squadron in single file, and quite at the beginning of the battle
Tegethoff managed to break the line by dashing in between the first
and second division whilst they were going at full speed, and under a
furious cannonade from their guns. This daring operation placed him
in the middle of the Italian ironclads, which, well directed, could
have closed round him and destroyed him, but they were not directed
either well nor ill--they were not directed at all. Persano put up
contradictory signals, most of which were not seen, and those which
were seen meant nothing. The plan followed by Admiral Tegethoff may be
best described in his own words: 'It was hard to make out friend from
foe, so I just rammed away at anything I saw painted grey.' Two
Italian vessels had been already damaged, but not vitally injured, by
the _Ferdinand Max_, when in the dense smoke a vast wall of grey
appeared close to the bows of the Austrian flagship, which, to the cry
of 'Ram her!' put on full steam and crashed into the enemy's flank.
The shock was so great that the crew of the _Max_ were thrown about in
indescribable confusion. The Italian ship was the _Re d'Italia,_ the
flagship which did not carry the admiral. She quivered for one, two,
some say for three minutes in her death agony, and then went down in
two hundred fathoms of water.

After the _Re d'Italia_ was struck, one of her seamen, thinking to
assert a claim to pity, began to lower her flag, but a young officer
pushed him aside and hoisted it again; so the great ship sank with her
colours flying. The incident was noticed by the Austrians, who spoke
of it in feeling terms. Willing enough were they to help, for after
the first cheer of triumph they felt sick with horror at their own
work, the fearful work of modern naval warfare. There were 550 men on
board the doomed ship. Tegethoff shouted for the boats to be lowered,
and signalled to the despatch boat _Elisabeth_ to pick up all she
could, but two Italian ironclads were bearing down upon him, and
little could be done to save the drowning multitude either by the
Austrians or by their own people. Persano did not know of the
disaster till some hours after it happened.

The sea had scarcely closed over the _Re d'Italia_ when another
misfortune occurred; the gunboat _Palestro_ took fire. Her captain,
Alfredo Cappellini, disembarked the sick and wounded, but remained
himself with the rest of the crew, endeavouring to put out the fire.
The sh