A somewhat similar position I have so often seen, in fact, taken part in, of a craft running for dear life into Charleston or Wilmington, across the bows of blockading ships just at daylight.  I saw that he was firing up all he knew, and was going at a tremendous speed.  I signalled to my despatch boats to chase, and when my flag-ship was within about a mile and a half I fired a blank gun to make him show his colours.  To this he replied by firing his long Armstrong gun with such effect that the shot cut away the stanchion of the bridge on which I was standing.  Now, gallant fellow as he was, in doing this he was wrong; he should have shown his colours and run (if he knew he wasn’t honest) for the shelter of a neutral flag, but not fired at a man-of-war, who in her duty as forming part of the police of the seas fires a blank gun asking for colours from a suspicious vessel.  He undoubtedly committed an act of piracy and gave me a splendid hold on him.

My despatch boats chased the blockade-runner close to Syra harbour, both parties keeping up a warm running fight.  When I recalled them, I found that this vessel was named the ‘Enossis.’  Her captain was a most courageous Greek, who thought of nothing but carrying his cargo and fighting to the last for his ship, evidently ignoring all laws, nor did he even think that on this occasion someone was acting against him who knew something of the rules of blockade, and who could have told him that an armed blockade-runner is a pirate, that is to say, if she uses her arms against a man-of-war.

I was so satisfied with what had occurred that I sent off one of my despatch boats to the Governor of Crete, telling him that he need not fear the blockade-runners any more, as they (the two others were lying in Syra harbour) had put themselves in so false a position that at all events for several weeks I could detain them at Syra.  I knew that one week would suffice to stop the revolt in Crete, as without the blockade-runners the insurrectionists had positively nothing to eat.

(I may as well at once observe that I was perfectly justified in saying this, for within three days, no blockade-runner arriving at the island, the insurgents laid down their arms and begged for bread.  And so ended the Cretan revolt.)

Having recalled the vessels I had sent to chase the ‘Enossis’ into Syra harbour, I steamed in the roads off that port, and anchored with three vessels.

I then sent to the authorities on shore at Syra, and demanded their assistance in arresting a vessel that had taken shelter in their port, which, as I stated in my despatch, had committed an act of piracy on the high seas, by firing at my flagship when the latter called upon her to show her colours by firing a blank gun.  At the same time I informed the authorities of Syra that, as the companions of the ‘Enossis’ were in the harbour, I should allow none of them to go to sea until the question of that vessel’s