"Coxswain" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... the more hard, he said, as he was assured the mischief was done on purpose, these scoundrels having lurked about after they had landed every drop of brandy, and every bag of tea they had on board; and he understood the coxswain had been on shore, making particular inquiries concerning the time when his boat was to cross over, and to return, and ...
— The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Complete, Illustrated • Sir Walter Scott
... but eventually was dropped on to the deck, and a huge wave washed me away. I climbed up the ship's side and again was washed off. Eventually, after swimming about from various overladen pieces of wreckage, I was picked up by a cutter from the Hogue, Coxswain L.S. Marks, which pulled about for some hours, picking up men and discharging them to our picket boat and steam pinnace and to the Dutch steamers Flora and Titan, and rescued, in this way, Commander Sells of the Aboukir, Engineer Commander Stokes, (with legs broken,) Fleet ...
— The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915 • Various
... bluejacket, galiongee[obs3], galionji[obs3], marine, jolly, midshipman, middy; skipper; shipman[obs3], boatman, ferryman, waterman[obs3], lighterman[obs3], bargeman, longshoreman; bargee[obs3], gondolier; oar, oarsman; rower; boatswain, cockswain[obs3]; coxswain; steersman, pilot; crew. aerial navigator, aeronaut, balloonist, Icarus; aeroplanist[obs3], airman, aviator, birdman, man-bird, wizard of the air, aviatrix, flier, pilot, test pilot, glider pilot, bush pilot, navigator, flight attendant, ...
— Roget's Thesaurus
... and row for your lives!" Edgar exclaimed; "every minute is of consequence. The French will be in the town in five minutes. I want to meet the boats, coxswain." ...
— At Aboukir and Acre - A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt • George Alfred Henty
... some of money, were committed during the month at both settlements. A hut belonging to James Davis, employed as a coxswain to the public boats, was broken into; but nothing was stolen, Davis having taken his money with him, and nothing else appearing to have been the object of their search. His hut was situated out of the view of any sentinel, and a night was chosen for the attempt when it was ...
— An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol. 1 • David Collins
... dropped a boat, and with myself as coxswain pulled toward a wrecked hydroairplane. Its occupant took a long puff at his cigarette, waved a cheerful hand, shouted a greeting. And just as he did so a great wave raised itself up behind him, took the wreckage, tossed it high in a swelter of foam, and passed on. When we ...
— The Moon Pool • A. Merritt
... strength that was in them, But 'twas not for the pewter cup, And not for the fame 'twould win them When the length of the race was up. For the college stood by the river, And they heard, with cheeks that glowed, The voice of the coxswain calling At the end of the ...
— Public Speaking • Irvah Lester Winter
... are only to go," said Phillips, as the coxswain of the first cutter called away his crew, ...
— Down the Rhine - Young America in Germany • Oliver Optic
... Ned Land, and I found seats in the stern of the skiff. The longboat's coxswain took the tiller; his four companions leaned into their oars; the moorings were cast off and ...
— 20000 Leagues Under the Seas • Jules Verne
... stalwart oarsmen started to race with each other in my direction. What an evenly matched contest. On, on, on they came, bunched closely together, each using the same uniform stroke as if all were guided by the same coxswain. Now they were right upon me. "Great race," I shouted, as they came within hearing distance. "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" "The poor devil is mad," I fancied I heard someone exclaim, and my ...
— Born Again • Alfred Lawson
... wife, as she set a chair for her husband at the table, and poured out a cup of tea, "for there's bin two sloops an' a schooner on the rocks off the pier-head for three hours past, an' a' the lads are out at them,—Uncle John among the rest. They've made him coxswain o' the new lifeboat since ...
— Shifting Winds - A Tough Yarn • R.M. Ballantyne
... much relieved when, on stepping into the boat, he was accosted by Wishart, though in a feeble voice, and with an aspect pale as death from excessive bleeding. Directions having been immediately given to the coxswain to apply to Mr. Kennedy at the workyard to procure the best surgical aid, the boat was sent off without delay to Arbroath. The writer then landed at the rock, when the crane was in a very short time got into its place and again put in a ...
— Records of a Family of Engineers • Robert Louis Stevenson
... requisite to give her steerage fell. Her anchor-chain rattled, and she swung round with the tide. The clock struck the half-hour; a boat left the side of the vessel and made straight for the steps near where he was seated. A tall, noble-looking man sat in the stern-sheets beside the coxswain; he was put ashore, and, after exchanging a few words with the boat's crew, he mounted the steps which led him to Wylie's side, followed by one of the sailors, who ...
— Foul Play • Charles Reade
... silence. Not a livin' thing was there aboard, not even a mouse. The mainmast was gone, all but a stump, and the moulderin' tackle lay on the deck all of a heap. The plankin' was rotten and fallin' to bits, and the place on the starn where her name had been was clean mouldered away. All at once our coxswain, Bill Grimes, gives a jump and a holler as if he'd trod on a rattlesnake; and when we ran for'ard, what should we see, half hid among the weeds, but the skeleton of a man, fastened to the bulwarks ...
— Harper's Young People, April 13, 1880 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various
... number, all told. They soon laid themselves close to the Capitana, far below her lofty sides, and called on Don Hugo to surrender. The answer was, a smile of derision from the haughty Spaniard, as he looked down upon them from what seemed an inaccessible height. Then one Wilton, coxswain of the Delight; of Winter's squadron, clambered up to the enemy's deck and fell dead the same instant. Then the English volunteers opened a volley upon the Spaniards; "They seemed safely ensconced in their ships," said bold Dick Tomson, ...
— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley
... that it had been decided among a number of the fishermen that no great harm should be done to Will when they got him, but that he should be thrashed within an inch of his life. On the third day the coxswain said to Will: ...
— By Conduct and Courage • G. A. Henty
... shortening such lives as theirs? A few crab-pots—'accessories,' as a painter would say—rest on the beach above high-water mark, the summer through; a few tanned nets hang, and have hung for years, a-drying against the wall of the school-house. But the prevalent odour is of honeysuckle. The aged coxswain of the lifeboat reported to me last year that an American visitor had asked him how, dwelling remote from the railway, the population dealt with its fish. 'My dear man,' said I, 'you should have told him that you get it by Parcels' Post ...
— Corporal Sam and Other Stories • A. T. Quiller-Couch
... this time also, and named Redman as his stroke oarsman. Richard took Bailey for the same station, and they continued to select alternately till each had taken his twelve oarsmen. The coxswain of the Alice had a decided advantage over his rival, for he had a complete knowledge of the capacity of each boy, and had before taken part in several races on the lake. Richard was aided in choosing by his friends whom he had selected, and when they stepped into the boat, he was ...
— In School and Out - or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. • Oliver Optic
... Coxswain to Captain Hood, he was promoted in 1763 to be a midshipman in H.M.S. Zealous, cruising in the Mediterranean. Putting into Algiers, Thwaites was sent ashore by the captain to buy some sheep, but did not return to the boat ...
