the image, came to the Town House,
and, passing directly through it, shouted to the council, still sitting
upstairs, "Liberty, property, and no stamps!" Proceeding with perfect
order, the crowd next tore down the frame of a building which Oliver was
suspected of raising to use as his office, and, carrying the beams to
Fort Hill, burnt them and the image before Oliver's house.

Hutchinson, who never lacked personal courage, called on the militia
colonel to summon his men and disperse the crowd, but the colonel
replied that his drummers were in the mob. Hutchinson then went with
the sheriff to order the crowd to disperse, but was himself forced to
depart in order to escape violence. The next day Bernard, the governor,
whose courage left him at the very thought of another such night, fled
to Castle William, behind whose ancient walls he considered himself
safe. Oliver hastily resigned his office, lest the mob should visit him
again.

[Illustration: THE HUTCHINSON HOUSE]

The people were not satisfied with the conduct of Hutchinson, who,
although he had actually opposed the passage of the Stamp Act, was
under suspicion of secretly abetting and profiting by it. After twelve
days there was a second outbreak; the mob began by burning the records
of the vice-admiralty court, went on to invade the house of the
comptroller of customs, and finally, worked to the usual pitch of a
mob's courage, attacked Hutchinson's house. With his family he escaped,
but the mob broke into the handsome mansion, and sacked it thoroughly.
His library, with priceless manuscripts concerning the history of the
colony, was scattered in the mud of the street.

This was the most disgraceful event that happened in Boston during all
the long period preceding the Revolution. It was due to popular feeling,
wrongly directed; and to new working-men's organizations, not as yet
understanding the task that was before them. These organizations, as yet
almost formless, and never so important that records were kept, called
themselves the Sons of Liberty, after a phrase used by Isaac Barre, in a
speech in Parliament opposing the Stamp Act. The tree on which they had
hung the image of Oliver was from this time called Liberty Tree.

The better class of Boston citizens at once, in a town meeting called
the following morning, declared their "detestation of these violent
proceedings," and promised to suppress them in future. We shall see that
one more such outbreak, a