"I should think," said Laurence, "as Mr. Hutchinson had written the history of our Puritan forefathers2, he would have known what the temper of the people was, and so have taken care not to wrong them."
"He trusted in the might of the king of England," replied Grandfather, "and thought himself safe under the shelter of the throne. If no dispute had arisen between the king and the people, Hutchinson would have had the character of a wise, good, and patriotic3 magistrate4. But, from the time that he took part against the rights of his country, the people's love and respect were turned to scorn and hatred5; and he never had another hour of peace."
In order to show what a fierce and dangerous spirit was now aroused among the inhabitants, Grandfather related a passage from history, which we shall call
THE HUTCHINSON MOB
On the evening of the twenty-sixth of August, 1765, a bonfire was kindled6 in King Street. It flamed high upward, and threw a ruddy light over the front of the town house, on which was displayed a carved representation of the royal arms. The gilded7 vane of the cupola glittered in the blaze. The kindling8 of this bonfire was the well known signal for the populace of Boston to assemble in the street.
Before the tar-barrels, of which the bonfire was made, were half burnt out, a great crowd had come together. They were chiefly laborers9 and seafaring men, together with many young apprentices10, and all those idle people about town who are ready for any kind of mischief11. Doubtless some school-boys were among them.
While these rough figures stood round the blazing bonfire, you might hear them speaking bitter words against the high officers of the province. Governor Bernard, Hutchinson, Oliver, Storey, Hallowell, and other men whom King George delighted to honor, were reviled12 as traitors13 to the country. Now and then, perhaps, an officer of the crown passed along the street, wearing the gold-laced hat, white wig15, and embroidered16 waistcoat, which were the fashion of the day. But, when the people beheld17 him, they set up a wild and angry howl, and their faces had an evil aspect, which was made more terrible by the flickering18 blaze of the bonfire.
"Yes; and all his brethren too!" another might reply; "and the governor and old Tommy Hutchinson into the hottest of it!"
"And the Earl of Bute along with them," muttered a third; "and burn the whole pack of them under King George's nose! No matter if it singed19 him!"
Some such expressions as these, either shouted aloud, or muttered under the breath, were doubtless heard in King Street. The mob, meanwhile, were growing fiercer, and fiercer, and seemed ready even to set the town on fire, for the sake of burning the king's friends out of house and home. And yet, angry as they were, they sometimes broke into a loud roar of laughter, as if mischief and destruction were their sport.
But we must now leave the rioters for a time, and take a peep into the lieutenant-governor's splendid mansion20. It was a large brick house, decorated with Ionic pilasters, and stood in Garden Court Street, near the North Square.
While the angry mob in King Street were shouting his name, Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson sat quietly in Grandfather's chair, unsuspicious of the evil that was about to fall upon his head. His beloved family were in the room with him. He had thrown off his embroidered coat and powdered wig, and had on a loose flowing gown and purple velvet21 cap. He had likewise laid aside the cares of state, and all the thoughts that had wearied and perplexed22 him throughout the day.
Perhaps, in the enjoyment23 of his home, he had forgotten all about the Stamp Act, and scarcely remembered that there was a king, across the ocean, who had resolved to make tributaries24 of the New Englanders. Possibly, too, he had forgotten his own ambition, and would not have exchanged his situation, at that moment, to be governor, or even a lord.
The wax candles were now lighted, and showed a handsome room, well provided with rich furniture. On the walls hung the pictures of Hutchinson's ancestors, who had been eminent25 men in their day, and were honorably remembered in the history of the country. Every object served to mark the residence of a rich, aristocratic gentleman, who held himself high above the common people, and could have nothing to fear from them. In a corner of the room, thrown carelessly upon a chair, were the scarlet27 robes of the chief justice. This high office, as well as those of lieutenant-governor, counsellor, and judge of probate, was filled by Hutchinson.
