"Lord Cockpit would suit you best for some time, Peter! It will not be so easy a business to rise as you think. Every one can run a race, but very few can win," observed Major Graham. "The rarest thing on earth is to succeed in being both conspicuous and respectable. Any dunce may easily be either the one or the other, but the chief puzzle with most men is, how to be both. In your profession there are great opportunities, but at the same time let me warn you, that the sea is not a bed of roses." "No, uncle David! but I hope it will become a field of laurels to us," replied Frank, laughing. "Now tell me in real earnest who you think was the greatest of our naval heroes till now, when Peter is to cut them all out." "He must wait a few years. It is a long ladder to run up before reaching the top. In France, the king's sons are all born Field Marshals, but nobody in this country is born an Admiral. The great Lord Duncan served during half-a-century before gaining his most important victory, but previous to that, he paved the way to success, not by mere animal courage alone, but by being so truly good and religious a man, that his extraordinary firmness and benevolence of character gained the confidence and respect of all those who served with him, and therefore half his success in battle was owing to his admirable conduct during peace." "So I have heard!" replied Frank; "and when there was mutiny in every other ship, the Admiral's own crew remained faithful to him. How much better it is to be obeyed from respect and attachment than from fear, which is a mean feeling that I hope neither to feel myself, nor to excite in others. I wish to be like Nelson, who asked, 'What is fear? I never saw it.'" "Yes, Frank! Nelson was said to be 'brave as a lion, and gentle as a lamb.' Certainly both he and Lord Duncan were pre-eminently great; but neither Lord Duncan, nor any other enlightened Christian, would have said what Lord Nelson did, with his latent breath--'I have not been a great sinner!' No mortal could lift up his eyes at the day of judgment, and repeat those words again; for every man that breathes the breath of life is a great sinner. We are living in God's own world without remembering him, continually; and amidst thousands of blessings we disobey him. The chief purpose for which men are created, is to glorify God, and to prepare for entering his presence in a better world; but instead of doing so, we live as if there were no other object to live for, than our own pleasures and amusements on earth. How, then, can we be otherwise than great sinners? I hope, Frank, that you will endeavour to be, like Lord Duncan, not merely a good officer, but also a good Christian; for, besides fighting the battles of your country, you must gain a great victory over yourself, as all men must either conquer their own evil dispositions, or perish for ever."