"t" 1."" J .
Ti.mis or thij An.niiA.s
HENRY B. MA8SER, J rcausatas n
JOSEPH EISBLY. Pwrtimm.
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Vol. 3 o. lti-Whole No, 120.
(Continued frotn last ifeffc.)
NAVAL COURT OF INQUIRY.
JUCKEMIE'S NARRVTIVK
U. S, Bl SoJSKRS, I
New York, Dec Itt, 1812.
In the evenYng 1 gave orders to Mt. Terry,
itty ch?rV, t have all the officers come aft upon
the quarter deck. When they -vera brought
rip, 1 approached Spencer end addressed him
thus: "1 understand, sir, that you aspire to
the command of the Somers. With a defer
ential air ho replied, "Oh, no, sir !" "Did
you not," caul I, ncl! Mr. Wales that you had
a mut inous project on Tool that yon intended
to kill the Commmder and the officers of the
Somers, and sucli of the crew as you could not
eeduce to yourplons, and to enter upon a course
f piracy 1" "I may have Told him something
like it," he replied, "ont it was only ajohe"
'You admit then, that yon told him of such a
plan " "Yes sir." This, sir, I continued,
'you must know is jnVitrg open a "forbidden
subject. This joke, sir, may cost you your
life. Be pleased, ir to remove your ncck
handkerchieC He did so. I looli it, and opened it, rrtft there
xvas nothing in it. 1 asked him what he had
done with the paper that was in it. "The
paper," said he "which had been in it, contain
ed my day's work, and 1 destroyed it,"" "It is
a strange place, si r," said J.'lo keep your ac
counts.'" lie acquiesced with an air of tire
greatest deference and blandness. I said to
him, "Your design was to make yourself com
mander of this vessel. You most have neen
aware that you could coTrrpass it only by pass
ing over my dead body, aiid over the dead bodies
of aTl the officers of the Somers. Yon have laid
out fur yourself, sir, a great deal to do. It is
my duty to confine you." Turning to Lieut.
Canscvoort, I said "Arrest Mr. Spencer, and
place him in double iron's.'" Lieutenant Gan-
eevoort stepped forward, and received from
Mr. Spencer his sword. Mr. Spencer was
then ordered to sit down ; he did so. Double
irons were then put upon liiin, as were also
hand cuffs, for greater security. I directed
Lieut. Gansevoort to place a watch over Mr.
Spencer, and to give orders to put him to in
stant death if he was detected in speaking or
holding communication with any of the crew.
The nature of these orders was told to Mr.
Spencer. At the same time, I directed him to
allow him every possible indulgence consist
ent with his 6a,fe keeping. Tho task was exe
cuted by Lieut. Gansevoort, with the greatest
kindness and humanity. While he watched
with an eagle eye over all his movements, and
was ready at a moment's warning to take his
life upon a violation of those conditions on
which his safety depended, he attended to all
tiis wants, covered him with his own garment
from the squalls of rain by which we were
visited, and ministered in every way to his
comfort with all the tenderness and assiduity of
a woman.
The officers were then remanded to quar
ters; the crew and batteries were inspected,
the orders were repeated, and the retreat was
beaten. The officers ofthc watch were all di
rected to be fully armed with cutlasses and
pistols, with rounds of ammunition, and every
thing was put in order for the aight.
On searching the locker of Spencer, a razor
' case was found in it, which he had recently
drawn from the purser. On opening it there
was no razor within, but in its atead a piece
of paper in which was rolled another. On the
inner paper was written a string of characters,
afterwards found to be Greek letters with
which Spencer was known to be familiar. It
fortunately happened that there was onboard
another individual who was well acquainted
with the Greek one whose knowledge of this,
as of everything el.-, was devoted wholly to the
service of his countrv
The Greek character?,
cn ue'nr converted into our own language by
Mr. Henry Rogers, proved to contain the plan
for the proposed mutiny. There wan a list of
the different members of the crew, some of
whom were marked certain and others doubt
ful ; some were marked to bo kept at all e
vents, and others to be destroyed. Those
were designated who were to do the work of
murder in the variousapartments; others were
to open the arm-chest, and the stations of all
were assigned.
