I had hardly reached Toulon, ere the frigate I had joined put to sea, my apprenticeship began, and I soon made myself at home among our sailors, who all of them, officers, petty officers, and seamen alike, not only showed me an affection which won my heart from the very outset, but took every pains to make my stay amongst them a pleasant one, while each in his own special sphere initiated me into all the details of my duty.

The Arthemise was a fine sailing frigate, of fifty-two guns, with huge spars—­one of the most elegant types of the old-fashioned ships, but an old-fashioned ship she was indeed.  We even had hempen cables instead of chain ones!  The crew, drawn almost exclusively from the lists of registered seamen, was active and bold on the rigging, but somewhat insubordinate.  The words of command were given amidst volleys of oaths, and carried out under a hail of blows dealt by the petty officers.  The superior officers, who had all belonged to the old Imperial Navy, clung to that detestable habit, which has cost us so many reverses, of completely neglecting the military side of the ship’s drill.  The only thing they looked to was navigation.  There was indeed a routine of regulation practice carried out, but it was utterly ridiculous.  The ne plus ultra of perfection in artillery drill, for instance, was supposed to be when at the word “Ram” all the thirteen rammers of the ship’s battery struck the bore of the guns with irreproachable simultaneity!  Now and then there was a rehearsal of the drill book, but it was always done amidst universal sleepiness and inattention.  There never was one day’s practice, nor even one shot fired, during the whole cruise.

The commander gave me boatswains and sailors to teach me the various details of my duty, and I soon learnt to give things their right names, to tie knots, and to climb about the rigging too, though I did not manage that, the first time, without being horribly frightened.  I remember, when I got as far as the topgallant crosstrees, clinging on, and not daring to come down till I was driven to it by the jeers of the on-lookers.  But I learnt most of all by observation, and from the outset I had that indescribable thing that nobody can teach another, the seafaring instinct.  Our cruise was a pleasant one, and our stays in port were interesting.  At Ajaccio I came upon more public functions, and was the hero of a Bonapartist demonstration.  I was borne as though in triumph to the house where Napoleon was born, where I was received by a very old Signor Ramolino, brother to Madame Letitia.  In common with my sisters, who drew pictures of Napoleon all over the place, I professed the greatest admiration for the great warrior.  So I asked his uncle for some souvenir of him, and he presented me with a red armchair, out of the room in which he was born.