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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times, by
+Charles Carleton Coffin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times
+ 1769 - 1776 A Historical Romance
+
+Author: Charles Carleton Coffin
+
+Release Date: August 29, 2009 [EBook #29849]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from scanned images of public domain material
+from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ DAUGHTERS OF THE
+ REVOLUTION AND
+ THEIR TIMES
+
+ 1769-1776
+
+ A Historical Romance
+
+ BY
+
+ CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN
+
+ BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+ HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
+ The Riverside Press, Cambridge
+ 1896
+
+
+
+
+ Copyright, 1895,
+ BY CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN.
+
+ _All rights reserved._
+
+ SIXTH THOUSAND.
+
+ _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
+ Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton and Company.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ELIZABETH HOOTON WARREN]
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+No period in the history of our country surpasses in interest that
+immediately preceding and including the beginning of the Revolutionary
+War. Many volumes have been written setting forth the patriotism and
+heroism of the fathers of the Republic, but the devotion of the
+mothers and daughters has received far less attention. _This_ volume
+is designed, therefore, to portray in some degree their influence in
+the struggle of the Colonies to attain their independence. The
+narration of events takes the form of a story--a slight thread of
+romance being employed, rather than didactic narrative, to more
+vividly picture the scenes and the parts performed by the actors in
+the great historic drama. It will not be difficult for the reader to
+discern between the facts of history and the imaginative parts of the
+story.
+
+Eminent educators have expressed the opinion that history may be more
+successfully taught through the medium of fiction than by any other
+form of diction. The novels of Sir Walter Scott, notably "Waverley,"
+"Ivanhoe," are cited as presenting pictures of the times more
+effectively than any purely historic volume. The same may be said of
+"Uncle Tom's Cabin," as illustrating the state of affairs in our own
+country preceding the War of the Rebellion. It may be questioned
+whether any work of fiction in the world's history has been so
+far-reaching in its influence as that portrayal of the institution of
+slavery by Mrs. Stowe. Believing that the spirit of the times can be
+best pictured by the employment of romance, I have adopted that form
+of narrative.
+
+The story opens in the fall of 1769. The Stamp Act had been repealed,
+and the irritation produced by that act had been allayed. It was a
+period of quiet and rest. The colonists still regarded themselves as
+Englishmen and loyal to the crown. Information came that His Majesty
+George III. was determined to maintain his right to tax the Colonies
+by imposing an export duty on tea, to be paid by the exporter, who, in
+turn, would charge it to the consumer. The first resistance to that
+claim was the agreement of all but six of the merchants of Boston not
+to import tea from England, and the agreement of their wives and
+daughters not to drink tea so imported. It was a resistance which had
+its outcome in the destruction of three cargoes of tea by the historic
+"Tea-Party,"--a resistance which became equally effective in the other
+Colonies, if less dramatic than in Boston. The determination of the
+mothers and daughters to abstain from its use brought about a change
+in social life, and was influential in awakening a public sentiment
+which had its legitimate outcome in the events at Lexington, Concord,
+and Bunker Hill.
+
+There were causes other than the Stamp Act, Writs of Assistance, and
+the Tax on Tea, which brought about the Revolution.
+
+"Whoever would comprehend the causes which led to the struggle of the
+Colonies for independence," says John Adams, "must study the Acts of
+the Board of Trade."
+
+In this volume I have endeavored to briefly present some of those
+acts, in the conversation of Sam Adams with Robert Walden, that the
+school children of the country may have a comprehension of the
+underlying causes which brought about resistance to the tyranny of the
+mother country. The injustice of the laws had its legitimate result in
+a disregard of moral obligations, so that smuggling was regarded as a
+virtuous act.
+
+In no history have I been able to find an account of the tragic death
+and dramatic burial of the schoolboy Christopher Snider, given in
+chapter VIII. It was the expression of sympathy by the people in
+following the body of the murdered boy from the Liberty Tree to the
+burial-place that intensified the antagonism between the citizens and
+the soldiers of the Fourteenth and Twenty-ninth regiments of the
+king's troops, which led, the following week, to the Massacre of March
+5, 1770. Bancroft barely mentions the name of Snider; other historians
+make no account of the event.
+
+To explain the motives and the play of forces which brought about the
+Revolution, I have endeavored to set forth society as it was not only
+in Boston but in Parliament and at the Court of George III. Most
+historians of the Revolutionary period regard the debt incurred by
+Great Britain in the conquest of Canada as the chief cause of the war,
+through the attempt of the mother country, subsequently, to obtain
+revenue from the Colonies; but a study of the times gives conclusive
+evidence that a large portion of the indebtedness was caused by
+mismanagement and the venality and corruption of Parliament.
+
+To set forth the extravagance and frivolity of society surrounding
+King George, I have employed Lord Upperton and his companion, Mr.
+Dapper, as narrators. The student of history by turning to Jessee's
+"Life and Times of George III.," Molloy's "Court Life Below Stairs,"
+Waldegrave's "Memoirs," Horace Walpole's writings, and many other
+volumes, will find ample corroboration of any statement made in this
+volume.
+
+The period was characterized by sublime enthusiasm, self-sacrifice,
+and devotion, not only by the patriots but by loyalists who
+conscientiously adhered to the crown. In our admiration of those who
+secured the independence of the Colonies, we have overlooked the
+sacrifices and sufferings of the loyalists;--their distress during the
+siege of Boston, the agony of the hour when suddenly confronted with
+the appalling fact that they must become aliens, exiles, and
+wanderers, leaving behind all their possessions and estates,--an hour
+when there was a sundering of tender ties, the breaking of hearts.
+
+I have endeavored to make the recital of events strictly conformable
+with historic facts by consulting newspapers, documents, almanacs,
+diaries, genealogical records, and family histories.
+
+It was my great privilege in boyhood to hear the story of the
+battle of Bunker Hill told by three men who participated in the
+fight.--Eliakim Walker, who was in the redoubt under Prescott,
+Nathaniel Atkinson and David Flanders, who were under Stark, by the
+rail fence. They were near neighbors, pensioners of the government,
+and found pleasure in rehearsing the events of the Revolutionary War.
+My grandfather, Eliphalet Kilburn, was at Winter Hill at the time of
+the battle.
+
+It was also my privilege to walk over Bunker Hill with Richard
+Frothingham, author of the "Siege of Boston," whose home was on the
+spot where Pigot's brigade was cut down by the withering fire from the
+redoubt. Mr. Frothingham had conversed with many old pensioners who
+were in the redoubt at the time of the battle. In my account of the
+engagement I have endeavored to picture it in accordance with the
+various narratives.
+
+I hardly need say that Ruth Newville, Berinthia Brandon, and Mary
+Shrimpton are typical characters, representing the young women of the
+period,--a period in which families were divided, parents adhering to
+King George, sons and daughters giving their allegiance to Liberty.
+
+I am under obligations to the proprietors of the "Memorial History of
+Boston" for the portrait of Mrs. Joseph Warren. The portrait of
+Dorothy Quincy is from that in possession of the Bostonian Society;
+that of Mrs. John Adams from her "Life and Letters."
+
+The historic houses are from recent photographs.
+
+I trust the reader will not regard this volume wholly as a romance,
+but rather as a presentation of the events, scenes, incidents, and
+spirit of the people at the beginning of the Revolution.
+
+ CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ INTRODUCTION iii
+
+ I. ROBERT WALDEN GOES TO MARKET 1
+
+ II. FIRST DAY IN BOSTON 20
+
+ III. THE SONS OF LIBERTY 38
+
+ IV. AN EVENING WITH SAM ADAMS 49
+
+ V. A GARDEN TEA-PARTY 69
+
+ VI. CHRIST CHURCH CHIMES 93
+
+ VII. LAUNCHING OF THE BERINTHIA BRANDON 104
+
+ VIII. CHRISTOPHER SNIDER 119
+
+ IX. THE LOBSTERS AND ROPEMAKERS 130
+
+ X. MRS. NEWVILLE'S DINNER-PARTY 149
+
+ XI. SOCIETY LIFE IN LONDON 174
+
+ XII. A NEW ENGLAND GIRL 188
+
+ XIII. THE MOHAWKS AND THEIR TEA-PARTY 203
+
+ XIV. BENEVOLENCE AND BROTHERHOOD 221
+
+ XV. THE MIDNIGHT RIDE 241
+
+ XVI. THE MORNING DRUMBEAT 259
+
+ XVII. BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA 266
+
+ XVIII. BESIEGED 280
+
+ XIX. BUNKER HILL 291
+
+ XX. WHEN THE TIDE WAS GOING OUT 305
+
+ XXI. THE ESCAPE 320
+
+ XXII. BRAVE OF HEART 337
+
+ XXIII. SUNDERING OF HEARTSTRINGS 356
+
+ XXIV. IN THE OLD HOME 374
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ ELIZABETH HOOTON WARREN _Frontispiece_
+
+ OLD BRICK MEETINGHOUSE 16
+
+ LATIN SCHOOL 17
+
+ GREEN DRAGON TAVERN 18
+
+ FANEUIL HALL AND MARKET-PLACE 21
+
+ MAP OF BOSTON 23
+
+ SAMUEL ADAMS 26
+
+ DOCTOR JOSEPH WARREN 40
+
+ COPP'S HILL BURIAL GROUND 49
+
+ IN THE SHIPYARD 53
+
+ MASTER LOVELL 73
+
+ ABIGAIL SMITH ADAMS 82
+
+ MR. HANCOCK'S HOUSE 83
+
+ DOROTHY QUINCY 84
+
+ CHRIST CHURCH 94
+
+ LAUNCHING THE SHIP 110
+
+ LORD NORTH 129
+
+ KING'S CHAPEL 135
+
+ TOWN HOUSE 143
+
+ GEORGE III. 161
+
+ QUEEN SOPHIA CHARLOTTE 166
+
+ LORD PERCY 232
+
+ PAUL REVERE'S HOUSE 253
+
+ REVEREND JONAS CLARK'S HOUSE 258
+
+ BUCKMAN'S TAVERN 260
+
+ JONATHAN HARRINGTON'S HOUSE 264
+
+ ROBERT MUNROE'S HOUSE 266
+
+ MAP, ROUTE TO LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 267
+
+ REVEREND WILLIAM EMERSON'S HOUSE 268
+
+ WRIGHT'S TAVERN 270
+
+ NORTH BRIDGE 272
+
+ MERRIAM'S CORNER 274
+
+ MUNROE TAVERN 276
+
+ PROVINCE HOUSE 281
+
+ WHERE WASHINGTON ASSUMED COMMAND 308
+
+ PLANNING THE ESCAPE 324
+
+ WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS 334
+
+ THE DINNER-PARTY 381
+
+ HOME OF THE EXILES 384
+
+
+
+
+DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+ROBERT WALDEN GOES TO MARKET.
+
+
+Joshua Walden, of Rumford, Province of New Hampshire, was receiving
+letters from Samuel Adams and Doctor Joseph Warren in relation to the
+course pursued by King George III. and his ministers in collecting
+revenue from the Colonies. Mr. Walden had fought the French and
+Indians at Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the war with France. The gun
+and powder-horn which he carried under Captain John Stark were hanging
+over the door in his kitchen. His farm was on the banks of the
+Merrimac. The stately forest trees had fallen beneath the sturdy blows
+of his axe, and the sun was shining on intervale and upland, meadow
+and pasture which he had cleared. His neighbors said he was getting
+forehanded. Several times during the year he made a journey to Boston
+with his cheeses, beef, pigs, turkeys, geese, chickens, a barrel
+of apple-sauce, bags filled with wool, together with webs of
+linsey-woolsey spun and woven by his wife and daughter. He never
+failed to have a talk with Mr. Adams and Doctor Warren, John Hancock,
+and others foremost in resisting the aggressions of the mother
+country upon the rights and liberties of the Colonies. When at home he
+was up early in the morning, building the fire, feeding the cattle,
+and milking the cows. Mrs. Walden, the while, was stirring the corn
+meal for a johnny-cake, putting the potatoes in the ashes, placing the
+Dutch oven on the coals, hanging the pots and kettles on the hooks and
+trammels.
+
+Robert, their only son, twenty years old, would be glad to take
+another nap after being called by his father, but felt it would not be
+manly for one who had mowed all the hired men out of their swaths in
+the hayfield, and who had put the best wrestler in Rumford on his
+back, to lie in bed and let his father do all the chores, with the
+cows lowing to get to the pasture. With a spring he was on his feet
+and slipping on his clothes. He was soon on his way to the barn,
+drumming on the tin pail and whistling as he walked to the milking.
+
+The cows turned into pasture, he rubbed down the mare Jenny and the
+colt Paul, fed the pigs, washed his face and hands, and was ready for
+breakfast.
+
+It would not have been like Rachel Walden, the only daughter, eighteen
+years old, to lie in bed and let her mother do all the work about the
+house. She came from her chamber with tripping steps, as if it were a
+pleasure to be wide awake after a good sleep. She fed the chickens,
+set the table, raked the potatoes from the ashes, drew a mug of cider
+for her father. When breakfast was ready, they stood by their chairs
+while Mr. Walden asked a blessing. The meal finished, he read a
+chapter in the Bible and offered prayer. When the "Amen" was said,
+Mr. Walden and Robert put on their hats and went about their work.
+Mrs. Walden passed upstairs to throw the shuttle of the loom. Rachel
+washed the dishes, wheyed the curd, and prepared it for the press,
+turned the cheeses and rubbed them with fat. That done, she set the
+kitchen to rights, made the beds, sprinkled clean sand upon the floor,
+wet the web of linen bleaching on the grass in the orchard, then
+slipped upstairs and set the spinning-wheel to humming. His neighbors
+said that Mr. Walden was thrifty and could afford to wear a broadcloth
+blue coat with bright brass buttons on grand occasions, and that Mrs.
+Walden was warranted in having a satin gown.
+
+Haying was over. The rye was reaped, the wheat and oats were
+harvested, and the flax was pulled. September had come,--the time
+when Mr. Walden usually went to Boston with the cheese.
+
+"Father," said Rachel at dinner, "I wish you would take the cheeses to
+market. It is hard work to turn so many every day."
+
+Mr. Walden sat in silence awhile. "Robert," he said at length, "how
+would you like to try your hand at truck and dicker?"
+
+"If you think I can do it I will try," Robert replied, surprised at
+the question, yet gratified.
+
+"Of course you can do it. You can figure up how much a cheese that
+tips the steelyard at twenty pounds and three ounces will come to at
+three pence ha'penny per pound. You know, or you ought to know, the
+difference between a pistareen and a smooth-faced shilling. When you
+truck and dicker, you've got to remember that the other feller is
+doing it all the time, while you will be as green as a pumpkin in
+August. When you are tasting 'lasses, you must run a stick into the
+bung-hole of the barrel clear down to the bottom and then lift it up
+and see if it is thick or thin. T'other feller will want you to taste
+it at the spiggot, where it will be almost sugar. When you are
+selecting dried codfish, look sharp and not let him give you all damp
+ones from the bottom of the pile, neither the little scrimped ones
+from the top. Of course you will get cheated, but you have got to
+begin knocking about some time. You're old enough to have your eye
+teeth cut. You can put Jenny up at the Green Dragon and visit Cousin
+Jedidiah Brandon on Copp's Hill, see the ships he is building, visit
+with Tom and Berinthia. Tom, I guess, is going to be a chip of the old
+block, and Berinthia is a nice girl. Take your good clothes along in
+your trunk, so after you get through handling the cheese you can dress
+like a gentleman. I want you to pick out the best cheese of the lot
+and give it to Samuel Adams, also another to Doctor Warren, with my
+compliments. You can say to Mr. Adams I would like any information he
+can give about what is going on in London relative to taxing the
+Colonies. He is very kind, and possibly may ask you to call upon him
+of an evening, for he is very busy during the day. Doctor Warren is
+one of the kindest-hearted men in the world, and chuck full of
+patriotism. He will give a hearty shake to your hand.
+
+"You had better mouse round the market awhile before trading. John
+Hancock bought my last load. His store is close by Faneuil Hall. He is
+rich, inherited his property from his uncle. He lives in style in a
+stone house on Beacon Hill. He is liberal with his money, and is one
+of the few rich men in Boston who take sides with the people against
+the aggressions of King George and his ministers. Mr. Adams begins to
+be gray, but Warren and Hancock are both young men. They are doing
+grand things in maintaining the rights of the Colonies. I want you to
+make their acquaintance. By seeing and talking with such men you will
+be worth more to yourself and everybody else. Your going to market and
+meeting such gentlemen will be as good as several months of school.
+You'll see more people than you ever saw on the muster-field; ships
+from foreign lands will be moored in the harbor. You'll see houses by
+the thousand, meetinghouses with tall steeples, and will hear the
+bells ring at five o'clock in the morning, getting-up time, at noon
+for dinner, and at nine in the evening, bed-time. Two regiments of
+redcoats are there. The latest news is that they are getting sassy. I
+can believe it. At Ticonderoga and Crown Point they used to put on
+airs, and call the Provincials "string-beans," "polly-pods," "slam
+bangs." They turned up their noses at our buckskin breeches, but when
+it came to fighting we showed 'em what stuff we were made of. Don't
+let 'em pick a quarrel, but don't take any sass from 'em. Do right by
+everybody."
+
+"I will try to do right," Robert replied.
+
+The sun was rising the next morning when Robert gathered up the reins
+and stood ready to step into the wagon which had been loaded for the
+market.
+
+"You have three dozen new milk cheeses," said Rachel, "and two and one
+half dozen of four meal. I have marked the four meals with a cross in
+the centre, so you'll know them from the new milk. There are sixteen
+greened with sage. They look real pretty. I have put in half a dozen
+skims; somebody may want 'em for toasting."
+
+"You will find," said Mrs. Walden, "a web of linsey-woolsey in your
+trunk with your best clothes, and a dozen skeins of wool yarn. It is
+lamb's wool. I've doubled and twisted it, and I don't believe the
+women will find in all Boston anything softer or nicer for stockings."
+
+"I have put up six quarts of caraway seed," said Rachel. "I guess the
+bakers will want it to put into gingerbread. And I have packed ten
+dozen eggs in oats, in a basket. They are all fresh. You can use the
+oats to bait Jenny with on your way home."
+
+"There are two bushels of beans," said Mr. Walden, "in that bag,--the
+one-hundred-and-one kind,--and a bushel and three pecks of clover seed
+in the other bag. You can get a barrel of 'lasses, half a quintal of
+codfish, half a barrel of mackerel, and a bag of Turk's Island salt."
+
+"Don't forget," said Mrs. Walden, "that we want some pepper, spice,
+cinnamon, nutmegs, cloves, and some of the very best Maccaboy snuff.
+Oh, let me see! I want a new foot-stove. Our old one is all banged up,
+and I am ashamed to be seen filling it at noon in winter in Deacon
+Stonegood's kitchen, with all the women looking on, and theirs spick
+and span new."
+
+"Father and mother have told me what they want, and now what shall I
+get for you, Rachel?" Robert asked of his sister.
+
+"Anything you please, Rob," Rachel replied with such tender love in
+her eyes that he had half a mind to kiss her. But kissing was not
+common in Rumford or anywhere else in New England. Never had he seen
+his father give his mother such a token of affection. He had a dim
+recollection that his mother sometimes kissed him when he was a little
+fellow in frock and trousers, sitting in her lap. He never had kissed
+Rachel, but he would now, and gave her a hearty smack. He saw an
+unusual brightness in her eyes and a richer bloom upon her cheek as he
+stepped into the wagon.
+
+"I'll get something nice for her," he said to himself as he rode away.
+
+Besides the other articles in the wagon, there was a bag of wool,
+sheared from his own flock. Years before his father had given him a
+cosset lamb, and now he was the owner of a dozen sheep. Yes, he would
+get something for her.
+
+The morning air was fresh and pure. He whistled a tune and watched the
+wild pigeons flying in great flocks here and there, and the red-winged
+blackbirds sweeping past him from their roosting in the alders along
+the meadow brook to the stubble field where the wheat had been
+harvested. Gray squirrels were barking in the woods, and their cousins
+the reds, less shy, were scurrying along the fence rails and up the
+chestnut-trees to send the prickly burrs to the ground. The first
+tinge of autumn was on the elms and maples. Jenny had been to market
+so many times she could be trusted to take the right road, and he
+could lie upon his sack of wool and enjoy the changing landscape.
+
+Mrs. Stark was blowing the horn for dinner at John Stark's tavern in
+Derryfield when Jenny came to a standstill by the stable door.[1]
+Robert put her in the stall, washed his face and hands in the basin on
+the bench by the bar-room door, and was ready for dinner. Captain
+Stark shook hands with him. Robert beheld a tall, broad-shouldered
+man, with a high forehead, bright blue eyes, and pleasant countenance,
+but with lines in his cheek indicating that he could be very firm and
+resolute. This was he under whom his father served at Ticonderoga and
+Crown Point.
+
+[Footnote 1: John Stark, tavern-keeper in Derryfield, was the renowned
+Indian fighter and captain of the corps of Rifle Rangers in the war
+with France. (See Biography by Jared Sparks.) The tavern is still
+standing in the suburbs of the city of Manchester, N. H.]
+
+"So you are the son of Josh Walden, eh? Well, you have your father's
+eyes, nose, and mouth. If you have got the grit he had at Ti, I'll bet
+on you."
+
+Many times Robert had heard his father tell the story of the Rifle
+Rangers, the service they performed, the hardships they endured, and
+the bravery and coolness of John Stark in battle.
+
+Through the afternoon the mare trotted on, halting at sunset at Jacob
+Abbott's stable in Andover.
+
+It was noon the next day when Robert reached Cambridge. He had heard
+about Harvard College; now he saw the buildings. The students were
+having a game of football after dinner. The houses along the streets
+were larger than any he had ever seen before,--stately mansions with
+porticoes, pillars, pilasters, carved cornices, and verandas. The
+gardens were still bright with the flowers of autumn. Reaching
+Roxbury, he came across a man slowly making his way along the road
+with a cane.
+
+"Let me give you a lift, sir," Robert said.
+
+"Thank you. I have been down with the rheumatiz, and can't skip round
+quite as lively as I could once," said the man as he climbed into the
+wagon. "'Spect you are from the country and on your way to market,
+eh?"
+
+Robert replied that he was from New Hampshire.
+
+"Ever been this way before?"
+
+"No, this is my first trip."
+
+"Well, then, perhaps I can p'int out some things that may interest
+ye."
+
+Robert thanked him.
+
+"This little strip of land we are on is the 'Neck.' This water on our
+left is Charles River,--this on our right is Gallows Bay. Ye see that
+thing out there, don't ye?"
+
+The man pointed with his cane. "Well, that's the gallows, where
+pirates and murderers are hung. Lots of 'em have been swung off there,
+with thousands of people looking to see 'em have their necks
+stretched. 'Tain't a pretty sight, though."
+
+The man took a chew of tobacco, and renewed the conversation.
+
+"My name is Peter Bushwick, and yours may be--?"
+
+"Robert Walden."
+
+"Thank ye, Mr. Walden. So ye took the road through Cambridge instead
+of Charlestown."
+
+"I let Jenny pick the road. That through Charlestown would have been
+nearer, but I should have to cross the ferry. My father usually comes
+this way."[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: No bridge from Charlestown had been constructed across
+Charles Rivers (1769), and the only avenue leading into Boston was
+from Roxbury.]
+
+"Mighty fine mare, Mr. Walden; ye can see she's a knowing critter.
+She's got the right kind of an ear; she knows what she's about."
+
+They were at the narrowest part of the peninsula, and Mr. Bushwick
+told about the barricade built by the first settlers at that point to
+protect the town from the Indians, and pointed to a large elm-tree
+which they could see quite a distance ahead.
+
+"That is the Liberty Tree,"[3] he said.
+
+[Footnote 3: The elm-tree stood at the junction of Orange and Essex
+streets and Frog Lane, now Washington, Essex and Boylston streets. In
+1766, upon the repeal of the Stamp Act, a large copper plate was
+nailed upon the tree with the following inscription: "This tree was
+planted in the year 1646 and pruned by the Order of the Sons of
+Liberty February 14, 1766." Other trees stood near it, furnishing a
+grateful shade. The locality before 1767 was known as Hanover Square,
+but after the repeal of the Stamp Act, as Liberty Hall. In August,
+1767, a flagstaff was raised above its branches; the hoisting of a
+flag upon the staff was a signal for the assembling of the Sons of
+Liberty.]
+
+"Why do you call it the Liberty Tree?"
+
+"Because it is where the Sons of Liberty meet. It is a mighty fine
+tree, and, as near as we can make out, is more than one hundred years
+old. We hang the Pope there on Guy Fawkes' day, and traitors to
+liberty on other days."
+
+"I have heard you have jolly good times on Gunpowder Plot days."
+
+"You may believe we do. You would have laughed if you'd been here
+Gunpowder day seven years ago this coming November, when the Pope,
+Admiral Byng, Nancy Dawson,[4] and the Devil, all were found hanging
+on the old elm."
+
+[Footnote 4: Nancy Dawson, when a little girl, was employed in setting
+up skittles for players in High Street, Mary-le-bone, London. She was
+agile, graceful, and had an attractive figure. She first appeared as a
+dancer at Sadler's Wells theatre, where she soon attracted much
+attention, and in a short time became a great favorite. A rhymster
+wrote a song for her which was introduced (1764) into the play, "Love
+in a Valley." It was also arranged as a hornpipe for the harpsichord
+and sung by young ladies throughout England. Children sang it in the
+play, "Here we go round the Mulberry bush." The popularity of Nancy
+Dawson was at its height in 1769.]
+
+"I don't think I ever heard about Admiral Byng and Nancy Dawson."
+
+"Well, then, I must tell ye. Byng didn't fight the French and
+Spaniards at Minorca, but sailed away and sort o' showed the white
+feather, and so was court-martialed and shot on his own ship."
+
+"What did Nancy do?"
+
+"Oh, Nancy never did anything except kick up her heels; she's the best
+dancer in London, so they say. We haven't any theatre in this 'ere
+town, and don't have much dancing. We have the Thursday lecture
+instead."
+
+Robert wondered whether the allusion to the lecture was said soberly
+or in sarcasm.
+
+"In London they go wild over dancing. Maybe I might sing a song about
+her if ye would like to hear it."
+
+"I would like very much to hear it."
+
+Mr. Bushwick took the quid of tobacco from his mouth, cleared his
+throat, and sang,--
+
+ "'Of all the girls in our town,
+ The black, the fair, the red, the brown,
+ That dance and prance it up and down,
+ There's none like Nancy Dawson.
+
+ "'Her easy mien, her shape, so neat,
+ She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet,
+ Her every motion so complete,--
+ There's none like Nancy Dawson.
+
+ "'See how she comes to give surprise,
+ With joy and pleasure in her eyes;
+ To give delight she always tries,--
+ There's none like Nancy Dawson.'"
+
+"That's a good song," said Robert. Mr. Bushwick put the quid once more
+in his mouth, and went on with the story.
+
+"On that night a great crowd gathered around the tree; the boys who go
+to Master Lovell's school came with an old knocked-kneed horse and a
+rickety wagon with a platform in it. They fixed the effigies on the
+platform with cords and pulleys, so that the arms and legs would be
+lifted when the boys under it pulled the strings. We lighted our
+torches and formed in procession. The fifers played the Rogue's March,
+and the bellman went ahead singing a song.
+
+ "'Don't you remember
+ The fifth of November--
+ The gunpowder treason plot?
+ I see no reason
+ Why gunpowder treason
+ Should ever be forgot.
+
+ "'From the city of Rome
+ The Pope has come
+ Amid ten thousand fears,
+ With fiery serpents to be seen
+ At eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
+
+ "'Don't you hear my little bell
+ Go chinking, chinking, chink?
+ Please give me a little money
+ To buy my Pope a drink.'
+
+"The streets were filled with people, who tossed pennies into the
+bellman's hat. Everybody laughed to see the Pope lifting his hands and
+working his under jaw as if preaching, Byng rolling his goggle eyes,
+Nancy kicking with both legs, and the Devil wriggling his tail. We
+marched awhile, then put the Pope and the devil into the stocks, Nancy
+in the pillory, tied Byng to the whipping-post and gave him a
+flogging, then kindled a bonfire in King Street, pitched the effigies
+into it, and went into the Tun and Bacchus, Bunch of Grapes, and
+Admiral Vernon, and drank flip, egg-nogg, punch, and black strap."[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: Black strap was composed of rum and molasses, and was
+often drunk by those who could not afford more expensive beverages.]
+
+Mr. Bushwick chuckled merrily, and took a fresh quid of tobacco.
+Robert also laughed at the vivacious description.
+
+"But I don't quite see why it should be called the Liberty Tree,"
+Robert said.
+
+"I was coming to that. You know that Lord Bute brought forward the
+Stamp Act a few years ago: well, this old elm being so near the White
+Lamb and the White Horse, it was a convenient place for the citizens
+to meet to talk about the proposition to tax us. One evening Ben Edes,
+who publishes the 'Gazette and News-Letter,' read what Ike Barre said
+in Parliament in opposition to the Stamp Act, in which he called us
+Americans Sons of Liberty, and as that was our meeting-place, we
+christened the place Liberty Hall and the old elm Liberty Tree. That
+was in July, 1765, just after Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The
+king had appointed Andrew Oliver stamp-master, and one morning his
+effigy was dangling from the tree, and a paper pinned to it writ
+large:--
+
+ "'Fair Freedom's glorious Cause I've meanly quitted
+ For the sake of pelf;
+ But ah, the Devil has me outwitted;
+ Instead of hanging others,
+ I've hanged myself.'
+
+"Then there was a figure of a great boot, with the Devil peeping out
+of it, to represent the king's minister, Lord Bute. When night came,
+all hands of us formed in procession, laid the effigies on a bier,
+marched to the Province House so that the villain, Governor Bernard,
+could see us, went to Mackerel Lane, tore down the building Oliver was
+intending to use for the sale of the stamps, went to Fort Hill, ripped
+the boards from his barn, smashed in his front door, and burned the
+effigies to let him know we never would consent to be taxed in that
+way. A few days later Oliver came to the tree, held up his hand, and
+swore a solemn oath that he never would sell any stamps, so help him
+God! And he never did, for ye see King George had to back down and
+repeal the bill. It was the next May when Shubael Coffin, master of
+the brigantine Harrison, brought the news. We set all the bells to
+ringing, fired cannon, and tossed up our hats. The rich people opened
+their purses and paid the debts of everybody in jail. We hung
+lanterns on the tree in the evening, set off rockets, and kindled
+bonfires. John Hancock kept open house, with ladies and gentlemen
+feasting in his parlors, and pipes of wine on tap in the front yard
+for everybody."
+
+"It must have been a joyful day," said Robert.
+
+"That's what it was. Everybody was generous. Last year when the day
+came round a lot of us gathered under the old tree to celebrate it.
+Sam Adams was there, James Otis, Doctor Warren, John Hancock, and ever
+so many more. We fired salutes, sang songs, and drank fourteen toasts.
+That was at ten o'clock. Just before noon we rode out to the Greyhound
+Tavern in Roxbury in carriages and chaises, and had a dinner of fish,
+roast pig, sirloin, goose, chickens and all the trimmings, topping off
+with plum-pudding and apple-pie, sang Dickenson's Liberty Song, drank
+thirty more toasts, forty-four in all, filling our glasses with port,
+madeira, egg-nogg, flip, punch, and brandy. Some of us, of course,
+were rather jolly, but we got home all right," said Mr. Bushwick,
+laughing.
+
+"You mean that some of you were a little weak in the legs," said
+Robert.
+
+"Yes, and that the streets were rather crooked," Mr. Bushwick replied,
+laughing once more.
+
+They were abreast of the tree, and Robert reined in Jenny while he
+admired its beautiful proportions.
+
+"I think I must leave you at this point; my house is down here, on Cow
+Lane,[6] not far from the house of Sam Adams. I'm ever so much obliged
+to you for the lift ye've given me," said Mr. Bushwick as he shook
+hands with Robert.
+
+[Footnote 6: Cow Lane is the present High Street.]
+
+"I thank you for the information you have given me," Robert replied.
+
+[Illustration: OLD BRICK MEETINGHOUSE]
+
+Jenny walked on, past the White Horse Inn and the Lamb Tavern. A
+little farther, and he beheld the Province House, a building with a
+cupola surmounted by a spire. The weather-vane was an Indian with bow
+and arrow. The king's arms, carved and gilded, were upon the balcony
+above the doorway. Chestnut trees shaded the green plot of ground
+between the building and the street. A soldier with his musket on his
+shoulder was standing guard. Upon the other side of the way, a few
+steps farther, was a meetinghouse; he thought it must be the Old
+South. His father had informed him he would see a brick building with
+an apothecary's sign on the corner just beyond the Old South, and
+there it was.[7] Also, the Cromwell's Head Tavern on a cross street,
+and a schoolhouse, which he concluded must be Master Lovell's Latin
+School. He suddenly found Jenny quickening her pace, and understood
+the meaning when she plunged her nose into a watering trough by the
+town pump. While she was drinking Robert was startled by a bell
+tolling almost over his head; upon looking up he beheld the dial of a
+clock and remembered his father had said it was on the Old Brick
+Meetinghouse; that the building nearly opposite was the Town House.[8]
+He saw two cannon in the street and a soldier keeping guard before
+the door. Negro servants were filling their pails at the pump, and
+kindly pumped water for the mare. Looking down King Street toward the
+water, he saw the stocks and pillory, the Custom House, and in the
+distance the masts and yard-arms of ships. Up Queen Street he could
+see the jail.
+
+[Footnote 7: The building known as the Old Corner Bookstore, at the
+junction of School and Washington streets. The Cromwell's Head Tavern
+was No. 19 School Street.]
+
+[Footnote 8: The old brick meetinghouse of the First Church occupied
+the site of the present Rogers Building, nearly opposite the Old State
+House.]
+
+[Illustration: Latin School.]
+
+The mare, having finished drinking, jogged on. He saw on the left-hand
+side of the street the shop of Paul Revere, goldsmith.[9] The thought
+came that possibly he might find something there that would be nice
+and pretty for Rachel.
+
+[Footnote 9: The shop of Paul Revere stood on Cornhill, now No. 169
+Washington Street.]
+
+Jenny, knowing she was nearing the end of her journey, trotted through
+Union Street, stopping at last in front of a building where an iron
+rod projected from the wall, supporting a green dragon with wings,
+open jaws, teeth, and a tongue shaped like a dart.[10] The red-faced
+landlord was standing in the doorway.
+
+[Footnote 10: The Green Dragon Tavern stood in Green Dragon Lane, now
+Union street. The lane in 1769 terminated at the mill-pond, a few rods
+from the tavern. In front it showed two stories, but had three stories
+and a basement in the rear. The hall was in the second story. The sign
+was of sheet copper, hanging from an iron rod projecting from the
+building. The rooms were named Devonshire, Somerset, Norfolk,
+respectively, for the shires of Old England. The building was about
+one hundred years old, and was occupied, 1695, by Alexander Smith as a
+tavern. The estate at one time was owned by Lieut.-Governor William
+Stoughton, who was acting governor and took a prominent part in
+persecuting those accused of witchcraft. He was a man of large wealth,
+and devised a portion of his property to Harvard College, Stoughton
+Hall being named for him.]
+
+[Illustration: Green Dragon Tavern.]
+
+"Well Jenny, old girl, how do you do?" he said, addressing the mare.
+"So it is the son and not the father? I hope you are well. And how's
+your dad?"
+
+Robert replied that his father was well.
+
+"Here, Joe; put this mare in the stable, and give her a good rubbing
+down. She's as nice a piece as ever went on four legs."
+
+The hostler took the reins and Robert stepped from the wagon.
+
+"Pete Augustus, take this gentleman's trunk up to Devonshire. It will
+be your room, Mr. Walden."
+
+Robert followed the negro upstairs, and discovered that each room had
+its distinctive name. He could have carried the trunk, but as he was
+to be a gentleman, it would not be dignified were he to shoulder it.
+He knew he must be in the market early in the morning, and went to bed
+soon after supper. He might have gone at once to Copp's Hill, assured
+of a hearty welcome in the Brandon home, but preferred to make the
+Green Dragon his abiding-place till through with the business that
+brought him to Boston.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+FIRST DAY IN BOSTON.
+
+
+Farmers from the towns around Boston were already in the market-place
+around Faneuil Hall the next morning when Robert drove down from the
+Green Dragon.[11] Those who had quarters of beef and lamb for sale
+were cutting the meat upon heavy oaken tables. Fishermen were bringing
+baskets filled with mackerel and cod from their boats moored in the
+dock. An old man was pushing a wheelbarrow before him filled with
+lobsters. Housewives followed by negro servants were purchasing meats
+and vegetables, holding eggs to the light to see if they were fresh,
+tasting pats of butter, handling chickens, and haggling with the
+farmers about the prices of what they had to sell.
+
+[Footnote 11: The market was held in the open space around Faneuil
+Hall, in which were rails where the farmers from the surrounding towns
+hitched their horses. It was bounded on one side by the dock where the
+fishermen moored their boats.]
+
+The town-crier was jingling his bell and shouting that Thomas Russell
+at the auction room on Queen Street would sell a great variety of
+plain and spotted, lilac, scarlet, strawberry-colored, and yellow
+paduasoys, bellandine silks, sateens, galloons, ferrets, grograms, and
+harratines at half past ten o'clock.
+
+Robert tied Jenny to the hitching-rail, and walked amid the hucksters
+to see what they had to sell; by observation he could ascertain the
+state of the market, and govern himself accordingly. After
+interviewing the hucksters he entered a store.
+
+"No, I don't want any cheese," said the first on whom he called.
+
+[Illustration: Faneuil Hall.]
+
+"The market is glutted," replied the second.
+
+"If it were a little later in the season I would talk with you," was
+the answer of the third.
+
+"I've got more on hand now than I know what to do with," said the
+fourth.
+
+Robert began to think he might have to take them back to Rumford. He
+saw a sign, "John Hancock, Successor to Thomas Hancock," and
+remembered that his father had traded there, and that John Hancock
+was associated with Sam Adams and Doctor Warren in resisting the
+aggressions of the king's ministers. Mr. Hancock was not in the store,
+but would soon be there. The clerk said he would look at what Robert
+had to sell, put on his hat, stepped to the wagon, stood upon the
+thills, held a cheese to his nose, pressed it with his thumb, tapped
+it with a gimlet, tasted it, and smacked his lips.
+
+"Your mother makes good cheese," he said.
+
+"My sister made them."
+
+"Your sister, eh. Older than yourself?"
+
+"No, younger; only seventeen."
+
+"Indeed! Well, you may tell her she is a dabster at cheese-making. Do
+you want cash? If you do I'm afeard we shall not be able to trade,
+because cash is cash these days; but if you are willing to barter I
+guess we can dicker, for Mr. Hancock is going to freight a ship to the
+West Indias and wants something to send in her, and it strikes me the
+sugar planters at Porto Rico might like a bit of cheese," the clerk
+said.
+
+"I shall want some sugar, coffee, molasses, codfish, and other
+things."
+
+"I'll give you the market price for all your cheeses, and make fair
+rates on what you want from us."
+
+"I can't let you have all. I must reserve two of the best."
+
+"May I ask why you withhold two?"
+
+"Because my father wishes to present one to Mr. Samuel Adams and the
+other to Doctor Joseph Warren, who are doing so much to preserve the
+rights of the Colonies."
+
+[Illustration: BONNER'S Map of Boston for 1722.]
+
+"Your father's name is"--
+
+"Joshua Walden," said Robert.
+
+"Oh yes, I remember him well. He was down here last winter and I
+bought his load. He had a barrel of apple-sauce, and Mr. Hancock
+liked it so well he took it for his own table. There is Mr. Hancock,
+now," said the clerk, as a chaise drove up and halted before the door.
+
+Robert saw a tall young man, wearing a saffron colored velvet coat,
+ruffled shirt, buff satin breeches, black silk stockings, and shining
+shoe-buckles, step in a dignified manner from the chaise and hand the
+reins to a gray-headed negro, who lifted his hat as he took them.
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Ledger," he said to the clerk.
+
+"Good-morning," the clerk replied, lifting his hat.
+
+"Well, how is the Mary Jane getting on? Have you found anything in the
+market on which we can turn a penny? I want to get her off as soon as
+possible."
+
+"I was just having a talk with this young gentleman about his cheeses.
+This is Mr. Walden from Rumford. You perhaps may remember his father,
+with whom we traded last year."
+
+"Oh yes, I remember Mr. Joshua Walden. I hope your father is well. I
+have not forgotten his earnestness in all matters relating to the
+welfare of the Colonies. Nor have I forgotten that barrel of
+apple-sauce he brought to market, and I want to make a bargain for
+another barrel just like it. All my guests pronounced it superb. Step
+into the store, Mr. Walden, and, Mr. Ledger, a bottle of madeira, if
+you please."
+
+The clerk stepped down cellar and returned with a bottle of wine, took
+from a cupboard a salver and glasses and filled them.
+
+"Shall we have the pleasure of drinking the health of your father?"
+said Mr. Hancock, courteously touching his glass to Robert's. "Please
+give him my compliments and say to him that we expect New Hampshire to
+stand shoulder to shoulder with Massachusetts in the cause of
+liberty."
+
+Mr. Hancock drank his wine slowly. Robert saw that he stood erect, and
+remembered he was captain of a military company--the Cadets.
+
+"Will you allow me to take a glass with you for your own health?" he
+said, refilling the glasses and bowing with dignity and again slowly
+drinking.
+
+"Mr. Ledger, you will please do what you can to accommodate Mr. Walden
+in the way of trade. You are right in thinking the planters of Jamaica
+will like some cheese from our New England dairies, and you may as
+well unload them at the dock; it will save rehandling them. We must
+have Mary Jane scudding away as soon as possible."
+
+Mr. Hancock bowed once more and sat down to his writing-desk.
+
+Robert drove his wagon alongside the ship and unloaded the cheeses,
+then called at the stores around Faneuil Hall to find a market for the
+yarn and cloth and his wool. Few were ready to pay him money, but at
+last all was sold.
+
+"Can you direct me to the house of Mr. Samuel Adams?" he asked of the
+town crier.
+
+"Oh yes, you go through Mackerel Lane[12] to Cow Lane and through that
+to Purchase Street, and you will see an orchard with apple and pear
+trees and a big house with stairs outside leading up to a platform on
+the roof; that's the house. Do you know Sam?"
+
+[Footnote 12: Mackerel Lane is the present Kilby Street.]
+
+"No, I never have seen Mr. Adams."
+
+[Illustration: Samuel Adams.]
+
+"Well, if you run across a tall, good-looking man between forty-five
+and fifty, with blue eyes, who wears a red cloak and cocked hat, and
+who looks as if he wasn't afeard of the king, the devil, or any of his
+imps, that is Maltster Sam. We call him Maltster Sam because he once
+made malt for a living, but didn't live by it because it didn't pay.
+He's a master hand in town meetings. He made it red-hot for Bernard,
+and he'll make it hotter for Sammy Hutchinson if he don't mind his
+p's and q's. Sam is a buster, now, I tell you."
+
+Robert drove through Cow Lane and came to the house. He rapped at the
+front door, which was opened by a tall man, with a pleasant but
+resolute countenance, whose clothes were plain and getting threadbare.
+His hair was beginning to be gray about the temples, and he wore a
+gray tie wig.
+
+"This is Mr. Adams, is it not?" Robert asked.
+
+"That is my name; what can I do for you?"
+
+"I am Robert Walden from Rumford. I think you know my father."
+
+"Yes, indeed. Please walk in. Son of my friend Joshua Walden? I am
+glad to see you," said Mr. Adams with a hearty shake of the hand.
+
+"I have brought you a cheese which my father wishes you to accept with
+his compliments."
+
+"That is just like him; he always brings us something. Please say to
+him that Mrs. Adams and myself greatly appreciate his kind remembrance
+of us."
+
+A tall lady with a comely countenance was descending the hall stairs.
+
+"Wife, this is Mr. Walden, son of our old friend; just see what he has
+brought us."
+
+Robert lifted his hat and was recognized by a gracious courtesy.
+
+"How good everybody is to us. The ravens fed Elijah, but I don't
+believe they brought cheese to him. We shall be reminded of your
+kindness every time we sit down to a meal," said Mrs. Adams.
+
+Robert thought he never had seen a smile more gracious than that upon
+her pale, careworn countenance.[13] He noticed that everything about
+the room was plain, but neat and tidy. Upon a shelf were the Bible,
+Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and a volume of Reverend Mr. South's
+sermons. Robert remembered his father said Mrs. Adams was the daughter
+of Reverend Mr. Checkley, minister of the New South Meetinghouse, and
+that Mr. Adams went to meeting there. Upon the table were law books,
+pamphlets, papers, letters, and newspapers. He saw that some of the
+letters bore the London postmark. He remembered his father said Mr.
+Adams had not much money; that he was so dead in earnest in
+maintaining the rights of the people he had little time to attend to
+his own affairs.
+
+[Footnote 13: Mrs. Adams was the daughter of Reverend Samuel Checkley,
+pastor of the New South Church, which stood on Church Green at the
+junction of Summer and Bedford streets. She was a woman of much
+refinement and intelligence, and greatly beloved.]
+
+"Will you be in town through the week and over the Sabbath?" Mr. Adams
+asked.
+
+Robert replied that he intended to visit his relatives, Mr. and Mrs.
+Brandon, on Copp's Hill.
+
+"Oh yes, my friend the shipbuilder--a very worthy gentleman, and his
+wife an estimable lady. They have an energetic and noble daughter and
+a promising son. I have an engagement to-night, another to-morrow, but
+shall be at home to-morrow evening, and I would like to have you and
+your young friends take supper with us. I will tell you something that
+your father would like to know."
+
+Robert thanked him, and took his departure. Thinking that Doctor
+Warren probably would be visiting his patients at that hour of the
+day, he drove to the Green Dragon, and put Jenny in her stall, and
+after dinner made his way to the goldsmith's shop to find a present
+for Rachel.
+
+Mr. Paul Revere, who had gold beads, brooches, silver spoons, shoe and
+knee buckles, clocks, and a great variety of articles for sale, was
+sitting on a bench engraving a copper plate. He laid down his
+graving-tool and came to the counter. Robert saw he had a benevolent
+face; that he was hale and hearty.
+
+"I would like to look at what you have that is pretty for a girl of
+eighteen," said Robert.
+
+Mr. Revere smiled as if he understood that the young man before him
+wanted something that would delight his sweetheart.
+
+"I want it for my sister," Robert added.
+
+Mr. Revere smiled again as he took a bag filled with gold beads from
+the showcase.
+
+"I think you cannot find anything prettier for your sister than a
+string of beads," he said. "Women and girls like them better than
+anything else. They are always in fashion. You will not make any
+mistake, I am sure, in selecting them."
+
+He held up several strings to the light, that Robert might see how
+beautiful they were.
+
+"I would like to look at your brooches."
+
+While the goldsmith was taking them from the showcase, he glanced at
+the pictures on the walls, printed from plates which Mr. Revere had
+engraved.
+
+The brooches were beautiful--ruby, onyx, sapphire, emerald, but after
+examining them he turned once more to the beads.
+
+"They are eighteen carats fine, and will not grow dim with use. I
+think your sister will be delighted with them."
+
+Robert thought so too, and felt a glow of pleasure when they were
+packed in soft paper and transferred from the case to his pocket.
+
+With the afternoon before him he strolled the streets, looking at
+articles in the shop windows, at the clock on the Old Brick
+Meetinghouse, the barracks of the soldiers,--the king's Twenty-Ninth
+Regiment.[14] Some of the redcoats were polishing their gun barrels
+and bayonets, others smoking their pipes. Beyond the barracks a little
+distance he saw Mr. Gray's ropewalk. He turned through Mackerel Lane
+and came to the Bunch of Grapes Tavern,[15] and just beyond it the
+Admiral Vernon. He strolled to Long Wharf. The king's warship, Romney,
+was riding at anchor near by, and a stately merchant ship was coming
+up the harbor. The fragrance of the sea was in the air. Upon the wharf
+were hogsheads of molasses unloaded from a vessel just arrived from
+Jamaica. Boys had knocked out a bung and were running a stick into the
+hole and lapping the molasses. The sailors lounging on the wharf were
+speaking a language he could not understand. For the first time in his
+life he was in touch, as it were, with the great world beyond the sea.
+
+[Footnote 14: The troops were ordered to Boston in 1765, in
+consequence of the riots growing out of the passage of the Stamp Act,
+the mob having sacked the house of Chief Justice Thomas Hutchinson.
+Though the Stamp Act had been repealed, and though the citizens were
+orderly and law-abiding, the regiments remained.]
+
+[Footnote 15: The Bunch of Grapes Tavern stood on the corner of
+Mackerel Lane and King Street, now Kilby and State streets. Its sign
+was three clusters of grapes. It was a noted tavern, often patronized
+by the royal governors. In July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence
+was read to the people from its balcony. After hearing it they tore
+the lion and unicorn, and all emblems of British authority, from the
+Custom House, Court House, and Town House, and made a bonfire of them
+in front of the tavern.]
+
+During the day he had met several of the king's soldiers, swaggering
+along the streets as if privileged to do as they pleased, regardless
+of the people. Two, whom he had seen drinking toddy in the Admiral
+Vernon, swayed against him.
+
+"Hello, clodhopper! How's yer dad and marm?" said one.
+
+Robert felt the hot blood mount to his brow.
+
+"Say, bumpkin, how did ye get away from your ma's apron-string?" said
+the other.
+
+"He hasn't got the pluck of a goslin," said the first.
+
+Robert set his teeth together, but made no reply, and walked away. He
+felt like pitching them headforemost into the dock, and was fearful he
+might do something which, in cooler blood, he would wish he had not
+done.
+
+By what right were they strolling the streets of an orderly town?
+Those who supported the king said they were there to maintain the
+dignity of the crown. True, a mob had battered the door of Thomas
+Hutchinson, but that had been settled. The people were quiet, orderly,
+law-abiding. The sentinel by the Town House glared at him as he walked
+up King Street, as if ready to dispute his right to do so. He saw a
+bookstore on the corner of the street, and with a light heart entered
+it. A tall, broad-shouldered young man welcomed him.
+
+"May I look at your books?" Robert asked.
+
+"Certainly; we have all those recently published in London, and a
+great many pamphlets printed here in the Colonies," the young man
+replied.
+
+"I live in the country. We do not have many books in New Hampshire,"
+said Robert.
+
+"Oh, from New Hampshire? Please make yourself at home, and look at any
+book you please. My name is Henry Knox,"[16] said the young man.
+
+[Footnote 16: Mr. Knox was clerk in the bookstore kept by Daniel
+Henchman. In 1773 he began business on his own account on Cornhill now
+Washington Street, upon the site now occupied by the _Globe_
+newspaper. His store was frequented by the officers of the regiments,
+and doubtless he obtained from them information that he turned to good
+account during the war.]
+
+"I am Robert Walden."
+
+"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Walden, and shall be glad
+to render you any service in my power. Is this your first visit to
+town?"
+
+Robert said it was. He could only gaze in wonder at the books upon the
+shelves. He had not thought there could be so many in the world. Mr.
+Knox saw the growing look of astonishment.
+
+"What can I show you? Perhaps you do not care for sermons. We have a
+good many; ministers like to see their sermons in print. I think
+perhaps you will like this better," said Mr. Knox, taking down a copy
+of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. "You will find it very
+interesting; just sit down and look at it."
+
+Robert seated himself in a chair and read the story of the Forty
+Thieves.
+
+"Do you think these are true stories?" he asked when he had finished
+it.
+
+Mr. Knox replied they were true in so far as they described the
+manners and customs of the people of Arabia and Persia. He did not
+doubt the stories had been told in Babylon, Nineveh, and Damascus, and
+he might think of the people in those cities sitting in the calm
+evenings under the almond-trees on the banks of the Euphrates or the
+river Abana listening to the story-teller, who probably did his best
+to make the story entertaining.
+
+"Doubtless," said Mr. Knox, "we think it would not be possible for
+things to happen as they are narrated, but I am not quite sure about
+that. One of the stories, for instance, tells how a man went through
+the air on a carpet. We think it cannot be true, but here is a
+pamphlet which tells how Henry Cavendish, in England, a little while
+ago discovered a gas which he calls hydrogen. It is ten times lighter
+than air--so light that another gentleman, Mr. Black, filled a bag
+with it which took him off his feet and carried him round the room, to
+the astonishment of all who beheld it. I shouldn't be surprised if by
+and by we shall be able to travel through the air by a bag filled with
+such gas."
+
+Robert listened with intense interest, not being able to comprehend
+how anything could be lighter than air. He was not quite sure that his
+father and mother would approve of his reading a book that was not
+strictly true, and he was sure that the good minister and deacons of
+the church would shake their heads solemnly were they to know it; but
+he could read it on his way home and hide it in the haymow and read it
+on rainy days in the barn. But that would not be manly. No, he could
+not do that. He would tell his father and mother and Rachel about it,
+and read it to them by the kitchen fire. Hit or miss, he would
+purchase the book.
+
+Mr. Knox kindly offered to show him the Town House. They crossed the
+street, and entered the council chamber. Lieutenant-Governor
+Hutchinson and the members of the council were sitting in their
+armchairs, wearing white wigs and scarlet cloaks. Their gold-laced
+hats were lying on their desks. Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple,
+commanding the king's troops, was seated by the side of Governor
+Hutchinson as a visitor. Upon the walls were portraits of Kings
+Charles II. and James II. in gilded frames; also portraits of
+Governors Winthrop, Endicott, and Bradstreet.
+
+Thanking Mr. Knox for his kindness, Robert passed into the street,
+took a look at the stocks and pillory, and wondered if that was the
+best way to punish those who had committed petty offenses.
+
+He saw a girl tripping along the street. A young lieutenant in command
+of the sentinels around the Town House stared rudely at her. In
+contrast to the leering look of the officer, the negro servants
+filling their pails at the pump were very respectful in giving her
+room to pass. He saw the two soldiers who had attempted to pick a
+quarrel with him on the wharf, emerge from an alley. One chucked the
+young lady under the chin: the other threw his arm around her and
+attempted to steal a kiss. Robert heard a wild cry, and saw her
+struggle to be free. With a bound he was by her side. His right arm
+swung through the air, and his clenched fist came down like a
+sledge-hammer upon the head of the ruffian, felling him to the earth.
+The next moment the other was picked up and plunged headforemost into
+the watering-trough. No word had been spoken. The girl, as if not
+comprehending what had happened, stood amazed before him.
+
+"Thank you, sir; I never shall forget your kindness," she said,
+dropping a low courtesy and walking rapidly up Queen Street.
+
+Never before had he seen a face like hers, a countenance that would
+not fade from memory, although he saw it but a moment.
+
+Suddenly he found himself confronted by the lieutenant, who came
+running from the Town House, with flashing eyes and drawn sword.
+Robert did not run, but looked him squarely in the face.
+
+"What do you mean, you"--
+
+The remainder of the sentence is not recorded: the printed page is
+cleaner without it.
+
+"I meant to teach the villains not to insult a lady."
+
+"I've a good mind to split your skull open," said the lieutenant,
+white with rage, but not knowing what to make of a man so calm and
+resolute.
+
+"Let me get at him! Let me get at him! I'll knock the daylight out of
+him," shouted the fellow whom Robert had felled to the ground, but who
+had risen and stood with clenched fists. The other, the while, was
+clambering from the trough, wiping the water from his face and ready
+to rush upon Robert, angered all the more by the jeers of the grinning
+negroes.
+
+"What is all this about?"
+
+It was Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple speaking. He had seen the
+commotion from the window of the council chamber, and hastened to the
+scene. "Put up your sword," he said to the lieutenant.
+
+"What have you been doing, sir?" he asked, turning sternly to Robert.
+
+"Suppose you first ask those two fellows what they've been doing?
+Nevertheless, Colonel, lest you might not get a true answer, allow me
+to say that they insulted a lady, that I knocked one down and tossed
+the other into the watering-trough, to teach them better manners. For
+doing it your lieutenant has seen fit to draw his sword and threaten
+to split my head open."
+
+It was said quietly and calmly.
+
+"What have you to say to that?" Colonel Dalrymple asked, addressing
+the soldiers, who made no reply.
+
+"Lieutenant, take them to the guardhouse, and consider yourself under
+arrest till I can look into this matter. Don't you know better than to
+draw your sword against a citizen in this way?"
+
+The lieutenant made no reply, but looked savagely at Robert, as if to
+say, "I'll have it out with you sometime," sheathed his sword and
+turned away, following the crestfallen soldiers to the guardhouse.
+
+Colonel Dalrymple bowed courteously, as if to apologize for the insult
+to the lady. Robert came to the conclusion that he was a gentleman.
+
+The negroes were laughing and chuckling and telling the rapidly
+gathering crowd what had happened. Robert, having no desire to be
+made conspicuous, walked up Queen Street. He tarried a moment to look
+at the iron-grated windows and double-bolted doors of the jail, then
+turned down Hanover Street and made his way to the Green Dragon.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+THE SONS OF LIBERTY.
+
+
+"Is it far to Doctor Warren's house?" Robert asked of the landlord
+after supper.
+
+"Oh no, only a few steps around the corner on Hanover Street. So you
+are going to call on him, just as your father always does. You will
+find him a nice gentleman. He is kind to the poor, charging little or
+nothing when they are sick and need doctoring. He isn't quite thirty
+years old, but there isn't a doctor in town that has a larger
+practice. He is a true patriot. I heard a man say the other day that
+if Joe Warren would only let politics alone he would soon be riding in
+his own coach. The rich Tories don't like him much. They say it was he
+who gave Governor Bernard such a scorching in Ben Edes's newspaper
+awhile ago. He is eloquent when he gets fired up. You ought to hear
+him in town meeting; you won't find him stuck up one mite; you can
+talk with him just as you do with me."
+
+With the cheese under his arm Robert walked along Hanover Street to
+Doctor Warren's house[17]. It was a wooden building standing end to
+the road. Entering a small yard, he rattled the knocker on the door.
+The doctor opened it.
+
+[Footnote 17: The home of Doctor Warren stood upon the spot now
+occupied by the American House. It was a plain structure and was
+surrounded a garden. Mrs. Warren--Elizabeth Hooton before
+marriage--was the daughter of Richard Hooton, a merchant possessing
+large wealth. She was beautiful in person and character. She died May,
+1773. The Boston _Gazette_ contained an appreciative tribute to her
+worth.
+
+ "Good sense and modesty with virtue crowned;
+ A sober mind when fortune smiled or frowned.
+ So keen a feeling for a friend distressed,
+ She could not bear to see a man oppressed."]
+
+"Good-evening; will you walk in?" he said. It was a pleasant, cheery
+voice, one to make a sick person feel well.
+
+"Please step into the office."
+
+Robert entered a room smelling of rhubarb, jalap, ipecac, and other
+medicines in bottles and packages on the shelves.
+
+Sincere and hearty were the thanks of Doctor Warren for the present.
+
+"I want Mrs. Warren to make your acquaintance," he said.
+
+A beautiful woman entered and gave Robert a cordial greeting.
+
+"It is very kind of you to bring us such a gift. It is not the first
+time your father has made us happy," she said. "We must find some way,
+husband, to let Mr. Walden know we appreciate his kindness."
+
+"That is so, wife."
+
+"We live so far away," said Robert, "we do not know what is going on.
+Father wishes me especially to learn the latest news from London in
+regard to the proposed tax on tea, and what the Colonies are going to
+do about it."
+
+"That is a very important matter," the doctor replied, "and we are to
+have a meeting of the Sons of Liberty this evening to consider what
+shall be done in case the bill now before Parliament becomes a law, as
+I have no doubt it will. I shall be pleased to have you go with me. Of
+course our meetings are somewhat secret. We do not care to have any
+mousing Tory know just what we intend to do. You will have a hearty
+welcome from the boys. It is only a few steps from here, at the Green
+Dragon."
+
+"That is where I am stopping," Robert replied.
+
+"You can say to your father," the doctor continued, "that the redcoats
+are becoming very insolent, and we fear there will be trouble."
+
+Robert said nothing about his experience at the town pump.
+
+"Tommy Hutchinson," the doctor went on, "is acting governor. He is not
+the hyena Bernard was. Hutchinson was born here. He is a gentleman,
+but loves office. I would not do him any injustice, but being in
+office he naturally sides with the ministry. He does not see which way
+the people are going. King George believes that he himself is chosen
+of God to rule us, and Lord North is ready to back him up. The people
+around the king are sycophants who are looking after their own
+personal advantage. The ministers know very little about affairs in
+the Colonies. They are misled by Bernard and others. They are
+determined to raise revenue from the Colonies, but will be
+disappointed. But we will go round to the Green Dragon."
+
+[Illustration: DOCTOR JOSEPH WARREN]
+
+They reached the tavern. Doctor Warren nodded to the landlord, and led
+the way up the stairs along the hall and gave four raps on a door.
+One of the panels swung open. A man on the other side said something
+which Robert could not understand, neither could he make out what the
+doctor said in reply. The panel closed, the door opened, and they
+passed into a large room dimly lighted by two tallow candles. A dozen
+or more young men were seated in chairs around a table smoking their
+pipes. At one end of the table was a large punch-bowl, a basket filled
+with lemons, a bottle of rum, a plate of crackers, and half a cheese.
+One young man was slicing lemons and making rum punch. All clapped
+their hands when they saw Doctor Warren.
+
+"I have brought a young friend; he is from New Hampshire and as true
+as steel," said the doctor.
+
+"Boys," said Amos Lincoln, "this is the gentleman I was telling you
+about; let's give him three cheers."
+
+The room rang. Robert did not know what to make of it; neither did
+Doctor Warren till Amos Lincoln told how he had seen Mr. Walden at the
+town pump, knocking down one lobster, throwing another into the
+watering-trough, and calmly confronting the prig of a lieutenant. When
+Amos finished, all came and shook hands with Robert.
+
+Mr. John Rowe called the meeting to order.
+
+"Since our last meeting," he said, "a ship has arrived bringing the
+news that the king and ministers are determined to levy an export duty
+of three pence per pound on tea: that is, all tea exported from
+England will be taxed to that extent. Of course, we could pay it if we
+chose, but we shall not so choose."
+
+The company clapped their hands.
+
+"We have sent round papers for the merchants to sign an agreement that
+they will not sell any tea imported from England. All have signed it
+except Hutchinson's two sons, Governor Bernard's son-in-law,
+Theophilus Lillie, and two others. The agreement does not prevent the
+merchants from selling tea imported from Holland. The Tories, of
+course, will patronize the merchants who have not signed the
+agreement, and the question for us to consider is how we shall keep
+out the tea to be imported by the East India Company."
+
+"We must make it hot for 'em," said Mr. Mackintosh.
+
+"The tea, do you mean?" shouted several.
+
+There was a ripple of laughter.
+
+"I don't see but that we shall have to quit drinking tea," said Doctor
+Warren. "We drink altogether too much. It has become a dissipation. We
+drink it morning, noon, and night. Some of the old ladies of my
+acquaintance keep the teapot on the coals pretty much all the time.
+Our wives meet in the afternoon to sip tea and talk gossip. The girls
+getting ready to be married invite their mates to quiltings and serve
+them with Old Hyson. We have garden tea-parties on bright afternoons
+in summer and evening parties in winter. So much tea, such frequent
+use of an infusion of the herb, upsets our nerves, impairs healthful
+digestion, and brings on sleeplessness. I have several patients--old
+ladies, and those in middle life--whose nerves are so unstrung that I
+am obliged to dose them with opium occasionally, to enable them to
+sleep."