— The Pirates' Who's Who - Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers • Philip Gosse
... getting nearer than within four leagues of the land. On this captain Mitchel made signals of distress, and our long-boat was sent to him with a store of water and plenty of fish and other refreshments; and the long-boat being not to be spared, the coxswain had positive orders from the Commodore to return again immediately; but the weather proving stormy the next day, and the boat not appearing, we much feared she was lost, which would have proved an irretrievable misfortune to us all. But ...
— Anson's Voyage Round the World - The Text Reduced • Richard Walter
... joyous, well dressed, rather foppish, in fact, his face shining with good humor as with oil. Again, Nelson, in the worst of dangers, was as cheerful as the day. He had even a rough but quiet humor in him just as he carried his coxswain behind him to bundle the swords of the Spanish and French captains under his arm. He could clap his telescope to his blind eye, and say, "Gentlemen, I can not make out the signal," when the signal was adverse to his wishes, and then go in and win, in spite of recall. Fancy the dry laughs which ...
— Brave Men and Women - Their Struggles, Failures, And Triumphs • O.E. Fuller
... except the second lieutenant, who had the watch, and the master, now got into our own gig also, rowed by ourselves, and away we all went in a covey; the purser and doctor, and three of the middies forward, Thomas Cringle, gent., pulling the stroke oar, with old Moses Yerk as coxswain;—and as the Dragon-flies were all red, so we were all sea-green, boat, oars, trousers, shirts, and night-caps. The strain was between the Devil's Darning Needle and our boat, the Watersprite, which was making capital play, for although we had not the bottom of the topmen, yet we had more ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 579 - Volume 20, No. 579, December 8, 1832 • Various
... busy city of that name. Lastly, we three had leave to go ashore for the day, and were just off when the first lieutenant came and stood in the gangway, just as I have said, and the Tanner had told the coxswain to shove off. ...
— Blue Jackets - The Log of the Teaser • George Manville Fenn
... sixty or seventy, were seen by Mr. Hooper, who described them as being very tame, running along the beach before our people, without rising, for a considerable distance. Some glaucous gulls and plovers were killed, and we met with several tracks of bears, deers, wolves, foxes, and mice. The coxswain of the boat found upon the beach part of the bone of a whale, which had been cut at one end by a sharp instrument like an axe, with a quantity of chips lying about it, affording undoubted proof of this part of the coast having been visited at no distant ...
— Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the • Sir William Edward Parry
... scrambling over rock's, and wading waist-deep through the Lyne Burn and one or two other places where the waves had driven far up the sands, and partly across Newbiggin Moor, where the icy wind tore at her in her drenched clothing. She pressed on, however, and managed to reach the coxswain's house and give her message. The lifeboat was immediately run out, and the men reached the wreck in time to save all the crew except one, who had ...
— Northumberland Yesterday and To-day • Jean F. Terry
... the room: Look here, she can't go on board, but I shall. I'll see to it that he doesn't stop in the ship too long. Let's go and find the coxswain of the life-boat. . . George follows him, shivering from time to time. The waves are washing over the old pier; not much wind, a wild, gloomy sky over the bay. In the whole world only one tug away off, heading to the seas, tossed in and out of sight every minute ...
— Within the Tides • Joseph Conrad
... highly whetted our curiosity; and it was with something like excitement that we saw the beach and terrace suddenly blacken with attendant vassals, the king and party embark, the boat (a man-of-war gig) come flying towards us dead before the wind, and the royal coxswain lay us cleverly aboard, mount the ladder with a jealous diffidence, and descend heavily ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson
... selected his fourth regalia from the Duke's pearl- encrusted box, and lit it with all the abandon of a Society darling, "may I be jiggered if this is not ripping! What say you?" he continued, addressing young PULYER WRIGHT, the Coxswain, and tossing him playfully four times to the raftered ceiling—"shall we not beat the dastard foe from Camford to-morrow?" A roar of applause sprang from the smoking mouths of ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 102, April 9th, 1892 • Various
... slave trade. I entered warmly into the work, for I thought that it was a cruel shame that men, because they had white skins, more power, and maybe, more sense, should be allowed to carry off their fellow-men and hold them in bondage. I was appointed as coxswain of the boat commanded by Mr Morgan. Often we used to be sent away in her for days together from the ship, to lie in wait for slavers. The officers on such occasions used to allow us to talk pretty freely to one another and to express our minds. One day I said something ...
— Mountain Moggy - The Stoning of the Witch • William H. G. Kingston
... in one direction, the table in another, while the checkers rolled to every corner of the little volunteer life-saving station house, Eric Swift made a leap for the door. Quick as he was to reach the boat, he was none too soon, for the coxswain and two other men were tumbling over the gunwale at ...
— The Boy With the U. S. Life-Savers • Francis Rolt-Wheeler
... Each time she said a number he pulled. And she, like a little coxswain, bent towards him with each word, giving him a bodily signal for the stroke. Presently she ...
— A Spirit in Prison • Robert Hichens
... great concourse of natives, armed with bows, arrows, clubs, and lances, were assembled at the outskirt of the wood. By offering knives and other things, a few were induced to approach the boat; and the coxswain seized one of them by the hair and neck, with the intention of his being taken off to the ships, to give an account of the missing boat and people. A shower of arrows instantly came out of the wood; and a firing was commenced, which killed one Indian, ...
— A Voyage to Terra Australis • Matthew Flinders
... of the Frolic was a picked one, the coxswain, an experienced hand, as was certainly required THAT day. The pretty launch was dressed in all her bunting, and flying ...
— Peggy Stewart: Navy Girl at Home • Gabrielle E. Jackson
... bundle of nondescript clothing at the wheel was "Mac," the coxswain, whose voyages in Arctic seas with the Iceland fishing fleet numbered more than his years of life, and whose deep-voiced Gaelic roar could bring the "watch below" on to the cold, wet deck to their action stations in less time than it would take a new recruit to tumble ...
— Submarine Warfare of To-day • Charles W. Domville-Fife
... before sunset of a pleasant summer's day, a barge party of gay young people rowed out over the placid Schuylkill from the boat-house belonging to the University of Pennsylvania. In the stern of the barge, acting as coxswain, sat a young man of delicate frame and refined features. His pale, thoughtful face showed him to be a close student, and the crutch at his side betrayed the fact ...
— Derrick Sterling - A Story of the Mines • Kirk Munroe
... as much damage as possible, I could see no propriety in thanking Heaven for the small amount of injury we had inflicted. I have since had reason to suspect, from several circumstances, that the contest was not as bloodless as it was represented to be at the time. The coxswain of the boat that brought Miles over heard him make the remark that no one was hurt on the rebel side. The man stared at him for a moment in undisguised amazement, and then stepped aside behind an ...
— Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-'61 • Abner Doubleday
... all the complimentary arrangements were completed. The President, after taking leave of many dear and cherished friends, and many an old companion in arms, stepped into the barge that was to convey him from New York forever. The coxswain gave the word 'let fall;' the spray from the oars sparkled in the morning sunbeams; the bowman shoved off from the pier, and, as the barge swung round to the tide, Washington rose, uncovered, in the stern, to bid adieu to the masses assembled on the ...
