e, fare you well," such as sailors sing nowadays as they
get their anchors for home. In battle the trumpeter stood upon the poop,
dressed in his glory, blowing brave blasts to hearten up the gunners. In
hailing a friendly ship, in any meeting on the seas, it was customary to
"salute with Whistles and Trumpets, and the Ship's Company give a
general shout on both sides." When the anchor was weighed, the trumpeter
sounded a merry music, to cheer the workers. At dinner each night he
played in the great cabin, while the captain drank his wine. At the
setting and discharging of the watch he had to sound a solemn point, for
which duty he received an extra can of beer (_Monson_ and _Boteler_).

The crew, or mariners, were divided into able seamen, ordinary seamen,
grummets, or cabin-boys, ship-boys and swabbers. Swabbers were the
weakest men of the crew; men, who were useless aloft, or at the guns,
and therefore set to menial and dirty duties. They were the ship's
scavengers, and had much uncleanly business to see to. Linschoten,
describing a Portuguese ship's company, dismisses them with three
contemptuous words, "the swabers pump"; but alas, that was but the first
duty of your true swabber. Boteler, writing in the reign of James I.,
gives him more than half-a-page, as follows:--

"The Office of the Swabber is to see the Ship Kept neat and clean, and
that as well in the great Cabbin as everywhere else betwixt the Decks;
to which end he is, at the least once or twice a week, if not every day,
to cause the Ship to be well washed within Board and without above
Water, and especially about the Gunwalls [Gunwales or gunnels, over
which the guns once pointed] and the Chains and for prevention of
Infection, to burn sometimes Pitch, or the like wholsom perfumes,
between the Decks: He is also to have a regard to every private Man's
Sleeping-place; (to clean the cabins of the petty officers in the nether
orlop), and to admonish them all in general [it being dangerous perhaps,
in a poor swabber, to admonish in particular] to be cleanly and handsom,
and to complain to the Captain, of all such as will be any way nastie
and offensive that way. Surely, if this Swabber doth thoroughly take
care to discharge this his charge I easily believe that he may have his
hands full, and especially if there chance to be any number of Landmen
aboard."

Under the swabber there was a temporary rate known as the liar. He had
to keep the ship clean "without