. "I cannot
remember, now, that I ever asked him, but I took it for granted that he
would like nothing better than to follow in his father's steps. Had I
known that he objected to it, I would not for a moment have forced him
against his inclinations. Of course it is natural that, being alone in
the world, I should like to have him with me still, but I would never
have been so selfish as to have sacrificed his life to mine. Still,
though it would be hard to have parted from him in any way, it is
harder still to part like this. If he was to go, he need not have gone
as a common sailor. The squire, who has done so much for him, would no
doubt, instead of sending him to school, have obtained a midshipman's
berth for him, or a commission in the army; but it is dreadful to think
of him as a common sailor, liable to be flogged."

"Well, Mrs. Walsham, perhaps we may set the matter partly to rights. I
will speak to the squire, and I am sure he will write to his friend at
the admiralty, and have an order sent out, at once, for Jim's
discharge. At the same time, it would be better that he should not
return here just at present. His name may come out, at the trial of the
smugglers, as being concerned in the affair, and it would be better
that he should stay away, till that matter blows over. At any rate, if
I were you I should write to him, telling him that you know now that he
has no taste for the medical profession, and that, should he see
anything that he thinks will suit him in America, you would not wish
him to come home immediately, if he has a fancy for staying out there;
but that, if he chooses to return, you are sure that the squire will
exert himself, to give him a start in any other profession he may
choose."

Mrs. Walsham agreed to carry out the suggestion and, that afternoon,
the squire sent off a letter to his friend at the admiralty, and three
letters were also posted to James himself.

The voyage of the Thetis was uneventful. Her destination was Hampton,
at the opening of Chesapeake Bay, where the troops on board would join
the expedition under General Braddock, which was advancing up the
Potomac. When she arrived there, they found several ships of war under
Commodore Keppel. Braddock's force had marched to Wills Creek, where a
military post named Fort Cumberland had been formed. The soldiers on
board were at once disembarked, and marched up the banks of the Potomac
to join the force at Fort Cumberland. The sailo