iil THE LIBRARY [HE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING A Story of Tea-Party Times BY WILLIAM E. BARTON AUTHOR OF "A HERO IN HOMESPUN," ETC. ILLUSTRATED BY FRANK O. SMALL BOSTON AND CHICAGO W. A. WILDE & COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY W. A. WILDE & COMPANY. All rights reserved. WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING. 3T0 tfje If 0un0 people OF SHAWMUT CHURCH WHICH BEARS THE ANCIENT NAME AND PRESERVES THE NOBLE SPIRIT OF OLD BOSTON 973384 PREFACE THE story of the Boston Tea-Party has been told many times, but still it offers to the story-teller a tempting theme. One thing which deserves to be brought more prominently to the front is the large share which the young people, the apprentices, the boys in the Latin School, and the Daughters of Lib erty had in the making of public sentiment and the carrying out of daring projects in those momentous days. This story is intended to be accurate in its repre sentation of historic characters and events ; to give a true picture of life and thought in Boston before the Revolution, and to bring to the front the young people of the time together with their interesting seniors. Among the latter it introduces the warm hearted and impulsive John Crane ; the ever-ready and always intrepid Paul Revere ; the unhappy and misunderstood Governor Hutchinson ; the Quaker 8 PREFACE owner of the tea-ships, Francis Rotch ; and the jolly old Tory parson, Mather Byles; beside the leaders of public sentiment in that day, Warren, Adams, Hancock, and Mollineux. It endeavors to do justice to the Loyalists, who deserve the privilege of speak ing in their own words to the present generation, and it attempts further to bring into high relief the earnestness and patriotism of those who, in the de struction of the tea, led in the brilliant and historic protest against the aggressions of the British govern ment. The site of the Liberty Tree is marked with a tablet, but thousands pass it every day unheeding, and too few know what things were done there. It deserves to be remembered as a place not less sacred than Faneuil Hall, the Old South Meeting-house, or Independence Hall. w. E. B. BOSTON, March i, 1899. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Two Trentice Lads 13 II. Two Sons of Liberty 26 III. What John saw in the Moonlight .... 42 IV. Night Scenes in Old Boston 50 V. A Liberty Tree Meeting 66 VI. A Cheerless Night 75 VII. Running the Gantlet 82 VIII. The Hero of the Fire . . . . . .90 IX. The Tory Parson . . . . . . 97 X. All-Hallowe'en . . . . . . 112 XI. A Prisoner of War . . . - . . . . 133 XII. A Fight at the Frog Pond . . . . .140 XIII. The Escape . ' . . . . . . . 147 XIV. Few die, and None resign . . . . . 162 XV. The Fifth of November 177 XVI. A Liberty Riot 195 XVII. Behind the Old South Meeting-house . . .215 9 IO CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVIII. A Noisy Sabbath .230 XIX. The Cradle of Liberty . . . . .244 XX. The Tea-Party Bible 254 XXI. The Quaker Ship-owner 270 XXII. The Watch at the Ship 281 XXIII. The Mohawks and their Allies .... 289 XXIV. Boston Harbor as a Teapot ..... 297 XXV. How John proved himself Faithful . . . 309 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE " Three-fourths of a Pain that makes Traitors confess " Frontispiece 3 1 '" ' This one must have bloomed on purpose for you ' " . . 53 " Men followed the games " 118 " Masa Cla'ke " 210 " ' Well, young fellow ! ' " . . . . . . . 254 ii WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING CHAPTER I THE TWO 'PRENTICE LADS IT was a Monday afternoon in September, in the year 1773. A lad , who had walked over Boston "Neck stopped for a moment under a great spreading elm that grew in the yard of an old-fashioned house on what was then Orange Street, but now is Wash ington Street. The street continued on, but from that corner had another name, Newbury. " I think that I have come too far," he said to himself, and looked about for a guide-post. A street led off at right angles, or as nearly at right angles as could be expected in Old Boston, and there was another nearly opposite. " Surely," the lad thought, " there should be a guide-post here for strangers." He cast his eye toward the tree, and upon its trunk saw a copper tablet: '3 14 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING "This tree was planted in the year 1646, and pruned by order of the Sons of Liberty, February 14, 1766." The boy's cheek flushed, and his heart beat faster. "The Liberty Tree!" he said aloud, "and glad I am to stand beneath it ! " He set down the bundle, which he had been carry ing upon a stick over his shoulder, and looked about him on every side. "This must be Liberty Hall,"he said, "for I have heard that the space about the Tree is so called." The Tree was of magnificent size and proportions, and had attained a perfection of shape after its trim ming that made it one of the most beautiful elms in Boston. Its spreading limbs diverged from the trunk at symmetrical angles, and the branches bent upward and outward, and then gracefully downward, in sweeping and harmonious curves. The leaves were turning yellow now, and the ground was carpeted with them, but the Tree still hung full, and cast a wide and pleasant shade. John Farwell thought that he had never seen a tree so beautiful. Through its branches rose a flagpole which overtopped it, but there was no flag flying to-day. THE TWO 'PRENTICE LADS 15 John stood so long that he almost forgot his errand, absorbed as he was in the study of the Tree. From his revery he was recalled by the approach of a lad about his own age, though shorter and