to get
himself out of the scrape as he best can, and rather lose a small
spar, or a bolt of canvas, than expose his officer to the humiliation
of having the task transferred to another; or he will edge himself
near the embarrassed officer, and, without the action being detected
by any one else, whisper a few magical words of instruction in the
young man's ear, by which the proper train of directions are set
agoing, and the whole confusion of ropes, sails, and yards, speedily
brought into order. If this fails, the hands are called, upon which
the captain himself, or more generally the first lieutenant, takes the
trumpet; and the men, hearing the well-known, confident voice of
skill, fly to the proper points, "monkey paw" the split sails, clear
the ropes, which an instant before seemed inextricably foul, and in a
very few minutes reduce the whole disaster to the dimensions of a
common occurrence. "Now, you may call the watch," says the captain;
and the reproved officer again takes charge of the deck. I need hardly
say, that any young man of spirit ought rather to wear his hands to
the bone in learning his duty, than to expose himself to such
mortification as this.

Let us, however, suppose all the extra sails taken in without
accident, and rolled up with as much haste as may be consistent with
that good order which ought never to be relaxed under any degree of
urgency. In fine weather, it is usual to place the studding-sails in
the rigging, with all their gear bent, in readiness to be whipped up
to the yard-arm at a moment's warning; but when a breeze such as we
are now considering is on the rise, it is thought best to unbend the
tacks and haulyards, and to stow the sails in some convenient place,
either on the booms, between the boats, or in the hammock-nettings.
For the same reason, the small sails are sent on deck, together with
as much top hamper as can readily be moved. These things are scarcely
bundled up and lifted out of the way before the long-expected order to
reef topsails is smartly given out, and crowds of men are seen
skipping up the tight weather-rigging, with a merry kind of alacrity,
which always makes a captain feel grateful to the fellows--I do not
well know why; for, as there is then no real danger, there seems
nothing particularly praiseworthy in this common-place exertion.
Perhaps the consciousness that a storm is coming on, during which
every nerve on board may be strained, makes the captain see w