[15] Two or three constables having cleared the hall and staircase of the mob,1 the Mayor came in and ordered the ladies to desist, assuring them that he could not any longer guarantee protection2 if they did not take immediate advantage of the opportunity to retire from the building. Accordingly they adjourned, to meet at the house of one of their number [Mrs. Chapman's, at 11 West Street],3 for the completion of their
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1 Not yet. ‘I found twenty or thirty persons (perhaps one half lads) crowding about the door of the room,’ says the posthumous account of Mayor Lyman ( “ Garrison Mob,” p. 17). ‘I was not aware till that time that these individuals were in the building, but I suppose that they entered before Mr. Pollard [one of the Mayor's officers] reached the spot. And in consequence of the dense throng now in front, it was very difficult to get them out.’ This agrees with Mrs. Chapman's narrative: ‘The slight partition began to yield. The mob hurled missiles at the lady presiding. The secretary [Miss Ball] rose and began to read her report, utterly inaudible from the confusion. At this moment Mr. Lyman entered’ ( “Right and Wrong,” 1836, [1] p. 32).
2 Mrs. Chapman's report reads ( “Right and Wrong,” 1836, [1] p. 33):
Mr. Lyman. Go home, ladies, go home. President [Miss Parker]. What renders it necessary we should go home! Mr. Lyman. I am the mayor of the city, and I cannot now explain; but will call upon you this evening. President. If the ladies will be seated [they had been ‘all seated, except the chairman; but, on speaking to them,’ says Mayor Lyman, ‘several rose and came towards me’], we will take the sense of the meeting. Mr. Lyman. Don't stop, ladies, go home. President. Will the ladies listen to a letter addressed to the Society by Francis Jackson, Esq. [offering the use of his house for the Society's meeting or meetings]? Mr. Lyman. Ladies, do you wish to see a scene of bloodshed and confusion? If you do not, go home. One of the Ladies [Mrs. Chapman]. Mr. Lyman, your personal friends are the instigators of this mob; have you ever used your personal influence with them? Mr. Lyman. I know no personal friends; I am merely an official. Indeed, ladies, you must retire. It is dangerous to remain. Lady [Mrs. Chapman]. If this is the last bulwark of freedom, we may as well die here as anywhere. Mr. Lyman. Do you wish to prolong this scene of confusion? [According to the Mayor's recollection: ‘I smiled, and replied, “ At any rate they could not die there.” ’] President. Can we pass out safely? Mr. Lyman. If you will go now, I will protect you, but cannot unless you do. A motion was then made to adjourn, which was carried. We passed down the staircase amid the manifestations of a revengeful brutality.
3 But not directly. They went first to Francis Jackson's on Hollis Street, according to his belated invitation. Finding Mrs. Jackson very ill, Mrs. Chapman asked the ladies to turn back to her house, where their officers were duly elected (Ms. Nov. 12, 1882).
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