Ballads and Other Poems

[1] “In writing a ballad the secrets of success are definiteness of aim, directness of execution, and singleness of idea. The language must be simple, but so vigorous that every word tells; the metre must also be simple, but the versification demands a musical swing, a rush of rhyme, the talent for which is rare. To smell of the lamp is fatal to the ballad; it should have all the spontaneity of an impromptu. The author must forget himself, for ballad poetry is essentially objective, and a touch of subjectivity spoils it. Each incident must be related as though the writer had taken part in it, and seeing with his mind’s eye, he must paint as vividly as though that described were before him in very truth. It is not an easy thing to write a ballad in these days, when the drift of poetic thought is quite in the opposite direction.”—Philadelphia Inquirer, 1876.

[2] In 1761, “America knew that the Board of Trade had proposed to annul colonial charters, to reduce all the colonies to royal governments.”—Bancroft’s Hist. U. S., vol. iv., ch. 18, p. 414. “The king, the ministry, the crown officers all conspiring against her liberties ... there was no help unless from Parliament.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 11, p. 236.

[3] “Franklin looked for greater liberties than ... Parliament might inaugurate. Having for his motto ‘Join or die,’ ... sketching the outline of a confederacy.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 5, p. 116. “William Penn in 1697 had proposed an annual Congress ... to regulate commerce. Franklin” in 1752 “revived the great idea, and breathed into it enduring life.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 5, p. 125.

[4] “The Board of Trade had proposed ... collecting the duties ... the justice of the restrictions on trade was denied and their authority questioned; and when the officers of the customs asked for ‘writs of assistance’ to enforce them, the colony regarded its liberties in peril. This is the opening scene of American resistance. It began” in 1761 ... “in a court-room ... James Otis ... stood up ... the champion of the colonies.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 18, p. 414.

[5] “‘I am determined,’ such were his words, ‘to sacrifice estate ... life in opposition to a kind of power, the exercise of which cost one king of England his head and another his throne.’ ... Tracing the lineage of freedom to its origin, he opposed the claims of the British officers by the authority of ‘reason,’ and that they were at war with the ‘Constitution’ he proved by appeals to the Charter of Massachusetts, and its English liberties.... ‘An Act of Parliament against the Constitution is void,’ he said.... ‘The crowded audience seemed ready to take up arms.’”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 18, pp. 415-6.

[6] “The true interests of Great Britain and her plantations are mutual. Otis in 1763.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 5, p. 90.

[7] See the Representations of the General Assembly at New York to the King, concerning the administration of justice in that province, 1762, mentioned in Idem., vol. v., ch. 5, p. 84. “By the laws of nature and of nations, the voice of universal reason and of God, by the statute law and the common law, this memorial claimed for the colonists the absolute rights of Englishmen, ... such were the views of Otis sent by Massachusetts” in 1764 “to its agent in London.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 10, pp. 198-9.

[8] “Less than forty were willing to receive the petition of Virginia. A third from South Carolina, a fourth from Connecticut, ... a fifth from Massachusetts, ... shared the same refusal. That from New York, no one could be prevailed upon to offer.... The House of Commons would neither receive petitions nor hear council.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 11, p. 246. This was in Feb., 1765.

[9] In 1763 Brown, the Governor of South Carolina, “assumed the power of rejecting members whom the House declared duly elected and returned.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 8, p. 150. In May, 1765, “The Lieutenant-Governor” of Virginia “dissolved the Assembly.”—Idem., ch. 13, p. 277. “Fearing a general expression of the sentiments of the people, through their representatives ... Tyron issued a proclamation in October proroguing the Assembly which was to meet on the thirtieth of November, until the following March. This act incurred the indignation of the people.”—Lossing’s Field Book of the Revolution, vol. ii., p. 568. Later, “Townshend’s revenue, so far as it provided an independent support for the crown officers, did away with the necessity of colonial legislatures.... Governors would have little inducement to call assemblies, and an angry minister might dissolve them without inconvenience to his administration.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. vi., ch. 29, p. 85. “An act of Parliament” in 1767 “suspended the functions of its (N. Y.) legislature till they should render obedience to the Imperial Legislature.”—Idem., p. 84. “Bernard ... prorogued them, and then dissolved the Assembly. Massachusetts was left without a legislature.”—Idem., vol. vi., ch. 34, p. 165.

