bell notificationshomepageloginedit profileclubsdmBox

Read Ebook: Harper's New Monthly Magazine Vol. IV No. 19 Dec 1851 by Various

More about this book

Font size:

Background color:

Text color:

Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page Prev Page

Ebook has 1078 lines and 157364 words, and 22 pages

-- Herra teit? auttakoon, jalo nuori herra! mutta te tulette hyvin huonoon aikaan, sill? noiden lurjusten -- joilta pyh? Kristoffer v??nt?k??n niskat nurin -- seura ei ole ollenkaan miellytt?v?? hyville kristityille kuten teille ja minulle.

Nuori mies hymyili katkerasti.

-- N?m? herrat ovat kai protestanttisia ratsumiehi?? h?n virkkoi.

-- Ja viel? saksalaisia ratsumiehi? kaupan p??lle, jatkoi majatalon is?nt?. Pyh? Neitsyt heid?t tuhotkoon! He ovat olleet t??ll? tunnin ja sin? aikana he ovat s?rkeneet puolet huonekaluistani. Kaikki armottomia rosvoja, niinkuin heid?n p??llikk?ns?kin, herra de Ch?tillon, senkin paholaisen amiraali.

-- Harmaaparraksi te olette kovin varomaton, vastasi nuori mies. Jospa sattumalta puhuisittekin protestantille, niin h?n voisi helposti vastata teille hyv?nsuopaisella l?im?yksell?. Ja niin sanoessaan h?n l?i valkeasta nahasta tehty? saapastaan raipalla, jota h?nen oli tapana k?ytt?? ratsastaessaan.

-- Kuinka! -- -- mit?! -- -- tek? hugenotti? -- -- protestantti! -- -- mit? sanoisinkaan, huudahti is?nt? h?mm?styneen?. H?n per?ytyi askeleen ja tarkasteli muukalaista kiireest? kantap??h?n, Ik??nkuin etsi?kseen h?nen puvustaan jotain merkki?, josta olisi voinut arvata, mihin uskontokuntaan h?n kuului. Kun t?m? tutkimus ja nuoren miehen avoimet ja hymyilev?t kasvot saivat h?net v?hitellen rauhoittumaan, niin h?n rupesi taas puhumaan hiljaisemmalla ??nell?:

-- Protestantti, jolla on vihre? samettipuku! protestantti, jolla on espanjalainen kaular?yhel?l Ei! se ei voi olla mahdollista! Voi armollinen nuori herra, niin paljon koreita vaatteita ei ole kerettil?isill?. Pyh? Maria! hieno samettinuttu, se on liian kaunis noille saitureille!

Samassa raippa vingahti ilmassa, ja sattuen majatalon is?nt?paran poskeen, se oli h?nelle kuin puhuteltavansa julkisena uskontunnustuksena.

-- H?vyt?n l?rp?ttelij?! kas siin? sait oppiaksesi pit?m??n kielesi kurissa. No, vie nyt hevoseni talliin ja katso ettei silt? puutu mit??n.

Majatalon is?nt? painoi surullisesti p??ns? alas, vei hevosen jonkinlaiseen vajaan, mutisten aivan hiljaan tuhansia kirouksia saksalaisille ja ranskalaisille kerettil?isille; ja jos ei nuori mies olisi seurannut h?nt? n?hd?kseen, miten h?nen hevostaan kohdeltaisiin, niin elukka parka olisi kerettil?isen? varmaankin j??nyt ilman illallista.

Muukalainen astui keitti??n ja tervehti siell? koolla olevia, kohottaen sirosti suurta hattuaan, jota varjosti mustakeltainen sulkat?yht?. Kun kapteeni oli vastannut h?nen tervehdykseens?, niin molemmatkin tarkastelivat toisiaan jonkin aikaa mit??n puhumatta.

-- Kapteeni, virkkoi nuori muukalainen, olen protestanttinen aatelismies, ja minua ilahduttaa tavata t??ll? muutamia uskonvelji?ni. Jos teit? miellytt??, niin sy?mme yhdess? illallista.

