CHAPTER XXIII.

“Sir,—Upon the receipt of this, you will concentrate your squadron, so as to be in front of a covering party which the enemy has sent up in front of his foragers, by ten o’clock to-morrow on the heights of Croton,[130]where you will find a body of foot to support you. The escape of the English spy has been reported to me, but his arrest is unimportant, compared with the duty I now assign you. You will, therefore, recall your men, if any are in pursuit, and endeavor to defeat the enemy forthwith. Your obedient servant,“Geo. Washington.”

“Geo. Washington.”

“Thank God!” cried Dunwoodie, “my hands are washed of Henry’s recapture; I can now move to my duty with honor.”

“And with prudence, too, dear Peyton,” said Frances, with a face as pale as death. “Remember, Dunwoodie, you leave behind you claims on your life.”

The youth dwelt on her lovely but pallid features with rapture, and, as he folded her to his heart, exclaimed:

“For your sake I will, lovely innocent!” Frances sobbed a moment on his bosom, and he tore himself from her presence.

The peddler and his companion soon reached the valley, and, after pausing to listen, and hearing no sounds which announced that pursuers were abroad, they entered the highway. After walking at a great rate for three hours they suddenly diverged from the road, which inclined to the east, and held their course directly across the hills in a due south direction. This movement was made, the peddler informed his companion, in order to avoid the parties who constantly patrolled in the southern entrance of the Highlands, as well as to shorten the distance by travelling in a straight line.

The peddler became more guarded in the manner in whichthey proceeded, and took divers precautions to prevent meeting any moving parties of the Americans.

A steep and laborious ascent brought them from the level of the tide-waters to the high lands that form, in this part of the river, the eastern banks of the Hudson. The day was now opened, and objects could be seen in the distance with distinctness. To Henry and the peddler the view displayed only the square yards and lofty masts of a vessel of war riding a few miles below them.

“There, Captain Wharton,” said the peddler—“there is a safe resting-place for you; America has no arm that can reach you if you gain the deck of that ship.”

By following the bank of the river, Birch led the way free from observation until they reached a point opposite to the frigate,[131]when, by making a signal, a boat was induced to approach.

Some time was spent and much precaution used before the seamen would trust themselves ashore; but Henry having finally succeeded in making the officer in command of the party credit his assertions, he was able to rejoin his companions in arms in safety.

Before taking leave of Birch, the captain handed him his purse, which was tolerably well supplied for the times.

The boat pulled from the shore, and Birch turned on his heel, drawing his breath like one relieved, and shot up the hills with the strides for which he was famous.

It was at the close of a stormy day in September that a large assemblage of officers was collected near the door of a building that was situated in the heart of the American troops, whoheld the Jerseys. The age, the dress, and the dignity of deportment of most of these warriors indicated them to be of high rank, but to one in particular was paid a deference[132]and obedience that announced him to be of the highest. His dress was plain, but it bore the usual military distinctions of command. He was mounted on a noble steed of a deep bay, and a group of young men, in gayer attire, evidently awaited his pleasure and did his bidding. Many a hat was lifted as its owner addressed this officer, and when he spoke, a profound attention, exceeding the respect of mere professional etiquette,[133]was exhibited on every countenance. At length the general raised his own hat and bowed gravely to all around him. The salute was returned, and the party dispersed, leaving the officer without a single attendant except his body servants and one aid-de-camp. Dismounting, he stepped back a few paces, and for a moment viewed the condition of his horse with the eye of one who well understood the animal; then, casting a brief but expressive glance at his aid, he retired into the building, followed by that gentleman.

On entering the apartment that was apparently fitted for his reception, he took a seat, and continued for a long time in a thoughtful attitude, like one in the habit of communing much with himself. During this silence, the aid-de-camp stood in expectation of orders. At length the general raised his eyes, and spoke in those low, placid tones that seemed natural to him:

“Has the man I wished to see arrived, sir?”

“He waits the pleasure of your excellency.”

“I will receive him here, and alone, if you please.”

