rt., and his elder brother
Sir Charles Abney Hastings inherited the baronetcy. The late Sir
Charles Hastings was colonel of the 12th foot, and knight grand cross
of the Guelphic order; he possessed a large fortune, and he was well
known for his singularity at Carlton House, and in the fashionable
circles of London, about the beginning of the present century. The
present baronet, Sir Charles Abney Hastings, entered the army when
young, but retired after having served some time in the Mediterranean.
Frank was born on the 14th of February 1794, and was placed in the
navy when about eleven years old. Hardly six months after he became a
midshipman, he was present at the battle of Trafalgar on board the
Neptune. An explosion of powder between the decks of the Neptune
during the action, by which several men were killed and wounded, early
directed his attention to the service of artillery on board ship; and
the science of gunnery became his favourite study. Hastings was
subsequently serving in the Seahorse when that frigate engaged two
Turkish men-of-war, and captured one of them, which proved to be a
frigate much larger than herself. During his career of service, he
visited every quarter of the globe.

After having served nearly fifteen years, he was sent to the West
Indies in command of the Kangaroo, a vessel destined for the surveying
service, carrying out his commission as commander. On arriving in the
harbour of Port-Royal, in Jamaica, he was supposed to have brought the
Kangaroo to an anchor in an improper manner. The flag-captain of the
admiral's ship, then in the harbour considered this offence so
extraordinary, that he took a still more extraordinary manner of
expressing his dissatisfaction. We cannot give our readers a better
idea of the circumstance than by transcribing the words of a letter
which Hastings, on his return to England, addressed to Lord Melville,
then first lord of the Admiralty. "He thought proper to hail me in a
voice that rang through the whole of Port-Royal, saying--'You have
overlayed our anchor--you ought to be ashamed of yourself--you damned
lubber, you--who are you?'" Of course such an insult, both personal
and professional, could never be overlooked. Hastings, however,
feeling the importance of any step he might take to his future
reputation, both as a sailor and a gentleman, waited until he had
delivered up the command of the Kangaroo to the officer appointed to
conduct the survey; and having