HE first sixty or seventy years of the nineteenth century saw the art of the seaman1 at its highest state of perfection. There was never anything to equal it either before or since in the achievements rendered by the sailors who manned the famous “wooden walls” of Nelson’s time, who took the stately East Indiaman backwards3 and forwards with so much ceremony and safety, or hurried along the tea clipper at a continuous rate which has never since been surpassed by any fleet of sail-propelled ships.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were royal dockyards at Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Deptford, Woolwich, and Sheerness; and here His Majesty’s ships were generally moored4 in the piping times of peace. The first three of these yards were governed by a resident commissioner5, who superintended all the musters6 of the officers, artificers, and labourers employed in the dockyard. He controlled the payments, examined the accounts, contracts, etc., and generally regulated the dockyard. Large ships, such as those mighty7 wooden walls which could carry a hundred guns, were usually built in dry dock, with275 strong flood gates to prevent the tide from coming in. When the time came for launching, and it was spring tides, the gates were opened and the ship floated out. But small craft, such as frigates9 and corvettes, were built on the slips, and then launched by means of a cradle which sped down the ways, the latter having been previously10 greased with soap or tallow.
Launching a Man-of-War in the Year 1805.
The oak of which these craft were built usually came from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and the New Forest, Hants. But as ships were built out in the open, the weather got into the wood and rotted it, so that sometimes a ship was condemned11 before she was ever put in commission; and, in any case, the life of some wooden walls was under ten years. Others lasted for a long period, as, for instance, Nelson’s Victory, which was built in the year 1765. The method of building was curiously12 medieval, and almost Viking-like in its simplicity13. The timbers were secured by treenails to the planking. They were preferred to spike-nails or bolts, as the latter were liable to rust15 with the sea water and get loose. The thickness of the treenail was proportioned to the length of the ship, one inch being allowed to every hundred feet. In the Royal Navy and in the East India Service ships were always sheathed16 with copper17 to protect the hull18 against worms. The copper was quite thin, brown paper being inserted between the sheathing19 and the oak. Other ships than these two classes had thin deal boards nailed over the outside of the bottom for the same purpose.
After the new ship had been floated out of her dock she was taken alongside a sheer-hulk. The latter was an old man-o’-war, which had been dismantled20 and refitted with one very high mast, strengthened with shrouds21 and stays to secure the sheers which served as the arm of a crane for hoisting22 ships’ masts in or out,276 and getting the yards on to the new vessel23. Her sails were bent24, her guns and ammunition25 taken aboard, and away she went for her first commission. Not one of these “wooden walls” carried any canvas above royals. They could not travel fast through the water even on a wind, for they were bulky, clumsy, and cumbrous. Their lines were not sweet, they had a huge, heavy body to drive through the water; they were slow in stays, and they were not easy to handle. They rolled so badly, that in heavy weather they sometimes rolled their masts out.
With a hundred guns aboard and most of a thousand men, a three-decker was certainly an interesting sight. Her guns were arranged in rows along her decks. The lower gun-deck was little above the water-line. A 100-gun ship in Nelson’s time cost over ￡67,000, and these three decks ran from stem to stern, besides a forecastle and a quarter-deck, the former of which extended aft from the stem to the belfry, where the ship’s bell was suspended under a shelter. The quarter-deck extended from aft to the mainmast. There was also a poop-deck, and another deck below the lower gun-deck, called the orlop, where the cables were coiled and the sails stowed. The gun-room was on the after end of the lower gun-deck, and partly used by the gunner; but in frigates and smaller vessels26, where it was below, it was used by the lieutenants27 as a mess-room. The ward-room was over the gun-room, where the superior officers messed and slept.
Sheer-Hulk.
After the etching by E. W. Cooke.
In action the guns were run out, by means of side tackles, till their muzzles29 were well outside the port, so that the flash of the gun might not set the ship’s side on fire. These ports were fitted with heavy square lids. In bad weather it was impossible to open the lower-deck ports lest the sea should swamp the ship. There was a kind of shutter30 also, called a half-port,277 with a circular hole in the centre large enough to go over the muzzle28 of the gun, and furnished with a piece of canvas nailed round its edge to tie on the gun and prevent the water entering the port, although the gun remained run out. These were used chiefly on the main deck. Ropes were made fast to the outside of the lids attached to a tackle within, by which the port-lids could be drawn31 up.
