I had now a month to get through the remaining ordeal--Navigation, Algebra, Trigonometry and Other Sciences. During that time I rather enjoyed my stay at the College: there were some good fellows there, as well as one or two very eccentric ones. One in particular touched my fancy. He was a poor chap trying to pass, and had been so for months. He had no hope on the eve of the dreaded day. His only chance was that he might be allowed to stay on at college by getting on the sick list somehow or other. The first time he actually let himself drop some feet down the stairs, and contrived to hurt himself; and the doctors put him on the sick list immediately. Having recovered shortly before the next dreaded day, and finding himself still in the unfortunate fix of not being able to go up for examination with the slightest chance of passing, he took a razor and chopped his shin bone in two or three places so badly that he was enforced to lie up. This always struck me as showing the good stuff he was made of: it was a pity that so courageous a man should be lost to the Service. Unfortunately, his little ruses were detected, and he had to quit. At the end of my month, I went up not feeling over confident; yet if the sheet happened to be a moderate one it would, I thought, be 6 to 4 on. So it came about: I won in a canter. On 18th of July 1860, the following letter, written by the Duke of Somerset to my father, followed, shortly after I had passed for Lieutenant.-- The Duke of Somerset presents his compliments to Lord Sandwich, and begs to inform him that he deferred replying to his letter of the 13th until the report of Mr. Montagu’s having passed his examination at the Royal Naval College had been received and his case had been laid before the Board of the Admiralty. The Duke of Somerset has now much pleasure in enclosing a Lieutenant’s Commission for Mr. Montagu, dated this day, which has been given him on account of the special services rendered by him in India with the _Pearl’s_ Naval Brigade.