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Rigging all let go, and washing about decks; topsail yards down upon the caps, and sails flapping and beating against the masts; and starboard watch hauling out the reef-tackles of the main topsail. Our watch haul out the fore, and lay aloft and put two reefs into it, and reef the foresail, and race with the starboard watch, to see which will mast-head its topsail first.

"No, sir," replied the mate. "Very well, then," retorted the skipper, "don't you do it agen." Then to the crew, all of whom were by this time on deck, "Bowse down yer reef-tackles and double-reef the taups'ls, then stow the mains'l." "Don't you think we'd better run back to the Tyne, afore we drops too far to leeward to fetch it?" inquired the mate.

Between five and six the sun was then nearly three hours high the cry of "All starbowlines ahoy!" summoned our watch on deck; and immediately all hands were called. A true specimen of Cape Horn was coming upon us. We had got the light sails furled, the courses hauled up, and the topsail reef-tackles hauled out, and were just mounting the fore-rigging, when the storm struck us.

"`Very well, say I, `with all my heart; then I'll look to the bunt. "Just at that time there came on a squall with rain, which almost blinded us; the sail was taken in very neatly, the clew-lines, chock-a-block, bunt-lines and leech-lines well up, reef-tackles overhauled, rolling-tackles taut, and all as it should be.

Their dreams are of cringles and reef-tackles, of knots, splices, grummets, and dead-eyes. They can tell the length, to a fathom, of every rope in the boatswain's warrant, from the flying jib down-haul to the spanker-sheet; and the height of every spar, from the main-top-gallant truck to the heel of the lower mast.

The Staysail is of a triangular form, running upon the fore-topmast-stay, just above the bowsprit. Reef-tackles are ropes employed in the operation of reefing. &c. Clue-lines are used to truss up the clues, or to lower the corners of the largest sails. The Brake is the handle of the pump, by which it is worked. Bowlines are ropes for keeping the windward edge of the sail steady.

By hauling the reef-tackles chock-a-block we took the strain from the other earings, and passing the close-reef earing, and knotting the points carefully, we succeeded in setting the sail, close reefed.

'Take in two reefs in the tops'ls, cried the captain; 'let go the bowlin's, haul the brace, lower the to'gall'nt sails, haul out the reef-tackles on the yards." "That was not enough for those latitudes," said the Englishman; "I should have taken four reefs in the topsails and furled the spanker." His firm, sonorous, and unexpected voice made every one start.

What you have now to do is to get down the last reef in those topsails, and take in the fore-topmast staysail, when we will heave-to. Let go your fore and main-topsail halliards, man your reef-tackles, and then away aloft, all hands of you, before worse happens!"

Down came the topsail yards, the reef-tackles were manned and hauled out, and we climbed up to windward, and sprang into the weather rigging. The violence of the wind, and the hail and sleet, driving nearly horizontally across the ocean, seemed actually to pin us down to the rigging. It was hard work making head against them. One after another, we got out upon the yards.