"Furl" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... Second Officer Gibbs. At once we began to furl awnings and make secure against fire. The crew were all showing an anxious spirit, and everybody on board, including the four passengers, were ...
— The San Francisco Calamity • Various
... business, trade, and commerce. Fraud occurs in the rush of business; but it is the exception. Honesty is the rule; and all the frauds in the world cannot tear the great bond of human confidence. If they could, commerce would furl its sails on every sea, and all the cities of the world would crumble into ruins. The bare character of a man on the other side of the world, whom you never saw, whom you never will see, you hold good for a bond of thousands. The most striking feature of the political state is ...
— Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry • Albert Pike
... of the minstrel's lays; Nor heed, while poring o'er each graver line, The far, faint music of a flute like mine. His was no head contentedly which press'd The downy pillow in obedient rest, Where lazy pilots, with their canvas furl'd, Let up the Gades of their mental world; His was no tongue which meanly stoop'd to wear The guise of virtue, while his heart was bare; But all he thought through ev'ry action ran; God's noblest work—I've ...
— The Grand Old Man • Richard B. Cook
... sea, hath yet a few green isles Amid the waste of waters. If the gale Has tossed your bark, and many weary miles Stretch yet before you, furl the battered sail, Fling out the anchor, and with rapture hail The pleasant prospect—storms will come too soon. They are but suicides, at best, who fail To seize when'er they can Joy's fleeting boon— Fools, who exclaim "'tis night," yet ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 1 July 1848 • Various
... action; the report of a gun on shore was still heard at intervals, but all was soon quiet, except the shipping in the mole, which continued to burn, keeping all around brilliantly illuminated. We now attempted to furl sails, but the men were so thoroughly stiffened by the short period of inaction since the firing had ceased, that they stuck almost powerless to the yards; after great exertion, the gaskets were somehow passed round the yards, and the labours of the day ended; ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 13, - Issue 377, June 27, 1829 • Various
... Laurence Stanninghame got out a hat and an umbrella, and set to work to brush the former and furl the latter prior to going out. The hat was not of that uniform and glossy smoothness which one could see into to shave, and the umbrella was weather-beaten of aspect. The morning coat, though well cut, was shiny at the seams. Yet, in spite ...
— The Sign of the Spider • Bertram Mitford
... gave a last screech, and then I don't remember hanythink, Sir, till Cookie was 'elping 'aul (Mr. Brown always dropped his aspirates as he grew excited) me into the boat. Now, just you remember what I've been a-telling you about floating."—"Forrard there! Stand by to clew up and furl the main to'gall'n-s'l! Couple of you come aft here and brail up the spanker! Lively, men, lively!"—And Mr. Brown ...
— The Atlantic Monthly , Volume 2, No. 14, December 1858 • Various
... still Floats proudly over vale and hill, Of this Dominion grand of ours; And shattered be the vital powers, By fatal stroke, like that which slew, Sennacherib's Assyrian crew, Of him who's traitor hand shall dare To furl one fold that flutters there! And palsied be the traitor tongue, And from its root uptorn and wrung, That dares to utter but one word To weaken the soul-anchored cord, Which binds Canadians heart and hand In love to the old Mother ...
— Recollections of Bytown and Its Old Inhabitants • William Pittman Lett
... drill, augur, oil rig; wagon wheel, wheel, tire, tyre [Brit.]. [Science of rotary motion] trochilics^. [person who rotates] whirling dervish. V. rotate; roll along; revolve, spin; turn round; circumvolve^; circulate; gyre, gyrate, wheel, whirl, pirouette; twirl, trundle, troll, bowl. roll up, furl; wallow, welter; box the compass; spin like a top, spin like a teetotum^. [of an automobile] spin out. Adj. rotating &c v.; rotary, rotary; circumrotatory^, trochilic^, vertiginous, gyratory; vortical, vorticose^. ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget
... all, mother. It is only that you are now captain of the ship, and have got to give your orders instead of carrying them out yourself. Father did not pull up the ropes or go aloft to furl the sails, while I have no doubt he had plenty to do in seeing that his orders were carried out. You will be worse off than he was, for he had John Wilkes, and others, who knew their duty, while I have got almost everything ...
— When London Burned • G. A. Henty
... to the quarter-deck, Miss Blacklock," said the captain, touching his cap to the young lady, to whom he had been formally introduced by the principal. "We are going to loose and furl, and you can see better there ...
— Up The Baltic - Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark • Oliver Optic
... skipper. "In studdingsails, Mr Adair; clew up and furl your royals and topgallantsails; in flying-jib; and then haul your wind, if you please. The fellow will surely not ...
— A Middy of the King - A Romance of the Old British Navy • Harry Collingwood
... and I have more than once seen deputations of this sort sent about their business, followed by a wrathful flow of well-selected oaths that are only used by persons who have a very resourceful vocabulary. It is not an uncommon thing for men to grumble and refuse to go aloft and furl a royal or topgallant sail when it has been carried too long; and I have seen the captain spring up the rigging and appeal to their manliness to follow him. This challenge rarely fails to bring forth volunteers, and those who lag behind have been the cause of bringing torrents ...
— The Shellback's Progress - In the Nineteenth Century • Walter Runciman
... avoid attracting deadly enemies. On the bare summits, play can be indulged in only at great risk. Generations of persecution have implanted in the brain of the ruminant baby the commanding instinct to fold up its long legs, neatly and compactly, furl its ears along its neck, and closely lie for hours against a rock or a log. During daylight hours they must literally hug the ground. Silence and inactivity is the first price that all young animals in the ...
