_American Army._ _English Army._
1. Seven dollars a month. 1. Three pence a day.
2. Fresh provisions in plenty. 2. Rotten salt pork.
3. Health. 3. The scurvy.
4. Freedom, ease, affluence, 4. Slavery, beggary, and want.
and a good farm.
Other pickets besides Tom were tossing the handbills to the
Britishers. Abraham Duncan, going here and there along the streets,
saw the redcoats reading them, and night after night soldiers
disappeared, never again to shoulder a musket in the service of the
king.
Shut up in the town with nothing to do, the troops became lawless,
breaking into houses and plundering the people. In vain were the
efforts of General Howe, by severe punishments, to prevent it; giving
one soldier four hundred lashes on his bare back; another six hundred;
hanging a third.
Hard times had come to the people of Boston. In the autumn, General
Howe had issued a proclamation, threatening with execution any one who
should attempt to steal away from the town without his consent; but
now he would gladly have them go, only they must obtain permission. He
could not supply them with food, neither with fuel. He gave the
soldiers leave to rip the boards from the Old North Meetinghouse, and
cut its timbers into kindlings. After much hacking they leveled the
Liberty Tree, not only to obtain the wood, but to manifest their
hatred of the tree. Not being able to feed the people, he sent three
hundred and fifty from the town, landing them at Point Shirley, to
make their way over the marshes to Lynn as best they could. Others
were directed to go.
"We shall not go. I do not propose to let the redcoats make themselves
at home in this house," said Berinthia to the sergeant who asked if
the family would like to leave the town.
"What will you live on? Butcher Thurbal, whom General Howe has
appointed to take charge of all the cattle, says he has but six left,
and here it is December, with winter only just begun. You will starve
before spring," the sergeant replied.
"We have a little flour, and there is a bit of mackerel; a layer of
pork is still left in the barrel. We will not go till the last
mouthful of food is gone," Berinthia said resolutely.
The knocker rattled.
"One of Massa Genral Howe's ossifers," said Mark Antony.
A young lieutenant entered; but seeing a fair-faced young lady he
removed his cap.
"I would like to see the mistress of the house," he said.
"I am mistress. What is it you wish?"
"I come to inform you that Colonel Hardman desires to occupy these
premises for himself and staff, of which I have the honor to be a
member. I am directed to inform you that you can have twenty-four
hours to effect your removal."[75]
[Footnote 75: Under date of September 13, 1776, is the following from
the letter of Reverend Andrew Eliot to S. Eliot: "Every house is now
taken as the officers please. General Clinton is in Mr. Hancock's,
Burgoyne in Mr. Bowdoin's."]
"Colonel Hardman desires to take our house, does he?"
"That is his wish."
"Has he ordered you to take possession of it for him?"
"No, he has directed me to inform you of what he intends to do, that
you may make preparations at once for your removal."
"You will please say to Colonel Hardman that we cannot accede to his
wish."
It was said with such firmness and quiet dignity that the lieutenant
was amazed. He waited to hear some reason why she would not comply
with the demand. She stood silent before him, composedly looking him
in the face. Not being able to find words to reply, the lieutenant
bowed stiffly and departed.
"You haven't got through with Colonel Hardman," said Abraham. "He
likes the looks of this house, evidently. He is a new officer just
arrived."
"He will find that an American girl can make some resistance to
force," Berinthia replied.
Once more the knocker rattled, and the lieutenant entered.
"I believe I have the honor to address Miss Brandon," he said, bowing.
"That is my name."
"I am extremely sorry, Miss Brandon, to be obliged to execute an order
of this kind, but I am directed by Colonel Hardman to take possession
of these premises, as you will see by this order," he said, handing
her a paper.
"By what right does Colonel Hardman seize these premises?"
"Well, really--I suppose--because you are a--a rebel, you know," the
lieutenant replied.
"How does he know that I am a rebel?"
"I don't mean exactly that. Of course, you are not in arms personally
against his majesty, King George, but then, the people are, you know."
"You mean, that because the king's troops began a war, firing upon
the people at Lexington and Concord, your colonel proposes to turn me,
my invalid father and mother, out of our home, that he may take
possession and live in comfort."
"It is awfully bad business, Miss Brandon, but I can't help it, you
know."
