The watchful ruler of the helm no more,
With fix'd attention, eyes the adjacent shore ;
But by the oracle of truth below,

The wond'rous magnet, guides the wayward prow.
The wind, that ftill the impreffive canvas fwell'd,
Swift and more fwift the yielding bark impell'd.
Impatient thus fhe glides along the coast,
'Till far behind the hill of Jove is loft:
And while aloof from Retimo she steers,
Malacha's foreland full in front appears.
Wide o'er yon ifthmus ftands the cyprefs-grove
That once enclos'd the hallow'd fane of Jove.
Here too, memorial of his name! is found
A tomb, in marble ruins on the ground.
This gloomy tyrant, whofe triumphant yoke
The trembling states around to flav'ry broke,
Thro' Greece for murder, rape, and incest known,
The Mufes rais'd to high Olympus' throne.-
For oft, alas; their venal trains adorn

The prince whom blushing virtue holds in fcorn.
Still Rome and Greece record his endless fame,
And hence yon' mountain yet retains his name.

But fee! in confluence borne before the blaft, Clouds roll'd on clouds the dusky noon o'ercat; The black'ning ocean curls; the winds arife; And the dark fcud * in fwift fucceffion flies. While the fwoln canvas bends the mafts on high, Low in the waves the leeward 'cannon lie t. The failors now, to give the ship relief, Reduce the topfails by a fingle reef 1. Each lofty yard with flacken'd cordage reels, Rattle the creaking blocks, and ringing wheels. Down the tall mafts the topfails fink amain And, foon reduc'd, affume their post again. More diftant grew receding Candia's fhore; And fouthward of the weft Cape Spado bore. Four hours the fun his high meridian throne Had left, and o'er Atlantic regions fhone; Still blacker clouds, that all the skies invade, Draw o'er his fullied orb a dismal shade. A fquall deep-low'ring blots the fouthern sky, Before whose boisterous breath the waters fly. Its weight the topfails can no more fuftain, Reef topfails, reef, the boatswain calls again!

The haliards and top-bowlines † foon are gone,
To clue-lines and reef-tackles next they run:
The fhivering fails defcend; and now they square
The yards, while ready failors mount in air.
The weather-earings and the lee they paft ||;
The reefs enroll'd, and every point made faft.
Their task above thus finish'd, they descend,
And vigilant th' approaching squall attend.
It comes refiftlefs, and with foaming sweep
Upturns the whitening furface of the deep.
In fuch a tempeft, borne to deeds of death,
The wayward Sifters fcour the blasted heath.
With ruin pregnant now the clouds impend,
And ftorm and cataract tumultuous blend.
Deep on her fide the reeling veffel lies-
Brail up the mizen quick §! the master cries,
Man the clue-garnets ¶ let the main sheet fly!
The boisterous fquall still preffes from on high,
And swift, and fatal as the lightning's courfe,
Thro' the torn main-fails burfts with thundering
force.

While the rent canvas flutter'd in the wind,
Still on her flank the stooping bark inclin'd.-
Bear
up the helm ** a-weather! Rodmond cries;
Swift, at the word, the helm a-weather flies.
The prow with fecret instinct veers apace;
And now the fore-fail right athwart they brace :
With equal sheets reftrain'd, the bellying fail
Spreads a broad concave to the sweeping gale.

* Haliards are either fingle ropes or tackles, by which the fails are hoisted up and lowered when the fail is to be extended or reduced.

Bow-lines are ropes intended to keep the windward edge of the fail fteady, and prevent it from fhaking in an unfavourable wind.

Clue-lines are ropes ufed to trufs up the clues or lower corners of the principal fails to their respective yards, particularly when the fail is to be clofe reefed or furled.-Reef-tackles are ropes em-. ployed to facilitate the operation of reefing, by confining the extremities of the reef close up to the yard, fo that the interval becomes flack, and is therefore eafily rolled up and fastened to the yard by the points employed for this purpose.

Earings are fmall cords, by which the upper corners of the principal fails and also the extremities of the reefs are fastened to the yard-arms.

§ The mizen is a large fail of an oblong figure extended upon the mizen-mast.

Clue-garnets are employed for the fame purposes on the main-fail and fore-fail as the clue-lines are upon all other square fails.

