They are under the especial care and patronage of the commander, and it is an interesting fact, illustrative of the zeal with which this unusual duty, for a sailor, is performed, that when he was expecting a guest to dinner one summer evening the commander did not arrive on board until the hour had struck, having been detained by an “interesting event” at the kennels, of which he felt himself bound to witness the happy consummation!
“Jim,” the pioneer of the pack, died in 1886, full of years and honours, and was accorded a tombstone under the shadow of the racquet courts;
And there it stands unto this day,
To witness if I lie.
The officers and cadets, to say nothing of the farmers and others in the vicinity, have enjoyed many a good run since those days, and an annual “hunt breakfast” has been established. The landowners have been very generous in affording every facility for sport, and at the hunt breakfast they always declare that the privilege has never been abused, which is in itself phenomenal as an admission on the part of the landowners, and also a tribute to the sportsmanlike spirit of the cadets. We may hear more about the beagles later on.
The earliest book of regulations extant on board the Britannia was printed in 1873, but is brought up by manuscript emendations to 1876.
It would obviously be too tedious to transcribe these in detail, but some of the more interesting points may be touched upon here, while the cadets’ routine, and other matters without which this story could not be considered complete, will be found in the [Appendix].
The regulations, which are the outcome of past experience extending over nearly twenty years, cover every conceivable point of discipline, instruction, recreation, leave of absence, sickness, etc.
The officer of the day—one of the lieutenants—is the person chiefly responsible to the captain for the due performance of all routine duties and the maintenance of discipline, except in the studies, which are under the chief naval instructor, who reports direct to the captain any irregularities in his department.
The officer of the day has, among other things, to turn out at 5.30 a.m. and see that cadets under punishment are present—these unlucky ones having to stand one hour between decks before the usual time of turning out—also to receive reports, investigate complaints, attend while the cadets are bathing, from the shore, see that they do not land if the weather is bad, and that they change their clothes if they come on board wet. He has, furthermore, the responsibility of seeing that only third and fourth term cadets use the sailing cutters, that they do not go out in squally weather, and that they are recalled if it turn out squally afterwards. In a landlocked harbour such as Dartmouth very fierce squalls may come down if the wind rises suddenly.
The cadet captains and chief captains have to assist their superiors in maintaining discipline; as the difference in age is not great, it has always been a somewhat difficult matter to get them to do their duty, especially if it entails reporting another cadet. One or two were asked, when giving evidence before the committee in 1874, whether they had ever reported a cadet, and the reply was always in the negative. Still, they are useful in many ways, for mustering and so on, and some are found with that natural aptitude for command, which, like the gift of poesy, nascitur non fit.