The officers of the British army and the loyal gentry of the province , most of whom were collected within the beleaguered town , had been invited to a masqued ball , for it was the policy for Sir William Howe to hide the distress and danger of the period and the desperate aspect of the siege under an ostentation of festivity . The spectacle of this evening , if the oldest members of the provincial court circle might be believed , was the most gay and gorgeous affair that had occurred in the annals of the government . The brilliantly-lighted apartments were thronged with figures that seemed to have stepped from the dark canvas of historic portraits or to have flitted forth from the magic pages of romance , or at least to have flown hither from one of the London theatres without a change of garments . Steeled knights of the Conquest , bearded statesmen of Queen Elizabeth and high-ruffed ladies of her court were mingled with characters of comedy , such as a parti-colored Merry Andrew jingling his cap and bells , a Falstaff almost as provocative of laughter as his prototype , and a Don Quixote with a bean-pole for a lance and a pot-lid for a shield . But the broadest merriment was excited by a group of figures ridiculously dressed in old regimentals which seemed to have been purchased at a military rag-fair or pilfered from some receptacle of the cast-off clothes of both the French and British armies . Portions of their attire had probably been worn at the siege of Louisburg , and the coats of most recent cut might have been rent and tattered by sword , ball or bayonet as long ago as Wolfe 's victory . One of these worthies -- a tall , lank figure brandishing a rusty sword of immense longitude -- purported to be no less a personage than General George Washington , and the other principal officers of the American army , such as Gates , Lee , Putnam , Schuyler , Ward and Heath , were represented by similar scarecrows . An interview in the mock-heroic style between the rebel warriors and the British commander-in-chief was received with immense applause , which came loudest of all from the loyalists of the colony . There was one of the guests , however , who stood apart , eying these antics sternly and scornfully at once with a frown and a bitter smile . It was an old man formerly of high station and great repute in the province , and who had been a very famous soldier in his day . Some surprise had been expressed that a person of Colonel Joliffe 's known Whig principles , though now too old to take an active part in the contest , should have remained in Boston during the siege , and especially that he should consent to show himself in the mansion of Sir William Howe . But thither he had come with a fair granddaughter under his arm , and there , amid all the mirth and buffoonery , stood this stern old figure , the best-sustained character in the masquerade , because so well representing the antique spirit of his native land . The other guests affirmed that Colonel Joliffe 's black puritanical scowl threw a shadow round about him , although , in spite of his sombre influence , their gayety continued to blaze higher , like -- an ominous comparison -- the flickering brilliancy of a lamp which has but a little while to burn . Eleven strokes full half an hour ago had pealed from the clock of the Old South , when a rumor was circulated among the company that some new spectacle or pageant was about to be exhibited which should put a fitting close to the splendid festivities of the night . `` What new jest has Your Excellency in hand ? '' asked the Reverend Mather Byles , whose Presbyterian scruples had not kept him from the entertainment . `` Trust me , sir , I have already laughed more than beseems my cloth at your Homeric confabulation with yonder ragamuffin general of the rebels . One other such fit of merriment , and I must throw off my clerical wig and band . '' `` Not so , good Dr. Byles , '' answered Sir William Howe ; `` if mirth were a crime , you had never gained your doctorate in divinity . As to this new foolery , I know no more about it than yourself -- perhaps not so much .
Honestly , now , doctor , have you not stirred up the sober brains of some of your countrymen to enact a scene XXXXX our masquerade ? ''
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