It is neceffary in this place to remark, that the fheets, which are univerfally mistaken by the English poets and their readers for the fails themselves, are no other than the ropes used to extend the clues, or lower corners of the fails to which they are attached To the main-fail and fore-fail there is a fheet and tack on each fide; the latter of which is a thick rope ferving to confine the weather-clue of the fail down to the ship's fide, whilft the former draws out the lee-clue or lower corner on the opposite fide. Tacks are only used in a fide-wind.

**The helm is faid to be a-weather, when the bar by which it is managed is turned to the fide of the fhip next the wind.

R

While o'er the foam the fhip impetuous flies,
Th' attentive timoneer* the helm applies.
As in purfuit along th' aerial way,
With ardent eye, the falcon marks his prey,
Each motion watches of the doubtful chace,
Obliquely wheeling thro' the liquid space;
So, govern'd by the steerfman's glowing hands,
The regent helm her motion ftill commands.

But now the tranfient fquall to leeward past,
Again fhe rallies to the fullen blast.

The helm to starboard + turns; with wings inclin'd
The fidelong canvas clafps the faithless wind.
The mizen draws; the fprings aloof once more,
While the fore ftay-fail balances before.
The fore-fail brac'd obliquely to the wind,
They near the prow th' extended tack confin'd:
Then on the leeward fheet the seamen bend,
And haul the bowline to the bowsprit end.
To topfails next they hafte; the buntlines gone,
The cluelines thro' their wheel'd machinery ran:
On either fide below the fheets are mann'd ;
Again the fluttering fails their skirts expand.
Once more the topfails, tho' with humbler plume,
Mounting aloft their ancient poft resume.
Again the bowlines and the yards are brac'd || ;
And all th' entangled cords in order plac'd.

The fail, by whirlwinds thus fo lately rent,
In tatter'd ruins Auttering is unbent,
With brails § refix'd another foon prepar'd,
Afcending, spreads along beneath the yard.
To each yard-arm the head-rope ¶ they extend,
And foon their earings and the roebins + bend,
That task perform'd, they first the braces ** flack,
Then to its ftation drag th' unwilling tack;
And, while the lee-clue-garnet's lower'd away,
Taught aft the sheet, they tally and belay ††

*Timoncer (from timonnier, Fr.) the helmíman or fteerfman.

The helm, being turned to starboard, or to the right fide of the fhip, directs the prow to the left, or to port, and vice verfa. Hence the helm being put a-ftarboard, when the ship is running northward, directs her prow towards the weit.

This fail, which is with more propriety called the fore topmaft-itay-fail, is a triangular fail that runs upon the fore topmaft-stay, over the bowfprit. It is ufed to command the fore part of the fhip, and counterbalance the fails extended towards the itern. See alfo the laft note of this Canto.

A yard is faid to be braced, when it is turned about the maft horizontally, either to right or left; the ropes employed in this fervice are called braces.

The ropes ufed to trufs up a fail to the yard or maft whereto it is attached, are, in a general fenfe, called brails.

The head rope is a cord to which the upper part of the fail is fewed.

4 Rope-bands, pronounced roebins, are fmall cords, used to faften the upper edge of any fail to its respective yard.

**Because the lee-brace confines the yard fo that the tack will not come down to its place till the braces are caft loofe.

tt Taught implies ftiff, tenfe, or extended ftraight and tally is a phrafe particularly applied to the operation of hauling aft the fheets, or drawing them towards the thip's itern. To belay, is to faften.

Now to the north, from Afric's burning fhores A troop of porpoifes their courfe explore: In curling wreaths they gambol on the tide, Now bound aloft, now down the billow glide; Their tracks awhile the hoary waves retain, That burn in fparkling trails along the main. These fleeteft courfers of the finny race, When threat'ning clouds th' ætherial vault deface, Their route to leeward ftill fagacious form, To fhun the fury of th' approaching storm.

