, better than his own--
The Sea-King of the sovereign West,
Who made his mast a throne."

"A fine poem indeed, and with a subject worthy of all its praise,"
remarked Cousin Ronald, as Mrs. Travilla ceased. "No wonder you are
proud of him, cousins, for he was, as I said a moment since, one to be
proud of; I should be proud indeed of him were he a countryman of mine."

"As each one of us--his countrymen and women--certainly is," said Mr.
Dinsmore.

There was a silence of a few moments, presently broken by the captain.

"Yes," he said, "I think there are few, if any, of his countrymen, who
are not proud of our grand naval hero, Farragut; and there were others
among our naval heroes of that day, almost, if not quite, as worthy of
our affectionate admiration. Captain, afterward Admiral, Bailey, for
instance, who was second in command at the taking of New Orleans,
leading, in the _Cayuga_, the right column of the fleet of government
vessels in the passage of Forts St. Philip and Jackson, the capture of
the Chalmette batteries and the city.

"As you probably remember, he passed up ahead of the fleet, through the
fire of the forts, the Confederate vessels, the rams, fire-rafts,
blazing cotton bales, and dense clouds of smoke, meeting the attacks of
all unaided.

"Also it was he who was sent by Farragut in company with only one other
man, Lieutenant George H. Perkins, to demand the surrender of the city,
the taking down of the Confederate flag, and the hoisting in its stead
of the Stars and Stripes.

"It certainly required no small amount of courage to pass through those
city streets surrounded by a hooting, yelling, cursing crowd,
threatening them with drawn pistols and other weapons.

"And who can fail to admire the words of Bailey, in his official report
of the victory: 'It was a contest of iron hearts in wooden ships against
iron-clads with iron beaks--and the iron hearts won?'

"And not less admirable was his modest behavior at a dinner given him at
the Astor House, when called upon to reply to the toast of 'The Navy.'"

"Ah, what was that, sir?" asked Mr. Lilburn, pricking up his ears.

"I was reading an account of it only the other day," pursued Captain
Raymond. "The old hero straightened himself up, and began, 'Mr.
President and gentlemen--hem--thank ye.' Then made a long pause,
glancing up and down the table. 'Well, I suppose you want to hear about
that New Orleans affair?' he contin