— The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals • William T. Hornaday
... a volcano," said he. "I knew there was one hereabouts, but thought it was extinct. Up there and furl top-gallant sails; we'll likely have a breeze, and it's well to ...
— The Coral Island - A Tale Of The Pacific Ocean • R. M. Ballantyne
... bright and sleek, 'twas pleasure but to see, With open mouths, as proud to show the bit, They raise their heads, and arch their necks—(with eye As bright as if with meteor fire 'twere lit;) And dart their barbed tongues, 'twixt fangs of ivory. These, when the quick advancing sprites they saw Furl their swift wings, and tread with angel grace The smooth, fair pavement, checked their speed in awe, And glided far aside as ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 2 August 1848 • Various
... the liquid sea, which refused to freeze in such a temperature. The clear, cold sky overhead looked like a steel-blue cymbal, that might ring, could you smite it. Our breath came and went like puffs' of smoke from pipe-bowls. At first there was a long gauky swell, that obliged us to furl most of the sails, and even send down t'-gallant-yards, for fear ...
— White Jacket - or, the World on a Man-of-War • Herman Melville
... pilot-boats and crafts of a smaller size. The Hudson brought up among the former. Hauling up the forecourse of a merchant-ship is like lifting the curtain again on the drama of the land. These vessels rarely furl this sail; and they who have not experienced it, cannot imagine what a change it produces on those who have lived a month or six weeks beneath its shadow. The sound of the chain running out was very grateful, and I believe, though well satisfied with the ship as such, that everybody was glad to ...
— Recollections of Europe • J. Fenimore Cooper
... small figures of the twelve Apostles, in various manners, and many Saints, both male and female, to the end that the poor painters who were weak in design might be able to avail themselves of these in their need. He also engraved a nude young man, who has a lion at his feet, and is seeking to furl a large banner, which is swollen out by the wind in a direction contrary to his purpose; another who is carrying a pedestal on his back; and a little S. Jerome who is meditating on death, placing a finger ...
— Lives of the most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects - Vol. 06 (of 10) Fra Giocondo to Niccolo Soggi • Giorgio Vasari
... Montauk through the fog, a sharp look-out for beacons and buoys, the song of the leads-man, the quick tramp of men clewing up sail, a heavy splash and the rattle of chain, and we are anchored fast in New London mud. "All hands furl sail," now; no noise, for the Saratoga lies right ahead, and on board of a man-of-war it is considered disgraceful to make a clatter in doing any kind of work. There is an eager race up the rigging, and every nerve ...
— Harper's Young People, November 11, 1879 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various
... swells, the sails are furl'd, Deep sounds the lead, but finds no friendly shore, Fast o'er the waves the wretched bark is hurl'd, 'O Ellen, Ellen! we ...
— The Mysteries of Udolpho • Ann Radcliffe
... also, whom The load of double empire, half the world His own, within a living tomb Press'd down at Yuste,—Spain's great banner furl'd His winding-sheet around him,—while he strove ...
— The Visions of England - Lyrics on leading men and events in English History • Francis T. Palgrave
... the morning of July 13, it began to blow very fresh, and increased so much, that they were obliged to furl their sail, and keep the boat before the wind and sea, which drove them off soundings. In the evening their gunner died. The weather now becoming moderate and the wind in the S. W. quarter, they made sail, not one being able to row or pull an oar at any rate; they ran all this ...
— Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy • Anonymous
... is proverbially a dog's berth. He is neither officer nor man. The men do not respect him as an officer, and he is obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the topsails, and to put his hands into the tar and slush, with the rest. The crew call him the "sailor's waiter," as he has to furnish them with spun-yarn, marline, and all other stuffs that they ...
— Two Years Before the Mast • Richard Henry Dana
... soaring soul, As free as a mountain bird, His energetic fist should be ready to resist A dictatorial word. His nose should pant and his lip should curl, His cheeks should flame and his brow should furl, His bosom should heave and his heart should glow, And his fist be ever ready for a ...
— Songs of a Savoyard • W. S. Gilbert
... their looks, halloaing to one another, and undetermined what they should attend to first. Some clung to the yards, endeavouring to unbend the sails that were split into a thousand pieces flapping in the wind; others tried to furl those which were yet whole, while the masts, at every pitch, bent and quivered like twigs, as if they would have shivered into innumerable splinters! While I considered this scene with equal terror and astonishment, ...
— The Adventures of Roderick Random • Tobias Smollett
... reproduction of the sailor of 1800. In alertness, in knowledge, in silent obedience, he is a great improvement upon his predecessor. Actual experiment shows that a French crew will weigh anchor, spread and furl sail, replace spars or running-ringing, lower or raise topmasts, or perform any other duty pertaining to a ship, with as much celerity as the crew of any other nation. And no confusion, no babbling of many voices, such as the British writers of the last generations delighted to describe, ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 73, November, 1863 • Various
... field, They drop their arms; the banded nations yield. When sad Burgoyne, in one disastrous day, Sees future crowns and former wreaths decay, His banners furl'd, his long battalions wheel'd To pile their muskets on the battle field; While two pacific armies shade one plain, The mighty victors ...
— The Columbiad • Joel Barlow
... trip from Denmark after plundering a town; the ships had been lying at anchor all night in a fog, and at sunlight in the morning lights seemed burning on the sea. But Erik the Red said, "It is a fleet of Danish ships, and the sun strikes on the gilded dragon crests; furl the sail and take to the oars." They rowed their best, yet the Danish ships were overtaking them, when Erik the Red ordered his men to throw wood overboard and cover it with Danish plunder. This made some delay, as the Danes stopped to ...
— Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic • Thomas Wentworth Higginson
... to and fro in the little cabin; but presently the thick plaits of his forehead relaxed, and returning the gun to the rack, he went to the deck. Thou art but too good a fellow, Starbuck, he said lowly to the mate; then raising his voice to the crew: Furl the t'gallant-sails and close-reef the top-sails, fore and aft; back the main-yard; up Burtons, and break out in the main-hold. It were perhaps vain to surmise exactly why it was, that as respecting Starbuck, Ahab thus acted. ...
— Moby-Dick • Melville
... is like mixing drinks, making 'em more elevating to the thoughts, I cal'late I'd best do a little more mixing. There's going to be a squall right soon that'll test the ribs of the old salvation ark to the cracking p'int. If I was you I'd furl my sails a mite, and ...
— Captain Pott's Minister • Francis L. Cooper
... 14th continuous gales brought conditions of greater physical discomfort than had ever been experienced on board the Discovery, for she was in very light trim and tossed about the mountainous seas like a cork. It was, therefore, the greatest relief to furl their sails off the entrance of Ross Harbour on the 15th, and to steam into the calm ...
— The Voyages of Captain Scott - Retold from 'The Voyage of the "Discovery"' and 'Scott's - Last Expedition' • Charles Turley
... Delirant on the tramp goes littoralwise. His Flag at furl, portmanteaued; drains to the dregs The penultimate brandy-bottle, coal-on-the-head-piece gift Of who avenged the Old Sea-Rover's smirch. Marchant he treads the all-along of inarable drift On dubiously connivent legs, The facile prey of predatory flies; ...
— The Book of Humorous Verse • Various
... A boatswain's mate and two side-boys. Mr. Rat, have the barge manned, and send her on shore for the commodore. Mr. Martin, tell the boatswain to call all hands to furl awnings." ...
— Captain Brand of the "Centipede" • H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
... we had no great grievance. We could appreciate a man who said things—sailor-like and above board—but when it came to knocking a man about (just because he was 'goin' t' get his oilskins,' when the order was 'aloft, an' furl') there were ugly looks here and there. We had our drilling while the gale lasted, and, when it cleared, our ...
— The Brassbounder - A Tale of the Sea • David W. Bone
... in until we saw three boys spring into the rigging of the California; then they were all furled at once, but with orders to our boys to stay aloft at the top-gallant mast-heads and loose them again at the word. It was my duty to furl the fore-royal; and while standing by to loose it again, I had a fine view of the scene. From where I stood, the two vessels seemed nothing but spars and sails, while their narrow decks, far below, slanting over by the force of the wind aloft, appeared ...
— Is Shakespeare Dead? - from my Autobiography • Mark Twain
... the space of a few days. After this the men never went aloft in the night-time, except in couples. When topsails were to be reefed, phantoms were seen at the yard-arm ends; and in tacking ship, voices called aloud from the tops. The carpenter himself, going with another man to furl the main-top-gallant-sail in a squall, was nearly pushed from the rigging by an unseen hand; and his shipmate swore that a wet hammock was flirted in ...
— Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas • Herman Melville
... wings,— Heaven and earth are wings; Wings that flutter, furl, and fold, Always folding and unfolding, Ever folding yet again; Wings, veiling some vast And veiled face, In blazing blackness, Behind the folding and unfolding, The rolling ...
— Darkwater - Voices From Within The Veil • W. E. B. Du Bois
... made sail, with a gentle breeze right aft, but scarcely had we lost sight of the islands when a heavy gale sprang up. The lighter canvas was instantly handed—young Sam and one of the men who had gone in the boat were ordered out on the jibboom to furl the flying-jib. As they were about this work, a tremendous sea struck the bows, the gaskets got loose, the jibboom was carried away, and with it the two poor fellows who were endeavouring to secure ...
— Tales of the Sea - And of our Jack Tars • W.H.G. Kingston
... sick. After all, what reason had she to trust him? He drew back and began to walk up and down with long, slow strides. The girl followed him and saw his gaunt figure brush across the stars; she saw the wind furl and unfurl the wide brim of his hat, and she heard the faint stir and clink of his spurs ...
— The Rangeland Avenger • Max Brand
... sea, swollen with clashing billows, behold, the master (who stood on the gunwale examining the ocean in all directions) cried out with a great cry, and buffeted his face and pluckt out his beard and rent his raiment, and bade furl the sail and cast the anchors. So we said to him, "O Rais, what is the matter?" "Know, O my brethren (Allah preserve you!), that the wind hath gotten the better of us and hath driven us out of our course into mid-ocean, and destiny, for our ill luck, hath brought us to the Mountain ...
— The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 6 • Richard F. Burton
... one night to toss up a penny and to decide thereby as to which of them should do the full hour, in order that one of them might be relieved from his work—for, be it said, unless there are yards to trim, or sails to furl or set, the watch on deck can lie down to rest, but under no circumstance is any seaman allowed to go below until the four hours are expired. However, after a little parleying, they came to the conclusion ...
— From Lower Deck to Pulpit • Henry Cowling
... were furl'd; with many a melting close, Solemn and slow the evening anthem rose,— Rose to the Virgin. 'Twas the hour of day When setting suns o'er summer seas display A path of glory, opening in the west To golden climes ...
