THE SEA-SEKPENT. 113 



dismisses! thy sons in an opposite direction ! Thou 

 unmatchable town, that, devouring the oyster, still 

 delightest in the shell ! Whose mansions, streets, 

 and roads, are all of shell-work ; that blindest the 

 eyes of thy people with concrete dust, and with 

 concrete walls defendest thyself against the ap- 

 proach of thy enemies ! Thou mathematical para- 

 dox, whose angles become right lines by " order of 

 council," and whose right lines are as tortuous as 

 angles ! Thou financial wonder ! whose taxes in- 

 crease as thy means diminish, and whose inhabit- 

 ants grow rich by borrowing from each other ! 

 Oh, Beaufort! lovely always, but like a freckled 

 beauty, loveliest at a distance! what a storm of 

 excitement burst over you on this eventful night, 

 and startled you from your accustomed somnolency ! 

 There was many a lovely eye that did not close a 

 lid, for fear of the encroachment of the serpent ! 

 There was many a manly heart that waked as well, 

 but throbbed with impatience to grapple with, and 

 subdue him ! They did not sleep ; long before 

 midnight the lieges of Beaufort were afloat, intent 

 on mischief. Prominent among them was Capt. 

 J. G. B., once the honored captain of the Beaufort 

 Volunteer Guards now the commander of the con- 

 solidated corps of artillery and guards. He was to 

 command the artillery of the expedition. A man 



