Download full (Ebook) Practical Microservices Architectural Patterns - Event-Based Java Microservices with Spring Boot and Spring Cloud by Binildas Christudas ISBN 9781484245019, 1484245016 ebook all chapters
Download full (Ebook) Practical Microservices Architectural Patterns - Event-Based Java Microservices with Spring Boot and Spring Cloud by Binildas Christudas ISBN 9781484245019, 1484245016 ebook all chapters
com
OR CLICK HERE
DOWLOAD EBOOK
https://ebooknice.com/product/practical-microservices-architectural-patterns-
event-based-java-microservices-with-spring-boot-and-spring-cloud-55586520
ebooknice.com
https://ebooknice.com/product/learn-microservices-with-spring-boot-a-practical-
approach-to-restful-services-using-an-event-driven-architecture-cloud-native-
patterns-and-containerization-14457582
ebooknice.com
https://ebooknice.com/product/learn-microservices-with-spring-boot-a-practical-
approach-to-restful-services-using-an-event-driven-architecture-cloud-native-
patterns-and-containerization-53775930
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Learn Microservices with Spring Boot 3: A Practical Approach Using Event-
Driven Architecture, Cloud-Native Patterns, and Containerization by Moisés Macero
García, Tarun Telang ISBN 9781484297568, 1484297563, B0CHTVG43Q
https://ebooknice.com/product/learn-microservices-with-spring-
boot-3-a-practical-approach-using-event-driven-architecture-cloud-native-
patterns-and-containerization-53790608
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Spring Boot 2.0 Projects: Build production-grade reactive applications and
microservices with Spring Boot (English Edition) by Mohamed Shazin Sadakath ISBN
9781789136159, 1789136156
https://ebooknice.com/product/spring-boot-2-0-projects-build-production-grade-
reactive-applications-and-microservices-with-spring-boot-english-
edition-22122616
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Cloud Native Java: Designing Resilient Systems with Spring Boot, Spring
Cloud, and Cloud Foundry by Long, Josh, Bastani, Kenny ISBN 9781449374648,
1449374646
https://ebooknice.com/product/cloud-native-java-designing-resilient-systems-
with-spring-boot-spring-cloud-and-cloud-foundry-55586008
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Spring REST: Building Java Microservices and Cloud Applications by Balaji
Varanasi, Maxim Bartkov ISBN 9781484274767, 1484274768
https://ebooknice.com/product/spring-rest-building-java-microservices-and-cloud-
applications-36432446
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Beginning Spring Boot 3: Build Dynamic Cloud-Native Java Applications and
Microservices - Second Edition by K. Siva Prasad Reddy, Sai Upadhyayula ISBN
9781484287927, 9781484287910, 1484287924, 1484287916
https://ebooknice.com/product/beginning-spring-boot-3-build-dynamic-cloud-
native-java-applications-and-microservices-second-edition-53048286
ebooknice.com
(Ebook) Learn Microservices with Spring Boot 3 by Moises Macero Garcia, Tarun Telang
ISBN 9781484297568, 9781484297575, 1484297563, 1484297571
https://ebooknice.com/product/learn-microservices-with-spring-boot-3-53783902
ebooknice.com
Practical
Microservices
Architectural Patterns
Event-Based Java Microservices
with Spring Boot and Spring Cloud
—
Binildas Christudas
Foreword by Guy Pardon, Allard Buijze
and Schahram Dustdar
Practical Microservices
Architectural Patterns
Event-Based Java Microservices with
Spring Boot and Spring Cloud
Binildas Christudas
Foreword by Guy Pardon, Allard Buijze
and Schahram Dustdar
Practical Microservices Architectural Patterns
Binildas Christudas
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Foreword�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xxvii
Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xxxi
v
Table of Contents
vi
Table of Contents
Scalable Microservices��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47
Extensible Microservices������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 52
vii
Table of Contents
viii
Table of Contents
ix
Table of Contents
x
Visit https://ebooknice.com to
discover a wide range of
eBooks across various genres.
