james otis the pre-revolutionist-第1节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！



James　Otis　The　Pre…Revolutionist　

by　John　Clark　Ridpath


Great　Americans　of　History


BY　JOHN　CLARK　RIDPATH；　LL。D。　AUTHOR　OF　A　〃Cyclopaedia　of　Universal　History；〃　〃Great　Races　of　Mankind；〃　〃Life　and　Times　of　William　E。　Gladstone；〃　etc。；　etc。

THE　CHARACTER　OF　JAMES　OTIS　BY　CHARLES　K。　EDMUNDS；　Ph。D。

WITH　AN　ESSAY　ON　THE　PATRIOT　BY　G。　MERCER　ADAM　Late　Editor　〃Self…Culture〃　Magazine；　Etc。；　Etc。

TOGETHER　WITH　ANECDOTES；　CHARACTERISTICS；　AND　CHRONOLOGY



Near　the　northeast　corner　of　the　old　Common　of　Boston　a　section　of　ground　was　put　apart　long　before　the　beginning　of　the　eighteenth　century　to　be　a　burying　ground　for　some　of　the　heroic　dead　of　the　city　of　the　Puritans。　　For　some　quaint　reason　or　caprice　this　acre　of　God　was　called　〃The　Granary〃　and　is　so　called　to　this　day。　　Perhaps　the　name　was　given　because　the　dead　were　here；　garnered　as　grain　from　the　reaping　until　the　bins　be　opened　at　the　last　day's　threshing　when　the　chaff　shall　be　driven　from　the　wheat。

Here　the　thoughtless　throng　looking　through　the　iron　railing　may　see　the　old　weather…beaten　and　time…eaten　slabs　with　their　curious　lettering　which　designate　the　spots　where　many　of　the　men　of　the　pre…revolutionary　epoch　were　laid　to　their　last　repose。　　The　word　cemetery　is　from　Greek　and　means　the　little　place　where　I　lie　down。

In　the　Granary　Burying　Ground　are　the　tombs　of　many　whom　history　has　gathered　and　recorded　as　her　own。　　But　history　looks　in　vain　among　the　blue…black　slabs　of　semi…slate　for　the　name　of　one　who　was　greatest　perhaps　of　them　all；　but　whose　last　days　were　so　strangely　clouded　and　whose　sepulchre　was　so　obscure　as　to　leave　the　world　in　doubt　for　more　than　a　half　century　as　to　where　the　body　of　the　great　sleeper　had　been　laid。　　Curiosity；　whetted　by　patriotism；　then　discovered　the　spot。　　But　the　name　of　another　was　on　the　covering　slab；　and　no　small　token　was　to　be　found　indicative　of　the　last　resting　place　of　the　lightning…smitten　body　of　James　Otis；　the　prophetic　giant　of　the　pre…revolutionary　days。　　He　who　had　lived　like　one　of　the　Homeric　heroes；　who　had　died　like　a　Titan　under　a　thunderbolt；　and　had　been　buried　as　obscurely　as　Richard　the　Lion　Hearted；　or　Frederick　Barbarossa；　must　lie　neglected　in　an　unknown　tomb　within　a　few　rods　of　the　spot　where　his　eloquence　aforetime　had　aroused　his　countrymen　to　national　consciousness；　and　made　a　foreign　tyranny　forever　impossible　in　that　old　Boston；　the　very　name　of　which　became　henceforth　the　menace　of　kings　and　the　synonym　of　liberty。

Tradition　rather　than　history　has　preserved　thus　much。　　In　the　early　part　of　the　present　century　a　row　of　great　elms；　known　as　the　Paddock　elms；　stood　in　what　is　now　the　sidewalk　on　the　west　side　of　Tremont　Street　skirting　the　Granary　Burying　Ground。　　These　trees　were　cut　away　and　the　first　section　of　the　burial　space　was　invaded　with　the　spade。　　Tomb　No。　40；　over　which　the　iron　railing　now　passes；　was　divided　down　as　far　as　where　the　occupants　are　lying。　　Within　the　sepulchre　were　several　bodies。　　One　was　the　body　of　Nathaniel　Cunningham；　Sr。　　Another　was　Ruth　Cunningham；　his　wife。　　The　younger　members　of　the　family　were　also　there　in　death。