— The Canadian Elocutionist • Anna Kelsey Howard
... anchor, furl the sail, right here," directed Mickey when they reached Sunrise Alley. "You know I told you dearest lady, about how scared my little girl is, having seen so few folks and not expecting you; so I'll have to ask you to wait a few minutes 'til I go ...
— Michael O'Halloran • Gene Stratton-Porter
... Johanna; but it was worldly wise. It was well suited to some ambitious person engaged in a career of conquest. Had such a black knight appeared, for example, to Napoleon, on the eve of entering on his war with Russia, and warned him to furl his banner of conquest, it would have been a friendly and intelligent ghost, though we do not believe it would have been listened to for a moment. A human passion is stronger than a whole regiment of ghosts. But such advice addressed to Johanna, ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Vol. 56, No. 346, August, 1844 • Various
... liked it the worse; however, I bade them not be afraid, but bring the ship to an anchor as soon as we came so near as to know that we must engage them. The weather continued calm, and they came on apace towards us, so I gave orders to come to an anchor, and furl all our sails; as for the savages, I told them they had nothing to fear but fire, and therefore they should get their boats out, and fasten them, one close by the head and the other by the stern, and man them both well, and wait the issue in that posture: this I did, that the men in the boats ...
— The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe • Daniel Defoe
... eyes. But when she had reached it the road suddenly turned, following the trend of the beach, and she was exposed to the full power of its dread fascinations. The combined roar of sea and shore was in her ears. As the direct force of the gale had compelled her to furl the protecting hood of the buggy to keep the light vehicle from oversetting or drifting to leeward, she could no longer shut out the heaving chaos on the right, from which the pallid ghosts of dead and dying breakers dimly rose and sank as if in awful salutation. At times through the darkness ...
— Frontier Stories • Bret Harte
... the exception of the lessons in Scripture. Our work was mere playing at sailoring, helping furl sails, haul ropes, study charts, carry messages, and such like. Temple made his voice shrewdly emphatic to explain to the captain that we liked the work, but that such lessons as these out of Scripture were what the ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith
... the glass; it being a very fine day no one had any apprehension of a squall. The dinner was hardly over when the captain's eye caught the glass: he suddenly rose from table and hurrying on deck, ordered "All hands to turn up, and furl all sail immediately." They had just completed the order and were descending, when the ship was laid on her beam-ends, most of the men had a ducking, but that was all the mischief that happened. Three or four East Indiamen had already been destroyed by the same accident; and if the above order ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 17, No. 476, Saturday, February 12, 1831 • Various
... Where one bestows, and no one need repay. "A stumbling-block his pride; his heart's in strife Between two women, which to choose for wife. He's always hovering round that lovely girl, His lawyer's daughter, who will never furl Her flag of pride: she rivals Gilbert there. Now watch their meeting; none more bravely wear Their beauty, recognize a woman's own, Than Clara Mercome. Gilbert Wynne has sown His wild oats for her sake; yet he delays, And with my Lady Bond divides his days. Who bets ...
— Poems • Elizabeth Stoddard
... painted Moths, your gold-eyed plumage furl, Bow your wide horns, your spiral trunks uncurl; Glitter, ye Glow-worms, on your mossy beds; Descend, ye Spiders, on your lengthen'd threads; Slide here, ye horned Snails, with varnish'd shells; 30 Ye Bee-nymphs, listen in ...
— The Botanic Garden. Part II. - Containing The Loves of the Plants. A Poem. - With Philosophical Notes. • Erasmus Darwin
... Viney used to live there," Falkner said, breaking a long silence. "Either he or some one else will take us in." Margaret helped him anchor, furl the sails, and then they went ashore, pulling the tender far up on the shingle beech beside the lobster-pots. They crossed the field—it was nearly dark and the Swallow was a speck on the dark water beneath—and knocked at ...
— Together • Robert Herrick (1868-1938)
... Glumdalclitch miss'd her pleasing care, She wept, she blubber'd, and she tore her hair: No British miss sincerer grief has known, Her squirrel missing, or her sparrow flown. She furl'd her sampler, and haul'd in her thread, And stuck her needle into Grildrig's bed; Then spread her hands, and with a bounce let fall Her baby, like the giant in Guildhall. In peals of thunder now she roars, and now She gently whimpers like a lowing cow: 10 Yet lovely in ...
— Poetical Works of Pope, Vol. II • Alexander Pope
... knife across the stretched cordage, and it snapped like pack-thread. The grapnel fell into the sea, and the boat was lossing in the wake of the ship, all as it might be while one could draw a breath. To furl the sails and ship the oars consumed but an instant, and then the cutter was ploughing the water under the vigorous ...
— Homeward Bound - or, The Chase • James Fenimore Cooper
... fore and main to'gans'ls," he shouted; "take in the tops'ls. Colin, you go and furl the fore to'gans'l, and if the men are still busy on the tops'l yards, pass the gaskets round the ...
— The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries • Francis Rolt-Wheeler
... locks of five princesses I won beyond the sea; I clipt their golden tresses, To fringe a cloak for thee. One handful yet is wanting, But one of all the tale; So hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat! Furl up ...
— Andromeda and Other Poems • Charles Kingsley
... ghastly dew From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue; Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing warm, With the standards of the peoples plunging through the thunderstorm; Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battleflags were furl'd In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt ...
— Poems Teachers Ask For • Various
... Mate," asked Fred, as the men went aloft to furl sails, "do you call that densely-populated ...
— The Gold Hunter's Adventures - Or, Life in Australia • William H. Thomes
... of the watch, a squall sent Martin racing aloft to furl the royal. It was then that his sea-sharpened sight raised ...