The aid bowed and withdrew. In a few minutes the door again opened, and a figure, gliding into the apartment, stood modestly at a distance from the general, without speaking. His entrance was unheard by the officer, who sat gazing at the fire, still absorbed in his own meditations. Several minutes passed, when he spoke to himself in an undertone:

“To-morrow we must raise the curtain, and expose our plans. May Heaven prosper them!”

“Harvey Birch,” he said, turning to the stranger, “the time has arrived when our connection must cease; henceforth and forever we must be strangers.”

The peddler dropped the folds of the great-coat that concealed his features, and gazed for a moment earnestly at the face of the speaker; then, dropping his head upon his bosom, he said, meekly:

“If it be your excellency’s pleasure.”

“It is necessary. Since I have filled the station which I now hold, it has become my duty to know many men who, like yourself, have been my instruments in procuring intelligence. You have I trusted more than all; I early saw in you a regard to truth and principle that, I am pleased to say, has never deceived me. You alone know my secret agents in the city, and on your fidelity depend, not only their fortunes, but their lives.”

He paused, as if to reflect in order that full justice might be done to the peddler, and then continued:

“I believe you are one of the very few that I have employed who have acted faithfully to our cause; and, while you have passed as a spy of the enemy, have never given intelligence that you were not permitted to divulge. To me, and to me only of all the world, you seem to have acted with strong attachment to the liberties of America.”

During this address, Harvey gradually raised his head from his bosom, until it reached the highest point of elevation; a faint tinge gathered in his cheeks, and, as the officer concluded, it was diffused over his whole countenance in a deep glow, while he stood, proudly swelling with his emotions, but with eyes that modestly sought the feet of the speaker.

“It is now my duty to pay you for these services; hitherto you have postponed receiving your reward, and the debt has become a heavy one. I wish not to undervalue your dangers;here are a hundred doubloons;[134]you will remember the poverty of our country, and attribute to it the smallness of your pay.”

The peddler raised his eyes to the countenance of the speaker; but, as the other held forth the money, he moved back, as if refusing the bag.

“It is not much for your services and risks, I acknowledge,” continued the general, “but it is all that I have to offer; at the end of the campaign it may be in my power to increase it.”

“Does your excellency think that I have exposed my life and blasted my character for money?”

“If not for money, what then?”

“What has brought your excellency into the field? For what do you daily and hourly expose your precious life to battle and the halter? What is there about me to mourn, when such men as you risk their all for our country? No, no, no—not a dollar of your gold will I touch; poor America has need of it all.”

The bag dropped from the hand of the officer, and fell at the feet of the peddler, where it lay neglected during the remainder of the interview. The officer looked steadily at the face of his companion, and continued:

“You will soon be old; the prime of your days is already past; what have you to subsist on?”

“These!” said the peddler, stretching forth his hands, that already were embrowned with toil.

“But those may fail you; take enough to secure a support to your age. Remember your risks and care. I have told you that the characters of men who are much esteemed in life depend on your secrecy; what pledge can I give them of your fidelity?”

“Tell them,” said Birch, advancing and unconsciously resting one foot on the bag—“tell them that I would not take the gold!”

The composed features of the officer relaxed into a smile of benevolence, and he grasped the hand of the peddler firmly.

“Now, indeed, I know you; and although the same reasons which have hitherto compelled me to expose your valuable life will still exist, and may prevent my openly asserting your character, in private I can always be your friend. Fail not to apply to me when in want or suffering, and so long as God giveth to me, so long will I freely share with a man who feels so nobly and acts so well. If sickness or want should ever assail you, and peace once more smile upon our efforts, seek the gate of him whom you have so often met as Harper, and he will not blush to acknowledge you in his true character.”

“It is little that I need in this life,” said Harvey; “so long as God gives me health and honest industry, I can never want in this country; but to know that your excellency is my friend, is a blessing that I prize more than all the gold of England’s treasury.”

The officer stood for a few moments in the attitude of intense thought. He then drew to him the desk, and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, and gave it to the peddler.