+
+"Do you think we can induce the ladies to quit drinking it?" Mr.
+Molineux asked.
+
+"I am quite sure Mrs. Warren will cheerfully give it up, as will Mrs.
+Molineux if her husband should set the example," Doctor Warren
+replied.
+
+Mr. Molineux said he was ready to banish the teapot from his table.
+
+"I believe," continued the doctor, "that the women of America will be
+ready to give up the gratification of their appetites to maintain a
+great principle. They will sacrifice all personal considerations to
+secure the rights of the Colonies. Parliament proposes to tax this
+country without our having a voice in the matter. It is a seductive
+and insidious proposition--this export duty. I suppose they think we
+are simpletons, and will be caught in the trap they are setting. They
+think we are so fond of tea we shall continue to purchase it, but the
+time has come when we must let them know there is nothing so precious
+to us as our rights and liberties; that we can be resolute in little
+as well as in great things. I dare say that some of you, like myself,
+have invitations to Mrs. Newville's garden party to-morrow afternoon.
+I expect to attend, but it will be the last tea-party for me, if the
+bill before Parliament becomes a law. Mrs. Newville is an estimable
+lady, a hospitable hostess; having accepted an invitation to be
+present, it would be discourteous for me to inform her I could not
+drink a cup of tea from her hand, but I have made up my mind
+henceforth to stand resolutely for maintaining the principle
+underlying it all,--a great fundamental, political principle,--our
+freedom."
+
+The room rang with applause.
+
+"Sometimes, as some of you know, I try my hand at verse-making. I will
+read a few lines."
+
+ FREE AMERICA.
+
+ That seat of Science, Athens,
+ And earth's proud mistress, Rome:
+ Where now are all their glories?
+ We scarce can find their tomb.
+ Then guard your rights, Americans,
+ Nor stoop to lawless sway;
+ Oppose, oppose, oppose,
+ For North America.
+
+ We led fair Freedom hither,
+ And lo, the desert smiled,
+ A paradise of pleasure
+ Was opened in the wild.
+ Your harvest, bold Americans,
+ No power shall snatch away.
+ Huzza, huzza, huzza,
+ For free America.
+
+ Some future day shall crown us
+ The masters of the main;
+ Our fleets shall speak in thunder
+ To England, France, and Spain.
+ And nations over ocean spread
+ Shall tremble and obey
+ The sons, the sons, the sons,
+ Of brave America.
+
+Captain Mackintosh sang it, and the hall rang with cheers.
+
+"It is pitiable," said Mr. Rowe, "that the people of England do not
+understand us better, but what can we expect when a member of
+Parliament makes a speech like that delivered by Mr. Stanley just
+before the last ship sailed. Hear it."
+
+Mr. Rowe, taking a candle in one hand and snuffing it with his thumb
+and finger, read an extract from the speech: "What will become of that
+insolent town, Boston, when we deprive the inhabitants of the power of
+sending their molasses to the coast of Africa? The people of that town
+must be treated as aliens, and the charters of towns in Massachusetts
+must be changed so as to give the king the appointment of the
+councilors, and give the sheriffs the sole power of returning juries."
+
+"The ignoramus," continued Mr. Rowe, "does not know that no molasses
+is made in these Colonies. He confounds this and the other Colonies
+with Jamaica. One would suppose Lord North would not be quite so
+bitter, but he said in a recent speech that America must be made to
+fear the king; that he should go on with the king's plan until we were
+prostrate at his feet."
+
+"Not much will we get down on our knees to him," said Peter Bushwick.
+"Since the war with France, to carry on which the Colonies contributed
+their full share, the throne isn't feared quite as much as it was.
+Americans are not in the habit of prostrating themselves."
+
+Captain Mackintosh once more broke into a song.
+
+ "Come join hand in hand, Americans all;
+ By uniting we stand, dividing we fall.
+ To die we can bear, but to serve we disdain,
+ For shame is to freedom more dreadful than pain.
+ In freedom we're born, in freedom we'll live.
+ Our purses are ready: steady, boys, steady,
+ Not as slaves but as freemen our money we'll give."
+
+The Sons again clapped their hands and resolved that they would drink
+no more tea. The formal business of the evening being ended, they
+broke into groups, helped themselves to crackers and cheese, and
+lighted their pipes.
+
+A young man about Robert's age came and shook hands with him.
+
+"Did I understand correctly that you are Robert Walden from Rumford?"
+he asked.
+
+"That is my name, and I am from Rumford."
+
+"Then we are cousins; I am Tom Brandon."
+
+"I was intending to call upon you to-morrow."
+
+"You must go with me to-night. Father and mother never would forgive
+me if I did not take you along, especially when I tell them how you
+rubbed it into the king's lobsters."
+
+The bells were ringing for nine o'clock--the hour when everybody in
+Boston made preparations for going to bed. All the Sons of Liberty
+came and shook hands with Robert.
+
+"It is the most wholesome lesson the villains have had since they
+landed at Long Wharf," said Doctor Warren, who hoped to have the
+pleasure of seeing more of Mr. Walden.
+
+"We must rely upon such as you in the struggle which we are yet to
+have to maintain our liberties," said Mr. Molineux.
+
+Tom Brandon took Robert with him to his home on Copp's Hill. Robert
+could see by the light of the moon that it was a large wooden house
+with a hipped roof, surmounted by a balustrade, fronting the burial
+ground and overlooking the harbor and a wide reach of surrounding
+country.
+
+"Why, Robert Walden! where did you come from?" Mr. Brandon exclaimed
+as Tom ushered him into the sitting-room.
+
+"What! stopping at the Green Dragon! Why didn't you come right here,
+you naughty boy?"
+
+He tinkled a bell and a negro entered the room.
+
+"Mark Antony, go up to the Green Dragon and get this gentleman's
+trunk. Tell the landlord I sent you. Hold on a moment: it is after
+nine o'clock, and the watchman may overhaul you and want to know what
+you are doing. You must have an order."
+
+Mr. Brandon stepped to a writing-desk and wrote an order, receiving
+which Mark Antony bowed and took his departure.
+
+Mr. Brandon was in the prime of life, hale, hearty, vigorous, a former
+ship captain, who had been to London many times, also through the
+Straits of Gibraltar, to Madeira, Jamaica, and round Cape of Good Hope
+to China. He had seen enough of ocean life and had become a builder of
+ships. He was accustomed to give orders, manage men, and was quick to
+act. He had accumulated wealth, and was living in a spacious mansion
+on the summit of the hill. On calm summer evenings he smoked his pipe
+upon the platform on the roof of his house, looking through a
+telescope at vessels making the harbor, reading the signals flying at
+the masthead, and saying to himself and friends that the approaching
+vessel was from London or the West Indias.
+
+Robert admired the homelike residence, the paneled wainscoting, the
+fluted pilasters, elaborately carved mantel, glazed tiles, mahogany
+centre-table, armchairs, the beautifully carved writing-desk, the
+pictures on the walls of ships under full sail weathering rocky
+headlands.
+
+Mrs. Brandon and her daughter Berinthia entered the room. Mrs. Brandon
+was very fair for a woman in middle life. Berinthia had light blue
+eyes, cherry ripe lips, and rosy cheeks.
+
+"I have heard father speak of you often, and he is always holding up
+cousin Rachel as a model for me," said Berinthia, shaking hands with
+him.
+
+Tom told of what had happened at the town pump.
+
+"The soldiers are a vile set," said Mrs. Brandon.
+
+"They are becoming very insolent, and I fear we shall have trouble
+with them," said Mr. Brandon.
+
+Mark Antony came with the trunk, and Tom lighted a candle to show
+Robert to his chamber. Berinthia walked with him to the foot of the
+stairs.
+
+"Good-night, cousin," she said; "I want to thank you in behalf
+of all the girls in Boston for throwing that villain into the
+watering-trough."
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+AN EVENING WITH SAM ADAMS.
+
+
+"How beautiful!" Robert exclaimed, as he beheld the harbor, the town,
+and the surrounding country from the top of the house the following
+morning. Berinthia pointed out the localities. At their feet was
+Copp's Hill burial ground with its rows of headstones and grass-grown
+mounds. Across the river, northward, was Charlestown village nestling
+at the foot of Bunker Hill. Ferryboats were crossing the stream.
+Farther away beyond fields, pastures, and marsh lands were the rocky
+bluffs of Malden, the wood-crowned heights russet and crimson with the
+first tinges of autumn. Eastward was the harbor with its wave-washed
+islands, and the blue ocean sparkling in the sunlight. White sails
+were fading and vanishing on the far distant horizon. Ships were
+riding at anchor between the town and castle. Southward were
+dwellings, stores, shops, and the spires of meetinghouses. Beyond the
+town were the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton hills--fields, pastures,
+orchards, and farmhouses. Westward rose Beacon Hill, its sunny slopes
+dotted with houses and gardens; farther away, across Charles River, he
+could see the steeple of Cambridge meetinghouse and the roof of the
+college.
+
+[Illustration: Copp's Hill Burial Ground.]
+
+"This is Christ Church," said Berinthia, pointing to the nearest
+steeple. "That beyond is the Old North Meetinghouse where Cotton
+Mather preached.[18] Of course you have heard of him."
+
+[Footnote 18: Historical writers have made a mistake in speaking of
+Christ Church as the Old North Meetinghouse. They were distinct
+edifices--Christ Church standing in Salem Street, the Old North
+fronting North Square. Christ Church is the historic edifice from
+whose steeple Robert Newman hung the lantern to give notice of the
+movement of the king's troops, April, 1775. The Old North was torn
+down during the siege of Boston.]
+
+Robert replied that the name seemed familiar.
+
+"He was one of the ministers first settled," said Berinthia, "and
+wrote a curious book, the 'Magnalia.' When he was a boy he picked up
+Latin so quickly that when twelve years old he was able to enter
+college, graduating four years later. That stately mansion near the
+meetinghouse was the home of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. A mob
+smashed the windows in connection with the attempt to enforce the
+Stamp Act; and it was that which induced the king to send the two
+regiments of soldiers to Boston. The house adjoining is the home of
+Lady Agnes Frankland."
+
+She told the romantic story of Lady Frankland's life; how Sir Henry,
+when a young man, came from England to be the king's collector of
+customs. One day he went to Marblehead, and while at the tavern saw a
+girl scrubbing the floor. She was barefooted, but had a beautiful
+face. He thought that so pretty a girl ought not to go barefooted, and
+gave her money to buy a pair of shoes. A few weeks passed, and again
+he saw her barefooted, still scrubbing the floor. She had purchased
+the shoes, but was keeping them for Sunday. Sir Henry was so pleased
+with her that he offered to give her an education. A good minister
+took her into his family and she learned very rapidly. She in return
+gave him her love, and after leaving school went to live with him. He
+not only owned the house in town, but a great estate in the country.
+He kept horses and hounds, and had good wines. After a while he took
+Agnes to England with him, and from thence to Portugal. He was in
+Lisbon in 1755, at the time of the great earthquake, and was riding in
+his carriage when suddenly the earth began to heave and tremble, and
+houses, churches, all came tumbling down, burying thirty thousand
+people. Sir Henry's horses and himself and carriage were beneath the
+bricks and mortar. Agnes was not with him at the moment, but showed
+her love by running as fast as she could and digging away the bricks
+with her own hands, finding him badly mangled but alive. He thought he
+was going to die, and made a vow that if his life was spared Agnes
+should be his lawfully wedded wife. His wounds healed and he kept his
+word, making her Lady Frankland. They came once more to Boston, bought
+the house next to Chief Justice Hutchinson, and lived very happily.
+
+"We will go down to father's shipyard," said Tom, "and you can see the
+carpenters at work building a ship."
+
+They descended the hill and entered the yard. Robert hardly knew what
+to think as he listened to the clattering of axes and mallets. Some of
+the workmen were hewing timber and putting up the ribs of the vessel;
+others were bolting planks to the ribs. The size of the ship amazed
+him; it was larger than his father's barn. In a few weeks the hull
+would be finished, the masts put in, the rigging rove, and then the
+ship would be launched.
+
+"Father is going to name her for me, and I am to be the figurehead;
+come to the carver's shop and see me," said Berinthia with sparkling
+eyes and merry laugh.
+
+They went into a little shop where a good-looking young man, with
+chisels, gouges, and mallet, was fashioning the bust of a woman. Tom
+introduced him as Abraham Duncan. Robert noticed a lighting up of Mr.
+Duncan's eyes as he greeted Berinthia.
+
+"Mr. Duncan is one of us. As for that matter, every man in the yard is
+a Son of Liberty," Tom said.
+
+"That is me," said Berinthia, pointing to the figurehead. "I am to be
+perched beneath the bowsprit to look out upon the ocean and see which
+way the ship ought to go. The waves will wet my hair, and the tears
+will run down my cheeks when the storms are on. My eyes will behold
+strange things. I shall see the whales spout and the porpoises play,
+and poke my nose into foreign parts," she said playfully.
+
+[Illustration: In the Shipyard.]
+
+Robert saw that the carver had fashioned the face to look like her.
+She had been down to the shop several times, that he might study her
+features. On Saturday evenings after work for the week was over he put
+on his best coat and called at the Brandon house to look at her as she
+sat by the fireside with the light from the hearth illumining her
+face. Although Mr. Duncan usually went to hear Reverend Mr. Checkley
+preach, he sometimes strayed away to Reverend Doctor Cooper's
+meetinghouse in Brattle Street, and took a seat where he could see
+Berinthia's features in repose, as she listened to the sermon.
+Although the minister was very eloquent, Mr. Duncan was more
+interested in looking at her than hearing what was said in the pulpit.
+Robert noticed that she seemed to enjoy talking with the carver, and
+when he went to the other side of the building to get a portfolio of
+drawings to show her how the cabin was to be ornamented her eyes
+followed him.
+
+"Father says Mr. Duncan is a very talented young man, and one of the
+best artists in town," she said, as they walked back to the house.
+
+After dinner, Robert went to the Green Dragon, obtained a chaise,
+harnessed Jenny, took in Berinthia, and crossed the ferry to
+Charlestown, for a ride in the country. They drove along a wide street
+at the foot of Bunker Hill, and came to a narrow neck of land between
+Charles River on the south and Mystic River on the north. The tide was
+flowing in and covering the marsh lands. They gained the summit of
+Winter Hill, gazed upon the beautiful landscape, then turned southward
+toward Cambridge. Reaching the college, they entered the library and
+the room containing the philosophical instruments. Robert rubbed his
+knife on a magnet so he could pick up a needle by touching it with the
+blade. They had little time to spare, for they were to take supper
+with Mr. Samuel Adams. Berinthia informed him that Mr. Adams was not
+rich, that he was very kind-hearted, and had lost his property through
+kindness to a friend.
+
+"He lives very plainly," she said as they rode homeward. "We shall
+find simple fare, but he will give you a hearty shake of the hand.
+People have faith in him because he is true to his convictions."
+
+It was supper time when they reached Mr. Adams's house.
+
+"I am pleased to see you, and am glad to have an opportunity for a
+little talk," said Mr. Adams, welcoming them.
+
+"We have very simple fare, only mush and milk, pandowdy,[19] and some
+Rumford cheese which is very delicious," said Mrs. Adams as she
+invited them to the supper table. They stood by their chairs while Mr.
+Adams asked a blessing, then took their seats.
+
+[Footnote 19: Pandowdy was a compote of apples, with several layers of
+pastry made from rye meal, baked in a deep earthen dish and eaten with
+milk.]
+
+"We have abolished tea from our table," he said. "I see no better way
+of thwarting the designs of the king and the ministry to overthrow the
+liberties of the Colonies than for the people to quit using it."
+
+"Do you think the people will deny themselves for a principle?" Robert
+asked.
+
+"Yes; I have unbounded faith in the virtue of the American people. I
+do not know that we naturally are more virtuous than the people of
+other lands, but the course pursued by England ever since Cromwell's
+time has been one of oppression. Now tyranny, when exercised towards a
+free and intelligent people, is a process of education. Away back when
+Cromwell was administering the affairs of the nation a law was passed,
+the design of which was to build up the commerce of England. At that
+time Spain and Holland were great maritime countries. The ships of
+Spain were bringing gold from Cuba, Mexico, and South America to that
+country. The ships of Holland were bringing silks and tea from India
+and China. Those countries were doing pretty much all the carrying on
+the ocean. Cromwell, one of the greatest and most far-sighted of all
+England's rulers, determined that England should have her share of the
+trade. The law which was passed provided that no goods should be
+imported into that country or exported from it except in English
+vessels, and the master of every ship and three fourths of the crew
+must be Englishmen, under penalty of forfeiture of the ship and cargo.
+The act was passed in 1651. In a very short time the commerce of
+England was twice what it had been. The law was not designed to work
+any injury to the Colonies, but for their benefit. The great abundance
+of timber in America, so much that farmers were slashing down hundreds
+of acres and burning it, enabled the colonists to build ships very
+cheaply, and so there was a swinging of axes in all our seaport towns.
+When Charles II. came to the throne the royalists determined there
+should be nothing left to remind the people that a Commonwealth had
+ever existed. All the laws enacted during the period were repealed.
+Their hatred was so great they could not let Cromwell's bones rest in
+peace, but dug them up, dragged them through the streets of London,
+and set his skull on Temple Bar. Well, that did not hurt Cromwell, but
+it did hurt Charles II. and monarchy. I do not imagine anybody in
+coming years will erect a statue to the memory of that voluptuous king
+or hold him in reverence, but the time will come when Oliver Cromwell
+will be held in grateful remembrance."
+
+Mr. Adams passed his bowl for more pandowdy, and then went on with the
+conversation.
+
+"The meanness of human nature," he said, "is seen in the action of
+Parliament immediately after Charles II. came to the throne in
+repealing every law enacted during the period of the Commonwealth.
+Having wiped out every statute, what do you suppose Parliament did?"
+
+Robert replied that he had not the remotest idea.
+
+"Well, they reenacted them--put them right back on the statute book.
+They were good laws, but the Cromwellians had enacted them and they
+must be expunged; having blotted them out, they must be put back again
+because they were good laws."
+
+Mr. Adams leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily.
+
+"Now we come to the iniquity of Parliament," he continued. "Under the
+Commonwealth the Colonies were kindly treated. Cromwell, at one time,
+together with John Hampden, thought of emigrating to America, but he
+did not, and by staying in England rendered inestimable service to his
+fellow-men. The iniquity was this: Parliament enacted a law which
+made each of these Colonies a distinct country, so far as commerce was
+concerned. Greed and selfishness prompted the passage of this act,
+which aimed to make England the distributor of all commerce, not only
+between the Colonies and other countries, but between this country and
+England, and, to cap the climax, England was to control the trade
+between the Colonies; that is, Massachusetts could not trade with New
+Hampshire, or New York with Connecticut, except by paying tribute to
+England. The people were no longer Englishmen, with the privileges of
+Englishmen, but outsiders, foreigners, so far as trade was concerned.
+If a Dutchman of Amsterdam wanted to find a market here in Boston he
+could not send his ship across the Atlantic, but only to England, that
+the goods might be taken across the ocean in an English ship. The
+merchants here in Boston who had anything to sell in Holland, France,
+Spain, or anywhere else, could not send it to those countries, but
+must ship it to England. The fishermen of Gloucester and Marblehead
+could not ship the codfish they had caught to Spain or Cuba. The
+people in Catholic countries cannot eat meat on Friday, but may eat
+fish. Spain and Cuba were good customers, but the fishermen must sell
+their fish to merchants in London or Bristol, instead of trading
+directly with the people of those countries. You see, Mr. Walden, that
+it was a cunningly devised plan to enrich England at our expense."
+
+"It was unrighteous and wicked," Robert exclaimed.
+
+"I do not wonder that it seems so to you, as it must to every one who
+believes in justice and fair dealing," Mr. Adams continued; "but
+human nature is apt to be selfish. In 1696 Parliament passed an act
+establishing the Lords of Trade, giving seven men, selected by the
+king, authority to control and regulate commerce.[20] The governors of
+the Colonies were to carry out the provisions of the act, which
+forbade all traffic between Ireland and the Colonies, and which
+repealed all the laws enacted by the colonial legislatures relating to
+trade and manufactures."
+
+[Footnote 20: "The causes which brought about the American Revolution
+will be found in the acts of the Board of Trade."--JOHN ADAMS.]
+
+"Did not the people protest against such a law?" Robert asked.
+
+"Yes, the Great and General Court sent a protest to London, but they
+might as well have whistled to the wind."
+
+Mr. Adams turned partly round in his chair and took a paper from his
+desk.
+
+"This is a copy," he continued, "of the protest. It represents that
+the people were already much cramped in their liberties and would be
+fools to consent to have their freedom further abridged. They were not
+bound to obey those laws, because they had no voice in making them.
+They stood on their natural rights. It would take many hours to tell
+you, Mr. Walden, the full story of oppression on the part of
+Parliament towards the Colonies, or to picture the greed of the
+merchants and manufacturers of England, who could not then, and who
+cannot now, bear to think of a spinning-wheel whirling or a shuttle
+flying anywhere outside of England, or of anybody selling anything
+unless for the benefit of the men who keep shop in the vicinity of
+Threadneedle Street or Amen Corner.[21] The course of England in
+selfishness and greed is like the prayer of the man who said,--
+
+ "'O Lord, bless my wife and me,
+ Son John and his she,
+ We four,
+ No more.'"
+
+[Footnote 21: Threadneedle Street and Amen Corner--noted localities in
+London.]
+
+Robert, Berinthia, and Mrs. Adams laughed heartily. Mr. Adams finished
+his mush and milk, and while Mrs. Adams was serving the pandowdy he
+went on:--
+
+"Memory goes back to my boyhood. When I was ten years old or
+thereabouts, there were no less than sixteen hat makers and possibly
+more in this one town. I used to pass several of the shops on my way
+to school. Beavers were plenty on all the streams in New Hampshire and
+western Massachusetts, and the hatters were doing a thriving business,
+sending their hats to the West Indies and Holland. One of the
+merchants sent some to England. The makers of felt hats over there
+could not tolerate such a transaction. There was a buzzing around the
+Lords of Trade; a complaint that the felters were being impoverished
+by the hatters of America. Parliament thereupon passed a law to
+suppress the manufacture of hats. Here is the law."
+
+Mr. Adams read from the paper:--
+
+ "No hats or felts, dyed or undyed, finished or unfinished,
+ shall be put on board any vessel in any place within any
+ British plantations, nor be laden upon any horse or other
+ carriage to the intent to be exported from thence to any
+ other plantation, or to any other place, upon forfeiture
+ thereof, and the offender shall likewise pay five hundred
+ pounds for every such offense. Every person knowing thereof,
+ and willingly aiding therein, shall forfeit forty pounds."
+
+"That is diabolical," said Robert, his blood beginning to boil.
+
+Mr. Adams saw the flush upon his cheek and smiled.
+
+"I see that it stirs you up, as it does every lover of liberty. But I
+have not given you the full text of the iniquitous act: the law
+forbade any one from making a hat who had not served as an apprentice
+seven years, nor could a man employ more than two apprentices. Under
+that law no hatter up in Portsmouth could paddle across the Piscataqua
+and sell a hat to his neighbor in Kittery because the hat was made in
+New Hampshire. The hatter who had a shop in Providence could not carry
+a hat to his neighbor just over the line in Swansey, one town being in
+Rhode Island and the other in Massachusetts. The law, you see, was
+designed to crush out the manufacture of hats. The law applied to
+almost everything."
+
+"I had no idea that such laws had been passed; they are abominable!"
+Robert replied with a vigor that brought a smile to Mr. Adams's face,
+who took a bit of cheese and smacked his lips.
+
+"Every time I taste it I think of you and your father, mother, and
+sister who made it," he said.
+
+"I hope to see them sometime," said Mrs. Adams.
+
+"I am not quite through with the iniquity," continued Mr. Adams.
+"About forty years ago--it was in 1737, I think--Parliament passed
+what is called the Sugar Act, which imposed a duty on sugar and
+molasses, if imported from any of the West India Islands other than
+those owned by Great Britain. Cuba, as you know, is a dependency of
+Spain and St. Domingo of France. The sugar plantations of Jamaica and
+Guinea are owned by Englishmen, and the law was passed to compel the
+Colonies to trade solely with the Jamaica planters. The Great and
+General Court protested that the act was a violation of the rights of
+the Colonies, but no notice was taken of the protest--it was thrown
+into the basket for waste paper. Since the time of Charles II. not
+less than twenty-nine acts have been passed, which, in one way or
+another, restrict trade and invade the rights of the Colonies. I
+suppose, Mr. Walden, you leach the ashes, which you scrape up from
+your fireplace?"
+
+"Oh yes," Robert replied; "not only what we take from the hearth in
+the kitchen, but when we have a burning of a ten-acre lot, as we had a
+few weeks ago, we scoop up several cart-loads of ashes which we leach,
+and boil the lye to potash."[22]
+
+[Footnote 22: The leaching of ashes and manufacture of potash was a
+large industry during the Colonial period. In some sections of the
+country the article was known as "black salts." There was one or more
+potashery in every town.]
+
+"And what do you do with the potash?"
+
+"We shall probably bring it to Boston and sell it to Mr. Hancock or
+some other merchant."
+
+"Oh no, you can't do that legally, because you live in New Hampshire,
+and the law prohibits trade of that sort between the Colonies. You can
+take the potash to Portsmouth, and if there is an English vessel in
+the Piscataqua you can send it to England and have it shipped back to
+Boston; but it must be in an English ship, not in one owned by my good
+friend John Langdon, merchant in Portsmouth, who is ready to stand
+resolutely against all oppression; or you may pay the Custom House
+officer what it will cost to transport it to England and back to
+Boston, and he will give you permission to ship it direct to Boston.
+That is the law; but it has been inoperative for several reasons--one,
+because it could not be enforced, and another, because Great Britain
+has been compelled to rely upon the Colonies to aid in driving the
+French from Canada. That has been accomplished, and now King George,
+who is not remarkably intelligent, but pig-headed, and his
+short-sighted ministers are determined to carry out measures, not only
+to obtain revenue from the Colonies, but to repress manufactures here
+for the benefit of the manufactures of England. Thanks to our
+spinning-school, a stimulus has been given to our home manufactures
+which will enable us to spin and weave a goodly amount of plain cloth.
+Perhaps, Mr. Walden, you may have noticed the spinning-school building
+in Long Acre,[23] near the Common--a large brick building with the
+figure of a woman holding a distaff."
+
+[Footnote 23: Long Acre extended from School Street to the Common, and
+was sometimes called Common Street, now a section of Tremont Street.]
+
+"Yes, I saw it yesterday, and wondered what it might mean."
+
+"Well, quite a number of years ago, the Great and General Court passed
+a law for the encouragement of spinning, levying a tax on carriages
+and other luxuries for the establishment of the school. Its opening
+was celebrated on the Common. About one hundred women and girls came
+with their spinning-wheels and set them to humming beneath the trees.
+The court gave prizes for the best work. At present we buy our
+broadcloths and velvets in England, but the time will come when we
+shall make them this side of the Atlantic."
+
+"The spinning-wheel and loom are going in our house from morning till
+night," Robert said.
+
+"I am glad to hear it; the road to independence of the mother country
+lies in that direction. Industry will bring it about by and by, but I
+apprehend that other repressive and tyrannical measures will be
+passed. These arbitrary acts of Parliament have had one lamentable
+result, they have made the people of the Colonies a community of
+smugglers. I am pained to say that we are losing all correct sense of
+moral obligation in matters pertaining to the government. No one
+thinks it disreputable to smuggle goods into the country because
+everybody feels that the laws are unjust. The ministry undertook to
+enforce the laws against smuggling not long since, by issuing Writs of
+Assistance, as they were called. That attempt was more unjust than any
+of the laws that had been passed regulating trade. It gave the Custom
+House officers authority to enter not only stores, but private
+dwellings, break open chests, boxes, and closets in search of smuggled
+goods. Now if there is anything that Englishmen prize, it is the
+liberty secured by Magna Charta. Every man's house is his castle.
+Writs of Assistance violated the fundamental principle of English
+liberty. Our great lawyer, Mr. James Otis, has immortalized his name
+by his masterly oration in opposition to the measure. The writs have
+not prevented smuggling; on the contrary, it is regarded as almost a
+virtue and a duty to circumvent a government which enacts unrighteous
+laws. For instance, a little more than a year ago, John Hancock's
+sloop, Liberty, arrived from Madeira with a cargo of wine. The Custom
+House officer went on board. He was followed by half a dozen seaman
+belonging to one of Hancock's other vessels, who locked the officer
+into the cabin, unloaded the vessel, all except a few pipes of wine,
+and carted the cargo away. The next morning the captain of the vessel
+made oath that half a dozen casks was all the wine he had to deliver
+for payment of duty. The collector, Mr. Harrison, and the comptroller,
+Mr. Hallowell, resolved to seize the Liberty. Admiral Montague sent a
+company of marines, who took possession of the sloop and anchored her
+under the guns of the Romney. That incensed the people, who smashed in
+the windows of the office, seized the collector's boat, carried it to
+the Common, and burned it. The revenue officers, fearing for their
+safety, fled to the Castle, where they remained till the troops
+arrived last October. Tyranny begets resistance on the part of the
+people."
+
+"What is to be the outcome of all this?" Robert asked.
+
+"I do not know," Mr. Adams replied thoughtfully, "just what will come
+of it, but of one thing I am sure, the people of America never will
+be slaves. At present, we have an insolent soldiery walking our
+streets, challenging and provoking the people. We are treated as if
+under military law. The quiet of the Sabbath is broken by the rattling
+of drums and the shrill notes of the fife. The soldiers become
+intoxicated, and are ready to pick a quarrel with the town's-people.
+No lady can appear on the street unaccompanied by a gentleman without
+danger of being insulted. I expect that collisions will occur between
+the troops and people, and that sooner or later blood will be shed.
+You can say to your father that I have just received a letter from
+Colonel George Washington of Virginia, who took command of the troops
+after the wounding of General Braddock in the battle near Fort Du
+Quesne. He agrees with me that there must be united action on the part
+of the Colonies, and that we shall be warranted in using arms if we
+cannot secure our liberties in any other way. Of course, we shall not
+bring every one to stand up for the rights and liberties of the
+Colonies. Those who in any way are connected with the crown--the
+Custom House officials and their friends who are in receipt of
+salaries and perquisites--will support whatever measures the ministry
+may propose. Then there are many gentlemen who naturally will maintain
+their allegiance to the king, who think that an existing government,
+no matter how unjust and tyrannical it may be, stands for law and
+order, and that to resist it in any way leads to revolution. Some of
+my old-time friends are siding with the ministry. They think we ought
+not to complain of so small a matter as paying a tax of three pence
+per pound on tea. They lose sight of the great principle that taxation
+in any form without representation in Parliament is tyranny. We might
+willingly consent to pay it had we a voice in making it, but we will
+not consent to be taxed without such a voice. I am pleased, Mr.
+Walden, to have had this little conversation with you. I rely upon the
+young men of the country to stand resolutely for what is just and
+right, and I am equally sure," he said, turning to Berinthia, "that
+the young women will give all their influence to sustain the young
+men. Mrs. Adams is just as ready as I am to quit drinking tea, because
+by so doing she manifests her fealty to a great principle; if the
+mothers are ready to make sacrifices, I am sure the daughters will be
+equally ready."
+
+The conversation of Mr. Adams was very attractive, he was so earnest,
+sincere, and truthful. Gladly would Robert have listened through the
+evening, but he reflected that such a man must have many letters to
+write, and he must not trespass upon his time.
+
+"I am glad to have made your acquaintance, Mr. Walden; you must always
+come and see me when you are in town. I am sure you will do what you
+can to stir up the young men of Rumford to resist the aggressions of
+the king and his ministers. That there are lively times before us I do
+not doubt, but we shall maintain our liberties, cost what it may," he
+said, accompanying them to the door and bidding them good-by.
+
+"I am invited to a garden tea-party to-morrow afternoon," said
+Berinthia, as they walked home. "Isn't it curious that while Mr. Adams
+wants us girls to leave off drinking tea for the sake of a great
+principle, I want you for my escort to the tea-party. It will be a
+grand affair and you will have a chance to see the best people of the
+town."
+
+"I am at your service, and will do the best I can," Robert replied.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+A GARDEN TEA-PARTY.
+
+
+The king's commissioner of imposts, Theodore Newville, had authority
+to collect for the crown three shillings per ton on all vessels of not
+more than two hundred tons burden, and four shillings per ton on
+vessels of larger dimensions. He also had authority to reserve the
+tallest, straightest, and largest pine-trees growing in the forests
+for the use of the royal navy. When the king's arrow was blazed upon a
+tree,[24] no man, not even the owner of the soil, could fell it to the
+ground. Every year, and at times as often as every six months, a ship
+arrived upon the New England coast for masts and spars.
+
+[Footnote 24: The arrow was the sign of royal authority and
+ownership.]
+
+Mr. Newville was provided with an office in the Custom House, but his
+home was on the sunny slope of Beacon Hill, a commodious mansion, with
+spacious rooms and ample hall. The fluted pilasters with Corinthians
+capitals, the modillions along the cornice, the semicircular balcony,
+were fitting adornments. The surrounding lawn was smoothly shaven. In
+the orchard were apples, pears, and melocotoons;[25] in the garden,
+roses, pinks, primroses, daffodils, bachelor's-buttons, and asters of
+every hue. The morning sun streaming into the dining-room illumined
+the richly cut decanters upon the shelves of the buffet. Very
+attractive, suggestive of ease, comfort, and culture, was the library,
+with its books and several portraits in gilded frames. The sun of the
+afternoon filled the richly furnished parlor with its mellow light.
+The front door opened to a wide hall and stairway, with carved
+baluster and polished mahogany rail. A clock stood upon the landing
+soberly counting the hours. Having inherited wealth, with a yearly
+stipend and many perquisites of office, Mr. Newville was abundantly
+able to live in a style befitting an officer of the crown. The knocker
+on the front door was so bright that Pompey could see his own white
+teeth and rolling eyeballs reflected from the shining brass. When
+through with the knocker he rubbed the fender, andirons, shovels,
+tongs, nozzle of the bellows, the hooks by the jams, candlesticks,
+snuffer, extinguisher, trays, and tinder-box, and wiped the dust from
+the glazed tiles of the hearth. It was the routine of every morning.
+Equally bright were the brass pots and pans in Phillis's realm. Pompey
+and Phillis were bondservants under the mild existing paternal form of
+slavery.
+
+[Footnote 25: The melocotoon was a variety of peach. The fruit was
+very large, beautifully colored, and of rich flavor.]
+
+The king's commissioner of imposts perhaps would not have admitted he
+was passing the prime of life, but the crow's-feet were gathering in
+the corners of his eyes. His gray tie wig was in keeping with the
+white hairs upon his brow. He had a mild, blue eye, amiable
+countenance, and dignified deportment, as became an officer of the
+crown.
+
+Time was in like manner beginning to turn its furrows upon the brow of
+the lady who sat opposite him at the table, but she was still very
+fair, as many a visitor had noticed while partaking of her
+hospitality.
+
+When breakfast was finished Mr. Newville took his gold-headed cane
+from its place in the hall, adjusted his wig at the mirror under the
+sconce, put on his gold-laced hat and walked leisurely, as became his
+majesty's commissioner of imposts, along Tremont Street to Queen,
+thence past the jail, the Town House, the pillory and the stocks, to
+his office in the Custom House.
+
+Mrs. Newville modeled her housekeeping on the last chapter of the Book
+of Proverbs. She began each morning with instructions to Phillis and
+Pompey. After breakfast, she walked to the market followed by Pompey
+at a respectful distance, with a basket to bring home the marketing.
+She was fastidious in her selection of meats; it must be a loin of
+beef, very tender, a chicken or duck, plump and fat; the freshest of
+eggs, and choicest butter. She found great pleasure in dispensing
+gracious hospitality, inviting the governor and lieutenant-governor of
+the Province, the justices, councilors, officers of the army and navy,
+strangers of distinction from other Provinces or from the other side
+of the sea; reverend doctors of divinity, lawyers, physicians,
+citizens of standing. She gave garden parties on summer afternoons,
+the guests sipping tea amid the flowers.
+
+To such an entertainment Berinthia Brandon desired Robert's company.
+The barber on the corner of the street trimmed and powdered his hair,
+Mark Antony smoothed the wrinkles from his coat, and Berinthia fixed
+new ribbons in his knee-buckles.
+
+"I am afraid I shall be so stiff and awkward you will be ashamed of
+me," he said, as she adjusted his ruffles.
+
+"Oh no, I am sure your common sense will come to your aid."
+
+"I shall not know anybody, and shall feel like a cat in a strange
+garret."
+
+"But I will introduce you to some charming people."
+
+"I shall make a fool of myself. I have never been in such society, and
+shall not know what to talk about. If it was like a quilting, such as
+we have at Rumford, I might get on, but I know I shall be the
+laughing-stock of the ladies."
+
+"I am not afraid of it. Just be yourself, that's all."
+
+The clock on the Old Brick Meetinghouse was striking three when they
+passed it on their way to the Newville mansion.
+
+"You will find Mr. Newville a courtly, well-informed gentleman," said
+Berinthia. "Perhaps I ought to tell you that he is a Tory, which is
+quite natural, when we consider that he holds an office under the
+crown. He is very discreet, however, and is careful not to say or do
+anything offensive to the Sons of Liberty. Of course, political
+questions are not mentioned at these enjoyable gatherings. We say
+nothing about the Stamp Act: give all like topics the go-by, and just
+enjoy ourselves socially. You will find Mrs. Newville a delightful
+lady, and I know you will be charmed by Miss Ruth, a lovely girl, with
+gracious ways and a character all her own. I cannot describe her. Only
+intimate friends can know her goodness. Few young ladies in Boston
+are more accomplished. Master Lovell[26] is her tutor, visiting her
+after school hours, to direct her course of study. She has been
+through the arithmetic, while most of us never have been beyond
+proportion. Having finished the accidence she has begun Latin; she can
+tambour, make embroidery, draw, paint, play the harpsichord, and sing
+so charmingly that people passing along the street stop to listen to
+the enchanting music."
+
+[Footnote 26: John Lovell was master of the Latin School, in School
+Street, from 1717 to 1776. He gave his sympathies to the crown, and
+became an exile upon the evacuation of Boston. His house was near the
+schoolhouse.]
+
+[Illustration: Master Lovell.]
+
+"You awaken my curiosity. But what will one who knows so much think of
+the awkward fellow keeping you company? Will she not regard me as a
+simpleton?"
+
+"No, indeed; that would not be like Ruth Newville. Be assured, she
+will do what she can to make it a pleasant occasion to you."
+
+"What can I say that will interest her, what talk about?"
+
+"She will enable you to find your tongue. The chances are that you
+will fall in love with her just as everybody else does,--colonels,
+majors, captains, lieutenants of the army and navy, besides widowers
+and bachelors; but Ruth is too sensible a girl to throw herself away.
+Her mother would like her to marry some nobleman, or lord of ancient
+family. Ruth does not care much for coats-of-arms or titles, but would
+rather be sure of what a man is, rather than who were his ancestors.
+But we are almost there."
+
+Many guests had already arrived. Ladies and gentlemen were strolling
+beneath the trees in the orchard, and along the garden paths. Pompey
+showing his white teeth, his dusky countenance beaming with pleasure,
+bowed very courteously as they entered the mansion.
+
+"Massa and Missus Newville will welcome de ladies and genmens in de
+garding," he said.
+
+Berinthia led the way and introduced Robert as her relative from New
+Hampshire.
+
+"And so you are from that dependency of the crown? What news do you
+bring from that Province?" Mr. Newville asked.
+
+"I do not know that there is anything particularly new or interesting.
+Not much is going on there. We have had a good crop of hay, the corn
+looks middling well; the rye is not much rusted. I think we shall not
+want for bread," Robert replied.
+
+"It is excellent news. Bread is the staff of life, and I trust the
+people will be grateful for the bounties of Providence, and rest in
+peace and quiet under the rule of our gracious sovereign, King
+George."
+
+"I hope we shall be truly thankful for all that is good," Robert
+replied.
+
+"It is very kind in you to accompany our friend Miss Brandon to our
+entertainment this afternoon; we gladly welcome you, Mr. Walden," said
+Mrs. Newville, who ran her eyes over him, and, so far as Robert could
+judge, rather liking his stalwart form and figure, while saying to
+herself that he was no hawk or eagle to bear off her chicken.
+
+"Ruth, daughter, this way, please," said Mrs. Newville.
+
+Robert saw a young lady wearing a white muslin dress turn towards them
+from a group of ladies and gentlemen; but it was not the snowy
+whiteness of the garment, neither her dark brown unpowdered hair in
+contrast to that of the ladies around her, that attracted his
+attention, but the hazel eyes and the lips that had said, "I never
+shall forget your kindness, sir."
+
+"Mr. Walden, allow me to introduce my daughter," said Mrs. Newville.
+
+There was a startled, wondering look in the hazel eyes. She
+courtesied, with the fresh blood suffusing her cheeks.
+
+"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Walden," she said.
+
+"I took the liberty of bringing him," said Berinthia. "I was sure you
+would extend to him the same cordial welcome you give to everybody."
+
+"Certainly, anybody whom you may invite will always be welcome. Mr.
+Walden, shall I serve you with a cup of tea? What kind will you
+take--shall it be Old Hyson, Bohea, or Twankey?"
+
+She stood with a salver ready to serve him.
+
+"I will take Old Hyson, if you please," he said.
+
+The pink slippers tripped across the lawn to a table where Phillis in
+white apron and cap, with smiling countenance, was pouring tea from
+silver urns into dainty cups. So this was the young lady whom he had
+rescued from the clutches of the villains. What should he say to her?
+By no word or look must she know that he was conscious of having
+befriended her.
+
+The sun was shining through the branches of the melocotoon tree
+beneath which she was standing. It seemed to him that the rich bloom
+of the ripening fruit by some subtle process of nature was being
+transmuted to her face. He recalled the description of the
+pure-hearted damsel that welcomed the Pilgrim of Bunyan's allegory to
+the beautiful palace in the land of Beulah. She soon returned bringing
+with steady hand the salver with the tea, sugar-bowl, and pitcher of
+cream.
+
+"Shall I serve you with the sugar and cream, Mr. Walden?"
+
+He could but notice the graceful movement of her deft fingers as she
+picked the sugar from the bowl with the silver tongs, and poured the
+cream.
+
+"I will bring you some confections," she said, and tripped away once
+more, returning with a plate of cake and bonbons.
+
+"I hope you find the tea to your taste?" she said.
+
+"It could not be better," he replied.
+
+He could see she was scanning his face with an inquiring look, as if
+endeavoring to solve a perplexing question--whether the stranger in
+working clothes who rescued her from the arms of the assaulting
+soldiers and this gentleman in fitting costume for genteel society
+were one and the same. "Can it be he?" was the question revolving in
+her thoughts. The countryman was tall, stout, and broad-shouldered; so
+was Mr. Walden. She saw resolution and indignation in the face of the
+stranger. Could not the face before her exhibit like qualities under
+like provocation? She must find out during the afternoon, if possible,
+whether or not Mr. Walden was her benefactor. If so, what should she
+say to him--how make known her gratitude?
+
+"And so you are from New Hampshire, Mr. Walden?" she said inquiringly.
+
+"Yes, and this is my first visit to Boston."
+
+"I dare say you find things somewhat different here from what they are
+there."
+
+"Oh yes. In Rumford the houses are scattered; but here they are as
+thick as spatter. There isn't near so many things going on there as
+here."
+
+"I think it must be delightful to live in the country, among the green
+fields and pastures, and have chickens and goslins, and see the lambs
+play."
+
+"Yes; but we have to look sharp, to see that the foxes, and hawks, and
+weasels don't get 'em."
+
+Their conversation was interrupted by Berinthia, who introduced him to
+Miss Lucy Flucker[27], daughter of the secretary of the Province, Miss
+Dorothy Quincy, Miss Mary Shrimpton, and to Isaac and John Coffin[28],
+sons of his majesty's receiver-general.
+
+[Footnote 27: Miss Flucker received the attentions of Henry Knox the
+bookseller, and became his wife. While her father remained loyal to
+the king, she became an ardent patriot, and married the man of her
+choice. Soon after the battle of Lexington and Concord, Mr. Knox
+escaped from Boston. Mrs. Knox received a permit to join him, from
+General Gage, who had issued an order prohibiting any one from taking
+arms from the town. The patriotic wife concealed her husband's sword
+in her underskirts, and successfully eluded the vigilance of the
+sentinels.]
+
+[Footnote 28: Isaac Coffin obtained an appointment in his majesty's
+navy in 1773. Upon the outbreak of the war he proffered his
+resignation, not being willing to fight against his countrymen, but
+being assured he would not be sent to North America remained in the
+service of the king, rising by merit to the position of rear-admiral.
+He retained through life a deep affection for his countrymen, and
+endowed a school on the island of Nantucket.
+
+His younger brother John, from the outset, sided with the king. He
+joined the British forces, became captain of a company of loyalists,
+served under Colonel Tarleton in South Carolina, becoming major,
+colonel, and after the war a major-general. He received a grant of
+several thousand acres of land in Nova Scotia. Though maintaining
+allegiance to the king, he had great respect and admiration for those
+who espoused the patriotic cause.]
+
+"Do you have garden tea-parties in Rumford?" Miss Flucker asked.
+
+"No, not garden parties, but the ladies get together in a parlor, sip
+their tea, take pinches of snuff from each other's boxes, talk about
+the number of cheeses they have made, how much salt they put into the
+curd, how much yarn they have spun, how many yards of linen they have
+woven."
+
+"Such a party must be very enjoyable," said Miss Quincy.
+
+"Yes, I think they like to find out what everybody else is doing, and
+how they do it. Their tongues wag lively when they get to talking
+about what has happened and what they expect will happen; who was
+cried the Sunday before, and who probably will be the next Sunday."
+
+The ladies smiled at Robert's vivacious conversation.
+
+"Does the town clerk cry the proposed marriages?" Miss Shrimpton
+asked.
+
+"Yes. The moment the minister finishes the benediction Sunday
+afternoon, Squire Fellows breaks in, shouting that marriage is
+intended between Hezekiah and Mehitable. Of course there are blushes
+on Mehitable's face, while Hezekiah looks kinder sheepish."
+
+Again the ladies laughed.
+
+"Do all the ladies take snuff?"
+
+Miss Flucker asked the question.
+
+"Nearly all the old ladies carry their snuff-boxes in their pockets or
+work-bags. There's one lady, however, who does not--Aunt Hipsy
+Jenkins. Perhaps I ought to say she is well along in years, and that
+the town clerk never has cried her. She carries her nose as she
+pleases. She says if the Lord had intended it for a dust-hole, he
+would have put it on the other end up."
+
+A merry peal of laughter rang through the garden--so joyful that
+several ladies and gentlemen joined the group, to hear what the young
+man from the country was saying.
+
+"Her name," said Robert, by way of explanation, "is Hepsibah, but
+everybody calls her Hipsy."
+
+"Evidently," said Isaac Coffin, "she is a lady who is up to snuff."
+
+Again the company laughed.
+
+"You may be sure she never minces things, but speaks her mind, whether
+anybody likes it or not," Robert replied.
+
+"Are the gentlemen invited to the tea-parties?" John Coffin asked.
+
+"Not to the afternoon parties, neither are the young ladies; the old
+ladies like to be by themselves while sipping their tea. Perhaps they
+think it would not be dignified on the part of the gentlemen to devote
+the afternoons to gossip," Robert replied.
+
+"Do not the young ladies meet?" Miss Shrimpton asked.
+
+"Not as do our mothers, but they have their own good times,--their
+quilting parties. In the country every girl as soon as she can sew
+begins to make patchwork. When they get enough for a quilt, they
+invite their acquaintances to the quilting, and spend the afternoon in
+talking about--well, I can't exactly say what they do talk about.
+Perhaps you ladies can tell better than I."
+
+The ladies smiled at his pleasant way of indicating what was uppermost
+in the thoughts of young maidens on such delightful occasions.
+
+"Do not the gentlemen participate in some way?" Miss Quincy inquired.
+
+"Oh yes; we join them in the evening, after they are through with the
+quilting, and try to make things lively. We play blindman's-buff,
+hide the handkerchief, roast beef behind your back, come Philander,
+stage-coach, and other games, and have a jolly time. The ladies serve
+us with bread and butter, doughnuts, cookies, tarts, gingerbread, and
+tea. We guess riddles and tell ghost stories."
+
+"How delightful!" Miss Newville exclaimed.
+
+"A little later than this we have huskings in the barns, seated around
+a heap of corn. Husking over, we eat pudding, baked beans, mince,
+apple, and pumpkin pie, and top off with pop-corn, apples, and cider.
+After supper the girls clear away the dishes; then we push the table
+into one corner of the kitchen, Julius Caesar mounts it with his
+fiddle, and we dance jigs and quicksteps. The girl who first found a
+red ear while husking, and was kissed before she could throw it into
+the basket, is privileged to lead the dance."
+
+"How I should enjoy it," said Miss Shrimpton.
+
+"Finding the red ear?" queried Isaac Coffin.
+
+"Oh no,--you know I didn't mean that; but having such a jolly time
+with nobody saying it isn't proper," Miss Shrimpton replied with a
+blush mantling her cheek.
+
+"Ruth, daughter,"--it was Mrs. Newville calling her to meet other
+guests, and Miss Newville turned regretfully away, for it was a
+pleasure to talk with Mr. Walden, and she hoped he would drop a word
+which would enable her to make sure it was he who had befriended her.
+
+Robert, with Berinthia and the ladies whose acquaintance he had made,
+sauntered along the garden walks. The midsummer flowers were gone, but
+those of autumn were in bloom,--marigolds, asters, and sunflowers.
+Picturesque the scene: ladies in paduasoys, taffetas, and brocades,
+gentlemen in purple, russet, and crimson coats, white satin
+waistcoats, buff breeches, and silk stockings. Officers of the king's
+regiments in scarlet with silver-starred epaulets, clergymen in suits
+of black, lawyers and doctors in white wigs, loitering along the
+paths, gathered in groups beneath the trees, young ladies serving them
+with syllabubs. From the vine-clad arbor the music of the orchestra
+floated upon the air.
+
+Robert saw a gentleman and lady shaking hands with Mr. and Mrs.
+Newville.
+
+"That is John Adams, one of the smartest lawyers in town," said
+Berinthia. "That is his wife Abigail; she is the daughter of Reverend
+Mr. Smith, the minister of Braintree. She knows Latin and Greek, and
+is one of the nicest women in town. She writes beautiful letters, and
+knows--oh, so much! I'll introduce you to them. I know you will be
+charmed with her."
+
+Mr. Adams courteously greeted Robert, and very gracious was the
+recognition by Mrs. Adams. She asked him if he had ever been in Boston
+before; who was the minister in Rumford; if he had many books to read.
+So pleasant and agreeable was her conversation, she seemed to Robert
+to be an old friend.
+
+Robert was pleased to meet Doctor Warren, and received a cordial
+greeting.
+
+"And are you acquainted?" Miss Newville inquired wonderingly.
+
+"I am happy to claim Mr. Walden as my friend. I have long known his
+father," the doctor replied.
+
+[Illustration: ABIGAIL SMITH ADAMS]
+
+Robert was pleased, also, to meet Mr. Knox, the bookseller, who was
+polite and affable to all, particularly to Miss Flucker.
+
+When Berinthia and Robert were by themselves she informed him that Mr.
+Knox was attentive to Miss Flucker; that her parents opposed the
+match, Mr. Knox being a Whig and her father a Tory. Berinthia was sure
+that the more her father opposed the bookseller, the better Miss Lucy
+liked him.
+
+[Illustration: Mr. Hancock's House.]
+
+Mr. John Hancock, though living but a short distance from Mr.
+Newville, came in his coach with driver and footmen in blue livery. He
+bowed politely to Mr. and Mrs. Newville, took a pinch of snuff from
+Mr. Newville's gold box, and graciously greeted Miss Dorothy Quincy.
+Berinthia whispered to Robert that they were engaged to be
+married.[29]
+
+[Footnote 29: The Dorothy Quincy who married John Hancock is not to be
+confounded with the Dorothy Q. of Holmes's poem:--
+
+ "Grandmother's mother, her age I guess,
+ Thirteen summers, or something less."]
+
+"If Miss Newville and Miss Brandon will excuse us, Mr. Walden and
+myself will take a turn through the grounds," said Doctor Warren,
+locking arms with Robert.
+
+"I am glad to meet you once more, Mr. Walden. I want to thank you for
+the good work you did yesterday afternoon. I have heard of it several
+times; the people are chuckling over it. But the soldiers of the
+Twenty-Ninth Regiment are as mad as hornets and threaten retaliation.
+They are anxious to get hold of that fellow from the country who did
+it. I thought I would put you on your guard. I wish I knew who the
+young lady was, but no one can find out. Neither she nor her friends
+have made complaint to the selectmen, and of course you could not
+know."
+
+Robert thanked him. He said he did not anticipate any trouble; if
+attacked he would try and give a good account of himself.
+
+[Illustration: DOROTHY QUINCY]
+
+They had strolled to the farthest part of the grounds. Returning, they
+saw Miss Newville surrounded by ladies and gentlemen; young and old
+alike were finding pleasure in her society. Major Evelyn, to whom
+Robert had been introduced, was telling how jolly it was in old
+England to follow the hounds in a fox hunt, leaping ditches, walls,
+and hedges, running Reynard to cover. Although courteously
+listening, her eyes glanced towards Robert and Doctor Warren.
+
+"Pardon me, Major, but I must have a word with my good doctor who
+gives me pills and powders when I am sick," she said graciously,
+tripping across the lawn.
+
+"I have not served you with tea, doctor; what kind would you prefer?"
+she said.
+
+"Well, let it be Old Hyson, if you please."
+
+"And yours, Mr. Walden: it was the Old you had before. Will you not
+try a cup of Young Hyson for variety?"
+
+"If you please, Miss Newville."
+
+A few moments and she was with them again.
+
+"Old Hyson for old friendship, Young, for new acquaintance," said the
+doctor, as he took the cup from her hand. "You see, Mr. Walden, Miss
+Newville and I are old friends, and our relations at times are quite
+intimate. I am privileged to hold her hand, feel her pulse, and look
+at her tongue."
+
+"Do you not think, Mr. Walden, that the doctor is very rude to take a
+young lady's hand when she cannot help herself?"
+
+"Of course it is rude, but I apprehend you do not object, under the
+circumstances," Robert replied.
+
+"Oh no, she likes it so well that she often asks when I will come
+again," said the doctor.
+
+Merry was the laughter.
+
+"This is delicious tea," he said, sipping the beverage.
+
+"I am glad you like it."
+
+"It is all the more delicious, Miss Ruth, because I have it from your
+own gracious hand, and because it is probably the last I shall drink
+for many months."
+
+She gazed at him wonderingly.
+
+"You know I am firm in my convictions as to what is right and just,
+and I have decided to quit drinking tea as a protest against what the
+king and Lord North are preparing to do. So this will be a memorial
+day for me. Pardon me, I did not mean to allude to it."
+
+"One need not beg pardon for having a conviction of what is right and
+just. If it is to be your last cup I'm glad I have the privilege of
+serving it," she said.
+
+One by one guests joined them, charmed by her presence, Major Evelyn
+hovering around her. More than once the eyes of Robert and Miss
+Newville met. Would she not think him rude? But how could he help
+looking at her?
+
+While Miss Newville was serving other guests, with Berinthia and Miss
+Shrimpton Robert walked the garden once more, the great shaggy
+watch-dog trotting in advance, as if they were guests to be honored by
+an escort.
+
+The afternoon was waning. Guests were leaving, and it was time for
+Berinthia and Robert to take their departure.
+
+"Oh, you are not going now. I have not had an opportunity to speak a
+dozen words with you, Berinthia, and I have shamefully neglected Mr.
+Walden. I have not had a chance to drink a cup of tea with him. I am
+sure you will excuse me, Major Evelyn, while I redeem myself. You will
+find Miss Brandon delightful company," said Miss Newville.
+
+Major Evelyn, being thus politely waved one side, could but acquiesce.
+
+"Shall we sit, Mr. Walden?" she asked, leading the way to seats and
+bringing tea and cake.
+
+"I enjoyed your description of life in the country, and the young
+ladies were delighted," she said.
+
+"We have pretty good times with the quiltings, huskings, and sleighing
+parties, when we pile into a double pung, ride in the moonlight, have
+supper, and a dance."
+
+"How delightful! Have you brothers and sisters?"
+
+"Only a sister, Rachel, two years younger than I."
+
+"Does she love flowers?"
+
+"Yes, she is very fond of them. I make up beds in the garden for her
+and she sows bachelor's-buttons, flytraps, pansies, marigolds,
+hollyhocks, and has morning-glories running over strings around the
+sitting-room window."
+
+"They must make your home very pleasant in summer."
+
+"Yes, and she has asters and sweet peas. I try to keep the weeds down
+for her as she has so many things to look after,--the chickens,
+goslins, young turkeys, besides washing dishes, spinning, and wetting
+the cloth bleaching on the grass. I help a little by drawing the
+water."
+
+"It must be very beautiful in the country these September days."
+
+"It is not quite late enough for the woods to put on their brightest
+colors; that will be in October."
+
+"Which season do you like best?"
+
+"I hardly know. Sometimes, when the country is covered with snow and
+the air is fresh and keen and healthful, I think there is no part of
+the year more enjoyable than winter; then when spring comes, and the
+buds start and the leaves are growing, I feel like a young colt ready
+to caper and kick up my heels. When the flowers are in bloom and the
+birds are singing I think there is no season like summer. At this time
+of the year, when we are gathering the harvests and the woods are more
+beautiful than our Queen Charlotte in her coronation robes, I think
+there is no period of the year so delightful as autumn."
+
+"Living in the town." Miss Newville said, "I lose much that I should
+enjoy in the country. Sometimes I ride with my father to Roxbury,
+Dorchester, and Cambridge. He sits in his chaise while I pick the
+flowers by the roadside. A few weeks ago we went sailing down the
+harbor, and saw the waves rolling on the beach at Nantasket and
+breaking on the rocks around the lighthouse. Oh, it was beautiful!"
+
+"I do not doubt it. As you love the country so much, I am sure you
+would be charmed with the view from our home, Miss Newville,
+especially at this season of the year."
+
+"Please tell me about it. I am sure from your description I shall be
+able to picture the scene."
+
+"You would see a broad valley, fields, pastures, meadows, uplands, the
+river flowing between banks fringed with elms and willows, hills
+farther away, and in the distance blue mountains; the forest all
+scarlet, russet, yellow, and crimson. That would be the view. You
+would hear the crickets chirping, crows cawing, and squirrels barking
+in the woods."
+
+"How delightful! I know I should revel in such beauty."
+
+"You asked me, Miss Newville, which season I liked best. I think, all
+things considered, I enjoy autumn more than any other portion of the
+year."
+
+"May I ask why you like it best?"
+
+"Because it is the harvest-time, when we gather the gifts of
+Providence; and it sets me to thinking I ought to be doing something
+for somebody in return for what Providence is doing for me."
+
+Her eyes were watching his lips.
+
+"Oh, go on, please, Mr. Walden, and tell me what the seasons say to
+you."
+
+"I hardly know what they say, but the change from the brightness of
+summer to the russet of autumn, the falling leaves, ripening fruits,
+fading flowers, shortening days, the going of the birds are like a
+sermon to me."
+
+"And why are they like a sermon?" she asked.
+
+"Because the birds will come, the flowers bloom again, but the summer
+that has gone never will return; the opportunities of to-day will not
+be here to-morrow. I must make the most of the present, not only for
+myself but for others. Providence bestows rich gifts; I must give to
+others."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Walden."
+
+She was silent. None of the officers, not Major Evelyn or any of the
+captains of his majesty's troops, ever had uttered such words in her
+presence. Oh, could she but know if he were the one who rescued her
+from the hands of the miscreants! She must know.
+
+"Mr. Walden, may I ask if we have not met before?"
+
+"I think we have, Miss Newville."
+
+"I thought so, but was not sure. May I say I cannot tell you how
+grateful I am for the service you rendered me yesterday. I never shall
+forget it. I have not mentioned it, not even to my parents, for I
+would not have them concerned in the future for my welfare."
+
+"I can understand how anxious they might be, and I appreciate your
+prudence. The incident, I understand, is making some stir in town,
+especially among the soldiers. Doctor Warren has just informed me of
+it, and was kind enough to say it would be well for me to be on my
+guard, as the soldiers threaten retaliation. I learn, also, that no
+one as yet has been able to discover who the young lady was. People
+are wondering that no complaint has been made to the proper
+authorities by her or her friends."
+
+"Oh, I am so glad that no one knows it except ourselves. May I not ask
+that it shall be our secret, and ours only?"
+
+"Most certainly, Miss Newville."
+
+"I cannot express my obligation to you, Mr. Walden. It is very
+honorable in you, and you will not let the soldiers injure you?" she
+said inquiringly.
+
+"I do not think they will molest me. I shall not put myself in their
+way, neither shall I avoid them. I am a free citizen; this is my
+country. I know my rights, and I trust I shall ever be enough of a man
+to resent an insult to myself, and most certainly to a lady."
+
+"Do you remain long in town?" she asked.
+
+"No; only a day or two--over Sunday. I shall start from the Green
+Dragon for home next Monday morning."
+
+"Do you have melocotoons in Rumford?" she asked, looking up to the
+luscious fruit, ripening above them.
+
+"Not yet; we have some young trees, but they are not in bearing."
+
+"I should like to send a basket of fruit to your sister, if agreeable
+to you. Pompey will take it to the tavern Monday morning."
+
+"You are very kind. I will take it with pleasure, and you may be sure
+Rachel will appreciate your goodness."
+
+He comprehended her proposition,--that it was her delicate way of
+giving emphasis to her thanks for what he had done.
+
+"Mr. Walden, I shall always be pleased to see you. I would like to
+hear more about what you see in nature, and the sermons that are
+preached to you."
+
+Berinthia and Major Evelyn joined them. The band had ceased playing,
+and the last of the guests were departing.
+
+"I hope you have had an enjoyable afternoon," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"I have enjoyed myself very much, and cannot express my thanks for
+your hospitality," Robert replied.
+
+"It was very kind in you to honor us with your company," said Mrs.
+Newville with a charming grace and dignity.
+
+Miss Newville went with them to the gate, Major Evelyn improving the
+opportunity to walk by her side. Robert thought there was a shade of
+vexation on her face.
+
+"Excuse me, gentlemen, while I talk with Miss Brandon a moment," she
+said, dropping behind. Robert walked on a few steps and waited for
+Berinthia. Major Evelyn lingered a moment as if to have a last word
+with Miss Newville, but politeness would not admit his further
+tarrying; he lifted his hat and walked away.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Walden, what do you think your good cousin has been saying?"
+said Miss Newville, calling him once more to the gate.
+
+"Possibly that she has had an agreeable chat with one of his majesty's
+brilliant officers," Robert replied.
+
+"Instead of being brilliant, he was positively stupid. I don't like
+epaulets," said Berinthia.
+
+"Not those sent to protect us?" Miss Newville asked.
+
+"No."
+
+"Neither do I."
+
+The words were spoken firmly, with an emphasis which Robert alone
+could understand.
