"Yes, daughter; not the camels of the desert, however," returned the captain, giving her a slightly amused smile.
"Nautical camels are hollow cases of wood, made in two halves, so as to embrace the keel and lay hold of the hull of a ship on both sides. Those cases are first filled with water and sunk, in order to be fixed on. The water is then pumped out, and while that is being done the vessel gradually rises; and that process is continued till at length it passes over the shoal."
"Perry must certainly have been a very persevering and energetic man," remarked Mrs. Travilla.
"He certainly was all that and more," returned the captain; "a brave, patriotic, Christian man. It has been truly said that the courage with which the Lawrence was defended has been hardly, if ever, surpassed; and that his real claim to fame rests less on his actual victory than on the pluck, energy, and readiness to adapt himself to circumstances, which he showed in the preparation of the two brigs and getting them and the other vessels out in the lake, collecting sailors, etc. But it is singular that the American public have always made so much more of his victory over an inferior force, than of McDonough's on Lake Champlain, which was won against decided odds in vessels, men, and metal."
"Oh, papa!" cried Lucilla, in a slightly reproachful tone, "you are really the last person I should have expected to try to belittle Perry's hard-won victory."
"My child, I am not doing that," returned her father in gentle, reproving accents. "I would not have Perry's fame lessened, but McDonough's increased."
"Excuse me, papa dear, I might have known that," she responded penitently.
"What is the name of that little island lying at the mouth of the bay, captain?" queried Evelyn.