[10] “This commission ... established a military power throughout the continent independent of the colonial governors and superior to them ... in 1756 the rule was established ... that troops might be kept up in the colonies and quartered on them at pleasure without the consent of the American Parliaments.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 9, pp. 229-30. In Feb., 1765, “Welbore Ellis, Secretary of War ... made known his intention ‘that the orders of his commander-in-chief and ... the brigadier generals ... should be supreme, and be obeyed by the troops as such in all the civil governments of America.’ ... These instructions rested, as was pretended, on ... the commission” (mentioned above) “... prepared for ... troops in time of war.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 11, p. 235.

[11] In 1762 “was consummated the system of subjecting the halls of justice to the prerogative. The king ... instituted courts, named the judges, removed them at pleasure, fixed the amount of their salaries, and paid them out of funds that were independent of legislative grants.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 19, p. 440.

[12] About 1762 “a fund of two thousand pounds was subscribed to a society which the legislature of Massachusetts had authorized for promoting knowledge among the Indians; but the king interposed his negative, and reserved the red man for the Anglican form of worship.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 18, p. 430. In 1765 “In North Carolina ... the legislature were even persuaded ... to make provision for the support of the Church of England.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 13, p. 271. “For New York, the Lords of Trade refused to the Presbyterians any immunities but such as might be derived from the British Law of Toleration.”—Idem., vol. vi., ch. 29, p. 84. “O poor New England, there is a deep plot against both your civil and religious liberties, and they will be lost.”—Whitfield in 1764, Idem., vol. v., ch. 10, p. 193.

[13] In Jan., 1750 ... “Mayhew summoned ... defensive war against ‘tyranny and priestcraft.’ ... He preached resistance.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 3, p. 60. In Aug., 1765, “Choosing as his text ... Ye have been called to liberty ... he preached fervently in behalf of civil and religious freedom.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 16, p. 312.

[14] “The act seemed sure to enforce itself. Unless stamps were used, marriages would be null, notes of hand valueless, ships at sea prizes to the first captors, suits at law impossible, transfers of real estate invalid, inheritances unclaimable.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 11, pp. 251-2.

[15] “The publishers of newspapers ... were ... called upon to stand the brunt in braving the penalties of the act.... Timothy Green ... publisher of the New London Gazette ... fearlessly defended his country’s rights.... On Friday the first day of November, his journal came forth without stamps.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, pp. 352-3.

[16] Speaking of Samuel Adams in 1764, “On his motion and in his words, Boston ... asserted ... ‘If taxes are laid upon us ... without our having a legal representation ... are we not reduced ... to the miserable state of tributary slaves?’”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 10, p. 197.

[17] “The strength of the people in America” in 1748 “consisted also in the exclusive right of its assemblies to levy and to appropriate colonial taxes ... in America, the rapacity of the governors made it expedient to preserve their dependence for their salaries on annual grants.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 1, p. 19.

[18] See note 27.

[19] March, 1763, “it became lawful ... for each ... armed vessel to stop and examine and, in case of suspicion, to seize each merchant ship approaching the colonies, while avarice was stimulated by hope of large emoluments to make as many seizures ... as possible.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 5, p. 92.

[20] “The penalties and forfeitures for breach of the revenue laws were to be decided in courts of Vice-Admiralty, without the interposition of a jury, by a single judge, who had no support whatever but in his share of the profits of his own condemnations.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 12, p. 268.

[21] “The first American ship that ventured to sea with a rich cargo and without stamped papers was owned by the Boston merchant, John Hancock.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 20, p. 374.