— Life And Times Of Washington, Volume 2 • John Frederick Schroeder and Benson John Lossing
... surface. The first point was easily accomplished, as will be seen presently; but there was a long debate, in whispers, amongst the men, as to the most expedient plan of keeping the body of their late pet from once more showing her snout above the stream. At length, it was suggested by the coxswain of one of the boats which had been sent during the morning to sound the passage, that as the bed of the river where the brig lay consisted of a deep layer of mud, it would be a good thing if Jean's remains could be driven ...
— The Lieutenant and Commander - Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from - Fragments of Voyages and Travels • Basil Hall
... woods on the other side the River, and would certainly have cut her off had not the People in the Pinnace discover'd them and called to her to drop down the Stream, which they did, being closely persued by the Indians. The coxswain of the Pinnace, who had the charge of the Boats, seeing this, fir'd 2 Musquets over their Heads; the first made them stop and Look round them, but the 2nd they took no notice of; upon which a third was fir'd and kill'd one of them upon the Spot just as he was going to dart his spear at the ...
— Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World • James Cook
... we gained on 3rd Trinity all the way to Ditton Corner, where we were overlapping. Our coxswain made a shot, missed them, and we went into the mid-stream. After our misfortune we paddled slowly over the long reach, and came in half a length behind 3rd Trinity and 2 lengths ahead of 1st Trinity. To-night we did ...
— The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke V1 • Stephen Gwynn
... the West Indies, his love of adventure was excited by the news that two ships—the Racehorse and the Carcass—were being fitted out for a voyage of discovery to the North Pole. Through the influence of Captain Suckling, he secured an appointment as coxswain, under Captain Lutwidge, who was second in command ...
— Eclectic School Readings: Stories from Life • Orison Swett Marden
... very peaceful and picturesque to write about now, but at the time I was in a motor boat that had left Mahommerah to take me for a run and it had broken down and seemed unlikely to start again in spite of all the coxswain's efforts. Consequently we were drifting about on the stream and likely to be swept down by the ebb tide. We were unfortunately on the far side of the river from Abadan, and consequently our plight would not be observed from the works. The situation was ...
— A Dweller in Mesopotamia - Being the Adventures of an Official Artist in the Garden of Eden • Donald Maxwell
... few moments before, I baulked a native when taking a deliberate aim at one of our last men who embarked. The natives now, seeing our numbers decrease, laid hands on us in the most violent manner. My quintant was first wrested from my coxswain, who in a tone of grief made me known the circumstance. I immediately turned round and exclaimed 'Oh! don't part with that'; but it was too late; and when I endeavoured to recover it, I found a club wielded over my head. In making my escape from this wretch I was secured by four others, ...
— The Bushman - Life in a New Country • Edward Wilson Landor
... never come singly. Scarcely had this boat gone a foot from the davit, than the volunteer who was acting as coxswain, in reaching out for something, inadvertently let go the line, which, in Kynaston's apparatus, keeps the tackles hooked; consequently, down went the boat and crew twenty feet, with a terrific crash; the men were struggling for their lives, and the ...
— A Simpleton • Charles Reade
... town, to which I gave the name of La Navidad, and have built a fort in it, in every respect complete. And I have left sufficient people in it to take care of it, with artillery and provisions for more than a year; also a boat and coxswain with the equipments, in complete friendship with the King of the islands, to that degree that he delighted to call me and look on me as his brother. And should they fall out with these people, neither he nor his subjects know anything of weapons, ...
— Christopher Columbus, Complete • Filson Young
... the Starter gives the word to go, the men paddle till the cord which the coxswain holds at arm's length is tight, and every man has his oar ready for the dash into the water and away. To lose time at the start is to find that a chance ...
— Broken Bread - from an Evangelist's Wallet • Thomas Champness
... is apparent for supposing that his training should be conducted on principles different from those that control the training of every other person in the fleet. Men being the same in general, their qualities differing only in degree, it is logical to conclude that, if a gun-pointer or coxswain is best trained by being made first to understand the principles that underlie the correct performance of his work, and then by being given a good deal of practice in performing it, a commander-in-chief, or a captain, engineer, or gunner, can ...
— The Navy as a Fighting Machine • Bradley A. Fiske
... coxswain of the gig, screwed up his mahogany visage, and Bob pretended to look terribly alarmed, and so the boat was rowed over the sparkling waters to the bamboo landing-stage, when the captain got out, and Bob was left in charge ...
— Middy and Ensign • G. Manville Fenn
... boat approached, the coxswain waved his hat to the boys. Frank motioned with his arm for them to row on round the point. The boat swept along at a short distance from the shore. The boys watched them breathlessly. Presently as it reached the point they saw the coxswain stand up and say something to the men, who glanced ...
— By Sheer Pluck - A Tale of the Ashanti War • G. A. Henty
... with Mr Adams, for the court of the emperor of Japan, taking along with him Mr Tempest Peacock, Mr Richard Wickham, Edward Saris, Walter Carwarden, Diego Fernandos, John Williams a tailor, John Head a cook, Edward Bartan the surgeon's mate, John Japan Jurebasso,[27] Richard Dale coxswain, and Anthony Ferry a sailor; having a cavalier or gentleman belonging to king Foyne as their protector, with two of his servants, and two native servants belonging to Mr Adams. They embarked in a barge or galley belonging to the king, which rowed ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume IX. • Robert Kerr
... soon as possible, and probably run ashore in that furthest cove to our right, just inside the reef. I have examined the bay through a telescope, and could make out nothing of her. Let us come and examine carefully. Downhaul!" (to his Coxswain). "Come with me." ...
— The Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn • Henry Kingsley
... a bowl of flowers. The Captain's Coxswain had personally arranged them that morning; had, in fact, had a slight difference of opinion with the Captain's valet (conducted sotto voce) over the method of their arrangement. The Coxswain won on the claim of ...
— A Tall Ship - On Other Naval Occasions • Sir Lewis Anselm da Costa Ritchie
... improvements, which Forester had ordered in the boat, were completed at the time promised. Marco said that it would require a crew of eight to man the boat properly: six oarsmen, a bowman, and a coxswain. Marco pronounced this word as if it was spelt coxen. This is the proper way to pronounce it. It means the one who sits in the stern, to steer the boat and direct the rowers. In fact, the coxswain is the commander of the ...
— Marco Paul's Voyages and Travels; Vermont • Jacob Abbott
... the entrance," he shouted to the coxswain of the boat, "and warn the others of the danger! Tell them to make straight out. If they come in here, we shall all be caught ...
— One of the 28th • G. A. Henty
... only five and twenty tons, but she was a "lucky" ship, and an incomparable sailer. We know little of these two voyages, though a Spanish letter (quoted by Mr Corbett) tells us of a Spanish ship he took; and Thomas Moone, Drake's coxswain, speaks of them as having been "rich and gainfull." Probably Drake employed a good deal of his time in preparing for a future raid, for when he ventured out in earnest in 1572 he showed himself singularly well acquainted with the town he attacked. The account from which we take ...
