atute miles, within the twenty-four hours.

There are no individual Bluenose rivals of these mighty champions. But
the Bluenoses more than held their own, all round, in any company and
on any sea. So it is well worth our while to end this story of a
thousand years--from the Vikings till to-day--by going aboard a
Bluenose vessel with a Bluenose crew when both were at their prime.

The _Victoria_ is manned by the husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers
of the place where {104} she was built. Her owners are the leaders of
the little neighbourhood, and her cargo is home-grown. She carries no
special carpenter and sailmaker, like a Britisher, because a Bluenose
has an all-round crew, every man of which is smart enough, either with
the tools or with the fid and palm and needle, for ordinary work, while
some are sure to be equal to any special job. She of course carries
two suits of canvas, her new best and older second best. Each sail has
required more skill than tailors need to make a perfect fit in clothes,
because there is a constant strain on sails, exceeding, if possible,
the strains on every other part. But before sail is made her anchor is
hove short, that is, the ship is drawn along by her cable till her bows
are over it. 'Heave and she comes!' 'Heave and she must!' 'Heave and
bust her!' are grunted from the men straining at the longbars of the
capstan, which winds the tightening cable in. 'Click, click, clickety,
click' go the pawls, which drop every few inches into cavities that,
keeping them from slipping back, prevent the capstan from turning the
wrong way when the men pause to take breath. 'Break out the mud-hook!'
and a tremendous combined effort ensues. Presently a sudden welcome
slack {105} shows that the flukes have broken clear. The anchor is
then hove up, catted, and fished.

'All hands make sail!' sings out the mate. The wind is nicely on the
starboard quarter, that is, abaft the beam and forward of the stern,
which gives the best chance to every sail. A wind dead aft, blanketing
more than half the canvas, is called a lubber's wind. A soldier's wind
is one which comes square on the beam, and so makes equally plain
sailing out and back again. What sail a full-rigged ship can carry!
The Yankee _Great Republic_ could spread nearly one whole acre of
canvas to the breeze. Another Yankee, the _R. C. Rickmers_, the
largest sailing vessel in the world to-day, exceeds this. But her
tonnage is much