State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
History
State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
Trials -- Great Britain
BUCHANAN--About a quarter of an hour.
THE RECORDER--How long did the cry of murder continue?
BUCHANAN--About three or four minutes; soon after the captain
had ordered me to keep back, he called for a candle, and I
carried one down, and he gave me the sword, and bid me stand
upon my post; and said he, if my brother makes any more noise,
let him alone and send for me; and he locked the purser's
cabin-door, and took the key away with him; and in the morning
the doctor's mate, the cooper, and I consulted together about
it; and I was willing to know, if sir John was dead or not: and
when we peeped into the cabin, we saw him lying in a very odd
sort of posture, with his hat over his face, and one of his
legs lay crooked; upon which we concluded he was dead.
THE RECORDER--How long were you off your post from first to
last?
BUCHANAN--I can't tell exactly.
THE RECORDER--Recollect as well as you can.
BUCHANAN--About three quarters of an hour.
THE RECORDER--And could you see who was at the purser's
cabin-door all that time?
BUCHANAN--Yes, Sir; I saw the captain stand at the foot of the
ladder at the door, with a drawn sword, from the time I went up
to the time I came down again; he locked the door, and carried
the key away with him.
VERNON--Pray, were there any bolts on the purser's cabin-door?
BUCHANAN--Yes, there were bolts on the door; they were put on
soon after sir John came on board: sir John was in that cabin
when they were put on.
VERNON--You say you heard a noise and outcry of murder; how far
were you from the cabin-door when you heard that cry of murder?
BUCHANAN--I was walking to-and-fro the gun-room.
VERNON--How far is that from the purser's cabin-door?
BUCHANAN--As far as I am from you.
VERNON--Whom did you see go into the purser's cabin to sir
John?
BUCHANAN--I saw Mahony go in there.
VERNON--Did you see any other person go in besides Mahony?
BUCHANAN--No, I did not; I saw Mahony go in just before the cry
of murder, but no other person.
VERNON--Do you know any thing about securing the captain?
BUCHANAN--Yes, I will tell you what happened then. We went and
secured him. As soon as he was laid hold of, he cried out, Hey!
hey! what have I done? We told him his brother was murdered,
and that he had some concern in it. He said, What if the
villains have murdered my brother, can I help it? I know
nothing of it.
GOODERE--Did you see me in the cabin at all?
BUCHANAN--No, Sir, I don't say you were in the cabin.
THE RECORDER--Mr. Goodere, the witness does not say he saw you
in the cabin, but at the door, and with a sword in your hand,
and that you handed in a light after the cry of murder was
over.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account