stones, so that she went to the bottom like a rock, though
this part of the programme was always carried out on a beach, where
the receding tide would enable the professor to recover the boat. The
crew were then to save themselves by swimming ashore, or to another
boat. Sometimes, also, the "wreck" was loaded with broken spars,
pieces of board, and bits of rope; and the problem was for the crew
to construct a raft in the water, often in a rough sea. All these
exercises, and many others, were heartily enjoyed by the boys, and a
ringing cheer always announced the safety of a crew, either on the
shore, in a boat, or on the raft.

Many persons, and even those who are tolerable swimmers, have been
drowned simply by the loss of their presence of mind. The dashing of
the waves, or the great distance of the land or other place of safety,
intimidates them, and they are unable to use their powers. But the
students of the squadron were gradually and carefully accustomed to
the water, so that they could swim a reasonable distance without
wearing themselves out, could rest their limbs by floating, and were
taught to avail themselves of any expedient to secure their safety. If
a boat was stove on the rocks in a surf, or was run down by a vessel,
the fact of being in the water did not frighten them out of their
wits, for they had been trained to feel quite at home, as in their
native element. They were actually drilled to confront danger in
every imaginable form. But a gentle and timid boy was not pitched
into the water, even after he had learned to swim. His constitutional
shrinking was slowly and skilfully overcome, so that even the most
delicate--though but few such ever found their way into the ranks of
the squadron--took to the water as a pastime. Of course the degree of
proficiency in the art of swimming, and of the acquired ability to
meet danger in the water, differed very widely in different boys; but
all were accustomed to the waves, and, in a measure, to leading the
life of a duck or a fish.

The crews of the several boats piped over the side, and took their
places, the rest of the students being distributed in the barges and
cutters, till only the adult officers remained in the ship. Each one,
as it was loaded, pulled off, and took its station in the order in
which the boat squadron usually moved. The commodore's barge and the
ship's first cutter, each twelve oars, led the van, while the other
boats came in four ranks o