Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times

by Charles Carleton Coffin

  IV.

  AN EVENING WITH SAM ADAMS.

  "How beautiful!" Robert exclaimed, as he beheld the harbor, the town,and the surrounding country from the top of the house the followingmorning. Berinthia pointed out the localities. At their feet wasCopp's Hill burial ground with its rows of headstones and grass-grownmounds. Across the river, northward, was Charlestown village nestlingat the foot of Bunker Hill. Ferryboats were crossing the stream.Farther away beyond fields, pastures, and marsh lands were the rockybluffs of Malden, the wood-crowned heights russet and crimson with thefirst tinges of autumn. Eastward was the harbor with its wave-washedislands, and the blue ocean sparkling in the sunlight. White sailswere fading and vanishing on the far distant horizon. Ships wereriding at anchor between the town and castle. Southward weredwellings, stores, shops, and the spires of meetinghouses. Beyond thetown were the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton hills--fields, pastures,orchards, and farmhouses. Westward rose Beacon Hill, its sunny slopesdotted with houses and gardens; farther away, across Charles River, hecould see the steeple of Cambridge meetinghouse and the roof of thecollege.

  Copp's Hill Burial Ground.]

  "This is Christ Church," said Berinthia, pointing to the neareststeeple. "That beyond is the Old North Meetinghouse where CottonMather preached.[18] Of course you have heard of him."

  [Footnote 18: Historical writers have made a mistake in speaking ofChrist Church as the Old North Meetinghouse. They were distinctedifices--Christ Church standing in Salem Street, the Old Northfronting North Square. Christ Church is the historic edifice fromwhose steeple Robert Newman hung the lantern to give notice of themovement of the king's troops, April, 1775. The Old North was torndown during the siege of Boston.]

  Robert replied that the name seemed familiar.

  "He was one of the ministers first settled," said Berinthia, "andwrote a curious book, the 'Magnalia.' When he was a boy he picked upLatin so quickly that when twelve years old he was able to entercollege, graduating four years later. That stately mansion near themeetinghouse was the home of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. A mobsmashed the windows in connection with the attempt to enforce theStamp Act; and it was that which induced the king to send the tworegiments of soldiers to Boston. The house adjoining is the home ofLady Agnes Frankland."

  She told the romantic story of Lady Frankland's life; how Sir Henry,when a young man, came from England to be the king's collector ofcustoms. One day he went to Marblehead, and while at the tavern saw agirl scrubbing the floor. She was barefooted, but had a beautifulface. He thought that so pretty a girl ought not to go barefooted, andgave her money to buy a pair of shoes. A few weeks passed, and againhe saw her barefooted, still scrubbing the floor. She had purchasedthe shoes, but was keeping them for Sunday. Sir Henry was so pleasedwith her that he offered to give her an education. A good ministertook her into his family and she learned very rapidly. She in returngave him her love, and after leaving school went to live with him. Henot only owned the house in town, but a great estate in the country.He kept horses and hounds, and had good wines. After a while he tookAgnes to England with him, and from thence to Portugal. He was inLisbon in 1755, at the time of the great earthquake, and was riding inhis carriage when suddenly the earth began to heave and tremble, andhouses, churches, all came tumbling down, burying thirty thousandpeople. Sir Henry's horses and himself and carriage were beneath thebricks and mortar. Agnes was not with him at the moment, but showedher love by running as fast as she could and digging away the brickswith her own hands, finding him badly mangled but alive. He thought hewas going to die, and made a vow that if his life was spared Agnesshould be his lawfully wedded wife. His wounds healed and he kept hisword, making her Lady Frankland. They came once more to Boston, boughtthe house next to Chief Justice Hutchinson, and lived very happily.

  "We will go down to father's shipyard," said Tom, "and you can see thecarpenters at work building a ship."

  They descended the hill and entered the yard. Robert hardly knew whatto think as he listened to the clattering of axes and mallets. Some ofthe workmen were hewing timber and putting up the ribs of the vessel;others were bolting planks to the ribs. The size of the ship amazedhim; it was larger than his father's barn. In a few weeks the hullwould be finished, the masts put in, the rigging rove, and then theship would be launched.

