Note 415 — Chapter XIV
Reading edition
The “earrings” are small ropes to fasten the upper corners of the sail to the yard. The “courses” are the sails hanging from the lower yards of a ship, viz, the mainsail, foresail, and mizen. A ship is said to be “under her courses” when no other sails are set (Admiral W. H. Smyth, pp. 270 and 218).