a sort of naval cadet, appointed by the captain of a ship of war, to second the orders of the superior officers, and assist in the necessary business of the vessel, either abroad or at home.

The number of midshipmen, like that of several other officers, is always in proportion to the size of the ship to which they belong. Thus a first-rate man of war has 24, and the inferior rates a suitable number in proportion. No person can be appointed lieutenant without having previously served two years in the royal navy in this capacity, or in that of mate, besides having been at least four years in actual service at sea, either in merchant ships or in the royal navy.

Midshipman is accordingly the station in which a young volunteer is trained in the several exercises necessary to attain a sufficient knowledge of the machinery, movements, and military operations of a ship, to qualify him for a sea officer.

On his first entrance in a ship of war, every midshipman has several disadvantageous circumstances to encounter. These are partly occasioned by the nature of the sea service; and partly by the mistaken prejudices of people in general respecting naval discipline, and the genius of sailors and their officers. No character, in their opinion, is more excellent than that of the common sailor, whom they generally suppose to be treated with great severity by his officers, drawing a comparison between them not very advantageous to the latter. The midshipman usually comes aboard tainted with these prejudices, especially if his education has been amongst the higher rank of people; and if the officers happen to answer his opinion, he conceives an early distrust to the service, from a very partial and incompetent view of its operations. Blinded by these prepossessions, he is thrown off his guard, and very soon surprised to find, amongst those honest fellows, a crew of abandoned miscreants, ripe for any mischief or villainy. Perhaps, after a little observation, many of them will appear to him equally destitute of gratitude, shame, or justice, and only deterred from the commission of any crimes by the terror of severe punishment. He will discover, that the pernicious example of a few of the vilest in a ship of war is too often apt to poison the principles of the greatest number, especially if the reins of discipline are too much relaxed, so as to foster that idleness and dissipation, which engender sloth, diseases, and an utter profligacy of manners. If the midshipman on many occasions is obliged to mix with these, particularly in the exercises of extending or reducing the sails in the tops, he ought resolutely to guard against this contagion, with which the morals of his inferiors may be infected. He should, however, avail himself of their knowledge, and acquire their experience in managing and fixing the sails and rigging, and never suffer himself to be excelled by an inferior. He will probably find a virtue in almost every every private sailor, which is entirely unknown to many of his officers: that virtue is emulation, which is not indeed mentioned amongst their qualities by the gentlemen of terra firma, by whom their characters are often copiously described with very little judgment. There is hardly a common tar who is not envious of superior skill in his fellows, and jealous on all occasions to be outdone in what he considers as a branch of his duty: nor is he more afraid of the dreadful consequences of whittling in a storm, than of being flattered with the opprobrious epithet of lubber. Fortified against this scandal, by a thorough knowledge of his business, the sailor will sometimes sneer in private at the execution of orders which to him appear awkward, improper, or unlike a seaman. Nay, he will perhaps be malicious enough to suppress his own judgment, and, by a punctual obedience to command, execute whatever is to be performed in a manner which he knows to be improper, in order to expose the person commanding to disgrace and ridicule. Little skilled in the method of the schools, he considers the officer who cons his lesson by rote as very ill qualified for his station, because particular situations might render it necessary for the said officer to assist at putting his own orders in practice. An ignorance in this practical knowledge will therefore necessarily be thought an unpardonable deficiency by those who are to follow his directions. Hence the midshipman who associates with these sailors in the tops, till he has acquired a competent skill in the service of extending or reducing the sails, &c. will be often entertained with a number of scurrilous jests, at the expense of his superiors. Hence also he will learn, that a timely application to those exercises can only prevent him from appearing in the same despicable point of view, which must certainly be a cruel mortification to a man of the smallest sensibility.

If the midshipman is not employed in these services, which are undoubtedly necessary to give him a clearer idea of the different parts of his occupation, a variety of other objects present themselves to his attention. Without presuming to dictate the studies which are most essential to his improvement, we could wish to recommend such as are most suitable to the bent of his inclination. Astronomy, geometry, and mechanics, which are in the first rank of science, are the materials which form the skilful pilot and the superior mariner. The theory of navigation is entirely derived from the two former, and all the machinery and movements of a ship are founded upon the latter. The action of the wind upon the sails, and the resistance of the water at the stern, naturally dictate an inquiry into the property of solids and fluids; and the state of the ship, floating on the water, seems to direct his application to the study of hydrostatics, and the effects of gravity. A proficiency in these branches of science will equally enlarge his views, with regard to the operations of naval war, as directed by the efforts of powder and the knowledge of projectiles. The most effectual method to excite his application to those studies, is, perhaps, by looking round the navy, to observe the characters of individuals. By this inquiry he will probably discover, that the officer who is eminently skilled in the sciences, will command universal respect and approbation; and that whoever is satisfied with the despicable ambition of shining the hero of an assembly, will be the object of universal contempt. The attention of the former will be engaged in those studies which are highly useful to himself in particular, and to the service in general. The employment of the latter is to acquire those superficial accomplishments that unbind the mind from every useful science, emasculate the judgment, and render the hero infinitely more dexterous at falling into his station in the dance than in the line of battle.

Unless the midshipman has an unconquerable aversion to the acquisition of those qualifications which are so essential to his improvement, he will very rarely want opportunities of making a progress therein. Every step he advances in those meritorious employments will facilitate his accession to the next in order. If the dunces, who are his officers or messmates, are rattling the dice, roaring bad verses, hissing on the flute, or scraping discord from the fiddle, his attention to more noble studies will sweeten the hours of relaxation. He should recollect, that no example from fools ought to influence his conduct, or seduce him from that laudable ambition which his honour and advantage are equally concerned to pursue.