him of them."

"I do not say so; but still, recollect they have been instilled,
perhaps, from the earliest period, by one from whom they must have been
received with all confidence--from a father to a son; and that son has
never yet been sufficiently in the world to have proved their fallacy."

"Well sir," replied Sawbridge, "if I may venture to offer an opinion on
the subject, and in so doing I assure you that I only shall from a
feeling for the service--if, as you say, these opinions will not easily
be eradicated, as the young man is independent, would it not be both
better for himself, as well as for the service, that he is sent home
again? As an officer he will never do any good for himself, and he may
do much harm to others. I submit this to you, Captain Wilson, with all
respect; but as your first-lieutenant, I feel very jealous at any chance
of the discipline of the ship being interfered with by the introduction
of this young man, to whom it appears that a profession is no object."

"My dear Sawbridge," replied Captain Wilson, after taking one or two
turns up and down the room, "we entered the service together, we were
messmates for many years, and you must be aware that it is not only long
friendship but an intimate knowledge of your unrewarded merit, which has
induced me to request you to come with me as my first-lieutenant. Now,
I will put a case to you, and you shall then decide the question--and,
moreover, I will abide by your decision.

"Suppose that you were a commander like myself, with a wife and seven
children, and that, struggling for many years to support them, you found
yourself, notwithstanding the utmost parsimony, gradually running into
debt. That, after many long applications, you had at last succeeded in
obtaining employment by an appointment to a fine sloop, and there was
every prospect, by prize-money and increased pay, of recovering yourself
from your difficulties, if not realising a sufficient provision for your
family. Then suppose that all this prospect and all these hopes were
likely to be dashed to the ground by the fact of having no means of
fitting yourself out, no credit, no means of paying debts you have
contracted, for which you would have been arrested, or anything
sufficient to leave for the support of your family during your absence,
your agent only consenting to advance one-half of what you require.
Now, suppose, in this awkward dilemma, without any one in this world
upo