m, and takes the lead in the very front of danger,
and exhibits in moments of doubt and difficulty all the resources of a
cool and collected mind, at the very juncture when life and death
depend upon his composure.

The leadership to which a British tar is accustomed, and which ever
responds to his own confiding spirit, is one of the primary causes of
his endurance and daring. His officer is the first to advance, the
foremost to encounter, the last to hesitate, and the most willing to
take more than his share of danger and of suffering; and this inspires
the men with an emulation to do likewise.

Conduct such as that displayed by the captains and officers of the
Queen Charlotte (pp. 37 and 41), of the Hindostan (p. 71), of the
Athenienne (p. 96), of the Anson (p. 128), of the Daedalus (p. 189),
could not fail of producing a sort of instinctive effect upon a ship's
crew. Under the command of officers who never flinch from their duty,
who share their last biscuit with the lowest cabin-boy, and who will
not move from the vessel when it is sinking under them, until every
other man has taken his seat in the boat, or planted his foot on the
raft that is to carry him from the wreck, where can be the quailing
heart or the unready hand?

Thirdly.--The blockading service has had much to do in training our
seamen for passive heroism and enduring fortitude. During the long war
with France, it was a service wherein all those qualities were called
into action, which are of most value in sudden emergencies. Vigilance,
promptitude, patience, and endurance, were tried to the utmost in the
course of those wintry months, and tempestuous seasons, when single
ships, squadrons, and fleets were cruising off the enemy's coast, and
every man on board was perpetually exposed to something that put his
temper or his nerves to the test. Then was the time to learn when to
keep a sharp look-out, to be on the alert in handling the gear of a
vessel, to respond to the word of command at the instant, to do things
at the right point of time, to hold life at a moment's purchase, and
to stare death in the face without flinching. It was a hard and
rigorous school; but if proficiency in readiness and fortitude was to
be attained anywhere, it was in the blockading service, and there the
heart of oak was tried, and the seaman was trained for the exercise of
that discipline, of which this Record of Naval Shipwrecks presents so
complete a picture.

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