8 



HEREDITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL OFFICERS. 



Of the foregoing 14 persons, nomadism or fondness for the sea is found 

 in 11. Love of adventure is found in 3; fearlessness of responsibility is 

 specially mentioned in 3, and fondness for fishing, hunting, etc., in 3 others. 

 Three of them show love of fun or pranks. There is no case of quarrel- 

 someness or pugnacity. This group shows less pugnacity in boyhood than 

 the future fighters; at least 2 of them showed an early willingness to assume 

 responsibility. 



EXPLORERS. 



Of exploring naval officers the most noteworthy on our list are: 16, 

 Matthew Flinders; 18, John Franklin; 34, McClintock; 35, Moresby. 

 Flinders was nomadic in his youth, had a strong desire to go to sea, and 

 was a good student. Franklin had early a love of discovery and adven- 

 ture and a great native curiosity; McClintock was a great walker and 

 had considerable mechanical ability and Moresby was fond of the sea. 

 These 4 were all early nomads and showed a love of travel. A juvenile 

 love of discovery and curiosity is to be expected in the youth of a future 

 explorer. 



ADVENTURERS. 



Of adventurous naval officers the most striking on our list are: 11, 

 Cochrane; 13, Gushing; 33, John Paul Jones; 37, Maffitt; 40, Marryat. 

 To these may be added William De Rohan, brother of No. 14 (Dahlgren). 

 Cochrane was nomadic in his youth; Gushing, adventurous and a poor 

 student ; Maffitt, a lover of adventure and fearless ; and Marryat, nomadic 

 and adventurous. Of the early history of De Rohan we have no record. 

 The strikingly adventurous naval officers were especially adventurous in 

 their youth. 



CONCLUSION AS TO JUVENILE PROMISE. 



The conclusion that may be drawn from this study is that in their 

 youth future successful naval officers show love of travel or of the sea. 

 In addition, they frequently show adventurousness if they are to be great 

 fighters; may actually run away from home if they are to be future strate- 

 gists; may be especially good-natured, if they are to be successful adminis- 

 trators; are apt to show a juvenile love of travel or an interest hi 

 scientific matters if they are to be future explorers. 



Examples of juvenile promise outside of our series of 68 naval officers 

 are common. I cite two from the history of Dutch admirals. 



Michael Adrianszoon de Ruyter (b. 1607, at Flushing), when 10 or 

 12 years old, climbed the church steeple and sat on the ball at its top and 

 waved to the people below. Workmen had meantime taken away the 

 ladder by which he had ascended, and when he was ready to come down 

 he kicked away the slates and made a foothold on the slats to which they 

 were fastened. He was regarded as the naughtiest boy in Flushing, despite 

 his father's thrashings. He did not study well at school, but played tricks 