PAGE 1. Casting the Tea over in Boston Harbor 1 2. Boston in 1770-74 3 3. Faneuil Hall 4 4. Portrait of Governor Hutchinson 5 5. Portrait of the Earl of Dartmouth 5 6. House of John Hancock 6 7. Province House 7 8. The Old South Church, Boston 7 9. Portrait of David Kinnison 9 10. Portrait of George R. T. Hewes 10 11. Pouring Tea down the Throat of America 10 12. Route of the Arctic Expedition 12 13. Vessels beating to Windward of Iceberg 12 14. Perilous Situation of the Advance and Rescue 13 15. Discovery Ships near the Devil's Thumb 14 16. The Advance leading the Prince Albert 15 17. The Advance stranded at Cape Riley 16 18. Anvil-Block, and Guide-Board 17 19. Three Graves at Beechy 17 20. The Advance and Rescue at Barlow's Inlet 18 21. The Advance in Barrow's Straits 19 22. The Advance and Rescue drifting 19 23. The Advance and Rescue in the Winter 20 24. The Advance in Davis's Straits 20 25. The Advance among Hummocks 21 26. Stern of the Rescue in the Ice 21 27. The Passage of the Tagliamento 24 28. The Gorge of Neumarkt 26 29. The Venetian Envoys 27 30. The Conference dissolved 30 31. The Court at Milan 31 32. The Triumphal Journey 33 33. The Delivery of the Treaty 34 34. Portrait of Kossuth 40 35. Better Luck next Time 141 36. Doing One a Special Favor 141 37. Off Point Judith 142 38. Singular Phenomenon 142 39. A Slight Mistake 142 40. Costumes for December 143 41. Parisian, Frileuse, and Camara Cloaks 144 41. Child's Costume 144 43. Portrait of Franklin 145 44. The Franklin Smithy 145 45. Franklin at Ten Years of Age 146 46. Building the Pier at the Mill-pond 146 47. Franklin reading in his Chamber 147 48. The Franklin Family 147 49. Franklin studying in the Printing-office 147 50. Franklin's First Literary Essay 148 51. Franklin ill-used by his Brother 149 52. Franklin plans to escape 149 53. The Sloop at Sea 149 54. Franklin traveling through the Storm 150 55. The old Woman's Hospitality 150 56. Franklin with his Penny Rolls 150 57. Franklin gives the Bread to a poor Woman 151 58. Franklin asleep in the Meeting-house 152 59. Franklin with Bradford and Keimer 152 60. The Quakeress's Counsel 153 61. Franklin showing his Money 153 62. Franklin and the Governor of New York 154 63. Collins flung overboard 154 64. Reading on the Banks of the River 155 65. Franklin's Courtship 155 66. Franklin takes Leave of Miss Read 155 67. Franklin delivers his Letter 156 68. Franklin at the Book-store 156 69. Franklin carrying Type Forms 157 70. The Widow Lady of Duke-street 157 71. The Recluse Lodger 157 72. Franklin looking out of the Window 158 73. The Copper-plate Press 158 74. Franklin's First Job 159 75. The Junto Club 160 76. Meredith on a Spree 160 77. Grief of Miss Read 161 78. Franklin with the Wheelbarrow 161 79. The Library 162 80. Industry of Mrs. Franklin 162 81. The China Bowl and Silver Spoon 162 82. The Gardener at work 163 83. Grinding the Ax 163 84. The Widow carrying on Business 164 85. Franklin playing Chess 164 86. Franklin takes Charge of his Nephew 165 87. Portrait of Whitefield 165 88. The Expedition to Egypt 166 89. Napoleon embarking for Egypt 169 90. Napoleon looking at the distant Alps 170 91. The Disembarkation in Egypt 173 92. The March through the Desert 175 93. The Battle of the Pyramids 178 94. The Egyptian Ruins 183 95. Mr. Potts makes his Toilet 281 96. Mr. Potts suffers--Inexpressibly 281 97. Mr. Potts is discomposed 281 98. Mr. Potts in the wrong Apartment 282 99. Mr. Potts enchanted 283 100. Mr. Potts assumes a striking Attitude 283 101. Mr. Potts makes a Sensation 283 102. Mr. Potts tears himself away 284 103. Mr. Potts receives a Lecture 284 104. Arrant Extortion 285 105. Mr. Booby in the New Costume 285 106. A Bloomer in Leap Year 286 107. The Strong-minded Bloomer 286 108. Winter Costumes 287 109. Walking Dress 288 110. Hood and Head-dress 288 111. Preparing the Regimental Colors 290 112. Franklin on