property, the overseer, on receipt of the message, gathered a supply of provisions, and went himself on board with a flag, accompanying the present with a request that the property of the general might be spared.

Washington was exceedingly indignant at this proceeding, as will appear by the following extract of a letter to his overseer.

"It would," he writes, "have been a less painful circumstance to me to have heard that, in consequence of your non-compliance with the request of the British, they had burned my house, and laid my plantation in ruins. You ought to have considered yourself as my representative, and should have reflected on the bad example of communicating with the enemy, and making a voluntary offer of refreshment to them with a view to prevent a conflagration."

To the diminution of his forces, and the increasing disaffection of those that remained under his command, was now added a quarrel between the states of Vermont and New-York, originating in a dispute about their respective boundaries Congress had interfered by an act of mediation, which did not satisfy either party,

and of consequence produced only additional irritation. Washington at once saw the consequences of a division of the states, and with that paternal solicitude which, more than any thing else, entitles him to the appellation of Father of his Country, wrote to the Governor of Vermont, desiring to know the real grounds of the controversy, and the designs of the people of that state. The governor frankly replied, that "they were determined not to be placed under the government of New-York; that they would oppose this by force of arms, and join with the British in Canada rather than submit to that government." Such a resolution as this menaced the dissolution of the confederacy, and consequent ruin of the cause in which so much blood had been shed, and so many hardships. endured. In this state of things, Washington addressed another letter to the Governor of Vermont, characterized by such a temperate wisdom, such a weight of argument, such nice impartiality, and such profound good sense, that it wrought upon the Legislature of Vermont to pause, and finally to accept the propositions of Congress. The danger which menaced the ruin of our home and our country was thus

arrested; and again were they indebted, in a great degree, for their preservation to the guardian spirit of wisdom, virtue, and moderation which had so often watched over them in the hour of peril and darkness. It was not alone in the day of battle that his decisive influence was seen and felt. It was active, vigilant, and untiring, everywhere and at all times; and whether the storm approached from within or from without, whether by night or by day, it ever found him active and at the helm, ready and able to protect the ship equally from the mountain wave, the secret rock, or boiling whirlpool.

The campaign of 1780, which had ended without advantage, commenced with little prospect of better times in 1781. The genius of Washington was naturally ardent, if not impetuous; and though through the whole course of the war he had been compelled to act on the defensive, the history of his life and actions proves, that when opportunity offered, or circumstances justified it, he always preferred decisive measures to cautious delays. It was necessity alone that prevented his giving, rather than avoiding battle. He never turned his back on an enemy,

except when it was madness to face him. He felt that the destinies of his country were confided to his care, and that for the gratification of his own personal feelings, or the chance of gaining a brilliant renown, he had no right to gamble with such a mighty stake. Hence we find him continually risking his own fame by cautious delays and timely retreats, but never the safety of his country by intemperate rashness. The course of other heroes is only marked by tombs and desolation. They left nothing behind them but ruins, while the fruit of his labours is an emancipated world.

One great object of his solicitude had always been to dislodge the British from the city of New-York; and, as has been before related, this was the basis of the plan first presented to the French admiral, on his arrival in this country. That object was prevented by an accession of force to the British fleet, which deprived the French of the superiority necessary to its success. But it was not relinquished by Washington, who was fully aware of the great advantages which the British derived from the possession of a central port, accessible at all seasons of the year, and situated at the

mouth of a great river, the command of which, could it be completely attained, would separate the confederation of the states into two parts, and prevent their co-operation with each other.

Thus, whenever Sir Henry Clinton diminished his force in New-York by detachments to the South or East, Washington was on the watch to take advantage of the occasion; justly considering that the fall of that city would, in all probability, be decisive of the war. A plan for this purpose had been drafted at Hartford, by himself, Count Rochambeau, and other officers of distinction, and it was, while absent on this occasion, that Arnold took the opportunity of arranging his treasonable plot with Major Andre.

The finances of the United States were now in a desperate condition. Paper-money was worth absolutely nothing, and they had no other. Credit was also so far exhausted, that the farmers had no longer any faith in the promises of Congress. The event of the great struggle for liberty seemed every day more and more doubtful, and should it prove disastrous, those promises would be of no value. In this state of things Colonel Laurens, an ardent patriot, a gal