risque the last penny of my fortune and the last drop of my blood upon the issue; " and in his will he enjoined his sons 66 never to let the motive of private interest or ambition induce them to betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of danger or death, deter them from asserting the liberty of their country, and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which themselves were born." It was the spirit of the Virginians in all generations, now facing the new times as it had faced the old.

Mason was called upon to draft the Virginia Bill of Rights and Constitution, and did so. The former is the most remarkable paper of the epoch, and was the foundation of the great American assertion of right. Jefferson went to it for the phrases and expressions of the Declaration, and it remains the original chart by which free governments must steer their course in all coming time. The writer lays down the fundamental principle, that all men are 66 by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity." And these rights are named: they are "the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” All power, he says, is "vested in and consequently derived from the people;" and "magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them." Government is instituted for the common benefit of all, and when it is found inadequate or hostile, "a majority of the community has the right to alter or abolish it." All men having "sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community "

should have the right of suffrage. The freedom of the press is " one of the great bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments." The natural defense of a state is "a well-regulated militia; standing armies are "dangerous to liberty;" and "in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power." Religion is "the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience." Lastly, the blessing of liberty can only be preserved by "a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."

Such were the foundations of free government, laid broad and deep, by George Mason. The equality of men politically; the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the responsibility of magistrates; the right of the people to abolish oppressive government; suffrage to all men having a permanent interest in the community; the freedom of the press; the subjection of the military to the civil authority; the free exercise of religion; and an adherence to justice, moderation, and virtue: these were to be the burning and shining lights to guide the new generation in their march to the Canaan of the future.

Edmund Pendleton was the last of this small group of representative men. He was the conservative statesman of the time as opposed to the revolutionists; a student and jurisconsult who wished to lop off abuses, not hew down the tree, and opposed the violent counsels of

Henry as prejudicial to the cause. Like nearly all the leaders of the time, Pendleton was of royalist descent and a Churchman. He belonged to "a good family gone to decay," who had come to Virginia about a century before, and in his youth found that he had to make his own way. He was born in the county of Caroline (1721), where, at his estate of "Edmundsbury," he spent his life; became clerk of the County Court and then a member of the bar; and entering the Burgesses, at the age of thirty, soon rose to distinction. He may be styled the conservatist-revolutionist of the era, and said of himself that his great aim was to "raise the spirits of the timid to a general united opposition," and oppose "the violent who were for plunging us into rash measures." His patriotism and ability were amply recognized in his generation; he was President of the Committee of Safety, of many of the Conventions, and finally of the Virginia Supreme Court; and left behind him a name eminent for integrity and piety.

In person Edmund Pendleton was tall, with blue eyes, which seem to have been common in the Revolutionary leaders, and manners of great sweetness. It was said of him that his face was "of the first order of manly beauty; his voice clear and silver-toned and under perfect control; and his manner so fascinating as to charm all who came in contact with him." Of his rank as a public speaker there can be no question. He had “ a perennial stream of transparent, cool, and sweet elocution;" but this description is that of a mere master of graceful rhetoric, and leaves, probably, a very incorrect idea of his real force. He was a lawyer of the first ability, with an intellect essentially judicial; and Jefferson Isaid that he was "the ablest man in debate he had ever met with."

Such was Pendleton, the conservative-revolutionist, who looked to "united opposition " and waited. It may be said of him, and those who acted with him, that they constituted the balance-wheel regulating the movement of the great time-piece, which was now about to strike the hour of revolution.

IX.

VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS.

In the spring of 1774 revolution was in the very air. The situation of affairs was now stripped of all ambiguity. England had resolved to subject the Americans to her will. The theory that they were entitled to all the rights of British subjects was openly repudiated. They had been reduced to obedience by Parliament in the time of Cromwell; and Parliament, whether they were represented there or not, was to rule them still. England was to be master. The American Assemblies were to be mere municipal bodies for the transaction of small local affairs. Direct imposts were to be laid upon them; and if they rebelled they were to be transported across the ocean to be tried by their enemies. The issue was thus made up: submission to wrong or resistance. Resistance meant war. Would the Americans risk that? It soon became evident what they had decided upon : they were going to fight.

Boston was already occupied by British troops. Since the collision of the citizens and soldiery in 1770, known as the Boston "Massacre," all had been in commotion there. New England, always hostile to royalty and foreign rule, moved restlessly like a horse under the

spur. In December (1773), an overt act of rebellion warned England what was coming. The tax on tea had never been repealed, and it was hoped that it would be submitted to. The East India Company was authorized to export it to America free of duty, which made the price there less than it had been before the imposition of the tax; and ships containing three hundred and forty-two chests arrived at Boston. The test was direct, and the Boston men met it. A party, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships, threw the tea overboard, and quietly retired to their homes. When intelligence of this overt act of resistance reached England it aroused bitter indignation. Parliament struck back with the "Boston Port Bill;" on and after June 4, 1774, the harbor of Boston was to be closed. Under this blockade, stifling her, she would come to her senses.

The value of the Committees of Correspondence was now seen. Swift expresses brought the news to Virginia, as on the wings of the wind; the riders traveled so rapidly that it was said of them that they "must almost have flown." The House of Burgesses was in session when the intelligence reached Williamsburg; like the men of Boston they were called upon to act promptly or give up the contest; and they acted at once. It was the blow aimed at Massachusetts which brought affairs to a crisis, and by uniting all the elements of resistance precipitated the Revolution in Virginia.

It may interest the reader to visit the little capital of Williamsburg at this moment, and see what followed. The events were like the shifting scenes of a drama. The old and the new were suddenly brought face to face: the old went out with music and the new came in with an ominous muttering. Lord Dunmore had now been