Enjoy exclusive deals and
discounts to enhance your
reading experience. Start your
digital reading journey today!
Table of Contents
xi
Table of Contents
xii
Table of Contents
xiv
Table of Contents
xv
Table of Contents
xvi
Table of Contents
xvii
Table of Contents
xviii
Table of Contents
xix
Table of Contents
Index��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 885
xx
Visit https://ebooknice.com to
discover a wide range of
eBooks across various genres.
Enjoy exclusive deals and
discounts to enhance your
reading experience. Start your
digital reading journey today!
About the Author
Binildas Christudas provides technical architecture
consultancy for IT solutions. He has over 20 years of IT
experience, mostly in Microsoft and Oracle technologies.
Distributed computing and service-oriented integration
are his main skills, with extensive hands-on experience
in Java and C# programming. A well-known and highly
sought-after thought leader, Binil has designed and built
many highly scalable middle-tier and integration solutions for several top-notch
clients including Fortune 500 companies. He has been employed by multiple IT
consulting firms including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services and currently works
for IBS Software Private Limited as the Chief Architect. In his role as VP and Head of
Technology, he leads technology and architecture strategies for IBS’s product portfolio.
Binil is a Sun Certified Programmer (SCJP), Developer (SCJD), Business Component
Developer (SCBCD), and Enterprise Architect (SCEA), Microsoft Certified Professional
(MCP), and Open Group (TOGAF8) Certified Enterprise Architecture Practitioner. He
is also a Licensed Zapthink Architect (LZA) in SOA. Binil has his B.Tech. in Mechanical
Engineering from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET) and MBA in Systems
from the Institute of Management Kerala (IMK). Binil was the captain of the Kerala
University Power Lifting team and was the national champion during his university
studies. IBS has applied for his proposal titled “A Method and a System for Facilitating
Multitenancy of Services” to be a patent with the USPTO. Binil can be contacted through
www.linkedin.com/in/binildasca/ or www.facebook.com/binildas.christudas.
xxi
About the Technical Reviewer
Arun Prasanth has 12 years of experience as a hands-on
software architect involved in the architecture, design,
coding, and implementation of Java/J2EE-based
microservices architecture and service-oriented architecture.
He is currently working as senior technical architect in IBS
software services in Japan. Previously, he worked in the
banking domain at Societe Generale Global Solutions.
xxiii
Acknowledgments
A big thanks to Apress Media for having trust in me and giving me the opportunity to write
this book. Nikhil Karkal and Divya Modi from Apress have been very helpful in making
the process seamless and quick for me. I want to thank Siddhi Chavan for collaborating
with me and providing detailed instructions on how to make the content even better. I also
thank Matthew Moodie for providing the shape of this book through the initial chapters.
The tech-friendly workplace at IBS Software has been a boon for me. Many thanks to
Mr. V. K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group, for consistent motivation throughout
my literary journey. I also need to thank Mr. Arun Hrishikesan, Chief Technology Officer,
IBS, for his constant reminders and support for completing this book, especially in
providing his broader views on technology areas, which has influenced the content and
style of this book to a great extent.
I thank Dr. Schahram for the many hours of interactions where he shared his views
on CAP theorem and its implications in practical software architectures.
Special thanks are due to Mr. Allard Buijze, CTO & Founder at AxonIQ, who extended
all support in completing this book.
My note of thanks to Dr. Guy Pardon, PhD, Global Solutions Architect at Atomikos,
for providing his insights into my book proposal and contents. Guy kept us honest,
picking up technical errors and ambiguities. The complete weekend dedicated to
making the chapters on transactions so detailed was invaluable, and I am so thankful.
Arun Prasanth made sure all the examples within this book were working as
expected. I thank him for reviewing the code content and also for doing the technical
review for the book.
Finally, special thanks to my wife, Sowmya Hubert, who knows how strong my
passion for technology is and who never complains about the time I spend writing.