  "Father is going to name her for me, and I am to be the figurehead;come to the carver's shop and see me," said Berinthia with sparklingeyes and merry laugh.

  They went into a little shop where a good-looking young man, withchisels, gouges, and mallet, was fashioning the bust of a woman. Tomintroduced him as Abraham Duncan. Robert noticed a lighting up of Mr.Duncan's eyes as he greeted Berinthia.

  "Mr. Duncan is one of us. As for that matter, every man in the yard isa Son of Liberty," Tom said.

  "That is me," said Berinthia, pointing to the figurehead. "I am to beperched beneath the bowsprit to look out upon the ocean and see whichway the ship ought to go. The waves will wet my hair, and the tearswill run down my cheeks when the storms are on. My eyes will beholdstrange things. I shall see the whales spout and the porpoises play,and poke my nose into foreign parts," she said playfully.

  In the Shipyard.]

  Robert saw that the carver had fashioned the face to look like her.She had been down to the shop several times, that he might study herfeatures. On Saturday evenings after work for the week was over he puton his best coat and called at the Brandon house to look at her as shesat by the fireside with the light from the hearth illumining herface. Although Mr. Duncan usually went to hear Reverend Mr. Checkleypreach, he sometimes strayed away to Reverend Doctor Cooper'smeetinghouse in Brattle Street, and took a seat where he could seeBerinthia's features in repose, as she listened to the sermon.Although the minister was very eloquent, Mr. Duncan was moreinterested in looking at her than hearing what was said in the pulpit.Robert noticed that she seemed to enjoy talking with the carver, andwhen he went to the other side of the building to get a portfolio ofdrawings to show her how the cabin was to be ornamented her eyesfollowed him.

  "Father says Mr. Duncan is a very talented young man, and one of thebest artists in town," she said, as they walked back to the house.

  After dinner, Robert went to the Green Dragon, obtained a chaise,harnessed Jenny, took in Berinthia, and crossed the ferry toCharlestown, for a ride in the country. They drove along a wide streetat the foot of Bunker Hill, and came to a narrow neck of land betweenCharles River on the south and Mystic River on the north. The tide wasflowing in and covering the marsh lands. They gained the summit ofWinter Hill, gazed upon the beautiful landscape, then turned southwardtoward Cambridge. Reaching the college, they entered the library andthe room containing the philosophical instruments. Robert rubbed hisknife on a magnet so he could pick up a needle by touching it with theblade. They had little time to spare, for they were to take supperwith Mr. Samuel Adams. Berinthia informed him that Mr. Adams was notrich, that he was very kind-hearted, and had lost his property throughkindness to a friend.

  "He lives very plainly," she said as they rode homeward. "We shallfind simple fare, but he will give you a hearty shake of the hand.People have faith in him because he is true to his convictions."

  It was supper time when they reached Mr. Adams's house.

  "I am pleased to see you, and am glad to have an opportunity for alittle talk," said Mr. Adams, welcoming them.

  "We have very simple fare, only mush and milk, pandowdy,[19] and someRumford cheese which is very delicious," said Mrs. Adams as sheinvited them to the supper table. They stood by their chairs while Mr.Adams asked a blessing, then took their seats.

  [Footnote 19: Pandowdy was a compote of apples, with several layers ofpastry made from rye meal, baked in a deep earthen dish and eaten withmilk.]

  "We have abolished tea from our table," he said. "I see no better wayof thwarting the designs of the king and the ministry to overthrow theliberties of the Colonies than for the people to quit using it."

  "
Do you think the people will deny themselves for a principle?" Robertasked.

