So that not only had the
household furniture of the editor to be stored, but the office effects
of the paper as well. The inextinguishable pluck and zeal of Garrison
and his Boston coadjutors never showed to better advantage than when
without a place to print the _Liberator_, the paper was "set up in
driblets" in other offices at extraordinary expense, and sent out week
after week to tell the tale of the mob, and to preach with undiminished
power the gospel of universal emancipation.
But more afflictive to the feelings of the reformer than the loss of his
home, or that of the office of the _Liberator_, was the loss of his
friend, George Thompson. It seemed to him when the English orator
departed that "the paragon of modern eloquence," and "the benefactor of
two nations," had left these shores. Garrison's grief was as poignant as
his humiliation was painful. George Thompson had come hither only as a
friend of America, and America had pursued him with the most relentless
malice. The greatest precautions were taken after the "Broadcloth Mob"
to ensure his safety. The place of his concealment was kept a secret and
committed only to a few tried friends. There is no doubt that had these
precautions not been observed and his hiding place been discovered by
the ruffians of the city, his life would have been attempted. Indeed it
is almost as certain that had he ventured to show himself in public he
would have been murdered in broad daylight in any of the large towns and
cities of Massachusetts.
Pages:
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260