Those last words of Collins’ were still running through Hornblower’s mind. He would have to leave the Hotspur; he would have to say good-bye to Bush and all the others, and the prospect brought a sadness that quite took the edge off the elation that he felt. Of course he would have to leave her; Hotspur was too small to constitute a command for a post captain. He would have to wait for another command; as the junior captain on the list, he would probably receive the smallest and least important sixth-rate in the navy. But for all that he was a captain. Maria would be delighted.
C.S. Forester, Hornblower and the “Hotspur” (last line)