stouter than himself, carrying under his arm a bundle of papers. John stopped him as he approached, and asked, "Can you tell me where the house of Mr. Crane is?" "You mean John Crane?" asked the other. "The same. John Crane is the name I have been given. I think he lives not far from here." " Not far, and I'm going by. I'll show you where he lives. He's a great man, is Mr. John Crane." " So I have been told. He is a carpenter." " Aye, and much beside, as a lad should know who stands reading the plate on yonder Tree. ' Under- standest thou what thou readest?' as Philip asked the Ethiopian ? " " Aye, though I am no Ethiopian. Yet, like the Ethiopian, would I wish some man to guide me, for this is my first visit to Boston." " Well, then, I'll be your guide, though I be no more a deacon like Philip, than you an Ethiopian. This Tree, but the story is known to you?" 16 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING " I have known of the Liberty Tree since I was half my present age." "Which is ?" "Seventeen. And yours ?" "The same, lacking a year. I was born on Guy Fawkes Day, which is lucky, for I get ever a holiday." " Mayhap I'll celebrate it with you, since it is not far away. What is your name?" " Thomas Lawson. It once was Thomas Hutchinson Lawson, for my father had a better opinion of his Excellency than have I. I'll have no Hutchinson in my name. I'll drop it altogether, or I'll change it to Barre, as the town named Hutchinson is about to do. I'd rather be named for the man who stood for our rights in Parliament and gave to us the name we love, ' Sons of Liberty.' " " But Mr. Hutchinson was not governor when you were born." "Nay, but at that time he had secured good money for Massachusetts that makes us now out of debt, while Rhode Island with its paper money is poor. And my father honored him for that as he obtained for New England the money due us from THE TWO 'PRENTICE LADS 17 Parliament for the work of the Colonies in the French War. My father fought at Louisburg, and that was why he loved the name. But had he lived till now, he would have hated it, even as I do." " Your father is dead ? So is mine." " Aye, and my mother too. And I am 'prentice to Edes & Gill, printers of the Gazette, and it ill be comes me to be standing here talking when my papers are to be delivered. Come, let us go on. No, not that street that is Essex, and leads not right either for me or you. This is the way we go, down Frog Lane. You came past the street that would have been nearest, which is Nassau. It is a new street, and runs from Frog Lane below the Com mon into Orange." l "And this is Frog Lane?" "Aye. It leads past the end of the Common and the burying-ground to the Marshes ; and beyond it lies the Back Bay." "You leave your papers at the doors?" 1 Washington Street bore several names; the part of it from Dock Square to School Street was called Cornhill; from School to Winter Street it was known as Marlborough; from Winter to Essex it was Neweberry (or Newbury) ; and above Essex Street it was Orange Street. These names were all consolidated into Washington Street about 1823. 1 8 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING " Yes ; I leave one here. This is Dame Snyder's house. Did you ever hear of Chris Snyder ? No ? He lived here. 1 His mother is a widow, and he was shot by a Tory named Richardson, from the shop of a tea-selling merchant, Theophilus Lillie, in Middle Street." 2 " What did they with the man who killed him ? " " They were to have hung him, but the Governor would not let so precious a Tory stretch hemp. He is in prison, but on the day of Chris Snyder's funeral there was a board nailed to the Liberty Tree with the text, ' Thou shalt take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer; he shall surely be put to death.'' " At the Liberty Tree ? Is everything in Boston done at the Liberty Tree ? " " Much of it. The funeral was held there. It was in February, more than two years ago. Well do I remember it, for a week later came the Massacre." "I know well the date of the Massacre, the fifth of March," said John. " Every patriot knows it, nor shall it ever be for- 1 The home of Christopher Snyder was in Frog Lane, now Boylston Street, not far from the site of the Young Men's Christian Union Building. 2 Hanover between Prince Street and Blackstone, then Mill Creek. THE TWO PRENTICE LADS IQ gotten. It was the anger of the people over the murder of Snyder that led to the Massacre." " And they held the funeral out of doors, and in winter ? " " Aye, for no house would hold the throng. The schools dismissed, the shops closed, the 'prentices had half-holiday, the whole town was there ; six hundred lads from the schools marched in proces sion ; aye, and Old Master Lovell, Tory though he be, was there, and the populace by thousands. There has never been such a funeral in Boston. Come with me a few steps this way, if you are not weary. I have a paper to leave. This is the Common. Yonder on the hilltop is the Beacon, to be fired in time of danger. It is called Sentry Hill, but some call it Beacon Hill ; in this corner of the Common is the bury ing-ground." " I am most glad to see Boston Common," said John. " I have often desired to see it." " Where is your home ? " asked Tom. " I have told you so much about Boston I have let you tell me nothing about yourself." " My home has been in Gloucester. My father was lost at sea, and my mother also is dead. I have been 2O WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING much upon the sea with my father, but never before to Boston. I worked this summer upon a farm at Lexington, and I am coming to be apprenticed to