I would like to thank my daughters, Ann S. Binil and Ria S. Binil, who were way too
understanding and supportive over the last many months while I was locked away
with my laptop instead of spending time with them. A huge thanks is due to my father,
Christudas Y., and mother, Azhakamma J., for their selfless support, which helped
me reach where I am today. Also my note of thanks to my in-laws, Hubert Daniel and
Pamala Percis. Finally, thanks to my sister, Dr. Binitha, her husband, Dr. Segin Chandran,
and their daughter, Aardra.
xxv
Foreword
This book you currently hold in your hands is clearly the result of many years of hands-on
experience of a software engineer and architect. Binildas Christudas has written a
comprehensive volume guiding software engineers and software architects through the
jungle of conceptual decisions to be made in the realm of distributed systems architectures.
The chapters are structured in a logical manner so that the reader is guided through
a set of important questions that need to be asked in all large-scale distributed systems
projects. In particular, it deserves to be highlighted that the author spends a good
amount of the book explaining in detail all questions software architects and software
engineers need to ask before embarking on projects considering the use of microservices
and architecting the transition from monolithic architectures towards microservices-
based architectures. Furthermore, this book also discusses issues related to cloud
deployments, which constitutes a significant aspect of such systems.
The set of exciting and advanced issues discussed in this book covers a range of
topics from fundamentals of microservices to questions related to transactions, eventual
consistency, cloud deployments, and CAP theorem-related issues.
This volume can serve as a guiding book on all matters related to microservices. It’s a
step-by-step manual on which questions to ask and subsequently which steps to take in
order to implement microservices-based distributed systems.
Thank you.
Schahram Dustdar
Fellow, IEEE, & Head, Distributed Systems Group
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT, WEIN (Vienna University of Technology)
xxvii
Foreword
Allard Buijze
CTO & Founder of AxonIQ
Creator of Axon Framework
xxviii
Foreword
Microservices are all the news these days, just like SOA was a few years ago. Some people
say that microservices are just SOA done right. Instead of heavy WS-* standards, we now
have REST. Instead of the ESB, we have a lightweight broker like ActiveMQ. What about
transactions? In the following of industry giants like Amazon, we don’t necessarily use
(nor recommend) global ACID transactions that span all our microservices. Instead, it’s
all about BASE and Sagas these days.
BASE means: not a giant ACID transaction across all microservices (with one
enormous commit), but instead multiple, smaller ACID transactions that ripple through
the system - so it becomes consistent, eventually. Messaging is crucial for this.
Each of these smaller ACID transactions can be controlled with proven technologies
like XA, so they are really ACID - even when things go wrong.
Unfortunately, BASE is all too often just a misleading excuse used by modern
frameworks or technologies / platforms that lack XA support. The way BASE is
implemented is key, and without XA it is very hard to do it right - unless you don’t care
about duplicate processing or lost messages.
Duplicates may give issues sooner or later and get addressed with ad-hoc fixes. Lost
messages may never be detected at all except via data inconsistency in the longer term -
where the root cause will be extremely hard to find. You can have issues with both at the
consumer side, but also at the sender side.
A simple and safe way of doing BASE is shown in Figure 13-3 of Chapter 13. Unless
you feel adventurous, I recommend that you stick to this kind of style. If you’re in
financial services, you’ll probably appreciate the strong guarantee offered by XA, with
additional code simplicity as a free bonus.
As Chapter 14 shows, it takes a lot of extra coding and testing to mimic the
guarantees that come out of the box with XA transactions. Most of the tweaking in
Chapter 14 goes well beyond my own comfort zone, but Binildas has done a great job
of pointing out how much needs to be taken into account. It’s not a walk in the park; far
from it.
Advanced coding as with Sagas (Chapter 15) can introduce a different
level of transactions where you give up isolation and have to cope with
compensation yourself. At Atomikos, we have a somewhat similar model
xxix
Foreword
xxx
Introduction
We have been developing and deploying distributed applications for about two decades,
and microservices lays down architectural principles and patterns using many shortfalls
in developing, deploying, and maintaining distributed applications can be dealt with.
