tom,
with only her topgallant forecastle out of the water."

But those were exceedingly lively minutes for the _Varuna_ and the other
craft in her neighborhood. Commander Boggs turned her prow toward shore
and crowded all steam, firing his guns as the water rose about the
trucks. When the last shell left the side of the sinking vessel the
current had reached the mouth of the piece, and some of it was blown out
like mist with the shrieking missile.

The moment the bow of the _Varuna_ struck the bank a chain cable was
fastened around the trunk of a tree, so as to prevent her from sliding
into deep water as she went down and taking the wounded and dead with
her. This was a precaution which would not have occurred to every man in
the situation of Commander Boggs.

The daring conduct of this officer brought a tribute from one of our
poets, which contains the stanzas:

"Who has not heard of the dauntless _Varuna_?
Who shall not hear of the deeds she has done?
Who shall not hear while the brown Mississippi
Rushes along from the snow to the sun?

"Five of the rebels like satellites round her,
Burned in her orbit of splendor and fear,
One like the Pleiad of mystical story
Shot terror-stricken beyond her dread sphere."

When Boggs' native city heard of his gallant conduct it voted him a
sword, and the State of New Jersey did the same. He came North and was
appointed to the command of the blockading squadron off Wilmington. He
would have preferred active service, and finally his health broke down
under the exposure and fatigue to which he was subjected, and he was
compelled to return home to recruit. Upon his recovery, he was appointed
to duty in New York, but the war ended without his having another
opportunity to distinguish himself in the service of his country. He
died a few years after the close of hostilities.

CHAPTER XXVI.

John Ancrum Winslow--His Early Life and Training--The Famous Battle
Between the _Kearsarge_ and _Alabama_.

A few weeks ago I had as guests at my house two young men who were
graduates of the West Point Military Academy in 1889. One was my son, at
present an instructor in the Academy, and the other was E. Eveleth
Winslow, of the corps of engineers, who had the honor of being graduated
at the head of his class. During the course of the conversation I asked
Captain Winslow whether he was a relative of the late Commodore John
Ancrum Winslow, commander of the _Kearsarge_ in her