420 Norra Carorina Troops, 1861-’65.

Union. I knew that Captain Maffitt ‘was a favorite of Gen-
eral Lee, who was always glad to relieve the strain upon his
mind by listening to his old friend’s sea yarns, and one ae
at his resolute, straightforward face made me determine that
I would go with him. . He was, in truth, a fine specimen of
Carolina sailor, and the more I saw of him during our short
three days and four nights voyage, the more I liked him.
“We started in the evening almost abreast of the Florte, our
sister ship, with which we kept company until darkness 8
The sea was like a mill dam. What wind there was blew
from the right quarter, and during that first, night, sha oa
company of passengers, eight in number, enjoyed themselves
as Englishmen and Americans always do when there is a
spice of danger and adventure in the job upon which they
have embarked. ‘The cool sea breeze was delightfully Te
freshing after the hot coral rocks of Bermuda, and no vigi-
lant Yankee steamer, such as the Rhode Island, from whose
too strenuous attentions many a blockade-running vessel had
suffered on putting forth from Bermuda, seemed to be in pur-
suit. We allslept like tops, and when morning came a fairer
sight than that which presented itself never had met my eyes
at sea. Not a vessel was anywhere visible to the lookout
perch—aloft in the crow’s nest, the Florie had disappeared,
the sea sparkled in the glorious sunshine, and lots of flying
fish, the first that I had ever seen, emerged from the ocean,
and after a short, sharp flight of two or three hundred yards
dropped again into the billowy depths. I confess that I wee
never tired of watching them, much to Captain Mafiitt s
amusement, who had seen more than enough of flying fish
when in command of the Oreto, afterwards the Florida, with
which he audaciously ran into Mobile in broad daylight, and
although ent to ribands by the heavy short-distance fire of the
blockaders, got safely through without being sunk, and
moored his little vessel at Mobile wharf, more than thirty
miles distant from Fort Morgan, the Confederate fort which
euarded the entrance to Mobile Bay and kept the blockaders
at a respectful distance.
“Returning to the ‘airy, fairy Lilian, we had got about
350 miles away from Bermuda, when Captain Maffitt’s quick

BiockaDE RUNNING. 421

eye discerned a sail upon our port bow, enveloped in a dense
canopy of smoke. She lay in a part of the ocean continually
swept by Federal cruisers, and our wily captain well knew
that nowhere was more guile displayed by both belligerents
than in connection with blockade-running. The vessel might
very likely prove a trap to lure the Lilian on to her destruc-
tion, but after carefully scrutinizing her through his glasses,
Captain Maffitt came to the conclusion that she might be on
fire. Time was ineffably precious to ‘us, but after generously
exclaiming, “No luck can betide a vessel which leaves a com-
rade in distress at sea,’ our humane captain ordered our
course to be altered, and bore down upon the stranger. She
was soon made out to be a Federal cruiser, emitting a dense
white cloud with her Cumberland coal and beating rapidly

eastward in pursuit of another outward bound delinquent.

The Lilian’s helm was therefore changed and she resumed

Ser original course.

“Meantime the fine weather had deserted us, and the noon
of our third day out was so dull and dark that it was impos-
sible to take an observation. It was generally believed by
the captain and his officers that ere day dawned on the fol-
lowing morning it was possible that we might make a run
into Wilmington, and onward we pressed. The Lilian’s sharp
bow seemed to cleave the waves like a razor, and the exhilar-
ation of flying through the water at a speed which defied pur-
suit, raised our spirits to such a pitch, that Charles Mackay
and Henry Russell’s famous old song, ‘There’s a Good Time
Coming, Boys!’ burst in chorus from our lips, followed by
such familiar Confederate war strains as—

“ ‘Then let the big guns roar as they will,
We'll be gay and happy still ;

Gay and happy, free and easy,
We'll be gay and happy still.’

“By the way, poor Frank Vizetelly used to substitute for
the third line ‘Free and easy, fat and greasy,’ the last words
being only too suggestive of his own appearance on a hot Sum-
mer day.

“Before long, however, the captain silenced our ill-timed
mirth, and soon our position, as we drew nearer and nearer