rt himself to obtain command in time of war."

"Yes," thought Morton; "but let men exert themselves to the utmost, how
many fail to obtain the desired rank, or if they get that, the coveted
wealth!"

"Remember, however, Morton," continued Lord Claymore, "I have promised
to assist you in establishing your claims, or your father's rather,
whatever they are. He may be the son of a peasant, or noble. No one
cares less for what is called gentle blood than I do; but it is not the
estimate which we set on an article, but at which the world at large
holds it, which is its true value. I don't feel happier because I am
the possessor of a hundred thousand pounds than I did ten years ago when
I was a beggar; but depend on it, the world will esteem me much more
highly than it did."

Morton always listened with pleasure to the remarks which dropped from
his captain's lips, always full of shrewdness and good sense.

It was now time for the "Pallas" to return home. Four prizes had been
despatched to England. All were anxious to ascertain that they had
arrived there safely.

"Little chance of that," observed Hardman; "plenty of the enemy's
cruisers about, to snap them up."

Though homeward bound, as bright a look-out as ever was kept, in the
hopes that another prize might be taken.

When off the coast of Portugal, at dawn one morning, a light silvery fog
lay on the water, bright but sufficiently opaque to conceal all objects
even close at hand. The wind at dawn was light, but as the sun rose, so
did the breeze, and the royals and top-gallant sails, which had at first
been set, were, one after the other, taken off the frigate.

"This fog is, indeed, provoking. We may run by a whole convoy of the
enemy's merchantmen without seeing them," observed Morton, who had
become as eager as the most avaricious of his shipmates in the pursuit
of wealth, by the royal road opened up before them.

"Of course," answered Hardman: "very likely at this moment we are
passing within hail of some Spanish galleons, whose cargoes would make
every man on board independent for life."

The looker-out at the mast-head hailed the deck.

"A ship, sir, close to--I see her mast-heads over the fog."

"What does she look like?" asked Morton. "A large ship, sir,
line-of-battle ship, I should say."

The officers were alert in an instant. Hardman flew aloft. Scarcely
had he got there, than he shouted, "There's another! another!--three of
them--line