— On the Spanish Main - Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien. • John Masefield
... the black-shining bodies of the stark blacks who knelt in the bottom and paddled; Ishikola, the old chief, squatting amidships and not paddling, an unlighted, empty- bowled, short-stemmed clay pipe upside-down between his toothless gums; and, in the stern, as coxswain, the dandy, all nakedness of blackness, all whiteness of decoration, save for the pig's tail in one ear and the scarlet hibiscus that still flamed ...
— Jerry of the Islands • Jack London
... in the Bristol Channel on the night of Thursday, the 10th September, 1903, a vessel was driven ashore on the Gore Sands. Soon after daybreak a call was made for the Burnham Lifeboat, but, in consequence of the heavy seas, the crew was unable to launch her. The coxswain, therefore, telegraphed for the Watchet Lifeboat to proceed to the rescue. Every endeavour was made by the Postal Telegraph authorities to expeditiously transmit the message, but the elements which had operated against the vessel, had likewise played havoc with ...
— The King's Post • R. C. Tombs
... joke on you lads, I call it, to be dumped on this bit o' purgatory," said the coxswain to Peter Tobey. "The great Cap'n Teach must ha' been in one of ...
— Blackbeard: Buccaneer • Ralph D. Paine
... ever decided to compose a descriptive article for the Staffordshire Signal. The rescued and the rescuing crews disappeared in single file to the upper floor of the pier, with the exception of the coxswain, a man with a spreading red beard, who stayed behind to inspect the lifeboat, of which indeed he was the absolute owner. As a journalist Denry did the correct thing and engaged him in conversation. Meanwhile, cheering could ...
— The Card, A Story Of Adventure In The Five Towns • Arnold Bennett
... caught her broadside, and the "Royal George" turned slowly over and sank. As soon as the disaster was perceived, an officer ran to the ship's captain to inform him that it was capsizing. Kempenfelt, the admiral, was at his desk below deck; his coxswain, notwithstanding the danger, attempted to reach him, but unsuccessfully, for the waters had already engulphed him. His loss was deplored in all the land; he was generally esteemed, and his great abilities were acknowledged by the State. And now the dauntless sea-warrior, ...
— Grace Darling - Heroine of the Farne Islands • Eva Hope
... separate. The men of the Columbus were drawn up separate. The officers stepped out into the midst of the three parties, and spoke so as all might hear. Captain Carton was the officer in command, and he had a spy-glass in his hand. His coxswain stood by him with another spy-glass, and with a slate on which he seemed to ...
— The Perils of Certain English Prisoners • Charles Dickens
... accident, however, during Ernest's last year, when the names of the crews for the scratch fours were drawn he had found himself coxswain of a crew, among whom was none other than his especial hero Towneley; the three others were ordinary mortals, but they could row fairly well, and the crew on the whole was rather ...
— The Way of All Flesh • Samuel Butler
... was Sir David Erskine, for many years Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons; No. 2, my brother-in-law, Lord Mount Edgcumbe; No. 3, General Sir George Higginson, with my father as stroke. Lord Elphinstone, who had been in the Navy early in life, officiated as coxswain. But my father was then fifty-five years old, and he soon found out that his heart was no longer equal to the strain to which so long and so very arduous a course (three miles), in rough water, would subject it. As soon as he realised that his age might militate against the chance of his ...
— The Days Before Yesterday • Lord Frederick Hamilton
... the loss of many lives. Providentially only four men were lost; these were in the boats at the time the shock commenced. The boats that were down were all swamped except my gig, which was crushed under the keel, killing my coxswain, a most valuable man. During this terrific scene the officers and men behaved with coolness and subordination. It affords me great pleasure to state, that, after a careful examination of the position and condition of the ship, I am enabled to report ...
— Scientific American, Vol. 17, No. 26 December 28, 1867 • Various
... they have but one thought, and that is to win the race. In this way, at least so it seems to me, the main object of recreation is entirely lost sight of; it becomes no longer an amusement, but labor and work. I am told that the coxswain and the other members of the boat race generally have to take a long rest when the race is over, which clearly shows that they have been overworking. I favor all innocent games and sports which mean recreation and diversion, but if it be thought ...
— America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat • Wu Tingfang
... has already risen to his feet, as also the mid. Ordering only the coxswain to follow, they spring to the chains, lay ...
— The Flag of Distress - A Story of the South Sea • Mayne Reid
... win under any decent circumstances," said Laura, "now that we have Bobby Hargrew to be coxswain again." ...
— The Girls of Central High on Lake Luna - or, The Crew That Won • Gertrude W. Morrison
... to be your father, but take them in a lump they are not so bad; four of them are about your age, and full of fun and frolic. Now," said he, "it's time to be off." He beckoned to a seaman near the door, who, I found, was the coxswain of the cutter. "Take this officer's chest to the boat." Here the waiter interposed, and said it was customary for the waterman of the "Blue Postesses" to take packages down to the water side. To this I consented, and away we trotted to sally port ...
— A Sailor of King George • Frederick Hoffman
... other side, and, to try to open communications, the yawl, pulled by four boys, entered the river, whilst Cook followed up the natives, who had retreated towards some huts about 300 yards away. Some Maoris, thinking the boys would be an easy prey, tried to steal on the yawl, but the coxswain of the pinnace observing them called the boat back. One of the Maoris raised his spear to throw, and the coxswain fired over his head, causing a moment's pause of surprise; but, seeing nothing further, he again prepared to throw his spear, so the coxswain shot him, and his ...
— The Life of Captain James Cook • Arthur Kitson
... day, however, a barge came out to us, ill-manned and ill-managed by as scared a set of "galoots" as ever capsized a boat, or trembled at a shadow! The coxswain had more to say than the doctor, and the Yahoo—I forgot to mention that we were still in Yahoodom, but one would see that without this explanation—the Yahoo in the bow said more than both; and they all took a stiff pull ...
— Voyage of the Liberdade • Captain Joshua Slocum
... the company; and it was our fortune to have a seat in the same boat, which was an eight-oared galley, manned by amateurs, with a blue striped awning of the same pattern as their Guernsey shirts, and a dingy red flag of the same shade as the whiskers of the stroke oar. A coxswain being appointed, and all other matters adjusted, the eight gentlemen threw themselves into strong paroxysms, and pulled up with the tide, stimulated by the compassionate remarks of the ladies, who one and all exclaimed, that it seemed an immense exertion—as indeed it did. At first ...
— Sketches by Boz - illustrative of everyday life and every-day people • Charles Dickens
... the low bows of the two officers by a slow inclination of the head and took her place at the table opposite her father. All sat down. The coxswain of the steam launch came up carrying ...
