| Show I I NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY T THE COMIC OPERA ENIG ENDING OP OF A GREAT WA WAR By J E Edwards ThIl This daily series ot of anecdotes nd and I 1 that throw now new interesting daly nd frequently n dramatic t light on famous events and d personalities o of the pant have rb been collected l re by i Edwards rd nd during nearly e forty or years i of fl mere or It less fg mate with many of oC the tho leaders the Civil War Each anecdote or Incident It is fresh rom Mr E notebook and either in whole or In part t it constitutes I New News of or garnered d from the e men n who Nf J BJ m made f the o r from eq ashy authoritative o sources r As r ire contributions ot of the tho Human lot Int crest sort or to American history ry thelo articles have havo a distinctive value al all the 11 lr ow own years ago the tho United State States government yielding to the demand or of England ordered the tho release rolease or of the tho Confederate foreign I agents Mason mind and and so BO brought to nn an end mi tile tho possibility of wr war with England tile tho seIzure by this government or of the tho two commission commissioners ers from an English vesel vessel All thIs Is history but how how man many Americans know tile tho somewhat dramatic and decidedly amusing story ot of the opera bufo manner In which Maon Mason and Slidell wore given back to the British I wl will repeat the story as It was Wa told to mo me by tile tho late E 12 D Webster who ivilo dung during the Civil 1 wa war wp a confidential agent and of om or of the tho stat state department After President Lincoln the release of Maon Mason and Slidell sad said Mr Webster Gustavus V Fox the tho assistant secret secretary or of the tho na navy cled called upon uon the Secretary ot of State Sewa Seward ho he sad said you know that thoro Is a sort ot of among naval which causes them to ak ask to bo be ot of the duty of undoing some somo other naval officer has hasI I done Therefore the tho Secretary o of time the Navy Is andol anxious that the State Do Dc I should tko take over oer te the release or of Maon Mason and SUdell Slidell Have you got anybody who en can undertake the work Yes Bad said Mr r Seward Mr Tr Webster Please tel tell Mr Il Welles that tile tho State Department wl will place him himIn in charge of oC the work I It wa was necessary continued Mr Webster that Mason anti and who were incarcerated In Fort Warren 11 iti Boston harbor should bo be secretly because public opInion wa was moaning so high them in Ds has haston ton and and elsewhere that It might might not have havo been sate to take tako them through the streets of Boston So we with Lord Lyons the tho Brit ishm Ish minister offering to delver deliver the tho two prisoners to any BrItish vessel and at an any place lIe he might designate ACer After f Romo consultation ho he informed us UK that tilata thata 1 a British vessel would be oi ott the tho harbor ot of Provincetown Ma Maready ready at In any time to recale U commissioners Yo We engaged a tut tug a at Boston which was was awat await us nl at Fort Warren Ind and ms then strain across Massachusetts by bay to Provincetown When wo I Fort ort Warrn Warren and gave our Instructions to the commanding officer ho sum summoned monad Mason and Mason raon wag a great Teat user ot of tobacco and the tho 01 dences ot of it plentiful upon hIs chin and his linen for he o Wa was not al always J ways discreet in his expectoration IIo 5 W was simply tickled to death to get out eu ot of Frt Port Warren and to bo 10 taken to Europ Europe to meet hIs family t I But realized that M as long longas n as the thc North held him a tho chances chance ot of British h Intervention In favor of 01 the were not hopeless declared ho leave leavo the J tort fort fortI 1 I You have put mo me Into this place ho sId said and now you have havo got to keep mo me here Mr retorted the tho command or er or of time tho tor fort you were received hero horo by orders of oC the tho UnIted Stats States gover govern government ment and now your release has hll been ordered by the tho name authority I If yoU wont go willingly I shall have havo to call calla a body of soldiers to put you out Slidell sti still protesting that he would not budge or of hIs own nore accord a fo file ot of soldiers were ordered up and they were vero al all ready reldy to take time the recalcitrant commissioner f cot t first and deposIt him on the tho tug when whon SI ell thought that would bo be too undignified and so reluctantly went abod abodA aboard A heavy sea wa was on and that lite lIttle tuk rolled In Massachusetts etts by bay like a The he two commissioners i 4 wee were frightfully seasick nn and Mr amid his goan groans muttered diro impre imprecations l upon time tho UnIted States govern mont ment montAt t At Int last wo we sighted time the British man J sIgnaled signalled to her hor and found that Jt It as going to be be almost Imp I j blo to persuade 11 Mr to leave the tho tu tug HI He was a pitiable object object wIt with i hIs seasickness his anger ad and his 3 j heavy sons sense or of d dignity whIch ha had been I 1 severely shocked But we told him that If he did not leave tho tug hug willingly wo we should have time tho sailors lut put hIm upon time tho British launch Then Mr r Mason who despite his sel seasickness was qula quite happy happ Over ocr his ImmedIate relee release to our aIr Come dont ha be a bab baby he cried Ad And so 80 this forer former I Senator fromn rom LouIsIana with man of i the thc ot of seasickness still upon hIm stepped Into the tho launch in this rather ludIcrous the tho two commissioners over whom so eo much fu fuss hR had ben been made In involving dan danger er ot of war wIth Great Brit Britain ain am departed from Crom tile the UnIte United States |
