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228 opinion, or that of any one else; for he rarely addressed any of us off duty, and never asked the advice or opinion of his subordinates on weighty matters." 8

I do not know what better testimony to respectability, sanity, and conservatism could be had than that of Alexander H. Stephens, and Stephens speaks of Semmes as follows: "For some years before secession he was at the head of the Lighthouse Board in Washington. He re- signed as soon as Alabama seceded, though he agreed with me thoroughly in my position on that question, as his letters to me show. He was a Douglas man, and you need not therefore be surprised when I tell you that I considered him a very sensible, intelligent, and gallant man. I aided him in getting an honorable position in our navy, and in getting him afloat as soon as possible, which he greatly desired." 9

Fortunately, however, we are not obliged to depend on any external testimony. We have plenty of writing of the man's own which throws wide light upon his soul. He kept a careful log-book of both his cruises. This was used as a basis for the book written about him, called, "Log of the Sumter and Alabama," and again, by himself, in his huge " Memoir of Service Afloat during the War Between the States." But the original, as printed in the "Official Records," is far more valuable than the later studied and literary narratives.

To begin with, one cannot help being impressed with his fine intelligence. He had a mind constantly working,