— Fire Mountain - A Thrilling Sea Story • Norman Springer
... Carrots made a furious onslaught, and the gate was roughly handled, but the more it shook and swung, the more derisive was Nancy's laughter, as she clutched a firm hold with her small hands, and swayed to and fro, calling out excitedly, 'Furl the main-sail! Stand by, lads—steady—starboard hard! Port your helm! Rocks to leeward! Reef the ...
— Teddy's Button • Amy Le Feuvre
... The general signal was made to prepare for battle; but the Centaur telegraphed that "you must anchor in thirty-five fathoms," in reply to the Admiral's signal to weigh: this having been repeated, the signals were made to anchor, furl sails, &c. ...
— Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez. Vol II • Sir John Ross
... with his sacred freight, Arriv'd at Chrysa's strand; and when his bark Had reach'd the shelter of the deep sea bay, Their sails they furl'd, and lower'd to the hold; Slack'd the retaining shrouds, and quickly struck And stow'd away the mast; then with their sweeps Pull'd for the beach, and cast their anchors out, And made her fast with cables to the shore. Then on the shingly breakwater themselves They landed, and ...
— The Iliad • Homer
... with the east-coast weather, as you'll see presently. Howsomever, as I was saying," he continued, "I told them to take in the sails, being so minded, and rig out the oars. They didn't lose any time about it either, for as soon as I gave the order it was all haul down and furl up; and, getting a good grip of the water, they started pulling like madmen, putting their hearts into every stroke—although the day was so hot and sweltry that a fellow seemed to melt away into perspiration, even ...
— The Penang Pirate - and, The Lost Pinnace • John Conroy Hutcheson
... before it would be extinguished; only a little effort was needed, a little girding up of the loins of the congregation and they could shoulder the whole debt and trample it under their feet. Let them but set their hands to the plough and they could soon guide it into the deep water. Then they might furl their sails and sit every man under his own ...
— Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town • Stephen Leacock
... run up far inland all round the coast. The inhabitants of the village, on its shores, gazed with astonishment at the battered vessel, and the way in which the sails, which the crew had not strength to furl, fluttered from the yards. In a short time a number of boats, with friendly visitors, were on board, and the news was sent to Lerwick that the long missing "Kate" had returned. Archy sent a few lines to his mother; he signed his note, "from your repentant son," but he trembled ...
— Archibald Hughson - An Arctic Story • W.H.G. Kingston
... and from the exhaustion of the remainder, due to extra work and loss of sleep, it became difficult to work ship. Men aloft moved slowly, fearing at any moment the sting of small, sharp teeth. Skysails, royals, and staysails blew away before men could get up to furl them. Gear that had parted was left unrove; for a panic-stricken crew cannot be bullied or coerced. Any of them would take a knock-down from the mate or myself rather than go ...
— The Grain Ship • Morgan Robertson
... had better send the men aloft, and furl the main top-sail, altogether; and run down the fore stay-sail. We can get it up again, as soon as the first burst is over. Put ...
— At the Point of the Bayonet - A Tale of the Mahratta War • G. A. Henty
... He told me to understand that I was captain of the ship; that I was at liberty to appoint officers under me; and that, though none of the convicts had been seafaring men, they had learnt how the ropes led and how to furl canvas, and would obey any orders for the common good which I might deliver. I ate and drank, being determined to put the best face I could on this extraordinary business, and asked for the captain's cabin, that I might ...
— The Honour of the Flag • W. Clark Russell
... calafatare. The now disused verb "to pay" is from the Italian pagare;—it survives only in the nautical aphorism, "Here's the Devil to pay,"—that is, to pitch the ship,—"and no pitch hot." In handing the sails, "to loose" is good English,—"to furl" is Armorican, and belongs to the Mediterranean class of words. "To rake," which is applied to spars, is from the Saxon racian, to incline;—"to steeve," which is applied to the bowsprit, and often pronounced "stave," is from the Italian stivare. When we get below-decks, we find "cargo" ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, Issue 12, October, 1858 • Various
... came near the shore, the general bade them furl the sails, throw out anchors from the ships, and make a halt; and calling together all the commanders to his own ship, he opened a discussion with regard to the disembarkation. Thereupon many speeches were made inclining to either ...
— History of the Wars, Books III and IV (of 8) - The Vandalic War • Procopius
... topsails and reefed courses, with jib, crochick, and spanker stowed. We hammered away under this, carryin' on very heavy, 'cause she were headin' west-nor'west, which were a good course, till eight bells in the arternoon watch, when the sea gittin' up so tremendiously we had to furl the reefed mainsail and mizzen topsail and close reef the fore and ...
— Stories by American Authors, Volume 9 • Various
... are not moving. Every man to his post," he shouted. "I fear the wind will veer suddenly before we have time to turn round, and blow harder than will be pleasant for us. Gray, go to the wheel. The rest of you mount the rigging, furl the sails, all, even the great topsail. Oh, here, you Chinamen, ...
— The Shipwreck - A Story for the Young • Joseph Spillman
... Whitmarsh, growing hot about the face,—for we made a terribly crooked wake, with a broad sheer, and the old hull strained heavily,—"steer small there, I tell you! Mind your eye now, McCallum, with your foresail! Furl the royals! Send down the royals! Cheerily, men! Where's that lubber Kent? ...
— Men, Women, and Ghosts • Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
... if you let the umbrella down you can furl it and use it for a walking-stick, and instead of being a hindrance it will be ...
