Moses was a sea captain, an adventurous energetic man of no small fame in his day. He was master of the ship that brought to America the first news of the burning of Moscow. It is an interesting fact . . . that when Napoleon, after his overthrow at Waterloo, though of flying to this country, friends of his sought and were pledged the aid of Captain Hillard, then in France, in carrying out the design. It was fully arranged between him and them that the emperor should be concealed in a water casket on his vessel's deck and so escape through the English fleet, but for some reason he was not conveyed on board.