THE AUTHOR LEAVES LIVERPOOL TO JOIN THE ALABAMA--ARRIVAL AT
TERCEIRA--DESCRIPTION OF THE ALABAMA--PREPARING HER FOR SEA--THE
PORTUGUESE AUTHORITIES--THE COMMISSIONING OF THE SHIP--A PICTURE OF HER
BIRTH AND DEATH--CAPTAIN BULLOCK RETURNS TO ENGLAND--AUTHOR ALONE ON THE
HIGH SEAS.
Having cleared the way, in the last two chapters, for the cruise of the
_Alabama_, by removing some of the legal rubbish with which Mr. Seward and
Mr. Adams had sought to encumber her, we are in a condition to put the
ship in commission. I was at last accounts in Liverpool, as the reader
will recollect, having just arrived there in the steamer _Bahama_, from
Nassau. The _Alabama_, then known as the "290," had proceeded, a few days
before, to her rendezvous, the island of Terceira, one of the group of the
Azores. The name "290" may need a word of explanation. The newspapers of
the enemy have falsely charged that the _Alabama_ was built by 290
Englishmen, of "rebel" proclivities, and hence, they say, the name.
One Parson Boynton has written a book, which he calls the "History of the
Navy," but which is rather a biography of Mr. Secretary Welles, his
Assistant Secretary Fox, and several ingenious mechanics. Judging by this
attempt, parsons are rather bad hands to write histories. Speaking of the
_Alabama_, this gentleman remarks: "Insultingly, this vessel was named
'290,' to show, by the large number that contributed to fit her out, how
widespread was the English sympathy for the rebel cause. The _Alabama_ was
not regarded as a rebel vessel of war, but as a British pirate, or rather,
perhaps, as an English man-of-war, sent forth under the veil of the rebel
flag, to sink and destroy our merchantmen." It is thus seen, that this
_history_ repeats the stale newspaper slander. Of such stuff the Yankee
histories of the war, generally, are made, especially such of them as are
written by amateur parsons. The _fact_ is, as the reader has seen, that
the _Alabama_ was built by the Messrs. Laird of Birkenhead, under a
contract with the Confederate States, and was paid for out of the
Confederate Treasury. She happened to be the 290th ship built by those
gentlemen, and _hence_ the name.
The _Alabama_ had been built in perfect good faith by the Lairds. When she
was contracted for, no question had been raised as to the right of a
neutral to build, and sell to a belligerent such a ship. The reader has
seen that the Federal Secretary of the Navy himself had endeavored, not
only to build an _Alabama_, but iron-clads in England. But as the war
progressed, the United States, foreseeing the damage which a few fast
steamers might inflict on their commerce, took the alarm, and began to
insist that neutrals should not supply us, even with unarmed ships. The
laws of nations were clearly against them. Their own practice, in all
former wars, in which they had been neutrals, was against them. And yet
they maintained their ground so stoutly and defiantly, threatening war, if
they were not listened to, that the neutral powers, and especially Great
Britain, became very cautious. They were indeed bullied--for that is the
word--into timidity. To show the good faith which the Lairds had practised
throughout, I quote again from the speech made by the senior partner, in
the House of Commons:--
"I can only say from all I know, and from all I have heard, that from
the day the vessel was laid down, to her completion everything was
open and above board, in this country. I also further say, that the
officers of the Government had every facility afforded them for
inspecting the ship, during the progress of building. When the
officers came to the builders, they were shown the ship, and day
after day, the customs officers were on board, _as they were when she
finally left_, and they declared that there was nothing wrong. _They
only left her when the tug left_, and they were obliged to declare,
that she left Liverpool _a perfectly legitimate transaction_."
Notwithstanding this practice of good faith, on our part, and our entire
innocence of any breach of the laws of nations, or of the British Foreign
Enlistment Act, Lord John Russell had been intimidated to such an extent,
that the ship came within an ace of being detained. But for the little
_ruse_ which we practised, of going on a trial-trip, with a party of
ladies, and the customs officers, mentioned by Mr. Laird, on board, and
not returning, but sending our guests back in a tug, there is no doubt
that the _Alabama_ would have been tied up, as the _Oreto_ or _Florida_
had been, in court. She must have been finally released, it is true, but
the delay itself would have been of serious detriment to us.
After a few busy days in Liverpool, during which I was gathering my old
officers of the _Sumter_ around me, and making my financial arrangements
for my cruise, with the house of Frazer, Trenholm & Co., I departed on the
13th of August, 1862, in the steamer _Bahama_, to join the _Alabama_.
