to the British Parliament, and to have a voice in the deliberations of
the government, the Revolution might never have taken place. But King
George and his Tory ministers were obstinate to folly. They met protest
with repression; in order to subjugate the colonies, they added tyranny
to tyranny. The warnings of Townshend and Chatham were lost upon them,
and at last the colonies, utterly despairing of a settlement with
a power so deaf and so inconsiderate, launched into the storm of
revolution.

[Sidenote: Independence Hall.]

[Sidenote: Trumbull's Picture.]

Every American who pays a visit to Philadelphia should visit the plain,
old-fashioned, sombre room known as "Independence Hall." Its dinginess
is venerable; its relics are illustrious. In this hall have resounded
the voices of Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Randolph,--the whole
circle of Revolutionary statesmen. On that table, which is pointed out
to you, the famous Declaration was signed. From the walls historic faces
gaze down upon you. Every relic has its record and its hint. In the
square below, you see the place where the Philadelphians of 1776
listened to the reading of the Declaration from the Court House steps.
No one can visit this hall without conjuring up in his fancy the
memorable scene of the first of our "Fourths of July"; and, happily, a
great painter, who knew many of the actors in it, has preserved its
features on canvas. It is not difficult, standing in Independence Hall,
and retaining Trumbull's picture in memory, to imagine very nearly the
scene it presented.

[Sidenote: Signers of the Declaration.]