y untying the points confining a reef in it.

LET-PASS. Permission given by superior authority to a vessel, to be
shown to ships of war, to allow it to proceed on its voyage.

LET RUN, OR LET GO BY THE RUN. Cast off at once.

LETTER-BOARD. Another term for _name-board_ (which see).

LETTER-BOOK. A book wherein is preserved a copy of all letters and
orders written by the captain of a ship on public service.

LETTER MEN. _See_ KING'S LETTER MEN.

LETTERS. _See_ CIRCULARS and OFFICIAL LETTERS.

LETTERS OF MART OR MARQUE. A commission formerly granted by the lords of
the admiralty, or by the admiral of any distant station, to a
merchant-ship or privateer, to cruize against and make prizes of the
enemy's ships. The ship so commissioned is also called a _letter of
marque_. The act of parliament requires that on granting letters of
marque and reprisal, the captain and two sureties shall appear and give
security. In 1778 it was decided that all the ships taken from France by
vessels having letters of marque only against the Americans, became
droits of admiralty. This commission was forfeitable for acts of cruelty
or misconduct.

LETTERS OF REPRISAL. The same as _letters of marque_.

LETTUCE-LAVER. The edible sea-weed _Ulva lactuca_.

LEVANT. A wind coming from the east, which freshens as the sun rises,
and subsides as it declines--_To levant_, to desert.

LEVANTER. A strong and raw easterly wind in the Mediterranean.

LEVANTS. Land-springs on the coasts of Sussex and Hampshire.

LEVEE. A French word for a mole or causeway, adopted of late for river
embankments of magnitude, as those of the Po, the Thames, and the
Mississippi.

LEVEL-ERROR. The microscopic deviation of the axis of a transit
instrument from the horizontal position.

LEVELING. The art of finding how much higher or lower horizontally any
given point on the earth's surface is, than another point on the same;
practised in various ways.

LEVELLED OUT. Any line continued out from a given point, or intersection
of an angle, in a horizontal direction.

LEVEL-LINES. Lines determining the shape of a ship's body horizontally,
or square from the middle line of the ship.

LEVELS. Horizontal lines; or as a base square to a perpendicular bob.

LEVER. In the marine steam-engine, the lever and counter-balance weight
are fixed upon the wiper-shaft, to form an equipoise to the valves.
There is one on each side of the cylinder. (_See_ SPANNER.)--Also, an
infle