Microservices, also known as the microservice architecture, is an architectural style that
structures an application as a collection of loosely coupled, independently deployable
services that are highly maintainable and testable and are organized around business
capabilities. Practical Microservices Architectural Patterns is a practical introduction to
writing microservices in Java using lightweight and common technologies like Spring
Boot, Spring Cloud and Axon. I present the material in a way that will enable you to use
what you learn right away. To that end, I include code samples for all main concepts and
show you exactly how to build and execute them.
The book exposes many architectural complexities you will deal with when
designing microservices, and it uses code samples in solving challenging scenarios.
Practical Microservices Architectural Patterns is an architect’s book first, but
developers and technical managers can benefit from it too. I wrote it keeping in mind
Java architects who want to build serious distributed server-side applications in general
and microservices in particular. Focus is on what an architect should be aware of on
aspects like event-based systems, transactional integrity, data consistency, and so on;
developers too will find the exhaustive code useful in their everyday work. Working
knowledge of Java, Spring, and a bit of HTTP is assumed to get the samples up and
running quickly. If you do not have background in Java and Spring, still the utility build
scripts and step-by-step instructions should help you. Further, even though the samples
are in Java, all the architectural aspects and many of the chapters are not specific to
Java, hence architects with any technology background dealing with distributed systems
should benefit from this book.
The book introduces a complete microservices sample e-commerce application.
The readers can straightaway use it as a template to start building their production
systems. Of all the books available in the Java world, this is the first one exclusively
demonstrating by simulation all success and failure scenarios of a two-phase commit
transaction leveraging an XA transaction manager and two different XA transactional
xxxi
Introduction
resources, with complete code. Having shown the XA transaction in detail, the book
next covers with code, techniques available to attain (eventual) transactional integrity
by confining ACID-style transactions to within partitions and domains to adopt what is
called a BASE transaction across partitions and domains. The book has working samples
for Saga, one of the most well-known patterns for BASE-style distributed transactions.
The book also covers high availability, security, and performance of microservices. Many
of the mantras depicted here are only available with experienced architects; they’re not
available elsewhere in the public domain, but they’re now condensed in the form of this
book.
xxxii
Other documents randomly have
different content
reached the outer clew before the yard was down, and were seldom
in from it till the sail was half-way up. Loss of life occasionally
resulted, but the spirit of emulation always produced successors for
the dangerous task.
In 1853 I saw this operation, which was not directly useful when
completed in such haste, for the greater the speed the more
ineffective was the reefing, done many times in 63 seconds; but in
1851 the Queen’s men did it more than once in 59 seconds. Such
almost incredible rapidity was in a measure due to the Captain, a
man under whose command I now came for a few weeks. He was a
strongly-built, active man, much feared, and still more disliked, by all
hands on account of his severity. Nevertheless, he was respected for
his activity, indomitable courage, and practical seamanship. His face
was scarred by powder marks, a Marine having fired at him close up,
when defending a position at Malta, which the Captain attacked at
the head of a landing party.
Before H.M.S. Queen left the Mediterranean, one morning a
treble-reefed topsail broke loose in a gale of wind, and the mass of
canvas, flapping with violence, daunted the topsail yardmen, who
feared they would be knocked off the yard, on which they hesitated
to venture, till the Captain reached them from the deck, and “laying
out,” passed a rope round the sail and secured it. A few days after I
joined, when we were weighing anchor from St. Helen’s, Isle of
Wight, and had got the stock of our best bower anchor awash, the
9
forecastle man, whose duty it was to shin down the cable and pass
a rope through the ring on the stock, to run a hawser in order to
“cat” the anchor, twice went half-way down and then climbed back,
fearing to be washed off the stock, for the ship’s bow rising and
falling quickly, gave but little time to pass the rope, and each time
the bow fell, the stock went out of sight under water. The Captain,
who was as usual dressed in loose frock coat and gold-band cap,
cursing the sailor for “a lubberly coward,” slid down the chain cable
with the rope in his hand on to the stock, and went with it right
under water, but when he reappeared he had passed the rope end
through the ring.
