when, acting under a momentary excitement, he was so mad as to
enlist in the service. Unused to work or ready obedience, he soon
discovered that his life was to be one not only of bodily toil,
pushed sometimes to the extreme of fatigue, but one of the most
perfect subordination to the will of others, under pain of corporeal
punishment. The first insolent word of authority passed to him by a
new fledged midshipman, his junior by at least three years, stung
him so deeply that it was only by a most violent effort that he
could master the impulse that prompted him to seize and throw him
overboard. He did not regret this successful effort at self-control,
when, a few hours afterwards, he was compelled to witness the
punishment of the cat inflicted on a sailor for the offence of
insolence to an officer. The sight of the poor man, writhing under
tile brutality of the lash, made an impression on him that nothing
could efface. It absorbed his mind and brought it into a healthier
state of reflection than it had yet been.

"I have placed myself in this position by a rash act," he said to
himself, as he turned, sick at heart, away from the painful and
disgusting sight. "And all rebellion against the authority around me
will but make plainer my own weakness. I have degraded myself; but
there is a lower degradation still, and that I must avoid. Drag me
to the gangway, and I am lost!"

Strict obedience and submission was from that time self-compelled on
the part of Mark Clifford. It was not without a strong effort,
however, that he kept down the fiery spirit within him. A word of
insolent command--and certain of the young midshipmen on board could
not speak to a senior even if he were old as their father, except in
a tone of insult--would send the blood boiling through his veins.