16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
nor Martin had appeared, nor any of the ransomers.
A mile and a half of steady pacing
followed these reflexions about home, and
then two distinct thoughts arose: 'I must ask
Wilkins whether he will act as third lieutenant
until we reach Callao: they say he was a master's
mate in Agamemnon.' This second
thought ran on into a consideration of those
young men who, having passed the Navy's examination
for a lieutenant, remained senior
midshipmen or master's mates because they
did not also 'pass for a gentleman', a mute,
unwritten, unacknowledged examination
whose result was announced only by the absence
of a commission – a practice that was
becoming more and more frequent. He considered
the advantages often put forward – a
more homogeneous mess, less friction, the
hands' greater respect for gentlemen than for
their own kind – and the disadvantages – the