going to kill him. I believe if I were to reverse the scene, I
should bring it home to our own bosoms. Suppose Colonel Marshall
when he came out of his own door and saw these grenadiers coming
down with swords, etc., had thought it proper to have appointed a
military watch; suppose he had assembled Gray and Attucks that were
killed, or any other person in town, and appointed them in that
situation as a military watch, and there had come from Murray's
barracks thirty or forty soldiers with no other arms than snowballs,
cakes of ice, oyster shells, cinders, and clubs, and attacked this
military watch in this manner, what do you suppose would have been
the feelings and reasonings of any of our householders? I confess, I
believe they would not have borne one-half of what the witnesses
have sworn the soldiers bore, till they had shot down as many as
were necessary to intimidate and disperse the rest; because the law
does not oblige us to bear insults to the danger of our lives, to
stand still with such a number of people around us, throwing such
things at us, and threatening our lives, until we are disabled to
defend ourselves.

(Foster, 274): "Where a known felony is attempted upon the person,
be it to rob or murder, here the party assaulted may repel force
with force, and even his own servant, then attendant on him, or any
other person present, may interpose for preventing mischief, and if
death ensue, the party so interposing will be justified. In this
case nature and social duty co-operate."

Hawkins, P. C., Chapter 28, Section 25, towards the end:--"Yet it
seems that a private person, _a_ _fortiori_, an officer of justice, who
happens unavoidably to kill another in endeavoring to defend himself
from or suppress dangerous rioters, may justify the fact in as much