[22] “The merchants of New York, ... unanimously bound themselves to send no new orders for goods or merchandise; to countermand all former orders; and not even to receive goods on commission unless the Stamp Act be repealed.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, pp. 351-2.

[23] “Isaac Sears, the self-constituted, and for ten years the recognized, head of the people of New York.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 355.

[24] “The colonists could not export the chief products of their industry ... to any place but Great Britain ... nor might any foreign ship enter any colonial harbor.... In all other respects Great Britain was not only the sole market for the products of America, but the only storehouse for its supplies.... That the country which was the home of the beaver might not manufacture its own hats, no man ... could be a hatter or a journeyman at the trade unless he had served an apprenticeship of seven years. No hatter might employ ... more than two apprentices. America abounded in iron ores ... slitting mills, steel furnaces, and plating forges ... were prohibited.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 12, pp. 265-7.

[25] “‘We will none of us import British goods,’ said the traders in the towns.... North Carolina set up looms ... and South Carolina was ready to follow.... ‘We will have homespun markets of linen and woollens,’ passed from mouth to mouth.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 14, p. 288.

[26] “New England and Pennsylvania had imported nearly one half as much as usual. New York alone had been perfectly true to its engagements,”—the state of things in 1770.—Idem., vol. vi., ch. 44, p. 365.

[27] “The fourteenth of August,” 1765, “saw the effigy of Oliver,” Boston’s stamp agent, “tricked out with emblems of Bute and Grenville, ... prepared by Boston mechanics, true-born Sons of Liberty, Benjamin Edes, the printer, ... Thomas Chase, a fiery hater of kings.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 16, p. 310. “Just after dark an ‘amazing’ multitude ... made a funeral pyre for his effigy.... So the considerate self-seeker ... gave it under his own hand that he would not serve as stamp officer.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 16, pp. 310-12.

[28] “Everywhere, ... of themselves, or at the instance of the people, amidst shouts and the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon, or ... with rage changing into courtesy on the ... submission of the stamp-master, ... the officers resigned. There remained not one person duly commissioned to distribute stamps.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 351.

[29] “‘I am resolved to have the stamps distributed,’ wrote Colden.... On the thirty-first of October, Colden and all the royal governors took the oath to carry the stamp-act punctually into effect.... The governor of Rhode Island stood alone in his patriotic refusal.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 350.

[30] “The Sons of Liberty ... organized at this time throughout the colonies.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Bk. of the Rev., vol. ii., p. 787. “The association in New York had a correspondent ... in London, ... from whom they ... regularly received intelligence of the movements of the ministry.”—Idem., note.

[31] “Friday, the first morning of November,” 1765, “broke upon a people unanimously resolved to nullify the Stamp Act. From New Hampshire to the far south the day was introduced by the tolling of muffled bells, ... a eulogy was pronounced on liberty and its knell sounded, and then again the note changed as if she were restored to life.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 352.

[32] “In New York the whole city rose up as one man.... The sailors came from their shipping; the people flocked in ... by thousands.”—Idem., p. 355.

[33] “The leader of the popular tumult was Isaac Sears.”—Idem.

[34] “‘I will cram the stamps down their throats with the end of my sword,’ cried the braggart James, Major of Artillery, ... ‘will drive them all out of town.’”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 17, p. 332.

[35] “The arbitrary invasion of private rights ... by the illegal and usurped authority of a military chief was the great result of the campaign. The frontier had been left open to the French; but the ... example had been given ... of quartering troops in the principal towns at the expense of the inhabitants.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 10, p. 241.

[36] “Washington had left the service on account of a regulation by which the colonial officers were made to rank under those of the regular army.... Urged by General Braddock to accompany him, he consented to do so ... as a volunteer.... Through the stubbornness of that general, his contempt of the Indians, and the cowardice of many of his regular troops, an army of thirteen hundred men was half destroyed. Braddock fell, and the whole duty of distributing orders devolved upon the youthful colonel.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book of the Rev., vol. ii., pp. 477-9.

