104

HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

Here begins a new Section, intituled, “ The Quire of Accompt ofthe King’s royal Ships, being in Thames, from the nth. day ofApril, in the 6th. year of the reign of the most redoubtest KingHenry the VUIth. to the-”

The Mary Imperial. Wages of ship-keepers, and chargesof victualling them, for one month -The Mary and John. Wages and victualling of ship-keepers for one month, with the costs of some repairs.Here is nothing worthy of notice, except a small chargefor a garland to the topmast. The whole chargeThe Great Bark. Among a variety of charges, we find,four great charging ladles, is. 4d. four great rammers,is. 6d. four second rammers, 8d. four small chargingladles, 8d. sixteen calenders, is. 4d. three dozen ofparchment skins for guns, 7s. three pair of balances, toweigh gunpowder, is. one white lambskin, to makesponges, id. The whole charge is -

The Mary George, into Levant. We find here the term“ top garland,” which we now corruptly call top gallant.The whole expence of the ship isThe Rose Galley. Her charges consist mostly of wages tolabourers and labourers -

£- 2 5 U

£.8 £s. nd.

£.25 4 s. 9 d.

£.6 5 s. nd.£.12 2s. 9 d.

This account of naval disbursements, the last section of which is unfor-tunately left incomplete, gives us to understand, that on the approach of winter,it was always customary to move the king’s ships from their summer stationhigher up the river. This necessary step was taken for their better securityfrom those accidents which so frequently occur, in all open situations, fromthe violence of the wind, and general inclemency of the weather: so that,although in conformity to general opinion, and indeed good testimony, it has

been