“That Providence destines this country to some great and glorious fate I must believe, while I witness the patriotism that pervades the bosoms of her lowliest citizens,” he said. “It must be dreadful to a mind like yours to descend into the grave branded as a foe to liberty; but you already know the lives that would be sacrificed, should your real character be revealed. It is impossible to do you justice now, but I fearlessly entrust you with this certificate; should we never meet again, it may be serviceable to your children.”

“Children!” exclaimed the peddler. “Can I give to a family the infamy of my name?”

The officer gazed at the strong emotion he exhibited with pain, and he made a slight movement towards the gold; but it was arrested by the expression of his companion’s face.Harvey saw the intention, and shook his head, as he continued more mildly:

“It is, indeed, a treasure that your excellency gives me; it is safe, too. There are men living who could say that my life was nothing to me, compared to your secrets. The paper that I told you was lost I swallowed when taken last by the Virginians. It was the only time I ever deceived your excellency, and it shall be the last. Yes, this is, indeed, a treasure to me. Perhaps,” he continued, with a melancholy smile, “it may be known after my death who was my friend; but if it should not, there are none to grieve for me.”

“Remember,” said the officer, with strong emotion, “that in me you will always have a secret friend; but openly I cannot know you.”

“I know it, I know it,” said Birch; “I knew it when I took the service. ’Tis probably the last time that I shall ever see your excellency. May God pour down his choicest blessings on your head!” He paused, and moved towards the door. The officer followed him with eyes that expressed deep interest. Once more the peddler turned, and seemed to gaze on the placid but commanding features of the general with regret and reverence, and then, bowing low, withdrew.

It was thirty-three years after the interview which we have just related that an American army was once more arrayed against the troops of England; but the scene was transferred from the banks of the Hudson to those of the Niagara.[135]

It was the evening of the 25th of July of that bloody year, when two young officers were seen standing on the table-rock, contemplating the great cataract with an interest thatseemed to betray that they were gazing for the first time at the wonder of the western world. A profound silence was observed by each, until the companion of the officer suddenly started, and pointing eagerly with his sword into the abyss[136]beneath, exclaimed:

“See, Wharton, there is a man crossing in the very eddies of the cataract, and in a skiff no bigger than an egg-shell.”

“He has a knapsack—it is probably a soldier,” returned the other. “Let us meet him at the ladder, Mason, and learn his tidings.”

Some time was expended in reaching the spot where the adventurer was intercepted. Contrary to the expectations of the young soldiers, he proved to be a man far advanced in life, and evidently no follower of the camp.

A few words of salutation, and, on the part of the young men, of surprise that one so aged should venture so near the whirlpools of the cataract, were exchanged, when the old man inquired, with a voice that began to manifest the tremor of age, the news from the contending armies.

“We whipped the red-coats here the other day, among the grass on the Chippewa[137]plains,” said the one who was called Mason.

“Perhaps you have a son among the soldiers,” said his companion, with a milder demeanor,[138]and an air of kindness; “if so, tell me his name and regiment, and I will take you to him.”

The old man shook his head, and answered:

“No; I am alone in the world!”

“You should have added, Captain Dunwoodie,” cried his careless comrade, “if you could find either; for nearly half our army has marched down the road, and may be, by this time, under the walls of Fort George,[139]for anything that we know to the contrary.”

The old man stopped suddenly, and looked earnestly from one of his companions to the other; the action being observed by the soldiers, they paused also.

“Did I hear right?” the stranger uttered, raising his hand to screen his eyes from the rays of the setting sun. “What did he call you?”

“My name is Wharton Dunwoodie,” replied the youth, smiling.

The stranger motioned silently for him to remove his hat, which the youth did accordingly, and his fair hair blew aside like curls of silk, and opened the whole of his ingenuous countenance to the inspection of the other.

“’Tis like our native land!” exclaimed the old man with vehemence; “improving with time. God has blessed both.”

“Why do you stare thus, Lieutenant Mason?” cried Captain Dunwoodie, laughing a little; “you show more astonishment than when you saw the falls.”