[37] “The King in council ... having thus invited a conflict with France by instructions necessarily involving war, ... neither troops, nor money, nor ships of war were sent over.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. iv., ch. 4, p. 102. “They protected by your arms? They have nobly taken up arms in your defence ... for the defence of a country whose frontier was drenched in blood, while its interior parts yielded all its little savings to your emolument.”—Barré debating on the Stamp Act in the House of Commons.—Idem., vol. v., ch. 11, p. 240.

[38] “Colden himself retired within the fort.... He would have fired on the people, but was menaced with being hanged.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 355.

[39] “Colden pleaded his oath ... that ... the Act should be observed, ... the contempt into which the government would fall by concession.”—Idem., p. 357. “In Connecticut, Dyer ... entreated Fitch (the governor) not to take an oath ... contrary to that of the governor to maintain the rights of the colonies.”—Idem., p. 351.

[40] “Isaac Sears and others, leaders of the Sons of Liberty, who had issued strict orders forbidding injury to private property, endeavored to restrain the mob.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book of the Rev., vol. ii., p. 788.

[41] “A party of volunteers sacked the house occupied by James, and bore off the colors of the royal regiments.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 356.

[42] “In the evening a vast torchlight procession carrying, ... two images, one of the governor; the other of the devil, ... broke open the governor’s coach-house, took out his chariot, carried the images upon it, ... to burn them with his own carriages and sleighs before his own eyes on the Bowling Green.”—Idem.

[43] “He has bound himself,” they cried, “to be the chief murderer of our rights.” “He was a rebel in Scotland, a Jacobite.” “He is an enemy to his king, to his country, and mankind.”—Idem. “In the opinion of ... Colden ... the democratic or popular part of the American Constitution was too strong.... His remedies were a perpetual revenue, fixed salaries, and an hereditary council of priviledged landholders.”—Idem., vol. iv., ch. 16, p. 371.

[44] “The council questioned” (i.e., the colony’s council) “his authority to distribute the stamps, and unanimously advised him to declare that he would do nothing in relation to them, but await the arrival of the new governor, and his declaration to that effect ... was immediately published. But the confidence of the people was shaken.”—Idem., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 356.

[45] “‘We will have the stamp papers,’ cried Sears to the multitude, ‘within four and twenty hours,’”—Idem.

[46] “Colden invited Kenedy to receive them on board of the Coventry.... Gage being appealed to, avowed his belief that a fire from the fort would be the ... commencement of civil war.”—Idem., 356-7.

[47] “Colden, perceiving further resistance ... unavailing, ordered the stamps to be delivered to the Mayor (Cruger) and Common Council, the former giving a receipt for the same, and the corporation agreeing to pay for all the stamps that should be destroyed or lost. This was satisfactory to the people.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book, vol. ii., p. 789.

[48] “In all the streets were heard the shouts of Liberty, Property, and no Stamps.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. v., ch. 19, p. 357.

[49] “The press continued its activity.”—Idem.

[50] “I rejoice that America has resisted.”—William Pitt in the House of Commons.—Idem., vol. v., ch. 21, p. 391.

[51] “On ... the joyful intelligence of the repeal of the Stamp Act ... the city was filled with delight. Bells rang ... cannon roared ... the Sons of Liberty drank twenty-eight ‘loyal and constitutional toasts.’”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book of the Rev., vol. ii., p. 789.

[1] She first appeared in ... Narraganset Bay in March, 1772, ... to prevent infraction of the revenue laws, and to put a stop to ... illicit trade.—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book of the Rev., vol. ii., ch. 3, p. 60.

[2] See “Our First Break with the British,” notes 5, 19, 20, 24.

[3] “Often fired ... to compel their masters to take down their colors in its presence—a haughty marine Gesler.”—Idem., p. 61.

