Imatges de pàgina
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but certainly to the good-will and esteem of men in general, and would tend to produce in them that firm and unbending rightness of mind, which interest can never biaswhich adversity can never shake-which prosperity can never enervate; it will lead them to let reason conquer passion, thereby rendering them fit for the duties of command, and qualify them for the high and important offices which many of them may be destined to fill; and last, not least, it will have the effect of making them happy in themselves, and respected by all.

My young readers are here informed, that the advice contained in the following pages, does not emanate from one whose life has been passed in the quiet and comfort of a happy English home, and who has merely culled from the pages of others, maxims of morality, which it is easy for those to preach who have never been subjected to the trials and temptations, which alone lead to the breach of them; but they proceed from one who has been as thoughtless and careless as the wildest he may be addressing, who, ere he had entered his twelfth year, was walk

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ing the quarter-deck of a man-of-war, and who, since then, has passed through the various vicissitudes of both a sailor's and a soldier's life, from one whose experience has been dearly bought, who has suffered acutely from much that he wishes We cannot put you to avoid. old heads on young shoulders, and, therefore, there are many of you who will, no doubt, get into scrapes; if they proceed, whilst you are young, from mere thoughtlessness, and not tinctured by selfishness, want of principle, or falsehood, they will be forgotten as soon perhaps as forgiven, but be careful that they lead you not into more serious dilemmas,-that of betraying your comrades, denying facts, and throwing the blame on others, if questioned by those who have a right to demand. When you criminate only yourself, candidly acknowledge your error; a falsehood or prevarication evidences a little mind, and leaves a stain on the character which it will take

very many noble deeds to clear away. You are commencing your part on the busy stage of life-you have a character to form-a

name to gain-whether for good or bad, depends upon yourself. If you wish to arrive at the head of your profession, you must make up your mind to toil, privation, disappointments, but finally to success. What man has done, man can do. I need only point out a few of those in our own service who entered life with no greater advantages than yourselves :-Clive, Cornwallis, Sir John Malcolm, Sir John Doveton, Sir David Ochleslong, Sir Thomas Munro, Sir Richard Jenkins, Sir Charles Metcalfe, and numerous others, some of whose names you may see in the Appendix to this work, as having received honorary distinctions; such men do honour to their country, to their families, to themselves, and to human nature:-you may do the same. I have only to add,have the courage to say "no," when you feel you ought; think well before you speak; doubly so before you act; but having well considered, let nothing induce you to swerve from a well-grounded determination; but let your motto be, "suaviter in modo, sed fortiter in re."

HENRY KERR.

HINTS TO CADETS.

BY CAPTAIN KERR."

CHAPTER I.

Nomination of Cadet or Assistant-Surgeon-Forms at the India House-Passage and Outfit-False Economy— Whom to apply to for information for Outfit and Passage -Embarkation of Baggage-Joining the Ship.

On the nomination of a Cadet, or an AssistantSurgeon, to the service of the East India Company, he should as soon as possible present himself at the Cadet's office in the India House, with a note from the Director from whom he has obtained the nomination, on which he will receive (if he has not previously had one from the Director) a printed form, which must be correctly filled up. (See APPENDIX.) Should the Cadet or Assistant-Surgeon have been born in India, he must obtain a certificate of the registry of his baptism from the office in the Secretary's department, for which he pays a fee of £1. The Cadet must on a court-day, Wednesday or Friday, again present himself at the office of T. R. CLARKE, Esq. at 10 o'clock in the morning, for the purpose of

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being examined, and of taking the necessary oath previous to his final admission into the service. In the meanwhile, he should lose no time in consulting an agent to procure his outfit and secure his passage; as he takes rank from the date of the sailing of the ship on which he embarks, a few days' delay may materially affect his promotion in after-life. With respect to his passage I should always recommend his taking a cabin to himself, provided twenty or thirty pounds are no very material object, or if he has no very particular friend going also in the same ship. For where he has a companion whose temper and disposition do not accord with his own, or who may not have been brought up in the same school of gentlemanlike manners, moral sentiments, or studious habits, the Cadet will find his position a very unpleasant one, or he may by such close contact be led into an intimacy which he will find it difficult hereafter to shake off; and, moreover, a companion, unless studiously inclined, will be a very great drawback to the Cadet spending his time profitably, or even pleasantly, on board. If in a cabin by himself he may retire at any time to read or study; but he cannot exclude his companion's friends whenever they choose to visit him.

I have known several instances where a steady, quiet, and well-disposed youth, whose judgment, for the want of experience, necessarily not being very strong, has been led into the commission of

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