ister from Mahon, after the repairs of the
vessel:--"The Alarm is the completest thing I ever saw on the water,
insomuch that I forgot she was the other day, in the opinion of most
beholders, her own officers and crew not excepted, a miserable sunken
wreck. Such is the reward of perseverance. Happily for my reputation,
my health at that period happened to be equal to the task, or I had
been lost for ever, instead of receiving continual marks of public and
private approbation of my conduct; but this is _entre nous_. I never
speak or write on the subject except to those I most love. You will
easily believe Barrington to be one; his goodness to me is romantic."

It is gratifying to state, that the English Admiralty, on the young
captain's warm representation of the French superintendent, M. de
Peltier's hospitality and kindness, sent a handsome piece of plate in
public acknowledgment to that officer; and, as if to make the
compliment perfect in all its parts, as it arrived before the frigate
had left the station, the captain had the indulgence of presenting it
in person; thus making, as his letter to his father mentioned, "the
family of Pleville de Peltier happy beyond description."

The frigate was soon after paid off, and as there was no probability
of his being speedily employed, he applied himself to gain every
species of knowledge connected with his profession. We strongly doubt
whether the example of this rising officer is not even more important
when we regard him in peace than in the activity and daring of war.
There is no want of courage and conduct in the British fleet; but life
on shore offers too many temptations to indolence, to be always turned
to the use of which it is capable. Captain Jervis, on the contrary,
appears always to have regarded life on shore preparatory to life
afloat, and to be constantly employed in laying up knowledge for those
emergencies which so often occur in the bold and perilous life of the
sailor. There is often something like a predictive spirit in the early
career of great men, which urges them to make provision for greatness;
and remote as is the condition of a captain of a smart frigate from
the commander of fleets, yet the captain of the Alarm, though the
least ostentatious of men, seems always to have had a glance towards
the highest duties of the British admiral. "Time," says Franklin, "is
the stuff that life is made of;" and as France is the antagonist with
which the power of