very fine young man, to give his heart entirely to Faith Darling, the

Admiral's eldest daughter, and to win hers to an equal extent; and

instead of displaying any haughtiness, her father had simply said: "Let

them wait two years; they are both very young, and may change their

minds. If they keep of the same mind for two years, they are welcome to

one another."

For a kinder-hearted man than Admiral Darling never saw the sun.

There was nothing about him wonderful in the way of genius, heroism,

large-mindedness, or unselfishness. But people liked him much better

than if he combined all those vast rarities; because he was lively,

genial, simple, easily moved to wrath or grief, free-handed, a little

fond, perhaps, of quiet and confidential brag, and very fond of gossip.

"I tell you," he said to Lord Nelson now, as they walked down the hill

to the church together that lovely Sunday morning, "you will not have

seen a finer sight than our fishermen in church--I dare say never.

Of course they don't all go. Nobody could expect it. But as many as a

reasonable man could desire come there, because they know I like it.

Twemlow thinks that they come to please him; but he finds a mighty

difference in his congregation when I and my daughters are out of the

parish. But if he goes away, there they are all the same, or perhaps

even more, to get a change from him. That will show which of us they

care about pleasing."

"And they are quite right. I hate the levelling system," the hero of the

Nile replied. "A man should go to church to please his landlord, not to

please the parson. Is the Chaplain to settle how many come to prayers?"

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