“What is sudden, mother?  What is sudden?” Jack asked.  “What is it all about?” and noticing a tear on his mother’s cheek, he went on, “It can’t be those beastly verses, is it?” the subject most upon his mind being prominent.  “But no, it couldn’t be that.  Even if Wallace took it into his head to make a row about them, there would not be time.  But what is it, mother?”

“Sit down, Jack,” his father said.  “You know, my boy, you have always said that you would like to go to sea.  I had no interest that way, but six months ago I wrote to my nephew Charles, who is, as you know, a first lieutenant in the navy, and asked him if he thought he could get you a midshipman’s berth.  He wrote back to say that he was at present on half pay, and feared it would be a long time before he was afloat again, as there were but few ships in commission, and he had not much interest.  But if he were appointed he might be able to get you a berth on board the ship.  As that didn’t seem very hopeful, I thought it better to say nothing to you about it.  However, this morning, just after you had started for school, the postman brought a letter from him, saying that, owing to the threatening state of affairs in the East, a number of ships were being rapidly put in commission, and that he had been appointed to the ‘Falcon,’ and had seen the captain, and as the latter, who happened to be an old friend of his, had no one in particular whom he wished to oblige, he had kindly asked the Admiralty for a midshipman’s appointment for you.  This he had, of course, obtained.  The ‘Falcon’ is being fitted out with all haste, and you are to join at once.  So I shall take you to Portsmouth to-morrow.”

Jack was too much delighted and surprised to be able to speak at first.  But after a minute or two he recovered his breath, uttered a loud hurrah of delight, and then gave vent to his feelings by exuberantly kissing his mother and sisters.

“This is glorious,” he said.  “Only to think that I, who have just been blown up for my verses, am a midshipman in her Majesty’s service.  I can hardly believe that it is true.  Oh, father, I have so wished to go to sea, but I have never said much about it because I thought you did not like it, and now to think of my getting it when I had quite given up all hope, and just at a time, too, when there seems to be a chance of a row.  What is it all about, father?  I have heard you say something about a dispute with Russia, but I never gave much attention to it.”

“The cause of the dispute is trumpery enough, and in itself wholly insufficient to cause a war between two great nations.  It began by a squabble about the holy places at Jerusalem, as to the rights of the Greek and Latin pilgrims respectively.”

“But what have we got to do with either the Latin or the Greek pilgrims?” Jack asked.  “I should have thought that we were quite bothered enough with Latin and Greek verses, without having anything to do with pilgrims.  Besides, I didn’t know there were any Latins now, and the Greeks ain’t much.”