[4] “Plundered the islands of sheep and hogs, cut down trees, fired at market boats, detained vessels without any colorable pretext, and made illegal seizures of goods of which the recovery cost more than they were worth.”—Bancroft’s Hist. U. S., vol. vi., ch. 47, p. 417.

[5] “The Governor, ... sent a sheriff on board the Gaspee.”—Idem.

[6] See Idem., vol. iv., ch. 8. Also “Our First Break with the British,” Note 19.

[7] “Hopkins, the Chief Justice, ... gave the opinion that any person who should ... exercise any authority by force of arms without showing his commission to the governor ... guilty of a trespass if not piracy.”—Idem., vol. vi., ch. 47, p. 416. “The governor, therefore, sent ... to ascertain by what orders the lieutenant acted; and Duddington referred the subject to the admiral.”—Idem.

[8] See “Our First Break with the British,” Note 20.

[9] “As sure as the people of Newport attempt to rescue any vessel, ... I will hang them as pirates.”—Idem., p. 417.

[10] “The Admiral answered from Boston: ‘The lieutenant, sir, has done his duty.’”—Idem., p. 416.

[11] “Your two insolent letters.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book, vol. ii., ch. 3.

[12] “I would advise you not to send your sheriff on board the king’s ship again on such ridiculous errands.”—Idem.

[13] “I shall transmit your letter to the Secretary of State.... I will send the sheriff of this colony at any time, and to any place within the body of it, as I shall think fit.”—Idem.

[14] “On the 9th of June, 1772, Captain Lindsey left Newport for Providence in his packet.”—Idem. “Called the Hannah and sailed between New York and Providence.”—Idem., note.

[15] “As Captain Lindsey, on this occasion, kept his colors flying, the Gaspee gave chase, and continued it as far as Namquit (now Gaspee) Point. The tide was ebbing, but the bar was covered. As soon as Lindsey doubled the Point, he stood to the westward. Duddington, commander of the Gaspee, eager to overtake the pursued, and ignorant of the extent of the submerged point from the shore, kept on a straight course, and in a few minutes struck the sand. The fast-ebbing tide soon left his vessel hopelessly grounded.”—Idem.

[16] Namquit, according to Lossing; Nauquit, according to Bancroft.

[17] “Lindsey arrived at Providence at sunset, and ... communicated the fact to Mr. John Brown, one of the leading merchants of that city.”—Lossing’s Pic. Field Book, v. ii., ch. 3.

[18] “At dusk ... Daniel Pearce passed along the Main Street beating a drum, and informing the inhabitants that the Gaspee lay aground, ... that she could not get off until three o’clock, and inviting,” etc.—Idem.

[19] Brown “ordered the preparation of eight of the largest long-boats in the harbor, to be placed under the general command of Captain Whipple, one of his most trusty ship-masters,” ... “the row-locks to be muffled, and the whole put in readiness at half-past eight at Fenner’s wharf.”—Idem.

[20] “The principal actors in this affair were John Brown, Capt. Abraham Whipple, John B. Hopkins, Benjamin Dunn, Dr. John Mawney, Benjamin Page, Joseph Bucklin, Turpin Smith, Ephraim Bowen, and Capt. Joseph Tillinghast.”—Idem. “Led by John Brown and Joseph Brown of Providence, and Simeon Potter of Bristol.”—Bancroft’s U. S., vol. vi., ch. 47.

[21] “Filled with sixty-four well-armed men, a sea-captain in each boat acting as a steersman.”—Lossing’s Pict. Field Book of the Rev., vol. ii., ch. 3.

[22] “They took with them a quantity of wood paving-stone.”—Idem.

[23] “The boats left Providence between ten and eleven.... Between one and two ... they reached the Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed them.... Duddington appeared, ... and waving the boats off fired a pistol at them. This ... we returned.... Duddington was wounded.”—Idem.

[24] “The crew retreating below.”—Idem.

[25] “The schooner’s company were ordered to collect their clothing and leave the vessel.”—Idem.