— Almayer's Folly - A Story of an Eastern River • Joseph Conrad
... as the vessels in which the Phoenicians circumnavigated Africa. Even their single canoes were sometimes between 100 and 150 feet long, and the crews of these, wielding their elastic paddles, kept time in a fashion that has won respect from the coxswain of a University eight. For their long voyages they stored water in calabashes, carried roots and dried fish, and had in the cocoa-nut both food and drink stored safely by nature in the most convenient compass. In certain seasons they could ...
— The Long White Cloud • William Pember Reeves
... Haeggeby, in Uplande, roughly represents for us such a ship under way, probably of about the same date. It is rowed with twelve pairs of oars, and has no sails; and it contains no other persons but the rowers and a coxswain, who acted doubtless as leader of the expedition. Such a boat might convey ...
— Early Britain - Anglo-Saxon Britain • Grant Allen
... till the coxswain bade us hold our lubberly tongues, and not frighten the whales; however, we soon found we wanted all our breath for our work, and more too." Then David painted the furious race after the whale, and how the boat gradually gained, and ...
— Love Me Little, Love Me Long • Charles Reade
... Craeke sounds his coxswain's whistle, it will be a signal of his being clear of the crowd, and of his having reached the other side of the pond. And then it will be our ...
— The Black Tulip • Alexandre Dumas (Pere)
... permits you to devote all your energies to accomplishing something. When secretary for our hospital rowing club on the Thames, a fine cup was given for competition by Sir Frederick Treves on terms symbolic of his attitude to life. The race was to be in ordinary punts with a coxswain "in order that every ounce of energy should be devoted to ...
— A Labrador Doctor - The Autobiography of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell • Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
... who composed the crew strained at their oars until every thing cracked again; but as the flood made, the current against us increased, and we barely held our own. "Steer her, out of the current, man," said the lieutenant to the coxswain; the man put the tiller to port ...
— Tom Cringle's Log • Michael Scott
... we crossed to a small island at the margin of the ice; and leaving the boat there in charge of the coxswain and two of the crew, Mr. Ross and myself, accompanied by the other two, set out across the ice at seven A.M. to gain the main land, with the intention of determining the extent of the inlet by walking up its southern bank. After an hour's good travelling, we landed at eight A.M., and had scarcely ...
— Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the • Sir William Edward Parry
... crew was by the boats, and one only, a small whale-boat, got clear of the ship in safety, the others were all either stove or washed off the booms and dashed to pieces on the rocks by the raging surf. The boat that escaped was manned by the coxswain, George Smith, and nine others. When they got clear of the wreck, they lay on their oars, and those who had clothing shared it with others who were nearly naked. They then pulled towards the Island of Pauri, seeing that ...
— Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 • William O. S. Gilly
... sweet companion—"I rejoice to hear you say this, for I am an inveterate star-gazer and moon-ite; and I shall hope to persuade you and Mrs. Dutton to waste yet another hour, with me, in walking on this height. Ah! yonder is Sam Yoke, my coxswain, waiting to report the barge; I can send Sir Gervaise's message to the surgeons, by deputy, and there will be no occasion for my hastening from this lovely ...
— The Two Admirals • J. Fenimore Cooper
... hold four. We'd put Jack in yours, and take you girls a nice spin up to the Hemlocks," said Frank, whose idea of bliss was floating down the river with Annette as coxswain. ...
— Jack and Jill • Louisa May Alcott
... stone quay, he left a boat-keeper in charge and proceeded towards the post office, while the coxswain and the rest of the men went in search of the much-desired commodities in the shape of fresh butter ...
— The Submarine Hunters - A Story of the Naval Patrol Work in the Great War • Percy F. Westerman
... their masters spoke it. The white men have gone; the brogue remains. I was much amused on going ashore in the Administrator's whaleboat, he being an old acquaintance from the Co. Tyrone, to hear his jet-black coxswain remark, "'Tis the lee side I will be going, sorr, the way your Honour will not be getting wet, for them back-seas are mighty throublesome." ...
— Here, There And Everywhere • Lord Frederic Hamilton
... emphasis, "and Buck Lemington, he's there on deck, big as ever. To hear him talk you'd think he was already made coxswain of the crew, and could lord it over the rest of us like ...
— Fred Fenton on the Crew - or, The Young Oarsmen of Riverport School • Allen Chapman
... he said, weighing the purse in his hand—for, being a man of unbounded expense, he had almost constant occasion for money—"The base, sordid scullion! A coxswain's wife would give more to know that her husband had crossed the narrow seas in safety. He acquire any tincture of humane letters!—yes, when prowling foxes and yelling wolves become musicians. ...
— Quentin Durward • Sir Walter Scott
... The coxswain demurred, although these men are very skilled in the handling of their boats; but at last he was prevailed upon by his crew to allow the officer to try the experiment. The latter only agreed to do so on condition that he was in no way interfered ...
— Looking Seaward Again • Walter Runciman
... my buoyancy abandoned me. The atmosphere of officialdom would kill anything that breathes the air of human endeavour, would extinguish hope and fear alike in the supremacy of paper and ink. I passed heavily under the curtain which the Malay coxswain of the harbour launch raised for me. There was nobody in the office except the clerks, writing in two industrious rows. But the head Shipping-Master hopped down from his elevation and hurried along on the thick mats to meet me in ...
— The Shadow-Line - A Confession • Joseph Conrad
... said the coxswain to-day, when we were struggling to get our cutter off from the pier, and I gave away to such an extent, in fact, that I suddenly found myself balanced cleverly on the back of my neck in the bottom of the boat, so that I experienced ...
— Biltmore Oswald - The Diary of a Hapless Recruit • J. Thorne Smith, Jr.
... to come down to the boat, for they had orders not to carry me on board any more. Any one may guess what a surprise I was in at so insolent a message; and I asked the man who bade him deliver that message to me? He told me the coxswain. ...
— The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe • Daniel Defoe
... hand to the captain. He grasped it powerfully. 'That crew in a boat, and wouldn't you know the devil'd be coxswain?' he called loudly, and ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith
... others. After sunset the first level spot where any bushes were growing, was chosen for our night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns to be cook. Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his fire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things out of the boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and collected firewood. By this order, in half an hour everything was ready for the night. A watch of two men and an officer was always kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep ...
— The Voyage of the Beagle • Charles Darwin
... take him on board. On the way thither it was necessary to pass over the scene of the day's battle, and although it was night and the only illumination came from the moon, and the lantern which the admiral's coxswain was carrying, there was light enough to reveal many of the horrors of the past day's fight, and Frobisher was more than glad when that blood-stained field was left behind and they came to the margin ...
— A Chinese Command - A Story of Adventure in Eastern Seas • Harry Collingwood
... "Coxswain, Ensign Darrin will take charge of the shipping of the stores in number four hold," Cantor announced. "Show him the way to the hold and ...
