was that she was found in splendid health. She came off in a boat, and as it was rough, a whip and a boatswain's chair was gotten from the yard arm, and she, with perfect self-possession, got into it and told the men when to hoist. She was very irate with her husband and told him that he should have saved his ship by keeping on. We burned the ship.
An amusing incident I will here relate. Captain Nichols was very much depressed at the loss of his vessel and was moodily pacing the deck. It was Lieutenant Chew's watch. Chew was a good, kind hearted fellow and he wanted to comfort the poor captain, and approaching said some cheering words. Poor Captain Nichols was not to be comforted. Chew, very scientific, then said, "captain, upon what small actions important results depend. Just think that if at daylight this morning you had changed your course one-quarter of a point you would have passed out of our reach or sight." The captain turned and said, 'That shows how darned little you know about it, for this morning at daylight I just did change my course 'a quarter of a pint,' and that's what fetched me here." Chew retreated but it was heard, and it was a long time before he heard the last of that comforting conversation. Mrs. Nichols and her little son, Phineas, six years old, with her husband, had a comfortable cabin, but she was always bitter and never appreciated our kindness.
January 25, 1865, arrived at Melbourne, Australia, and our prisoners, after being paroled, went ashore in shore boats with their effects. Mrs. Nichols' last words were to express a hope that we would come to grief. I cannot blame her much. The Shenandoah needed caulking and docking to repair the shaft bearings. We were given permission to do the work necessary for safety at sea. The population were generally kind and hospitable and treated us with marked courtesy. They came on board by thousands. Soon, however, enemies attempted to draw our men from us, but generally failed.
We had myriads of applications to enlist, but we had had notice given us not to violate the Queen's proclamation of neutrality, forbidding shipping men, and we refused all. Men of their own volition, or, as we were persuaded at the time, in many cases were secreted on board, to entrap us into some viola-
