the success of this expedition as I am, or as any other Southerner can be, and when you have sailed I shall await the result with hopeful confidence.'

The officers and men from the Rappahannock, after arrival at Gravesend on the morning of January 11th, were taken on board the City of Richmond by Lieutenant W. F. Carter, who was sent to meet them on landing, and Lieutenants Shryock and Read also found their way safely on board, and Davidson put to sea that afternoon, but was forced to seek shelter under Cherbourg breakwater from a heavy gale, which he prudently declined to face in the Bay of Biscay with his small and heavily weighted paddle-steamer. He wrote me from Cherbourg on the 13th :

'It was indeed most lucky that I determined to come down Channel on the French coast, for the steamer would have suffered on the English side from the heavy sea, besides which, I might have been forced into one of the harbours on that side. Your officers and men are all very manageable, and we get on very well. The chances are now that this part of the expedition is all right.'

The gale which drove Davidson into Cherbourg proved to be one of those prolonged winter tempests which often vex the British Channel at that season, and he did not get away until the 18th. He wrote just at starting to report progress, and said: The crew are a splendid-looking set of fellows. We are rather crowded, 125 on board all told, and the men must be somewhat uncomfortable, but we manage very well.' Meanwhile Page was doing his best to get the ram through the Cattegat, in spite of much bad weather and frequent

snowstorms.

Carter wrote from Belle Isle on the 25th January,

thus:-'We left Niewe Diep at noon on the 20th instant, discharged Dutch pilot into a fishing boat off Dungeness on the 21st at 10 a.m., and steamed down Channel with light wind and smooth sea. After passing Ushant on the 23rd and hauling up south-east for the rendezvous, the wind freshened to a gale, and quite a sea right ahead. Strange to say, we shipped only spray, which must be owing to her having lightened forward, with having used coal from forward.' Coming through the North Sea the little ship was well-nigh smothered, and it was natural that the improved buoyancy should be comforting and satisfactory. It appears from Carter's letter that with the good weather in the English Channel they were able to make for three days an average speed of nine knots instead of the stipulated eight, and thus recovered some of the loss from detention and head wind.

The meeting of the two vessels at the rendezvous and their departure are thus described by Davidson, in a letter from Funchal, Madeira, dated February 6th, 1865' :

'I left Cherbourg 18th January, and carried out instructions on the way to Quiberon, where we found a snug anchorage on the 20th, and laid quietly, permitting no communication with the shore until the morning of the 24th at 10 o'clock, when the Stonewall hove in sight, to the rapturous delight of all who were in the secret.'

After explaining the reasons why the Stonewall did not receive the quantity of coal intended for her, and which should have been sent out from St. Nazaire, he proceeds thus:

'She' (the Stonewall) was in a filthy condition, and required more labour to clean her than to get the stores on board and stowed afterwards. The weather

was very bad and wet, too, and prevented us from lying alongside. It was therefore hard to work satisfactorily. However, on the 28th January, early, the barometer rising and the weather promising well, the Stonewall and this vessel left the bay and soon ran out of sight of land, going nine and ten knots, for San Miguel. It blew a gale at times, with as heavy a sea as I have ever seen. The Stonewall would often ship immense seas, they seeming at times to cover her from knight-heads to taffrail, but yet she never seemed to be injuriously affected by them, but would keep her course very steadily. On the morning of the 30th January, after a most uneasy night, we became separated about five miles, this ship having forged ahead, and being afraid to run off in such a heavy sea. About noon, however, it moderated for a while, and the barometer rising steadily, we kept away and ran down to her, signalling, "How do you do?" Answer, "All right." This was so satisfactory that I signalled "Shall I go on?" Answer, "Am very short of coals, and must make a

port, Ferrol." Signalled, "Shall I follow you?" Answer, "Suit your convenience about following.'

Davidson then added that the detention of his ship had already caused the loss of one moon for running the blockade, and considering the necessity there was of his getting to Bermuda quickly in order to save the next moon, and considering also that it did not appear necessary to the safety of the enterprise that he should remain any longer in company with the Stonewall, he determined to part company, and signalled Adieu,' which was answered with Many thanks,' and then he says:-' At 1.30 we parted company, and at 3.30 lost sight of her, she still heading the sea to the northward and westward, facing the gale under easy steam, no doubt waiting

for the weather to moderate before running down on the coast of Spain.'

Captain Page also wrote from Isle d'Houat, near Quiberon, giving a full account of his tedious delays and the disappointment he felt at not getting a full supply of coal, but he did not like to wait for the return of the coal-tender from St. Nazaire. He advised me that he had taken charge of the ram on behalf of the Confederate Government, and that M. Arman's agent, who was with him, had complied with all engagements satisfactorily, and was therefore entitled to receive the stipulated commission for his services. The Danish crew were discharged and sent to St. Nazaire, and the ram was chartered and commissioned in due form as the Confederate ship Stonewall.

In the heavy weather after leaving Quiberon Bay, the Stonewall made a good deal of water, and it was thought that she must have sprung a leak somewhere, but owing to the crowded state of the ship a satisfactory examination could not be made. This apparent defect was an additional reason for making a harbour, and when the gale moderated, Page bore up and ran into Corunna, and the day after arrival there he took the Stonewall across the bay to Ferrol, 'where all facilities were politely tendered by the officers of the Naval Arsenal.'

The first advice of the Stonewall from Ferrol was without date, but she arrived there about February 2nd, and Page soon began to lighten the ship by discharging some of the heavy weights into a good dry hulk,' which the naval authorities had kindly put at his disposal, with the purpose of finding the leak. It appears, however, from his correspondence, that the facilities granted him upon his first application were quickly withdrawn. Writing to me under date of February 7th, he says:—

To-day there came off an officer to inform me that in consequence of the protest of the American Minister the permission to repair damages had been suspended, and I must restore the things in the hulk to the ship.' Page added, however, that the commanding officer told him that his case was under consideration at Madrid, and that he thought all would be right in a few days. In the end permission was given to make all necessary repairs, but many difficulties were met with, the authorities appearing to be very desirous to hurry the ship off, yet not willing to turn her out of port in an incomplete

state.

On the 10th February Page wrote that the United States frigate Niagara, Captain Thomas Craven, had arrived; and a few days after the United States ship Sacramento joined the Niagara, and both vessels anchored at Corunna, about nine miles distance, from whence they could watch the Stonewall. Their presence, Page said, gave the Spanish authorities much uneasiness. It was now manifest that the Stonewall's movements were known. The two United States ships at Corunna would either attack her when she attempted to leave Ferrol, or they would follow her across the Atlantic. Besides this, advice of her being at sea would be sent to New York, and preparations would be made by the United States naval authorities to give her a warm reception. The leak was discovered to be in consequence of defective construction in the rudder casing, and this, together with other injuries caused by the rough handling the ship had encountered during the tempestuous voyage from Copenhagen, satisfied Page that the repairs would detain her several weeks at Ferrol. He took also into consideration the latest news from America, which appeared to indicate that the South 36

VOL. II.