their passion on a poor, simple countryman, the state of whose case is drawn up by himself, and sworn to before a magistrate, as you will see by the enclosed; thus you see, that the practice of tarring and feathering, which has so often been exclaimed against, by the tories, and even in the British house of commons, as inhuman and barbarous, has, at length, been revived by some of the polite officers of the British army, stationed in this place, professedly to prevent riots. Some gentlemen of the town, waited on the general on this occasion; he appeared to be angry at it, and declared that he knew nothing about any such design; he said, that he, indeed, heard an irregular beat of the drum, (for they passed by his house,) but thought they were drumming a bad woman through the streets! This, to be sure, would not have been a riot. The selectmen of Billarica, an inland town, about thirty miles distant, to which the abused man belonged, have since made a remonstrance to the general, a copy of which is enclosed. The general promised them that he would inquire into the matter, but we hear nothing more about it. Some say, that he has lost the command over his officers, and is afraid of displeasing them; how this may be I cannot say.

Mr. Adams was too sagacious not to perceive to what results, conduct such as this would lead; he was one of those, who saw very early that, "after all, we must fight"-and having come to that conclusion, there was no citizen more prepared for the

extremity, or who would have been more reluctant to enter into any kind of compromise. After he had received warning at Lexington, in the night of the eighteenth of April, of the intended British expedition, as he proceeded to make his escape through the fields with some friends, soon after the dawn of day he exclaimed, "this is a fine day !" " very pleasant, indeed," answered one of his companions, supposing he alluded to the beauty of the sky and atmosphere"I mean," he replied, "this day is a glorious day for America!" His situation at that moment was full of peril and uncertainty, but throughout the contest, no damage to himself or his country ever discouraged or depressed him.

Impressed with such feelings and acting under them, he soon perceived the necessity of breaking off all connexion with the mother country, and determining resolutely to support the principles we had adopted. "I am perfectly satisfied," he says, in a letter written in April, 1776, from Philadelphia to a friend in Massachusetts-"I am perfectly satisfied of the necessity of a public and explicit declaration of independence. I cannot conceive, what good reason can be assigned against it. Will it widen the breach? This would be a strange question after we have raised armies and fought battles with the British troops;— set up an American navy, permitted the inhabitants of these colonies to fit out armed vessels to capture the ships, &c. belonging to any of the inhabitants of Great Britain; declaring them the enemies of the

United Colonies, and torn into shivers their acts of trade, by allowing commerce, subject to regulations to be made by ourselves, with the people of all countries, except such as are subject to the British king. It cannot, surely, after all this, be imagined, that we consider ourselves, or mean to be considered by others, in any other state, than that of independence. But moderate whigs are disgusted with our mentioning the word! Sensible tories are better politicians. They know, that no foreign power can consistently yield comfort to rebels, or enter into any kind of treaty with these colonies, till they declare themselves free and independent. They are in hopes, by our protracting this decisive step, we shall grow weary of the war, and that for want of foreign connexions and assistance, we shall be driven to the necessity of acknowledging the tyrant, and submitting to the tyranny. These are the hopes and expectations of the tories, while moderate gentlemen are flattering themselves with the prospect of reconciliation, when the commissioners that are talked of shall arrive, A mere amusement indeed! What terms of reconciliation are we to expect from them that will be acceptable to the people of America? Will the king of Great Britain empower his commissioners even to promise the repeal of all, or any of his obnoxious and oppressive acts? Can he do it? or if he could, has he even yet discovered a disposition which evinced the least degree of that princely virtue-clemency ?"

In the year that succeeded the declaration of independence, however, the prospects of the country became exceedingly gloomy, and even the boldest were sometimes led to fear they had gone farther than their resources authorised them to do. It was at this critical juncture, after congress, whose members were reduced to twenty-eight individuals, had resolved to adjourn to Lancaster, that some of the leading gentlemen accidentally met in company with each other. A conversation in mutual confidence ensued. Mr. Adams, who was one of the number, was cheerful and undismayed at the aspect of affairs, while the countenances of his friends were strongly marked with the desponding feelings of their hearts. The conversation naturally turned upon the subject which most engaged their thoughts. Each took occasion to express his opinions on the situation of the public cause, and all were gloomy and sad. Mr. Adams listened in silence till they had finished. He then said, “Gentlemen, your spirits appear to be heavily oppressed with our public calamities. I hope you do not despair of our final success?" It was answered, "That the chance was desperate." Mr. Adams replied, "if this be our language, it is so, indeed. If we wear long faces, they will become fashionable. The people take their tone from ours, and if we despair, can it be expected that they will continue their efforts in what we conceive to be a hopeless cause? Let us banish such feelings, and show a spirit that will keep alive the confidence of the people, rather

than damp their courage. Better tidings will soon arrive. Our cause is just and righteous, and we shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we show ourselves worthy of its aid and protection." His words were almost prophetic. Within a few days, the news arrived of the glorious success of our cause at Saratoga, which gave brightness to our prospects and confidence to our hopes.

The year 1778, produced the attempt on the part of the British government, to divide or distract the colonies by their pretended offers of conciliation. Their drift was immediately perceived by Mr. Adams, and he wrote thus on the subject to his friend Mr. Lee, "Commissioners, we are told, are coming out to treat with us: this is what we had reason to expect; her only design is to amuse us, and thereby to retard our operations, till she can land her utmost force in America. We see plainly, what part we are to take; to be beforehand with her, and by an early stroke, to give her a mortal wound. If we delay our vigorous exertions till the commissioners arrive, the people abroad may, many of them will, be amused with the flattering prospect of peace, and will think it strange if we do not consent to a cessation of arms, till propositions can be made and digested. This carries with it an air of plausibility, but from the moment we are brought into the snare, we may tremble for the consequence. As there are every where artful tories enough, to distract the minds of the people, would it not be wise for the congress, by a pub