largest deck of the three." He may then be emboldened, on his part, to ask, "Why not call it the half-deck ?" He is carried below, and shown a small space between the wardroom door and the break of the quarter deck, and informed that that is the half-deck.

Although it would be a vain hope to expect to change names, which have stood their ground for ages, and are perfectly understood by the persons for whose use they were made; yet an endeavour to trace the origin of the terms by which the different decks of a fighting ship are distinguished, may tend to elucidate many of the statements, and those by no means the least important, in the following pages. It is a remarkable fact, that the forecastle and quarter, or poop deck, although now the most insignificant, were once the only decks armed with guns. These were mounted, not as broadside, but as chase guns. Afterwards, a tier of them was placed on each side of the principal, or main deck ; but, until the invention of portholes, all the guns were mounted as formerly mentioned, en barbette.*

Almost the first use made of the power of pointing the guns through, instead of over, the ship's side, was to employ an additional tier of them. The deck, which sustained the lower and heavier tier, was named, by the English, the lower, or gun deck; by foreigners in general, the first deck. † The deck next above the principal deck, the English called the upper, ‡ foreigners the second deck. Hence, when a third deck was added, the latter had only to express it by that name ; while the English had to change upper into middle, and apply the former term to the third deck.

Conformably to this arrangement, the English admiralty and navy boards call the single gun deck of what is commonly termed a one-decked ship, the upper deck, and the deck below it, upon which no guns are mounted, the lower, or gun deck. With them, therefore, every reputed single-decked ship, except she be so small as to have no 'tween decks, is, properly speaking, a two-decked ship: while foreigners, the French in particular, designate the upper as the second deck, when only any guns are mounted upon the lower. When otherwise, the upper deck is described as the deck, § and the guns placed upon it, as mounted in single battery; || the lower deck, as the English would call it, being named the false, or imperfect deck. ¶ To

* See p. 1.

† Premier pont, Fr. Prima coperta, It. Primera cubierta, Sp. Primeira cuberta, Portug. Ver dek, Dutch. Forsta laget, Swed. &c.

‡ Sailors frequently name this the main deck; but shipwrights when they use that term, apply it, very properly, to the lower, or principal deck.

§ Le pont ; la seule batterie.

|| En batterie.

¶ "Faux-pont ; pont au-dessous de la première batteries' The Americans usually call this deck the berth-deck, meaning that on which the ship's company is lodged.

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