of the room opened, and in walked seven or eight people, who,
without speaking, took chairs; in a minute, another party of about the
same number was ushered into the room by the landlord, who, I thought,
gave me a significant look. I felt surprised at what I thought an
intrusion, as I had considered my room to be private; however, I
appeared to take no notice of it, and continued dictating to the editor.
The door opened again and again, and more chairs were brought in for
the accommodation of the parties who entered, until at last the room was
so full that I had but just room to walk round the stove. Not a person
said a word; they listened to what I was dictating to the editor, and I
observed that they all looked rather fierce; but whether this was a
public meeting, or what was to be the end of it, I had no idea. At
last, when I had finished, the editor took up his papers and left the
room, in which I suppose there might have been from one hundred to a
hundred and fifty persons assembled. As soon as the door closed, one of
them struck his thick stick on the floor (they most of them had sticks),
and gave a loud "Hem!"

"I believe, sir, that you are Captain M---."

"Yes," replied I, "that is my name."

"We are informed, sir, by the gentleman who has just gone out, that you
have asserted that our resolutions of yesterday could only be excused or
accounted for from our total ignorance." Here he struck his stick again
upon the floor, and paused.

"Oh!" thinks I to myself, "the editor has informed against me!"

"Now, sir," continued the spokesman, "we are come to be enlightened; we
wish you to prove to us that we are totally ignorant; you will oblige us
by an explanation of your assertion."

He was again silent. (Thinks I to myself, I'm in for it now, and if I
get away without a broken head, or something worse, I am fortunate;
however, here goes.) Whereupon, without troubling the reader with what
I did say, I will only observe, that I thought the best plan was to gain
time by going back as far as I could. I therefore commenced my oration
at the period; when the Canadas were surrendered to the English;
remarking upon the system which had been acted upon by our government
from that time up to the present; proving, as well as I could, that the
Canadians had nothing to complain of, and that if England had treated
her other American colonies as well, there never would have been a
declaration of independence, etcetera