On the 24th May 1852, H.M.S. Queen was lying moored to the
Dockyard wall. Now, some fifty years later, attendant tugs are in
readiness for outgoing ships, and in those days Captains preferred to
have the assistance of a steamer when passing through the narrow
exit of the harbour. Our man, however, disdained all such aid. Due
honours to the Sovereign’s birthday having been paid, at high tide
we set sail, and, casting off, proceeded to Spithead, where, as was
then the custom, all the heavy guns, and water for the cruise, were
shipped. The Queen passed so close to the northern shore that it
was necessary to run in our flying-jib boom to save the windows of
the “Quebec Hotel,” which has since disappeared. Most Captains
would have been sufficiently preoccupied with the ship’s safety to
disregard a small boy. Not so, however, was our Chief. His eye rested
on me, standing with hands in both pockets. “What are you doing,
sir, with hands in pockets? Aft here, sail-maker’s mate, with needle
and tar.” A big hairy seaman came aft, with his needle and tar
bucket. “Sew this young gentleman’s hands up in his pockets.” I was
seized, but as the first stitch was put in the Captain said, “Not this
time, but if I see your hands there again, there they’ll be for a
week.” Ten days later, when we were lying inside Plymouth
Breakwater, I was ordered to the Captain’s cabin. He was writing
when the Marine sentry ushered me in, and did not look up.
Presently he glanced at me, and said, “Youngster, your uncle,
Captain Michell, writes asking me to see after you,” and then went
on writing. I stood silent, respectful, cap in hand, till raising his head
he shouted, “Well, get out of the cabin.”
Orders were issued to “pay down” the ship’s company, but they
had served long enough with their Chief, and the whole crew of
Bluejackets, about 770, the 200 Marines standing aloof, came aft in
a body, and demanded to be “paid off.” When asked for their
reasons, they said anything but what they meant, but gained their
point, and were by orders of the Admiralty “paid off” on the 2nd
July. When nearly all the men had landed, the Captain “called” his
gig, and ordered the coxswain to pull for Mutton Cove. Robert
Cowling, his coxswain, when the boat was opposite to Drake’s
Island, said, “Beg your pardon, your honour, but might I be allowed
10
to land you at Mount Wise?” The Captain growled, “Mutton Cove.”
After another quarter-mile, Cowling began again: “Your honour,
might we land you this last time at Mount Wise? There are a good
many waiting for you at the Cove ——” “Curse you, do you hear
me?” And the boat went on. There was a large crowd of men just
paid off, of wives lawful as well as temporary, whose demeanour and
language indicated their hostile intentions. Undaunted, the Captain
shouted, as he jumped on to the slimy stone step, “Put the women
back, and I’ll fight the d——d lot of you, one after the other.” Then
the Bluejackets, who had been waiting to throw him into the water,
ran at him in a body, and raising him shoulder high, carried him, the
centre of a cheering mob, to his hotel.
The pennant having been hauled down on the 2nd July, was
rehoisted next day by my mother’s elder brother, Captain Frederick
Michell, a man differing in all characteristics from his predecessor,
except that each was courageous, had a strong sense of duty as
understood, and possessed a consummate knowledge of
seamanship.
My uncle, born A.D. 1788, was in his sixty-fourth year, of middle
height, and slight in figure. A courteous, mild manner hid great
determination and force of character. In his earlier service he had
repeatedly shown brilliant dash, and had been awarded by the
Patriotic Fund a Sword of Honour and a grant of a hundred guineas,
for gallantry in a boat attack, when he was wounded; and was
warmly commended in despatches for the remarkable determination
he had shown in the attack on Algiers in 1816. When re-employed in
1852 he had been living at Totnes, Devon, for many years, his last
command having been H.M.S. Inconstant, paid off in 1843. His
influence in the little borough where he lived in an unostentatious
manner, befitting his means, was unbounded. He paid his household
bills weekly, never owed a penny, was universally respected, and had
been twice Mayor.
