, and, while giving his
amused comrades graphic accounts of life in the pirate city, obtained
from them in return a full account of the fleet, and the intentions of
the Admiral, as far as these were known. He found his comrades very
intelligent, and full of enthusiasm about their leader, whom one of the
tars styled "one of the wery best Admirals that England ever owned arter
Lord Nelson!"

Their admiration was well deserved.

We have already said that the Admiral had commissioned his fleet and got
it into excellent working condition in what was deemed a miraculously
short space of time. This, however, was accomplished by no miraculous
means, but by the simple force of indomitable energy, rightly and
perseveringly applied.

Knowing that the time was short, and that a fleet newly manned could not
work well without a great deal of training, he made up for the shortness
of time by not allowing a single moment of it to be lost, frittered
away, or misapplied. Besides giving the men the usual and proper
training while in port preparing to sail, he made several arrangements
whereby he continued the training most effectively on the voyage out.
Of course it was carried on daily. On Tuesdays and Fridays the ships
were cleared for action, and six broadsides were fired, but this was
only what may be styled parade practice. Feeling that actual work could
only be done well by men of actual experience, he had a twelve-pounder
gun placed on the after part of the _Queen Charlotte's_ quarter-deck,
and hung a small target, with a very small bull's-eye, at the end of the
fore-topmast studding-sail boom, at which all the captains of guns
practised every day, so that they acquired not only the habit of laying
and working their guns according to rule, but also the art of laying
them to good purpose, and many of them became crack shots before they
came within sight of the enemy.

The crews were thus kept active and elated; in good health, and filled
with respect for the wisdom and knowledge of those in command, as well
as with confidence in their own capacity to obey orders with
promptitude, unity of action, and vigorous effect.

Half the battles of life, moral as well as physical, are gained by such
confidence, founded on experience,--the other half are lost for want of
it!

The fleet comprised five line-of-battle ships, two of which were
three-deckers; three heavy and two smaller frigates, besides small
craft. At Gibraltar they