Captain James D. Bullock, of the Confederate States Navy, a Georgian, who
had been bred in the old service, but who had retired from it some years
before the war, to engage in the steam-packet service, accompanied me.
Bullock had contracted for, and superintended the building of the
_Alabama_, and was now going with me, to be present at the christening of
his bantling. I am indebted to him, as well the Messrs. Laird, for a very
perfect ship of her class.
She was of about 900 tons burden, 230 feet in length, 32 feet in breadth,
20 feet in depth, and drew, when provisioned and coaled for a cruise, 15
feet of water. Her model was of the most perfect symmetry, and she sat
upon the water with the lightness and grace of a swan. She was barkentine
rigged, with long lower masts, which enabled her to carry large
fore-and-aft sails, as jibs and try-sails, which are of so much importance
to a steamer, in so many emergencies. Her sticks were of the best yellow
pine, that would bend in a gale, like a willow wand, without breaking, and
her rigging was of the best of Swedish iron wire. The scantling of the
vessel was light, compared with vessels of her class in the Federal Navy,
but this was scarcely a disadvantage, as she was designed as a scourge of
the enemy's commerce, rather than for battle. She was to defend herself,
simply, if defence should become necessary. Her engine was of three
hundred horse-power, and she had attached an apparatus for condensing,
from the vapor of sea-water, all the fresh water that her crew might
require. She was a perfect steamer and a perfect sailing-ship, at the same
time, neither of her two modes of locomotion being at all dependent upon
the other. The reader has seen that the _Sumter_, when her fuel was
exhausted, was little better than a log on the water, because of her
inability to hoist her propeller, which she was, in consequence, compelled
to drag after her. The _Alabama_ was so constructed, that in fifteen
minutes, her propeller could be detached from the shaft, and lifted in a
well contrived for the purpose, sufficiently high out of the water, not to
be an impediment to her speed. When this was done, and her sails spread,
she was, to all intents and purposes, a sailing-ship. On the other hand,
when I desired to use her as a steamer, I had only to start the fires,
lower the propeller, and if the wind was adverse, brace her yards to the
wind, and the conversion was complete. The speed of the _Alabama_ was
always greatly over-rated by the enemy. She was ordinarily about a
ten-knot ship. She was said to have made eleven knots and a half, on her
trial trip, but we never afterward got it out of her. Under steam and sail
both, we logged on one occasion, thirteen knots and a quarter, which was
her utmost speed.
Her armament consisted of eight guns; six 32-pounders, in broadside, and
two pivot-guns amidships; one on the forecastle, and the other abaft the
main-mast--the former a 100-pounder rifled Blakeley, and the latter, a
smooth-bore eight-inch. The Blakeley gun was so deficient in metal,
compared with the weight of shot it threw, that, after the first few
discharges, when it became a little heated, it was of comparatively small
use to us, to such an extent were we obliged to reduce the charge of
powder, on account of the recoil. The average crew of the _Alabama_,
before the mast, was about 120 men; and she carried twenty-four officers,
as follows: A Captain, four lieutenants, surgeon, paymaster, master,
marine officer, four engineers, two midshipmen, and four master's mates, a
Captain's clerk, boatswain, gunner, sailmaker, and carpenter. The cost of
the ship, with everything complete, was two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars.
On the morning of our departure from Liverpool, the _Bahama_ had dropped
some distance down the Mersey, and we joined her by tug. She had her steam
up, and was ready to trip her anchor, the moment we arrived, and in a few
minutes after getting on board, we were under way. The tug cheered us, as
she turned to steam back to the city, and the cheer was answered lustily
by our crew. We were a week on the passage from Liverpool to Terceira; our
old friend, Captain Tessier, of the _Bahama_, with whom I had made the
passage from Nassau to Liverpool, rendering our time very comfortable. On
the morning of the 20th of August, we were on the look-out, at an early
hour, for the land, and it was not long before we discovered the island,
looking, at first, hazy and indistinct in the distance, but gradually
assuming more form and consistency. After another hour's steaming, Porto
Praya, our place of rendezvous, became visible, with its white houses
dotting the mountain side, and we now began to turn our glasses upon the
harbor, with no little anxiety, to see if our ships--for a sailing-ship,
with the _Alabama's_ battery and stores, had preceded her some days, and
should now be with her--were all right. We first caught sight of their
spars, and pretty soon, raising their hulls sufficiently for
identification, we felt much relieved. Our secret had been well kept, and
the enemy, notwithstanding his fine "smelling qualities," had not scented
the prey.
