Before him stood incendiaries, thieves, and murderers, who
even then were sacking dwelling-houses, and butchering powerless and
inoffensive beings. These wretches he apostrophized as "My friends,"
repeating the title again and again in the course of his harangue,
assuring them that he was there as a proof of his friendship,--which he
had demonstrated by "sending his adjutant-general to Washington, to have
the draft stopped"; begging them to "wait for his return"; "to separate
now as good citizens"; with the promise that they "might assemble again
whenever they wished to so do"; meanwhile, he would "take care of their
rights." This model speech was incessantly interrupted by tremendous
cheering and frantic demonstrations of delight,--one great fellow almost
crushing the Governor in his enthusiastic embrace. This ended, he
entered a carriage, and was driven through the blackened, smoking scenes
of Monday's devastations; through fresh vistas of outrage, of the day's
execution; bland, gracious, smiling. Wherever he appeared, cheer upon
cheer rent the air from these crowds of drunken blasphemers; and in one
place the carriage in which he sat was actually lifted from the ground,
and carried some rods, by hands yet red with deeds of arson and murder;
while from all sides voices cried out, "Will ye stop the draft,
Gov'nur?" "Bully boy!" "Ye're the man for us!" "Hooray for Gov'nur
Saymoor!" Thus, through the midst of this admiring and applauding crowd,
this high officer of the law, sworn to maintain public peace, moved to
his hotel, where he was met by a despatch from Washington, informing him
that five regiments were under arms and on their way to put an end to
this bloody assistance to the Southern war.
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