  "Yes; I have unbounded faith in the virtue of the American people. Ido not know that we naturally are more virtuous than the people ofother lands, but the course pursued by England ever since Cromwell'stime has been one of oppression. Now tyranny, when exercised towards afree and intelligent people, is a process of education. Away back whenCromwell was administering the affairs of the nation a law was passed,the design of which was to build up the commerce of England. At thattime Spain and Holland were great maritime countries. The ships ofSpain were bringing gold from Cuba, Mexico, and South America to thatcountry. The ships of Holland were bringing silks and tea from Indiaand China. Those countries were doing pretty much all the carrying onthe ocean. Cromwell, one of the greatest and most far-sighted of allEngland's rulers, determined that England should have her share of thetrade. The law which was passed provided that no goods should beimported into that country or exported from it except in Englishvessels, and the master of every ship and three fourths of the crewmust be Englishmen, under penalty of forfeiture of the ship and cargo.The act was passed in 1651. In a very short time the commerce ofEngland was twice what it had been. The law was not designed to workany injury to the Colonies, but for their benefit. The great abundanceof timber in America, so much that farmers were slashing down hundredsof acres and burning it, enabled the colonists to build ships verycheaply, and so there was a swinging of axes in all our seaport towns.When Charles II. came to the throne the royalists determined thereshould be nothing left to remind the people that a Commonwealth hadever existed. All the laws enacted during the period were repealed.Their hatred was so great they could not let Cromwell's bones rest inpeace, but dug them up, dragged them through the streets of London,and set his skull on Temple Bar. Well, that did not hurt Cromwell, butit did hurt Charles II. and monarchy. I do not imagine anybody incoming years will erect a statue to the memory of that voluptuous kingor hold him in reverence, but the time will come when Oliver Cromwellwill be held in grateful remembrance."

  Mr. Adams passed his bowl for more pandowdy, and then went on with theconversation.

  "The meanness of human nature," he said, "is seen in the action ofParliament immediately after Charles II. came to the throne inrepealing every law enacted during the period of the Commonwealth.Having wiped out every statute, what do you suppose Parliament did?"

  Robert replied that he had not the remotest idea.

  "Well, they reenacted them--put them right back on the statute book.They were good laws, but the Cromwellians had enacted them and theymust be expunged; having blotted them out, they must be put back againbecause they were good laws."

  Mr. Adams leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily.

  "Now we come to the iniquity of Parliament," he continued. "Under theCommonwealth the Colonies were kindly treated. Cromwell, at one time,together with John Hampden, thought of emigrating to America, but hedid not, and by staying in England rendered inestimable service to hisfellow-men. The iniquity was this: Parliament enacted a law whichmade each of these Colonies a distinct country, so far as commerce wasconcerned. Greed and selfishness prompted the passage of this act,which aimed to make England the distributor of all commerce, not onlybetween the Colonies and other countries, but between this country andEngland, and, to cap the climax, England was to control the tradebetween the Colonies; that is, Massachusetts could not trade with NewHampshire, or New York with Connecticut, except by paying tribute toEngland. The people were no longer Englishmen, with the privileges ofEnglishmen, but outsiders, foreigners, so far as trade was concerned.If a Dutchman of Amsterdam wanted to find a market here in Boston hecould not send his ship across the Atlantic, but only to England, thatthe goods might be taken across the ocean in an English ship. Themerchants here in Boston who had anything to sell in Holland, France,Spain, or anywhere else, could not send it to those countries, butmust ship it to England. The fishermen of Gloucester and Marbleheadcould not ship the codfish they had caught to Spain or Cuba. Thepeople in Catholic countries cannot eat meat on Friday, but may eatfish. Spain and Cuba were good customers, but the fishermen must selltheir fish to merchants in London or Bristol, instead of tradingdirectly with the people of those countries. You see, Mr. Walden, thatit was a cunningly devised plan to enrich England at our expense."

  "It was unrighteous and wicked," Robert exclaimed.

  "I do not wonder that it seems so to you, as it must to every one whobelieves in justice and fair dealing," Mr. Adams continued; "buthuman nature is apt to be selfish. In 1696 Parliament passed an actestablishing the Lords of Trade, giving seven men, selected by theking, authority to control and regulate commerce.[20] The governors ofthe Colonies were to carry out the provisions of the act, whichforbade all traffic between Ireland and the Colonies, and whichrepealed all the laws enacted by the colonial legislatures relating totrade and manufactures."

