t to annex the
West to Canada. Half a century later, when the great Erie canal was
opened, the guns of Perry's fleet, placed at ten-mile intervals along
its banks, announced the departure of the first fleet of boats from
Buffalo, carrying the news to New York City, a distance of 360 miles, in
an hour and twenty minutes.

Perry lived only six years longer, dying while still a young man, in the
saddest possible manner. In June, 1819, he was given command of a
squadron designed to protect American trade in South American waters,
and while ascending the Orinoco, contracted the yellow fever, and died a
few days later. He was buried at Trinidad, but some years afterwards, a
ship-of-war brought him home, and he sleeps at Newport, Rhode Island,
near the spot where he was born.

So ends the story of that group of naval commanders, who dealt so
surprising and terrific a blow at the tradition of English supremacy on
the ocean.

* * * * *

The brother of the victor of Lake Erie, Matthew Calbraith Perry, must
also be mentioned here, for his was a unique achievement--the peaceful
conquest of a great Eastern empire. Born in 1794, and educated in the
best traditions of the navy, he was selected to command the expedition
which, in 1853, was ordered to visit Japan, that strange nation of the
Orient which, up to that time, had kept her ports closed to foreign
commerce. Perry's conduct of this delicate mission was notable in the
extreme, and its result was the signing of a treaty between Japan and
the United States which has long been regarded as one of the greatest
diplomatic triumphs of the age.

* * * * *

In the spring of 1861, a captain of the United States navy was living at
Norfolk, Va., his home, the home of his wife's family, and the home of
his closest friends. Excitement ran high, for it was as yet an open
question whether or not the great state of Virginia would join her
sisters farther south and renounce her allegiance to the Union. It was a
time of searching of hearts, and this man of sixty years was brought
face to face with the bitterest moment of his life. He must choose
between his country and his state; between his flag and the love and
respect of his relatives and friends.

In the end, the flag won. It was the flag he had taken his boyish oath
to honor; on more than one occasion, he had seen the haughtiest colors
on the ocean bow with respect before