“Oh, the falls! they are a thing to be looked at on a moon-shiny night, by your aunt Sarah and that gay old bachelor, Colonel Singleton.”

“Come, come, Tom, no jokes about my good aunt, I beg; she is kindness itself; and I have heard it whispered that her youth was not altogether happy.”

“Why, as to rumor,” said Mason, “there goes one in Accomac, that Colonel Singleton offers himself to her regularly every Valentine’s Day; and there are some who add that your old great-aunt helps his suit.”

“Aunt Jeanette!” said Dunwoodie, laughing; “dear, good soul, she thinks but little of marriage in any shape, I believe, since the death of Dr. Sitgreaves.”

“The last time I was at General Dunwoodie’s plantation, that yellow, sharp-nosed housekeeper of your mother’s took me into the pantry, and said that the colonel was no despicable match, as she called it.”

“Quite likely,” returned the captain; “Katy Haynes is no bad calculator.”

The old man listened to each word as it was uttered, with the most intense interest; but, toward the conclusion of the dialogue, the earnest attention of his countenance changed to a kind of inward smile. Mason paid but little attention to the expression of his features, and continued:

“To me she is selfishness embodied.”

“Her selfishness does but little harm,” returned Dunwoodie. “One of her greatest difficulties is her aversion to the blacks. She says that she never saw but one that she liked.”

“And who was he?”

“His name was Cæsar; he was a house-servant of my late grandfather Wharton. My mother always speaks of him with great affection. Both Cæsar and Katy came to Virginia with my mother when she married. My motherwas——”

“An angel!” interrupted the old man, in a voice that startled the young soldiers by its abruptness and energy.

“Did you know her?” cried the son, with a glow of pleasure on his cheek.

The reply of the stranger was interrupted by sudden and heavy explosions of artillery, which were immediately followed by continued volleys of small-arms, and in a few minutes the air was filled with the tumult of a warm and well-contested battle.

Everything in the American camp announced an approaching struggle. The troops were in motion, and a movement made to support the division of the army which was already engaged. Night had set in before the reserve and irregulars reached the foot of Lundy’s Lane,[140]a road that diverged from the river and crossed a conical eminence at no great distance from the Niagara highway. The summit of the hill was crowned with the cannon of the British, and in the flat beneath was the remnant of Scott’s[141]gallant brigade, which fora long time had held an unequal contest with distinguished bravery. A new line was interposed, and one column of the Americans directed to charge the hill, parallel to the road. This column took the English in flank, and bayoneting their artillerists, gained possession of the cannon. They were immediately joined by their comrades, and the enemy was swept from the hill.

But large reënforcements were joining the English general momentarily, and their troops were too brave to rest easy under defeat. Repeated and bloody charges were made to recover the guns, but in all they were repulsed with slaughter. During the last of these struggles, the ardor of the youthful captain whom we have mentioned urged him to lead his men some distance in advance, to scatter a daring party of the enemy. He succeeded, but in returning to the line missed his lieutenant from the station that he ought to have occupied. Soon after this repulse, which was the last, orders were given to the shattered troops to return to the camp. The British were nowhere to be seen, and preparations were made to take in such of the wounded as could be moved.

At this moment Wharton Dunwoodie, impelled by affection for his friend, seized a lighted fusee,[142]and taking two of his men, went himself in quest of his body, where he was supposed to have fallen.

Mason was found on the side of the hill, seated with great composure, but unable to walk from a fractured leg. Dunwoodie saw and flew to the side of his comrade, exclaiming:

“Ah! dear Tom, I knew I should find you the nearest man to the enemy.”

“Softly, softly; handle me tenderly,” replied the lieutenant. “No; there is a brave fellow still nearer than myself, and who he can be I know not. He rushed out of our smoke, near my platoon, to make a prisoner or some such thing, but, poor fellow, he never came back; there he lies just over thehillock. I have spoken to him several times, but I fancy he is past answering.”

Dunwoodie went to the spot, and to his astonishment beheld the stranger.