Mr. Crane to become a housewright." " We shall be at Mr. Crane's house very soon," said Tom. " It is there on the right, and the street which runs across from it is Hollis. On the other corner lives Mr. Lovering. He is a tallow-chandler, and a Son of Liberty, and I leave a paper there. On the opposite corner of Hollis Street, in yon square house, lives Mr. Bradlee, 1 who also is a Son of Liberty." "They all seem to be Sons of Liberty in this end of the town," said John. " Many of them, but not all. Just beyond Mr. Crane is Mather Byles, the Tory parson, and there on Hollis Street is his church." " Is his church Tory, too ? " "A few of his members are Tories, but there is much opposition to him. It is said the members would gladly be rid of him, but he is an old man now and has served them long." " I have known no Tory parsons," said John, " and 1 The fine old Bradlee House, later known as the Daggett House, was torn down in 1808. THE TWO PRENTICE LADS 21 this summer I have heard Mr. Clarke of Lexington, and I warrant you he is no Tory." " No, nor the most of our preachers. But Byles is unlike the rest." " What is he like ? sour and stern ? " " Not at all, but the j oiliest old fellow, in a big wig, and with a hearty laugh. You shall see enough of him, for he lives next door to Mr. Crane. But here you are at the door." " I am most glad to know you, and trust we shall meet often." "That will we, for I come with the paper every week, and sometimes oftener of errands to Mr. Crane. Here he is now." At that moment the door opened, and a stout, thick-set, brawny man of twenty-eight or twenty-nine appeared. " Eh, you young rascal," he said to Tom, " you're late to-day, I'll warrant. I've waited for that paper this half-hour. Why does not Edes turn thee off and get a swifter devil to run his errands ? Eh ? " " The paper was printed a little later, sir, for a letter had just come in from Dr. Adams. You'll find it on the second page, and most important, too, sir." 22 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING " Whatever Sam Adams writes is worth reading. What says he now ? " " He calls on the people of the Colonies to form a Continental Congress, sir. There is the letter. And this lad comes to see you, and I will leave him." " May it please you, sir," said John, stepping for ward, " I am John Farwell, and I have come to be articled to learn to be a housewright." " Yes, yes, lad, I know. But wait a bit. Stay, can you read ? " " I can read, sir," said John. " And so can I, but not so well as I can plane a board or shoot a gun. Here, lad, let me hear you read. Nay, but I want to look over. Sit beside me here. Now read on." So John sat on the doorstep beside his new master, and read him the carefully-written article in which Samuel Adams called on the Colonies to insist upon such terms as would admit of no other authority within the Colonies than their own legislatures. " Stay, lad, read not so fast. Let me see what he says," said Crane. John read him the entire letter. It began with the words, startlingly courageous : THE TWO PRENTICE LADS 23 "The various methods that have been used by the British administration to carry their favorite point of enslaving America is a strong reason why we should be watchful of every maneuvre." The letter went on, in terms, courteous to the King, but defiant toward the British ministry, to assert the rights of the Colonies. It quoted Frank lin, then in England, concerning the righteousness of the Colonies' protest, and counselled united and constant agitation, believing that, " Decent and manly protests against particular in novations have the greatest tendency to an effectual, if not a speedy, removal of them." John read the letter in a straightforward and intelligent manner. Crane heard it with manifest interest. His own early education had been of a meagre nature, and while he could read and write, and was quick at figures, he was glad to have read to him his more heavy literature. He was a con stant reader of the Gazette, sitting in the twilight of each Monday and poring over it, and spelling out with some difficulty the long words in the articles which Warren, Adams, and other patriots contributed week by week, mostly over Latin pen-names. The 24 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING leader this week was signed by a simple "A," which revealed at once its authorship. It was plain that John's reading made a good impression upon his employer. He had begun to read in some uneasiness, little expecting such a test of his fitness to learn the carpenter's trade. But he gathered courage as he proceeded, and had the satisfaction of seeing that Crane counted his reading a manifest improvement upon his own. Like many men of meagre education, he was accustomed to gather thoughts more readily from spoken than from printed words ; and hence, while liking to look over the page, he liked also to hear the spoken words that assisted his own comprehension. " That man Adams is a great man," said Crane, " and he knows well what his words mean. But if I mistake not, there is but one end to suchlike talk as that, and that is, a free country here. But come in, lad. What did you say is your name ? Come in, John. We will talk about the articles later. What are your qualifica tions to be a housewright ? You can read ? That is well. Are you a Tory, or a lover of liberty ? " " A lover of liberty," said John, " and so was my father before me." THE TWO PRENTICE LADS 25 " And Parson Clarke sends you ? Well, that is enough. To-morrow, mayhap, I'll see if you can drive a nail. But come in now with your bundle, and have a bite to eat. You'll have a cup of