bombardment. "The revolutionists," he wrote, "had an armed force in the
field within a few miles of this harbour, when the vessels under your
command transported the Tamasese troops to a neighbouring island with the
avowed intention of making war on the isolated homes of the women and
children of the enemy. Being the only other representative of a naval
power now present in this harbour, for the sake of humanity I hereby
respectfully and solemnly protest in the name of the United States of
America and of the civilised world in general against the use of a
national war-vessel for such services as were yesterday rendered by the
German corvette _Adler_." Fritze's reply, to the effect that he is under
the orders of the consul and has no right of choice, reads even humble;
perhaps he was not himself vain of the exploit, perhaps not prepared to
see it thus described in words. From that moment Leary was in the front
of the row. His name is diagnostic, but it was not required; on every
step of his subsequent action in Samoa Irishman is writ large; over all
his doings a malign spirit of humour presided. No malice was too small
for him, if it were only funny. When night signals were made from
Mulinuu, he would sit on his own poop and confound them with gratuitous
rockets. He was at the pains to write a letter and address it to "the
High Chief Tamasese"--a device as old at least as the wars of Robert
Bruce--in order to bother the officials of the German post-office, in
whose hands he persisted in leaving it, although the address was death to
them and the distribution of letters in Samoa formed no part of their
profession. His great masterwork of pleasantry, the Scanlon affair, must
be narrated in its place. And he was no less bold than comical. The
_Adams_ was not supposed to be a match for the _Adler_; there was no
glory to be gained in beating her; and yet I have heard naval officers
maintain she might have proved a dangerous antagonist in narrow waters
and at short range. Doubtless Leary thought so. He was continually
daring Fritze to come on; and already, in a despatch of the 9th, I find