When　the　lid　of　one　coffin　in　this　invaded　tomb　was　lifted；　it　was　found　that　a　mass　of　the　living　roots　of　the　old　strong　elm　near　by　had　twined　about　the　skull　of　the　sleeper；　had　entered　through　the　apertures；　and　had　eaten　up　the　brain。　　It　was　the　brain　of　James　Otis　which　had　given　itself　to　the　life　of　the　elm　and　had　been　transformed　into　branch　and　leaf　and　blossom；　thus　breathing　itself　forth　again　into　the　free　air　and　the　Universal　Flow。

The　body　of　the　patriot　had　been　deposited　in　this　tomb　of　his　father…in…law；　the　Nathaniel　Cunningham　just　referred　to；　and　had　there　reposed　until　the　searching　fibres　of　another　order　of　life　had　found　it　out；　and　lifted　and　dispensed　its　sublimer　part　into　the　viewless　air。　　Over　the　grave　in　which　the　body　was　laid　is　still　one　of　the　rude　slabs　which　the　fathers　provided；　and　on　this　is　cut　the　name　of　〃George　Longley；　1809；〃　he　being　the　successor　of　the　Cunninghams　in　the　ownership　of　Tomb　No。　40。

Here；　then；　was　witnessed　the　last　transformation　of　the　material；　visible　man　called　James　Otis；　the　courageous　herald　who　ran　swinging　a　torch　in　the　early　dawn　of　the　American　Revolution。

The　pre…revolutionists　are　the　Titans　of　human　history；　the　revolutionists　proper　are　only　heroes；　and　the　post…revolutionists　are　too　frequently　dwarfs　and　weaklings。　　This　signifies　that　civilization　advances　by　revolutionary　stages；　and　that　history　sends　out　her　tallest　and　best　sons　to　explore　the　line　of　march；　and　to　select　the　spot　for　the　next　camping…ground。　　It　is　not　they　who　actually　command　the　oncoming　columns　and　who　seem　so　huge　against　the　historical　backgroundit　is　not　these；　but　rather　the　hoarse　forerunners　and　shaggy　prophets　of　progress　who　are　the　real　kings　of　men　the　true　princes　of　the　human　empire。

These　principles　of　the　civilized　life　were　strongly　illustrated　in　our　War　of　Independence。　　The　forerunners　of　that　war　were　a　race　of　giants。　　Their　like　has　hardly　been　seen　in　any　other　epoch　of　that　sublime　scrimmage　called　history。　　Five　or　six　names　may　be　selected　from　the　list　of　the　early　American　prophets　whose　deeds　and　outcry；　if　reduced　to　hexameters；　would　be　not　the　Iliad；　not　the　Jerusalem　Delivered；　but　the　Epic　of　Human　Liberty。

The　greatest　of　these；　our　protagonists　of　freedom；　was　Benjamin　Franklin。　　After　him　it　were　difficult　to　name　the　second。　　It　is　always　difficult　to　find　the　second　man；　for　there　are　several　who　come　after。　　In　the　case　of　our　forerunners　the　second　may　have　been　Thomas　Jefferson；　it　may　have　been　Samuel　Adams；　it　may　have　been　his　cousin；　it　may　have　been　Thomas　Paine；　it　may　have　been　Patrick　Henry；　it　may　have　been　James　Otis；　the　subject　of　this　monograph。

