on both side of the river, and it was a grand view. For several miles
around, as far as the eye could reach, lines of men, glittering in their
accoutrements, appeared. The officers were in front, or among their
respective commands, and their waving plumes seemed like floating
foam on the waves. At the signal--the firing of three cannon--all the
regimental officers left their commands and proceeded to the building
to join in the festivities there prepared by order of the
commander-in-chief.
"At five o'clock, dinner being on the table, an interesting procession
moved from the quarters of Major-General M'Dougall, through a line
formed by Colonel Grain's regiment of artillery. In front, walked
the noble commander-in-chief, his countenance expressive of unusual
cheerfulness, and his stately form moving with characteristic grace and
dignity. He was accompanied by his lady, and his suite followed him.
Then came all the principal officers of the army with their ladies,
Governor Clinton and lady, and various distinguished characters from
the States of New York and New Jersey. The procession moved to the vast
bower, where more than five hundred guests were assembled. The banquet
was magnificently prepared, and bands of music added melody to the other
charms of the scene--thus feasting and satisfying the eye, the ear, and
the palate. The cloth being removed, thirteen appropriate toasts were
drank, each being announced by the firing of thirteen cannon and the
playing of appropriate music by the bands in attendance. The company
retired from the table at seven o'clock, and the regimental officers
rejoined their respective commands. In the evening, the arbor was
brilliantly illuminated. The numerous lights, gleaming among the boughs
and leaves of the trees that composed the roof and the walls, presented
the appearance of myriads of glowworms or of thousands of stars
glittering in the night. When the officers had rejoined their different
regiments, thirteen cannon were again fired, as a prelude to the general
feu-de-joie which immediately succeeded. Three times was it repeated,
and the reverberations sounded among the hills with tremendous effect,
darkness adding grandeur to the scene, as the flashing of the musketry
of the army broke upon it like sheeted lightning. The feu-de-joie was
immediately followed by three shouts of acclamation and benediction for
the dauphin, given by the whole army as with one voice. At half-past
eleven o'clock the celebration was concluded by an exhibition of
fireworks, ingeniously constructed of various figures. There was a ball
given during the evening in the arbor, at which General Washington,
with Mrs. Knox for a partner, led the dance. Thus ended the general
festivity."
"There," remarked Mrs. Harmar, "that has interested me much more than
all the horrible stories that have been told to-day. How I should have
liked to be there!"
"It was a sight such as all men are not permitted to see," said Morton.
"It was grand--it was sublime!" exclaimed Mr. Jackson Harmar. "A scene
worthy of any pen or any pencil!" As Mr. Jackson Harmar seized all such
opportunities for exercising his literary propensities, it was most
probable that he considered that the pen alone could do justice to the
scene, and that _his_ pen was destined to immortalize it.
The bell now rang for tea, and the party adjourned to the tea-table,
where, however, the conversation turned upon matters foreign to the
Revolution. Mrs. Harmar would introduce household concerns when her
husband began to allude to the war, and the children, especially Thomas
Jefferson Harmar, would play around the old veterans, asking them
trifling questions, until the meal was finished, and then Morton,
Higgins, Smith, and Wilson prepared to return to their respective
residences. Morton lived in the interior of Pennsylvania, and was
stopping with a near relative during his visit to the city. The other
three resided in New Jersey, and were putting up at the same house--that
of a friend of Higgins'. Old Harmar shook hands with his old camp
associates, wishing them many days of health and happiness to come, and
trusting that they might meet again before death should claim them. The
veterans kissed the children, and Morton gave Thomas Jefferson Harmar a
bullet from Bunker's Hill, telling him to learn what his countrymen had
fought and bled for, and to act like them on a like occasion, if any
such should ever occur, which he earnestly hoped would never be the
case. Mr. Jackson Harmar procured a carriage, and the veterans being
soon comfortably seated, he accompanied them to their respective
residences. On bidding him farewell, the aged patriots thanked him
for his kindness, which Mr. Jackson Harmar returned with an elaborate
panegyric on the men of the Revolution, and the duty of his generation
to treat them with the highest veneration and respect. The public either
suffered from or were benefited by the interview between Mr. Jackson
Harmar and the veteran patriots, for the press soon teemed with stirring
poetical appeals to the people to hold their liberties dearer than
life, on account of the blood that they had cost. A large volume also
appeared, entitled "Legends of the Times that tried Men's Souls,"
beginning with the history of the "Old State-House Bell."
THE END.