In the meantime, our own approach was watched with equal anxiety from the
deck of the _Alabama_. We might be, for aught she knew, an enemy's steamer
coming in pursuit of her; and as the enemy was in the habit of kicking all
the small powers, that had not the means of kicking back, a neutral port,
belonging to _effete_ old Portugal, would not afford her the least
protection. At half-past eleven A. M., we steamed into the harbor, and let
go our anchor. I had surveyed my new ship, as we approached, with no
little interest, as she was to be not only my home, but my bride, as it
were, for the next few years, and I was quite satisfied with her external
appearance. She was, indeed, a beautiful thing to look upon. The
store-ship was already alongside of her, and we could see that the busy
work of transferring her cargo was going on. Captain Butcher, an
intelligent young English seaman, who had been bred in the mail-packet
service, and who had taken the _Alabama_ out from Liverpool, on that trial
trip of hers, which has since become historical through the protests of
Messrs. Seward and Adams, now came on board of us. He had had a rough and
stormy passage from Liverpool, during which he had suffered some little
damage, and consumed most of his coal. Considerable progress had been
made, in receiving on board from the transport, the battery and stores,
and a few days more would suffice to put the ship in a condition for
defence.
The harbor of Porto Praya lies open to the eastward, and as the wind was
now from that quarter, and blowing rather freshly, a considerable sea had
been raised, which rendered it inconvenient, if not unsafe, for the
transport and the _Alabama_ to continue to lie alongside of each other;
which was nevertheless necessary for the transfer of the remainder of the
heavy guns. I therefore directed Captain Butcher to get up his anchors
immediately, and follow me around to Angra Bay, on the west side of the
island, where we should find a lee, and smooth water. This was done, and
we arrived at Angra at four o'clock, on the same afternoon. Here the
transshipment of the guns and stores was renewed, and here, for the first
time, I visited the _Alabama_. I was as much pleased with her internal
appearance, and arrangements, as I had been with her externally, but
everything was in a very uninviting state of confusion, guns,
gun-carriages, shot, and shell, barrels of beef and pork, and boxes and
bales of paymaster's, gunner's, and boatswain's stores lying promiscuously
about the decks; sufficient time not having elapsed to have them stowed in
their proper places. The crew, comprising about sixty persons, who had
been picked up, promiscuously, about the streets of Liverpool, were as
unpromising in appearance, as things about the decks. What with faces
begrimed with coal dust, red shirts, and blue shirts, Scotch caps, and
hats, brawny chests exposed, and stalwart arms naked to the elbows, they
looked as little like the crew of a man-of-war, as one can well conceive.
Still there was some _physique_ among these fellows, and soap, and water,
and clean shirts would make a wonderful difference in their appearance. As
night approached, I relieved Captain Butcher of his command, and removing
my baggage on board, took possession of the cabin, in which I was to spend
so many weary days, and watchful nights. I am a good sleeper, and slept
soundly. This quality of sleeping well in the intervals of harassing
business is a valuable one to the sailor, and I owe to it much of that
physical ability, which enabled me to withstand the four years of
excitement and toil, to which I was subjected during the war.
There are two harbors called Angra, in Terceira--East Angra, and West
Angra. We were anchored in the latter, and the authorities notified us,
the next morning, that we must move round to East Angra, that being the
port of entry, and the proper place for the anchorage of merchant-ships.
We were _playing_ merchant-ship as yet, but had nothing to do, of course,
with ports of entry or custom-houses; and as the day was fine, and there
was a prospect of smooth water under the lee of the island, I got under
way, and went to sea, the _Bahama_ and the transport accompanying me.
Steaming beyond the marine league, I hauled the transport alongside, and
we got on board from her the remainder of our armament, and stores. The
sea was not so smooth, as we had expected, and there was some little
chafing between the ships, but we accomplished our object, without serious
inconvenience. This occupied us all day, and after nightfall, we ran into
East Angra, and anchored.
As we passed the fort, we were hailed vociferously, in very bad English,
or Portuguese, we could not distinguish which. But though the words were
unintelligible to us, the manner and tone of the hail were evidently meant
to warn us off. Continuing our course, and paying no attention to the
hail, the fort presently fired a shot over us; but we paid no attention to
this either, and ran in and anchored--the bark accompanying us, but the
_Bahama_ hauling off, seaward, and lying off and on during the night.
