When There Are No
Passengers And No Supercargo, As In Our Vessel, He Has No Companion
But His Own Dignity, And No Pleasures, Unless He Differs From Most
Of His Kind, But The Consciousness Of Possessing Supreme Power, And,
Occasionally, The Exercise Of It.
The prime minister, the official organ, and the active and superintending
officer, is the chief mate.
He is first lieutenant, boatswain,
sailing-master, and quarter-master. The captain tells him what
he wishes to have done, and leaves to him the care of overseeing,
of allotting the work, and also the responsibility of its being
well done. The mate (as he is always called, par excellence)
also keeps the log-book, for which he is responsible to the owners
and insurers, and has the charge of the stowage, safe keeping, and
delivery of the cargo. He is also, ex-officio, the wit of the crew;
for the captain does not condescend to joke with the men, and the
second mate no one cares for; so that when "the mate" thinks fit to
entertain "the people" with a coarse joke or a little practical wit,
every one feels bound to laugh.
The second mate's is proverbially a dog's berth. He is neither
officer nor man. The men do not respect him as an officer, and he
is obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the topsails, and to put
his hands into the tar and slush, with the rest. The crew call
him the "sailor's waiter," as he has to furnish them with spun-yarn,
marline, and all other stuffs that they need in their work, and has
charge of the boatswain's locker, which includes serving-boards,
marline-spikes, etc. He is expected by the captain to maintain
his dignity and to enforce obedience, and still is kept at a great
distance from the mate, and obliged to work with the crew. He is
one to whom little is given and of whom much is required. His wages
are usually double those of a common sailor, and he eats and sleeps
in the cabin; but he is obliged to be on deck nearly all the time,
and eats at the second table, that is, makes a meal out of what the
captain and chief mate leave.
The steward is the captain's servant, and has charge of the pantry,
from which every one, even the mate himself, is excluded. These
distinctions usually find him an enemy in the mate, who does not
like to have any one on board who is not entirely under his control;
the crew do not consider him as one of their number, so he is left
to the mercy of the captain.
The cook is the patron of the crew, and those who are in his favor
can get their wet mittens and stockings dried, or light their pipes
at the galley on the night watch. These two worthies, together
with the carpenter and sailmaker, if there be one, stand no watch,
but, being employed all day, are allowed to "sleep in" at night,
unless all hands are called.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 14 of 324
Words from 6730 to 7246
of 170236
