NOTE 17--page 161.
_Trial of the Incendiaries for burning the Ursuline Convent._
The intolerant spirit of a part of the Protestant population was
offended by the sight of the Ursuline Convent on Mount St. Bendict,
within the limits of Charlestown, a town adjoining Boston. The sisters
devoted themselves to the instruction of young girls, and many
Protestant families had confided daughters to their care. Every thing
proves that they were by no means devoured by a spirit of proselytism.
In the beginning of August, 1835, a report got about in Charlestown,
that one of the sisters, a young woman, was detained in the convent
by force. The Selectmen of the town had a meeting, five of them went
to the convent, which they examined from cellar to garret, had an
interview with the sister who was represented as a victim of the
Catholic discipline, and became satisfied that she was there of her
own free will. This conviction was made known to the public. But on
the night of August 12th, the convent was surrounded and attacked by
a handful of ruffians, at the head of whom was one John Buzzell, a
brickmaker, noted for his brutal character. The sisters were driven
from the convent with violence; every thing was plundered; the tombs of
the dead were forced open. The building was then fired; it was burnt in
sight of the Selectmen; the Boston firemen hastened to the spot, but
were repulsed by the populace by main force.
Several men, taken in the act, were arrested, and among others Buzzell;
they were tried in Boston in 1835.[EK] The witnesses were afraid to
bear testimony, a mysterious influence had changed their language; the
public prosecutor, who had previously demanded in vain a postponement
of the trial, until the causes which instigated the violence had been
traced, pleaded the cause of order with a generous indignation. All the
prisoners were acquitted, except one poor youth of the name of Marcy
who was sentenced to fifteen or twenty years imprisonment; but public
opinion soon after obliged the Executive to grant him a pardon. Buzzell
and Kelly, one of his accomplices, became heroes; they were carried
about in triumph, and a subscription was made for their benefit. The
sisters petitioned the Massachusetts legislature for indemnity; the
most intelligent citizens of Boston interested themselves in their
favour, but the House of Representatives rejected the petition by a
large majority. On the anniversary of the outrage, the populace of
Charlestown celebrated it as a day of rejoicing, and got up a shooting
match, the target being a representation of the lady superior of the
convent. The Selectmen succeeded in suppressing the figure, but not
the procession. Finally, to crown these deeds of impudence and savage
violence, two of the incendiaries, in 1836, presented a petition to
the legislature to be indemnified for the damages they had suffered by
the trial. The committee to whom the petition was referred, reported
a grant of 500 dollars to each of these wretches; but to the honor of
Massachusetts, their report was rejected on the second reading.