news of it to a ship merchant at Alexandria who passed on the word to Cobb. “What you do must be done quickly, for the embargo will be upon you at 10 A.M. on Sunday.” Cobb tells the story of his achievement. “It was now Friday P.M. We had about a hundred tons of ballast on board which must be removed, and upwards of three thousand barrels of flour to take in and stow away, provisions, wood, and water to take on board, a crew to ship, and get to sea before the embargo took possession. I found that we could get one supply of flour from a block of stores directly alongside the ship, and by paying three-eighths of a dollar extra, we had liberty if stopped by the embargo to return it.” But Cobb meant to regain for his employers that three-eighths of a dollar, and the tidy additional profit that was to be made on a cargo of American flour at Cadiz. “Saturday morning was fine weather. About sunrise I went to the ‘lazy corner’ so called, and pressed into service every negro that came upon the stand and sent them on board the ship, until I thought there were as many as could work. I then visited the sailors’ boarding-houses, where I shipped my crew, paid the advance to their landlords, and received their obligations to see each sailor on board at sunrise next morning. It had now got to be about twelve o’clock, and the ship must be cleared at the custom house before one. ‘Why Cobb,’ said the collector there, ‘what’s the use of clearing the ship? You can’t get away. The embargo will be here at ten o’clock to-morrow morning. And even if you get your ship below, I shall have boats out that will stop you before you get three leagues to sea.’ Said I, ‘Mr. Taylor, will you be so kind as to clear my ship?’ ‘Oh, yes,’ said he. And accordingly the ship was cleared and I returned on board and found everything going on well. Finally, to shorten the story, at nine that evening we had about three thousand and fifty barrels of flour, one longboat on board in the chocks, water, wood and provisions on board and stowed, a pilot engaged, and all in readiness for the sea.” The tide served at eight in the morning, the sailors were aboard, the pilot had come, and down the narrow, winding river they started with a fair wind that helped them on the first leg of their journey. But at Hampton Roads, in a dead calm, the government boat hove in sight. “Well,” said Cobb to his mate, “I fear we are gone.” But it was never his way to give up hope while a move in the game remained to him: when the boat was so near that with his glass he could descry the features of its crew, a breeze came puffing along, and he made for sea. In about ten minutes the boat gave up the chase, Mr. Taylor, of Alexandria, satisfied, no doubt, that he had discharged his duty.