as hard as possible. The barque
coming in from the south-east, and, as the signal-man made
down, five miles off; the steamer, coming in from the north-west,
eight miles off, led us to think that the Kloof-road was the best
place for a full view. To that place we directed our Jehu to
drive furiously. We did the first mile in a short time; but the
Kloof-hill for the next two and-a-half miles is up-hill work.
The horse jibbed, so we pushed on, on foot, as fast as possible,
and left the cab to come on. When we reached the summit, we
could only make out a steamer on the horizon, from eighteen to
twenty miles off. This could not be the Alabama, unless she
was making off to sea again. There was no barque. As soon
as our cab reached the crown of the hill, we set off at a breakneck
pace down the hill, on past the Roundhouse, till we came
near Brighton, and as we reached the corner, there lay the Alabama
within fifty yards of the unfortunate Yankee. As the Yankee came round
from the south-east, and about five miles from the bay, the steamer
came down upon her. The Yankee was evidently taken by surprise. The
Alabama fired a gun, and brought her to. When first we got sight of the
Alabama, it was difficult to make out what she was doing; the barque's
head had been put about, and the Alabama lay off quite immovable, as if
she were taking a sight at the "varmint!" The weather was
beautifully calm and clear, and the sea was as smooth and transparent
as a sheet of glass. The barque was making her way slowly from the steamer,
with every bit of her canvas spread. The Alabama, with her steam off,
appeared to be letting the barque get clear off. What could this mean?
no one understood. It must be the Alabama. "There," said the spectators,
"is the Confederate flag at her peak; it must be a Federal
barque, too, for there are the Stars and the Stripes of the States
flying at her main." What could the Alabama mean lying there--

"As idly as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean."

What it meant was soon seen. Like a cat watching and playing with a
victimized mouse, Captain Semmes permitted his prize to draw off a few
yards, and he then up steam again, and pounced upon her. She first
sailed round the Yankee from stem to stern, and stern to stem again. The
way that fine, saucy, rakish craft was handled was worth riding a
hundred miles to see. She went round the bark like a toy, making a
complete circle, and leaving an even margin of water