Military Duty 290 113. Franklin's Colloquy with the Quaker 291 114. The Indian Pow-wow 291 115. The Female Street-sweeper 292 116. The Horse and Packages for Camp 293 117. The precipitous Flight 293 118. March to Gnadenh?tten 294 119. Franklin's military Escort 295 120. Portrait of Buffon 296 121. Franklin and the new Governor 296 122. Sign of St. George and the Dragon 297 123. The Ship in Peril of the Rocks 297 124. Franklin writing to his Wife 298 125. The Old Man from the Desert 298 126. Portrait of Mrs. Franklin 299 127. Franklin on his Tour of Inspection 300 128. Bees swarming 301 129. Franklin's Departure from Chester 301 130. Reception of the Satin 302 131. Franklin transformed by his new Dress 302 132. Franklin repulsed from Lord Hillsborough's 303 133. The Boston Riot 304 134. Portrait of Lord Chatham 304 135. Portrait of Lord Camden 304 136. Franklin at Chess with the Lady 305 137. Drafting the Declaration of Independence 306 138. Old Age 307 139. Feeling toward Franklin in Paris 308 140. Portrait of Lafayette 309 141. Franklin's Amusement in Age 309 142. Napoleon's Escape from the Red Sea 310 143. The Dromedary Regiment 312 144. The Plague Hospital at Acre 317 145. The Bomb-shell exploding 320 146. Arrival of the Courier 326 147. Napoleon and Kleber 328 148. The Return from Egypt 329 149. A Horrible Business 429 150. Mrs. Baker's Pet 430 151. Costumes for February 431 152. Evening Dress 432 153. Full Dress for Home 432 154. The Rabbit House 433 155. The Pursuit 437 156. The Raft 439 157. Up the Ladder 441 158. The Yard at Mr. Randon's 442 159. Plan of Mr. Randon's House 444 160. The Great Room 444 161. Inundation at St. Petersburg 449 162. Russian Ice Mountains 452 163. Punishment for Drunkenness 454 164. Russian Isvoshtshiks 455 165. The Easter Kiss--agreeable 456 166. The Easter Kiss--as matter of Duty 456 167. The Easter Kiss--under Difficulties 456 168. The Easter Kiss--disagreeable 456 169. France is tranquil 573 170. The President's Road to Ruin 574 171. New Parisian Street-sweeping Machine 574 172. Costumes for March 575 173. Young Lady's Toilet 576 174. Morning Toilet 576 175. Ellen Asleep 578 176. The Snow-shoes 579 177. The Funeral 583 178. The Boys and the Boat 585 179. The Evasion 587 180. Raising the Hasp 591 181. The Corn-barn 591 182. Napoleon's Return from Egypt 595 183. Napoleon and the Atheists 596 184. Napoleon's Landing at Frejus 598 185. Napoleon's Reconciliation with Josephine 602 186. Napoleon on the Way to St. Cloud 608 187. Napoleon in the Council of Five Hundred 609 188. The Little Old Lady 662 189. Miss Jellyby 667 190. Going to Cover 711 191. Revolutionary Inquiries 714 192. Early Publication of a Paper in Paris 714 193. Scene from the President's Progress 715 194. Touching Sympathy 716 195. Sound Advice 716 196. Effects of a Strike 717 197. Perfect Identification 718 198. Calling the Police 718 199. Fashions for April 719 200. Dress Toilet 720 201. Child's Fancy Costume 720 202. The Drag Ride 722 203. The Well 724 204. The Conflagration 726 205. The barred Window 727 206. Antonio's Picture 728 207. The Court Room 729 208. The Arrest 732 209. The Governor 735 210. The Consuls and the Gold 737 211. Napoleon in the Temple 739 212. Napoleon's Entrance into the Tuileries 742 213. Napoleon and the Vendeean Chief 746 214. Napoleon and the Duchess of Guiche 750 215. Napoleon and Bourrienne 751 216. Unavailing Intercession of Josephine 753 217. The Lord Chancellor copies from Memory 814 218. Coavinses 821 219. Butcher-Boys of the Upper Ten 857 220. The Inquiring Omnibus Driver 857 221. Flunky's Idea of Beauty 858 222. A Competent Adviser 859 223. Regard for the Truth 859 224. Awful Effect of Eye-glasses 860 225. Rather Severe 860 226. Portrait of a Gentleman 861 227. The Peer on the Press 861 228. Interior of a French Court of Justice 862 229. Fashions for May 863 230. Visiting Dress 864 231. Home Toilet 864

