l you, boy, I never saw her suffer so much.
I almost thought it would be the death of her."

"Oh! Flog me, father! Flog me!" I cried out; for I could not bear the
thoughts of having made my mother unhappy. "Tell Dick Patch to lay it
on thick. The harder he hits the better. I did not think, father, what
I was doing; indeed, I did not."

"No, Ben, I will not have you flogged," he answered, "your mother's
sufferings have been punishment enough for you. I believe you did it
without thought, indeed, I know you did; and just do you go and have a
talk with her, and see how pale and ill she looks; and I hope that will
be enough to make you never go and do a thing again which will cause her
anxiety and grief. The time will come when you will have to run all
sorts of risks and dangers, but it is a very different thing to run your
head into danger from fool-hardiness, and to go into danger because it
is your duty." These remarks of my father made a deep impression on me.
I hurried below, and there I saw my poor mother looking more ill and
distressed than I had ever seen her:--her eyes red from weeping, and her
cheeks pale and sickly; and then when she told me how much she had
suffered, I burst into tears, and promised never to play her such a
trick again.

We took several other prizes on our way to the South; indeed, Captain
Oliver showed, that, young as he was, few officers were likely to prove
more active or energetic in their duties. He was well off and did not
seem to care for the prize-money. He thought of duty above everything
else. It was his duty to injure the trade of the enemy as much as
possible, and he did so to the very best of his power.

CHAPTER NINE.

Some time had passed since the "Grecian" had entered the Mediterranean.
We had not been idle during the time--now cruising along the coast of
Spain and France, now down that of Italy, now away to Malta, sometimes
off to the East among the Greek Islands. We had taken a good many
prizes; indeed, I may say that all our expeditions had been planned with
judgment, and carried out with vigour. I had a very happy time on
board, for the men treated me with kindness, and I was so young that
even the officers took notice of me. To Mr Bramston, especially, I
became much attached. As he had known me in my childhood, he took more
notice of me than anyone else. It has been my lot through life to lose
many kind friends, but I must acknowledge that they have