The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1859-01-27
Come, Jack, splice the main brace I"

come, Jack, Splce the main brace "
"Where is it 2" said l innocently enough
whereat the sailors uttered such shrek of
laughter, that the mate sang out from the quar-
ter deck:
Forward there What are you all about +"
and I, stdpefed by the sailors, and terrified by
the mate; was about to skulk into the forecastle
again, when Peter seized me in his tar-stained
hands, forced a tin beaker to my mouth, under
penalty Of throttling, bid me swallow pint Of
New England Rum.
"There," said he; edo you know where the
main brace is, now !? Drink, drink, you lubber,
drink like fish of yotll never make sailor"
And this was splicing the main brace for
my part, the effect was to unsplice my whole
system In fact, brace, stay, lialyard, clue-line,
and every thing, fore and aft-seemed to be let
loose, and the brig danced before my eyes as in
a whirlpool Of fire.
In less than week, however-for had the
stomach, and, between ourselves the appetite
of shark could run splicing match even
with Peter and when this accomplishment was
added to staggering, tobacco-thewing yarn
spinning, and little weak swearing, began to
feel myself almost, if not altogether, sailor
AS one by one picked up these little nautical
graces, and day by day became less and less
green, Peter rejoiced over me like father At
first, the comparative delcacy and whiteness Of
my hands annoyed him. To remedy this defect,
he compelled me to pick oakum and make tow
line till they were brown as a nut. In fact, he
took as much pains in coloring my fingers, as a
modern tobacco smoker takes in staining his
pipe He sought also, but in vain, to make me
nimble footed The fear of going aloft, haunted
me even in my dreams. had no faith in my
legs. Moreover was small and top-heavy.-
The mate said had no "specifc gravity"
didn't precisely know what that was, but knew
l had no agility Several times, when the cap-
tain saw me creeping up the shrouds like
should blow away. Still, in moderate weather.
and whenever there was any light duty to do
aloft such as furling the fore royal reeying hal=
yards, or keeping lookout | was sure to be
ciled me to it. / always left the deck with the
feeling that | shotld return to it, if at all, head
foremost. Peters words on such occasions were
always these.
"Now then, jack remember the rule two
hands for yourself, and tother for the ship"
And perhaps it was my scrupulous adherence
to this rule which saved my neck.
This dread of going aloft was peculiar SEN
sation of which | can give no account 1t had
nothing to do with fear of death. | had be-
come 50 accustomed to the King of Terrors in
childhood, not only as pictured in the rude
primer books; and as coming weekly, like a
but as blatching the cheeks Of many of my play
mates and friends, that all fear Of him had long
since given way to stupid Indifference.
had no dread either of 'watery grave.
On the contrary it was attractive to me. | had
never seen cemetery SO grand as the sea-
There was nothing stinted about it, and nothing
common nor uncleah: Ones bones could rest
there in peace, without interfering with their
uclSHUOls, vi CduSlHSS OloOiuVl dU CilO ICoul
rection. Moreover there were no worms there,
nor medical students and wanting these, one
could well afford to risk sharks and sea serpents.
What with my dread Of going aloft, my d.
minutive stature -four feet seven inches) and
my general deficiency in strength and agility,
was constantly suffering under some mortifea-
tion or disgrace
The only ships duties which | liked were
deck-scraping and steering; the former because
it required no brains, the latter because it inn
piled no activity Accordingly in both these
arts | exceled. Deck-scrapng was of course a
very simple operation, and easily learned. Steer
ing, too, was simple enough, but it took me a
good while to acquire it. My great difficulty
was in learning the compass for my memory,
and most Of my other faculties had been edu-
Gated out of me at school But, curiously
enough, one fine morning. after dreaming about
it all highland after replying :" Nor and by
West" to Peter, when he asked me in the mid