talians had loaded only with the
cartridge, there was not a shot in the guns. This tells something of the
confusion on board.

Another Austrian ironclad and two of the gunboats made plucky efforts to
save some of the survivors of the "Re d'Italia," but they, too, were driven
off by the fierce attacks of Italian ships.

Meanwhile Petz with his wooden ships had fought his way through the Italian
rear. With his old three-decker he boldly rammed the "Re di Portogallo."
The Italian ship evaded the full force of the blow, but the tall wooden
vessel scraped along her side, starting several of her armour plates,
carrying away port-hole covers and davits, dragging two anchors from her
bows, smashing gun-muzzles and jerking four light guns into the sea. But
the "Kaiser" herself suffered from the close fire of the "Re di
Portogallo's" heavy guns and the shock of collision. Her stem and bowsprit
were carried away, the gilded crown of her figure-head falling on her
enemy's deck. Her foremast came crashing down on her funnel, and wrecked
it, and the mass of fallen spars, sails, and rigging was set on fire by
sparks and flame from the damaged funnel, the collapse of which nearly
stopped the draught of the furnaces and dangerously reduced the pressure on
the boilers and the speed of the engines.

The "Re di Portogallo" sheered off, but her consort, the "Maria Pia," came
rushing down on the disabled "Kaiser." Petz avoided her ram, and engaged
her at close quarters, but the shells of the "Maria Pia" burst one of the
"Kaiser's" steam-pipes, temporarily disabled her steering gear, and did
terrible execution in her stern battery. Petz himself was slightly wounded.
With great difficulty he extricated his ship from the melee, and cutting
away the wreckage, and fighting the fire that was raging forward, he
steered for San Giorgio, the port of Lissa, to seek shelter under its
batteries. His wooden frigates gallantly protected his retreat and escorted
him to safety, then turned back to join once more in the fight. This was
the moment when Albini with the Italian wooden squadron might easily have
destroyed Petz's division, but during the day all he did was to fire a few
shots at a range so distant that they were harmless.

Persano, in the "Affondatore," had for a moment threatened to attack the
"Kaiser," as she struggled out of the melee. He steamed towards her, and
then suddenly turned away. He afterwards explained that, seeing the plight
of