e island, took no part in the action. The wooden ships, owing
to the cowardice of their commander, Albini, also kept out of the
fight, though Persano signaled desperately to them to enter the
engagement and "surround the enemy rear." With his remaining ironclads
Persano formed three divisions of three ships each and swung across
the enemy's bows in line ahead. Just at the critical moment, and
for no very explicable motive, he shifted his flag from the _Re
d'Italia_ in the center to the _Affondatore_, which was steaming
alone on the starboard side of the line. The change was not noted
by all his ships, and thus caused confusion of orders. The delay
involved also left a wider gap between van and center, and through
this the Austrians plunged, Tegetthoff in his flagship _Erzherzog
Ferdinand Max_ leading the way.

Here orderly formation ended, and only the more striking episodes
stand out in a desperate close combat, during which the black ships
of Austria and the gray of Italy rammed or fired into each other
amid a smother of smoke and spray. The Austrian left flank and
rear held up the Italian van; the Austrian ironclads engaged the
Italian center; and the wooden ships of the Austrian middle division,
led by the 92-gun _Kaiser_, smashed into the Italian rear. Of all
the Austrian ships, the big _Kaiser_, a relic of other days, saw
the hardest fighting. Twice she avoided the _Affondatore's_ ram,
and she was struck by one of her 300-pound projectiles. Then the
_Re di Portogallo_ bore down, but Petz, the _Kaiser's_ captain,
rang for full speed ahead and steered for the ironclad, striking
a glancing blow and scraping past her, while both ships poured in
a heavy fire. The _Kaiser_ soon afterward drew out of the action,
her foremast and funnel down, and a bad blaze burning amidships.
Altogether she fired 850 rounds in the action, or about one-fifth
of the total fired by the Austrians, and she received 80 hits,
again one-fifth of the total. Of the 38 Austrians killed and 138
wounded in the battle, she lost respectively 24 and 75.

The _Kaiser's_ combat, though more severe, was typical of what
was going on elsewhere. The Italian gunboat _Palestro_ was forced
to withdraw to fight a fire that threatened her magazines. The
_Re d'Italia_, which was at first supposed by the Austrians to be
Persano's flagship, was a center of attack and had her steering
gear disabled. As she could go only straight ahead or astern, the
Austrian flagsh