e life, so in war a man is
more readily pardoned for effecting too much than too little; and it was
doubly so here, because it was evident from the behavior of his peers
that he must expect no backing in the extra work he took upon himself.
Their aloofness emphasized his forwardness; and the fact that through
the withdrawal of his admiral for the night, the prize was ultimately
retaken, together with an officer and seamen he had placed on board,
fixed still further attention upon the incident, in which Hawke's action
was the one wholly creditable feature.

The effect of the battle upon his fortunes was summed up in a phrase.
When his first lieutenant was sent to report the loss of the prize-crew
to Rear-Admiral Rowley, the commander of the division, the latter
replied, among other things, that "he had not been well acquainted with
Captain Hawke before, but he should now be well acquainted with him from
his behavior." Like Nelson at St. Vincent, Hawke was now revealed, not
to the navy only but to the nation,--"through his behavior." Somewhat
exceptionally, the king personally took knowledge of him, and stood by
him. George II. paid most interested attention to the particulars
elicited by the Courts-Martial,--a fact which doubtless contributed to
make him so sternly unyielding in the case of Byng, twelve years later.
To the king Hawke became "my captain;" and his influence was directly
used when, in a flag promotion in 1747, some in the Admiralty proposed
to include Hawke in the retirement of senior captains, which was a
common incident in such cases. "I will not have Hawke 'yellowed,'" was
the royal fiat; a yellow admiral being the current phrase for one set
aside from further active employment.

Such were the circumstances under which Hawke first received experience
of the fighting conditions of the navy. Whatever his previous attitude
towards accepted traditions of professional practice, this no doubt
loosened the fetters; for they certainly never constrained him in his
subsequent career. He remained in the Mediterranean fleet, generally
upon detached services in command of divisions of ships, until the end
of 1745. Returning then to England, he saw no further active service
until he became a Rear-Admiral--of the White--on July 15, 1747.

The promotions being numerous, Hawke's seniority as captain carried him
well up the list of rear-admirals, and he was immediately employed;
hoisting his flag July 22d. He then becam