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    advantage , and by winning the favour of individuals . He had inspired personal attachments . This is the way to rise in life . To rise by what you do is a slow process 5 to rise by making yourself agreeable ( you must not be too nice how ) to thoes who can be of service to you , is a far easier and more safer one . Mogglestonleugh was so facile , pleasant a person , that his very enemies could not hurt him ; he was safe from them , as the pig in rural sports is safe , by having his tail greased . Very early had this character of the captain displayed itself . As a handsome , good-humoured midshipman , " Moggy" ( us he was shortly called ) had been the pet of his superiors . There was no harm in Moggy ; he offended nobody ' s vanity ; he had the inestimable quality of never being bored ., The greatest blockhead in the three kingdoms , whoever he may be , could not have made Moggy yawn . If Moggy ' s good-n : tture , somehow , had a tendency to win him the favour of the rich , the

    wellconnected , and the powerful—he never , like some foolish fellows , allowed his success to make him negligent of the humble ; lie had a smile and a hearty shake of the hands for everybody ; ho grinned so pleasantly when you met him , that you fancied he had been thinking of you all the way along . It came naturally with him to make himself agreeable , and to rise in the world , and to be a good man , and a good father , and all the rest of it . Adair of the "Python" ( who was always quoting Rochefoucauld ) shook his head when people praised the captain , and nick-named him " virtue made easy . " Other fellows circulated the soubriquet ; for no man wins everybody ; and there were some who hinted that the truth about " old Moggy" ( as he grew up his name was changed to this ) \ v : is , that his bonhomie was all his temperament , and his good digestion— that he lived on his fat as the bears do in winter time , and that few men now living had a more sagacious , or more constant eye to the pot !

    Mojrylestonleugh got his lieutenancy b } - winning the love of a young gentleman of rank , in whose watch he was , who asked him down to Cheshire , when the ship was paid o < I" , -where he went out shooting with a Lord of the Admiralty , and bagged his promotion along with several brace of partriges . We have said that he was a handsome youth ; this quality caused him to be selected as lieutenant for all services where an ornamental officer was required . No \ v-a-days , these are so much more numerous than in the coarser days of poor old Benbonv , that the " ornamental" department may be said to be established permanently ; for what with carry ing swell passengers , entertaining archduchesses , giving balls , &c , our vessels obviously-require functionaries of highly attractive personal appearance . Mogglestonleugh in command of the " Princess Charlotte ' s" barge , was in his element ; he fitted her up , at his own expense , in elegant style ; and soon , in fact , became recognised as the distingue lieutenant of the vessel . When the late Admiral Velveteen hoisted his flag on the Mediterranean station , Mogelestonleugh was appointed his flag-lieutenant ; this position introduced him to and of

    a rich , beautiful , and childless widow , whose husband , a person of rank very mature years , died at Malta , and left her every sixpence he possessed . When Velveteen ' s flag was hauled down , Mogglestonleugh was made a commander . Soon after , appeared in all the papers , the marriage of " Captain Mogglestonleugh , R . N ., of Diamond Castle , Devon , to Amelia Wilhelmina , widow of the late Colonel Trevor , of Trevor , formerly of the — Dragoons . " What could be more imposing than such an announcement ? When you looked into it a little closely , it lost somewhat , however ; " Diamond Castle" was only rented for three months , that he might have the designation when he married ; and Amelia Wilhelmina , though she inherited the dead Colonel ' s money , and had been his wife , was not a young lady originally , of the " Trevor" status , by any means ; but her marriages , and her money , and her new husband ' s popularity were quite sufficient to set up the couple on the substantial footing of local aristocracy . " Dear Captain Mogglestonleugh and his charming wife " were no small persons in their neighbourhood ; they travelled with excellent letters of introduction , for a year or two ; and when they returned , he , in due time , attained his post rank , and the command of the " Thunderbolt . " " Moggy" had now gradually grown up to beyond fifty , and passed through the

    various stages of a " good young fellow ; " a " useful and agreeable officer ; and " a worthy gentleman" to his present one , of " a highl 3 ' respected officer , and a model husband and parent . " In this stage he was gazetted to the " Hildebrand . " He had no politics , ( that is to say , he was open to good things from all quarters ) ; there was nobody in particular , " with claims , " just at the time ; and some good old personal friends put their shoulders to the wheel , and obtained for him this fine eightygun ship , the " Hildebrand . " He took up his station during the fitting of the vessel in a very handsome house . The Avails were covered with " Men wanted for the ' Hildebrand ! ' " " Old ' Thunderbolts , ' rally round your old captain ! " These appeals ¦ were the first things which our hero , Eustace Conyers , saw when he arrived , very excited and very weary , at Plymouth . " Poynder for the County" seemed dull , in comparison , to Eustace . He was too young , yet , to make a philosophical comparison of these appeals ; otherwise , he might perhaps have reflected , that when a man , in any way , wants to use " the People , " for his own purposes , he generally affects to court them , and pretends that they are , or ought to be " self-govcrucd ; " and that to choose for themselves is the best condition for them !

