[This poem is a part of the second series of “The
Bigelow Papers,” a work wholly unmatched in the literature
of humor, that has an earnest purpose and well matured
thought for its sources of inspiration. The poem was called
forth by what is known as “the _Trent_ affair.” Captain
Wilkes, commanding the United States man-of-war, _San
Jacinto_, boarded the British mail steamer _Trent_ on the
8th of November, 1861, and took from her the Confederate
commissioners Mason and Slidell. Great Britain resented
the act, and for a time there was serious apprehension of
war between that country and the United States; but as the
seizure of the commissioners on board a neutral vessel was
deemed to be an act in violation of international law, the
Government at Washington, after inquiry into the facts,
surrendered the prisoners. The version of the poem here
given is a correct one, taken from the collected edition
of Mr. Lowell’s poems. An abridged and otherwise imperfect
version is given in many collections.--EDITOR.]
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