The following day was Sunday, and all were
to be inspected at 10 o'clock. I took my sta
tion aft lor the purpose of observing Cromwell
and Small as they should come along on the
juartor deck. The persons of both were fault-
lesdy clean and neat they fremg aeiermincu
that their appeaiance should provoke no re
proof on account ofa fault in that particular.
Cromwell stood up to hia full stature, carry-
in? hi battle axe firmly and steadily', hia
cheeks pale, but hia eye fixed to starboard. He
wore a determined and a dangerous air. Small
presented a very different figure hia appear
anee was phastly ; Lis manner uneasy ; he
shifted hia weight from side to side, and hi
battle axe from hand to hand
k 1ft eye was r.evr for a moment f5ed, butj
always turned from me. attriou'ted his Con-'
duct to fear; though I now believe tlie busi
ness upon which ho had entered was repug
nant to his nature, but that his love for mo
ney Hud Turn was loo strong for his fidelity.
Five bells, or 10 o'clock, was the lime for di
tine Bcrvico. The first Lieutenant askpd if
he should call the Toll. I told nim ft Would be
best to wait till the lime was tip. Five bells
struck and all were called To rrmsler The
crew were all present, were unusually at
tentive, and their responses were more than ,
ordinary full and audible. In the examination j
their countenances exhibited nothing to excite
distrust.
In the afternoon the skr-sails and studding- j
sails were set. Gasely, one of the best of the
apprentices was sent aloft on the roya', yard to
malje some alteration in the rigging. At once
a sudden jerk was given to tire brace by Small
and anotlrer, wlw has nril been discovered, and
the fore-topmast, with the top-sail, topgallant-
staysafi arrfl Tread-gaff top-sail, aX once caiwe
down. Gasely was on the royal yard. I
scarcely dared to look to see the spot where
the boy hould fall. The next moment his
shadow appeared at the mast head, and I pre
sently discovered him examining, with admi
rable coolness what was to be done.
I did not dare to believe this carrying away
of the topma the work of treachery ; bul I
knew that an -occasion of this sort, such as the
loss of the boy, which should create confusion
and interrupt the duly ofthc officers, would lw
sought by them, if they were bent on the prose
cution of their enterprise. All possible mea
sures were taken to prevent conftifion. The
rigging was immediately restored and the
sails bent afresh. I'Very member ofthc crew
was employed, and all things were made to go
on with regularity. To my astonishment upon
the occurrence of this disaster, all the conspi
rators who were named in the programme of
Spencer, no matter in what part of the vessel
they were engaged at the time, immediately
mustered nt the mainmast whether animated
by some new-bom zeal to reive their country
or inten'linr to carry out their designs, I can
not say. This circumstance at once confirmed
my belief in the continued existence of the
danger. The eye of Spencer travelled con
tinually to the ma6t-head, and he cast quick
and stealthy glances about, as he had not done
before. The wreck was soon cleared away,
and supper piped.
After supper the same persons mustered at
the mast-head, and the sails were set Aflcr
quarters they dispersed. Still I did not think
it safe to leave Cromwell at liberty during the
night, which was emphatically the season of
danger. After consulting with Lieutenant
GanFevoort, I determined to arrest Cromwell.
An officer was sent to guard the rigging. I met
Cromwell at the foot of the Jacob's ladder,
going aft, and stopped him. I asked him about
the conversation he had had with Spencer. He
denied that it was he, and said, "It was not
nie.sir; it was Small." (Cromwell was the
tallest man on board the vessel and Small the
shortest.) Cromwell was immediately put in
irons. Small, being thus accused by an as
sociate, wus also ironed. The utmost vigi
lance was enjoined upon the officers. AH
were armed, and either my self or the first lieu
tenant was constantly on deck.
