As, still carrying on, we rapidly approached the handsome craft, I was busily engaged, with the aid of my glass, in discovering, one after the other, the various points of resemblance between her and the vessels that had been described to us, and I could have kicked myself with vexation when, in answer to the hoisting of our ensign, we saw the Stars and Stripes of the United States flutter out over her taffrail and go soaring aloft to her gaff-end.  And almost at the same instant, she now being out of the dazzle of the sun, I was able to read, legibly inscribed on her stern, the words "Virginia.  New Orleans!"  With the usual perverse luck that had attended the efforts of the British, we had dropped upon the wrong ship of the pair; the _Virginia_ was American, and we had no power to interfere with her.  Nevertheless, having gone so far in the matter as to bring her to, I was determined to board her and get a sight of her papers; a Spanish vessel might hoist American colours if she happened to find herself in a tight corner and believed that she might thereby escape.  While, as for the name--ah! that certainly was a difficulty not to be easily got over; a ship could scarcely change the name painted on her stern as easily as a chameleon changes his colour, without affording some indication that the change had been made.  Still, the slavers were up to all sorts of extraordinary dodges, and--well, I would at least inspect the _Virginia's_ papers, and satisfy myself that they were in order.