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The tyranny of Sir Edmund Andros over the
people of New England was, as near as could be,
an exact counterpart of that of James II. over his
more immediate subjects. Charles II. would never
have been guilty of half the excesses which are recorded
against him, had it not been for the influence
of his bigotted brother. What made matters still
worse was, that the then Duke of York was himself
under the complete dominion of the Catholie
clergy, and is said to have gone so far as to write a
letter to the Pope, promising his holiness that he
would leave no means untried to establish his religion
in New England.

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The colonies were hateful to James, as nurseries
of republicans; and he saw no security for his
crown so long as the arbitrary principles which sustained
it were assailed by the free spirit which,
though temporarily subdued, he was aware must
prevail in that favored region. Had it not been for
the Duke of York, the charters of the people would
not have been invaded; and now that this last vestige
of liberty was gone, James did every thing in
his power to perpetuate the slavery he had effected.
He was therefore careful to use all the religious influence
he possessed to spread Papacy throughout
his dominions; knowing well enough, that if he
could enslave the consciences of men, there would
remain but little to be achieved in fastening on their
necks the most servile bondage.

In this spirit, and with this ulterior object, priests
were sent over to America in disguise during the
first part of his reign, who used every art in their
possession to lead the people into the snare that was
set for them; till, as the tyranny of the monarch
grew more daring, and his infatuation more extravagant,
the secret disguises of his conduct were entirely
abandoned, and he set to work with the holdness
that better became him.

One of his first acts at home was, to augment his
standing army from seven thousand to fifteen thousand
men, and to place over this force his favorite
Catholic officers; a step which at once trampled on

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the laws and liberties of the people. This conduct
was in the midst of professions diametrically opposite
to it, and perfectly harmonized with that contemporary
piece of villainy—the revocation of the
edict of Nantes by Lewis the Fourteenth of France.
In the mean time Catholic lords were admitted into
James's privy council, and Jesuit Colleges were established
in different parts of the kingdom. Monks
now appeared at Court, and the administration became
entirely Catholic. So absurd and impolitic
was his conduct, that even Pope innocent XI., much
as he desired to see the whole Christian world at his
feet, disapproved of it; for he had sagacity enough
to see that, so long as it was against the sense of the
people, it could not endure, but would, on the contrary,
ultimately redound to his disadvantage.

In his zeal to spread his religious views and convert
the whole empire, James now published his
declarations for liberty of conscience in the
year 1687, which so charmed the Independents, that
for the time they seemed to forget the oppression to
which they were subjected. Allured by such hopes
as this seeming liberality inspired, the people of Massachusetts,
through Dr. Mather, Rector of Harvard
University, and Sir Henry Ashhurst, their agents at
London, petitioned the king to restore their charter,
in the confident belief that their prayer would be
granted. But the king had no intention of extending
his liberality thus far, and it was soon

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discovered that his only design had been to favor the Catholics.

Bad men, the enemies of the people, are the same
in all ages of the world, and when in power are the
more dangerous to liberty, because their infatuation
increases with their assumption. James had now become
almost absolute, and he lost no occasion of taking
the responsibility of a tyrant. Though his parliament
was thoroughly Tory, they could not be induced
to wholly prostitute themselves to the crown.
They so far truly represented the people of England
as they resisted the royal design of forcing the Catholic
religion upon them; for a step had been taken
in human progress which could not admit of retrogression,
and the religious sentiment of the country
was fixed for its allotted duration.

James, however, was resolved to leave no electioneering
machinery untried. He visited the counties
in person, and closeted himself with influential
men, making a desperate effort to pack a parliament
that would carry out all his enormous schemes.
But the virtue of the people resisted all his machinations,
and liberty triumphed. Historical parallels
are instructive; but we shall leave the reader to
draw them. In furtherance of his arbitrary designs
to enslave a too confiding people, the monarch of
England resolved to produce the Pope's nuncio in
public. By the laws of England no one could assume
this character without the penalties of high treason.

