Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

At this our Town-Committee
The port’s collector sought;[33]
The governor,[33] too, exulting[34]
To think his trap had caught.
“You mark the fleet and castle;
Should trouble brew,” said he;
“Your Hancocks, Rowes, and Phillips[34]
Might risk as much as we.”
But Molineux[35] said only:
“They more would risk if slaves;
For all they then could wish, would be
Enough to give them graves.”
“‘If slaves’!” the governor answer’d,
And rail’d against their cause;
“Aha!—you talk of ‘slaves,’ forsooth,
Because your land has laws!
And you would dare to break them?—
And reason, what of it?—
I trust in human nature,
When reason should submit.”

“We trust in human nature,”
Said Young,[36] who near him stood;
“And peace that brooks oppression,
It does not deem a good.
We trust in human nature;
The conscience, ruling there,
May guard the right, full well as kings
With crowns their dearest care.
Love rules in human nature,
For, all of history through,
The slaves have been the many,
The tyrants been the few.”

The governor turn’d in anger:
“Well, well, we then shall see.
Your hint of flint can wring no ‘Writ
Of Clearance’ here from me.”

Then met the town together,
Their final vote to take.
Not one, of seven thousand[38] there,
Desired the peace to break.

Said Quincy:[37] “Crowds and shoutings
Can never end our strife.
But sadder scenes and sounds await
Our loss of wealth and life.
The structures fair of freedom
Men rear beneath the sky,
Press down on deep foundations,
Where thousands buried lie.
Our course we well may ponder:
Hope’s rainbow in the cloud
May lure a march beneath its arch
To flash and bolt and shroud.”
The people paused and ponder’d;
But not a single hand,[38]
When call’d to vote, but voted,
“The tea shall never land.”

And then we met together;
If fighting must be done,
We knew we now should do it,
We boys of Lebanon.
In one day more—one only—[39]
The fleet and fort would hold
The tea that none could longer keep
From being bought and sold.
Close by we sought our quarters;
And from our knapsacks quick
We took our Indian guises;
And stain’d our cheeks with brick.
Anon, we half were ready,
With tomahawks in hand[40];
And half, with muskets only,[40]
And heard our last command.
A moment then we waited;
We knew the danger there;
We looked above for courage;
We bent below in prayer.
We swore by God in heaven,
To keep our names from all;
We swore to stand together,
Till all in death should fall;
We swore, by truth and honor,
Should half essay to flee,
To cast that half the harbor in
To perish with the tea.[40]

The twilight long had tarried;
The darkness deeper grew;
In old South Church, the people
Still ponder’d what to do.

The dimness veil’d our coming.
We listen’d near the door,
Till Samuel Adams rose and said,[41]
“We here can do no more.”
And then we pass’d the word on:
“To Griffin’s wharf now!—run!”
For we knew where to do the rest,
We boys of Lebanon.

Then off flew some as pickets
To stand and sound alarms,
Should coming spies or soldiers
Compel resort to arms.
The twilight long had tarried;
The darkness deeper grew;
“Full time,” said we, “to take our tea!”
The people thought so too.

To Griffin’s wharf we led them;
We row’d, and reach’d the ships;
No captain there, nor sailor,
Dared open once his lips.
We crowded every gangway;
We brought out every chest;
We smash’d and dash’d it overboard.
The bay did all the rest.
No time was there for shouting,
No wish was there for strife;
Three hours we wrought in silence,
And thank’d the Lord for life.
Anon, the work was ended;
Anon, we back could row;
The heaven was black above us;
The harbor black below.

None thought on shore to cheer us,[42]
Though all had waited there;
Their silence match’d the silence,
Where souls have flown to prayer.
Their silence match’d the silence
Of war’s reserves, whose breath
Is hush’d to hear the order,
That orders all to death.
Their silence match’d the silence
Of heavens, close and warm,
Ere, like a shell incasing hell,
They burst and free a storm.

As hush’d as on a Sabbath,[42]
The people homeward went;
Their eyes alone transparent,
To show their souls’ content.
But we, we met together,
When all our work was done,
To toast the dawn of freedom,
We boys of Lebanon.

Then, early stirr’d at morning,
We left with Paul Revere,[43]
Who through the south went riding off
To bear, from Boston, cheer.
We spread through all the country;
We told, how all was done;
Till all the shoremen stored away
A tomahawk and gun.
Throughout the land, no Tory
Would brave their sworn attack;
East India found no agent;
The tea that came went back.

But, better far for freedom,[44]
There ran from mouth to mouth,
From soul to soul, a tide to roll,
And flow from north to south.
Beyond the power of local pride
Or envy to withstand,
It burst each colony’s borders
To form one common land.[44]
Before men talk’d of Union;
But now was Union won,
When everywhere each village square
Held boys of Lebanon.

FOOTNOTES

[1] In order to indicate the relations existing, at the time of the “Tea-Party,” between Boston and the surrounding towns, as well as to give unity of form to this ballad, the story has been told as given, some years ago, by David Kinnison, one of the survivors of the party, who boarded the tea-ships. He stated that certain young men of Lebanon, Me., united in a secret society—one of many existing at that time—and formed alliances with clubs in Boston and in other places. These young men determined to destroy the tea, and went to Boston for that purpose. Having resolved to stand by each other, to throw overboard those who faltered, and not to reveal each other’s names, twenty-four went on board as Indians, half armed with muskets and bayonets, half with tomahawks and clubs, and all expecting a fight.—See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Bk. of the Rev._, vol. i, p. 499.

[2] In 1770, “September, Hutchinson received the order ... which marks the beginning of a system of ... prevention of American independence.... Boston was made the rendezvous of all ships ... and the fortress ... garrisoned by regular troops.... But the charter of Massachusetts purposely and emphatically reserved to its governor the command of the militia of the colony, and of its forts; the castle had been built and repaired and garrisoned by the colony itself at its own expense; to ... bestow it on the commander-in-chief was a plain violation of the charter, as well as of immemorial usage.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. vi., ch. 45, pp. 368, 369.

[3] “Never was a community more distressed or divided by fear and hope than ... Boston. There the ... Board of the Commissioners of the Customs was to be established ... as the lawyers of England ... decided,” in 1767, “that American taxation by Parliament was legal and constitutional, the press of Boston sought support in something more firm than human opinion.... ‘The law of nation,’ said they, ‘is the law of God.’”—_Idem_, ch. 30, pp. 101, 102.

