The captain avails himself of this public opportunity of telling any of the men that they have been advanced a step on the books since the last muster; and if these intimations be given without parade, and in good taste, they afford great satisfaction to the people, though it may often happen that the changes of rating are almost nominal.  It is a great point gained in all discipline, if the persons we wish to influence can be made duly sensible that their merits and exertions are not neglected.  It is obvious, too, that if giving a man a higher rating be a source of encouragement, to disrate him may readily be used as a means of punishment.  I remember, in the Lyra, on my way home from China, in 1817, that the captain of the foretop, a fine active lad from North Shields, got into some scrape, not quite bad enough to bring him within the reach of the terrible gangway, but close to it, and I was rather perplexed how to chastise the offender.  The first Sunday in the month was close at hand, so I waited till this man’s name was called, and then, after a suitable lecture, desired the clerk, in the hearing of the whole ship’s company, to change his rating to that of able seaman from captain of the top.  The poor fellow looked bewildered, and, instead of passing on when another name was called, stood stock-still half-way across the deck.

“Don’t you hear?” I said; “you are no longer captain of the foretop, you are disrated on the ship’s books.”

I then turned to the clerk to see the entry properly made; but on looking again at the disrated seaman, I observed, to my astonishment, that he was in tears!

I certainly had not reckoned upon such a scene; but it at once flashed upon me that here was an opportunity of gaining two important points.  The first and most obvious of which was to secure this particular man’s future good services by enlisting all that was hearty in his nature at the instant of its strongest expression; and the next, to avail myself of the circumstance to stamp a still higher degree of importance in the eyes of the men than before upon the value of these ratings.  I therefore instantly called out to the clerk to stop his pen; and then addressing the man, in a voice loud enough to be heard by all the crew, said, I was quite sure any one who felt so sensibly the degradation implied in the loss of rank which he had just incurred was never likely to expose himself again to such a risk.  I should therefore not only give him back his former rating, and replace him in his station as captain of the top, but assure him that all trace both of his offence and its punishment should from that moment be entirely forgotten.