“It is the old man who knew my father and mother,” cried the youth; “for their sake he shall have honorable burial. Lift him, and let him be carried in; his bones shall rest on native soil.”

The men approached to obey. He was lying on his back, with his face exposed to the glaring light of the fusee; his eyes were closed, as if in slumber; his lips, sunken with years, were slightly moved from their position, but it seemed more like a smile than a convulsion which had caused the change. A soldier’s musket lay near him; his hands were pressed upon his breast, and one of them contained a substance that glittered like silver. Dunwoodie stooped, and moving the limbs, perceived the place where the bullet had found a passage to his heart. The subject of his last care was a tin box, through which the fatal lead had gone; and the dying moments of the old man must have been passed in drawing it from his bosom. Dunwoodie opened it, and found a paper in which, to his astonishment, he read the following:

“Circumstances of political importance, which involve the lives and fortunes of many, have hitherto kept secret what this paper now reveals. Harvey Birch has for years been a faithful and unrequited[143]servant of his country. Though man does not, may God reward him for his conduct!“Geo. Washington.”

“Geo. Washington.”

It was theSpy of the Neutral Ground, who died as he had lived, devoted to his country, and a martyr to her liberties.

· Standard · Literature · Series ·Works of standard authors for supplementary reading in schools—complete selections or abridgments—with introductions and explanatory notes. Single numbers, 64 to 128 pages, stiff paper sides 12½ cents, cloth 20 cents; double numbers, 160 to 224 pages, stiff paper sides 20 cents, cloth 30 cents.CONTENTS OF THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR (24) NUMBERS, ARRANGED BY COUNTRIES AND AUTHORSStarred numbers are DOUBLE. All the works are complete, or contain complete selections, except those marked “abr.”American AuthorsCOOPER—The Spy, No. 1, single (abr.), 128 pp.; *The Pilot, No. 2 (abr.), 181 pp.; *The Deerslayer, No. 8 (abr.), 160 pp.DANA, R. H., Jr.—*Two Years Before the Mast, No. 19 (abr.), 173 pp.HAWTHORNE—Twice-Told Tales, No. 15, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: The Village Uncle; The Ambitious Guest; Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe; A Rill from the Town Pump; The Great Carbuncle; David Swan; Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment; Peter Goldthwaite’s Treasure; The Threefold Destiny; Old Esther Dudley.A Wonder-Book, for Girls and Boys, No. 16, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Golden Touch; The Paradise of Children; The Three Golden Apples; The Miraculous Pitcher.The Snow-Imageand other Twice-Told Tales, No. 20, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Snow-Image; The Great Stone Face; Little Daffydowndilly; The Vision of the Fountain; The Seven Vagabonds; Little Annie’s Ramble; The Prophetic Pictures.IRVING—The Alhambra, No. 4, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: Palace of the Alhambra; Alhamar, the Founder of the Alhambra; Yusef Abul Hagig, the Finisher of the Alhambra; Panorama from the Tower of Comares; Legend of the Moor’s Legacy; Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra; The Governor and the Notary; Governor Manco and the Soldier; Legend of Two Discreet Statues; Legend of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa; The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier.The Sketch-Book, No. 17, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Author’s Account of Himself; The Broken Heart; The Spectre Bridegroom; Rural Life in England; The Angler; John Bull; The Christmas Dinner; Stratford-on-Avon.Knickerbocker Stories, No. 23, single, complete selections, 140 pp.: I. Broek, or the Dutch Paradise; II. From Knickerbocker’s New York, (a) New Amsterdam under Van Twiller, (b) How William the Testy Defended the City, (c) Peter Stuyvesant’s Voyage up the Hudson; III. Wolfert’s Roost; IV. The Storm Ship; V. Rip Van Winkle; VI. A Legend of Sleepy Hollow.KENNEDY, J. P.—*Horse-Shoe Robinson,a Tale of the Revolution, No. 10 (abr.), 192 pp.LONGFELLOW—Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie, No. 21, single, complete, 102 pp.English AuthorsBULWER-LYTTON—*Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings, No. 12 (abr.), 160 pp.BYRON—The Prisoner of Chillonand Other Poems, No. 11, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: The Prisoner of Chillon; Mazeppa; Childe Harold.DICKENS—Christmas Stories, No. 5, single (abr.), 142 pp.: A Christmas Carol; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Child’s Dream of a Star.Little Nell(from Old Curiosity Shop), No. 22, single (abr.), 123 pp.Paul Dombey(from Dombey and Son), No. 14, single (abr.), 128 pp.SCOTT—*Ivanhoe, No. 24 (abr.), 180 pp. *Kenilworth, No. 7 (abr.), 164 pp.; *Lady of the Lake, No. 9, complete, 192 pp.; Rob Roy, No. 3, single (abr.), 130 pp.SWIFT—Gulliver’s Travels, Voyages to Lilliput and Brobdingnag, No. 13, single (abr.), 128 pp.TENNYSON—Enoch Ardenand Other Poems, No. 6, single, complete selections, 110 pp.: Enoch Arden; The Coming of Arthur; The Passing of Arthur; Columbus; The May Queen; New Year’s Eve; Conclusion; Dora; The Charge of the Light Brigade; The Defence of Lucknow; Lady Clare; Break, Break, Break; The Brook; Bugle Song; Widow and Child; The Days That Are No More; I Envy Not; Oh, Yet We Trust; Ring Out, Wild Bells; Crossing the Bar (Tennyson’s last poem).French AuthorsHUGO, VICTOR—*Ninety-Three, No. 18 (abr.), 157 pp.Grading.