milk, maybe ? Or tea such as we make of raspberry leaves ? You'll get no other kind here ! " . At this moment Mrs. Crane appeared, a baby in her arms, and a little girl at her skirt, hiding from the stranger and making coquettish advances toward her father. " Ah ! you witch, Alice ! " cried Crane, catching the little one up and placing her triumphantly upon his shoulder. " Mehitable, my dear, this lad is John Far- well, who comes to learn to be a housewright. Lad, this is Mistress Crane, whom you must obey as I do. My dear, this lad seems a likely cub, and he can read well, and he comes from Parson Clarke. We've a bit of a room in the attic where I think we can stow him, and we'll keep him in the house with us if he minds well." And so John was admitted, not only to the shop, but to the home, of John Crane, already distinguished as a soldier, and destined to become a colonel and one of the foremost of the colonial artillery officers in the great war that was even then impending. CHAPTER II TWO SONS OF LIBERTY JOHN FARWELL spent his first evening in Boston in a happy frame of mind. He had long looked forward to such a future as now seemed opening to him. Since the death of his father he had been alone in the world. All the hopes which he had cherished up to that time seemed suddenly to have come to an end, and to leave him no opening on land or sea. To no one does the earth itself seem so cheerless as to one who has been reared upon the water, and to whom the water has proved unkind. To a Gloucester lad the land is always accepted with an apology, as a poor substitute for man's proper home, the sea. The fisheries of Gloucester had afforded no opportunity for a livelihood since John had been left alone. The proceeds of his father's half-interest in a fishing-boat had hardly sufficed to pay the bills incurred by his mother's 26 TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 2/ sickness and death, and he had been left alone and penniless. The summer months had afforded John employ ment near Lexington, and he had given himself to the making of hay. But the farmers were less busy now, and with the autumn he would have been adrift again but for the good offices of Parson Clarke, who, learning that John Crane had need of another ap prentice, secured the place for John. It seemed to John too good to be true. Boston ! What New England lad has not desired to live there ? What daydream in all John's loneliness had not found its brightest and most impossible feature in a trip to Boston ? In Boston one could be in touch with the world ; in Boston were night-schools, and books, and means of improvement ; in Boston the patriotic sentiment of the Province was most intense ; in Boston one might hope to see, and, perhaps, even to hear, the great patriot leaders ; Boston was the port whence ships sailed to the ends of the earth the gateway to all glorious lands and journeys; in Boston was all that John had ever hoped for and his dream had come true ! He sat in the chimney corner by the fire of John Crane, trying to make 28 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING himself believe that it was a dream. It was true, though almost too good to be true. Mrs. Crane sat knitting, her foot on the rocker of the cradle. John Crane was reading his Gazette before the fire. " Here, lad," he said, " read to me a bit. My eyes are not so good as they once were for reading, though never better, I warrant you, for seeing the sights upon a brass cannon. Adams has outdone himself in this letter. Let me light my pipe and listen, while you read it through." John took the paper and began to read, knowing well that there was little the matter with Crane's eyes, but he had scarcely begun when there came a knock of the old brass knocker on the door. "Who's at the door? Go, lad, and see," said Mr. Crane ; and John went. " Is Master Crane within ? " asked a hale voice as John opened the door. " Tell him that Master Re vere would speak with him." "He is," answered Mr. Crane, before John could speak. " Come in, Paul. I have much to say to you." TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 2Q The visitor stepped inside. " Good morrow, John. God save you, Mistress Crane," he said. " How fares this end of Boston ? " " As well as yours, I warrant. What are you nabobs of the North End doing ? " - It was evident from their first word that these two friends were given to joking each other, and that the rivalries of the two ends of Boston afforded a continual subject for their mirth. " Honestly employed for the most part, I warrant. What new mischief hath the South End devised by this time?" "You'll know, come Guy Fawkes Day. Are your lads to have a pope ? " " Aye, unless they take George III." " Ah, Paul ! Your joke ever outruns mine ! Though I doubt not it would suit the temper of many at both Ends. Still, I fancy the King would be better but for his ministers." " Deceive not yourself, John. The ministers, bad as many of them are, are better than the King. It is that crazy German that sits on England's throne with whom we have to reckon. We have many friends among the commoners, and yet more among 3O WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING the people. It is George himself that is our heavy villain." " You may be right. But come, draw up your chair, and light a pipe with me." "That I will," said Paul. "Though I care less for your pipe than for the companionship of Mis tress Crane. It is lonely enough at our house now, madam." "Are all the children well?" asked Mrs. Crane. " All well, I thank you, and I hope they may soon be better," replied Paul Revere. " Better ? Ah, Mr. Revere, I can