Fair Candia now no more, beneath her lee, Protects the veffel from th' infulting sea: Round her broad arms, impatient of control, Rous'd from their fecret deeps the billows roll. Sunk were the bulwarks of the friendly shore, And all the fcene an hoftile afpect wore. The flattering wind, that late with promis'd aid From Candia's bay th' unwilling ship betray'd, No longer fawns beneath the fair difguife, But like a ruffian on his quarry Alies.-Tofs'd on the tide the feels the tempeft blow, And dreads the vengeance of fo fell a foe. As the proud horfe, with coftly trappings gay, Exulting prances to the bloody fray; Spurning the ground, he glories in his might, But reels tumultuous in the shock of fight; Even fo, caparifon'd in gaudy pride, The bounding veffel dances on the tide.-→→ Fierce and more fierce the fouthern demon blew, And more incens'd the roaring waters grew. The fhip no longer can her topfails fpread, And every hope of fairer fkies is fled. Bowlines and haliards are relax'd again; Cluelines haul'd down, and fheets let fly amain; Clued-up each topfail, and by braces fquar'd; The feamen climb aloft on either yard. They furl'd the fail, and pointed to the wind The yard, by rolling-tackles* then confin'd. While o'er the ship the gallant boatswain flies, Like a hoarse mastiff thro' the storm he cries: Prompt to direct the unfkilful still appears ; Th' expert he praises, and the fearful cheers. Now fome to ftrike top-gallant yards † attend; Some travellers up the weather backstays | fend; At each maft-head the top-ropes § others bend.

*The rolling-tackle is an affemblage of pullies, used to confine the yard to the weather-fide of the maft, and prevent the former from rubbing against the latter by the fluctuating motion of the ship in a turbulent fea.

+ It is ufual to fend down the top-gallant yards on the approach of a storm. They are the highest yards that are rigged in a fhip.

Travellers are flender iron rings, encircling the backstays and used to facilitate the hoifting or lowering of the top-gallant yards, by confining them to the backstays, in their afcent or defcen:, fo as to prevent them from fwinging about by the agitation of the

veffel.

Backstays are long ropes, extending from the right and left fide of the fhip to the topmaft-heads, which they are intended to fecure, by counteracting the effort of the wind upon the fails.

Top-ropes are the cords by which the top-gallant yards are hoifted up from the deck, or lowered again in ftormy weather.

The youngest failors from the yards above
Their parrels, lifts †, and braces foon remove;
Then topt an-end, and to the travellers tied,
Charg'd with their fails, they down the backstays
flide.

reclin'd;

The yards fecure along the booms
While fome the flying cords aloft confin'd.—
Their fails reduced and all the rigging clear,
Awhile the crew relax from toils fevere.
Awhile their spirits, with fatigue oppreft,
In vain expect th' alternate hour of rest:
But with redoubling force the tempeft blow,
And watery hills in fell fudceffion flow.
A difmal fhade o'ercafts the frowning skies;
New troubles grow; new difficulties rife.
No feafon this from duty to defcend !—
All hands on deck, th' eventual hour attend.

His race perform'd, the facred lamp of day
Now dipt in western clouds his parting ray.
His fick ning fires, half-loft in ambient haze,
Refract along the dusk a crimson blaze;
Till deep immerg'd the languid orb declines,
And now to cheerlefs night the sky refigns!
Sad evening's hour, how different from the past!
No flaming pomp, no blushing glories caft.
No ray of friendly light is feen around;
The moon and stars in hopeless fhade are drown'd.
The fhip no longer can her courfes || bear:
To recf the courses is the master's care:
The failors fummon'd aft, a daring band!
Attend th' enfolding brails at his command.
But here the doubtful officers difpute,
Till skill and judgment prejudice confute.-
Rodmond, whofe genius never foar'd beyond,
The narrow rules of art his youth had conn'd,
Still to the hoftile fury of the wind
Releas'd the sheet, and kept the tack confin'd.
To long-tried practice obitinately warm,
He doubts conviction, and relies on form.
But the fage master his advice declines;
With whom Arion in opinion joins.-
The watchful feaman, whofe fagacious eye
On fure experience may with truth rely,
Who from the reigning caufe foretels th' effect,
This barbarous practice ever will reject.
For, fluttering loofe in air, the rigid fail
Soon flits to ruins in the furious gale;

The parrel, which is usually a rpoveable band of rope, is employed to confine the yard to its refpective

maft.

