of the army. After passing two triumphal arches, the procession, with the general and admiral, came to two pavilions with rows of benches rising one above the other, where the ladies were received and the gentlemen arranged on each side of them. On the front seat of each pavilion were seven young women, chosen from families of highest social position in Philadelphia. These were dressed in Turkish costume, and wore in their turbans the “favors” with which they intended to reward the several knights who were to contend in their honor. Suddenly the braying of trumpets was heard in the distance, and soon two bands of knights appeared, with their squires— Knights of The Blended Rose, and Knights of The Burning Mountain. They were dressed in ancient costume of white and red silk, and mounted on gray horses richly caparisoned in trappings of the same colors. They entered the list with their squires dressed in black. Captain Lord Cathcart, superbly mounted, appeared as chief of the Knights of The Blended Rose, his stirrups held by two black slaves in brilliant dresses, their arms and breasts bare. The chief of the Knights of The Burning Mountain was Captain Watson of the Guards, dressed in a magnificent suit of black and orange silk. These leaders and their followers each appeared in honor of one of the fourteen maidens in Turkish costume, and were announced with the name of the young lady in whose honor they were to contend. For example:

"Third knight, Captain André, in honor of Miss Chew; Squire, Lieutenant André: device, two game-cocks fighting; motto, "No rival."

The two bands of knights fought each other, and each one was rewarded with a favor from his "lady love." When the tournament was over, the knights rode between two rows of troops through the first triumphal arch, where all the flags of the army were displayed. Then the knights, with their squires, took their stations, the bands filling the air with martial music. The company then moved toward the knights, the maidens in oriental costume in front. As these passed, they were saluted by the knights, who then dismounted and joined them, and in this order all were conducted into a garden that fronted a large building; and passing through the second triumphal arch, the company ascended a flight of carpeted steps that led to a magnificent hall, the panels of which were painted to imitate Sienite marble, and decorated with festoons of flowers. From this hall the company were conducted to an elegantly decorated ball-room garnished with eighty-five mirrors decked with ribbons, and thirty-four candelabra with wax-candles, also decorated with ribbons. The ball was opened by the knights and their ladies, and the dancing continued until ten o'clock, when the windows were thrown open to allow the assemblage within to see a magnificent display of fireworks. At midnight a sumptuous banquet was partaken of in a grand

CHAP. XXXI.

DISTRESS OF PHILADELPHIA TORIES.

987

saloon more than two hundred feet in length, and beautifully adorned. At the close of the supper a herald entered with a flourish of trumpets, and proclaimed the health of the king, queen, and royal family; the army and navy, and their commanders; the knights and their ladies, and the ladies in general. After supper they all returned to the ball-room, and danced until four o'clock in the morning.

This foolish pageant had just ended, when orders reached Philadelphia for the troops to evacuate that city and the fleet to leave the Delaware River. The rescript of the French monarch, as we have observed, was regarded in England as tantamount to a declaration of war, and the British government saw the danger that threatened their land and naval forces. should a French fleet blockade the Delaware, a circumstance which speedily occurred. At the middle of April, Admiral the Count D'Estaing, a majorgeneral in the French service, sailed from Toulon with twelve ships-of-theline and three frigates, and after a rough voyage of ninety days, anchored in the Delaware. Fortunately for Lord Howe's fleet, it had left those waters a few days before, and was safely anchored in the broad bay off the mouth of the Raritan River. The British army had also escaped to New York, after great perils by the way.

The order for the evacuation of Philadelphia, and its execution, produced wide-spread consternation and distress in that city, lately so gay with scarlet uniforms, martial music and banners, dashing young officers and a brilliant display of the pastimes of half-barbarous nations five hundred years before. The change from bright promises of protection to the despair caused by cruel desertion was awful. It was like the sudden gathering of a fierce tempest in a serene sky. About three thousand of the most tenderly-bred of the inhabitants left their homes, their property and their cherished associations, and fled for refuge from the indignation of their Whig neighbors, whom they had outraged in many ways, to be borne away, they knew not whither, to a fate which they could not foresee.