guess what that means ! " " Now hear the wisdom of woman ! And what have I said that gives you the right to guess at my meaning further than what the words say ? " asked Revere, mirthfully. " I have heard," said she. " Heard ? " he demanded. " Well, and what hast thou heard ? Beshrew me if the old town of Boston be not the worst place for gossip ! " " I have heard that your children may soon hope for a new mother." "Ah! that's the way you women do injustice to a TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 31 widower ! It's enough to drive a man to matrimony to be rid of you ! And whom do the gossips say I am to wed ? " " I have told you all that has been told thus far. Surely it would be better manners for me to hear that from you." "That is well done, I confess," said Paul. " You may as well tell her, Paul," said John. " There's no keeping a secret from her." " I care little for secrets," said Mrs. Crane, blushing. " It was Mr. Revere who introduced the subject." "Well, I may as well tell you. I have written it out on a bit of paper. Here it is. No, this is a bill for some work at my shop. Stay ! it's on the other side ! I declare, I've written it on the back of Mr. Greene's bill. I must be gone daft. I'll make a new bill, for I must keep what's on the other side. Listen, I will read it to you." He took from his pocket a bill on whose face was the account of " Mr. Benjamin Greene " for gold but tons, shoe buckles, and the mending of a spoon, and read : "Three-fourths of a Paine that makes Traitors confess, With three parts of a place which the Wicked don't Bless; 32 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING Joyne four-sevenths of an exercise which Shop-keepers use, Add what Bad Men do, when they good actions refuse. These four, added together with great care and Art, Will point out the Fair One that is nearest my Heart." " What's that ? " asked Crane. " I can't make head or tail of it." " It's long since you were in love," said Revere. " Not a bit of it. I'm in love still, but I keep my senses, and write no poetry. A man is far gone when he writes poetry. Were you to apply for ad mission to the Sons of Liberty now, you'd be black balled." " And why ? " " You are no freeman : nor seek to be." "Be still with your nonsense," said Mrs. Crane, " and let us find the name." "Aye, there you go again," said Paul. "You'll not be content till you learn the name of my bride that is to be, and you'll tell it over Boston." " Tell it ? You think I cannot keep a secret ? " " I suppose you can, but I talk not of miracles." " Well, I'll not try to keep it, if you annoy me thus. Read that again." TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 33 "'Three-fourths of a Paine that makes Traitors confess, With three parts ' " " Stop there ! One line at a time. Now what may that mean? 'Three-fourths of a Paine,' P-a-i " " No, no ! That's not it. It's the thing which causes the pain." " Why did you not say so ? " " Can you allow nothing for poetic license ? " " We can hardly expect a man to talk what he means when he is both in poetry and in love." " Be still, John, and let us learn this riddle. ' Three- fourths of a pain ' ' " Right so far. Now what pain ? " "The pain of a cracked head or a broken heart, I'll warrant," said Crane, still intent on his badinage. " Oh, we can never get on at this rate," said Mrs. Crane. " Come, Mr. Revere, if we were alone, we could guess it, but John will persist in annoying us. Keep us on the rack no longer. We cannot guess it." "You very nearly guessed it then, my lady," said Revere. "I have it," said Mrs. Crane. "Rack! Three- fourths of r-a-c-k is R-a-c. Now go on ! " D 34 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING "'With three parts of a place which the Wicked don't Bless; '" " I can guess that," said Crane. " I thought you would be able," said Revere. " But I object to mixing theology with love-mak ing," said Crane. "R-a-c," spelled Mrs. Crane, " h-e-1 Rachel ! Rachel who ? " "'Joyne four-sevenths of an exercise which Shop-keepers use,'" "That's too far in fractions for me," said Crane. " Here, lad, you have studied. What is ' four-sevenths of a ' what is it ? " "An exercise Shop-keepers use," prompted Revere. "That must be walking," said John Farwell, "for they have little chance for other exercise." " W-a-1-k-i-n-g, seven letters," said Mrs. Crane. " We must take four. The first four, is it ? " " Yes, the first four, though you ask much more help than you have a right." " I see ! " cried Mrs. Crane. " I know the name now." "Well, go on with your puzzle," said Crane, "and have done with it. Paul and I would talk politics ! " " Politics ! " said Mrs. Crane. " You know you're TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 35 as eager to know whom Mr. Revere is to marry as I am. Do you not get the name yet ? " "-Last syllable," said Paul. " ( Add what Bad Men do, when they good actions refuse.' " " Sin," suggested Crane. " Err," said John Farwell, who, having been invited to make one guess, now ventured another. "Right, my lad," replied Paul; "and now what name does it make?" " Rachel Walker," said John. " Though, pardon me, sir, have you not one ' r ' too many ? " " No matter about that," Paul laughingly answered. " Few great men are good spellers. There's never been a Prime Minister of England yet that spelt the same word every time alike. The name will go right on the record, and 'tis near enough right here for poetry." " I know Rachel Walker," said Mrs. Crane. " She is an excellent and charming woman. I am glad for your home and children that she is coming. When are you to marry ? " " In a fortnight," said Revere. 