e: and we humbly entreat that our American
brothers be allowed to trade with us and foreign nations as in days
gone by; for you must see by this time with your own eyes, that we, as
a nation, are growing poorer every day under this state of things,
instead of richer every year as had been expected."

The commissioners--that is to say, the persons who had been appointed
by the British Government to bring or receive the stamp-paper, and
give it circulation throughout the Colonies--were mobbed and pelted by
the indignant people, whenever and wherever they made the least
attempt to do their odious work. In consequence of this determined
opposition, the paper never went into circulation: so it was stocked
away in outhouses, and there left to mould and to be eaten by rats and
mice, if their stomachs were not too dainty for such vile provender.
Thus this famous piece of ingenuity, the Stamp Act, had no other
effect than that of giving the civilized world a hearty laugh, and
increasing the British debt just so much as the paper cost, instead of
lessening it, as its inventors, in their blind confidence, had hoped.

Beholding how utterly had failed all their pet schemes for raising
revenue, the narrow-minded king, and the king-minded ministry, and the
many-minded parliament, were, so to speak, thrown on their haunches,
and forced to eat their own folly; which, I dare say, they found less
palatable than their roast beef and plum-pudding. In other words, they
repealed the Stamp Act; with one stroke of the royal pen, struck off
the taxes laid on the above-mentioned articles; and once more gave the
Colonies full liberty to manufacture whatsoever, and re-open
commercial intercourse with whomsoever, they chose. And thus this
non-importation agreement worked like a charm: it brought about in a
trice what petitions and remonstrances had failed to accomplish in
years.

When tidings came of what had been done at home, there was great
rejoicing throughout the provinces: the church-bells were tolled to
another tune than that with which they had been tolled a short time
before; the good people met at church, but this time to give thanks;
and went home, not to fast, but to feast; and were now quite as
comfortable as they had before been miserable. But I have gone a
little too far, however. There was one circumstance that greatly
dampened the general feeling of joy, and made a mere thanksgiving of
what might else have been a high-sounding ju