“I don’t know if you can supply bedding for such of the troops as you would choose to be lodged in the Castle; if not, Captain Sheriff will write to Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple to bring bedding with him from Halifax, sufficient for the number of men you shall fix upon for the garrison of Castle William.

“I have the honor to be with great regard,

    “Sir,
      “Your most obedient,
        “Humble servant,
          “TH’S.  GAGE.”

Such was the mode in which the Sam Adams Regiments were ushered into Boston According to this letter, the Governor himself, substantially, gave the order that brought all but the Fourteenth Regiment,—­an order which was to “be kept a profound secret, at least on this side of the Atlantic.”

At this time the mass of the citizens Boston were very bitter and suspicious towards all who were in any way supposed to be concerned in urging the introduction of troops among them; because troops had come to be looked upon as means of subjugating them to laws to which they never would give their consent through their representatives.  The fiery Josiah Quincy, Jr., would say,—­“Before the freeborn sons of the North will yield a general and united submission to any tyrannic power on earth, fire and sword, desolation and ruin, will ravage the land.”  The intrepid Samuel Adams would say,—­“Before the King and Parliament shall dragoon us, and we become slaves, we will take up arms and our last drop of blood.”  The calm Andrew Eliot would say,—­“You cannot conceive of our distress:  to have a standing army!  What can be worse to a people who have tasted the sweets of liberty?” Hutchinson wrote,—­“Many of the common people were in a frenzy, and talked of dying in defence of their liberties,” while “too many above the vulgar countenanced and encouraged them.”  Such was the intensity of the public feeling; such the earnestness with which liberty was ranked above material prosperity.  It was now to be seen whether the American cause was to suffer shipwreck on the rock of premature insurrection, or whether it was to be led on by such cautious and wise steps as develop into the majesty of revolution.

The present public alarm was occasioned by vague statements from abroad or rumors started at home as to the coming of a military force.  Troops were ordered in from the outposts of Canada to Halifax; an unusual naval force was gathering at that station; it was said that the destination of both was Boston:  but the Governor persisted in denying that he had done anything that would bring troops here, and kept on playing the know-nothing.  This created a painful suspense, and, to cool observers, the policy of the Government appeared inexplicable.  But however deep may have been the indignation of the people at the prospect of military rule, it was no part of the plan of the popular leaders, if troops came here, to resist the landing, or to allow the rash spirits, who are ever ready for any imprudence, to do so; but their object was to fix in the public mind a just sense of the rights thus violated, to guide the general indignation into a safe channel of action, and thus turn the insult to the benefit of the general cause.