t quietly and well.
There was no thievery, no murder, no repudiation of debts. So far as
their ordinary life was concerned, the people simply lived on in their
ancient way.

There was, nevertheless, plenty of lawlessness of the new kind. Just as
soon as the people could catch the newly appointed officials, they
forced them to resign; and whenever the courts attempted to sit they
were made to adjourn. There continued the little migration of Tories
toward Boston, always in the expectation that the sojourn was to be
brief, and that presently Gage would have the situation in hand. Most of
the refugees, however, never saw their homes again. As for Gage, he was
suspected of detaining the remaining councillors in Boston, lest he
should not have any left to him. Indeed, his position in Salem had
already become so undignified and uncomfortable that early in September,
with the Commissioners of Customs and all other officials, he returned
to Boston. There he also withdrew the two regiments with which he had
ineffectually endeavored to sustain his prestige in Salem. Yet he had
not been long in Boston before he was forced to watch the preparations
for a new act of defiance.

Already, unfortunately for him, he had convened the Assembly to meet at
Salem. Now that he was in Boston he desired the legislators to meet
there also; yet he could not adjourn them until they met. This he
planned to do. The delegates, however, knew that if they came to Boston
they must take their oaths of office before the Mandamus Council. To
this the representatives would never submit, and accordingly planned
another move. Boston carried out its part under the eye of the governor.
The town elected its representatives, chief among whom were Hancock,
Warren, and the absent Samuel Adams. The meeting then deliberately,
reminding the delegates that they could not conscientiously discharge
their duty under the conditions which the governor would impose,
"empowered and instructed" them to join with the delegates from other
towns in a general provincial congress, to act upon public matters in
such a manner as should appear "most conducive to the true interest of
this town and province, and most likely to preserve the liberties of all
America."

Thus the town of Boston, inflexible but no longer silent, calmly ignored
the governor and his troops. A strong governor would have imprisoned the
delegates and dissolved the meeting; Gage allowed it to proceed for the
res