[4] “‘Hancock and most of the party,’ said the governor, ‘are quiet, and all of them, except Adams, abate their virulence.’”—_Idem_, ch. 47, p. 407.

[5] “Bernard ... dissolved the Assembly. Massachusetts was left without a legislature.”—_Idem_, ch. 34, pp. 165. See also “Our First Break with the British,” note 9.

[6] “The officers screened their men from legal punishment, and sometimes even rescued them from the constables.”—_Idem_, ch. 43, p. 334. See also the whole account, in this chapter, of the Boston massacre.

[7] “For New York, the Lords of Trade ... refused to Presbyterians any immunities but such as might be derived from the British Law of Toleration.”—_Idem_, vol. vi., ch. 7, p. 84. See also “Our First Break with the British,” note 12.

[8] “‘It was not reverence for kings,’ he (Adams) would say, ‘that brought the ancestors of New England to America. They fled from kings and bishops, and looked up to the King of kings. We are free, therefore,’ he concluded, ‘and want no kings.’”—_Idem_, ch. 36, pp. 194.

[9] “New York alone had been perfectly true to its engagements ... impatient of a system of voluntary renunciation ... so unequally kept.... Merchants of New York ... consulted those of Philadelphia on agreeing to a general importation of all articles except of tea ... and now trade between America and England was open in every thing but tea.”—_Idem_, ch. 44, pp. 365, 366. “The students at Princeton burnt the New York merchants’ letter.... Boston tore it into pieces” at a full meeting of the trade.—_Idem._

[10] “The continued refusal ... to receive tea ... had brought distress upon the East India Company.... Praying ... to export teas, free of all duties, to America ... Lord North proposed to give to the company itself the right of exporting its teas ... the ministry would not listen to the thought of relieving America from taxation.”—_Idem_, ch. 49, pp. 457, 458.

[11] “Massachusetts ... elected its Committee of Correspondence, fifteen in number. New Hampshire and Connecticut did the same, so that all New England and Virginia ... on the first emergency, ... could convene a congress.”—_Idem_, p. 460.

[12] “‘Brethren,’ they wrote, ‘we are reduced to this dilemma—either to sit down quiet ... or to rise up and resist ... we earnestly request your advice.’”—_Idem_, p. 476.

[13] See “Our First Break with the British,” note 27. Also _Idem_, vol. v., ch. 16, p. 310.

[14] “A large flag was hung out on the pole at Liberty Tree; the bells in the meeting-houses were rung from eleven till noon.”—_Idem_, vol. vi., ch. 50, p. 473.

[15] “Molineux read a paper requiring the consignee to promise not to sell the teas, but to return them.... Then read ... a Resolve passed at Liberty Tree that the consignees who should refuse ... were enemies to their country.”—_Idem_, pp. 473, 474.

[16] “Each and all answered: ‘I cannot comply.’”—_Idem._

[17] “There was once more a legal Town Meeting to entreat the consignees to resign. Upon their repeated refusal, the town passed no vote ... but ... broke up.”—_Idem_, p. 475.

[18] “The Committee of Correspondence ... authorized Samuel Adams to invite ... Dorchester, Rozbury, etc., ... to hold a mass meeting ... the assembly resolved unanimously that ‘the tea should be sent back ... at all events.’”—_Idem_, pp. 477, 478. See also the reply of the towns, p. 483.

[19] “Sunday, the 28th of November,” 1773.—_Idem_, p. 477.

[20] “A party ... under ... Edward Proctor as its captain, was appointed to guard the tea-ship.”—_Idem_, p. 478.

[21] “The select men ... sought in vain for the consignees, who had taken sanctuary in the castle.”—_Idem_, 477.

[22] “On the same day, the council, who had been solicited by the Governor and the consignees to assume the guardianship of the tea, coupled their refusal with a reference ... that the tax upon it ... was unconstitutional.”—_Idem_, p. 478.

[23] “Let the tea be entered, and it would be beyond the power of the consignees to send it back.”—_Idem_, p. 477.

[24] “The Committee of Correspondence ... obtained from the Quaker Rotch, who owned the Dartmouth, a promise not to enter the ship.”—_Idem_, p. 477.

[25] “Faneuil Hall could not contain the people ... on Monday.”—_Idem_, 478.

[26] “The Sheriff ... entered with a Proclamation from the Governor, warning, exhorting, and requiring ... each ... unlawfully assembled forthwith to disperse.... The words were received with hisses, ... and a unanimous vote not to disperse.”—_Idem_, p. 479.

[27] “We now declare to you our readiness to store them.”—_Idem._

[28] “Every ship owner was forbidden, on pain of being deemed an enemy to his country, to import or bring as freight any tea from Great Britain till the unrighteous act taxing it should be repealed, and this vote was printed and sent to every seaport in the province, and to England.”—_Idem_, p. 480.

[29] “Two more tea ships ... arrived.”—_Idem._

[30] “A military watch was regularly kept up ... by night. The tolling of the bells would have been the signal for a general uprising.”—_Idem._

[31] “The ships, ... on the twentieth day from their arrival, would be liable to seizure.”—_Idem._

[32] “The Active and the Kingfisher ... were sent to guard the passages out of the harbor.... Orders were given ... to load guns at the castle so that no vessel ... might go to sea without a permit.”—_Idem_, p. 482.

[33] “A meeting of the people ... directed ... the owner of the Dartmouth to apply for a clearance. He did so ... accompanied by ... eight others as witnesses.... The collector and comptroller unequivocally and finally refused.... Then said they (_i.e._, the people) ... protest immediately against the custom-house, and apply to the Governor for his pass.”—_Idem_, pp. 483-5.

[34] “‘They find themselves,’ ... said Hutchinson, ‘involved in invincible difficulties.... The wealth of Hancock, Phillips, Rowe, Dennie, and so many other men of property, seemed to him a security against violence.”—_Idem_, pp. 480-2. “Hutchinson began to clutch at victory.”—_Idem_, p. 484.

[35] See note 15 under this Ballad.

[36] “‘The only way to get rid of it,’ said Young (speaking of the tea in one of the Boston public meetings), ‘is to throw it overboard.’”—_Idem_, p. 478.

