Order was, however, soon restored:  my mother recovered her composure—­my father shook me by the hand—­the company all agreed that I was a very fine, interesting boy—­the ladies resumed their seats, and I had the satisfaction to observe that my sudden appearance had not deprived them of their appetites.  I soon convinced them that in this particular, at least, I also was in high training.  My midshipman’s life had neither disqualified nor disgusted me with the luxuries of the table; nor did I manifest the slightest backwardness or diffidence when invited by the gentlemen to take wine.  I answered every question with such fluency of speech, and such compound interest of words, as sometimes caused the propounder to regret that he had put me to the trouble of speaking.

I gave a very florid description of the fight; praised some admirals and captains for their bravery, sneered at others, and accused a few of right down misconduct.  Now and then, by way of carrying conviction into my auditors’ very souls, I rammed home my charges with an oath, at which my father looked grave, my mother held up her finger, the gentlemen laughed, and the ladies all said with a smile, “Sweet boy!—­what animation!—­what sense!—­what discernment!” Thinks I to myself, “You are as complete a set of gulls as ever picked up a bit of biscuit!”

Next morning, while my recent arrival was still warm, I broke the subject of my chest to my father and mother at breakfast; indeed, my father, very fortunately for me, began by inquiring how my stock of clothes held out.

“Bad enough,” said I, as I demolished the third egg, for I still had a good appetite at breakfast.

“Bad enough!” repeated my father, “why you were extremely well fitted with everything.”

“Very true, sir,” said I; “but then you don’t know what a man-of-war is in clearing for action; everything not too hot or too heavy is chucked overboard with as little ceremony as I swallow this muffin.  ‘Whose hat-box is this?’ ‘Mr Spratt’s, sir.’  ’D——­n Mr Spratt, I’ll teach him to keep his hat-box safe another time; over with it’—­and away it went over the lee gangway.  Spratt’s father was a hatter in Bond Street, so we all laughed.”

“And pray, Frank,” said my mother, “did your box go in the same way?”

“It kept company, I assure you.  I watched them go astern, with tears in my eyes, thinking how angry you would be.”

“Well, but the chest, Frank, what became of the chest?  You said that the Vandals had some respect for heavy objects, and yours, I am sure, to my cost, had very considerable specific gravity.”

“That’s very true, sir; but you have no notion how much it was lightened the first day the ship got to sea.  I was lying on it as sick as a whale—­the first lieutenant and mate of the lower deck came down to see if the men’s berths were clean; I, and my Noah’s ark, lay slap in the way—­’Who have we here?’ said Mr Handstone.  ’Only Mr Mildmay, and his chest, sir,’ said the sergeant of marines, into whose territory I acknowledged I had made very considerable incroachments.  ‘Only!’ repeated the lieutenant, ’I thought it had been one of the big stones for the new bridge, and the owner of it a drunken Irish hodman.’  I was too sick to care much about what they said.”