greenhorns' mistakes. 29 



men, ignorant of a single rope in the ship, who are 

 just as much acquainted with the rigging as with 

 Greek and Hebrew, knowing as much about tlie 

 cook's leg as the cook's nose, and more about the 

 boy than the buoy, and as like as not when ordered 

 to heave the buoy overboard to heave the boy. I 

 have seen many laughable mistakes occur amongst 

 our boys when first out; do not think I take a 

 sailor's privilege and draw a long bow, as I am at 

 the same time included with these worthies — I being, 

 at the time of leaving home, as verdant as any of the 

 rest. I have seen them when ordered to haul down 

 the flying jib, grasp the spanker halyards, and spend 

 any quantity of pulling and hauling upon it, won- 

 dering at the same time why the darned thing did 

 not come down ; their only mistake in this case was 

 hoisting the aftermost sail in the ship instead of 

 lowering the foremost. With our officers, as a general 

 thing, these errors passed off good humoredly ; but, 

 as I said before, they were required to use all their 

 forbearance to repress their anger at our lubberly 

 mistakes ; nor would it have been surprising, all 

 things taken into consideration, had they let out at 

 us occasionally, and I doubt much if Job, who, by 

 the Book of books, is spoken of as the most patient 

 man of antiquity, were he afloat with a green crew, 

 who misunderstood all he said to them, and who in 

 the multiplicity of their ideas would attempt to haul 

 up the mainsail with the spanker vang, or clew down 

 a topsail with the slab line — I say, I doubt whether 

 even he, the said Job, would not find his stock of 

 patience, noted as he was for that virtue, oozing out 

 at his fingers ends, and be tempted to anathematize 

 3* 



