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events, whether the prefervation or deftruction of particular parts, tends ultimately to the good of the whole? 'The fame voice commiffions the winds to plough up the deep, which at the appointed time rebukes them, faying, " Peace, be ftill." If the adorable Author and Preferver of Nature was fuch a being as Baal is represented to have been by the Prophet, when he derided his worshippers; if he was fometimes on a journey, and sometimes afleep, we might with propriety fay, that a fire, happened to break out, or a storm to rife, but that by the interpofition of Providence life was preferved; expreflions which imply that the mischief had one origin, and the remedy another; but fuch language certainly derogates from the honour of the great Univerfal Caufe, who, acting through all duration, and fubfifting in all space, fills immenfity with his prefence, and eternity with his power.

It will perhaps be faid, that in particular inftances evil neceffarily results from that conftitution of things which is best upon the whole, and that Providence occasionally interferes, and fupplies the defects of the conftitution in these particulars: but this notion will appear not to be fupported by thofe facts which are faid to be providential: it will always be found that Providence interposes too late, and only moderates the mischief which it might have prevented. But who can suppose an extraordinary interpofition of Providence to supply particular defects in the conftitution of nature, who fees thofe defects fupplied but in part? It is true that when the Endeavour was upon the rock off the coast of New Holland, the wind ceased, and that otherwise she must have been beaten to pieces; but either the fubfiding of the wind was a mere natural event or not. If it was a natural event, Providence is out of the question; at least we can with no more propriety fay, that providentially the wind ceased, than that providentially the fun rofe in the morning. If it was not a mere natural event, but produced by an extraordinary interpofition, correcting a defect in the conftitution of nature, tending to mischief, it will lie upon those who maintain the pofition to fhew, why an extraordinary interpofition did not take place rather

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to prevent the ship's ftriking, than to prevent her being beaten to pieces after she had struck: a very flight impuise upon the fhip's courfe would have caufed her to fteer clear of the rock; and if all things were not equally eafy to Omnipotence, we should fay that this might have been done with less difficulty than a calm could be produced by fufpending the general laws of Nature, which had brought on the gale.

I have, however, paid my homage to the Supreme Being, confonant to my own ideas of his agency and perfections; and thofe, who are of opinion that my notions are erroneous, must allow, that he, who does what he thinks to be right, and abstains from what he thinks to be wrong, acquits himself equally of moral obligation, whether his opinions are false or true.

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EXPLANATION of the NAUTICAL TERMS, not generally understood, which occur in this Work.

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BACK, the fituation of the fails when their furfaces are flatted against the mafts by the force of the wind. The fails are said to be taken aback, when they are brought into this fituation, either by a fudden change of the wind, or by an alteration in the fhip's course. They are laid aback, to effect an immediate retreat, without turning to the right or left; in order to avoid fome danger. ABAFT, the hinder part of a ship.

AFT, behind, or near the stern of the fhip.

ANCHOR, the principal are the fheet anchor, the best bower, and the finall bower, fo called from the ship's bows. The smaller anchors are, the stream anchor, the kedge anchor, and the grappling.

AWNING, a canopy of canvass extending over the decks of a ship in hot weather:

AZIMUTH COMPASS, an inftrument employed to difcover the magnetical azimuth or amplitude of any heavenly object. This operation is performed at sea, to find the exact variation of the magnetical needle.

B

To BALANCE, to contract a fail into a narrower compass in a ftorm, by retrenching or folding up a part of it

at one corner.

BEAMS, ftrong thick pieces of timber, ftretching across the ship from fide to fide, to fupport the decks, and retain the fides at their proper distance. On the weather beam, is on the weather fide of the fhip.

To BELAY; to faften a rope, by winding it several times round a cleat, belaying-pin, or kevel.

BENDING a fail, faftening it to its yard, or tay. BIGHT, the double part of the rope when it is folded in contradiftinction to the end.