    Captain Montficbet is a contrast , and in the portrait many will recognise a R . N . personage ; who beguiles his leisure afloat by compilations of the lives of his ancestors , —earls of course : — "Why he is a member of one of the most ancient and illustrious houses of the nobility of England , " said Lindsay , smacking his lips , when he talked of old blood , as men do ova old wine . " They have very little money , to he sure ; but , bless you , they ' re one of the regular families ; might be Scotch , my boy ! He quarters Plantagenot . No mysterious ancestors crawling out , about Henry the Eighth ' s time , after the Reformation , like toadstools sprouting after a thunder-shower ! If you tell your father , you ' re sailing with Montfichet , he will send you an extra twenty , said Lindsay , laughing . " He is Normannns Normannorum . " " Have you ever seen him V" , . " Yes : he wus on board hero one day . Gave Mogglestonleugh a linger ; he only gives Pipton himself two ; and Grey , of the ' Grampus / three . I suppose there is nobody in Europe to whom he would give his whole hand—except , perhaps , llenry the Fifth . " Thia is a good description of character , and this eunicncc is a specimen of the stylo of the book : —

    By nature and constitution , Lindsay w « h a healthy and lively man ; and he rang 80 cheerfully ( if a bold metaphor may bo pardoned ) just because he was ol Hound metal . In this passngc , wo get most of Mr . Hnnniiy ' s Tory theory : — " 1 wonder if Montfichet will got another « hip ? " » nys Eustace , in the intervals of a eandwioh . ,. , ¦ v * Ufs by no means certain , " answered Lindsay . « The fact is , these awclls , unless they are among the political sets- which amounts to saying , « " }« sb they are rich--amliatfc better off than you and I , who arc worse off than a rich sausage-maker a sons , if ho ( tho eauHage-makor ) dabbles in elections . Wasn ' t there Lord Clarion , who could not got promoted in our time , though tho C ' h . are of tho haute noblesse t It la ndt aristocracy which keeps tho middle cUssob down ; it ' n plutocracy—money worship -. " . Thoro la much mieconcoption abroad in all thoao matters , " continued Lindsay

    refreshing himself * "As for birth , first of all , the ruling political families are not the best-descended as a general rule ; but , secondly , " it is absurd to say that birth is justly attacked , for it does so happen that of the leading public men , the ablest are the bestdescended of the batch . Who are the most brilliant men , now , among the nobility ? Lord S ., the G's ., P ., and so forth—all of aristocratic descent . Then , of the last two , or three , or four generations , yon have Byron , Erskine , Mansfield , Chesterfield , ' Carteret , Lyttelton ; of the later peerages , what men will compare with these ? But , as aristocracy is not a matter of title , but of feudal ancestry , we may take in Shelley , Scott , Collingwood , the Napiers , &c , &c , and claim for old families an honourable

    degree of excellence . The great scholar , Fynes Clinton , for , instance , would come under this head . I , for one , didn ' t grumble at the advancement of Montfichet , or Clarion . I know that some classes will always predominate , and I prefer the predominance of a historical element—something that appeals to the sentiment of mankind , to its imagination . Everything in the age tends to the predominance of property ; but let us have property pins traditions . What we are coming to is , a government of mere capital—land being viewed as one form of capital— than which , nothing can more effectually separate upper and lower classes . In the decline of nations , mere money sways everything . Under the Roman Emperors , the old nobles got knocked on the head . Slaves and sons of slaves were the prosperous dogs . Trimalchio was not a noble , " said Lindsay , laughing .

