out horizontally, or
at an angle, from the bow. It is sometimes in two or three pieces,
sometimes only in one. To it are attached the _jib-sail_ and the
_flying-jib_, besides a variety of ropes and stays which are connected
with and support the fore-mast.

The _cat heads_ are two short beams which project from the bows on
either side, and support the ship's anchors.

_Miscellaneous_.--The openings in the decks are called _hatches_; the
stair-cases which descend to the cabins are called _companions_. The
pulleys by which sails, etcetera, are hoisted, are named _blocks_.
_Braces_ are the ropes by which sails are fixed tightly in any position.
Hauling a rope _taut_, means hauling it tight. The _weather_ side of a
ship means the side which happens to be presented to the wind; the _lee_
side, that which is away from the wind, and, therefore, sheltered. The
_starboard_ side means the right side, the _larboard_ signifies the
left; but as the two words resemble each other, the word _port_ is
always used for larboard to prevent mistakes in shouting orders.
_Heaving the lead_ is the act of throwing a heavy leaden plummet, with a
line attached, into the sea to ascertain its depth. It is thrown from
the _chains_ as far as possible ahead of the ship, so that it may reach
the bottom and be perpendicularly beneath the man who heaves it when the
ship comes up to the spot where it entered the water. A peculiar and
musical cry is given forth by the heaver of the lead each time he throws
it. The forecastle is the habitat of the ordinary sailors, and is
usually in nautical parlance termed the _foge-s'l_.

Most of what we have just described applies more or less to every ship;
but this will be seen in future chapters. Meanwhile, we would seriously
recommend all those who have found this chapter a dry one to turn back
to the heading entitled "Rigging a Ship," and from that point read it
all over again with earnest attention.

CHAPTER TEN.

COASTING VESSELS.

The coasting-trade of the British Islands is replete with danger, yet it
is carried on with the utmost vigour; and there are always plenty of
"hands," as seamen are called when spoken of in connection with ships,
to man the vessels. The traffic in which they are engaged is the
transporting of the goods peculiar to one part of our island, to another
part where they are in demand.

In describing these vessels, we shall begin with the smallest.

SLOOPS.

Like all o