from Commander Forman, relative to a proposal of his to join the Greek service under the command of Lord Cochrane, now Earl Dundonald:– the following is a copy:
“My dear Sir,– In reply to your letter, of the 27th ult., in which you request me to forward to you whatever documents I may possess, relative to my naval services during late war, I have to observe, in the first place, that I should be well pleased to offer my name to remain (where it is at present) in oblivion, if I could be certain that, by passing it over without notice, you would not, indirectly, brand it with a stigma, which all who know me will say that I do not deserve.
“’I have little to say of any services that I have performed; but I can safely lay my hand upon my heart, and declare, in the presence of God, that I not only never willingly missed a fair opportunity of distinguishing myself in the service of my country, but have frequently tendered my I personal services, and proposed plans for distressing the enemy, which (whether justly or not is no matter) have been thought too hazardous to be put in execution; and therefore, if my name is to appear in your work, I must beg you to have the goodness to publish, at the same time, all the documents which I herewith transmit to you; and which, if called upon to do it, I am ready to authenticate by producing the originals. I am, my dear Sir, your very obedient servant,
“To Lieutenant John Marshall, R.N.”
In justice to this gallant, zealous, and truly respectable officer, the author cannot decline complying with his request. The documents are worded as follow:
“Sir,– If I should be informal in addressing you as the Chairman of the Greek Committee, I trust that you will impute it to my ignorance, and not to my intention. I cannot mean to offend where I wish to obtain a favor; and my anxiety to benefit a cause, in which you take so lively an interest, will, I dare say, be deemed a sufficient apology for the liberty which I am going to take.
“Not to be tedious, I think that I could suggest a very practicable scheme for destroying a great part, if not the whole of the Turkish fleet; and I address myself to you, Sir, in the hope that, if you should approve of the plan you will make use of your interest to procure for me an opportunity of sharing the danger, as well as the glory of the enterprise.
“I shall be in town in the early part of next month; and then, if you will favor me with an interview, I think that I shall be able to convince you, that if my plan should be adopted, nothing, in all human probability, will be wanting to insure success, beyond the courage and determination