midnight
The squadron to which I had become a prize consisted of the Dedaigneuse and Chermente , both of thirty-two guns , the Active of twenty-eight , and the Providence privateer , which with the Active they had taken the day before . I can not say much for the discipline of the French frigate ; for it appeared to me that the crew were very much inclined to be insubordinate , in consequence of which the officers had to exercise a considerable amount of severity in keeping them under necessary discipline . It was a bitter pill I was compelled to swallow . For ten long years I had been serving my country incessantly as midshipman and master 's mate , and now at the very moment when I felt sure that I was about to emerge from the subordinate rank of a petty officer , and to obtain my commission as a lieutenant , no longer to be subject to the midnight calls of quartermasters and the unnumbered snubs which patient midshipmen from their superiors take , I found all my hopes of my promotion dashed to the ground , and myself an unhappy prisoner of war . I had , however , plenty of companions to share my misfortune ; on board the two French frigates were most of the officers and crew of the Active , as well as of the privateer . Scarcely had I stepped on board than who should I see walking the deck in melancholy mood but my old friend and messmate Delisle , and by his side was Paddy O'Driscoll . How changed had soon become the light-hearted , jovial midshipman !