"I do not doubt, sir, that it is mortifying to you, personally, to be
compelled to execute an order of this sort. Please say to Colonel
Hardman that this is our home, and we shall not leave it voluntarily.
If he desires to occupy it, he will do so only by force of arms."
The lieutenant took his hat, not knowing what to make of a young lady
so calm and self-possessed, who did not cry or wring her hands.
"Oh, Ruth, you are just the one I want to see," said Berinthia, as
Miss Newville entered a few minutes later. "Just look at this! Colonel
Hardman proposes to turn us out of doors, that he may take possession
of our home."
"Aren't you going to protest?"
"I have protested."
"Aren't you going to do something?"
"What can I do?"
"We will see. General Howe is to dine with us this afternoon, and I
have come to get you to help me entertain him and the others. We will
ask him what he thinks of such arbitrary action on the part of his
subordinate officer."
"I will be there to hear what he has to say," Berinthia said.
The hard times and the want of fresh provisions ruffled the temper of
Phillis in the Newville kitchen. No longer could she baste a fat
turkey roasting by the fire, or a joint of juicy beef, and yet the
dinner she was preparing for his excellency General Howe, and Mr.
Newville's other guests, was very appetizing,--oysters raw and fried,
clam soup, broiled halibut, fresh mackerel, corned beef and pork,
plum-pudding and pie.
Lord William Howe, commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in
America, was a gentleman, polite, affable, who delighted to make
himself agreeable to beautiful ladies. At Bunker Hill he had shown the
army that he could be brave on the battlefield. The other guests were
Brigadier-General Timothy Ruggles, appointed commander of the militia,
loyal to the king, and Captain John Coffin of his staff. General Howe
solicited the honor of escorting Miss Newville to the dinner-table;
Captain Coffin, possibly preferring the society of the girl with whom
he often had romped to that of the mother, offered his arm to
Berinthia, leaving to General Ruggles the honor of escorting the
hostess.
"The state of the times," said Mr. Newville, "does not enable me to
provide an elaborate repast, but Phillis has done her best with what
she had."
"I am sure your dinner will be far more elaborate than anything I have
upon my own table," said General Howe. "There being no fresh
provisions in the market, I have to put up with salt junk."
"Do you think the present scarcity of food will continue long?" Ruth
inquired.
"I trust not. It will be some time before the government supplies
reach me from England, but I have dispatched vessels to Halifax and
the West Indies, which, with fair winds, ought to be here in the
course of a week."
"It is tantalizing to know there are abundant supplies of vegetables
in the farmers' cellars, not twenty miles away, that droves of cattle
and sheep come to Mr. Washington, and we cannot get a joint of mutton
or a cabbage," said Mr. Newville.
"If the provincial pirates do not intercept the vessels, we shall have
fresh provisions soon; but they are a daring set of rebels who live
down towards Cape Ann. A schooner darted out the other day from
Marblehead, and captured the brig Nancy and a rich cargo which I could
ill afford to lose,--two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand
flints, thirty thousand cannon-balls, and thirty tons of musket-balls,
and a thirteen-inch mortar. I understand Mr. Washington is greatly
elated by the capture, as well he may be."
"Cannot Admiral Graves protect the transports?" Mr. Newville asked.
"Perhaps a little more enterprise on the part of the marine force
would be commendable. The provincials, I must admit, show far greater
zeal than is seen in the king's navy."
"It is commonly remarked that the navy is not doing much," said
General Ruggles.
"The army, although it is not marching into the country, is far more
active, judging from the firing which I hear through the day,"
Berinthia remarked.
General Howe scanned her face, wondering if there was not a trifle of
sarcasm in the words. He knew he was being criticised by the Tories
for his inactivity; that Admiral Graves and the officers of the navy
were asking when the army was going to scatter Mr. Washington's
rabble.
"I was relying upon the muskets captured in the Nancy," said General
Howe, "to supply the gentlemen in General Robertson's command; also
the loyal Irish Volunteers under Captain Forest, and the Fencibles
under Colonel Graham, and those whom Colonel Creen Brush, a loyalist
from New York, expects to raise. I am greatly gratified by this
exhibition of loyalty on the part of the citizens. Doubtless other
vessels will soon be here with arms, provided that audacious Captain
Manly does not slip out from Marblehead and nab them while the
warships are getting up their anchors. I have sent several ships along
the shore to obtain supplies if possible, but it seems the madness of
the people in revolting against our gracious sovereign is widespread.
