AND behold! when the tidings came to the great city that is afar off, the city that is in the land of Britain, how the men of Boston, even the Bostonites, had arose, a great multitude, and destroyed the TEA, the abominable merchandize of the east, and cast it into the midst of the sea:

2. That the Lord the King waxed exceeding wroth, insomuch that the form of his visage was changed, and his knees smote one against the other.

3. Then he assembled together the Princes, the Nobles, the Counsellors, the Judges, and all the Rulers of the people, even the great Sanhedrim, and when he had told them what things were come to pass,

4. They smote their breasts and said, These men fear thee not, O King, neither have they obeyed the voice of our Lord the King, nor worshipped the TEA CHEST, which thou hast set up, whose length was three cubits, and the breadth thereof one cubit and an half.

5. Now therefore make a decree that their har­bours be blocked up, and ports shut, that their mer­chants may be broke, and their multitudes perish, that there may be no more the voice of merchandize heard in the land, that their ships that goeth upon the wa­ters, may be sunk in the depths thereof, and their mariners dwindle away to nought, that their cods and [Page] their oil may stink, and the whale, the great Levia­than, may be no more troubled, for that they have re­belled against thee.

6. And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the voice of these sons of Belial.

7. Then arose Mordecai, the Benjamite, who was four score and five years old, an aged man whom the Lord loved, a wise man, a soothsayer, an astrologer, in whom was wisdom from above, and he said unto the King, I pray thee, O King, let thy servant speak.

8. And the King commanded that he should speak.

9. Then Mordecai spake aloud, in the presence of all the Princes, the Nobles, the Counsellors, the Judges, and the Rulers of the people, and said, O King, live for ever.

10. Thy throne, O King, is encompassed about with lies, and thy servants, the Bernardites and the Hutchinsonians, are full of deceit, for be it known unto thee, O King, they hide the truth from thee, and wrongfully accuse the men of Boston, for behold, these letters in mine hand witnesseth sore against them; O King, if thou art wise, thou wilt under­stand these things.

11. And there was present one of the King's Counsellors, a Jacobite, a vagabond, a Wedderbur­nite, and he used soul language, and said unto Morde­cai, Thou liest; and Mordecai answered and said unto him, God will smite thee, thou whited wall, and Mordecai departed from amongst them.

12. And behold the Princes, the Nobles, the Counsellors, the Judges, and all the Rulers of the people, cried out vehemently against Mordecai, for they were in fear because of Mordecai's wisdom.

13. And they besought the King that he would take from Mordecai his post, for he was in high ho­nour before that time.

14. So they prevailed on the King, and he took from Mordecai his post and all that he had, and Mor­decai was persecured yet more and more, but he bore it patiently▪ for Job was his grandfather's great grand­father; moreover, he knew the times must alter, and the King's eyes would be opened anon.

[Page]15. Now in the seventh month, in the fourteenth day of the month, the Lord the King commanded Thomas, the captain of the Gageites, saying,

16. Choose thou the valiant men of Britain, by hundreds and by thousands, and get ye together the ships, even the ships of war, the terror of the nations round about, and make your way towards the coasts of the Americanites, the land of the Bostonians, that lieth on the other side of the sea westwards, and cut off all that pisseth against the wall, and utterly de­stroy all their cities with fire and with sword, for they have rebelled against me.

17. Howbeit, the men of Boston had intelligence thereof, for they kept their spies abroad from the east to the west, and from the north to the south; and when the tidings came of these things, they rent their clothes, and fasted, put on sackcloth, and went softly.

18. And the Bostonites, the men of New-Eng­land, spake unto Jedediah, the scribe, that he would bring the book of the law of their fathers, which the Lord had commanded they should obey.

19. Then Jedediah, the priest, brought the book of the law before the congregation, both of men and women that could understand it.

20. And he read therein in the street that was be­fore the Water-gate, and in the Market-place, and at the entry of the Fish-gate, and in the Old-South, from the morning until the mid-day, and from the mid-day until the evening.

21. For Jedediah the priest had understanding of the times to know what the Americanites ought to do, and what they ought not to do, and all his bre­theren were at his commandment.

22. And the ears of all the people hearkened unto the book of the law, and entered into a solemn league and covenant, that they would obey the book of the law, and none other, both the priests and the Levites.

23. And behold when Thomas, the Gageite, was come into the land of the Bostonites, he threatned them sore, and swore by the life of Pharaoh, inso­much that some of the old women and children lift­ed up their voices, and wept exceedingly with bitter lamentations.

[Page]24. And it came to pass that the New-Yorkites, the Philadelphites, the Marylandites, the Virginites, the Carolinites, took pity on their brethren the Bos­tonites, for there was like to be a famine in the land.

25. And they got ready their camels and their asses, their mules and their oxen, and laded them with their meat, their fine wheaten flour, their rice, their corn, their beeves and their sheep, and their figs and their raisins, and their wine and their oil, and their tobacco abundantly, and six thousand shekels of sil­ver, and threescore talents of gold, and sent them by the hands of the Levites, to their brethren, and there was joy in the land.

26. Now this same Thomas, a Heathen, put forth a mock proclamation for the encouragement of piety.

27. Then Jedediah the priest, and Obadiah, and Ezekiel, and Jonathan the son of Ebenezer, stood up and said, Men and brethren (the Lord knoweth our hearts, and that we fear the Lord) ye have seen how this Heathen maketh a mock of holy things, and pro­faneth the GOD of our fathers, this man is like unto a Pharisee, he prayeth with his windows open, and a two edged sword at our throats. Moreover, he defi­leth the sabbath, in that he traineth his men on the Lord's-day, and have ye not seen with your eyes how he stoppeth the way side, that the congregation may not pass, and how that he putteth the yoke of cannon upon the neck of the Bostonites, and the people mar­velled and said, Fye upon thee, Thomas! fye upon thee, Thomas! The Lord will avenge himself of such abominations.

28. Now be of good comfort, let us send messen­gers into all the coasts of our brethren the America­nites, peradventure they will commune with us, for we be one people, and serve one God: If so be they hear us, the Lord is on our side; but if they refuse to hearken unto us, they and we be then slaves to the Gageites, and our substance and all that we have, taken from us, and we be their hewers of wood and drawers of water.

29. And all the people shouted, and said with one voice, Send and commune with our brethren.

[Page]30. Now it came to pass that their brethren list­ened unto them, and they sent messengers backwards and forwards throughout the land, from the east un­to the west, and from the north unto the south, even unto the sea coast of the Georgeites.

31. And they assembled themselves together, in a Congress in the great city of Philadelphia, in the house of the Carpenters, the builders house, in the land of Pennsylvania, on the seventh day of the ninth month, with their coaches, their chariots, their camels, their horsemen and their servants, a great multitude, and they communed together.

32. And behold while they thus communed, cer­tain Torykites, false prophets, and friends to the Gageites, said, Let us distract their counsels, and set at nought their Congress, we will cause a lying spirit to go throughout their land, that the great city of the Bostonites is burned to the ground, and the inhabi­tants thereof are slain by the edge of the sword, per­adventure they will return home to inquire after their wives, their little ones, and their sheep and their oxen, and we be then rewarded by our Lord the King.

33. And the rumour thereof spread abroad thro'­out all the land, and messengers were sent day by day.

34. And moreover, that Thomas the Gageite, the Captain of the Heathen, came by night and stole away their powder, and their implements of war, and to seize their brethren and send them away captives to Babel, to be tried by the Heathen laws, and per­adventure hanged for supposed transgressions.

35. Then arose Jedediah the priest, and Amina­dab, and Obadiah, and Jeremiah, and lifted up their voices, and spake aloud and said,

36. Fathers, brethren, and the children of our fathers, ye have heard of all the evil that has been brought upon our city, the city of our forefathers, the New-Canaan, the land of Promise, and behold this day it is desolate, and no man dwelleth therein.

37. How doth the city remain solitary that was full of people; she is as a widow: She that was great amongst the nations, and princess among the provinces, is about to be made tributary, and bow down to the TEA CHEST, the God of the [Page] Heathen; tell it not in Gath, nor publish it in the streets of Askalon.

38. Now therefore, if it seemeth good unto you, and that it proceedeth of the Lord our GOD, we will send to and fro unto our brethren that are in all the land of the Americanites (for with them are Priests and Levites in the cities and suburbs thereof) that they may assemble themselves unto us.

39. And all the congregation answered and said, Let us do so, for the thing seemeth good in the eyes of all the people, for surely they will not be like the Gibeonites of Old.

40. And they yet spake unto them and said, Now, therefore, we pray ye arise! every man of you from sixteen to sixty get up, be strong and valiant, gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty, are ye not the men, and are ye not the sons of your fa­thers, that subdued the Louisburgites?

41. And the young men gave a great shout and said, Yea, verily, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble deeds which they did in your days, and in the Old times before us.

42. And Jedediah the priest, and Aminadab, and Obadiah, yet spake once more to the people and said, Moreover brethren, are ye not valiant men, and sprang from the tribes of the Oliverians, be not a­fraid, nor dismayed, the Lord is on our side, we fight the battles of the Lord, let us drive the heathen out of our land, for they are but as grashoppers unto us, and all the congregation gave a mighty shout and said, lead us on; and Caleb and his brethren, ten men in number, were sent as spies.

43. And they caused messengers to go through­out all the land, from Framingham to Salem, and from Salem to Seabrook, and from Seabrook to Ply­mouth, and from Plymouth to Nantucket, and from Nantucket to Marblehead, and from Marblehead throughout Connecticut, and from Connecticut thro'­out all the cities, and along the sea coasts, and the borders thereof, and the valiant men assembled them­selves, and marched to the relief of the men of Boston.

[Page]44. The Captains of hundreds, and the Captains of thousands, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came to fight the battles of the Lord.

45. And the tribes of the valiant men from the mountains, and from the country afar back, and as thou goest down to the sea-coast, and they pitched their tents, which were of the skins of lions, and of bears, and of wolves, and of foxes, and of he-goats, and encamped in the valley of Ephraim.

46. And these are the names of the tribes, and the number of them that were sealed (that is, that had sworn by the solemn league and covenant) the least of of whom could resist an hundred, and the greatest a thousand, valiant men of war, and apt for battle, which could handle a spear and shield, and their faces were like the faces of lions, and whose feet were like the roes in the mountains in swiftness.

47. Of the tribe of Aminadab and Jedediah the priest, that were sealed, which were reckoned by their geneologies, seventeen thousand and seven hundred and ninety and two, whose staves were like unto white Oak saplins.

48. Of the tribe of Obadiah that were sealed, six thousand and four hundred and seventy and two, and their sons, and their sons sons, that could handle the the strong bow and javelin.

49. Of the tribe of Ezekiel that were sealed, four thousand and four hundred and sixty and six, whose fists were as the hoofs of an elephant, and could beat down the Colossus at Rhodes.

50. Of the tribe of Israel and Jonathan, the sons of Ebenezer, that were sealed, ten thousand and six hundred and forty and nine that could sling a stone to a hair's breadth.

51. Of the tribe of Nathan, and Eleazer, and Ruben and Hezekiah, and Caleb, which were seal­ed, forty thousand and three hundred and fourscore and nineteen, five heads of the houshold of their fa­thers, all chosen men, and men of valour from their youth, exceeding Goliah of Gath in height.

52. Of the tribe of Peletiah and Zedekiah, which were sealed, five thousand and six hundred fourscore [Page] and one, the least of whom were stronger than Samp­son, bold men, and as hard as a pine knot.

53. Of the tribe of Zechariah, the son of Joshua, which were sealed, twenty thousand and three hundred thirty and one, men of high renown, which have done mighty feats.

54. Now these are the names and the numbers of their tribes.

55. Now it came to pass that when the Gageites beheld them afar off on their way, even as the sand on the sea shore in number, with their slings, and their darts, and their cross bows, and their spears, and their javelins in their hands, that they were astonished, and fear came upon them, and they said one to ano­ther, Let us flee to our own country afar off, for these be not men, but unconquerable Devils.

56. Howbeit, while the Gageites were about to flee, the spies returned and spake to the Bostonites, as they were on their way (for each man marched a step with a gigantic stride of three cubits and a half, and a span) and said, Behold, brethren, your city, the city of our forefathers, even the city of our GOD, is safe, and your brethren, your wives, and your little ones, your cattle and your sheep are all in health, for the heathen have not destroyed them.

57. So the rumour ceased, and the people gave a shout, a mighty shout, which was heard even in the camp of the Heathen afar off, and they said, who dare to spread this rumour, behold! are there not TAR and FEATHERS enough in our land for these dis­turbers of our quiet.

58. And the men departed every man to his own home in peace, and the priests returned and blessed the LORD.

59. Now the rest of the acts of the Gageites, and all that they did, first and last, and all their a­bominations, behold will they not written in the book of the Lamentations of the Elders and Select Men of Boston.