men at the improvised steering tackle and killed many of the wounded.

The "Huascar" was now heading northeast. Several shots struck her funnel, driving soot, fragments of iron, and smoke down into the stoke-hold, and rendering it quite impossible to see the water gauges. In consequence the water in the boilers fell too low, and some tubes having burned through, there was a great escape of steam, which led the Chilians to believe that they had hit the boilers. At 10.25 there was a lull in the engagement, as the “Huascar's" colors were shot away, and it was thought that she had surrendered. A gun-loader went aft, and hoisted another flag. At once the Chilians resumed firing. Once more they hit the turret, and the shell, bursting inside, killed or mortally wounded every one in it. Commander Aguirre, upon whom the charge of the ship had devolved, was killed. He was standing a little to the left of the breech of the left gun, at the sighting-hood, when the explosion came. Lieutenant Palacios, who was in the turret, was horribly wounded. The command had passed to Lieutenant Garezon, once fourth officer. The ship was no longer manageable; she was on fire in more than one place; all the trained gunners lay in mutilated fragments in the turret, or were grievously wounded: but still the fight went forward. The engines were kept going, and a third crew, manning the left turret-gun, fired it at intervals. But the end was near. The "Cochrane" made an attempt to ram, when, as so often, a chance movement saved the "Huascar." Both Chilian ships were now close upon her, still maintaining their overwhelming fire. The "Covadonga" too came up, and as if to claim a share in the fight, fired one gun at the turret-ship. It was now that a shot, fired probably by accident from the "Blanco," struck the "Cochrane," and entering her unarmored stern, wounded ten men, two mortally.

The "Huascar's" plight was desperate. She could scarcely move, as her fires had fallen through the choking of the funnel. Lieutenant Garezon therefore determined, at 10.50, to sink her. He sent orders to the chief engineer to open the valves and let in the water. But meantime some of the crew, who were not minded, having fought with such gallantry, to lose all, had gone

forward and waved towels. On this both the "Cochrane" and "Blanco" had sent boats with surgeons and engineers. Boarding the "Huascar," they found her engineer engaged in opening the main injection valve, and at once stopped him. Their next work was to get the fires out and attend to the wounded. The interior of the ship was in a horrible condition. On the main deck the wardroom and stern cabin were quite destroyed; there was hardly a trace of the bulkhead; the contents of the staterooms were strewn about the flooring, and the upper deck ceiling was one mass of powder and disintegrated human remains. The engines and boilers, and the turret-winches were untouched. One hundred and forty prisoners, thirty-five of whom were English, were taken on board the "Huascar." The Peruvian killed and wounded numbered sixty-four.

The "Huascar," after her capture, was patched up by the Chilians and taken to Valparaiso, where she was repaired, and received two new 40-pounder Armstrong breech-loaders. Her transference to the Chilian fleet destroyed Peru's chance of facing Chili at sea, and gave the latter power the command of the seaa command which was used with judgment and skill. Henceforward the Chilian towns were freed from the risk of bombardment, and operations were transferred to the northern waters of Peru. Though between them Peru and Bolivia had armies of 88,000 men in the field, a Chilian expeditionary force of 30,000 was enabled to strike at their isolated detachments, and destroy them in detail.

The land engagement at Miraflores, which was fought on the 15th of January, 1881, decided the fate of Peru. In this battle the Chilian losses were about 1,200 and the Peruvian 6,000. Peace was then made between Chili and Bolivia, the latter agreeing to surrender her coast provinces and to terminate her alliance with Peru. In the following year Peru ceded to Chili her southern provinces and paid a war indemnity, which left her in a crippled condition.

THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

BRITISH BROADSIDES AND EGYPTIAN FORTS - HOW ADMIRAL SEYMOUR SPIKED THE GUNS

E

A. D. 1882

ARLY in May, 1882, Egypt, a province of the Ottoman Em

pire nominally, but practically independent, was found in a state of revolution. The khedive informed the representatives of the foreign powers that Mahmoud Pasha, President of the Council of Ministers, had used language of a most insulting nature with reference to their consuls, and uttered threats against all European residents. On being questioned by the consuls, Mahmoud denied the accusation, and proposed to resign; thus a split in the Cabinet appeared imminent, and the name of the now wellknown Arabi Pasha became prominent as his probable successor.

