Perhaps, however, on the whole, it was fortunate, that in balancing, as it is known this gallant officer did, between the sense of duty and the sense of feeling, the latter prevailed, and justice yielded to mercy.

Had a Bligh or an Edwards been placed in his situation it is to be feared that, judging from their former conduct, passion in the one, and frigidity in the other, would most likely have consigned the criminal to captivity in irons, and the innocent and helpless family, solely dependent on him, to misery and destruction--and yet, in so doing, they would not have deviated from their strict line of duty,--_Dis aliter visum_.
The _Blossom_ was the first ship of war that John Adams had been on board of since the mutiny; and, as Captain Beechey observes, his mind would naturally revert to scenes that could not fail to produce a temporary embarrassment, but no apprehension for his safety appeared to form any part of his thoughts; and as every person endeavoured to set his mind at rest, he soon found himself at ease and at home.

It was several hours before the ship approached the shore, and the boats put off before she came to an anchor.
On account of the rocks and formidable breakers, the party who went on shore were landed by the young men, two at a time, in their whale boat.
'The difficulty of landing,' says Captain Beechey, 'was more than repaid by the friendly reception we met with on the beach from Hannah Young, a very interesting young woman, the daughter of Adams.

In her eagerness to greet her father, she had outrun her female companions, for whose delay she thought it necessary, in the first place, to apologize, by saying they had all been over the hill in company with John Buffet to look at the ship, and were not yet returned.

It appeared that John Buffet, who was a sea-faring man, had ascertained that the ship was a man of war, and, without knowing exactly why, became so alarmed for the safety of Adams, that he either could not or would not answer any of the interrogatories which were put to him.