[37] “‘Shouts and hozannas will not terminate the trials of this day ... insatiable revenge which actuates our enemies ... must bring on the most ... terrible struggle this country ever saw.’ Thus spoke the younger Quincy.”—_Idem_, p. 486.

[38] “The whole assembly of seven thousand voted unanimously that the tea should not be landed.”—_Idem._

[39] “A few hours would have placed the tea under the protection of the admiral at the castle.”—_Idem_, 487.

[40] See note 1 under this Ballad.

[41] “A quarter before six Rotch appeared ... relating that the governor had refused him a pass.... Samuel Adams rose and gave the word: ‘This meeting can do nothing more to save the country.’ On the instant, a shout was heard at the porch.... A body of men ... disguised as Indians, ... encouraged by ... others, repaired to Griffin’s wharf, posted guards to prevent the intrusion of spies, ... and in about three hours, three hundred and forty chests of tea, being the whole quantity ... were emptied into the bay without ... injury to other property.”—_Idem_, pp. 486, 487.

[42] “The people around ... were ... still.... After the work was done, the town became as still and calm as if it had been holy time.”—_Idem._

[43] “The next morning the Committee of Correspondence ... sent Paul Revere, as express with the information to New York and Philadelphia.”—_Idem._

[44] “The ministry had chosen the most effectual measures to unite the colonies.... Old jealousies were removed, and perfect harmony subsisted between all.”—_Idem_, p. 488.

THE CROWN’S FIGHT AGAINST THE TOWN’S RIGHT.

LEXINGTON, APRIL 19, 1775.

“A galloping horse is coming[1]
Across the field!—do you mark?”—
We woke and flew to the window,
We peer’d away in the dark.

The cloud-black night was bringing
The stir of a storm to fear.
What flash’d and clash’d!—who brought it?—
“I, I!” cried Paul Revere.[1]

“The British are off for Concord[1]
To seize the colony’s arms!
And Dawes[1] and I stole over
The river and over the farms.”

“Wait, wait,” we cried, “a moment;
You trust our lead awhile!
A cross-cut here to the highway
Will save you more than a mile!”

“Come quick!” said Paul. “Their plan is
To bear the arms away,
And store them safe in Boston
Before the break of day.”

“Yet wait you, Paul, and, waiting,
Tell how does Boston fare?”
“Alas,” he sigh’d, “no telling
How many will breakfast there.

“You know that, since the Port-Bill[2]
Laid up our merchant-fleet,
We had starved, unless the farmers[3]
Had sent us food to eat.

“To stop this, chains of pickets
Are strung on Boston Neck;
Our bay is black with frigates,
And all our trade they check.

“And thus they vow to treat us,
Till, humbled by their might,
We hold no courts nor meetings,[4]
And yield each charter’d right.

“Ay, ay, and let our leaders,
For serving us too well,
Be borne in chains to Britain,[5]
To fill some dungeon-cell.

“The men who call’d our Congress[6]
They swear to seize to-day.—
High time to rouse the country!
High time to save the prey!”

“Off, off!” we cried, and parted;
Then dragg’d from under the hay[7]
The guns our goods had cover’d
When borne from Boston Bay.

Our wives pour’d out the treasure
They too had brought from town,[7]
The powder, flint, and bullets
Well tuck’d in box and gown.

We arm’d in haste, but hardly
Had left with pouch and gun,
Before the bell rang, telling
Of Paul in Lexington.

At midnight saw he Charlestown;
Not two had struck the clock[8]
Yet here the trembling belfry
Was rallying all its flock.

They sought the green together;
Set guards on every road;
Then sought the inn to measure
The fate they might forebode.

Ten times their band in number
Were those they watch’d before;
And here should they withstand them?
Or fly to join with more?

“Stand here!” said Jonas Parker[19];
“The law has arm’d the town.”
“And here,” said Clark,[9] their pastor,
“Be right, and shame the crown.

“What, though they fire, and fight us?—
Make every heart rain blood?
Their guns, if heard in Concord,
May save it from the flood.

“And if the blood we give them
Shall save the colony-stores,
Like fruit shall we be falling,
Red-ripe to all our cores.

“And if the blood we give them
Be given to make us free,
The court may learn a lesson
And let our charters be.

“We are few, but what are numbers?—
This church may proof supply
That right may move to triumph
With only one—to die!”

He paused—the door flew open;
All heard a watch call out:
“Full drive a horseman coming!
Perhaps an army-scout!”

And out they flew to face him;
But on the charger fleet
No enemy, only a neighbor,[10]
Came galloping up the street.

“The foe are coming!” he stammer’d;
“They capture all they meet;
I dodg’d a man and musket;
And hark!—you hear their feet!”

We hush’d and heard a tramping
That well might bring despair,
And cause the nerves to tremble
Their loads of fear to bear.

“Sound drum[11] and gun,” said Parker,[10]
“And bell! If they but halt,
Where time is all we plan for,
We win without an assault.”

They halted,[12] then drew nearer;—
What need of halting more?
They came, a veteran army;
We never had fought before.

We stood but sixty farmers,[13]
Our homes and wives between,
Whose hands, up waved or wringing,
Seem’d fringing half the green.

“Be theirs the blame,” said Parker[14];
“Fire not till they fire first.
God’s house is here, and heaven,
If worse should come to worst.”

Athwart the gray of morning,
None knew how large a force
Came crowding against the common,
With cries and orders hoarse.

But yet across the common,
And just beyond the church,
We form’d a line to check there
The crown’s illegal search.

At double quick, and onward,
With bayonets fix’d, they came;
Then wide and wild their red coats
About us burst like flame.

Before them rode their leader,
And cried with many a curse:
“Lay down your arms, you villains![15]
You villains you, disperse!”

But, true to law and country,
Scarce one his musket dropt[16];
And then their column falter’d,
Broke up, moved slower, stopt.

“You rebels!” roar’d the leader,
While up his pistol came—[17]
A hint his minions welcomed;
We saw them all take aim.

We saw them, but we waited,
Till “Fire!” their leader cried,[17]
And shot, and howl’d, “Surround them!”
And round us turn’d to ride.

They fired and surged about us,[18]
Ah me, a fiery flood!—
All overwhelm’d, our brothers
Were falling, drench’d in blood.