+
+Miss Newville locked her arm in Berinthia's as if loath to have her
+go. They lingered by the gate, how long Robert could not say. Just
+what was said he could not recall. He only knew it was delightful to
+stand there, to hear her voice, to see the smiles rippling upon her
+face, and the loving eyes that turned towards him at times. When at
+last the good-night was spoken, when himself and Berinthia were quite
+a distance, looking backward he saw her white handkerchief waving them
+farewell.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+CHRIST CHURCH CHIMES.
+
+
+Calm and peaceful was the Sabbath morning in Rumford, where the
+stillness was broken only by lowing cattle and singing birds, but in
+Boston Robert heard the rattling of drums,--a prolonged roll, as if
+the drummers found special pleasure in disturbing the slumbers of the
+people. It was the reveille arousing the troops. Mr. Brandon said the
+officers of the king's regiments seemed to take delight in having
+extra drills on Sunday for the purpose of annoying the people. A few
+of the officers, he said, were gentlemen, but others were vile, and
+not to be admitted into decent society.
+
+The drums ceased and there was a period of quiet; then suddenly the
+air was melodious with the music of bells. Berinthia saw the wonder on
+Robert's face.
+
+"It is Christ Church chimes," she said.
+
+He heard "Old Hundred," sweet and enchanting.
+
+"If you would like, we will go to Christ Church this morning."
+
+Robert replied he would gladly go with her.
+
+"The sexton is a Son of Liberty, Robert Newman; you saw him the other
+night at the Green Dragon; his brother plays the organ," said Tom.
+
+The sexton welcomed them and gave them seats. Robert gazed in wonder
+at the fluted columns, the high arched ceiling, the pillars
+supporting the galleries, the great windows, the recess behind the
+pulpit, the painting of the Last Supper. He read the words, "This is
+none other than the House of God; this is the Gate of Heaven."
+
+The bells ceased their pealing, but suddenly delightful music filled
+the church.
+
+[Illustration: Christ Church.]
+
+"That is John Newman at the organ," Berinthia whispered.
+
+It began soft and faint, as if far away--a flute, then a clarinet, a
+trumpet, growing louder, nearer, deeper, heavier, the loud notes
+rolling like far-off thunder, then dying into melody as sweet as the
+song of a bird. Never had Robert heard any music so delightful.
+Looking towards the loft, he saw the gilded pipes of the instrument.
+Upon the railing around it were figures of angels with trumpets.
+
+"They were captured from a French ship in 1746 by Captain Grushea of
+the Queen of Hungary privateer," Tom whispered. "They were designed
+for a Romish church in Canada, but the captain brought them to Boston
+and presented them to the wardens of this church."
+
+Berinthia said the Bible and prayer-book were given by King George II.
+at the request of Governor Belcher. She found the places in the
+prayer-book for him. He thought the prayers very beautiful, but could
+not quite see the need of getting up and sitting down so often. He
+never had taken part in meeting before, but when all the others read
+felt he too must let his voice be heard, otherwise the people would
+think he did not know how to read. He was startled at the sound of his
+own voice, but soon got over it, and rather liked the idea of the
+people taking some part in the service instead of having it all done
+by the minister. It was very delightful when the choir came in with
+the organ, in contrast to the singing in Rumford meetinghouse where
+the deacon lined the Psalms, two lines at a time, and set the tune
+with his pitch-pipe.
+
+When the service was over and the people were going out, the organ
+began to play. The sexton took them upstairs to see his brother John
+handle it. Robert was surprised to see him using his feet as well as
+his hands, fingering two sets of keys, pushing in and pulling out what
+Tom said were "stops." When through with the piece, the organist
+explained the mechanism of the instrument, playing softly and then
+making the windows rattle.
+
+An hour at noon, and then the meetinghouse bells were tolling for the
+afternoon service.
+
+"We will go to our own meeting; I want you to hear Reverend Doctor
+Cooper,"[30] said Berinthia. The meetinghouse was in Brattle Street,
+close by the barracks. The soldiers were lounging around the building
+staring at the people, laughing, smoking their pipes, and making rude
+remarks. When meeting was over the soldiers gathered around the door
+and leered at the girls. Robert clenched his fist and felt his blood
+grow hot. A lieutenant started to walk beside Berinthia.
+
+[Footnote 30: The meetinghouse in Brattle Street at the time of the
+opening of this story was a large unpainted wooden structure which was
+torn down in 1772 and replaced by an elegant edifice of brick with
+quoins of freestone. John Hancock gave one thousand pounds and a bell.
+The pastor, Reverend Samuel Cooper, was an earnest advocate for the
+rights of the Colonies, and without doubt his influence, combined with
+that of Samuel Adams, had much to do in attaching Hancock to the
+patriots' side.]
+
+"My cousin will not need your escort, sir," said Robert touching his
+elbow.
+
+The officer grew red in the face and disappeared in the barracks.
+
+On Monday morning Robert bade his friends good-by. Peter Augustus had
+something for him at the Green Dragon: a basket filled with
+fruit--melocotoons, pears, and plums--and a neatly written note.
+
+"Will Mr. Walden kindly take a basket of fruit to his sister, Miss
+Rachel, from Ruth Newville."
+
+That was all. What a surprise it would be to Rachel! Why was Miss
+Newville sending it? She never had met Rachel; knew nothing of her,
+except what little he had said, yet the gift!
+
+The sun was going down the following evening when he reached the turn
+of the road bringing him in sight of home. He was yet half a mile
+away, but Rachel was standing in the doorway waving her apron. She
+could not wait for Jenny to trot home, but came down the road
+bareheaded, climbed into the wagon, put her arms around his neck, and
+gave him a hug and a kiss. There was a look of wonder on her face when
+he uncovered the basket of fruit and told her who had sent it,--a
+beautiful girl, one of Berinthia's friends, whom he had rescued from
+the king's soldiers. There were tears in Rachel's eyes when he put the
+beads around her neck.
+
+"Oh, Rob! how good you are!"
+
+It was all she could say.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+November came, and Berinthia Brandon was sitting in her chamber. From
+its eastern window she looked across the burial ground with its rows
+of headstones. The leafless trees were swaying in the breeze. She was
+thinking of what Samuel Adams had said to her, that life is worth
+living just in proportion to the service we can render to others. What
+had she ever done for anybody? Not much. A feeling of sadness came
+over her. The afternoon sun was lengthening the shadows of the
+headstones across the grass-grown mounds. The first snow of
+approaching winter was lying white and pure above the sleeping forms
+of those who had finished their earthly work. Beyond the burial ground
+she beheld the harbor. The tide had been at its flood, and was
+sweeping towards the sea. A ship was sailing down the roadstead to
+begin its adventurous voyage to a distant land.
+
+"Why can I not do something for somebody instead of idling my time
+away?" she said to herself, recalling what Mr. Adams had said--that it
+was the duty of every woman to forego personal comfort and pleasure
+for the promotion of the public good; that everybody should leave off
+using tea to let the king, the ministry, and the people of England
+know that the men and women of the Colonies could stand resolutely and
+unflinchingly for a great principle. With her father, mother, and Tom
+she had quit drinking tea; why should she not persuade others to
+banish it from their tables? A thought came to her, and she opened her
+writing-desk, a gift from her father, beautifully inlaid with ivory,
+which he had obtained in a foreign country. She dipped her pen into
+the ink, reflected a moment, and then wrote her thought: "_We, the
+daughters of patriots, who have stood and do now stand for the public
+interest, with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the
+drinking of foreign tea, in hope to frustrate a plan that tends to
+deprive the community of its rights._"[31]
+
+[Footnote 31: The agreement signed by the mothers and daughters may be
+found in the _Boston News-Letter_, February 15, 1770.]
+
+In her enthusiasm she walked the floor, thinking of those whom she
+would ask to sign it. She would not subject herself to ridicule by
+calling upon those who sided with the king, but upon those who she
+knew were ready to make sacrifices for justice and right.
+
+"I am glad you have written it, daughter," Mr. Brandon said when she
+informed him of what she had done and was intending to do; "I see no
+reason, wife, why you should not do what you can in the same way among
+the women, to let people on the other side of the sea understand the
+Colonies are in earnest. Already there has been a great falling off in
+trade between the Colonies and England, and if we can stop this tea
+trade it will not be long before the merchants will be swarming around
+Parliament demanding something to be done. We must arouse public
+sentiment on this question, and you, daughter, are just the girl to
+begin it."
+
+Mr. Brandon reached out his hand and took Berinthia's and gave it a
+squeeze to let her know he had faith in her.
+
+"I will do what I can to persuade others," she said, returning the
+pressure.
+
+Through the night Berinthia was thinking over what she had started to
+accomplish, and what arguments she should use to influence those whom
+she would ask to sign the agreement. The great idea, with a moral
+principle behind it, took possession of her mind and drove sleep from
+her eyes and aroused the energies of the soul. Why undertake the
+arduous task alone? Why not ask Doctor Cooper to preach about it? If
+she could but get the ministers enlisted, they could awaken public
+sentiment.
+
+"Ah! I have it. Week after next is Thanksgiving, and I will get them
+to preach sermons that will stir up the people," she said to herself.
+
+Thanksgiving Day came. Very eloquent were the words spoken for
+Justice, Right, and Liberty by Reverend Doctor Cooper, Reverend Doctor
+Eliot, Reverend Doctor Checkley, and nearly all the other ministers,
+excepting Reverend Mr. Coner, rector of King's Chapel, and Reverend
+Mather Byles of Christ Church, whose sympathies were with the
+king.[32]
+
+[Footnote 32: Reverend Andrew Eliot was pastor of the New North
+Church, an edifice still standing at the corner of Hanover and Clark
+streets, and used by the Roman Catholics. Reverend Samuel Checkley was
+pastor of the New South Church, and Reverend Samuel Blair of the Old
+South. These pastors were outspoken in denunciation of the offensive
+measures of the king and his ministers.]
+
+In every household fathers and mothers, sons and daughters and
+grandchildren, gathered in the old home, and had a great deal to say,
+while partaking of the roast turkey and plum-pudding, of the sermons
+they had heard in the different meetinghouses. All the ministers
+preached about the proposal of Parliament to levy a tax upon tea, and
+that if it could not be defeated in any other way it was the patriotic
+duty of the people to quit using the herb. They must deny themselves
+the luxury, that they might maintain their freedom. Little did they
+know that a blue-eyed girl had called upon Doctor Cooper and read to
+him what she had written, an agreement to drink no more tea; how his
+soul had been set on fire and he had gone with her to the houses of
+other ministers, that they might look into her eyes and see the
+flashing of a resolute spirit in behalf of justice, righteousness, and
+liberty.
+
+Although the snow was deep in the streets, the drifts did not deter
+Berinthia from calling upon her friends. Many of the good ladies were
+ready to sign an agreement to drink no more tea; others hesitated. She
+was warmly welcomed by Mrs. Abigail Adams, who at once saw how great
+would be the influence of the women upon their husbands.
+
+"But what shall we drink instead of tea?" asked Dorothy Quincy.
+
+"When summer comes, we will go out into the fields and gather
+strawberry leaves, and call them Hyperion, or some other elegant name.
+I think it quite as pretty a name as Old Hyson, and I am not sure that
+they will not be more healthful," Berinthia replied.
+
+Miss Dorothy laughed heartily. "Yes, and we can, upon a pinch, drink
+cold water from the town pump and flavor it with peppermint," she
+said, as she wrote her name.
+
+After leaving Miss Quincy, Berinthia lifted the knocker of the
+Newville mansion, not to ask Ruth to sign the agreement; she could not
+do that, for Mr. Newville was a Tory, and the signers were daughters
+of patriots.
+
+"How good it is to see you once more. It is a very long time since I
+have looked upon your face," Ruth exclaimed, embracing her.
+
+"The snow has been so deep and I have had so much to do, I have not
+found time to call till now, and I don't know as I should be here
+to-day only I am spinning street-yarn for a particular purpose."
+
+Ruth was at a loss to understand her.
+
+"I am calling on my acquaintances, and I was not quite sure whether I
+ought to skip you or not."
+
+"Skip me! What have I done that you should think of dropping me from
+your acquaintance?"
+
+Berinthia saw a wondering and injured look in the loving eyes.
+
+"Oh, you haven't done anything; it is what the king, Lord North, and
+Parliament are doing. They intend to make us pay taxes against our
+will, and we girls are signing an agreement not to drink any more tea,
+and I am calling on my friends for that purpose."
+
+The look of wonder and grief disappeared, and Ruth's face brightened
+once more. She read the agreement and the list of names.
+
+"I didn't call, dear Ruth, to ask you to sign it. I have no right to
+do so. It is an agreement to be signed by the daughters of those who
+are opposed to being taxed in this way. Your father, doubtless, may be
+willing to pay the tax; my father is not. You may not think as we do,
+but that shall not disturb our friendship. I shall love you just as I
+have ever since we were children."
+
+"How good you are! I appreciate your kindness. My father and mother
+stand for the king, but I have my own opinion. Under the terms of the
+agreement, I cannot sign it, but I am with you in spirit. I can see
+the course taken by the king is not right or just, and it will fail.
+Nothing can succeed in the end that is not right."
+
+"Oh, Ruth, how you shame me. Here I have been fidgeting over the
+cutting things some of the girls and their mothers have been saying.
+One asked if I expected to bankrupt the East India Company. Another
+wanted to know if I was going to wear trousers and vote in town
+meeting."
+
+"So mother's afternoon tea-party stands a chance of being the last,
+for the present, at least. By the way, do you ever hear from your
+cousin, Mr. Walden?"
+
+"No, I have not heard a word since he left us. I should not be
+surprised, however, if he were to drop in upon us any day, for I have
+written him that the ship is to be launched soon. Father intends to
+make it a grand occasion when the Berinthia Brandon glides into the
+water. I shall have all my friends present, Ruth Newville chief among
+them."
+
+"Count upon me to do whatever I can to make it a happy day," said
+Ruth.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+LAUNCHING OF THE BERINTHIA BRANDON.
+
+
+The pigs had been fattening through the winter, and it was quite time
+to send them to market.
+
+"You did so well with the cheese, you may see what you can do with the
+shoats," said Mr. Walden to Robert. "It is good sleighing. You can
+harness the colt and Jenny, and go with the pung. I want you to take
+Rachel along. You can stay a couple of weeks and have a good visit."
+
+There was a glow upon Rachel's face. It would be her first journey.
+She would see new things, and make new acquaintances. During the
+evenings she had been knitting a hood and mittens of the finest wool,
+and would present them to Miss Newville.
+
+It was a resplendent morning, with the eastern sky like molten gold in
+the light of the rising sun, and the hoar-frost upon the twigs of the
+leafless trees changing to glittering diamonds. The colt, sleek and
+plump, was champing his bit and shaking his head in his impatience to
+be off. Jenny was staid and sober, but when Robert said, "Now, lad and
+lady," the colt pranced a few steps, then settled to a steady trot,
+learning a lesson from Jenny.
+
+An hour before lunch-time they whirled up to Captain Stark's tavern in
+Derryfield, and before sunset came to a halt in the dooryard of a
+relative in Andover. Before noon the next day Rachel was looking with
+wondering eyes upon the gleaming spires of the meetinghouses and the
+crooked streets of Boston.
+
+"You have come just at the right time," said Berinthia, welcoming her
+with a kiss, "for I am to be launched day after to-morrow."
+
+Seeing by the look of wonder on Rachel's face that she was not
+understood, Berinthia explained that the ship her father was building
+was to bear her name, and that everything was ready for the launching.
+
+"Oh, it will be so delightful to have you here!" she added. "We will
+be on the deck, ever so many of us,--my friends, papa's and mamma's
+and Tom's. Ruth Newville will be here; and Tom's classmate in Harvard
+College, Roger Stanley, who lives out beyond Lexington, is coming.
+He's a real nice young man, and I am sure you will like him. Tom's
+girl will be here, Mary Shrimpton; she is out in the kitchen now. She
+has been helping us make crumpets, crullers, gingerbread, and cake.
+Father and mother intend to make it a grand affair, and have invited
+half of the town,--doctors, lawyers, ministers, and their wives;
+everybody that is anybody. Tom has invited his friends, and I mine,
+because the ship is to bear my name."
+
+Rachel said she was glad she had come to see and enjoy it all.
+
+"We will have a jolly time while you are here; it is vacation at
+college, and I shan't have to study," said Tom.
+
+A young lady with a pleasant face, light blue eyes, and soft brown
+hair, entered the room and was introduced as Miss Shrimpton.
+
+"She has been helping us get ready, and has rolled out a bushel of
+crullers," said Tom.
+
+"Not quite so many," said Miss Shrimpton, smiling.
+
+Robert thought her very attractive and pleasing.
+
+"I think I will go home now; father and mother will be expecting me,
+but I will be round to-morrow," said Miss Shrimpton.
+
+Tom put on his hat and escorted her. When he returned, and he and
+Robert were by themselves, he said that she was the best girl in
+Boston.
+
+"Her father," he went on, "is a red-hot Tory. He lives in a fine
+house, owns thousands of acres of land out in the country, thinks King
+George a saint, ordained of God to rule us; that Sam Adams and Doctor
+Warren are tricksters fooling the people for their own benefit. But
+Mary is just the nicest girl you ever saw. She has no mother, runs the
+house for her father, keeps everything as neat as a pin, and by and
+by, after I get through at Harvard and am in possession of my
+sheepskin with A. B. on it, she will be Mrs. Tom Brandon."
+
+Robert congratulated Tom upon his engagement.
+
+The next morning saw Robert in the market disposing of what he had to
+sell, while Berinthia with Rachel called upon Miss Newville.
+
+"It was very kind of you to send such a basket of fruit to me, a
+stranger; will you please accept a little gift in return? It is not
+much, but it will let you know that I appreciate your goodness," said
+Rachel, placing a bundle in Miss Newville's hands. When it was opened
+Ruth beheld a close-fitting hood of the softest lamb's wool, made
+beautiful with pink ribbons; there was also a pair of mittens.
+
+"Oh, Miss Walden! How good you are! How soft and nice! And they are of
+your own carding, spinning, and knitting? And you have done it for me,
+whom you never had seen, and of whom you never heard except through
+your brother. And is he well?" Miss Newville asked.
+
+"Quite well. You will see him to-morrow at the launching."
+
+"Isn't it delightful that they have come in the nick of time?" said
+Berinthia.
+
+"How fortunate! And you are to have such a nice party. I will wear the
+hood and be the envy of everybody," said Miss Newville, putting it on,
+praising its beauty, and calling in her mother to make Rachel's
+acquaintance and admire the gift.
+
+The launching of the ship was to be at flood-tide, eleven o'clock in
+the forenoon. Though in midwinter, the air was mild, as if a warm
+breath had been wafted landward from the Gulf Stream. There was a
+fever of excitement and preparation in the Brandon home. Dinah in the
+kitchen was taking pots of baked beans and loaves of brown bread
+smoking hot from the oven, filling baskets with crumpets and crullers.
+Mark Antony was taking them to the shipyard. Mrs. Brandon, Berinthia,
+Rachel, and Mary Shrimpton were preparing the cakes and pies. Tom and
+Robert on board the ship were arranging for the collation.
+
+Never before had Rachel beheld anything so enchanting as the scene in
+the shipyard,--the ship with its tall and tapering masts, its spars
+and yard-arms; the multitudes of ropes like the threads of a spider's
+web; flags, streamers, red, white, green, blue, yellow, with devices
+of lions, unicorns, dragons, eagles, fluttering from bowsprit to
+fore-royal mast, from taffrail to mizzen. Beneath the bowsprit was the
+bust of Berinthia, the heart and soul of the man who carved it in
+every feature, for to Abraham Duncan there was no face on earth so
+beautiful as that of the shipmaster's daughter.
+
+The guests were assembling on the deck: the commissioner of imposts,
+Theodore Newville, Mrs. Newville, and their daughter, Ruth; his
+majesty's receiver-general, Nathaniel Coffin, and his two sons, Isaac
+and John; Reverend Doctor Samuel Cooper, minister of the church in
+Brattle Street; Doctor Warren, physician to the family of the
+shipmaster; Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple, commanding the king's
+troops,--for Mr. Brandon, though deprecating the presence of the
+troops in Boston, determined to be courteous to the representatives of
+his majesty; Admiral Montague, who came in his gig rowed by six
+sailors from his flagship, Romney; William Molineux[33] and John Rowe,
+merchants; Richard Dana and Edmund Quincy, magistrates; John Adams, a
+young lawyer; honored citizens and their wives; Master Lovell; and
+Tom's classmate, Roger Stanley, who had walked from Lexington in the
+early morning. Among the many ladies, most attractive was Ruth
+Newville, wearing a close-fitting hood of soft lamb's wool, trimmed
+with bright ribbon, all her friends admiring it.
+
+[Footnote 33: William Molineux was a prominent merchant who gave his
+sympathies to the cause of the people. He was one of the committee who
+demanded the removal of the troops after the Massacre of March 5,
+1770. He was one of the "Indians" composing the "Tea-party." He was
+also one of the promoters of the spinning-school in Long Acre. He died
+before the outbreak of hostilities.]
+
+Berinthia introduced Rachel and Robert to Mrs. Adams. They found her a
+very charming lady; she had brought her little boy, John Quincy, to
+see the launching of the ship.
+
+Picturesque the scene: gentlemen wearing white wigs, blue, crimson,
+and scarlet cloaks, carrying gold-headed canes, taking pinches of
+snuff from silver-mounted boxes; young gentlemen with handsome figures
+and manly faces; ladies with tippets and muffs; girls in hoods,--all
+congratulating Berinthia, admiring the beauty and tidiness of the
+ship, and the lovely figure of herself. All praised Abraham Duncan,
+who blushed like a schoolboy.
+
+They could hear the clattering of mallets and axes beneath them, and
+knew the carpenters were knocking away the props. The ways had been
+slushed with grease. The tide was at the flood. Ruth Newville was to
+break the bottle of wine. She had shaken hands with Robert Walden, and
+given expression of her pleasure at meeting him once more. Her eyes
+had followed him; even when not looking towards him she had seen him.
+Once more she thanked Rachel for her gift. Her mates were asking her
+where she had found a hood so beautiful and becoming. They stood upon
+the quarter-deck, Berinthia the queen of the hour, Ruth, radiant and
+lovely, by her side. They heard the bell striking the hour of eleven.
+A great crowd had assembled to see the launching. Men, women, boys,
+and girls were in the yard, flocking the street, gazing from doors
+and windows of neighboring houses.
+
+"Are you ready there?"
+
+[Illustration: Launching the Ship.]
+
+It was the builder of the ship, Mr. Brandon, shouting over the
+taffrail to those beneath.
+
+"Aye, aye, sir."
+
+"Then knock it away."
+
+They heard a blow from an axe. The stately ship quivered a moment,
+then glided with increasing speed down the ways.
+
+Mr. Brandon raised his hand, and a ball of bunting at the topmast
+fluttered out into the Cross of St. George. Ruth lifted the bottle of
+wine, broke it upon the rail, and poured the contents into the river.
+A huzza rose from the quarter-deck. Handkerchiefs fluttered in the
+air. The people tossed up their hats. From street, doorway, and window
+came an answering shout.
+
+Out from the shore drifted the Berinthia till the anchor dropped from
+her bow, and she lay a thing of beauty, swinging with the ebbing tide.
+
+In the cabin the guests were partaking of the bountiful and appetizing
+repast.
+
+"I remember, Miss Newville, that you once graciously served me at an
+afternoon tea; shall I have the pleasure of waiting upon you?" Robert
+asked.
+
+"I shall be pleased to be served by you. The fresh air has sharpened
+my appetite, and I will begin with a plate of beans, if you please."
+
+He brought what she desired, served himself, and took a chair by her
+side. They talked of the successful launching, of the beauty of the
+ship, sitting as gracefully as a swan upon the water, of the almost
+perfect likeness of the figurehead to Berinthia.
+
+"Possibly it is so beautiful because the engraver's heart has gone
+into it," she said with a smile.
+
+Their eyes met. He thought hers very beautiful at the moment.
+
+Roger Stanley found equal pleasure in serving Rachel, and in
+listening to what she had to say about the launching, her visit to
+Boston, and of things in Rumford.
+
+Robert talked with Isaac Coffin, who said he expected to have a
+commission in his majesty's navy. Admiral Montague was very kind, and
+was using his influence to secure an appointment. His younger brother,
+John, liked the army better. Robert came to the conclusion that they
+were not Sons of Liberty, but were inclined to take sides with the
+ministry, which was very natural, as their father was holding a very
+important office under the crown.
+
+There was a merry chattering of voices, a rattling of knives and
+forks, and changing of plates. Mark Antony was master of ceremonies at
+the table, giving directions to Caesar and Pompey.
+
+Although society was divided politically, neighbors still were
+friends, accepting and giving hospitality, and when meeting socially
+avoiding all allusion to the proposed bill for taxing the Colonies.
+All hoped that nothing would be done by Parliament to interrupt
+friendly relations between the Colonies and the mother country. Doctor
+Warren made himself agreeable to bluff Admiral Montague. William
+Molineux cracked jokes with Colonel Dalrymple. Richard Dana and
+Nathaniel Coffin were friendly neighbors. Mr. Dana could look out from
+his front windows near Frog Lane,[34] and see the spacious grounds of
+his neighbor Coffin's "Fields," as the boys who played ball called
+it. There was no reason why they should be at odds socially, just
+because Lord North and the king proposed to levy a tax of three pence
+a pound on tea.
+
+[Footnote 34: Frog Lane extended from Newbury, now Washington Street,
+to the Common. It is now a part of Boylston Street. Mr. Dana's house
+commanded an extensive view across the fields, gardens, and orchards
+owned by Nathaniel Coffin, south of the present Summer Street.]
+
+With story and jest the company enjoyed the banquet and then
+were rowed to the shore, all shaking hands with Berinthia and
+congratulating her upon the successful launching of the vessel
+bearing her name.
+
+"What can we do to round out the day for you, dear?"
+
+It was Miss Newville addressing Berinthia.
+
+"I don't know; what can we?" was the reply.
+
+"How would you like a sleigh-ride?" Robert asked.
+
+"Delightful!" exclaimed Miss Newville.
+
+"Jenny and the colt are rested, and if you don't mind riding in a
+pung, I shall be pleased to take a little spin out of town."
+
+"Oh, it will be so charming! I would rather go in a pung than in a
+sleigh; it is more romantic," Miss Newville said.
+
+It was quickly arranged. Robert went to the Green Dragon, put new
+straw in the pung, and was soon back with the team. They were eight in
+number and quickly seated themselves. It was natural that Berinthia
+and Abraham Duncan, who had put his heart into his work while carving
+her features, should sit side by side, and that Tom Brandon and Mary
+Shrimpton should desire to be tucked under the same bearskin. It was a
+pleasure to Roger Stanley to ask Miss Walden to keep him company.
+
+"They have decided, Mr. Walden, that we shall sit together," Miss
+Newville said as she stepped into the pung.
+
+"I shall regard it an honor to have your company," was the reply.
+
+When all were ready, the horses set the sleigh-bells jingling. Farmers
+plodding home from the market gave them the road, and smiled as they
+listened to the merry laughter. They went at a brisk trot over the
+Neck leading to Roxbury, and turned to the left, taking the Dorchester
+road. At times the horses came to a walk, but at a chirrup from Robert
+quickened their pace, the colt throwing snowballs into Miss Newville's
+face.
+
+"You must excuse him, Miss Newville; he is young, and has not learned
+to be polite," Robert said, apologizing for the animal.
+
+They gained the highlands of Dorchester, from whence they could
+overlook the harbor and its islands, and see the lighthouse rising
+from its rocky foundation, with the white surf breaking around it. A
+ship which had left Charles River with the ebbing tide had reached
+Nantasket Roads, and was spreading its sails for a voyage across the
+sea.
+
+"So the Berinthia will soon be sailing," said Miss Newville, "and we
+shall all want to keep track of her; and whenever we read of her
+coming and going we shall all recall this delightful day, made so
+enjoyable for us this morning by Berinthia and so charming this
+afternoon by your kindness."
+
+She turned her face towards Robert. The afternoon sun was illumining
+her countenance. He had seen in Mr. Henchman's bookstall a beautiful
+picture of a Madonna. Mr. Knox told him it was a steel engraving from
+a picture painted by the great artist Raphael, and Robert wondered if
+the countenance was any more lovely than that which looked up to him
+at the moment.
+
+They were riding towards the Milton Hills. The woodman's axe had left
+untouched the oaks, elms, maples, and birches; they were leafless in
+midwinter, but the pines and hemlocks were green and beautiful upon
+its rocky sides. The purple sky, changing into gold along the western
+horizon, the white robe of winter upon hill and dale, the windows of
+farmhouses reflecting the setting sun, made the view and landscape of
+marvelous beauty. Descending the hill, they came to the winding
+Neponset River, and rode along its banks beneath overhanging elms. The
+bending limbs, though leafless, were beautiful in their outlines
+against the sky. Turning westward, they reached the great road leading
+from Boston to Providence.
+
+"We might go to Dedham, but I think we had better turn back towards
+Roxbury, let the horses rest a bit at the Greyhound Tavern, and have
+supper,"[35] said Tom, who was well acquainted with the road.
+
+[Footnote 35: The Greyhound was a much frequented tavern in Roxbury,
+with the figure of a greyhound upon its sign. It was in this tavern
+that the repeal of the Stamp Act was celebrated, 1767. Convivial
+parties were courteously entertained by the accommodating landlord.]
+
+The sun had gone down when they whirled up to the tavern, whose
+swinging sign was ornamented with a rude picture of a greyhound. A
+bright fire was blazing in the parlor. They laid aside their outer
+garments and warmed themselves by its ruddy glow. The keen, fresh air
+had sharpened their appetites for supper. Chloe and Samson, cook and
+table-waiter, served them with beefsteak hot from the gridiron,
+swimming in butter; potatoes roasted in the ashes; shortcake steaming
+hot from the Dutch oven.
+
+"Shall I brew Bohea, Hyson, or Hyperion[36] tea," the landlady asked,
+beginning with Miss Newville and glancing at each in turn.
+
+[Footnote 36: Strawberry and other domestic teas were called by the
+high-sounding name, Hyperion.]
+
+"I will take Hyperion," Miss Newville replied, with a tact and grace
+that made her dearer than ever to Berinthia, and to them all, knowing
+as they did that Bohea and Hyson were still served in her own home.
+
+Supper over, they returned to the parlor, where the bright flame on
+the hearth was setting their shadows to dancing on the walls. The feet
+of Mary Shrimpton were keeping time to the ticking of the clock.
+
+"Why can't we have a dance?" she asked.
+
+"Why not?" all responded.
+
+"I'll see if we can find Uncle Brutus," said Tom.
+
+Uncle Brutus was the white-haired old negro who did chores about the
+tavern.
+
+"Yes, massa, I can play a jig, quickstep, minuet, and reel. De ladies
+and genmen say I can play de fiddle right smart," Brutus responded,
+rolling his eyes and showing his well-preserved white teeth.
+
+"If de ladies and genmen will wait a little till old Brutus can make
+himself 'spectable, he'll make de fiddle sing."
+
+While the old negro was getting ready to entertain them with his
+violin, they proposed conundrums and riddles and narrated stories.
+
+There came at length a gentle rap on the door, and Brutus, with high
+standing collar, wearing a cast-off coat given him by his master, his
+round-bowed spectacles on the tip of his nose, entered the room,
+bowing very low. He took his stand in one corner and tuned his violin.
+The chairs and light-stand were removed to the hall.
+
+"De ladies and genmen will please choose pardners for de minuet," said
+Brutus.
+
+The choosing had been already done; the partners were as they had
+been. After the minuet came the reel and quickstep, danced with grace
+and due decorum.
+
+The hour quickly flew. The horses had finished their provender and
+were rested. Once more they were on the road, not riding directly
+homeward, but turning into cross-roads to Jamaica Pond, where the boys
+were gliding over the gleaming ice on their skates. They had kindled
+fires which lighted up the surrounding objects, the dark foliage of
+pines and hemlocks, and the branches of the leafless elms and maples
+growing on the banks of the pond.
+
+The full moon was shining in their faces as they rode homeward. The
+evening air was crisp, but the hot supper and the merry dance had
+warmed their blood. The jingling of the sleigh-bells and their joyous
+laughter made the air resonant with music.
+
+At times the horses lagged to a walk, and Robert could let the reins
+lie loose and turn his face toward Miss Newville. Her eyes at times
+looked up to his. He could feel her arm against his own. The violet
+hood leaned towards him as if to find a resting-place. To Robert
+Walden and to Ruth Newville alike never had there been such a night,
+so full of beauty, so delightful.
+
+The horses came to a standstill at last by the entrance to the
+Newville mansion.
+
+"This has been the most enjoyable day of my life," Miss Newville said,
+as Robert gave her his hand to assist her from the pung.
+
+"Good-night, all. Thank you, Mr. Walden, for all your kindness," her
+parting words.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+CHRISTOPHER SNIDER.
+
+
+The night-watchman of the North End of Boston, with overcoat buttoned
+to the chin and a muffler around his neck, a fur cap drawn down over
+his ears to exclude the biting frost of midwinter, was going his
+rounds. He saw no revelers in the streets, nor belated visitors
+returning to their homes.
+
+If suitors were calling upon their ladies, the visits were ended long
+before the clock on the Old Brick struck the midnight hour. No voice
+broke the stillness of the night. The watchman scarcely heard his own
+footsteps in the newly fallen snow as he slowly made his way along
+Middle Street,[37] with his lantern and staff. He was not expecting to
+encounter a burglar, breaking and entering a shop, store, or
+residence. He heard the clock strike once more, and was just pursing
+his lips to cry, "Two o'clock, and all's well," when he caught a
+glimpse of a figure in front of Theophilus Lillie's store.[38] Was it
+a burglar? The man was standing stock-still, as if scanning the
+premises. The watchman dodged back behind the building on the corner
+of the street, hid his lantern, and peered slyly at the thief, who was
+still looking at the store. What was the meaning of such mysterious
+inaction? The watchman, instead of waiting to catch the culprit in the
+act of breaking and entering, stepped softly forward. Grasping his
+staff with a firm grip, to give a sudden whack, should the villain
+turn upon him,--"What ye 'bout, sir!" he shouted.
+
+[Footnote 37: The section of the present Hanover Street east of
+Blackstone Street was called Middle Street.]
+
+[Footnote 38: Mr. Theophilus Lillie was one of the six merchants who
+refused to sign the association paper not to import goods from
+England, thereby making himself exceedingly obnoxious to the people.
+Other merchants had agreed not to make any importation, and had
+violated the agreement.]
+
+The burglar did not reply, neither turn his head.
+
+"Is the fellow dead, I wonder--frozen stiff, this bitter night, and
+standing still?" the question that flashed through the watchman's
+brain.
+
+"Bless my soul! It's Mr. Lillie's head,--his nose, mouth, chin. Looks
+just like him. And the post is set in the ground. I'll bet that
+carving is Abe Duncan's work. Nobody can carve like him. But what is
+it here for? Ah! I see. Lillie has gone back on his agreement not to
+import tea. The Sons of Liberty have rigged it up to guy him. Ha, ha!"
+
+The watchman laughed to himself as he examined the figure.
+
+"Well, that's a cute job," he said reflectively. "The ground is frozen
+stiff a foot deep. They had to break it with a crowbar, but not a
+sound did I hear. Shall I say anything about it? Will not the
+selectmen make a fuss if I don't notify 'em at once? But what's the
+use of knocking 'em up at two o'clock in the morning? The thing's
+done. 'Taint my business to pull it up. The post won't run away. I'll
+report what time I found it."
+
+Remembering that he had not cried the hour, he shouted:--
+
+"Two o'clock, all's well!"
+
+He secreted himself in a doorway awhile, to see if any one would
+appear, but no one came.
+
+The early risers--the milkmen and bakers' apprentices going their
+rounds, shop boys on their way to kindle fires in stores--all stopped
+to look at the figure. The news quickly spread. People left their
+breakfast-tables to see the joke played on Mr. Lillie. Ebenezer
+Richardson, however, could not see the fun of the thing. The
+schoolboys called him "Poke Nose" because he was ever ready to poke
+into other people's affairs.[39] The officers of the Custom House
+employed him to ferret out goods smuggled ashore by merchants, who,
+regarding the laws as unjust and oppressive, had no scruples in
+circumventing the customs officers. Richardson hated the Sons of
+Liberty, and haunted the Green Dragon to spy out their actions.
+
+[Footnote 39: The offensive and unjust laws and acts and ordinances of
+the Board of Trade in enforcing the collection of customs dues had
+brought about systematic effort to circumvent the Custom House
+officials, who employed spies and informers to ferret out fraudulent
+transactions. Smuggling was regarded as a virtue, and outwitting the
+officials a duty rather than an offense. Ebenezer Richardson, by his
+service to the Custom House officials, made himself obnoxious to the
+community. An account of the incidents that led to the shooting of
+Christopher Snider may be found in the newspapers of March, 1770.]
+
+"This is their work," he said to those around the figure. "It's
+outrageous. Mr. Lillie has just as good a right to sell tea as
+anything else, without having everybody pointing their fingers at him.
+It's an insult. It's disgraceful. Whoever did it ought to be
+trounced."
+
+"Charcoal! Charcoal! Hard and soft charcoal!"
+
+It was the cry of the charcoal-man, turning from Union into Middle
+Street.
+
+"I'll get him to run his sled against it and knock it over," said Mr.
+Richardson to himself.
+
+Slowly the charcoal vender advanced.
+
+Seeing the post and the group of people around it, he reined in his
+old horse and looked at the figure.
+
+"See here," said Mr. Richardson. "Just gee a little and run the nose
+of your sled agin it and knock it over, will ye? It's a tarnal
+fiendish outrage to set up such a thing in front of a gentleman's
+store."
+
+"Do you own the figger?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Do you own the store?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Anybody ax ye to get it knocked down?"
+
+"No; but it's an outrage which honest citizens ought to resent."
+
+"Think so, do ye?"
+
+"Yes, I do; and everybody else ought to, instead of laughing and
+chuckling over it."
+
+"That may be, mister, but ye see you don't own it, and may be I'd get
+myself into trouble if I were to run my sled agin it purposely. Should
+like to oblige ye, neighbor, but guess I'd better not. Charcoal!
+Charcoal! Hard and soft charcoal!" he shouted, jerking the reins for
+the old horse to move on.
+
+"Gee, Buck! Haw, Barry!"
+
+It was a farmer driving his oxen drawing a load of wood, swinging his
+goad-stick, who shouted it. The team came to a standstill by the
+figure.
+
+"What's up?" the farmer inquired.
+
+"The Sons of Liberty have perpetrated a rascally trick, by setting
+this effigy in front of this gentleman's store," said Mr. Richardson.
+
+"What'd they do that for?"
+
+"'Cause he agreed not to sell tea, and then, finding he'd made a bad
+bargain, backed out of it; and now I'd like to have ye hitch yer oxen
+to the thing and snake it to Jericho."
+
+"'Fraid I can't 'commodate ye; got to go down to widow Jenkins's with
+my wood. Gee, Buck! Haw, Barry!" said the farmer, as he started on.
+
+"Rich, why don't ye pull it up yourself," said an apprentice.
+
+"Better get an axe and chop it down, if it's such an eyesore to ye,"
+said another.
+
+"Get a crowbar and dig it up. A little exercise will be good for ye,"
+said a third.
+
+"Has Lillie engaged ye to get rid of the thing?" another asked.
+
+"Did the Sons of Liberty smuggle it ashore during the night?"
+
+Tom Brandon asked the question, which nettled Mr. Richardson
+exceedingly. Possibly the informer could not have said why he was so
+zealous for the removal of the effigy. He would not have been willing
+to admit that he was seeking to advance himself in the estimation of
+Hon. Theodore Newville, commissioner of imposts, and Hon. Nathaniel
+Coffin, his majesty's receiver-general. Quite likely he could not have
+given any very satisfactory reason for his activity in attempting to
+remove the figure. He knew that the selectmen would be obliged to
+clear the street of the obstruction, but a display of loyalty to the
+king might possibly inure to his benefit. Boys on their way to school
+began to chaff the informer.
+
+"Say, Poke Nose; how much are ye going to get for the job?" shouted
+one of the boys.
+
+"You mind your own business."
+
+"That's what you don't do."
+
+"Don't ye call me names, you little imp," shouted the informer,
+shaking his fist at the boy.
+
+"Poke Nose! Poke Nose! Poke Nose!" the chorus of voices.
+
+"Take that, Poke Nose!" said a boy as he threw a snowball.
+
+Losing his temper, the informer threw a brickbat in return. He was but
+one against fifty lads pelting him with snowballs, which knocked off
+his hat, struck him in the face, compelling him to flee, the jeering
+boys following him to his own home.
+
+Tom Brandon accompanied the boys. He saw the informer raise a window.
+There was a flash, a puff of smoke, the report of a gun, a shriek, and
+two of the boys were lying upon the ground and their blood spurting
+upon the snow. He helped carry them into a house, and then ran for
+Doctor Warren. It was but a few steps. The doctor came in haste.
+
+"Samuel Gore is not much injured, but Christopher Snider is mortally
+wounded," he said.
+
+Christ Church bells were ringing. Merchants were closing their stores;
+blacksmiths leaving their forges; carpenters throwing down their
+tools,--everybody hastening with buckets and ladders to put out the
+fire, finding instead the blood-stained snow and wounded schoolboys.
+
+"Hang him! Hang him!" shouted the apprentices and journeymen. But the
+sheriff had the culprit in his keeping, and the law in its majesty was
+guarding him from the violence of the angered people.
+
+"Christopher Snider is dead," said Doctor Warren, as he came from the
+house into which the boy had been carried by Tom Brandon and those who
+assisted him.
+
+Thenceforth the widow's home in Frog Lane would be desolate, for an
+only child was gone.
+
+An exasperated multitude, among others Tom Brandon and Robert Walden,
+gathered in Faneuil Hall, Tom as witness, attending the examination of
+Ebenezer Richardson,[40] charged with the murder of Christopher
+Snider. Upon the platform sat the justices, John Ruddock, Edmund
+Quincy, Richard Dana, and Samuel Pemberton, wearing their scarlet
+cloaks and white wigs. There was a murmuring of voices.
+
+[Footnote 40: John Ruddock, Edmund Quincy, Richard Dana, and Samuel
+Pemberton were the principal magistrates of the town, and unitedly sat
+as a court. Richardson was committed to jail, tried, and condemned to
+death. As his crime grew from political troubles, Governor Hutchinson
+caused his execution to be delayed. He was kept in jail till the
+outbreak of the war, when he was set at liberty.]
+
+"I hope the spy will swing for it," Robert heard one citizen say.
+
+"It's downright murder, this shooting of a boy only nine years old,
+who hadn't even been teasing Poke Nose," said another.
+
+"This is what comes from customs nabobs trying to enforce wicked
+laws," said an old man.
+
+"Yes, and keeps two regiments of lobsters here to insult us."
+
+"That's so," responded Peter Bushwick, whom Robert recognized. "If the
+laws were just the people wouldn't smuggle. If there was no smuggling
+there wouldn't be any spies, and Ebe Richardson, instead of being a
+sneaking informer, would have been earning an honest living. He
+wouldn't have been called Poke Nose; there wouldn't have been any
+snowballs nor brickbats nor shooting. Ever since I was a little boy
+Parliament has been passing laws to cripple us; that's what's brought
+on smuggling; that's what keeps the troops here. Ebe Richardson is
+part of the system."
+
+There was a louder buzzing as the sheriff entered the hall and made
+his way through the crowd with his prisoner, who stood pale and
+trembling before the justices while the indictment was read. Witnesses
+were sworn and examined, and the sheriff ordered to commit the accused
+to the jail for trial.
+
+"No other incident," said Mr. John Adams, "has so stirred the people
+as the shooting of this boy. Nothing has so brought to the
+consciousness of the community the meaning of the ministerial system.
+Instinctively they connect the death of Christopher with the attempt
+to enforce the unrighteous laws. Richardson is in the employ of the
+government. There is no evidence that Theodore Newville or Nathaniel
+Coffin or any of the officers of the customs engaged him to remove the
+effigy; he did it on his own account, and must suffer for it, but the
+obloquy falls, nevertheless, upon the officers of the crown, and
+especially upon the soldiers, who are a constant menace. I fear this
+is but the beginning of trouble."
+
+Tom had been called upon to testify as a witness in regard to the
+shooting. He had heard the informer ask the peddler of charcoal and
+the farmer to run against the effigy with their teams; had seen the
+snowballs and brickbat fly, the shooting, and had assisted in caring
+for the wounded and summoning Doctor Warren.
+
+"Have you any idea, Tom, who placed the effigy there?" Mrs. Brandon
+asked.
+
+"I might have an idea, which might be correct or which might not be. A
+supposition isn't testimony. I don't think I'll say anything about
+it," said Tom.
+
+"Can you guess who carved it?" Berinthia asked earnestly.
+
+"Anybody can guess, Brinth, but the guess might not be worth anything;
+I'll not try."
+
+"You Sons of Liberty don't let out your secrets," Berinthia said.
+
+"If we did they wouldn't be secrets."
+
+Never had there been such a funeral in the town as that of Christopher
+Snider. The schools were closed that the scholars might march in
+procession. Merchants put up the shutters of their stores; joiners,
+carpenters, ropemakers, blacksmiths, all trades and occupations laid
+down their tools and made their way to the Liberty-Tree, where the
+procession was to form. Mothers flocked to the little cottage in Frog
+Lane to weep with a mother bereft of her only child. Tom Brandon and
+five other young men were to carry the bier. The newspaper published
+by Benjamin Edes expressed the hope that none but friends of freedom
+would join in the procession.
+
+Robert made his way to the Liberty Tree at the hour appointed. A great
+crowd had assembled. Somebody had nailed a board to the tree, upon
+which were painted texts from the Bible:--
+
+"_Thou shalt take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. He shall
+surely be put to death._"
+
+"_Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished._"
+
+The clock was striking three when the bearers brought the coffin from
+the home of the mother in Frog Lane to the Liberty Tree. While the
+procession was forming Robert had an opportunity to look at the
+inscriptions upon the black velvet pall. They were in Latin, but a
+gentleman with a kindly face, Master Lovell, translated them to the
+people.
+
+ "_Latet Anguis in Herba._"
+ "_Hoeret Lateris lethalis Armada._"
+ "_Innocentia nusquam in tuta._"
+
+ The serpent is lurking in the grass.
+ The fatal dart is thrown.
+ Innocence is nowhere safe.
+
+All the bells were tolling. Mothers and maidens along the street were
+weeping for the mother following the body of her boy. Old men
+uncovered their heads, and bared their snow-white locks to the wintry
+air, as the pall-bearers with slow and measured steps moved past them.
+Schoolboys, more than six hundred, two by two, hand in hand;
+apprentices, journeymen, citizens, three thousand in number;
+magistrates, ministers, merchants, lawyers, physicians in chaises and
+carriages,--composed the throng bearing the murdered boy to his
+burial.
+
+Listen, my Lord Frederick North, to the mournful pealing of the
+bells of Boston! Listen, King George, to the tramping of the
+schoolmates of Christopher Snider, laying aside their books for
+the day to bear witness against your royal policy,--boys now, men ere
+long,--protesting with tears to-day, with muskets by and by! Listen,
+ye men who have purchased seats in parliament to satisfy your greed!
+
+[Illustration: Lord North.]
+
+The assembled multitude, the tolling bells, the tramping feet, the
+emblems of mourning, are the indignant protest of an outraged
+community against tyranny and oppression,--the enforcement of law by
+the show of force,--by musket, sword, and bayonet. Listen, and take
+warning.[41]
+
+[Footnote 41: Historians have made little account of the shooting of
+Christopher Snider, but there can be no question that it led directly
+to the collision between the ropemakers and soldiers one week later,
+resulting in the Massacre of March 5, 1770.]
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+THE LOBSTERS AND ROPEMAKERS.
+
+
+Although March had come, the snow was still deep upon the ground.
+Robert and Rachel could prolong their stay in Boston and enjoy the
+hospitality of their friends. It was Monday evening the 5th of the
+month. Berinthia had invited Ruth Newville to tea.
+
+"The soldiers and the ropemakers are at loggerheads," said Tom, as he
+came in and laid aside his coat.
+
+"What is the trouble?" Robert asked.
+
+"It seems that a negro hemp-stretcher, down in Gray's ropewalk[42],
+last Friday asked a soldier if he wanted to work, and the redcoat
+replied he did. What the ropemaker told him to do wasn't very nice,
+and they had a set-to. The soldier got the worst of it, and swore
+vengeance. The redcoat went to the barracks, but was soon back again
+with eight others, armed with clubs, swearing they'd split the skulls
+of the beggars. The ropemakers seized their woolding-sticks, and they
+had it hot and heavy, but the lobsters got a licking. You'd better
+believe there was a buzzing in the barracks. Pretty soon between
+thirty and forty of the hirelings, armed with bayonets, clubs, and
+cutlasses, rushed down to the ropewalk. The ropemakers rallied, but
+all told they were only fourteen. They showed what stuff they were
+made of, though, and proved themselves the better men. They whacked
+the lobsters' skulls and drove them."
+
+[Footnote 42: Edward Gray, in 1712, purchased a large tract of land on
+the westerly side of Hutchinson's Lane, now Pearl Street, and erected
+a ropewalk seven hundred and forty feet long. The large number of
+ships built in Boston and other New England towns made it a lucrative
+occupation. His son, Harrison Gray, was appointed treasurer of the
+Province. He was a loyalist, and took his departure from Boston upon
+its evacuation by the British. His property was confiscated to the
+state. He proceeded from Halifax to London, where he gave generous
+hospitality to his fellow exiles in that city.]
+
+"Good for the ropemakers," said Berinthia, clapping her hands.
+
+Robert saw a lighting up of Miss Newville's eyes, but no word fell
+from her lips.
+
+"I fear," said Mr. Brandon, "there will be an outbreak between the
+soldiers and the people. Since the funeral of Snider, the soldiers
+have been growing more insolent. The long stay of the troops with
+nothing to do except the daily drill and parade, and drinking toddy,
+has demoralized them. The under-officers are but little better than
+the men, spending most of their time in the taverns playing cards.
+Discipline is lax. I shall not be surprised at whatever may happen."
+
+Miss Newville and Robert sat down to a game of checkers. He debated
+with himself whether or not he would let her win the first game. Would
+it be gentlemanly to defeat her? Ought he not to allow her to win? But
+almost before he was aware of what had happened she was victor, and he
+was making apology for playing so badly. Again the men were set, and
+again, although he did his best to win, his men were swept from the
+board.
+
+"I see I'm no match for you," he said.
+
+"I am not so sure about that. I saw your mistake. You would soon learn
+to correct it," she said with a smile.
+
+Although yet early in the evening, Miss Newville said she must be
+going home, as her parents might be concerned for her.
+
+"I trust the soldiers will not molest you," said Mrs. Brandon, bidding
+Miss Newville farewell.
+
+"I am sure I shall be safe with Mr. Walden," she replied. There was a
+meaning in her eyes which he alone understood, the silent reference to
+their first meeting.
+
+The moon was at its full, its silver light gleaming upon the untrodden
+snow. There was no need for them to hasten their steps when the night
+was so lovely.
+
+"Oh, look, Mr. Walden! see Christ Church!" Miss Newville exclaimed.
+"Tower, belfry, turret, and steeple are glazed with frozen sea-mist
+and driven snow."
+
+The church loomed before them in the refulgent light, a mass of
+shining silver. Above all was the tapering spire and golden vane.
+
+"It is the poetry of nature. Such beauty thrills me. I feel, but
+cannot express, my pleasure," she said.
+
+"It is indeed very beautiful," he replied. "The snow, the silver,
+gold, light and shade, the steeple tapering to a point, make it a
+wonderful picture. Would that you could see on such a night as this
+the view from my own home,--upland and valley, meadow and forest,
+walls and fences, leafless oaks, elms, and maples in fields and
+pastures, pure white and shining like polished silver in the
+moonlight, and all the twigs and branches glittering with diamonds. On
+such nights, when the crust is hard and firm, we boys and girls pile
+ourselves on a sled and go like the wind from the top of the hill in
+the pasture down to the meadow, across the intervale, over the river
+bank, and out upon the gleaming ice. We wake the echoes with our
+laughter and have a jolly time."
+
+"Oh, how I should enjoy it," she said.
+
+Suddenly they heard other voices, and as they turned the corner of the
+street came upon a group of men and boys armed with cudgels.
+
+"We'll give it to the lobsters," they heard one say.
+
+"I fear there may be trouble," Robert remarked, recalling the
+conversation at the supper-table.
+
+Passing the home of Doctor Warren, they saw a light burning in his
+office, and by the shadow on the window curtain knew he was seated at
+his writing-desk. Turning from Hanover towards Queen Street, they
+found several soldiers in earnest conversation blocking the way.
+
+"I'd like to split the heads of the blackguards," said one,
+flourishing a cutlass.
+
+"Will you please allow me to pass?" said Robert.
+
+"When you take off your hat to us," the answer.
+
+"This is the king's highway," said Robert.
+
+He felt Miss Newville's arm clinging more firmly to his own.
+
+"You can pass if your wench gives me a kiss," said the soldier with
+the cutlass.
+
+Swiftly Robert's right arm and clenched fist sent the fellow headlong
+into the snow. He faced the others a moment, and then with Miss
+Newville walked leisurely away. He could feel her heart palpitating
+against his arm. He cast a glance behind, but the redcoats were not
+following him.
+
+"It seems we are fated to meet ill-bred men," he said.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Walden, how resolute and brave you are!"
+
+"It is not difficult to be courageous when you know you are right."
+
+"But they are so many."
+
+"We are more than they," he replied, smiling.
+
+"More than they! We are only two."
+
+"He who is in the right has all of God's host with him. They knew they
+were in the wrong; that made them cowards."
+
+Again he felt the warmth and pressure of her arm, as if she would say,
+"I know I shall be safe with you to protect me."
+
+They were passing King's Chapel. Its gray walls never had seemed so
+picturesque as on that evening with the moon casting the shadows of
+pillar, cornice, roof, and tower upon the pure white snow that had
+fallen through the day. Beyond it were the young elms of Long Acre,
+twig and limb a mass of glittering diamonds. They stood at last
+beneath the portico of her home.
+
+"I have been thinking," she said, "of the strange happenings that have
+come to us--how you have been my protector from insult. I cannot
+express my gratitude, Mr. Walden."
+
+"Please do not mention it, Miss Newville. I should indeed be a
+poltroon did I not resent an indignity to a lady, especially to you. I
+esteem it an honor to have made your acquaintance. May I say I cannot
+find words to express the pleasure I have had in your society? I do
+not know that I shall see you again before we start on our homeward
+journey."
+
+"Must you go? Can you not prolong your stay?"
+
+[Illustration: King's Chapel, 1895.]
+
+"We have already overstayed our time; but not to our regret. I never
+shall forget, Miss Newville, these days and evenings which you, with
+Berinthia, Tom, Miss Shrimpton, and Roger Stanley have made so
+enjoyable."
+
+"I trust we shall not be like ships that signal each other in
+mid-ocean, then sail away never to meet again," she replied.
+
+She reached out her hand to bid him farewell. It rested willingly in
+his.
+
+"I hope," she said, "I never shall be so ungrateful as to forget what
+you have done for me. I certainly shall not forget the lesson you have
+taught me--to stand resolutely for the right. I shall always be
+pleased to see you."
+
+"You may be sure, Miss Newville, I never shall fail to pay my respects
+to one whose very presence makes life more beautiful and worth the
+living."
+
+The full moon was falling upon her face. Her eyes seemed to be looking
+far away. He saw for a moment a shade of sadness upon her countenance,
+succeeded by a smile. Her hand was still resting in his.
+
+"Good-by till we meet again," her parting words.
+
+Never before had he felt such an uplifting of spirit. "Till we meet
+again" would ever be like a strain of music. He lingered awhile, loath
+to leave the spot. A light was soon shining in her chamber. The
+curtains revealed her shadow. It was something to know she was there.
+Would she think of him when lying down to sleep? When would he again
+behold those loving eyes, that radiant face, that beauty of soul seen
+in every feature? What had the future in store for them? Ah! what had
+it? The light in the chamber was extinguished, and he turned away.
+Once more he lingered by the gray walls of King's Chapel to take a
+parting look at the white-curtained window, and then walked to Queen
+Street, past the jail and printing office. It would be a pleasure to
+stand once more upon the spot where first he met her.
+
+He heard a commotion in the direction of Dock Square,--oaths and
+curses; and suddenly beheld citizens running, followed by soldiers,
+whose swords were flashing in the moonlight. They followed the fleeing
+people nearly to the town pump, then turned and disappeared in an
+alley.
+
+"What has happened?" Robert asked of a man who had a pail of oysters
+in his hand.
+
+"What? Just see what I've got from the hellish rascals," the man
+replied, setting down the pail and pointing to a gash on his shoulder.
+"The red-coated devils are cutting and slashing everybody. They are
+ripping and swearing they'll kill every blasted Son of Liberty."
+
+While the oysterman was speaking, a little boy came along, piteously
+crying.
+
+"What's the matter, my boy?" Robert asked.
+
+Amid his sobs it was learned that the boy's father sent him on an
+errand; that while peacefully walking the street, a soldier rushed
+upon him swearing, aiming a blow, felling him to the ground with his
+sword.
+
+"I'll kill every Yankee whelp in Boston," said the redcoat.
+
+Again there was a commotion--soldiers rushing towards Dock Square.
+
+"Where are the blackguards? let's kill 'em," they shouted.
+
+"Come on, you dirty cowards; we are ready for ye," the answering
+shout.
+
+Robert could hear oaths and vile words, and then the whacking of
+clubs, and saw the soldiers fleeing towards their barracks followed by
+the people. A man with a stout club came along the street.
+
+"What's going on?" Robert asked.
+
+"We are giving it to the poltroons. We'll drive 'em off Long Wharf.
+They rushed out upon us just now, with shovels, tongs, swords, and
+baggernets, and called us cowards. We whacked 'em with our clubs and
+drove the ruffians--blast their picters."
+
+The commotion was increasing. Robert walked towards the barracks to
+learn the meaning of it. Reaching an alley, he saw a crowd of
+soldiers, and that the officers were trying to get them within the
+barrack gates. Towards Dock Square was a group of young men
+flourishing cudgels, and daring the lobsters to come on.
+
+"Let's set the bell ringing," he heard one say, and two apprentices
+rushed past him towards the meetinghouse.
+
+The officers, the while, were closing the barrack gates.
+
+"To the main guard! Let us clean out that viper's nest," shouted one;
+and the apprentices moved towards King Street.
+
+The bell was ringing. Robert walked back to the pump, and past it to
+the meetinghouse. Citizens were coming with fire-buckets. He could see
+by the clock above him that it was ten minutes past nine. Mr. Knox,
+the bookseller, came, out of breath with running.
+
+"It is not a fire, but there is trouble with the soldiers," said
+Robert.
+
+Together they walked down King Street, and saw the sentinel at the
+Custom House loading his gun. Robert learned that a boy had hurled a
+snowball at him.
+
+"Stand back, or I'll shoot," said the soldier to those gathering round
+him.
+
+"If you fire, you'll die for it," said Mr. Knox.
+
+"I don't care if I do," the sentinel replied with an oath.
+
+"You daren't fire," shouted a boy.
+
+The redcoat raised his gun, and pulled the trigger. The lock clicked,
+but the powder did not flash.
+
+"Spit in the pan!" said another boy, chaffing him.
+
+"Guard! Guard!" shouted the sentinel, calling the main guard.
+
+Captain Preston, with a file of men, came from the guardhouse upon the
+run, in response to the call. The meetinghouse bell was still ringing,
+and other bells began to clang. The soldiers, nine in number, formed
+in front of the Custom House with their bayonets fixed, and brought
+their guns to a level as if to fire. Robert thought there were thirty
+or more young men and boys in the street. Among them was a burly negro
+leaning on a stick, and looking at the soldiers. The others called him
+Crisp.
+
+"Are your guns loaded?" asked a man of Captain Preston, commanding the
+soldiers.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are they going to fire?"
+
+"They can't without my orders."
+
+"For God's sake, captain, take your men back again, for if you fire
+your life must answer for it," said Mr. Knox, seizing the captain by
+the coat.
+
+"I know what I'm about," Captain Preston replied.
+
+The bayonets of the soldiers almost touched the breasts of Crispus
+Attucks and Samuel Gray. The negro was still leaning upon his cudgel,
+and Gray stood proudly before them with folded arms, a free citizen,
+in the dignity of his manhood protesting against the system of
+government instituted by King George and his ministry.
+
+"You don't dare to fire," he said.
+
+Why should they fire? The jeering apprentices before them had no guns,
+only sticks and clubs; they were not fifty in number. What had they
+done? Thrown a snowball at the sentinel; called him names; pointed
+their fingers at him; dared him to fire. It was not this, however,
+which had brought the guns to a level; but the drubbing the ropemakers
+had given them, and the funeral of Christopher Snider. These were not
+the beginning of the trouble, but rather the arrogance, greed,
+selfishness, and intolerance of the repressive measures of a bigot
+king, a servile ministry, and a venial Parliament.
+
+Robert heard the clicking of gun-locks. He did not hear any order from
+Captain Preston, but a gun flashed, and then the entire file fired. He
+saw the negro, Samuel Gray, and several others reel to the ground,
+their warm blood spurting upon the newly fallen snow. There was a
+shriek from the fleeing apprentices. Robert, Mr. Knox, and several
+others ran to those who had been shot, lifted them tenderly, and
+carried them into a house. Doctor Warren, hearing the volley, came
+running to learn the meaning of it. He examined the wounded. "Crispus
+Attucks has been struck by two balls; either would have been fatal. He
+died instantly," the doctor said.
+
+By the side of the negro lay Samuel Gray, who had stood so calmly with
+folded arms, the bayonets within a foot of his heart. In the bloom of
+youth, Samuel Maverick, seventeen years old, who had come to find the
+fire, was lying upon the ground, his heart's blood oozing upon the
+snow. Patrick Carr and Samuel Caldwell, who also had come to put out a
+fire, were dying, and six others were wounded. The soldiers were
+reloading their guns, preparing for another volley. Robert heard the
+rat-a-tat of a drum, and saw the Twenty-Ninth Regiment march into the
+street from Pudding Lane, the front rank kneeling, the rear rank
+standing, with guns loaded, bayonets fixed, and ready to fire.
+
+"To arms! To arms!"
+
+He could hear the cry along Cornhill, and down in Dock Square. All the
+meetinghouse bells were clanging and people were gathering with guns,
+swords, clubs, shovels, crowbars, and pitchforks.
+
+Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson came.[43]
+
+[Footnote 43: Thomas Hutchinson was a native of Boston. He graduated
+from Harvard College, 1727. He became a merchant, but was
+unsuccessful; studied law and opened an office in Boston. He was sent
+to London by the town as its agent, and upon his return was elected to
+the legislature several years in succession. He held the office of
+judge of probate, and was a councilor from 1749 to 1766, a
+lieutenant-governor from 1758 to 1771. He was also appointed chief
+justice, 1758. At the time this story opens he was holding four high
+offices under the crown. Upon the departure of Governor Francis
+Bernard for England in the autumn of 1769, Hutchinson became acting
+governor. He was commissioned as governor, 1771. In May, 1770, he
+issued his proclamation for the legislature to meet in Cambridge; but
+that body insisted that the terms of the charter required the General
+Court to assemble in Boston. A sharp and bitter controversy followed.
