lines were also entrusted with the business of procuring intelligence, and employed spies for that purpose, whose reports were transmitted to the Commander-in-chief. Various devices were practised for concealment. A cipher was used in part, but the most effectual mode was to write with an invisible ink, which could be made to appear only by rubbing over the surface of the paper a chemical fluid, prepared in a particular manner. The spies were supplied with this ink and fluid. A short letter would be written on some trivial subject with common ink, and the remainder of the sheet would be filled with invisible characters. Fictitious names were used for the signatures and superscriptions. With these precautions, the risk of detection was very small, even if the letter was intercepted."

We find the following passages in his correspondence relating to this matter.

"Congress will be pleased to accept my thanks for the assistance they offer in the article of specie for secret services, which I shall draw for as occasion may require. With the help of this necessary article, good intelligence might be obtained, were not the channel obstructed by a too cautious policy in the States. To enable our correspondents among the enemy to convey their intelligence, we are often obliged to make use of ambiguous characters as the vehicles, and to permit them to carry on some traffic, both as an encouragement and a cover to their mission. There have been instances of prosecutions in the civil courts against these people; and, in order to screen them from punishment, we have been under a necessity of discovering their occupation. This has served to deter others from acting in the same capacity, and to increase the dread of detection in our confidential friends."

"Your letter of yesterday came safe to my hands, and by the dragoon, who was the bearer of it, I send you ten guineas for C- -r. His successor, of whose name I have no desire to be informed, provided his intelligence is good and seasonably transmitted, should endeavour to hit upon some certain mode of conveying his information quickly, for it is of little avail to be told of things after they have become matter of public notoriety and known to every body. This new agent should communicate his signature, and the private marks by which genuine papers are to be distinguished from counterfeits. There is a man on York Island, living near the North River, by the name of G. H., who, I am told, has given signal proofs of his attachment to us, and at the same time stands well with the enemy. If, upon inquiry, this is found to be the case, he will be a fit instrument to convey intelligence to me, while I am on the west side the North River, as he is enterprising and connected with people in Bergen county, who will assist in forming a chain to me, in any manner they shall agree on.

"I do not know whom H. employs; but from H. I obtain intelligence; and his name and business should be kept profoundly secret, otherwise we shall not only lose the benefit derived from it, but may subject him to some unhappy fate."

"The loss of your papers was certainly a most unlucky accident, and shows how dangerous it is to keep papers of any consequence at an advanced post. I beg you will take care to guard against the like in future. If you will send me a trusty person, I will replace the guineas. I observe yourself and other officers have lost some clothing. Though I have not given an order of the kind before, yet in this particular exigence I am ready to give one on the clothier to those officers, who have been the sufferers, for such articles as are absolutely necessary. You will be pleased to communicate this to Colonel Sheldon, and request him to send the paymaster with a proper return to head-quarters. The person, who is most endangered by the acquisition of your letter, is one H. who lives not far from the Bowery, on the island of New York. I wish you would endeavour to give him the speediest notice of what has happened. My anxiety on his account is great. If he is really the man he has been represented to be, he will in all probability fall a sacrifice."

One fact in regard to the conduct of the English ministry, in persevering in the war of the Revolution, long after, to every dispassionate mind, the chances of suc

cess were as nothing, is now apparent; and their behaviour is explained upon the ground of the utterly erroneous views they entertained of the dispositions of the mass of the American people. These views were derived from the reports of the refugees and the late civil officers in the Colonies, who had returned to England. The distresses of our people, though great, were exaggerated: the weak condition of our army was over-rated: the disagreements in Congress; the exhaustion of the country; and the discontents of the soldiery, were all over-estimated: in fact, the fervid spirit of patriotism in our leaders and in the great body of the people, was not conceived by the King and his servants. Reports were constantly sent to England of different intended movements and prepossessions in favour of the mother country, which invariably deceived expectation; and they had the effect, too, of interfering with the plans and arrangements of the British commanders in America-perhaps, fortunately for us. Mr. Sparks says:

"This delusion prevailed during the whole war. The ministers acted under a perpetual deception. In looking back upon events, as they actually occurred, it is impossible to conceive a collection of state papers more extraordinary for the erroneous impressions, contracted knowledge, and impracticable aims of the writer, than the correspondence of Lord George Germain with the British commanders in America."

