Page:Republican Court by Rufus Griswold.djvu/80

1774 and those immediately succeeding: the address to the inhabitants of Quebec, the first petition to the king, the address to the armies, the second petition to the king, and the address to the several states, are all from his pen. It may seem strange that, having afforded such undoubted evidences of patriotism, he should have opposed, in the Congress of 1776, the Declaration of Independence. It was simply however on the ground of its impolicy, at that particular time. He wished the terms of the confederation to be settled, and foreign assistance to be certainly secured, before the decisive step of a declaration should be made. But within a few days after it was made, notwithstanding his private opinion of its impolicy, he was found marching with the army to sustain it in the field; and it is curious that he, who had openly in the Congress of 1776 opposed the measure, was the only member of that body who immediately marched to face the enemy. His constituents, nevertheless, were dissatisfied with his congressional vote, and another was elected in his place. This, however, could not destroy his patriotism, for in 1777 he was serving, as a private, under Captain Lewis, with his musket on his shoulder, in the movements against the British who had then landed at the head of the Elk River. In 1779 he was unanimously sent back to Congress. You perceive that his person is commanding, and his countenance a fine one. Of his abilities no one doubts: he has a highly cultivated mind, refined taste, a very large fund of general knowledge, and an habitual eloquence, with polished elegance of manners. He is a man who has ever been ready to make any sacrifice for his country.

His colleague is that tall and carefully dressed gentleman, George Read, who, like Dickinson, thought the Declaration of Independence premature, yet did not decline, when the Congress had adopted it, to put his name to it. He too is a lawyer, and a true