"Glad to have you aboard, my lad," he said. "You see, their Lordships, knowing my value as a first lieutenant, have taken good care not to promote me, lest my peculiar qualities should be lost to the service." "I should have been glad to have served under you, had you been in command of a corvette, sir," I said; "and I'm very happy to be with you again." "You'll find two or three old shipmates on board, for Lord Robert, being a friend of Captain Macnamara, applied to him to recommend such officers as he thought well of. He has immense interest, and I hope that we shall all get our promotion when he's done with us, though he'll take very good care it will not be till then." I begged Mr Saunders to let me go ashore again to procure an outfit, as I had not got one at Cork. "Have you brought another family chest with you?" he asked. "No, sir; I'll get one of the proper dimensions this time, knowing the size you approve of," I answered. On going into the berth, I found, to my infinite satisfaction, my old friends Nettleship and Tom Pim. "Glad to see you, Paddy," they exclaimed in the same voice, each grasping a hand. "We heard rumours that you were appointed to the _Jason_, but could not ascertain the fact for certain," said Nettleship. "Well, here you see me, after all the actions I have taken part in, still an old mate. Lord Robert assures me that he will look after my interests; but he has said the same to everybody else, and will probably tell you so likewise." Tom Pim accompanied me on shore, and assisted me by his advice in getting the outfit I required, and I took care to choose the smallest chest I could find, that there might be no risk of its being cut down. In the evening Nettleship joined us, and we accompanied him to pay his respects to his mother and sister. I was more than ever struck by the sedate manner of the young lady, after having been so lately accustomed to those of Irish girls. Though Miss Nettleship was very pretty, I didn't lose my heart to her. Tom Pim, however, seemed to admire her greatly, though it was impossible to judge of how her feelings were affected towards him. We spent a very pleasant evening, and I took greatly to Mrs Nettleship, who seemed to me to be a very kind and sensible old lady. We had to return on board at night, to be ready for duty the next morning, for the frigate was now being rapidly fitted out Old Rough-and-Ready was in his true element, with a marline-spike hung round his neck, directing everywhere, and working away with his own hands. He made us do the same. "We don't want dainty young gentlemen on board," he said, "but fellows who are not afraid of the tar-bucket."