[26] “Thomas Bucklin ... fired the musket.”... He afterwards assisted in dressing the wound, supervised by Dr. John Mawney, an American.—Idem., note.

[27] “All the effects of ... Duddington being carefully placed in one of the American boats.”—Idem.

[28] “The Gaspee was set on fire, and at dawn blew up.”—Idem.

[29] “A reward of five hundred dollars for the discovery of the perpetrator of said villainy.”—Idem.

[30] “Afterwards, ... a reward of five thousand dollars for the leader and two thousand five hundred ... the other parties.”—Idem.

[31] “A commission of inquiry under the great seal of England ... sat from the 4th until the 22d of January ... adjourned until ... May ... and sat until the 23d of June. But not a solitary clue to the identity of the perpetrators could be obtained.”—Idem.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[1] “Brig.-Gen. Prescott ... had been nurtured in the lap of aristocracy, and taught all its exclusive precepts.... He was a tyrant at heart, and, having the opportunity, he exercised a tyrant’s plentiful prerogatives.”—Lossing’s Pict. Field Bk. of the Rev., vol. ii., p. 74. “William Barton was a native of Providence, Rhode Island.... Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia of his State ... when he planned and executed the expedition for the abduction of General Prescott,” who commanded the British forces at Newport, Rhode Island.—Idem, p. 75. Note.

[2] “Prescott ... had a fine sidewalk made for his accommodation along Pelham and up Spring streets; for which purpose, he took the door steps.”—Idem, p. 75. Note.

[3] “His habit, while walking the streets, if he saw any of the inhabitants conversing together, was to shake his cane at them, and say: ‘Disperse ye rebels.’ He was also in the habit, when he met citizens in the streets, of commanding them to take off their hats, and, unless the order was instantly complied with, it was enforced by a rap of his cane.”—Idem, p. 74.

[4] “He overtook a Quaker who did not doff his hat. The general, who was on horseback, dashed ... him against a stone wall, knocked off his hat, and then put him under guard.”—Idem.

[5] “Prescott caused many citizens of Newport to be imprisoned, some of them for months, without any assigned reason. Among others ... William Tripp.... He had a ... family, but the tyrant would not allow him to hold any communication with them either written or verbal.... His wife sought ... a personal interview.... A captain, ... echoing his master’s words ... informed her, as he shut the door in her face, that he expected her husband would be hung as a rebel in less than a week.”—Idem.

[6] “General Prescott was quartered at the house of a Quaker, named Overton.”—Idem, p. 75.

[7] “These were three British frigates with their guard-boats ... almost in front of Prescott’s quarters.”—Idem.

[8] “With a few chosen men, Barton embarked in four whale boats with muffled oars at Warwick Point at nine o’clock in the evening.”—Idem., p. 75. “Mr. Barton, by request, furnished me with the following list of the names of those who accompanied his father on his perilous expedition. Officers.—Andrew Stanton, Eleazer Adams, Samuel Potter, James Wilcox. Non-Commissioned Officers.—Joshua Babcock and Samuel Phillips. Privates.—Benjamin Pren, James Potter, Henry Fisher, James Parker, Joseph Guild, Nathan Smith, Isaac Brown, Billington Crumb, James Haines, Samuel Apis, Alderman Crank, Oliver Simmons, Jack Sherman, Joel Briggs, Clark Packard, Samuel Cory, James Weaver, Clark Crandall, Sampson George, Joseph Ralph, Jedediah Grenale, Richard Hare, Darius Wale, Joseph Denis, William Bruff, Charles Hassett, Thomas Wilcox, Pardon Cory, Jeremiah Thomas, John Hunt, Thomas Austin, Daniel Page (a Narraganset Indian), Jack Sisson (black), and—Howe or Whiting, boat-steerer.”—Idem, p. 76. Note.

[9] “They heard the cry: ‘All’s well,’ from the guard-boat of the enemy as they passed silently.”—Idem, p. 76.