— Dave Darrin at Vera Cruz • H. Irving Hancock
... Club and Boat Racing is the popular sport of crew rowing or sculling, where each college appoints a crew of eight strong scull pullers or oarsmen and one small coxswain or steersman to pilot a long narrow boat called a skiff or shell. The coxswain calls the strokes and is generally the coach and commander of the crew. Unlike in a canoe, the pullers face backwards, and the one nearest the coxswain is called the "stroke ...
— Tom Brown at Oxford • Thomas Hughes
... of great interest. He was the same old man whom Captain Wragge had seen in the backyard at St. Crux, at work on the model of a ship. All round the neighborhood he was known, far and wide, as "the admiral's coxswain." His name was Mazey. Sixty years had written their story of hard work at sea, and hard drinking on shore, on the veteran's grim and wrinkled face. Sixty years had proved his fidelity, and had brought his battered old carcass, ...
— No Name • Wilkie Collins
... of course, to advance one of the men. The boatswain, Job Anderson, was the likeliest man aboard, and though he kept his old title, he served in a way as mate. Mr. Trelawney had followed the sea, and his knowledge made him very useful, for he often took a watch himself in easy weather. And the coxswain, Israel Hands, was a careful, wily, old, experienced seaman, who could be trusted at a pinch with ...
— Treasure Island • Robert Louis Stevenson
... the staff at this port, which previously consisted of a pilot and three hands, has been considerably reduced—the coxswain only (who is also a boatman pilot) being retained. The trade to the port is merely one small steamer, making about ...
— Report on the Department of Ports and Harbours for the Year 1890-1891 • Department of Ports and Harbours
... coxswain, on his return from the island of Dirck Hartighs, brought us a pewter plate of about six inches in diameter, on which was roughly engraven two Dutch inscriptions, the first dated 25th of October, 1616, and the second dated 4th of February, ...
— The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 • Ernest Favenc
... man (Edward Aymes) at Wahoo. He belonged to a boat's crew which was sent ashore for a load of sugar canes. By the time the boat was loaded by the natives the ebb of the tide had left her aground, and Aymes asked leave of the coxswain to take a stroll, engaging to be back for the flood. Leave was granted him, but during his absence, the tide haying come in sufficiently to float the boat, James Thorn, the coxswain, did not wait for the young sailor, who was thus left behind. The captain immediately missed the man, and, ...
— Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the First American Settlement on the Pacific • Gabriel Franchere
... the stern-sheets, sitting with their muskets between their knees. In the bows of the boat was a small swivel-gun, and all the bluejackets with cutlasses and pistols. Besides the lieutenant and Jack, there was the coxswain, and there were some half-dozen long pikes which, as the latter observed, would come in handy, if they had a fight with another boat or had to attack a fort, but for boarding he would not give a rush ...
— The Three Midshipmen • W.H.G. Kingston
... schooner's quarter-deck, and the plucky officer was seen to throw his hands above his head, grasp wildly at the empty air for a moment, and then disappear over the side of the launch. In an instant all was confusion among the blue-jackets. The coxswain, who of course was left in command, shouted to the engineer to shut off steam, to the crew to drop their muskets and pick up their oars, and to the captain of the howitzer to cut loose with his load ...
— Marcy The Blockade Runner • Harry Castlemon
... kind of interest attached to Juan Fernandez. It was on Mas a Tierra that, in 1704, the celebrated English navigator, Dampier, landed his coxswain, Alexander Selkirk, with whom he had quarrelled, and left him there with a small quantity of provisions, and a few tools. Selkirk had lived four years and four months on this uninhabited island, when he was found there by the bucaneers Woods and Rogers, and brought back to Europe. From the ...
— Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests • J. J. von Tschudi
... stage of Quebec history just at this time. In 1782 the frigate Albemarle, twenty-eight guns, lay in the harbour, and her brilliant, handsome commander was Horatio Nelson. This paragon of fortune had entered His Majesty's Navy as a child of twelve; at fourteen he was captain's coxswain on the expedition of the Carcass to the North Pole; and now, with an astonishing experience crowded into a life of twenty-four years, he dropped anchor before ...
— Old Quebec - The Fortress of New France • Sir Gilbert Parker and Claude Glennon Bryan
... burst in his hand, and flown away in fragments, leaving only a small portion of the barrel at my feet. How it happened that the coxswain and myself were unhurt seemed a miracle. I was on the right of Mr. Gore, in the stern-sheets of the yawl, and the coxswain was a little on the left, and over him, steering. Our preservation can only be attributed to Him whose eye is on all his creatures and who disposes of our lives as ...
— Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 • John Lort Stokes
... saluting, the coxswain possessed himself of Jack's suit case and sword, then crossed the wharf to the landing stairs down below, the gunboat's cutter waited, a natty little craft, occupied by a bowman and ...
— The Submarine Boys for the Flag - Deeding Their Lives to Uncle Sam • Victor G. Durham
... Charles Ferguson. Two other persons were placed in the dock besides his Lordship, one of whom gave the name of Edward Hammersley, of 41, St. James's Street, and the other, who was equipped in the garb of a waterman, said his name was George Elliott, and that he was his Lordship's coxswain. ...
— Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign • John Ashton
... today one of which had nearly produced fatal consequences. A man was detected with a married woman by the husband, who stabbed him in the belly with a knife: fortunately the intestines escaped and the wound did not prove dangerous. The other instance was a girl, who had constantly lived with my coxswain, beating another girl that she discovered to have been too intimate ...
— A Voyage to the South Sea • William Bligh
... boat rowed by a crew of the young ladies, of which Miss Euthymia was the captain and pulled the bow oar. Poor little Lurida could not pull an oar, but on great occasions, when there were many boats out, she was wanted as coxswain, being a mere feather-weight, and quick-witted enough to serve well in the important office where brains are ...
— A Mortal Antipathy • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
... last mile was always the hardest fought. As the boats began to enter the last quarter of this mile, the excitement rose to the highest pitch. First Burrton made a spurt that put them a boat's length ahead of their rivals. Then Brainerd responded to its coxswain's call and closed up the gap, gradually lapping its bow past the stern of the Burrton shell. Then Burrton drew away again for half a boat's length. Brainerd doggedly clung to that position for a short distance and then began slowly ...
— The High Calling • Charles M. Sheldon
... the fact that the institution relies for its work on spontaneous service and emotion, and is not, like ours, a legalized, systematic business. No permanent force or watch is kept at the stations: a reward of seven shillings is paid to anybody who gives notice of a wreck to the coxswain of the boat. The crews of the boats are volunteers, and if they do not happen to report themselves at the time of a disaster, their places are filled with any good oarsmen who offer. In short, the whole system is based upon the occasional zeal and heroism ...
— Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 99, March, 1876 • Various
... jack tar, salt, able seaman, A. B.; man-of-war's man, bluejacket, galiongee^, galionji^, marine, jolly, midshipman, middy; skipper; shipman^, boatman, ferryman, waterman^, lighterman^, bargeman, longshoreman; bargee^, gondolier; oar, oarsman; rower; boatswain, cockswain^; coxswain; steersman, pilot; crew. aerial navigator, aeronaut, balloonist, Icarus; aeroplanist^, airman, aviator, birdman, man-bird, wizard of the air, aviatrix, flier, pilot, test pilot, glider pilot, bush pilot, navigator, ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget
... (or a division) with acting captain, first, second, and third lieutenants, lieutenant surgeon, quartermaster, boatswain, and one coxswain for each crew ...
