knowledge of any intention to take the vessel, and the part
he took on board was forced upon him. He was compelled to act as he had
done; he had used no violence, nor was he in any way a participator in
any that had been committed.' At the conclusion of the address to them,
Jones, amidst the deep silence of the court, pronounced a most emphatic
prayer for mercy on his own soul, and those of his fellow-prisoners, for
the judge and jury, and finally for the witnesses. Sentence of death was
then solemnly pronounced upon them all; but the judge informed Woolfe
that he might hold out to him expectations that his life would be
spared. They were then removed from the bar, and sent back to the
condemned cells.

"I cannot say how much I dreaded my interview with them that day; for
although I had all along endeavored to prepare their minds for the worst
result, and they had themselves never for a moment appeared to expect
any other than this, I feared that the realization of their sad
expectation would break them down. Hitherto, there might have been some
secret hope sustaining them. The convulsive clinging to life, so common
to all of us, would now, perhaps, be more palpably exhibited.

"Entering their cells, I found them, as I feared, stunned by the blow
which had now fallen on them, and almost overpowered by mental and
bodily exhaustion. A few remarks about the trial were at length made by
them; and from that moment I never heard them refer to it again. There
was no bitterness of spirit against the witnesses, no expression of
hostility towards the soldiers, no equivocation in any explanation they
gave. They solemnly denied many of the statements made against them;
but, nevertheless, the broad fact remained, that they were guilty of an
attempt to violently seize the vessel, and it was useless debating on
minor considerations.

"In the meantime, without their knowledge, petitions were prepared and
forwarded to the judges, the governor and executive council. In them
were stated various mitigatory facts in their favor; and the meliorated
character of the criminal code at home was also strongly urged. Every
attention was paid to these addresses, following each other to the last
moment. But all was in vain. The council sat, and determined that five
of the men should be hanged on the following Tuesday. Whelan, who could
have no previous knowledge of a plan to seize the vessel, together with
Woolfe, was spared. The remaining four we