HARPER'S

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY.

BY BENSON J. LOSSING.

As a general rule, revolutions in states are the results of isolated rebellions; and rebellions have their birth in desires to cast off evils inflicted by actual oppressions. These evils generally consist of the interferences of rulers with the physical well-being of the governed; and very few of the political changes in empires which so prominently mark the course of human history, have had a higher incentive to resistance than the maintenance of creature comforts. Abridgment of personal liberty in the exercise of natural rights, excessive taxation, and extortion of public officers, whereby individual competence and consequent ease have not been attainable, these have generally been the chief counts in the indictment, when the people have arisen in their might and arraigned their rulers at the bar of the world's judgment.

How little could the wisest political seer have perceived of an elemental cause of a revolution in America, and the dismemberment of the British Empire, in two pounds and two ounces of TEA, which, a little less than two centuries ago, the East India Company sent as a present to Charles the Second of England! Little did the "merrie monarch" think, while sitting with Nell Gwynn, the Earl of Rochester, and a few other favorites, in his private parlor at Whitehall, and that new beverage gave pleasure to his sated taste, that events connected with the use of the herb would shake the throne of England, albeit a Guelph, a wiser and more virtuous monarch than any Stuart, should sit thereon. Yet it was even so; and TEA, within a hundred years after that viceregal corporation made its gift to royalty, became one of the causes which led to rebellion and revolution, resulting in the independence of the Anglo-American colonies, and the founding of our Republic.

Much good was anticipated by the exercise of the enlightened policy of the Rockingham ministry, under whose auspices the Stamp Act had been repealed, when it was suddenly dissolved, and William Pitt, who was now elevated to the peerage, became prime minister. Had not physical infirmities borne heavily upon Lord Chatham, all would have been well; but while he was tortured by gout, and lay swathed in flannels at his country-seat at Hayes, weaker heads controlled the affairs of state. Charles Townshend, Pitt's Chancellor of the Exchequer, a vain, truckling statesman, coalesced with Grenville, the father of the Stamp Act, in the production of another scheme for deriving a revenue from America. Too honest to be governed by expediency, Grenville had already proposed levying a direct tax upon the Americans of two millions of dollars per annum, allowing them to raise that sum in their own way. Townshend had the sagacity to perceive that such a measure would meet with no favor; but in May, 1767, he attempted to accomplish the same result by introducing a bill providing for the imposition of a duty upon glass, paper, painters' colors, and TEA imported from Great Britain into America. This was only another form of taxation, and judicious men in Parliament viewed the proposition with deep concern. Burke and others denounced it in the Commons; and Shelburne in the House of Lords warned ministers to have a care how they proceeded in the matter, for he clearly foresaw insurrection, perhaps a revolution as a consequence. But the voice of prudence, uttering words of prophecy, was disregarded; Townshend's bill was passed, and became a law at the close of June, by receiving the royal signature. Other acts, equally obnoxious to the Americans, soon became laws by the sanction of the king, and the principles of despotism, concealed behind the honest-featured Declaratory Act, were displayed in all their deformity.

Boston, "the ringleader in rebellion," soon took the initiative step in revolutionary movements, and during 1768, tumults occurred, which caused Governor Bernard to call for troops to awe the people. General Thomas Gage, then commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, ordered two regiments from Halifax. Borne by a fleet which blockaded the harbor in September, they landed upon Long Wharf, in Boston, on Sunday morning, and while the people were desirous of worshiping quietly in their meeting-houses, these soldiers marched to the Common with charged muskets, fixed bayonets, drums beating, and colors flying, with all the pomp and insolence of victorious troops entering a vanquished city. It was a great blunder, and Governor Bernard soon perceived it.

Great indignation prevailed from the Penobscot to the St. Mary's, and the cause of Boston became the common cause of all the colonists. They resented the insult as if offered to themselves; and hatred of royal rule became a fixed emotion in the hearts of thousands. Legislative assemblies spoke out freely, and for the crime of being thus independent, royal governors dissolved them. Delegates returned to their constituents, each an eloquent crusader against oppression; and in every village and hamlet men congregated to consult upon the public good, and to determine upon a remedy for the monster evil now sitting like an incubus upon the peace and prosperity of the land.

As a countervailing measure, merchants in the various coast towns entered into an agreement to cease importing from Great Britain, every thing but a few articles of common necessity , from the first of January, 1769, to the first of January, 1770, unless the obnoxious act should be sooner repealed. The people every where seconded this movement by earnest co-operation, and Provincial legislatures commended the scheme. An agreement, presented in the Virginia House of Burgesses by Washington, was signed by every member; and in all the colonies the people entered at once upon a course of self-denial. For more than a year this powerful engine of retaliation waged war upon British commerce in a constitutional way, before ministers would listen to petitions and remonstrances; and it was not until virtual rebellion in the British capital, born of commercial distress, menaced the ministry, that the expostulations of the Americans were noticed, except with sneers.

"We, the daughters of those patriots who have, and do now appear for the public interest, and in that principally regard their posterity--as such, do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking of foreign TEA, in hopes to frustrate a plan which tends to deprive a whole community of all that is valuable in life."

From that time, TEA was a proscribed article in Boston, and opposition to the form of oppression was strongly manifested by the unanimity with which the pleasant beverage was discarded. Nor did the ladies of Boston bear this honor alone, but in Salem, Newport, Norwich, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Williamsburg, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah, the women sipped "the balsamic hyperion," made from the dried leaves of the raspberry plant, and discarded "the poisonous bohea." The newspapers of the day abound with notices of social gatherings where foreign tea was entirely discarded.

About this time Lord North succeeded Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was an honest man, a statesman of good parts, and a sincere friend to English liberty. He doubtless desired to discharge his duty faithfully, yet in dealing with the Americans, he utterly misunderstood their character and temper, and could not perceive the justice of their demands. This was the minister who mismanaged the affairs of Great Britain throughout the whole of our war for independence, and by his pertinacity in attempts to tax the colonies, and in opposing them in their efforts to maintain their rights, he finally drove them to rebellion, and protracted the war until reconciliation was out of the question.

The non-importation agreements began to be disregarded by many merchants, and six months before this repeal bill became a law, they had agreed, in several places, to import every thing but TEA, and that powerful lever of opposition had now almost ceased to work. TEA being an article of luxury, the resolutions to discard that were generally adhered to, and concerning TEA, alone, the quarrel was continued.

The Earl of Hillsborough, who had been Secretary of State for the Colonies during the past few years of excitement, was now succeeded by Lord Dartmouth, a personal friend to Dr. Franklin, a sagacious statesman, and a man sincerely disposed to do justice to the colonies. Had his councils prevailed, the duty upon tea would have been taken off, and all cause for discontent on the part of the colonies, removed. But North's blindness, countenanced by ignorant or wicked advisers, prevailed in the cabinet, and the olive-branch of peace and reconciliation, constantly held out by the Americans while declaring their rights, was spurned.

