ABSTRACT
Lt. Richard Inman of HMS Lily was discovered in bed with his young servant in the summer of 1838. He was later tried for this and for fleeing the sloop and remaining absent for the better part of a week. He strenuously denied the charges, arguing that his relationship with the boy, John Pay, was one of paternal affection. The court that tried Inman determined that there was an innocent explanation for his being found in bed with Pay, but it still declared his behavior after the discovery “highly irregular and unbecoming the character of an officer,” dismissing him from the service. The case attracted considerable attention from the press, including long reports on the two-day trial. The reports reproduced here come from the United Service Journal and the Hampshire Telegraph. They print documents from the trial while also providing sympathetic treatment of Inman. When read alongside the surviving trial records, this reporting gives a fuller understanding of the case and of public reactions to it. 1
