hip's
rigging.

We shall, therefore, devote a small space to the explanation of this
subject. And, first, let us examine the _Masts_.

These vary in size, form, and number in different ships, but in all they
serve the same purpose--to support the sails. Lower masts of large
vessels are never formed out of one tree. They are found to be stronger
when built up of several pieces, which are fastened together by strong
iron hoops. Masts sometimes consist of three distinct parts. The
_lower_-mast, _top_-mast, and _top-gallant_-mast. In most large ships
there are three masts, each having three parts. The centre mast, being
the largest, is the _main-mast_; the front one, which is next in size,
is the _fore-mast_; and the one next the stern, the smallest, is called
the _mizzen_.

Although we have spoken of _lower-masts_ for the sake of clearness, the
name is never used. The name of the mast itself designates the lower
part of it. To name the masts in order, we have the Fore-mast.
Main-mast. Mizzen-mast. Fore-top-mast. Main-top-mast.
Mizzen-top-mast. Fore-topgallant-mast. Main-topgallant-mast.
Mizzen-topgallant-mast.

The parts of the different masts are connected and secured by means of
_cross-trees_ and _caps_, which are named after the mast and part of the
mast to which they belong. Thus we have the _fore-top_, the
_fore-top-mast cross-trees_, the _main-top_, and _main-top-mast
cross-trees_, etcetera. Observe, particularly, that the _fore-top_,
_main-top_, and _mizzen-top_, are the platforms, or cross-trees, at the
tops of the _lower_-masts, and not--as might well be supposed by
landsmen--the extreme tops of these masts. The button-like objects on
the summits of the masts are called the _trucks_; which, besides forming
a sort of finish to them, are fitted with small _pulleys_, through which
_signal-halyards_, or cords for hoisting the flags, are rove.

In first-rate men-of-war the _tops_ are so large that a number of men
can be stationed on them. Besides their other purposes, they are very
frequently used as a place of punishment for the midshipmen, or
"middies" (the boy officers), who are often sent there to air
themselves, and profit, if they can, by calm reflection in exalted
solitude.

_Shrouds_ and _stays_ are the thick ropes that keep the masts firmly in
position. They form part of what is termed the "standing gear" of a
ship--in other words, the ropes that are fixtures--to distinguish them
fr