I learn there are many who are still loyal, but who do not dare to
sell provisions through fear of their neighbors."
"I do not doubt it," General Ruggles remarked. "If it were not for the
presence of the troops, we who are loyal would have a rough time. Even
as it is, I see scowls upon the faces of my old-time friends whenever
I go along the street."
"Since I accompanied your excellency to Bunker Hill and manifested my
loyalty," said Captain Coffin, "and especially since I have taken part
in organizing the loyal citizens to aid in upholding the government, I
find some of my former friends, notably some of the young ladies,
shutting their doors in my face."
"I suppose you can hardly wonder at it?" Ruth remarked.
"Why should they? I have not changed. Everybody knows how I have stood
from the beginning," the captain replied.
"It is not that Captain Coffin is not as agreeable and entertaining as
ever, but they regard the king as attempting to deprive the people of
their rights and liberties; the appeal to arms has been made; if you
actively support his majesty, do you not cut yourself off from their
society? Can you expect them to be as gracious as in former days?"
said Berinthia.
"Perhaps not, from the standpoint you have taken; but it is rather
uncomfortable to have a young lady who has welcomed you to her
fireside pass you by on the street as if you were a cold-blooded
villain."
"It comes to this," said Ruth. "One cannot be loyal to the king,
neither to liberty, without suffering for it. Miss Brandon's brother
Tom had to give up his lady-love because he sided with the
provincials. Young ladies shut the door in Captain Coffin's face
because he adheres to King George. If his majesty only knew the
disturbance he is making over here in love affairs, perhaps he would
withdraw the army."
"Of course he would," exclaimed General Howe. "I don't believe that
side of the question has ever been laid before him. I am sure, Miss
Newville, if you were to go as special envoy and present the case,
showing him how the sword is cutting young heartstrings asunder, he
would at once issue an order for us to pack up and be off, that the
course of true love might run smoothly once more."
The company laughed heartily.
"Perhaps," continued General Howe, "we may have to pack up any way,
for want of something to eat. Before I succeeded to the command,
General Gage seriously thought of evacuating the town, but had not
enough vessels to transport the troops. I could not, when I was
invested with the command, send a portion away; to do so would invite
an attack upon those remaining."
Berinthia saw a startled look upon Mr. Newville's face.
"Do you think, your excellency, the time will ever come when his
majesty's troops will take their departure?"
"I trust not; but this rebellion, which we thought would be confined
to this Province, has become a continental question. Neither the king
nor his ministers anticipated it, but it is upon us, and we shall be
obliged to treat it in all its vastness. Large reinforcements are to
be sent. An agreement is being made to employ several thousand Hessian
troops, and everything will be done to put down the rebellion."
"I expect to see," said General Ruggles, "the army of Mr. Washington
crumble to pieces very soon. I hear that the Connecticut troops
demanded a bounty as the condition of their staying any longer, and
when it was refused, broke ranks and started for their homes."
"So I am informed," General Howe remarked, "though, to tell the truth,
two thousand fresh men came from the New Hampshire province to take
their places. I must say the provincials, thus far, have shown
commendable zeal and persistence in maintaining the rebellion. They
have constructed formidable earthworks on Cobble Hill, so near my
lines that they have compelled the warships to drop down the river to
a safer anchorage."
"If by any chance the town should be evacuated, what think you, your
excellency, those of us who are loyal to the king ought to do?" Mr.
Newville asked.
"That is really a very difficult question to answer. Your loyalty and
that of all ladies and gentlemen who stand by the king undoubtedly
will make you obnoxious to the rebels. The bitterness is increasing. I
fear you will not be shown much leniency."
"Would you think it strange, your excellency, if they were not
lenient?" Ruth inquired.
"Why should they not be, Miss Newville?"
"Would they not be likely to regard those who support the king as
their enemies?"
"Why should they? You have not taken up arms. Of course, General
Ruggles and Captain Coffin might be regarded as obnoxious, and would
have to take care of themselves."