Lifts are ropes extending from the head of any maft to the extremities of its particular yard, to fupport the weight of the latter; to retain it in balance; or to raise one yard-arm higher than the other, which is accordingly called topping.

The booms in this place imply any mafts or yards lying on the deck in referve, to fupply the place of others which may be carried away by diftrefs of weather, &c.

The courfes are generally understood to be the mainfail, forefail and mizen, which are the largest and lowest fails on their feveral mafts: the term is however sometimes taken in a larger fenfe.

And he who ftrives the tempeft to difarm,
Will never first embrail the lee yard-arm.
The mafter faid ;-obedient to command,
To raise the tack, the ready failors ftand 4.-
Gradual it loofens, while th' involving clue,
Swell'd by the wind, aloft unruffling flew..
The fheet and weather-brace they now stand by *;
The lee clue-garnet and the bunt-lies ply.
Thus all prepar'd, Let go the sheet, he cries;
Impetuous round the ringing wheels it flies;
Shivering at first, till by the blaft impell'd,
High o'er the lee yard-arm the canvas fwell'd:
By fpilling lines † embrac'd, with brails confin'd,
It lies at length unfhaken by the wind.
The forefail then fecur'd, with equal care
Again to reef the mainsail they repair.-
While fome high mounted over-haul the tye,
Below the down-haul-tackle ‡ others ply.
Jears §, lifts, and brails, a feaman each attends,
Along the maft the willing yard defcends.
When lower'd fufficient they fecurely brace;
And fix the rolling-tackle in its place.
The reef-lines ** and their earings now prepar'd,
Mounting on pliant fhrouds, they man the yard
Far on th' extremes two able hands appear,
Arion there, the hardy boatfwain here;
That in the van to front the tempest hung ;;
This round the lee yard-arm, ill-omen'd! clung.

It has been remarked before, that the tack is always faftened to windward: accordingly as foon as it is caft loofe, and the clue-garnet hauled up, the weather-clue of the fail immediately mounts to the yard; and this operation must be carefully performed in a storm, to prevent the fail from splitting, or being torn, to pieces by shivering.

It is neceflary to pull in the weather-brace whenever the fheet is caft-off, to preferve the fail from thaking violently.

The fpilling-lines, which are only used on particular occafions in tempestuous weather, are em ployed to draw together and confine the belly of the fail, when it is inflated by the wind over the yard.

The violence of the wind forces the yard fo much outward from the maft on thefe occafions, that it cannot easily be lowered fo as to reef the fail, without the application of a tackle to haul it down on the mast. This is afterwards converted into rollingtackle. Jears are the fame to the mainfail, forefail and mizen, as the haliards are to all the inferior fails. The tye is the upper part of the jears.

** Reef-lines are only ufed to reef the mainfail and forefail. They are paffed in fpiral turns through the eye-let holes of the reef, and over the head of the fails between the rope-band legs, till they reach the extremities of the reef, to which they are firmly extended, fo as to lace the reef clofe up to the yard,

Shrouds are thick ropes, Aretching from the mat-heads downwards to the outfide of the fhip, ferving to fupport the mafts. They are alfo ufed as a range of rope-ladders by which the feamen afcend or defcend, to perform whatever is neceffary about the fails and rigging.

Each earing to its station first they bend;
The reef-band then along the yard extend;
The circling earings, round th' extremes entwin'd
By outer and by inner turns § they bind,
From hand to hand, the reef-lines, next receiv'd,
Thro' eye-let holes and roebin-legs were reev'd.
The reef in double folds involv'd they lay;
Strain the firm cord, and either end belay.

Hadft thou, Arion held the leeward poft,
While on the yard by mountain billows toft,
Perhaps Oblivion o'er our tragic tale

Had then for ever drawn her dufky veil.-
But ruling heaven prolong'd thy vital date,
Severer ills to fuffer and relate!