  [Footnote 20: "The causes which brought about the American Revolutionwill be found in the acts of the Board of Trade."--JOHN ADAMS.]

  "Did not the people protest against such a law?" Robert asked.

  "Yes, the Great and General Court sent a protest to London, but theymight as well have whistled to the wind."

  Mr. Adams turned partly round in his chair and took a paper from hisdesk.

  "This is a copy," he continued, "of the protest. It represents thatthe people were already much cramped in their liberties and would befools to consent to have their freedom further abridged. They were notbound to obey those laws, because they had no voice in making them.They stood on their natural rights. It would take many hours to tellyou, Mr. Walden, the full story of oppression on the part ofParliament towards the Colonies, or to picture the greed of themerchants and manufacturers of England, who could not then, and whocannot now, bear to think of a spinning-wheel whirling or a shuttleflying anywhere outside of England, or of anybody selling anythingunless for the benefit of the men who keep shop in the vicinity ofThreadneedle Street or Amen Corner.[21] The course of England inselfishness and greed is like the prayer of the man who said,--

  "'O Lord, bless my wife and me, Son John and his she, We four, No more.'"

  [Footnote 21: Threadneedle Street and Amen Corner--noted localities inLondon.]

  Robert, Berinthia, and Mrs. Adams laughed heartily. Mr. Adams finishedhis mush and milk, and while Mrs. Adams was serving the pandowdy hewent on:--

  "Memory goes back to my boyhood. When I was ten years old orthereabouts, there were no less than sixteen hat makers and possiblymore in this one town. I used to pass several of the shops on my wayto school. Beavers were plenty on all the streams in New Hampshire andwestern Massachusetts, and the hatters were doing a thriving business,sending their hats to the West Indies and Holland. One of themerchants sent some to England. The makers of felt hats over therecould not tolerate such a transaction. There was a buzzing around theLords of Trade; a complaint that the felters were being impoverishedby the hatters of America. Parliament thereupon passed a law tosuppress the manufacture of hats. Here is the law."

  Mr. Adams read from the paper:--

  "No hats or felts, dyed or undyed, finished or unfinished, shall be put on board any vessel in any place within any British plantations, nor be laden upon any horse or other carriage to the intent to be exported from thence to any other plantation, or to any other place, upon forfeiture thereof, and the offender shall likewise pay five hundred pounds for every such offense. Every person knowing thereof, and willingly aiding therein, shall forfeit forty pounds."

  "That is diabolical," said Robert, his blood beginning to boil.

  Mr. Adams saw the flush upon his cheek and smiled.

  "I see that it stirs you up, as it does every lover of liberty. But Ihave not given you the full text of the iniquitous act: the lawforbade any one from making a hat who had not served as an apprenticeseven years, nor could a man employ more than two apprentices. Underthat law no hatter up in Portsmouth co
uld paddle across the Piscataquaand sell a hat to his neighbor in Kittery because the hat was made inNew Hampshire. The hatter who had a shop in Providence could not carrya hat to his neighbor just over the line in Swansey, one town being inRhode Island and the other in Massachusetts. The law, you see, wasdesigned to crush out the manufacture of hats. The law applied toalmost everything."

  "I had no idea that such laws had been passed; they are abominable!"Robert replied with a vigor that brought a smile to Mr. Adams's face,who took a bit of cheese and smacked his lips.

  "Every time I taste it I think of you and your father, mother, andsister who made it," he said.

  "I hope to see them sometime," said Mrs. Adams.

