The Select Library of Fiction. THIS POPULAR SERIES NOW COMPRISES NEARLY 400 VOLUMES, BY THE MOST POPULAR AUTHORS OF THE DAY, INCLUDING THE YOUNG COMMANDER " A NOVEL. BY CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG, AUTHOR OF THE SAILOR HERO," "THE CRUISE OF THE DARING," ETC. WARD, LOCK, AND CO. LONDON: WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, [All rights reserved.] 256. f. 230. THE YOUNG COMMANDER. CHAPTER I. TOWARDS the close of the eighteenth century, on the banks of the romantic river Fal, stood a very handsome mansion, of no great antiquity, though built in the style of the residences of the days of 'Good Queen Bess." It had been erected by Sir Hector Claude Tregannon, in the latter end of the reign of George the First, and at the opening of our story was inhabited by Sir Hector's grandson, Sir Henry C aude Tregannon, the fifth baronet. The grounds surrounding the house were remarkably beautiful and extensive, though the prospect from the windows was somewhat circumscribed, the thickly wooded hills on the opposite side of the Fal obstructing the view. To the rear of the mansion, the land was plentifully covered with timber of luxuriant growth and foliage. In front, a beautiful and extensive lawn led to the high rocky banks of the Fal. This stream, which gives its name to the town and harbour of Falmouth, was not a quarter of a mile broad opposite Tregannon House, but the banks on both sides of the river were exceedingly picturesque and beautiful, winding up between lofty hills covered with wood, till its navigation ended at the town of Truro. On the opposite side of the river, facing Tregannon House, the country, for several miles, was very thinly inhabited, and at the period of our story the nature of the land was extremely wild, thickly covered with timber and low shrubs, with abrupt cliffs, and shallow narrow creeks intersecting it. Below Tregannon House the river Fal emptied itself into a large sheet of water, forming one of the great branches of Falmouth harbour, having |