Page "Horatio Hornblower" Paragraph 13

As a junior lieutenant, he serves under Captain Sawyer, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia on a trip to the Caribbean.

It is on this voyage that he begins his long friendship with William Bush, at the time his senior.

Returning to England, Hornblower is demobilized after the peace of Amiens, causing him great financial distress — he resorts to making a living as a professional gambler, playing whist with admirals and other senior figures for a modest income.