destitute of a solitary cartridge, and his ribs were as the ribs
of a weasel.

Besides, he was Commodore of the fleet, supreme lord of the Commons
in Blue. It beseemed him, therefore, to erect himself into an ensample
of virtue, and show the gun-deck what virtue was. But alas! when Virtue
sits high aloft on a frigate's poop, when Virtue is crowned in the
cabin a Commodore, when Virtue rules by compulsion, and domineers over
Vice as a slave, then Virtue, though her mandates be outwardly
observed, bears little interior sway. To be efficacious, Virtue must
come down from aloft, even as our blessed Redeemer came down to redeem
our whole man-of-war world; to that end, mixing with its sailors and
sinners as equals.



CHAPTER LV.

MIDSHIPMEN ENTERING THE NAVY EARLY.


The allusion in the preceding chapter to the early age at which
some of the midshipmen enter the Navy, suggests some thoughts
relative to more important considerations.

A very general modern impression seems to be, that, in order to
learn the profession of a sea-officer, a boy can hardly be sent
to sea too early. To a certain extent, this may be a mistake.
Other professions, involving a knowledge of technicalities and
things restricted to one particular field of action, are frequently