1 1 Paul Revere married Rachel Walker, a worthy and faithful wife, 36 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING " Who is to marry you ? " " Dr. Mather," 1 said Revere. " I attend his church now. It was a sad blow to me when Dr. Mayhew died." 2 " It was a blow to us all. No man spoke more plainly for liberty than he." "Aye. He was in the pulpit what Warren is on the platform, or Sam Adams with his pen, or Ben Franklin at court. We had sore need of him." " Aye. And the zeal of the good he sought to do consumed him. He died too young." " Yes. How like you the custom, begun with his funeral, of a prayer and a funeral service ? " October 10, 1773. He was at this time a widower, nearly thirty-nine years of age, and the father of eight children. 1 This was Dr. Samuel Mather, son of Cotton Mather, pastor of a church in North Bennett Street, near Revere's home. He is buried with his father, Cotton Mather, and his grandfather, Increase Mather, in the family tomb on Copp's Hill, Boston. 2 Jonathan Mayhew, pastor of the West Church in Boston, died in 1766. Revere attended his church. He was one of the ablest and most fearless men in Boston. His sermon on the execution of Charles I. was an epoch-making utterance. His sermon, preached only a few weeks before he died, on the repeal of the Stamp Act, was a noble plea for religious and civil liberty. On his death-bed he wrote to Otis, urging Colonial union as the only means of securing and perpetuating the liber ties of America. His name deserves to be held in immortal honor. TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 37 " It seems to me a bit Popish. I doubt if it grows. But nothing was too good for Dr. Mayhew." " Aye. Would I could be married by such a pa triot," said Revere. " But Dr. Mather is a patriot." " Aye. Four generations of patriotic blood on this side the water, and I know not how many on the other, are in his veins." " Yes, and great learning ; though men speak slight ingly of his father." " The foolish do, but not the wise. Cotton Mather had his follies, he was superstitious, and he was vain, but he had the heart of a man, the learning of a sage, the wisdom of a prophet." "As to learning, he had enough for ten ; as to wisdom, I have doubted it." " Wisdom ? At what craft did he not know more than its masters ? In astronomy ? Did not Samuel Sewall, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, think him dangerously ahead of his time, and himself dissent when Mather preached that the sun, and not the earth, is the centre of our system ? In physic did he not know more than the doctors ? Did he not save Boston from the small-pox, when he could find but one physician in all the town that would try inoculation ? " 38 WHEN BOSTON BRAVED THE KING " Aye, wise he was in such ways ; but not wise in some things." " No man is wise in all things. And mark me, the day will come when the foolish will cease to smile at the name of Cotton Mather ; but, forgiving his errors, which were great because the man was great, and his follies, which were small because his virtues left small room for them, will honor him and his noble line." " His father was a great man." " Indeed he was. Whom else could the Colony have sent to face the King and ask back our Charter?" " It is a far cry from Rachel Walker to Increase Mather," interposed Mrs. Crane. " Aye, it is," said Revere. " Listen, madam. Which would you say, ' will direct to the Fair One ' or ' will point out the Fair One ' ? " "How does it read now?" " I am in doubt which to make it. I first wrote ' will point out,' and then changed it to ' will direct to,' but liked it little better, so let both stand." "'Point out' is better," said Crane. " ' Direct to ' is less blunt," said Mrs. Crane. "There you go," said Revere; "and 'tis little help TWO SONS OF LIBERTY 39 you give me when you agree not ! I'll leave both, and cross out one later." But he never decided which he liked the better, so the closing couplet stands to-day, as it did when he wrote it : These four, added together with great care and Art, Will j! the Fair One that is nearest my Heart, direct to All this time John sat in the chimney corner lis tening with all his ears. To sit in the presence of Paul Revere and one of his ardent companions, to hear them now discuss the great names of Colonial history as though they were affairs of every day, and almost in the same breath to talk of love-making, and to buffet each other with innocent and good- natured jests, was almost incredible, and yet it was real. It was he, John Farwell, the homeless orphan boy from Gloucester, who sat here, pinching himself to be sure that it was he. The conversation became serious when the Gazette was brought out and Adams' letter was read and dis cussed. "There is no hope for us, I tell you," said Crane, 4 Co., Publishers. Travel=Adventure Series. 'N WILD AFRICA. Adventures of Two Boys in the Sahara Desert, etc. BY THOS. W. KNOX. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A story of absorbing interest. Boston Journal. Our young people will pronounce it unusually good. Albany Argus. Col. Knox has struck a popular note in his latest volume. Springfield Republican. CT'HE LAND OF THE KANGAROO. BY THOS. JL W. KNOX. Adventures of Two Boys in the Great Island Con tinent. 