There was but little light ’tween decks in these ships even by day, and the glimmer32 of a purser’s dip was the only illumination. The magazines, however, were lighted through what was termed a “light-room.” The latter was a small apartment with double-glass windows towards the magazine. No candle could, of course, be taken into the latter, so the gunner and his assistants filled their cartridges33 with powder by the candles shining through the windows. In the bigger men-o’-war there were two light-rooms; one attached to the after magazine, and the other which gave light to the fore2 or great magazine. The after magazine contained just enough supply of cartridges for the after guns during action, but the great magazine had enough powder for the ship for a long period.
The cables were usually of 120 fathoms34 and made of hemp35, bass36, or Indian grass, though the biggest ships used hemp exclusively for their heavy anchors. The change from hemp to chain cables came in 1812, and these were much appreciated as saving a great deal of valuable space below. For the hemp cables when coiled down in a frigate8’s cable-tier filled nearly a quarter of her hold, and when it is remembered that a 1000-ton ship had a cable measuring over 8 inches in diameter, and that a 2?-inch chain was just as strong—the breaking strain exceeded 65 tons—but took up less space, we can well understand that hemp was not altogether an advantage, notwithstanding that in bad278 weather these heavy, bluff37 ships would ride far easier to the rope than the chain. The largest anchor used weighed five tons. It had a wooden stock and broad palms.
Because these hemp cables were so thick there must needs be very large hawse-pipes. Now these ships not only rolled; they pitched in a sea-way, and consequently they took in a great deal of water through these pipes. In order to prevent the water getting adrift all over the ship, there was a large compartment38 fitted up just abaft39 the hawse-pipes and called the manger. This stretched athwart the deck, separated on the after part by the manger-board, which was a strong bulkhead, the water being allowed to return to the sea through scuppers. Leather pipes were nailed round the outside of the lower-deck scuppers, which, by hanging down, prevented the water from entering when the ship heeled under a press of canvas.
The cables led in through the hawse-pipes below deck to the bitts. To bitt the cable was to put it round the bitts, which were frames of strong timbers fixed40 perpendicularly41 into the ship. The “bitter end” was that part of the cable which was abaft the bitts, and not allowed to run out. Hence the common expression “to the bitter end” has no reference to the other meaning of the word spelt in a similar way. These cables were in lengths of 40 fathoms, and then spliced42 to make the 120 fathoms. Naturally a heavy ship such as a 100-gun first-rate carried a great deal of way. When, therefore, the anchor was let go, the friction43 of the cable passing through the hawse-pipe was something enormous, and the hemp became so hot that the tar44 on its surface often took fire, therefore men were always stationed to stand by with buckets of water. Likewise, the bitts and timbers round the heated hawse-pipes had to be attended to. Another drawback279 to a rope cable was that it chafed45 a great deal. In coral-bottomed waters it was customary to arm with chains that part which was likely to be worn; and the cable was also sometimes buoyed46 with casks lashed48 at intervals49, so as to float safely above the rough bottom of the sea-bed.
H.M.S. “Prince.”
A first-rate of 110 guns, showing the stern balconies as built before the close sterns were introduced.
There is an interesting passage in a letter written by Captain Duff of H.M.S. Mars, in 1805, to his wife, in which the following words occur: “October 10th. I am sorry the rain has begun to-night, as it will spoil my fine work, having been employed for this week past to paint the ship à la Nelson, which most of the fleet are doing.” That, of course, was just a few days before Trafalgar. And there is a phrase in a letter written by a young midshipman to his father, in 1794, telling him all about the Glorious First of June battle. “The French ... called us the little devil, and the little black ribband, as we have a black streak50 painted on our side.” The explanation of these two passages is as follows. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century it was left to a captain’s own taste to paint his ship whatever colours he liked. There was no uniformity as to-day, but generally a ship was painted with a wide black streak along the water-line just above the copper sheathing. This streak ran right round the ship, and in depth reached to the lower gun-deck. Above this the hull was painted a brownish yellow, but sometimes it was more a lemon-colour. The after upper works above the gun-decks and the outer sides of the poop above the quarter-deck guns were painted a vivid red or blue.
