Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-02-05
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS-.
ITs FIRST MEETING, SErTEMBEl: 5, III

The fifth day of September dawns at last
At 10 oclock in the morning the delegate
assemble at the merchants coffee house
From that point they marched on foot along
the street until they reached the threshold
of this hall. And what memorable pro
cession The young men cluster arounC
them as they pass, for these ire the choser
leaders m the struggle that has come. The
women peeped on them, wonaeringly, from
the bowed windows of their low-roofed
houses, little dreaming. perh;lps, these are
the fathers of republic, for the sake oi
which their hearts are soon to be wrung
and their homes made desolate. Here a
royalist-" Tory" he is soon to be called
turns out for them to pass, scarcely at
tempting to hide the sneer that trembles on
his lips, or some stern-browed Friend, man
peace, his broad-rimmed hat set firmly on
his head, goes by, with measured foot steps,
on the other side Yonder urchin, playing
by the roadside, turns his head suddenly to
stare at this stately company. Does he
dream of the wonders he shall live to see
Men whose names his children shall revere
through all descending generations have
pushed by him while he played, and yet he
knows them not And so along the street.
and down the narrow court and up the broad
steps the congress takes its way. The place
of meeting has been well chosen. Some Of the
| Pennsylyanians would have preferred the
state house but this is the seat government
and the assembly, which has adjourned, has
made no provision for the meeting of con-
| gress there. Here, too, have been held the
town meetings at which the people protested
against the act Of parliament, and the Car
| penter's company, which owns tie hall, Is
made up Of the friends of liberty. They
have offered their hall to the delegates, and
| the place seems fit. Ii Is - spacious hall, -
SAYS one Of them, and above this is - a
chamber with an excellent library "a
convenient chamber opposite TO this, and 4
long entry where gentlemen may walk. -
! The question is put up whether the gentle
men are satisfied, and passed in the athrma-
tive the members are soon seated and the
doors are shut. The silence is first broken
by Mr. Lynch Of South Carolina. There
is a gentleman present, he says, " who has
presided with great dignity over very re
spectacle society, and greatly to the adyan-
| tage Of America, and he moves that " the
Honorable Peyton Randolph. Esquire,
| one of the delegates of Virginia. be appoint
|
unanimous Il is SO, and yonder " large,
well-lookinc man." carefully dressed, and
with well powered wig, rises and takes the
chair. The commissions of the delegates are
then produced and read, after which Mr..
Lynch nominates as secretary Charles
| Thompson. " gentleman he says ' OF
| family. fortune and character" And there
upon, with that singular wisdom which our
! carly statesmen showed in their selection Of
Of men for all posts Of responsibility, the
| congress calls into his country's service that
| admirable man. " the Sam Adams of Phia-
delphia and the life of the cause OF liberty
| While the rreliminaries are being despatch
ed, let Us take look at this company, for it
| j the most extraordinary assemblage Amer
| lea has ever seen. There are fifty delegates
| urcscnt. the representatives of eleven colo
| nie-. Georgia has had no election. the
| North Carolinans have not vet arrived, and
| John Dickinson, that " shadow, slender as
a reed, and pale as ashes" that Pennsylva-
| MIA farmer who has s0wn the seeds Of empire,
| is not 4 member yet. Directly in front, in
| a seat of prominence, sits Richard Henry
! Lee. Ills brilliant eye and marked profile
would make him marked man in any com
| rany One hand has been injured, and is
wrapped, as You see, in covering Of black
silk, but, when he speaks his movements are
50 graceful and his voice is so sweet that You
forget the effect of gesture, for he is an orator,
! the greatest in America, perhaps, save only
one That tall man, with the swarthy face
and black, unpOwdered hair, is William
Livingstone Of New Jersey no public
speaker, but sensible and learned" Beside
elapdar form, Ear. f,-rro ~ ~
| his face lit with enthusiasm, sits his son-in-
law, John Jay, soon to be famous. He is
the Youngest Of the delegates, and Wonder
| sits the Oldest of them all His form Is
bent, his thin locks fringing forehead bow
81 with age and honorable service, and his
hands shakes TREMENDOUSLY as he folds them in
his lap. 1t is Stephen Hopkins, once chief
| Justice Of Rhode Island Close TO him is his
colleague, Samuel Ward, and Sherman Of
| Connecticut, that strong man, whose name
Is to be made honorable by more than one
generation. johnson of Maryland Is here,
- that clear, cool head, - and Paca, his col
league. "a wise deliberator." Band Of
Virginia Is that learned-looking " bookish
man, beside jealous. hot headed Edward
Rutledge. The Pennsvlvanians are grouped
together on one side, Morton, Humphreys,
Mifflin, Rhoads, Biddle, Ross and Galloway,
the speaker of the assembly. Bending for
word 10 whisper in the latter's ear Is Duane
of New York the shy-looking man, Z" q little
squint-eyed," ," (John Adams has already,writ-
ten OF him) Every sensitive and very artful."
That large featured man with the broad,
open countenance is William Hopper; that
other with the Roman nose Is Mexican Of
Delaware Rodney, the latter's colleague,
sits beside him, " the Oldest looking man in
the world, tall, thin, pale, his face not big
ger than large apple, yet beaming with
sense and wit and humOr. Yonder is Chris
topher Gadsden, who has been preaching in
dependence TO South Carolina those ten
years past lie it is who, reused by the re-
port that the regulars had commenced TO
lombard Boston, proposes TO march north
ward and defeat Gage at once, before his re-
Inducements can arrive; and when some one
timidly says that in event Of war the British
will destroy the seaport towns, turn on the
speaker with his grand reply " Our towns
are built of brick and wood if they are
burned down we can rebuild them; bat
liberty once lost is gone forever"
In all this famous company, perhaps, the
men most noticed are the Massachusetts
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