and sniffing him suspiciously before they can make up their minds
whether to treat him as friend or foe--though, generally, preferring, as
a rule, the latter footing!

On entering the wardroom, which had a sort of scholastic look mingled
with its ordinary nautical surroundings, we were summoned in turn to the
further end of the apartment.

Here, on a raised portion of the deck abutting on the stern gallery,
three gentlemen in clerical garb were seated behind a semi-circular
green baize table, in front of which we stood, respectively, like so
many prisoners on trial, while answering various questions appertaining
to our Christian and surnames, age and so on.

We also handed in at the same time our baptismal and medical and
character certificates, all of which were duly inspected, docketed and
filed, in regular official style.

These preliminaries gone through, we were then directed to take our
seats on either side of a long table that ran fore and aft the cabin,
whose normal purpose was for the messing of the officers of the ship,
but which on the present occasion was supplied with folios of foolscap
paper and bundles of quill pens and bottles of ink, systematically
distributed along its length, instead of the more palatable viands it
more generally and generously displayed.

We were immediately under the eyes of the senior chaplain of the trio
forming the board of examiners, a gentleman whose position at the centre
of the cross table at the top of the room enabled him to command a full
view of the double line of boys and detect at once any attempt at
cribbing or unfair assistance given by one to the other; and our ordeal
began punctually on the ship's bell striking Ten o'clock, dictation
being the first subject set us "to test our spelling and handwriting,"
as my Lords of the Admiralty were good enough to inform us.

Thanks to my mother's persistency in keeping me up to the mark with
regard to my lessons, long before I had recourse to the crammer, this
introductory stage of the examination presented no difficulties to me;
and I was able not only to keep pace with the gentleman who dictated a
portion of one of Macaulay's Essays to us, but also found time to look
round me occasionally to see how my companions fared with the big words,
the faces of some of them presenting quite a study when a portentous
polysyllable was given them to spell.

The little chap with the curly hair who had smiled at me on coming in, I