The next morning, which was MnnJay, the
26th of November, two crimes of considerttble
magnitude came to light. One of the men had
been detected in stealing from a boat, and I lie
steward had stolen money and given some of
it to Spencer. This wa no time to relax the
discipline ofthc ship, and both tho men were
punished to the extent of the law. It soon
.er found that a man nv.ucd Waltlmm had
I told M'I;,iiey where three bottles of wine wero
placed, and offered them to him. WKinley
was stationed near the arm chest and reported
this to the first lieutenant. Punishment of
Waltham, however, was postponed till the next
day, Punishment of the other two being over,
i thought that a fit opportunity to endeavor to
make an impression tion the crew. I had
good reason to think that the danger of the
conspiracy was not over. I believed that a
majority of the crew might be said to be in
general disaffected, and disposed to resist dis
cipline. Some mysterious agency had evi
dently been at work since the departure of the
Somers front New York; and this wa now
disclosed.
I explained to the crew the general naturo
of Spencer's plot and the atrocious character ef
thedesigns ho had formed. I took especial
care not to betray a suspicion that I thought
any particular one of them was deeply impli
cated, but exhorted all of them to repent of
their intentions and attend faithfully to their
duty. I took good care to assure them that the
majority of the crew miibt at all events share
the fate of the officers. 1 strove to divert their
minds from the pictures of kuccessful vice
I which Spencer had presented to them. I
Krccgnt up wr. rc ti m
imaree ef fnenda at
home ; I endeavored to impress upon their
minds the endearing nature of those ties ef
kindred from which Spencer had sought to
sever them fur ever, and cxpres.ed the hope
that within three weeks we should all be again
among out friends. I thanked God that he had
provided them all with deaT friends who wero
deeply interested in their welfare, and that
they had the prospect of so soon being once
more among them.
The effect of my address on them was vari
ous. r.Iany ol them seemed delighted at their
harrow delivery, and others seemed struck
with horror at the thought of tho terrible
danger they had escaped. Some seemed over
whelmed with terror al the anticipation of
punishment that awaited them. OUhhb were
overcome by thoughts of returning home, and
wept profusely at the mention of the fViends
they hoped so soon to see. I could not help he-
lievingthat all the crew were now tranquil,
and that the vessel was again safe. Having
observed that Spencer was ctrdeavoringlohold
intelligence with some of them, 1 directed the
faces of all the pristmcrs to bo turned aft, and
that no tobacco should be allowed them when
the supply they had upon their persons al the I
time ef their arrest should he exhausted. 1 I
fold them that I would see that they had every I
thing necessary for their comfort; that each
should have Ins ration; that they should bo
abundantly supplied with every thing necessary
for their health and convenience. Rut 1 told
them that tobacoo was only a stimulant, and
tli.il, as 1 wished their minus to become as quiet
and tranquil as possible, I could not allow them
lO 11?6 it
The day after Spencer's tohacro was stopped
his spirit gave wy. He would sit for a long
time with his face buried in his cloak, end
when he raised his head his face wa9 bathed
in tears. He was touched by the kind atten
tion of Mr. Gansevoort. He told him he was
not then in a state to speak of anything, but
that lie would the next dav tell him all-
would answer any question that might be put
to him
On Tuoi(lay after quarters, all hands were
again called to witness punishment, and Walt-
ham was punished to the extent of the law lor
offerinir three bottles of wine to McKinley. I
then spoke to the crew of the necessity of con
forming in all particulars to the orders
of the vessel, which were known. I told them
that every punishment inflicted on board must
I 1- I . L O - k" . 1 . 1
uC ....ue nnowu .o ui t-rar, o. 4,a,y,
anu mat me less ttiey were in amount me grea-
trr would be tho credit that would attach to the
commander and crew.
from tranquil. They collected in knots upon
the deck seditious words were heard among
them and they assumed an insolent and mena-
cing tone. Some of tho petty officers were ex-
ainined and found to be true to their colors, but
it was the general impression that the vessel
was far from being safe. There was reason to
fear that on that very night a rescue would be
attempted. I obtained a variety of intelligence
concerning conferences among the disaffected.
