sloop Scorpion, under my command, from the 14th day of April, 1804, to the date hereof.
“Although I have so far complied with the usual custom of giving a certificate in the above form, yet will I abstain from continuing it any further, as the words are, to my apprehension, wholly inadequate to express the very high sense I entertain of his zeal, his merit, his enterprising character, and abilities in his profession, which, if necessary, I am ready to corroborate and confirm by letter.
“Given under my hand, on board the said sloop, in Sheerness harbour, this 30th day of January, 1805.
The value of this testimonial was improved by the manner in which it was granted. On being asked for a certificate, Captain Carteret wrote it himself, folded it up, and desired Mr. Smith to put it in his pocket, and peruse it at some other time. Well might he do so, if he wished to spare the young man’s blushes on the occasion, for we believe very few certificates could be found so strongly worded.
Immediately after his removal from the Scorpion, Mr. Smith went up from Woolwich to pass his examination for lieutenant at the Navy Office. Another certificate was necessary, to shew that he had actually joined the Valorous; and meeting with Captain Hardinge on the road, he asked him for one. The gallant officer stepped into a shop, called for a sheet of paper, signed his name at the bottom of it, and told him to write what he pleased above the signature. They immediately left the house together, and each went his own road. Very few captains would have acted thus. We mention the circumstance as a trait in the noble character of a deceased hero; and it is proper to add, that so far from taking an undue advantage of the confidence reposed in him, Mr. Smith adhered most strictly to the common form of a certificate, merely stating, that he had “behaved with diligence, sobriety, and attention, and was always obedient to command.” In a day or two afterwards, he was made a sub-lieutenant; and before the end of the following month, he received a commission, appointing him lieutenant of the Namur 74, Captain Lawrence W. Halsted; for which rapid promotion he considers himself principally indebted to the
