Part 4 (1/2)
”In resistance of this tax the Massachusetts colonists gave up drinking their favorite beverage and drank coffee in its place The King, angry at this rebellion against the dictates of Parliament, refused to lift the tax, and tea was shi+pped to Aainst its acceptance In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston ents to whon their offices At Philadelphia the tea-shi+p wasallowed to come to anchor At Charleston the tea was landed, but as there was no one there to receive it, or pay the duty, it was thrown into a daed differently When the _Dartmouth_, tea-laden, sailed into the harbor, the shi+p, with two others which soon arrived and anchored near the _Dart of citizens was hastily called, and a resolution adopted that ”tea on no account should be allowed to land” The tea-shi+ps were guarded by a coive peroes Then came what has been called Boston's ”picturesque refusal to pay the tax” As night fell Sa can do nothing more to save the country” As the words fell froroup of forty uised as ”Mohawks” darted past the door and down to the wharves, followed by the people Rushi+ng on board the tea-shi+ps, the disguised citizens set theoes As one of them afterward related: ”We mounted the shi+ps and _made tea in a trice_ This done, I mounted ht was gathering when the Indian an their work, and it was nearly three hours later when their task was done Boston Harbor was a great teapot, with the contents of three hundred and forty-two chests broken open and their contents scattered on the quiet water A sharp watch was kept that none of it should be stolen, but a few grains were shaken out of a shoe, which lass jar in Memorial Hall, Boston And this was the famous ”Boston Tea-Party”!
Men's passions were now aroused to fever heat, and the actions of the patriots were sharply resented by the conservatives who upheld the governhts of the people In all the acts of overt rebellion hich John Hancock's name was constantly connected he was loyally and proudly upheld by his Dorothy, who, despite her inborn coquetry, daily became better fitted to be the wife of a h she stood by his, and would not have had him recede one step from the stand he had taken, yet there was much to alarm her Because of his connection with the Boston Tea-Party, and other acts of rebellion, the soldiers of the crown had distributed royalist hand-bills broadcast, with this heading:
”TO THE SOLDIERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S TROOPS IN BOSTON”
There followed a list of the authors of the rebellion, a ere Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Josiah Quincy The hand-bill also announced that ”it was probable that the King's standard would soon be erected,” and continued: ”The friends of our king and country and of America hope and expect it from you soldiers the instant rebellion happens, that you will put the above persons immediately to the sword, destroy their houses and plunder their effects It is just they should be the first victiht upon us”
Reason enough for Hancock's Dorothy to be apprehensive, beneath her show of bravery!
In January, 1775, the patriots made an effort to show that they were still loyal subjects, for they sent a petition fro, wherein they asked ”but for peace, liberty and safety,” and stated that ”your royal authority over us, and our connection with Great Britain, we shall always carefully and zealously endeavor to support and maintain”
Despite this the oppressions increased, and the persistent roughness of the British troops continued unchecked In March an inhabitant of Billerica, Massachusetts, was tarred and feathered by a party of his e, the king's chosen representative in the colony, in which was this clause:
”We beg, Your Excellency that the breach, now too wide, between Great Britain and this province may not, by such brutality of the troops, still be increased If it continues, we shall hereafter use a different style from that of petition and complaint”
In reply frouns and bayonets were on their way to Aone out to arrest John Hancock, William Otis, and six other head men of Boston The informant, a friend of Hancock's, added: ”My heart aches for Mr Hancock Send off expresses immediately to tell him that they intend to seize his estate, and have his fine house for General”
April of 1775 caress met at Concord, Massachusetts, and took upon itself the power to e issued a proclaress was ”an unlawful asseovernment and to lead directly to sedition, treason, and rebellion
”And yet even in the face of such an oable Massachusetts patriots continued to struggle for their ideal of independence John Adahest class, asserted that Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and James Otis were the three most important characters of the day, and Great Britain knew it
Certainly all four men were feared in the overnainst him” Like those of his co-workers for freedohest tension, and he spent h purposes and grireen spot in the arid desert of colonial strife
Boston was no longer a safe place for those who could change it for a e Quincy, who had been keeping a close watch over his own business affairs, now decided to leave for Lancaster, where his hter, Mrs Greenleaf, lived All hoe decided to leave oods with them out of harm's way All social life was ended, and it was indeed a suitable prelude to a grie decided to take refuge in Lancaster, the question was, should Dorothy go, too? Her lover was in Concord, where the Provincial Congress was in session Knowing the condition of affairs in Boston, he had not returned to his ho it more convenient to stay in Concord and spend his Sundays in Lexington, where he and John Adams armly welcomed at the home of the Rev Jonas Clark, a Hancock cousin
Nohen Hancock heard of Judge Quincy's plan to leave Boston for Lancaster, he wrote immediately to his Aunt Lydia and made an appeal calculated to touch a much more stony heart than hers Would she take his Dolly under her protection until the state of colonial affairs should become more peaceful? Boston was no place for a woman who could be out of it; but on the other hand, neither was a town as far away as Lancaster a suitable retreat for a girl with a lover who lie Quincy, and, after putting thehis Dolly away to Lexington with her? The Rev Mr
Clark would welcoive the as necessary Would his aunt not do this for hie should carry out his intention of seizing Adairl he loved
Aunt Lydia was quick in her response Of course she would do as he wished It would be far better for the irl to be under her protection at this time than with any one else, and she could understand perfectly her nephew's desire to be under the same roof even for a brief tie immediately
At once her stately coach was ordered out, and soon it rolled up before the Quincy door to set down Aunt Lydia, intent on achieving her end And she did Although the Judge was not altogether pleased with the idea of being separated from Dorothy, he saw the wisdoht-heartedness at the prospect of a change, especially one whichfor use during a brief visit Then she said an affectionate farewell to her father, little drea what an eventful separation it was to be, and rode away by the side of Aunt Lydia, as delighted that she had been able to so successfully e, and that she was to have cheerful Dorothy for a coton they went, and as John Hancock had predicted, the Rev
Mr Clark gave thereet thereat satisfaction the elder wo, and knew that her diploht this joy to the had so and earnestly of the critical situation, and Dorothy, with her hand clasped close in her lover's, heard with sudden terror of a rue intended to seize Adams and Hancock at the earliest opportunity But roses blooain as she declared, proudly: ”I have no fear! You will be clever enough to evade them No cause as worthy as yours will have as a reward for its cha her flashi+ng eyes and courageous thrusting aside of possibilities, that he ht not count her a coward, John Hancock loved her better than before, and tenderly raised her hand to his lips with a siht!”
And now, in quiet Lexington, Dorothy and Aunt Lydia occupied themselves with such daily tasks as they were able to acco in her varied char their brief but precious s Dorothy enjoyed an occasional letter froave lively accounts of as happening there
As Mrs Bayard lived in a boarding-house, she sawof her relatives, and one day, after returning froerly asked her if she had heard the news She said she had not, and in a letter to Dorothy later, she gives this spicy account of what she heard: