Excerpt from History of the United States of America, Vol. 5: From the Discovery of the Continent The arrow had sped when Lord Howe entered upon the scene with his commission for restoring peace. As a naval officer, he added experience and skill to phlegmatic courage. Naturally taciturn, his manner of expressing himself was con fused. His profile resembled that of his grandfather, George I.; his complexion was very dark; his grim features had no stamp of superiority; but his face wore an expression of serene and passive fortitude. As unsuspicious as he was brave, he sincerely designed to act as a mediator; and indulged in visions of riding about the country, conversing with its prin cipal inhabitants, and restoring the king's authority by methods of moderation and concession. At Halifax he told Admiral Arbuthnot that peace would be made within ten days after his arrival. With a simplicity which speaks for his sincerity, he had not discovered how completely his powers were circum scribed. He could pardon individuals on their return to the king's protection, and could grant an amnesty to insurgent communities which should lay down their arms and dissolve their governments. The only further privilege which his long altercation wrung from the ministry was a vague permission to converse with private men on their alleged grievances and to report their Opinions; but he could not promise that their complaints would be heeded; and he was strictly forbidden to treat with the continental congress, or any provincial congress, or any civil or military officer holding their commission. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.