CAPTAIN WILKES’S SEIZURE OF MASON AND SLIDELL.

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was based 011 the fact that she accidentally touched my shoulder while I wastalking to Mrs. Slidell at the door of Mr. Slidell’s state-room. While I wasstanding there, Miss Slidell, then a girl of 15 or 17 years, was protestingagainst my taking her father from her, when a little roll of the steamer causedher to lose her balance, and thus she touched me slightly. Mrs. Slidell, writ-ing afterward from Paris to her near relative, and a friend of mine, expressedher mortification that such a story should have been circulated. But Com-mander Williams bade me good-bye pleasantly when I left the Trent, sayingthat he was very much pleased at my moderate and gentlemanly mannerthroughout this very embarrassing and perplexing duty, and that he wouldreport the same to his Government, for which I thanked him, mentioning hislanguage afterward to Captain Wilkes. The truth is that much was madeof Williams in England, and he evidently lost his head.

Once while the transfer of luggage and stores delayed us, Captain Moir,seeing his vessel di'ifting out of channel and in sight of shoal water, said tome, “ If you do not hurry and get out of my vessel, I will not be responsiblefor her safety.” I immediately hailed the San Jacinto and requested that shebe kept more to windward and in mid-channel, and then said to Captain Moir,“ Now you can move up nearer to the San Jacinto,’’'' which he did. I speak ofthis to show how watchful I was to keep him in an amiable frame of mind,and so to lessen the chance of his throwing the Trent on my hands. Whenall was finished I went on board the San Jacinto and reported to CaptainWilkes that I had not taken the Trent as a prize, as he had instructed me todo, giving certain reasons, which satisfied him; for he replied, “ inasmuch asyou have not taken her, you will let her go ” or “ proceed 011 her voyage.”To make clear one of these reasons, I should before have mentioned that Cap-tain Wilkes, while at Havana, had learned more definitely of the character ofDu Pont ’s fleet, from which he inferred its destination, for of the Southernports the larger vessels could enter only Port Royal. He directed me “ torefit our battery and get the San Jacinto ready in all respects for battle,”adding that he would “join Du Pont in time to cooperate with him.” (As itwas, Port Royal fell the day before we boarded the Trent, as we learned onour arrival off Charleston .) The reasons I assigned to Captain Wilkes for myaction were: First, that the capture of the Trent would make it necessaryto put a large prize crew (officers and men) on board, and thus materiallyweaken our battery for use at Port Royal; secondly, that as there were alarge number of women and children and mails and specie bound to variousports, the capture would seriously inconvenience innocent persons and mer-chants; so that I had determined, before taking her, to lay these mattersbefore him for more serious consideration. J

I returned immediately to the Trent and informed Captain Moir that Cap-

i 1 gave my real reasons some weeks after- for the South, and felt that she would be glad toward to Secretary Chase, whom I met by chance have so good a ground to declare war against theat the Treasury Department, he having asked me United States . Mr. Chase seemed surprised, andto explain why I had not literally obeyed Captain exclaimed, “You have certainly relieved the Gov-Wilkes’s instructions. I told him that it vpas eminent from great embarrassment, to say thebecause I was impressed with England’s sympathy least.”—D. M. F.