Litchfield enquirer., 1840-10-15

ANSVcT dSdRlip LOWoEO, OO me tn0 mus tice to suppose that prefer the lower virtue of charity sa the higher one ofJustice."
 JOHN HANCOCK.
 BY E. s. THOMAS.
 The memory of this great patriot, states man, and orator, has been most grossly neglected while hundreds, whose services in the cause of independence were not a tythc of his, have been eulogiZed to the skies, and live on canvass and in marble, this great patriots name but seldom finds ;r place, even when celebrating that freedom he was among the very first, if not the first, to risk his life in obtaining. l have for years noticed this neglect with feelings of unfeigned regret. Never was man more beloved by any people than Hancock was by the people of Massachusetts. With the exception of a single year, when Bowdoin was put in, he was, for sixteen successive years, elected their Governor, and closed his patriotic and illustrious fife in that high station. Hundreds of times have I seen him, when so worn out and crippled by dis ease that he could not stand, taken from his carriage into the arms of two faithful ser- wants, (who regularly attended for the pur- pose,) and carried up to the council cham Der, distance of nearly fifty yards from the street. The last time he addressed his fellow-citizens was the most impressive scene l ever witnessed. A town meeting was called upon a question of great excite- mcnt. Old Faneuil Hall could not contain the people, and an adjournment took place to the Old South Meeting house; Hancock was brought in and carried up into the front gallery, where the Hon. Benjamin Austin supported him on the right, and the celebrated Dr. Jarvis upon the left, while he addressed the multitude The Governor hNyo ofa foh ic foT1 o:f that |" he fsu' 1t was the last time he should address them-that "lhe seeds of mortality are gr0,oing .taSt within him.'' The fall of pin might have been heard, such a death-like silence pcrvaded the listening crowd during the whole of his animated and soul stirring speech, while tears rap down the cheeks ot thouSan ndS. 7..f' .... .tr-.. .s. ...
 The meeting ended, he was conveyed to his carriage and taken home, but never again appeared in public; his death follow ed soon after. The corpse was embowelled and kept for eight days, to give an opportu- nifty to the citizens from the distant parts of the State to render the last tribute of res- pect to his memory. They came by thou sands and tens of thousands ; the process sion was an hour and a half in passing.- The post of honor among the military was assigned to the Concord Light Infantry, un- der Capt. Davis, the same who commanded them on the ever-memorable l9th of April, '75 It was the most solemn and interest ing, and incornparably the longest funeral procession l ever saw. Samuel Adams, who was ieutenant-governor, became gov- ernor ex-ofiicio by the death of Hancock, and followed the bier, (there were no hearses with holding plumes in those days,) as chief mourncr, but the venerable patriot could not endure the fatigue, and was ccm- pelled to retire from the procession.
 Hancock, before the Revolution, was a man of vast fortune, and though he permit ted it to flow in the cause of his country, like water he had still enough left to SUD- port splendid establishment, and lived and [entertained like a prince. His generosity was unbounded. we'll remember that one evening in each week during the summer a full band of music, at his own expense, attended the citizens who were promena- ding on the mall. He seldom left Boston to visit at any distance, but when he did he was escorted by volunteer troop of caval- ry, who held themselves in readiness for that purpose. He was very fond of joke and repartee, so much so that a worthy cit iZcn of Boston, Nathaniel Balch, Esq, hat ter, who never failed to appear among the invited guests at his hospitable board, ob- tained the unenvied appellation of "Ae Go rsrnor's Jester." The celebrated Brissot, in his travels to the United States. speaks of meeting this gentleman at Hancock's ta- ble and such was the mutual attachment between the Governor and Mr. Ealch, that if the former was called away, no mat ter what distance, Squire Balch attended him like his shadow, which the following circumstance most happily illustrates :- Governor Hancock was called on a visit to the then province of Maine, on which occa- sion he travelled in state, and was attended by the Hon. Col. Orne, one of the Executive Council, and Nathaniel Balch, Esq. Their arrival at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was thus humorously announced "On Thursday last, arrived in this town, Ns- thaniel Balch, Esq, accompanied by his Exccllency John Hancock, and the Hon. Azor Orne, Esq" ta
 The events of by-gone days have been brought to my recollection by the following short paragraph from the N. York Evening Star. ea .t. a.|ra ares sts'
 VALUABLE RELIc.--We have had left for us at our office, for inspection. the original commission appointing John Hancock first Major General of the Massachusetts Colo ny. It is dated May 90, l776. vset .