It　is　remarkable　to　note　how　elusive　are　the　lives　of　many　great　men。　　Some　of　the　greatest　have　hardly　been　known　at　all。　　Others　are　known　only　by　glimpses　and　outlines。　　Some　are　known　chiefly　by　myth　and　tradition。　　Nor　does　the　effort　to　discover　the　details　of　such　lives　yield　any　considerable　results。　　There　are　great　names　which　have　come　to　us　from　antiquity；　or　out　of　the　Middle　Ages；　that　are　known　only　as　names；　or　only　by　a　few　striking　incidents。　　In　some　cases　our　actual　knowledge　of　men　who　are　believed　to　have　taken　a　conspicuous　part　in　the　drama　of　their　times　is　so　meagre　and　uncertain　that　critical　disputes　have　arisen　respecting　the　very　existence　of　such　personages。

Homer　for　examplewas　he　myth　or　man？　　The　Christ？　　Where　was　he　and　how　did　he　pass　his　life　from　his　twelfth　year　to　the　beginning　of　his　ministry？　　What　were　the　dates　of　his　birth　and　death？　　Shakespeare？　　Why　should　not　the　details　of　his　life；　or　some　considerable　portion　of　the　facts；　compare　in　plenitude　and　authenticity　with　the　events　in　Dr。　Johnson's　career？

It　seems　to　be　the　law　of　biography　that　those　characters　who　are　known　to　the　world　by　a　few　brilliant　strokes　of　genius　have　as　a　rule　only　a　meagre　personal　history；　while　they　whose　characters　have　been　built　up　painfully　and　slowly　out　of　the　commonplace；　like　the　coral　islands　of　the　Atlantic；　have　a　great　variety　and　multitude　of　materials　ready　for　the　hands　of　the　biographer。

James　Otis　belonged　to　the　first　of　these　classes。　　There　is　a　measure　of　elusiveness　about　his　life。　　Our　lack　of　knowledge　respecting　him；　however；　is　due　in　part　to　the　fact　that　near　the　close　of　his　life；　while　he　was　oscillating　in　a　half…rational　condition　between　Andover　and　Boston；　with　an　occasional　visit　to　Plymouth；　he　fell　into　a　fit　of　pessimism　and　despair　during　which　he　spent　two　days　in　obliterating　the　materials　for　his　biography；　by　destroying　all　his　letters　and　manuscripts。　　He　did　as　much　as　he　could　to　make　impossible　any　adequate　account　of　his　career　or　any　suitable　revelation　of　his　character　as　developed　in　his　correspondence。　　Over　and　above　this；　however；　the　materials　of　his　life　are　of　small　extent；　and　fragmentary。　　It　is　to　his　formal　publications　and　the　common　tradition　of　what　he　did；　that　we　must　turn　for　our　biographical　and　historical　estimate　of　the　man。　　In　this　respect　he　is　in　analogy　with　Patrick　Henry　who　appears　only　fitfully　in　history；　but　with　meteoric　brilliancy；　or　with　Abraham　Lincoln　the　narrative　of　whose　life　for　the　first　forty…five　years　can　be　adequately　written　in　ten　pages。

The　American　Otises　of　the　seventeenth　century　were　of　English　descent。　　The　emigration　of　the　family　from　the　mother　country　occurred　at　an　early　day　when　the　settlements　in　New　England　were　still　infrequent　and　weak。　　The　Otis　family　was　among　the　first　to　settle　at　the　town　of　Hingham。　　Nor　was　it　long　until　the　name　appeared　in　the　public　records；　indicating　official　rank　and　leadership。　　From　Hingham；　John　Otis；　who　was　born　in　1657；　ancestor　of　the　subject　of　this　sketch；　removed　to　Barnstable；　near　the　center　of　the　peninsula　of　Massachusetts；　and　became　one　of　the　first　men　of　that　settlement。　　He　was　sent　to　the　Legislature　and　thence　to　the　Council　of　the　Colony　in　which　he　had　a　seat　for　twenty…one　years。　　During　this　period　he　was　promoted　to　the　place　of