ron leave

ted-The "Sylvia"

continued by Li

ison

Helston's squadron; and trouble enough I had to get her, and shouldn't have done so after al

ipper, who was coming out on our trials, with steam blowing off in clouds and Elridge, our Engineer, getting very impatient. Presently down came Captain Helston, looking pretty well fagged out, and with him surly old Dr. Fox, and his Yank

Chinese, sir?

been shadowing me for the last four weeks. You c

t of the squadron anchored at Spithead, and we stopped engines

'ard to the bridge and told me to make for a rendezvous 250 miles s.w. of the Needles, and that

r?" I asked, natura

everybody, but it was absolutely necessary.

, for I was thinking that I had never even thank

e I," half sighed th

in fact was only waiting for "No. 1" to get back to Portsmouth to start. How strange it is that Americans never seem to have any idea of discipline? He took it almost as a

in Hunter to proceed to the given rendezvous at easy speed, weighing as soon as

er, for before five minutes elapsed, we saw their pic

dge came up to the bridge to report to the Captain. As he was going away again he jokingly said to Hopkins: "It's lucky I went round after you. You know those lubricator feeds y

ogized Hopkins, and asked Elridge

aid Captain Helston, in so angry a man

ust the right thing-no big words and high-sounding phrases. He told them he was very sorry they wouldn't have the opportunity of wishing their friends good-bye, said h

dropped to fifteen knots, which we kept up all through the afternoon, steering out of the usual

d company, and, ten hours later, we were all exceedingly pleased to sight the Laird. Captain Helston, his secretary, a

expected, and looked forward to, a hearty send-off. There wasn't much time for regrets, however, for we

t all round her water-line. On her fo'c'stle she carried an 8-inch Q.F., another on the poop, and on each broadside w

re mounted on the two bridges, and she also carried two 12-pounder field-guns. She had Belleville boilers, and had done 22-1/2 knots on her tria

ns, eight 6-inch Q.F., ten 6-pounder Q

ach mast, and these gave her a somewhat clumsy appearance; but she

im, looking, strongly built merchant steam

ried two more field-guns and a couple of Maxim guns on field-carr

ar of the line. Each of us carried one 12-pounder on our bridges, and five 6-pounders in addition. As it happened, though otherwise almost indistinguishable, my boat, "No. 1", had four funnels; "No. 2", two large ones, far apart; whilst "No. 3" had three. The identity of each could therefore be seen at a glance. "No. 2"

formed the crews,

..........

m* .......

..........

royers ...

.........

100 naval petty officers and men; all the rest

Royal Marine Artillery

n of the Royal Navy, previously trained

ly steamed away from the rendezvous late on the afternoon of 18th October, and, painted a dull olive-green fr