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With the 'ophir' Round the Empire, an Account of the Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales
With the 'ophir' Round the Empire an Account of the Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales Author:William Maxwell General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1902 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER II. THE GOVERNOR OF GIBRALTAR. Arrival at " Gib." -- Sir George White -- Recollections of Lady- smith -- The Channel Squadron -- Again Under Weigh. WHEN Alexandra Dumas came to Gibraltar and saw the famous Rock shrouded in fog his surprise was great. A Frenchman and a novelist, he was not at a loss to explain this unnatural phenomenon. Before the arrival of the British the skies were blue and the air was clear. At first the Englishman was content; but, after a time, he was seized with an uneasy suspicion that something was wanting to his happiness. A brilliant genius made the discovery, and won the undying gratitude of his countrymen. " What we lack is a fog." Being an eminently practical people, the English made a fog, and lived happily ever after. Certain it is that rain and mist are often the lot of Gibraltar even when the Mediterranean is a sunny lake of laughing blue. On Tuesday, March the I2th, when the Si. George cast anchor in the Bay, the sun shone; but next day the rains descended, and dark clouds hung like a pall over the bold grey crag that keeps ward of the Straits, boding ill for the voyage of the Ophir. We left Portsmouth on Thursday, the 7th of March, and three days later sighted the coast of Portugal. The time had come for firing practice, and decks were cleared for action. Live shells were hoisted from the magazines, men mustered at their quarters, guns were run out, and two huge triangles of wood and canvas with flags at the corners were dropped astern as targets. The Juno, as senior ship, took command, and steamed ahead, flying signals that we were to follow in a circle...« less