Sir Henry Clinton in particular felt much annoyance at this; and he could not avoid, at times, a decided expression of his opinion of the course pursued by the administration.

"In writing to Lord George Germain, after stating the numerous difficulties with which he had been obliged to contend, and hinting at the apparent want of confidence implied by the tenor of the instructions lately received, he goes on to say; Is it to be supposed, that I am not on the watch to profit by every favourable disposition in any part of the continent, or to improve every accidental advantage of circumstances? I am on the spot; the earliest and most exact intelligence on every point ought naturally to reach me. It is my interest, as well as my duty, more than any other person's living, to inform myself minutely and justly of the particular views, connexions, state, and temper of every province, nay, of every set of men within the limits of my command, and it is my business to mark every possible change in their situation. Why then, my Lord, without consulting me, will you admit the ill-digested or interested suggestions of people, who cannot be competent judges of the subject, and puzzle me by hinting wishes, with which I cannot agree, and yet am loath to disregard? For God's sake, my Lord, if you wish that I should do any thing, leave me to myself, and let me adapt my efforts to the hourly change of circumstances, and take the risk of my want of success. I do not wish to be captious, but I certainly have not had that attention paid to my wishes, and that satisfaction, which the weight of my situation, and the hopes which you held forth for me, gave me reason to expect.'

The subject of Arnold's treason is that of most interest in the volumes before us; and to it we shall now turn our reader's attention. It will be recollected, that Arnold was placed in command of the troops at Philadelphia, after the evacuation of that city by the British. The discharge of his functions, though said to have been performed in strict accordance with his duty, gave great offence, and procured him many enemies. Mr. Sparks, upon this head, says:

"He issued a proclamation requiring the shops to be closed and forbidding any sales to be made, till a joint committee of Congress and the government of Pennsylvania should examine the goods that remained in the city when the enemy left it, and ascertain whether any of them belonged to the king of Great Britain, or to any person adhering to the royal cause. Although this order was the necessary

consequence of a resolve of Congress, and was advised by some of the principal inhabitants, yet it seemed oppressive to many persons in its operation, and was a source of loud complaint.

"The odium, which this first measure brought upon the commandant, was neither removed nor weakened by his subsequent carriage and conduct. On the contrary, his haughty and overbearing manners, his arbitrary proceedings in his official station, his disrespect for the civil authority of the State, and the faults of his private character, gradually obscured the splendid military reputation on which he mainly relied for securing public favour, and involved him in difficulties of a serious nature. The Executive Council of Pennsylvania, after submitting to what they deemed many indignities, and remonstrating in vain against certain offensive acts, at last determined to bring the matter to a formal and decisive issue."

They passed resolutions enumerating eight distinct causes of complaint; laid them before Congress and the Commander-in-chief, and directed the Attorney-General to commence a prosecution for those matters of which a court of law could take cognizance. The report of the Committee of Congress was in Arnold's favour: this report was attributed to party feelings. The Report itself, was, however, never acted upon. A Joint Committee of Congress and of the Assembly and Council of Pennsylvania, subsequently appointed, agreed that the charges should be submitted to a court-martial under the direction of Washington. After considerable delays, the court, finally, acquitted him of two of the four charges that had been particu larly pressed against him, and found him censurable as to the two others. He was directed to be censured by the Commander-in-chief.

The letters which, from time to time, during the progress of this business, he wrote to Washington, are curious; we shall present an extract or two. There can be no doubt, that the feeling exhibited against him by the government of Pennsylvania, and which, he thought, amounted to persecution, exasperated him to a high degree; and assisted to impel him to his subsequent treason. Mr. Sparks thinks he was in some degree aggrieved; though his bad private character furnished the cause of much of the dislike evinced towards him.

