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Page 57
"There were many such," replied Grandfather, "and we will speak of some
of them, hereafter."
Grandfather here made a pause. That night, Charley had a dream about
the Boston Massacre, and thought that he himself was in the crowd, and
struck down Captain Preston with a great club. Laurence dreamed that he
was sitting in our great chair, at the window of the British Coffee
House, and beheld the whole scene which Grandfather had described. It
seemed to him, in his dream, that if the town's-people and the soldiers
would but have heard him speak a single word, all the slaughter might
have been averted. But there was such an uproar that it drowned his
voice.
The next morning, the two boys went together to State Street, and stood
on the very spot where the first blood of the Revolution had been shed.
The Old State House was still there, presenting almost the same aspect
that it had worn on that memorable evening, one-and-seventy years ago.
It is the sole remaining witness of the Boston Massacre.
CHAPTER VI.
The next evening the astral lamp was lighted earlier than usual, because
Laurence was very much engaged in looking over the collection of
portraits which had been his New Year's gift from Grandfather.
Among them he found the features of more than one famous personage who
had been connected with the adventures of our old chair. Grandfather
bade him draw the table nearer to the fire-side; and they looked over
the portraits together, while Clara and Charley likewise lent their
attention. As for little Alice, she sat in Grandfather's lap, and seemed
to see the very men alive, whose faces were there represented.
Turning over the volume, Laurence came to the portrait of a stern,
grim-looking man, in plain attire, of much more modern fashion than that
of the old Puritans. But the face might well have befitted one of those
iron-hearted men. Beneath the portrait was the name of Samuel Adams.
"He was a man of great note in all the doings that brought about the
Revolution," said Grandfather. "His character was such, that it seemed
as if one of the ancient Puritans had been sent back to earth, to
animate the people's hearts with the same abhorrence of tyranny, that
had distinguished the earliest settlers. He was as religious as they, as
stern and inflexible, and as deeply imbued with democratic principles.
He, better than any one else, may be taken as a representative of the
people of New England, and of the spirit with which they engaged in the
revolutionary struggle. He was a poor man, and earned his bread by an
humble occupation; but with his tongue and pen, he made the king of
England tremble on his throne. Remember him, my children, as one of the
strong men of our country."
"Here is one whose looks show a very different character," observed
Laurence, turning to the portrait of John Hancock. "I should think, by
his splendid dress and courtly aspect, that he was one of the king's
friends."
"There never was a greater contrast than between Samuel Adams and John
Hancock," said Grandfather. "Yet they were of the same side in politics,
and had an equal agency in the Revolution. Hancock was born to the
inheritance of the largest fortune in New England. His tastes and habits
were aristocratic. He loved gorgeous attire, a splendid mansion,
magnificent furniture, stately festivals, and all that was glittering
and pompous in external things. His manners were so polished, that there
stood not a nobleman at the footstool of King George's throne, who was a
more skilful courtier than John Hancock might have been. Nevertheless,
he, in his embroidered clothes, and Samuel Adams in his threadbare coat,
wrought together in the cause of liberty. Adams acted from pure and
rigid principle. Hancock, though he loved his country, yet thought quite
as much of his own popularity as he did of the people's rights. It is
remarkable, that these two men, so very different as I describe them,
were the only two exempted from pardon by the king's proclamation."
On the next leaf of the book, was the portrait of General Joseph Warren.
Charley recognized the name, and said that here was a greater man than
either Hancock or Adams.
"Warren was an eloquent and able patriot," replied Grandfather. "He
deserves a lasting memory for his zealous efforts in behalf of liberty.
No man's voice was more powerful in Faneuil Hall than Joseph Warren's.
If his death had not happened so early in the contest, he would probably
have gained a high name as a soldier."
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