— Ishmael - In the Depths • Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
... what was the dodge that Tom, in his wisdom, was to have put me up to, for at that moment the captain came on deck, and gave orders to furl the top-gallant sails. ...
— Fighting the Whales • R. M. Ballantyne
... upon the turbulent sea and black weather, the Norwegian vessel has got safely within the haven. While the sailors furl sails, cast cables, the captain, Daland, comes ashore and climbs upon a rock to study the landscape. He recognises the spot, seven miles from the harbour of home where his daughter Senta awaits his return, whom he had thought by this hour to be clasping in his arms. "But he who counts upon ...
— The Wagnerian Romances • Gertrude Hall
... throbbed no longer, and the battle flags were furl'd In the Parliament of Man; the ...
— To Mars via The Moon - An Astronomical Story • Mark Wicks
... his face Simba came for the guns, and a half-dozen of the porters prepared to strike and furl the tent. Already ...
— The Leopard Woman • Stewart Edward White et al
... calm, and they came on apace towards us; so I gave orders to come to an anchor, and furl all our sails. As for the savages, I told them they had nothing to fear from them but fire; and therefore they should get their boats out, and fasten them, one close by the head, and the other by the stern, and man them both well, and wait the issue in that ...
— The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1808) • Daniel Defoe
... Lucile was alone. And the men of the world Were gone back to the world. And the world's self was furl'd Far away from the heart of the woman. Her hand Droop'd, and from it, unloosed from their frail silken band, Fell those early love-letters, strewn, scatter'd, and shed At her feet—life's lost blossoms! Dejected, her head On ...
— Lucile • Owen Meredith
... at a little distance suggest the form of many plants of brackish marsh and creek edges, and even the glasswort itself. When the day is gray, the flowers furl close and disappear, as it were, but when the sun beats full upon the sand, a myriad upraised fleshy little arms stretch out, each holding a coloured bowl to catch the sunbeams, as if the heat made molten the sand of quartz and turned it into ...
— The Garden, You, and I • Mabel Osgood Wright
... are going to furl their tails again," thought Hugh; but no. One on each side of the castle door, the peacocks solemnly advanced a few steps, then stood still—quite still—but yet with a certain waiting look about them ...
— The Tapestry Room - A Child's Romance • Mrs. Molesworth
... When the wind tugs at these threads, the spinners let go, and are borne, usually back downwards, on the wings of the wind from one parish to another. It is said that if the wind falls they can unfurl more sail, or furl if it rises. In any case, these wingless creatures make aerial journeys. When tens of thousands of the used threads sink to earth, there is a "shower of gossamer." On his Beagle voyage Darwin observed that vast numbers of small gossamer spiders were borne on to ...
— The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) - A Plain Story Simply Told • J. Arthur Thomson
... parable I close my tale,) By shoal and rock hath steered my venturous bark, And landward now I drive before the gale. And now the blue and distant shore I hail, And nearer now I see the port expand, And now I gladly furl my weary sail, And, as the prow light touches on the strand, I strike my red-cross flag and ...
— Some Poems by Sir Walter Scott • Sir Walter Scott
... it was rather gusty weather, all hands were wanted, and the skipper ordered him to furl ...
— Eric, or Little by Little • Frederic W. Farrar
... were stowed, so were the top-gallant-sails, topsails close reefed, mainsail reefed, and just at 10.45 p.m., as I was going to bed, I heard the captain give the order to take a reef in the foresail and furl the mainsail; but before I was in bed a quarter of an hour afterwards, a blast of wind came up like a wall, and all night it blew a regular hurricane. The glass, which had dropped very fast all day, and fallen lower than the captain had ever seen it in the southern hemisphere, ...
— A First Year in Canterbury Settlement • Samuel Butler
... and earth and sea and hurricane, Thou ship of air that never furl'st thy sails, Days, even weeks untired and onward, through spaces, realms gyrating, At dusk that look'st on Senegal, at morn America, That sport'st amid the lightning-flash and thunder-cloud, In them, ...
— The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century • William Lyon Phelps
... American shores. An unexpected tempest, which even Admiral Fitzroy could not have foreseen, broke upon the ships with unheard-of violence. Several vessels, seized by a sort of whirlwind before they had time to furl their sails, were sunk, amongst others the Childe Harold, of Liverpool, a regrettable catastrophe which was the object of ...
— The Moon-Voyage • Jules Verne
... mackerel sky and a mare's tail," etc. The signs were all unmistakable, and even the gulls recognized a change, and, screaming, sought shelter on our spars. Mr. Block was ordered to send down all the light yards and sails; to take in and furl everything, using storm gaskets, except on the fore and main storm staysails; to lash everything on deck; to batten down the hatches, except one square of the main; see all the shifting boards in place, so that our living cargo would not be thrown to leeward higgledy-piggledy, and to take four ...
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue • Various
... destined for Troy, nor that Jove had breathed an adverse wind over Euripus, softening one breeze so that some mortals might rejoice in their [expanded] sails, but to others a pain, to others difficulty, to some to set sail, to others to furl their sails, but to others to tarry. In truth the race of mortals is full of troubles, is full of troubles, and it necessarily befalls men to find some misfortune. Alas! alas! thou daughter of Tyndarus, who hast brought many sufferings, and many ...
