they could lay out on the yards without thinking of the empty space
beneath them. By the first of June, all the petty officers had been
appointed, and every student had his station billet. When the order was
given to unmoor ship, to make sail, or to furl the sails, every one knew
where to go and what to do. The station billets were cards on which the
various evolutions of the ship had been printed in a column on the left,
while the particular duty of the owner of the card was written against
it. The card was kept by the student, and he was expected to learn its
contents so that he could take his place without stopping to consult it,
when an order was given. Here is a specimen of the cards:--

+---------------------------------------------------------+
|PORT WATCH, NO 21, WILLIAM FOSTER, |
|Second Part. _Captain of the Forecastle._ |
+----------------------+----------------------------------+
|REEFING. |Head Bowlines. |
|TACKING OR WEARING. |Forecastle. Let go head bowlines. |
| | Let go and shorten in foretack |
| | and belay it. |
|GETTING UNDER WAY. |Head Bowlines. Downhauls and |
| | head-sheets. |
|ANCHORING. |Head Bowlines, Sheets and Tacks. |
| | Downhauls. |
|LOOSING SAILS. |Foretopmast Staysail. |
|FURLING. |Head Bowlines and Downhauls, |
| | Staysail. |
|MOORING AND UNMOORING.|Forecastle. |
|BOAT. |Professor's Barge, stroke-oar. |
|MESS. |No. 11. |
+----------------------+----------------------------------+