Then came out a volley of all the stored up information acquired at the late classes: "Stick a mustard plaster on the back of his neck, sir!" "Put him in a hot bath, sir!" "Walk him up and down as fast as you can, sir!" "Hold him up by the heels, sir!" "Tie him to a broom-handle, two billiard cues, and a rifle, sir!" "Tickle his nose with a feather, sir!" and so on. The prostrate hero must have had lively anticipations during this exchange of ideas! We are not informed what course would be adopted by a "first-aid" cadet under certain alarming conditions which apparently might arise when out "mushrooming," though it is recorded in the magazine that the process by which a cadet distinguishes a mushroom from a toadstool is to eat it. If he dies, it is a toadstool; if he lives, it is a mushroom! Towards the end of the 'eighties the electric light was installed on board both ships, and the only marvel is that it was not done earlier. Those who have experienced the endless worry of lamps and candles on board ship will understand what a boon the electric light is. The dynamo was first placed on board the _Hindostan_; but a wooden vessel is one huge conductor of sound and vibration, and before long it was shifted to a small vessel specially provided, and moored just above the ships. This was, in fact, one of the old mortar vessels constructed for use in the Baltic during the Crimean War. [Illustration: CAPTAIN BOWDEN-SMITH. (Now Admiral Sir N. Bowden-Smith, K.C.B.)] No one who has thus far perused these pages will be surprised to learn that the 'eighties did not pass without a committee being specially appointed to consider the vexed question of naval education. There has always existed, as we have seen, a sort of chronic dissatisfaction with the existing condition of affairs; and this again reached a climax in 1885. On March 26th in that year the Admiralty appointed a committee, constituted as follows:-- Vice-Admiral W. G. Luard; Commander the Right Hon. the Earl of Dalhousie; W. D. Niven, Esq., Director of Studies at the Royal Naval College; Rev. J. M. Wilson, Head Master of Clifton College; Rev. W. Rogers, Rector of St. Botolph; and Captain Charles Johnstone. POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED. (_a_) Limits of age and subjects of examination for the entry of cadets. (_b_) Course of study and instructional arrangements on board the _Britannia_. (_c_, _d_ and _e_ concern later examinations not connected with the _Britannia_.) (_f_) To consider and offer opinions or suggestions for the improvement of the education of naval executive officers. In their report the committee point out what they consider to be defects in the present system:--