CHAPTER V. I'll show An art that thou wilt gladly know, SIR WALTER SCOTT. As Paul and his companions hastened on their way, they saw and heard enough to assure them that armed men and enemies were rife in those parts. The sound of a solitary trumpet interrupted at times the stillness of the night, and the roll of a distant drum and the discharge of a musket maintained to their ears the presence of an army; while long and wavering lines of smoke showed, to the practised eyes of the two Americans, the various positions where soldiers bivouacked round their watch-fires. Now and then, from under the greenwood tree, the plumed savage was seen gliding warily along, his thoughts on blood, and intent on spoil, when it could be purchased with safety. The glades of the forest were dinted by the feet of war-horses, and rutted by the wheels of the artillery; and here and there lay the bodies of Britons or Americans, pierced with shot, or cut down by the sabre,-active war had recently been there, and every tree and hillock had been contested. They quitted this ominous track, dived more deeply into the desert, made their way through many a winding glade, and, emerging a little after midnight from the thick wilderness, ascended to the summit of an abrupt green hill which commanded an extensive view over the country. The hill on which Paul and the Americans stood was lofty, and the valley below broad and deep, with clumps of flowering shrubs and trees scattered about its bosom and sides, while over the whole the moon threw a clear and uninterrupted light. A sound like the hum of a moving mass of men came to their ears, then they heard the jingling of bridle-reins and the creaking of cannon-wheels,sounds which announced the approach of an army. They fastened their horses to the neighbouring trees, and, hastening to a rocky pinnacle which commanded the valley to the extent of a mile, looked down, and beheld, not without awe, the slow, silent, and stately march of the whole British army. First, the Indian guides, armed with bows and arrows-with light feet, anxious ears, and suspicious eyes, explored the way, examining every rock and bush; their swart faces and plumed head-pieces distinguishing them from the regular troops. Next followed the Canadian riflemen, their guns in their hands, their swords screwed to the muzzles, pre pared at every step for an attack from a fierce and wily enemy. The British infantry succeeded, close and compact, they moved as one man, expanding or contracting their front according to the ground, with the ease and composure of veterans. A grove of bayonets projected upwards, the moon dancing like a thousand lightnings from point to point. Close behind them followed the artillery,-fourwheeled, heavy, and cumbrous,-a smoke arose from the labouring horses like the steam of a meadow in the morning sun. The cavalry brought up the rear; their brazen helmets, their spurred boots, their burnished carbines, polished pistols, and sharp ground swords, glittered from side to side of the valley. In all, they numbered fifteen thousand strong, picked men, and led by officers of experience and bravery. 66 Paul and the Americans gazed eagerly upon this martial stream, now pouring through the valley. "Silas," said George, " on an open plain, with a prudent leader, these men would be invincible; the steadiness of their fire nought could withstand, and their close compact charges our imperfect discipline could not endure. But here their military knowledge begets foolhardiness; they go to battle as if to an assured victory; but they go against an invisible foe. They will be cut off as with a poisoned breeze, and their valour shall be all in vain. I grieve for the fiery and generous youth of Britain.”—“ I am sorry too," said Silas, "for this unhappy war. England has neither sent her heart nor strength against us; her counsellors are divided, her warriors unwilling, the war languishes, the soldier is loth to begin the battle, and desirous to end it."-" Ay, but," ," said Macgubb, "when the merry mounseers come pouring in, you will see another sight. England will blaze out like a new-fanned fire. With her fleets she will clear the seas, with her armies she will keep the land, and Congress may sit and make bawbee whistles, or laws that will be less useful and as little heeded." "Those British people are noble in nature," said George; " their sense of liberty and their affection for their free constitution have made their history like a romance, with deeds of generosity and heroism. The American people share in these high feelings as they do in blood, and the fame of the little island is as dear to them as their own. I believe, however, that a separation will be beneficial to both. We are come of an austere and devout race, who took refuge here from the persecutions of the Stuarts, and who, banished for freedom of conscience, taught their children to love liberty with their whole heart and soul. A profligate king, a court of gamblers and harlots, drove out of England her wisest and her worthiest. The old republican spirit came to our new world, and here has it remained. Our land has been blessed too long with the feeling of freedom to endure such bondage as England proposes. Our Congress has hitherto been characterized by a temperate desire of freedom, by a sedate love of independence; but we have many amongst us who are more than half intoxicated with the overflowing cup of liberty. They pursue the war with rancour,-they refuse all offers of accommodation,-they look on England as a harsh task-master, whose bonds they have a right to break, and whose ignominious stripes they are ordained to repay." Paul, who had little calmness of nature, wondered how the two Americans, while they looked on the moving army of their enemies, could converse with such composure. "That long line of armed men," he said, "moves not along that valley to enjoy the dewy freshness of this sweet evening. Some secret purpose puts them in motion;-see with what caution their vanguard goes, how circumspectly they bring up their rear, and with what perfect ease and discipline they pursue their way. In this neighbourhood must the American army be, else the islanders would not march in a way so close and laborious. Washington is too vigilant to be surprised, and too cautious to lead his raw troops to attack these veterans when they issue from this defile, and form upon the plain, and if he throws not twenty thousand of his warriors against that long array before the morning light, I shall deem him no prudent leader. For see, the river makes a bold sweep away before us, that army, freed from the difficulties of |