"But will they not say we have given moral support to their enemies,
and is not moral support likely to be as heinous in their sight as the
taking of arms? If we ask them to be lenient, will they not inquire if
the king's troops were merciful when they set Charlestown on fire?"
Ruth asked.
A flush came upon the face of General Howe. Although he commanded the
troops at Bunker Hill, he had not ordered the burning of the town.
General Gage was responsible for that act. He felt a little
uncomfortable over the question, for the latest newspapers from London
told him the people of England condemned the destruction of the homes
of so many inhabitants.
"I am free to say it was rather hard on them thus to have their homes
destroyed without a moment's notice," he replied.
"Will not," Ruth inquired, "the provincials think his majesty's forces
were wanting in leniency when they recall what was done at Falmouth a
few days ago, where the inhabitants were given only two hours to
remove from the town? Not one minute over that would Captain Mowatt
grant them, though women went down on their knees before him. Was it
not inhuman for him to fire bombs among the panic-stricken multitude,
setting the buildings on fire, destroying the homes of five hundred
people? If his majesty's officers do these things, what may we not
expect from the provincials, should it ever come our turn?"
"We will do what we can, Miss Newville, not to have it your turn."
"I do not doubt it, my lord; but I was thinking of possible
contingencies."
Again Berinthia noticed a flush upon the face of General Howe.
"I will admit, Miss Newville, that in war, the unexpected may
sometimes happen, and possibilities are not comforting subjects for
contemplation. I do not anticipate disaster to the troops under my
command."
"Shall we drink the health of our gracious sovereign?" said Mr.
Newville.
The others drained their glasses, but Miss Newville's and Berinthia's
were not lifted from the table.
"What, daughter! What is the meaning of this? Not drink the health of
the king!" Mr. Newville exclaimed.
"No, father. I could drink to his own personal welfare, wish him
health, happiness, and long life, but our drinking to the sentiment
means approval of his government. I cannot do that. I never can think
it right to burn the homes of innocent people without a moment's
warning, as was done at Charlestown. The people of Falmouth never had
done anything against the king except to prevent Captain Mowatt from
loading masts and spars on board his ship for the use of the king's
navy. That was their offense, and yet the town was wantonly destroyed.
I cannot think such a course is likely to restore the alienated
affections of the people to the king. More, I fear the contingencies
of war may yet compel us to suffer because of these unwarranted acts."
Mr. Newville sat in silence, not knowing what to say. He had been
outspoken in his loyalty. He never had contemplated the possibility of
failure on the part of the king to put down the rebellion, but if
General Howe were to evacuate Boston, what treatment could he expect
from the provincials? The words of Ruth brought the question before
him in a startling way.
"Those are my sentiments, also," said Berinthia.
"I see, Miss Brandon, that you are of the same opinion, which, of
course, I expected in your case, but hardly from Miss Newville," said
Captain Coffin.
"Yes, I am of the same way of thinking," Berinthia replied.
"You will not, ladies, decline to drink the health of the queen, I
trust?" said General Howe, as Pompey refilled the glasses.
"Oh no, I will drink it with pleasure. The queen, of course, does not
stand for mismanagement, as does the king, and we will not spoil our
dinner by talking about the sad events," Ruth replied.
General Howe entertained them with an account of his boyhood days, his
service with General Wolfe at Quebec, how the troops climbed the steep
river bank at night and won the battle on the Plains of Abraham.
Captain Coffin laughed with Berinthia and Ruth over good times he had
enjoyed with them. Yet all were conscious that spectres unseen had
come to the banquet. The ghost confronting General Howe was whispering
of starvation, of possible humiliation through forced evacuation; the
one glaring at Mr. and Mrs. Newville told of a possible departure from
their home, to become aliens in a foreign land.
"May I ask Miss Newville to favor us with music?" said General Howe,
when they were once more in the parlor.
"With pleasure, your excellency," said Ruth, seating herself at the
harpsichord and singing "The Frog he would a-wooing go," "The Fine Old
English Gentleman," and then with a pathos that brought tears to the
eyes of the commander-in-chief, "True Love can ne'er forget."
During the dinner, and while Ruth was singing, they could hear the
deep reverberations of the cannonade. The provincials in Roxbury were
sending their shot at General Howe's fortifications on the Neck, and
his cannon in reply were thundering towards the works at Cobble Hill.
