The nature of the sea service is such, that it must be entered at an early age, otherwise its duties are sure to disgust. But unless a boy happens to be one of those prodigies, (who, in the long run, seldom turn out worth sixpence!) he must almost necessarily be very ignorant when he commences his sea life. Once afloat, however, the occupations of the ship are quite sufficient to keep his body in healthful exercise, and the variety of new objects he sees will generally prevent his mind from ever wearying. Yet unless some consistent, uniform means be taken to cherish his nascent mental energies, and to give a right direction to that desire for knowledge which belongs to his age, and, above all, to found and regulate his principles; the chances are but too great that he may speedily run to weeds and waste, in spite of the best possible disposition on his part to do right. Persons who have not had the means of becoming acquainted with the dangers that beset a young man, on his first going to sea, and even for some time afterwards, can form no adequate conception of the risk which he incurs of having his taste and morals corrupted, and the best faculties of his mind not only neglected, but often irretrievably shaken. Nor must people hope, that by sending a boy under the protection of the captain, or one of the officers, these evils will always be warded off. The danger may be lessened, it is true; but it cannot be effectually guarded against, and for a very plain reason. In ships actively employed, hardly any officer has leisure to devote the requisite amount of time to the superintendence of a boy under his charge; and still less frequently has he either capacity or temper for the arduous task of education. To which it may be added, that, even under favourable circumstances, the duties of an officer, and his assigned position in the ship, generally keep him too much apart from the midshipmen to enable him to exercise, to the extent we could wish, that degree of watchfulness over his protégé’s habits, without which the utmost care may often prove ineffectual in maintaining his young friend in the right path. The kindness of a captain, or any other of the officers, certainly goes a long way to render the situation of a youngster on board ship happy, and useful. But these advantages can be fully extended only to a few cases, even in ships where the captain’s disposition has that kindly bent which takes delight in opening his cabin to the midshipmen, and prompts him to go out of his way in other respects, to make them pleased with their situation. It is deeply to be regretted, indeed, that in most ships in His Majesty’s service, no such advantages can be reckoned upon; and unless there be something more direct and imperative than the mere good-will of the captain, too many youngsters will inevitably be neglected, not only to their own loss and eventual sorrow, but to the manifest injury of the public interests.