and
best schools in England, and that Dr Carr has made it so. Heaven bless
you, sir."

Amidst thundering rounds of applause from all his schoolfellows Ernest
sat down. The Doctor was very much affected at the way Ernest had
spoken. The party at last broke up. The next day the boys went home,
and Ernest found himself no longer, properly speaking, a schoolboy.
Still he was in no hurry to shake off his schoolboy's habits and
feelings. After spending a few weeks at home, he went down to his new
tutor at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight. The house stood high up,
overlooking Portsmouth and Spithead, where England's proud fleets are
wont to assemble at anchor. It was the yachting season, and the place
was full of visitors.

The day after his arrival he went out, and one of the first people he
encountered was Ellis. The friends were delighted to meet. The latter
soon explained the cause of his being there. His father and mother had
come to Ryde, and had secured a very nice little yacht for him, small
compared to the large vessels which form the navy of the different
clubs, but quite large enough to sail about in every direction on the
waters of the Solent.

"It was one of my favourite amusements," said Ellis. "In truth it was
the only one, till you taught me to like cricket and other games at
school. Now you must come and learn about yachting with me."

Ernest said that he should like it much, but that he must read hard with
his tutor.

"The very thing to help your reading," pleaded Ellis. "Ask him, and if
he is a sensible man he will tell you that if you take a trip now and
then on the water it will refresh your brains, and you will be able to
read all the better for it."

To Ernest's surprise, his tutor fully agreed with the advice Ellis had
given him, and it was not long before he found himself on the deck of
the "Fairy." Such was the name Ellis had given to his yacht. Scarcely
had Ernest stepped on board than he set to work to make himself
acquainted with all the details of the vessel. The use of the helm and
the way the wind acts on the sails he understood clearly. He had
studied theoretically the principle of balancing the sails with the
wind, and also the mode in which the water acts on the hull. He had
read about leeway, and headway, and sternway; and now that he had an
opportunity of examining the practical working of these theories, he
hoped to master the subject thoroughly, so as never to forget