He Never Mentioned His Own Name, But Introduced Me As 'my Friend Captain Cole.' Now, In Those Days, Captain Cole Was Well Known As A Distinguished Naval Officer.

To Russell's absent and engineering mind, 'Coke' had suggested 'Cole,' and 'Captain' was inseparable from the latter.

It was a name to conjure with. Captain Anderson took off his cap, shook me warmly by the hand, expressed his pleasure at making my acquaintance, and hoped I, and my friend Mr. - ahem - would come into his cabin and have luncheon, and then allow him to show me over his ship. Scott Russell was far too deeply absorbed in his surroundings to note any peculiarity in this neglect of himself and marked respect for 'Captain Cole.' We made the round of the decks, then explored the engine room. Here the designer found himself in an earthly paradise. He button-holed the engineer and inquired into every crank, and piston, and valve, and every bolt, as it seemed to me, till the officer in charge unconsciously began to ask opinions instead of offering explanations. By degrees the captain was equally astonished at the visitor's knowledge, and when at last my friend asked what had become of some fixture or other which he missed, Captain Anderson turned to him and exclaimed, 'Why, you seem to know more about the ship than I do.'

'Well, so I ought,' says my friend, never for a moment supposing that Anderson was in ignorance of his identity.

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