"
"Colonel Harris," said Mr. Searles, "it has always puzzled me to
understand why you should have built near Boston the Bunker Hill
Monument."
"Mr. Searles, because we Americans whipped the British."
"Oh no, Colonel, that fight was a British victory."
"Father," said Gertrude, "Mr. Searles is right; the British troops, under
General Gage, drove the American forces off both Breed's Hill and Bunker
Hill. The obelisk of Quincy granite was erected at Charlestown, I think,
to commemorate the stout resistance which the raw provincial militia made
against regular British soldiers, confirming the Americans in the belief
that their liberty could be won."
Mr. Searles thanked Miss Harris for her timely aid and added that a
patriot is a rebel who succeeds, and a rebel is a patriot who fails. He
observed also the witty sign over the entrance of a dealer in American
flags, "Colors warranted not to run."
The party drove to the Produce Exchange, one of the most impressive
buildings in New York. It is of rich Italian Renaissance architecture.
Beneath the projecting galley-prows in the main hall, the fierce
bargaining of excited members reminded Mr. Searles of a pitched battle
without cavalry or artillery.
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