+Doctor Franklin was appointed agent of the Province to look after its
+welfare before Parliament. In 1773 he came into possession of a large
+number of letters written by Hutchinson to Mr. Whately, one of the
+under-secretaries, advising the ministry to take coercive measures
+with Massachusetts. Franklin sent the letters to Thomas Cushing
+speaker of the House of Representatives. Their publication aroused the
+indignation of the people, which was increased by the action of
+Hutchinson in connection with the arrival of the tea-ships. He became
+very unpopular and sailed for England, June 3, 1774. So eager was the
+king to see him that he was summoned into his royal presence before he
+had time to change his clothing. He assured King George that the bill
+closing the port of Boston to commerce was a wise and beneficent
+measure, and would compel the people to submit to royal authority. The
+conversation lasted two hours. Upon its conclusion the king expressed
+his great pleasure for the information and comfort Hutchinson had
+given him. He was created a baronet, and was consulted by Lord North
+and the other members of the ministry. That his opinions had great
+weight with the king and his ministers, and that he was largely
+instrumental in bringing about the Revolutionary War, cannot be
+questioned. He died at Brompton, near London, June 3, 1780.]
+
+"Are you the officer who was in command of the troops?" he asked,
+addressing Captain Preston.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Do you know you have no power to fire upon the people except by order
+of a magistrate?"
+
+"I was obliged to fire to save the sentry."
+
+"That's a lie," shouted the crowd.
+
+The surging multitude compelled the lieutenant-governor to enter the
+Town House. A few moments later he appeared upon the balcony
+overlooking King Street.
+
+"I am greatly grieved," he said, "at what has happened. I pledge you
+my honor that this unhappy occurrence shall be inquired into. The law
+shall have its course. Now, fellow-citizens, let me urge you to retire
+to your homes."
+
+"No, no! Send the troops to their barracks. We won't go till they are
+gone!" the shout from the people.
+
+"I have no power to order them."
+
+[Illustration: The Town House.]
+
+"The troops to their barracks! to their barracks!"
+
+"I cannot do it; I have no authority."
+
+"Arrest Preston! Hang the villains! To the barracks!" shouted the
+angry multitude.
+
+"I will consult with the officers," said Hutchinson.
+
+He went into the council chamber. Louder the outcry of the indignant
+people. The troops were as they had been, drawn up in two lines, the
+front rank kneeling, ready to fire upon the gathering multitude.
+Robert felt that it was a critical moment. If the troops were to fire
+into the surging throng, the gutters would run with blood.
+
+"The troops to their barracks! Away with them!" the cry.
+
+"I will order them to their barracks," said Colonel Dalrymple, who
+recognized the danger of the moment.
+
+Robert breathed more freely when the front rank rose, and the troops
+filed once more through Pudding Lane to their quarters.
+
+Tom Brandon had come with his gun ready to fight. A great crowd
+gathered around the Town House where the governor was holding a court
+of inquiry. Robert and Tom edged themselves into the room, and heard
+what was said and saw what was going on. It was nearly three o'clock
+in the morning when the magistrates directed the sheriff to put
+Captain Preston and the soldiers who had fired the volley in jail. It
+was a great satisfaction to Robert and Tom to go up Queen Street and
+see the redcoats enter the jail and hear the key click in the lock
+behind them. Civil law was still supreme.
+
+The night was far gone when Robert reached the Brandon home. Although
+retiring to his chamber, he could not compose himself to sleep. He was
+looking into the future, wondering what would be the outcome of the
+massacre.
+
+Long before the rising of the sun the following morning, the streets
+were swarming with people, hastening in from the country, with muskets
+on their shoulders, with indignation and fierce determination manifest
+in every feature, assembling in Faneuil Hall; but only a few of the
+multitude could get into the building.
+
+"The Old South! Old South!" cried the people, and the crowd surged
+through Dock Square and along Cornhill to the Old South Meetinghouse.
+Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, and others were chosen a
+committee to wait on the governor in the council chamber.
+
+"The inhabitants and soldiery can no longer live together in safety;
+nothing can restore peace and prevent further carnage but the
+immediate removal of the troops," said Mr. Adams, speaking for the
+committee.
+
+Colonel Dalrymple informed Governor Hutchinson that, as the
+Twenty-Ninth Regiment had done the mischief, he was willing it should
+be sent down the harbor to Fort William, and he would direct its
+removal.
+
+"The people," said Mr. Adams, "not only of this town, but of all the
+surrounding towns, are determined that all the troops shall be
+removed."
+
+"To attack the king's troops would be high treason, and every man
+concerned would forfeit his life and estate," said Hutchinson.
+
+"The people demand their immediate withdrawal," Mr. Adams replied,
+bowing, and taking his departure.
+
+Cornhill, all the way from the Town House to the Old South, was
+crowded with resolute and determined citizens, equipped with muskets
+and powder-horns. They saw Samuel Adams, loved and revered, descend
+the steps of the Town House, followed by the other members of the
+committee.
+
+"Make way for the committee!" the cry.
+
+"Hurrah for Sam Adams!" the shout.
+
+They saw the man they loved lift his hat. They knew King George
+wanted him sent to England to be tried for treason; that
+Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson was ready to aid in such a plan;
+but there he was, more determined than ever to maintain the rights
+of the people.
+
+Tom worked his way into the meetinghouse and heard Mr. Adams say the
+lieutenant-governor's answer was unsatisfactory.
+
+"All the troops must go," shouted the citizens.
+
+Once more Mr. Adams and six of his fellow-citizens made their way to
+the Town House. The lieutenant-governor and the council were assembled
+together with Colonel Dalrymple, Admiral Montague, and other officers
+in their scarlet uniforms. Robert edged his way into the building.
+
+"It is the unanimous opinion," said Mr. Adams, "that the reply of your
+excellency is unsatisfactory. Nothing will satisfy the people other
+than the immediate removal of all the troops."
+
+"The troops are not subject to my authority; I have no power to remove
+them," said Hutchinson.
+
+Robert saw Mr. Adams raise his right arm towards Hutchinson. His words
+were clear and distinct:--
+
+"Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson, if you have power to remove one
+regiment, you have power to remove both. It is at your peril if you do
+not. The meeting is composed of three thousand people. They are
+impatient. One thousand men have arrived from the surrounding towns.
+The country is in motion. The people expect an immediate answer."
+
+A whiteness came into the face of the lieutenant-governor. His hands
+began to tremble. One hundred years before, the people in their
+majesty and might had put Edmund Andros in prison. Might they not do
+the same with him?
+
+"What shall be done?" he asked of the council, with trembling lips.
+
+"It is not such people as injured your house who are asking you
+to remove the troops," said Councilman Tyler; "they are the best
+people of the town, men of property, supporters of religion. It is
+impossible, your excellency, for the troops to remain. If they do
+not go, ten thousand armed men will soon be here."
+
+"Men will soon be here from Essex and Middlesex," said Councilman
+Bussell of Charlestown.
+
+"Yes, and from Worcester and Connecticut," said Mr. Dexter of Dedham.
+
+Every member said the same, and advised their removal. Colonel
+Dalrymple had consented that the regiment which began the disturbance
+should leave, but it would be very humiliating if all the troops were
+to go. The instructions from the king had put the military as superior
+to the civil authority.
+
+"I cannot consent, your excellency, voluntarily to remove all the
+troops," said Dalrymple.
+
+"You have asked the advice of the council," said Councilman Gray to
+Hutchinson; "it has been given; you are bound to conform to it."
+
+Robert felt it was a home-thrust that Councilman Gray gave, who said
+further:--
+
+"If mischief shall come, your excellency, by means of your not doing
+what the council has advised, you alone must bear the blame. If the
+commanding officer after that should refuse to remove the troops, the
+blame then will be at his door!"
+
+"I will do what the council has advised," said Hutchinson.
+
+"I shall obey the command of your excellency," said Dalrymple.
+
+The victory was won. "The lobsters have got to go," the shout that
+went up in the Old South, when Mr. Adams informed the people.
+
+Very galling it was to the king's troops to hear the drums of the
+citizens beating, and to see armed men patrolling the streets, while
+they were packing their equipments. It was exasperating to be cooped
+up in Fort William, with no opportunity to roam the streets, insult
+the people, drink toddy in the tap-rooms of the Tun and Bacchus and
+the White Horse taverns. No longer could the lieutenants and ensigns
+quarter themselves upon the people and be waited upon by negro
+servants, or spend their evenings with young ladies. They who came to
+maintain law and order had themselves become transgressors, and were
+being sent to what was little better than a prison, while Captain
+Preston and the men who fired upon the unarmed citizens were in jail
+as murderers. It was a humiliating, exasperating reflection.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+MRS. NEWVILLE'S DINNER-PARTY.
+
+
+His majesty's commissioner of imposts, Theodore Newville, being an
+officer of the crown, dispensed generous hospitality. Gentlemen of
+position or culture arriving in town were cordially entertained. His
+table was abundantly supplied with meats and with wines mellowed by
+age. He was loyal to his sovereign; gloried in being an Englishman,
+gave reverence to King George, and was respected and honored by his
+fellow-citizens. On Sunday, in King's Chapel, he repeated with unction
+the prayer for their majesties the king and queen, and for his royal
+highness the Prince of Wales. Not only as a servant of the crown but
+as a citizen it was his duty to be loyal to the king. He was kind,
+courteous, and tolerant towards those who did not agree with him in
+political affairs. He thought Sam Adams, James Otis, and Doctor Warren
+were rather hot-headed, but they were nevertheless frequent guests at
+his table.
+
+Mrs. Newville took pride in making her home attractive. Whether as
+hostess at the dinner-table or in the parlor, she displayed tact and
+grace in conversation. She was ever solicitous for the welfare and
+happiness of Ruth, her only child, and fondly hoped a kind Providence
+would bring about an alliance with some worthy son of an ancient and
+honorable family. Her day-dreams pictured a possible marriage of her
+beloved daughter to some lord, earl, or baronet from the mother
+country, owner of a great estate, a castle, or baronial hall.
+
+It was an agreeable announcement which Mr. Newville made to Mrs.
+Newville, that the ship Robin Hood, sent out by the Admiralty to
+obtain masts, had arrived, bringing as passengers young Lord Upperton
+and his traveling companion, Mr. Dapper. His lordship had recently
+taken his seat with the peers, and was traveling for recreation and
+adventure in the Colonies. Not only was he a peer, but prospective
+Duke of Northfield. He was intimate with the nobility of the realm,
+and had kissed the hands of the king and queen in the drawing-room of
+Buckingham Palace.
+
+Mr. Dapper was several years the senior of Lord Upperton, so
+intelligent, agreeable, polite, courteous, and of such humor, that
+he was ever welcomed in the drawing-room of my lady the Countess
+of Epsom, the Marquise of Biddeford, and at the tables of my Lady
+Stamford, and of her grace the Duchess of Alwington. The doors of the
+London clubs were always wide open to one who could keep the table in
+a roar by his wit. Lord Upperton had chosen him as his companion
+during his visit to his majesty's Colonies.
+
+"It will indeed be an honor to entertain Lord Upperton and his
+friends," said Mrs. Newville, with sparkling eyes. It was not only the
+anticipated pleasure of their company at dinner that set her pulses
+throbbing, but the thought that it might in the end make her
+day-dreams a reality.
+
+Mr. Newville thought it would be eminently fitting to invite the
+commander of his majesty's fleet, Admiral Montague, and also the
+rector of King's Chapel, Reverend Mr. Coner; together they would
+represent the crown and the church.
+
+Mrs. Newville did not intend that any bevy of beautiful girls should
+assemble around her table and be a cluster of diamonds to dazzle his
+lordship by their brilliancy. She would have but one brilliant, her
+own daughter. The other ladies should be of mature years. She would
+invite Miss Milford, who made it a point to read every new book; Miss
+Artley, who could paint in oils, and Miss Chanson, who would sing a
+song after dinner, and accompany herself upon the harpsichord; Mr.
+John Adams, the able lawyer, and his accomplished wife.
+
+From her chamber window, Ruth saw a lumbering coach drive up the
+street. The footman in blue livery opened the coach door, and a young
+man, tall, handsome, wearing a blue velvet coat, the sleeves slashed
+with gold, an embroidered waistcoat, buff breeches, lace ruffles, and
+powdered wig, walked up the path accompanied by a gentleman several
+years his senior, faultlessly dressed, with crimson velvet coat and
+costly ruffles. The other guests had previously arrived. Ruth, in
+accordance with her mother's wishes, wore a rich brocaded silk of pure
+white. She needed no adornment of silver, gold, or precious stones to
+set forth her loveliness as she entered the parlor.
+
+"My lord, shall I have the pleasure of presenting my daughter?" said
+her mother.
+
+Lord Upperton bowed. Mrs. Newville saw a look of surprise upon his
+face, as if he had not expected to find so sweet a flower in the
+wilderness of the Western world. He bowed again, very politely, and
+expressed his pleasure at making her acquaintance.
+
+Pompey, bowing low, informed Mr. Newville that dinner was ready to be
+served.
+
+"My lord, may I presume to assign my daughter to you?" said Mrs.
+Newville, giving her own arm to Admiral Montague.
+
+Mr. Dapper solicited the favor of Mrs. Adams's company. As Miss
+Chanson sang in the choir at King's Chapel, Reverend Mr. Coner thought
+it becoming to offer her his arm, leaving Miss Artley to Mr. Newville,
+and Miss Milford to Mr. Adams.
+
+"I presume, my lord, you find things quite different here from what
+you do in England," Ruth remarked, feeling it was incumbent upon her
+to open the conversation.
+
+"Yes, Miss Newville, very different; for instance, in London, and in
+almost all our towns, the houses are mostly brick, with tiles or
+thatch; but here, they are built of wood, covered with shingles. Your
+churches are meetinghouses. Queer name." Lord Upperton laughed.
+
+"Ha, ha! I had a funny experience the other day. I told the landlord
+of the Admiral Vernon I would like a chair for myself, and another for
+Mr. Dapper,--that we wanted to see the town. Well, what do you think
+happened? A little later, in came two niggers, each bringing a big
+rocking-chair. 'Dese be de cheers you axed for, Massa,' they said."
+
+Miss Newville laughed heartily.
+
+"The landlord evidently did not know you meant sedan-chairs; we do not
+have them here," she said.
+
+"More than that, I told him I should want some links for the evening,
+as I was to be out late. He said I could get 'em in Faneuil Hall
+Market, if it was sausages I wanted."
+
+Again Miss Newville gave way to laughter.
+
+"I do not suppose," she said, "that the landlord ever had heard that
+a link-boy is a torch-bearer."
+
+"I had the pleasure of attending services at your church last Sunday,"
+said Lord Upperton to the rector, when they were seated at the table.
+"I noticed that you have a substantial stone edifice."
+
+"Yes, my lord, and we regard it with what, I trust, is reverential
+pride. The Church of God is enduring, and the church's edifice should
+be firm and solid, and of material that the tooth of time will not
+gnaw," the rector answered.
+
+"Ought it not to be beautiful as well?" Miss Newville inquired.
+
+"Most certainly."
+
+"I cannot say I think King's Chapel is beautiful in the architecture,
+with its stump of a tower, and no steeple or spire," Miss Newville
+replied.
+
+"Perhaps by and by we shall have money enough to carry out the plan of
+the architect. I admit it is not as attractive as it might be," said
+the rector.
+
+"I never look at the lower tier of windows without laughing over the
+wit of Reverend Mr. Byles[44] in regard to them," said Mr. Adams.
+
+[Footnote 44: Rev. Matthew Byles, the first pastor of Hollis Street
+Church, was born in Boston, 1706, descended from Reverend John Cotton,
+the first minister, and Richard Mather. He was minister of the parish
+more than forty years. He was a celebrated wit and punster. He
+maintained his allegiance to the king, and remained in Boston after
+the departure of the British. He died in 1788. His clock is preserved
+in the old State House, by the Bostonian Society.]
+
+"What might it be?" the rector asked.
+
+"He said he had heard of the canons of the church, but never before
+had he seen the portholes."
+
+The company laughed.
+
+"Excellent! Excellent!" exclaimed Mr. Dapper.
+
+"The reverend gentleman, Mr. Byles, though dissenting from our
+Apostolic Church, I am happy to say is loyal to our most gracious King
+George," said the rector.
+
+"Reverend Mr. Byles is very witty," Miss Newville remarked. "He asked
+the selectmen several times to give their attention to a quagmire in
+the road near his house. After long delay, they stepped into a chaise
+and rode to the spot. Suddenly they found themselves stuck in the mud.
+Mr. Byles opened his window and remarked that he was glad they were
+stirring in the matter at last."
+
+Again the company laughed.
+
+"Capital; he must be a genius," said Mr. Dapper.
+
+Pompey served the oysters, large, fat, and juicy.
+
+"Pardon me, madam, but may I inquire what these may be?" Mr. Dapper
+inquired.
+
+"They are oysters. I think you will find them quite palatable," Mrs.
+Newville replied.
+
+Mr. Dapper put his glasses to his eyes, tilted an oyster on his fork,
+and examined it.
+
+"Do you mean to say that you swallow these monsters?"
+
+"We think them fine eating," Mrs. Adams replied.
+
+"My lord," said Mr. Dapper, turning to Upperton, "I'm going to try
+one. I've made my last will and testament. Tell 'em at Almack's, when
+you get home, that Dapper committed suicide by attempting to swallow
+an oyster."
+
+"I will send Pompey for the coroner," exclaimed Mr. Newville,
+laughing.
+
+"'Pon my soul, madam, they are delicious. Bless me! It is worth
+crossing the Atlantic to eat one. Try one, my lord, and then you can
+torment the Macaronies[45] by telling them they don't know anything
+about fine eating," said Dapper, after gulping it down.
+
+[Footnote 45: The derisive term "Macaronies" was applied to ladies and
+gentlemen who had visited Italy, and who upon returning to England
+aped foreign customs in the matter of dress.]
+
+Lord Upperton ate one, smacked his lips, and testified his enjoyment
+by clearing his plate.
+
+"I dare say, my lord, that you find many amusing things here in the
+Colonies," remarked Mrs. Adams.
+
+"Indeed I do. Yesterday, as I was smoking my pipe in the tap-room of
+the Admiral Vernon, a countryman stepped up to me, and said, 'Mister,
+may I ax for a little pig-tail?' I told him I didn't keep little pigs
+and hadn't any tails. I presumed he would find plenty of 'em in the
+market."
+
+Lord Upperton was at a loss to know the meaning of the shout of
+laughter given by the company.
+
+"The bumpkin replied if I hadn't any pig-tail, a bit of plug would do
+just as well for a chaw."
+
+Again the laughter.
+
+"I expect I must have made a big bull, but, 'pon my soul, I can't make
+out where the fun comes in."
+
+"He was asking you first for pig-tail tobacco for his pipe, and then
+for a bit of plug tobacco for chewing," Mrs. Adams explained.
+
+"Oh ho! then that is it! What a stupid donkey I was," responded Lord
+Upperton, laughing heartily. "He wasn't at all bashful," he continued,
+"but was well behaved; asked me where I was from. I told him I was
+from London. 'Sho! is that so? Haow's King George and his wife?' he
+asked. I told him they were well. 'When you go hum,' said he, 'jes
+give 'em the 'spec's of Peter Bushwick, and tell George that Yankee
+Doodle ain't goin' to pay no tax on tea.'" Lord Upperton laughed
+heartily. "I rather like Peter Bushwick," he said. "I'd give a
+two-pound note to have him at Almack's for an evening. He'd set the
+table in a roar."
+
+"My lord, shall I give you some cranberries?" Miss Newville asked, as
+she dished the sauce.
+
+"Cranberries! What are they? I am ashamed to let you know how ignorant
+I am, but really I never heard of 'em before. Do they grow on trees?"
+
+She explained that they were an uncultivated fruit, growing on vines
+in swamps and lowlands.
+
+"'Pon my soul, they are delicious. And what a rich color. Indeed, you
+do have things good to eat," he added, smacking his lips.
+
+"I trust you will relish a bit of wild turkey," said Mr. Newville, as
+he carved the fowl.
+
+"Wild turkey, did you say?"
+
+"Yes, my lord. They are plentiful in the forests."
+
+Again Lord Upperton smacked his lips.
+
+"By Jove, Dapper, it is superb!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Will you try some succotash, my lord?" Ruth inquired.
+
+"There you have me again. What a name!"
+
+"It is an Indian name, my lord," said Mrs. Adams.
+
+"Oh ho! Indian. They told me I should find the people lived like the
+savages. Succotash! what is it?"
+
+"Succotash, my lord, is a mixture of beans and Indian corn."
+
+"Beans! beans! Do you eat beans over here?" his lordship asked.
+
+"We do, my lord," Mrs. Adams replied, "and we think them very
+nutritious and palatable, notwithstanding the maxim, '_Abstincto a
+fabis_.' Possibly you may be a disciple of Pythagoras, and believe
+that the souls of the dead are encased in beans, and so think it
+almost sacrilegious for us to use them as food."
+
+Lord Upperton looked up in astonishment. Was it possible that ladies
+in the Colonies were acquainted with the classics?
+
+"In England we feed our sheep on beans," his lordship replied; "and
+may I ask what is Indian corn?"
+
+"Possibly you may call it maize in England. When our fathers came to
+this country they found the Indians used it for food, and so ever
+since it has been known as Indian corn."
+
+"Beans for sheep; corn for savages. Pardon me, madam, but I am not a
+sheep, nor yet quite a savage with a tomahawk. Thank you, but I don't
+care for any succotash."
+
+"Better take some, Upperton. It is positively delicious," said Mr.
+Dapper, after swallowing a spoonful.
+
+Lord Upperton poked the mixture with his spoon and then tasted it.
+
+"It isn't so very nasty," he said, and took a second spoonful. "By
+Jove, it isn't bad at all. Bless me, the more I eat the better I like
+it."
+
+His plate was quickly cleaned.
+
+"Pardon me, Miss Newville, but the succotash is so superb that I dare
+violate good manners, which I am sure you will overlook, and pass my
+plate for more."
+
+"You see, my lord, what you have gained by trying it. If you had not
+tasted it, you would have gone back to England and told the nabobs
+that the people in the Colonies eat just such nasty things as the
+sheep-men feed to their flocks; but now you can torment them by
+describing the dainty delicacies of the Colonies."
+
+"By Jove! That's a capital idea, Dapper. It will make the Macaronies
+mad as March hares."
+
+"Please fill your glasses, ladies and gentlemen, and we will drink the
+health of our most gracious sovereign,"[46] said Mr. Newville.
+
+[Footnote 46: George III. was grandson of George II., and son of
+Frederick, Prince of Wales, whose death made his son heir to the
+throne. The mother of George III. had plans of her own, and was aided
+by the Earl of Bute. There were political parties in church and state;
+scheming bishops and intriguing politicians, each striving for his own
+advancement, or the advancement of his party. George III. during his
+early years had frequent changes of governors and tutors, several of
+whom were intense Jacobites, holding reactionary opinions. Being dull
+of intellect, his education tended to make him a bigot.]
+
+The glasses were filled, and the health of the king drunk.
+
+"Our king is a right royal sovereign," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"Yes, royal, but stupid now and then," Mr. Dapper responded, to the
+amazement of the company, and especially Mrs. Newville. "The fact is,
+my dear madam, our king, unfortunately, has the reputation of being
+the dullest sovereign in Europe. Perhaps you know there was not much
+of him to begin with, as he was only a little pinch of a baby when he
+was born, so puny and weak the nurses said he wouldn't stay here long.
+He sat in their laps, and was coddled till six years old, when he was
+put under that scheming, narrow-minded bigot, Reverend Doctor
+Ayscough. And what do you suppose the reverend donkey set him to
+doing? Why, learning hymns, written by another reverend gentleman,
+Doctor Philip Doddridge. Very good religious hymns, no doubt, but not
+quite so attractive as Mother Goose would have been to the little
+fellow. After learning a few hymns and a few words in Latin, he was
+set to making verses in that language, when he could not read a story
+book without spelling half the words."
+
+"How preposterous!" exclaimed Miss Milford.
+
+"Somewhat absurd, I will admit," said Mr. Dapper, bowing. "One
+reverend doctor was not sufficient," he continued, "to look after the
+education of the prince, and so my Lord Bishop Hayter of Norwich was
+associated with Doctor Ayscough. Then the Old Harry was let loose. My
+Lord Bishop of Norwich was scheming to be made Archbishop of
+Canterbury, and Ayscough wanted to become Bishop of Bristol. Both were
+striving to rival little Jack Horner in putting their thumbs into the
+pie."
+
+The ladies were amused--excepting Mrs. Newville, who laid down her
+knife and fork, folded her hands, and looked earnestly at Mr. Dapper.
+
+"Do you mean to say there is scheming among the reverend prelates of
+our most holy church?" she asked.
+
+"Why, madam, human nature is pretty much the same in the church as out
+of it, and there is quite as much intrigue among the prelates of the
+church as among the politicians at court. His majesty, talking about
+his early years not long since, said there was nothing but
+disagreement and intrigue among those who had charge of him during his
+early years. Mr. Scott, his tutor, did what he could for the little
+fellow, but it wasn't much. His father, Fred, Prince of Wales,
+delighted in private theatricals. He had several plays performed at
+Leicester House by children, employing Jimmy Quin[47] to teach them
+their parts. Now, my dear madam, you will see that with three bishops
+disputing as to how the boy should be instructed in theology; whether
+politically he should be a Jacobite or Whig; when each was trying to
+get the biggest piece of pie and the most plums,--the boy, the while,
+muddling his brains in trying to make Latin verses and learning
+tragedies, there wasn't much chance for Master Scott to get him on in
+other things, especially when my lord the Bishop of Norwich was
+intriguing to get the master kicked downstairs, that he might put one
+of his favorites in the position of tutor to the prince."
+
+[Footnote 47: The celebrated actor, James Quin, was employed by the
+Prince of Wales to direct the plays performed in Leicester House by
+the children of the nobility.]
+
+"Why, Mr. Dapper!" exclaimed Mrs. Newville.
+
+"Then the prince had a change of governors about as often as the moon
+fulled," said Mr. Dapper. "Each, of course, had some directions to
+give in regard to his education. When Lord Harcourt was governor his
+chief concern was to have the prince turn out his toes when walking."
+
+The ladies laughed at Mr. Dapper's droll way of narrating the manner
+of the king's education.
+
+[Illustration: George III.]
+
+"I do not wonder you smile, ladies; it is enough to make a horse
+laugh," he said. "Perhaps you would like to know how the prince was
+put through his paces from the time he opened his eyes in the morning
+till he was tucked in bed at night. Lord North at one time was
+governor to the prince; he gave me the programme of the daily routine.
+The boy was to be out of bed at seven o'clock, eat breakfast and be
+ready for Mr. Scott from eight o'clock to nine, or till the Reverend
+Doctor John Thomas came, who had him in charge till eleven, when he
+was to be turned over to Mr. Fung, for what purpose Lord North did not
+know. At noon, Mr. Ruperti had him for half an hour. From half past
+twelve till three the prince could play; that is, he could walk
+through the grounds around Leicester House, trussed up in fine clothes
+like a turkey for the spit, but he couldn't kick up his heels or turn
+somersaults on the grass; he must be a nice little gentleman in lace
+and ruffles. At three o'clock he had dinner. At half past four the
+dancing-master, Mr. Deneyer, taught him the minuet. At five o'clock he
+had another half hour with Mr. Fung. From half past six to eight Mr.
+Scott put him through his curriculum. At eight o'clock he had supper,
+but must be in bed at ten. On Sunday from half past nine till eleven
+Reverend Doctor Ayscough lectured him on religion. To state it
+plainly, our royal sovereign's real instructors were the servants and
+chambermaids of Leicester House. They told him nursery tales about
+hobgoblins, giant-killers, and witches. Doctor Ayscough and the bishop
+gave him lectures on theology. The Jacobite bishop exalted the
+prerogatives of princes and kings. Lord Waldegrave told me that, when
+he was appointed governor to Prince George, he found him to be a good,
+narrow-minded little bigot, with his head full of nursery tales and
+not much else."
+
+"Why, Mr. Dapper!" exclaimed Mrs. Newville, laying down her knife and
+fork again, and holding up her hands.
+
+"I see that you are astonished, madam. Now I would not for the world
+say anything disrespectful of our gracious sovereign; he is not to be
+blamed for the errors of those who had charge of him during his
+minority,--he is to be commiserated rather; but you will observe that
+it was not a course of education calculated to enlighten a dull
+intellect. That he is good at heart every one knows, but his ministers
+also know that he is narrow-minded and obstinate."
+
+"We must not forget that our most gracious majesty, King George, is
+one of the Lord's chosen instruments to carry out the plan of the
+divine mind," said the rector.
+
+"Oh, certainly, my dear sir; just as much of an instrument as ever
+Samson was, flourishing the jawbone of an ass, smiting the Philistines
+hip and thigh," Mr. Dapper replied.
+
+The ladies smiled, but the rector did not altogether relish the reply.
+
+"I never have quite understood how Earl Bute obtained his ascendency
+with the king," said Mr. Adams.
+
+"It was through his influence with the mother of the king," Mr. Dapper
+replied. "He had a great deal to say about the king's education. It
+was Bute who induced George II. to appoint Andrew Stone to have charge
+of the young prince. Then the fat was in the fire. The Bishop of
+Norwich accused Stone of being a Jacobite, and the quarrel became
+hot--so sharp that the bishop entered the schoolroom to have it out
+with Master Stone. Now I suppose, my dear rector, you would have
+staked your money on the bishop, on the theory that the church
+militant should also be the church triumphant."
+
+"Possibly, if I were in the habit of laying wagers," the rector
+replied.
+
+"I certainly should have done so, reverend sir, but I should have lost
+my money," continued Mr. Dapper; "for Mr. Stone was plucky, used his
+fists beautifully, and gave it to my lord the bishop right between the
+eyes. The bishop was quite gamey, though, and aimed a blow at Stone's
+nose, but finally got shoved out of the room, greatly to his
+mortification. He couldn't let the matter drop, and so accused Stone
+of being drunk. The matter finally got into Parliament where there was
+quite a row about it. Such were the auspices under which our good
+sovereign was educated to administer the affairs of the realm. His
+mother wanted to make him pious. She would not allow him to associate
+with other boys because they would corrupt his morals. Lord Bute
+advised the princess dowager to keep the prince tied to her apron
+strings, and succeeded."
+
+"Lord Bute," Mr. Adams responded, "is very much disliked in the
+Colonies. When he was at the head of the ministry, he was hung in
+effigy on the Liberty Tree."
+
+"So he was in London," Mr. Dapper replied. "Your detestation of him
+cannot be greater than it is in England. No one can quite understand
+how John Stuart made his way up to power. He was a poor Scotsman from
+the Frith of Clyde. He went to school at Eton and also at Cambridge,
+then came to London, hired a piece of land out a little way from the
+city, and raised peppermint, camomile, and other simples for medicine.
+He had a love for private theatricals, had shapely legs and liked to
+show them. One evening the Prince of Wales saw his legs, and, taking a
+fancy to the owner, told him to make himself at home in Leicester
+House. That was enough for John Stuart. Having got a foothold, he made
+himself useful to Fred, and especially to the princess dowager. George
+II. was getting on in years and irritable. The old king took it upon
+himself to pick out a wife for the prince, selecting the daughter of
+Charles, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel; but the prince said he wasn't
+going to be Wolfenbuttled by his grandsire. Just what he meant by it
+no one knows, as the word is not to be found in Doctor Johnson's big
+dictionary."
+
+"Shall I help you to a bit of canvasback, my lord?" Mrs. Newville
+asked, interrupting the narrative.
+
+"Canvasback! What may it be? Really, you have most astonishing things
+to eat over here," Lord Upperton replied.
+
+Mrs. Newville explained that it was a duck, and that it was regarded
+as a delicacy.
+
+"I never ate anything so delicious," said Upperton.
+
+Mr. Dapper also praised it.
+
+"Was the marriage of our king and queen a love-match?" Miss Chanson
+inquired.
+
+"Well, hardly, at the beginning," said Mr. Dapper. "When the prince
+was eighteen, he fell in love with Lady Sarah Lennox, daughter of the
+Duke of Richmond. She was seventeen, beautiful, and attractive. She
+knew how to display her charms to the best advantage, by going out
+with the haymakers on fine summer mornings to wander in the meadows
+among the daisies, wearing a fancy costume. No wonder the prince,
+looking from the windows of Holland House, thought it a delightful
+exhibition of Arcadian simplicity and made haste to chat with her. But
+love-making between the future king and a subject was not in
+accordance with the princess dowager's ideas, and so Earl Bute found
+it convenient to appear upon the scene,--a gentle hint that there was
+to be no more love-making. Their flirtations would make a long story
+though, for Lord Newbottle was in love with Lady Sarah and jealous of
+the prince, which made it all the more interesting. Bute and the
+princess dowager put their heads together, and sent Colonel Graham on
+a prospecting tour among the German principalities. He sent back word
+that the daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz would make a
+good wife for his royal highness, and he judged well, for I am sure
+you all love our Sophia Charlotte."
+
+"Most certainly, and we would emulate her virtues," said Mrs. Adams.
+
+Mr. Newville proposed the health of the queen.
+
+Their glasses drained, Mr. Dapper went on:--
+
+"Lord Harcourt was sent as ambassador to negotiate a marriage, not
+with Sophia Charlotte, but with her brother, the duke."
+
+"Was not our queen consulted in regard to the matter?" Ruth asked.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN SOPHIA CHARLOTTE]
+
+"Not at all. She knew very little about the world; never had been a
+dozen miles from home, never even had sat at the duke's table. She was
+a simple-minded little girl who gave the chickens their dough and
+gathered nosegays from her flower-garden. You can imagine, ladies,
+that she hardly knew what to make of it when told that an ambassador
+from England had arrived and wanted to see her. The duke told her to
+put on her best gown, mind what Harcourt said, and not be a baby.
+Suddenly the folding-doors leading to the ducal chamber opened, and
+there stood the ambassador. 'You are to be married to him by proxy,
+and be queen of England,' said the duke, which so surprised the poor
+girl that she nearly fainted. The ceremony over, Harcourt presented
+her with a necklace of diamonds. You see, ladies, it is almost the
+story of Cinderella over again!"
+
+"It is really romantic," responded Miss Milford.
+
+"I would not be married to one whom I never had seen," exclaimed Ruth.
+
+"A princess, Miss Newville, cannot always do as she would. She may be
+compelled to marry against her will," said Lord Upperton.
+
+"I would not," Ruth replied.
+
+"Not if the country required it?" Lord Upperton asked.
+
+"No, my lord; and I am glad I am not a princess."
+
+"Bravely spoken. Ladies and gentlemen, let us drink to the maiden who,
+though not of the blood royal, is yet a princess," said Mr. Dapper.
+
+"Hear! hear!" exclaimed the admiral, thumping the table.
+
+The company gazed admiringly at Ruth, peerless in her beauty, the warm
+blood suffusing her cheeks.
+
+"I understand that our queen assumed the position of royalty with much
+grace," Mrs. Adams remarked.
+
+"With charming simplicity, madam," responded Mr. Dapper. "She landed
+at Harwich, and had an ovation all the way to London. People hurrahed,
+bells rang, and cannon thundered. The poor girl was terribly
+frightened. The thought of meeting a husband whom she had never seen
+unstrung her nerves. The Duchess of Hamilton laughed at her, but it
+was a hot shot the queen let fly; she said: 'You have been married
+twice to husbands of your own choosing, but poor me must marry a man
+whom I never have seen.'"
+
+"Bravo! that raked the quarter-deck," exclaimed the admiral.
+
+"How did the king receive her?" Ruth inquired.
+
+"When she stepped from the coach she knelt at his feet; he gave her a
+kiss, and led her into the palace."
+
+"Very gallant on the part of the king; fitting and humble the action
+of the queen," said the rector.
+
+"I would not have got down on my knees to him," said Ruth.
+
+"May I ask why Miss Newville would not have knelt to her future
+husband and sovereign, had she been Princess Sophia?" the rector
+asked.
+
+"Because it was an acknowledgement at the outset that she was not his
+equal. She abased herself by taking an inferior position. In the days
+of chivalry, men knelt to women. The princess did not leave her happy
+home to be a subject of King George; but to be his wife to stand by
+his side, and not crouch at his feet."
+
+"Hurrah! That's a whole broadside. She's sweeping your quarter-deck,"
+shouted the admiral.
+
+The rector grew red in the face.
+
+"It is recorded in the Holy Scriptures, Miss Newville, that wives must
+be obedient to their husbands," he replied.
+
+"Does the Bible say a wife must kneel at her husband's feet?" she
+asked.
+
+"Perhaps not in so many words, but she is commanded to obey. Our holy
+church teaches the doctrine. When the princess knelt at the feet of
+his majesty, it signified she would obey him. Perhaps it is my duty,
+Miss Newville, to say that your sentiments would be regarded as
+heretical by the authorities of the church."
+
+"Hold on, rector," said Mr. Adams. "Don't set the canons of the church
+to thundering."
+
+"It is the gossip at court," said Mr. Dapper, "that the king wanted to
+retire soon after sundown, but the queen said she wasn't going to bed
+with the hens. It is said he told her she must wear a particular
+dress, but she informed him he could dress as he pleased, and she
+should do the same."
+
+"You will have to go to court, rector, and lecture the queen on
+heresy," said Mr. Adams.
+
+The company laughed, and Ruth's eyes sparkled over the rector's
+discomfiture.
+
+The meats had been removed and Pompey was serving the pastry and
+comfits.
+
+"What delicious cheese you have. It is as toothsome as the finest
+Cheshire," said Lord Upperton.
+
+"We think it of excellent flavor, and I am sure you will relish it all
+the more when I inform you, my lord, that it was made by a girl not
+older than myself," replied Ruth.
+
+"Indeed! is it possible? How very clever she must be."
+
+"She is a New Hampshire lady."
+
+"Are dairymaids ladies?"
+
+"Indeed they are, my lord. The young lady who made the cheese you are
+eating, I dare say, would adorn the court of our queen," responded Mr.
+Adams.
+
+"Bless me! oysters, cranberries, succotash, canvasback ducks, wild
+turkeys, pumpkin pie, dairymaids ladies, wives the equals of their
+husbands! Rector, will there be anything beyond these in the New
+Jerusalem?" exclaimed Lord Upperton.
+
+Dinner over, the ladies passed into the parlor while the gentlemen
+smoked their pipes and finished their wine.
+
+"I suppose, my lord," said Mr. Adams, "you have not been here
+sufficiently long to form an opinion in regard to the Colonies."
+
+"Everything is so new and strange," Lord Upperton replied, "I hardly
+know what to make of it. I had an idea that I should find your people
+quite rude and uncultivated. I understand you haven't any theatre or
+anything of that sort; but, really, your ladies charm me by their
+conversation. Mrs. Adams informs me she has studied Latin and Greek."
+
+"I am happy to say my wife can read Cicero and Homer in the
+originals," Mr. Adams replied.
+
+"You astonish me," his lordship exclaimed.
+
+"We are somewhat primitive, but the Colonies in time will make amends
+for whatever they maybe lacking now," Mr. Adams responded, sipping his
+wine. "The people who came to this Western world did so mainly for
+conscience sake, and the time will come when this country will be the
+seat of empire. Society here is established on enduring foundations.
+One hundred years hence the chances are the people in the Colonies
+will outnumber those of England. We are loyal to the king, but we are
+a liberty-loving people and jealous of our rights. In time we shall be
+so strong that the united force of Europe will not be able to subdue
+us."[48]
+
+[Footnote 48: The paragraph is in substance the prophecy of John
+Adams, written to Nathan Webb, a school-teacher in Worcester, in
+1755.]
+
+"You have a great extent of country, but as a people you are widely
+scattered. You have only a little fringe of settlements along the
+seacoast. It will be an easy matter to divide you. England is rich,
+and has a great navy; she controls the sea. Her armies have been
+victors on many fields; she has wrested Canada from France," said his
+lordship.
+
+"With the aid of the Colonies," interrupted Mr. Adams.
+
+"Perhaps we had better give politics the go-by and join the ladies,"
+said his lordship, rising and moving towards the parlor.
+
+Pompey brought in the tea-urn, cups and saucers, sugar and cream.
+
+"Shall I pass you a cup, Miss Newville?" Lord Upperton asked.
+
+"Thank you, my lord, but I do not drink tea."
+
+"Ha, ha! Miss Newville, so you have joined the other conspirators to
+outwit Lord North!"
+
+"No, your lordship, I have not joined them, but I must say I admire
+their resolution in giving up a luxury to maintain a great principle."
+
+"As for myself," said Mr. Dapper, "I rather like the spirit of the
+Puritan mothers and daughters here in the Colonies; they are worthy
+descendants of the men who had it out with Charles I. It is all
+nonsense, this plea of Lord North, that the people in the Colonies
+ought to pay a portion of the debt incurred by England in the late war
+with France; it is the extravagance and corruption of Parliament and
+of those in power that grinds us,--the giving of grants, pensions, and
+gratuities to favorites, parasites, and hangers-on. During Bute's and
+Grenville's administrations the public money was sown broadcast. If
+votes were wanted, they were purchased. It was not unusual for a
+member of the Commons to find four hundred pounds in his napkin at
+dinner, or in a billet-doux left by the postman. Of course he
+understood the meaning of it. The ministers helped themselves to
+sugar-plums worth five thousand pounds. When the Duke of Grafton was
+at the head of the ministry, that parasite, Tom Bradshaw, who had done
+some nasty work for the Premier, received an annuity of fifteen
+hundred pounds and a suite of thirty rooms in Hampton Palace. He is
+there now, and has had the suite increased to seventy apartments. Not
+long ago the ministry put out one hundred thousand pounds to carry a
+measure through the Commons."
+
+"You astonish me! Do you mean to intimate that our king has corrupt
+men around him?" Mrs. Newville inquired.
+
+"My dear madam, the king is hardly responsible for this state of
+things. It is part of the political system. Politics is a game. Men
+can cheat in government as well as in anything else, and there are
+quite as many cheats in and around St. James's as at Almack's or any
+of the other gambling resorts. Other things are done in and around
+Westminster, by those whom you are accustomed to revere, which would
+astonish you could I but speak of them," said Mr. Dapper.
+
+The evening being beautiful, the air genial, the company strolled in
+the garden, and ate the ripening plums and pears. Lord Upperton,
+finding pleasure in the society of Miss Newville, asked what
+recreation the young people in the Colonies enjoyed. She told of the
+launching of the ship Berinthia Brandon, the pung-ride and dance at
+the Greyhound Tavern, the quiltings, huskings, and tea-parties.
+
+"I hope, Miss Newville, this will not be the last time I shall have
+the pleasure of seeing you. I shall not soon forget the succotash and
+cranberries, and shall improve an early opportunity to pay my respects
+to you," he said, as he bade her good-evening.
+
+"By Jove, Dapper, she's as fine a piece of chintz as can be picked up
+at St. James's or anywhere else," he said, as they returned to the
+Admiral Vernon.
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+SOCIETY LIFE IN LONDON.
+
+
+On a pleasant afternoon Lord Upperton was once more ushered into the
+Newville mansion. Mrs. Newville being absent, he was graciously
+received by Ruth.
+
+"I had such a delightful time in your hospitable home, Miss Newville,
+the other evening, that I could no longer refrain from paying my
+respects."
+
+"It is certainly very kind of you, my lord."
+
+"I cannot tell you how delighted I was when you told me about your
+recreations. How charming it must be to go riding in a pung, with a
+lot of ladies and gentlemen. I was wondering if I could not get up a
+pung-ride."
+
+"We only do that in winter, when snow is on the ground, my lord," Ruth
+replied, hardly able to repress a smile.
+
+"Oh, dear me! how stupid I am! Of course not," and his lordship
+laughed heartily at his blunder.
+
+"Do you not have snow in London, my lord?"
+
+"Yes, sometimes; but then we haven't any pungs. I don't know what they
+are. Maybe they are a sort of hackney or chariot?"
+
+"We have no hackney coaches here, as yet, my lord, but Mr. Hancock and
+the governor and a few of our citizens have coaches. A pung is not at
+all like a coach. It is, instead, a sort of box on runners."
+
+"Oh, indeed, how interesting!"
+
+"May I ask, my lord, what recreations you have in London?"
+
+"We have quite a variety, I assure you, Miss Newville. We have card
+parties, where we play high or low, just as we feel. We have
+assemblies, where we tittle-tattle and gossip. We gentlemen lay bets
+on the winning horse at the next Derby. We go to Drury Lane or Covent
+Garden, and clap our hands at the acting of Davy Garrick or Jimmy
+Quin. At the opera we go wild when Mademoiselle Truffi soars like a
+nightingale up to high C. We dance at balls, array ourselves as
+harlequins and imps at masquerades, and see who can carry off the most
+bottles of port or sherry at dinner," said his lordship, again
+laughing.
+
+"Are you not jesting, my lord?"
+
+"Oh no, Miss Newville; I am telling you sober truth. It is not
+exaggeration at all. For instance, the masquerade which the Duke and
+Duchess of Richmond gave on the king's last birthday was so gay that I
+can hardly hope to picture it. The duke's villa is on the banks of the
+Thames. The willows, elms, and oaks in the park were hung with
+lanterns, the house was all ablaze--lights in every room. Dukes,
+duchesses, earls, barons, lords, and ladies--more than six
+hundred--assembled in masquerade dress. The Duchess of Hamilton and
+Argyle was hostess. She appeared as Night, with a black trailing robe
+illuminated with silver stars, while her father was dressed as a
+footman, with the portrait of his other daughter dangling from a
+ribbon tied to a button of his jacket."
+
+"Was it not rather out of character for a man old enough to be grave
+and dignified to take such a part?" Miss Newville asked.
+
+"Perhaps so, but then we are expected to do absurd things in
+masquerade. Her grace the Duchess of Richmond, for instance, appeared
+as the Sultana of Persia, in a costume purchased in the bazaar of
+Bagdad. The Duchess of Grafton displayed her charms as Cleopatra. Now
+when we remember that Egypt and the Orient have a climate in which a
+person can get along without any great amount of clothing, it really
+does seem somewhat absurd for a lady, in a country with a climate like
+that of England, to attempt to imitate in dress, or undress, that
+celebrated queen of the East."
+
+Lord Upperton laughed again. "Miss Fitzroy," he continued, "undertook
+to represent the Sultana of Turkey. If I remember rightly, she
+appeared in baggy silk trousers, high-heeled pink slippers, crimson
+jacket, embroidered with gold, and a white turban. Her bewitching eyes
+peeped through two holes in a muslin yashmak spangled with silver
+stars. Among the gentlemen I recall Lord Augustus Hervey, who
+disguised himself so completely as a jester that no one could make out
+who he was. He said saucy things as a court fool. He even guyed his
+own wife, and she never mistrusted she was flirting with her own
+husband, but then, as she was ready to flirt with anybody, it made no
+difference."
+
+Miss Newville hardly knew what reply to make as his lordship laughed
+again, and so remained silent.
+
+"May I ask what character Lord Upperton assumed," she asked.
+
+"Oh, certainly. I appeared as a young devil, with hoofs, horns, and a
+forked tail. His satanic majesty, you know, is supposed to whisper
+things in people's ears, and you may be sure I acted out the character
+I assumed. I did it so well that Lady Lucy Hastings said I was a
+perfect imp of darkness."
+
+"Have you any other recreations?" Miss Newville inquired.
+
+"Oh, yes, a great many. One diversion I am sure would charm you,--the
+club at Almack's, in which the ladies nominate gentlemen to membership
+and gentlemen the ladies. Only a few days before leaving London I
+attended a grand masquerade ball at Almack's, where my Lady Archer
+appeared as a boy wearing a postman's blue coat. Lord Edgecombe
+assumed the character of an old washerwoman. Sir Watkins Wynne rode
+into the hall on a goat, assuming the character of holy Saint David.
+The goat, more accustomed to browse in the pastures than take part in
+such high jinks, frightened by the blare of trumpets, the scraping of
+fiddles, and the whisking of the ladies' skirts as they went round in
+the dance, capered like mad, butted my Lady Winchester so that she
+fell flat upon the floor, upset holy Saint David, and kept the room in
+an uproar until a waiter seized the animal by the horns and another by
+the tail and led him from the hall."
+
+Lord Upperton roared with laughter, and Miss Newville could but join
+him in the merriment.
+
+"It was a picturesque scene, I assure you, with peddlers, haymakers,
+shepherdesses, gypsies, chimney-sweeps, and nymphs," his lordship
+said.
+
+"May I ask, my lord, what a masquerade is supposed to represent?" Miss
+Newville inquired.
+
+"Well, really now, I never thought of it. I suppose it means
+something, but just what, upon my soul, I cannot tell you, except to
+have a jolly good time and appear to be what we are not."
+
+"Are such masquerade balls usually attended by noble lords and
+ladies?"
+
+"Oh, yes. They are almost the exclusive patrons. I attended one a
+little while ago at Carlisle House. It was intended the king and queen
+should be patrons. Tickets were sent to his most gracious majesty,
+and, of course, there was a great crush. The king and queen returned
+the tickets, but everybody else was there. I remember that the Duke of
+Cleveland appeared as Henry VIII.; the Duke of Gloucester as a fine
+old English gentleman; the Duchess of Buccleugh as the Witch of Endor;
+Lady Edgecombe as a nun; the Duchess of Bolton as the goddess Diana;
+Lady Stanhope as Melopomene; the Countess of Waldegrave as Jane Shore;
+Lord Galway's daughter, Mrs. Monckton, as an Indian princess, in a
+golden robe, embroidered with diamonds, opals, and pearls worth thirty
+thousand pounds. One of the gentlemen came as a Swiss ballad-singer
+with a hurdy-gurdy, leading a tame bear with a muzzle on his nose. He
+had been stopped by the gate-keeper, because he had only a ticket and
+a half--the half ticket for the bear; but it being a she-bear and
+ladies being admitted at half price, the hurdy-gurdy man won the day.
+Everybody laughed and said it was the best joke of the season."
+
+Lord Upperton saw a troubled look upon Miss Newville's face, as if she
+had heard quite enough about masquerades.
+
+"The recreations of court life, I would not have you think, Miss
+Newville, are masquerades and balls, and nothing else. We have suppers
+which are quite different affairs, where we do not try to be what we
+are not. After the theatres are out we go to the banquet halls, where
+wine and wit flow together. We gossip, sing songs, and flirt with the
+Macaroni ladies. The opera girls sing to us if they are not too tipsy,
+and we have gay larks till the wagons begin to rumble around Covent
+Garden Market, and the greengrocers are displaying their onions and
+cabbages for the early morning sale."
+
+"Who are the Macaroni ladies?" Miss Newville asked.
+
+Lord Upperton laughed.
+
+"I don't wonder that you inquire. We call them Macaronies, ladies and
+gentlemen alike, who have traveled on the Continent, flirted at
+Versailles, in Paris, or in the Palace Barberini in Rome; who have
+eaten macaroni in Naples, and who have come home with all the follies,
+to say nothing of some of the vices of the nobility of other
+countries, in addition to what they had before they started on their
+travels. The gentlemen wear their hair in long curls; the ladies
+patch and paint their faces. If they haven't a pimple or a wart they
+make one. They wear gorgeous dresses. The gentlemen twiddle canes
+ornamented with dogs' heads or eagles' beaks, with gold tassels; carry
+attar of rose bottles in their gloved hands, and squirt rosewater on
+their handkerchiefs. They ogle the ladies through their quizzing
+glasses, wear high-heeled slippers, and diddle along on their toes
+like a French dancing-master teaching his pupils the minuet. The
+ladies simper and giggle and wink at the gentlemen from behind their
+fans, and leave you to imagine something they don't say."
+
+Again Lord Upperton saw a troubled look upon Miss Newville's face.
+
+"We have convivial parties," he continued. "If you like cards, you can
+try your hand at winning or losing. We play for fifty-pound rouleaux.
+There is always a great crowd, and not infrequently you may see ten
+thousand pounds on the table. Some play small; others plunge in
+regardless of consequences. My young friend, Lord Stravendale, before
+he was of age, one night lost eleven thousand pounds, but nothing
+daunted he played again, and as luck would have it got it all back at
+one hazard. He lamented he had not made the stakes larger, and said if
+he had been playing deep he might have made a million. It was really
+very clever in Stravendale."
+
+Again his lordship laughed, but Miss Newville could not see anything
+in the narrative to cause her to smile.
+
+"There is Charley Fox," Lord Upperton continued, "who goes in rather
+strong. He makes grand speeches in the Commons; but almost always gets
+fleeced at Almack's. The Jews, who are usually on hand in one of the
+outside rooms with their shekels, waiting to lend money, charge
+exorbitant interest. Charley calls it the Jerusalem Chamber. Sometimes
+he gets completely cleaned out, and has to borrow a guinea to pay the
+waiter who brings him his brandy. One night at the beginning he won
+eight thousand pounds, but before morning lost the last sixpence."
+
+"Do ladies play?" Miss Newville asked.
+
+"Certainly; they love gaming as well as the men. Her royal highness
+the Duchess of Cumberland not long ago set up card playing and gaming
+in her drawing-rooms. Her sister, Lady Elizabeth Lutterell, is one of
+the best gamesters in London. It is whispered, though, that she cheats
+on the sly. Lady Essex gives grand card parties, where there is high
+gaming. One lady, whom I know, lost three thousand guineas at loo. It
+is whispered that two ladies, not long since, had high words at one of
+Lady Essex's parties; that they rode out to St. Pancras and fought a
+duel with pistols, and that one was wounded; which shows that our
+noble women have real grit."
+
+"Is what you are saying a fair picture of life among the nobility?"
+Ruth asked.
+
+"I would not have you think, Miss Newville, that everybody of noble
+birth or high position is a gambler, but every one who plays, of
+course, wants a stake of some kind."
+
+"Pardon me, my lord, but I do not see any fun in losing money in the
+way you speak of."
+
+"Well, perhaps there isn't any fun in losing, but it is real jolly
+when you win. It is like drinking wine; it warms you up."
+
+"Do you have any other recreations equally attractive and delightful?"
+Miss Newville inquired.
+
+"We have gay times at the Derby during the races. Of course you have
+felt the excitement of a horse-race, Miss Newville?"
+
+"No, for we do not have horse-racing here; but I believe they do in
+Virginia."
+
+"No racing! I am astonished. Are not your people rather slow?"
+
+"We have few diversions, my lord; we do not win money by racing."
+
+"You can have no conception of what a grand sight it is. Everybody
+goes to the Derby--dukes, lords, bishops, rectors, ladies, and
+gentlemen. Before the race begins, we have our lunch parties. All are
+eating, talking, laughing, or laying bets. The horses come out from
+their stalls with the jockey boys in red, green, blue, and yellow, in
+their saddles. They draw lots to see which shall have the inside, then
+go down the track a little distance. The horses understand what they
+are to do just as well as we who stake our money. They sniff the air,
+step lightly, then break into a run, and everybody is on tiptoe. In a
+moment they are down to the first turn, and come in full view. There
+are four, perhaps, neck and neck. You have staked, say, on yellow. He
+loses half a length, and your heart goes down: but he gains a little,
+is up even once more--half a length ahead, and you yell and double
+your stakes. They are round the second turn, going like a whirlwind;
+yellow and blue are ahead of the others, neck and neck.
+
+"'Two to one on yellow!' you shout.
+
+"'I'll take it!' roars Lord Pilkington.
+
+"'Two to one on blue!' he shouts back.
+
+"'Put me down for it!' you answer.
+
+"They are on the home run. There is a great hubbub, like the roaring
+of a tornado, as they sweep under the line, yellow ahead. You swing
+your hat, and yell as loud as you can. You are ten thousand in. Oh, it
+is just the jolliest excitement a man can have!"
+
+"If you win, my lord, does not somebody else lose?"
+
+"Of course, Miss Newville."
+
+"Do they feel equally jolly?"
+
+"Possibly not. Sometimes we are out of pocket, and do not feel quite
+so hilarious, but we swallow a stiff nipper of brandy and draw our
+checks like men. I won five thousand from Lord Pilkington, three
+thousand from Lady Merryfield, and quite a number of one hundred
+pounders from the ladies of my set, who bet on the blue, while I
+planked mine on the yellow. You see, Miss Newville, that ladies are
+sometimes influenced by fancy. Lady Somers, for instance, allowed
+fancy to get the better of judgment. She likes blue as a color, above
+yellow. She is quite horsey, and thinks she can drive a tandem. I had
+examined blue, felt of his muscles, and made up my mind that by and by
+he would have ringbone on his left fore leg. I believed that yellow
+had the best wind and bottom; but the ladies followed the lead of Lady
+Somers, and so I raked in their shekels. They all ponied up promptly,
+though, and paid their outs, like true-born English ladies."
+
+"I do not think," said Miss Newville, "that I should like to lose or
+win money in that way."
+
+"Why, Miss Newville, once get into it, and you would say it is the
+most delightful sport in the world. If you think, however, that you
+would not like to participate in such pleasures, we have the fox hunt,
+which is the most charming and innocent diversion imaginable. You
+don't bet any money in that, but have a rollicking good time riding
+over the country, ladies and gentlemen--leaping hedges and ditches,
+following the hounds, running Reynard to cover, and having a lunch at
+the close of the hunt."
+
+"Foxes are plentiful in this country, but we do not run them down with
+horses," Miss Newville replied.
+
+"Do ladies ride horseback in the Colonies?"
+
+"Oh, yes. Were you to attend meeting in the country on the Sabbath,
+you would see many ladies riding up to the horse-block, wives on
+pillions behind their husbands. Do the ladies who hunt foxes attend
+meeting on the Sabbath, my lord?"
+
+"Ha, ha! I suspect what you call going to meeting, with us is going to
+church. Oh, we are very devout. On Sunday we all go to church, kneel
+on our hassocks, and confess we are miserable sinners, recite the
+creed, pray for the king, queen, Prince of Wales, the army and navy.
+We do our full duty as Christians, and are loyal to the church, as
+well as to his majesty. My rector, at Halford, is a very good man. To
+be sure the living isn't much, but he reads the prayers well, preaches
+a nice little sermon of ten minutes or so, for he knows I don't care
+to be bored by the hour. He enjoys a fox hunt, says grace at dinner,
+and makes a point of having a little game of cards with me Saturday
+evening. He doesn't know much about cards, so I usually let him win a
+few shillings, knowing the poor fellow will feel better Sunday morning
+while reading the service if he knows he has a half-crown in his
+pocket, instead of being out that much. I know how it is, Miss
+Newville. I can be more devout and comfortable on Sunday after winning
+instead of losing five or ten thousand at Almack's."
+
+"Perhaps, my lord, you feel you are not quite such a miserable sinner
+as you might be after all."
+
+"You have stated it correctly, Miss Newville," his lordship replied,
+not discerning the quiet sarcasm. "Of course I am not, for if I lose,
+I curse my luck, and am ready to punch somebody's head, and rip out
+some swear words, but if I win, I am ready to bless the other fellow
+for playing a king when he should have laid down an ace."
+
+His lordship apologized for having tarried so long, and took his
+departure.
+
+"She's a Puritan, through and through. As lovely and pure as an angel
+in heaven," he said to himself as he walked down the street.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+While the months were going by, Roger Stanley, student of Harvard
+College, was learning about life in Rumford, as a surveyor of land,
+spending his evenings in the house of Joshua Walden, with Robert and
+Rachel to keep him company, especially Rachel. He found pleasure in
+telling her the story of Ulysses and Penelope. Most of the young men
+of Rumford who came to the Walden home could only talk about oxen,
+which pair of steers could pull the heaviest load, or whose horse
+could out-trot all others. When the surveying was done, Roger accepted
+the invitation of the committeemen to keep the winter school. Never
+before had there been a master who could keep the big boys in order
+without using the ferule, but somehow the great strapping fellows, who
+might have put the master on his back in a twinkling, could not find
+it in their hearts to do anything that would trouble him. Other
+masters were content if they went through the regular daily stint
+of reading, writing, spelling, and ciphering, but he told them
+about men who made the most of themselves, and who had done great
+things,--Caesar, Augustus, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great.
+
+It was the schoolmaster who suggested that the people should meet once
+a week in the schoolhouse to discuss the great questions affecting the
+welfare of the Colonies, and who wrote out the questions to be
+considered:--
+
+ "What are the inalienable rights of the people?"
+
+ "Has Parliament any right to tax the people of America
+ without their consent?"
+
+ "Is it right ever to resist the authority of the king?"
+
+ "Ought the Colonies to unite for self-defense?"
+
+ "Ought the Colonies, in any event, to separate from
+ England?"
+
+People from the back roads came to hear what Esquire Walden, Deacon
+Kent, Shoemaker Noyes, Blacksmith Temple, and Schoolmaster Stanley had
+to say upon these questions before the parliament of the people, in
+the schoolhouse, lighted by two tallow candles and the fire blazing on
+the hearth. King George and Frederick North might have learned some
+fundamental principles of government, had they been present.
+
+Like sitting in heavenly places were the mornings and evenings to
+Roger Stanley in the Walden home, where he passed the first and the
+last two weeks of the term. The food upon the table was appetizing;
+deft hands had prepared the bannock--Rachel's hands. The plates,
+knives, and forks had been laid by her. It was she who glided like a
+fairy around the room. How could his eyes help following her? And when
+seated at the table, how radiant her face, beaming with health! In the
+early morning, long before breakfast-time, he heard her feet tripping
+down the stairs. While about her work, he could hear her humming a
+song which he had sung to her. Very pleasant the "good-morning" that
+came from her lips when he appeared. In the evening it was a pleasure
+to hold a skein of yarn for her to wind. He was sorry when the last
+thread dropped from his wrists, and wished she had another for him to
+hold.
+
+It was the old, old story; the growth of mutual respect, honor, and
+love, becoming daily more tender and true; the love that needed no
+pledge, because it was so deep and abiding.
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+A NEW ENGLAND GIRL.
+
+
+Lord Upperton was prolonging his stay in America. He visited New York
+and Philadelphia, and was once more in Boston. He called upon Thomas
+Hutchinson, governor; upon Thomas Flucker, secretary; and upon the
+officials of the Custom House. He accepted many invitations to dinner
+from gentlemen and ladies, and took excursions into the country on
+horseback. Lady Frankland hospitably entertained him in her country
+house, where he enjoyed himself shooting squirrels and partridges.
+Returning to Boston, he frequently called to pay his respects to Mr.
+and Mrs. Newville, never failing to ask for Miss Newville, prolonging
+his calls till past the ringing of the nine o'clock bell. He was very
+courteous, and had many entertaining stories to tell of life in
+England, of his ancestral home at Halford. The old castle was gray
+with age; the ivy, ever green upon its towers, hanging in graceful
+festoons from the battlements. Herds of deer roamed the surrounding
+park; pheasants crooned and cackled beneath the stalwart oaks; hares
+burrowed in the forest; nightingales made the midnight melodious with
+their dulcet singing. Old tapestries adorned the walls of the spacious
+apartments. In the banqueting halls were the portraits of
+ancestors--lords, dukes, and earls reaching down to the first Earl
+Upperton created by William of Normandy, for valor on the field of
+Hastings. On the maternal side were portraits of beautiful ladies who
+had been maids of honor and train-bearers at the coronations of
+Margaret and Elizabeth. The brain of Ruth could not keep track of all
+the branches of the ancestral tree; she could only conclude it was
+stalwart and strong.
+
+Lord Upperton was heartily welcomed by Mrs. Newville, who esteemed it
+one of heaven's blessings to be thus honored. On an evening, after a
+visit from his lordship, Mrs. Newville, with radiant face, drew Ruth
+to her bosom. "My dear," she said, "I have joyful information for you.
+Lord Upperton has done us the distinguished honor to say to your
+father and me that he has become so much interested in our daughter
+that he presumes to ask the privilege of paying his addresses to her.