This bright band of colour gradually faded until, by the time Trafalgar was fought, it became a dull, deep blue—almost black. Round the forecastle ran a band of scarlet51 or pale blue edged with gold, and continued down the beak52 to the figurehead. The outsides of the280 port-lids were a brownish yellow like the sides, and the stern walks were decorated with elaborate gilt53 carvings54, cherubs55 and dolphins and mermaids56, the royal arms, and wreaths, etc. Round the stern of each ship, outside the glazed57 windows of the cabin, ran a quarter gallery for the captain, while at the bows a figurehead was seen which was regarded with a sentimental58 interest and kept in good condition. But Nelson had his ships painted black, with a yellow streak along each tier of ports, and the port-lids were painted black. This chequer painting, then, was the method “à la Nelson” to which Captain Duff was referring.
Internally the sides of the ships were still painted a blood-red, for the reason already given in an earlier century. So also were the inner sides of the port-lids. But after Trafalgar the interiors were sometimes painted in other colours, such as green or yellow or even brown, until, after the year 1840, white became uniform. Many internal fittings such as the gun-carriages, and even the guns themselves, were painted red or chocolate during the Nelson period. The lower masts were painted a dull yellow, the topmasts and upper spars varnished59 a dark brown, and the lower yards and gaffs painted black. The blocks, the chains, the dead-eyes, the wooden and iron fittings for the rigging were all tarred black, just as one often finds them to-day on some old coaster or fishing smack60. The masts of the British warships61 were painted white usually before any engagement with the French, so as to distinguish them from the Gallic masts, which were black.
An Early Nineteenth-Century Design for a Man-of-War’s Stern.
It was the superiority of the British gunnery which won most of our battles against the French, even when the latter had better ships and faster. The British directed their fire chiefly against the hull, whereas the French aimed at the rigging. The cartridges were filled282 in the magazines and handed up to the fighting decks above by the powder-monkeys. Along the decks were arranged, at intervals, match-tubs to receive the slow-matches used in firing the guns, whilst in the cockpit of the ship the surgeon and his mates were busy attending to the wounded. The ’tween decks were very cramped62, and there was not much air, and there was still a good deal of disease rampant63 among the seamen64. The surgeon’s mate messed in a space only six feet square in the cockpit, “screened off with canvas, and shut in by chests, dark as a dungeon65, and smelling intolerably of putrefied cheese and rancid butter.”
Course, Topsail, and Topgallant Sail of an Early Nineteenth-Century Ship.
After the end of the eighteenth century, the salutary practice of building ships under cover became general. Nowadays, of course, most ships are constructed in the open air. But in the time we are speaking of the ship—men built with wood and not steel. And when the weather was not allowed to get inside and rot the wood, it was found that the vessels lasted much longer than before. Furthermore, the method of uniting two pieces of timber together by “scarfing” was introduced. It was done either by letting the end of one piece of wood into the end of the other, or by laying the two ends together and fastening a third piece to them both. Thus, curved timbers could be made with pieces of straight timber. This may seem quite a small matter to some, but when it is stated that until this device was employed ships ready for launching were sometimes detained on the stocks for a considerable period until natural bent timbers could be found, it will be seen that Sir Robert Seppings, the inventor, was performing an excellent service to the Admiralty.
The Circular-Shaped Stern of H.M.S. “Asia.”
This 84-gun ship was in the engagement at the Battle of Navarino.
And there were other improvements which were only justified66. That effusive67 gilt decoration—the scrolls68, the allegorical figures, the wreaths (which had come in during Caroline times), the heavy brackets for283 the poop-lanterns were all to come under the chastening hand of simplicity. The stern galleries became simpler in character and fewer in number, the spritmast disappeared and the spritsail, though the spritsail yard remained for some time. In the Merchant Service the “Jimmy Green” continued till well into the nineteenth century; and the yard of the lateen mizzen had long since been lopped off to become a gaff, as also the triangular69 mizzen sail had become quadrilateral and a boom had been added. Masts were made taller, but the bowsprit was no longer a quasi-mast, as it had been since medieval days. Staysails had come into use from Dutch origin, and royals—or, as Hutchinson called them, “topgallant royals”—and studding-sails were already well established during the latter part of the eighteenth century. The triangular headsails were relied upon for getting the ship’s head round, and consequently the foremast was no longer placed so far forward as it had been in Tudor and Stuart times.
