Under Liberty Tree, there was erected, during the rejoicings, an obelisk with four sides. An engraving of those four sides was made at the time, and is now, doubtless, very rare. A copy, loaned me by the friend, to whom I referred, in my last number, is lying before me. I present it, verbatim, literatim, et punctuatim.
It is thirteen and an half inches long, and nine and an half wide. On top are these words—“A view of the OBELISK erected under LIBERTY TREE in Boston on the Rejoicings for the Repeal of the —— Stamp Act 1766.” At the bottom—“To every Lover of Liberty this Plate is humbly dedicated by her true born Sons in Boston, New England.” The plate presents, apparently, four obelisks, which are, in reality, the four sides of one. Every side, above the base, is divided horizontally, and nearly equally, into three parts. The superior division of each contains four heads, many of which may be readily recognized, and all of which have indicating letters. The middle division of each contains ten decasyllabic lines. The inferior division of each contains a sketch, of rude execution, and rather more patriotic, than tasteful, in the design. The principal portraits are of George III.; Queen Charlotte; Marquis of Rockingham; Duke of York; Gen. Conway; Lord Townshend; Colonel Barré; W. Pitt; Lord Dartmouth; Charles Townshend; Lord George Sackville; John Wilkes; Alderman Beckford; Lord Camden; &c. The first side is subscribed thus: “America in distress, apprehending the total loss of Liberty;” and is inscribed thus:
Oh thou, whom next to Heaven we most revere
Fair Liberty! thou lovely Goddess hear!
Have we not woo’d thee, won thee, held thee long,
Lain in thy Lap and melted on thy tongue.
Thro’ Deaths and Dangers rugged paths pursu’d
And led thee smiling to this Solitude,
Hid thee within our hearts’ most golden cell
And brav’d the Powers of Earth and Powers of Hell,
Goddess! we cannot part, thou must not fly,
Be Slaves! we dare to scorn it, dare to die.
Beneath is the sketch—America recumbent and dejected, in the form of an Indian chief, under a pine tree, the angel of Liberty hovering over; the Prime minister advancing with a chain, followed by one of the bishops, and others, Bute clearly designated by his Scotch plaid, and gaiters; over head, flying towards the Indian, with the stamp act in his right claw, is the Devil; of whom it is manifest our patriotic sires had a very clever conception.
The second side is subscribed thus: “She implores the aid of her patrons;” and is inscribed thus:
While clanking chains and curses shall salute
Thine Ears remorseless G——le, and thine O B——e,
To you blest Patriots, we our cause submit,
Illustrious Campden, Britain’s Guardian, Pitt.
Recede not, frown not, rather let us be
Deprived of being than of Liberty,
Let fraud or malice blacken all our crimes,
No disaffection stains these peaceful climes.
Oh save us, shield us from impending woes,
The foes of Britain only are our foes.
Beneath is the sketch—America, on one knee, pointing over her shoulder towards a retreating group, composed, as the chain and the plaid inform us, of the Prime Minister Bute, and company, upon whose heads a thunder cloud is bursting. At the same time America—the Indian, as before—supplicates the aid of others, whose leader is being crowned, by Fame, with a laurel wreath. The enormous nose—a great help to identification—marks the Earl of Chatham; Camden may be known by his wig; and Barré by his military air.
The third side is subscribed thus: “She endures the Conflict, for a short Season” and is inscribed thus:
Boast foul Oppression, boast thy transient Reign,
While honest Freedom struggles with her Chain,
But know the Sons of Virtue, hardy, brave,
Disclaim to lose thro’ mean Dispair to save;
Arrowed in Thunder awfull they appear,
With proud Deliverance stalking in their Rear,
While Tyrant Foes their pallid Fears betray,
Shrink from their Arms, and give their Vengeance way.
See in the unequal War Oppressors fall,
The hate, contempt, and endless Curse of all.
Beneath is the sketch—The Tree of Liberty, with an eagle feeding its young, in the topmost branches, and an angel advancing with an ægis.