  "I am not quite through with the iniquity," continued Mr. Adams."About forty years ago--it was in 1737, I think--Parliament passedwhat is called the Sugar Act, which imposed a duty on sugar andmolasses, if imported from any of the West India Islands other thanthose owned by Great Britain. Cuba, as you know, is a dependency ofSpain and St. Domingo of France. The sugar plantations of Jamaica andGuinea are owned by Englishmen, and the law was passed to compel theColonies to trade solely with the Jamaica planters. The Great andGeneral Court protested that the act was a violation of the rights ofthe Colonies, but no notice was taken of the protest--it was throwninto the basket for waste paper. Since the time of Charles II. notless than twenty-nine acts have been passed, which, in one way oranother, restrict trade and invade the rights of the Colonies. Isuppose, Mr. Walden, you leach the ashes, which you scrape up fromyour fireplace?"

  "Oh yes," Robert replied; "not only what we take from the hearth inthe kitchen, but when we have a burning of a ten-acre lot, as we had afew weeks ago, we scoop up several cart-loads of ashes which we leach,and boil the lye to potash."[22]

  [Footnote 22: The leaching of ashes and manufacture of potash was alarge industry during the Colonial period. In some sections of thecountry the article was known as "black salts." There was one or morepotashery in every town.]

  "And what do you do with the potash?"

  "We shall probably bring it to Boston and sell it to Mr. Hancock orsome other merchant."

  "Oh no, you can't do that legally, because you live in New Hampshire,and the law prohibits trade of that sort between the Colonies. You cantake the potash to Portsmouth, and if there is an English vessel inthe Piscataqua you can send it to England and have it shipped back toBoston; but it must be in an English ship, not in one owned by my goodfriend John Langdon, merchant in Portsmouth, who is ready to standresolutely against all oppression; or you may pay the Custom Houseofficer what it will cost to transport it to England and back toBoston, and he will give you permission to ship it direct to Boston.That is the law; but it has been inoperative for several reasons--one,because it could not be enforced, and another, because Great Britainhas been compelled to rely upon the Colonies to aid in driving theFrench from Canada. That has been accomplished, and now King George,who is not remarkably intelligent, but pig-headed, and hisshort-sighted ministers are determined to carry out measures, not onlyto obtain revenue from the Colonies, but to repress manufactures herefor the benefit of the manufactures of England. Thanks to ourspinning-school, a stimulus has been given to our home manufactureswhich will enable us to spin and weave a goodly amount of plain cloth.Perhaps, Mr. Walden, you may have noticed the spinning-school buildingin Long Acre,[23] near the Common--a large brick building with thefigure of a woman holding a distaff."

  [Footnote 23: Long Acre extended from School Street to the Common, andwas sometimes called Common Street, now a section of Tremont Street.]

  "Yes, I saw it yesterday, and wondered what it might mean."

  "Well, quite a number of years ago, the Great and General Court passeda law for the encouragement of spinning, levying a tax on carriagesand other luxuries for the establishment of the school. Its openingwas celebrated on the Common. About one hundred women and girls camewith their spinning-wheels and set them to humming beneath the trees.The court gave prizes for the best work. At present we buy ourbroadcloths and velvets in England, but the time will come when weshall make them this side of the Atlantic."

  "The spinning-wheel and loom are going in our house from morning tillnight," Robert said.

  "I am glad to hear it; the road to independence of the mother countrylies in that direction. Industry will bring it about by and by, but Iapprehend that other repressive and tyrannical measures will bepassed. These arbitrary acts of Parliament have had one lamentableresult, they have made the people of the Colonies a community ofsmugglers. I am pained to say that we are losing all correct sense ofmoral obligation in matters pertaining to the government. No onethinks it disreputable to smuggle goods into the country becauseeverybody feels that the laws are unjust. The ministry undertook toenforce the laws against smuggling not long since, by issuing Writs ofAssistance, as they were called. That attempt was more unjust than anyof the laws that had been passed regulating trade. It gave the CustomHouse officers authority to enter not only stores, but privatedwellings, break open chests, boxes, and closets in search of smuggledgoods. Now if there is anything that Englishmen prize, it is theliberty secured by Magna Charta. Every man's house is his castle.Writs of Assistance violated the fundamental principle of Englishliberty. Our great lawyer, Mr. James Otis, has immortalized his nameby his masterly oration in opposition to the measure. The writs havenot prevented smuggling; on the contrary, it is regarded as almost avirtue and a duty to circumvent a government which enacts unrighteouslaws. For instance, a little more than a year ago, John Hancock'ssloop, Liberty, arrived from Madeira with a cargo of wine. The CustomHouse officer went on board. He was followed by half a dozen seamanbelonging to one of Hancock's other vessels, who locked the officerinto the cabin, unloaded the vessel, all except a few pipes of wine,and carted the cargo away. The next morning the captain of the vesselmade oath that half a dozen casks was all the wine he had to deliverfor payment of duty. The collector, Mr. Harrison, and the comptroller,Mr. Hallowell, resolved to seize the Liberty. Admiral Montague sent acompany of marines, who took possession of the sloop and anchored herunder the guns of the Romney. That incensed the people, who smashed inthe windows of the office, seized the collector's boat, carried it tothe Common, and burned it. The revenue officers, fearing for theirsafety, fled to the Castle, where they remained till the troopsarrived last October. Tyranny begets resistance on the part of thepeople."