— The Tragedies of Euripides, Volume I. • Euripides
... and from the head of her sprit-topmast lazily waved other flags and pennons. As she swung into view round Devil's Point the blare of trumpets and the roll of drums reached the ears of the crowd which awaited her arrival; but these sounds presently ceased as her crew proceeded to brail up and furl sail after sail; and some ten minutes later, scarcely stemming the outgoing tide, she drifted slowly in toward her berth alongside the wharf. Ropes were thrown, great hawsers were hauled ashore and made fast ...
— The Cruise of the Nonsuch Buccaneer • Harry Collingwood
... from these doubtful rocks, Or if my exile have but a fair end, How happy shall I be to furl my sail, And my last anchor cast in some sure port; But, ah! I burn, and, as some blazing bark, So hard to me to leave my ...
— The Sonnets, Triumphs, and Other Poems of Petrarch • Petrarch
... of this day, (Friday 7th,) the fog cleared off, and we had every appearance of a cold blow; and soon after sun-down it came on. Again it was clew up and haul down, reef and furl, until we had got her down to close-reefed topsails, double-reefed trysail, and reefed forespenser. Snow, hail, and sleet were driving upon us most of the night, and the sea was breaking over the bows and covering the forward part of the little vessel; but as she ...
— Two Years Before the Mast • Richard Henry Dana
... swan, her death-note singing, Sleep with wings in darkness furl'd? When will heaven its sweet bells ringing Call my spirit from this ...
— Three Wonder Plays • Lady I. A. Gregory
... regiment in order grows, That of the tulip, pink, and rose. But when the vigilant patrol Of stars walks round about the pole, Their leaves, that to the stalks are curl'd, Seem to their staves the ensigns furl'd. Then in some flower's beloved hut Each bee, as sentinel, is shut, And sleeps so too; but if once stirr'd, She runs you through, nor asks the word. O thou, that dear and happy Isle, The garden of the world erewhile, Thou Paradise of the four seas ...
— Book of English Verse • Bulchevy
... look at her. She was seated beside him and had handed him her parasol in a little way which seemed to imply that, of course, he had reached for it, so that it was to be seen how used she was to have all such things done for her. He saw that he was expected to furl the dainty thing; he pressed the catch and let down the top timidly, as if fearing to break or tear it; and, as it closed, held near his face, he caught a very faint, sweet, spicy [v]emanation from it like wild roses ...
— The Literary World Seventh Reader • Various
... several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where I embarked. We set sail, and having touched at several ports of Terra Firma, and some of the eastern islands, we put out to sea, and were seized by such a sudden gust of wind, as obliged the captain to furl his sails, and to take all other necessary precautions, to prevent the danger that threatened us; but all was in vain; our endeavours took no effect; the sails were torn in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded, so that a great many of the merchants and seamen were drowned, ...
— The Arabian Nights Entertainments Volume 1 • Anonymous
... neglected or imperfectly furled, were torn adrift and blew to ribbons. These great strips of heavy canvas cracked like monstrous whips with deafening noise, thrashing the masts and rigging, and rendering any attempt to furl them or cut them away, perilous in ...
— Heroes of the Goodwin Sands • Thomas Stanley Treanor
... the cessation of hostilities mean? It means that the blockade is to be removed, and the South be allowed to furnish itself with materials and munitions of war. What does that mean on the land? What does it mean on the sea? That you are to furl your flag at Fortress Monroe on the Petersburg line; that you are to remove your gunboats from the Mississippi River; that you are to abandon Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip at its mouth; that you ...
— Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. 2 • George S. Boutwell
... of Fate: The Wheel of War shall turn about again, And dash the Current of his Victories.— This is the Tent I've pitched, at distance from the Armies, To meet the Queen and Cardinal; Charm'd with the Magick of Dissimulation, I know by this h'as furl'd his Ensigns up, And is become a tame and coward Ass. [A Retreat is sounded. —Hark—hark, 'tis done: oh, my inchanting Engine! —Dost ...
— The Works of Aphra Behn, Vol. II • Aphra Behn
... the Fairy Queen! Celestial coursers paw the unyielding air; 60 Their filmy pennons at her word they furl, And stop obedient to the reins of light: These the Queen of Spells drew in, She spread a charm around the spot, And leaning graceful from the aethereal car, 65 Long did she gaze, and silently, Upon the ...
— The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume I • Percy Bysshe Shelley
... double the Land's End, but an irresistible current carried him to the south-west. He went along the southern coast of Ireland and turned sharply towards the north. In the evening the wind freshened. In vain did Mael attempt to furl the sail. The vessel flew distractedly towards the ...
— Penguin Island • Anatole France
... gold—because of our gold. Gold changes men altogether. Thorkild of Borkum did not change. He laughed at Witta for his fears, and at us for our counselling Witta to furl sail when the ship ...
— Puck of Pook's Hill • Rudyard Kipling
... the fleet. A few days afterwards she reviewed her fleet in brilliant, breezy weather. The royal yacht took up its position at Spithead, and successive signals were given to the squadron to "Lower sail," "Make sail," "Shorten sail and reef," and "Furl topgallant sails," all the manoeuvres—including the getting under way and sailing in line to St. Helen's—being performed with the very perfection of nautical accuracy. The review ended with the order, "Furl sails, put the life-lines on, and man yards," which was done as only English sailors ...
— Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, (Victoria) Vol II • Sarah Tytler
... him, illustrious Achilles,[485] and what are you going to reply? Only take care that your rage does not lead you astray, for he has handled you brutally. My noble friend, don't get carried away; furl all your sails, except the top-gallants, so that your ship may only advance slowly, until you feel yourself driven forward by a soft and favourable wind. Come then, you who were the first of the Greeks to construct imposing ...