— Camping For Boys • H.W. Gibson
... them, he had a copy in his pocket, which he would read to them to-morrow morning, as soon as they were comfortably settled on board of the ship. He then appointed Mesty as first lieutenant; the marine as sergeant; the coxswain as boatswain; two men as midshipmen to keep watch; two others as boatswain's mates, leaving two more for the ship's company, who were divided into the larboard and starboard watch. The cutter's crew were perfectly content with Jack's speech, and their brevet rank, and after ...
— Mr. Midshipman Easy • Frederick Marryat
... cookdom, as the cardinals look to the popedom; and really there is some analogy between them, for neither is preferred from any especial fitness for the office. A cardinal is made pope because he is old, infirm, and imbecile—our friend Caboose was made cook because he had been Lord Nelson's coxswain, was a drunken rascal, and had a wooden leg; for, as to his gastronomical qualifications, he knew no more of the science than just sufficient to watch the copper where the salt junk and potatoes were boiling. Having been a little in the wind overnight, he had quartered himself, in the ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 14, - Issue 401, November 28, 1829 • Various
... caution, there is no doubt they would easily have captured the boat and the whole of her crew, but instead of this they gave way to the excitement which is one of their failings, and indulged in such loud and continuous chatter that the coxswain of the pinnace heard them when within about twenty yards of the landing-place, and the boat was at once pulled round with her head off shore, and the crew ordered to "give way with a will," in order to escape the very ...
— Under the Meteor Flag - Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War • Harry Collingwood
... accident has just occurred. As the gig was coming alongside, under sail, the tiller broke, and the coxswain who was steering, fell overboard. He was a good swimmer, and struck out for the ship, not thirty yards distant, while the boat fell off rapidly to the leeward. In less than half a minute, a monstrous shark rose to the surface, seized the poor fellow by the body, and carried him instantly under. ...
— Journal of an African Cruiser • Horatio Bridge
... the best crews, too. University crews. Of course, our coxswain could see, but the crew were blind. We've not only taught them to row, we've taught them to support themselves, taught them trades. All men who come here have lost their eyesight in battle in this war, but already ...
— With the French in France and Salonika • Richard Harding Davis
... rigging to the mizzen-top. High sea, thunder and lightning. Great privations. Sun sinks in red, moon rises in green. All hope gone, when—hurrah, a sail! It is the life-boat! Slung on board by ropes. Rockets and coloured lights let off. The coxswain calls upon the crew to "pull blue," or "pull white." Startling adventures. On the rocks! Off them! Saved! Everybody pleased with my story. Keep to myself the fact that I have only once in my life been on board a life-boat—when it was practising off Lynton. No more stories after mine. Company ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, May 3, 1890. • Various
... three men were advanced in years, and from the resemblance of feature were probably brothers. With the exception of two chiefs at Taheity, these were the tallest Indians I had ever seen; the two brothers being from three to four inches higher than my coxswain, who measured five feet eleven. They were not remarkable for being either stout or slender; though like most of the Australians, their legs did not bear the European proportion to the size of their heads and bodies. The third native ...
— A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 2 • Matthew Flinders
... and would have cut her off had not the people in the pinnace covered them, and called to the boys to drop down the stream. This they did, but the natives pursued in spite of two musket-shots fired at them. At length, one of the natives was poising his spear to dart it at the boys, when the coxswain of the pinnace fired a third time, and shot the native dead. The other three at first attempted to drag off the dead body, but fear soon made them drop it ...
— Captain Cook - His Life, Voyages, and Discoveries • W.H.G. Kingston
... order, for he had instructed Flint to allow no noise or disorder, as sailors and young men generally are somewhat given to skylarking when not under the eye of a commissioned officer. Christy took his place with Flint in the stern sheets of the boat, and ordered Beeks, who was acting as coxswain, to shove off and ...
— Within The Enemy's Lines - SERIES: The Blue and the Gray—Afloat • Oliver Optic
... lonely dingy in a raging sea were observed from the bridge of the cutter, a red-nosed and profane man, who wore a faded blue cap with peak over one ear, gave orders to lower away a sponson boat, and came himself as coxswain, as though unwilling to defer the time ...
— The Skipper and the Skipped - Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul • Holman Day
... foul of the steamer, and being fouled by the sailing ships; the six-pounder methodically perforating the steamer from bow to stern; the steamer's 1-in. gun and the rifles from the sailing ships raking everything and everybody else; E12's coxswain on the conning-tower passing up ammunition; and E12's one workable motor developing "slight defects" at, of course, the moment when ...
— Sea Warfare • Rudyard Kipling
... alongside it would but be necessary for him to declare himself to her crew, and issue to them his orders, to insure the capture of the strangers and their extraordinary ship, out of hand. Meanwhile the convict-ship's gig, with four oarsmen and a coxswain in her, was hanging on to the foot of her parent vessel's gangway-ladder; and presently a file of Russian soldiers, with bayonets fixed, were seen to approach the gangway, escorting between them a prisoner. Arrived at the gangway, one of the two soldiers descended the ladder and seated himself ...
— With Airship and Submarine - A Tale of Adventure • Harry Collingwood
... coxswain," said Captain Parkinson. "A first-class man. I can hardly believe that he is ...
— The Mystery • Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams
... with shoals and shallows. The jacare (crocodile) is known especially to avoid the points where the current sweeps swiftly past, yet no one will hang his hand over the canoe into the water: we did not see any of these wretches, but at Boma Coxswain Deane observed one ...
— Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 2 • Richard F. Burton
... ago from the South Sea Islands, and drove out or exterminated the natives. As a fact the Maoris are immeasurably superior to the Australian natives. Captain Cook, in describing his landing in 1769, says, "one of the natives raised his spear, as if to dart it at the boat; the coxswain fired, and shot him dead,"—a melancholy omen of the future relations between the natives and the strangers. The Maori wars have cost us many lives, but, of course, have always had the same ending. The natives ...
— Six Letters From the Colonies • Robert Seaton
... would not allow me to resist the temptation of attending the party in my gig; and I had my friend Mr. Brooke as a companion, who was likewise attended by a sampan and crew he had taken with him to Sarawak from Singapore. His coxswain, Seboo, we shall all long remember: he was civil only to his master, and, I believe, brave while in his company. He was a stupid-looking and powerfully-built sort of savage, always praying, eating, smiling, or sleeping. When going ...
— The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido - For the Suppression of Piracy • Henry Keppel
... was added to the occasion by the arrival of four men, who came from New Brunswick, to row at this regatta. They had no coxswain to steer them, as every other boat had, but the rudder was worked by strings leading to one of ...