There was a small Portuguese schooner of war at anchor in the harbor, and
about midnight, I was aroused from a deep sleep, into which I had fallen,
after a long day of work and excitement, by an officer coming below, and
informing me, very coolly, that the Portuguese man-of-war was firing into
us! "The d----l she is," said I; "how many shots has she fired at us?"
"Three, sir," replied the officer. "Have any of them struck us?" "No, sir,
none of them have struck us--they seem to be firing rather wild." I knew
very well, that the little craft would not dare to fire _into_ us, though
I thought it probable, that, after the fashion of the Chinese, who sound
their gongs to scare away their enemies, she might be firing _at_ us, to
alarm us into going out of the harbor. I said therefore to the officer,
"Let him fire away, I expect he won't hurt you," and turned over and went
to sleep. In the morning, it was ascertained, that it was not the schooner
at all, that had been firing, but a passing mail steamer which had run
into the anchorage, and fired three signal guns, to awaken her sleeping
passengers on shore--with whom she departed before daylight.
We were not further molested, from this time onward, but were permitted to
remain and coal from the bark; though the custom-house officers,
accompanied by the British Consul, paid us a visit, and insisted that we
should suspend our operation of coaling, until we had entered the two
ships at the custom-house. This I readily consented to do. I now called
the _Bahama_ in, by signal, and she ran in and anchored near us. Whilst
the coaling was going forward, the carpenter, and gunner, with the
assistance of the chief engineer, were busy putting down the circles or
traverses for the pivot guns; and the boatswain and his gang were at work,
fitting side and train tackles for the broadside guns. The reader can
understand how anxious I was to complete all these arrangements. I was
perfectly defenceless without them, and did not know at what moment an
enemy's ship might look in upon me. The harbor of East Angra, where we
were now anchored, was quite open, but fortunately for us, the wind was
light, and from the S. W., which gave us smooth water, and our work went
on quite rapidly.
To cast an eye, for a moment, now, from the ship to the shore, I was
charmed with the appearance of Terceira. Every square foot of the island
seemed to be under the most elaborate cultivation, and snug farm-houses
were dotted so thickly over the hill-sides, as to give the whole the
appearance of a rambling village. The markets were most bountifully
supplied with excellent beef and mutton, and the various domestic fowls,
fish, vegetables, and fruits. My steward brought off every morning in his
basket, a most tempting assortment of the latter; for there were apples,
plums, pears, figs, dates, oranges, and melons all in full bearing at
Terceira. The little town of Angra, abreast of which we were anchored, was
a perfect picture of a Portuguese-Moorish town, with its red-tiled roofs,
sharp gables, and parti-colored verandas, and veranda curtains. And then
the quiet, and love-in-a-cottage air which hovered over the whole scene,
so far removed from the highways of the world's commerce, and the world's
alarms, was charming to contemplate.
I had arrived on Wednesday, and on Saturday night, we had, by the dint of
great labor and perseverance, drawn order out of chaos. The _Alabama's_
battery was on board, and in place, her stores had all been unpacked, and
distributed to the different departments, and her coal-bunkers were again
full. We only awaited the following morning to steam out upon the high
seas, and formally put the ship in commission. Saturday had been dark and
rainy, but we had still labored on through the rain. Sunday morning dawned
bright and beautiful, which we hailed as a harbinger of future success.
All hands were turned out at early daylight, and the first lieutenant, and
the officer of the deck took the ship in hand, to prepare her for the
coming ceremony. She was covered with coal dust and dirt and rubbish in
every direction, for we had hitherto had no time to attend to appearances.
But by dint of a few hours of scrubbing, inside and out, and of the use of
that well-known domestic implement, the holy-stone, that works so many
wonders with a dirty ship, she became sweet and clean, and when her
awnings were snugly spread, her yards squared, and her rigging hauled
taut, she looked like a bride, with the orange-wreath about her brows,
ready to be led to the altar.
I had as yet no enlisted crew, and this thought gave me some anxiety. All
the men on board the _Alabama_, as well as those who had come out with me,
on board the _Bahama_, had been brought thus far, under articles of
agreement that were to be no longer obligatory. Some of them had been
shipped for one voyage, and some for another, but none of them for
service on board a Confederate cruiser. This was done to avoid a breach
of the British Foreign Enlistment Act. They had, of course, been
undeceived from the day of our departure from Liverpool. _They_ knew that
they were to be released from the contracts they had made, but _I_ could
not know how many of them would engage with me for the _Alabama_. It is
true I had had a talk with some of the leaders of the crew, who had
promised to go with me, and to influence others, but no creature can be
more whimsical than a sailor, until you have bound him past recall, unless
indeed it be a woman.
