The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-06-25

are rather solemn, | shall take the lib
erty of describing them somewhat at
length. Having heard that such an
event was about to occur, two or three
others and myself, obeying the dictates
of a curiosity not, perhaps, of the most
refined nature, took boat, and went on
board the Royal Oak, about an hour
previous to the fatal moment Wheth-
er any ceremonies were gone through
previous to the general muster of the
ships company, and if there were, of
what nature they consisted, | cannot
speak, because, till all hands were piped
upon decks, | sat with the lieutenants
in the wardrOOm. About ten minutes
before twelve o'clock, however, the
drum beat to quarters, and all, both
officers and men, hurried to their sta
tions. This done the boatswain's
whistle sounded, and all hands crowd
eel the forecastle, quarterdeck, and
poop, in a moment. There we stood,
in profound silence, till eight bells were
tolled; and exactly as the last stroke
ceased to reverberate, the captain made
his appearance.
AL eyes were now turned in fearful
expectation upon the fore-hatches; nor
was expectation long kept upon the
stretch. A sergeant If marines, fol-
lowed by file of men, mounted the
ladder; then came two persons, dressed
in blue jackets and trowsers, heavily
ironed, and after them came another
file of marines. They moved towards
the quarterback, and having arrived
opposite the gang-way, stood still. In
the meantime, it had not escaped our
notice that a couple of nooses hung
from the foreyard, one on each side of
the mast; and that the ends of the
ropes lay at length upon the forecas-
tie, ready to be hurried aft by the ships
company. OF course, we were all per-
fectly sensible to what uses these rope
ends were about to be turned; and
though there was not one amongst US
who felt disposed to deny the justice
of 4 deserter's fate. there were few in
deed who experienced no pity for the
unhappy wretches about to suffer.
No great while, however, was granted
for the indulgence of such thoughts.
The captain unfolding roll of paper
which he held in his hand, read aloud
the proceedings of this court martial,
which sentenced the prisoners before
him to suffer death; and having stated,
that the sentence in question received
the appreciation of the admiral on the
station, he silently motioned the cul-
prits that their hour was come. can
not pretend to convey to my reader
any notion of the expression which
passed across the poor mems counte-
nances, whilst these preliminaries went
on. They were both deadly l.ale; the
limbs of one, too, appeared to tottcr
under him, but neither of them spoke
a word; they seemed, indeed, to feel as
men may be supposed to feel, if, in
deed, they feel at all, on whose heads
heavy stunning blow has fallen, for
they sufierel themselves to be led
back towards the fatal moose without
uttering one exclamation, or offering
the slightest resistance. Their lips
moved, however, though whether in
prayer or execration, l cannot tell;
and one raised his manacled hands with
great apparent energy, to his breast.
But the struggle was soon over. The
chains were struck from their legs,
which were bound about at the ankle
and thigh with cords; their hands
loosened from the handouts, were pin
ioned behind them, and white night
cap being drawn over each of their
faces, they were placed upright, with
their fronts towards the mast Then
was the moose silently cast ON their
necks, and signal being given by the
first lieutenant, about twenty stout fel-
lows seized each of the ropes. One in
stant's, and only one instant's pause
occurred, for the boatswain piping
''hoist away the executioners ran
with all speed towards the poop; and
the unfortunate culprits, hurried aloft
with the rapidity of thought, died in
an instant | forced myself to gaze
steadfastly upon the whole proceeding,
and can vouch, that not so much as
| a quiver or motion of the limb, gave
evidence of suffering; it seemed to me,
to be the most humane execution which
had ever witnessed. And now all
was over. The sailors returned to
their berths, and we to our transport;
whilst the bodies of the deserters were
left to swing in the air till sunset.
| have said that whilst the fleet lay
both in the PatuXent and Potomac, it
was common practice among officers
to land and amuse themselves during
the whole of the day. upon the banks
of the rivers Sometimes these debar-
kations took place for the purpose of
laying in fresh provisions; on which oc
casions they were usually conducted
with prudence, and protected by armed
parties. At other times individual
caprice directed them; and then they
were, for the most part, as rash as they