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But, in defiance of these laws, and in direct opposition
to public opinion, this man, by the order of
James, made his public entry into Windsor, attended
by all the pomp and paraphernalia of his religion.
It was the duty of the Earl of Somerset, in virtue of his
place, to conduct official characters to an audience. But
he was too good a citizen to be a tyrant's instrument,—
and so he lost his office. The Duke of Grafton
was not so scrupulous, and he broke the laws to
please his master. Jeffries was then at the head of
the King's Bench, or there is no telling but that
Grafton might have been Lord Chief Justice of England.

These acts, among others, made James so unpopular,
that he resolved, if practicable, to use the influence
of the Prince of Orange, his son-in-law, if
haply he could induce that eminent personage to
agree with himself; for he was a favorite of the
English dissenters for the services he had rendered
them, while the Princess was the last hope that her
countrymen clung to. The king's object was to
make the repeal of the penal laws popular. In pursuance
of this end, he at length obtained the views
of the Prince and Princess of Orange, which amounted
to this, that they had no objection to indulging
the Catholics with liberty of conscience, but, on the
contrary, desired it, as they did most ardently that
the Protestant dissenters should be allowed the free
exercise of their religion; but that they would never

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agree to the repeal of the test and penal laws, which
excluded the Catholics from parliament and public
offices, and were the best securities against the
overthrow of the Protestant faith.

From that time forth, the people of England, as
well as of the Colonies, began to look with more determined
opposition on the projects of their king;
inasmuch as they could now realize a source of protection,
which before they had only hoped for. As
the malcontents in the kingdom increased, James
became the more obstinate. He now, in 1688, published
another declaration, granting liberty of conscience,
and abolishing the penal laws; at the same
time ordering the bishops to read this declaration in
all their churches. How unpopular this measure
was, may be gathered from the fact that one minister
having told his congregation, that, though he was
compelled to read the declaration, they were not
obliged to stay and hear it read, they immediately
left the house, and he recited it to the deserted pews.

In the meanwhile the two parties in England,
through the judicious councils of the Prince of
Orange, united against their common enemy, the
king. So long as a Catholic monarch possessed
the throne of England, the Stadtholder saw the impossibility
of attaching that kingdom to the Protestant
alliance of the princes of the empire, Holland, Spain,
and Savoy, against the ambitious schemes of France.
The birth of the Prince of Wales, which happened

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this year, shut out the princess from the succession;
so that all hope of securing the Protestant faith in
England seemed to have expired. The Prince of
Orange, therefore, entered into a closer correspondence
with the malcontents, who promised him their
full assistance if he would co-operate with them in
the re-establishment of their liberties.

James now began to perceive the true state of affairs,
and forthwith he ordered his fleets to be equipped,
and new levies to be set on foot for the protection
of his dominions. It was the same fear that impelled
him to despatch the Rose frigate to Boston; for
he had learned through the Massachusetts agents
that the people were becoming restless under the
privations and impositions they endured, and that
unless their charters were restored, it was impossible
to foretell the consequences which might follow.
The king, therefore, thought it advisable at this
juncture, to send an armed vessel to Boston, that the
turbulent people there might be overawed, and kept
under the provisional authority.

It would have been well for George III., nearly a
century after, if he had taken counsel from history,
and learned of what stuff his North American subjects
were made, and how they worked in the traces
of despotism. It is delightful to observe, at this period
of our history, the broad advancing shadow of
those mighty events, which in their majestic march
were even then heralded in the distance, and which,

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so long afterward, came up in their appointed time in
the consummation of the age.

The Rose frigate was now lying off in the channel
of Boston harbor, where she had been for about
a week previous to the events which we have already
recorded. She was now the topic of universal
conversation, not only in the metropolis, but in
all the neighboring towns. Reports of various kinds
were in circulation relative to her intentions, but
nothing satisfactory could be determined. No intelligence
had yet reached the people of New England
as to the state of affairs in the mother country; and
though their hopes had all along reposed on Mary
when she should ascend the throne, that consolation
was now taken away by the birth of the Prince of
Wales. Still they confided in the influence of the
Stadtholder, who occupied so important a position in
European politics; and they now heard with satisfaction
that overtures had been made to him by the
most considerable of the English nobility and gentry.

In this state of uncertainty and suspense were
the inhabitants of Boston, expecting on the one
hand, the restoration of their ancient liberties, and
on the other, enduring all the miseries which the
privation imposed. The Rose frigate had been in
their waters for a week or more,—Sir Edmund Andros
had been summoned from New-York,—he had
repeatedly met with his council; yet nothing had

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publicly transpired, by which it could be ascertained
that any thing had been done for their relief: and,
what excited their suspicion, and made them still
more restless, was, that a further change had, since
the arrival of the frigate, been made in many affairs
of the administration, which, so far from inspiring an
expectation of relief, confirmed their darkest suspicions.
Among other movements which alarmed
them was, that several guns had been dismounted from
Fort Hill near the residence of the governor, and
transported on board the frigate; and, in addition,
the arsenal had been deprived of munitions of war,
which were sent to the same destination. The officers
of the vessel, nevertheless, associated with the
citizens, and seemed by their conduct willing
to allay any apprehensions of evil. But the
jealousy of an injured community is not so readily
appeased.

There was a group of men standing together at
the end of Long Wharf, an extensive pier which
runs out to the channel of the harbor at the north-eastern
part of the city, from the termination of the
principal business place, then known as King's
Street. They were looking towards the frigate,
which, as she lay at anchor about a mile off, was
then swinging round with the turning tide, her guns
one by one becoming visible, till her whole broadside
was presented to the town. As her flags streamed to
the breeze in the blaze of noon-day, from her black

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masts and rigging painted against the marbled atmosphere,
she presented a truly gallant appearance;
and the group of men who were beholding her, seemed
to take a pride in her beauty.

Several merchant vessels were lying about that part
of the harbor, and half a dozen pleasure-boats were
skimming lightly to and fro, with parties of ladies
and gentlemen, whom curiosity had prompted to take
a look at this important stranger. Most of the stores
on Long Wharf were closed, and the truckmen were
standing about, sunning themselves against the walls,
or perched on the anchors that lay rusting on the
ground. A number of sailors were there also, who
seemed to have nothing to do but to smoke their
pipes in the sunshine, sing ballads, and spin long
yarns.

Among the group of persons to which we have
referred, was a man who seemed to be a master mechanic,—
a personage about fifty years old, of a muscular,
and powerful frame. There was something very
striking in this man's appearance; he had an expression
of severity about his eyes and mouth, and
he exhibited great vehemence of enunciation and
action, which seemed to make an extraordinary impression
on those around him. His head was large,
and his features were regular but hard; and his dark
eyes flashed energetically as he spoke. His teeth
were uncommonly white, and they appeared more
so from the darkness of his close-cut mustache. The

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other men appeared to be mechanics also. Two of
them were pump and block makers, and the fourth,
who was the principal talker after the master-mechanic,
was a calk-and-graver.

“And who cares,” said the master-mechanic, who
was an anchor-smith, addressing the calk-and-graver
more particularly, but turning his rapid glances occasionally
towards the others, “who cares, neighbor
Bagnal, whether that fine-built vessel is any finer
for our bone and muscle or not? She is in want of
refitting if ever a vessel was, but Boston mechanics
don't get any such job as that in a hurry.”

“If I could get the calking of her,” followed
Bagnal, “it would give me my winter's wood and
something to boot, I guess. But no luck like that
now a days! I never knew business at such a standstill;
did you, Randal?”

“Never,” replied Randal, for that was the name of
the anchor-smith, “never!—but unless times alter,
it will be the fault of us, the mechanics of Boston,
if we don't re-model, and re-rig, to say nothing of
re-anchoring the public ship.”

“We are the boys for that business, any day,” exclaimed
the two pump and block makers.

“And what do you suppose that yonder man-o'-war
is sent here for?” inquired Randal, shaking his
head as he spoke.

“It's more than I can do, to tell you,” replied Bagnal;
“but I'll bet the best month's wages of any

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man's money, that she didn't carry away those eighteen-pounders
from Fort Hill, and the grape shot and
pikes from the arsenal, for any convenience of our's,
any how.”

“And I'm just your way of thinking,” said Randal:
“but never mind, my boys, there's more bending
to be done yet, before you make horse-shoes of
us Yankees, depend on that;” and he cast a glance
of defiance across the water at the frigate, and involuntarily
stamped his foot as he spake.