+It is not, Ruth, altogether a surprise to me, for I have seen his
+growing fondness for you."
+
+"Fondness for me, mother?"
+
+"Yes, dear; he has not been able to keep his eyes off you of late. I
+have noticed that if you had occasion to leave the room, he fidgeted
+till you returned. We have given our consent, and he will call
+to-morrow evening to make a formal proposal to you."
+
+"But I do not desire he should make a proposal to me, mother!"
+
+"Don't want him to make an offer of marriage, child! Why, Ruth, what
+are you thinking of? Not wish to receive the attentions of a noble
+lord! I am astonished. Do you forget that he can trace his lineage
+down to the time of William the Conqueror, and I don't know how much
+farther? You surprise me!"
+
+"I doubt not Lord Upperton may have a noble ancestry, but I don't see
+how that concerns me. I am not going to marry his ancestors, am I?"
+
+"Why, daughter, he has a crest,--an escutcheon of azure, sable, and
+sanguine, a lion rampant, a unicorn passant, and an eagle volent."
+
+"What would a crest do for me?"
+
+The question puzzled Mrs. Newville. "I really do not know, daughter,
+just what it would do, but it would be painted on your coach; it would
+be embroidered on the banners hanging in Lord Upperton's baronial
+hall. Just think of it! The lion, the emblem of strength, the unicorn
+of energy, the eagle of swiftness and far-sightedness,--it would
+represent all those qualities!"
+
+"But what if one has not the qualities?"
+
+"I am not so sure, daughter, but that you have those very
+characteristics in a remarkable degree. I know you have strength of
+will and energy. What you undertake you carry through; and you are
+far-sighted, you see what others of your age do not see. I do not say
+it to flatter you, daughter, but I am sure Lord Upperton's
+coat-of-arms is emblematic of the character of the lady whom he wishes
+to see mistress of Halford Castle," said Mrs. Newville, with radiant
+face.
+
+It seemed to her that the fond hope of years was about to be realized;
+that the time was at hand when the Newville family was to be ennobled;
+when she, herself, could bid farewell to America, and be admitted to
+the charmed society of dukes, barons, princes, kings, and queens.
+
+"Lord Upperton will call to-morrow evening, dear, and I will have
+Madame Riggoletti come in the afternoon to do your hair. You had
+better wear your corn-colored satin brocade, which is so becoming to
+you."
+
+"No, mother, I do not wish to wear it. I prefer to dress plainly. I
+want Lord Upperton to see me just as I am, a simple girl, who has had
+few advantages to fit her for the life in which he moves. I cannot
+appear to be what I am not."
+
+Ruth paused a moment as if considering whether she should speak the
+words upon her lips.
+
+"Lord Upperton, you say, desires to pay his addresses to me and you
+have given consent. It is an honor for any lady to receive attentions
+from a gentleman of superior station, but I cannot promise you,
+mother, that I shall look with favor upon his suit, honorable though
+it may be."
+
+It was said calmly but with resolution.
+
+"I dare say, daughter, you may think so now. It is quite natural. It
+is just what I said when my mother informed me that Theodore, your
+father, had asked permission to pay his addresses to me. I said I
+would not see him; but I did, and have been very glad ever since.
+After a little while, I used to listen for his footsteps. There were
+none like his. He always called Thursday evening after the
+lecture,[49] and I used to sit by the window an hour before it was
+time for him to put in an appearance, looking for him. So it will be
+with you, child. Now go to bed, dear, and think of the great honor
+which Lord Upperton is conferring upon us in asking for your hand!"
+
+[Footnote 49: The lecture on Thursday of each week was instituted by
+the Puritans soon after the settlement of Boston. There was a moral if
+not a legal obligation upon every person to attend it. Consequently in
+the earlier years of the Colony all business ceased, shops were
+closed, usual occupations suspended, and the entire community flocked
+to the meetinghouse of the parish to listen to the discourse of the
+minister. At the time this story begins, the obligation was not quite
+so binding as in former years.]
+
+"Shall I give him my hand, if I cannot at the same time give him my
+heart?" Ruth asked, her earnest eyes scanning her mother's face.
+
+"Oh, but you will do both, dear. Many a girl has asked the same
+question at first, but soon found that the heart and hand went
+together."
+
+"I think," Ruth replied, "if one may judge from outward appearances,
+there are some women who have given their hands to their husbands, but
+never their hearts. I see faces, now and then, which make me think of
+what I have read descriptive of deserts where there is no water to
+quench the thirst, no oasis with its green palms giving grateful shade
+from the summer heat,--faces that tell of hunger and thirst for the
+bread and water of love and sympathy."
+
+"You fancy it is so, and possibly here and there you may find a
+mismated couple, but, daughter, you will see things in a different
+light when once you get acquainted with Lord Upperton. I believe there
+is not another girl in Boston who would not jump at such a catch. You
+may not fancy him this moment, but in a short time you will say there
+is not another like him in all the world. You feel just as I did
+towards Theodore. At first, I almost hated him, because he presumed to
+ask permission to visit me, but now he is the best man that ever
+lived. Just think of the offer that has come to you in contrast with
+what your father had to offer me. Lord Upperton brings you his high
+station in life, his nobility, his long line of ancestors, a barony, a
+castle with its ivied walls, a retinue of servants, his armorial
+bearings inscribed on banners borne by Crusaders. He will offer you
+rank, wealth, privilege, honor at his majesty's court. Theodore had
+only himself to offer me. He was not much then, but he is more now. I
+have done what I could to make him what he is, and now our daughter
+has the prospect of wearing laces such as are worn by duchesses; to be
+received at court; to be spoken of as Her Grace. Now to bed, dear, and
+be happy in thinking it over."
+
+"But I do not love Lord Upperton, nor shall I ever care for him."
+
+"Don't talk in that way, Ruth. You think so now, but when you are once
+married and begin to enjoy what will be yours,--a coach, waiting-maids
+to do your bidding, and are invited to the court of his majesty the
+king, and preside over your own table in the great baronial hall, with
+the high-born gentlemen and ladies doing you honor, it stands to
+reason that you will love him who brings these things to you."
+
+"You speak, mother, of the society in which I shall move, but I have
+no taste for such associations."
+
+"Tush, child; you know nothing about it."
+
+"Lord Upperton has given me a description of the employment and
+pleasures of the society in which he moves, and I have no desire to
+enter it. I shall not find happiness in its circles. I want to be just
+what I am, your daughter, in our happy home."
+
+"But, Ruth, you cannot always be with us. Your father and I earnestly
+desire your future welfare and happiness. I am sure he will be
+surprised and pained to hear that you do not wish to receive the
+attentions of Lord Upperton."
+
+Mr. Newville entered the room. He saw the trouble on the face of his
+daughter.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+"Ruth thinks she never can love Lord Upperton and does not desire to
+receive his attentions, but I have told her it is only a present whim,
+just as mine was towards you."
+
+"Of course, daughter," said Mr. Newville, with fatherly dignity, "it
+could hardly be expected you would feel any very strong attachment for
+Lord Upperton on so short an acquaintance. Conjugal love is a plant of
+slow growth, but I think you would, ere long, appreciate the great
+honors and the high privileges which he would confer upon you, and
+that your heart would go out to him."
+
+The troubled look upon the face of the daughter became more intense.
+Her father as well as her mother would have her receive the attentions
+of a man between whom and herself there was no possible sympathy. What
+should she say? A tear trickled down her cheek: she made no movement
+to wipe it away, but lifted her loving eyes and gazed steadily into
+her father's.
+
+"Since you both so earnestly desire it I will meet Lord Upperton
+to-morrow evening and hear what he has to say," she replied.
+
+"You could hardly do otherwise. I think the more you see of him the
+better you will like him," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"Of course you will, my child; and now, dear, think it over in your
+chamber. I am sure you will see that a great opportunity has come to
+you," said Mrs. Newville, giving her a kiss.
+
+It was a summer night. The air was fragrant with the perfume of lilacs
+and apple-blooms. The young moon was going down in the west, throwing
+its departing beams upon the unfinished tower of King's Chapel. Ruth,
+looking out from her white-curtained window, beheld a handful of cloud
+drift across the crescent orb and dissolve in thin air. She could hear
+the footsteps of passers along the street growing fainter as they
+receded. The bell on the Old Brick Meetinghouse struck the hour, and
+then, in the distance, she heard the watchman's voice, "Ten o'clock,
+and all is well." With perturbed spirit, she laid her head upon the
+white linen pillow which her own deft hands had made. So Lord Upperton
+was to solicit her heart and hand, and she had consented to meet him.
+What should she say to him? Why should he, having an acquaintance with
+the noble families of England, come across the sea and offer his
+attentions to an obscure New England girl, and desire to make her
+mistress at Halford Castle? Ought she not to feel flattered in having
+a noble lord for a lover? The thought did not stir her blood. Why was
+she averse to receiving his attentions? What was there about him that
+made the thought repellent? Was he not a gentleman? Was he not
+polite? Did he not show proper respect not only to herself but to
+everybody? Why not make an effort to overcome her repugnance to him?
+Would any other girl in Boston or anywhere else hesitate a moment over
+such an opportunity as had come to her to be called My Lady,--to be
+mistress of a ducal castle,--a position of power and influence among
+the lords and ladies of the kingdom? To have diamonds and pearls? To
+have precedence over others of lower station in social life? Questions
+came in troops before her; vain her attempts to answer them.
+
+Again the deep tones of the bell rang upon the still night air, and
+once more she heard the watchman's voice announce the hour. For a
+moment it interrupted her reverie, but again the questioning went on.
+Her father and mother not only had given their consent for Lord
+Upperton to make proposal, but they earnestly desired she should
+become his wife. She could understand the motives that animated them.
+She was her father's idol, her mother's joy--very dear to them. Were
+they not ever doing what they could for her? Would not her marriage to
+Lord Upperton contribute to their happiness? Might not her father,
+through Lord Upperton's influence at court, attain a more exalted
+position? Would not her marriage fill her mother's life with
+happiness? Would it be an exhibition of filial duty were she to
+disappoint them? And yet, what right had they to make a decision for
+her when her own life's happiness was concerned? Was she not her own?
+Had she not a right to do as she pleased? Ought she to sacrifice
+herself to their selfish interests? She did not like to think it was
+wholly selfishness on their part, but rather an earnest desire to
+provide for her future welfare. Ought she not to abide their judgment
+as to what was best for her? Could she ever be happy with Lord
+Upperton? Could she find pleasure in fine dressing, card playing, and
+masquerading as he had described them? What would such a life be
+worth? Were position in society, pleasure, gratification of self, to
+be the end and aim of life? There seemed to be another somebody beside
+herself propounding the questions; as if an unseen visitor were
+standing by her bedside in the silent night. Was she awake or
+dreaming? She had heard the great lawyer, James Otis, put questions to
+a witness in a court where her father in his judicial robe sat as
+magistrate. It seemed as if she herself had been summoned to a
+tribunal, and one more searching than the great lawyer was putting
+questions which she must answer. Should she give her hand to Lord
+Upperton and keep back her heart? Ought she to allow prospective
+pleasure or position to influence her choice? Could she in any way
+barter her future welfare for the present life and for the larger life
+beyond? Was Lord Upperton of such lofty character that she could
+render him honor and respect, even if she could not give to him a
+loving heart?
+
+In the half-dreaming hour another face looked down upon her--the face
+of him, who, in a time of agony, had been as an angel of God, rescuing
+her from the hands of ruffians. Oh, if it were he who solicited
+permission to pay his addresses, how would she lean her head upon his
+bosom and rest contentedly clasped forever by those strong and loving
+arms! Through the intervening months his face had been ever present.
+She lived again the hour of their first meeting, that of the afternoon
+tea-party, the launching of the Berinthia Brandon, the ride in the
+pung. She had received several letters from him, which were laid
+carefully away in her writing-desk. Many times had they been read and
+with increasing pleasure. He had not declared his undying love for
+her; the declaration was unwritten, but it was between the lines. He
+wanted to be more than he was, and she could help him. He wanted to do
+something for justice, truth, and liberty; to stand resolutely with
+those who were ready to make sacrifices for their fellow-men. What a
+sentence was this: "I want to be better than I am; I want to do
+something to make the world better than it is; and you are pointing
+the way."
+
+Ever as she read the words her eyes had filled with tears. She
+pointing the way! Those words in one end of the scale, and Halford
+Castle and everything connected with it in the other, and the writing
+tipped the beam.
+
+The night was sultry; her pulses bounding; her brow hot with fever.
+She sat by the window to breathe the pure air. The stars were shining
+in their ethereal brightness; the dipper was wheeling around the polar
+star; the great white river, the milky way, was illumining the arch of
+heaven. She thought of Him who created the gleaming worlds. Beneath
+her window the fireflies were lighting their lamps, and living their
+little lives. She could hear the swallows crooning in their nests
+beneath the eaves.
+
+"He made them; He cares for them; He will care for me," she said to
+herself. The night air cooled her brow, a holy peace and calm came to
+her troubled heart. Kneeling, she repeated as her prayer the psalm
+which the rector had read on Sunday.
+
+ "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
+ Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
+ I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my strength.
+ My God, in Him will I trust."
+
+In white garments, without adornment, Ruth Newville courtesied to Lord
+Upperton the following evening as he entered the parlor. Never before
+had she seemed to him, or to her father and mother, so beautiful, so
+sweet, and pure.
+
+"Miss Newville," he said, "I take it for granted that you have been
+duly informed of the purpose of my visit this evening."
+
+"I have, my lord."
+
+"I come to offer you my hand and heart. I have been charmed by your
+qualities of character and your beauty, and I fain would make you
+mistress of Halford Castle. I am soon to return to England, and I
+desire to take you with me as my bride. I have received the gracious
+permission of your honored parents to begin my suit, and I fondly hope
+that I may receive an affirmative answer from your lips."
+
+"My lord, I am not insensible of the honor you confer upon me, but I
+am not worthy of it. I am an obscure girl. I am not fitted to fill the
+exalted station in which you desire to place me."
+
+"Pardon me, Miss Newville, I have met many a fair maiden, but none so
+charming as the flower which I desire to transplant from the Colonies
+to old England. My best judgment has selected you from them all."
+
+"My lord, I appreciate your kind words, and what you would give
+me--your honor, respect, and love, and an exalted social position. I
+have heard from your lips somewhat concerning the life you would
+expect me to lead,--the society in which you would have me move. I
+trust you will pardon my frankness, but it does not attract me."
+
+"I can quite understand you, dear Miss Newville; it is natural that
+you should shrink from such a change, but I am sure you would adorn
+the position."
+
+"More than what I have said, my lord, I do not think I should be happy
+in such a position."
+
+"Oh, I think you would. Certainly, it would be my desire to place
+before you every advantage that could contribute to your welfare and
+happiness. The nobility of the realm would follow in your train. You
+would captivate them with your grace and beauty. No party, rout, or
+ball would be complete without you. I am sure that her most gracious
+majesty the queen would desire your presence at court to grace her
+receptions."
+
+"You flatter me, my lord, but I do not think that fine dressing, the
+adornment of pearls and diamonds, promenading, dancing, card playing,
+and masquerading would give me the highest happiness. I think that
+life has a nobler meaning. I should despise myself if I made them the
+end and aim of my existence."
+
+Lord Upperton could not quite comprehend her. He was aware that
+across the sea many a mamma was laying her plans to make her daughter
+mistress of Halford, and the daughters had looked at him with
+languishing eyes, but here was a girl, guileless and pure, who was
+putting aside the great boon he would gladly bestow upon her. He must
+set before her the greatness of the gift. He described his estate--its
+parks, meadows, groves of oak, the herds of deer, flocks of pheasants;
+the rooms of the castle, the baronial hall, with antlers nailed upon
+the beams and rafters, banners that had been carried by ancestors at
+Crecy and Agincourt. He pictured life in London, scenes in Parliament,
+the queen's drawing-rooms, the pageantry and etiquette at St. James's.
+Miss Newville heard him in silence.
+
+"Whatever there is to be had, whatever will contribute to your
+happiness, I shall lay at your feet, dear Miss Newville."
+
+What should she say to him? How inform him that all the pageantry of
+King George's court, all the wealth inherited from his ancestors, was
+of little account in her esteem when set against eternal verities, and
+one of those verities was fidelity to the conviction that she must be
+true to herself.
+
+"My lord," she said, "you may think me unappreciative; you may regard
+me as strange, but I must be true to myself. I cannot do violence to
+my better nature. I cannot barter my convictions. I could honor and
+respect you, but something more would be your due; that I could not
+give you. I could not make you happy, and I should forever despise
+myself."
+
+It was spoken clearly, distinctly, but with a tremor of voice and a
+flush upon her cheek that heightened her beauty. Lord Upperton sat in
+silence, pondering her words. It was dawning upon him that a girl of
+the Colonies had rejected his suit. He had come to her with his
+castle, his ancestry, his title, his position as a peer of the realm,
+but she had put them all aside. Not with them could he win his suit.
+Instead of accepting what he had to give, she stood calm, serene,
+beautiful, radiant, and pure, upon a height so far above him that he
+never could stand by her side. The silence was embarrassing.
+
+"Miss Newville," he said, rising and standing before her, "your answer
+is painful to me. I had anticipated the winning of your hand and
+heart. It had not occurred to me that I should fail. I appreciate what
+you have said. A loftier ideal of the nobleness of true womanhood has
+come to me. My honor, respect, and love for you are deeper than ever,
+but I see that what I desired cannot be. I bid you farewell."
+
+She courtesied to his bow, and extended her hand. He touched it to his
+lips, and passed from the room.
+
+Her head was pressing her pillow once more. The bell struck the
+midnight hour. Once more she heard the watchman's voice.
+
+"Twelve o'clock, and all is well."
+
+"Yes, all is well," she said,--and her sleep for the night was calm
+and peaceful.
+
+
+
+
+XIII.
+
+THE MOHAWKS AND THEIR TEA-PARTY.
+
+
+On the evening of October 29, 1773, the Sons of Liberty again
+assembled at the Green Dragon. A ship had dropped anchor during the
+day off Castle William, bringing the news that Parliament had passed a
+law taxing tea. Ever watchful for the welfare of the people, they came
+together to hear what the London newspapers and their friends in
+England had to say about it, in letters which Samuel Adams had
+received. The night being cool, the landlord lighted a fire to warm
+the room, and enable those who might like a mug of flip to heat the
+loggerhead in the glowing coals. Upon the table, as usual, were the
+punch-bowl, crackers, cheese, tobacco, and pipes. Mr. Adams seated
+himself by the table and opened a letter.
+
+"It is from Mr. Benjamin Franklin," he said, "who writes that
+Parliament has passed a law levying three pence per pound on tea. It
+is not to be collected here, as on other articles, but the merchant
+who ships it is to pay the duty. It is a very adroit attempt to
+collect revenue. The consignees in the Colonies, of course, will add
+the amount in their sales, and so the revenue will be collected
+without any agency on the part of the Custom Houses."
+
+"I suppose," said Doctor Warren, "Lord North and the whole British
+nation think we are such simpletons, we shall not see the cat in the
+meal."
+
+"It is an insidious act," Mr. Adams resumed, "intended to undermine
+the political virtue of the people. Two years ago our wives and
+daughters exhibited their allegiance to lofty principles by signing an
+agreement not to drink tea until the obnoxious laws then existing were
+repealed. Lord North laughed at the time, but he has discovered that
+the people of the Colonies can be loyal to a great principle. The East
+India Company's receipts have fallen off at the rate of five hundred
+thousand pounds value per annum. The company has seventeen million
+pounds of tea stored in London, intended for the Colonies, and for
+which there is no market. It owes the government a vast sum. The
+merchants who have grown rich out of their profits in the past are not
+receiving any dividends. The shares of the company, which a few months
+ago were quoted at high rates, have become unsalable. Parliament has
+repealed the obnoxious laws for taxing the Colonies, and passed this
+act, doubtless thinking that, so long as we do not pay it directly
+into the Custom House, we shall acquiesce and go to drinking tea
+again. And there is where the danger lies. We have been so true to our
+convictions the revenue received from its sale last year in all the
+Colonies was only fifteen hundred pounds. It is very humiliating to
+the king and ministry to turn to the other side of the ledger and find
+that it has cost several hundred thousand pounds to maintain the
+troops sent to the Colonies to aid in enforcing the revenue laws upon
+a reluctant people. This new act, by having all the customs machinery
+in England, will have a tendency to seduce the people from their
+allegiance to a great principle. How to thwart the plans of the
+ministry is the all-important question for us to consider. Mr.
+Franklin writes that several vessels are soon to leave London for
+different colonial ports--three of them for Boston."
+
+"There is an old song," said Doctor Warren, "about a crafty old spider
+inviting a silly little fly into his parlor. I don't believe the fly
+will accept the invitation this time."
+
+"The consignees," said Mr. Adams, "are Elisha and Thomas Hutchinson,
+the governor's two sons; Richard Clark and sons, Benjamin Faneuil,
+Junior, and Joshua Winslow,--all honorable merchants; but their
+sympathies, as we know, are not with the people. If we allow the tea
+to be landed, I fear the consequences. We must not permit the levying
+of a tax, without our consent, in any form."
+
+"I move," said John Rowe, "that we do not permit the landing of any
+tea."
+
+The meeting voted to adopt the motion. The formal business ended, they
+refilled their pipes, helped themselves to crackers and cheese, punch
+and flip.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Berinthia Brandon, the following week, could not understand why Tom
+wanted Dinah to make him a pot of paste; nor why he was out so late at
+night,--not getting home till three o'clock in the morning. None of
+the watchmen, going their rounds, saw anybody pasting handbills on the
+walls of the houses, but everybody saw the bills in the morning.
+
+ TO THE FREEMEN OF THIS AND NEIGHBORING TOWNS.
+
+ GENTLEMEN,--You are desired to meet at Liberty Tree, this
+ day at twelve o'clock noon, then and there to hear the
+ persons to whom the tea shipped by the East India Company is
+ consigned make a public resignation of their office on oath
+ as consignees; and also swear that they will reship any tea
+ that may be consigned to them by said company, by the first
+ vessel sailing for London.
+
+ O. C.
+ _Secretary._
+
+ BOSTON, NOV. 3, 1773.
+
+ _Show us the man that dare take this down!!!!!_
+
+Early in the morning the town crier was jingling his bell and calling
+upon the people to be at the Liberty Tree at the appointed hour.
+Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Doctor Warren, and William Molineux were
+there, and a great crowd. The consignees were assembled in Richard
+Clark's store. The people voted to choose a committee to inform them
+that, if they did not resign or pledge themselves not to land the tea,
+they would be regarded as the enemies of their country. William
+Molineux, Doctor Warren, and six others were chosen.
+
+A great crowd accompanied the committee. Governor Hutchinson, looking
+out upon them from the window of the council chamber, saw that they
+were the foremost men of Boston. The consignees were in Richard
+Clark's store, and the door was locked.
+
+"From whom are you a committee," asked Clark, opening a window.
+
+"From the whole people."
+
+"I shall have nothing to do with you."
+
+"Then you will be regarded as an enemy of your country," replied
+Molineux.
+
+"Out with them!" cried somebody.
+
+"Hold on. Don't let us make fools of ourselves," said Tom Brandon.
+
+There was a murmuring in the crowd.
+
+"In the king's name, I command you to disperse," said the sheriff,
+stepping forward.
+
+It was not he, however, but Doctor Warren, who, by a wave of his hand,
+stilled the people, and persuaded them to depart.
+
+On Sunday morning, November 29, Tom Brandon, looking with the
+telescope, saw a ship at Nantasket, and knew by the signals that it
+was the Dartmouth, Captain Hall. When meeting was over at noon, he
+called upon Doctor Warren and found him writing a circular to be sent
+to the surrounding towns, asking the people to assemble on Monday
+morning in Faneuil Hall. Tom took the writing to the printing office
+of Edes & Gill in Queen Street, and a printer quickly put it in type.
+On Monday morning the people of Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge, and
+all surrounding towns were reading it.
+
+ FRIENDS! COUNTRYMEN! BROTHERS!
+
+ The worst of plagues, the detested tea, shipped for this
+ port by the East India Company, has arrived. The hour of
+ destruction or manly opposition to the machinations of
+ tyranny stares you in the face. Every friend to his country,
+ to himself, and posterity is now called upon to meet at
+ Faneuil Hall at nine o'clock this day, at which time the
+ bells will ring, to make a united resistance to this last,
+ worst, and most destructive measure of administration!
+
+ BOSTON, NOV. 30, 1773.
+
+The bells rang. The people surged into Faneuil Hall. There was a crowd
+in the square around the building,--so many people that they adjourned
+to the Old South Meetinghouse, where they voted that the tea must go
+back to England, and that twenty-five men should keep watch day and
+night, to prevent its being landed. The meeting adjourned till Tuesday
+morning to hear what the consignees would do.
+
+Through the night Abraham Duncan and the other watchmen patrolled the
+wharves. The Dartmouth had sailed up the harbor and was riding at
+anchor.
+
+A great crowd filled the meetinghouse at nine o'clock Tuesday. The
+moderator read a letter from Richard Clark and the other consignees,
+who said they could not send the tea back, but would put it in their
+stores till they could hear from the East India Company.
+
+"No! no! no!" shouted the people, who were more than ever determined
+that it should not be landed.
+
+Tom saw the sheriff, with his sword by his side, as the emblem of
+authority, enter the meetinghouse, with a paper in his hand.
+
+"It is from his excellency, the governor," said the sheriff, bowing to
+the moderator.
+
+"We don't want to hear it," shouted the people.
+
+"We are assembled in orderly town meeting. I think we had better hear
+what the governor has to communicate," said Samuel Adams, and the
+great audience became silent. Tom's blood began to boil as the sheriff
+read:--
+
+"You are openly violating, defying, and setting at nought the good and
+wholesome laws of the Province under which you live. I warn you,
+exhort, and require each of you, thus unlawfully assembled, forthwith
+to disperse, and to surcease all further unlawful proceedings at your
+utmost peril."
+
+Tom, and all around him hissed.
+
+"We won't disperse till we've done our business," shouted a man in the
+centre of the house.
+
+"We will attend to our affairs, and Tommy Hutchinson may mind his own
+business," cried another.
+
+"Let us hear from Mr. Rotch," the shout.
+
+Mr. Rotch, a young merchant, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, and who
+owned the Dartmouth, rose.
+
+"I am willing the tea should go back without being landed," he said.
+
+The people clapped their hands.
+
+"Hall! Hall! Let us hear from Captain Hall," they cried.
+
+The captain of the Dartmouth, sunburned by exposure, said it made no
+difference to him. He would just as soon carry the tea back as
+anything else. Once more the people decided the tea should not be
+brought on shore. To prevent its being landed it was voted that the
+watch should be maintained; that if the attempt was made by day, the
+meetinghouse bells would ring, if by night, they were to toll.
+
+A few days later, the Beaver, commanded by Captain Coffin, and the
+Elenor, commanded by Captain Bruce, arrived. Tom, once more looking
+down the harbor, saw the warship Kingfisher drop down below the Castle
+and anchor in the channel; also the Active. He understood the meaning
+of the movement--that the governor did not intend the ships should
+depart with the tea on board. He knew things would soon come to a
+head, for under the law, unless a vessel discharged its cargo within
+twenty days after arriving in port, the ship and cargo would be
+confiscated. Once more the people assembled, electing Thomas Savage
+moderator, and passing a vote directing Mr. Rotch to ask the collector
+to clear the Dartmouth for London.
+
+Rain was falling, and the wind east, rolling the waves into the
+harbor, on the morning of December 16. Unmindful of the storm, people
+from Boston and all the surrounding towns were gathering in the Old
+South Meetinghouse. Little did the farthest sighted among them
+comprehend that the fullness of time had come for the opening of a
+mighty drama; that the bell up in the tower was heralding the
+beginning of a new era in human government.
+
+Tom and Abraham found seats in the gallery. After prayer, Samuel Adams
+said the committee appointed at a previous meeting had called upon the
+collector, with Mr. Rotch, asking him to clear the Dartmouth, but the
+request was not granted.
+
+"We all know," he continued, "that the twenty days will expire at
+twelve o'clock to-night. After that hour the Dartmouth will be moored
+under the guns of Admiral Montague's warships, and will be taken
+possession of by a party of marines. I therefore move that Mr. Rotch
+be directed to enter his protest at the Custom House, and that he be
+further directed by this meeting to apply to Governor Hutchinson for a
+permit that shall allow the Dartmouth to pass the Castle and sail for
+London."
+
+"All in favor of that motion will say aye," said the moderator.
+
+"Aye!" thundered the floor, galleries, aisles, and pulpit stairs.
+
+"All opposed will say no."
+
+The silence was so profound that Tom could hear his heart beat.
+
+"This meeting stands adjourned to three o'clock," said the moderator,
+and the great crowd thereupon surged into the streets. Some went to
+the Cromwell's Head; others to the Bunch of Grapes, White Lamb, Tun
+and Bacchus, drank mugs of flip, and warmed themselves by the bright
+wood-fires blazing on the hearths. The meeting had adjourned to give
+Mr. Rotch time to jump into his chaise and ride out to Milton to see
+Governor Hutchinson.
+
+Tom and Abraham walked towards the Cromwell's Head. They were
+surprised and delighted to meet Roger Stanley.
+
+"I didn't hear of the meeting till last evening," said Roger, "and I
+have come in to see what is going on."
+
+The rain had drenched his clothes.
+
+"See here, Roger, you are wet to the skin; you must have some toddy.
+Come along, I'll stand treat," said Tom.
+
+They entered the Cromwell's Head, and each took a glass of flip, then
+made their way to the Long Room in Queen Street. Climbing the stairs,
+Tom rapped on a door. A moment later a panel opened, and a nose,
+mouth, and eyes appeared. Tom gave another rap which the nose, mouth,
+and eyes seemed to understand, for the door opened, and they passed in
+and it closed behind them.
+
+Several of the Sons of Liberty were already there. Some were smoking
+pipes, others sipping mugs of hot punch. Edward Preston was sitting at
+a table writing.
+
+"The sachem has just finished his proclamation, and is going to read
+it," said Henry Purkett.
+
+The room became still, and Preston read what he had written.
+
+ ABRANT KAN-AK-AR-A-TOPH-QUA, CHIEF SACHEM OF THE MOHAWKS,
+ KING OF THE SIX NATIONS AND LORD OF ALL THEIR CASTLES, ETC.,
+ ETC., TO ALL LIEGE SUBJECTS. HEALTH.
+
+ WHEREAS, tea is an Indian Plant and of right belongs to the
+ Indians of every land and tribe; and whereas, our good
+ allies, the English, have in lieu of it given us that
+ pernicious liquor, Rum, which they have poured down our
+ throats to steal away our brains; and whereas, the English
+ have learned the most expeditious way or method of drawing
+ an infusion of said _Tea_, without the expense of wood or
+ trouble of fire, to the benefit and emolument of the East
+ India trade, and, as vastly greater quantities may be used
+ by that method than by that heretofore practiced in this
+ country, and therefore help to support the East India
+ Company under the present melancholy circumstances:
+
+ THEREFORE, we of our certain knowledge, special grace, and
+ mere motion will permit or allow any of our liege subjects
+ to barter, buy, or procure of any of our English allies,
+ _Teas_ of any kind: _provided_ always each man can purchase
+ not less than ten nor more than one hundred and fourteen
+ boxes at a time and those the property of the East India
+ Company; and _provided_ also that they pour the same into
+ the lakes, rivers, and ponds, that, while our subjects in
+ their hunting, instead of slaking their thirst with cold
+ water, they may do it with tea.
+
+ Of all which our subjects will take notice and govern
+ themselves accordingly. By command,
+
+ TO-NE-TER-A-QUE.
+
+"Attention, braves," said the sachem. "Each subject will provide
+himself with a tomahawk and be at the wigwam one hour after
+candle-lighting to-night, prepared to carry out the proclamation. The
+tribe will remember that the Mohawks do not talk much, but do in
+silence what they have to do."
+
+They heard the proclamation in silence, and one by one took their
+departure. Roger said he would be in the Old South Meetinghouse at
+three o'clock to hear the result of the visit of Mr. Rotch to Governor
+Hutchinson.
+
+"I doubt if I shall be there; I may have an engagement early in the
+evening," said Tom.
+
+Abraham Duncan said the same.
+
+"I went down to the shipyard this morning and got two tomahawks. They
+are in my chamber, together with the feathers and war-paint and the
+other things. Come round early, Abe," said Tom as they parted.
+
+Again at three o'clock a great crowd filled the meetinghouse. The
+clouds had rolled away, and the setting sun was throwing its beams
+upon the gilded weather-vane when Roger Stanley entered the building.
+It was so full that he could only stand in one of the aisles. The
+moderator was reading letters from the selectmen of the surrounding
+towns, saying that they would stand by Boston in whatever might be
+done to prevent the landing of the tea.
+
+"Their letters," said William Molineux, rising in one of the front
+pews, "are all very well; they show the determined spirit of our
+fellow-citizens; but we must have a committee whose duty it shall be
+to prevent the landing of the tea. I move the appointment of such a
+committee."
+
+The meeting voted that a committee should be appointed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The evening shades were falling and the housewives lighting their
+candles. In the Brandon house Tom and Abraham were putting on Indian
+uniforms which Mr. Brandon years before brought home from the tribes
+along the shores of the St. Lawrence--buckskin breeches and coats, fur
+caps trimmed with eagle's feathers. Tom tripped upstairs to the
+garret, and returned with a bunch of garget berries, with which they
+stained their faces and hands.
+
+"You look just like Indians," said Berinthia.
+
+"Say nothing to nobody as to what you have seen, 'Rinth," said Tom, as
+he closed the door and walked with Abraham rapidly along the street.
+
+In the Old South Meetinghouse Josiah Quincy was speaking. The sexton
+brought in two tallow candles and placed them on the table before the
+moderator. There was a stir at the door--a commotion--a turning of
+necks in the pews, as the young merchant, Mr. Rotch, entered the
+building. Many in the audience thought he had been lukewarm in his
+desire to have the tea sent back to London, and were ready to hiss at
+him.
+
+"Let us be just," said Doctor Young. "Let no one utter a word against
+our fellow-citizen. He is doing all it is possible for him to do to
+have the detested tea sent back."
+
+The murmuring ceased as Samuel Adams addressed him:--
+
+"Will you, Mr. Rotch, send the Dartmouth back to London with the tea
+on board?"
+
+"Were I to make the attempt in compliance with the request of the
+people it would be my ruin."
+
+Roger and all around him saw what they had not seen before, that were
+he to make the effort his ship would be seized and himself arrested,
+and in all probability sent to England to be tried for treason.
+
+"Who knows how tea will mix with salt water?" shouted John Rowe.
+
+"Let us treat the fishes to a cup of tea," shouted another, and the
+windows rattled with their stamping.
+
+"Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!"
+
+It was a yell from the street.
+
+"Let the meeting be in order. It is a trick of our enemies to distract
+us," shouted some one.
+
+"Order, gentlemen!" cried the moderator.
+
+"Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!"
+
+Longer and louder the yell.
+
+"The Mohawks! the Mohawks!" the cry at the door.
+
+Those in the galleries left their seats and hastened down the stairs.
+People were rising in the pews and crowding the aisles.
+
+"This meeting can do no more," said Mr. Adams, and he declared it
+adjourned.
+
+The people saw forty or fifty Indians who had suddenly appeared upon
+the street. Where they came from no one knew, but they were rapidly
+making their way to Griffin's Wharf where the ships were lying. Roger
+Stanley and a great number of citizens followed them. The sentinels
+with muskets on their shoulders, keeping watch over the ships, made no
+effort to stop the Mohawks. Roger saw the ship Dartmouth alongside the
+wharf and the Elenor and Beaver a little distance from it. The chief
+leaped on board the Dartmouth. The captain was on the quarter-deck;
+the crew huddled at the bow were astonished to see Indians with
+tomahawks climbing over the sides of the vessel.
+
+"The Mohawks will unload your tea. Please direct your men to open the
+hatches and then order them below into the forecastle," said the
+chief, addressing the captain. "You will retire to your cabin. The
+Mohawks will not injure your ship or do you any harm."
+
+It was spoken resolutely and in such good English that the captain
+understood every word. The sailors lifted the hatches, provided
+hoisting tackle, and disappeared down the forward hatchway, and the
+captain retired to his cabin. Roger saw an Indian run up the shrouds
+by the mainmast and hitch a tackle. He thought the savage had some
+resemblance to Tom Brandon. He also saw by the light of the moon, near
+its first quarter, that while one party of savages were at work upon
+the Dartmouth, others were warping the Elenor and the Beaver to the
+dock. It was nearly low tide, and the waves were swashing the timbers
+beneath the wharf. Not far away lay the Romney with her cannon peeping
+from the portholes. Very quietly the Mohawks began their work,
+hoisting chests from the hold, cutting them with hatchets, pouring the
+contents over the sides of the vessels. Roger felt a desire to take
+part in the work. Running to a blacksmith's shop, he smeared his face
+and hands with charcoal, took off his coat, turned it inside out, put
+it on, leaped on board the ship, seized a hatchet, smashed the chests,
+and tumbled them overboard. The Indians worked in silence. The clock
+was striking ten when the last chest was thrown into the dock. Their
+work finished, the chief rapped upon the cabin door, and the captain
+opened it.
+
+"We have discharged your tea, captain, but we have disturbed nothing
+else. If we have we will cheerfully pay the damage."
+
+The captain thanked him for being so considerate.
+
+Tom, Abraham, and Roger, and the other Indians, walked up the street
+past the house of Nathaniel Coffin, his majesty's receiver-general.
+His eldest son, Isaac, one of Tom's schoolmates, had just sailed for
+England, Admiral Montague having obtained a commission for him in the
+king's navy, but John, the younger brother, was at home.
+
+Admiral Montague was there standing by an open window.
+
+"Well, boys, you have had a fine, pleasant evening for your Indian
+caper; but don't forget, you will have to pay the fiddler by and by."
+
+"Oh, never mind, admiral, we are ready to pay him now," Tom replied.
+
+The other Indians laughed as the admiral closed the window and turned
+away.
+
+Very quietly the Mohawks separated. Abraham went to his own house,
+Roger went with Tom. They were soon in their chamber washing the
+garget stains and charcoal from their faces and hands.
+
+"Rat-a-tat-tat!" went the knocker on the door.
+
+They heard feet tripping over the stairs and then Berinthia's voice.
+"Oh, Tom, the officers are at the door. Put out your light. Let me
+have your Indian clothes. Get to bed, quick."
+
+Tom raised the window, emptied the water from the bowl into the alley
+behind the house, handed his Indian suit to Berinthia, put out the
+light, and jumped into bed. Captain Brandon was not at home, having
+gone to Maine to obtain timber for the building of a ship. Berinthia
+returned to her room, lifted the sheets and blankets, tucked Tom's
+suit safely away between the feather bed and the straw mattress
+beneath it.
+
+"Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!" went the knocker, louder than before.
+Tom heard Berinthia's window open.
+
+"Who's there, and what is wanted?" It was Berinthia speaking.
+
+"Is Captain Brandon at home?" asked one of the men at the door.
+
+"He is not. He is in Maine."
+
+"We want to search your house."
+
+"Why do you wish to search it?"
+
+"An outrage has been committed, and we believe that his son had a hand
+in it!"
+
+"My brother is in bed, and a friend is spending the night with him;
+but I will go and tell him."
+
+Several minutes passed before Tom could strike a light with the
+tinder-box, put on his clothes, and get to the door. Before descending
+the stairs he looked in the glass to see that the stains had been
+wholly removed from his face, and examined the floor to ascertain that
+no tea-leaves had been dropped from their clothing. He then descended
+the stairs and opened the door.
+
+"Good-evening. What is it you wish?" he said.
+
+"You are Tom Brandon, are you not?" asked one of the officers.
+
+"That is my name."
+
+"It is believed, Mr. Brandon, that you were one of the party who
+poured the tea into the harbor this evening, and we have come to
+search for evidence."
+
+"Come right in, gentlemen."
+
+The officers stepped into the hall.
+
+"This is the parlor, here is the sitting-room, and beyond it is the
+pantry. I don't think you will find much tea, for we quit drinking it
+three years ago, and haven't had any since," said Tom.
+
+"Shall we see your chamber, Mr. Brandon?"
+
+"Certainly; you will find my old schoolmate, Roger Stanley of Concord,
+in bed, but he won't mind."
+
+They climbed the stairs, entered the chamber, asked Mr. Stanley's
+pardon for intruding, took a look at the washbowl, opened a
+clothespress, got down on their knees and looked at the floor, to see
+if they could find any tea.
+
+"Here is another chamber, my sister's; she spoke to you from the
+window. You will hardly think of entering the room till she has had
+time to put on her dress."
+
+"Oh, no; we would not be so rude as to enter her chamber. We do not
+suppose she had anything to do with it," said the officers.
+
+"Will you not take a look at the garret?" Tom asked.
+
+"No. You have covered your tracks so well, I do not suppose we should
+find anything."
+
+"Thank you. If, as you say, I had a hand in it, I regard it quite a
+compliment that I have covered my tracks so well," Tom replied, as the
+officers took their departure. He went upstairs and opened the door to
+Berinthia's chamber a little.
+
+"'Rinth, you are the best girl that ever lived," he said.
+
+"Oh, Tom, you did that splendidly," she replied.
+
+There was merry laughter from her lips as he closed the door and
+returned to his chamber.
+
+
+
+
+XIV.
+
+BENEVOLENCE AND BROTHERHOOD.
+
+
+The summer of 1774 was waning. Once more Robert Walden was on his way
+to Boston. The wagon which Jenny and Paul were dragging was loaded
+with bags filled with corn and rye, not to be sold in the market, but
+a gift from Joshua Walden and his fellow-citizens of Rumford to the
+people of Boston. Parliament, in retaliation for the destruction of
+the tea, had passed an act closing the port to commerce.[50] After the
+first day of June, no vessels other than those of the navy could enter
+or depart from the harbor. Fishermen could no longer catch cod or
+mackerel for the market. Farmers on the banks of the Mystic could not
+dig potatoes from their fields and transport them down the river on
+the ebbing tide to the town dock. The people of Charlestown could not
+gather cabbages from their gardens, take them across the ferry, and
+peddle them in Boston. Only by the road leading to Roxbury could the
+suffering people be supplied with food. Besides closing the port,
+Parliament had abolished the charter of Massachusetts. The people no
+longer could elect thirty-six councilors; they were to be appointed by
+the king, instead. No more could they lawfully assemble in town
+meeting to elect representatives to the legislature. All rights and
+privileges were swept away.
+
+[Footnote 50: It is known in history as the Boston Port Bill. It was
+passed as a retaliatory measure. No possible advantage could accrue to
+government by its passage and enforcement. It was designed not only to
+awe the people into submission, but to overturn the government of the
+people and establish kingly prerogative. Parliament could not have
+committed a greater blunder. Instead of humbling the people of Boston,
+it aroused the sympathies of the entire country, and became a potent
+influence in bringing about the union of the Colonies. Contributions
+of food, wheat, corn, rye, peas, beans, flocks of sheep, and herds of
+cattle came from all of the Colonies.]
+
+It was near sunset when Robert turned into the highway leading from
+Roxbury to Boston. He was surprised to find fortifications--a ditch
+and embankment and cannon mounted upon it--at the narrowest part of
+the Neck. The sentinels glared at him, but did not offer any
+insult.[51] He knew several regiments of troops had already arrived,
+and it was reported that others would soon be sent from England to
+enforce the laws. He drove slowly along the street, past the Liberty
+Tree. A half dozen citizens were sitting on the benches beneath it
+smoking their pipes. There were few people but many soldiers in the
+streets. He watered the horses at the pump, then drove to the Green
+Dragon.
+
+[Footnote 51: Several regiments of troops had already arrived in
+Boston, and fortifications were being constructed on Roxbury Neck,
+making it a garrisoned town.]
+
+It was a hearty welcome which he received in the Brandon home.
+
+"You find us under the harrow," said Mr. Brandon. "The king and
+ministry are determined to crush the life out of us. All business has
+stopped. Grass is growing in the streets. Ship-carpenters, joiners,
+blacksmiths, ropemakers, are idle; no one has any work for them.
+Thousands have already left town, and others are going. Nobody can
+earn a penny, and we are all growing poorer. We should starve in a
+short time were it not for the kindness and benevolence of the people.
+We are receiving contributions of food from everywhere. Doctor Warren,
+John Hancock, and a large number of our public-spirited citizens are
+distributing the gifts."
+
+Tom said he was aiding the committee, looking after the poor. Not only
+were kind-hearted people sending grain, but flocks and herds.
+
+"Only yesterday," he said, "Colonel Israel Putnam, who served in the
+French and Indian war, arrived with a flock of sheep from Connecticut.
+Day before yesterday a sloop dropped anchor in Salem harbor, loaded
+with corn contributed by the people of North Carolina. It will be
+teamed into Boston. The Marblehead fishermen have just sent between
+two and three hundred quintals of codfish. The committee has received
+a letter from Mr. Gadsden of South Carolina, expressing the hope that
+we never will pay a cent for the blasted tea. As evidence that South
+Carolina is with us, he sent one hundred casks of rice, contributed by
+his fellow-citizens, shipping it to Providence, to be hauled the rest
+of the way by teams. The people of Baltimore loaded a vessel with
+three thousand bushels of corn, twenty barrels of rye flour, and as
+many of shipbread. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are driven in
+every day. The town of Lebanon, Connecticut, sent three hundred and
+seventy sheep; Norwich, two hundred and ninety; Groton, one hundred
+sheep and twenty-six fat cattle. Two schooners have arrived at Salem,
+bringing three thousand bushels of corn from Maryland. Another vessel
+brought one thousand bushels from Virginia."
+
+"These contributions," said Mr. Brandon, "show that the people of the
+Colonies, or at least a large portion of them, sympathize with us in
+our resistance to tyranny."
+
+"You have not told me about Rachel; is she well?" Berinthia asked.
+
+Robert informed her she was quite well, and hard at work as usual.
+
+"I suppose she is spinning for herself, these days?" said Berinthia,
+smiling.
+
+"Yes, I dare say; she has been making sheets and pillow-cases since
+Roger Stanley was in Rumford."
+
+"She has written me about him, and thinks there is nobody else in the
+world so good as he. I'm glad they are engaged. She is just the one
+for him and he for her."
+
+There was one person whom Robert wished to know about, who had been in
+his thoughts through every step of his journey. How should he ask
+about Miss Newville without revealing his interest in her? How
+ascertain if she were well: if her heart was still her own?
+
+"I suppose the arbitrary acts of Parliament may have brought about
+estrangements between old-time friends," he said.
+
+"Yes, former friendships are being broken. Many of my old
+acquaintances do not speak to me."
+
+"Is it so bad as that?"
+
+"Yes, families are being divided. Fathers and mothers taking sides
+with the king, sons and daughters standing resolutely for the rights
+of the people. You remember that sweet girl, Lucy Flucker, whom you
+met at Miss Newville's garden party?"
+
+"Yes, a lovely lady."
+
+"Her father is secretary of the Colony, and of course sides with the
+king, but she is soon to be married to the bookseller, Mr. Knox,
+greatly against the wishes of the family; not because he is not worthy
+of her, but because he opposes the king and his ministers," said
+Berinthia.
+
+"Are you and Miss Newville still friends?"
+
+"Yes, just as good friends as ever. Her father, of course, is a Tory,
+and her mother is a red-hot one, but Ruth keeps her own counsel. You
+can have no idea what a noble girl she is, gracious to everybody, but
+true to herself. She had an offer of marriage from Lord Upperton, a
+little while ago, and refused him, to the astonishment of all her
+friends, and especially her mother. Just why she rejected his suit no
+one knows. Intimate as we are, she never has let me into the secret."
+
+"From what little I have seen of Miss Newville, she seems to be a lady
+of sterling character," Robert replied.
+
+"She has many admirers, especially among his majesty's officers. She
+receives them with charming courtesy, listens to their flattering
+words, but is very chary of her favors. I do not wonder that half a
+dozen colonels, majors, and captains are dead in love with her. I hope
+you will see her while here. She often inquires about you and Rachel,
+and wishes she could have another ride in a pung. I'll tell you what
+I'll do,--invite her to take supper with us, and then you'll see what
+a glorious girl she is."
+
+"I can believe all you say of her."
+
+Once more, the following morning, Robert had the pleasure of shaking
+hands with Doctor Warren and Samuel Adams, and receiving the thanks of
+the committee of supply for the contribution from Rumford.
+
+Mr. Adams said the Colonies must prepare to enter upon a struggle to
+maintain their liberties. Governor Gage was carrying things with a
+high hand. A few nights before, a body of troops had seized the powder
+in the magazines out towards Medford, and taken it to the Castle.[52]
+General Gage was seizing muskets. He had purchased cannon and cohorn
+mortars, and chain-shot of Mr. Scott, and had paid him five hundred
+pounds for them. He hoped the people of Rumford would put themselves
+in a condition to be ready at a minute's warning to resist any
+aggressions on the part of the troops. It was evident that the king
+was determined to carry out his plans by force of arms.
+
+[Footnote 52: The powder belonging to the Province was stored in a
+magazine on Quarry Hill, in Charlestown. During the month of August,
+1774, several of the towns removed their proportion of the ammunition.
+At half past four o'clock, on the morning of September 1,
+Lieutenant-Colonel Madison, with 260 men, embarked in thirteen large
+boats at Long Wharf, rowed up Mystic River, and landed at Mr. Temple's
+farm, seized 250 half barrels of powder and landed it in the Castle,
+also two cannon from the gun-houses in Cambridge. The news spread, and
+before evening nearly 5,000 people had assembled in Cambridge with
+their muskets. They compelled Mr. Danforth, member of the governor's
+council, to resign. The high-sheriff promised to serve no warrant
+under the new act of parliament. Lieutenant-Governor Oliver hastened
+to Boston, and informed General Gage that if he were to send a body of
+troops into the country the people would rise in their anger. Upon his
+return to Cambridge the people surrounded his house and compelled him
+to resign his commission. General Gage wrote to London that he must
+have more troops to enable him to strike a decisive blow. He expected
+the people would march into Boston. In order to prevent surprise, the
+guards were doubled, and the troops ordered to lay on their arms
+through the night.]
+
+Having delivered the donation to the committee, Robert strolled
+through the town, finding many houses, shops, and stores tenantless.
+There was a strange silence,--no hurrying of feet, no rumbling of
+teams, no piles of merchandise. The stores were closed, the shutters
+fastened. Grass was growing in the streets and tufts of oats were
+springing up where the horses, a few weeks before, had munched their
+provender. Here and there he met men and boys, wandering listlessly,
+with sadness in their faces, but yet behind the sorrow there was a
+determination to endure to the bitter end.
+
+Robert visited his old acquaintance, Henry Knox, no longer in the
+bookstore at the corner of King Street, opposite the Town House, but
+in a store of his own on Cornhill. He passed a tailor's shop and a
+harness-maker's before he came to Mr. Knox's bookstore, where he was
+heartily welcomed.
+
+"I remember the book which you purchased the first time we met; I hope
+you liked it."
+
+"It is very entertaining, and has been read by nearly everybody in
+Rumford, and is pretty much worn out," Robert replied.
+
+While talking with Mr. Knox, he saw a white-haired gentleman pass the
+store. The next moment he heard a bell jingling in the shop of the
+harness-maker, then in the shoemaker's, and lastly in the tailor's.
+Mr. Knox laughed as the gentleman quickened his pace.
+
+"Possibly, Mr. Walden, you do not understand the ringing of the bells
+in succession. The gentleman is one of the Tory councilors recently
+appointed by Governor Gage. He has accepted the appointment and the
+citizens are worrying the life out of him. Each shopman has a bell
+which he jingles the moment he spies a councilor, giving notice to the
+other shopmen." Mr. Knox looked up at the clock. "It is about time for
+the council to assemble in the Town House; quite likely you will hear
+the bells tinkle again. More than half of those appointed by General
+Gage have already resigned, and I do not doubt others will ere long
+throw up their commissions. Not much honor is to be gained by holding
+an office against public opinion."
+
+"It is not a pleasing sight--the presence of so many troops," Robert
+remarked.
+
+"Nominally, we are under civil law; but in reality our civil rights
+are gone, and we are under military government," Mr. Knox replied.
+
+Two officers entered the store and were courteously received by the
+bookseller, who showed them the latest books received from London. He
+informed Robert, in a whisper, that they were Major John Small and
+Ensign De Berniere. Another gentleman entered, a citizen, whose coat
+was covered with dust, as if he had been long on the road. He was
+heartily welcomed by Mr. Knox, who introduced him to Robert as Colonel
+Israel Putnam of Connecticut.
+
+"I think I have heard my father speak of you; he was a lieutenant
+under Captain Stark at Ticonderoga. Perhaps you remember him," Robert
+said.
+
+"Indeed I do remember Joshua Walden, and a braver man never wore a
+uniform in the Rifle Rangers than he."
+
+The major of the king's troops laid down his book and approached with
+outstretched hand.
+
+"Well, I declare! If here isn't my old friend Putnam," he said.
+
+There was mutual hand-shaking between Major Small and Colonel Putnam,
+who had fought side by side under the walls of Ticonderoga and at Fort
+Edward.
+
+"And so you are here to enforce the Regulation Act," said Putnam.
+
+"It is because you are rebellious," Small replied.
+
+"You are attempting to subvert our liberties by enforcing unrighteous
+laws. The Colonies exhibited their loyalty to the king when we stood
+side by side to drive out the French. We taxed ourselves to the
+utmost. England has repaid but a very small proportion of the cost. We
+were loyal then, and we are loyal now; but we never will submit to
+tyranny," continued Putnam.
+
+"The people of this town threw the tea into the dock, and now they
+must pay for it. Those that dance must settle with the fiddler," Small
+replied.
+
+"Not one penny will we ever pay. Parliament and the king have closed
+the port, bringing distress upon the community; but it has awakened
+the sympathies of the country from Passamaquoddy to Savannah. Now,
+Small, you are an old soldier, and so am I; we have smelled gunpowder,
+and can afford to talk plainly. You are here, five thousand or more,
+with several thousand additional troops just ready to sail from
+England. You have come to overawe us by force of arms. You have
+changed the charter of this Province; if this, why not all the others?
+Why do you do it? I say you, for you represent the king; you do it
+because you are determined to make the Colonies subservient to the
+crown. You cannot bear to have us manufacture anything this side of
+the sea, and are determined to make us your milch cow. Let me tell you
+that you won't succeed. You do not know the spirit of the people. Let
+one drop of blood be shed by the troops, and a mighty host of armed
+men will close around you. I know you can fight, and so can we; if you
+don't think so, try it."
+
+"Ha, ha! Put, you are the same old flint, ever ready to strike fire.
+We won't quarrel now. Come, let us step down to the Bunch of Grapes,
+have a glass of wine, and talk over old times."
+
+Arm in arm they walked down King Street to the tavern.
+
+Early the following afternoon Miss Newville was welcomed to the
+Brandon home.
+
+"It is a long time since we have met," she said, reaching out her hand
+to Robert. "I am pleased to see you once more. I hope you are well.
+And how is Rachel?"
+
+Many times he had thought of her as he last beheld her, standing
+beneath the portico of her home in the radiant light of the moon. Her
+parting words had been an abiding memory--"Good-by, till we meet
+again." Once more her hand was resting in his. She was no longer a
+girl, but entering upon womanhood. He told the reason of his being
+there, to bring the gift of Rumford to the suffering poor. She had
+many questions to ask about Rachel. Was she still making cheese? Had
+she many flowers?
+
+"I suppose Rachel's brother prepares the flowerbeds as in former
+years," she said, laughing.
+
+"Yes, I spaded them for her."
+
+"Berinthia informs me that she has found her true love."
+
+"So it appears."
+
+"I doubt not she is very happy."
+
+"She seems to be; she is singing from morning till night."
+
+"I am so glad. I only saw Mr. Stanley at the time of the launching of
+the ship, you remember, but thought him worthy of any woman's love. Do
+you still have delightful times at quiltings and huskings?"
+
+"In the country, customs rarely change. The young ladies still have
+their quilting parties. Rachel will soon be getting her fixings, and
+we doubtless shall have jolly times."
+
+"I should like to be able to help her. With so many things to care
+for, I do not suppose she finds much time for reading?"
+
+"Very little. Besides, we do not have many books to read. 'The New
+Hampshire Gazette' comes once a week, giving us a little glimpse of
+what is going on in the world."
+
+"I forgot you have no bookstore with all the new volumes printed in
+London,--history, travel, poetry, and novels, as we have here."
+
+She said that Mr. Knox, the bookseller, had been very kind to her,
+supplying her with the new books arriving from London, and had just
+handed her the poems of Oliver Goldsmith.
+
+The afternoon waned.
+
+"Shall we go up on the housetop and see the sun set?" Berinthia asked.
+
+The harbor, the fleet of warships at anchor, the distant ocean, the
+distant woodlands, made a beautiful panorama.
+
+"When I see such beauty," said Miss Newville, "I want to be an artist
+or a poet to give expression to my feelings. See the purple and gold
+on the Milton Hills, the light on the water, the russet and crimson of
+the forests! How beautiful!" she cried, with a rich bloom upon her
+cheek as she gazed upon the landscape. The tap of a drum and the
+tramping of a regiment along the street attracted her attention. "I am
+weary of seeing scarlet uniforms," she said.
+
+"Will you not make an exception of those who call upon Miss Newville?"
+Berinthia asked.
+
+"No. I do not even care to see General Gage or Earl Percy in their
+gold-laced coats. They are delightful gentlemen, and frequent visitors
+in our home. I find much pleasure in listening to Earl Percy's
+description of things in London; but I should be better pleased were
+he to visit us as a citizen, laying aside his military trappings, the
+emblems of arbitrary power."
+
+[Illustration: LORD PERCY]
+
+The sun was sinking behind the western hills. As the last beams
+faded from the gilded vane of Christ Church, they heard the beating of
+drums and the shrill piping of boatswain's whistles on the decks of
+the warships. A cannon flashed on the bastion of the Castle, and the
+boom of the gun rolled far away as the Cross of St. George descended
+from flagstaff and topmast to be furled for the night.
+
+"It is the sunset gun; the signal for taking down the flags," said
+Berinthia.
+
+"I often watch from my chamber window for the flashing of the cannon,"
+Miss Newville remarked.
+
+"It is a beautiful sight; but would be more exhilarating if the flag
+was what it ought to be," said Robert.
+
+The twilight had not faded from the sky when Robert accompanied Miss
+Newville to her home. Officers of the king's regiments lifted their
+hats to her upon the way; their attentions were recognized with
+dignified grace. Robert saw scowls on their faces as they glared at
+him, as if to challenge his right to be her escort.
+
+"The night is hot and the air sultry, and if you please, Mr. Walden,
+we will sit in the garden rather than in the house," she said.
+
+They strolled beneath the trees bending with the weight of ripening
+fruit, and seated themselves in a rustic arbor. The early grapes were
+purpling above them.
+
+"I do not know, Mr. Walden, that I quite comprehended your meaning
+when you said the flag would be more beautiful if it were what it
+ought to be. I think it very beautiful as it is."
+
+"I did not have reference, Miss Newville, to the texture or quality of
+the cloth, or the arrangement of colors, neither to the devices,--the
+crosses of St. George and St. Andrew,--but thought of it as a symbol
+of power. My father fought under it, and it has waved in triumph on
+many battlefields; but just now it is being used to deprive us of our
+rights."
+
+"Have you ever read the legend of St. George?" she asked.
+
+"I have not, and I hardly know what the Cross of St. George stands
+for."
+
+"It is a beautiful story. I read it not long ago in a book which I
+found in Mr. Knox's store. Would you like to hear it?"
+
+"Please tell me about it."
+
+"The story runs that ever so many years ago there was a terrible
+dragon--a monster, part snake, part crocodile, with sharp teeth, a
+forked tongue, claws, and wings. It could crawl upon the land or swim
+in the water. Every day it came from its lair and ate the sheep in the
+pastures around the old city of Berytus. When the sheep were gone it
+ate little children. The king of the city could think of nothing
+better than to issue an edict requiring the selection of two children
+under fifteen years old by lot, to be given to the dragon. One day the
+lot fell upon the king's daughter, the Princess Cleodolinda, a
+beautiful girl, and as good as she was beautiful. It was a terrible
+blow to the king. He offered all his gold, precious stones, glittering
+diamonds, and emeralds, and half his kingdom, if the people would
+consent to her exemption, which they wouldn't do. He had made the
+edict; they had given their children; he must give his daughter. Being
+king, he thought he could take somebody else's daughter. That made the
+people angry, and they threatened to kill him. Then the princess
+showed how good and noble and true she was. She said she would die
+rather than there should be any trouble. It was a sad morning when she
+bade her father and mother and all her friends good-by, and went out
+from the city, all the people weeping to see her in her youth and
+beauty, so calm, peaceful, and resigned, walking in the green field,
+waiting for the dragon. They saw the monster crawl towards her. Just
+then they beheld a young man with a shining shield and waving plume,
+on horseback, with sword and lance, approaching. It was George of
+Cappadocia, a brave Christian youth. 'Fly! fly!' shouted the princess.
+'Why should I fly?' he asked. 'Do you not see the dragon? He will eat
+you as he will me.' 'I am not afraid of him, and I will deliver you,'
+said he, rushing upon the dragon with his lance. It was a terrible
+fight. The monster hissing, running out his tongue, snapping his jaws,
+striking with his tail and sharp claws; but the brave George kept up
+the fight, striking his lance through the thick hide and shiny scales,
+and pinning the writhing creature to the earth. 'It is not by my own
+might, but God, through Jesus Christ, who has given me the power to
+subdue this Apollyon,' he said. At that, the whole city accepted the
+Christian religion. In recognition of the victory he put the sign of
+the letter X, representing the cross, upon his flag. The king was so
+pleased that, besides becoming a Christian, he offered George all his
+gold and silver and diamonds and precious stones; but the prince would
+not keep them; he gave them to the poor."
+
+"It is indeed a beautiful story," said Robert, charmed by the
+narration.
+
+"I suppose the legend represents the conflict between wickedness and
+righteousness," added Miss Newville.
+
+"Did George become the son-in-law of the king?" Robert asked.
+
+Miss Newville laughed heartily.
+
+"If it were a story in a novel," she said, "of course that would be
+the outcome of the romance. No; he went on his travels converting
+people to Christianity. The Greek Christians kept him in remembrance
+by adopting the letter X as the sign of the cross. When Richard the
+Lion-Hearted started on his crusade to rescue the holy sepulchre from
+the Moslems, he selected St. George as his protector. He is the patron
+saint of England. He stands for courage in defense of the truth."
+
+"That is what the Cross of St. George should stand for, Miss Newville,
+but just now it represents tyranny and oppression. It is a beautiful
+flag, the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew combined, in red,
+white, and blue. No other banner symbolizes so much that is precious
+of what men have done, but the king and his ministers are perverting
+it. St. George and St. Andrew were representatives of justice and
+righteousness. They died for principles which in their nature are
+eternal, which will remain, when we are gone. I have taken pride in
+being an Englishman. The flag thrills me. I like to think of the
+brave deeds that have been done under it. No other banner means so
+much. It stirs me to think of it as waving not only in England, but
+here, in Canada, in South America, and on the banks of the Ganges. Of
+course, the flag, the crosses upon it, signify suffering, devotion,
+heroism, bravery. It is these things that warm my blood."
