Year: 1877

ning-eecOnd Paper - HOmewRra


BOuBd.


While in England we fell in with
two friends and brother officers,
Colonel S. Thompson aud Captain
John O'Brien, of the Tenth Tennes-
see regiment. These two gentlemen,
both recently wounded in the SER
vice, were recuperating in England
in company with Colonel W..
O'Brien, late of Nashville, and his
lady-the former uncle of the cap
tain, the latter sister of the major
The two young officers were ready
to return to Dixie at the same time
with ourselves, and we made up Il
party to run the blockade tegether.
Certain Confederate agents in Lon
don gave us introductions to the
commander of a fast steamer
then fitting out for her first
voyage at the port of Greenock
in Scotland. The ship was the
Falcon and the captain was passing
under the nom de guerre of Capt,
Roberts, but was really the Hon.
Henry Hobart, near Of kin to an
English earl and a post captain in
the British navy.


We must give a few words to the
ship, however, before anything
further about the captain.


Tempted by the splendid profits
Of blockade running as a business
a large ship-building firm at Green
ock had determined to build line
of ships expressly for that business.
The Falcon was the first of this
line which was completed and this
was her trial voyage-to land
mans eye she looked low and mar
row, no upper deck, everything
kept as near the surface of the wa
ter as possible, even her smoke
chimney was capable by a hinge
arrangement OF being so lowered
that the smoke escaped not more
than six feet above the gunwale /;
further she was painted uniformly
all over Of a somber gray. All
these arrangements were calculated
to make her an object as little con.
spicuous as possible at sea-for the
rest, seafaring men pronounced her
the best constructed for speed of
all the vessels that had ever left
that harbor. She verified the de-
scription when put to the test.


On board this very promising
craft we stepped on the 18th Of
June, 1864; her captain did not
arrive till the evening Of the same
day.


Without then knowing that he
was anything but the Captain Rob
erts whom he called himself, We
soon came to the conclusion that he
was no ordinary skipper. With a
dark complexion, a steady black
eye and a firm set mouth telling Of
habitual reserve, there was an air
of easy courtesy and the unmistak-
able manner Of the thorough Eng
lish gentleman. On learning our
names, he read us, with a smile, a
letter from the proprietors in which
he was instructed to "feed us like
fighting cocks and give us the best
! that could be had to drink" 81
will do the best | can, gentlemen"
he added, "and l hope You will be
satisfied" The pledge was COM
pletely fulfilled; his claret was un-
exceptionable, and some Amontil-
lado sherry which was produced
occasionally was of a grade rarely
procurable away from royal cellars.


This was the gentleman who is
now, under the title of Hobart
Pasha, the lord high admiral of the
Turkish navy.


The Falcon spread her wings
that evening, the late twilight of
those high latitudes aaording us q
tantalzing glimpse Of the beauties
of the Clyde. Her first flight was
a short one, being only as far as
Kingston harbor, Ireland, better
known under its old title the Cove
of Cork. We came here to coal,
ard for some occult reason were de-
tanned three days, during which we
visited the neighboring city Of Cork
and Blarney Castle. We discovered