Rambles about Portsmouth. Sketches of persons, localities, and incidents of two centuries: principally from tradition and unpublished documents. By Charles W. Brewster.

250 RAMBLES ABOUT PORTSMOUTH.
thing; but, if they dispersed and restored the Gunpowder,
which I earnestly exhorted them to do, I said I hoped His
Majesty may be thereby induced to consider it an allevi.
ation of the offence. They parted fiom me, in all appearance, perfectly disposed to follow the advice I had given
them; and having proceeded directly to the rest of their
associates, tley all publickly voted, about five o'clock ill
the afternoon, near tho Tolwn House, to return home;
which it was thought they would h1ave done, and it also was
further expected that the gunpowder would have been
restored by the morning.
But the people, instead of dispersing, went to the Castle
in the night, headed by Mr. Sullivan, and took away sixteen
pieces of cannon, about sixty muskets and other military
stores, and brought them to the out Borders of the town.
On Friday morning, the 16th, Mr. Folsom,* the other
delegate, calne to town that morning, with a great number
of armed men, who remained in Town as a guard till the
flow of the tide in the evening when the cannon were sent
in Gondolas up the River into the country, and they all
dispersed without having done any personal injury to any
body in tlhe town.
They threatened to return again in order to dismantle
the fort entirely, and to carry off or destroy the remaining
heavy cannon, (about seventy pieces, and also to seize upon
the Province Treasury, all of which there was reasonable
ground to fear they would do, after what they had already
done; but, on the Gunpowder's being taken away, I wrote
to General Gage and Admiral Graves for assistance to
restrain the boisterous temper of the people; upon which
the Admiral ordered tlhe armed slips Canceaux and Scarborough here, and tley arrived (the former the 17th and
tle latter on the 19th) in time to prevent the further
dismantling of tlhe fort."
~.Na~ianiel.