MR. KNIGHT'S ADVENTURE. 283 the Porter was very near sending one of her torpedoes into the stern of a United States cruiser. Lieutenant Fremont,U.S.N., the commander of the torpedo boat, thus tells the story (Harper'sMagazine,November):— standstill within a hundred yards of each other andmutualexplanationsmade."

This incident is a very apt illustration of the difficulties of such service. The wonderis, not that such mistakes were made— they are made every year in peace manSuvres, where the danger of error is less— the marvel is that there were no disastrous consequences. On the sea the Spaniards were curiously inactive. But on the landBianco's troops were continually on the move, andkeptup asharp watch everywhere to prevent the squadron from landing supplies or reinforcements for the insurgents. How close was this watch is shown by a striking incident. Mr. E.F. Knight, the warcorrespondent of the Times,hadobtained aSpanish passport,and had gone to Florida in the hope of finding someship to land him in Cuba, it being his intention to enter Havanainorder to describe the expected siege from the Spanish side. After manyefforts he arranged for one of the small craft that followed the blockading fleet in the interest of the newspapersto bring him close to the Cuban coast and start him for the shore in a smallboat which he took with him for the purpose. He is one of the best amateur boatmenliving,and he expected to thus easily reach the shore by his own exertions.

" About two o'clock one morning a steamer was reported running towards Havana. It was an ideal night for torpedo attack, dark, with a strong wind blowing and occasional light rainsqualls. She was allowed to pass,but nothing definite could be made out, and as the Porter was well off to the eastward of Havana, the supposition was that it could not be oneof the blockaders. Droppinginto her wake, our speed was increased, all hands were called to their stations,and everypreparation made for attack. The Porter was now closing rapidly in, and through the smoke we could make out that the vessel ahead was a man-of-war,and a large one. At this time the whereabouts of the Spanish armed cruisers was unknown, and from what we could then see of the vessel ahead she answered their description perfectly. More steam was put on, and the Porter rushed up close on the quarter of the chase, well within torpedo distance and stillundiscovered. Being now so close that, even if discovered, we could not be stopped before the torpedo was discharged, and wishing to make no mistake, the night signal was made for an instant and then turned off. It brought no response.

He was launched on his venturous voyage, and was making good preigress through the rough waterbetween the shore and the steamer, when, just as the latter, believing he was all right, stoodout to sea, the boat was upset. His signals for help were unnoticed,and,having lost his oars, he found himself adrift, alone on the water,and swept by a current along the shore. More than once, to avoid the attacks of sharks, he bad to clamber on to the capsizedboat. The sun went down,and all night he drifted. Only hisgreat power of endurance and dogged pluck saved him from death. The dawn brought new hope of life. He was drifting ashore on a desolatepart of the coast. But even thedrifting boat had been marked by a Spanish patrol. The moment his boat touched land he was a prisoner. He was taken to Havana, where he was soon set at liberty, and was able to send to his paper a series of letters showing that, despite the blockade, Marshal Blanco was able to keep the city fairly well supplied, and that life and property were safe ;perfect order reigned in the city, and the population did not seem disposed to put any difficulty in the way of its defence. Indeed, during those first anxious days of the month of May, Havana "Excitement on the Porter was at fever heat, and theenforcedsilence and the nervous tension were hard to bear. That we had found the enemy,and that we hadhim all to ourselves,and had him where there was no possibility of his getting away, was such an unhoped-for opportunity that nothing short of firing and cheering would express what we felt, and the effort to repress these was most difficult. To make assurance doubly sure, the night signal wasagain made and the forward gun fired, immediately followed by a second. That we were now discovered was evident, and in a moment signal lights were shown and a gun fired at us. The signal lights shown werethe wrongones for that night, and only served to strengthen our conviction that the chase was an enemy. Full speed wasrung on the Porter, and the finalrush to torpedo was made, when, just in the nick of time, the identity of the ship was recognised; and, amidst shouting of orders to cease firing and hails through the megaphone- demanding lations, the vessels were brought to a