d as they went they were joined by boats from the other ships
in the harbour, among which were those of the Spanish cruiser _Alphonso
the Twelfth_; as well as a large number which put off from the shore.
As the boats went hither and thither, seeking for survivors--and finding
remarkably few, considering that the complement of the _Maine_ amounted
to three hundred and forty-seven--an officer in one of the Spanish boats
came dashing up, and, with a great show of authority, announced that
Admiral Manterolas' orders were that the rescued Americans were to be
put aboard the _Alphonso the Twelfth_, where the injured would receive
every attention: accordingly, as soon as the boats of the _Thetis_ had
picked up all they could find, they pulled alongside the Spanish
warship, and delivered over their living, and in some cases terribly
mutilated, freight to her officers and crew. Eighty-six men were
rescued, sixty of them being wounded; and of this number the _Thetis's_
boats were responsible for no less than twenty-nine, of whom seventeen
were wounded. When at length, having pulled about for nearly an hour
without finding any more people to pick up, Milsom reluctantly gave the
word for the boats to return to the ship. The wreck, or rather that
portion of her which yet remained above water, was still burning.

It was perhaps rather a peculiar circumstance that, upon the return of
the boats from their mission of rescue, the saloon party aboard the
_Thetis_ should almost immediately separate and retire to their
respective cabins, with nothing more in the way of conversation than a
few curt questions and answers. The fact is that they were powerfully
impressed with the conviction that they had that night witnessed, and
been in an indirect way assisting at, an occurrence that was destined to
exercise an important influence upon the history of two great nations.
It is true that, at the moment, the occurrence presented all the
appearance of a lamentable accident: but everybody was by this time
fully aware of the fact that the trend of events had, for some time
past, been of such a character as to cause America and Spain to regard
each other with the utmost distrust, to which, on the part of Spain, was
added a feeling of aversion not very far removed from hatred at what she
regarded as the high-handed action of the United States in reference to
certain points of dispute between the two countries; and there was
probably not one intelli