uring the rest of the year.

Very different was the character of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded
the British blockading fleet off the New England coast. A brave and
able officer, with the nature and training of a gentleman, he was as
much admired by his enemies for his nobility, as Cockburn was hated
for his cruelty. It is more than possible, however, that the
difference between the methods of enforcement of the blockade on the
New England coast and on the Southern seaboard was due to definite
orders from the British admiralty: for the Southern States had entered
into the war heart and soul; while New England gave to the American
forces only a faint-hearted support, and cried eagerly for peace at
any cost. So strong was this feeling, that resolutions of honor to the
brave Capt. Lawrence were defeated in the Massachusetts Legislature,
on the ground that they would encourage others to embark in the
needless war in which Lawrence lost his life. Whatever may have been
the cause, however, the fact remains, that Hardy's conduct while on
the blockade won for him the respect and admiration of the very people
against whom his forces were arrayed.

[Illustration: Blue-Jackets at the Guns.]

On June 18 the British blockaders off New York Harbor allowed a little
vessel to escape to sea, that, before she could be captured, roamed at
will within sight of the chalk cliffs of England, and inflicted
immense damage upon the commerce of her enemy. This craft was the
little ten-gun brig "Argus," which left New York bound for France. She
carried as passenger Mr. Crawford of Georgia, who had lately been
appointed United States minister to France. After safely discharging
her passenger at L'Orient, the "Argus" turned into the chops of the
English Channel, and cruised about, burning and capturing many of the
enemy's ships. She was in the very highway of British commerce; and
her crew had little rest day or night, so plentiful were the ships
that fell in their way. It was hard for the jackies to apply the torch
to so many stanch vessels, that would enrich the whole crew with
prize-money could they but be sent into an American port. But the
little cruiser was thousands of miles from any American port, and no
course was open to her save to give every prize to the flames. After
cruising for a time in the English Channel, Lieut. Allen, who
commanded the "Argus," took his vessel around Land's End, and into St.
George's Channel and the Irish Sea.