— The Eleven Comedies - Vol. I • Aristophanes et al
... o'clock of that day a water-spout was seen in the north-west, and the wind lulled. This deceived the pilots as a sign of good weather, wherefore they still carried sail: But it was succeeded by a furious tempest, which came on so suddenly that they had not time to furl their sails, and four ships were sunk with all their men, one of which was commanded by Bartholomew Diaz, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope. The other seven[9] were half filled with water, and had been all lost if a part of their sails had not given ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. II • Robert Kerr
... throat, And some lute full clear of note, Could have tried it,—O, the lute For that wondrous song were mute, And the bird would do her part, Falter, fail, and break her heart,— Break her heart, and furl her wings, ...
— Poems by Jean Ingelow, In Two Volumes, Volume I. • Jean Ingelow
... now sage Ulysses rode; Beneath the deck the destined victims stow'd: The sails they furl'd, they lash the mast aside, And dropp'd their anchors, and the pinnace tied. Next on the shore their hecatomb they land; Chryseis last descending on the strand. Her, thus returning from the furrow'd main, Ulysses led to Phoebus' sacred fane; Where at his solemn altar, as the maid He gave to ...
— The Iliad of Homer • Homer
... his mans, to boot; Or but applaud his boss'd legs: two to none, But he most nobly doth give you one. Or spin an elegie on his false hair: 'Tis well, he cries, but living hair is dear. Yet say that out of order ther's one curl, And all the hopes of your reward you furl. Write a deep epick poem, and you may As soon delight them as the opera, Where they Diogenes thought in his tub, Never so sowre did look so sweet a club. You that do suck for thirst your black quil's blood, And ...
— Lucasta • Richard Lovelace
... gleam, No wave the land-locked water stirred, The crags were white as cream; And I marked my love by candle-light Sewing her long white seam. It 's aye sewing ashore, my dear, Watch and steer at sea, It 's reef and furl, and haul the line, Set sail and think ...
— Victorian Songs - Lyrics of the Affections and Nature • Various
... dread To Egypt's shores pursued; At Trafalgar its hydra-head For ever sunk subdued. The freedom of mankind was won! The hero's glorious task was done! When Heaven, Oppression's ensigns furl'd, Recall'd him from ...
— Poems (1828) • Thomas Gent
... now had plough'd; and either land Was distant far; when, as dim night approach'd, The sea seem'd foaming white with rising waves; And the strong East more furious 'gan to blow. Long had the master cry'd,—"Lower down your yards, "And close furl every sail!"—he bids; the storm Adverse, impedes the sound; the roaring waves Drown every voice in noise. Yet some, untold, Haste to secure the oars; part bind the sails; Part fortify the sides: this ...
— The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in English blank verse Vols. I & II • Ovid
... nearest him, the great San Philip being in the winde of him, and comming towards him, becalmed his sailes in such sort, as the shippe could neither make way, nor feele the helme: so huge and high carged [Footnote: From the French, carguer to furl.] was the Spanish ship, being of a thousand and fiue hundreth tuns. Who after layd the Reuenge aboord. When he was thus bereft of his sailes, the ships that were vnder his lee luffing vp, also layd him aboord: of which the next was ...
— The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation, v. 7 - England's Naval Exploits Against Spain • Richard Hakluyt
... white and scarlet gardens are trod by men who are shod in boots like our own, who walk—rather strangely still—in close-cut cloth of little colour, and stop each other from time to time, laughing to show how that they too can furl an umbrella after the manner of ...
— The Works of Max Beerbohm • Max Beerbohm
... "boxing the compass," that is to say, her head was pointing first one way and then another; but while he was aloft, clinging to the boat's masthead, and watching the stranger in the hope of being able to make some further discovery concerning her, her people started to clew up and furl her royals, which circumstance Simpson duly reported. It served as a hint to us in the gig, for if the stranger had detected symptoms that her royals would presently be too much for her, it was high time ...
— Turned Adrift • Harry Collingwood
... realms of slumber within ten minutes, running a race about equal. The rain poured all through the night, but they did not awake until the young sun sent the first beams of day into the gorge. Then Jarvis sat up. He had the faculty of awakening all at once, and he began to furl the canvas awning that had served them so well. The noise awoke the boys who also ...
— The Guns of Bull Run - A Story of the Civil War's Eve • Joseph A. Altsheler
... the shrouds on the weather side, Desmond was quickest aloft. He crawled out on the yard, the wind threatening every moment to tear him from his dizzy, rocking perch, and began with desperate energy to furl the straining canvas. It was hard work, and but for the development of his muscles during the past few months, and a naturally cool head, the task would have been beyond his powers. But setting his teeth and exerting his utmost strength, ...
— In Clive's Command - A Story of the Fight for India • Herbert Strang
... we got near them, I gave word to furl all sails and stop the ship, and as there was nought to fear from them but fire, to get the boats out and man them both well, and so wait for them to ...
— Robinson Crusoe - In Words of One Syllable • Mary Godolphin
... sail of ours was furl'd, Nor anchor dropt at eve or morn; We loved the glories of the world, But laws of nature were our scorn; For blasts would rise and rave and cease, But whence were those that drove the sail Across the whirlwind's heart of peace, And ...
— Enoch Arden, &c. • Alfred Tennyson
... sweating hurry I helped Mr. Rogers and Mr. Goodfellow to furl sail, coil away ropes, and tidy up generally. After these tedious weeks at sea I was wild for a run ashore, and, with the green woods inviting me, ...
— Poison Island • Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (Q) |