— The Voyage Alone in the Yawl "Rob Roy" • John MacGregor
... what to believe,' muttered Edward Templemore; 'but, as the lady says, this is no time for explanation. With your permission, madam,' said he to Clara, 'my coxswain will see you in safety on board of the schooner, or the other vessel, if you prefer it; my duty will not allow me to ...
— The Pirate and The Three Cutters • Frederick Marryat
... few minutes the coxswain cried, "Way enough," and throwing up his hand with the word "Toss," the cutter shot swiftly alongside; the boat-hooks of the bowmen brought her up with a sudden jar, and the next moment an officer with an epaulet on his right shoulder and a sword by his side stepped over the ...
— Captain Brand of the "Centipede" • H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
... of the jetty fired grape shot into the head of the column, and laid everybody low,—Santa Anna and the rest of them. Some fanatics rushed to the end of the mole in spite of this, to try and shoot the admiral point blank, and he was in great danger. His coxswain and the midshipman on duty, Halna Dufretay (an admiral and a senator when he died), covered him with their own bodies and were both severely wounded. His secretary, who was with him, and who carried a double- barrelled rifle, ...
— Memoirs • Prince De Joinville
... vessel in its turn, we arranged that four of us should get on board—two (I being one of them) to see to the safety of Mr. Blanchard's daughter, and two to beat back the cowardly remnant of the crew if they tried to crowd in first. The other three—the coxswain and two oarsmen—were left in the boat to keep her from being crushed by the ship. What the others saw when they first boarded La Grace de Dieu I don't know; what I saw was the woman whom I had lost, the woman vilely stolen from me, ...
— Armadale • Wilkie Collins
... one of the batteries when it blew up. The pinnace was involved in one vast cloud of fire and smoke, and masses of flaming wood, and it was expected that the brave crew had perished. It was not so: as the smoke cleared away, the pinnace was seen still proudly riding on the waves. Her coxswain was killed, several of her crew were wounded, and one of the burning masses of timber had fallen into her, and had gone through her bottom, but the sailors saved her from sinking by stuffing their jackets into the cavity! In ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. - From George III. to Victoria • E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
... on Friday morning, the 3d," resumed Comly, "the Merrimac left the fleet and steamed in towards Santiago entrance. On board, besides Hobson and his six chosen men, was one other, a coxswain of the New York, who had helped prepare the collier for her fate, and at the last moment stowed himself away in her hold for the sake ...
— "Forward, March" - A Tale of the Spanish-American War • Kirk Munroe
... William Lee, (The kindly captain's coxswain he, A nervous, shy, low-spoken man) He cleared his throat and ...
— Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs • W. S. Gilbert
... dignified and magnificent as he reclined in the stern of the beautiful craft. He said nothing, and of course the coxswain, who sat behind him, was not privileged to say any thing. It was his duty to speak when he was spoken to, and with a keen eye he watched the progress of the boat, as she cut her way through the ...
— Watch and Wait - or The Young Fugitives • Oliver Optic
... "Sorry we must part so soon. Your intelligent interest made this a pleasant day to me. I shall see you now on board. You had a glimpse of the 'Treasure House of the World.' A very good name that." And the coxswain's voice at the door, announcing that the gig was ready, ...
— Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard • Joseph Conrad
... lad, my coxswain will take charge of you and your chest," said the Captain, "and ...
— Ben Burton - Born and Bred at Sea • W. H. G. Kingston
... thought it time to proceed on their original expedition, and having taken leave of their sable friends, rowed to some distance, where they landed, and set out for Broken Bay, ordering the coxswain of the boat, in which they had come down, to go immediately and acquaint the governor of all that had passed. When the natives saw that the boat was about to depart, they crowded around her, and brought down, by way of present, ...
— A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson • Watkin Tench
... and said (The Captain's coxswain he), "We've heard the speech your honour's made, And ...
— More Bab Ballads • W. S. Gilbert
... young Farragut lay apparently asleep, but in reality listening and watching, the coxswain of the Alert came to his hammock with a pistol in hand. Farragut scarcely breathed until he had passed by, then noiselessly the young midshipman crept to the cabin where Captain Porter was, aroused him and told him what he had seen. The Captain sprang from his cot, ...
— Ten Boys from History • Kate Dickinson Sweetser
... we were spliced, Bonny Blue, (Silvery it gleams down the moon-glade o' time, Ah, sugar in the bowl and berries in the prime!) Coxswain I o' the Commodore's crew,— Under me the fellows that manned his fine gig, Spinning him ashore, a king in full fig. Chirrupy even when crosses rubbed me, Bridegroom Dick lieutenants dubbed me. Pleasant at a yarn, Bob o' Linkum in ...
— John Marr and Other Poems • Herman Melville
... stations, and this portion has been greatly increased during Sir James Graham's administration.] But to go on. The yawl was ordered on shore for the liberty men, and the purser gives this breaker, which was at least half full, and I dare say there might be three gallons in it, under my charge as coxswain, to deliver to madam at the house. Well, as soon as we landed, I shoulders the breaker, and starts with ...
— Jacob Faithful • Captain Frederick Marryat
... that they were dry, and, loading them, placed them on the thwarts ready for use. The schooner held her course. There was just wind enough to fill her sails and no more. I felt convinced that she was French. I asked the coxswain, Ned Dawlish, his opinion. He agreed with me, and thought that she ...
— Marmaduke Merry - A Tale of Naval Adventures in Bygone Days • William H. G. Kingston
... for her husband at the table, and poured out a cup of tea, "for there's bin two sloops an' a schooner on the rocks off the pier-head for three hours past, an' a' the lads are out at them,—Uncle John among the rest. They've made him coxswain o' the new lifeboat since ...
— Shifting Winds - A Tough Yarn • R.M. Ballantyne
... his life to save others. While the ship was being fitted out, he had been instrumental in saving two lives at Point Beach. Again, a short time before she sailed, and while she was lying at Spithead, the coxswain of one of the cutters fell overboard. The captain ran aft, and was instantly in the water, where he caught the man just as he was sinking. Life was apparently extinct, but happily was restored by the usual means. Perhaps no man has oftener distinguished ...
— The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth • Edward Osler
... relieving the tedium of the long row by scratching the monkey's head and pulling its ears, the animal complacently accepting both operations, and turning its head about so that every portion should receive its share of the scratching, till all at once the boat was run alongside, the coxswain took hold with his boathook, and while the falls were hooked on, an order was given above, and they were ...
— The Black Bar • George Manville Fenn
... boat action during the blockade of Cadiz was the most severe. While making an attempt against the Spanish gunboats, he was attacked by D. Miguel Tregayen, in an armed launch, carrying twenty-six men; fearful odds against his ten bargemen, captain, and coxswain. Eighteen Spaniards were killed, the rest wounded, and ...
— Thrilling Stories Of The Ocean • Marmaduke Park
... Mate Elzer Howell and Coxswain Francis G. Connor thereupon jumped overboard and made a line fast to the German. But he died a few minutes after he ...
— Our Navy in the War • Lawrence Perry |
