“There was a very hot press on the river on Friday night last, when several hundred able seamen were procured. One of the gangs in attempting to board a Liverpool trader, were resisted by the crew, when a desperate affray took place, in which many of the former were thrown overboard, and the lieutenant who boarded them killed by a shot from the vessel.” (June 9, 1795.) In 1798 all protection from the operations of the pressgang was suspended, even in the case of the coal trade, for one month! To counterbalance all the manifold disadvantages of service in the navy, for the officers at least, there were some attractions; that of prize-money was very great, for a man might literally make his fortune at sea in a few years by lucky captures, and the spirit of gambling and adventure to which this gave rise must have had a very strong effect in attracting young officers. The account of the sums received in prize-money is perfectly amazing; the best haul of all was perhaps the _Hermione_, a Spanish ship taken long before the Austens’ day, in 1762. The treasure was conveyed to London in twenty waggons with the British colours flying over those of Spain, a sight that would confound those of our own time, who seem to think the true way to celebrate a victory is to give compensation to those who have provoked war, and brought defeat upon themselves! The share of one ship alone, the _Active_, amounted to over £250,000; and the proportion given to the ships of the same squadron not actually present amounted to nearly £67,000. The value of the _St. Jago_, taken in 1793, as adjudged to the captors was £935,000, of which about £100,000 went to Admiral Gell. (_The Times_, February 4, 1795.) Each captain got nearly £14,000. In 1801, Jane tells us that “Charles has received £30 for his share of the privateer and expects ten pounds more, but of what avail is it to take prizes if he lays out the produce in presents to his sisters? He has been buying gold chains and topaz crosses for us. He must be well scolded.” After this it does not seem so strange to read in _Persuasion_ that in only seven years Anne’s lover, Wentworth, “had distinguished himself, and early gained the other step in rank, and must now, by successive captures, have made a handsome fortune,” which otherwise strikes oddly on our ears. [Illustration: VICTORY OF LORD DUNCAN (CAMPERDOWN) 1797] The abuses in the navy included those of interest, which in those days honeycombed every branch of professional life. Lord Rodney made his son John a post captain after he had been a midshipman little over a month, and when he was just over fifteen years old. But this, at a time when boys of fourteen held commissions in the Guards, must have seemed a trifle. Mrs. Lybbe Powys, speaking of her brother-in-law, says— “Our young officer is what I fear too generally young men in the army are, gay, thoughtless, and very handsome; but what boy of fourteen, having a commission in the Guards, can be otherwise?”