The next step, after the ship is commissioned, is to open a muster-book.  The requisite blank books and other papers are supplied to the captain by the superintendent of the dockyard, in order that the names of the officers and men may be entered as they assemble.  The admiral being then informed that the ship is in commission, he orders the commandant of marines to embark the proper complement of men from the barracks.

The master-attendant, in the mean time, is applied to for a receiving-ship or hulk, alongside of which the ship may be placed, and in which the crew may live while she is fitting out.  The same officer will likewise give the boatswain a “note” for one or more of what are called harbour boats—­strong affairs, but good enough to perform the rough sort of work required in fitting out.  The boatswain’s demand for scrapers, buckets, and junk for swabs, is made out and approved, that, from the first moment to the last, the hulk may be kept clean.

The officers of the newly-commissioned ship take possession of the hulk assigned them, the purser gets from the victualling-office provisions enough for present use, and draws from the same quarter a quantity of slop clothing, as well as bedding and haversacks, for the marines, who are generally the first men on board.  They are supplied by the boatswain with hammocks, and thus the Jollies soon feel themselves at home.  The captain’s clerk having prepared what is called an “open list,” he enters the names of the officers and men as fast as they arrive.  Hammocks and bedding, as well as blankets and shoes, are issued to those sailors who may come on board without any kit, which is too often the case.  The senior lieutenant ought, if possible, to be one of the very first persons who joins, and the sooner he establishes himself on board the hulk the better.  The marines, being a standing portion of the service, are always ready, and, if necessary, they may be sent on board at a few hours’ warning.  On this account, as well as many others, they are a most invaluable body of men.  When there is no particular hurry, however, they will be embarked in two or three days at the furthest from the time they receive orders.[8] Application should also be made for boys, who are supplied as soon as possible; a certain number being sent from the flag-ship, while the remainder are enlisted from the shore.  A boat’s crew of sailors will very soon be picked up from the stray hands lounging about the Common Hard and Jack’s other well-known haunts.

Thus, in a very few days, the foundation of a ship’s company is laid; and under good management, with a little patience and cheerfulness, the superstructure will advance rapidly.  A rendezvous should be opened at a public-house in some street frequented by the seamen; and a flag, with the ship’s name on it, exposed before the door; while bills, containing the ship and captain’s name, should be stuck up and distributed in the proper quarters.  If