318 pp. Cloth, $1.50. His descriptions of the natural history and botany of the country are very interest ing. Detroit Free Press. The actual truthfulness of the book needs no gloss to add to its absorbing interest. The Book Buyer, New York. \VER THE ANDES; or, Our Boys in New South America. BY HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 368 pp. Cloth, #1.50. No writer of the present century has done more and better service than Hezekiah Butterworth in the production of helpful literature for the young. In this volume he writes, in his own fascinating way, of a country too little known by American readers. Christian Work. Mr. Butterworth is careful of his historic facts, and then he charmingly interweaves fcis quaint stories, legends, and patriotic adventures as few writers can. Chicago Inter- Ocean. The subject is an inspiring one, and Mr. Butterworth has done full justice to the kigh ideals which have inspired the men of South America. Religious Telescope. OST IN NICARAGUA ; or, The Lands of the Great Canal. BY HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 295 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The book pictures the wonderful land of Nicaragua and continues the story of the travelers whose adventures in South America are related in " Over the Andes." In this Companion book to " Over the Andes," one of the boy travelers who goes into the Nicaraguan forests in search of a quetzal, or the royal bird of the Aztecs, falls into an ancient idol cave, and is rescued in a remarkable way by an old Mosquito Indian. The narrative is told in such a way as to give the ancient legends of Guatemala, the story of the chieftain, Nicaragua, the history of the Central American Republics, and the natural history of the wonderlands of the ocelot, the conger, parrots, and monkeys. Since the voyage of the Oregon, of 13,000 miles to reach Key West the American people have seen what would be the value of the Nicaragua Canal. The book gives the history of the projects for the canal, and facts about Central America, and a part of it was written in Costa Rica. It enters a new field. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. L UARTERDECK AND FOK'SLE. BY MOLLY ELLIOTT SEAWELL. 272 pp. Cloth, $1.25. Miss Seawell has done a notable work for the young people of our country in ner excellent stories of naval exploits. They are of the kind that causes the reader, no matter whether young or old, to thrill with pride and patriotism at the deeds of daring f the heroes of our navy. W. A. Wilde &* Co., Boston and Chicago. IV. A. Wilde & Co., Publishers. Fighting for the Flag Series. By Chas. Ledyard Norton. 'ACK BENSON'S LOG ; or, Afloat with the Flag in '61. 281 pp. Cloth, $1.25. An unusually interesting historical story, and one that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The story is distinctly superior to anything ever attempted along this line before. The Independent. A story that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The Press. J /I MEDAL OF HONOR MAN; or, Cruising Among *J. Blockade Runners. 280 pp. Cloth, $1.25. A bright, breezy sequel to " Jack Benson's Log." The book has unusual literary excellence. The Book Buyer, New York. A stirring story for boys. The Journal, Indianapolis. MIDSHIPMAN JACK. 290 pp. Cloth, $1.25. -^ '-* Jack is a delightful hero, and the author has made his experiences and ad ventures seem very real. Congregational ist. It is true historically and full of exciting war scenes and adventures. Outlook. A stirring story of naval service in the Confederate waters during the late war. Presbyterian. The set of three volumes in a box, $3.75. A GIRL OF '/<5. BY AMY E. BLANCH ARD. 331 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " A Girl of '76 " lays its scene in and around Boston where the principal events of the early period of the Revolution were enacted. Elizabeth Hall, the heroine, is the daughter of a patriot who is active in the defense of his country. The story opens with a scene in Charlestown, where Elizabeth Hall and her parents live. The emptying of the tea in Boston Harbor is the means of giving the little girl her first strong impression as to the seriousness of her father's opinions, and causes a quarrel between herself and her schoolmate and playfellow, Amos Dwight. SOLDIER OF THE LEGION. BY CHAS. LED- YARD NORTON. 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Two boys, a Carolinian and a Virginian, born a few years apart during the last half of the eighteenth century, afford the groundwork for the incidents of this tale. The younger of the two was William Henry Harrison, sometime President of the United States, and the elder, his companion and faithful attendant through life, was Carolinus Bassett, Sergeant of the old First Infantry, and in an irregular sort of a way Captain of Virginian Horse. He it is who tells the story a few years after President Harrison's death, his granddaughter acting as critic and amanuensis. The story has to do with the early days of the Republic, when the great, wild, un known West was beset by dangers on every hand, and the Government at Washington was at its wits' end to provide ways and means to meet the perplexing problems of national existence. W. A. Wilde &> Co., Boston and Chicago. 