I see the terror rise inside me, coil a rope in my belly to keep it down. I chant inside my head to freeze my nerve. Main mast, mizzen mast, foremast, belfry, capstan, waist. We must keep the fire coming. If I dodge the sparks my cartridge will be safe, if I learn my lessons I can be a seaman, if I close my eyes to eat my biscuit I will not see the weevils. Main mast, mizzen mast, foremast, shock lockers, bowsprit, gripe. Don’t stop to put out that fire, run to the hold, we must fire at them or they will fire at us. Main mast, mizzen mast, foremast, belfry, capstan, waist. My mother never knew me, but she would want to know this – I can keep a cannon going, I do not need her kiss. Before 1794 children aged 6 upward went to sea.