Billy Budd Chapters 19-21

In which Captain Vere imparts a grave judgment to the condemned sailor with a solemnness befitting his high command, followed by the ship's crew receiving the news in a hush broken only by naval order, while strict adherence to ceremony governs every ensuing action. And in the dim recesses of the upper gun-deck, the prisoner lies in a serene trance, visited by the chaplain whose ministrations meet a respectful yet inscrutable regard, illuminating the strange intersection of innocence, duty, and the inscrutable attitudes towards death aboard the man-of-war.