he can. He had, of course, been in all parts of the world,
and was remarkable for drawing a long bow. His yarns frequently
stretched through a watch, and kept all hands awake.
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