“Serve God before the Briton!”
Cried Parker,[19] where he bled;
And nine of us were wounded;
And seven of us were dead.[20]

“Away!” a voice repeated,[21]
“Away while yet we may.
To stay were now but murder!
To wall and fence away!”

Off sped we then to shoot them,
Like Indians, one by one,
But walls, in smoke between us,
They deem’d it wise to shun.

They cheer’d[22] and left for Concord.
Our wounded home we bore:
Then we too left for Concord,
To meet them there once more.[23]

FOOTNOTES

[1] April 18, 1775. “Gage ... secretly prepared an expedition to destroy the colony’s stores at Concord.... Warren ... at ten o’clock despatched William Dawes through Roxbury to Lexington, and Paul Revere ... by way of Charlestown. Revere ... five minutes before the sentinels received the order to prevent it ... rowed ... across Charles River ... beyond Charlestown Neck ... intercepted by two British officers ... he ... escaped to Medford. As he passed on he ... continued to rouse almost every house on the way to Lexington.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 27, pp. 288, 289.

[2] “The privilege of its harbor was to be discontinued, and the port closed against all commerce ... until the king should be satisfied that ... it would obey the laws.”—This the Boston port bill.—_Idem_, vol. vi., ch. 52, p. 511.

[3] For contributions in food and money sent at this time to Boston, see _Lossing’s Pic. Field Book of the Am. Rev._, vol. i., p. 535.

[4] “The second penal bill ... abrogated so much of its charter as gave to its legislature the election of the council, abolished town meetings ... and ... intrusted the returning of juries to the dependent sheriff.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. vi., ch. 52, p. 525.

[5] “A third penal measure ... transferred the place of trial of any magistrates, revenue officers, or soldiers indicted for murder, or other capital offense, ... to Nova Scotia or Great Britain.”—_Idem._ “Letters were written to Gage ... to arrest ... all ... thought to have committed treason ... that the Massachusetts Congress was a treasonable body. The power of pardon ... did not extend to the president of ‘that seditious meeting,’ nor to its most forward members, ‘who ... were to be brought to condign punishment’ ... either in America or in England.”—_Idem_, vol. vii., ch. 26, p. 284.

[6] “Adams and Hancock ... whose seizure was believed to be intended.”—_Idem_, ch. 27, pp. 291, 292.

[7] In anticipation of an attack from the British, the Americans had been collecting stores for some time. Cannon-balls, and muskets had been brought from Boston into the country under loads of manure; and cartridges and powder by the women, in candle-boxes, baskets, etc.—See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Book of the Rev._, vol. i., p. 522.

[8] “At two in the morning about one hundred and thirty answered their names.... A watch was ... set and the company dismissed.... Some went to their own homes, some to the tavern.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 27, p. 292.

[9] “Lexington ... having for their minister ... Jonas Clark, the bold inditer of patriotic state papers which may yet be read on the town records.”—_Idem_, p. 291.

[10] One Bowman escaped, and on horseback notified Capt. Parker ... of the enemy’s approach.—_Lossing’s Pic. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 524.

[11] “The last stars were vanishing ... when the foremost party led by Pitcairn ... was discovered.... Alarm guns were fired, and the drums beat.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 27, p. 292.

[12] “The British van, hearing ... halted ...; the remaining companies came up; and ... the advance party hurried forward at double quick time.”—_Idem_, p. 293.

[13] “Less than seventy, perhaps less than sixty ... were paraded ... a few rods north of the meeting-house.”—_Idem_, p. 292.

[14] “The captain, John Parker, ordered every one to load with powder and ball, but ... not to be the first to fire.”—_Idem._

[15] “Pitcairn rode in front and ... cried out: ‘Disperse, ye villains, ...; lay down your arms.’”—_Idem_, 293.

[16] “The main part of the countrymen stood motionless.”—_Idem._

[17] “At this, Pitcairn discharged a pistol, and with a loud voice cried, ‘Fire.’”—_Idem._

[18] “The order was instantly followed, first by a few guns ... then by a heavy close and deadly discharge”—_Idem._

[19] “Jonas Parker (not the captain) ... had promised never to run from British troops, and he kept his vow ... he lay on the post which he took at the morning’s drum beat.”—_Idem_, pp. 293, 294.

[20] “Seven of the men of Lexington were killed; nine wounded.”—_Idem._

[21] “In disparity of numbers, the common was a field of murder, not a battle; Parker therefore ordered his men to disperse. Then, and not till then, did a few of them return the British fire.”—_Idem._ Behind stone walls and buildings. See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 524.

[22] “The British ... huzzaed thrice by way of triumph, and after ... less than thirty minutes, marched on for Concord.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol vii., ch. 28, p. 297.

[23] “In Lincoln (after the affair at Concord) the minute-men of Lexington, commanded by John Parker, renewed the fight.”—_Idem_, p. 305.

THE RALLY OF THE FARMERS.

CONCORD, APRIL 19, 1775.

The Concord men had warning,[1]
And flew from all their farms,
Long hours before the daybreak,
To save the colony’s arms.

And, days before the warning,
Our Salem Congress, too,
Had known their stores were menaced,
And here had left but few.[2]

Yet these to drag and bury[1]
Or hide in woods and rills,
Men flock’d to town and from it,
Like ants about their hills.

But soon, when came the morning,
The “red-coats”[3] rose in sight,
With guns above them flashing
Like surf in seas of light.

Then, one by one, escaping
What could but bode them ill,
The farmers cross’d the river,
And climb’d, anon, a hill.[4]

To the hill there came from Bedford,[4]
And Littleton, and Carlisle,
And Lincoln, Chelmsford, Westford,
More men through each defile.

To the hill there came a rumor[5]
How Lexington had fared,
But no one spoke of yielding,
And all for strife prepared.

From the hill they watch’d the village,[6]
Where every house to scout,
Like busy bees the red-coats[3]
Went bustling in and out.

Despite our wives protesting,
Their hostile blows would shower,
Till scores of barrels, bursting,
Beclouded all with flour.[7]

Ere long, they spiked our cannon,
And fill’d our pond with balls,[7]
And piled the cannon’s wagons
To block the roads like walls.

And then this foe that fear’d it,
Our “liberty-pole” cut down,[7]
And burn’d it with the wagons
That yet might burn the town.

