And, mind, no conversation is allowed among the
men--not a word more than necessary for the performance of their
several duties. If they chat at all when on deck, it is 'on the sly,'
and out of sight and hearing of the vigilant officers, who have eyes
like the lynx, and ears as sharp as needles.
At 4 P.M. commences the dog-watch--that is, the ordinary watch of four
hours divided into two watches of half that length; and the use of
them is to shift the rotation of the night-watches. About 6 P.M. we
get supper, and all hands are on deck till eight bells (8 P.M.), when
the starboard-watch go below, and we, the larboard-watch, have the
first night-watch--just as they had it last night, and will the next
after. There is very probably plenty of work to do in shifting and
trimming sails and rigging till eight bells again strike (12 P.M.),
and then we summon the other watch with: 'Starbowlings, ahoy!' and go
below in turn; and so ends our day.
We have given a fair enough specimen of the twenty-four hours of a
sailor's life at sea; but of course he sometimes has an easier, and
sometimes a much harder life of it--depending on the kind of ship, the
nature of the voyage, the state of the weather, and the character of
the captain.
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