{"id":"01KG8AMEAHKMGXA6RTKR65ST24","cid":"bafkreifaqxjrqe7nsjhhurdvjkub6hsxfctuqtfst4um246xifqiai3pka","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":1324,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:36.270Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 1","source_file":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","start_line":1258,"text":"Having glanced at the grand divisions of a man-of-war, let us now\r\ndescend to specialities: and, particularly, to two of the junior\r\nlieutenants; lords and noblemen; members of that House of Peers, the\r\ngun-room. There were several young lieutenants on board; but from these\r\ntwo—representing the extremes of character to be found in their\r\ndepartment—the nature of the other officers of their grade in the\r\nNeversink must be derived.\r\n\r\nOne of these two quarter-deck lords went among the sailors by a name of\r\ntheir own devising—Selvagee. Of course, it was intended to be\r\ncharacteristic; and even so it was.\r\n\r\nIn frigates, and all large ships of war, when getting under weigh, a\r\nlarge rope, called a _messenger_ used to carry the strain of the cable\r\nto the capstan; so that the anchor may be weighed, without the muddy,\r\nponderous cable, itself going round the capstan. As the cable enters\r\nthe hawse-hole, therefore, something must be constantly used, to keep\r\nthis travelling chain attached to this travelling _messenger_;\r\nsomething that may be rapidly wound round both, so as to bind them\r\ntogether. The article used is called a _selvagee_. And what could be\r\nbetter adapted to the purpose? It is a slender, tapering, unstranded\r\npiece of rope prepared with much solicitude; peculiarly flexible; and\r\nwreathes and serpentines round the cable and messenger like an\r\nelegantly-modeled garter-snake round the twisted stalks of a vine.\r\nIndeed, _Selvagee_ is the exact type and symbol of a tall, genteel,\r\nlimber, spiralising exquisite. So much for the derivation of the name\r\nwhich the sailors applied to the Lieutenant.\r\n\r\nFrom what sea-alcove, from what mermaid’s milliner’s shop, hast thou\r\nemerged, Selvagee! with that dainty waist and languid cheek? What\r\nheartless step-dame drove thee forth, to waste thy fragrance on the\r\nsalt sea-air?\r\n\r\nWas it _you_, Selvagee! that, outward-bound, off Cape Horn, looked at\r\nHermit Island through an opera-glass? Was it _you_, who thought of\r\nproposing to the Captain that, when the sails were furled in a gale, a\r\nfew drops of lavender should be dropped in their “bunts,” so that when\r\nthe canvas was set again, your nostrils might not be offended by its\r\nmusty smell? I do not _say_ it was you, Selvagee; I but deferentially\r\ninquire.\r\n\r\nIn plain prose, Selvagee was one of those officers whom the sight of a\r\ntrim-fitting naval coat had captivated in the days of his youth. He\r\nfancied, that if a _sea-officer_ dressed well, and conversed genteelly,\r\nhe would abundantly uphold the honour of his flag, and immortalise the\r\ntailor that made him. On that rock many young gentlemen split. For upon\r\na frigate’s quarter-deck, it is not enough to sport a coat fashioned by\r\na Stultz; it is not enough to be well braced with straps and\r\nsuspenders; it is not enough to have sweet reminiscences of Lauras and\r\nMatildas. It is a right down life of hard wear and tear, and the man\r\nwho is not, in a good degree, fitted to become a common sailor will\r\nnever make an officer. Take that to heart, all ye naval aspirants.\r\nThrust your arms up to the elbow in pitch and see how you like it, ere\r\nyou solicit a warrant. Prepare for white squalls, living gales and\r\ntyphoons; read accounts of shipwrecks and horrible disasters; peruse\r\nthe Narratives of Byron and Bligh; familiarise yourselves with the\r\nstory of the English frigate Alceste and the French frigate Medusa.\r\nThough you may go ashore, now and then, at Cadiz and Palermo; for every\r\nday so spent among oranges and ladies, you will have whole months of\r\nrains and gales.\r\n\r\nAnd even thus did Selvagee prove it. But with all the intrepid\r\neffeminacy of your true dandy, he still continued his Cologne-water\r\nbaths, and sported his lace-bordered handkerchiefs in the very teeth of\r\na tempest. Alas, Selvagee! there was no getting the lavender out of\r\nyou.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 1"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AM86ETDGJ81E4AWPWM597","peer_type":"intro","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AMEAH1XF606N2PCWWFKV2","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:37.201Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:43.133Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}