to take her to Bristol or Plymouth, and remember
that she is of no small value to us." I thanked the captain for his
good opinion of me, but begged to have a mate capable of navigating the
ship, should I fall sick or lose my life; and I named Tony Fenwick,
another midshipman, my junior, and a great chum of mine. I had an old
follower, Paul Bott, who had been to sea with my father. His name was
short, but he was a tall man. I asked if he also might come. The
captain granted both my requests, and allowed me to pick out six other
men for my crew. I felt wonderfully proud as I walked the deck of my
first command, and certainly no two happier or better satisfied
midshipmen could be found than Tony Fenwick and I, as we navigated the
sugar-laden _Diana_ across the Atlantic. We only wished that we could
meet a letter of marque of our own size, which might attempt to
interfere with us. What thought we of tempests or foes, the possibility
of wreck or recapture? We both of us hoped soon to obtain our
promotion, for those were the days when a post-captain of nineteen
commanded one of the finest frigates in the navy, and had dared and done
deeds as gallant as any which naval history can record, and requiring
knowledge, judgment, and discretion, as well as bravery. Old heads were
often worn on young shoulders, though there were plenty of harum-scarum
fellows, as now, who did no good to themselves and much harm to others,
whenever they chanced to be placed in command. We had a fine passage
across the Atlantic--Cape Clear was sighted, and we expected, in a few
days at most, to carry the _Diana_ safe into port. Fenwick had the
first watch on deck one morning--daylight had just broke when the
look-out at the mast-head shouted, "A sail on the weatherbow--a large
ship!" I heard Fenwick's reply, and jumped on deck, for I always slept
in my clothes ready for work. The stranger, we concluded, was probably
an English cruiser. The _Diana_ was kept accordingly on her course;
still, not free from suspicion, we narrowly watched the stranger's
movements. I was looking in another direction, when I heard Tony utter
a loud exclamation, not complimentary to the French, and looking round,
when it was now too late to escape from her power, what was my annoyance
to see the hated tricolour flying from the stranger's peak! Still
neither Tony nor I had any thought of yielding up our charge without a
struggle. "She's a big one to tackle, and w