Her deck was the very model
of neatness. Verily the spirit of either a Yankee housewife or a Dutch
vrow must have presided over that boat and tyrannized over the poor
wretches who managed it. Black Care seemed to sit continually upon
their brows. They were living scrubbing-brushes. They were scrub-mad.
From morn to dewy eve they scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, and
doubtless in their dreams they still scrubbed on. The crew consisted of
a man and his wife, their boy and an old uncle of the boy. I found, to
my delight, that the boy was a very communicative young gentleman,
flowing freely in talk without any pumping on my part. The various
quaint technical phrases which I learned from him shall now be imparted
to the reader. The _berme_, or _heel-path_, is the side of the canal
opposite the tow-path; _basins_ are small coves in the canal where
boats may lie over; _stop-lock_, a sort of quay; the _bit_, a
timber-head at the bow of the boat. _Snub her!_ is a phrase of command,
meaning, "Tie the boat to a post on the bank." _Pipe-poles_ are
steering-poles. The _stern pile_ (of coal on this canal) is in a large
crib near the stern and just in front of the cabin, and is placed in
this particular part of the long and unwieldy boat in order to make her
obey the helm better.
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