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posted upon Mr. King's gate, threatening to burn his houses and barns, and to cut him in pieces and burn him to ashes, in case he should prosecute any person suspected of taking part in it. And immediately afterwards a barn, with all its contents, belonging to Mr. King, was burned to the ground by these same scoundrels. For a short time they went armed with clubs and muskets, and repeatedly threatened the life of the Sheriff who attempted to arrest them. By the well directed efforts of Mr. King's numerous friends, however, amongst whom Col. Samuel Waldo, Theophilus Bradbury, Stephen Longfellow and Enoch Freeman of Falmouth were most active, the perpetrators of this bare-faced outrage were brought to justice. Some of them escaped, through Mr. King's lenity, with paying a certain proportion of his loss, others went to prison. A few of the inhabitants who had previously been respectable men, were discovered to have been concerned in this affair as instigators and abettors, though not present in the mob. One such, Deacon Andrews of the Second Chh., many years afterward when he had grown infirm, and was relieved from the discharge of the active duties of his office by the appointment of an additional junior officer, was styled "Arch-Deacon Andrews" with reference to this riot. And it was to such that the following pointed verses were directed by Mr. King himself, whose composition they are ;

"When Asaph's sons selected stand

To praise the Lord in vocal band,

With Hearts and Hands from violence free,

Nor stained with wilful perjury,

Descend, O Lord, to hear their song,

And with them bless the general Throng.

If, mixt with these, vile sons there are,
Who burn, and steal, and falsely swear,
Or made their gains by such foul deeds,
Select them, Lord, as vicious weeds.

Shall false confession save the soul
Who still retains what he has stole;
Or having done his neighbor wrong,
Will God be pleased with his song?
Not half so strange was Nadal's fire
Nor Ananias so great a Liar."

The violent excitement against the Stamp Act had not subsided at the time of this mob, but in the May following the news of its repeal quieted for a time the spirit of revolt. During the few months of this Act's existence, the stamp officers, and those suspected of using stamps, frequently suffered from the violence of mobs similar to that which attacked Mr. King. But he was in no manner connected with the offensive stamps. There is not the slightest evidence that he ever used, or was suspected of using the stamped paper. When the General Court passed an Act indemnifying the sufferers by the Stamp Act riots, Mr. King's case was examied into at his request; and the decision of the Court, was that his losses were in no way connected with the excitement produced by the Stamp Act. The perpetrators of this crime had not then even the common objection of "toryism" to urge against the sufferer in their own defence; their only true plea against him was, that he was honestly their creditor, and was rich enough although their debts were unpaid. Excepting the

One of the rioters, while confined in the jail at Falmouth, wiled away the slow hours in writing letters to Mr. King, which are in many respects "curiosities of literature We copy as a specimen (verbatim et lit.) one that has a particular turn in it.

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"fallmouthe May the 17. 1773.

Sur I take this opertunity to Right to you to Let you know that I ame in good helth hopeing this may find you and your family in good hellth Sur to Bee Confined to a pallice would soon Beecome a gale (jail) But to Bee Confined heere with in thies Barrs of iorn has a livly Resamblance of hell to me though threw the goodess of god Wee are prisners of hoope and thay are Beeyond the Reach of hoope and allso wee have water enuff and thay acord

two events just narrated, nothing occurred to disturb the peace of our inhabitants until the time of the Revolution. The farmer's daily tasks in the field, and his evening enjoyments by the fireside, profitable and pleasant as they were to him during all this season of peace, afford no matter for historical record; so that even the chronicler of so slight a story as ours, must skip from act to act, unwillingly passing over the pleasing interludes the happy scenes of peace between the frequent

wars.

