om the "running gear"--those movable ropes, by means of which the
sails, boats, flags, etcetera, are hoisted. Nearly all the ropes of a
ship are named after the mast, or yard, or sail with which they are
connected. Thus we have the _main shrouds_, the _main-top-mast
shrouds_, and the _main-topgallant shrouds_; the _main back-stay_, the
_main-topgallant back-stay_, and so on--those of the other masts being
similarly named, with the exception of the first word, which, of course,
indicates the particular mast referred to. The shrouds rise from the
_chains_, which are a series of blocks called "dead eyes," fixed to the
sides of the ship. To these the shrouds are fixed, and also to the
masts near the tops; they serve the purpose of preventing the masts from
falling _sideways_. Backstays prevent them from falling _forward_, and
_forestays_ prevent them from falling _backward_, or "aft." Besides
this, shrouds have little cross ropes called _ratlines_ attached to
them, by means of which rope-ladders the sailors ascend and descend the
rigging to _furl_, that is, tie up, or _unfurl_, that is, to untie or
shake out, the sails.

Our cut represents a sailor-boy ascending the mizzen-top-mast shrouds.
He grasps the _shrouds_, and stands on the _ratlines_.

_Yards_ are the heavy wooden cross-poles or beams to which the sails are
attached.

_Reef-points_ are the little ropes which may be observed hanging in
successive rows on all sails, by means of which _parts_ of the sails are
gathered in and tied round the yards, thus reducing their size in stormy
weather. Hence such nautical expressions as "taking in a reef," or a
"double reef," and "close reefing,"--which last implies that a sail is
to be reduced to its smallest possible dimensions. The only further
reduction possible would be folding it up altogether, close to the yard,
which would be called "furling" it, and which would render it altogether
ineffective. In order to furl or reef sails, the men have to ascend the
masts, and _lay-out_ upon the yards. It is very dangerous work in
stormy weather. Many a poor fellow, while reefing sails in a dark
tempestuous night, has been blown from the yard into the sea, and never
heard of more. All the yards of a ship, except the three largest, can
be hoisted and lowered by means of _halyards_. The top-gallant masts
can also be lowered, but the lower-masts, of course, are fixtures.

The _bowsprit_ of a ship is a mast which projects