n opportunity to serve under
him. "Do, William," he said to his brother, "write to my father, and
tell him that I should like to go to sea with Uncle Maurice."

On hearing of his son's wishes, Mr. Nelson at once wrote to Captain
Suckling. The latter wrote back without delay: "What has poor Horatio
done, who is so weak, that he, above all the rest, should be sent to
rough it out at sea? But let him come, and the first time we go into
action, a cannon ball may knock off his head and provide for him at
once."

This was not very encouraging for a delicate boy of twelve. But Horatio
was not daunted. His father took him to London, and there put him into
the stage coach for Chatham, where the Raisonnable was lying at anchor.

He arrived at Chatham during the temporary absence of his uncle, so
that there was no friendly voice to greet him when he went on board the
big ship. Homesick and heartsick, he passed some of the most miserable
days of his life on the Raisonnable. The officers treated the sailors
with a harshness bordering on cruelty. This treatment, of course,
increased the natural roughness of the sailors; and, altogether, the
conditions were such that Horatio's opinion of the Royal Navy was sadly
altered.

But in spite of the separation from his brother William, who had been
his schoolmate and constant companion, and all his other loved ones,
the hardships he had to endure as a sailor boy among rough officers and
rougher men, and his physical weakness, his courage did not fail him.
He stuck bravely to his determination to be a sailor.

Later, the lad went on a voyage to the West Indies, in a merchant ship
commanded by Mr. John Rathbone. During this voyage, his anxiety to rise
in his profession and his keen powers of observation, which were
constantly exercised, combined to make him a practical sailor.

After his return from the West Indies, his love of adventure was
excited by the news that two ships--the Racehorse and the Carcass--were
being fitted out for a voyage of discovery to the North Pole. Through
the influence of Captain Suckling, he secured an appointment as
coxswain, under Captain Lutwidge, who was second in command of the
expedition.

All went well with the Racehorse and the Carcass until they neared the
Polar regions. Then they were becalmed, surrounded with ice, and wedged
in so that they could not move.

Young as Nelson was, he was put in command of one of the boats sent out
to try to find a pa