    " There are hideous jobs in our profession , too , Walter , my boy ! " quoth Eustace . " True , oh Conyers ! Didn ' t they pack a court-martial to try Captain Catt , of the ' Flagellant , ' because he was a Whig swell ? Didn't somebody get off very cheap , after bringing his ship home without leave , for the sake of the freight , because he was a swell ? I won't wink at a doo of -the kind , while I carry the chequy fess , young man . There is a great deal of jobbery in this our age , you see . There ' s Hoffal , the contractor , who nearly killed me with his dainties when 1 was in the ' Flamingo '—but Hoffal is not an aristocrat . There ' s all kinds of adulteration in food and drink in London . The fact is , it is not a brilliantly moral period . But don ' t let us make any class pay the piper for other people ' s sins . Old ' Podger / of the ' Sprout , ' was debless ! Pod in the Pot

    vilish severe about Catt ' s Case ; but , you ger ' s little 'jobs' - borough election were quite as bad ; though I candidly admit" ( Lindsay laughed ) " I never sarw a fellow less like an aristocrat in my life than Podger ! No , -no . Officering the navy with gentlemen is one of the wisest things that can be done . The seamen like it . The warrant-officers like it . It ' s British liberty with its elections and its spouting which fills the country with corruption . I wonder the men of parts don ' t see that the money-bag worship is fatal to them . Look at those Oxford men we met at Witch-Elms—fellows of high culture and small means—the flower of the professional classes . Young Hoffal buys over them in the army . Hoffal secundus does ditto in the Church . Hoffal tertius buys into a borough . Parliament is more shut to them than it was before the Reform Bill . They are driven into

    demagogism . Party is here well described ; and we might suggest the application to those young Tories who theorise about Conservative principles and then make the acquaintance of W . B . or Forbes Mackenzie : — Few more ticklish tasks can be imposed on a man than to deal with a party . A partv is like a mermaid ; the head and face may enchant and attract you , and yet in a moment , you shall be frightened off by a wag of the cold , scaly , and slimy tail . With this sketch of " Life in the Hildebrand" we conclude—having only to suggest that Studds might not fight the worse for talking epigrams : — Breakfast is on the gun-room table of the " Hildebrand , " and mates , midshipmen , and youngsters are partaking of it . Eustace ' s appetite was tremendous in those days . He was up every morning by daylight , and in the sea air till breakfast-time Think of that in London , and sigh ! ' Did the man bring my eggs ? " inquired a languid voice , addressing one of the mess-servants . " He did sir . " " I dreamed that he tumbled down the after-ladder , and broke them , " said the voice .

    " Bring my omelette . " Affected ass , " mutters Mr . Corduroy , the second master . ' Any news V" inquired Mr . Sudder , mate , of the table generally . " Yes , " said the languid voice . " What ? " asked three or four men eagerly . " Bobilini ' s coming over next season . " Mr . Corduroy expressed a wish for Bobilim ' s departure where Orpheus went before 1 C " I mean news about the ship , Studds , " said Sudder , sharply . Pearl Studds , Esq ., shrugged his shoulders . " My dear fellow , you asked tho news . I give you my news ; let everybody else give you his . ' * v-mnnv Intense polish had made Studds so slippery , that you could not lay hold of him anywhere . Ho eluded the grasp of indignant superiors , triumphantly . " Who ' s ( o have the Channel squadron ?" « The MorHinf / Post says Pipton will , " answered a midshipman . » Pooh i his wife circulated that . She set going a rumour , last year , that he was to

    hC ^^ j : ^ sT ^ S % h ^ wn family , I dare say / ' said Walter Lindsay . " They should begin by making him a gentleman , and advance gradually , said Pearl Studds , with his sweetest voice . , «¦/»¦ * » Ho « to ,, p « d your leave when he had the < Orion / " growled Mr . Corduroy . « So he dd , " said the unabashed Studds . « He stopped my *™ J ^**™*' because I would not dine with him ; I wus indisposed . 1 ou re perfectly-right , CoXroy . Few men have such tenacious memories as you , or such a courtly way of U 8 ' ^ o ! l > t ' cn won ' t have it . What do you say to Kudc Boreya-s , K . B . ? " asked a ma The age of lienbow is past , " said Mr . Studds , making his favourite

    obscrva-. , „ " i 5 ^ ri £ - ? ^ rns * « - *— . **» *•* ° th ° * yii ' ! ror ' ^ zz ^ ^ z ^ p ^^™? - ' ^^ ' - " Whv ? vounjrstor I Because it ha * done its woik , ana :: sSi ' TKi : siSfi" 5 si ^ Ms * . - * —* ^ tO "Very nb t ° r « C / " said Lindsay , who loved to draw Mr . Studds out ; " certainly in our tim ° ? , ! f *? P ^/ AhJ ^ for a ,. i « ! «« t if things are used up , why , you know , .. ^ si ' rsi's . A » fe --r-i ;; ,,, ¦„• — m « . ««

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    ^ 3 , 33 , ^ 855 . ] ' T , EyEJ Jj ^ A IXftJW § 0 % .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 23, 1855, page 605, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2096/page/17/