At the beginning of 1773, the East India Company, feeling the effects of the non-importation agreements and the colonial contraband trade, opened the way for reconciliation, while endeavoring to benefit themselves. Already seventeen millions of pounds of tea had accumulated in their warehouses in England, and the demand for it in America was daily diminishing. To open anew an extensive market so suddenly closed, the Company offered to allow government to retain six-pence upon the pound as an exportation tariff, if they would take off the duty of three-pence. Ministers had now a fair opportunity, not only to conciliate the colonies in an honorable way, but to procure, without expense, double the amount of revenue. But the ministry, deluded by false views of national honor, would not listen to the proposition, but stupidly favored the East India Company, while persisting in unrighteousness toward the Americans. A bill was passed in May, to allow the Company to export tea to America on their own account, without paying export duty, while the impost of three-pence was continued. The mother country thus taught the colonists to regard her as a voluntary oppressor.

While the bill for allowing the East India Company to export tea to America on their own account, was under consideration in Parliament, Dr. Franklin, Arthur Lee, and others, apprised the colonists of the movement; and when, a few weeks afterward, several large vessels laden with the plant, were out upon the Atlantic, bound for American ports, the people here were actively preparing to prevent the landing of the cargoes. The Company had appointed consignees in various seaport towns, and these being generally known to the people, were warned to resign their commissions, or hold them at their peril.

In Boston the most active measures were taken to prevent the landing of the tea. The consignees were all friends of government; two of them were Governor Hutchinson's sons, and a third , was his nephew. Their neighbors expostulated with them, but in vain; and as the time for the expected arrival of two or three tea-ships approached, the public mind became feverish. On the first of November several of the leading "Sons of Liberty," as the patriots were called, met at the house of John Hancock, on Beacon-street, facing the Common, to consult upon the public good, touching the expected tea ships. A public meeting was decided upon, and on the morning of the third the following placard was posted in many places within the city:

"TO THE FREEMEN OF THIS AND THE NEIGHBORING TOWNS.

O. C. Sec'y.

"Boston, Nov. 3, 1773.

" Show me the man that dare take this down!"

The consignees were summoned at an early hour in the morning, to appear under Liberty Tree , and resign their commissions. They treated the summons with contempt, and refused to comply. At the appointed hour the town-crier proclaimed the meeting, and the church-bells of the city also gave the annunciation. Timid men remained at home, but about five hundred people assembled near the tree, from the top of which floated the New England flag. No definite action was taken, and at three o'clock the meeting had dispersed.

On the 5th, another meeting was held, over which John Hancock presided. Several short but vehement speeches were made, in which were uttered many seditious sentiments; eight resistance resolutions adopted by the Philadelphians were agreed too; and a committee was appointed to wait upon the consignees, who, it was known, were then at Clarke's store, on King-street, and request them to resign. Again those gentlemen refused compliance, and when the committee reported to the meeting, it was voted that the answer of the consignees was "unsatisfactory and highly affrontive." This meeting also adjourned without deciding upon any definite course for future action.

The excitement in Boston now hourly increased. Grave citizens congregated at the corners of the streets to interchange sentiments, and all seemed to have a presentiment that the sanguinary scenes of the 5th of March, 1770, when blood flowed in the streets of Boston, were about to be reproduced.

The troops introduced by Bernard had been removed from the city, and there was no legal power but that of the civil authorities, to suppress disorder. On the 12th, the captain-general of the province issued an order for the Governor's Guards, of which John Hancock was colonel, to stand in readiness to assist the civil magistrate in preserving order. This corps, being strongly imbued with the sentiments of their commander, utterly disregarded the requisition. Business was, in a measure, suspended, and general uneasiness prevailed.

"Boston, Nov. 29th, 1773."

When the meeting was about to adjourn, a letter was received from the consignees, offering to store the tea until they could write to England and obtain instructions from the owners. The people had resolved that not a chest should be landed, and the offer was at once rejected. The sheriff, who was present, then stepped upon the back of a pew, and read a proclamation by the governor, ordering the assembly to disperse. It was received with hisses. Another resolution was then adopted, ordering two other tea vessels, then hourly expected, to be moored at Griffin's wharf; and, after solemnly pledging themselves to carry their several resolutions into effect at all hazards, and thanking the people in attendance from the neighboring towns for their sympathy, they adjourned.

