orator, which are nearly the same; and is no doubt accurate. He ended his speech with a bitter outburst. In the midst of cries of "Treason!" he exclaimed, "Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third may profit by their example; if this be treason make the most of it!" In spite of all opposition the resolutions passed the Burgesses, the last by one majority. The passionate eloquence of the young County Court lawyer had committed the great colony of Virginia to resistance. Such was the famous scene in the Burgesses, which marked distinctly the beginning of a new era, for the Revolution may be said to date from it. It has suffered from over-coloring. For the greater glory of the great man whose wonderful eloquence shaped the action of the House, certain writers have thought it necessary to caricature his opponents. A somewhat theatrical picture has been drawn of the scene and the actors. The ruffled planters, it is said, were dragged on against their will. They had come in these May days of 1765 to delay, not promote action. They were distinctly behind the times and bent on submission. When a plain 66 man of the people" rose in his place to propose action the powdered heads turned suddenly, and all eyes were fixed on him with surprise and hauteur. The picture is imaginary. If the heads suddenly turned, the circumstance was not so astonishing. A young member who was almost unknown was taking the leadership, at the most critical of moments, in a body composed of the oldest and ablest men of the colony. The intimation that classes were divided on the question has nothing to support it. Jefferson, a zealous democrat, spoke of those who opposed the resolutions as "ciphers of aristocracy" and men unfitted for the times; but among these opponents were Peyton Randolph, afterwards President of the First Congress; Edmund Pendleton, to become the head of the Committee of Safety; George Wythe, one of the "Signers; " Richard Bland, an eminent patriot; and probably Washington, then in the Burgesses. But after making every allowance for Mr. Wirt's rhetoric, the triumph of Henry in this hot struggle was one of the great events of American history. He had driven his policy through the Burgesses in spite of all opposition, and some chance utterances of the moment indicate the strong antagonisms. "I would have given five hundred guineas for a single vote!" exclaimed Peyton Randolph, as he rushed through the lobby; and as Henry came out of the Capitol a man of the crowd slapped him on the shoulder and cried : "Stick to us, old fellow, or we are gone!" The vote that was worth five hundred guineas was that which would have defeated the fifth resolution ; and the importance of this resolution lay in the fact that it announced the determinate decision of Virginia. What it meant, if it meant anything, was that the colony was prepared to resist the Crown. England demanded her obedience, and speaking for herself she refused to obey. Governor Fauquier dissolved the Assembly, but the mischief was done. The position taken by Virginia everywhere strengthened the hands of the party for resistance. In England it produced a profound sensation. "I rejoice," exclaimed Pitt, "that America has resisted! Three millions of people so dead to all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest. I know the valor of your troops, the force of this country; but in such a case success would be hazardous. America, if she fell, would fall like a strong man: she would embrace the pillars of the State and pull down the Constitution with her." 66 The importance attached to the action of Virginia is shown by the references made to it at the time. "Virginia rang the alarm bell," said a writer of the North; and General Gage wrote, "Virginia gave the signal to the Continent." Massachusetts proposed a General Congress, and it met at New York in October (1765), but only nine colonies were represented and its proceedings were confined to protests. The invitation to take part in it reached Virginia after the dissolution of the Assembly, and no action could be taken upon it; but at the next session of the body the proceedings were concurred in. The English ministry were now compelled to come to an open collision with the Americans, or rescind the Stamp Act. In March, 1766, just one year after its passage, it was repealed. But the right was distinctly asserted "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." That was an open declaration of war, and necessarily led to the absolute subjection of the Americans or to revolution. They chose revolution, and it may be said to have begun when Henry forced through his resolutions, in the Burgesses, in 1765. IV. THE WAR OF THE CHURCHES. ALL things now hastened. the atmosphere grew hotter. With every passing hour was felt to be coming; and the religious animosities of the time, which had been long smouldering, steadily gathered strength as the days went by. Threatening hands were raised in every quarter against the Established Church, and the attacks of her combined enemies, the non-conformists of all descriptions, began in earnest. They were to overthrow the Establishment at last, and destroy it, root and branch, but as yet it was too strong for them; and the civil authorities, acting in its supposed interests, resorted to persecution. This was directed chiefly at the Baptists, who had recently become a strong communion. The first church was formally established in 1760, but soon there were numbers of others in Spotsylvania, Orange, Louisa, and Fluvanna. A passionate impulse swayed the preachers of the Baptist faith. The propaganda went on without rest. They saw visions which spurred them to call others to repentance, and the true form of baptism. James Read, in North Carolina, had a mysterious call by night. In his sleep he was heard crying "Virginia! Virginia!" and obeying the heavenly voice he set out and reached Orange, where great crowds flocked to listen to him. Soon the Establishment took alarm. The clergy denounced the new sect, calling them followers of the German Anabaptists, and predicting a repetition of the horrors of Munster. But this the Baptists indignantly denied, asserting that they were preachers of the true Gospel only; if they disturbed the lethargy of the Establishment it was not their fault. Persecution followed. In June, 1768, three preachers of the new church, John Waller, Lewis Craig, and James Childs, were arrested by the sheriff of Spotsylvania. They were offered their liberty if they would promise to discontinue preaching; but that had no more effect in their case than in the case of John Bunyan. They gloried in their martyrdom. As they went to prison through the streets of Fredericksburg, they raised the resounding hymn, "Broad is the road that leads to death." Through the windows of the jail they preached to great throngs of people. When this had gone on for more than a month they were released; they had resolutely persisted in making no promises to discontinue their efforts. Their persecutors were even ashamed. When they were arraigned for "preaching the Gospel contrary to law," Patrick Henry, who had ridden fifty miles to witness the trial, suddenly rose and exclaimed : May it please your worships, what did I hear read? Did I hear an expression that these men whom your worships are about to try for misdemeanor are charged with preaching the Gospel of the Son of God?" 66 Men The solemn voice is said to have deeply moved all who heard it. The State prosecutor "turned pale with agitation," and the court were near dismissing the accused. Elsewhere the persecution went on; in Chesterfield, Middlesex, Caroline, and other counties. were imprisoned for their faith; it was a reproduction of the monstrous proceedings in the Mother Country. But the result was what might have been foreseen by any but the judicially blind. The Baptists only grew |