But young Matthew was not easily thwarted.

The call of the sea was strong within him, and persistency was always a fibrous element in his character.
The surgeon's house at Donington stood in the market square.

It remained in existence till 1908, when it was demolished to give place to what is described as "a hideous new villa." It was a plain, square, one-story building with a small, low surgery built on to one side of it.

Behind the door of the surgery hung a slate, upon which the elder Flinders was accustomed to write memoranda concerning appointments and cases.

The lad, wishing to let his father know how keen was his desire to enter the Navy, and dreading a conversation on the subject--with probable reproaches, admonitions, warnings, and a general outburst of parental displeasure--made use of the surgeon's slate.