ing to Divars in the gospel they have noon Sur I ame heere Deprived of the Compney of an agreeable wife and the Dutyfull care of my poore chilldran which Strikes the Very Strings of my hearte with greaf which Blessed privlage you now injoy-But I Desire to Leave them in the hands of that god hoo changis the times and can Dispers the Dearkiest clouds Sur I can truly asure you that I feele mor thankfullness of heart for my small acomodations of Life in this gole than Ever I Did when I Lived at my one home in planty let it Bee posable for you to Bleive me I finde no mellis nor inry arising againste you or yours But I Soulde have Bin angry at the poore ignorant high-barnion that Betrayed mee into your hands for a ginne wars it not that I thinke him as much Beneath my angor as hee is indesarving of my Love-But whether I am hilde heere Rigthously or un-Rtously time will manifeste Mr. Makintire of yorke came to see (me) by the Disire of mrs King as hee Solemly Declared wars to agravate and abuis me threw the grats But when hee came to see my pitifull condishon his harte faled him whereupon hee tolde mee hee woulde treate mee But had no money I tolde him I had some and woulde treate him soo gave him a dinor and two Boulls of tody and wee partid in pees-time Has Bin when our Efections wars somthing singlar with Respect to kindness But now thay seeme to Bee Some What remarkeable with Respect to Coldness Soo I conclude youre friend and humble Sarvt-Silas Burbank."

Superscribed, "To Mr Richard king asqir Livng in Scarbrough."

CHAPTER XIII.

The condition of Scarborough during the Revolution was like that of most of the small towns in New England, which were not called upon to take the lead in the contest. The town, as such, could only stand in the background and encourage those compelled to take the first and boldest step towards the maintenance of the rights of all. As far as resolutions and votes go in furtherance of an object, Scarborough did her duty in regard to the Revolution. Although her action as a town proved quite unimportant to the whole country, excepting its manifestation of an encouraging spirit, yet the part acted by her sturdy sons as individuals, as Americans, was more than that of merely encouraging the foremost in the fearful struggle. We by no means disparage the excellent Revolutionary soldiers of other New England towns, in claiming for our own a high rank amongst them. No town of the size of this furnished. more, and few better soldiers than Scarborough; for almost every able-bodied man then living here took active part in the struggle at some period during the war.

A few facts have escaped oblivion which show the existence here at that time of a good degree of strong Revolutionary spirit. The first evidence of the dislike of our townsmen for the principle, which when carried out more fully involved England in the war of the Revolution, is in their partial opposition to the Excise Bill of 1754. This Bill not only touched their pockets, but reached even to their cups; interfered with the exhilirating beverages which gave life to all their weddings and funerals, their greetings and partings, their feast-days and fast-days, their "raisings," and "haulings," and "huskings," and "trainings;" in a word it affected the use and enjoyment of that one necessary of life without which nothing could be done in Church or State. At a special meeting of the townsmen held Sept. 30, 1754, it was solemnly "voted and declared.

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against that part of the Bill called the Excise Bill, relating to the consumption of Spiritous Liquors." Considering the vast importance attached by the early townsmen to that one thing, at once a necessary and luxury to them, "good liquor," it is not surprising that their Revolutionary spirit should have showed itself first in that direction.

On the 21st of Sept. 1774, a Convention of delegates from the several towns of the County was held at Falmouth, for the purpose of effecting "a concert of action in relation to a nonimportation agreement." Scarborough was represented in this • Convention by Capt. Timothy McDaniel, Capt. Reuben Foss, and Joshua Fabyan. Capt. McDaniel was one of the Committee appointed to draft resolutions for the Convention. This Committee reported a series of resolutions in which they "recommend a manly opposition to every measure which despotism can invent to abridge our English liberties.' Our towns. men, however, were soon favored with an opportunity of showing their dislike of King George and his adherents, more effectually than by assenting to resolutions against them. In the course of the year the King's officers were sent to mark such trees on the Nonsuch, as were suitable for masts for the Royal Navy, on each of which they were to put the "broad R," as it was termed. But they no sooner arrived in town than they were met by a body of townsmen, who not only refused to allow them to proceed with their work, but also insisted upon their leaving town, and finally drove them out.

The enthusiasm with which the majority of our countrymen entered the Revolutionary contest, undoubtedly, hastened the happy result, but it also led to the commission of acts, as unnecessary to the attainment of the great object sought in the contest as they were painful to the sufferers by them. The

*For a full report of the proceedings of this Convention see Willis' Portland, p. II. App. V.

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