Who or what could disturb the domestic quiet of such a great and powerful personage as now sat in Grandfather's chair.
The lieutenant-governor's favorite daughter sat by his side. She leaned on the arm of our great chair, and looked up affectionately into her father's face, rejoicing to perceive that a quiet smile was on his lips. But suddenly a shade came across her countenance28. She seemed to listen attentively29, as if to catch a distant sound.
"What is the matter, my child?" inquired Hutchinson.
The lieutenant-governor listened. But his ears were duller than those of his daughter; he could hear nothing more terrible than the sound of a summer breeze, sighing among the tops of the elm trees.
"No, foolish child!" he replied, playfully patting her cheek. "There is no tumult. Our Boston mobs are satisfied with what mischief they have already done. The king's friends need not tremble."
So Hutchinson resumed his pleasant and peaceful meditations31, and again forgot that there were any troubles in the world. But his family were alarmed, and could not help straining their ears to catch the slightest sound. More and more distinctly they heard shouts, and then the trampling32 of many feet. While they were listening, one of the neighbors rushed breathless into the room.
"A mob!—a terrible mob!" cried he: "they have broken into Mr. Storey's house, and into Mr. Hallowell's, and have made themselves drunk with the liquors in his cellar, and now they are coming hither, as wild as so many tigers. Flee, lieutenant-governor, for your life! for your life!"
But Hutchinson would not hearken to them. He was an old lawyer; and he could not realize that the people would do any thing so utterly34 lawless as to assault him in his peaceful home. He was one of King George's chief officers; and it would be an insult and outrage35 upon the king himself, if the lieutenant-governor should suffer any wrong.
"Have no fears on my account," said he; "I am perfectly36 safe. The king's name shall be my protection."
Yet he bade his family retire into one of the neighboring houses. His daughter would have remained, but he forced her away.
The huzzas and riotous37 uproar38 of the mob were now heard, close at hand. The sound was terrible, and struck Hutchinson with the same sort of dread39 as if an enraged40 wild beast had broken loose, and were roaring for its prey41. He crept softly to the window. There he beheld an immense concourse of people, filling all the street, and rolling onward42 to his house. It was like a tempestuous43 flood, that had swelled44 beyond its bounds, and would sweep every thing before it. Hutchinson trembled; he felt, at that moment, that the wrath45 of the people was a thousand-fold more terrible than the wrath of a king.
That was a moment when a loyalist and an aristocrat26, like Hutchinson, might have learned how powerless are kings, nobles, and great men, when the low and humble46 range themselves against them. King George could do nothing for his servant now. Had King George been there, he could have done nothing for himself. If Hutchinson had understood this lesson, and remembered it, he need not, in after years, have been an exile from his native country, nor finally have laid his bones in a distant land.
There was now a rush against the doors of the house. The people sent up a hoarse47 cry. At this instant, the lieutenant-governor's daughter, whom he had supposed to be in a place of safety, ran into the room, and threw her arms around him. She had returned by a private entrance.
"Father, are you mad!" cried she. "Will the king's name protect you now? Come with me, or they will have your life."
"True," muttered Hutchinson to himself; "what care these roarers for the name of king? I must flee, or they will trample48 me down, on the door of my own dwelling49!"
Hurrying away, he and his daughter made their escape by the private passage, at the moment when the rioters broke into the house. The foremost of them rushed up the stair-case, and entered the room which Hutchinson had just quitted. There they beheld our good old chair, facing them with quiet dignity, while the lion's head seemed to move its jaws50 in the unsteady light of their torches. Perhaps the stately aspect of our venerable friend, which had stood firm through a century and a half of trouble, arrested them for an instant. But they were thrust forward by those behind, and the chair lay overthrown51.
Then began the work of destruction. The carved and polished mahogany tables were shattered with heavy clubs, and hewn to splinters with axes. The marble hearths52 and mantel pieces were broken. The volumes of Hutchinson's library, so precious to a studious man, were torn out of their covers, and the leaves sent flying out of the windows. Manuscripts, containing secrets of our country's history, which are now lost forever, were scattered53 to the winds.