A vacancy for the Parliamentary representation, impending for
some time, occurred within a few weeks of Michell’s re-employment.
Every voter but the Captain knew, and had told the election agents
who solicited the electors, mostly shopkeepers, for their votes and
interest, that they “would follow the Captain.”
On the morning of the polling-day, Captain Michell called on the
Port Admiral and asked for a day’s leave to record his vote. The
Admiral said somewhat shortly, “I do not like officers asking for leave
often; pray when did you have leave last?” “Well, sir, Lord
Collingwood gave me six weeks’ leave in 1806.” This settled the
question. My uncle went to Totnes, plumped against the Government
candidate, and then returned to his ship. The bulk of the electors
had waited for him, and the Government candidate was badly
defeated. Within a few days Captain Michell received an indignant
letter from a Secretary in Whitehall to the effect, “My Lords were
astonished at his ingratitude.” My uncle, the most simple-minded of
men, was painfully affected. He had imagined that he owed his
appointment to his merits, and to the consideration that the troubled
Political horizon necessitated the nomination of tried seamen to
command. He wrote officially to the Admiralty, stating that unless
the Secretary’s letter was repudiated, he must resign, and ask for a
Court of Inquiry. In replying, “My Lords much regretted the entirely
unauthorised and improper letter,” etc.
Captain Michell had the reputation of being strict and autocratic
with relatives, and my messmates in the gunroom concurred in
advising me to ask for a transfer to another ship, so I asked to be
sent to H.M.S. Spartan, then in the Sound; but another cadet was
selected. Later, when two cadets were required for H.M.S.
Melampus, bound for the Cape of Good Hope, I volunteered; but
two boys junior to me were chosen. If I had gone to the Cape, I
should have missed the Crimea. My uncle asked me why I had
volunteered, and I said frankly mainly to get away from him.
When Michell took command, the crew consisted of a draft of
Seamen-gunners and 200 Marines, and his task was to train the
large numbers of West Country lads who made up the balance of
970, all told. Very patient, methodical, and precise in all his ways, he
always put back every serious case, which might take a prisoner to
11
the gratings, for twenty-four hours’ consideration. Some weeks
after he joined, overhearing me speak of the third cutter as “My
boat,” he called me up and rebuked me, saying, “You mean, sir, Her
Majesty’s boat you have the honour to command.”
The Commander of the ship was very different in disposition,
manners, and temperament. A Scotchman, with a high sense of
duty, he was much feared by those inclined to indulge in alcohol.
Drinking to excess was common, and the Midshipmen sent
below in the middle watch to mix the tumbler of spirits and water
(gin being then the favourite beverage) of the officers in charge of
the watch, used to bet who would put in most spirit and least water.
In my first year’s service two of our officers died from alcoholism.
Our Commander, naturally of a choleric though kindly
disposition, was severely tried by some of the older officers in the
gunroom, two of whom he often “Proved,” when they returned on
board from shore leave. He occasionally lost his temper when
answered, as he was on many occasions by a hard-drinking officer.
One day giving an answer which was deemed to be unsatisfactory,
he was greeted by an outburst of passion. “I’ll bring your nose to
the grindstone; I’ll reduce you to a gooseberry.” My messmate
calmly replied, in the slow, solemn manner of a man who is
conscious of having drunk too much, “You cannot, sir, bring my nose
to a grindstone, and to reduce me to a gooseberry is a physical
impossibility.” However, sometimes the Commander won in these
wordy contests.