[10] “Barton divided his men into several squads.... The main portion passed ... between a British guard-house and the encampment of a company of light-horse, while the remainder was ... to approach Prescott’s quarters from the rear.”—Idem.

[11] “As Barton and his men approached the gate, a sentinel hailed them twice, and then demanded the countersign. ‘We have no countersign to give,’ Barton said, and quickly added: ‘Have you seen any deserters here to-night?’ The sentinel was misled by this question, supposing them to be friends ... until his musket was seized, and himself bound and menaced with instant death if he made any noise.”—Idem.

[12] “Barton entered the front passage boldly. Mr. Overton sat alone reading.... Barton inquired for Gen. Prescott’s room. Overton pointed upward, signifying that it was directly over.”—Idem, p. 77.

[13] “With four strong men and Sisson, a powerful negro ... Barton ascended the stairs, and gently tried the door. It was locked; no time was to be lost ... the negro drew back ... and using his head for a battering-ram, burst open the door at the first effort.”—Idem.

[14] “The general supposing the intruders to be robbers, sprang from his bed, and seized his gold watch that was hanging upon the wall. Barton ... told him he was his prisoner, and that perfect silence was now his only safety.”—Idem.

[15] “Prescott begged time to dress, but it being a hot July night, and time precious, Barton refused acquiescence, feeling that it would not be cruel to take him ... where he could make his toilet ... at his leisure. So, throwing his cloak around him ... the prisoner was hurried to the shore.”—Idem.

[16] “Prescott’s aid, hearing the noise in the general’s room, leaped from a window to escape, but was captured.”—Idem.

[17] “At Warwick Point ... Prescott first broke the silence by saying to Col. Barton: ‘Sir, you have made a bold push, to-night.’ ‘We have been fortunate,’ coolly replied Barton. Captain Elliot was there with a coach to convey the prisoners to Providence.”—Idem.

[18] “For that service Congress honored him by the presentation of a sword, and also by a grant of land in Vermont.”—Idem, p. 75. Note.

[19] “And on the 24th of December following he was promoted to the rank and pay of colonel in the Continental army.”—Idem, p. 77.

[1] “A thoroughly national hotel ... I look down from my window through marble colonnades ... perfumed with the scent of ... trees, which bend ... over a richly sculptured fountain.”—Hare’s Wanderings in Spain, pp. 93, 94.

[2] Instruments found everywhere in Spain.

[3] “The bridge over the Guadalquivir ... composed of sixteen arches ... very picturesque ... built by Octavius Cæsar.”—O’Shea’s Guide to Spain.

[4] “What spot can be more delightful than the grand old court, surrounded by flame-shaped battlements ... beneath huge orange trees planted some three hundred years ago.”—Hare’s Wanderings in Spain, p. 88.

[5] “From the court you step with bewilderment into a roofed-in forest of pillars ... amid the thousand still remaining columns of varied color, thickness, and material, which divide the building into twenty-nine naves one way and nineteen the other. Into the midst of all a cathedral was engrafted in 1547.” (It was built originally for a mosk.)—Idem, p. 89.

[6] Gonsalvo de Cordova, called “the great captain,” born 1443.

[7] Ferdinand of Aragon, whose forces, setting out from Cordova, drove Abu-Abdillah, or Boabdil, the king of the Moors, from Granada in 1492.

[8] Titles applied to the city in different periods of its history,—when inhabited by the Moors, the Goths, and before the Romans conquered it.

[9] Referring to the “blue blood” of the Spanish aristocracy, supposed to be indicative of Roman ancestry.

[1] The poem is supposed to be written by an American “doing” Italy.

[2] The Leaning Tower, the Baptistry (under the dome of which may be heard, by those who care for it, an echo, repeating itself many times), and the Cathedral are all found in one square.

[3] Alabaster worked into articles suitable for gifts is one of the chief commodities of Pisa. Great quantities of it are purchased for presents.

[4] Campo Santo or cemetery, the most famous in Italy.