—For History Classes: Spy, Pilot, Deerslayer, Horse-Shoe Robinson, Knickerbocker Stories, Harold, Kenilworth, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Ninety-Three, Alhambra.Geography: Two Years Before the Mast.English Literature: Evangeline, Lady of the Lake, Enoch Arden, Prisoner of Chillon, Sketch-Book.Lower Grammar Grades: Christmas Stories, Little Nell, Paul Dombey, Gulliver’s Travels, Twice-Told Tales.Primary Grades: Wonder-Book, Snow-Image.Numbers 25 to 40Each with Introduction and Notes. Starred numbers, double.25. ROBINSON CRUSOE. Defoe.Illustrated. For Young Readers.*26. POEMS OF KNIGHTLY ADVENTURE.Tennyson,Arnold,Macaulay,Lowell. Four Complete Selections.*27. THE WATER WITCH. Cooper.With Map.28. TALES OF A GRANDFATHER. Scott.Complete Selections.*29. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Cooper.With Map.30. THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. Bunyan.For Young Readers.*31. BLACK BEAUTY. Sewell.Complete.*32. THE YEMASSEE. Cooper.With Map.*33. WESTWARD HO! Kingsley.With Map.*34. ’ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS.Verne.35. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. Wyss.Illustrated.*36. THE CHILDHOOD OF DAVID COPPERFIELD. Dickens.*37. THE SONG OF HIAWATHA. Longfellow.Complete.*38. THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. Bulwer-Lytton.39. FAIRY TALES.Second School Year. Selected Tales.*40. THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Scott.Complete.WHAT PROMINENT EDUCATORS SAYW. T. Harris,Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C.: “I have examined very carefully one of the abridgments from Walter Scott, and I would not have believed the essentials of the story could have been retained with so severe an abridgment. But the story thus abridged has kept its interest and all of the chief threads of the plot. I am very glad that the great novels of Walter Scott are in course of publication by your house in such a form that school children, and older persons as yet unfamiliar with Walter Scott, may find an easy introduction. To read Walter Scott’s novels is a large part of a liberal education, but his discourses on the history of the times and his disquisitions on motives render his stories too hard for the person of merely elementary education. But if one can interest himself in the plot, and skip these learned passages, he may, on a second reading, be able to grasp the whole novel. Hence I look to such abridgments as you have made for a great extension of Walter Scott’s usefulness.”William H. Maxwell,Superintendent of Public Instruction, New York City: “I take great pleasure in commending to those who are seeking for good reading in the schools, the Standard Literature Series. The editors of the series have struck out a new line in the preparation of literature for schools. They have taken great works of fiction and poetry, and so edited them as to omit what is beyond the comprehension, or what would weary the attention, of children in the higher grades of elementary schools.”Walter B. Gunnison,Principal Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, N. Y.“I have watched with much interest the issues of the new Standard Literature Series, and have examined them all with care. I regard them as a distinct addition to the school literature of our country. The selections are admirable—the annotations clear and comprehensive, and the form convenient and artistic.”A. E. Winship,Editor “Journal of Education,” Boston, Mass.“I desire to acknowledge, after many days, the volumes ‘Kenilworth’ and ‘Harold,’ in the Standard Literature Series. I am much pleased with these books. It is a great service which you are rendering the schools. Our children must read all the British-American classics which have any bearing upon history, and, with all that is absolutely required of them in this day, theycannotdo what they must do. There is a conflict of ‘oughts.’ You make it possible, here, for the child to get all he needs of each of all the books he must read. It is a great service. I admire the appreciation of the editors of their text.”C. B. Gilbert,Superintendent of Schools, Newark, N. J.“The Standard Literature Series bids fair to prove a most valuable addition to literature available for use in schools. The books are well selected, carefully edited, and supplied with valuable notes and maps. ‘Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings,’ may serve as a type. For classes in English history it will prove invaluable, giving, as it does in the language of a master, a most vivid picture of early England; its struggles and its people. The Introduction paves the way for what is to follow. The portions omitted can be spared, and the notes are just enough to clear up difficult passages, but not enough to be burdensome.”R. E. Denfeld,Superintendent of Schools, Duluth, Minn.“I have carefully read many of the numbers of the Standard Literature Series and do not hesitate to say that they are exceptionally well edited. One in particular I have in mind which was so carefully condensed as to make it of convenient size for a school reading book, and yet no part of the essentially connected matter was omitted.”Henry R. Sanford,Institute Conductor for New York State, Penn Yan, N. Y.“You are doing a good thing in thus giving to the public cheap editions of standard literature.”Correspondence is invited. Special discounts to schools and dealers. AddressUniversity · Publishing · CompanyNew York: 43-45-47 East Tenth St.Boston: 352 Washington StNew Orleans: 714-716 Canal St.