The "Old South" was crowded at the appointed hour, yet perfect order prevailed. It was resolved to order Mr. Roch to apply immediately for a clearance for his ship, and send her to sea. The owner was in a dilemma, for the governor had taken measures, since the arrival of the Dartmouth, to prevent her sailing out of the harbor. Admiral Montague, who happened to be in Boston, was directed to fit out two armed vessels, and station them at the entrance to the harbor, to act in concert with Colonel Leslie, the commander of the garrison at the Castle. Leslie had already received written orders from the governor not to allow any vessel to pass the guns of the fort, outward, without a permit, signed by himself. Of course Mr. Roch could do nothing.

As no effort had yet been made to land the tea, the meeting adjourned, to assemble again on the 16th, at the same place. These several popular assemblies attracted great attention in the other colonies; and from New York and Philadelphia in particular, letters, expressive of the strongest sympathy and encouragement, were received by the Committee of Correspondence. At the appointed hour on the 16th, the "Old South" was again crowded, and the streets near were filled with a multitude, eager to participate in the proceedings. They had flocked in from the neighboring towns by hundreds. So great a gathering of people had never before occurred in Boston. Samuel Phillips Savage, of Weston, was chosen Moderator, or Chairman, and around him sat many men who, two years afterward, were the recognized leaders of the Revolution in Massachusetts. When the preliminary business was closed, and the meeting was about to appoint committees for more vigorous action than had hitherto been directed, the youthful Josiah Quincy arose, and with words almost of prophecy, uttered with impassioned cadence, he harangued the multitude. "It is not, Mr. Moderator," he said, "the spirit that vapors within these walls that must stand us in stead. The exertions of this day will call forth events which will make a very different spirit necessary for our salvation. Whoever supposes that shouts and hosannas will terminate the trials of this day, entertains a childish fancy. We must be grossly ignorant of the importance and the value of the prize for which we contend: we must be equally ignorant of the power of those who have combined against us; we must be blind to that malice, inveteracy, and insatiable revenge, which actuates our enemies, public and private, abroad and in our bosoms, to hope that we shall end this controversy without the sharpest conflicts--to flatter ourselves that popular resolves, popular harangues, popular acclamations, and popular vapor will vanquish our foes. Let us consider the issue. Let us look to the end. Let us weigh and consider before we advance to those measures which must bring on the most trying and terrible struggle this country ever saw." This gifted young patriot did not live to see the struggle he so confidently anticipated; for, when blood was flowing, in the first conflicts at Lexington and Concord, eighteen month's afterward, he was dying with consumption, on ship-board, almost within sight of his native land.

The people, in the "Old South," were greatly agitated when Quincy closed his harangue. It was between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. The question was immediately proposed to the meeting, "Will you abide by your former resolutions with respect to not suffering the TEA to be landed?" The vast assembly within, as with one voice, replied affirmatively, and when the purport was known without, the multitude there responded in accordance. The meeting now awaited the return of Mr. Roch, who had been to the governor to request a permit for his vessel to leave the harbor. Hutchinson, alarmed at the stormy aspect of affairs, had taken counsel of his fears, and withdrawn from the city to his country-house at Milton, a few miles from Boston. It was sunset when Roch returned and informed the meeting that the governor refused to grant a permit, until a clearance should be exhibited. As a clearance had already been refused by the collector of the port, until the cargo should be landed, it was evident that government officers had concerted to resist the demands of the people. Like a sea lashed by a storm, that meeting swayed with excitement, and eagerly demanded from the leaders some indication for immediate action. Night was fast approaching, and as the twilight deepened, a call was made for candles. At that moment, a person in the gallery, disguised in the garb of a Mohawk Indian, gave a war-whoop, which was answered from without. That signal, like the notes of a trumpet before the battle-charge, fired the assemblage, and as another voice in the gallery shouted, "Boston harbor a tea-pot to-night! Hurrah for Griffin's wharf!" a motion to adjourn was carried, and the multitude rushed to the street. "To Griffin's wharf! to Griffin's wharf!" again shouted several voices, while a dozen men, disguised as Indians, were seen speeding over Fort Hill, in that direction. The populace followed, and in a few minutes the scene of excitement was transferred from the "Old South" to the water side.

The life of another actor was spared, until within ten years, and his portrait, also, is preserved. GEORGE ROBERT TWELVES HEWES, was supposed to be the latest survivor, until the name of David Kinnison was made public. Soon not one of all that party will be among the living.

