his advice.

But if the Channel was bad, the Bay of Biscay was, according to Flynn,
"far badder."

Before reaching that celebrated bay, however, most of the men had
recovered, and, with more or less lugubrious aspects and yellow-green
complexions, were staggering about, attending to their various duties.
No doubt their movements about the vessel were for some time
characterised by that disagreement between action and will which is
sometimes observed in feeble chickens during a high wind, but, on the
whole, activity and cheerfulness soon began to re-animate the frames and
spirits of Britain's warriors.

And now Miles Milton began to find out, as well as to fix, in some
degree, his natural character. Up to this period in his life, a mild
existence in a quiet home, under a fairly good though irascible father
and a loving Christian mother, had not afforded him much opportunity of
discovering what he was made of. Recent events had taught him pretty
sharply that there was much room for improvement. He also discovered
that he possessed a very determined will in the carrying out of his
intentions, especially when those intentions were based upon his
desires. Whether he would be equally resolute in carrying out
intentions that did _not_ harmonise with his desires remained to be
seen.

His mother, among her other teachings, had often tried to impress on his
young mind the difference between obstinacy and firmness.

"My boy," she was wont to say, while smoothing his curly head, "don't
mistake obstinacy for firmness. A man who says `I _will_ do this or
that in spite of all the world,' against advice, and simply because he
_wants_ to do it, is obstinate. A man who says, `I _will_ do this or
that in spite of all the world,' against advice, against his own
desires, and simply because it is the right thing to do, is firm."

Remembering this, and repenting bitterly his having so cruelly forsaken
his mother, our hero cast about in his mind how best he could put some
of her precepts into practice, as being the only consolation that was
now possible to him. You see, the good seed sown in those early days
was beginning to spring up in unlikely circumstances. Of course the
habit of prayer, and reading a few verses from the Bible night and
morning, recurred to him. This had been given up since he left home.
He now resumed it, though, for convenience, he prayed while stretched in
his hammock!

But this did not satisfy him.