g facts.
They did cheer, and cheer with a will, too. It was not, perhaps, taking
the view of either side, Federal or Confederate, but in admiration of
the skill, pluck, and daring of the Alabama, her captain, and her crew,
who now afford a general theme of admiration for the world all over.

Visitors were received by the officers of the ship most courteously, and
without distinction, and the officers conversed freely and unreservedly
of their exploits. There was nothing like brag in their manner of
answering questions put to them. They are as fine and gentlemanly a set
of fellows as ever we saw; most of them young men. The ship has been so
frequently described, that most people know what she is like, as we do
who have seen her. We should have known her to be the Alabama if we had
boarded her in the midst of the ocean, with no one to introduce us to
each other. Her guns alone are worth going off to see, and everything
about her speaks highly for the seamanship and discipline of the
commander and his officers. She has a very large crew, fine,
lithe-looking fellows, the very picture of English men-of-war's men.

The second officer told us that it was the Sea Bride they had captured,
and pointed out her captain, who stood aft conversing with a number of
people who had gathered round him. "This, sir," said the officer, "is
our fifty-sixth capture; we have sent her off with about ten of our men
as a crew, and we left a few of her own men on board of her." We asked
him how he liked Saldanha Bay, and his answer was, "It is a very
charming place. Why did you not build Cape Town there?" Our answer was,
"Because we never do anything properly at the Cape." "Ah, sir!" he said;
"that is a great mistake to leave so fine a bay without harbor
conveniences. It is a great deal better than Table Bay. We enjoyed
ourselves capitally there, had some good shooting; one of us shot an
ostrich, a fine fellow, but he got away. Unfortunately, we lost one of
our officers there--one whom we all respected--as fine an officer as
ever trod this ship's deck. He was in a boat in the bay, shooting wild
fowl; he drew his gun towards him, the barrel in his hand; the trigger
caught, the charge passed through his lung, and his only dying words
were, 'Oh, me!' and he fell back a corpse. But for that circumstance, we
should always remember Saldanha Bay with pleasure. The gun was within an
inch of his breast when it went off."

After this melancholy recital, we