[Illustration:  ATTACK ON ROANOKE ISLAND—­LANDING OF THE TROOPS.]

The Varuna did terrific work, her gunners displaying fine markmanship.  The formidable craft Governor Moore had detected her in the early morning light, and steaming after her, fired a shot when only a hundred yards away, but missed.  The Varuna replied, killing and wounding men on the Governor Moore at every shot.  One of the enemy’s shot, however, raked the Varuna, killing four men and wounding nine.  Another struck the Varuna’s pivot gun and killed and wounded a number more.  Then the Governor Moore rammed the Varuna twice in quick succession.

But while the Confederate was doing so, Boggs planted three 8-inch shells into his antagonist, which set her on fire and compelled her to drop out of action.  Her loss had been heavy and her engines were so battered that her commander ran her ashore, where she was burned to the water’s edge.

Out of the misty light burst the Stonewall Jackson and rammed the Varuna on the port side, repeating the blow with a viciousness that stove in the vessel below the water line; but the Varuna swung the ram ahead until her own broadside guns bore, when she planted several 5-inch shells into the Stonewall Jackson, which set her on fire and caused her to drift ashore.

But the Varuna had been mortally hurt and was sinking fast.  To quote the words of Commodore Boggs:  “In fifteen minutes from the time the Varuna was struck by the Stonewall Jackson, she was on the bottom, with only her topgallant forecastle out of the water.”

But those were exceedingly lively minutes for the Varuna and the other craft in her neighborhood.  Commander Boggs turned her prow toward shore and crowded all steam, firing his guns as the water rose about the trucks.  When the last shell left the side of the sinking vessel the current had reached the mouth of the piece, and some of it was blown out like mist with the shrieking missile.

The moment the bow of the Varuna struck the bank a chain cable was fastened around the trunk of a tree, so as to prevent her from sliding into deep water as she went down and taking the wounded and dead with her.  This was a precaution which would not have occurred to every man in the situation of Commander Boggs.

The daring conduct of this officer brought a tribute from one of our poets, which contains the stanzas: 

“Who has not heard of the dauntless Varuna? 
  Who shall not hear of the deeds she has done? 
Who shall not hear while the brown Mississippi
  Rushes along from the snow to the sun?

“Five of the rebels like satellites round her,
  Burned in her orbit of splendor and fear,
One like the Pleiad of mystical story
  Shot terror-stricken beyond her dread sphere.”