The next day all the papers[49] Without the stamps appear’d. Men took no notes, but trusted men. Our ships were off to sea again; And none the navy fear’d. And none had bought a stamp there, Or seal’d himself a slave; And half of England, trust my word, Were thrill’d with joy, when they had heard How we ourselves could save.[50] At last there came a daybreak When all the thankful kneel’d; And bells were rung, and banners hung; And England’s weal was drunk and sung—[51] The Stamp Act was repeal’d. Great Britain’s lords in council Had talked of fire and ball; But, when they touch’d our liberties, Met manhood in the colonies They could not thus inthrall. FOOTNOTES [1] “In writing a ballad the secrets of success are definiteness of aim, directness of execution, and singleness of idea. The language must be simple, but so vigorous that every word tells; the metre must also be simple, but the versification demands a musical swing, a rush of rhyme, the talent for which is rare. To smell of the lamp is fatal to the ballad; it should have all the spontaneity of an impromptu. The author must forget himself, for ballad poetry is essentially objective, and a touch of subjectivity spoils it. Each incident must be related as though the writer had taken part in it, and seeing with his mind’s eye, he must paint as vividly as though that described were before him in very truth. It is not an easy thing to write a ballad in these days, when the drift of poetic thought is quite in the opposite direction.”—_Philadelphia Inquirer_, 1876. [2] In 1761, “America knew that the Board of Trade had proposed to annul colonial charters, to reduce all the colonies to royal governments.”—_Bancroft’s Hist. U. S._, vol. iv., ch. 18, p. 414. “The king, the ministry, the crown officers all conspiring against her liberties ... there was no help unless from Parliament.”—_Idem._, vol. v., ch. 11, p. 236. [3] “Franklin looked for greater liberties than ... Parliament might inaugurate. Having for his motto ‘Join or die,’ ... sketching the outline of a confederacy.”—_Idem._, vol. iv., ch. 5, p. 116. “William Penn in 1697 had proposed an annual Congress ... to regulate commerce. Franklin” in 1752 “revived the great idea, and breathed into it enduring life.”—_Idem._, vol. iv., ch. 5, p. 125. [4] “The Board of Trade had proposed ... collecting the duties ... the justice of the restrictions on trade was denied and their authority questioned; and when the officers of the customs asked for ‘writs of assistance’ to enforce them, the colony regarded its liberties in peril. This is the opening scene of American resistance. It began” in 1761 ... “in a court-room ... James Otis ... stood up ... the champion of the colonies.”—_Idem._, vol. iv., ch. 18, p. 414.