One of our officers, tried in Queenstown Harbour for
drunkenness, was defended by a Cork attorney as his “next friend,”
who thus attempted to trip up the Commander’s evidence:—“You
say, sir, the prisoner was drunk. I suppose you have had much
experience? Yes. Well, kindly define what you mean by being drunk.”
“A man may be drunk—very drunk—or beastly drunk. Your client was
beastly drunk.” This settled the case, and the prisoner was dismissed
the Service.
The First Lieutenant knew his duty and did it, but amongst men
of marked characteristics attracted but little notice. Many of the
younger officers were above the average in ability and efficiency, the
most striking personality being a Mate, named Hugh (commonly
called Billy) Burgoyne, a son of the Field Marshal whose statue
stands in Waterloo Place. Mr. Burgoyne was as brave as a lion, as
active as a cat, and a very Mark Tapley in difficulties.
We were intimate, for I worked under his orders for some
months in the maintop, of which I was Midshipman, and he Mate,
and I admired him with boyish enthusiasm for his remarkable
courage and endurance of pain, of which I was an eye-witness. In
1852 we were at sea in a half gale of wind increasing in force, and
the ship rolling heavily, the topmen of the watch went aloft to send
down the topgallant-mast.
I presume that most of my readers are aware that the tall
tapering poles which they see in the pictures of sailing ships were
not all in one piece, but for the sake of those who are unacquainted
with nautical terms I explain that the lower mast has a head which
supports the top-mast, which in its turn supports the topgallant-
mast, and at the head of the topgallant-mast is similarly fixed a
royal-mast. When sailors speak of sending up a topgallant-mast, it
means that the mast is placed alongside the top-mast, and pulled up
into position by a rope which, passing over a pulley in the top of the
top-mast, is then fixed in its position by a wedge-shaped piece of
iron called a “Fid,” which being pushed in a hole in the top of the
top-mast, receives and supports the weight of the topgallant-mast.
When it is desired to “house” or send down the topgallant-mast,
the man at the top-masthead pulls out the fid on which the
topgallant-mast rests. The fid is composed of wood, shod with iron
in parts, and for the purpose of extraction is fitted with a “grummet”
of rope, or hemp handle. In ordinary weather there is not much
difficulty in extracting the fid, and most Able-seamen, holding on
with their legs, manage to get both hands on to the grummet and
pull out the fid; on this occasion, however, continuous rain had
caused the mast to swell, and the fid was embedded tightly; as the
ship rolled heavily in the trough of the sea, the man at the top-
masthead did not care to trust to his legs, and therefore put only
one hand on the fid-grummet. We were losing time, and Burgoyne,
with strong language at the man for his want of courage, ran
smartly aloft, and pushing him aside, put both hands on to the fid
and attempted to withdraw it; at first he failed, for the swollen wood
defeated his efforts.
MR. E. WOOD, R.N., 1852
The Marines on deck, who had the weight of the mast on their
arms during the several minutes which elapsed while the Bluejacket
was making half-hearted efforts with one hand, had got tired of
supporting three-quarters of a ton of dead weight, and thus it
happened that just as Burgoyne, getting his fingers inside the hole,
had slightly moved the fid, the Marines “coming up”—that is,
slacking their hold—let the topgallant-mast down on Burgoyne’s
hand, which was imprisoned by the tips of the fingers.
He felt his hand could not be extricated until the weight was off
it; if he had screamed, the fifty men on the topgallant-fall, i.e. the
hoisting-rope, would have looked up, and he would have remained
with his hand still imprisoned. With extraordinary fortitude and self-
command, Burgoyne putting his disengaged hand to his mouth,
hailed the deck, making himself heard above the gale. “On deck
there.” “Ay, ay.” “Sway again.” The Marines throwing all their weight
on the rope, lifted the mast, Burgoyne withdrew his hand, and then
becoming unconscious, we sent him down in the bight of a rope.
12
It is curious that he and two others of our Mess were lost
when in command.
CHAPTER III
1853–4—LIFE ON BOARD A MAN OF WAR
Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.
ebooknice.com