Ships begin life with a retrograde movement; they imitate the crabs: in
other words, they are launched stern foremost. Whether great or small,
long or short, whether clothed in patrician copper or smeared with
plebeian tar, they all start on their first voyage with their
stern-posts acting the part of cut-water, and, also, without masts or
sails. These necessary adjuncts, and a host of others, are added after
they have been clasped to the bosom of their native sea. One notable
exception there is to this rule, the launch of the far-famed _Great
Eastern_, which monster of the deep was forced into her element
_sidewise_, of which a full account will be found in another part of
this volume.
The _cradles_ on which ships are launched are wooden frameworks, so
constructed as to slide down an inclined plane, called the _ways_,
bearing their burdens along with them into the water. When a ship is
ready for launching, the _shores_, or supports, that have kept her so
long in position are knocked away one by one, until the entire weight of
the ship rests on the cradle. The _ways_ are then well greased, and it
only remains to knock away one or two remaining checks to allow the
vessel to seek her future home by means of her own weight.
But before this last act is done, a day must be fixed for the launch;
friends of the owners must be invited to go on board during this her
first voyage; a fair maiden must be asked to go through the ceremony of
giving the ship her name; and paragraphs must go the round of the
newspapers. As the hour draws near, crowds of human beings, young and
old, male and female, must hurry to the spot to witness the great event,
and hundreds of little boys must beg leave from school (if they can); in
short, a great stir must be made, and a great day must dawn, before the
last shores are knocked away, and the noble structure be permitted to
rush down that inclined plane, and for the first time cleave the waves.
And now, having shown how the launching of our ship is accomplished, let
us turn to consider the next step towards completion; for there is yet
much to be done ere she is able to brave the tempest.