These vessels were not regular men-of-war, and they did not take their prizes into port for adjudication, as is usual in war, always burning what they could catch and capture.  However, during war I suppose all must be considered as fair play.  While on the subject, I will recount one or two exploits performed by these enterprising mail-boats.  When lying off Sulina, one of the ironclad corvettes under my command arrived from Constantinople, where her captain reported having chased a well-known Russian mail-steamer called the ‘Vesta’; that they had exchanged a few shots, that he had not followed her because his deck was loaded with guns for the Sulina batteries.  I thought no more about it till about a fortnight afterwards I saw in the ‘Times’ a paragraph headed, ’Turkish ironclad driven off and nearly destroyed by the Russian mail-boat cruiser “Vesta."’ This paragraph, which was founded on the official report of the captain of the ‘Vesta,’ was most sensational.  It gave a graphic description of how the ‘Vesta’ had engaged at close quarters a Turkish ironclad, killing her crew; how officers in European uniform had been seen directing the working of the ironclad’s guns, &c.; how her sides were crimson with the torrents of blood pouring from her decks, and how she would have been surely captured had the ‘Vesta’ been provided with sufficient ammunition to enable her to continue the bloody fight.  It added that the gallant Russian commander was received with the greatest enthusiasm on his arriving at Sebastopol, and immediately promoted to high rank and covered with decorations.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read this utter nonsense.  I know the Russians; they are brave and loyal fellows, and few indeed are there among them who have done (to say the least of it) so foolish an act as to make so unfounded a report.

However, the commander, whose name I will not mention, did not long wear his laurels.  I suppose he trusted to the Turks saying nothing about it; but the truth was at last made public.  A court-martial was assembled to try the case, and I believe he was dismissed from the service and deprived of his decorations.  At all events I know for certain that he was disgraced by his superiors, and held up to ridicule by his brother officers.  Serve him right!  Swagger is always an error, and I don’t think naval officers are generally given to it.

The next exploit of these cruisers I shall refer to was one that came under my own eyes, and was exceedingly interesting.

I was anchored with my flag-ship, a fine thirteen knot ironclad, and a couple of other vessels, at a port some few miles to the north of Varna, taking in coals, when the look-out man reported that he saw on the horizon a column of smoke.  I knew that this was not a Russian cruiser, because these vessels always burnt smokeless coal.  I guessed, however, what it was, namely, that one of the Russian cruisers was burning an unfortunate coasting vessel.  On