were decided in a twinkling, while the air of the crowded room grew
thick and stifling from the smoke of the forbidden tobacco. One of the
company would keep a sharp lookout for the possible advent of the
sometimes rubber-shod passed midshipman doing police duty, and, if
necessary, danger signals would be made from the basement story, by
tapping on the steam-pipes, which signal would be repeated from room to
room, and from floor to floor, generally in ample time for the young
bacchanalians to disperse in safety. If, perchance, the revelers got
caught, they would stand up at the next evening's parade and hear the
offence and demerits accorded, read out in presence of the battalion,
with an easy _sang-froid_ that piqued the sea-worn experience of the
oldsters while they marveled. Let no one judge these lads too harshly,
for the day came, all too soon, when they were to stand up in face of
the enemy, and, with equally nonchalant but sterner courage, go into
battle in defence of the flag they were being trained to defend, many
winning undying honor and fame, some meeting untimely but heroic graves,
in "the war that kept the Union whole."

Our midshipmite soon became a favorite with all, from the gruff old
superintendent down to the littlest new-comer at the school. His
bright, cheery, and genial disposition, and frank, hearty ways, were
very winning, and if, in his studies, he did not take leading rank, nor
become enraptured over analytics, calculus, and binomials, he was
esteemed a spirited, heartsome lad of good stock and promise, bred to
honorable purpose and aspiration, with seemingly marked aptitude for the
noble profession, which, more than any other, calls for a heroism that
never hesitates, a courage that never falters; for, aside from its
special work of upholding and defending the flag, and all it symbolizes,
on the high seas to the uttermost parts of the globe, "they that go down
to sea in ships" come closer to the manifestations of the unspeakable