5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water, therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25) is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward. At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position. THE OFFICERS OF THE MAINE EXONERATED. In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the ship. 6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of the officers or men of the crew of said vessel. 7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two of her forward magazines. 8. The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons. W. T. SAMPSON, Captain U. S. N., President. A. MARIX, Lieutenant-Commander U. S. N., Judge Advocate. CHAPTER XXXV. PATIENCE AT THE VANISHING POINT. Our Former Troubles with Spain Recalled--The Verdict of the People--Spanish Rule a Blot on Civilization--The Attitude of Other Nations--The Necessity for Delay--The Message to Congress-- "The War in Cuba Must Stop!" The American people did not wait for the report of the Naval Board to form an opinion as to the cause of the tragedy. The masses think in events, and not in syllogisms, and this was an event. This event provoked suspicions in the public mind. The thought of the whole nation was instantly directed to Cuba. The fate of the sailors on the Virginius, twenty-five years ago, was recalled. The public curiosity about everything Cuban and Spanish became intense. The Weyler method of warfare became more generally known. The story of our long diplomatic trouble with Spain was recalled. Diplomacy was obliged to proceed with doors less securely shut. The country watched for news from Washington and from Madrid with eagerness. It happened to be a singularly quiet and even dull time in our own political life--a time favorable for the concentration of public attention on any subject that prominently presented itself. Leslie's Weekly voiced the popular sentiment in its issue of April 14 in the following language: