at last, was made a warrant officer, and ultimately became
boatswain of a dashing frigate, under as gallant a captain as ever took
a ship into action.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

THE FLEET AT SPITHEAD--ROLF MORTON'S VISIT TO SHETLAND--ROLF TAKES
RONALD TO SEA--THE THISBE AND FRENCH FRIGATE--RONALD MORTON'S FIRST
BATTLE--THE ENEMY STRIKES.

One of the most beautiful sights on the ocean, to the eye of a sailor,
is the spectacle presented by a large fleet, when the signal for
weighing is seen flying from the flag-ship. The boatswain's whistle
sends its shrill sounds along each deck; the capstan bars are shipped,
the merry pipe strikes up, with sturdy tramp round go the men--others of
the crew swarm upon the yards, the broad folds of canvas are let fall,
and, as if by magic, those vast machines, lately so immovable, now
looking like tall pyramids of snow, begin noiselessly to glide over the
blue surface of the water.

Such was the sight witnessed by numerous spectators, both on the Isle of
Wight shore and that of Portsmouth, when early in the year 1794 one of
England's noble fleets sailed from Spithead. A fine breeze from the
northward enabled the ships to be well out round Saint Helen's, when
hauling their tacks aboard they stood down channel under all sail. In
the centre were the heavy line-of-battle ships, exhibiting a dense mass
of shining canvas; while scattered around on either side were the
lighter frigates, like skirmishers on the field of battle feeling the
way for the main body of the army. Among the fastest, the finest, and
most dashing of the latter craft, was the thirty-eight gun frigate
"Thisbe."

She had only lately been put in commission, and her captain, officers,
and crew, were mostly strangers to each other. Captain Courtney, who
commanded her, had the reputation of being brave and enterprising, but
his present crew had yet to learn what he was made of.

The day was closing; the fleet had made good progress down channel, and
the "Thisbe" was one of the southernmost look-out frigates; the crew
were enjoying a short relaxation from their duties, which were pretty
severe, for when a ship first gets to sea there is much to be done to
put her in order, to encounter an enemy or a gale.

The captain and two of his lieutenants walked the weather side of the
quarter-deck, while the other gun-room officers and some of the
midshipmen, paced the lee side. Captain Courtney's appearance was much
in his favou