+
+"Go on, please, Mr. Walden. I want to hear more," said Miss Newville
+as he paused.
+
+"I have delighted in being an Englishman because the flag stands for
+all I hold most dear, but I am conscious that my love for it is not
+what it was. The king and his ministers by their arbitrary acts,
+Parliament by passing laws taking away chartered rights, are
+alienating the affections of the Colonies. We are not so meek that we
+are ready to kiss the hand that smites us. The time may come, Miss
+Newville, when the people this side the Atlantic will have a flag of
+their own. If we do it will be a symbol of a larger liberty than we
+now have. The world does not stand still. I do not know what Almighty
+God has been reserving this Western world for through all the ages;
+but it must be for some grand purpose. It is a great land and it will
+be peopled some day. We have made our laws in the past, and we shall
+not surrender our right to do so. The king and his ministers are not
+using the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew for the good of all.
+The crosses should represent brotherhood, but they do not. I think the
+time may come, though, when there will be such a flag."
+
+Again he paused, and again Miss Newville begged him to go on.
+
+"I cannot tell when it will be, but I know what I would like to see."
+
+"Please tell me," she said earnestly.
+
+"I would like to see the time when men will recognize their fellow-men
+as brothers, and when the flag will stand for equality, unity,
+liberty, and brotherhood."
+
+"Do you think such a time will ever come?"
+
+"I do not doubt it. The prophets in the Bible have predicted it, and
+it seems to me that the human race is advancing in that direction.
+Have you not noticed that almost everything we prize has come through
+sacrifice and suffering? I came here with food because the people of
+this town are suffering. The bags of corn which I have brought are an
+expression of brotherhood, of unity, love, and good will. The people
+all the way from the Penobscot to the Savannah are acting from such
+motives. It is curious that Parliament by passing a wicked law is
+uniting the Colonies as nothing else could have done. What the king
+designed for a punishment, in the end may be a great blessing."
+
+"I see it, and I want to thank you, Mr. Walden, for your words. You
+have made clear what hitherto I have not been able to understand. Of
+course, you must be aware that I hear many conversations upon affairs
+in the Colonies. General Gage and Earl Percy are frequent guests in
+our home, as are many gentlemen who sympathize with the king and the
+ministry rather than with Mr. Adams and Doctor Warren. I do not see
+how the king, who they say is kind-hearted, could assent to a law
+which would bring suffering and starvation to so many people."
+
+She sat in silence a moment, and then went on.
+
+"I like to hear you, Mr. Walden, speak of that good time that is to
+come. I should like to do something to hasten it. I feel that I am
+stronger for what you have said. Shall we take a stroll through the
+grounds?"
+
+Through the day he had been looking forward to a possible hour when he
+could be with her alone, to feel the charm of her presence. And now
+that it had come, what should he say, how let her know she had been an
+inspiration to him; how since their first meeting his last thought at
+night and the first of the morning had been of her? Were he to say the
+thought of her had filled the days with happiness, would she not think
+him presumptuous? They were widely separated by the circumstances of
+life,--he of the country, a farmer, swinging the scythe, holding the
+plow, driving oxen, feeding pigs; she, on the contrary, was a star in
+cultured society, entertaining high-born ladies and gentlemen, lords,
+earls, and governors; chance, only, had made them acquainted. She had
+been very kind. No, he must not presume upon her graciousness and tell
+her that his heart had gone out to her in a wonderful way. Many men
+had proffered their love, but had been rejected. It was blessedness
+unspeakable to be permitted to walk by her side, to hear her voice, to
+enjoy her esteem, friendship, and confidence.
+
+The song-birds of summer had gone, but the crickets were merrily
+chirping around them; flowers were fading, but fruits were ripening.
+Slowly they walked the winding paths, stopping at times to gaze upon
+the clouds, silver-lined, in the bright light of the full-orbed moon.
+
+"I shall not soon forget this quiet evening with you, Mr. Walden, nor
+the words you have spoken. I have thought it was my foreboding, but
+now I can see that there may be trying times before us,--times which
+will test friendships."
+
+"I trust, Miss Newville, that I may ever be worthy to be numbered
+among your friends."
+
+"I know you will." After a moment's hesitation she added, "The time
+may come when I shall need your friendship."
+
+Her voice was tremulous. The nine o'clock bell was ringing. They were
+by the gate leading to the street.
+
+"You go home to-morrow. Will it be long before we shall see you again?
+I may want such strength as you can give," she said.
+
+"I trust that in God's good time we may meet again. How soon I may be
+here or what may bring me I do not foresee; but be assured, Miss
+Newville, I shall ever be your friend."
+
+"I do not doubt it. Good-by," she said.
+
+She heard his retreating footsteps growing fainter.
+
+"Oh, if he had only said, 'I love you,'" the whisper on her lips.
+
+"I could die for her; no, I'll live for her," he said to himself, as
+he walked towards the Brandon home.
+
+
+
+
+XV.
+
+THE MIDNIGHT RIDE.
+
+
+Abel Shrimpton, loyal to the king, hated Samuel Adams and John Hancock
+and the Sons of Liberty, holding them responsible for the troubles
+that had come to the people. In Mr. Shrimpton's attractive home, made
+beautiful by the presence of his daughter, Tom Brandon had been a
+welcome visitor, but the relations between Mr. Shrimpton and Tom were
+changing.
+
+"The Regulation Act," said Tom, "which in fact makes the king the
+government, deprives the people of their liberties."
+
+"People who abuse their liberties ought to be deprived of them," Mr.
+Shrimpton replied.
+
+"We are not allowed to select jurors. The law takes away our right to
+assemble in town meeting, except by permission, and then we can only
+elect selectmen to look after town affairs," said Tom.
+
+"The people have shown they are not fit to govern themselves," said
+Mr. Shrimpton. "They allow the mob to run riot. It was a mob that
+smashed Chief Justice Hutchinson's windows. Your gatherings under the
+Liberty Tree are in reality nothing but mobs; you have no legal
+authority for assembling. It was a mob that assaulted the king's
+troops on the 5th of March; a mob threw the tea into the harbor, and
+I strongly suspect that Tom Brandon had a hand in that iniquity. The
+king stands for law and order. The troops are here in the interest of
+good government, by constituted authority, to enforce the law and put
+down riots."
+
+"Just who had a hand in throwing the tea overboard no one can find
+out, but I am glad it was done," said Tom.
+
+"So you uphold lawlessness, Mr. Brandon?"
+
+"I stand against the unrighteous acts of Parliament. We will not be
+slaves; we will not be deprived of our liberties. If King George and
+Lord North think they can starve the people of this town into
+submission, they will find themselves mistaken," said Tom.
+
+"I hope he will compel every one of you to obey the laws, and that
+whoever had a hand in destroying the tea will suffer for it," Mr.
+Shrimpton replied.
+
+Tom saw the smile fade from the countenance of Mary as she listened to
+the conversation. Her quick insight, and acquaintance with her
+father's surly temper, enabled her to see what was withholden from
+Tom's slower perception.
+
+"Mary," said Mr. Shrimpton, after Tom took his departure, "I want you
+to stop having anything to do with Tom."
+
+"Why, father?"
+
+"Because I don't like him."
+
+"But I do like him."
+
+"No matter. He's an enemy to the king. I have good reason to believe
+he had a hand in throwing the tea overboard. If he did, he is no
+better than a thief. He willfully, wantonly, and with malice
+aforethought stole the property of others from the holds of the ships,
+and destroyed it. It was burglary--breaking and entering. It was a
+malicious destruction of property of the East India Company. It was a
+heinous affair--not mere larceny to be punished by standing in the
+pillory, or sitting in the stocks, or tied up to the whipping-post and
+flogged, but an offense which, if it could be proved, would send every
+one of the marauders to jail for ten or twenty years. Now I don't want
+the name of Shrimpton mixed up with that of Brandon. So you can cut
+Tom adrift."
+
+"But, father"--
+
+"I don't want any buts. You will do as I tell you if you know what is
+good for yourself."
+
+"Have you not, father, said in the past that he was an estimable young
+man?"
+
+"But he is not estimable now. He meets others in secret to plot
+mischief. I have had spies on his track. He is a lawbreaker, a
+mischief-maker, and sooner or later will be in jail, and possibly may
+be brought to the gallows. Now, once for all, I tell you I will not
+have him coming here."
+
+Mr. Shrimpton said it with a flushed face, setting his teeth firmly
+together as he rose from his chair.
+
+"Very well, father," said Mary, wiping the tears from her eyes.
+
+She knew how irascible he was at times,--how he allowed his anger to
+master reason, and hoped it might pass away. Through the night the
+words were repeating themselves. What course should she pursue? Give
+up Tom? What if he did help destroy the tea; was it not a righteous
+protest against the tyranny of the king and Parliament? He did not do
+it as an individual, but as a member of the community; it was the only
+course for them to pursue. Tom was not therefore a thief at heart. Was
+he not kind-hearted? Was he not giving his time and strength to
+relieve suffering? Had he not just as much right to stand resolutely
+for the liberties of the people as her father for the prerogatives of
+the king? Must she stop seeing him to please her father? It would not
+be pleasant to have Tom call upon her, and have her father shut the
+door in his face; that would be an indignity. Should she withdraw her
+engagement? Should she plunge a knife into her own heart to please her
+father? Never. Come what would, she would be true to Tom. She would
+not anger her father by inviting Tom to continue his visits, but there
+were the elms of Long Acre, Beacon Hill, the market, and other places,
+where from time to time they might meet for a few moments. True love
+could wait for better days.
+
+There came a morning when the people saw a handbill posted upon the
+walls which said that the men who were misleading the people were
+bankrupt in purse and character. Tom Brandon's blood was at fever heat
+as he read the closing words:--
+
+ "Ask pardon of God, submit to our king and Parliament, whom
+ we have wickedly and grievously offended. Let us seize our
+ seducers, make peace with our mother country, and save
+ ourselves and children."
+
+He knew that the sentiments of the handbill were those of Mr.
+Shrimpton, and suspected that his hand had penned it. The rumor was
+abroad that the king had sent word to General Gage to seize the two
+arch leaders of the rebels, Adams and Hancock. The following evening
+Tom and other Sons gathered at the Green Dragon, laid their hands upon
+the Bible, and made a solemn oath to watch constantly the movements of
+the Tories and soldiers, and give information to Samuel Adams, John
+Hancock, Doctor Warren, and Benjamin Church, and to no others.
+
+There came a day when a great multitude assembled in town meeting, in
+the Old South Meetinghouse, to listen to Doctor Warren's oration
+commemorative of the massacre of the people by the troops. Citizens
+from all the surrounding towns were there to let General Gage know
+they had not forgotten it; besides, they knew they would hear burning
+words from the lips of the fearless patriot.
+
+Tom Brandon and Abraham Duncan, looking down from the gallery upon the
+great throng, saw Samuel Adams elected moderator. He invited the
+officers of the regiments to take seats upon the platform. Tom
+wondered if they were present to make mischief. The pulpit was draped
+in black. Every part of the house was filled,--aisles, windows,
+seats,--and there was a great crowd in the porches. Tom was wondering
+if it would be possible for Doctor Warren to edge his way through the
+solid body of men, when he saw the window behind the pulpit opened by
+one of the selectmen and the doctor, wearing a student's black gown,
+enter through the window. The audience welcomed him with applause.
+For more than an hour they listened spellbound to his patriotic and
+fearless words. At times the people made the building shake with their
+applause. Some of the king's officers grew red in the face when he
+alluded to their presence in Boston to suppress the liberties of the
+people. One of the officers of the Welsh Fusilliers sitting on the
+stairs was very insulting. Tom saw him take some bullets from his
+pocket and hold them in the palm of his hand to annoy Doctor Warren,
+but instead of being frightened, he very quietly rebuked the officer's
+insolence by letting his handkerchief drop upon the bullets. Bold and
+eloquent were his closing words.
+
+"Fellow-citizens," he said, "you will maintain your rights or perish
+in the glorious struggle. However difficult the combat, you will never
+decline it when freedom is the prize. Independence of Great Britain is
+not our aim. Our wish is that Britain and the Colonies may, like the
+oak and the ivy, grow and increase in strength together. If pacific
+measures fail, and it appears that the only way to safety is through
+fields of blood, I know you will not turn your faces from your foes,
+but will press forward till tyranny is trodden under foot and you have
+placed your adored goddess Liberty on her American throne."
+
+The building shook with applause when he sat down.
+
+"It is moved that the thanks of the town be presented to Doctor Warren
+for his oration," said the moderator.
+
+"No, no! fie, fie!" shouted a captain of the Royal Irish Regiment, and
+the other officers around thumped the floor with their canes.
+
+Tom's blood was hot, as was the blood of those around him. Some of the
+people under the galleries, who could not see what was going on,
+thought the officers were crying fire, to break up the meeting. Very
+quietly Samuel Adams raised his hand. The people became calm. The
+officers left the building, and the town went on with its business.
+The people were learning self-control.
+
+When the meeting was over, Tom and Abraham walked along Cornhill, and
+turned down King Street on their way home. They saw a crowd around the
+British Coffee House tavern,--the officers who a little while before
+had left the Old South Meetinghouse, laughing, talking, and drinking
+their toddy. Tom soon discovered they were having a mock town meeting.
+One was acting as moderator, pounding with his cane and calling them
+to order. They chose seven selectmen and a clerk. Then one went
+upstairs and soon appeared upon the balcony wearing a rusty and ragged
+old black gown, a gray wig with a fox's tail dangling down his back.
+He bowed to those below, and began a mock oration. He called Samuel
+Adams, Doctor Warren, and John Hancock scoundrels, blackguards,
+knaves, and other vile names. His language was so scurrilous, profane,
+and indecent that Tom could not repeat it to his mother and Berinthia.
+Those who listened clapped their hands. Tom and Abraham came to the
+conclusion that most of the officers of the newly arrived regiments
+were too vile to be worthy the society of decent people.
+
+Tom was boiling hot two nights later, at the treatment given Thomas
+Ditson of Billerica, who had come to market. A soldier persuaded the
+guileless young farmer to buy an old worn-out gun. The next moment he
+was seized by a file of soldiers and thrust into the guardhouse for
+buying anything of a soldier against the law. He had only the bare
+floor to sleep on. In the morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Nesbit ordered
+the soldiers to strip off Ditson's clothes, and tar and feather him.
+
+It was a pitiful spectacle which Ruth Newville saw,--Colonel Nesbit
+marching at the head of his regiment, the soldiers with their bayonets
+surrounding a man stripped to the waist, smeared with tar, covered
+with feathers, the fifes playing, and the drums beating the Rogue's
+March.
+
+"It is disgraceful," she said, with flashing eyes, to her mother.
+"Colonel Nesbit ought to be ashamed of himself. If he ever calls here
+again, I'll not speak to him."
+
+Fast Day came, and again the eyes of Miss Newville flashed when she
+saw the king's troops parading the streets; the drummers and fifers
+taking their stations by the doors of the meetinghouses to annoy the
+people, playing so loud they could scarcely hear a word of what the
+minister was saying.
+
+"Do you think, father, that General Gage will win back the affections
+of the people, or even retain their respect by permitting such
+outrages?" Ruth asked.
+
+"Perhaps it is not the wisest course to pursue. Quite likely the
+officers of the regiments did it of their own notion," Mr. Newville
+replied.
+
+If Lord North and King George thought a show of military force would
+overawe the people of Boston town, they were mistaken. Possibly they
+did not reflect that military repression might beget resistance by
+arms; but when the regiments began to arrive, the Sons of Liberty
+resolved to prepare for whatever might happen. They appointed a
+committee of safety to protect the rights of the people.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Winter was over, and with their singing the birds were making the
+April mornings melodious. The Provincial Congress was in session at
+Cambridge, and Samuel Adams and John Hancock had left Boston and with
+Dorothy Quincy were with Reverend Mr. Clark in Lexington. Abraham
+Duncan discovered that General Gage had sent Captain Brown and Ensign
+De Berniere into the country to see the roads.[53] Sharp-eyed Sons of
+Liberty watched the movements of the soldiers. They saw Lord Percy
+march his brigade to Roxbury, and return as if for exercise, with no
+one opposing them.
+
+[Footnote 53: Captain Brown and Ensign De Berniere, March 20, visited
+Concord and Worcester and intermediate towns, dressed as citizens. The
+vigilant Sons of Liberty were cognizant of all their movements and
+notified the patriotic citizens, who had them under surveillance every
+moment. Ensign De Berniere has written a narrative of the journey.]
+
+"We can march from one end of the continent to the other, without
+opposition from the cowardly Yankees," said the boasting soldiers.
+
+Paul Revere, Tom Brandon, Robert Newman, and a score of the Sons of
+Liberty were keeping watch of the movements of the redcoats. They saw
+the sailors of the warships, and of the vessels which had brought the
+new troops, launching their boats and putting them in order. They knew
+General Gage wanted to seize Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and quite
+likely the military supplies which the committee of safety had
+collected at Concord. Paul Revere rode out to Lexington on Sunday to
+see Adams and Hancock, and let them know what was going on in Boston.
+
+"The launching of the ship's boat means something," said Mr. Adams.
+"It looks as if the troops were going to make a short cut across
+Charles River instead of marching over Roxbury Neck."
+
+"We will keep our eyes open and let you know the moment they make any
+movement," said Revere.
+
+"Quite likely Gage will set a patrol so you can't leave Boston," said
+Hancock.
+
+"I'll tell ye what we'll do. If the troops leave in the night by way
+of Roxbury, I'll get Robert Newman to hang a lantern in the steeple of
+Christ Church; if they take boats to make the short cut across Charles
+River, I'll have him hang out two lanterns. I'll tell Deacon Larkin
+and Colonel Conant, over in Charlestown, to keep their eyes on the
+steeple."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It was Tuesday morning, April 18. Abraham Duncan wondered how it
+happened that so many British officers with their overcoats on were
+mounting their horses and riding out towards Roxbury, not in a group,
+but singly, or two together, with pistols in their holsters.
+
+"We will dine at Winship's tavern in Cambridge, and then go on," he
+heard one say.
+
+He also noticed that the grenadiers and light infantry guards were not
+on duty as on other days.
+
+He hastened to inform Doctor Warren, who sent a messenger with a
+letter to the committee of safety.
+
+It was evening when Richard Devens and Abraham Watson, members of the
+committee of safety, shook hands with their fellow members, Elbridge
+Gerry, Asa Orne, and Colonel Lee at Wetherby's, bade them good-night,
+and stepped into their chaise to return to their homes in Charlestown.
+The others would spend the night at Wetherby's, and they would all
+meet in Woburn in the morning.
+
+Satisfying to the appetite was the dinner which landlord Winship set
+before a dozen British officers,--roast beef, dish gravy, mealy
+potatoes, plum-pudding, mince pie, crackers and cheese, prime old
+port, and brandy distilled from the grapes of Bordeaux.
+
+"We will jog on slowly; it won't do to get there too early," said one
+of the officers as they mounted their horses and rode up past the
+green, and along the wide and level highways, towards Menotomy, paying
+no attention to Solomon Brown, plodding homeward in his horse-cart
+from market. When the old mare lagged to a walk, they rode past him;
+when he stirred her up with his switch she made the old cart rattle
+past them. The twinkling eyes peeping out from under his shaggy brows
+saw that their pistols were in the holsters, and their swords were
+clanking at times.
+
+"I passed nine of them," he said to Sergeant Munroe when he reached
+Lexington Common; and the sergeant, mistrusting they might be coming
+to nab Adams and Hancock, summoned eight of his company to guard the
+house of Mr. Clark.
+
+Mr. Devens and Mr. Watson met the Britishers.
+
+"They mean mischief. We must let Gerry, Orne, and Joe know," Mr.
+Devens said.
+
+Quickly the chaise turned, and they rode back to Wetherby's. The moon
+was higher in the eastern sky, and the hands of the clock pointed to
+the figure nine when the officers rode past the house.
+
+"We must put Adams and Hancock on their guard," said Mr. Gerry; and a
+little later a messenger on horseback was scurrying along a bypath
+towards Lexington.
+
+In Boston, Abraham Duncan was keeping his eyes and ears open.
+
+"What's the news, Billy?" was his question to Billy Baker, apprentice
+to Mr. Hall, who sold toddy to the redcoats.
+
+"I guess something is going to happen," said Billy.
+
+"What makes you think so?"
+
+"'Cause a woman who belongs to one of the redcoats was in just now
+after a toddy; she said the lobsters were going somewhere."
+
+"Is that so?"
+
+"Yes; and they are packing their knapsacks."
+
+Abraham whispered it to Doctor Warren, and a few minutes later William
+Dawes was mounting his old mare and riding toward Roxbury. She was
+thin in flesh, and showed her ribs; and the man on her back, who
+dressed calf-skins for a living, jogged along Cornhill as if in no
+hurry. The red-coated sentinels, keeping guard by the fortifications
+on the Neck, said to themselves he was an old farmer, but were
+surprised to see him, after passing them, going like the wind out
+towards Roxbury, to the Parting Stone, then turning towards Cambridge,
+making the gravel fly from her heels as she tore along the road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Berinthia Brandon, sitting in her chamber, looking out into the
+starlit night, saw the faint light of the rising moon along the
+eastern horizon. Twilight was still lingering in the western sky. In
+the gloaming, she saw the sailors of the warships and transports were
+stepping into their boats and floating with the incoming tide up the
+Charles. What was the meaning of it? She ran downstairs and told her
+father and Tom what she had seen; and Tom, seizing his hat, tore along
+Salem Street and over the bridge across Mill Creek to Doctor Warren's.
+The clock on the Old Brick Meetinghouse was striking ten when he
+rattled the knocker.
+
+[Illustration: Paul Revere's House.]
+
+"The boats are on their way up the river with the tide," he said, out
+of breath with his running.
+
+Abraham Duncan came in, also out of breath.
+
+"The lobsters are marching across the Common, toward Barton's Point,"
+he said.
+
+"All of which means, they are going to take the boats and cross
+Charles River, instead of marching by way of Roxbury," said the
+doctor, reflecting a moment.
+
+He asked Tom if he would please run down to North Square and ask Paul
+Revere to come and see him.
+
+A few minutes later Revere was there.
+
+"I've already sent Dawes, but for fear Gage's spies may pick him up, I
+want you to take the short cut to Lexington and alarm people on your
+way; you'll have to look sharp for Gage's officers. Tell Newman to
+hang out the two signals."
+
+Revere hastened down Salem Street, whispered a word in the ear of
+Robert Newman, ran to his own home for his overcoat, told two young
+men to accompany him, then ran to the riverside and stepped into his
+boat. The great black hull of the frigate Somerset rose before him. By
+the light of the rising moon he could see a marine, with his gun on
+his shoulder, pacing the deck; but no challenge came, and the rowers
+quickly landed him in Charlestown.[54]
+
+[Footnote 54: In the _Tales of a Wayside Inn_, the poet Longfellow
+represents Paul Revere as impatiently waiting beside his horse, on the
+Charlestown shore, for the signal lights:--
+
+ "On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
+ Now he patted his horse's side,
+ Now gazed at the landscape far and near,
+ Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
+ And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;
+ But mostly watched with eager search
+ The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
+ As it rose above the graves on the hill,
+ Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
+ And lo! as he looks, on the belfry height
+ A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
+ He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
+ But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
+ A second lamp in the belfry burns!"
+
+From the narrative of Paul Revere in the archives of the
+Massachusetts Historical Society, we learn that the signals were seen
+before he reached the Charlestown shore:--
+
+"When I got into town, I met Colonel Conant and several others; they
+said they had seen our signals; I told them what was acting, and I
+went to get me a horse; I got a horse of Deacon Larkin. While the
+horse was preparing, Richard Devens, Esq., who was one of the
+Committee of Safety, came to me and told me that he came down the road
+from Lexington after sundown, that evening; that he met ten British
+officers, all well mounted and armed, going up the road."]
+
+Robert Newman, sexton, had gone to bed. The officers of one of the
+king's regiments, occupying the front chamber, saw him retire, but did
+not see him a minute later crawl out of a window to the roof of a
+shed, drop lightly to the ground, make his way to the church, enter,
+turn the key, lock the door, climb the stairs to the tower, and hang
+the lanterns in the loft above the bell. It was but the work of a
+moment. Having done it, he hastened down the stairway, past the organ,
+to the floor of the church. The full moon was flooding the arches
+above him with its mellow light; but he did not tarry to behold the
+beauty of the scene; not that he feared ghosts would rise from the
+coffins in the crypt beneath the church,--he was not afraid of dead
+men,--but he would rather the redcoats should not know what he had
+been doing. He raised a window, dropped from it to the ground, ran
+down an alley, reached his house, climbed the shed, and was in bed
+when officers of one of the regiments came to make inquiry about the
+lanterns. Of course, Robert, being in bed, could not have hung them
+there. It must have been done by somebody else.[55]
+
+[Footnote 55: Paul Revere in his narrative says "a friend" made the
+signals. It has been claimed that John Pulling, and not Robert Newman,
+hung the lanterns. The evidence favoring Newman and Pulling is in
+each case circumstantial. Both were Sons of Liberty and intimate with
+Revere. Newman was sexton in possession of the keys of the church. It
+is said that Pulling obtained them; that the suspicion was so strong
+against him he was obliged to leave the town secretly, not daring to
+apply for a pass. Newman was arrested, but General Gage could find no
+direct evidence against him. I have followed the generally accepted
+opinion, favoring Newman.]
+
+Paul Revere the while is flying up Main Street towards Charlestown
+Neck. It is a pleasant night. The grass in the fields is fresh and
+green; the trees above him are putting forth their young and tender
+leaves. He is thinking of what Richard Devens has said, and keeps his
+eyes open. He crosses the narrow neck of land between the Mystic and
+Charles rivers, and sees before him the tree where Mark was hung ten
+years before for poisoning his master. The bones of the negro no
+longer rattle in the wind; the eyeless sockets of the once ghostly
+skeleton no longer glare at people coming from Cambridge and Medford
+to Charlestown, and Paul Revere has no fear of seeing Mark's ghost
+hovering around the tree. It is for the living--Gage's spies--that he
+peers into the night. Bucephalus suddenly pricks up his ears. Ah!
+there they are! two men in uniform on horseback beneath the tree. He
+is abreast of them. They advance. Quickly he wheels, and rides back
+towards Charlestown. He reaches the road leading to Medford, reins
+Bucephalus into it. He sees one of them riding across the field to cut
+him off; the other is following him along the road. Suddenly the rider
+in the field disappears,--going head foremost into a clay pit. "Ha!
+ha!" laughs Revere, as the fleet steed bears him on towards Medford
+town. He clatters across Mystic bridge, halts long enough to awaken
+the captain of the minute-men, and then rattles on towards
+Menotomy.[56]
+
+[Footnote 56: "After I passed Charlestown Neck, and got nearly
+opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on horseback
+under the tree. When I got near them I discovered they were British
+officers. One tried to get ahead of me, and the other to take me. I
+turned my horse quick and galloped towards Charlestown Neck, and then
+pushed for the Medford road. The one who chased me, endeavoring to cut
+me off, got into a clay pond. I got clear of him and went through
+Medford over the bridge up to Menotomy. In Medford I awaked the
+captain of the minute-men, and after that I alarmed every house till I
+got to Lexington."--Revere's _Narrative_.]
+
+It is past eleven o'clock. The fires have been covered for the night
+in the farmhouses, and the people are asleep.
+
+"Turn out! turn out! the redcoats are coming!"
+
+Paul Revere is shouting it at every door, as Bucephalus bears him
+swiftly on. The farmers spring from their beds, peer through their
+window-panes into the darkness,--seeing a vanishing form, and flashing
+sparks struck from the stones by the hoofs of the flying horse. Once
+more across the Mystic on to Menotomy, past the meetinghouse and the
+houses of the slumbering people, up the hill, along the valley, to
+Lexington Green; past the meetinghouse, not halting at Buckman's
+tavern, but pushing on, leaping from his foaming steed and rapping
+upon Mr. Clark's door.
+
+"Who are ye, and what d'ye want?" Sergeant Munroe asked the question.
+
+"I want to see Mr. Hancock."
+
+"Well, you can't. The minister and his family mustn't be disturbed, so
+just keep still and don't make a racket."
+
+"There'll be a racket pretty soon, for the redcoats are coming," said
+Paul.
+
+"Who are you and what do you wish?" asked Reverend Mr. Clark in his
+night-dress from the window.
+
+"I want to see Adams and Hancock."
+
+"It is Revere; let him in!" shouted Hancock down the stairway.
+
+"The regulars are coming, several hundred of them, to seize you!"
+
+"It is the supplies at Concord they are after," cried Mr. Adams.
+
+A moment later other hoofs were striking fire from the stones, and
+another horseman, William Dawes, appeared, confirming what Revere had
+said.
+
+[Illustration: REVEREND JONAS CLARK'S HOUSE Where Samuel Adams, John
+Hancock, and Dorothy Quincy were staying]
+
+
+
+
+XVI.
+
+THE MORNING DRUMBEAT.
+
+
+"Ring the bell!"
+
+Samuel Adams said it, and one of Sergeant Munroe's men ran to the
+green, seized the bell-rope, and set the meetinghouse bell to
+clanging, sending the alarm far and wide upon the still night air.
+
+In the farmhouses candles were quickly lighted, and the minute-men,
+who had agreed to obey a summons at a moment's warning, came running
+with musket, bullet-pouch, and powder-horn, to the rendezvous. They
+formed in line, but, no redcoats appearing, broke ranks and went into
+Buckman's tavern.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Silently, without tap of drum, the grenadiers and light infantry under
+Colonel Francis Smith, at midnight, marched from their quarters to
+Barton's Point, together with the marines under Major Pitcairn.
+
+"Where are we going?" Lieutenant Edward Gould of the King's Own put
+the question to Captain Lawrie.
+
+"I suppose General Gage and the Lord, and perhaps Colonel Smith, know,
+but I don't," the captain replied, as he stepped into a boat with his
+company.
+
+It was eleven o'clock when the last boat-load of troops reached
+Lechmere's Point,--not landing on solid ground, but amid the last
+year's reeds and marshes. The tide was flowing into the creek and
+eddies, and the mud beneath the feet of the king's troops was soft and
+slippery.
+
+"May his satanic majesty take the man who ordered us into this bog,"
+said a soldier whose feet suddenly went out from under him and sent
+him sprawling into the slimy oose.
+
+"By holy Saint Patrick, isn't the water nice and warm!" said one of
+the marines as he waded into the flowing tide fresh from the sea.
+
+"Gineral Gage intends to teach us how to swim," said another.
+
+With jokes upon their lips, but inwardly cursing whoever had directed
+them to march across the marsh, the troops splashed through the water,
+reached the main road leading to Menotomy, and waited while the
+commissary distributed their rations. It was past two o'clock before
+Colonel Smith was ready to move on. Looking at his watch in the
+moonlight and seeing how late it was, he directed Major Pitcairn to
+take six companies of the light infantry and hasten on to Lexington.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From the house of Reverend Mr. Clark, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and
+young Doctor Prescott of Concord, who had been sparking his intended
+wife in Lexington village, started on their horses up the road towards
+Concord. From the deep shade of the alders a half dozen men suddenly
+confronted them.
+
+"Surrender, or I will blow out your brains!" shouts one of the
+officers.
+
+[Illustration: BUCKMAN'S TAVERN]
+
+Revere and Dawes are prisoners; but Doctor Prescott, quick of eye,
+ear, and motion, is leaping his horse over the stone wall, riding
+through fields and pastures, along bypaths, his saddle-bags flopping,
+his horse, young and fresh, bearing him swiftly on over the meadows to
+the slumbering village, with the news that the redcoats are
+coming.[57]
+
+[Footnote 57: Longfellow in his poem has Revere riding on to Concord
+bridge.
+
+ "It was two by the village clock,
+ When he came to the bridge in Concord town."
+
+Revere's account reads:--
+
+"We had got nearly half way; Mr. Dawes and the Doctor stopped to alarm
+the people of a house. I was about one hundred rods ahead when I saw
+two men, in nearly the same situation as those officers were near
+Charlestown. I called for the Doctor and Dawes to come up; in an
+instant I was surrounded by four.... We tried to get out there; the
+Doctor jumped his horse over a low stone wall and got to Concord. I
+observed a wood at a small distance and made for that. When I got
+there, out rushed six officers on horseback and ordered me to
+dismount."]
+
+"Tell us where we can find those arch traitors to his majesty the
+king, or you are dead men," the threat of an officer.
+
+Paul Revere sees the muzzle of the pistol within a foot of his breast,
+but it does not frighten him.
+
+"Ah, gentlemen, you have missed your aim."
+
+"What aim?"
+
+"You won't get what you came for. I left Boston an hour before your
+troops were ready to cross Charles River. Messengers left before me,
+and the alarm will soon be fifty miles away. Had I not known it, I
+would have risked a shot from you before allowing myself to be
+captured."
+
+From the belfry of the meetinghouse the bell was sending its peals
+far and wide over fields and woodlands.
+
+"Do you not hear it? The town is alarmed," said Revere.
+
+"Rub-a-dub-dub! rub-a-dub-dub! rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub-dub!"
+It was the drummer beating the long roll.
+
+"The minute-men are forming; you are dead men!" said Dawes.
+
+The drumbeat, with the clanging bell, was breaking the stillness of
+the early morning. The officers put their heads together and whispered
+a moment.
+
+"Get off your horses," ordered Captain Parsons of the king's Tenth
+Regiment.
+
+Revere and Dawes obeyed.
+
+"We'll keep this; the other is only fit for the crows to pick," said
+one of the officers, cutting the saddle-girth of Dawes's horse,
+turning it loose, and mounting Bucephalus. Then all rode away, dashing
+past the minute-men on Lexington Green.
+
+"The minute-men are forming,--three hundred of them," reported the
+officers to Colonel Smith, who was marching up the road.[58]
+
+[Footnote 58: "We heard there were some hundreds of people collected
+there, intending to oppose us and stop our going out. At five o'clock
+we arrived there, and a number of people, I believe between two and
+three hundred, formed on a common in the middle of the town." "Diary
+of a British Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1877.]
+
+The bell and the drumbeat, the lights in Buckman's tavern and the
+other houses, the minute-men in line by the meetinghouse, had
+quickened the imagination of the excited Britishers.
+
+"The country is alarmed. It is reported there are five hundred rebels
+gathered to oppose me. I shall need reinforcements." Such was the
+message of Colonel Smith to General Gage.
+
+He directed Major Pitcairn to push on rapidly with six companies of
+light infantry.
+
+"Jonathan! Jonathan! Get up quick! The redcoats are coming and
+something must be done!"[59]
+
+[Footnote 59: There were two Jonathan Harringtons. The fifer to the
+Lexington minute-men was sixteen years old. He died March 27, 1854,
+the last survivor of the battle, and was buried with distinguished
+honors. See _Hist. Lexington_.]
+
+Abigail Harrington shouted it, bursting into her son Jonathan's
+chamber. He had not heard the bell, nor the commotion in the street.
+Jonathan was only sixteen years old, but was fifer for the minute-men.
+In a twinkling he was dressed, and seizing his fife ran to join the
+company forming in line by the meetinghouse; answering to their names,
+as clerk Daniel Harrington called the roll.
+
+John Hancock and Samuel Adams hear the drumbeat; Hancock seizes his
+gun.
+
+"This is no place for you; you must go to a place of safety," said
+Reverend Mr. Clark.
+
+"Never will I turn my back to the redcoats," said Hancock.
+
+"The country will need your counsels. Others must meet the enemy face
+to face," was the calm, wise reply of the patriotic minister.
+
+Other friends expostulate; they cross the road and enter a thick wood
+crowning the hill.
+
+"Stand your ground. If war is to come, let it begin here. Don't fire
+till you are fired upon," said Captain John Parker, walking along the
+lines of his company.
+
+The sun is just rising. Its level beams glint from the brightly
+polished gun-barrels and bayonets of the light infantry of King
+George, as the battalion under Major Pitcairn marches towards
+Lexington meetinghouse. The trees above them have put forth their
+tender leaves. The rising sun, the green foliage, the white
+cross-belts, the shining buckles, the scarlet coats of the soldiers,
+and the farmers standing in line, firmly grasping their muskets, make
+up the picture of the morning.
+
+Major Pitcairn, sitting in his saddle, beholds the line of minute-men,
+rebels in arms against the sovereign, formed in line to dispute his
+way. What right have they to be standing there? King George is
+supreme!
+
+"Disperse, you rebels! Lay down your arms and disperse!" he shouts.
+
+Captain John Parker hears it. The men behind him, citizens in their
+everyday clothes, with powder-horns slung under their right arms, hear
+it, but stand firm and resolute in their places. They see the
+Britisher raise his arm; his pistol flashes. Instantly the front
+platoon of redcoats raise their muskets. A volley rends the air. Not a
+man has been injured. Another volley, and a half dozen are reeling to
+the ground. John Munroe, Jonas Parker, and their comrades bring their
+muskets to a level and pull the triggers. With the beams of the rising
+sun falling on their faces, they accept the conflict with arbitrary
+power.
+
+"What a glorious morning is this!" the exclamation of Samuel Adams on
+yonder hill.
+
+[Illustration: JONATHAN HARRINGTON'S HOUSE Jonathan Harrington was
+wounded where the stone now stands, and fell dead at the doorstep of
+his house]
+
+Seven minute-men have been killed, nine wounded. Captain Parker sees
+that it is useless for his little handful of men to contend with a
+force ten times larger, and orders them to disperse.
+
+The redcoats look down exultantly upon the dying and the dead, give a
+hurrah, and shoot at the fleeing rebels.[60]
+
+[Footnote 60: "We then formed on the Common, but with some difficulty.
+The men were so wild they could hear no orders. We waited a
+considerable time, and at length proceeded on our way to Concord,
+which we then learned was our destination." "Diary of a British
+Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1877.]
+
+Jonas Parker will not run.
+
+"Others may do as they will, I never will turn my back to a redcoat,"
+he said a few minutes ago. He is on his knees now, wounded, but
+reloading his gun. The charge is rammed home, the priming in the pan,
+but his strength is going; his arms are weary; his hands feeble. The
+redcoats rush upon him, and a bayonet pierces his breast. He dies
+where he fell.
+
+With the blood spurting from his breast, Jonathan Harrington staggers
+towards his home. His loving wife is standing in the doorway. He
+reaches out his arms to her, and falls dead at her feet.
+
+Caleb Harrington falls by the meetinghouse step. A ball plows through
+the arm of John Comee, by Mr. Munroe's doorway.
+
+The Britishers are wild with excitement, and remorselessly take aim at
+the fleeing provincials. They have conquered and dispersed the rebels.
+Colonel Smith joins Major Pitcairn, and, glorying over the easy
+victory, they swing their hats, hurrah for King George, and march on
+towards Concord.
+
+
+
+
+XVII.
+
+BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA.
+
+
+Roger Stanley, asleep in the old farmhouse on the banks of Concord
+River, was aroused from slumber by his mother.
+
+"Roger! Roger! the meetinghouse bell is ringing!" she shouted up the
+stairs to him.
+
+With a bound he was on his feet, raised the window and heard the
+sweet-toned bell. He understood its meaning, that the redcoats were
+coming. Quickly putting on his clothes, he seized the powder-horn and
+bullet-pouch which his father carried at Louisburg.
+
+"You must eat something, Roger, before you go," said his mother.
+
+A moment later and his breakfast was on the table, bread and butter, a
+slice of cold beef, a mug of cider.
+
+"There's no knowing when I shall be back, mother, for if the war has
+begun, as I fear it has, I shall be in the ranks till the last redcoat
+is driven from the country."
+
+"I know it, Roger. Your father would have done just what you are
+doing. I know you'll do your duty. You won't show the white feather.
+Here's some lunch for you," she said, putting a package into his
+knapsack.
+
+"Good-by."
+
+[Illustration: ROBERT MUNROE'S HOUSE Joseph Comee, a minute-man, was
+wounded at the doorway]
+
+Her arms were about his neck; tears were on her cheeks as she kissed
+his lips.
+
+[Illustration: Route of the British to Concord.]
+
+He ran across the meadow to the village. The minute-men and militia
+were gathering. In the stillness of the morning they could hear the
+report of guns far away, and knew that they of Sudbury and Acton were
+hearing the alarm. People were hurrying to and fro in the village,
+loading barrels of flour into carts, removing the supplies purchased
+by the Committee of Safety. Reverend Mr. Emerson was there with his
+gun and powder-horn. Many times Roger had listened to his preaching.
+It was gratifying to see him ready to stand in the ranks with his
+parishioners. He told the women not to be frightened, and smiled upon
+the boys who took off their hats, and the girls who courtesied to him.
+
+They heard, far away, the drumbeat of the advancing British.
+
+No messengers had arrived to inform the minute-men of Concord what had
+happened at Lexington; for Doctor Prescott did not know that British
+muskets had fired a fatal volley.
+
+From the burial ground Roger could look far down the road and see the
+sunlight glinting from the bayonets of the grenadiers, as the
+red-coated platoons emerged from the woodland into the open highway.
+
+Major Buttrick with the minute-men and Colonel Barrett with the
+militia formed in line by the liberty pole.
+
+"Prime and load!" his order.
+
+Roger poured the powder into the palm of his hand, emptied it into the
+gun, and rammed it home with a ball. Never had he experienced such a
+sensation as at the moment. He was not doing it to take aim at a deer
+or fox, but to send it through the heart of a fellow-being if need be;
+to maintain justice and liberty. He could die in their defense; why
+should it trouble him, then, to think of shooting those who were
+assailing what he held so dear?
+
+"I am doing right. Liberty shall live, cost what it may," he said to
+himself as he poured the priming into the pan.
+
+On in serried ranks came the British.
+
+"We are too few, they are three to our one. We must cross the river
+and wait till we are stronger," said Colonel Barrett.
+
+[Illustration: REVEREND WILLIAM EMERSON'S HOUSE--THE OLD MANSE The
+conflict at the Bridge was in plain view from this house]
+
+They were only two hundred. They filed into the road, marched past
+the Reverend Mr. Emerson's house to the north bridge, crossed the
+river, and came to a halt on a hill overlooking the meadows, the
+village, and surrounding country. They could see the British
+dividing,--one party crossing the south bridge and going towards
+Colonel Barrett's house to destroy the supplies collected there;
+another party advancing to the north bridge. Roger saw groups of
+officers in the graveyard using their spy-glasses. A soldier was
+cutting down the liberty pole. Other soldiers were entering houses,
+helping themselves to what food was left on the breakfast-tables or
+in the pantries. Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn rested themselves
+in Mr. Wright's tavern.
+
+"I'll stir the Yankee blood before night, just as I stir this brandy,"
+said Pitcairn, stirring the spirit in his tumbler with his finger.
+
+A party of British crossed the south bridge, made their way to Colonel
+Barrett's house, and burned the cannon carriages stored in his barn.
+
+Roger was glad to see Captain Isaac Davis and the minute-men of Acton
+march up the hill to join them. Captain Davis was thirty years old. He
+had kissed his young wife and four children good-by.
+
+"Take good care of the children, Hannah," he said as he bade her
+farewell.
+
+Twice a week he had drilled his company. He was brave, resolute,
+kind-hearted. His men loved him because he demanded strict obedience.
+They had stopped long enough at his home for his young wife to powder
+their hair, that they might appear neat and trim like gentlemen when
+meeting the British. They were thirty-five, all told. Keeping step to
+Luther Blanchard's fifing of the White Cockade, and Francis Barker's
+drumming, they marched past the men from Concord and formed on their
+left.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE COCKADE.]
+
+[Illustration: WRIGHT'S TAVERN]
+
+"Order arms!" They rested their muskets on the ground and wiped the
+perspiration from their foreheads.
+
+Men from Westford, Lincoln, and Carlisle are arriving. They are four
+hundred now. The officers stand apart, talking in low tones. The
+redcoats had crossed the bridge to the western bank.
+
+"Let us drive the redcoats across the river," said Captain Smith.
+
+"I haven't a man that is afraid," said Captain Davis.
+
+He was heavy-hearted in the early morning when he kissed the young
+wife and took the baby from the cradle in his arms, but is resolute
+now.
+
+"Attention, battalion! Trail arms! Left in front! March!" Luther
+Blanchard pipes the tune, and the battalion--the men of Acton
+leading--descends the hill.
+
+The redcoats had recrossed the river and were taking up the planks of
+the bridge. A moment later muskets flash beneath the elms, and maples
+along the farthest bank and there is a whistling of bullets in the
+air. Roger's heart is in his throat, but he gulps it down. Another
+volley, and Captain Davis, Abner Hosmer, and Luther Blanchard reel to
+the ground. Never again will Hannah receive a parting kiss, or the
+father caress the baby crooning in the cradle.[61]
+
+[Footnote 61: "The fire soon began from a dropping shot on our side,
+when they and the front company fired almost at the same instant."
+"Diary of a British Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1877.]
+
+"Fire! For God's sake, fire!" shouts Major Buttrick. Roger cocks his
+gun, takes aim at the line of scarlet beneath the trees and pulls the
+trigger. Through the smoke he sees men throw up their arms and tumble
+to the ground. The scarlet line dissolves, the soldiers fleeing in
+confusion. No longer is Roger's heart in his throat. His nerves are
+iron and the hot blood is coursing through his veins. King George has
+begun the war; no longer is he his subject, but a rebel, never more to
+owe him allegiance.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The forenoon wore away. The British were returning from Colonel
+Barrett's, having destroyed the cannon carriages, thrown some bullets
+into a well, and broken open several barrels of flour. It was past
+noon when they formed in line once more to return to Boston.
+
+"We will head them off at Merriam's Corner," said Colonel Barrett.
+
+The planks which the British had removed from the bridge were quickly
+replaced. The minute-men crossed the stream, turned into a field to
+the left, and hastened over the meadow to the road leading to Bedford.
+It was past three o'clock when they reached Mr. Merriam's house. Roger
+saw the British marching down the road. Suddenly a platoon wheeled
+towards the minute-men and brought their guns to a level. There was a
+flash, a white cloud, and bullets whistled over their heads. Once more
+he took aim, as did others, and several redcoats fell. Before he could
+reload, the serried ranks disappeared, marching rapidly towards
+Lexington. The minute-men hastened on, and at the tavern of Mr. Brooks
+he sent another bullet into the ranks of the retreating foe.[62]
+
+[Footnote 62: "We set out upon our return. Before the whole had
+quitted the town we were fired on from houses and behind trees, and
+before we had gone half a mile we were fired on from all sides, but
+mostly from the rear, where the people had hid themselves in houses
+till we passed." "Diary of a British Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_,
+April, 1877.]
+
+[Illustration: NORTH BRIDGE The minute-men stood under the trees at
+the right; the British, the other side of the river]
+
+"Scatter now! Get upon their flank! Pepper 'em from behind walls and
+trees!" shouted Colonel Barrett, who saw that it would be useless to
+follow the retreating enemy in battalion order, but each man, acting
+for himself, could run through fields and pastures and keep up a
+tormenting fire.
+
+Acting upon the order, Roger and James Heywood ran through a piece of
+woods towards Fiske Hill. They came upon a British soldier drinking at
+a well by a house.
+
+"You are a dead man," shouted the redcoat, raising his gun.
+
+"So are you," said Heywood. Their muskets flashed and both fell, the
+Britisher with a bullet through his heart, and Heywood mortally
+wounded.
+
+From rock heap, tree, fence, and thicket the guns of the minute-men
+were flashing. The soldiers who had marched so proudly, keeping step
+to the drumbeat in the morning, were running now. No hurrah went up as
+at sunrise on Lexington Common. There was no halting at Buckman's
+tavern, where they had fired their first volley. Their ranks were in
+confusion. Officers were trying to rally them, threatening to cut them
+down with their swords if they did not show a bold front to the
+minute-men, but the Yankees seemed to be everywhere and yet nowhere.
+Bullets were coming from every direction, yet the British could see no
+men in line, no ranks at which they could take aim or charge with the
+bayonet. They were still twelve miles from Boston, and their
+ammunition failing. They were worn and weary with the all-night march,
+and were hungry and thirsty. The road was strewn with their fallen
+comrades. The wounded were increasing in number, impeding their
+retreat. Their ranks were broken. All was confusion. Every moment some
+one was falling.[63] Blessed the sight that greeted them,--the brigade
+of Earl Percy, drawn up in hollow square by Mr. Munroe's tavern, with
+two cannon upon the hillocks by the roadside. They rushed into the
+square and dropped upon the ground, panting and exhausted with their
+rapid retreat.
+
+[Footnote 63: "They were so concealed there was hardly any seeing
+them. In this way we marched between nine and ten miles, their numbers
+increasing from all parts, while ours was reducing by deaths, wounds,
+and fatigue, and we were totally surrounded with such an incessant
+fire as it is impossible to conceive. Our ammunition was likewise near
+expended." "Diary of a British Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_, April,
+1877.]
+
+Roger halted a few minutes on Lexington Green, where the conflict
+began in the morning. He saw the ground stained with the blood of
+those who had fallen,--crossed the threshold where Jonathan Harrington
+had died in the arms of his wife. Across the Common the house and barn
+of Joseph Loring were in flames, set on fire by the British.
+
+Earl Percy's troops were ransacking the houses a little farther down
+the road. In Mr. Munroe's tavern they were compelling old John Raymond
+to bring them food, and because he could not give them what they
+wanted, sent a bullet through his heart.[64]
+
+[Footnote 64: "We marched pretty quiet for about two miles, when they
+began to pepper us again. We were now obliged to force almost every
+house in the road, for the rebels had taken possession of them and
+galled us exceedingly; but they suffered for their temerity, _for all
+that were found in the houses were put to death._" "Diary of a
+British Officer," _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1877.
+
+Earl Percy made the tavern of Mr. Munroe his headquarters.
+
+"A party entered the tavern and, helping themselves, or rather
+compelling the inmates of the house to help them to whatever they
+wanted, they treacherously and with ruthlessness shot down John
+Raymond, an infirm old man, only because he, alarmed at this roughness
+and brutal conduct, was about leaving the house to seek a place of
+greater safety." Hudson's _Hist. of Lexington_.]
+
+[Illustration: MERRIAM'S CORNER]
+
+Once more the British were on the march.
+
+Roger, rested and invigorated, ran through a pasture, crouched behind
+a bowlder, rested his gun upon it, and sent a bullet into the ranks.
+He was delighted when Doctor Joseph Warren came galloping over the
+hill. The doctor said he left Boston in the morning, rode to Cambridge
+and Watertown, then hastened on to Lexington. He was glad the
+minute-men and militia had resisted the British. While talking with
+Roger and those around him, a bullet whizzed past the doctor's head,
+knocking a pin from his ear-lock.
+
+The rattling fire of the minute-men was increasing once
+more,--answered by volleys from Percy's platoons. The British,
+smarting under the tormenting fusilade, angry over the thought that
+they were being assailed by a rabble of farmers and were on the
+defensive, became wanton and barbaric, pillaging houses, and murdering
+inoffensive old men.
+
+Roger was delighted to hear from Jonathan Loring, one of the Lexington
+minute-men, how his sister Lydia, fearing that the British would steal
+the communion cups and platters belonging to the church of which her
+father was deacon, took them in her apron, ran out into the orchard,
+and hid them under a pile of brush.
+
+Pitiful it was to see Widow Mulliken's house in flames,--wantonly set
+on fire by the red-coated ruffians.
+
+Roger saw a soldier deliberately raise his gun, take aim, and send a
+bullet through the heart of Jason Russel, an old gray-haired man,
+standing in his own door. Again, at closer range, he took aim at the
+retreating column.
+
+His indignation was aroused as he listened to the story told by Hannah
+Adams, a few minutes later. She was in bed in her chamber, with a
+new-born babe at her breast, when two redcoats entered the room. One
+pointed his musket at her.
+
+"For the Lord's sake, do not kill me," she said.
+
+"I am going to shoot you," the soldier replied, with an oath.
+
+"No, you mustn't shoot a woman," said the other, pushing aside the
+gun, "but we are going to set the house on fire, and you must get
+out."
+
+With the babe in her arms, she crawled downstairs and into the yard.
+
+The soldiers scattered the coals from the fireplace around the room,
+and left, but the older children ran in and put out the flames.
+
+[Illustration: MUNROE TAVERN Lord Percy's headquarters]
+
+At Mr. Cooper's tavern was a ghastly sight; upon the floor lay the
+mangled bodies of Jason Wyman and Jesse Winship, two old men, who had
+come from their homes to learn the news. They were drinking toddy,
+when the head of Earl Percy's retreating troops arrived, and fired a
+volley into the house. The landlord and his wife fled to the cellar.
+The British swarmed into the tavern, mangled the bodies of the two
+old men with bayonet thrusts, and scattered their brains around the
+room.
+
+In the morning Roger had felt some qualms of conscience as he took aim
+at the scarlet line of men by Concord River, but now to him the
+redcoats were fiends in human form. It gave him fresh courage to see
+Samuel Whittemore, eighty years old, come running with his musket,
+taking deliberate aim, firing three times, and bringing down a redcoat
+every time he pulled the trigger. But a soldier leaped from the ranks,
+ran upon and shot the old man, stabbed him with his bayonet, beat him
+with the butt of his musket, leaving him for dead.[65]
+
+[Footnote 65: He was not dead, however, but lived many years.]
+
+Roger swung his hat to welcome Captain Gideon Foster of Danvers, and
+his company, who had marched sixteen miles in four hours, coming upon
+the British at Menotomy meetinghouse. A moment later they were in the
+thick of the fight.
+
+It was a thrilling story which Timothy Monroe had to tell, how he and
+Daniel Townsend fired, and each brought down a redcoat, and then ran
+into a house; how the British surrounded it, and killed Townsend; how
+he leaped through a window and ran, with a whole platoon firing at
+him, riddling his clothes with bullets, yet escaping without a
+scratch.
+
+Again Roger rejoiced when he learned that before Earl Percy reached
+Menotomy a company of men had captured his baggage wagons, killing and
+wounding several British soldiers, and that the attacking party were
+led by Reverend Philip Payson, the minister of Chelsea.
+
+It was almost sunset when Roger held his horn up to the light once
+more, and saw there was little more than enough powder for one charge,
+and that there were only two bullets in the pouch. He decided to put
+in all the powder and both bullets for his parting shot. Another half
+hour and they would be under the protection of the guns of the frigate
+Somerset. The minute-men were getting so near and were so determined
+that Earl Percy ordered the cannon to unlimber and open fire, while
+the soldiers, almost upon the run, hastened towards Charlestown.
+
+Roger, having reloaded his gun, made haste to overtake them. Looking
+along the road, he saw a crowd of panic-stricken people--men, women,
+and children--fleeing from their houses. The picture of the scene of
+Menotomy had stamped itself into his memory. This last shot should be
+his best. Not now would he crouch behind a fence, a tree, or bowlder.
+He would confront the murderers like a man. He walked deliberately
+forward. He was by a farmhouse, so near the last file of soldiers
+which had halted to ward off the minute-men a moment, that he could
+see the whites of their eyes. He aimed at the cross-belt of a man in
+the middle of the file, and pulled the trigger. He caught a glimpse of
+a man falling, but found himself reeling to the ground. A bullet had
+pierced his breast. The British passed on. A woman came from the
+house, and looked down into his face.
+
+"A drink of water, please marm," he said.
+
+She ran to the well, sank the bucket into it, brought a gourd full,
+and came and crouched by his head while he drank.
+
+"Thank you, marm."
+
+He looked up into her face a moment.
+
+"I think I am going," he whispered.
+
+She pillowed his head upon her arm, laid back the hair from his manly
+brow, and fanned him with her apron.
+
+"Please tell her," he whispered.
+
+"Tell who?"
+
+She bowed her head to catch the word.
+
+"Tell--Rachel."
+
+The mild blue eyes were looking far away. A smile like the light of
+the morning came upon his face. One more breath, and he was one of the
+forty-nine who, during the day, gave their lives that they might
+inaugurate a new era in the republic of God.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII.
+
+BESIEGED.
+
+
+Thomas Gage, governor, commanding his majesty's forces in America, was
+sitting in the Province House, greatly disturbed in mind. The
+expedition to Concord had not resulted as he expected. The troops had
+marched out bravely, destroyed a few barrels of flour, disabled half a
+dozen old cannon, burned some carriage wheels, but had returned to
+Boston on the run like a flock of sheep worried by dogs. The Tories
+had informed him that a couple of regiments could march from one end
+of the continent to the other, but the events of the preceding day
+were opening his eyes to a far different state of affairs. Till within
+a few hours the country had been at peace: farmers following the plow;
+blacksmiths hammering iron; carpenters pushing the plane. All had
+changed. Thousands were under arms, gathering at Cambridge and
+Roxbury. The Colonies were aflame,--not only Massachusetts, but New
+Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The troops which marched to
+Concord so proudly were back in Boston,--not all: twenty-three had
+been killed, two hundred wounded and missing. Eighteen of the officers
+had been killed or wounded. Governor Gage could not gainsay the fact
+that the citizens were victors. They had followed the troops to
+Charlestown till nightfall, like a swarm of angry hornets. A great
+army was closing around him, cutting off his supplies. No more fresh
+beef or mutton would be for sale in the market; no teams would bring
+potatoes and cabbages for the soldiers. What would King George say?
+What would the ministry think? What would they do? How would the
+people of England regard his administration of affairs? The unexpected
+had happened. He had not dreamed of such an uprising. What course
+should he pursue? All Boston was in commotion. People were packing
+their goods on carts, loading them on boats to flee from the town.
+Women were wringing their hands, children crying, fathers walking the
+streets with careworn faces, not knowing whither to go or what to do.
+Officers were gathering at the Province House awaiting orders and
+talking of what had happened, and smarting under the thought that the
+retreat had been a flight and almost a panic. It was a humiliating
+reflection that disciplined soldiers had been put upon the run by a
+rabble of countrymen. Earl Percy, after a sleepless night, weary and
+travel-worn, was gladly welcomed by Governor Gage. He told the story
+of the retreat.
+
+[Illustration: Province House.]
+
+"If it had not been, your excellency, for my timely arrival, I fear
+few of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's troops would have escaped, as they
+were completely exhausted, their ammunition gone, and the men upon the
+run. I am free to say that I was completely astonished. I formed my
+brigade in hollow square, and his men threw themselves on the ground
+with their tongues lolling from their mouths," he said.
+
+"It is plain that you marched none too soon," the governor replied.
+
+"I cannot account for such a sudden uprising. I saw very few rebels.
+There were no organized bodies of rebels to be seen,--not more than
+twenty or thirty in a group; but they were all around us, firing from
+fences, rocks, trees, ditches, houses. If we charged and drove them,
+they were back again the moment we resumed our march. I must admit
+they were brave and persistent. They were like so many wasps," said
+the earl.
+
+"I learn," said the governor, "that several thousand armed men have
+already gathered at Cambridge and Roxbury. A loyal citizen informs me
+they have been arriving through the night in great numbers. It seems
+probable that we are to be hemmed in by the provincials for the
+present, and must make preparations accordingly."
+
+Fast and far the alarm had gone. Twenty-four hours and it was one
+hundred miles away, and Robert Walden of Rumford with bullet-pouch,
+powder-horn, and musket was on his way, as were Colonel John Stark,
+Captain Daniel Moore of Derryfield, and hundreds of others in New
+Hampshire, Israel Putnam, Thomas Knowlton of Connecticut, and their
+fellow-citizens, all animated by one thought,--to resist the armed
+aggressions of the myrmidons of the king. There was a brave heart
+behind Rachel's quivering lips when she pressed them to Robert's.
+
+"Roger is sure to be there. Tell him I think of him every night before
+I go to sleep." Little did they know that he was being borne to his
+last resting-place on the banks of the winding river.
+
+Robert was glad to learn when he reached Medford that John Stark was
+to be colonel of the New Hampshire troops.
+
+Tom Brandon was working day and night to help people obtain passes
+from General Gage and leave the town. More than five thousand closed
+their houses and took their departure.[66] The governor would not
+allow any one to take their guns or swords, or anything which would
+in any way contribute to the success of the provincials.
+
+[Footnote 66: For a week after the affair at Lexington and Concord,
+Governor Gage refused the request of the people to leave the town, but
+the growing scarcity of provisions compelled him to permit their
+departure.]
+
+The soldiers from Rumford, having unbounded confidence in Robert
+Walden, elected him lieutenant. When General Artemus Ward, commanding
+the troops at Cambridge, asked Colonel Stark if he had a trustworthy
+young man whom he could recommend to execute an important order,
+Lieutenant Walden was selected and directed to report at general
+headquarters. He was kindly received and informed he was to negotiate
+with the British for an exchange of prisoners.
+
+Mounted upon his horse, Lieutenant Walden rode to Charlestown Neck,
+and from thence to the top of Bunker Hill to obtain a view of Boston
+and the harbor. He saw the warships were swinging at anchor in the
+stream. Across the river were the silent streets of the besieged town.
+He could distinguish the home of Captain Brandon, and the Green Dragon
+Tavern,--its doors closed. It was not these buildings, however, that
+most interested him, but a mansion on the slope of Beacon Hill, with
+its surrounding grounds,--the Newville home. The window of Miss
+Newville's chamber was open, the curtain drawn aside. His spy-glass
+made it seem very near. How would she greet him were they to meet
+again? Would she be changed by the changing circumstances? Would she,
+daughter of a loyalist, deign to notice him, a rebel? Blessed vision!
+A figure in white appeared at the window. It was she for whom he could
+lay down his life, if need be. Oh, if he could but reach out his hand
+to her,--hear once more the voice that had thrilled him in the past!
+She stood by the window, looking upon the flowers blooming in the
+garden. The vision was but for a moment, for the window was soon
+closed and the curtain drawn. He descended the hill, rode through the
+village to the ferry landing, displaying a white flag. It was answered
+by the waving of another on the deck of the Lively warship. Then a
+boat brought a lieutenant of the fleet to the shore.
+
+"Who are you and what do you want?" the curt question of the
+Britisher.
+
+"I am commissioned by the commander-in-chief of the provincial army to
+ask if it will be agreeable to General Gage to make an exchange of
+prisoners?"
+
+"The rebel army, you mean."
+
+"I said provincial, but if it suits you any better to think of the
+Americans as rebels, I will not object. We are rebels against tyranny
+and oppression, as I trust we always shall be. We have several
+officers of the king's troops in our hands, and you have some of our
+men. If an exchange is desired by General Gage, I am empowered to
+arrange the details," Robert said with calm dignity.
+
+The Britisher bowed, and the boat pulled back to the ship, returning
+again after a time with an officer commissioned to make arrangements
+for the transfer.
+
+The sun was nearing the hour of noon, three days later, when
+Lieutenant Walden, accompanied by General Putnam, Doctor Warren, and a
+detail of soldiers, conducted the British officers and men to the
+ferry landing, meeting Major Moncrief and other British officers, with
+the provincial prisoners in their keeping. The British soldiers, with
+tears upon their faces, thanked Doctor Warren for the kind treatment
+they had received. The Americans had no thanks to give for what they
+had received on the strawless floor of the jail, the prison fare for
+food. Lieutenant Walden had engaged a dinner in the tavern. The
+landlord set forth his choicest wine. Putnam and Moncrief, being old
+acquaintances, chatted of the days at Ticonderoga while partaking of
+the viands and quaffing glasses of madeira.
+
+"While the white flag is waving we will not let our differences mar
+the pleasure of the hour," said Doctor Warren, who delighted the
+company with his wit. Dinner over, there was a shaking of hands,
+expressions of personal good-will, and courteous salutes. With the
+furling of the white flag they were enemies once more.
