llery, who
had been furnished with six brass field-pieces, which they had become
so expert in the use of as to fire twelve times in a minute. The first
time I reviewed my regiment they accompanied me to my house, and would
salute me with some rounds fired before my door, which shook down and
broke several glasses of my electrical apparatus. And my new honour
proved not much less brittle; for all our commissions were soon after
broken by a repeal of the law in England.

During this short time of my colonelship, being about to set out on a
journey to Virginia, the officers of my regiment took it into their
heads that it would be proper for them to escort me out of town, as far
as the Lower Ferry. Just as I was getting on horseback they came to my
door, between thirty and forty, mounted, and all in their uniforms. I
had not been previously acquainted with the project, or I should have
prevented it, being naturally averse to the assuming of state on any
occasion; and I was a good deal chagrin'd at their appearance, as I
could not avoid their accompanying me. What made it worse was, that,
as soon as we began to move, they drew their swords and rode with them
naked all the way. Somebody wrote an account of this to the
proprietor, and it gave him great offense. No such honor had been paid
him when in the province, nor to any of his governors; and he said it
was only proper to princes of the blood royal, which may be true for
aught I know, who was, and still am, ignorant of the etiquette in such
cases.

This silly affair, however, greatly increased his rancour against me,
which was before not a little, on account of my conduct in the Assembly
respecting the exemption of his estate from taxation, which I had
always oppos'd very warmly, and not without severe reflections on his
meanness and injustice of contending for it. He accused me to the
ministry as being the great obstacle to the king's service, preventing,
by my influence in the House, the proper form of the bills for raising
money, and he instanced this parade with my officers as a proof of my
having an intention to take the government of the province out of his
hands by force. He also applied to Sir Everard Fawkener, the
postmaster-general, to deprive me of my office; but it had no other
effect than to procure from Sir Everard a gentle admonition.

Notwithstanding the continual wrangle between the governor and the
House, in which I, as a member, had so large