Meanwhile the condition of Washington's army at Valley Forge, which the British despised, and ridiculed in plays by amateur performances in a theatre in Philadelphia, was greatly improved in every respect. At the middle of May the troops fit for duty numbered about fifteen thousand men. The Congress had just ratified the treaty with France, and so gave great encouragement to the American people. The warmth of approaching summer diffused physical comfort, life, and vigor through the camp; and the fact, when known, that the British had been ordered to leave Philadelphia and the adjacent waters, inspired the soldiers with joy and hope.

The Congress ordered an oath of allegiance to be administered to all the

officers of the army at Valley Forge, before the opening of the campaign. This ceremony took place on the 12th of May. The commander-in-chief administered it to the general officers. In so doing, several of them placed their hands on the Bible at the same time, and so took the oath together.

When Washington began to read the form, General Charles Lee, who had been exchanged for General Prescott, captured on Rhode Island, withdrew his hand. This movement he repeated, when Washington demanded a reason for the strange conduct. Lee replied: "As to King George, I am ready enough to absolve myself from all allegiance to him; but I have some scruples about the Prince of Wales." This odd reply, which covered a deeper motive, excited much laughter. In the light of to-day, we may clearly see the real reason. Lee was then playing a desperate game of

CHAP. XXXI.

THE BRITISH OUTGENERALED.

989

treason, and probably had some conscientious scruples about taking such an oath which he would probably violate. He did, however, subscribe to it.

We have already mentioned some movements of American detachments during the winter and spring of 1778. At the middle of May news reached Washington that the British were probably preparing to evacuate Philadelphia. It was premature, for the order for that movement had not then arrived. However, the vigilant commander-in-chief acted promptly. He detached Lafayette, with about twenty-one hundred men and five pieces of cannon, to restrain British foragers and marauders who were plundering the country, and had burned several American vessels in the Delaware River. He was instructed to cut off all communications between Philadelphia and the country; to obtain correct information concerning the enemy, and to be ready to follow the fugitives with a considerable force when they should leave the city. Lafayette crossed the Schuylkill and took post on Barren Hill, about half-way between Valley Forge and Philadelphia. The marquis made his quarters at the house of a Tory Quaker, who informed Howe of the fact. The latter immediately ordered General Grant to make a secret night march, with over five thousand men, to gain the rear of Lafayette, and prevent his recrossing the Schuylkill. This was done on the night of the 20th of May. Early the next morning Howe marched with almost six thousand men, commanded by Clinton and Knyphausen, to capture the young Frenchman and send him to England. Grant actually surprised the marquis, and held the ford over which he and his little army had crossed the Schuylkill; but by a deceptive, quick, and skillful movement Lafayette outgeneraled his antagonist, and escaped across Matson's Ford-General Poor leading the advance, while Grant was making preparations for battle. Howe was sadly disappointed. He felt sure of closing his military career in America with a brilliant achievement, but was foiled; and he marched back to Philadelphia, where, on the 24th, he embarked for England.

The British army lingered in Philadelphia until the morning of the 18th of June, when, just before the dawn, they began the passage of the Delaware at Gloucester Point, and at the close of the day were encamped around Haddonfield, a few miles southeast from Camden. So secretly and adroitly had this movement been made, that Washington was not certified of the destination of the British army until they had passed the river. Suspecting, however, that Clinton would take a land-route to New York, the commanderin-chief had dispatched General Maxwell, with his brigade, to co-operate with the New Jersey militia, under General Dickenson, in retarding the march of the enemy. Clinton had crossed the Delaware with about seventeen thousand effective men.

General Arnold, whose wound kept him from duty in the field, was left with a detachment to occupy Philadelphia. The remainder of the army crossed the Delaware above Trenton, and pursued. Lee had been restored to his command as the oldest major-general, and exercised a baleful influence as far as he was able. He was plotting for the ruin of that army, and

endeavored to thwart every measure that promised success. He persistently opposed all interference with Clinton in his march across New Jersey, finding fault with everything, and creating much mischief. When, at length, he was requested to lead the advance in a meditated attack upon the enemy, he at first declined the honor and duty, saying the plan was defective and would surely fail.

Clinton had intended to march to New Brunswick, and there embark his army on the Raritan; but finding Washington in his path, he turned, at Allentown, toward Monmouth Court-House, with a determination to make his way to Sandy Hook, and thence by water to New York. Washington