wn dark-coloured ships.

After long delaying at Taranto, Persano brought his fleet to Ancona;
and, two days later, Tegethoff appeared in front of that town--not
knowing, it seems, that the Italian squadrons had arrived. Tegethoff
was bound on a simple reconnaissance, and, after firing a few shots,
he sailed away. On this occasion, Persano issued orders so hesitating
and confused that the Austrian admiral must have correctly gauged the
capacity of the man opposed to him, while the superior officers of the
Italian fleet were filled with little less than dismay. A strong
effort was made to induce Depretis to supersede Persano then and
there; he promised to do so, but it is said that the fear of offending
the King prevented him. Instead, he set about showering instructions
on the admiral, the worth of which may be easily imagined. The
mistrust felt by the fleet in its commander invaded all ranks; and if
it did not break out in open insubordination, it deprived officers and
men of all confidence in the issue of the campaign.

Left to himself, Persano would have stayed quietly at Ancona, but the
imperative orders of a cabinet council, presided over by the King,
forced him to take some action. Against the advice of Admiral Albini,
but in agreement with another admiral, Vacca, Persano decided to
attack the fortified island of Lissa, on the Dalmatian coast. Though
Lissa is a strong position, the usual comparison of it with Gibraltar
is exaggerated. It ought to have been possible to land the Italian
troops which Persano had with him under cover of his guns, and to take
the island before Tegethoff came up. The surf caused by the rough
weather, to which he chiefly attributed his failure, would not have
proved an insuperable obstacle had the ships' crews been exercised in
landing troops under similar circumstances.

Persano reached Lissa on the morning of the 18th of July, and began a
tremendous bombardment of the forts, which, though answered with the
highest spirit by the Austrians, did most deadly damage to their
batteries. In fact, by the evening, except one or two at a high
elevation, they were practically silenced. At six o'clock Captain
Saint Bon took the _Formidabile_ into the narrow harbour to silence
the inner works: a murderous fire rained on the corvette from Fort
Wellington, which was too high for the Italian guns to get it into
range. Though Saint Bon's attempt was not successful, the Italians had
effected most of w