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had elapsed, I still delayed the publication, from the fear it might not be found worthy the attention of the public. At length, however, trusting in the indulgence so generally shown to one who is not an author by profession, and more especially to the liberality of my brother officers, I venture, late as it is, (but not without much diffidence) to publish this plain statement "of facts," requesting the candid reader to bear in mind, that I make no pretensions to literary merit, my sole object being to convey the simple truth in its simplest form.
