This appears, at first sight, to reflect some discredit upon the captains, who, it may be said, must have been aware that they were, in a sense, obtaining money under false pretences. It is not fair, however, to saddle them with responsibility for the results of absurd regulations, which it was well known at headquarters must tend to such abuses; the whole system was a farce, and any little additional absurdities on the part of the captains were usually winked at with the forced leniency which is one of the inevitable accompaniments of inadequate legislation. Here, then, we find a sad lack of method in regard to the majority of entries in Nelson's time, though that great man himself was of the relatively mature age of twelve when he went afloat in 1770. If there was little or no method in regard to entry, how did the youngsters of those days fare as to education? Well, as a matter of fact, there was rather less system in this respect than in the other. It depended in a great measure upon the sort of captain a boy shipped with, and also, in a lesser degree, upon the junior officers. The seamanship of those days was pretty readily picked up by a lad who kept his eyes open and was eager to learn; a state of war was far more frequent than quiet times; ships were always on the move, and seamanship came of itself; the navigation required was of a rough and ready description, and the master and his mates were as a rule the only people who took any trouble about it. Marryat, indeed, gives us some vivid and entertaining pictures of the process of education of a certain kind, as applied by the midshipmen and others to a new comer; also of what may be termed preliminary instruction. Jack Easy, it will be remembered, received some valuable preliminary training at the hands of Mr. Bonnycastle, who literally "licked him into shape" with a good pliant cane, and who, having inculcated obedience by this stern method, took care that his scholars should know how to use their fists; an accomplishment which proved of great service to Master Jack when Vigors, the bully of the mess, attempted to ride roughshod over him. Mr. Midshipman Easy is, however, far too great a favourite of fortune to be accepted as a typical example. Frank Mildmay, in his new uniform, tumbling up against the Port Admiral, whom he failed to salute, and so humbled by the rebuke he received that he went about touching his hat to everyone he met, is a truer picture. Another valuable piece of education was imparted by Murphy, his senior, in the form of a hiding for not comprehending the significance of the captain's hint at the dinner table, "Go and see how the wind is." Poor Mildmay went out, and returned, in all good faith, with the required information; whereupon Murphy was instructed to "show him the ropes," and Nemesis supervened.