Arnold wrote to Washington on the 5th of May, 1779, thus:

"GENERAL ARNOLD TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

Philadelphia, May 5th.-Dear General; I have been honoured with your Excellency's two letters of the 26th and 28th of April, and am extremely sorry that it should be thought there was a necessity of postponing my trial to so late a period as June or July, for no other reason than the Council of this State 'representing that the period appointed for the purpose, and the previous notice given, were too short to admit of the necessary evidence being produced in time.' From a candid view of the charges and of the whole proceedings against me contained in the papers transmitted to your Excellency, you must be fully persuaded that I have been unjustly accused, and that I have been refused justice from Congress on the report of their committee. From a knowledge of my public conduct, since I have been in the army, no man is better qualified to judge whether I have merited the treat, ment I have received.

"If your Excellency thinks me criminal, for Heaven's sake let me be immediately tried, and, if found guilty, executed. I want no favour; I ask only justice. If this is denied me by your Excellency, I have nowhere to seek it but from the candid public, before whom I shall be under the necessity of laying the whole mat. ter. Let me beg of you, Sir, to consider that a set of artful, unprincipled men in office may misrepresent the most innocent actions, and, by raising the public clamour against your Excellency, place you in the same disagreeable situation I am in. Having made every sacrifice of fortune and blood, and become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet the ungrateful returns I have received from my countrymen; but as Congress have stamped ingratitude as a

current coin, I must take it. I wish your Excellency, for your long and eminent services, may not be paid in the same coin. I have nothing left but the little reputation I have gained in the army. Delay in the present case is worse than death; and, when it is considered, that the President and Council have had three months to produce their evidence, I cannot suppose the ordering of a court-martial to determine the matter immediately in the least precipitating it, as in justice it ought to have been determined long since. The President and Council wish to put it off until the campaign opens, considering undoubtedly that the service will then prevent the court-martial from sitting, and cause the trial to be postponed until the end of the campaign. I must therefore entreat, that a court-martial may be ordered to sit as soon as possible, and, if the court find sufficient reasons, they will of course adjourn to a longer time. Not doubting but my request will be granted, I have the honour to be, &c."

Again, on the 14th of the same month

GENERAL ARNOLD TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

Philadelphia, May 14th.-Dear Sir; Yesterday I had the honour to receive your Excellency's favour of the 7th instant, informing me that the time of my trial was finally fixed on the 1st day of June; which I am very happy to hear, as nothing can be more disagreeable than the cruel situation I am in at present, not only as my character will continue to suffer until I am acquitted by a court-martial, but as it effectually prevents my joining the army, which I wish to do as soon as my wounds will permit; and to render my country every service in my power at this critical time; for, though I have been ungratefully treated, I do not consider it as from my countrymen in general, but from a set of men, who, void of principle, are governed entirely by private interest.

"The interest I have in the welfare and happiness of my country, which I have ever evinced when in my power, will I hope always overcome my personal resentment for any injury I can possibly receive from individuals. I have the honour to be, &c."

It must be confessed, from the tenor of Washington's letters, that, notwithstanding his dislike of many things which he saw in the behaviour of Arnold, on the whole that officer was a favourite with him. The reasons are clear. Of his patriotism, he knew nothing to warrant doubt; Arnold's subsequent treachery was a perfect surprise to his commander. Of his military talents he had formed, and justly, a high estimate. He knew the value of warlike accomplishments and energy such as Arnold possessed, to the welfare of his beloved country; and he was anxious that she should have the full benefit of them. His high sense of justice, too, revolted at the idea of any considerations other than those immediately bearing upon the point, having any influence upon the decision of the question. Upon the whole matter of Arnold's dispute with the Council of Pennsylvania, and of his claims upon Congress, Mr. Sparks, in conclusion, remarks—and the remark would seem perfectly just—

"Whether entire justice was rendered to him, amidst so many obstacles to a perfect knowledge of the merits of his case, and to an unbiassed judgment, it would be difficult at this time to determine."