The ship having been properly prepared, we steamed out, on this bright
Sunday morning, under a cloudless sky, with a gentle breeze from the
southeast, scarcely ruffling the surface of the placid sea, and under the
shadow of the smiling and picturesque island of Terceira, which nature
seemed to have decked specially for the occasion, so charming did it
appear, in its checkered dress of a lighter and darker green, composed of
corn-fields and orange-groves, the flag of the new-born Confederate States
was unfurled, for the first time, from the peak of the _Alabama_. The
_Bahama_ accompanied us. The ceremony was short but impressive. The
officers were all in full uniform, and the crew neatly dressed, and I
caused "all hands" to be summoned aft on the quarter-deck, and mounting a
gun-carriage, I read the commission of Mr. Jefferson Davis, appointing me
a captain in the Confederate States Navy, and the order of Mr. Stephen R.
Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy, directing me to assume command of the
_Alabama_. Following my example, the officers and crew had all uncovered
their heads, in deference to the sovereign authority, as is customary on
such occasions; and as they stood in respectful silence and listened with
rapt attention to the reading, and to the short explanation of my object
and purposes, in putting the ship in commission which followed, I was
deeply impressed with the spectacle. Virginia, the grand old mother of
many of the States, who afterward died so nobly; South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama, and Louisiana, were all represented in the persons of my
officers, and I had some of as fine specimens of the daring and
adventurous seaman, as any ship of war could boast.
While the reading was going on, two small balls might have been seen
ascending slowly, one to the peak, and the other to the main-royal
mast-head. These were the ensign and pennant of the future man-of-war.
These balls were so arranged, that by a sudden jerk of the halliards by
which they had been sent aloft, the flag and pennant would unfold
themselves to the breeze. A curious observer would also have seen a
quartermaster standing by the English colors, which we were still wearing,
in readiness to strike them, a band of music on the quarter-deck, and a
gunner (lock-string in hand) standing by the weather-bow gun. All these
men had their eyes upon the reader; and when he had concluded, at a wave
of his hand, the gun was fired, the change of flags took place, and the
air was rent by a deafening cheer from officers and men; the band, at the
same time, playing "Dixie,"--that soul-stirring national anthem of the
new-born government. The _Bahama_ also fired a gun and cheered the new
flag. Thus, amid this peaceful scene of beauty, with all nature smiling
upon the ceremony, was the _Alabama_ christened; the name "290"
disappearing with the English flag. This had all been done upon the high
seas, more than a marine league from the land, where Mr. Jefferson Davis
had as much jurisdiction as Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Who could look into the
horoscope of this ship--who anticipate her career? Many of these brave
fellows followed me unto the close.
From the cradle to the grave there is but a step; and that I may group in
a single picture, the christening and the burial of the ship, let the
reader imagine, now, some two years to have rolled over--and such a two
years of carnage and blood, as the world had never before seen--and,
strangely enough, another Sunday morning, equally bright and beautiful, to
have dawned upon the _Alabama_. This is her funeral morning! At the hour
when the church-goers in Paris and London were sending up their orisons to
the Most High, the sound of cannon was heard in the British Channel, and
the _Alabama_ was engaged in her death-struggle. Cherbourg, where the
_Alabama_ had lain for some days previously, is connected with Paris by
rail, and a large number of curious spectators had flocked down from the
latter city to witness, as it proved, her interment. The sun rose, as
before, in a cloudless sky, and the sea-breeze has come in over the
dancing waters, mild and balmy. It is the nineteenth day of June, 1864.
The _Alabama_ steams out to meet the _Kearsarge_ in mortal combat, and
before the sun has set, she has gone down beneath the green waters, and
lies entombed by the side of many a gallant craft that had gone down
before her in that famous old British Channel; where, from the time of the
Norseman and the Danish sea-king, to our own day, so many naval combats
have been fought, and so many of the laurel crowns of victory have been
entwined around the brows of our naval ancestors. Many of the manly
figures who had stood with uncovered heads, and listened with respectful
silence to the christening, went down in the ship, and now lie buried with
her, many fathoms deep, with no other funeral dirge than the roar of
cannon, and the howling winds of the North Sea. Such were the birth and
death of the ship, whose adventures I propose to sketch in the following
pages.