Soon seem’d our court-house burning,[7]
With none the flames to stay;[8]
But “Justice,” cried our leader,
“Will house in heaven to-day.

“Now wait we till these troopers
Of luck have had their fill,
And part of them drift hither,
Or all assault our hill.

“The hill, if they move up it,
Their lines can never take;
Like waves that dash at headlands,
Their wavering ranks will break.”

Just then, they most had started,
Though some were plundering still,
To seize two bridges crossing
The stream beneath the hill.[9]

To seize them was to sever
Our women from our men,
Our homes from those who own’d them,
And what would follow then?

“The north bridge,”—argued Hosmer[10];
“Keep back from it the foe!”
“No man of mine from Acton,”
Said Davis,[10] “fears to go.”

And then our leader Barrett[11]
The order “Forward!” gave,
Where moved the men of Acton[11]
Behind their captain brave.

With arms beside them trailing,
In double file and slow,[12]
Not daunted by the danger,
These farmers faced their foe.

The British ran to ruin
The bridge, and then retire.[13]
“Hold!” cried our Major Buttrick[14];
They answer’d but to fire.

Dead Davis fell, and Hosmer.[15]
“In God’s name,” Buttrick[16] cried,
“Fire, fire!”—and two fell dying
Upon the British side.

Thus Heaven, where hung the purpose
A grander man to mould,
Had Saxon hurl’d on Saxon,
The new world on the old.

Our foe in haste retreated.[17]
Their colonel, where they sped,
March’d forth to reinforce them;
Then all for Boston led.[18]

But now our men from Reading[19]
And Sudbury hurried out,
And Woburn, wild to flank them:
Their march became a rout.[19]

We had but half their number[20];
But, wrongs avenging thus,
Their red coats had been safer
With Spanish bulls than us.

Though guards at every turning,
Would cover well their flanks;
Our smoke, from ambush leaping,[21]
Shot, ghost-like, through their ranks.

From Dedham, Essex, Danvers,
From Chelsea, Marblehead,
From Dorchester, and Brookline,[22]
Our men to meet them sped.

Back slunk their line before us,
A weary, wounded snake:
Up hill, down dale, round river,
It wound and bled and brake.

The whole reserve in Boston[23]
Pour’d out to help them back;
But all the trees and houses
Were haunting now their track.

They turn’d to shoot our mothers;
They turn’d our babes to kill;
Our vengeance rose at Cambridge,[24]
And raged at Prospect Hill.[25]

Down sweeping, Heath and Warren
A charge to break them led;
Then Pickering’s men from Salem[25]
Burst, flood-like o’er their head.[26]

Full night had known its fullest,
Ere all their fears were still’d;
Full ninescore had we wounded,
And more than threescore kill’d.[27]

Nor, till they touched the river,[28]
And by the fleet had pass’d,
Our eyes that faced the danger
Were once behind us cast.

And then, alas to view it!
Hot, bitter tears we shed;
Full thirty found we wounded,
And wellnigh sixty dead.[27]

Our wives had lost their husbands;
Our mothers lost their boys;
Our homes were fill’d with mourning,
And gone were all our joys.

Yet, when we clasp’d those corpses,
As over Huns of old,
It seem’d the skies were filling
With souls for ours enroll’d.

Our prayers when all were buried,
Were vows to Heaven o’erhead,
From hearts that hail’d the glory
Of joining there their dead.

Then, too, we held our weapons;
Had foil’d the British aims;
And held our homes:—our women[29]
Had quench’d the court-house flames.

Our men had met the army,
And fought, and from that hour
They all had grown to soldiers,
Who knew and felt their power.

And so, despite the anguish
That fill’d the morrow’s morn,
The voice that wept betoken’d
A nation, newly born.

“And I,” said Samuel Adams,[30]
“Thank God this day to see!”
“And I,” came back from Hancock[30];
“It makes the new world free!”

FOOTNOTES

[1] “There, at about two in the morning, a peal from the belfry of the meeting-house” called the inhabitants.—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 27, p. 290. “There, in the morning hours, men ... were hiding what was left of cannon and military stores.”—_Idem_, ch. 28, p. 297.

[2] “The attempt had for several weeks been expected; ... in consequence, the committee of safety removed a part of the public stores and secreted the cannon.”—_Idem_, ch. 27, p. 288.

[3] “Red-coats,” a nickname given to the British soldiers, who wore red coats.

[4] “About seven o’clock the British marched ... under the brilliant sunshine into Concord.... The Americans ... therefore retreated ... till ... they gained high ground about a mile from ... the town.... There they waited for aid.... Between nine and ten the number had increased to more than four hundred ... from Bedford, ... Westford, ... from Littleton, from Carlisle, and from Chelmsford.”—_Idem_, ch. 28, pp. 298, 299.

[5] “The Americans had as yet received only uncertain rumors of the morning’s events at Lexington.”—_Idem_, p. 300.

[6] “The Americans saw before them ... British troops ... occupying their town.”—_Idem._

[7] “Sixty barrels of flour were broken in pieces; ... five hundred pounds of ball were thrown into a mill-pond. The liberty-pole and several carriages for artillery were burned; and the court-house took fire.”—_Idem._

[8] “At the sight of fire in the village, the impulse seized them ‘to march into the town for its defence.’”—_Idem._

[9] This is literally true. See description of the circumstances.—_Idem._

[10] “James Hosmer urged to dislodge the enemy at the North Bridge.... Capt. Isaac Davis, of Acton, said: ‘I have not a man that is afraid to go.’”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., pp. 526, 527.

[11] “Barrett, the colonel, ... then gave the order to advance, but ‘not to fire’ unless attacked.... Davis, looking at the men of Acton, ... cried: ‘March.’ His company ... led the way towards the bridge, he himself at their head, and by his side Major John Buttrick, of Concord, with John Robinson, ... lieutenant-colonel, ... but on this day a volunteer without command.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 28, p. 302.

[12] “In double file with trailed arms.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 527.

[13] “The British began to take up the planks.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 28, p. 302.

[14] “Major Buttrick called on them to desist.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 190.

[15] “A volley followed, and Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer ... fell dead.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 28, p. 303.

