Before they had reached the mouth of the river he found that one among them Captain O'Connor, belonged to his own regiment, as did another young fellow about his own age named Stapleton, who had been gazetted on the same day as himself.

Captain O'Connor, who was a cheery Irishman, full of life and spirits, at once took Ralph in hand, and was not long in drawing from him the story of his adventures with the privateers.
"You will do, my lad.

I can see you have got the roughness rubbed off you already, and will get on capitally with the regiment.

I can't say as much for that young fellow Stapleton.

He seems to be completely puffed up with the sense of his own importance, and to be an unlicked sort of cub altogether.