Individuals whom 1 had not supposed to be im- mediately assembled and entered upon the ex
plicated were found closely associated with se- animation of witnessess, who were sworn and
veral who were known to be among the disaf-
fected.and several times there were symptom
that they were about to strike the blow. Mr.
Wules once detected C. A. Wilson in drawing
out a hand spike from its place ; and on pre
senting his cocked pittot at him, he only offer
ed somo lame excuse. I became exceedingly
anxious, an'! remained consUu'ly on deck.
At 12 o'clock the watch was called. Mr.
McKinley, Green and one or two others miss
ed their muster: they could not be asleep, and
why they should be absent just at the time,
when they never had been before, was not easy
to be seen. hen they appeared, they Jul
had some lame excuse. They probably had
agreed to meet at that time and to commence
some act f violence. Green said ho could
not get aft. I sent him forward and ordered
him to take the forward look-nut for four hours,
I directed a close watch to bo kept up, and
dietrihuted the ethers in a similar n.anner.
At 1 o'clock others missed their muster, I
heard ef thin with the created Dressiness,
Where, I asked, was this to end! If the men
upon a bright night like this trecm mutinous
and disKsed to undertake the rescue of those
confined, on a lwd nicht. in a storm, in the
midbt of utter darkness, how much greater
will be tho probability of a re-cue ! If all
suspected should be ironed, would the danger
be over! What sympathy might not be felt
for the prisoners ! These matter crowded
urton mv mind. I considered the imm.'ieut
peril which hung over the lives of the officers
am! crew; I thought of the seas traversed in commendation into ertft-t. J wo other corvqu
erey direction by merchantmen, unarmed rators were almost as guilty as tho three tin
and dffVnrelese ; I thought of what was due gled out for execution : they could be kept con-
to the interests of commerce, to the safely of fined without extreme danger to th u'timato
the lives of thousands upon the deep, to the safety of the vessel. '",ie throe chief muti
anctity of the American flag en'ruted to neers w--tf tie olietj CBpab!o of nav;trl"'S
fry care, and to my cwn h.uuov. AJJ l- , -r(J ,v.iC v?:tl. Jh tbtW removal, t
considerations impressed me with the absolute
necessity of adopting some further means of
security for the vessel which had been given
to my charge.
I took counsel with the first lieutenant,
and was fortified in my purposes by finding
his opinion identical with my own. In so
graves ense, involving so many interests and
puch high responsibilities, I fe.t desirous of
having the opinion of all my officers Upon the
matter, though not a shadow of doubt remained
in my mind of the guilt of tho prisoners, should
their execution be deemed necessary. I did
not forget that the officers were still boys, and
that the responsibility of the proceedings must
rest upon the older and higher officers. Still 1
folt desirous to have their opinion, and accord
ingly addressed them the following letter :
U. S. rtRin Som, Nov. 00, 1812.
Gentlemen i lam desirous of avai'.inr mv-
self of your counsel in the very tcsponHihle po
sitiou in which I find myself placed. You are
aware of tho circumstances which resulted in
tfie confinement of Midshipman Spencer, ef
Boatswain's mate Cromwell, and of Seaman
Small; and 1 purposely abstain from entering
into details concerning tlrem. Necessarily ig-
nornnt, as I am, of the extent of dissatisfaction
among the crew who have so long been tam-
pored with, and knowing the susprcton which
attaches some vf the crew wlw are at large, I
address you, ond ask your united counsel as to
t,e bet course now to ho pursued : and 1 call
,w,n JO,, to take into deliberate and di.-passion-
ato consideralkn, the ennduct which will he
necessary lor a tafe continuance of the remain-
il.vr nf t'ftiir fri i ro bnr! tr tn It rr'if on r r vi!.
..ur opinion as to tlie proper method to be pur-
m r nm Vour obedient servant,
ALF.X. SLIDKLL MACKENZIE,
Lieui.Gnnscvooil.and others. Commander.
