Chapter 10: The Wheel

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The Wheel

            The next morning, when dawn’s rosy fingers peeled away the shadows of the riot, and all the destruction was plain to see in the breezy lanes of Manhattan, were one to walk upon the fort on that quiet morning, say at 7 o’clock sharp after coffee, he would find nailed to the portal of Fort George a dun wheel so very charred that it looked like a rotund bit of sea-coal. One could easily mistake it for an ancient artifact hailing from distant Herculaneum, a crafty wheel from some Roman carriage forever preserved in the ash of Vesuvius, but it was merely a remnant of the aforementioned chassis that had been sacrificed in the hecatomb on the Bowling Green. Upon its spokes hung an effigy of the governor, lashed fast with hempen rope, and covered in paint of a saffron hue, which could easily seem at a distance like dark dried blood. The effigy was lashed in a cruciform pattern, his arms outstretched, and his legs bound tight together, in the form of a tau, and above his head was a placard with the words IXION written boldly in Greek and English letters, as if he had been hung for the sake of his murderous guilt. Indeed, these colonists, these protesters, charged the errant governor Colden with the following common counts: that he had rather lustily courted power and glory built upon the ruin of the common man, that he had murdered LIBERTY and JUSTICE, and that he had conspired with a vicious junto of Tories, against the DEMOCRATIC legislature of the Province of New York, and for these unforgivable crimes, they had, with a popular summary judgement, lynched him fast to the flaming wheel.

ADDENDUM:

The following day, a Sunday, a soldier finally opened the gate of the Fort wherein Major James, Montresor the famed engineer, the entire regiment, the detested stamps, and the Governor were all hiding. It was calm; the Broadway was clear and bright. The Bowling Green was silent; the grass tinged with black soot the only evidence of the raging pyre of the previous Friday. Yet upon his first step, the soldier discovered a gutted clamshell near the door stuffed with the following notice, viz.:

Sir, As one who is an enemy to mischief of all kinds, and a Well-wisher to you and your Family, I give you this Notice that Evil is determined against you and your Adherents and will in all human Probability take Effect, unless Speedily prevented by your public Declaration upon Oath, That you will never, in any Manner, countenance, or assist, in the Execution of the Stamp Act, or anything belonging to it; and also, that you will, to the utmost of your Power, endeavour to get it repeal'd in England, and meanwhile prevent its taking Effect here. Your Life may depend upon the Notice you take of this Advice. BENEVOLUS

Chapter 9

Chapter 11

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Warning: The Yellow Cardinal contains adult themes that may not be suitable for all audiences under the age of 18. Some chapters may contain descriptions of graphic scenarios including but not limited to: suggestive materials, violence, 18th century racism and slavery, sexism, etc.  Read with caution and/or parental permission.

Ixion, a character of the mythos of the ancient Greeks, is depicted lashed fast to the burning wheel. Image Credit