There is a very mistaken notion entertained by many officers in the Navy, who conceive that parental care and kindness to the midshipmen under their command, do not fall within the strict line of their duty. And this would be reasonable, if it were right to govern His Majesty’s ships exclusively by the strict letter of the Printed Instructions and the Articles of War. But how could the service go on for a single day on such principles? Every thing falls within the line of a captain’s duty which contributes to the advancement of the public good; and who shall say that an attention to the morals and manners of those young men, who are destined to command the ships and fleets of the country, is not an object of vital public interest? There is no law, strictly so called, by which parents on shore are compelled to educate their children, or to shew them kindness; but what father of a family will plead this omission in the statutes in excuse for neglecting his family? Yet the case is even stronger on board ship, where the dangers of evil communication—that corrupter of good manners—are far greater, and where the value of kindness is enhanced a hundred-fold, by the many hardships and privations to which the poor boys must be exposed. To say that these young persons are merely public servants—that they must take their chance with the rest of the crew—and that a captain has enough to do besides making himself a dry-nurse for every child sent on board his ship, is a bitter and most unworthy mockery, implying little genuine public spirit, and still less private feeling. At the very best, as I have already said, the captain cannot accomplish all the objects that could be desired; but in every case, even of the most actively employed ships, the exercise of his authority, in a generous and kindly spirit, must contribute, in a most essential degree, not only to the present comfort, but to the solid virtue of the youngsters on board. Indeed, these two results must always go together, afloat as well as on shore; and exactly in proportion as the captain can ameliorate the habits of his young officers, or win them to a conviction of the value of acting upon principle, so will they become happier men and more useful public servants.