Bartholomew.
But, as the Irishman remarked, the man who gets his finger pinched makes
a lot more racket than the one who gets his head cut off; and the Boston
massacre, for all the hullabaloo that was raised about it, was merely
an insignificant street riot. No doubt Samuel Adams did his full share
in fanning that little spark into a conflagration!
For Adams had acquired great influence over Hancock, and that vapid
young man was fond of being seen in the company of the older one. Adams
was anxious to secure Hancock for the revolutionary cause, and soon had
him so hopelessly entangled that there was no escape for him. On the
anniversary of the Boston massacre, he persuaded Hancock to deliver a
revolutionary speech, which he had himself prepared, and after that
there was a British order out for Hancock's arrest; Adams contrived that
Hancock should be one of the three delegates from Massachusetts to the
Continental Congress--John and Samuel Adams were the other two--and
Hancock was deeply impressed by the honor; at the second Congress, Adams
saw to it that his friend was chosen President. In consequence, Hancock
was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, the incident
which is the best known in his career. He signed the document in great
sprawly letters, remarking grandiloquently, as he did so, "I guess King
George can read that without spectacles," and for many years, "John
Hancock" was the synonym for a bold signature.
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