The Kings Own | Page 5

would not have been
succeeded by that at the Nore: but the seamen had no confidence, either
in their officers, or in those who presided at the Board of Admiralty;
and distrust of their promises, which were considered to be given
merely to gain time, was the occasion of the second and more alarming
rebellion of the two.
The irritated mind of Peters was stimulated to join the disaffected
parties. His pride, his superior education, and the acknowledgment
among his shipmates that he was an injured man, all conspired to place
him in the dangerous situation of ringleader on board of his own ship,
the crew of which, although it had not actually joined in the mutiny,
now showed open signs of discontent.
But the mine was soon exploded by the behaviour of the captain.
Alarmed at the mutinous condition of the other ships which were
anchored near to him, and the symptoms of dissatisfaction in his own,
he proceeded to an act of unjustifiable severity, evidently impelled by
fear and not by resolution. He ordered several of the petty officers and
leading men of the ship to be thrown into irons, because they were seen
to be earnestly talking together on the forecastle,--and recollecting that
his conduct towards Peters had been such as to warrant disaffection, he
added him to the number. The effect of this injudicious step was
immediate. The men came aft in a body on the quarter-deck, and
requested to know the grounds upon which Peters and the other men
had been placed in confinement; and perceiving alarm in the
countenance of the captain, notwithstanding the resolute bearing of the
officers, they insisted upon the immediate release of their shipmates.
Thus the first overt act of mutiny was brought on by the misconduct of
the captain.
The officers expostulated and threatened in vain. Three cheers were

called for by a voice in the crowd, and three cheers were immediately
given. The marines, who still remained true to their allegiance, had
been ordered under arms; the first lieutenant of the ship--for the captain,
trembling and confused, stood a mere cipher--gave the order for the
ship's company to go below, threatening to fire upon them if the order
was not instantaneously obeyed. The captain of marines brought his
men to the "make ready," and they were about to present, when the first
lieutenant waved his hand to stop the decided measure, until he had
first ascertained how far the mutiny was general. He stepped a few
paces forward, and requested that every "blue jacket" who was inclined
to remain faithful to his king and country, would walk over from that
side of the quarter-deck upon which the ship's company were
assembled, to the one which was occupied by the officers and marines.
A pause and silence ensued--when, after some pushing and elbowing
through the crowd, William Adams, an elderly quartermaster, made his
appearance in the front, and passed over to the side where the officers
stood, while the hisses of the rest of the ship's company expressed their
disapprobation of his conduct. The old man just reached the other side
of the deck, when turning round like a lion at bay, with one foot on the
coamings of the hatchway, and his arm raised in the air to command
attention, he addressed them in these few words:--
"My lads, I have fought for my king five-and-thirty years, and have
been too long in his service to turn a rebel in my old age."
Would it be credited that, after the mutiny had been quelled, no
representation of this conduct was made to government by his captain?
Yet such was the case, and such was the gratitude of Captain A---.
The example shown by Adams was not followed--the ship's crew again
cheered, and ran down the hatchways, leaving the officers and marines
on deck. They first disarmed the sentry under the half-deck, and
released the prisoners, and then went forward to consult upon further
operations.
They were not long in deciding. A boatswain's mate, who was one of
the ringleaders, piped, "Stand by hammocks!" The men ran on deck,

each seizing a hammock, and jumping with it down below on the main
deck. The object of this manoeuvre not being comprehended, they were
suffered to execute it without interruption. In a few minutes they sent
up the marine, whom they had disarmed when sentry over the prisoners,
to state that they wished to speak to the captain and officers, who, after
some discussion, agreed that they would descend and hear the
proposals which the ship's company should make. Indeed, even with
the aid of the marines, many of whom were wavering, resistance would
now have been useless, and could only have cost them their lives; for
they were surrounded by other