[16] “Buttrick ... cried aloud: ... ‘Fire, fellow-soldiers, for God’s sake, fire!’... Two of the British fell.”—_Idem._

[17] “The British retreated in disorder toward the main body.”—_Idem._

[18] “In ... Concord, Smith ... showed by marches and counter-marches, his uncertainty of purpose. At last ... he left the town, to retreat the way he came.”—_Idem_, p. 304.

[19] “The minute-men and militia ... ran over the hills, ... placed themselves in ambush, ... reinforced by men who were coming in from all around, and ... the chase of the English began. Among the foremost were the minute-men of Reading, ... of Billerica, ... the ... Sudbury company. The men from Woburn came up in great numbers and well armed.”—_Idem_, pp. 304, 305.

[20] “Of the Americans, there were never more than four hundred together at any one time; but, as some grew tired, others took their places.”—_Idem._, p. 308. The first detachment of British troops numbered “not less than eight hundred.”—_Idem_, ch. 27, p. 288.

[21] “Every piece of wood, every rock ... served as a lurking-place ... ‘the road was lined’ by an uninterrupted fire from behind stone walls and trees.”—_Idem_, p. 305.

[22] “Two waggons, sent out to them with supplies, were waylaid and captured by Payson, the minister of Chelsea. From far and wide minute-men were gathering. The men of Dedham, ... from Essex, and the lower towns, ... The company from Danvers, ... lost eight men.... Below West Cambridge, the militia from Dorchester, Roxbury, and Brookline came up.”—_Idem_, pp. 307-9.

[23] Lord Percy reinforced them with “about twelve hundred men.”—_Idem_, ch. 28, p. 306.

[24] “West Cambridge, where Joseph Warren and William Heath, ... the latter a provincial general officer, gave ... organization to the resistance, and the fight grew sharper.”—_Idem_, p. 308.

[25] “The Americans pressed upon the rear of the fugitives, whose retreat could not have been more precipitate ... had Pickering with his fine regiment from Salem and Marblehead been alert enough to have intercepted them in front ... they must have surrendered.”—_Idem_, p. 309.

[26] See _Lossing’s Field Book_, vol. 1, p. 528, etc.; also _Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 28, p. 308.

[27] According to Lossing, the British lost sixty-five killed, one hundred and eighty wounded, and twenty-eight prisoners; the Americans fifty-nine killed, thirty-one wounded, and fifty missing.—See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. 1, p. 530. “The loss of the British in killed, wounded, and missing was two hundred and seventy-three.... Forty-nine Americans were killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five missing.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 28, p. 309.

[28] “The guns of the ships of war ... saved them ... while they were ferried across Charles River.”—_Idem._

[29] Mrs. Moulton extinguished the fire at the Concord court-house.—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 526.

[30] “Heedless of his own danger, Samuel Adams ... exclaimed: ‘Oh! what a glorious morning is this!’ for he saw that his country’s independence was ... hastening on.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 27, p. 296. “Adams and Hancock, whose proscription had already been divulged ... were compelled by persuasion to retire toward Woburn.”—_Idem_, p. 292.

ETHAN ALLEN.

TICONDEROGA, MAY 10, 1775.

The bell that rang at Lexington
Had call’d our men to arms;
And but their wives and children now
Were home to work the farms.

But soon, like words men whisper forth
Near foes who plot their death,
From farm to farm bad news was borne
On hush’d and trembling breath.

“Fill’d full of ‘red-coats,’[1] Boston seem’d,”
They said, “a wounded prey
That yet drank in fresh draughts of blood[1]
From fleets that fill’d the bay;

“To check their march, like mushrooms grew
Our earthworks, night by night;
But, if attack’d, our men would not
Have arms with which to fight.”[2]

At Hartford our Assembly met,[3]
And heard this; nor in vain.
It sent men off to seize what fill’d
The fort on Lake Champlain.

These pass’d to Pittsfield,[4] there were join’d
By Easton, Brown, and more;
Then on to Bennington,[5] and there
Could muster full twoscore.

Too few were they to brave a fort
Well mann’d at every gun;
Yet those who slight the light of stars
But seldom see their sun.

The sun that dawn’d before them here,
And brought them help indeed,
Was Ethan Allen’s[5] blade, that flash’d
His mountain troops to lead.

And thick as rills that rift in spring
Each bond the sun destroys,
Came pouring over all those hills
His grand Green Mountain Boys.

Two hundred[6] hardy men they were
As ever mountains rear’d;
They fought with bears and frost at home,
And naught abroad they fear’d.

Erelong, a shout went ringing out;
For all had made their choice,
And all had chosen Allen chief;
And “Forward!” call’d his voice.[7]

But one who heard his order, spurr’d
His charger from the rear,
And cried: “In me your leader see,[8]
For Cambridge sent me here.”

“And Cambridge, Cambridge, what would she?”
Cried Mott[3] and Phelps, “Nay, Nay!—
’Twas Hartford sent us forth, and we
Bade Allen lead the way.”

“And we,” cried those Vermonters true,
“We came with Allen here;
And all agree that none but he
Shall lead the mountaineer.”

The other hush’d when this he heard;
And give them honor all:
They faced the traitor Arnold[8] thus,
Who thus began his fall.

Give honor due to Allen too;
High compliment it is,
That, when the traitor train’d with him,
He was no friend of his.

Three days they tramp’d, then Allen said:
“We near the lake I see.
Let some go north and some go south,
And some straight on with me.[9]

“Let those that push for north and south
Row off with all that floats,
And make for Shoreham, where we all
Will cross when come the boats.[9]

“And let the others fall in line
Behind my lantern’s glare.
Beyond, Ticonderoga waits;
At morn, we breakfast there.”

Then, down the hunter’s trail, our line
Wound on as winds a snake,
And, late at night, prepared to spring,
Lay coil’d beside the lake.

“Now off,” said Allen, “north and south,
And hail each coming oar.”
Alas, to think that Heaven above
Should favor man no more!

To north and south we scatter’d far,
We listened o’er and o’er,
But not a sound, from north or south,
The empty breezes bore.

A few there were could cross at last,—
Alas, but all too few!
Night sped, and Allen, by the fort
Could count scarce eighty-two.[10]

“My men,” he mutter’d,[11] “look—the dawn!—
Before can cross the lake
One boat again for other men,
The day in full will break.