A Brig of War’s 12-Pounder Carronade.
During the reign70 of George III, a three-decker carried either 32- or 42-pounders on her lower gun-deck, 24-pounders on her middle deck, and either 12- or 6-pounders on her upper deck. On the forecastle and quarter-deck 6-pounders were fired. It was the 32-pounders which began to be recognised as the largest satisfactory gun for the first-rates, and so continued till about 1840. In place of the old Elizabethan powder-horn and linstock, gun-locks and firing-tubes were introduced, and the system of ventilating ships, introduced during the eighteenth century by Dr. Hales, made for the improved health of both ships and crews.
Many of those who emigrated from these shores to the United States of America can still remember the sailing ships which carried them through gales72 with safety. That was the time when the ship’s deck was like a veritable farmyard. There were no condensed284 foods, no patent refrigerating arrangements, no water-condensers; so the ship’s long-boat, stowed securely on deck, became filled with pens of sheep and pigs, while cackling ducks and quacking73 geese reminded the agricultural emigrants74 of the homes they had just left. There was a cow-house on deck, and on some ships there was even a small kitchen-garden in boxes filled with earth, which reposed75 in the jolly-boat. In those smaller ships carrying no passengers, the pigs and poultry76 had practically the whole run of the ship. Milk was obtained from the goats and cows, but occasionally, when the wild Atlantic made a clean sweep of the deck, this article of food was impossible till the next port was reached.
The eighteenth-century transatlantic ships used to make only two trips a year, taking four months for the round voyage and back. The quickest trip was the homeward one to England, for there was a favourable77 westerly wind to run before. But even with a head wind, these old packets made good their 40 knots a day. And so matters went on till the volume of trade and the number of emigrants had so much increased as to create a demand for the bigger ships of about 800 tons that came in 1840.
A West Indiaman in Course of Construction.
I hope on another occasion to tell at greater length the story of that fine class of ship known as the East Indiaman, which has long since disappeared from the sea. I have but little space left here to deal with a species of ship that was scarcely inferior to many of those in His Majesty’s service. Although nominally78 merchantmen, yet they so much enjoyed the patronage79 of the Government, that to be officer in the East India Company’s service was almost the equivalent of a commission in the Royal Navy. So well paid were the East India captains and their staff, and so many handsome emoluments80 besides were there attached to their285 posts, that you are not altogether surprised to find, as you look down the names of these officers, men of title and the younger sons of some of the best English families.
A Three-Decker on a Wind.
Promotion81 was made by seniority, and a captain was assigned to his ship even before she was launched, so that he had an opportunity of knowing every timber and every plank14 in her hull. He superintended her fitting out, and when she was at last complete with her spars and sails, her complement82 of passengers, her cargo83 and her crew, she put to sea, but she was in no tremendous hurry to get to the Orient. Her voyaging was to be safe and sure, like her captain’s remuneration. For he was allowed by the directors 56? tons of space for carrying cargo on his own account, the rates of freights then varying from ￡35 to ￡40 a ton. Captains did their own chartering, and in one way and another accumulated very large perquisites84. A conservative estimate places the income of some of these skippers as from ￡6000 to ￡10,000 a year; and the mates and petty officers managed to feather their own nests very amply as well.
The discipline of these ships was founded on the prevailing85 custom in the Royal Navy. They flew the Navy’s long pendant. They were built like some of the Admiralty frigates, they were fitted out on similar lines, and they were handled in like manner. But they were slightly fuller-bodied than the Admiralty ships in order to carry plenty of cargo. The accommodation for passengers was, considering the times, luxurious86. At the end of each homeward voyage these ships were entirely87 dismantled and given a complete refit, the passengers selling their state-room furniture by auction88 on board before going ashore89. The directors looked well after the men as well as holding out encouragement to the officers. Seamen of eight years’ service286 were permitted pensions. The crews were divided into two watches, the officers having three watches—four hours on and eight hours off. The men messed in batches90 of eight, their allotted91 space being between the guns in the ’tween decks. Here also were their mess-utensils and their sea-chests, and here were slung92 their hammocks. Every Sunday morning after the crew had been inspected they were, by the regulations of the Company, to attend Divine service, the captain acting93 as chaplain. If a commander’s log-book was found to have omitted this duty he was liable to a fine of two guineas. He wore a uniform consisting of a blue coat having black velvet94 lapels with cuffs95 and collar. There was plenty of gold embroidery96 and gilt buttons with the Company’s device thereon. The breeches were buff, he wore a black stock or neckcloth, and a cocked hat and side-arms completed the picture.
