LAKE GEORGE GENERAL SCHUYLER. 141 volving the fall of friends, the fortune of war, and the sad lot of human kind. Denique ob casus bellorum, et sortem hominum. At length, after a journey of three hundred and twenty miles, arriving at the quarters of General Schuyler on the border of the lake, we acquitted ourselves of our charge. He proposed to me, if agreeable, to go on with it; but in addition to attractions of a private nature which drew me to Philadelphia, the wish to be there in order to make provision for our march to New York, orders for which had been daily expected before we set out, induced me to decline the opportunity of seeing the country beyond the lake, as well as my friends in the northern army. We, therefore, only staid at this post until the return dispatches to congress were prepared, which was the third day after our arrival. Though General Schuyler has been charged with such haughtiness of demeanour, as to have induced the troops of New England to decline serving under his command, as stated in Marshall's Life of Washington, the reception we met with was not merely courteous, but kind. His quarters being contracted, a bed was prepared for us in his own apartment, and we experienced civilities that were flattering from an officer of his high rank. Though thoroughly the man of business, he was also a gentleman and a man of the world; and well calculated to sustain the reputation of our army in the eyes of the British officers, (disposed to depreciate it,) as is evidenced by the account given by General Burgoyne of the manner in which he was entertained by him at Albany. But that he should have been displeasing to the Yankies, I am not at all surprised: He certainly was at 142 CHARACTER OF GENERAL SCHUYLER. no pains to conceal the extreme contempt he felt for a set of officers, who were both a disgrace to their stations and the cause in which they acted! Being yet a stranger to the character of these men, and the constitution of that part of our military force which in Pennsylvania was considered as the bulwark of the nation, I must confesss my surprise at an incident which took place while at dinner. Besides the General, the members of his family and ourselves, there were at table a lady and gentleman from Montreal. A New England captain came in upon some business, with that abject servility of manner which belongs to persons of the meanest rank; he was neither asked to sit or take a glass of wine, and after announcing his wants, was dismissed with that peevishness of tone we apply to a low and vexatious intruder. This man, in his proper sphere, might have been entitled to better treatment; but when presuming to thrust himself into a situation, in which far other qualifications than his were required, and upon an occasion, too, which involved some of the most important of human interests, I am scarcely prepared to say it was unmerited. The day we spent at this station was employed in taking a view of the remains of Fort William Henry, and in sauntering along the margin of the immense fountain of pure water which constitutes Lake George. We were much indebted, upon this occasion, to the polite attentions of Mr Brockolst Livingston, who was, at this time, one of the aids-de-camp of General Schuyler, and who so far dispensed with his avocations as to show us what was worthy of being seen. We lost no time in setting off, as soon as the dispatches were ready for us; and returned with all possible expedition, in order to pre AUTHOR RETURNS TO HIS REGIMENT. 143 pare ourselves for the expected march of our regiment to join the main army under the commander-in-chief. Orders for that purpose had already been received, and were complied with in about a week after our return. The troops were transported by water to Trenton; from whence, marching to Elizabethtown, they were again embarked in vessels which carried them to New York. 144 AUTHOR'S FEELINGS. CHAPTER VI. The Author reluctantly leaves Philadelphia-Character of the Army at New York-Erection of Fort Washington and Fort Lee-Connecticut Light House-Arrival of the British Troops at Long Island—Action of 27th of August and subsequent Skirmishes-Retreat of Americans from Long Island. THE much deprecated event of marching from Philadelphia was not the less afflicting for having been foreseen. The reader is acquainted with the attraction which existed there; and it is for those alone who have felt the effervescence of the passions, to form a just conception of the pangs attendant on this separation from it. To say it was a disruption of my heart strings, would be a language neither too forcible nor figurative for the occasion. The other absences imposed by the demands of imperious duty were not without disquietude; but they were cheered by the prospect of a speedy termination. This, before me, was a toiling sea without a shore; a dreary, illimitable void: And in subjecting myself to the stern mandate which now forced me away, I recognise a sacrifice which imparts some merit to my poor exertions in behalf of my country. If equal deprivations were sustained by others, I venture confidently to affirm, that, estimated by the measure of suffering, none were greater than my own. On account of my late service AUTHOR LEAVES PHILADELPHIA, 145 interfering with the necessary preparations for the march, I had been permitted, for about a week, to defer the moment of exile. When no longer to be postponed, I took my passage in the stage, where, indifferent to all around me, I sat ruminating on scenes of happiness departed, cheerless and lost to every hope of their return. Dreams of glory, it is true, sometimes crossed my imagination, but discordant to the tone of the predominant passion, the images were painful, and deeply tinged with despair. In so desolating a frame of mind, I perceived the necessity of active duty, which should leave me no time for reflection; and under this impression, as I approached my place of destination, became as impatient for its attainment as I had been reluctant in setting out for it; eager to immerse myself in martial occupations, And in the hardy camp and toilsome march. A considerable portion of our motley army had already assembled in New York and its vicinity. The troops were chiefly from the eastern provinces; those from the southern, with the exception of Hand's, Magaw's, and our regiment, had not yet come on. The appearance of things was not much calculated to excite sanguine expectations in the mind of a sober observer. Great numbers of people were indeed to be seen, and those who are not accustomed to the sight of bodies under arms are always prone to exaggerate them. But this propensity to swell the mass had not an equal tendency to convert it into soldiery; and the irregularity, want of discipline, bad arms, and defective equipment in all respects, of this multitudinous assemblage, gave no favourable impression of its prowess. The materials of K |