She entertained him as a stranger, until he made himself known,
and then her joy was great, for she had long mourned him as lost.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE CASE OF CHRISTOPHER HAWKINS
Christopher Hawkins was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in
1764. When he was in his thirteenth year he sailed on board an
American privateer as a cabin boy. The privateer was a schooner,
called the Eagle, commanded by Captain Potter. Taken prisoner by the
British, Hawkins was sent on board the Asia, an old transport ship,
but was soon taken off this vessel, then used for the confinement of
American prisoners, and sent on board a frigate, the Maidstone, to
serve as a waiter to the British officers on board. He remained on
board the Maidstone a year. At the end of that time he was allowed a
good deal of liberty. He and another boy were sent on shore to New
York with a message, managed to elude the sentinels, and escaped first
to Long Island, and afterwards returned home to Providence.
About 1781 he again went on board a privateer under Captain Whipple,
was again captured, and this time he was sent to the Jersey. He
describes the condition of the prisoners on their way in a transport
to this fearful prison ship. They were so crowded together that they
could scarcely move, yet they all joined in singing a patriotic song
every stanza of which ended with the words:
"For America and all her sons forever will shine!"
They were on board this transport three or four days unable to sit or
lie down for want of room.
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