“Bagnal!” continued the same speaker, pulling
the man he addressed by the skirt of his coat, “why
didn't you come to the meeting of our ward last
evening, at the engine house in High Street?”

“I never knew,” replied Bagnal, “nor heard of
any meeting, till it was over.”

“You deserve never to be at another,” rejoined
Randal, “as long as you live. There was some
speaking to the point, and the best spirit you ever
heard of.”

“And what would the Governor say to that?”
asked Bagnal, smiling as if he anticipated the answer.

“Who cares for the Governor, I want to know?”
exclaimed the excited mechanic; “the devil take all
such governors, say I; governors, indeed! ginger-bread
men, dolls, jumping-jacks, man-milliners. I
want to know whether our great-grandfathers came
over here to be governed this way? Can any body
answer me that?”

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“Of course they did no such thing,” replied Bagnal,
followed by the echoing assent of the others.

“And even if they did,” resumed Randal, “it
would be no reason why we should knock under to
such a lace-bellied set of knaves,—and by the fire of
thunder,” he continued, lowering his voice as he spoke,
“this King James is no better than his underlings.”

“Not a whit—not a whit;” echoed the hearers.

“Or else,” pursued the speaker, “when he came
to the throne, why did he make such fair promises
without any intention of fulfilling them? We might
have known it would be so; and for my part, I never
had any doubt that it was altogether owing to him
that the last king seized on the charters of the kingdom.”

“Why did the people submit to that, at the time?
that's what puzzles me,” said Bagnal.

“It's more than I can tell you,” replied Randal;
“but you know how easily a colt is broke to the saddle.
At first a little kicking and bolting, but very
soon it seems to come as natural as lying.”

“But I hope that isn't the case with men,” ventured
one of the pump and block makers.

“And why not?” said Randal: “the man who
submits to the least infringement of his rights, without
putting a stop to such infringements peremptorily,
once and for ever, has lost the only chance he
ever can have of being free. He is situated precisely
like a woman who has not checked the advances

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of licentiousness. If her pursuer has gained any
advantage, she may attribute her integrity, if it be
retained, to any cause but to the energy of virtue.”

“According to all that,” replied Bagnal, “when a
community is once under the thumb of a despot, it
must remain there for ever.”

“And so it must,” added Randal, “but for the last
remedy.”

“Well.” said the other, “for my part, the sooner
it comes the better, for there never was quite such a
tyranny as ours.”

The attention of the group was now turned more
particularly in the direction of the frigate, for one of
her barges was seen advancing toward the shore.
They kept their eyes upon it some time, remarking
the accurate fall and dip of the oars, till Randal
said to them:

“Come, let us clear out from this place, for, as sure
as we come in the way of those fellows, we shall
get into a row. There is no use of kicking up a
rumpus at this time of the day,—come!”

Having made this remarks, Randal turned away
from the bottom of the wharf where he had been
standing, and, followed by his companions, entered a
shop which provided ship-stores. Here they seated
themselves on some barrels which contained sugar
and flour for retailing, and after calling for bread and
cheese, and something to wash the same down, they
resumed their conversation.

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“There's no use of denying it,” said Randal; “but
we are on the eve of a revolution. The king, in
trying to cram the Catholic religion down our throats,
is changing the very character of the people—Hallo!
there, Classon,” he exclaimed, as Abner Classon
just then passed by on the wharf,—“heave to, and
give an account of yourself.”

Classon hearing his name called, slackened his
pace, which was directed down the wharf, and looked
in at the shop door.

“Come in,” cried Randal, “what are you afraid
of? Though we are all Whigs here, we are not
hungry enough to devour such a Tory as you are;
come in,” he continued good-naturedly, “I want to
have a talk with you.”

Classon, who was easily attracted where eating
and drinking were going on, entered readily when
he found the little knot in the shop so agreeably engaged;
particularly as they seemed well disposed towards
him.

“You are always at it, somehow, it seems to me,”
said Classon; “and since your are so pressing, I don't
care if I do take a drop of something, for the sake of
drinking his majesty's health”—

Randal was about to make a truly republican ackknowledgment
of this proposal, when a tumult was
heard on the wharf at the place they had just left.
Cries of “help! help!” mingled with oaths and
blows, all at once saluted their ears.

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