For, while their orders those aloft attend,
To furl the mainfail, or on deck descend,
A fea, up-furging with tremendous roll,
To instant ruin feems to doom the whole.
O friends, fecure your hold! Arion cries :-
It comes all-dreadful, ftooping from the skies!
Uplifted on its horrid edge, fhe feels

The fhock, and on her fide half-bury'd reels :
The fail, half-bury'd in the whelming wave,
A fearful warning to the feamen gave:
While from its margin, terrible to tell!
Three failors with their gallant boatswain fell.
Torn with refiftless fury from their hold,
In vain their struggling arms the yard unfold:
In vain to grapple flying cords they try;
The cords, alas! a folid gripe deny !
Prone on the midnight furge, with panting breath
They cry for aid, and long contend with death.
High o'er their heads the rolling billows sweep;
And down they fink in everlaking fleep.-
Bereft of power to help, their comrades fee
The wretched victims die beneath the lee ;
With fruitless forrow their loft state bemoan;
Perhaps a fatal prelude to their own!

In dark fufpence on deck the pilots stand,
Nor can determine on the next command.
Tho' ftill they knew the veffel's armed fide
Impenetrable to the clafping tide;
Tho' ftill the waters by no fecret wound
A paffage to her deep receffes found;
Surrounding evils yet they ponder o'er,

A ftorm, a dangerous fea, and leeward fhore!
Should they, tho' reef'd, again their fails extend,
Again in fluttering fragments they may rend;
Or fhould they ftand, beneath the dreadful strain.
The down-preft ship may never rise again;
Too late to weather † now Morea's land,
Yet verging faft to Athens' rocky strand.-
Thus they lament the confequence fevere,
Where perils unallay'd by hope appear.

Long in their minds revolving each event,
At laft to furl the courses they confent.
That done to reef the mizen next agree,
And try beneath it, fidelong in the fea.

Now down the maft the floping yard declin'd,
Till by the jeers and topping-lift † confin'd.
The head, with doubling canvas fenc'd around,
In balance, near the lofty peak, they bound.
The reef unwrapt, th' inserted knittles ty'd,
To hoift the fhorten'd fail again they hied.
The order given, the yard aloft they sway'd;
The brails relax'd, the extended sheet belay'd,
The helm its poft forfook, and, lash'd a-lee §,
Inclin'd the wayward prow to front the fea.

When facred Orpheus, on the Stygian coaft,
With notes divine implor'd his confort loft;
Tho' round him perils grew in fell array,
And fates and furies ftood to bar his way;
Not more advent'rous was the attempt to move
The powers of hell with strains of heavenly love,
Than mine to bid th' unwilling muse explore
The wilderness of rude mechanic lore,
Such toil th' unwearied Dædalus endur'd,
When in the Cretan labyrinth immur'd;
Till Art her falutary help bestow'd
To guide him through that intricate abode.
Thus, long entangled in a thorny way,
That never heard the sweet Pierian lay,
The mufe, that tun'd to barbarous sounds her string,
Now fpreads like Dædalus a bolder wing;
The verfe begins in fofter ftrains to flow,
Replete with fad variety of woe.

As yet amid this elemental war,
That fcatters defolation from afar,
Nor toil, nor hazard, nor diftrefs appear
To fink the feamen with unmanly fear
Tho' their firm hearts no pageant honour boaft,
They fcorn the wretch that trembles in his poft ;
Who from the face of danger ftrives to turn,
Indignant from the focial hour they spurn.
Tho' now full oft they felt the raging tide
In proud rebellion climb the veffel's fide,
No future ills unknown their fouls appall;
They know no danger, or they fcorn it all;
But ev'n the generous fpirits of the brave,
Subdu'd by toil, a friendly refpite crave;
A fhort repofe alone their thoughts implore,
Their harrafs'd powers by flumber to restore.

Far other cares the mafter's mind employ ;
Approaching perils all his hopes destroy.
In vain he fpreads the graduated chart,
And bounds the distance by the rules of art;

*To try, is to lay the fhip with her fide nearly in the direction of the wind and fea, with the head fomewhat inclined to the windward; the helm being laid a-lee to retain her in that pofition. See a further illuftration of this in the last note of this Canto.

The topping-lift which tops the upper end of the mizen-yard. This line and the fix following defcribe the operation of reefing and balancing the mizen. The reef of this fail is towards the lower end, the knittles being fmall fhort lines used in the room of points for this purpofe; they are accordingly knotted under the foot-rope, or lower edge of the fail. § Lafhed a-lee, is faftened to the lee fide.