  "What is to be the outcome of all this?" Robert asked.

  "I do not know," Mr. Adams replied thoughtfully, "just what will comeof it, but of one thing I am sure, the people of America never willbe slaves. At present, we have an insolent soldiery walking ourstreets, challenging and provoking the people. We are treated as ifunder military law. The quiet of the Sabbath is broken by the rattlingof drums and the shrill notes of the fife. The soldiers becomeintoxicated, and are ready to pick a quarrel with the town's-people.No lady can appear on the street unaccompanied by a gentleman withoutdanger of being insulted. I expect that collisions will occur betweenthe troops and people, and that sooner or later blood will be shed.You can say to your father that I have just received a letter fromColonel George Washington of Virginia, who took command of the troopsafter the wounding of General Braddock in the battle near Fort DuQuesne. He agrees with me that there must be united action on the partof the Colonies, and that we shall be warranted in using arms if wecannot secure our liberties in any other way. Of course, we shall notbring every one to stand up for the rights and liberties of theColonies. Those who in any way are connected with the crown--theCustom House officials and their friends who are in receipt ofsalaries and perquisites--will support whatever measures the ministrymay propose. Then there are many gentlemen who naturally will maintaintheir allegiance to the king, who think that an existing government,no matter how unjust and tyrannical it may be, stands for law andorder, and that to resist it in any way leads to revolution. Some ofmy old-time friends are siding with the ministry. They think we oughtnot to complain of so small
a matter as paying a tax of three penceper pound on tea. They lose sight of the great principle that taxationin any form without representation in Parliament is tyranny. We mightwillingly consent to pay it had we a voice in making it, but we willnot consent to be taxed without such a voice. I am pleased, Mr.Walden, to have had this little conversation with you. I rely upon theyoung men of the country to stand resolutely for what is just andright, and I am equally sure," he said, turning to Berinthia, "thatthe young women will give all their influence to sustain the youngmen. Mrs. Adams is just as ready as I am to quit drinking tea, becauseby so doing she manifests her fealty to a great principle; if themothers are ready to make sacrifices, I am sure the daughters will beequally ready."

  The conversation of Mr. Adams was very attractive, he was so earnest,sincere, and truthful. Gladly would Robert have listened through theevening, but he reflected that such a man must have many letters towrite, and he must not trespass upon his time.

  "I am glad to have made your acquaintance, Mr. Walden; you must alwayscome and see me when you are in town. I am sure you will do what youcan to stir up the young men of Rumford to resist the aggressions ofthe king and his ministers. That there are lively times before us I donot doubt, but we shall maintain our liberties, cost what it may," hesaid, accompanying them to the door and bidding them good-by.

  "I am invited to a garden tea-party to-morrow afternoon," saidBerinthia, as they walked home. "Isn't it curious that while Mr. Adamswants us girls to leave off drinking tea for the sake of a greatprinciple, I want you for my escort to the tea-party. It will be agrand affair and you will have a chance to see the best people of thetown."

  "I am at your service, and will do the best I can," Robert replied.