Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-05-17

L
preside at the trial of ex- President Davis. at
the District Courtnow in session there. 1t is
certain that the distinguished prisoner will
pass from the hands of the military into
those of the civil officers of the Govern
ment If there is no trial, it is thought he
will be baiIed, Horace Greedy becoming
one of his sureties. A few days will decide
the vexed question.
The Shenandoah and MIR. Cornelius e.
| Hunt.
MEssRs. EDITORS The subjoined article
from the Mobile Tribune was written by a
mess-mate of the late Commander OF the
Shenandoah, and reflects honor on it's au-
thor, who thus defends that gallant gentle
man-now an exile in a foreign land-from
the cowardly libel of Mr.. Cornelius E.
Hunt. The fact of publishing his book
under such circumstances ought to be suf-
ficient to condemn hiri in the eyes of all
honorable men but when it is known that
! Mr.. Hunts announcement of himself on
the title page as Zone of her officers is q
fdzseh0od and that his motive for publish
ing this libel was TO revenge himself on one
whose discipline he experienced at sea,
Mr.. Hunt and his book will at once receive
the contempt they merit. According to
his own statement, Mr.. Hunt deserted his
comrades and sneaked ashore in disguise,
leaving them to their fate, and now he
comes to the United States, falsely alleges
himself to have been an officer of the ship,
IoI5 I,o
is prohibited from returning to this coun-
try, and cannot, therefore, until after the
injury to him is accomplished, meet and
denounce the libel The idea of masters
mate knowing the plans and orders of
commanding officer was so absurd, that Mr..
Hunt took particular pains to conceal his
true rank, and calls himself cone of her
officers" This sailing under false colors
comes nearer the crime of piracy than any
thing done by any "officer" of the She
nandoah. Yours, respectfully, A.
THE " SHENANDOAH - OR THE LAST CoNFED-
ERlTE CRUISER, BY CORNELIUS E. HUNT, ONE
OF HER OFFICERS.
From the Mobile Tribune.
Some eight months ago there appeared
y
body he met, in the strictest confidence,
that he was lately an officer of the celebra-
ted Shenandoah. Alarmed at the treat
ment that JEFF. Davis had received, he was
very uneasy lest the authorities might de-
tect him through the thin disguise of
threadbare citizen suit, and make him pay
penalty of a conspicuous leader in defeat
ed cause. He had not been here long,
however, before he assumed holder tone,
whether because he found that the author
tiles were inclined TO treat him with dis
respectful Indifference, or whether because
the several hundred people to whom he
had confded the secret Of his identity had
broken faith with him, it has not been fully
ascertained. At any rate, he began to cir
culate in society as late Confederate naval
officer; gave his card, ION several occasions,
to young ladies, with the understanding
ION this part that they should cherish it as
memento of one who had seen the last of
the Confederate flag bored people to death
with accounts of impossible adventures, of
which Hunt was invariably the hero and
finally impaired, in wretched English his
intention of writing book. He has writ
ten it ; and it is such a book as might
have been expected from the combined eff
forts of Do9berry and Iago.
The book is history of the cruise of the
Shenandoah, or it is nothing.
The value of an historical work, after
due consideration has been given to the i'm
portanco of the subject treated, is to be es-
tiInated by the accuracy of the statements
it contains. We form our opinion in re-
gard to the last by our knowledge of the
author, and Of his opportunities for acquir-
ing the necessary information concerning
his subject. In the present case we haYe
very good knowledge of both the author
and his opportunities. 10 intelligent per
son could converse long with Mr.. Hunt
without recognizing III him IL man capable
of writing temporal p" for " temporary >:
complicated for L" implicated - and of
saying, Il done it." But this gross igno-
rance of his mother tongue might be for
given our author II facts and sound practi-
cal reflections on them were expressed,
however rudely, i'll his work. AS it is, the
reader is made to stand by and see his Ian
guage murdered, only to learn that Mr..
Hunt likes to see the sun rise at sea, has
given Confederate button to d young lady
in Australia. or has learned to talk like a tar
"a choice of subjects which would be quite
sufficient to convince us, even if we had
not known it by personal observation, that
the author is just about as much a sailor as
a tadpole is frog. Very ambitious of
passing for II frog, however, this tadpole
| uldACS COHtluudl itH(l RIDICULOUS 6lOrES TO
croak. ''Aye, aye, my hearty" " shiver
your timbers," etc, are favorite EXPIRES
sions with six months midshipmen and
newly fedged masters mates.
The title of masters mate was that borne
by our author during the latter pat of his
connection with the Shenandoah ; fact he
forgets to mention in his book. no mas
ter's mate in ship of war is entrusted with
the responsible duties of experimenting
the scrubbing of the lowerdecl, command
ing the water tanks and beef barrels in the
hold, and serving out grog to the sailors
He is the connecting link between officers
and men, as the bat is between beast and
bird.
The late officers of the Shenandoah will
probably object, then, to the assumption
by our author of the distinction of being
lone of her officers" Such an assumption
conveys the impression that the statements
made in the work have the stamp of author
ity. whereas the advantages possessed by a
masters mate for ascertaining the plans
and instructions of the commander, the
difficulties in his way, and the condition
and destination of the ship, are even more