"Miss Newville," said General Howe, "I cannot express my thanks to you
for your entertainment. While listening to your charming melodies I
have been thinking of the strange, incongruous accompaniment, the
uproar of the cannonade, but I have, in a measure, been able to forget
for the moment the worries and perplexities that surround me. I trust
I may be able to do something to add to your happiness some day." He
rose to take his departure.
"Thank you, your excellency; I am glad if I have been able in any way
to make it a pleasant hour to you and General Ruggles, and my old
acquaintance, Captain Coffin. Your excellency can add much to my
happiness and that of Miss Brandon. One of your subordinate officers,
who I think has not been long here, Colonel Hardman, has notified Miss
Brandon that he is going to take possession of her home to-morrow and
turn her and her invalid parents out of doors. Berinthia, you have the
colonel's order, I think?"[76]
[Footnote 76: "I am by a cruel necessity turned out of my home; must
leave my books and all I possess, perhaps to be destroyed by a
licentious soldiery." Andrew Eliot to Thomas Hollis, _Proceedings
Mass. Hist. Society_, vol. xvi.]
Berinthia took the document from her pocket and handed it to General
Howe, who ran his eye over it and seemed to be thinking.
"Is your father loyal to the king, Miss Brandon?" he asked.
"In the same sense that I am, your excellency. You know that I did not
drink the health of the king because I protest against the course he
is pursuing towards the Colonies; my father does the same."
"You have a brother, I think, in the provincial army?"
"I suppose that Tom is there. He did what he could to defeat your
excellency at Bunker Hill. Possibly it was his bullet that went
through your excellency's coat. He attempted to defeat the king's
troops just as they attempted to defeat him, and succeeded. You give
your allegiance to the king; he gives his to liberty, and is fighting
for it just as conscientiously as your excellency is fighting for King
George and the crown."
"As your father sides with the provincials, and as your brother is in
arms against our most gracious sovereign, may I ask if you can give
any good reason why my subordinate officer should not take possession
of your home?"
"Pardon me, may I ask if your excellency will kindly favor me with any
good reason why my parents should be driven from their beds in
midwinter, that one of the king's officers may have comfortable
quarters? Does your excellency think such a course of conduct will
tend to restore to the king the alienated affections of his late
subjects?"
"Then, Miss Brandon, you do not consider yourself, at this moment, one
of his subjects?"
"I do not. I cannot own allegiance to a sovereign who burns the homes
of an inoffensive community, standing for their rights and ancient
liberties."
"I admire your frankness, Miss Brandon, as I do that of Miss Newville.
Have you a pen at hand?"
Ruth brought a pen and ink-horn; General Howe wrote upon the document,
and handed it to her.
"I cannot go back on my promise to do something for you, Miss
Newville, to add to your happiness and Miss Brandon's, and I trust I
never shall do anything that will lead you to think I am insensible to
the claims of humanity," he said, bowing and taking his departure.
Berinthia read what he had written:--
It is hereby ordered by the general-in-chief commanding his
majesty's forces, that Miss Brandon shall be allowed to
remain in possession of her home till this order shall be
countermanded.
HOWE, Major-General.
In bright uniform, with stars upon his breast, Colonel Hardman,
accompanied by the members of his staff, knocked at the door of the
Brandon home. Mark Antony was unceremoniously pushed aside, and the
officers entered the hall.
"You can inform the lady of the house, nigger, that Colonel Hardman
and staff have come to take possession of the premises and"--
The sentence was not finished, for Berinthia, queenly in her dignity,
stood before him. Colonel Hardman, obedient to etiquette, removed his
hat. It was not an old woman, wrinkled and toothless, but a young
lady, calm and self-possessed, confronting him.
"Is this Colonel Hardman?"
"I have the honor to bear that name, lady."
"You have come to take possession of my house?"
"That is my errand. I trust it will not greatly inconvenience you. I
see you have my order of yesterday in your hand, and so are not
unprepared for my coming."
"It is your order, and I am not unprepared, as you will see," she
said, handing him the paper.
He read the writing, bit his lips, grew red in the face, returned the
document, bowed stiffly, and left the hall, followed by his astonished
suite.
"Outwitted by a petticoat," he muttered, with an oath, as he passed
down the street.
XXIII.