r, which was
rapidly dispelled upon a more intimate acquaintance. His manner was
quiet and imperturbable to an astonishing degree; and the more exciting
the circumstances in which he was placed, the more calm and placid did
his demeanour become. But those who flattered themselves that these
characteristics indicated a lax disciplinarian found themselves
grievously mistaken. He was strictness itself, in the matter both of
discipline and etiquette; was as brave as a lion, a perfect seaman, with
an eye which seemed intuitively to light at once and infallibly upon the
slightest fault, and with a will of iron concealed beneath the placid
suavity of his demeanour. His influence, though it could scarcely be
said to be felt, was irresistible; and by its means he, in an incredibly
short time, wrought the ship's company into one of the smartest, if not
absolutely _the_ smartest, in the service.

Mr Annesley, the first lieutenant, was in many respects a strong
contrast to his superior. A tall, dark, square-built and muscular-
looking man, with handsome features, dark, flashing eyes, and well-
proportioned figure, every nerve of which seemed a-quiver with
superabundant vitality. His gesture, though restrained, was earnest and
emphatic; his language in conversation, refined and eloquent; in
carrying on the duty of the ship, short, sharp, and incisive. His
manner to his superiors was quietly respectful, to his equals, somewhat
distant, though without any trace of hauteur, and to his inferiors,
gentle and sympathetic, or cold, stern, and repellant, accordingly as
they won his approval or incurred his displeasure. He, like the
skipper, was also a prime seaman, with a dauntless courage which verged
very closely upon recklessness, though it never was allowed to actually
merge into that undesirable quality.

The second lieutenant, Mr Michael Flinn, was a rollicking, good-
tempered, good-natured young Irishman, careless and impulsive, as the
generality of his countrymen are, always ready to perform a service for
a friend, and still more ready to break the head of an enemy; a passably
good officer afloat, but possessed with a perfect genius for getting
into scrapes--and out of them again--on shore, with no consciousness
whatever of his own dignity as one of his Majesty's officers, and ever
ready to join heart and soul in any escapade of which he might happen to
get an inkling. He was admirably adapted for such work as a cutting-ou