ckon that she carries
more men."

Captain Semmes, himself, had come up from below, and was examining the
intruder with his glass.

"Boys!" said he, "we've got to fight that ship."

And, as he withdrew into the cabin, all seemed to be well pleased with
this announcement.

The _Kearsarge_, commanded by Captain John A. Winslow, had been lying
at anchor in the Scheldt, off Flushing, Holland, when a gun roared
from the forward part of the ship, warning those officers who had gone
ashore, to come on board. Steam was raised, and, as soon as all were
collected on deck, the Captain read a telegram from Mr. Dayton, the
Minister to France from the United States. It said:

"The _Alabama_ has arrived at Cherbourg. Come at once or she will
escape you!"

"I believe that we'll have an opportunity to fight her," said Captain
Winslow. "So be prepared."

At this, all of his sailors cheered wildly.

The _Kearsarge_ was a staunch craft; she was two hundred and
thirty-two feet over all, with thirty-three feet of beam, and carried
seven guns; two eleven inch pivots, smooth bore; one thirty-pound
rifle, and four light thirty-two pounders. Her crew numbered one
hundred and sixty-three men. The sleeping _Alabama_ had but one
hundred and forty-nine souls on board, and eight guns: one sixty-eight
pounder pivot rifle, smooth bore; one one hundred-pounder pivot, and
six heavy thirty-two pounders. So, you see, that the two antagonists
were evenly matched, with the superior advantage of the numbers of men
on the _Kearsarge_ offset by the extra guns of her opponent.

Most of the officers upon the _Kearsarge_ were from the merchant
service, and, of the crew, only eleven were of foreign birth. Most of
the officers upon the _Alabama_ had served in the navy of the United
States; while nearly all of her crew were either English, Irish, or
Welsh. A few of the gunners had been trained aboard the _Excellent_: a
British training ship in Portsmouth Harbor. Her Captain--Raphael
Semmes--was once an officer in the navy of the United States. He had
served in the Mexican War, but had joined the Southern cause, as he
was a Marylander. He was an able navigator and seaman.

The _Kearsarge_ cruised about the port of Cherbourg, poked her bows
nearly into the break-water, and then withdrew. The French neutrality
law would only allow a foreign vessel to remain in a harbor for
twenty-four hours.

"Will she come out?" was the question now upon every lip aboard