ke as
most youngsters of my age, I very soon gained a fair insight into its
mysteries; and by the time the spring came round, I was pronounced fit
for duty.

A brother of my mother's, who commanded a large revenue cutter on the
south coast of England, having been applied to for advice by the Doctor,
answered by the following short note:--

"Dear Sir,--I'll make a seaman of Neil, with all my heart, if you will
send him across to Portsmouth. Let him inquire for me at the `Star and
Garter.' Should I be away on a cruise, I will leave word with the
landlady what is to be done with him. My craft is the _Serpent_.

"I remain, faithfully yours,--

"Terence O'Flaherty."

"What! send the child all the way over to Portsmouth by himself!"
exclaimed good Mrs Driscoll, the Doctor's wife, on hearing the contents
of this epistle. "Why, he might be spirited off to the Plantations or
the Black Hole of Calcutta, and we never hear any more about him. What
could Mr O'Flaherty be thinking about?"

"That his nephew is about to be an officer in His Majesty's service, and
that the sooner he learns to take care of himself, the better," replied
the Doctor.

"Let him begin, then, by slow degrees, as birds are taught to fly,"
urged the kind dame. "He has never been out of the nest yet, except to
school, when he was put in charge of the coachman, like a parcel."

"He will find his way safe enough," muttered the Doctor. "Won't you,
Neil?"

To speak the truth, I would gladly have undertaken to find my way to
Timbuctoo, or the Antipodes, by myself; but I had just formed a plan
which I was afraid might be frustrated, had I agreed with the Doctor. I
therefore answered, "I'll go and ask Larry;" and without waiting for any
further observations, off I ran, to put it in train. It was, that Larry
should accompany me to Portsmouth; and I had also a notion that he might
be able to go to sea with me. He was delighted with my plan, and
backing Mrs Driscoll's objections to my being sent alone, it was
finally arranged that he should take charge of me till he had handed me
over to my uncle. Such parts of my outfit as could be manufactured at
home, Mrs Driscoll got ready for me, and Larry was empowered to procure
the rest for me at Portsmouth.

I confess that I did not shed a tear or cast a look of regret at my
birthplace; but with a heart as light as a skylark taking his morning
flight, I mounted alongside Larry on the top of the coach bound