thanked him for his kindness, and hoped I
might remain on board the guard-ship until he took the command of
another vessel, as I did not wish to sail with any other captain. I had
been brought forward by him in the service, and preferred waiting for
months rather than lose his kind protection.

The only reply to my letter was an order from the Admiralty, for me to
be discharged into the guard-ship when the Calliope was paid off.

I hardly need say that I had written and received letters from my
mother, who was delighted at my name being mentioned in the despatches;
but I will defer family news till the proper opportunity, as I must
first tell all that occurred in the Calliope before she was paid off.

The reader will recollect that the son of the Dutch captain, whose name
was Vangilt, had been permitted to come home in the ship, instead of
being sent to prison. He and I were very intimate and when I discovered
that he was the cousin of Minnie Vanderwelt, I became more partial to
him. He was very melancholy during the passage home; how, indeed, could
he be otherwise, with the prospect of being a prisoner during the
remainder of the war? and he often expressed his feelings on the
subject.

"Could you not escape?" said I, one evening.

"I fear not," replied he. "If once out of prison, I have no doubt but
that I could get a conveyance over the Channel by means of the
smugglers; indeed, I have connections in England who would assist me."

When Captain Delmar went away to town, he had quite forgotten the poor
fellow, and Mr Weymss, who was the commanding officer, did not make any
special report of him as he thought he might defer it till the last
moment, as every day out of prison would be so much gained by young
Vangilt, who was a general favourite.

In this instance, my regard for the young man made me quite forget my
duty as an officer, and the Articles of War. I knew that I was about to
do wrong; but I considered that, with so many thousand prisoners which
we had in England, one more or less could be of no consequence, and I
set to work to see if I could not effect his escape.

After much cogitation, I found I could do nothing without Bob Cross and
I consulted with him. Bob shook his head, and said it was, he believed,
hanging matter; but, after all, it was a pity that such a nice lad
should be peeping between iron bars. "Besides," continued he, "he lost
his father in the action, and he ought not to lose hi