Unlike most of the sailors' memoirs of the Nelsonic navy, gardner's was not written for publication: it was purely intended for the entertainment of his family and friends, and did not see publication until long after his death. As a result potential problems of libel did not constrain him to bite his tongue when it came to opinions of individuals, high and low, in the naval service. He himself saw plenty of action and served in some famous ships, including the Victory, but what interests him most is his mess-mates and their eccentricities. The pranks, scams and amusements that broke up the claustrophobic life of a warship's crew form a large part of his narrative, and some of his stories are almost surreal in their detail - a tale of the mayhem caused aboard his ship by 86 huge Newfoundland dogs is only one example. Somehow Gardner's vision of the bawdy, drunken and often comic-opera life of the Navy rings more true than the usual Victorian image of the heroic Wooden Walls of Old England.