And believe me, with great respect, my Dear Sir John, yours

Communicated by the late Earl Manvers.

In the year 1807 I happened to pay a visit at Thoresby Park, in Nottinghamshire, the seat of my friend, Lord Manvers, who had been bred to the sea, and who recollected, when young, the following singular anecdote of Captain, afterwards Admiral Swanton :

Captain Swanton happened to command a 70 gun ship, The Vanguard, (we had then no 74's in our service); and was cruizing with Admiral Hawke, off the coast of France, in the hopes of intercepting a French fleet from Louisburgh, when his ship was so damaged in a gale, that he was ordered home to refit; and in his way to Portsmouth, he most unfortunately came within sight of the very fleet that Hawke was in expectation of intercepting. The French, seeing an English ship of war so much disabled, and apparently quite alone, thought it would be an easy conquest; but to insure its immediate surrender, the Admiral, by a signal, detached an 80 gun ship, and a 74, to take possession. The officers of the Vanguard, knowing the state of their own vessel, and seeing such a superior force coming against them, gave themselves up for lost, and said to the Captain, "It is impossible to stand against such fearful odds; we must make up our minds to see Brest."

"No, Gentlemen," said Captain Swanton, " a ship of this force, must not be surrendered by a British crew, whilst there is any hope of safety. Go to your quarters, prepare for action, and let us fight it out to the last."

rate.

No situation could apparently be more completely despeThe French 80 gun ship came vapouring down, gave the Englishman a broadside, but was surprised to find, that instead of striking, it returned the fire with great spirit and effect. The 74, when it approached, met with the same reception. This astonished, not only those two ships, but the French Admiral, and his whole fleet. They began to conjecture, that the disabled ship was merely a decoy, and that Hawke must be near, otherwise no officer in his senses, would have made any resistance against so great a superiority; and apprehending, if the action continued, that their ships might receive so much injury, as to be an easy prey, if Hawke actually should appear, the French Admiral was induced to recall the two ships, and Captain Swanton, by his spirited and judicious conduct, was thus enabled, after beating off so great a force, to rescue himself from his desperate situation, and to bring his ship triumphantly into Portsmouth.

On the road from Thoresby, I was led to reflect on the circumstances above detailed, and it accidentally occurred to me, how much better it would be, instead of teaching children the Fables of Æsop*, or of Pilpay, or giving them allegorical instructions of any sort, to communicate to them anecdotes of real life, and stories of their own species. It is absurd in the extreme to tell our children, that lions and other animals formerly conversed together, and that men, the lords of the creation, could possibly benefit by their remarks. Nor are the fictitious stories of Allworthy and Tommy Goodchild much better. The question the children naturally ask is, “But is the story true?" And when they find that it never actually happened, it loses all its effect. Let a collection therefore be made, of real anecdotes of the human species, adapted to the capacity of children, and the impression made upon their minds,

In Lord Kames's Introduction to the Art of Thinking, 4th edit. an. 1789, Preface, p. 6, there are some good observations on the subject of Æsop's Fables.

will be infinitely greater, much more lasting, and still more useful, than can be expected from any fictitious stories, either of birds, or of quadrupeds, or even of men.

It is not intended, by these observations, to undervalue the merit of Æsop, or of Pilpay, whose mode of writing was well calculated for the rude and early ages in which they lived, and who were driven to the plan they adopted, because the experience of mankind could not then supply them with enough of real facts, for the object they had in view. But now, the case is widely different. The range of history is more enlarged, and persons conversant with it are able to point out real stories, applicable to every moral which it is necessary to inculcate, without attributing the powers of reasoning, or giving the faculty of speech, to the lion, or the tiger. And here it may be asked, can any ancient or modern fable, in regard to effect upon the mind, be put in competition with the story of Captain Swanton? What a series of pictures might be made from it! His ship disabled; lying in a manner at the mercy of a powerful enemy; his officers recommending him to surrender; attacked by two ships of greater force; his beating them off; his enemies, though infinitely superior, giving up the attack, and in a manner flying from him; and his ultimately entering the harbour of Portsmouth in triumph. These are all events which must make a deep impression on a youthful mind, and cannot fail to inculcate resolution in time of danger, and firmness even in the most desperate cases, in a way infinitely preferable to any fable that could possibly be invented, because, being founded on truth, the impression is not likely ever to be effaced.

XI.

PLAN

For establishing a new Naval Resource, by which the necessity of impressing Seamen, unless in periods of great public danger, would be prevented.

The British empire has a resource of seamen, in the Orkney and Shetland islands,-in the Hebrides or Western Islands, and along the northern and western coasts of Scotland and Ireland, which no other country in Europe possesses.

Under a proper system, and at a moderate expense, 50,000 seafaring people might be kept there, constantly ready, on the shortest notice, to enter into the public service.

A great part of this valuable resource is, at present, lost to the public; because in the Hebrides, and along the western coasts of Scotland and Ireland, the natives have but an imperfect knowledge of the English language, and in many cases speak nothing but Erse or Irish. They have a natural prejudice, therefore, against a service where they cannot make themselves understood.

But this difficulty might easily be surmounted, by promoting the acquisition of the English language in all those districts; and a plan might be formed, by which this great resource might be rendered available, and the horrid system of impressing seamen might be abolished.

Perhaps the sum necessary might be raised, by exempting all seamen from impressment, who paid a certain sum per annum, say £.1 each. But if it were to cost the public two or three hundred thousand pounds per annum, should this be put in competition with the certainty of maintaining our fleets, without the necessity of impressment; and having so great a body of seafaring people always at command?

Edinburgh, 133. George Street,

April 5. 1830.