After I Imd written this letter, but before I
had sent it, at about 9 o'clock, Wilson, being
roiled in his attempt to get up an outbreak at
night, and feeding that he was narrowly watch
avJ no ,ongcr ka at llbortv cam0 futwarJ
and made some lame and worthless confession,
and requested that he might not be put in irons.
I told him that if he had made any reconfes
sion, in sincerity and truth, he should not be
molested : hut that it was an insult to his offi
cer to offer him so lame a story as that he hud
told. Nothing more could be gut out of him,
and he was immediately put in irons.
While on tho African coast I knew that he
, , ,....,, x,r-.irj:linri. ki.jfe. broad in
UiC m yj, al)d rulHilllg a plillt. lt wtl9 a
ginferular wcapori) ofno ,lse C3tci.pl bul l0 k,
u., i .. .?. .i... i..,.: ,..
I KM 1UU UVVll nLt.ll OoTU tut; vj uciui c sin- j,
ing his battle axe with a file, and had brought
one part of it to an ed ire. This w as a thing
never allowed or known before on board. Mc-
Kin!t-y was now arrested. Ho was evidently
the individual in every way tho most rjrmvJi-
ble of all concerned. .McKt-e was also put in
irn. They were made to sit down ; and
when the ir..ns were put on, I walked around
the batteries, Pillowed by Lieut. Gransevoort,
and made a careful inaction.
On the receipt of my letter the officers ini-
their testimony written down. In addition to
this each witness signed the evidence he gave:
In this employment the officers passed the
whole day without interruption, and without
taking the least food. I remained, myself, in
charge of the deck. The officers were excu
sed from watch duty and the watches were so
arranged that two in succession fell to me.
On the 1st December the First Lieutenant
presented mo with the following h-tter :
U. S. Urki SoMt'RH, Dec. 1, IS 12.
Sir; In answer to your letter requiringour
I counsel as to the best course to be pursued with
1 regard to the prisoners. Spencer, Cromwell,
and Small, wo have the honor to state, that tho
I evidence which has come to our knowledge, at
ter the most careful, deliberate ond dispassion
I ate consideration, which the exigency would
i
allow, is of such a nature as tocall for the most
decided action. We are convinced that in the
existing state of things, it will be impossible to
carry the prisoners to the Unite.! States. We
think that s-ifety to our lives, and honor to the
flag entrusted to our rhare, require that the
prisoners be p-.it to death, a the course best
calculated to make a salutary impression upii
the rest of the crew. In this decision we trust
w e have been guided hy out duty to God, to our
Country and to the service.
Respectfully, your obedient servants,
Lieut. GANSL'VOOIir, and others.
Com. Mac kinmb.
I at once concurred in thejift'ce of this o-
pinion, and made preparations to curry the re
motive to capture the ve.ssr and carry out the
orig'nnl design would best once taken away.
Their lives were justly forfaited, and the inter-
ets of the ennn'ry, thp safety of tlic sea and the
safety ofthe flag reqiiired the sacrifice.
In the. necessity of mij petition IfirunA my
law: and in that meessilu I trvtt fnrjuntifi-
cation. I thought it best to arm the petty offi
cers ; on this point or.ry the first Lieutenant
differed from me : and l found thnt he was of
the same opinion with pome of the peHy offi
cer'! themselves ; they ssM tlirt sinep could
not teil whom to trust, it Would b- b st totrut
no one. I made up my own mind, sr.d j'l lge-J
ofthe characters whom I could trust and deter
mined to arm them. I ordered to be issfied to
each a cutless, pistol and cartridje. I ordered
preparation also to be made for execution of the
three. All hands were called to witness pun
ishtner.t. The whips were arranged, tho offi
cers were stationed about the deck, and the
petty officers were directed to cut down every
errcwlro should let go his whip or fail to haul
when ordered.
I pnl en my full uniform, came on deck and
proceeded to execute the most painful duty that
ever devolved upon any officer in the Ameri
can navy the annonnCnrrrent to tho prisoner
of the fate that awaited them. I approached
Spencer and said to him, "You were about to
take my life, Mr. Spencer, without provocation,
witlrout cause er the slightest offence. You
intended to kill mc suddenly in the right,
w hile I was buried in sleep, without giving me
a single moment to send one word of affection
to my wife, one prayer to Gcd for her welfare.