BIGHT, is alfo a small bay between two points of land. BULGE, or BILGE, that part of the floor of a fhip, on either fide of the keel, which approaches nearer to an horizontal than a perpendicular direction, and on which the ship would reft if laid on the ground; or, more particularly, thofe parts of the bottom which are oppofite to the heads of the floor-timbers, amidships on each fide of

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the keel. Hence, when a fhip receives a fracture in this place, fhe is faid to be bilged.

BIRTH, the ftation in which a fhip rides at anchor.

BIRTH, alfo fignifies the room or apartment where any particular number of the officers or fhip's company usually mefs and refide.

BOARD, the line over which the fhip runs between tack and tack, when he is turning to windward, or failing against the direction of the wind.

BOW, the rounding part of a fhip's fide forward, beginning at the place where the planks arch inwards, and terminating where they clofe at the ftem or prow.

BREAKERS, billows that break violently over rocks lying under the surface of the fea.

To BRING-TO, to check the courfe of a fhip when fhe is advancing, by arranging the fails in fuch a manner as that they fhall counteract each other, and prevent her either from retreating or moving forward. In this fituation the ship is faid to lie-by, or lie-to.

BULK-HEADS, certain partitions, or walls, built up in feveral places of a fhip between two decks, either lengthways or across, to form and feparate the various apartments.

BUOY, a fort of close cask, or block of wood, faftened by a rope to the anchor, to determine the place where the anchor is fituated.

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CABLE's length, an hundred-and-twenty fathoms.

CAP, a ftrong, thick block of wood, used to confine two maits together, when the one is erected at the head of the other, in order to lengthen it. It is for this purpose furnished with two holes perpendicular to its length and breadth, and parallel to its thickness; one of these is fquare, and the other round; the former being folidly fixed upon the upper end of the lower maft, whilst the latter receives the maft employed to lengthen it, and fecures it in this position.

CAPSTERN, or CAPSTAN, a ftrong maffy column of timber, formed like a truncated cone, and having its upper extremity pierced with a number of holes to receive the bars or levers. It is let down perpendicularly through the decks of a hip, and is fixed in fuch manner that the men, by turning it horizontally with their bars, may perform any work which requires an extraordinary effort.

CASTING, the motion of falling off, fo as to bring the direction of the wind on either fide of the ship, after it had blown for fome time right-a-head.

CHAINS,

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CHAINS, ftrong links, or plates of iron, the lower ends of which are bolted through the fhip's fide to the timbers. They are placed at short distances from each other on the ship's outfide, as being used to contain the blocks called dead eyes, by which the brouds of the mafts are extended.

CHEEKS of the maft, the faces, or projecting parts on each fide of the mafts, used to fuftain the frame of the top, together with the top-maft, which refts immediately upon them.

CLAWING, or CLAWING-OFF, the act of beating or turning to windward from a lee fhore, fo as to acquire a fufficient diftance from it, to escape the dangers of fhip wreck.

CLEATS, pieces of wood of different shapes, ufed occafionally to faften ropes upon in a ship.

CLENCH, or CLINCH, that part of a cable, or other rope, which is fastened to the ring of the anchor.

CLOSE upon a wind, or CLOSE-HAULED, the general arrangement or trim of a fhip's fails, when he endeavours to make a progress in the nearest direction poffible, towards that point of the compafs from which the wind blows.

To CLEW, or CLUE-UP, to trufs the fails up to the yards by tackles faftened to their lower corners, called their clues.

COCKSWAIN, or CoxEN, the officer who manages and fteers a boat, and has the command of the boat's

crew.

COMPANION, a fort of wooden porch placed over the entrance or stair-cafe of the mafter's cabin in a merchant ship.

COURSES, a name by which the principal fails of a hip are usually distinguished, viz. the main-fail, fore-fail,

and mizen.

CRANK, the quality of a ship which, for want of a fufficient quantity of ballaft or cargo, is rendered incapable of carrying fail without being exposed to the danger of overturning.

D.

Half-DECK, a space under the quarter-deck of a fhip of war, contained between the foremoft bulkhead of the fteerage and the fore-part of the quarter-deck.

DRIVING, the ftate of being carried at random along the furface of the water, by a ftorm or current; it is generally expreffed of a fhip when broken loofe from her anchors or moorings.

VOL. I.

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