to cut away the
main-yard, in order to save the main-mast and right the ship, but
so great was the danger attending such an operation considered,
that not a man could be induced to attempt it until Mr Marryat led
the way. His courageous conduct on this occasion excited general
admiration, and was highly approved of by Lord James Townsend, one
of whose company he also saved by jumping overboard at sea."

The edition of 1873 contained a brief memoir of the author, by
"Florence Marryat," frequently reprinted.

_Frank Mildmay_, originally called _The Naval Officer; or, Scenes and
Adventures in the Life of Frank Mildmay_, is here printed from the
first edition published in 1829 by Henry Colborn, with the following
motto on the title-page:--

My muse by no means deals in fiction;
She gathers a repertory of facts,
Of course with some reserve and slight restriction,
But mostly traits of human things and acts.
Love, war, a tempest--surely there's variety;
Also a seasoning slight of lubrication;
A bird's-eye view, too, of that wild society;
A slight glance thrown on men of every station

_Don Juan_.

R.B.J.

Chapter I

These are the errors, and these are the fruits of misspending our
prime youth at the schools and universities, as we do, either
in learning mere words, or such things chiefly as were better
unlearned.--MILTON.

My father was a gentleman, and a man of considerable property. In my
infancy and childhood I was weak and sickly, but the favourite of my
parents beyond all my brothers and sisters, because they saw that my
mind was far superior to my sickly frame, and feared they should never
raise me to manhood; contrary, however, to their expectations, I
surmounted all these untoward appearances, and attracted much notice
from my liveliness, quickness of repartee, and impudence: qualities
which have been of much use to me through life.

I can remember that I was both a coward and a boaster; but I have
frequently remarked that the quality which we call cowardice in
a child, is no more than implying a greater sense of danger, and
consequently a superior intellect. We are all naturally cowards:
education and observation teach us to discriminate between real and
apparent danger; pride teaches the concealment of fear, and habit
renders us indifferent to that from which we have often escaped with
impunity. It is related of the Great Frederick th