lled the royal-mast or royal-pole, and the continuation above the
royal-rigging, if any, is the skysail-pole. Answering to the topmasts on
the three masts is the jibboom on the bowsprit, and in continuation of
that the flying-jibboom.

The jibboom and flying-jibboom are generally in one spar, as are the
topgallantmast, royal-pole and skysail-pole, but sometimes they are
fitted into each other on much the same principle as a fishing-rod, and
in some of the newer ships, bowsprit, jibboom and flying-jibboom are all
one steel spar.

Crossing the masts are the yards. On the mainmast we have, beginning
below, main-yard, lower maintopsail-yard, upper maintopsail-yard, lower
maintopgallantsail-yard, upper maintopgallantsail-yard, main royal-yard
and skysail-yard; on the foremast we have the fore-yard, then the
topsail-yards, topgallantsail-yards and royal; and on the mizzenmast we
have a similar series of yards, beginning with the mizzen or crossjack.

Up to the close of the last century, in very old ships, there was
no sail hung on this lower yard of the mizzenmast, it having been
introduced only for setting the mizzen topsail; and instead of the gaff
spanker we now have there was a huge lateen sail which extended some
distance forward of the mast and worked under this yard.

This lateen was the crossjack. When the gaff came in, the projecting
corner of the lateen disappeared so as to make room for the sail hanging
from this lower yard, and the yard took the name of the old lateen boom.

As representing, then, the after half of this huge boom, we have the
modern gaff, set at the same angle as the boom used to be; and at the
foot of the sail hung on this gaff, now called a spencer or spanker,
from the original inventor, we have the spanker boom, the same sort of
thing as we should call the mainboom were the vessel a fore-and-aft
yacht.

Each mast is held in its place by stays and backstays. The stays reach
from the mastheads to the centre line of the ship forward; and the
backstays come down to the sides of the ship, just behind the masts.

The stays and backstays are named from the mast-head from which they
descend. Thus the forestay comes from the foremast-head to the bows; the
foretopmast-stay from the foretopmast-head to the bowsprit-head; the
foretopgallant-stay from the foretopgallant-rigging to the jibboom-head;
and the foreroyal-stay from the top of the royal mast to the end of the
flying-jibboom.

From the bow