"Well, then, the Merrimac will meet her match if she comes out to-morrow."
"What do you mean, Doctor?"
"I mean that a United States war-vessel, fully equal to the Merrimac, has arrived."
Lydia left the tent.
I almost shouted. I could no more go to sleep than I could fly. I started to get out of bed. The Doctor put his hand on my head, and gently pressed me back to my pillow.
VIII
THE TWO SOUTHS
"Yet spake yon purple mountain,
Yet said yon ancient wood,
That Night or Day, that Love or Crime,
Lead all souls to the Good."--EMERSON
About two in the morning I was awaked by a noise that seemed to shake the world. The remainder of the night was full of troubled dreams.