The portrait of Otis is supported on one side by Liberty, and on the other by Hercules, or Perseverance. At the feet of the latter, uncoiling, preparatory to striking a blow, is the venomous rattlesnake, an emblem used on some of the colonial flags when the war began. This was significant of the intention of America, under the guidance of the Spirit of Liberty, to 'persevere, and strike a deadly blow, if necessary. The poetry and maxims of the almanac are replete with political sentiments favorable to freedom; and its pages contain the celebrated "Massachusetts Song of Liberty," which became almost as popular throughout the colonies as did Robert Treat Paine's "Adams and Liberty" at a later day. * It is believed to have been written by Mrs. Mercy Warren.
Party lines began now to be strictly drawn, and the old names of Whig and Tory, used in England toward the close of the seventeenth century, and recently revived, were adopted here, the former being assumed by those who opposed Parliamentary taxation, and the latter applied to those who favored it. *** In Boston the wound inflicted by Bernard, in the introduction of soldiers, was daily festering. A weekly paper, the "Journal of the Times," fostered the most bitter animosity against the soldiers, by the publication of all sorts of stories concerning them, some true, but many more false and garbled. Daily quarrels between citizens and soldiers occurred upon the Common and in the streets; and
* We give on the following page a copy of the Massachusetts Song of Liberty, with the music, as printed in the Boston Almanac.
** See note, page 71.
Abuse of Mr. Otis.—Massachusetts Song of Liberty.
the fact that Mr. Otis had been severely beaten with fists and canes, in a coffee-house, by
THE MASSACHUSETTS SONG OF LIBERTY.
Fac-simile of the Music.
Come swallow your bumpers, ye Tories, and roar,
That the Sons of fair Freedom are hamper'd once more;
But know that no Cut throats our spirits can tame,
Nor a host of Oppressors shall smother the flame.
"In Freedom we're born, and, like Sons of the brace.
Will never surrender,
But swear to defend her,
And scorn to survive, if unable to save.
"Our grandsires, bless'd heroes, we'll give them a tear,
Nor sully their honors by stooping to fear;
Through deaths and through dangers their Trophies they won.
We dare be their Rivals, nor will be outdone.
"In Freedom we're born.
"Let tyrants and minions presume to despise,
Encroach on our Rights, and make Freedom their prize;
The fruits of their rapine they never shall keep,
Though vengeance may nod, yet how short is her sleep.
"In Freedom we're born.
"The tree which proud Haman for Mordecai rear'd
Stands recorded, that virtue endanger'd is spared;
That rogues, whom no bounds and no laws can restrain,
Must be stripp'd of their honors and humbled again.
"In Freedom we're born.
"Our wives and our babes, still protected, shall know
Those who dare to be free shall forever be so;
On these arms and these hearts they may safely rely
For in freedom we'll live, or like Heroes we'll die.
"In Freedom we're born.
"Ye insolent Tyrants! who wish to enthrall;
Ye Minions, ye Placemen, Pimps, Pensioners, all;
How short is your triumph, how feeble your trust,
Your honor must wither and nod to the dust.
"In Freedom we're born.
When oppress'd and approach'd, our King we implore,
Frill firmly persuaded our Rights he'll restore;
When our hearts beat to arms to defend a just right,
Our monarch rules there, and forbids us to fight."
In Freedom we're born.
"Not the glitter of arms nor the dread of a fray
Could make us submit to their chains for a day;
Withheld by affection, on Britons we call,
Prevent the fierce conflict which threatens your fall.
"In Freedom we're born.
All ages shall speak with amaze and applause
Of the prudence we show in support of our cause:
Assured of our safety, a Brunswick still reigns,
Whose free loyal subjects are strangers to chains.
"In Freedom were born.
"Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
To be free is to live, to be slaves is to fall;
Has the land such a dastard as scorns not a Lord,
Who dreads not a letter much more than a sword!"
In Freedym we're born.
Evasion of the Non-importation Agreements.—Tea proscribed.—Spirit of the Women.—Spirit of the Boys.
one of the commissioners of customs and his friends, * produced the utmost excitement, and it was with great difficulty that open hostility was prevented. Numerous fights with straggling soldiers occurred, and a crisis speedily arrived.