The Brig “Wolf,”
So also the crews were constantly drilled at their guns and trained to handle cutlass, musket98, and boarding pike. There were two men to every job, there was plenty of food, and there was no cause for grumbling99 at overwork. There was plenty of rum, there were good quarters and good prospects100. And yet for all that there were reckless fellows who could not realise their good fortune. When they had offended they were brought before the ship’s court-martial in true naval101 fashion and sentenced to the cat-o’-nine-tails. And no man could complain that the commander was “driving” his ship; for every evening, no matter how fine the weather looked, the royals and all light sails such as studding-sails were stowed, and the royal yards sent down on deck. No risks were run unnecessarily, and if the weather looked at all threatening the t’gallant sails and mainsail were stowed and a single reef tucked into the topsails. The aim was to combine safety with comfort, and so they snugged102 down every287 night, and by day whenever there was the least temptation. But the East India was a fine service and a splendid school for British seamanship, a calling that has so considerably103 died out during the last forty years. In the year 1832 the valuable monopoly which the East India Company had enjoyed for so long a time was put an end to. Commerce was thrown open, competition288 entirely altered the previous conditions, and at last this fine fleet was sold and disbanded.
A Frigate Under All Sail.
Man in the Chains Heaving the Lead on an Old Wooden Sailing Ship.
(From a contemporary lithograph104.)
But it was the period of the clipper which simultaneously105 brought seamanship to unheard-of attainment106, and chanted its swan-song. The period is covered roughly by the years 1840 to 1870. It was introduced owing to a demand for the more rapid delivery of goods, especially tea, which does not improve by remaining in a ship’s hold. It was given a strong impetus107 by the discovery of gold in California, and the eager rush of prospectors108 to reach that part quickly. The rush to Australia in like manner was a still further impetus to the development of the clipper ship at the middle of the nineteenth century. The China tea trade in the ’fifties and ’sixties caused these ships to be improved and developed and handled to the utmost limits, until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 gave it its death-blow. For a time it lingered, yet the collateral109 encouragement of the steamship110 made it impossible for the sailing ship to pay her way across the ocean. But there never have been such smart ocean passages so continuously maintained as by the China clippers of the ’sixties. There never were better sailing ships built of wood, and there never were captains who “cracked on” or crews who could work such big canvas-propelled craft with such distinction. This was the period when a ship was not content with t’gallants and royals, but must needs set sky sails and moonrakers.
H.M.S. “Cleopatra” Endeavouring to Save the Crew of the Brig “Fisher,” 200 Tons, on October 26, 1835.
This incident occurred 82 miles N. ? W. off Flamborough Head in a strong S. W. gale71 with heavy squalls. The brig had lost her mainmast, and hailed the Cleopatra for assistance. A boat was therefore lowered on the Cleopatra’s lee quarter, but stove in and lost. A buoy47 was veered111 astern, but the brig could not pick it up. During the night the brig foundered112 with all hands. Liardet in his book on seamanship suggested that in such an incident as this the best thing would be to get to windward of the wreck113, let down ropes from the lee side, then signal to the wreck your intention of drifting down to her. The men could then rescue themselves by the ropes.
A very fine type of clipper was built in 1859 by Messrs. Robert Steel and Son, at Greenock, to which class belonged such famous ships as the Falcon114 and Fiery115 Cross. They were beautifully designed craft and splendidly built, with ample deck space for working the ship and small deck-houses, and were kept up almost as smartly as a modern sailing yacht with polished brass-work, holystoned decks, and well-found gear. The289 clipper Seaforth, which was built in 1863, brought about quite a revolution in the sailing ship’s equipment, for she was the first sailing vessel to have steel spars and wire rigging. Her lower masts, her topmasts, and her topsail yards and bowsprit were all steel likewise.
