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Thus, one time she was coming up the harbor of Boston, from a cruise, where she lost spar after spar, and topmast after topmast; and when in full sight or the town, and not much wind, over board went her fore-top-mast, and several men were drowned in their fall from the rigging. This was not attributed to lack of judgment, but to ill luck.
In going down with the information to the Admiral, we had the misfortune to carry away our fore-top-mast. I was not a little surprised to find Sir Alan with only the Magnificent and Russell, Sir Charles Cotton having been detached to the Mediterranean; thus I fear we shall be deprived sharing in the victory we hoped to obtain over the enemy's fleet.
At length we reduced the canvass to the fore-top-mast stay-sail, and main-top-sail, the latter double-reefed. The puffs, however, began to come gale-fashion, and I foresaw we should get it presently in a style that would require good looking to. The ship soon drove within the extremity of the head-land, the lead giving us forty fathoms of water.
I was leaving my native land, Clawbonny, the grave of my sister, and Lucy, dearest Lucy, all behind me; and, at such an instant, one feels the ties that are about to be separated. Still, every seaman is anxious for an offing, and glad was I to see the head of the Dawn pointing in the right direction, with her yards nearly square, and a fore-top-mast studding-sail set.
At sunset I did not quite like the appearance of the horizon; and we let the ship wade through it, under her three top-sails, single-reefed, her fore-course, and fore-top-mast staysail. This was short canvass, for a vessel that had the wind nearly over her taffrail. At nine o'clock, second reefs were taken in, and at ten, the mizen-top-sail was furled.
The Crescent lost her fore-top-mast; her sails and rigging were much damaged, but very few shot struck her hull; and the only man hurt was at the first broadside, when his leg was fractured by the recoil of a gun. La Réunion, on the contrary, had many shot in her hull, and her stern was very much shattered.
The enemy fired so high that scarcely any shot struck the hull of the Crescent; but, consequently, her fore-topsail-yard, and soon afterwards her fore-top-mast, fell over the starboard gangway.
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.
Either owing to the fore-top-mast staysail, or to some providential sea, the vessel did fall off, however, and presently she righted, coming up with great force, with a heavy roll to windward. The staysail helped us, I feel persuaded, as the stay had got taut in the wreck, and the wind had blown out the hanks.
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.
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