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to standing for the oral examinations before a board of Post-Captains to gain promotion to Lieutenant.
    “They are related to Sir Henry Dundas, sir, now Lord Melville,” Entwhistle told him, “and I do believe that the Admiral commanding at Antigua is some sort of in-law to the Griersons.”
    “Damn! Dundas! That murderous fool!” Lewrie groaned.
    When the war with France broke out in February of 1793, Sir Henry Dundas had been Prime Minister William Pitt’s Secretary of State at War, and Dundas had been brim-full of schemes to fight the French, most of which involving invasions and expeditions to the East Indies to expel France from her last slim grip in India and in the China Trade. In the West Indies, the scheme was to conquer all French colonies that rivalled Great Britain in the lucrative exports from the Sugar Islands, monopolising sugar, molasses, and rum. Both of the Indies were deadly for Europeans, who had to endure Malaria or Yellow Fever during the hot seasons, along with Cholera and Dysentery and God only knew what else the rest of the year. All those hopeful expeditions had resulted in the deaths of over sixty thousand soldiers and sailors who had perished of disease, not battle or glorious conquests.
    Dundas had become Henry, Viscount Melville, and had been named First Lord of the Admiralty in 1804, replacing stalwart and honest-to-his-bones Admiral John, Earl Saint Vincent, “Old Jarvy”, who had waged a gallant but failed attempt to clean out the greed, venality, corruption, and speculating of Navy suppliers, contractors, the dockyards themselves, and even the Navy Board. Viscount Melville, though, who had been Treasurer of the Navy twice in his political career, knew where the side-profits were, and had come to be sneered at as “Lord Business As Usual” almost from the moment he took office.
    Now, even though Viscount Melville’s peculations and profits on the sly, and his turning of the blind eye to his fellow plunderers, had finally drawn official notice, resulting in his impeachment and replacement by Admiral Charles, Lord Barham, in this past May, there were too many who continued to hold high offices to sever Melville’s influence. Indeed, there were many who wished that the promised trial in the House of Lords might result in an acquittal, and his glorious return!
    “Place, patronage, and ‘petti-coat’ interest,” Lewrie commented with a weary, jaded shake of his head. “All damned fine, so long as you’re the recipient, of course. Even with Melville impeached, not a thing’s changed. Investigators will be reportin’ corruption and writin’ reform policies ’til the turn of the next century!”
    “Your pardons, sir,” Midshipman Entwhistle said with an adult’s firm grasp of reality, “but Old Jarvy’s mistake was thinking that refined and educated gentlemen who hold high office are as honest as he is. As if corruption is a high tide that only goes up so far.”
    “Well said, Mister Entwhistle, damned well said,” Lewrie agreed. Turning aft, he called to Midshipman Munsell. “D’ye still have your copy of Steele’s, young sir?”
    “Aye, sir, though it is at least two months out of date,” the lad piped up. “Shall I look someone up for you, sir?”
    “Aye.”
    A moment later, Munsell was reading an entry aloud. “‘Captain Henry Grierson … made Post in June of 1795, Captain of the Oxford, seventy-four, May of 1803’.”
    “A neat trade,” Lewrie groused. “Give up a seventy-four-gunned ship of the line for a lesser ship, but a broad pendant!”
    He’s, what, no older than his mid or late thirties? Lewrie wondered: That’s awfully young t’get a two-decker, ’less he’s had a lot o’ help up the ladder. Without makin’ a name for himself that any of us ever heard of? Hmmm. There’s another reason for me t’dislike him!
    “Ehm, Athenian is making a hoist, sir,” Midshipman Munsell said as he put the old copy of Steele’s back in the flag locker