H.M.S. “Hastings,” 74 Guns.
Lying “in Ordinary” in the Medway.
In one respect these old tea clippers were curiously medieval, though the practice continued also in the ships of the Royal Navy till well on into the nineteenth century. This was in the matter of loose ballast. These tea clippers carried about 300 tons of shingle116 ballast laid evenly along the bottom of the ship, and upon this shingle were laid the chests of tea, and considerable dunnage was put in as well. These ships had a registered tonnage of about 700 tons, and could carry about 1000 tons of tea. They were worked by a crew of about thirty; they were captained by skippers of the utmost ability and prudence117, who, unlike the East Indiaman captains, did not worry about snugging118 down at nightfall, but first and foremost were bent on getting the cargo to the London river in the least possible time. They “cracked on” and undertook risks in gales of wind which would have terrified many another commander. But it was to their interests to make smart passages. Some of them were part-owners, and there was a premium119 of ten shillings a ton to the skipper who landed the first cargo of a season’s tea. Thus, in addition to his other emoluments, there was a chance of making an extra ￡500 after a quick voyage. Many of the crews had served their time in sailing ships of the Royal Navy, so a captain could rely on getting the best out of his fine ship. Some of these skippers retired120 with large fortunes; but the premium system led to a great deal of jealousy121 and unpleasantness. For it might happen—it did, in fact, occur—that one ship might make the fastest sailing passage to Dungeness and yet get her package of tea ashore some time after the290 second vessel, simply because the latter had been fortunate in picking up a more powerful tug122 to tow her from Dungeness to London. So, eventually, this premium method had to be abandoned.
When we remember that such vessels as the Taeping and other clippers have been known to maintain for long periods an average of 13 knots an hour, we may well regret that the coming of the steamship was not delayed a century later, to give these ships a complete epoch123 of their own. Perhaps in the course of events time will wreak124 its revenge, and give us back once more a period of true seamanship and a recurrence125 of the most interesting ways of a ship.
The End
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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musters
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的第三人称单数 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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sheathing
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| n.覆盖物，罩子v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的现在分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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24
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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25
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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26
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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27
lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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28
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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29
muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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30
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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31
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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32
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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33
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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34
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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35
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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36
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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37
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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38
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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39
abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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40
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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41
perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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42
spliced
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| adj.（针织品）加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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43
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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44
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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45
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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46
buoyed
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| v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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47
buoy
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| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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48
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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49
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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50
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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51
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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52
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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53
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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54
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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55
cherubs
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| 小天使，胖娃娃( cherub的名词复数 ) | |
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56
mermaids
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| n.（传说中的）美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 ) | |
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57
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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58
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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59
varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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60
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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61
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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62
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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63
rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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64
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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65
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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66
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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67
effusive
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| adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的 | |
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68
scrolls
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| n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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69
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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70
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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71
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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72
gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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73
quacking
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| v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 ) | |
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74
emigrants
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| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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75
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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77
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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78
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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79
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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80
emoluments
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| n.报酬，薪水( emolument的名词复数 ) | |
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81
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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82
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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83
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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84
perquisites
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| n.（工资以外的）财务补贴( perquisite的名词复数 )；额外收入；（随职位而得到的）好处；利益 | |
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85
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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86
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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87
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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88
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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89
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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90
batches
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| 一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业 | |
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91
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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93
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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94
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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95
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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96
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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97
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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98
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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99
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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100
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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101
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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102
snugged
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| v.整洁的( snug的过去式和过去分词 )；温暖而舒适的；非常舒适的；紧身的 | |
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103
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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104
lithograph
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| n.平板印刷，平板画；v.用平版印刷 | |
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105
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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106
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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107
impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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108
prospectors
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| n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 ) | |
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109
collateral
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| adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品 | |
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110
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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111
veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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112
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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114
falcon
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| n.隼，猎鹰 | |
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115
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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116
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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117
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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118
snugging
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| v.整洁的( snug的现在分词 )；温暖而舒适的；非常舒适的；紧身的 | |
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119
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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120
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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121
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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122
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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123
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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124
wreak
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| v.发泄；报复 | |
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125
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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