Your life is now f.n-feited ; and the necessity of
the ca?c compels me to take it. 1 do not in
tend, however, to imitate you in the mode of
claiming sacrifice. It there be in your breast
one feeling true to nature, you will be grateful
for the prematura disclosure of yoor horrible
designs, You surely ought to be thank fat that
you have been prevented from the terrible
deeds you meditated. It you have any word to
send to your father, any satisfaction to express
to him that you were not allowed to become a
pirate, as you ought to do, yuu will have ten
minutes granted in which to write it." Mid
shipman Thompson was then directed to note
the time and inform me when it had expired.
Spencer seemed overmcimc with emotion,
lie burst into a flood of tears, sank on his knees,
and said he was not fit to die. I repeated to
him his catechism, and begged himlo ofh?r sin
cere prayers for the divine forgiveness. 1 re
commended to him the English Prayer Boo!;,
armoring him that he would find in lt something
suited toall his nccessitres. Cromwell fell up
on his knees, protesting his innicence, and in
voking the name of h;s wffl Spencer decla
red that CrnmwHl was innocent, and begged
that hia wiht be b-i;;veJ. Th's, I confess, '
stoppered me ; but thf evidence o" hia guilt wns
conrlufive. Lieut. Ginsevoort Mid that there
was not a shadow of doubt of it.
The petty officers said he was one man from
whom real opprehnsicn was entertained. He
was al first the accomplice of Spencer, and was
then urged on by him, nnd had been by him
turned to his account. I tr'u'd to show him how
Cromwell hsd endeavored to use him, and told
Spencer that he had made remarks about him
he would not consider flattering. He expres
sed great anxiety to know what they Were. 1
toll him Cromwell had said ot him 8nd another
person that there was a "d d fool on one side,
and a d d knaeon the other' and told him
that Cromwell would have allowed him to live
only so long aa he Could have made tiim tisviul
to himself. This routed him, and from that
time ho tid no more of Cromwell's innocence.
Subsequent circumstances made me btlievo
that Spencer wished to save htm, probable from
the hope that he would yet get possession ofthe
vessel and carry out his original design; and
perhaps that Cromwell would in some way ef
fect his rescCe. He endeavored at the same
time to persuade me that Small was only an
aliss for some one vise, on his list though this
was prm-cd to be fulse. Small alone was the
one we nail set uown as me pouroon in ine
three ; yet he received the announcement of
his fite with gieat composure. He was asked
what preparation he wished to muke. He said
he had none : "Nobody carea for me," said he,
"but my poor mother, and 1 would rather she
should not know what hits btcoure of ine."
I returned to Sitncer. 1 ankfd him nt
menage he had to send to his friends. He
said "None. Tell them 1 dm wishing them e
very blessing and happiness. I deserve death
fur this and my other crimes. There are few
crimt-sthtitl have not committed. I am sincere
ly penitent for them all. I only frar my repen
lance is too late." I asked him if there was
any mi wlunn he had injured to whom ,ie
could make reparation any one who waa
1 bi'fTcring ob'oquy op, h';g recount. Vie said "No;
but this wiii kill my poor tPjther." I did not
know before thut fie L'.d a mother, and was
touched by his allusion to her. I asked hirn if
jl wojli not have, teen far mors dreadful if he
had succeeded in his attempt if it were riot
much better to die as he would, than to become
a pitate and ateep himself so terribly in blood
and guilt. He said, "I do not know what
would have become of me if I had succeeded.
I told him that Cromwell would soon have
mtirfo away with him, and that McKhMej
would probably have destroyed thetn both. Ha
said he "feared this would injure his father."
