lands, their products, the condition of the laborers, and every transaction of business.

An extract from one of his letters on these topics will show a trait of character, and the footing on which he left his household at Mount Vernon.

"Let the hospitality of the house, with respect to the poor, be kept up. Let no one go hungry away. If any of this kind of people should be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided it does not encourage them. in idleness; and I have no objection to your giving my money in charity, to the amount of forty or fifty pounds a year, when you think it well bestowed. What I mean by having no objection is, that it is my desire that it should be done. You are to consider, that neither myself nor wife is now in the way to do these good offices. In all other respects, I recommend it to you, and have no doubt of your observing the greatest economy and frugality; as I suppose you know, that I do not get a farthing for my services here, more than my expenses. It becomes necessary, therefore, for me to be saving at home."

CHAPTER VIII.

Plans for an Attack on Boston.-Condition of the Army. Dorchester Heights fortified. — Evacuation of Boston.-Troops march to New York. Washington repairs to Congress. His Views in Regard to the State of the Country.— Machinations of the Tories, and Measures taken to defeat them.. Declaration of Independence. - Arrival of Lord Howe, with Proposals for a Reconciliation with the Colonies.— Mode of addressing Letters to Washington attempted by the British Admiral and General.-Strength and Condition of the two Armies. — Battle of Long Island. — Remarks on the Battle. - Impression made by it on the American Army and Public.

TOWARDS the end of December it was ascertained, that General Howe was fitting out a part of his fleet in the harbour of Boston for some secret enterprise. Its destination could only be conjectured; but the season of the year and other circumstances induced a belief, that an operation at the south was in view. Fears were entertained for New York, then in a defenceless condition, feeble from the timid counsels of its provincial Congress, awed by a British man-of-war, and distracted by the artifices of Governor Tryon, whose presence and address had kept together on Long Island a formidable body of Tories, some concealed, others undisguised.

No efforts were to be spared to prevent the enemy from gaining possession of so important a post as New York, which, with Hudson's River, opened a direct channel to Canada, through which an invading army might pass, to the great injury of the interior country, if not to the discomfiture of the army in the northern department. In the present state of General Washington's forces, he could not send a detachment from camp. As the most promising scheme that offered,

General Lee was despatched, with instructions from the Commander-in-chief to raise volunteers in Connecticut, hasten forward to New York, call to his aid other troops from New Jersey, put the city in the best posture of defence which his means would permit, disarm the Tories and other persons inimical to the rights and liberties of America, and guard the fortifications on Hudson's River.

The duty was delicate in itself, and difficult in the execution, requiring energy and firmness, tempered with a moderation seldom conspicuous in the character of General Lee. In this instance, however, he was judicious and successful. A committee from Congress met him at New York, by whose prudence his exuberant ardor was restrained, and who, by bracing up the civil authorities with a little more courage, brought about a coöperation favorable to vigorous measures. The alarm for the safety of New York was premature. The fleet from Boston, having on board several regiments under the command of General Clinton, sailed to North Carolina, in the prosecution of a plan previously formed in the British cabinet, at the recommendation of Governor Martin, for making a descent upon that colony.

Meantime General Washington became more and more impatient to make an attack on Boston. He summoned a council of officers on the 16th of January, to whom with strong arguments he urged the necessity of such an attempt before the enemy should be reinforced, and requested their opinion. They agreed that the attack ought not to be deferred a moment after there should be a fair hope of its succeeding; but, with the force then in the field, they believed it impracticable. That his feelings were keenly affected by his situation, is apparent from the tone of a letter written at the time. "Could I have foreseen the difficulties,"

said he, "which have come upon us; could I have known that such backwardness would have been discovered by the old soldiers to the service, all the generals upon earth should not have convinced me of the propriety of delaying an attack upon Boston till this time." He alludes here to the soldiers of the first army, who had refused to enlist, and gone home, in much greater numbers than he had anticipated.

The new regiments were increasing very tardily. The time for which the five thousand militia engaged to serve had expired, and a few only could be prevailed upon to stay longer. Another call for militia was indispensable. Seven regiments were apportioned to Massachusetts, four to Connecticut, and two to New Hampshire. By the time these should come in, it was hoped the ice on the waters around Boston would be frozen hard enough to facilitate an assault on the town.

Just at this moment arrived the news of the repulse at Quebec, and the death of General Montgomery, with an urgent request from General Schuyler, that three thousand men should be immediately sent into Canada, as the smallest force necessary to retrieve the loss, and to sustain the cause in that colony. Such a detachment from Washington's army was impossible, without ruin to himself; but, ever prompt to provide for exigences and to act for the general good, he instantly applied to the governments of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire to furnish each a regiment, which should continue in service one year, and march forthwith to Canada. To relieve these colonies from an increased burden, he allowed the three regiments to be taken from his last requisition, reserving ten for the main army. The proposal was well received, and the troops were raised and marched to Canada during the winter. Besides the want of powder, which had at no time

been supplied in any adequate quantity, the deficiency of arms threatened serious consequences. There were nearly two thousand men in camp without firelocks. Every expedient was tried to procure them, but with little effect. The New England governments had none to furnish. The militia, reluctant to part with their arms, carried them away when they returned home. Officers were sent into the country with money to purchase them. A few were obtained in this way, but not enough to arm all the men.

Despondency was seldom known, perhaps never, to unsettle the constancy or self-command of Washington. He seemed to gather new strength by resisting the pressure of difficulties thickening around him. Borne up by a conscious integrity, weighing well every act of his life, convinced of the justice of his cause, and habitually trusting in the direction of an overruling Providence, his far-reaching mind looked steadily to the end, and he went onward, resolute in purpose, strong in hope. The events of the last six months, however, and the position in which he was now placed, could not but awaken anxious forebodings, and touch his sensibility. He saw his own reputation and the vital interests of his country in jeopardy. The means of rescuing the one from unmerited censure, and securing the other on a solid basis, were feeble, remote, uncertain. The following is his language on the occasion, contained in a letter to a friend.

"I know the unhappy predicament in which I stand; I know that much is expected of me; I know, that, without men, without arms, without ammunition, without any thing fit for the accommodation of a soldier, little is to be done; and, what is mortifying, I know that I cannot stand justified to the world without exposing my own weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring