The odd abilities of midshipmen

[ylla]

I know that somewhere late on in the series - further than I've got - there's a Midshipman Reade who appears to share some of the attributes of a starfish or octopus by regrowing his amputated arm - but rereading The Ionian Mission I think I've discovered an earlier example, which I don't think I've seen mentioned before.

With the Surprise under fire towards the end of The Ionian Mission
a third [gun], fired as Jack was giving Williamson orders to carry forward, took the boy's arm off at the elbow. Jack saw his amazed face go paper-white - not pain but amazement and concern and disbelief - whipped a handkerchief round the stump, twisted it tight, staunched the jetting blood and passed him to a quartermaster to carry below.
But by Treason's Harbour, Williamson is racing people up the shrouds and '[goes] beyond Calamy in washing the greater part of his neck as well as his face and hands'; and in the description of the midshipmen towards the start of The Reverse of the Medal he has 'lost some toes and the tips of both ears from frost-bite' since his family saw him.

All very confusing. Someone should start studying the regeneration abilities of midshipmen :)