Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 11).djvu/99

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offered to introduce me to his friend the British consul. "I love England," said he, "in either peace or war; in peace she is more friendly than America; and in war, she is a brave and noble enemy. There is much honour in beating her, and consequently but little disgrace in being beaten by her." Soon after dinner came a gentleman, a candidate for legislatorial honours, Mr. Condy, aid-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor, bearing a message and compliments to me from the Governor, begging to know when I could wait on the Attorney-General with Mr. Condy, to make an affidavit of facts, touching the case stated in my letter of to-day. I replied, I was engaged {76} for the present, but would accompany him to the mansion of the Attorney-General next morning. He then politely took his leave, promising to revisit me in the morning.

Sunday, 6th.—At ten o'clock this morning I went in due form with the governor's aid-de-camp to Colonel Haines, the young Attorney-General, who, when I entered, after a polite reception, addressed me as follows:—"Now, sir, will you please to open to me your sources of information, touching this alleged murder? But, sir, give me leave to say, that I think that you have acted imprudently in publishing it so hastily, inasmuch as it interferes with the province of a jury." I replied, "My motives are good, and they must shelter me. I fear not the consequences. Too little publicity, I think, is given to such cases: what I have done is calculated to prevent a recurrence of such enormities." "But, sir, you have stained the character of South Carolina, and what you have thus written will be greedily copied and extensively read to our injury, in the northern and eastern states, and all over Europe. But, sir, let me tell you, further, that such offences rarely occur in