guns of fearful peal, that
added greatly to the alarm that the light of the fire had spread
through the country round about. The 'Pennsylvania' burned like a
volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. I stood
watching the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her
majesty was about to come down. At precisely half-past nine o'clock
the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed
deep into her burning sides."

During this fearful scene the people of the little town, and the
Virginia militia-men who had been summoned to take possession of the
navy-yard, were no idle spectators. Hardly had the "Pawnee" steamed
out into the stream, when the great gates were battered down, and
crowds of men rushed in, eager to save whatever arms were uninjured.
Throughout the fire they worked like beavers, and succeeded in saving
a large quantity of munitions of war to be used by the Confederacy.
The ships that had been fired all burned to the water's edge. One was
raised, and re-appeared as the formidable "Merrimac" that at one time
threatened the destruction of the whole Union navy.

A great amount of valuable property was saved for the Virginians by
the coolness of a young boy, the son of one of the citizens of the
town. This lad was within the gates of the navy-yard when the troops
from the ships rushed in, and closed and barricaded them against the
townspeople. He was frightened, and hid himself behind a quantity of
boards and rubbish, and lay there a silent and immensely frightened
spectator of the work of destruction. An officer passed near him
directing the movements of two sailors, who were laying a train of
gunpowder to an immense pile of explosives and combustibles in the
huge granite dry-dock. The train passed over a broad board; and the
boy, hardly knowing what he did, drew away this board, leaving a gap
of eight inches in the train. When all the trains were fired, this was
of course stopped at the gap; and the dry-dock was saved, and still
remains in the Norfolk Navy Yard.

CHAPTER III.

DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GETTING A NAVY. -- EXPLOIT OF
THE "FRENCH LADY." -- NAVAL SKIRMISHING ON THE POTOMAC. -- THE
CRUISE OF THE "SUMTER."

The disparity of maritime importance between the North and the South,
and the consequent difficulties to be overcome by the latter in
getting a navy, have been already alluded to. As it has been stated,
in river-s