+
+Ships were arriving from England bringing General William Howe,
+General Henry Clinton, and General John Burgoyne, with several
+thousand troops to carry on the war. Every morning Miss Newville heard
+the drums beating the reveille and in the evening the tattoo. Many
+officers called at the hospitable home of Honorable Theodore Newville
+to enjoy the society of his charming daughter, who received them with
+grace and dignity.
+
+With no fresh provisions in the market, the dinners given by Mr.
+Newville to the generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne was not so
+elaborate as that to Lord Upperton, but more appetizing than those on
+shipboard while crossing the Atlantic. It was a pleasure to General
+Howe to escort Miss Newville to the dining-room, sit by her side, and
+listen to a voice that charmed him by its purity and sweetness. A
+lady so highly endowed, and with such grace of manner, would adorn any
+home,--even the drawing-room of her majesty the queen.
+
+The home of Mrs. Martha Duncan, with its shrubbery and garden neatly
+kept, was selected by General Howe as a residence. He hoped it would
+not greatly inconvenience her; he would gladly remunerate her for any
+trouble he might make. It would be a pleasure to have her for a
+hostess. His own servant would attend to his personal wants.
+
+"Of course, mother," said Abraham, "we cannot prevent him from taking
+possession of our home; we may as well make the best of it, accept the
+inevitable, and spoil the Egyptians if we can. He seems to be a
+gentleman, a man of honor, and will, doubtless, pay us well. Besides,
+possibly we may learn something that can be turned to good account, if
+we keep our eyes and ears open, and our wits about us."
+
+"It will be only a plain table, my lord, I can provide. Since the
+provincials have closed around us, the market has been bare of
+provisions," said Mrs. Duncan.
+
+"I am aware of it, madam, but I doubt not you will be able to furnish
+appetizing food, possibly a joint of roast mutton from the flocks of
+sheep accessible to us on the islands in the harbor, a fresh mackerel
+or cod. We are not yet shut in from the sea, and possibly we may soon
+have free access to the surrounding country, for I hear there is much
+discontent among the provincials, and their numbers are rapidly
+melting away, now that the first excitement is over," responded Lord
+Howe.
+
+"Possibly I may be able to provide early vegetables,--lettuce,
+dandelions, greens, asparagus, and water-cresses, my lord, if you will
+allow my negro servant, Cato, to pass the patrol to Charlestown," said
+Mrs. Duncan.
+
+"I will give him such permission," he replied, writing a pass,
+directing the sentinels along the wharves, and the marine patrol in
+the harbor, to pass the negro servant, Cato.
+
+Not only Cato, but Mrs. Duncan and her son, Abraham, ship-carver and
+artist, were attentive to the wants of General Howe, receiving shining
+guineas in return. It was a pleasure to the British commander, just
+arrived from England, to talk with a young gentleman so well informed
+and of such attainments as the son of his hostess.
+
+"I dare say, Mr. Duncan, you are quite well acquainted with the
+country around Boston?" said his lordship.
+
+"I have been up the Charles and Mystic by boat many times, my lord,
+and visited Cambridge to enjoy the festivities of Class Day, and the
+orations of graduates at Commencement. I have rambled the Roxbury
+fields and pastures for strawberries, and am pretty well acquainted
+with the various localities."
+
+General Howe spread out a map and asked many questions in regard to
+the surrounding hills, valleys, woods, and cleared lands. He was
+surprised to see how well Mr. Duncan could sketch them in with his
+pencil upon the map which Ensign De Berniere had drawn. Lord Howe
+introduced him to Generals Pigot and Clinton, who were pleased with
+the intelligent replies to their questions.
+
+There came a day in June when Abraham heard General Howe say to the
+other commanders that the Charlestown Hills ought to be occupied at
+once, for fear the rebels might seize them. Were they to do so, Boston
+might be bombarded, and the ships driven from their anchorage.
+
+"Doctor Warren and General Ward ought to know that," Abraham said to
+himself.
+
+There were only a few words in the letter which Abraham Duncan tucked
+under the cuff of Cato's coat-sleeve the next morning, when he stepped
+into his boat to cross the river and gather young asparagus and
+water-cresses for General Howe's dinner. Cato was directed to hand the
+slip of paper to Deacon Larkin's negro, Jim, who would know what to do
+with it.
+
+Faithful and true to their kind-hearted masters were Cato and Jim,
+passing the letter from hand to hand, till it reached Doctor Joseph
+Warren in consultation with General Artemus Ward and the committee of
+safety in Cambridge.
+
+"Bunker's Hill is to be occupied at once."[67]
+
+[Footnote 67: The two eminences in Charlestown were named Breed's and
+Bunker's Hill respectively,--that upon which the redoubt was
+constructed was Breed's Hill; the rail fence behind which the troops
+from New Hampshire fought was on the slope of Bunker's Hill.]
+
+That was all, except an ink blot.
+
+"It is authentic,--from a trustworthy Son of Liberty," said Doctor
+Warren.
+
+"It has no signature," said General Ward.
+
+"Therefore is not treasonable. Besides, it does not state who is to
+occupy Bunker's Hill,--the British or ourselves," the doctor replied.
+
+"How do you know it is genuine--from the writing?"
+
+"No; the hand is disguised. Nevertheless, I know the writer. He
+informs me that the British intend to take possession of Charlestown
+Heights."[68]
+
+[Footnote 68: General Gage at the outset saw the value of Charlestown
+Heights from the military standpoint, but was not able to make any
+movement to take possession of the ground till the arrival of his
+reinforcements.]
+
+"Are you sure it is authentic information?"
+
+"I have no doubt of it. The writer is in position to learn what they
+intend to do. He is a very quiet man, but has his eyes and ears open.
+It is not the first time he has shown his devotion to our cause. You
+say he has not signed it; true he has not written his name, not even
+the initials, yet his signature is upon the sheet,--the insignificant
+ink-blot. It would not be accepted as testimony in a court-martial,
+but it is sufficient for me," said Doctor Warren.
+
+With the letter came a copy of a proclamation issued by General Gage.
+No longer were the selectmen of any towns in the Province of
+Massachusetts to have anything to say. Martial law was to supersede
+civil authority. The provincial soldiers were rebels and traitors who
+must lay down their arms at once and go home, if they would hope for
+pardon; but there was no pardon for Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who
+must pay the extreme penalty of the law for inciting the people to
+rebel against their kind and lenient king.
+
+"We ask no favor of King George; he began the war, we will end it,"
+said the soldiers as they read the proclamation.
+
+
+
+
+XIX.
+
+BUNKER HILL.
+
+
+If the British regarded Charlestown Heights of such importance, why
+should not the provincials seize them? It must be done. Twilight was
+still lingering on the western horizon when the troops selected for
+the expedition paraded on Cambridge Common. Colonel William Prescott
+was to command them. He had fought at Louisburg, and was cool and
+brave. With uncovered heads the regiments stood in front of the
+meetinghouse while Reverend Mr. Langdon, president of the college,
+offered prayer. Lieutenant Walden, having been upon Bunker Hill, led
+the way, followed by soldiers from Connecticut and Massachusetts, and
+two carts loaded with picks and shovels. They marched in silence.
+Lieutenant Walden conducted them across the Neck and up the slope of
+the Hill. It was nearly midnight before it was decided just where
+Colonel Gridley should mark out the contemplated fortifications.[69]
+Lieutenant Walden conducted Captain Nutting and ten sentinels to the
+ferry landing. They were but a little distance from the frigate
+Somerset at anchor in the stream. Farther up, towards Lechmere's
+Point, were the Glasgow, Cerberus, and Symetry. Down the river, off
+Moulton's Point, lay the Lively and Falcon.
+
+[Footnote 69: The orders to Prescott contained no definite
+instructions in regard to which of the hills should be fortified, and
+the veteran engineer, Gridley, doubted whether it would be best to
+begin the works on the highest eminence or the lower one, nearer the
+shipping. It seems probable his intention was to construct works on
+both hills, but a lack of picks and shovels compelled him to confine
+his work to the single redoubt on Breed's Hill.]
+
+Leaving the sentinels to guard the shore, he rode to the summit of the
+hill, where the men were hard at work, delving in silence with pick
+and spade. There were not sufficient implements for all, but when one
+was out of breath, another took his place, and before the first
+glimmer of dawn appeared, the trench had been made breast deep.
+
+"Four o'clock and all's well!" came from the sentinel on the Somerset,
+but a moment later a sheet of flame and a white cloud burst from the
+side of the Lively, and the roar of a gun broke the stillness of the
+morning.
+
+The thunder rolled far away, arousing the British army, the people of
+Boston, General Gage, and Lord Howe from their slumbers. Berinthia
+Brandon, from her chamber window, beheld the warship Lively shrouded
+in smoke. Upon the green hill, where, the day before, the farmers had
+been swinging their scythes, and where the partially cured hay was
+lying in windrows, she could see a bank of yellow earth. Again the
+thunder of the guns jarred her window, but at a signal from the
+Somerset the firing ceased.
+
+Before sunrise all Boston was astir, moving towards Copp's Hill,
+gazing from windows and roofs upon the growing fortifications.
+Generals Gage and Howe ascended the steeple of Christ Church and
+looked at the embankment with their telescopes.[70] A little later
+officers were hurrying along the streets with orders to the several
+regiments to be ready to march at a moment's notice. Drums were
+beating; battalions moving towards Long Wharf, the selected
+rendezvous, from whence the troops were to be transported in boats to
+Moulton's Point, ascend the hill, and send the provincials flying from
+their chosen position.
+
+[Footnote 70: The headquarters of General Gage were in the house of
+Mr. Galloup, on Hull Street, a stone's-throw from Christ Church. The
+house, a two-story wooden building with a gambrel roof, is still
+standing (1895).]
+
+Such was the information brought to the Brandon home by Abraham
+Duncan.
+
+"You will have a splendid chance to see the battle from the housetop,"
+he said to Captain Brandon.
+
+Cannon carriages were rumbling through the street, passing the Brandon
+home, wheeling into the burial ground, and coming into position. The
+gunners loaded the pieces and lighted their port fires, waved their
+lint-stocks, and touched them to the priming. Flames and smoke belched
+from the muzzle of the guns with deafening roar, sending the missiles
+upon the fortification.
+
+While the cannoneers were reloading the guns, Berinthia, upon the
+housetop with a telescope, saw a man leap up from the intrenchment and
+stand in full view upon the bank of earth, swinging his hat and
+shaking his fist.
+
+"Oh father! mother! it is Tom! He's swinging his hat! Just see him!"
+she cried.
+
+Again the cannon flamed, but with the flashing Tom leaped back into
+the trench and was safe from the shot.
+
+"I'm glad he's there. He's got the true stuff in him," said Mr.
+Brandon.
+
+"I'm afraid he'll be killed!" exclaimed Mrs. Brandon, manifesting the
+mother's solicitude and love.
+
+"I glory in his pluck," said Berinthia.
+
+People came from other sections of the town to behold the impending
+battle.
+
+"May we presume to trespass upon your hospitality, Captain Brandon,"
+asked Mr. Newville, "and, if you have room, see this approaching
+contest from your housetop?"
+
+"Certainly. We give you and your family hearty welcome. We doubtless
+shall see it from different political standpoints; you are truly loyal
+to the king; my sympathies, as you know, are with the provincials, but
+that shall not diminish our personal friendship or my hospitality,"
+Captain Brandon replied, escorting Mr. and Mrs. Newville and Miss
+Newville to the top of the house and providing them seats.
+
+The forenoon wore away; Mrs. Brandon was busy preparing a lunch, and
+Chloe soon had the table elaborately supplied with ham, tongue, the
+whitest bread, appetizing cheese, doughnuts, and crumpets. The company
+partook of the collation, drank each a glass of wine, and then
+ascended to the roof again.
+
+Berinthia informed Ruth that Tom was in the redoubt. She had seen him
+through the telescope, standing on the embankment and waving his hat.
+
+Lieutenant Robert Walden, at the moment, was five miles away, in
+Medford town, delivering a message to Colonel John Stark to hasten
+with his regiment to Bunker Hill.
+
+The meetinghouse bell was ringing the hour of noon when the drummer
+beat the long roll for the parading of the regiment. The men filed
+past the quarter-master's tent and each received a gill of powder in
+his horn. And then with quickened step they crossed the Mystic and
+hastened along the road.
+
+With the shot from the Symetry screeching around them, tossing the
+gravel in their faces, the men from New Hampshire crossed the neck of
+land, ascended the hill, and came into position by a low stone wall
+surmounted by rails. Lieutenant Walden's company was nearest the
+Mystic River. Captain Daniel Moore's came next in line. The regiment
+with Colonel Reed's New Hampshire regiment extended to the foot of the
+hill, in the direction of the redoubt.
+
+"You will inform Colonel Prescott that I have arrived with my regiment
+and am in position," said Colonel Stark.
+
+Riding towards the redoubt, Robert saluted General Putnam, who,
+mounted on a white horse, was going along the lines, telling the men
+to keep cool, save their powder, and aim at the cross-belts of the
+British.
+
+It was a pleasure once more to meet Doctor Warren, who had been
+appointed general, but who had come as a volunteer to take part in the
+battle.
+
+Colonel Prescott thanked Lieutenant Walden for the information sent by
+Colonel Stark. He did not doubt the men from New Hampshire would be as
+true as they were in the battles of Louisburg and Ticonderoga.[71]
+
+[Footnote 71: There is no evidence that Colonel Stark was directed to
+report to Colonel Prescott or any one else; neither is there any
+evidence to show that Putnam was in command. We only know that
+Prescott was directed to occupy Charlestown Heights. Later in the war
+Putnam, by virtue of his rank, would have been in command, or possibly
+Warren, but Warren was there only as a volunteer, having been
+appointed general the day before the battle. It seems probable that no
+one exercised supreme command, but Prescott, Putnam, Stark, and Reed
+acted individually with their separate commands, as the exigencies of
+the moment demanded.]
+
+Dismounting from his horse and giving it in charge of a soldier,
+Lieutenant Walden walked along the trench, looked over the embankment
+upon the British troops landing at Moulton's Point and forming in two
+columns, one of which, he concluded, was intending to march along the
+Mystic to gain the rear of the redoubt and cut off the retreat of
+those within it. If such were the contemplated movement it would be
+mainly against the regiments of Stark and Reed. The other body of
+troops seemed to be forming to advance directly upon the redoubt.
+
+While he was thus gazing, a hand clasped his arm; turning, he beheld
+Tom Brandon.
+
+"I've been wondering if you wouldn't be round here somewhere," said
+Tom.
+
+"And I have been wondering where you would be," Robert replied.
+
+"And so you are a lieutenant?" queried Tom, looking at the epaulet on
+his shoulder. "I congratulate you.
+
+"The whole family are on the roof to see the battle," he continued.
+
+"Perhaps you can bring them a little nearer with my telescope," said
+Robert, handing him the instrument.
+
+Tom rested it on the embankment and looked towards the house.
+
+"There's a crowd of 'em on the roof," he said, "father, mother, and
+Berinthia. There's a man with a white wig,--Mr. Newville, I guess; and
+there's a girl talking with Berinthia--Ruth Newville."
+
+With quickened pulse Robert adjusted the glass to his vision. Others
+than those mentioned by Tom were upon the roof, but one figure alone
+engaged his attention. Oh, if he could but know how she regarded the
+impending battle! Possibly since the events on Lexington Green and at
+Concord bridge her sympathies had been with the king. No, he could not
+think it. The instincts of one so noble, good, and large-hearted must
+ever be opposed to tyranny and oppression. Whether favoring or
+opposing the course of the Colonies, what matter to him? What
+probability of their ever meeting again? If meeting, would she ever be
+other than an old acquaintance? Never had he opened his heart to her;
+never by word or deed informed her that she was all the world to him.
+To her he would be only a friend of other days.
+
+He could see a tall man in a general's uniform walking along the
+British lines. He halted, took off his cocked hat, stood erect, and
+said something to the soldiers. He concluded it was General Howe,
+telling them they were a noble body of men, and he did not doubt they
+would show themselves valiant soldiers. He should not ask them to go
+any farther than he himself was willing to go. Robert and Tom could
+hear the cheer which the soldiers gave him.
+
+The columns began to march,--that commanded by General Howe along the
+bank of the Mystic; that by General Pigot straight up the hill
+towards the redoubt.
+
+Robert ran to the spot where he had left his horse, but it was not
+there. He hastened down the slope, past the Connecticut troops under
+Colonel Knowlton, and reported to Colonel Stark, who was directing his
+soldiers to take up a rail fence in front of his line and reset it by
+the low stone wall, and fill the space between the fences with hay
+from the windrows.
+
+"It will serve as a screen," he said.
+
+Stepping in front a short distance, he drove a stake in the ground.
+
+"Don't fire till the redcoats are up to it," was his order.
+
+The sun was shining from a cloudless sky. They upon the roof of the
+Brandon home saw the scarlet columns of the British moving along the
+Mystic and towards the redoubt, the sunlight gleaming from their
+muskets and bayonets, the flags waving above them, the men keeping
+step to the drumbeat; the great guns of the fleet and those on Copp's
+Hill flaming and thundering; white powder-clouds floating away and
+dissolving in thin air. They saw puffs of smoke burst from the heads
+of the advancing columns and heard the rattle of muskets. Cannon-shot
+plowed the ground and tossed up the gravel around the redoubt. Only
+the six cannon of the provincials were replying. Nearer moved the
+scarlet line. Again a rattling volley, with no answering musket shot
+from fence or embankment. What the meaning of such silence? Suddenly a
+line of light streamed from the river to the foot of the hill, and
+like the lightning's flash ran along the embankment and round the
+redoubt. A rattle and roar like the waves of the sea upon a rocky
+shore came to their ears across the shining waters. Men were reeling
+to the ground, whole ranks going down before the pitiless storm. The
+front ranks had melted away. For a few moments there was a rattling
+like scattered raindrops, and then another lightning flash, and the
+British were fleeing in confusion.
+
+Mr. Newville clenched his hands.
+
+"I fear the king's troops are discomfited," he said.
+
+Mrs. Newville with a long-drawn sigh covered her face with her
+handkerchief as if to shut out the unwelcome spectacle.
+
+"The redcoats are beaten!" Berinthia exclaimed.
+
+"It is too soon to say that, daughter. The battle is not yet over; the
+king's troops would be cowardly were they to give up with only one
+attempt."
+
+Like a statue, her hands tightly grasping the balustrade, her bosom
+heaving with suppressed emotion, Ruth gazed upon the spectacle,
+uttering no exclamation. Taking the telescope, she turned it upon the
+scene, beholding the prostrate forms dotting the newly mown fields. It
+was not difficult to distinguish Lord Howe, the centre of a group of
+officers. He was evidently issuing orders to re-form the broken lines.
+Colonels, majors, and captains were rallying the disheartened men. In
+the intervals of the cannonade from the fleet a confused hum of voices
+could be heard, officers shouting their orders. Beyond the prostrate
+forms, behind the low stone wall and screen of hay were the
+provincials, biding their time. Officers were walking to and fro,--one
+middle-aged, with a colonel's epaulets, evidently commanding the
+troops nearest the Mystic River. A subordinate officer of manly form
+was receiving orders and transmitting them to others. Where had she
+seen one like him? Long she gazed with unwonted bloom upon her cheeks.
+
+Again the scarlet lines advanced,--the foremost platoons halting,
+firing, filing right and left, that those in the rear might reach the
+front. Unmindful of the bullets pattering around him, the young
+officer walked composedly along the provincial line, from which came
+no answering shot. Seemingly he was telling the men to wait. Suddenly,
+as before, the screen of hay became a sheet of flame, and the scarlet
+ranks again dissolved like a straw in a candle's flame, whole ranks
+reeling and falling, or fleeing to the place of landing.
+
+Mr. Newville groaned aloud. Again Mrs. Newville covered her face.
+Captain Brandon, Mrs. Brandon, and Berinthia, out of respect to their
+guests, gave no sign of exultation; but from windows, roofs, doorways,
+and steeples, like the voice of many waters, came the joyful murmur of
+the multitude, revealing to General Gage, up in the tower of Christ
+Church, the sympathy of the people with the provincials.
+
+No exclamation of satisfaction or disappointment fell from the lips of
+Ruth, still looking with the telescope towards the provincial line by
+the Mystic, and the manly figure of the officer receiving instructions
+from his superior.
+
+There was a commotion among the troops in the burial ground before
+them.
+
+"Fall in! Fall in!" General Clinton shouted. They hastily formed in
+column and marched down the steep descent to the ferry landing. From
+the tower of Christ Church, together with General Gage, Clinton had
+seen the discomfiture of Lord Howe and General Pigot, and, with three
+hundred men, was hastening to reinforce them, stepping into boats and
+crossing the river.
+
+The people on the housetops needed no telescopes to see what was going
+on across the stream. Slowly the lines re-formed, the men reluctantly
+taking their places. They who had fought at Ticonderoga, who had won
+the victory on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec, never had faced so
+pitiless a storm.
+
+"It is downright murder," said the men.
+
+They upon the housetops could see the British officers flourishing
+their swords, gesticulating, and even striking the disheartened
+soldiers, compelling them to stand once more in the ranks. Twice they
+had advanced, encumbered with their knapsacks, in accordance with
+strict military rule; now they were laying them aside. There were
+fewer men in the ranks than at the beginning of the battle, but the
+honor of England was at stake. The rabble of undisciplined country
+bumpkins must be driven from their position, or the troops of England
+would be forever disgraced. General Howe had learned wisdom. He had
+thought to sweep aside the line of provincials behind the low stone
+wall, gain the rear, cut off the retreat of those in the redoubt,
+capture them, and win a notable victory. He had not expected such
+resistance, such a destructive fire as had greeted the light infantry
+along the banks of the stream. In the two attempts, he had discovered
+the weak place in the provincial line,--the space between the redoubt
+and the low stone wall. In planning the third movement, he resolved to
+make a feint of advancing once more towards the wall, but would
+concentrate his attack upon the redoubt, and especially upon that
+portion of the line least defended.
+
+The summer sun, shining from a cloudless sky, was declining towards
+the western horizon. It was past four o'clock before the lines were
+ready. Once more the guns of the fleet hurled solid shot and shells
+upon the redoubt. Captain Brandon, looking from his housetop down upon
+the guns almost beneath him, saw a gunner ramming an inflammable shell
+into the cannon. The shell, with smoking torch, screamed across the
+river, aimed not at the bank of yellow earth on Bunker Hill, but at
+the houses in Charlestown.
+
+"They intend to burn the village," he said.
+
+Soon flames were bursting from window, doorway, and roof. The wind,
+blowing from the south, carried sparks and cinders to the adjoining
+houses, glowing in the summer heat. A wail of horror from the people
+rent the air.
+
+"That is mean, cruel, wicked, dastardly!" exclaimed Ruth, with
+flashing eyes. "It's inhuman. I shall hate the man who has ordered
+it."[72]
+
+[Footnote 72: The only defense of the British for the destruction of
+Charlestown is the assertion that the advancing troops were fired upon
+by provincials secreted in one of the houses on the outskirts of the
+town.]
+
+Through the previous stages of the conflict no word of approval or
+disapproval had escaped her lips.
+
+"Ruth! Ruth! Don't say that!" Mr. Newville cried, astonished by such
+an outburst of indignation.
+
+"If General Gage were here I would say it to his face. What have those
+people done that their homes should be destroyed? They are not
+fighting the battle. Does he think that by burning the town he will
+frighten those men in the redoubt into submission? Were I one of them,
+I would die before I would surrender."
+
+Her eyes were flashing. In her earnestness she had removed her hat.
+The gentle breeze was fanning her heated brow. She stood erect, a
+queen in her dignity and beauty. Never had Mr. and Mrs. Newville
+dreamed that there was such pent-up fire in her soul, such energy,
+fearlessness, and instinctive comprehension of justice and right.
+Captain and Mrs. Brandon, Berinthia, and all around gazed upon her
+wonderingly and with admiration.
+
+The fire was sweeping on,--leaping from building to building, licking
+up houses, stables, and workshop, reaching the meetinghouse, kindling
+the shingles on its roof, the clapboards upon its walls, bursting from
+doors and windows, climbing the spire to the gilded vane, burning till
+beams and timbers gave way; then came the crash,--a single stroke of
+the bell tolling as it were a requiem.
+
+Under the cloud from the burning town the scarlet lines once more
+advanced,--not towards the screen of hay, but in the direction of the
+redoubt. With the glass Ruth saw the manly figure she had seen before,
+seemingly receiving instructions from his superior officer, and
+running towards the threatened point of attack. The scarlet lines
+were mounting the breastwork. Men were firing in each other's faces;
+thrusting with the bayonet. She could see a stalwart provincial in his
+shirt-sleeves beat out the brains of a Britisher with the butt of his
+musket, and the next moment go down with a bayonet through his heart.
+The manly figure was in the thick of the melee,--a half dozen redcoats
+rushing upon him. His sword was flashing in the sunlight as he parried
+their bayonets, keeping them at bay. Guns flashed, and the white
+powder-cloud shut out the scene. When it cleared, he had gone down,
+and the redcoats were swinging their hats. Their shout of victory came
+across the waters. Those around saw Ruth clasp her hand upon her
+heart.
+
+"They are beaten, and he is shot!" she cried, sinking into Berinthia's
+arms.
+
+"Who's shot?" her mother asked. There was no answer from the quivering
+lips.
+
+"The excitement is too much for her," said Mrs. Newville, as they bore
+her to Berinthia's chamber.
+
+
+
+
+XX.
+
+WHEN THE TIDE WAS GOING OUT.
+
+
+Tom Brandon, lying upon the green grass where the provincials had
+halted after the retreat, recalled the events of the day with his
+fellow soldiers, especially the last struggle. He had fired away his
+powder, as had many others. He had no bayonet, and could only defend
+himself with the butt of his gun. He remembered how bravely Doctor
+Warren behaved, telling the men to keep cool; how he took bandages
+from his pockets, and bound up the wounds of those disabled at the
+beginning; how a Britisher shot him down and stabbed him with a
+bayonet. As for himself, he hardly knew what he did, except to fight
+till almost the last of his comrades left the redoubt, when he leaped
+over the breastwork, and walked towards the British, approaching the
+western side as if to give himself up, then turned and ran as fast as
+he could, with the bullets whizzing past him.[73] He wondered if
+Lieutenant Walden had escaped unharmed. He walked a little way to
+Colonel Stark's regiment to inquire.
+
+[Footnote 73: The experience of Tom Brandon was that of Eliakim Walker
+of Tewksbury, Mass., as narrated by him to the author:--
+
+"I had fired away nearly all my powder before the last attack. I fired
+and was reloading my gun, when I heard a hurrah behind me. I looked
+round and saw the redcoats leaping over the breastwork. I saw a man
+beat out the brains of a Britisher with the butt of his gun; the next
+moment they stabbed him. Seeing I couldn't get out that way, I jumped
+over the breastwork and ran towards Pigot's men, a rod or two, then
+turned and ran as fast as I could the other way. The bullets whizzed
+past me, or struck the ground around me. I reached a rail fence, and
+pitched over it. A bullet struck a rail at the moment. I fell on the
+other side, laid still till I got my breath, then up and legged it
+again, and got away."]
+
+"I fear," said Captain Daniel Moore, "that Lieutenant Walden has been
+killed. During the day he took a conspicuous part. He was sent by
+General Ward to summon us from Medford. He carried several messages
+from Colonel Stark to Prescott and Putnam, and was with the men of his
+company at times. He was with us just before the last assault, and
+hastened towards the redoubt a moment before the redcoats swarmed over
+it. I fear the worst, for he was very brave."
+
+The people of Boston never had beheld such a scene as that of the day
+following the battle. The sun shone from a cloudless sky, but its rays
+fell upon the smouldering ruins of once happy homes; upon dying and
+dead soldiers; upon men groaning in agony as they were transported
+across the Charles to houses taken for hospitals. The wounded
+rebels--thirty-six in number--were laid upon the bare floor of the
+jail. They were to be treated as felons, and given prison fare.
+
+Although the genial rays of the sun shone into the spacious apartments
+of the Province House, they gave no comfort to Thomas Gage,
+commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in the Colonies. He was
+chagrined over the outcome of the battle, the losses sustained. His
+own officers were criticising the plan of attack. The soldiers said he
+had slaughtered their comrades. The people were condemning him for
+having burned Charlestown. He was conscious that he had gone down in
+the estimation of those who had given him loyal support. He knew that
+his military reputation had suffered an eclipse. Women were denouncing
+him as cruel and inhuman. The conviction came to General Gage that he
+was shut up in Boston, and that any attempt upon the position of the
+rebels at that point, or upon the hills beyond Charlestown, would
+result in disaster.
+
+It was cheering news to Tom Brandon and all the soldiers of the
+provincial army, a few days later, to learn that Congress, sitting in
+Philadelphia, had selected George Washington of Virginia to command
+them. His coming was evidence that all the Colonies had united to
+resist the aggressions of the king. He fought bravely to drive the
+French from the valley of the Ohio, and saved the army in the battle
+near Fort Du Quesne. General Gage had been with him in that
+engagement, but now they would command opposing armies.
+
+It was a beautiful summer morning, the 3d of July, when the regiments
+in Cambridge and some of the troops from Roxbury assembled on the
+Common at Cambridge to receive General Washington. Tom Brandon saw a
+tall, broad-shouldered man, sitting erect on a white horse, wearing a
+blue uniform trimmed with buff, accompanied by General Putnam, General
+Ward, and a large number of officers, ride out from General Ward's
+headquarters and take position under a great elm-tree.
+
+"Attention, the army!" shouted General Ward.
+
+The officers repeated it, and every soldier stood erect.
+
+"Salute your commander, Major-General George Washington!"
+
+[Illustration: Where Washington assumed Command.]
+
+The soldiers presented arms, the fifes began to play, the drums to
+rattle. General Washington lifted his hat, bowed right and left, drew
+his sword from its scabbard, and rode along the line. The soldiers saw
+dignity, decision, and energy, yet calmness, in all his movements.
+They knew he had a great plantation on the bank of the Potomac River
+in Virginia; that he could live at ease and enjoy life in hunting and
+fishing at his own pleasure, but he had left all at the call of
+Congress to take command of the army. His coming gave them confidence
+and made them more than ever determined to drive the redcoats out of
+Boston. They kept such a strict guard that the British could not
+obtain fresh provisions, neither could the inhabitants of the town. In
+the home of Captain Brandon, the only meat to be had was the salt pork
+and beef in the cellar, or the flounders caught by Mark Antony,
+fishing from the wharves.
+
+Even General Gage could have no great variety of food. In contrast to
+this, Tom Brandon and his fellow soldiers were living luxuriously,
+having fresh beef three times a week, with flour, peas, beans, rice,
+potatoes, onions, cabbages, turnips, beets, spruce beer, and grog, and
+plenty of tobacco.
+
+Tom took his turn standing guard, and found pleasure in chaffing the
+lobsters on picket, telling them what he had for dinner. A thought
+came to him,--to write a letter and hire a redcoat to take it to his
+father. He wrote about the battle; how he saw the family on the roof
+of the house, from the redoubt, just before it began; how he escaped;
+how Robert Walden went down in the thick of the fight and probably had
+been buried with the others somewhere on Bunker Hill. The Britisher
+gladly agreed to take the letter to Copp's Hill for the plug of
+tobacco which Tom gave him.
+
+Mark Antony, the following afternoon, wondered what the soldier who
+was rattling the knocker on the front door might want.
+
+"Here's a letter for your master, Captain Brandon. One of the rebs
+gave it to me. Maybe it's from his son," said the soldier.
+
+"A letter from Massa Tom," shouted the negro, dancing into the
+sitting-room.
+
+Captain Brandon thanked the soldier, and told Mark Antony to mix a
+toddy for him.
+
+It was gratifying to know that Tom was safe, but sad the information
+that Lieutenant Walden was numbered among the killed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The fair brow of Ruth Newville through the summer months had been
+growing whiter day by day.
+
+"I fear she is not well," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"The battle, the burning of Charlestown,--the terrible spectacle was
+too much for her nerves," Mrs. Newville replied.
+
+"Ought we not to call in the doctor?"
+
+"No, she is not sick; you know how sympathetic she is. Don't you
+remember what she said when she saw the town in flames,--even speaking
+disrespectfully of General Gage, and swooning when the king's troops
+won the victory. The burning of so many houses has unstrung her
+nerves. I trust she will soon get over it. Since the battle she has
+spent most of her time in her chamber and has pleaded indisposition
+when gentlemen, especially officers, have called."
+
+"Miss Ruth wants you to come up de stairs to her chamber," said
+Pompey, when Berinthia called at the Newville home to show her the
+letter Tom had written.
+
+"So you have heard from Tom?"
+
+"Yes, and he says that Robert Walden was killed at the very last of
+the battle."
+
+"It is as I said. I saw him go down and their feet trample him in the
+dust!"
+
+"Was it Robert you saw?"
+
+"Yes. With the telescope I had seen him all through the battle,
+walking unharmed where the bullets were flying thickest."
+
+"You did not tell us you saw him."
+
+"No. I did not want to alarm you."
+
+"And you saw him when he was killed?"
+
+"I saw his sword flashing in the sunlight as the men in scarlet closed
+around him. A half dozen were thrusting with their bayonets, and yet
+he kept them at bay till they shot him."
+
+Tears had wet her pillow, but none glistened on her eyelids now.
+Through the sleepless hours she had seen the stars go down beneath the
+western horizon; in like manner something bright and shining had gone
+out of her life. The stars would reappear; but that which had made it
+beautiful to live never would return. The words "I love you" would
+never be spoken by a voice forever silent.
+
+Berinthia kissed the tremulous lips.
+
+"I see it now, Ruth, dear; you loved him."
+
+"Yes, I loved him. He was so noble and true, how could I help it? He
+never said he loved me, and yet I think down deep in his heart he had
+a place for me. I never have confessed it before, not even to myself.
+I say it to you, because I should die if I could not have some one to
+whom I could tell my sorrow. Let it be our secret, ours alone."
+
+Through the sultry days of August the streets were silent, except the
+beating of drums as other regiments arrived, or as soldiers dying from
+wounds or disease were borne to their burial. The distress of the
+people could but increase. The provincials wounded in the battle were
+still held as felons in the jail. They were dying very fast. It was a
+spirited letter which the British commander received from General
+Washington, informing him that unless the prisoners were treated more
+humanely, British prisoners would be dealt with accordingly.[74]
+
+[Footnote 74: Reverend Andrew Eliot, minister of the New North Church,
+remained in Boston. The following is from a letter to Samuel Eliot
+under date of September 6, 1776: "I am at length allowed to visit the
+prisoners. They are only eleven out of thirty." _Proceedings Mass.
+Hist. Soc._ vol. xvi.]
+
+Many times Abraham Duncan asked permission to see the prisoners
+confined in the jail, that he might minister to their needs and do
+something for their comfort and welfare, but as often had he been
+refused by the gruff red-coated sergeant in charge. Once more, after
+learning what General Washington had done, he asked permission,
+received a pass from the provost-marshal, and was admitted. He saw the
+floor was covered with prostrate forms, men with sunken eyes,
+emaciated hands, a few with old quilts beneath them, others upon the
+bare planks. There were festering wounds and cheeks hot with the flush
+of fever. Some of the sufferers gazed upon him wonderingly, others
+heeded not his coming. One, whose uniform was still soiled with the
+dust of the battlefield, lay with closed eyes, minding not his
+presence.
+
+"His wound has about healed, but he is going with fever. He was
+fine-looking when brought here the day after the battle, but he is
+about done for. After to-morrow we shall have one less to exchange
+with Mr. Washington," said the sergeant.
+
+Abraham stooped and parted the matted beard from the fevered lips, and
+laid back the tangled hair from the brow. The eyes wearily opened,
+gazed languidly, then wonderingly.
+
+"Do you know me?"
+
+The words were faintly spoken.
+
+"Know you! What, Robert Walden!"
+
+There was not strength in the arm sufficient to lift the weary hand.
+Abraham grasped it, looked one moment at the closing eyes, and
+hastened from the room. Breathless with running, he reached the
+Brandon home, telling the story.
+
+"We must have him brought here instantly; he must not die there," said
+Mr. Brandon, who accompanied Abraham to the jail, only to find that
+the sergeant in charge could not permit the removal. Sadly they
+returned.
+
+"I must tell Ruth about it," said Berinthia, putting on her bonnet and
+hastening from the house.
+
+Ruth was sitting in her chamber. A strange, yet sweet peace had come
+into her soul. The heart that had struggled so sorely was at rest. She
+was repeating to herself the words spoken by the world's best friend,
+"My peace I leave you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you."
+
+The summer birds were no longer singing; the swallows had gone. The
+melocotoons were no longer upon the trees, neither the early pears and
+ripening apples; the soldiers had plucked them. Her father's face was
+growing grave; her mother's step less elastic. There was sorrow and
+desolation around her, and yet she was happy. She saw Berinthia
+walking up the path.
+
+"Come right up," the cheerful invitation from the chamber window.
+
+"Oh, Ruth, I've something to tell you. He's alive!"
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Robert--a prisoner in the jail."
+
+She told the story; he was still breathing, but dying. Her father had
+been to get him, but no prisoner could be removed without an order
+from General Gage.
+
+"We will go to the Province House," said Ruth quietly, rising and
+putting on her bonnet.
+
+Her calmness, the manifest quiet, the business-like procedure of Ruth,
+amazed Berinthia. They hastened to the governor's home. General Gage
+received them courteously. He was pleased to welcome Miss Newville to
+the Province House, and recalled with pleasure the evening when he had
+the honor to escort her to her father's hospitable table.
+
+"I have a favor to ask," said Ruth, "which I am sure your excellency
+will be pleased to grant. One of your prisoners, Lieutenant Robert
+Walden, in the jail, is a cousin of my friend Miss Brandon. I learn
+that he is far gone with fever and seemingly has not many hours to
+live, and I have come to ask if you will kindly permit his removal to
+her home?"
+
+"Most certainly, my dear Miss Newville; it gives me pleasure to do
+this little office for you and your friend," he replied.
+
+General Gage touched a bell and a sergeant entered the apartment.
+
+"Sergeant, take two men of the guard, with a bier, and accompany these
+ladies to the jail to remove one of the sick prisoners, as they shall
+direct. See to it that the man is gently handled. Here is the order of
+delivery for the officer in charge."
+
+"You are very kind, General, and I thank you not only for Miss
+Brandon, but for myself," said Ruth.
+
+Never before had the people living along Hanover Street seen such a
+spectacle as that a few minutes later,--a sergeant in advance, two
+soldiers bearing a rebel officer, worn and wasted by disease, his life
+ebbing away, and two ladies looking anxiously to see if the flickering
+life would last a little longer.
+
+In Tom's chamber the soiled uniform was removed, the matted hair laid
+back, the parched lips moistened, the unconscious invalid clothed in
+linen white and clean. A doctor came, bowed his ear to Robert's breast
+to catch the beating of the heart, and moistened the parched lips.
+
+"Fever has burned him up. The tide is nearly out. It is only a
+question of a few hours," he said.
+
+Through the night, Ruth, sitting by his bedside, in the calm and
+stillness, heard the clock strike the passing hours. At times she
+heard, through the open windows, the faint ripple of the surf rolling
+in from the restless sea. Soon for him the waves of life would break
+upon a shoreless ocean. It was her hand that fanned him; that wiped
+the death-damp from his forehead; dropped the refreshing cordial on
+his tongue; held the mirror to his nostrils to ascertain if still,
+perchance, he breathed. The tides of the ocean had reached their
+farthest ebb and were setting towards the flood once more, bringing
+sweet and refreshing odors from the ever-heaving sea. The night winds
+were drying the dampness from the marble brow. Day was dawning, its
+amber light flowing along the horizon. The fluttering heart was
+beating more strongly; more deep the breathing.
+
+"Oh, 'Rinthia! He isn't going; he's coming back. God has heard my
+prayer," said Ruth.
+
+The sun was rising, and its rays streaming into the chamber. The
+closed eyes slowly opened and gazed wonderingly. Where was he? What
+the meaning of this flood of light? No longer straggling beams through
+iron-grated windows, no longer the bare floor and earth-polluted
+garments, but linen white and clean. Was it an angel bending over
+him,--whose eyes of love and infinite tenderness looked into his own?
+Was it one of the seraphim that pressed her lips to his, that dropped
+tears upon his cheeks? Were there tears in Heaven? Surely this must be
+Paradise! The eyes closed, the vision faded, but the angel still was
+fanning the fevered cheeks.
+
+As shone the face of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, when he descended
+from the Mount of God, so the countenance of Ruth Newville was
+illuminated by a divine radiance when once more she entered her home.
+During the night she had been transfigured.
+
+"What has happened, daughter?" her father asked.
+
+"Where have you been? what is it?" the exclamation of the mother,
+gazing with wonder and amazement upon the face of her child.
+
+"Sit down, please, and I will tell you. I must go back to the
+beginning. Do you remember a day, six years ago, one September
+afternoon, when I came into the house greatly agitated? and when you
+asked, as you have now, what had happened, I would not make reply?"
+
+"Yes, Ruth, and you have been a mystery to me ever since that
+afternoon," said Mrs. Newville.
+
+"I would not tell you then that I had been insulted by ruffian
+soldiers, that a stranger had rescued me from their clutches, for I
+knew it would trouble you. Who the gentleman was I did not know. I
+only saw he was noble and manly. I thanked him and hastened away.
+Right after that we had our last garden party, to which 'Rinthia
+brought her cousin, Mr. Walden, when I discovered it was he who
+rescued me."
+
+"Mr. Walden!" Mrs. Newville exclaimed.
+
+"A noble young man! I always liked his appearance," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"Why didn't you tell us about it, Ruth, so we could have shown him
+some attention?" Mrs. Newville asked.
+
+"It is not too late to do it now, mother."
+
+She told the story, that he was a lieutenant, a prisoner, wounded,
+hovering between life and death; how she had brought about his removal
+from the jail to the Brandon home, watched over him during the night,
+wondering if the next moment would not be the last; that just before
+sunrise the tide had turned and he was going to live.
+
+"You saving him! Wonderful!" Mrs. Newville exclaimed.
+
+"It is just like you, daughter," said the father, clasping his arms
+around her and kissing her lips.
+
+"I will go and help care for him, even if he is a rebel," said Mrs.
+Newville.
+
+"Ruth, daughter," said the father, when they were alone, "did you keep
+that to yourself because you thought it would trouble us to hear that
+the soldiers of King George were vile ruffians?"
+
+"Yes, father; I knew your loyalty to the king, and I would not disturb
+it. I did not want to pain you. And do you wonder I have hated the
+sight of a redcoat ever since? But, father dear, it was not the
+assault of the villains that led me to sympathize with the
+provincials, as you know I have done, but the conviction that they
+were in the right and the king and his ministers in the wrong. I can
+understand why you and mother do not see the conflict as I see it.
+Your high sense of honor, your oath of allegiance to the king, your
+position as an official, have made you loyal and true to King George,
+and you cannot see the side espoused by the people. This attempt of
+the ministry and king to subdue them by force of arms, by burning
+their houses, by treating them as felons, as they have Robert Walden,
+thrusting them into jail, allowing them to die uncared for, will fail;
+justice and right are on their side. I know it pains you, father dear,
+to have me say this, but I could not, even for the sake of pleasing
+you, be false to myself."
+
+"I would not have you be false to yourself, my child, but always true
+to your convictions, no matter what may happen." He drew her to him
+and tenderly caressed her.
+
+"I see it now, daughter. For a long while I have not been able to
+comprehend you, but it is plain at last."
+
+They sat in silence, her head pillowed on his breast, his arm around
+her.
+
+"Ruth, daughter, I suspect you have not told me all; you need not
+unfold anything you may choose to keep to yourself, but I can
+understand that a very tender feeling may have sprung up between Mr.
+Walden and yourself."
+
+"He never has said that he loved me. You would not have me ask him if
+he does, would you, father dear?" she said playfully, patting his lips
+with her fingers.
+
+"I understand, daughter. Things of the heart are sacred and not to be
+talked about," he replied, kissing her once more and feeling as never
+before the greatness and richness of the treasure he had in her.
+
+"Ah! I see," he said to himself as he paced the room. "It is all
+clear, now, why Lord Upperton and the rest of them have had no
+chance."
+
+
+
+
+XXI.
+
+THE ESCAPE.
+
+
+The October days were bright and clear, but the sun shone upon a home
+invaded by sickness. In the Brandon home, Lieutenant Walden was slowly
+recovering. Mrs. Brandon was an invalid, worn down with care and
+anxiety. Life upon the sea, hardship, and exposure had brought
+rheumatism to the joints of Captain Brandon, who was only able to
+hobble with his cane. One countenance in the home was always bright
+and cheerful; there was ever a smile upon 'Rinthia's face. Abraham
+Duncan was the ever helpful friend, not only ministering to their
+wants but giving information of what was going on,--that General Gage
+had been called to England, and General Howe was to succeed him as
+commander.
+
+"The British soldiers," said Abraham, "are not sorry to have Gage go;
+they are ready to throw up their caps for General Howe, who showed his
+bravery at Bunker Hill, while Gage looked on with his spy-glass from
+the steeple of Christ Church. The soldiers think Gage has been too
+kind-hearted in permitting you to have charge of Lieutenant Walden.
+Rebels are not entitled to mercy."
+
+There came a night in October when the people were awakened by the
+thunder of cannon and the rattle of muskets. In the morning Abraham
+said that a party of Americans came down Charles River in flatboats
+and on rafts, and opened fire upon the troops encamped on the Common.
+Only one or two were injured, but it gave the British a great fright.
+
+The sound of the strife stirred Robert's blood. He wanted to be
+there,--to take part in driving the redcoats into the sea. The thought
+nerved him; but when the uproar died away, he found himself weak, with
+his tongue parched and his blood at fever heat. Would strength ever
+come? Would he ever be able to take part again in the struggle for
+freedom?
+
+Day after day there came one to see him, the sound of whose footsteps
+was more inspiring than the roll of the drums, the touch of whose hand
+gave him strength, whose presence was a benediction. She sat by his
+side and read to him from the poets; told him pleasant stories; laid
+her soft hand upon his brow. When he was a little stronger, she and
+'Rinthia supported his faltering steps up the stairway to the roof of
+the mansion, where he could sit in the sunshine, gaze upon the
+beautiful panorama, inhale the life-giving air from the hills, and the
+odors wafted from the sea. Across the Charles was the line of yellow
+earth behind which he went down in the melee. Upon the higher hill
+were the new and stronger fortifications constructed by the British.
+The fields, where so many of the redcoats were cut down by the fire of
+the New Hampshire men, were dotted with white tents. At the base of
+the hill were the blackened ruins of Charlestown. On Prospect Hill
+were the earthworks of the provincials. He could not discover any
+fortifications on Dorchester Heights, and wondered why either General
+Washington or the British commander had not taken possession of such a
+commanding position. The Americans ought to seize it; for, with cannon
+planted there, they could drive the warships from the harbor. He
+doubted if General Washington knew the value of the position. He was
+able now to go up and down the stairs without assistance; a few more
+days, and he would be strong and vigorous. Then what? He was a
+prisoner, and had not been paroled. If the British were to learn he
+was getting well, would they not be likely to send him on board one of
+the ships and pack him off to Halifax? Even if they did not take such
+a course, how could he remain there doing nothing. Oh, if he could
+only be with the army again! But were he to go, he must say good-by to
+her who had saved his life. Why not remain and enjoy the blessedness
+of her presence? But would she not think him wanting in manliness? On
+the other hand, if he were to make his escape and go back to the army,
+would he not in a sense be lifting his hand against her father and
+mother in his efforts to drive the British from Boston? More than
+that, was it not becoming plain, that were the British to go, the
+Tories must also go? for the bitterness between those who stood for
+the king and those who supported Congress was deepening. Mr. Newville
+sided with the king; he was holding an office under the crown. If the
+British were driven out, he would be compelled to leave, and in all
+probability his estate would be confiscated. If he himself were to
+make his escape to the army, would he ever again behold the face of
+Ruth Newville, ever again see the love beaming from her eyes, or feel
+the touch of her hand? How could he go and leave her with such
+uncertainty before him? And yet, would it not be ignoble to remain? If
+he could get away, was it not his duty to do so? Was not his country
+calling him?
+
+Captain Brandon learned that General Howe had issued a proclamation
+threatening with death any one who might attempt to escape without a
+permit from himself. "More than this," said Mr. Brandon, "he has
+issued another proclamation for us to organize ourselves into
+companies to preserve order. He will furnish us with arms and supply
+us with provisions the same as the troops receive. We are commanded to
+report to Peter Oliver within four days. Being stiff in the joints, I
+shall not comply. Besides, I don't intend to leave such fare as you
+give me, Berinthia, for the salt junk and tainted pork doled out to
+the soldiers."
+
+Once more there was a familiar step in the hall, and Ruth entered the
+room. The rich bloom of other days was once more on her cheeks, the
+old-time smile illumining her countenance. Her quick perception
+detected a mind disturbed. They sat down by the fire. She laid her
+hand in his, and leaned her head upon his shoulder.
+
+"What is it?" she asked, smoothing the troubled brow.
+
+"I have been thinking that I am still a prisoner, liable to be seized
+at any moment and sent far away or put in confinement. What ought I to
+do? Shall I attempt to escape, run the chance of being shot, or
+captured and executed, as threatened by the proclamation? If I make
+the attempt and succeed, possibly we may never meet again," he said
+with faltering voice.
+
+"Never meet again! Why not?"
+
+[Illustration: Planning the Escape.]
+
+"I may be captured and hanged. If I reach the army, I shall do what I
+can to drive the British from Boston. If we do, the probabilities are
+that your father, holding office under the crown, will be obliged to
+leave the Colony: and his daughter"--
+
+He could say no more. His lips were quivering, and tears coursing his
+cheeks. Her hand wiped them away; and her arm pillowed his bowed head.
+
+"You are all the world to me. It is for you to say. Shall I go, or
+shall I stay?" he said.
+
+The words were faintly spoken.
+
+"Go, and God be with you. If it be his will, we shall meet again."
+
+Oh brave heart! The world's redemption rests with such as you!
+
+The busy brain of Berinthia planned the way. The British had seized
+all the boats along the wharves, and sentinels were guarding them, but
+there was an Indian canoe in the loft of the shipyard. Abraham Duncan
+would put it in trim and render all possible assistance.
+
+No tears dimmed Ruth Newville's eyes when she bade him good-by and
+gave him a parting kiss. Not till she was in the seclusion of her own
+chamber were the fountains unsealed. Alone, she gave way to grief, to
+be comforted by her faith in One Unseen.
+
+Many soldiers had deserted, so every night, at sundown, sentinels
+patroled the wharves, and boats manned by sailors and marines kept
+vigilant watch in Charles River and far down the harbor. Robert must
+go to the shipyard before sundown and remain secreted till well into
+the night. The new moon would go down at nine o'clock; the tide then
+would be half flood. What route should he take? Were he to go directly
+up the Charles River to join the army at Cambridge, he must run the
+gauntlet, not only of three or four of the warships, but of the marine
+patrol in the river and the sentinels on both banks. If he were to
+strike eastward toward the Mystic, he would encounter the guard in
+that direction and the warship Scarborough anchored in the channel.
+The route up the Charles was most direct and inviting, though beset
+with greatest danger.
+
+During the day Abraham placed the canoe beneath the wharf of the
+shipyard. Bidding his friends good-by, with an overcoat to protect him
+from the cold, Robert made his way to the shipyard, secreting himself
+in one of the buildings just before the hour for placing the
+sentinels. The young tide was already setting up the bay, and a gentle
+wind blowing from the east, alike favorable for the execution of his
+plan; but with the sea-breeze came the fog, thick and dense, shrouding
+ship and shore. He rejoiced in the thought that it would cover all his
+movements and hide him from observation. But upon reflection there was
+another serious and disquieting aspect; how should he make his way and
+by what objects could he mark out his course? Would he not run upon
+the boats of the marine patrol and be hailed by the sentinels on the
+Boyne, Somerset, and other vessels of the fleet? He must run the
+chances and do the best he could.
+
+The sentinels had been set along the wharves. The soldier guarding the
+shipyard was pacing his beat immediately in front of Robert's
+hiding-place. A thought came; why not seize his musket and have a
+weapon of defense? Noiselessly Robert opened the door: stealthy his
+step; one wrench, and the weapon was his, greatly to the astonishment
+of the surprised and frightened soldier, who saw his own bayonet
+pointed at his breast and heard the click of the gun-lock.
+
+"Don't fire! Don't fire!" stammered the soldier.
+
+"Take off that belt and cartridge box!"
+
+The soldier obeyed the peremptory order.
+
+"About face!"
+
+Accustomed to obey orders, he faced as directed.
+
+"March!"
+
+Again he obeyed, taking the regulation step as if at drill, Robert
+following a short distance, then halting while the soldier continued
+the march. With the musket and cartridge box well filled, Robert
+seated himself in the canoe. He knew the Boyne with seventy guns,
+Preston with fifty, Phoenix, Lively, Scarborough, Empress of Russia,
+and several other smaller vessels of the fleet were anchored at
+different points. He had noted their positions during the day, but in
+the darkness and fog could make no calculations in regard to them. The
+flowing tide would be his only guide. By drifting with it, he would be
+borne to the Cambridge shore of the Charles, to General Washington's
+army, providing he could dodge the ships, floating batteries, and
+picket boats. Using the paddle, he struck out from the wharf, peering
+into the mist, his ears open to catch the faintest sound.
+
+"Boat ahoy!"
+
+The startling shout seemed to come from the sky. Looking up he saw the
+great black hull of the Boyne, recognizing the vessel by her triple
+tier of guns. He was almost beneath the bowsprit.
+
+"Round to under the stern or I'll fire," said the voice.
+
+"Aye, aye, sir!" Robert replied.
+
+While drifting past the ship, so near that he could touch the hull
+with his hands, he was deciding what to do. Reaching the stern, with a
+stroke of the paddle the canoe whirled under it, then shot up the
+other side of the ship into the teeth of the tide, back once more to
+the stern, and while the puzzled sentinels on the deck were wondering
+what had become of the canoe he was disappearing in the fog, the
+success of his strategy giving zest to his enterprise. He had kept his
+bearings as best he could, but was not quite certain of his position,
+as he drifted once more.
+
+"Boat ahoy! Who goes there?"
+
+The challenge came, not from overhead, but from the fog before him. A
+backward stroke arrested his movement. Again the hail and no reply.
+
+"Up with the anchor! Out with your oars!"
+
+Evidently he had drifted upon one of the boats anchored in the
+ferry-way. Paddling away, he suddenly heard the swash of waves, and
+found himself approaching a wharf, but on which side the river he
+could not say.
+
+"Boat ahoy! Halt, or I'll fire," the hail that came to him.
+
+Peering into the mist, he saw the dim outline of a soldier raising his
+musket.
+
+"Hold on. Don't fire. Please point me in the direction of the Boyne,"
+said Robert.
+
+The sentinel lowered his musket as if saying to himself, "This must be
+one of the officers of the frigate who has been on shore having a good
+time."
+
+"The Boyne is right out in that direction," said the sentinel,
+pointing with his musket, "but my orders are not to let any one pass
+along the wharf after ten o'clock without they give the countersign."
+
+"All right; always obey orders. I'll come to the wharf."
+
+Robert could hear the dip of oars in the fog, and knew it must be the
+patrol boat pursuing him. He paddled towards the wharf as if to give
+the countersign, but the next moment shot under it as the other boat
+approached.
+
+"Boat ahoy!" he heard the sentinel shout.
+
+"Ahoy yourself! We are the patrol. Have you seen a canoe?"
+
+"Yes, and the man inquired where the Boyne was lying, and disappeared
+quicker than greased lightning when he heard you coming."
+
+Robert was making his way, the while, amid the piles of the wharf. He
+knew the tide must be near its full flood, for he had to crouch low in
+the canoe, and the barnacles upon the piles were nearly covered with
+the water. He doubted if the patrol could follow him. Should he remain
+secreted? No. They might light a torch and discover him. Noiselessly
+he paddled amid the piles to the farther side of the wharf, and then
+glided from its shelter along the shore, screened from the patrol by
+the projecting timbers, and was once more in the stream. He could no
+longer be guided by the tide or drift with it. The wind had died away.
+It was blowing from the east when he started, but now only by waving
+his hand could he ascertain its direction. Whether it had changed he
+could not know. It was a welcome sound that came to his ears--the
+clock on the Old Brick Meetinghouse striking the hour. He thought of
+Ruth, asleep in her white-curtained chamber so near the bell, and of
+her goodness, her brave heart, that bade him go. The tones came to him
+over his right shoulder, when they ought to be over the left. He must
+be headed in the wrong direction. It was not easy for him to reason it
+out; yet, if he would reach Cambridge, he must turn squarely round. It
+was plain that he had not made much progress. He knew that several
+warships and floating batteries and picket boats must be lying between
+his position and the Americans, but he must go on. Suddenly a dark
+object loomed before him, and a hail as before came from the deck of a
+ship.
+
+"Come alongside, or I'll fire."
+
+What should he do? He saw a blinding flash. A bullet whizzed over his
+head, and the report of the musket awoke the echoes along the shore.
+It was from the stern of the ship. Again, a flash from the bow, and a
+bullet pattered into the water. Suddenly the light of a torch brought
+into full view a marine holding it over the side of the vessel.
+Another marine by his side was reloading his musket. A thought
+came--they had opened fire upon him; why not pay them in the same
+coin. Dropping the paddle, he raised the musket he had wrenched from
+the sentinel. The torch revealed the form of him who held it,--a man
+with weather-beaten features, hard and cold. He was so near that it
+would be easy to send a bullet through his heart. Should he do it? Why
+not? Had he not been down to death's door through brutal treatment
+from the redcoats? Why not take revenge? No, he could not quench life
+forever, bring sorrow, perchance, to some household far away; but he
+would put out that torch. He ran his eye along the gun-barrel, pulled
+the trigger, and sent the bullet through the upraised arm. The torch
+fell into the water, and all was dark.
+
+"We are attacked! Beat to quarters," was the shout on the ship.
+
+He heard the roll of drums. Men leaped from their hammocks. There was
+hurrying of feet, rattling of ropes, and shouting of orders. Again a
+musket flashed and a bullet pierced the canoe, reminding him he was
+near enough to the ship to be seen. A few strokes of the paddle and he
+was beyond their aim. Suddenly he discovered the canoe was filling
+with water through the hole made by the bullet. Several minutes passed
+before he could find it, in the darkness; the canoe gradually sinking
+the while. When found, at last, he thrust in his finger and reflected
+what next to do. It was plain that the leak must be stopped, but how?
+He could not sit with his finger in the hole and drift wherever the
+tide might take him. Removing his finger, he would soon be sinking.
+
+"Ah! I have it," he said to himself. It was but the work of a moment
+to cut a bit of rope from the coil at his feet and thrust it into the
+opening, stopping the leak.
+
+But the canoe was water-logged; how should he get rid of it? To scoop
+out with the paddle would attract attention and bring the whole patrol
+to the spot; there was a better way.
+
+"I'll use my hat for a bucket," he said to himself.
+
+He bailed the canoe and reloaded the musket, drifting the while. Where
+he was he could not determine. Suddenly a musket flashed, high up in
+the air, and a bullet fell into the water by his side. He could see
+the faint outline of topmasts and yard-arms, and the figure of a man
+upon the shrouds. He aimed as best he could and pulled the trigger.
+
+"I'm shot!" were the words that came to him through the mist.
+
+"Give 'em the six-pounder with grape," said a voice, followed by a
+blinding flash, a swish in the water, the roar of a cannon. It had
+been fired at random, and he was unharmed. Once more he used the
+paddle, wondering what next would happen.
+
+What the meaning of that flash in the distance? What that plunge in
+the water not far away? What that deep, heavy roar reverberating along
+the shore? Surely it must be a shot from General Washington's cannon.
+And now all around he heard voices, and boatswains' whistles. Soon the
+great guns of the warships were flashing; shot were plunging into the
+water, and shells bursting in the air.
+
+"I have kicked up a big racket," said Robert to himself as he listened
+to the uproar.
+
+What should he do? The tide was beginning to ebb. Why not go with it
+down the harbor, reach one of the islands, wait till daylight, and
+then shape his course, instead of attempting to pass the pickets
+patrolling the river with everybody on the alert. While the cannon
+were flashing he drifted with the ebbing tide. Another dark object
+suddenly loomed before him, but no hail came from its deck. Plainly
+it was one of the transports. Another, and still no hail. The
+cannonade was dying away; suddenly, bells all around him were
+striking. He must be in the midst of the fleet of transports; it was
+four o'clock, the hour to change the watch. He heard once more the
+bell of the Old Brick,--he could tell it by its pitch. Wind, tide, and
+the meetinghouse bell enabled him to calculate his position: he could
+not be far from the Castle; he resolved to make for Dorchester
+Heights.
+
+Day was breaking and the fog lifting. In the dawning light he shaped
+his course. No patrol challenged him. Through the rising mist he
+discerned the outline of the shore and heard the gentle ripple of
+waves upon the beach. To leave the canoe was like bidding good-by to a
+faithful friend, but with cartridge-box and musket he stepped ashore
+and soon found himself upon the spot which he had scanned with the
+telescope from the Brandon home.
+
+It was plain that he had not miscalculated its value as a military
+position,--that cannon planted there could plunge their balls upon the
+great fleet of transports, or upon a vessel attempting to enter or
+depart from the harbor. He descended the western slope of the hill,
+reached a narrow path leading across the marsh land, and made his way
+to Roxbury, to be warmly welcomed by General Nathanael Greene.
+
+"You must tell General Washington about Dorchester Heights. I am going
+to dine with him to-day, and you must go with me," said General
+Greene, who informed Robert that Lieutenant Robert Walden was supposed
+to have been killed about the same time that Doctor Warren fell.
+
+"But I am here and ready to give an account of myself," Robert
+replied.
+
+It was a pleasure to be in the saddle once more,--to ride with General
+Greene along the works which his troops had constructed. They
+dismounted at the house of Mr. Vassall in Cambridge, where General
+Washington had established his headquarters. The commander-in-chief
+was pleased to welcome him and listen to his story.
+
+[Illustration: Washington's Headquarters.]
+
+"I think, General Washington, that if cannon could be planted there
+the British fleet could be driven from the harbor. It is a high hill
+and very commanding. Troops ascending it would do so in the face of a
+plunging fire from those on the summit. It occurred to me while
+standing there, that if hogsheads were to be filled with stones and
+sent rolling upon an assaulting force, it would be an effective means
+of defense."
+
+"You must dine with me to-day, Lieutenant Walden. I want Colonel Knox,
+who commands the artillery, and who is to be here with his estimable
+wife, to hear what you have to say."
+
+It was a pleasure to meet Colonel Henry Knox and Mrs. Knox.
+
+"We all thought you went down in the melee at Bunker Hill, and yet
+here you are," said Colonel Knox.
+
+"Yes, and ready to do what I can to drive the redcoats into the sea."
+
+Mrs. Knox was delighted to hear from her old-time associate, Berinthia
+Brandon. She said that Tom was giving a good account of himself. There
+were tears in the eyes of all when he told them how Miss Ruth Newville
+had used her influence, she the daughter of a Tory, to save him.
+
+"That is the noblest type of womanhood," said General Washington.
+"Perhaps," he added, "you may wish to visit your parents for a few
+days, but a little later I shall desire you to assist Colonel Knox in
+executing an important trust."
+
+"I am ready to do what I can in any capacity for which I am fitted,"
+Robert replied.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A flag of truce went out from the headquarters; among the letters to
+people in Boston was one directed to Miss Ruth Newville. The
+red-coated officer who inspected the letters read but one word.