My speech, I was glad to find, had produced considerable effect with the
crew. I informed them, in the opening, that they were all released from
the contracts under which they had come thus far, and that such of them as
preferred to return to England could do so in the _Bahama_, without
prejudice to their interests, as they would have a free passage back, and
their pay would go on until they were discharged in Liverpool. I then gave
them a brief account of the war, and told them how the Southern States,
being sovereign and independent, had dissolved the league which had bound
them to the Northern States, and how they were threatened with subjugation
by their late confederates, who were the stronger. They would be fighting,
I told them, the battles of the oppressed against the oppressor, and this
consideration alone should be enough to nerve the arm of every generous
sailor. Coming nearer home, for it could not be supposed that English,
Dutch, Irish, French, Italian, and Spanish sailors could understand much
about the rights or wrongs of nations, I explained to them the individual
advantages which they might expect to reap from an enlistment with me. The
cruise would be one of excitement and adventure. We had a fine ship under
us; one that they might fall in love with, as they would with their
sweethearts about Wapping. We should visit many parts of the world, where
they would have "liberty" given them on proper occasions; and we should,
no doubt, destroy a great many of the enemy's ships, in spite of the
enemy's cruisers. With regard to these last, though fighting was not to be
our principal object, yet, if a favorable opportunity should offer of our
laying ourselves alongside of a ship that was not too heavy for us, they
would find me disposed to indulge them.
Finally I came to the finances, and like a skilful Secretary of the
Treasury, I put the budget to them, in its very best aspect. As I spoke of
good pay, and payment in gold, "hear! hear!" came up from several voices.
I would give them, I said, about double the ordinary wages, to compensate
them for the risks they would have to run, and I promised them, in case we
should be successful, "lots of prize-money," to be voted to them by the
Confederate Congress, for the ships of the enemy that they would be
obliged to destroy. When we "piped down," that is to say, when the
boatswain and his mates wound their "calls" three times, as a signal that
the meeting was over, and the crew might disperse, I caused the word to be
passed for all those who desired to sign the articles, to repair at once
to the paymaster and sign. I was anxious to strike whilst the iron was
hot. The _Alabama_ had brought out from the Mersey about sixty men, and
the _Bahama_ had brought about thirty more. I got eighty of these ninety
men, and felt very much relieved in consequence.
The _democratic_ part of the proceedings closed, as soon as the articles
were signed. The "public meeting" just described, was the first, and last
ever held on board the _Alabama_, and no other stump speech was ever made
to the crew. When I wanted a man to do anything after this, I did not talk
to him about "nationalities," or "liberties," or "double wages," but I
gave him a rather sharp order, and if the order was not obeyed in
"double-quick," the delinquent found himself in limbo. Democracies may do
very well for the land, but monarchies and pretty absolute monarchies at
that, are the only successful governments for the sea. There was a great
state of confusion on board the ship, of course, during the remainder of
this day, and well into the night. Bullock and Butcher were both on board
assisting me, and we were all busy, as well as the paymaster and clerk,
making out half-pay tickets for the sailors' wives and sweethearts,
drawing drafts for small amounts payable to relatives and dependants, in
different parts of England, for such of the sailors as wanted them, and
paying advance-wages to those who had no pay-tickets to leave, or
remittances to make. I was gratified to find, that a large proportion of
my men left half their pay behind them. "A man, who has children, hath
given hostages to fortune," and you are quite as sure of a sailor, who
sends half his pay to his wife or sweetheart.
It was eleven P. M. before my friend Bullock was ready to return to the
_Bahama_, on his way back to England. I took an affectionate leave of him.
I had spent some days with him, at his quiet retreat, in the little
village of Waterloo, near Liverpool, where I met his excellent wife, a
charming Southern woman, with whom hospitality was a part of her religious
faith. He was living in a very plain, simple style, though large sums of
public money were passing through his hands, and he has had the honor to
come out of the war poor. He paid out moneys in good faith, to the last,
even when it was quite evident that the cause had gone under, and there
would be no accounts to settle with an Auditor of the Treasury. I had not
only had the pleasure of his society during a number of anxious days, but
he had greatly assisted me, by his counsel and advice, given with that
modesty and reserve which always mark true ability. As soon as the
_Bahama_ had steamed away, and left me alone, I turned my ship's head to
the north-east, set the fore-and-aft sails, and directed the engineer to
let his fires go down. The wind had freshened considerably, and there was
some sea on. I now turned into an unquiet cot, perfectly exhausted, after
the labors of the day, and slept as comfortably as the rolling of the
ship, and a strong smell of bilge-water would permit.