fectly satisfactory; but before he could receive the answer of the house of burgesses, an incident occurred, which drove his lordship precipitately from his palace, and terminated for ever all friendly relations between himself and the people of Virginia.

It seems, that during the late ferment produced by the removal of the powder, and while Mr. Henry was on his march toward Williamsburg, some of the inhabitants of the town, to the great offence of the graver citizens, had possessed themselves of a few of the guns which still remained in the magazine. This step gave great displeasure as well as alarm to the governor; and although the mayor and council, as well as all the more respectable inhabitants of the town, condemned it in terms as strong as his own, and sincerely united in the means which were used to recover the arms, yet his lordship continued to brood over it in secret, until, with the aid of the minions of the palace, he hatched a scheme of low and cruel revenge, sufficient of itself to cover him with immortal infamy. It was on Monday night, the 5th of June, that this scheme discovered itself. "Last Monday night," says Purdie, "an unfortunate accident happened to two persons of this city, who, with a number of others, had assembled at the magazine, to furnish themselves with arms. Upon their entering the door, one of the guns, which had a spring to it, and was charged eight fingers deep with swan shot, went off, and lodged two balls in one of their shoulders, another entered at his wrist, and is not yet extracted the other person had one of his fingers shot off, and the next to it so much shattered as to render it useless, by which sad misfortune he is deprived of the means of procuring a livelihood by his business. Spring guns, it seems, were placed at other parts of the magazine, of which the public

were totally ignorant; and certainly had any person lost his life, the perpetrator or perpetrators of this diabolical invention might have been justly branded with the opprobrious title of murderers. O tempora! O mores!"

The indignation naturally excited by this piece of deliberate and barbarous treachery, which was at once traced to Lord Dunmore, was farther aggravated by a discovery that several barrels of powder had been buried in the magazine, with the purpose, it was reasonably conjectured, of being used as a mine, and thus producing still more fatal destruction, when the occasion should offer. Early on the next morning, Lord Dunmore, with his family, including captain Foy, fled from the palace to return to it no more, and took shelter on board the Fowey, from the vengeance which he knew he so justly deserved. No commotion, however, had ensued to justify his retreat. The people, indeed, were highly indignant, but they were silent and quiet. The suggestions of his lordship's conscience had alone produced his flight. He left behind him a message to the speaker and house of burgesses, in which he ascribed this movement to apprehensions for his personal safety; stated that he should fix his residence on board the Fowey; that no interruption should be given to the sitting of the assembly; that he should make the access to him easy and safe; and thought it would be more agreeable to the house to send to him, from time to time, one or more of their members as occasion might require, than to put the whole body to the trouble of moving to be near him.

On receiving this message, the house immediately resolved itself into a committee of the whole, and prepared an answer, in which they expressed their deep concern at the step which he had taken-assuring him that his apprehensions

of personal danger were entirely unfounded; regretting that he had not expressed them to the house previous to his departure, since, from their zeal and attachment to the preservation of order and good government, they should have judged it their indispensable duty to have endeavoured to remove any cause of disquietude. They express the anxiety with which they contemplate the very disagreeable situation of his most amiable lady and her family, and assure him, that they should think themselves happy in being able to restore their perfect tranquillity, by removing all their fears. They regret his departure and the manner of it, as tending to keep up the great uneasiness which had of late so unhappily prevailed in this country; and declare that they will cheerfully concur in any measure that may be proposed, proper for the security of himself and his family; they remind him how impracticable it will be to carry on the business of the session with any tolerable degree of propriety, or with that despatch which the advanced season of the year required, whilst his lordship was so far removed from them, and so inconveniently situated; and conclude with entreating him, that he would be pleased to return with his lady and family to the palace, which, they say, they are persuaded will give the greatest satisfaction, and be the most likely means of quieting the minds of the people.

This communication was carried down to him by a deputation of two members of the council, and four of the house of burgesses; and in reply to language so respectful, and assurances so friendly and conciliatory, his lordship returned an answer in which he charged them with having slighted his offers of respect and civility, with giving countenance to the violent and disorderly proceedings of the people, and with an usurpation of the executive power in ordering and

appointing guards to mount in the city of Williamsburg, with the view, as was pretended, to protect the magazine, but which might well be doubted, as there then remained nothing therein which required being guarded: he exhorts them to return within the pale of their constitutional power; to redress the many grievances which existed; to open the courts of justice; to disarm the independent companies; and what was not less essential, by their own example, and every means in their power, to abolish the spirit of persecution which pursued, with menaces and acts of oppression, all his majesty's loyal and orderly subjects. For the accomplishment of which ends, he invited them to adjourn to the town of York, opposite to which the Fowey lay, where he promised to meet and remain with them till their business should be finished. But with respect to their entreaty that he would return to the palace, he represents to them that unless they closed in with the conciliatory proposition now offered to them by the British parliament, his return to Williamsburg would be as fruitless to the people, as possibly it might be dangerous to himself. So that he places the event of his returning, on their acceptance of Lord North's offer of conciliation.

The house of burgesses now took up that proposition; and having examined it in every light, with the utmost attention, they conclude with a firm and dignified rejection of it, and an appeal to the even-handed justice of that Being who doth no wrong; earnestly beseeching him to illuminate the councils, and prosper the endeavours, of those to whom America had confided her hopes, that, through their wise direction, we may again see reunited the blessings of liberty

and prosperity, and the most permanent harmony with Great Britain."*

A correspondence on another topic was now opened between the council and burgesses, and the governor Dunmore. The former addressed him with a request, that he would order a large parcel of arms which he had left in the palace to be removed to the public magazine, a place of greater safety. This he peremptorily refused; and ordered that those arms, belonging to the king, should not be touched without his express permission. In their reply, they say,that the arms may in some sort be considered as belonging to the king, as the supreme head of the government, and that they were properly under his lordship's direction; yet, they humbly conceived, that they were originally provided, and had been preserved, for the use of the country in cases of emergency. The palace, they say, had indeed been hitherto much respected, but not so much out of regard to the building, as the residence of his majesty's representative. Had his lordship thoug' fit to remain there, they would have had no apprehensions of danger; but considering these arms at present as exposed to his lordship's servants, and every rude invader, the security derived from his lordship's presence could not now be relied on. They, therefore, again entreat him to order the removal of the arms to the magazine. They then proceed to state, that they cannot decline representing to him, that the important business of the assembly had been much impeded by his excellency's removal from the palace— that this step had deprived them of that free and necessary

*This vigorous and eloquent production is from the same pen which drew the declaration of American Independence.