Goaded on by him, the Egyptian Ministry attempted to override the authority of the khedive, and to usurp his supreme functions, with the view, it was believed, of replacing Mohammed Tewfik Pasha by himself (Arabi) on the khedivial throne. Arabi had the boldness to summon an assembly of the Notables by his own order an act which was competent for no one save the khedive himself.

Such was the commencement of the Anglo-Egyptian war; but other issues were involved, particularly that of the Suez Canal, which England desired kept open for the benefit of her Indian commerce. There was then no direct evidence to show that Arabi contemplated serious interference with it. Yet he had inscribed on his banners: "Egypt for the Egyptians!" and ere long a plot for the complete destruction of the Suez Canal was discovered-the plan of a Russian officer.

On June 11, the populace of Alexandria, one of the most turbulent in the world, broke into savage riots. Matters went from bad to worse: the khedive became the puppet of Arabi, Europeans in hundreds fled the country, while a powerful British squadron, under the command of Admiral Seymour, looked on.

Meanwhile says H. W. Wilson, in the following excellent account of the bombardment which ensued-it was noticed from the ships that the fortifications which line the southern shore were being strengthened by the Egyptians, and that numerous guns were being mounted. These works bore on the ships, and threatened the ships. Thereupon a polite communication was addressed to the Egyptian government, requesting the stoppage of all defensive works, under penalty of bombardment. In reply, the admiral was assured that no such works were being constructed, and profuse appeals were made to his humanity. These were backed up by the foreign consuls, with the warning that a bombardment would be certain to destroy neutral property. Admiral Seymour was by no means convinced by these assurances; the works could be seen progressing night after night; and very wisely he kept a sharp lookout upon the Egyptians, making quiet reconnaissances during the day on land, and using his searchlights after dark. The arming of the forts was continued with the frankest impudence, and by the "Alexandra's" projectors soldiers could be seen busily employed on the works. The matter came to a head when Lieutenant Smith-Dorrien, while ashore on leave, noticed two guns being mounted upon Fort Silsileh. He submitted an affirmation to the admiral, on the strength of which a council of war was held on board the "Helicon," and the decision to forward an ultimatum to the Egyptians was arrived at. The Egyptians were therefore warned that unless the batteries on Ras-el-Tin and the south side of the harbor were "temporarily surrendered for purposes of disarmament," the British squadron would attack them. To this, with more virtuous protestations, Ragheb Pasha replied that he would dismount three guns on the batteries named. An exodus of foreigners who yet remained in the city began at once.

Admiral Seymour was not the man to be cajoled with delusory assurances. Finding that the Egyptians had no intention of com

plying, on July 10 he informed them that if the works were not given up at once he would bombard on the 11th. All that day neutral shipping was leaving the harbor, while there was a bustle of preparation on board the English ships. In the course of the morning Ragheb Pasha came off to the "Invincible" to ask, indignantly, what all this meant. He was informed of the English demands and departed disconcerted. The British ironclads began to take up their stations, and one by one the foreign men-of-war present left the harbor, while the British ships' bands played them out. The telegraph ship "Chiltern," which was in port, had picked up the submarine cables to Malta and Cyprus, establishing an office on board.

The English fleet off Alexandria was a formidable one. The flagship "Alexandra" could fire ahead two 25-ton and two 18-ton guns, and on the broadside, one 25-ton and five 18-ton guns. The weight of her broadside was 2,592 pounds. She had a complete armor-belt on the water-line and good protection on her central battery. She was fully rigged. The "Inflexible" was marked by extensive unarmored ends, while in a citadel in the center of the ship all the protection and armament were concentrated. She mounted four 81-ton guns in two turrets, placed en échelon, so that all four could fire ahead or through a limited arc on either broadside. She was the first ship in the British navy to carry compound armor, Her broadside weighed 6,880 pounds, and her guns and turrets were worked by hydraulic power. The "Sultan" was an inferior "Alexandra," firing ahead two 12-ton guns, and on the broadside four 18-ton and two 12-ton guns. The weight of one discharge from these was 2,152 pounds. The "Superb" was in general outline similar to the "Sultan," and, like her, was fully rigged. She brought eight 18-ton guns to bear on the broadside, firing projectiles of the weight of 3,280 pounds. The "Temeraire" was a ship of remarkable design, combining the central battery with barbettes fore and aft. In each of these barbettes was mounted a 25-ton gun on the Woolwich disappearing carriage, which brings the gun down out of sight by the force of the recoil, after it has been fired. Ahead, she brought to bear three 25-ton guns, and on the broadside three 25-ton and two 18-ton guns. The