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.
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