The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-11-26
THE MYSTERIOUS HAND.

PASSENGER from Gibraltar to Southampton on
one Of the Peninsular and Oriental company S
steamships With the exception of a young
English attache, a personal friend of mine,
the passengers were composed of British Of
ficers, ordered home to join their regiments
in anticipation of war between Great Brit
ian and the United States, growing out of
what is called the Trent" affair, two south
ern enyoys-namely, Messrs. Slidell and Ma
son-eu route for England and France, hav-
ing been forciby taken from the British
steamer Trent by the commanding officer
of an American man-of-waT.
lam invariably sea sick when on the ocean.
On this occasion l was, as usual, confined to
my stateroom, where l was visited by the
young Englishman above referred to, who,
after sympathizing with my afflictlon, very
kindly said to me, "Be careful, my dear fel-
low, when you come out to the cabin. With
the exception Of ourselves, all the passengers
are British officers ordered home to join their
regiments. War between the United States
and Great Britain, although not declared, is
imminent, and our fellows have got their
fighting blood up, and you being the only
American on board, they will naturally want
10 pitch into you, and VIII do 50 the slight
est proyocatiou. So be careful, for heavens
sake"
was too sca-sick to pay much attention to
my friends warning, feeling perfectly well
convinced that no human pitching in" could
be much worse than the terrible pitching up
and down of the ship, then laboring in the
trough of a heavyEsea. In fact, I very soon
forgot all about il.
In a couple of days, however I found my
self seated at the dinner table, Immediately
opposite the Hon. Col Anneslie, of the Scots
Fusiliers, his regiment being portion of the
household troops, then in London. After q
formal Introduction, the subject OF the antic-
ipated difficulty between the two nations was
+ introduced by Col Anncslie by his asking me
what 1 thought about the great insult Great
Britain had received replied that l saw
nothing that diplomacy between two kindred
nations could not remedy. The colonel ex-
pressed surprise at my remark, adding that
no nation like Great Britain could submit 10
such a slap in the face without drawing the
sword. I smiled and said that military man
would naturally feel that the arbitrameEt OF
the sword was the proper method OF dispos-
ing Of such difficulty, but that men of peace
preferred to resort to every other remedy be-
fore that Of blood letting BY this time many
of the officers had left their seats, and were
eagerly listening to the conversation. Much
to the horror OF my young English friend
who in the kindness of his heart had taken a
seat at my side, in order to shield me as much
as possible from what might prove to be an
outburst Of indignation on the part of his
cOuntrymen, I then said
''With all due respect for your sentiments
colonel, permit me to add that the views
which have expressed are sustained by the
highest living English authority OH intcrna-
tional law-namely, your own AIr. Philimore
who, in q communication to the London
Times of recent date, which I perused at
Gibraltar just before coming on board, says,
if my memory is not at fault that the Amer
lean naval commander was not only justified
in taking from the Trent Messrs. Sliden
and Mason but would have been justified in
carrying the 'Trert' into the port OF New
York"
Several officers Immediately jumped to
their feet, eXclaiming to Col. AnneSlie in
tones which indicated their excited feelings ::
Present me! Present me - After which
a captain, whose name l have forgotten, but
who must have stood over six feet in his
stockings, said to me in a tone Of sarcasm
which he evidently took pains to suppress:
i beg your pardon, but is it not possible
that you have made a mistake in the paper
to wLich you have referred? Instead Of the
London Times, which we certainly had an
equal opportunity with yourself to peruse be
fore sailing, have you not been giving us the
benefit Of some articles you have been read
ing in the New York Times ?''
told him that l thought not perceived,
however, that, without an exceptions, these
gentlemen evidently thought l had been
making a fool Of myself and so bewildered
is a person from the effects Of sea-sickness
that l began to fear had, when Col. Annes-
lie, as if to set the matter at rest, directed
one of the junior officers to the captains cab
in and asked him if he had the latest London
Times received at Gibraltar before sailing
Not a word was said until the young man
made his appearance with the London Times
in his hand. l was feeble and nervous, and
my nervousness was augmented by my En-
glish friend at my side making a remark to
me in the honesty of his feelings, in low
tone, not at all complimentary to my common
sense or prudence. felt as if 1 should have
tainted with joy, as the subaltern, handing
the paper to Col. Anneslie, remarked in a
{ suppressed toliei buI SuluCltHtlS ulSllbCJ LOT
me to catch the words, 'By Jove, he is right;
there's Phiimore's opinion -
Mr. Philimore's communication was then
. read aloud, and the true character OF Brit
ish gentleman was made conspicuous by the
courtesy and kindness promptly displayed
I and extended toward me during the voyage
to southampton. There Col. Anneslie called
me to the side Of the ship to witness the ar
rival of the Scots FusilieTs, who had just
come down from London to embark for Can
ada on their warlike mission, and who, rec
Ognizing their colonel, as they were ascend
ing the side of the transport placed their 70
rage caps on their rifles and clesrcd their
commander, just as he said to me:
"AllOw me to present you to my regiment,
and at the same time to regretsuHy bid you
farewell.
On leaving the steamship at Southampton
l discovered to my great regret that all the
berths on Cunard steamers to sail for the
next month had been taken up for British
officers and their wives, and that my only
chance to get to New York was to take pas
sage on the German steamer Bremen, just
arrived, which would sail in three days. Ga
this vessel L secured passage for myself and
family.
SaunteriuG back to my hotel l espied a
natty little craft in the dry dock, which, OF
inquiry, turned out to be the confederate
I cruiser Nashville, undergoing repairs. The
/ officer Of the deck who appeared to be a