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been multiplied, but the original gold medal has found a fit place, within a few years past, in the Boston public library.

The way was now opened, and the scene of the war was soon transferred to other parts of the coun- try. The day after the evacuation of Boston, five regiments, with a battalion of riflemen and two companies of ar- tiilery,weresent to New York. But, as the Brit- ish fleetwas still in Nantasket road, Washing- ton did not ven- ture to move more of his army, or to go away - himself, until the risk of a return was over. On 13 April he reached New York, and was soon sum- moned to Phil- adelphia for a

conference with

congress. On his return to New York, while he was anxiously awaiting an attack by the British forces, the Declaration of Independence, signed on 4 July, was transmitted to him. The regiments were forth- with paraded, and the Declaration was read at the head of the army. " The general hopes," said he in the orders of the day, " that this important event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer and soldier to act with fidelity and courage, as knowing that now the peace and safety of his country de- pend, under God, solely on the success of our arms/' He hailed the Declaration with delight, and had written to his brother, from Philadelphia, that he was rejoiced at " the noble act " of the Virginia convention, recommending that such a declaration should be adopted. But his little army, according to the returns of 5 Aug. following, hardly num- bered more than 20,000 men, of whom six or seven thousand were sick or on furlough or otherwise ab- sent, while the British forces were at least 24,000, supported by a large and thoroughly equipped fleet. The battle of Long Island soon followed, with disastrous results to the Americans, and the British took possession of New York. Other re- verses were not long delayed, and the strategy of Washington found its exhibition only in his skilful retreat from Long Island and through the Jerseys. But he was not disheartened, nor his confidence jn ultimate success impaired. When asked what was to be done if Philadelphia were taken, he replied : "We will retreat beyond the Susquehanna, and thence, if necessary, to the Alleghany mountains." His masterly movements on the Delaware were now witnessed, which Frederick the Great is said to have declared "the most brilliant achievements recorded in military annals." " Many years later," Mr. Lossing informs us in his interesting volume on Mount Vernon and its associations, "the great Frederick sent him a portrait of himself, accompa- nied by the remarkable words : ' From the oldest general in Europe to the greatest general in the world ! ' " Meantime he had a vast work to ac- complish with entirely inadequate means. But he went along with heroic fortitude, unswerving con- stancy, and unsparing self-devotion, through all the trials and sufferings of Monmouth and Brandy- wine and Germantown and Valley Forge, until the grand consummation was at last reached at York- town, on 19 Oct., 1781. There, with the aid of our generous and gallant allies, he achieved the crown- ing victory of independence on the soil of his be- loved Virginia.

The details of this protracted contest must be left to history, as well as the infamous cabal for impeaching his ability and depriving him of his command (see Conway, Thomas), and the still more infamous treason of Arnold, in September, 1780 (see Arnold, Benedict). Standing on the field of Yorktown, to receive the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and the British army, Washing- ton was at length rewarded for all the labors and sacrifices and disappointments he had so bravely endured since his first great victory in expelling the British from Boston nearly seven years before. Massachusetts and Virginia were thus the scenes of his proudest successes, as they had been foremost in bringing to a test the great issue of American independence and American liberty. The glori- ous consummation was at l^st accomplished. But two years more were to elapse before the treaty of peace was signed and the war with England ended ; and during that period Washington was to give most signal illustration of his disinterested patriot- ism and of his political wisdom and foresight. Discontents had for some time been manifested by officers and soldiers alike, owing to arrearages of pay, and they were naturally increased by the apprehension that the army would now be disbanded without proper provision being made by congress for meeting the just claims of the troops. Not a few of the officers began to distrust the efficiency of the government and of all republican institu- tions. One of them, " a colonel of the army, of a highly respectable character andsomewhat advanced in life," whose name is given by Irving as Lewis Nicola, was put forward to communicate these sentiments to Washington, and he even dared to suggest for him the title of king. Washington's reply, dated Newburg, 22 May, 1782, expressed the indignation and "abhorrence" with which he had received such a suggestion, and rebuked the writer with severity. " I am at a loss to conceive," wrote he, " what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable. . . . Let me conjure you, then, if you have any regard for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, from yourself or any one else, a sentiment of the like nature." Nothing more was ever heard of making Washing- ton a king. He had sufficiently shown his scorn for such an overture.

The apprehensions of the army, however, were by no means quieted. A memorial on the subject of their pay was prepared and transmitted to congress in December, 1782, but the resolutions that congress adopted did not satisfy their expectations. A meeting of officers was arranged, and anonymous addresses, commonly known as the Newburg addresses, were issued, to rouse the army to resentment. Washington insisted on attending the meeting, and delivered an impressive address. Gen. Gates was in the chair, and Washington began by apologizing for having come. After reading the first paragraph of what he had prepared, he begged the indulgence of those present while he paused to put on his spectacles, saying, casually, but most touchinglv, that " he had grown gray in the service