1776. horfes. Mar. 28. Some of the ordnance were thrown into the water; but the Americans will recover them. The joy of the inhabitants, whether fuch as remained in town or withdrew for perfonal fecurity, upon finding themfelves reftored to the fafe and peaceable enjoyment of their ancient rights, freed from what they deemed an odious tyrannical authority, in a fituation to triumph over the difgrace of their enemies, and with the prospect of speedy relief from the diftreffes which they had been under for many tedious months-that joy is more eafily conceived than expreffed. They received the commander in chief with every mark of refpect and gratitude, which could be shown to a deliverer. At his excellency's request, Dr. Elliot preached a thanksgiving fermon on the opening afrefh of the Thurfday's lecture. That you may not be at the trouble of turning to your Bible, take his text in manuscript, "Look upon Zion the city of our folemnities: thine eyes fhall fee Jerufalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that fhall not be taken down: not one of the stakes thereof fhall ever be removed, neither fhall any of the cords thereof be broken." When you are minded to examine the context, look for chap. xxxiii. 20. of Isaiah. The general and a number of officers attended. A dinner was provided for his excellency and other gentlemen in public and private life. The day after the lecture, the 29. Maffachufett's council and house of reprefentatives complimented him in a joint addrefs. They took notice, among many other things, of his attention to the civil conftitution of the colony; of the regard he had alway fhown for the lives and health of those under his command; of his having attended to the prefervation of their metropolis, in the quiet poffeffion of which they 1776now were, without that effusion of blood they fo much wifhed to avoid. When they expreffed their 'good wishes for him at the clofe, they began with, " May you still go on, approved by heaven, revered by all good men, and dreaded by those tyrants who claim their fellow men as their property"-and finished with, "May future generations in the peaceful enjoyment of that freedom, the exercise of which your sword shall have established, raise the richest and most lafting monuments to the name of a Washington." His answer was proper, moderate, and becoming his fituation. It will be to his honor to mention, that in private converfation, he expreffed himself to this purpose: "The recovery of Boston, by the speedy flight of the enemy, is more fatisfactory than a victory gained at the expence of much blood-fhed." When he fent off an exprefs to Lord Stirling at New York, he wrote, "Gen. Howe abandoned Boston without deftroying it. The town is in a much better fituation, and lefs injured than I expected, from the reports I had received; though to be fure, it is much damaged, and many houfes defpoiled of their valuable furniture." The following anecdote of the general may be acceptable. A gentleman who had heard the Rev. Mr. Davis relate, that col. Washington had mentioned he knew of no mufic fo pleafing as the whistling of bullets; being alone in converfation with him at Cambridge, afked him whether it was as had been related; the general anfwered-" If I faid fo, it was when I was young." Let us take a tranfient notice of the hardships experienced by the Bofton inhabitants, whether they remained in the town, or withdrew from 1776. it, and refided elsewhere till the evacuation. Notwith ftanding the univerfal profeffion of patriotifm, advantages were too generally taken for oppreffing them, by extravagant charges. A fenfible writer juftly cenfured fuch proceedings in the Connecticut gazette; and complained, that the refugees were obliged to pay far higher rents for houses than ufual, and in fome inftances double. The greatest fufferings of those who remained, arofe from the want of fuel and fresh provifions, not to mention fuch as refulted from the prefence of the British army and navy. Fresh provisions were not alway to be had, and were moftly too dear for the lower clafs to obtain; but at length the rations of the foldiers were fo plentiful, that by the aid of these and arrivals from Europe, they that remained in the town had a tolerable fupply of pork, peas, falt-butter, fweet-oil and bread, at a moderate price. But the intenfe cold of the season rendered the want of fuel extremely grievous. Families, which had been accustomed to plenty, were obliged to burn with the moft fparing hand, and to fave by going to their beds very early, and leaving them as late. Many kept to them in the sharpest weather, other than as they got up to dress their victuals and eat their meals. Numbers, to fupply the want of fuel, pulled up the floors of their houses, the ftairs, and whatever offered. The wooden buildings, taken down by order of gen. Howe, were appropriated to the use of the royal refugees. It was as much charity to the poorer inhabitants to admit them to a small fire, as to furnish them with victuals. You must recollect the hard frofts you have in Britain, once in a great number of years, to conceive of what perfons must endure through the want of fuel, from the long continued frofts of this country. The houses which 1776. the British officers inhabited while in Boston, were generally left in good condition; but afterward much damaged when tenanted by the Americans, whofe ftile of life did not lead them to pay attention to neatness and elegance. New York, moft probably, is henceforward to be the grand scene of action. Gen. Lee has left the city fome time, and is gone to the fouthward. While there, he took care to remove the good cannon on the battery, and at the king's ftore, amounting to about a hundred, to a place of fafety; a third of them are thirty-two pounders. He alfo drew up another tremendous oath to be administered to the tories, and fent capt. Sears over to Queen's county with it: which led congress to refolve, "That no oath by way of teft be imposed upon, exacted or required of any of the inhabitants of these colonies, by any military officer." In many of the streets of the city there are breaft-works, barricado's, &c. and more are making, together with forts in abundance. Actual service began in the colony. A British floop fent April her boat afhore on Staten Ifland to get water, and a party of riflemen took the boat and crew prifoners. The firing between the floop and the riflemen lasted all day. The city, in a week's time, was thronged with provincials; and it might be concluded, that the environs were not very fafe from fo undisciplined a multitude; but there are few inftances of fo great a number of troops being together with fo little mifchief done by them. However as they (especially the Connecticut foldiers, whom fome pronounce the dirtieft people on the continent) are not particularly attentive to cleanliness, 6. 1776. the owners of the houfes where they are quartered, if they ever get poffeffion of them, must be years in cleaning them, unless they get new floors, and new plaister the walls. Gov. Tryon has loft his credit with the citizens, and is now fpoken of with contempt and disgust. The governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, was no lefs popular than Tryon at one time; but is at length as little refpected by the Virginians as the other is by the New Yorkers. The meafures he has continued to purfue, have only increased, instead of diminishing the general refentment. We left him on board ship off Norfolk, on the 14th of December, and col. Robert Howe in poffeffion of the town. The Liverpool frigate arrived from Great Britain. Soon after, the captain fent a flag of truce, and demanded to be informed whether his majefty's fhips of war would be fupplied from the fhore with provisions: the reply was in the negative; and the fhips in the harbour being continually annoyed by the riflemen from behind the buildings and warehouses on the wharfs, it was determined to diflodge them by deftroying the fame. Previous notice was given, that the women, children, and other innocent perfons, might Jan. remove from the danger. The entrance of the new I. year was fignalized at four o'clock in the morning, by a |