Of Arnold's treason many interesting details are supplied in the seventh volume. It appears, that eighteen months before the completion of his treachery, he had been in the habit of communicating information to Sir Henry Clinton, anonymously. A proclamation in June 1780, addressed to the inhabitants of Canada, about which both Congress and Washington felt much anxiety, and desired the most perfect secrecy, was disclosed by Arnold to the enemy. A copy had been sent by the Commander-in-chief to him for the purpose of having it printed. The object, in consequence of the disclosure, failed. The British Commander, not knowing the VOL. XVII.-No. 34.

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rank of his anonymous correspondent, though he permitted the continuance of communications between him and Major André, his aid, (who was entrusted with the business,) did not enter very warmly into the matter. Subsequently, when Arnold got command of West Point, and had discovered himself to Clinton, the affair wore a different face, and Clinton eagerly encouraged his advances. The important command referred to was procured by Arnold, through solicitations to members of Congress and to Washington, no doubt with a view to his subsequent behaviour. In a note, Mr. Sparks observes:

"Mr. Livingston had suggested his fears, that General Howe, in case of an exigency, would not inspire such a degree of confidence in the New York militia, as would be essential for engaging their efficient services. He solicited the appointment for General Arnold. If I might presume so far,' he said, 'I should beg leave to submit it to your Excellency, whether this post might not be safely confided to General Arnold, whose courage is undoubted, who is the favourite of our militia, and who will agree perfectly with our governor.'-MS. Letter, June 22d.

"Arnold had some time before written on the same subject to General Schuyler, who was then in camp as one of the committee from Congress. I know not,' said Arnold, who is to have the command on the North River. If General Heath joins the army, as I am told he intends, that post will of course, I suppose, fall under his command. When I requested leave of absence from General Washington for the summer, it was under the idea, that it would be a very inactive campaign, and that my services would be of little consequence, as my wounds made it very painful for me to walk or ride. The prospect now seems to be altered, and there is a probability of an active campaign, in which, though attended with pain and difficulty, I wish to render my country every service in my power; and, by the advice of my friends, I am determined to join the army; with which I beg you will do me the favour to acquaint General Washington, that I may be included in any arrangement that may be made.'-MS. Letter, May 25th.

"The application, on the part of Mr. Livingston, was no doubt made at the request of General Arnold, who immediately afterwards visited the camp and West Point. On the 30th of June, General Howe wrote to General Washington from that post; I have taken General Arnold round our works, and he has my opinion of them, and of many other matters. I have long wished to give it to you, but I could not convey it by letter.'"

On the 3d of August, 1780, Washington conferred the appointment upon him. He had, in his general orders of the first of the month, assigned Arnold to the command of the left wing of the army, thinking his services more important in that position. That officer was, however, so dissatisfied with the arrangement, that Washington finally complied with his request to be stationed at West Point.

We forbear a further prosecution of this topic, as the subsequent details-the arrest and just execution of the unfortunate André-the discovery of Arnold's treason and his flight-though possessing great interest, cannot but be familiar to our readers. They have, moreover, been so fully set forth in the late work of Mr. Sparks on the "Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold," that any other notice of them would be superfluous. We regret, too, that our limits compel us to make but a general reference to the remaining contents of the seventh volume. The abilities of Washington as a statesman and politician are broadly developed in his correspondence. The masterly views taken of the probable course of the British ministry, and of the complexion of public affairs on the continent, as well as of the internal arrangement of operations in his own country, and his clear insight and exposition of the causes of her embarrassments, render his letters highly valuable in a political light, and evince the comprehensive grasp of his mind. With the President and leading members of Congress, and with the governors and influential citizens of the different states, he was in constant correspondence; and his able suggestions and opinions no