+
+"Safe."
+
+To her who received it the one syllable was more than a page of
+foolscap.
+
+
+
+
+XXII.
+
+BRAVE OF HEART.
+
+
+The king's plan to punish Boston because the East India Company's tea
+had been destroyed was not working very satisfactorily. Ten thousand
+troops were cooped up in the town with little to eat. They could
+obtain no fresh provisions. Lord North was sending many ships, and the
+ship-owners were asking high prices for the use of their vessels; for
+the Yankee skippers of Marblehead, Captain Manly and Captain Mugford,
+were darting out from that port in swift-sailing schooners, with long
+eighteen-pounders amidships, and the decks swarming with men who had
+braved the storms of the Atlantic and knew no fear, capturing the
+ships dispatched from England with food and supplies for the army. The
+ministers had paid twenty-two thousand pounds for cabbages, potatoes,
+and turnips; as much more for hay, oats, and beans; half a million
+pounds for flour, beef, and pork. They purchased five thousand oxen,
+fourteen thousand sheep, and thousands of pigs, that the army three
+thousand miles away might have something to eat. There were plenty of
+cattle, sheep, and pigs within fifty miles of Boston, but General Howe
+could not lay his hand on one of them. The winter storms were on, and
+the ships sailing down the Thames or from Bristol Channel had a hard
+time of it before losing sight of the hills of Devon. The people along
+the Cornwall shores beheld the seashore strewn with carcasses of
+cattle, sheep, and pigs, tossed overboard from the decks of foundering
+vessels. The few cattle that survived the six weeks' tossing on the
+sea were but skin and bones when the ships dropped anchor by Castle
+William.
+
+In contrast, Tom Brandon and the soldiers under General Washington had
+plenty of good food. It was a tantalizing handbill which Benjamin Edes
+printed on his press at Watertown.
+
+Tom Brandon, on picket at Charlestown Neck, hailed the Britisher a few
+rods distant.
+
+"How are you, redcoat?"
+
+"How are you, rebel?"
+
+"Say, redcoat, if you won't pop at me, I won't at you."
+
+"Agreed."
+
+"Wouldn't ye like a chaw of tobacco, redcoat?"
+
+"I wouldn't mind."
+
+"All right. Here's a plug with my compliments; 'tain't poisoned. Ye
+needn't be afraid of it," said Tom, tossing it to him.
+
+The Britisher opened the paper and read:--
+
+ _American Army._ _English Army._
+
+ 1. Seven dollars a month. 1. Three pence a day.
+ 2. Fresh provisions in plenty. 2. Rotten salt pork.
+ 3. Health. 3. The scurvy.
+ 4. Freedom, ease, affluence, 4. Slavery, beggary, and want.
+ and a good farm.
+
+Other pickets besides Tom were tossing the handbills to the
+Britishers. Abraham Duncan, going here and there along the streets,
+saw the redcoats reading them, and night after night soldiers
+disappeared, never again to shoulder a musket in the service of the
+king.
+
+Shut up in the town with nothing to do, the troops became lawless,
+breaking into houses and plundering the people. In vain were the
+efforts of General Howe, by severe punishments, to prevent it; giving
+one soldier four hundred lashes on his bare back; another six hundred;
+hanging a third.
+
+Hard times had come to the people of Boston. In the autumn, General
+Howe had issued a proclamation, threatening with execution any one who
+should attempt to steal away from the town without his consent; but
+now he would gladly have them go, only they must obtain permission. He
+could not supply them with food, neither with fuel. He gave the
+soldiers leave to rip the boards from the Old North Meetinghouse, and
+cut its timbers into kindlings. After much hacking they leveled the
+Liberty Tree, not only to obtain the wood, but to manifest their
+hatred of the tree. Not being able to feed the people, he sent three
+hundred and fifty from the town, landing them at Point Shirley, to
+make their way over the marshes to Lynn as best they could. Others
+were directed to go.
+
+"We shall not go. I do not propose to let the redcoats make themselves
+at home in this house," said Berinthia to the sergeant who asked if
+the family would like to leave the town.
+
+"What will you live on? Butcher Thurbal, whom General Howe has
+appointed to take charge of all the cattle, says he has but six left,
+and here it is December, with winter only just begun. You will starve
+before spring," the sergeant replied.
+
+"We have a little flour, and there is a bit of mackerel; a layer of
+pork is still left in the barrel. We will not go till the last
+mouthful of food is gone," Berinthia said resolutely.
+
+The knocker rattled.
+
+"One of Massa Genral Howe's ossifers," said Mark Antony.
+
+A young lieutenant entered; but seeing a fair-faced young lady he
+removed his cap.
+
+"I would like to see the mistress of the house," he said.
+
+"I am mistress. What is it you wish?"
+
+"I come to inform you that Colonel Hardman desires to occupy these
+premises for himself and staff, of which I have the honor to be a
+member. I am directed to inform you that you can have twenty-four
+hours to effect your removal."[75]
+
+[Footnote 75: Under date of September 13, 1776, is the following from
+the letter of Reverend Andrew Eliot to S. Eliot: "Every house is now
+taken as the officers please. General Clinton is in Mr. Hancock's,
+Burgoyne in Mr. Bowdoin's."]
+
+"Colonel Hardman desires to take our house, does he?"
+
+"That is his wish."
+
+"Has he ordered you to take possession of it for him?"
+
+"No, he has directed me to inform you of what he intends to do, that
+you may make preparations at once for your removal."
+
+"You will please say to Colonel Hardman that we cannot accede to his
+wish."
+
+It was said with such firmness and quiet dignity that the lieutenant
+was amazed. He waited to hear some reason why she would not comply
+with the demand. She stood silent before him, composedly looking him
+in the face. Not being able to find words to reply, the lieutenant
+bowed stiffly and departed.
+
+"You haven't got through with Colonel Hardman," said Abraham. "He
+likes the looks of this house, evidently. He is a new officer just
+arrived."
+
+"He will find that an American girl can make some resistance to
+force," Berinthia replied.
+
+Once more the knocker rattled, and the lieutenant entered.
+
+"I believe I have the honor to address Miss Brandon," he said, bowing.
+
+"That is my name."
+
+"I am extremely sorry, Miss Brandon, to be obliged to execute an order
+of this kind, but I am directed by Colonel Hardman to take possession
+of these premises, as you will see by this order," he said, handing
+her a paper.
+
+"By what right does Colonel Hardman seize these premises?"
+
+"Well, really--I suppose--because you are a--a rebel, you know," the
+lieutenant replied.
+
+"How does he know that I am a rebel?"
+
+"I don't mean exactly that. Of course, you are not in arms personally
+against his majesty, King George, but then, the people are, you know."
+
+"You mean, that because the king's troops began a war, firing upon
+the people at Lexington and Concord, your colonel proposes to turn me,
+my invalid father and mother, out of our home, that he may take
+possession and live in comfort."
+
+"It is awfully bad business, Miss Brandon, but I can't help it, you
+know."
+
+"I do not doubt, sir, that it is mortifying to you, personally, to be
+compelled to execute an order of this sort. Please say to Colonel
+Hardman that this is our home, and we shall not leave it voluntarily.
+If he desires to occupy it, he will do so only by force of arms."
+
+The lieutenant took his hat, not knowing what to make of a young lady
+so calm and self-possessed, who did not cry or wring her hands.
+
+"Oh, Ruth, you are just the one I want to see," said Berinthia, as
+Miss Newville entered a few minutes later. "Just look at this! Colonel
+Hardman proposes to turn us out of doors, that he may take possession
+of our home."
+
+"Aren't you going to protest?"
+
+"I have protested."
+
+"Aren't you going to do something?"
+
+"What can I do?"
+
+"We will see. General Howe is to dine with us this afternoon, and I
+have come to get you to help me entertain him and the others. We will
+ask him what he thinks of such arbitrary action on the part of his
+subordinate officer."
+
+"I will be there to hear what he has to say," Berinthia said.
+
+The hard times and the want of fresh provisions ruffled the temper of
+Phillis in the Newville kitchen. No longer could she baste a fat
+turkey roasting by the fire, or a joint of juicy beef, and yet the
+dinner she was preparing for his excellency General Howe, and Mr.
+Newville's other guests, was very appetizing,--oysters raw and fried,
+clam soup, broiled halibut, fresh mackerel, corned beef and pork,
+plum-pudding and pie.
+
+Lord William Howe, commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in
+America, was a gentleman, polite, affable, who delighted to make
+himself agreeable to beautiful ladies. At Bunker Hill he had shown the
+army that he could be brave on the battlefield. The other guests were
+Brigadier-General Timothy Ruggles, appointed commander of the militia,
+loyal to the king, and Captain John Coffin of his staff. General Howe
+solicited the honor of escorting Miss Newville to the dinner-table;
+Captain Coffin, possibly preferring the society of the girl with whom
+he often had romped to that of the mother, offered his arm to
+Berinthia, leaving to General Ruggles the honor of escorting the
+hostess.
+
+"The state of the times," said Mr. Newville, "does not enable me to
+provide an elaborate repast, but Phillis has done her best with what
+she had."
+
+"I am sure your dinner will be far more elaborate than anything I have
+upon my own table," said General Howe. "There being no fresh
+provisions in the market, I have to put up with salt junk."
+
+"Do you think the present scarcity of food will continue long?" Ruth
+inquired.
+
+"I trust not. It will be some time before the government supplies
+reach me from England, but I have dispatched vessels to Halifax and
+the West Indies, which, with fair winds, ought to be here in the
+course of a week."
+
+"It is tantalizing to know there are abundant supplies of vegetables
+in the farmers' cellars, not twenty miles away, that droves of cattle
+and sheep come to Mr. Washington, and we cannot get a joint of mutton
+or a cabbage," said Mr. Newville.
+
+"If the provincial pirates do not intercept the vessels, we shall have
+fresh provisions soon; but they are a daring set of rebels who live
+down towards Cape Ann. A schooner darted out the other day from
+Marblehead, and captured the brig Nancy and a rich cargo which I could
+ill afford to lose,--two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand
+flints, thirty thousand cannon-balls, and thirty tons of musket-balls,
+and a thirteen-inch mortar. I understand Mr. Washington is greatly
+elated by the capture, as well he may be."
+
+"Cannot Admiral Graves protect the transports?" Mr. Newville asked.
+
+"Perhaps a little more enterprise on the part of the marine force
+would be commendable. The provincials, I must admit, show far greater
+zeal than is seen in the king's navy."
+
+"It is commonly remarked that the navy is not doing much," said
+General Ruggles.
+
+"The army, although it is not marching into the country, is far more
+active, judging from the firing which I hear through the day,"
+Berinthia remarked.
+
+General Howe scanned her face, wondering if there was not a trifle of
+sarcasm in the words. He knew he was being criticised by the Tories
+for his inactivity; that Admiral Graves and the officers of the navy
+were asking when the army was going to scatter Mr. Washington's
+rabble.
+
+"I was relying upon the muskets captured in the Nancy," said General
+Howe, "to supply the gentlemen in General Robertson's command; also
+the loyal Irish Volunteers under Captain Forest, and the Fencibles
+under Colonel Graham, and those whom Colonel Creen Brush, a loyalist
+from New York, expects to raise. I am greatly gratified by this
+exhibition of loyalty on the part of the citizens. Doubtless other
+vessels will soon be here with arms, provided that audacious Captain
+Manly does not slip out from Marblehead and nab them while the
+warships are getting up their anchors. I have sent several ships along
+the shore to obtain supplies if possible, but it seems the madness of
+the people in revolting against our gracious sovereign is widespread.
+I learn there are many who are still loyal, but who do not dare to
+sell provisions through fear of their neighbors."
+
+"I do not doubt it," General Ruggles remarked. "If it were not for the
+presence of the troops, we who are loyal would have a rough time. Even
+as it is, I see scowls upon the faces of my old-time friends whenever
+I go along the street."
+
+"Since I accompanied your excellency to Bunker Hill and manifested my
+loyalty," said Captain Coffin, "and especially since I have taken part
+in organizing the loyal citizens to aid in upholding the government, I
+find some of my former friends, notably some of the young ladies,
+shutting their doors in my face."
+
+"I suppose you can hardly wonder at it?" Ruth remarked.
+
+"Why should they? I have not changed. Everybody knows how I have stood
+from the beginning," the captain replied.
+
+"It is not that Captain Coffin is not as agreeable and entertaining as
+ever, but they regard the king as attempting to deprive the people of
+their rights and liberties; the appeal to arms has been made; if you
+actively support his majesty, do you not cut yourself off from their
+society? Can you expect them to be as gracious as in former days?"
+said Berinthia.
+
+"Perhaps not, from the standpoint you have taken; but it is rather
+uncomfortable to have a young lady who has welcomed you to her
+fireside pass you by on the street as if you were a cold-blooded
+villain."
+
+"It comes to this," said Ruth. "One cannot be loyal to the king,
+neither to liberty, without suffering for it. Miss Brandon's brother
+Tom had to give up his lady-love because he sided with the
+provincials. Young ladies shut the door in Captain Coffin's face
+because he adheres to King George. If his majesty only knew the
+disturbance he is making over here in love affairs, perhaps he would
+withdraw the army."
+
+"Of course he would," exclaimed General Howe. "I don't believe that
+side of the question has ever been laid before him. I am sure, Miss
+Newville, if you were to go as special envoy and present the case,
+showing him how the sword is cutting young heartstrings asunder, he
+would at once issue an order for us to pack up and be off, that the
+course of true love might run smoothly once more."
+
+The company laughed heartily.
+
+"Perhaps," continued General Howe, "we may have to pack up any way,
+for want of something to eat. Before I succeeded to the command,
+General Gage seriously thought of evacuating the town, but had not
+enough vessels to transport the troops. I could not, when I was
+invested with the command, send a portion away; to do so would invite
+an attack upon those remaining."
+
+Berinthia saw a startled look upon Mr. Newville's face.
+
+"Do you think, your excellency, the time will ever come when his
+majesty's troops will take their departure?"
+
+"I trust not; but this rebellion, which we thought would be confined
+to this Province, has become a continental question. Neither the king
+nor his ministers anticipated it, but it is upon us, and we shall be
+obliged to treat it in all its vastness. Large reinforcements are to
+be sent. An agreement is being made to employ several thousand Hessian
+troops, and everything will be done to put down the rebellion."
+
+"I expect to see," said General Ruggles, "the army of Mr. Washington
+crumble to pieces very soon. I hear that the Connecticut troops
+demanded a bounty as the condition of their staying any longer, and
+when it was refused, broke ranks and started for their homes."
+
+"So I am informed," General Howe remarked, "though, to tell the truth,
+two thousand fresh men came from the New Hampshire province to take
+their places. I must say the provincials, thus far, have shown
+commendable zeal and persistence in maintaining the rebellion. They
+have constructed formidable earthworks on Cobble Hill, so near my
+lines that they have compelled the warships to drop down the river to
+a safer anchorage."
+
+"If by any chance the town should be evacuated, what think you, your
+excellency, those of us who are loyal to the king ought to do?" Mr.
+Newville asked.
+
+"That is really a very difficult question to answer. Your loyalty and
+that of all ladies and gentlemen who stand by the king undoubtedly
+will make you obnoxious to the rebels. The bitterness is increasing. I
+fear you will not be shown much leniency."
+
+"Would you think it strange, your excellency, if they were not
+lenient?" Ruth inquired.
+
+"Why should they not be, Miss Newville?"
+
+"Would they not be likely to regard those who support the king as
+their enemies?"
+
+"Why should they? You have not taken up arms. Of course, General
+Ruggles and Captain Coffin might be regarded as obnoxious, and would
+have to take care of themselves."
+
+"But will they not say we have given moral support to their enemies,
+and is not moral support likely to be as heinous in their sight as the
+taking of arms? If we ask them to be lenient, will they not inquire if
+the king's troops were merciful when they set Charlestown on fire?"
+Ruth asked.
+
+A flush came upon the face of General Howe. Although he commanded the
+troops at Bunker Hill, he had not ordered the burning of the town.
+General Gage was responsible for that act. He felt a little
+uncomfortable over the question, for the latest newspapers from London
+told him the people of England condemned the destruction of the homes
+of so many inhabitants.
+
+"I am free to say it was rather hard on them thus to have their homes
+destroyed without a moment's notice," he replied.
+
+"Will not," Ruth inquired, "the provincials think his majesty's forces
+were wanting in leniency when they recall what was done at Falmouth a
+few days ago, where the inhabitants were given only two hours to
+remove from the town? Not one minute over that would Captain Mowatt
+grant them, though women went down on their knees before him. Was it
+not inhuman for him to fire bombs among the panic-stricken multitude,
+setting the buildings on fire, destroying the homes of five hundred
+people? If his majesty's officers do these things, what may we not
+expect from the provincials, should it ever come our turn?"
+
+"We will do what we can, Miss Newville, not to have it your turn."
+
+"I do not doubt it, my lord; but I was thinking of possible
+contingencies."
+
+Again Berinthia noticed a flush upon the face of General Howe.
+
+"I will admit, Miss Newville, that in war, the unexpected may
+sometimes happen, and possibilities are not comforting subjects for
+contemplation. I do not anticipate disaster to the troops under my
+command."
+
+"Shall we drink the health of our gracious sovereign?" said Mr.
+Newville.
+
+The others drained their glasses, but Miss Newville's and Berinthia's
+were not lifted from the table.
+
+"What, daughter! What is the meaning of this? Not drink the health of
+the king!" Mr. Newville exclaimed.
+
+"No, father. I could drink to his own personal welfare, wish him
+health, happiness, and long life, but our drinking to the sentiment
+means approval of his government. I cannot do that. I never can think
+it right to burn the homes of innocent people without a moment's
+warning, as was done at Charlestown. The people of Falmouth never had
+done anything against the king except to prevent Captain Mowatt from
+loading masts and spars on board his ship for the use of the king's
+navy. That was their offense, and yet the town was wantonly destroyed.
+I cannot think such a course is likely to restore the alienated
+affections of the people to the king. More, I fear the contingencies
+of war may yet compel us to suffer because of these unwarranted acts."
+
+Mr. Newville sat in silence, not knowing what to say. He had been
+outspoken in his loyalty. He never had contemplated the possibility of
+failure on the part of the king to put down the rebellion, but if
+General Howe were to evacuate Boston, what treatment could he expect
+from the provincials? The words of Ruth brought the question before
+him in a startling way.
+
+"Those are my sentiments, also," said Berinthia.
+
+"I see, Miss Brandon, that you are of the same opinion, which, of
+course, I expected in your case, but hardly from Miss Newville," said
+Captain Coffin.
+
+"Yes, I am of the same way of thinking," Berinthia replied.
+
+"You will not, ladies, decline to drink the health of the queen, I
+trust?" said General Howe, as Pompey refilled the glasses.
+
+"Oh no, I will drink it with pleasure. The queen, of course, does not
+stand for mismanagement, as does the king, and we will not spoil our
+dinner by talking about the sad events," Ruth replied.
+
+General Howe entertained them with an account of his boyhood days, his
+service with General Wolfe at Quebec, how the troops climbed the steep
+river bank at night and won the battle on the Plains of Abraham.
+Captain Coffin laughed with Berinthia and Ruth over good times he had
+enjoyed with them. Yet all were conscious that spectres unseen had
+come to the banquet. The ghost confronting General Howe was whispering
+of starvation, of possible humiliation through forced evacuation; the
+one glaring at Mr. and Mrs. Newville told of a possible departure from
+their home, to become aliens in a foreign land.
+
+"May I ask Miss Newville to favor us with music?" said General Howe,
+when they were once more in the parlor.
+
+"With pleasure, your excellency," said Ruth, seating herself at the
+harpsichord and singing "The Frog he would a-wooing go," "The Fine Old
+English Gentleman," and then with a pathos that brought tears to the
+eyes of the commander-in-chief, "True Love can ne'er forget."
+
+During the dinner, and while Ruth was singing, they could hear the
+deep reverberations of the cannonade. The provincials in Roxbury were
+sending their shot at General Howe's fortifications on the Neck, and
+his cannon in reply were thundering towards the works at Cobble Hill.
+
+"Miss Newville," said General Howe, "I cannot express my thanks to you
+for your entertainment. While listening to your charming melodies I
+have been thinking of the strange, incongruous accompaniment, the
+uproar of the cannonade, but I have, in a measure, been able to forget
+for the moment the worries and perplexities that surround me. I trust
+I may be able to do something to add to your happiness some day." He
+rose to take his departure.
+
+"Thank you, your excellency; I am glad if I have been able in any way
+to make it a pleasant hour to you and General Ruggles, and my old
+acquaintance, Captain Coffin. Your excellency can add much to my
+happiness and that of Miss Brandon. One of your subordinate officers,
+who I think has not been long here, Colonel Hardman, has notified Miss
+Brandon that he is going to take possession of her home to-morrow and
+turn her and her invalid parents out of doors. Berinthia, you have the
+colonel's order, I think?"[76]
+
+[Footnote 76: "I am by a cruel necessity turned out of my home; must
+leave my books and all I possess, perhaps to be destroyed by a
+licentious soldiery." Andrew Eliot to Thomas Hollis, _Proceedings
+Mass. Hist. Society_, vol. xvi.]
+
+Berinthia took the document from her pocket and handed it to General
+Howe, who ran his eye over it and seemed to be thinking.
+
+"Is your father loyal to the king, Miss Brandon?" he asked.
+
+"In the same sense that I am, your excellency. You know that I did not
+drink the health of the king because I protest against the course he
+is pursuing towards the Colonies; my father does the same."
+
+"You have a brother, I think, in the provincial army?"
+
+"I suppose that Tom is there. He did what he could to defeat your
+excellency at Bunker Hill. Possibly it was his bullet that went
+through your excellency's coat. He attempted to defeat the king's
+troops just as they attempted to defeat him, and succeeded. You give
+your allegiance to the king; he gives his to liberty, and is fighting
+for it just as conscientiously as your excellency is fighting for King
+George and the crown."
+
+"As your father sides with the provincials, and as your brother is in
+arms against our most gracious sovereign, may I ask if you can give
+any good reason why my subordinate officer should not take possession
+of your home?"
+
+"Pardon me, may I ask if your excellency will kindly favor me with any
+good reason why my parents should be driven from their beds in
+midwinter, that one of the king's officers may have comfortable
+quarters? Does your excellency think such a course of conduct will
+tend to restore to the king the alienated affections of his late
+subjects?"
+
+"Then, Miss Brandon, you do not consider yourself, at this moment, one
+of his subjects?"
+
+"I do not. I cannot own allegiance to a sovereign who burns the homes
+of an inoffensive community, standing for their rights and ancient
+liberties."
+
+"I admire your frankness, Miss Brandon, as I do that of Miss Newville.
+Have you a pen at hand?"
+
+Ruth brought a pen and ink-horn; General Howe wrote upon the document,
+and handed it to her.
+
+"I cannot go back on my promise to do something for you, Miss
+Newville, to add to your happiness and Miss Brandon's, and I trust I
+never shall do anything that will lead you to think I am insensible to
+the claims of humanity," he said, bowing and taking his departure.
+
+Berinthia read what he had written:--
+
+ It is hereby ordered by the general-in-chief commanding his
+ majesty's forces, that Miss Brandon shall be allowed to
+ remain in possession of her home till this order shall be
+ countermanded.
+
+ HOWE, Major-General.
+
+In bright uniform, with stars upon his breast, Colonel Hardman,
+accompanied by the members of his staff, knocked at the door of the
+Brandon home. Mark Antony was unceremoniously pushed aside, and the
+officers entered the hall.
+
+"You can inform the lady of the house, nigger, that Colonel Hardman
+and staff have come to take possession of the premises and"--
+
+The sentence was not finished, for Berinthia, queenly in her dignity,
+stood before him. Colonel Hardman, obedient to etiquette, removed his
+hat. It was not an old woman, wrinkled and toothless, but a young
+lady, calm and self-possessed, confronting him.
+
+"Is this Colonel Hardman?"
+
+"I have the honor to bear that name, lady."
+
+"You have come to take possession of my house?"
+
+"That is my errand. I trust it will not greatly inconvenience you. I
+see you have my order of yesterday in your hand, and so are not
+unprepared for my coming."
+
+"It is your order, and I am not unprepared, as you will see," she
+said, handing him the paper.
+
+He read the writing, bit his lips, grew red in the face, returned the
+document, bowed stiffly, and left the hall, followed by his astonished
+suite.
+
+"Outwitted by a petticoat," he muttered, with an oath, as he passed
+down the street.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII.
+
+SUNDERING OF HEARTSTRINGS.
+
+
+It was as if one had risen from the dead, when Robert Walden once more
+entered the old home. Father, mother, Rachel, all, had thought of him
+as lying in a grave unknown,--having given his life for liberty. It
+was a joyful home. All the town came to shake hands with him. His
+father and mother were older, the gray hairs upon their brows more
+plentiful, and sorrow had left its mark on Rachel's face; but her
+countenance was beautiful in its cheerful serenity.
+
+A few days at home, and Robert was once more with the army,
+commissioned as major upon the staff of General Washington. Colonel
+Knox the while was transporting the cannon captured by Ethan Allen at
+Ticonderoga across the Berkshire Hills to Cambridge--fifty guns
+mounted on sleds, drawn by one hundred oxen.
+
+The commander of the army had not forgotten what Major Walden had said
+about the military value of Dorchester Heights. The cannon were placed
+in position, but not till winter was nearly over were the preparations
+completed for the bombardment of Boston.
+
+When the sun set on the afternoon of March 2d little did Lord Howe
+and the ten thousand British soldiers imagine what was about to
+happen. Suddenly from the highlands of Roxbury, from Cobble Hill, from
+floating batteries in Charles River, cannon-balls were hurled upon the
+town. Bombs exploded in the streets; one in a guardhouse, wounding six
+soldiers. The redcoats sprang to their guns, to give shot for shot.
+Little sleep could the people get, through the long wearisome Saturday
+night. During Sunday the lips of the cannon were silent, but with the
+coming of night again they thundered. General Howe was wondering what
+Mr. Washington was intending to do, not mistrusting there was a long
+line of ox-carts loaded with picks and spades, bales of hay, and casks
+filled with stones; the teamsters waiting till Major Walden should
+give a signal for them to move.
+
+While the cannon were flashing, General Thomas, with two thousand men,
+marched across the marshes along Dorchester Bay and up the hill
+overlooking the harbor. Major Walden gave the signal, and the farmers
+started their teams,--those with picks, and spades, and casks
+following the soldiers; those with hay halting on the marsh land,
+unloading, and piling the bales in a line so as to screen the passage.
+Major Walden, General Rufus Putnam, and Colonel Gridley hastened to
+the summit of the hill in advance of the troops. Colonel Gridley
+marked the lines for a fortification; the soldiers stacked their arms,
+seized picks and spades, and broke the frozen earth. The moon was at
+its full. From the hill, the soldiers could look down upon the harbor
+and see the warships and great fleet of transports, with masts and
+yard-arms outlined in the refulgent light. Robert expected to see a
+cannon flash upon the Scarborough, the nearest battleship; but the
+sentinel pacing the deck heard no sound of delving pick or shovel.
+Walden piloted the carts to the top of the hill, and placed the casks
+in such position that they could be set rolling down the steep at a
+moment's notice. The soldiers chuckled at the thought of the commotion
+they would make in the ranks of the redcoats, were they to make an
+assault and suddenly see the casks rolling and tumbling, sweeping all
+before them!
+
+General Howe was astonished, when daylight dawned, to see an
+embankment of yellow earth crowning the hill overlooking the harbor.
+
+"The rebels have done more in a night than my army would have done in
+a month," he said, after looking at the works with his telescope. What
+should he do? Mr. Washington's cannon would soon be sending shot and
+shell upon the warships, the transports, and the town. The provincials
+must be driven from the spot at once; otherwise, there could be no
+safety for the fleet, neither for his army. He called his officers
+together in council.
+
+"We must drive the rebels just as we did at Bunker Hill, or they will
+drive us out of the town. There is nothing else to be done," said
+General Clinton.
+
+General Howe agreed with him. A battle must be fought, and the sooner
+the better. Every moment saw the fortifications growing stronger. But
+what would be the outcome of a battle? Could he embark his army in
+boats, land at the foot of the hill, climb the steep ascent, and
+drive the rebels with the bayonet? At Bunker Hill there was only a
+rabble,--regiments without a commander; but now Mr. Washington was in
+command; his troops were in a measure disciplined. That he was
+energetic, far-seeing, and calculating, he could not doubt. Had he not
+transported heavy cannon across the country from Lake Champlain to
+bombard the town? Evidently Mr. Washington was a man who could bide
+his time. Such men were not likely to leave anything at haphazard. One
+third of those assaulting Bunker Hill had been cut down by the fire of
+the rebels. Could he hope for any less a sacrifice of his army in
+attacking a more formidable position, with the rebels more securely
+intrenched? It was not pleasant to contemplate the possible result,
+but an assault must be made.
+
+From the housetop, Berinthia saw boats from the vessels in the harbor,
+gathering at Long Wharf. Drums were beating, troops marching. Abraham
+Duncan came with the information that four or five thousand men were
+to assault the works and drive the provincials pell-mell across the
+marshes to Roxbury. At any rate, that was the plan. He was sure it
+would be a bloody battle. Possibly, while General Howe was engaged at
+Dorchester Heights, Mr. Washington might be doing something else.
+
+Neither General Howe nor any one within the British lines knew just
+what the provincial commander had planned,--that the moment the
+redcoats began the attack, General Israel Putnam, on Cobble Hill,
+between Charlestown and Cambridge, with four thousand men, would leap
+into boats, cross the Charles, and land on the Common; that General
+Nathanael Greene with a large force would advance from Roxbury, and
+together they would grind the British to powder, like corn in a mill.
+
+It was mid-forenoon when Major Walden escorted General Washington
+across the marsh land and along the path to Dorchester Heights. The
+troops swung their hats and gave a cheer when they saw their commander
+ascending the hill. He lifted his hat, and thanked them for having
+constructed such strong intrenchments in so short a time.
+
+"It is the fifth of March," he said, "and I am sure you will remember
+it is the anniversary of the massacre of the Sons of Liberty."
+
+In Boston drums were beating, regiments marching; but suddenly the
+wind, which had blown from the west, changed to the east; and the sea
+waves were rolling up the bay, making it impossible for the Somerset,
+Scarborough, Boyne, and the other ships, to spread their sails and
+take position to bombard the works of the rebels; neither could
+General Howe embark the troops upon the dancing boats. The clouds were
+hanging low, and rain falling. Not till the wind changed and the sea
+calmed could there be a battle; General Howe must wait.
+
+Night came; the rain was still pouring. The provincials wrapped their
+overcoats closely around them, kindled fires, ate their bread and
+beef, told stories, sang songs, and kept ward and watch through the
+dreary hours.
+
+Morning dawned; the wind was still east, and the waves rolling in
+from the sea. With gloom upon his brow, General Howe with his
+telescope examined the fortifications. Could he hope to capture them?
+Doubtful. Exasperating, humiliating, the reflection that Mr.
+Washington was in a position to compel him to evacuate the town. Only
+a few days before, he had written Lord Dartmouth he was in no danger
+from the rebels; he only wished Mr. Washington would have the audacity
+to make a movement against him; but now he must pack up and be off,
+give up what he had held so long, and confess defeat. What would the
+king say? What the people of England? He did not like to think of what
+had come. But he must save the army. What of the citizens who had
+maintained their loyalty to the king? Should he leave them to the
+tender mercies of the exasperated provincials whose homes had been
+burned? He could not do that. If Theodore Newville, Nathaniel Coffin,
+or any of the thousand or more wealthy citizens were willing to remain
+loyal, if they were ready to become aliens and fugitives and exiles,
+he must do what he could for them.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"What is it, husband?" Mrs. Newville asked as Mr. Newville entered his
+house, and she beheld his countenance, white, haggard, and woe-begone.
+
+"What has happened, father?" Ruth asked, leading him, trembling and
+tottering, to his chair.
+
+"It has come," he gasped, resting his elbows on his knees and covering
+his face with his hands.
+
+"What has come?" Mrs. Newville inquired.
+
+"The end of the king's authority in this town."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"The army is going, and we have got to go."
+
+"Go where?"
+
+"I don't know; only we have got to leave this home, never to see it
+again, and be aliens the rest of our lives," he said, groaning and
+sobbing.
+
+"Why must the army go?" Mrs. Newville exclaimed.
+
+"Because General Howe cannot stay. The provincials are in a position
+to sink his ships and set the town on fire with their bombs."
+
+"Can't General Howe drive Mr. Washington from the hill just as he did
+at Charlestown?"
+
+"He was going to do it yesterday, but the sea wouldn't let him, and
+now it is too late."
+
+"He must do it, and I will go and tell him so. Leave our home and
+become wanderers and vagabonds? Never!" she cried with flashing eyes.
+
+"It is decided. Orders have been issued. The fear is that the
+provincials may open fire upon the fleet and sink the ships before the
+army can get away."
+
+"Why didn't General Howe take possession of the hill, and prevent the
+provincials from doing it?"
+
+"The Lord knows, and perhaps General Howe does, but I don't. I have
+seen for some time what might happen, and now we have it. We have got
+to go, and God help us."
+
+Mrs. Newville, overwhelmed, tottered to a chair.
+
+"So this is what Sam Adams and John Hancock have done. I hate them.
+But why must we go? Why not stay? We have as good a right to stay as
+they. Give up our home? Never! Never!"
+
+With flashing eyes, and teeth set firmly together, she rose, and took
+a step or two as if ready to confront a foe.
+
+"We cannot stay," said Mr. Newville. "We have given our allegiance to
+the king; I have held office under the crown, and the Great and
+General Court will confiscate my estate, and we shall be beggars. More
+than that, I probably shall be seized and thrown into jail. There's no
+knowing what they will do. Possibly my lifeless body may yet dangle
+from the gallows, where murderers have paid the penalty of their
+crimes."
+
+Mrs. Newville wrung her hands, and gave way to sobs and moans. Ruth
+had stood a silent spectator, but sat down now by her mother, put an
+arm around her, and wiped away the tears coursing down her cheeks.
+
+"I haven't told you all," said Mr. Newville. "General Howe threatens
+to burn the town if Mr. Washington opens fire upon the ships."
+
+"General Howe threatens that?" exclaimed Mrs. Newville.
+
+"Yes; John Scollay and several of us have asked General Robertson to
+intercede with Howe. He has done so, but Howe will make no promise. He
+has permitted a flag of truce to go out to Mr. Washington to let him
+know if the British are molested he will set the town on fire. If Mr.
+Washington is the kind-hearted man they say he is, probably he will
+not make an attack. He wants to compel Howe to get out and to have the
+town spared. We are not the only ones who will suffer, but everybody
+who has stood for the king will have to go or take the consequences
+when the provincials march in. They will be implacable in their
+retaliation for the burning of Charlestown and Falmouth, and for the
+destruction of the Old North Meetinghouse, the desecration of the Old
+South, and the pulling down of hundreds of houses. They will
+confiscate the property of every one who has adhered to the crown, and
+make them beggars, or send them out of the Province, or perhaps do
+both. We may as well look the matter squarely in the face, for we have
+got to face it."
+
+It was spoken with quivering lips. Several vessels had been designated
+on which the friends of the king might embark for Halifax, the only
+port near at hand where they could find refuge. He looked around the
+room, gazed mournfully at the portraits of his ancestors on the walls,
+at the rich mahogany furniture, the mirrors above the mantel
+reflecting the scene. In the dining-room was the buffet with its rich
+furnishings. Upon the stairs was the clock, its pendulum swinging as
+it had swung since the days of his boyhood. Upon the sideboard were
+the tea-urns used on many convivial afternoons and evenings. Whichever
+way he turned he saw that which had contributed to his ease, comfort,
+and happiness. Looking out of the window, he saw the buds were
+beginning to swell upon the trees under the genial rays of the sun.
+The bluebirds and robins had arrived and were singing in the garden. A
+few more days and the grass would be springing fresh and green, the
+asparagus throwing up its shoots, the cherry-trees white with blooms,
+the lilacs and roses perfuming the air; but never again was he to sit
+beneath the vine-clad arbor as he had sat in former years, listening
+to Nature's symphony rehearsed by singing birds; never again was he to
+see the coming of ecstatic life in bud and blossom. He must bid
+farewell forever to all the enchanting scenes, pull up by the roots,
+as it were, all cherished things. What should he take? What leave
+behind? There would be little room on shipboard for the richly carved
+mahogany chairs, sideboard, sofa, portraits of his ancestors. What use
+would he have for them in exile? How dispose of them? Who would
+purchase them? No one. How would he live in a foreign land? How occupy
+his time? His mansion was his own; he was possessor of other houses
+and lands, but all would be seized. He could take his silver plate,
+his gold and silver coin; not much else.
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear! has it come to this!" Mrs. Newville exclaimed,
+"when we might have been far away, having everything heart could
+wish!"
+
+She cast a reproachful look upon Ruth.
+
+"Oh, if you had only done as I wanted!"
+
+A gentle hand wiped the tears from the mother's face.
+
+"Mother, dear, the past is gone, never to return. If it were to come
+again, bringing Lord Upperton, my answer to him would be as it was. We
+will let that pass. I know your every thought has been for my welfare
+and happiness. I trust I have not been ungrateful for all you have
+done for me and for all you thought to do. I have not seen things as
+you have seen them. You have been loyal to King George; you could
+hardly do otherwise with father holding an office under the crown. I
+have given my sympathies to the provincials, because I believe they
+are standing for what is right. My heart has gone out to one who, I
+doubt not, is over on yonder hill in arms against the king. I know the
+greatness of his love, that he will be always true to me, as I shall
+be to him."
+
+The hand was still wiping away the tears; she was sitting between her
+father and mother, and laid the other hand upon the father's palm.
+
+"Through these winter nights, dear father and mother, while hearing
+the cannon and the bursting shells, I have been looking forward to
+this hour which has come at last."
+
+Tears stood in her eyes, and her voice became tremulous.
+
+"We have come to the parting hour. You will go, but I shall
+stay,--stay to save the house, so that, by and by, when the heat of
+passion has cooled, and the fire of hate is only ashes, when the war
+is over and peace has come, as come it will, you can return to the old
+home."
+
+"Leave you behind, Ruth!"
+
+"Yes, mother."
+
+"To be insulted and abused by the hateful rebels! Never!"
+
+"I shall not be insulted. I am sure I shall be kindly treated. Do you
+think my old friends will do anything to annoy me? Why should they,
+when they know that I myself am a rebel? Mr. Sam Adams has always been
+my good friend. Have I not sat in his lap in my girlhood? Are not Lucy
+Flucker Knox, Dorothy Quincy, and Abigail Smith Adams my friends? Has
+not Mr. John Hancock danced with me? Have I done anything that should
+cause them to turn against me? Pompey and Phillis will be here to care
+for me. And now, dear father, I have one or two requests to make. This
+is your house, but I want you to give it to me,--make out a deed and
+execute it in my name; and one thing more, I want you to give me a
+bill of sale of Pompey and Phillis, so that I shall be absolute
+mistress here. When the Colonies, by their valor and the righteousness
+of their cause, have become independent of the king, when the last
+cannon has been fired, in God's good time you will come back and find
+me here in the old home."
+
+Mr. Newville sat in silence a moment, then put his arm around her and
+drew her to him.
+
+"Oh Ruth, daughter, you are dearer to me this moment than ever before.
+Your clear vision has seen what I have not been able to see,--till
+now,--the possible end of this conflict. The provincials are stronger
+than I supposed them to be, the disaffection wider, and the king is
+weaker than I thought. It never seemed possible that an army of ten
+thousand men could be forced to evacuate this town, but so it is, and
+I must go. I will not be so selfish as to ask you to go. I know your
+love has gone out to Robert Walden. I have no right to ask you to
+thrust a sword into your own loving heart. I do not doubt he will
+protect you with all the strength of a noble manhood. This house shall
+be yours, together with Pompey and Phillis, who will be as dutiful to
+you as they have been to your mother and me. You speak of our coming
+back, but when we once leave this house we never shall behold it
+again; nor shall we ever look again upon your face unless you come
+where we may be. Where that will be, God only knows; we shall be
+fugitives and wanderers without a home. Your mother and I will not
+long need an earthly home. Such a wound as this goes down deep into
+our souls, Ruth."
+
+He could say no more, but hid his face in his hands to hide the agony
+of a breaking heart.
+
+"Father, have you forgotten who it is that feeds the ravens and cares
+for the sparrows? Will He not care for you? Of one thing you may be
+sure, so soon as it is possible to do so I shall seek you wherever you
+may be: and now we will prepare for your going."
+
+She kissed the tears from his face, cheered the desponding mother, and
+began to select whatever would most contribute to their comfort.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Abraham Duncan, as he walked the streets, beheld men with haggard
+faces and women wringing their hands and giving way to lamentations.
+In their loyalty to the king, they never had dreamed that the
+provincials could compel a disciplined army to quit the town. They had
+been informed that with the opening of spring the rebels would be
+scattered to the winds. In their loyalty they had organized themselves
+into militia and received arms from General Howe to fight for King
+George. As by a lightning flash all had been changed. Those who had
+thus organized knew they would be despised by the provincials and
+hardly dealt with; that houses and lands would be seized and sold to
+make restitution for the burning of Charlestown and buildings torn
+down in Boston. They who had lived in affluence, who had delightful
+homes on the slopes of Beacon Hill, must leave them. All dear old
+things must be sacrificed and family ties ruthlessly sundered. Fathers
+had sons whose sympathies were with the provincials; mothers, other
+than Mrs. Newville, had daughters whose true loves were marshaled
+under flags floating on Dorchester Heights. Had not Colonel Henry Knox
+sighted the cannon which sent the ball whirling towards the early home
+of his loving wife, the home where her father and mother and sisters
+were still living, which they must leave? The sword drawn on Lexington
+Common was severing tender heartstrings.
+
+There was a hurly-burly in the streets,--drums beating, soldiers
+marching, a rumbling of cannon and wagons, the removal of furniture.
+Eleven hundred men and women were preparing to bid farewell to their
+native land and homes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The final hour came. Pompey had seen the trunks and boxes safely
+stowed upon the ship in which Mr. and Mrs. Newville, Nathaniel Coffin,
+the king's receiver-general, and Thomas Flucker were to find passage.
+With a cane to steady his tottering steps, Mr. Newville took a last
+look of the home where his life had been passed; the house in which
+his eyes first saw the light; where a mother, many years in her grave,
+had caressed him; where a father had guided his toddling steps; the
+home to which he had brought his bride in the bloom of a beautiful
+maidenhood; where Ruth had come to them as the blessing of God to make
+the house resound with prattle and laughter, and fill it with the
+sunlight of her presence; make it attractive by her grace and
+beauty,--the soul beauty that looked out from loving eyes and became,
+as it were, a benediction. He was to go, she to stay. God above would
+be her guardian.
+
+Mrs. Newville walked as in a daze from parlor to chamber, from
+dining-room to hall and kitchen. Was she awake or dreaming? Must she
+leave her home,--the home that had been so blissful, so hospitable?
+Was she never again to welcome a guest to that table, never hear the
+merry chatter of voices in parlor or garden? Oh, if Sam Adams and John
+Hancock had only been content to let things go on as they always had
+gone! If Ruth had only accepted Lord Upperton's suit! Why couldn't
+she? What ought she to take, what would she most need? What sort of
+accommodations would they find at Halifax? Why couldn't Ruth go with
+them? It was the questioning of a mind stunned by the sudden stroke;
+of a spirit all but crushed by the terrible calamity.
+
+"I have put in everything I could think of that will in any way make
+you comfortable, mother dear," said Ruth, mentioning the articles.
+
+"I've put up some jelly and jam for ye, missus," said Phillis.
+
+Berinthia Brandon and Abraham Duncan came to bid them farewell, and to
+help Ruth prepare for their departure.
+
+It was Ruth's strong arm that upheld her mother as they slowly walked
+the street on their way to the ship. It was a mournful spectacle. Not
+they alone, but Mr. Shrimpton and Mary, Nathaniel Coffin and wife and
+John, and a hundred of Ruth's acquaintances were on the wharf
+preparing to go on board the ships.
+
+"This is what has come from Sam Adams's meddling," said Mr. Shrimpton.
+"May the Devil take him and John Hancock. They ought to be hanged, and
+I hope King George will yet have a chance to string 'em up--curse 'em!
+I'd like to see 'em dangling from the gibbet, and the crows picking
+their bones," he said, smiting his fists together, walking to and fro.
+
+He was bidding farewell to home,--to the house in which he was born.
+He had farms in the county, wide reaches of woodland, fields, and
+pastures. The provincials would confiscate them. In his declining
+years all his property was to slip through his fingers, and he was to
+totter in penury to his grave.
+
+"I shall enlist in the service of the king and fight 'em," said John
+Coffin, who had shown his loyalty by accompanying General Howe to the
+battle of Bunker Hill.
+
+"And I hope you'll have a chance to put a bullet through the carcass
+of Sam Adams," said Mr. Shrimpton.
+
+It was his daughter's hand that guided him over the gang-plank to the
+deck of the Queen Charlotte.
+
+"Let me put this muffler round your neck; the air is chill and you are
+shivering," said Mary, gently leading him.
+
+With chattering teeth and curses on his lips for those whom he
+regarded as authors of his misfortunes, Abel Shrimpton, led by his
+daughter, descended the winding stairs to the cabin of the ship.
+
+"Here are the rugs and shawls, mother, and here is the wolf-skin,
+father, to wrap around you," said Ruth.
+
+They were in the stifling cabin, the departing loyalists sitting as in
+a daze, stupefied, stunned by the sudden calamity, wondering if it
+were not a horrid dream.
+
+To Mary Shrimpton and Ruth Newville it was no phantom, no
+hallucination, but a reality, an exigency, demanding calm reflection,
+wise judgment, and prompt, decisive action. They had talked it
+over,--each in the other's confidence.
+
+"You must go and I will stay; you will care for them all; I will look
+after things here. This war will not last always. You will all come
+back some time," said Ruth, her abiding faith rising supreme above the
+agony of the parting.
+
+"I will care for them," had been the calm reply of Mary.
+
+"Oh, missus! I can't bear to have ye go, you's been good to me always.
+I'se packed a luncheon for ye," said Phillis, kneeling upon the floor,
+clasping the knees of her departing mistress, crying and sobbing.
+
+"Oh, massa and missus, old Pomp can't tell ye how good ye've been to
+him. He'll be good to Miss Ruth. He'll pray for de good Lord to bless
+ye, every night, as he always has,"--the benediction of the slave
+kneeling by Phillis's side.
+
+Long and tender was the last embrace of the mother and daughter,--of
+the father and his beloved child. With tears blinding her eyes, with
+tottering steps, Ruth passed across the gang-plank. A sailor drew it
+in, and unloosed the cable. The vessel swung with the tide from its
+moorings, the jib and mainsail filled with the breeze, and glided
+away. The weeping crowd upon its deck saw Ruth standing upon the
+wharf, her countenance serene, pure, and peaceful, with tears upon her
+face, gazing at the receding ship. Those around her beheld her steady
+herself against the post which had held the cable, standing there till
+the Queen Charlotte was but a white speck dotting the landscape in the
+lower harbor, then walking with faltering steps to her desolate home.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV.
+
+IN THE OLD HOME.
+
+
+"Here, Miss Ruth, I has a cordial for ye. Drink it, honey," said
+Phillis as Ruth sank into a chair.
+
+"Don't be down-hearted, Miss Ruth; old Pomp will take keer of ye."
+
+"I do not doubt it. You and Phillis have always been good to me, and
+now I have something to say to both of you. Would you like to be free,
+Pompey?"
+
+"Would I like to be free, Miss Ruth?" the negro asked, hardly knowing
+what to make of the question.
+
+"Yes, would you like to be free, to own yourself, to come and go as
+you please?"
+
+"'Deed I would, Miss Ruth. Massa and missus was always very good to
+old Pomp, but 'pears I would like to be myself."
+
+She rose and took Pompey and Phillis by their hands.
+
+"Your old master has given you both to me, and now I give you to
+yourselves. You are both free now and forever," said Ruth.
+
+"Free! Miss Ruth! Did you say we is free?"
+
+"Yes, you are no longer slaves; you can go and come, now and always;
+you are your own."
+
+"Oh, Miss Ruth, old Pomp never will leave ye, never. Old Pomp free!
+'Pears like de New Jerusalem has come," said the negro, sinking upon
+his knees, kissing her hand and bathing it with tears.
+
+"Oh, Miss Ruth, honey, I has held ye in my arms when ye was a little
+baby, toted ye in de garding when de flowers was bloomin', rocked ye
+to sleep when ye was pinin'; I've seen ye grow to be a woman, and now
+ye is my missus tellin' me I'm free. I'll cook de chicken and de
+johnny-cake for ye till I can't cook no more," said Phillis, clasping
+Ruth in her arms, with tears rolling down her cheeks and laughter
+bubbling from her lips.
+
+The foresight that had seen the probable departure of the British
+troops was forecasting the immediate future; that the interval before
+the arrival of General Washington's army would be one of peril, from
+vagabonds, camp-followers, and the ragamuffins enlisted by Creen
+Brush, commissioned by General Howe to organize a battalion of Tories.
+Through the day the British regiments were sullenly taking their
+departure. Pompey informed Ruth that the vagabonds had begun to
+plunder the stores and break into houses.
+
+"Dey won't git into dis yeer house, honey. I'se got de water b'ilin'
+hot in de kitchen for 'em," said Phillis.
+
+Ruth did not doubt a mansion like hers would attract the villains, and
+determined to defend herself against all intruders. General Howe was
+going on shipboard; no longer would she recognize his authority or
+that of any subordinate officer. Years before, her father had been
+member of a battalion of horsemen. The pistols he carried then were in
+a closet. Pompey brought them, fixed the flints, oiled the locks, and
+found a horn of powder, but no bullets.
+
+"Perhaps it is just as well, Pompey, for if I were to have a bullet, I
+might kill somebody, and I would not like to do that," she said.
+
+"If ye are goin' to shoot, better shoot to kill, Miss Ruth," said
+Pompey.
+
+"I never have fired a pistol, Pompey; how do you do it?"
+
+"I'll show ye, missus," said the negro, putting some powder in the pan
+and cocking the pistol.
+
+"Now, Miss Ruth, you jes' pull de trigger and it will flash."
+
+They were in the kitchen. Ruth pointed the weapon toward the fireplace
+and pulled the trigger. There was a flash and a bang.
+
+"O Lord! Missus!" shouted Phillis, dropping on the floor.
+
+"'Pears, Miss Ruth, like she's been loaded all dese years," said
+Pompey, his eyeballs rolling in astonishment.
+
+"It appears I have found out how to fire," said Ruth, laughing. "But
+how do you load it?" she asked.
+
+Pompey poured a charge of powder into his hand, emptied it into the
+barrel, and rammed it down with a wad of paper.
+
+"We haven't any bullets, but we can use gravel-stones or dried peas or
+a tallow candle. I've seen a candle fired right through a board, Miss
+Ruth," he said.
+
+"We'll load them with powder now; perhaps we shan't need anything
+else," Ruth replied.
+
+In the gathering darkness Phillis saw a redcoat reconnoitring the
+grounds. He rapped upon the door leading to the kitchen. She did not
+unloose the chain, but opened it sufficiently wide to talk with the
+fellow.
+
+"What d'ye want?" she asked.
+
+"I want to come in."
+
+"What d'ye want to come in for?"
+
+"To see if ye have anything belonging to the king. People have seized
+the king's property and taken it into their houses."
+
+"We haven't anything belonging to King George."
+
+"Open the door or I'll break it down."
+
+"Go away. Dere can't no lobster come into dis yeer kitchen," said
+Phillis, attempting to close the door. But she saw the muzzle of a gun
+thrust into the opening. Her hands grasped it. One vigorous pull and
+it was hers, and the villain was fleeing.
+
+"I'se got it! I'se got de villin's gun. Wid de pistils, de musket, and
+de b'ilin' water we'll fight 'em!" she shouted.
+
+Ruth, keeping watch, saw a squad of men. One of them rattled the
+knocker.
+
+"What do you wish?" she asked, raising a window.
+
+"I am commissioned to search for property belonging to the crown."
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"I am a lieutenant in the command of Colonel Brush."
+
+"I do not recognize your authority, neither that of Colonel Brush nor
+General Howe, who has taken his departure."
+
+"I shall be under the necessity of entering by force if you do not
+open the door."
+
+"You will do so at your peril."
+
+"Break down the door, men!"
+
+The soldiers pounded with the butts of their muskets, but the panels
+did not yield.
+
+"Smash a window!"
+
+A bayonet was thrust through a pane, and the glass rattled to the
+ground; the butt of a musket smashed the sash, and a pair of hands
+grasped the window-sill. Memory recalled a day when two soldiers
+assaulted her; from that hour a redcoat had been hateful. She seized
+one of the pistols. Remembering what Pompey had said, she picked the
+lighted candle from its socket and thrust it into the weapon. The
+ruffian was astride the window-sill. There was a flash, a loud report,
+and he dropped with a thud to the ground.
+
+From the balcony came a flood of boiling water upon the astonished
+ruffians.
+
+"I'll give it to ye, b'ilin' hot!" shouted Phillis. The ruffians saw
+the muzzle of a gun pointed towards them from the window, and the
+stalwart form of Pompey as he raised it to take aim. The astonished
+villains fled, leaving Ruth, Pompey, and Phillis victors in the
+encounter.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Morning dawned fair and beautiful. The robins and bluebirds were
+singing in the garden. Ruth heard again the beating of drums, the
+blast of bugles. General Washington was entering the town. By his side
+rode Major Robert Walden.
+
+What surprise! A white handkerchief was waving from the balcony of the
+Newville home. She was there, more beautiful and queenly than ever
+before! Not an alien, not an exile, but loyal to liberty, to him! He
+must leap from his saddle and clasp her in his arms! No. He must
+accompany his great commander in the triumphal entry. That
+accomplished, then the unspeakable joy.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There came an evening when the Newville home was aglow with lights,
+and Pompey was bowing low to General and Mrs. Washington, Generals
+Greene, Putnam, Thomas, to colonels, majors, captains, councilors, the
+selectmen of the town, Reverend Doctor Cooper, Colonel Henry and Lucy
+Knox, Captain and Mrs. Brandon, Berinthia, Abraham Duncan, Major Tom
+Brandon, Rachel Walden; young ladies in the bloom of maidenhood,
+matronly mothers, fathers resolute of countenance,--all rejoicing that
+the redcoats were gone.
+
+Down from the chamber, passing the old clock on the stairs, came Major
+Robert Walden, in bright, new uniform, and Ruth Newville in satin,
+white and pure.
+
+Reverend Doctor Cooper spoke of the bravery of the bridegroom in
+battle, the manliness of character that fitted him for fighting the
+battle of life. Tears came to many eyes as he pictured the love of a
+maiden who rescued her beloved, swept by life's ebbing tide far out
+towards a shoreless sea.
+
+They who stood around beheld the countenance of the bride transfigured
+as she pronounced the words, "to love, to honor, and cherish him."
+
+Amid the general joy, one heart alone felt a momentary pang. Never
+might Rachel whisper such words to him whose last thought had been of
+her, who had given his life that liberty might live.
+
+Once more food was to be had from the marketmen around Faneuil
+Hall--joints of beef, pigs, sausages, chickens, turkeys, vegetables
+and fruit, brought in by the farmers of Braintree, Dedham, and
+Roxbury. Fishermen once more could sail down the harbor, drop their
+lines for cod and mackerel on the fishing ground beyond the Outer
+Brewster, and return to the town without molestation from a meddling
+town major.
+
+With joyful countenance and conscious dignity, Pompey perambulated the
+market, inspecting what the hucksters had for sale.
+
+"I want de juiciest j'int, de tenderest, fattest turkey, de freshest
+eggs right from de nest, 'cause de 'casion is to be Missus Ruth's
+weddin' dinner," he said.
+
+Many banquets had Phillis prepared, but never one like the dinner for
+Miss Ruth on her wedding day.
+
+"I've roasted de turkey and sparrib for Massa Ginerel Howe and Massa
+Ginerel Clinton, but dey ain't of no 'count 'side Massa Major Walden
+and Massa Ginerel Washington, 'cause dey drive de redcoats out of
+Boston. Miss Ruth fired de pistil and I scaldid dem with de b'ilin'
+water. He! he! he!" she laughed.
+
+It was a pleasure to stuff the turkey, to turn the joint of beef
+roasting on the spit, mix the plums in the pudding, and mould the
+mince pies for Ruth and her friends.
+
+"Miss Ruth told me to go free, and now she's Missus Ruth Walden. He!
+he! he!"
+
+The laughter bubbled from her lips.
+
+[Illustration: The Dinner-Party.]
+
+It was a joyful party that sat down to the dinner. The toasts drunk
+were not the health of George III. and Sophia Charlotte, but the
+health of General George Washington, the Continental Congress, Major
+Robert Walden, and, more heartily than any other, long life and
+happiness to Ruth Newville Walden.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Years have gone by,--years of sorrow, privation, and suffering to
+those who, through their loyalty to King George, and their inability
+to discern the signs of the times, have been exiles from the land
+that gave them birth, whose property has been seized by the Great and
+General Court of Massachusetts. The days are long to Mary Shrimpton in
+the little cabin at Halifax. The great estates once owned by her
+father are no longer his. Her once beautiful home has been sold to the
+highest bidder. Only with her spinning-wheel can she keep the wolf
+from the cabin door. Parliament has been talking of doing something
+for the refugees in Nova Scotia, but the commoners and lords are three
+thousand miles away, and the people of England are groaning under the
+burden incurred by the fruitless attempt to subdue the Colonies. The
+struggle is over. Lord Cornwallis has surrendered his army to General
+Washington at Yorktown, and commissioners are negotiating a peace.
+Through the years Abel Shrimpton, unreconciled to life's changes, has
+been cursing Samuel Adams and John Hancock for having led the people
+to rebel against the king, not seeing that Divine Providence was using
+them as instruments to bring about a new era in human affairs. When
+the curses are loudest and most vehement, Mary's gentle hand pats his
+lips, smooths the gray hairs from the wrinkled brow, and calms his
+troubled spirit. Pansies bloom beneath the latticed windows of her
+cabin home. Morning-glories twine around it. Swallows twitter their
+joy, and build their nests beneath the eves. Motherly hens cluck to
+their broods in the dooryard. The fare upon the table within the cabin
+is frugal, but there is always a bit of bread or a herring for a
+wandering exile. When women pine for their old homes, when
+homesickness becomes a disease, it is Mary Shrimpton who cheers the
+fainting hearts. As she sits by her wheel, she sings the song sung by
+the blind old harper Carolan, who, though long separated from his true
+love, yet recognized her by the touch of her gentle hand:--
+
+ "True love can ne'er forget.
+ Fondly as when we met,
+ Dearest, I love thee yet,
+ My darling one."
+
+Tom Brandon said he would be true to her. The war is over; surely if
+living he will come. Though the thick fog at times drifts in from the
+sea, shutting out the landscape and all surrounding objects, though
+the rain patters on the roof, and the days are dark and dreary, her
+face is calm and serene, glorified by a steadfast faith and changeless
+love.
+
+The time has been long to the occupants of the cottage across the way.
+Though little gold is left in the purse, there is ever room for hungry
+refugees at the table of the king's former commissioner of imposts.
+The locks beneath his tie wig are whiter than they were, the furrows
+on his brow have deepened. Officers of the army and navy in Halifax,
+once guests in his home on the slope of Beacon Hill, sometimes call
+upon him, but the great world has passed him by. Old friends, fellow
+exiles, at times gather at his fireside, talk of other days, and of
+what Parliament may possibly do for them.
+
+Time has left its mark upon the face of her who sits by his side. The
+soft, brown hair has changed to gray. Plans of other days have not
+come to pass. Disappointment and grief have quenched ambitious fire.
+Father and mother are separated from a daughter beloved. How could
+Ruth ever become a rebel, disloyal to her rightful sovereign? What
+possessed her to turn her back upon Lord Upperton, upon the
+opportunity to become a peeress of the realm? Oh, the misery that has
+come from such waywardness! What has become of her? Will they ever
+again see her?
+
+[Illustration: Home of the Exiles.]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+With the flag of the new nation--the banner of crimson stripes and
+fadeless stars--flying at her masthead, the ship Berinthia Brandon,
+Major Tom Brandon owner, comes proudly sailing into Halifax harbor.
+The anchor dropped, he makes his way to the vine-clad cabin, listens a
+moment by the latticed window to hear a sweet voice singing words that
+thrill him.
+
+ "Dearest, I love thee yet,
+ My darling one."
+
+He lifts the latch. There is a cry of delight, and Mary springs to his
+arms.
+
+"I said I would come, and I am here."
+
+"I knew you would, Tom. Ever since a ship arrived bringing the news
+from Yorktown that Cornwallis had surrendered, I have been expecting
+you."
+
+"How do you do, father?" said Major Tom, holding out his hand to Mr.
+Shrimpton.
+
+"I ain't your father," the surly reply.
+
+"But you are to be, as soon as I can find a minister. The past is
+past. I've come to take you and Mary to your old home. When it was
+sold, I bought it; you are to go back to it and live there. It is to
+be our home."
+
+There is astonishment upon the cold, hard face, which relaxes its
+sternness; the chin quivers, the lips tremble, tears roll down the
+cheeks of the gray-haired exile. Through the years he has nursed his
+hate. But there is no sword so sharp, no weapon so keen to pierce the
+hardened human heart, as kindness. He has hated Samuel Adams, John
+Hancock, and Tom Brandon; and this is Tom's revenge. His old home to
+be his own once more! No longer an exile! To sit once more by the old
+fireside, through the kindness of him whom he had turned from his
+door! His head drops upon his breast; he sobs like a child, but
+reaches out his arms to them.
+
+"Take her, Tom. I've hated you, but God bless you; you were right, and
+I was wrong."
+
+No longer hard-hearted, cold, and animated by hate, but as a little
+child he enters the doorway leading to the Kingdom of Heaven.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A man of stalwart frame, a woman radiant and beautiful, with a little
+boy and girl, are standing by the door of the humble home across the
+way; fellow-passengers with Major Tom on the Berinthia Brandon. Mr.
+Newville opens the door in answer to the knock, to be clasped in the
+arms of Ruth. Great the surprise, unspeakable the joy, of father,
+mother, and daughter, meeting once more, welcoming a worthy son,
+taking prattling grandchildren to their arms.
+
+"We have come for you, and we are all going home together. You will
+find everything just as it was when you left," said Ruth.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Once more there were happy homes in Boston,--that upon Copp's Hill,
+where Berinthia and Abraham Duncan cared for the father and mother;
+that where Tom and Mary Shrimpton-Brandon made the passing days
+pleasant to Abel Shrimpton, loyal no longer to King George, but to the
+flag of the future republic; and that other home, where Major Robert
+Walden and his loving wife, with queenly grace, dispensed unstinted
+hospitality, not only to those distinguished among their fellow-men,
+but to the poor and needy, impoverished by the long and weary struggle
+for independence of the mother land. Abel Shrimpton and Theodore
+Newville were no longer exiles, but citizens, acknowledging cheerful
+allegiance to the flag of the confederation, through the fealty to
+liberty by the Daughters of the Revolution.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
+
+Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors; otherwise,
+every effort has been made to remain true to the author's words and
+intent.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Daughters of the Revolution and Their
+Times, by Charles Carleton Coffin
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