"Had you succeeded," I replied, "the injtry
yots would have done him Would be much grea
ter." If it had been possible to take him honie
a 1 first intendefi, 1 told him that ho woald
get clear ; in America a rr.m T. ith monuy ar.d
influential friends would always be cleared
that the course I was taking would injure hia
father less than f he should go home and be
condemned, yet again escape. He said that
he had attempted the SRme thing on beird the
John Adams and the Totomao ; brjt had been
unsuccessful. He asked if I hfid not exaggera
ted the danger. I tdd him "No ; that hia at
tempts to Corrupt the crew had been too wide
ly successful ; that I knew ofthe existense of
the conspiracy but did not know hew extensive
it was." I recapnlated to him his acts. He
was 6t a titled when 1 told him of his stalling
brandy. lie admitted the justice of his fate
bat asked ine if I was not "going too far and
too fast. Does the law justify you V said ho.
I replied that his opinion was not unprejudiced'
that t had consulted all the officers, and they
had given their opinion thut it was just that
he deserved death.
He asked "what would be the manner of the
death." I explained it to him. He requested
that he might he shot. I told him that it could
not be that ho must be hung. He admitted
that it was just. Ho objected to the shortness
of tho time and requested that an honr migfct
ho given to prepare. I mado no answer tr
this but allowed much more than the hour he
asked for to tH.epse. He requested that his
face might be covered. I granted his request
and esked him what it should be covered witlw
He said a handkerchief. In his locker was
found a black one which was put on his face.
Cromwell and Small tnado tho same request,
and frocks were taken from their lockers with
which their heads were coveted.
Spencer asked for a Bible and Prayer Booh
they were given to him. He said, "lam a
believer but di you think thut my repentance
will be accepted !" I called to his mind the
thief on tho cross, and told him that God's mer
cies were eqial to all his wants. He knerled
down and read from the Prayer Book, tnd asked
again if I thought his repentance would be ac
cepted, sayiug that his time was short. 1 told
him God only understood his case but could suit
his grace to it. He begged that I would for
give him. I told him I did most sincerely and
cordially, and asked him if I had done any
thing which made him seek my life, or whethef
his hatred was unfounded. He said he thought
it was only ft ncy. "I'erhsp" he edded, "thert
was something in your manner which offended
me." I read over to him what I had written
down. He wished me to alter the passage la
which I suid that he eTerei as an excuse
that he had attempted the same thing on the
John Adams and Potomac." He only mention
ed it as a fact, he etird.
More thtn an hour had ne w elapsed. Sper .
cer, as he met Cromwell, pie.'.sfd nd asked .j
see Mr. Wules. As he passed Cromwsil ,u
said not a word of his innocence nir did he
make any appeal in his favor. Spencer ( id,
"Wales, I hope you will forgive me for tare .er
ing with yonr fidelity." Wales replied, vcr
come with emotion, "I do forgive you frotf , the)
bottom of my heart, and I hope God will fi' .giv
you also." Wales was weeping, and Sp encer
in passing met Small at the gangway. He ex
tended his hand and eaid, 'Small, forgt ve me
for having brought you into trouble." Small
answered, "No by G d, Spencer, t ei n't for
give you." Spencer repeated hisreqwr t Small
said, "How can you ask that of run after ha
ving brought me to this! We she'll soon be
bi foie God and shall there know . 11 about it"
Spencer laid, "You must forgive me I can
not die without it." 1 went to '.nall and as
ked him not to cherish any resentment at such
a time, and asked him to forgive him. He
relented held out his hand to Spencer and said,
'I do forgive you- and may God forgite yotl
also."
Small then asked my forgiveness, t took
his hand and expressed my forgiveness in the
strongest terms. I asked him what I had
done that he should seek my life ; if I had been
harsh, either in deed or word to him." He
excla'med, "What have you done, Capt. Ms4
K'.niio ! What 'have you done to me 1 No
thing but treated me like a man H I told
him of the high responsibilities under which
I acted : of the duty I owed my Government
and the ship with which it hud entrus'ed me ;
of his offence to his commander and the boys
Pethsp 'hi i n etffem ri'l rerv oo BJ !
niR, and not jut. - But I m mvelv stating fsc
wbt r-d a the ocessioa.