A Mainsail Haul
(Macmillan, 1913)
This collection was originally published in 1905, and contains sixteen short stories and articles, most of which appeared in periodicals such as The Manchester Guardian, Pall Mall, and the Gentlemen's Magazine. All the material in this anthology has to do with the sea. And that's what the reader would expect after having read the author's famous first book, Salt Water Ballads (1902). While this book is no monument of literary genius, it shows early marks of that peculiar talent that made Masefield one of the great writers of the 20th Century. Unfortunately, Masefield-- like many authors of the Edwardian period-- has fallen into neglect. However, his vast output comprises a storehouse of story-telling from which the reader may dip at leisure. The present volume gives us a sampling of some of his best early work.
A few of the tales in Mainsail Haul verge on the juvenile. This is probably because, in telling his stories, Masefield prefers the manner of the "spoken yarn" to that of formal literary composition. Not that he was lacking in any such ability-- for his essays show a mastery of narrative which evinces something better than average craftsmanship. But, Masefield always felt that the best way to tell a yarn was to tell it-- not write it. Thus, his prose abounds in the racy speech of sea-faring men. He lets these men do most of the talking, while he stands behind the curtains as scene-shifter. Whether it be the warm waters of the Caribbean sea, or the dangerous breakers off Cape Horn, Masefield imbues all his subject-matter with a charm that is distinctly his own. It should be mentioned, incidentally, that Masefield is obsessed with the supernatural. And he wastes no time in getting down to business.
The first tale "Don Alfonso's Treasure," deals with a Spanish sailor who lands on a strange island, where he immediately finds a tavern, and proceeds to get drunk. When he gets out, however, he realizes that a a bizarre "lapse of time" has occurred-- all his shipmates are dead, and the ship in which he sailed is rotten and decrepit. This little yarn is followed by "Port of Many Ships," which purports to relate an old mariner's legend concerning the Day of Judgment, when all the sunken ships will arise and sail into the setting of the last sun. Some of the imagery in this piece is powerful. "Sea Superstition" brings to mind a poem by the author called "Sea Change." Then there is another yarn called "From the Spanish," in which an ornate vessel built by a Spanish grandee is carefully delineated, giving full play to the poet's skill at descriptive prose. "The Western Islands" and "The Yarn of Lanky Job" are written in a lighter vein.
"In a Castle Ruin" contains the ghastly account of a "dragon man" who holds dark and mysterious rites in the lonely woods near an English sea-coast. "A Deal of Cards," the longest story in the volume, is a frightening tale of a drunken sailor who has repeated hallucinations of a hag presenting him a pack of tarot cards. These hallucinations, from which he tries in vain to escape, all presage his own death. It is obvious that Masefield prefers outré and unusual themes. This love of the uncanny dates from his childhood. Reminiscing over his grandfather's library, he writes:
"I soon found that the Christmas numbers of most of the bound magazines contained ghost stories, some of them very exciting. Any tale even resembling a ghost story I read with zest and full belief; at any rate till nearly sunset. Until the sun declined, I had no qualms about them; as the eastern half of the house darkened, I began always to wish that I had not been quite so rash; by the time the lights were lit, I was in a state of terror, which continued, more or less, till I fell asleep. In the morning, with fresh courage and folly revived I sought again in the inexhaustible mines." (So Long To Learn, 1952). Although Masefield is not generally thought of as a writer of ghost stories, he has written quite a few admirable specimens.
The best entries in this book, however, are probably the five essays. These include: "Captain John Ward," "Captain John Jennings," "The Voyage of the Cygnet," "Captain Robert Knox," and "Captain John Coxon." Masefield himself calls these "historical papers." And in them he gives us a taste of his ability to write interesting non-fiction. They contain some of the most lively nautical history I've read to date. The plain, non-pedantic style of Masefield's prose, as well as his concise, methodical marshaling of the facts, prove that he is entirely in his own element. And his next book, On the Spanish Main (1906), presents a whole collection of such writings. Obviously, A Mainsail Haul is a book which will be loved by anyone with a passion for the sea. If you enjoy such stories, you may find in this collection a real "mainsail haul." I paid about $10 for a decent copy of the 1913 Macmillan edition. However, as I'm aware, other editions are available. Additional information may be found at http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/john-masefield/mainsail-haul.htm
--B.A.S.
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