matter on board this ship; for every sailor knows that a vessel is judged of, a good deal, by the furl of her sails.  The third mate, sailmaker, and the larboard watch, went upon the fore topsail yard; the second mate, carpenter, and the starboard watch, upon the main; and I, and the English lad, and the two Boston boys, and the young Cape Cod man, furled the mizzen topsail.  This sail belonged to us altogether to reef and to furl, and not a man was allowed to come upon our yard.  The mate took us under his special care, frequently making us furl the sail over three or four times, until we got the bunt up to a perfect cone, and the whole sail without a wrinkle.  As soon as each sail was hauled up and the bunt made, the jigger was bent on to the slack of the buntlines, and the bunt triced up, on deck.  The mate then took his place between the knight-heads to ``twig’’ the fore, on the windlass to twig the main, and at the foot of the mainmast for the mizzen; and if anything was wrong,—­ too much bunt on one side, clews too taut or too slack, or any sail abaft the yard,—­ the whole must be dropped again.  When all was right, the bunts were triced well up, the yard-arm gaskets passed, so as not to leave a wrinkle forward of the yard—­ short gaskets, with turns close together.

From the moment of letting go the anchor, when the captain ceases his care of things, the chief mate is the great man.  With a voice like a young lion, he was hallooing in all directions, making everything fly, and, at the same time, doing everything well.  He was quite a contrast to the worthy, quiet, unobtrusive mate of the Pilgrim, not a more estimable man, perhaps, but a far better mate of a vessel; and the entire change in Captain Thompson’s conduct, since he took command of the ship, was owing, no doubt, in a great measure, to this fact.  If the chief officer wants force, discipline slackens, everything gets out of joint, and the captain interferes continually; that makes a difficulty between them, which encourages the crew, and the whole ends in a three-sided quarrel.  But Mr. Brown (a Marblehead man) wanted no help from anybody, took everything into his own hands, and was more likely to encroach upon the authority of the master than to need any spurring.  Captain Thompson gave his directions to the mate in private, and, except in coming to anchor, getting under way, tacking, reefing topsails, and other ``all-hands-work,’’ seldom appeared in person.  This is the proper state of things; and while this lasts, and there is a good understanding aft, everything will go on well.

Having furled all the sails, the royal yards were next to be sent down.  The English lad and myself sent down the main, which was larger than the Pilgrim’s main top-gallant yard; two more light hands the fore, and one boy the mizzen.  This order we kept while on the coast, sending them up and down every time we came in and went out of port.  They were all tripped and lowered together, the main on the starboard side,