The old ancestral portraits, whose fixed54 countenances55 looked down on the wild scene, were rent from the walls. The mob triumphed in their downfall and destruction, as if these pictures of Hutchinson's forefathers had committed the same offences as their descendant. A tall looking-glass, which had hitherto presented a reflection of the enraged and drunken multitude, was now smashed into a thousand fragments. We gladly dismiss the scene from the mirror of our fancy.
Before morning dawned, the walls of the house were all that remained. The interior was a dismal56 scene of ruin. A shower pattered in at the broken windows, and when Hutchinson and his family returned, they stood shivering in the same room, where the last evening had seen them so peaceful and happy.
"Grandfather," said Laurence indignantly, "if the people acted in this manner, they were not worthy57 of even so much liberty as the king of England was willing to allow them."
"It was a most unjustifiable act, like many other popular movements at that time," replied Grandfather. "But we must not decide against the justice of the people's cause, merely because an excited mob was guilty of outrageous58 violence. Besides, all these things were done in the first fury of resentment59. Afterwards, the people grew more calm, and were more influenced by the counsel of those wise and good men who conducted them safely and gloriously through the Revolution."
Little Alice, with tears in her blue eyes, said that she hoped the neighbors had not let Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson and his family be homeless in the street, but had taken them into their houses, and been kind to them. Cousin Clara, recollecting60 the perilous61 situation of our beloved chair, inquired what had become of it.
"Nothing was heard of our chair for sometime afterwards," answered Grandfather. "One day in September, the same Andrew Oliver, of whom I before told you, was summoned to appear at high noon, under Liberty Tree. This was the strangest summons that had ever been heard of; for it was issued in the name of the whole people, who thus took upon themselves the authority of a sovereign power. Mr. Oliver dared not disobey. Accordingly, at the appointed hour, he went, much against his will, to Liberty Tree."
Here Charley interposed a remark that poor Mr. Oliver found but little liberty under Liberty Tree. Grandfather assented62.
"It was a stormy day," continued he. "The equinoctial gale63 blew violently, and scattered the yellow leaves of Liberty Tree all along the street. Mr. Oliver's wig was dripping with water-drops, and he probably looked haggard, disconsolate64, and humbled65 to the earth. Beneath the tree, in Grandfather's chair,—our own venerable chair,—sat Mr. Richard Dana, a justice of the peace. He administered an oath to Mr. Oliver, that he would never have any thing to do with distributing the stamps. A vast concourse of people heard the oath, and shouted when it was taken."
"There is something grand in this," said Laurence. "I like it, because the people seem to have acted with thoughtfulness and dignity; and this proud gentleman, one of his Majesty's high officers, was made to feel that King George could not protect him in doing wrong."
"But it was a sad day for poor Mr. Oliver," observed Grandfather. "From his youth upward, it had probably been the great principle of his life, to be faithful and obedient to the king. And now, in his old age, it must have puzzled and distracted him, to find the sovereign people setting up a claim to his faith and obedience66."
Grandfather closed the evening's conversation by saying that the discontent of America was so great, that, in 1766, the British Parliament was compelled to repeal67 the Stamp Act. The people made great rejoicings, but took care to keep Liberty Tree well pruned68, and free from caterpillars69 and canker worms. They foresaw, that there might yet be occasion for them to assemble under its far projecting shadow.
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1
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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12
reviled
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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18
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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33
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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37
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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tempestuous
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| adj.狂暴的 | |
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44
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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45
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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46
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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48
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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50
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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51
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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52
hearths
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| 壁炉前的地板，炉床，壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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56
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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57
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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60
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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66
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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repeal
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| n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消 | |
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68
pruned
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| v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分 | |
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caterpillars
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| n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带 | |
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