4 W. A. Wilde <5r> Co., Publishers. rHE ORCUTT GIRLS; or, One Term at the Academy. BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE. 316 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A well-told story of school life which will interest its readers deeply, and hold before them a high standard of living. The heroines are charming girls and their adventures are described in an entertaining way. Pilgrim Teacher. Mrs. Vaile gives us a story here which will become famous as a description of a phase of New England educational history which has now become a thing of the past, with an exception here and there. Boston Transcript. UE ORCUTT. A Sequel to " The Orcutt Girls." BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE. 330 pp. Cloth, $1.50. It is a charming story from beginning to end and is written in that easy flowing style which characterizes the best stories of our best writers. Christian Work. It is wholly a piece of good fortune for young folks that brings this book to market in such ample season for the selection of holiday gifts. Denver Republican. The story teaches a good moral without any preaching, in fact it is as good in a way as Miss Alcott's books, which is high but deserved praise. Chronicle. HE M. M. C. A Story of the Great Rockies. BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE. 232 pp. Cloth, $1.25. The pluck of the little school teacher, struggling against adverse circumstances, to hold for her friend the promising claim, which he has secured after years of misfortune in other ventures, is well brought out. The almost resistless bad luck which has made " Old Hopefull's " nickname a hollow mockery still followed him when a fortune was almost within his grasp. The little school teacher was, however, a new element in " Old Hopefull's " experience, and the result, as the story shows, was most satisfactory. s T ROMANCE OF DISCOVERY ,- or, a Thousand Years of Exploration, etc. BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS. 305 pp. Cloth, $1.50. It is a book of profit and interest involving a variety of correlated instances and influences which impart the flavor of the unexpected. Philadelphia, Presbyterian. An intensely interesting narrative following well-authenticated history. Telescope. Boys will read it for the romance in it and be delighted, and when they get through, behold ! they have read a history of America. A-wakener. rHE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN COLONIZA TION; or, How the Foundations of Our Country Were Laid. BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS. 295 pp. Cloth, $1.50. To this continent, across a great ocean, came two distinct streams of humanity and two rival civilizations, the one Latin, led and typified by the Spanish, with Portugese and French also, and the other Germanic, or Anglo-Saxon, led and typified by the English and reinforced by Dutch, German, and British people. /j SON OF THE RE VOL UTION. An Historical ^1 Novel of the Days of Aaron Burr. BY ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS. 301 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The story of Tom Edwards, adventurer, as it is connected with Aaron Burr, is in every way faithful to the facts of history As the story progresses the reader will wonder where the line between fact and fiction is to be drawn. Among the characters that figure in it are President Jefferson, Gen Andrew Jackson, General Wilkinson, and many other prominent government and army officials. W. A. Wilde d^ Co., Boston and Chicago. W. A. Wilde <5^> Co., Publishers. M A K ALVERN, A NEIGHBORHOOD STORY. BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELANO. 341 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Her descriptions of boys and girls are so true, and her knowledge of their ways is so accurate, that one must feel an admiration for her complete mastery of her chosen field. The A rgus, A Ibany. Miss Deland was accorded a place with Louisa M. Alcott and Nora Perry as a successful writer of books for girls. We think this praise none too high. The Post. SUCCESSFUL VENTURE. BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. 340 pp. Cloth, $1.50. One of the many successful books that have come from her pen, which is certainly the very best. Boston Herald. It is a good piece of work and its blending of good sense and entertainment will be appreciated. Congregationalist. :4TRINA. BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. 340 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " Katrina " is the story of a girl who was brought up by an aunt in a remote village of Vermont. Her life is somewhat lonely until a family from New York come there to board during the summer. Katrina's aunt, who is a reserved woman, has told her little of her antecedents, and she supposes that she has no other relatives. Her New York friends grow very fond of her and finally persuade her to visit them dunng the winter. There new pleasures and new temptations present themselves, and Katrina's character develops through them to new strength. JBOVE THE RANGE. BY THEODORA R. JENNESS. -// 332 pp. Cloth, $1.25. The quaintness of the characters described will be sure to make the story very pop ular. Book News, Philadelphia. A book of much interest and novelty. The Book Buyer, New York. B F IG CYPRESS. BY KIRK MUNROE. 164 pp. Cloth, .00. If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better than another, it is Kirk Munroe. Springfield Republican. A capital writer of boys' stories is Mr. Kirk Munroe. Outlook. VREMAN JENNIE. BY AMOS R. WELLS. A Young Woman of Business. 268 pp. Cloth, $1.25. It is a delightful story. The Advance, Chicago. It is full of action. The Standard, Chicago. A story of decided merit. The Epworth Herald, Chicago. Tl/IYSTERIOUS VOYAGE OF THE DAPHNE. J-rJ- BY LIEUT. H. P. WHITMARSH. 305 pp. Cloth, $1.25. One of the best collections of short stories for boys and girls that has been pub lished in recent years. Such writers as Hezekiah Butterworth, Wm. O. Stoddard, and Jane G. Austin have contributed characteristic stories which add greatly to the general interest of the book. W. A. Wilde &= Co., Boston and Chicago. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. ?005 Form L ;on - 1074 Wien Boston B88wh braved the king UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY IB I | HI I | HI | | || A 001372815 9 PS 1074 B88wh