“Yet note the wall. You know it well;
Ten times our force, if seen,
Though clad in mail, could never scale
Those cannon thick between.

“And here the boats.—What vote you all?—
Your guns lift up,—no breath.[11]
The lake cross here?—or weapons there?
Face cowardice?—or death?

“Your guns all up?[12] your hearts all true?
How well! Had one turn’d back,[13]
Yon mounts were his no longer save
To hedge and hide his track.

“He easier might have faced, at home,
When snows were all aflame,
The sun! than wives and little ones
Whose cheeks would fire with shame.

“How oft have you, when driven off
The land you once had bought,[14]
Too poor to buy again a home
For those for whom you wrought;

“How oft, when all was torn from you,[14]
And you had urged in vain
Your chartered rights, the common law,
And all that God makes plain;

“How oft then have you pray’d aloud
That Heaven would send you down
A chance from off your country’s brow
To hurl the hated crown!

“That chance has come! But once for all
Can dawn a day like this.
And those who will not use their light
Will all life’s glory miss.

“But if one win it, yonder sun
Sheds not a splendor fit
With which to rise above his name,
Or earth that welcomes it!

“Yes, earth! For they forgot, our lords,
They dealt with Puritans,
True sons of those whom Cromwell led,
Whose right means every man’s;

“Who take their individual ills
For proofs of general pain,
And, where one prince has made them wince,
Fight all, that man may reign.

“And they forgot, that mountaineers,
High rangers, like the Swiss,
Would learn to value freedom’s world
By looking down on this!

“And yet should prove it! Ay, my men,
To-day they all shall see
How freemen, forced to care for self,
Take care to keep it free.

“Now quick, but quiet; start with steel—
Nor fire till sure to hit—
First through the gate, if through we may;
If not, then over it.

“I lead. You follow. Should I fall,
Move on: my corpse may give
At least a vantage ground! Move up:
The cause, it is, must live!”

Then Allen turn’d, and Arnold[15] too,
His foremost rival still,
Then Brown and Easton,—all the line
Stole softly up the hill.[16]

A startled sentry seized his gun,
And aim’d at Allen’s face[17];
The flint miss’d fire, and Allen rush’d,
And wrench’d it from its place.

The sentry dodg’d, and darted down
A passage through the mound.[17]
In pour’d our men; you might have thought
The sentry would be drown’d.

Swift, one by one, by Allen led,
They plung’d along the gloom:
No fear of those who, just beyond,
Might make the place their tomb.

On ran the sentry; on, our men.—
Their mountains gave no game,
Nor guide so quick to apprehend
The grounds on which they came.

At last, uploom’d in dusky light,
And choking all the way,
A man who poised his bayonet[17]
To hold them all at bay.

“Take heed!” he call’d. “We take it, man,”
Hiss’d Allen, where he sped;
Whose clashing sword had glanced the gun,
And gash’d the soldier’s head.

“Have mercy!” groan’d the wounded wretch.
Said Allen: “Drop your gun.
Hist, hist, my men! The walls are ours.
Now seize the barrack—run!”

No need to bid them! In a trice
Our boys had crown’d their race;
And closed, with shouts like thousands, round
The startled sleeping-place.[18]

Meantime, “The captain!” Allen cried;
And scarce the word had said,
Ere on a door he pounded loud[19]
To rouse his foe from bed.

It open’d partly, where behold!
In robes as white as fleece,
The chief, beside his blushing bride,
A picture stood of peace.[20]

“Surrender!”[20] order’d Allen then;
“If not, by Him on high,
Your garrison—without a hope
For quarter from us—die!”

The captain’s anger now had burst
The spell of night’s repose.
“Surrender?” hiss’d he—then turn’d pale
To hear loud shouts that rose.

“And who are you?” he stammer’d out.
“And whose is this ado?
And whose the name in which you come
And bid us yield to you?”

“The name of Great Jehovah,[21] and”—
Said Allen, drawing nigh,
“The Continental Congress!”—then
He flash’d his sword on high.

“Jehovah?—Congress?” growl’d his foe;
But, cow’d by Allen’s eye,[20]
Jehovah, in the man, at least,
He did not dare defy.

The day was won; the garrison
Filed out across the green.
More generous welcome where they came,
I think were seldom seen.

Not one who bore a cumbering gun
Or lugg’d a weighty sword,
But we to ease him of his load,
Would our relief afford.

Alack, we stack’d our shoulders full,
Relieving them of care,
Then proved our good-will, Arab-like,
By taking breakfast there.

For days and days we never ceas’d
Attending to them thus,
Until, as pride escorts a bride,
We walk’d them home with us.[22]

And then the fort—ah me, to see
The trouble rare it took
To clear the space, and give the place
A less unfriendly look!

Tenscore of cannon, mounds of flint,[23]
And tons of guns and balls—
We waited weeks, to find the means
To cart them out the walls.

But first, we mail’d a message home;
And I have heard it said,
In many a place, the floor was wet
With tears when it was read.

At Cambridge, at the news, the air
With such a shout was rent,
It almost equal’d there the roar
Of guns our fort had sent.

And Allen?—Allen lived and thrived,
And conquer’d all that tract,
Where Britain could not hold a fort[24]
That once our boys attack’d.

But war has tricks; and life has turns;
Misfortunes find the true;
And Allen once, across the sea,
Was borne a prisoner too.[25]

Yet heroes’ homes are human hearts,
And England’s crowds would cling
About the form of him they felt
Was grander than their king.

He came back home, and church bells rang—
You might, in truth, have thought[25]
A second Christmas day had come,
And Saviour’s advent brought;—

And guns were fired; and, hail’d with cheers,
Vermont bade all men call
This bravest, brightest of her sons,
The General of them all.[25]

And all the people while he lived,
They loved his eagle eye[26];
And when he died—ah, friends, you know
Such spirits cannot die!

To-day, go search those mountain woods
And valleys, humbly trod
By souls whose pure, strong faith holds on
To country, home, and God;

Ask men who own those towering trees,
Or plant the hillock steep;
The school-boys, bounding back from school,
Or watching well the sheep;

The housewives, where in thrifty homes
The generous meals are spread;
The sisters, gently handing down
The Book when prayers are said;

Ask all, who value aught they own,
Whose fame all value most?—
The flashing eye and flushing cheek
Will figure him they boast.

