ather have been put on shore at
Cephalonia, we were certain of their finding a vessel to carry us to
Malta, if not home direct to England.

The French captain and officers treated us very kindly, and the surgeon
paid the greatest attention to the wounded; but though I have been on
board many a man-of-war since, I must say that I never have seen one in
a worse state of discipline. One-half of the officers did not know
their duty, and the other half did not do it; and the men did just what
they liked. They smoked and sang and danced the best part of the day,
while the officers played the fiddle or the guitar, or gambled with
cards and dice, and very often danced and smoked with the men, which at
all events was not the way to gain their respect. The captain was a
very gentlemanly man, but had not been to sea since the war, and could
not then have known much about a ship, so he did nothing to keep things
right, and the great wonder to us was how he had managed not to cast her
away long before we got on board her.

We had no reason to complain. Both the officers and men treated us very
kindly, and were thoroughly good-natured. Since those days, too, a very
great change has taken place in the French navy. Their officers are, as
a rule, very gentlemanly men, and the crews are as well disciplined as
in our own service--indeed, should we unhappily again come to blows, we
shall find them the most formidable enemies we have ever encountered.

We arrived at Smyrna without any adventure worthy of note. Just as we
entered the port, the _Ellen_ brig, belonging to Messrs. Dickson,
Waddilove, and Burk, the owners of the _Kite_, came in also, and we at
once went on board her. Captain Mathews was her master; he was one of
the oldest and most trusted captains of the firm, and acted as a sort of
agent for them at foreign ports. Whatever he ordered was to be done.
He could send their vessels wherever he thought best, and had full
control, especially over the apprentices. Thus Charley, La Motte, and I
at once found ourselves under his command. He was a good-natured, kind
sort of a man, therefore I had no reason to complain. We found lying
there another brig belonging to the same owners. She was called the
_Fate_. It was the intention of Captain Tooke to return home in the
_Ellen_, and to take us three apprentices with him, while of course the
rest of the men would be left to shift for themselves; but there is a
true saying tha