The prime minister, the official organ, and the active and superintending officer is the chief mate.  He is first lieutenant, boatswain, sailing-master, and quartermaster.  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 is proverbially a dog’s berth.  He is neither officer nor man.  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, and the men do not much respect him as an officer.  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, &c., &c.  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 his 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, whose title is ``Doctor,’’ 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 in 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.

The crew are divided into two divisions, as equally as may be, called the watches.  Of these, the chief mate commands the larboard, and the second mate the starboard.  They divide the time between them, being on and off duty, or, as it is called, on deck and below, every other four hours.  The three night-watches are called the first, the middle, and the morning watch.  If, for instance, the chief mate with