FOOTNOTES

[1] The British forces, nicknamed “red-coats,” were reinforced after the battle of Lexington.—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book of the Rev._, vol. i., p. 537.

[2] “The provisional Assembly of Connecticut, after the battle of Lexington, concerted a plan to seize the munitions of war at Ticonderoga, for the use of the army ... at Cambridge and Roxbury.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book of the Rev._, vol. i., p. 123.

[3] “Ed. Mott and Noah Phelps ... committee to ascertain ... strength of ... fort and to raise men.... Sixteen men went with them.”—_Idem._

[4] “At Pittsfield Col. Easton and John Brown (afterwards Col.) joined them.... Col. Easton by the time he reached Bennington had enlisted forty of his men.”—_Idem._

[5] “At Bennington, they found Ethan Allen ... he sent the alarm through the hills ... about one hundred Green Mountain Boys and near fifty soldiers from Massachusetts ... rallied.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 32, p. 339.

[6] Lossing says in all about two hundred and seventy men went on the expedition.—_Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 124.

[7] “The men unanimously elected Ethan Allen their chief.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 23, p. 339.

[8] “Arnold joined them here with a commission from the Committee of Safety in Cambridge, and claimed the right to command. After Ticonderoga was taken, he assumed command, but his orders were not heeded. He then sent a written protest to Massachusetts, but this State sustained Allen.”—See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 124, etc.

[9] “It was arranged that Allen ... with the main body should march to Shoreham, opposite Ticonderoga; that Capt. Herrick should push to Skenesborough, ... seize all the boats there and join Allen at Shoreham, and that Capt. Douglas should go ... beyond Crown Point and secure all boats that way.”—_Idem._

[10] “With the utmost difficulty ... eighty-three men crossing the lake with Allen, landed near the garrison. The boats were sent back; ... if ... waited for their could be no surprise.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 32, p. 339.

[11] “As the first beams of morning broke ... Allen addressed them, ... ‘we must ... quit our pretentions to valor, or possess this fortress ... it is a desperate attempt, I do not urge it contrary to will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise your firelocks.’”—_Idem._

[12] “At the word, every firelock was poised.”—_Idem._

[13] Allen “drew up his men in three ranks on the shore, ... and in a low, distinct tone harangued them.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 124.

[14] “The king in council had ... dismembered New Hampshire, and annexed to New York the country north of Massachusetts and west of Connecticut River ... it was, therefore, held by the royalists that the grants made under the sanction of the royal governor of New Hampshire were annulled. Many of the lands for which the king had received the price ... were granted anew, and the former purchasers were compelled to redeem them.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. v., ch. 10., p. 214. “Sixty-seven families in as many houses ... had elected their own municipal officers; founded three several public schools; set their meeting-house among the primeval forests ... called their village Bennington. The royal officers at New York disposed anew of that town, as well as of others near it, so that the king was known ... chiefly by his agents, who had knowingly sold his lands twice over.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. v., ch. 14., pp. 291, 292.

[15] Allen led the party, “Arnold keeping emulously at his side.”—_Idem_, vol. vii., ch. 32, p. 339.

[16] “They marched quickly but stealthily ... to the sally port.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 124.

[17] “The sentinel snapped his fusee at (Allen), but it missed, and he retreated within the fort under a covered way. The Americans followed, and were thus guided ... to the parade within the barracks. There another sentinel made a thrust ... but a blow upon the head from Allen’s sword made him beg for quarter.”—See _Idem_.

[18] “The Americans rushed into the fort ... and raising the Indian war-whoop, ... formed on the parade in hollow square to face each of the barracks.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 32, p. 339.

[19] “Allen ... went ... to the door of the quarters of Capt. Delaplace, ... and giving three loud raps ... ordered him to appear, or the whole garrison should be sacrificed.”—_Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 125.

[20] “Delaplace appeared in shirt and drawers, with the frightened face of his pretty wife peering over his shoulder.”—_Idem._

[21] “‘Deliver me the fort instantly!’ said Allen. ‘By what authority?’ asked Delaplace. ‘In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.’ answered Allen. Delaplace ... at sight of Allen’s drawn sword near his head ... gave up the garrison.”—_Bancroft’s U. S._, vol. vii., ch. 32, p. 340.

[22] “The garrison of forty-eight men were surrendered prisoners of war, and ... sent to Hartford.”—See _Lossing’s Pict. Field Book_, vol. i., p. 125.

[23] “120 pieces of cannon, 50 swivels, 2 ten-inch mortars ... 10 tons of musket-balls, three cartloads of flints ... 100 stand of small-arms, 10 casks of powder, 2 brass cannon, 30 barrels of flour, 18 barrels of port, etc.”—See _Idem_.

[24] “This success was followed by others; the capture of a sloop-of-war and St. John’s Fort.... In the autumn of the same year, he was twice sent into Canada to excite rebellion against the English government.”—_Appleton’s Cyclopædia of Biography._

[25] “Allen was sent to Canada in 1775; was taken prisoner and carried to England, where his appearance excited great interest. On his return, he was received with great demonstrations of joy in Bennington, and made Maj.-Gen. of Vermont. He died in 1789, aged fifty.”—See _Idem_.

[26] Allen is said to have had a remarkably keen and expressive eye.

HOW BARTON TOOK THE GENERAL.[1]

NARRAGANSETT BAY, JULY 10, 1777.

“Lord Prescott, down in Newport,”
Brave William Barton[1] said,
“Would make all show his colors, though
Their own blood dyed them red.

“Perhaps he thinks our natives,
On England’s footstool here,
Did they not feel his lordly heel,
Might deem him not a peer.”

“Say footpath here,” said Potter[8];
“Just now their doorsteps go
To pave the way[2] where, once a day,
His lordship walks, you know.

“And then if those who meet him
Go by, nor doff their caps,[3]
Aha, his cane will fall like rain,
To make them mend their lapse.”

“Small spite! and yet,” said Barton:
“A wrinkle shows the will.
A grazing ass that kicks but grass
Has tricks that yet may kill.

“Who minds it, though a Quaker,
Forsooth, lift not his hat;
Yet one in town, he first rode down,[4]
Then had him chain’d for that.

“And Tripp[5]—when spies had jail’d him;
And none knew what it meant;
And when, half dead with fear, they said,
His wife to see him went;