l
helm, whithersoever the governor listeth." The rudder is moved from
side to side by a huge handle or lever on deck, called the _tiller_; but
as in large ships the rudder is difficult to move by so simple a
contrivance, several ropes or chains and pulleys are attached to it, and
connected with the drum of a _wheel_, at which the steersman stands. In
the largest ships two, and in rough weather four men are often stationed
at the wheel.

The _ribs_ of the ship next rise to view. These are curved wooden
beams, which rise on each side of the keel, and are bolted firmly to it.
They serve the same purpose to a ship that bones do to the human
frame--they support and give strength to it as well as form.

The _planks_ follow the ribs. These are broad, and vary in thickness
from two to four inches. They form the outer skin of the ship, and are
fastened to the ribs, keel, stem-post, and stern-post by means of
innumerable pins of wood or iron, called _tree-nails_. The spaces
between the planks are caulked--that is, _stuffed_ with oakum; which
substance is simply the untwisted tow of old and tarry ropes. A
figure-head of some ornamental kind having been placed on the top and
front of the stem-post, just above the cutwater, and a flat, ornamental
stern, with windows in it to light the cabin, the hull of our ship is
complete. But the interior arrangements have yet to be described,
although, of course, they have been progressing at the same time with
the rest.

The _beams_ of a ship are massive wooden timbers, which extend across
from side to side in a series of tiers. They serve the purpose of
binding the sides together, of preventing them from collapsing, and of
supporting the decks, as well as of giving compactness and great
strength to the whole structure.

The _decks_ are simply plank floors nailed to the beams, and serve very
much the same purposes as the floors of a house. They also help to
strengthen the ship longitudinally. All ships have at least one
complete deck; most have two, with a half-deck at the stern, called the
_quarter-deck_, and another at the bow, called the _forecastle_. But
the decks of large ships are still more numerous. Those of a first-rate
man-of-war are as follows--we begin with the lowest, which is
considerably under the surface of the sea:--

The Orlop-deck, the Gun-deck, the Middle-deck, the Upper-deck, the
Quarter-deck, and the Poop--the latter deck being the highest deck of
all,