Aug.

CHAP. delusion, intended only to keep up the spirit of the VIII. mob. No assembly existed in the province to remon1774 strate; and Gage might delay or wholly omit to send out writs for a new election. But a people who were trained to read and write; to discuss all political questions, privately and in public; to strive to exhibit in their lives the Christian system of ethics, the beauty of holiness, and the unselfish nature of virtue; to reason on the great ends of God in creation; to believe in their own immortality; and to venerate their ancestry as above all others pure, enlightened, and free, could never forego the civil rights which were their most cherished inheritance.

The committee of Boston, exasperated by a military camp in the heart of their town, acknowledged themselves unable to deliberate "as the perils and exigencies of the times might demand." "Being stationed by Providence in the front rank of the conflict," such was their letter to all the other towns in the province, "we trust we shall not be left by Heaven to do any thing derogatory to our common liberties, unworthy of the fame of our ancestors, or inconsistent with our former professions. Though surrounded with a large body of armed men, who, having the sword, have also our blood in their hands, we are yet undaunted. To you, our brethren and dear companions in the cause of God, we apply. From you we have received that countenance and aid which have strengthened our hands, and that bounty, which hath occasioned smiles on the face of distress. To you, therefore, we look for that advice and example, which, with the blessing of God, shall save us from destruction."

VIII.

Aug.

The earnest message was borne to the northern CHAP. border of the province, where the brooks run to the Nashua, and the upland farms yielded but scanty re- 1774. turns to the hardest toil. The husbandmen in that region had already sent many loads of rye to the poor of Boston. In the coming storm they clustered round William Prescott, of Pepperell, who stood as firm as Monadnoc, that rose in sight of his homestead; and on the day after the first mandamus councillors took their oath of office, they put their soul into his words as he wrote for them to the men of Boston: "Be not dismayed nor disheartened in this day of great trials. We heartily sympathize with you, and are always ready to do all in our power for your support, comfort, and relief; knowing that Providence has placed you where you must stand the first shock. We consider we are all embarked in one bottom, and must sink or swim together. We think if we submit to these regulations, all is gone. forefathers passed the vast Atlantic, spent their blood and treasure, that they might enjoy their liberties, both civil and religious, and transmit them to their posterity. Their children have waded through seas of difficulty, to leave us free and happy in the enjoyment of English privileges. Now if we should give them up, can our children rise up and call us blessed? Is a glorious death in defence of our liberties better than a short infamous life, and our memories to be had in detestation to the latest posterity? Let us all be of one heart, and stand fast in the liberties wherewith Christ has made us free; and may he of his infinite mercy grant us deliverance out of all our troubles." Such were the cheering words of

Our

CHAP. Prescott and his companions, and they never forgot their pledge.

VIII.

1774. Aug.

Everywhere the rural population of Massachusetts were anxiously weighing the issues in which they were involved. One spirit moved through them all. From the hills of Berkshire to the Penobscot, they debated the great question of resistance as though God were hearkening; and they took counsel reverently with their ministers, and the aged, the pious, and the brave in their villages. Adjoining towns held conferences. The shire of Worcester in August set the example of a county congress, which disclaimed the jurisdiction of the British house of commons, asserted the exclusive right of the colonies to originate laws respecting themselves, rested their duty of allegiance on the charter of the province, and declared the violation of that charter a dissolution of their union with Britain.

Thomas Gardner, a Cambridge farmer, promised a similar convention of the county of Middlesex. "Friends and brethren," he wrote to Boston, as if at once to allay anxiety and prophesy his own approaching end, "the time is come that every one that has tongue and an arm is called upon by their country to stand forth in its behalf. I consider the call as the call of God, and desire to be all obedience. The people will choose rather to fall gloriously in the cause of their country than meanly submit to slavery." The passion for liberty was felt to be so hallowed, that in a land, remarkable for piety, a father of a family in his last hour would call his sons about his death-bed and charge them on his blessing to love freedom more than life.

In June there had been a review of the Boston CHAP.

VIII.

regiment. The patriots speculated on the total number of the militia. After searching the rolls of the 1774. Aug. several towns, the population of the province was estimated at four hundred thousand souls, and the number of men between sixteen and sixty years of age, at about one hundred and twenty thousand, most of whom possessed arms, and were expert in their There could be no general muster; but during the summer, the drum and fife were heard in every hamlet, and the several companies paraded for discipline. One day in August, Gage revoked Hancock's commission in the Boston cadets; and that company resented the insult by returning the king's standard and disbanding.

use.

Putnam, of Connecticut, famous for service near Lake George and Ticonderoga, before the walls of Havana, and far up the lakes against Pontiac, a pioneer of emigration to the southern banks of the Mississippi, the oracle of all patriot circles in his neighborhood, rode to Boston with one hundred and thirty sheep, as a gift from the parish of Brooklyn. The "old hero" became Warren's guest, and every one's favorite. The officers whom he visited on Boston Common bantered him about coming down to fight. "Twenty ships of the line and twenty regiments," said Major Small, "may be expected from England in case a submission is not speedily made by Boston." "If they come," said the veteran, "I am ready to treat them as enemies."

The growing excitement attracted to New England Charles Lee, the restless officer whom the Five Nations had named the Boiling Water. As aide-de-camp

VOL VII. 9*

VIII.

Aug.

CHAP. to the king of Poland, he assumed the rank of a major-general, which on occasion of his visit was univer1774 sally acknowledged; so that of all who were likely to draw the sword for America, he had the precedence in military rank. He paid court to the patriots of Massachusetts, and left them confident of his aid in the impending struggle. He on his part saw in the New England yeomanry the best materials for

an army.

Meantime the delegates of Massachusetts to the general congress were escorted by great numbers as far as Watertown, where many had gathered to bid them a solemn and affectionate farewell. As they reached Connecticut river, they received a letter of advice from the great patriot of Northampton. "We must fight," wrote Hawley, "we must fight, if we cannot otherwise rid ourselves of British taxation. The form of government enacted for us by the British parliament is evil against right, utterly intolerable to every man who has any idea or feeling of right or liberty. There is not heat enough yet for battle; constant and negative resistance will increase it. There is not military skill enough; that is improving and must be encouraged. Fight we must finally, unless Britain retreats. But it is of infinite consequence that victory be the end of hostilities. If we get to fighting before necessary dispositions are made for it, we shall be conquered and all will be lost for ever. A clear plan for an adequate supply of arms and military stores must be devised. This is the main thing. Men, in that case, will not be wanting. Our salvation depends upon a persevering union. Every grievance of any one colony must be held as a grievance to the