| Malt | 1,989 bushels | in England. |
| Spirits | 591 gallons | " |
| Malt | 509 bushels | in Ireland. |
| Spirits | 873 gallons | " |
| Malt | 669 bushels | in Scotland. |
| Spirits | 1,576 gallons | " |
The inventory taken on board the Giraffe, after she was turned over to the Confederate Government, showed over two hundred pitchers and ladles for hot punch! We came to the conclusion that Scotch babies were weaned upon this beverage, for the law forbade the carrying of that number of grown passengers by the Giraffe.
Having secured the services of a sailing captain, British laws not allowing the clearance of a vessel under the British flag, except under the command of one who holds a certificate of competence, we sent our luggage on board one evening, and sat down to our last meal on British soil. There were many guests at the table; several of our friends having come on from London to see us take our departure, and toasts were duly and enthusiastically drank to the success of "the cause." The privileged old head-waiter, dressed in professional black, (and ridiculously like an old magpie as he hopped about the room with his head on one side,) "whose custom it was of an afternoon" to get drunk, but always with Scotch decorum, nodded approval of the festivities, until, overcome by his feelings (or Usquebaugh) he was obliged to withdraw.
We bade adieu to our friends late at night, and went on board early next morning. In addition to the Scotch artisans already mentioned, there were several young gentlemen who were about to return home in the Giraffe. These youths had been prosecuting their studies in Germany. They were now about to return home to enter the army. Two of them, Messrs. Price and Blair, are now Professors in Virginia Colleges, after doing their duty as brave and faithful soldiers during the war. It is well known that many thousands of young men, the flower of the South, served as privates during the whole of our struggle for independence; and it is equally well known that they never flinched from dangers or privations.
Many years ago an expedition under the command of Lieutenant Strain, of the United States Navy, was sent to make a reconnoissance across the Isthmus of Darien. The party lost their way among the morasses and almost impenetrable forests, and endured frightful hardships. But the officers survived, while many of the men succumbed to fatigue and famine. During our war, the youths of gentle blood and tender nurture displayed equally wonderful endurance.
We parted from the Major on the wharf before going on board. He promised to meet us in Richmond; preferring himself to return via. New York; and we did not doubt his ability to keep his promise; for he seemed to experience no difficulty in passing and repassing through the lines at his pleasure during the war. He was in Washington, indeed, at the time when President Lincoln was assassinated, and was arrested as an accomplice in that great crime. His numerous friends who had so often suffered from his practical jokes, would have been pleased no doubt, to see how he appreciated the jest, when his head was tied up in a feather pillow to prevent him from defrauding the law by committing suicide in the murderer's cell. The shrill sound of a whistle was heard in the theatre just before Booth committed the act; and when the Major was arrested in his bed at the hotel a few hours afterwards, a whistle was found in his pocket. It was damaging evidence, but he escaped prosecution as an accomplice by adopting the advice once given by Mr. Toney Weller, and proving an alibi.
CHAPTER VII.
Voyage to Madeira.—A Capital Sea-boat.—The Island Ponies.—Mr. B. and his daughters.—Voyage to St. John's, Porto Rico.—Run across the Bahama Banks.—Nassau during the War.—High Wages and Low Characters.—Crew re-shipped.—Failure to enter Charleston.—The "Lump."—A Narrow Escape.—The Scotch Lithographers and their work.—Crossing the Bar.—Transfer of the Giraffe to the Confederate Government.—She becomes the "R. E. Lee."—The Major fulfills his promise, but fails in his object.