[113] elected by the freemen of this Colony, in May, 1686, together with the Deputies then sent down by the several respective towns to the Court then holden, which was never legally dissolved, shall convene, and re-assume and exercise the Government as a General Court, according to our Charter, on the ninth of this instant May, or as soon as possible. And in so doing, we do engage that, to the utmost of our power, with persons and estates, we will contribute to their help and assistance, as in duty and equity we are bound, praying that God would direct them in this difficult juncture; and do hope that all that are concerned for the peace and good of this land will readily join with us herein.Memorandum. It is here to be understood that what we expect to be done, as above, is only for a present settlement until we may have an opportunity to make our address unto, or shall be otherwise settled by, the supreme power in England.
These lines above written, as they are worded, was agreed upon by the inhabitants of the town of Cambridge, this 6th of May, 1689, as attests Samuel Andrew, Clerk, in the name of the town.
This revolutionary movement was full of danger. It was not yet known here whether the Prince of Orange would be successful in his attempt to dethrone King James the Second. If he should fail, those who had resisted and imprisoned the king's Governor might well expect the direst vengeance. But this peril did not prevent the inhabitants of Cambridge from pledging their “persons and estates” to the support of the principal actors; nor did it prevent their favorite and trusted leader, Thomas Danforth, from taking a conspicuous position in the front rank of those actors. The venerable Bradstreet, indeed, was made President of the Council of Safety, and reinstated as Governor, when it was decided to organize the government according to the old Charter; but he was now eighty-seven years of age, and however desirable and important it may have been to connect his name and his presence with the enterprise, he was incapable of energetic action. Moreover, he was timid and yielding in disposition, and counselled submission rather than resistance during the controversy which preceded the abrogation of the Charter. On the contrary, Danforth had been recognized as a skilful and resolute leader through the former struggle; and now, at the age of sixty-seven, he retained the full possession of
