CHAPTER XII.
_The new vessel--Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera--Accommodation on board--Cost--Laws of neutrality--Necessary caution--The 29th of July--A breakfast party--The scene changed--Off--The pursuit--Too late._ The vessel to which Captain Semmes was now appointed had been built expressly for the Confederate navy, by Messrs.

Laird and Sons, of Birkenhead.

She was a small fast screw steam-sloop, of 1040 tons register, not iron-clad, as was at one time erroneously supposed, but built entirely of wood, and of a scantling and general construction, in which strength had been less consulted than speed.

Her length over all was about 220 feet, length of keel, 210 feet; breadth of beam, 32 feet, and 18 feet from deck to keel.

She carried two magnificent engines, on the horizontal principle, constructed by the same firm, and each of the power of 300 horses; while her coal-bunkers were calculated to accommodate about 350 tons of coal.
The Alabama, or as she should as yet be called, "No.