THE RUSSIAN FLEET

assistance of Captains Cramer and Webhamey.These were now expected ; but, being obliged toimpress men out of the foreign merchants’ service tocarry their ships to sea, meeting also with badweather, and the season of the year too far expired,Cramer put back and wintered at Archangel :Webhamey got into the river of Kola and winteredin Lapland, where he was discharged and CaptainIvan Sinavin sent to succeed him ; and Simpson,reaching Norway, wintered near Trondhjem.

VIII PROCEEDINGS IN 1714.

The Russians made extraordinary preparations infitting out their fleet this spring (1714). Severalof the Tsar’s officers having learned in Germany theart of gunnery, &c., upon their return got a companyallowed under the title of Bombardiers. These arewell paid, and distributed as occasion requires onboard the ships. Some new inventions were devisedof the combustible kind for destroying of ships, andreeds ready filled with prepared powder for thequicker firing of guns ; two vessels furnished withfire-spouts, or engines spouting liquid fire ; and justbefore the fleet sailed, the Tsar ordered boarding 1bridges to be fixed with hinges to the gunwale 2 ofevery ship, from the entering place to the forecastlereclining upon the booms; but in time of action, incase of boarding 1 easily revolving upon the enemy’sgunwale to facilitate the entrance of his men.

1 In this sentence ‘ boarding’ is used, in one case, in a sensequite different from that in which it is used in the other. In thefirst it means putting a party of men on board the enemy’s shipwith the object of capturing her sword in hand. The old wordfor this was ‘ entering ’ (comp. Swedish dntring). In the secondcase it means ‘falling on board of,’ ‘fouling’ the other ship.

2 MS. ‘gunnel.’