The events of the 16th of December produced a deep sensation throughout the British realm. They struck a sympathetic chord in every colony which afterward rebeled; and even Canada, Halifax, and the West Indies, had no serious voice of censure for the Bostonians. But the ministerial party here, and the public in England, amazed at the audacity of the Americans in opposing royal authority, and in destroying private property, called loudly for punishment; and even the friends of the colonists in Parliament were, for a moment, silent, for they could not fully excuse the lawless act. Another and a powerful party was now made a principal in the quarrel; the East India Company whose property had been destroyed, was now directly interested in the question of taxation. That huge monopoly which had controlled the commerce of the Indies for more than a century and a half, was then almost at the zenith of its power. Already it had laid the foundation, broad and deep, of that British-Indian Empire which now comprises the whole of Hindostan, from the Himalaya Mountains to Cape Comorin, with a population of more than one hundred and twenty millions, and its power in the government affairs of Great Britain, was almost vice-regal. Unawed by the fleets and armies of the imperial government, and by the wealth and power of this corporation, the Bostonians justified their acts by the rules of justice and the guarantees of the British constitution; and the next vessel to England, after the event was known there, carried out an honest proposition to the East India Company, from the people of Boston, to pay for the tea destroyed. The whole matter rested at once upon its original basis--the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies--and this fair proposition of the Bostonians disarmed ministers of half their weapons of vituperation. The American party in England saw nothing whereof to be ashamed, and the presses, opposed to the ministry, teemed with grave disquisitions, satires, and lampoons, all favorable to the colonists, while art lent its aid in the production of several caricatures similar to the one here given, in which Lord North is represented as pouring tea down the throat of unwilling America, who is held fast by Lord Mansfield , while Britannia stands by, weeping at the distress of her daughter. In America, almost every newspaper of the few printed, was filled with arguments, epigrams, parables, sonnets, dialogues, and every form of expression favorable to the resistance made in Boston to the arbitrary acts of government; and a voice of approval went forth from pulpits, courts of law, and the provincial legislatures.

Great was the exasperation of the king and his ministers when intelligence of the proceedings in Boston reached them. According to Burke, the "House of Lords was like a seething caldron"--the House of Commons was "as hot as Faneuil Hall or the Old South Meeting House at Boston." Ministers and their supporters charged the colonies with open rebellion, while the opposition denounced, in the strongest language which common courtesy would allow, the foolish, unjust, and wicked course of government.

Edmund Burke, who now commenced his series of splendid orations in favor of America, denounced the whole scheme as essentially wicked and unjust, because it punished the innocent with the guilty. "You will thus irrevocably alienate the hearts of the colonies from the mother country," he exclaimed. "The bill is unjust, since it bears only upon the city of Boston, while it is notorious that all America is in flames; that the cities of Philadelphia, of New York, and all the maritime towns of the continent, have exhibited the same disobedience. You are contending for a matter which the Bostonians will not give up quietly. They can not, by such means, be made to bow to the authority of ministers; on the contrary, you will find their obstinacy confirmed and their fury exasperated. The acts of resistance in their city have not been confined to the populace alone, but men of the first rank and opulent fortune in the place have openly countenanced them. One city in proscription and the rest in rebellion, can never be a remedial measure for disturbances. Have you considered whether you have troops and ships sufficient to reduce the people of the whole American continent to your devotion?" From denunciation he passed to appeal, and besought ministers to pause ere they should strike a blow that would forever separate the colonies from Great Britain. But the pleadings of Burke and others, were in vain, and "deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity," this, and other rigorous measures, were put in operation by ministers.

How conspicuous the feeble Chinese plant should appear among these important events let the voice of history determine.

THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

The safe return of the Expedition sent out by Mr. Henry Grinnell, an opulent merchant of New York city, in search of Sir John Franklin and his companions, is an event of much interest; and the voyage, though not resulting in the discovery of the long-absent mariners, presents many considerations satisfactory to the parties immediately concerned, and to the American public in general.

Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page Prev Page

 

Back to top