Works of standard authors for supplementary reading in schools—complete selections or abridgments—with introductions and explanatory notes. Single numbers, 64 to 128 pages, stiff paper sides 12½ cents, cloth 20 cents; double numbers, 160 to 224 pages, stiff paper sides 20 cents, cloth 30 cents.

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR (24) NUMBERS, ARRANGED BY COUNTRIES AND AUTHORS

Starred numbers are DOUBLE. All the works are complete, or contain complete selections, except those marked “abr.”

COOPER—The Spy, No. 1, single (abr.), 128 pp.; *The Pilot, No. 2 (abr.), 181 pp.; *The Deerslayer, No. 8 (abr.), 160 pp.

DANA, R. H., Jr.—*Two Years Before the Mast, No. 19 (abr.), 173 pp.

HAWTHORNE—Twice-Told Tales, No. 15, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: The Village Uncle; The Ambitious Guest; Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe; A Rill from the Town Pump; The Great Carbuncle; David Swan; Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment; Peter Goldthwaite’s Treasure; The Threefold Destiny; Old Esther Dudley.

A Wonder-Book, for Girls and Boys, No. 16, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Golden Touch; The Paradise of Children; The Three Golden Apples; The Miraculous Pitcher.

The Snow-Imageand other Twice-Told Tales, No. 20, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Snow-Image; The Great Stone Face; Little Daffydowndilly; The Vision of the Fountain; The Seven Vagabonds; Little Annie’s Ramble; The Prophetic Pictures.

IRVING—The Alhambra, No. 4, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: Palace of the Alhambra; Alhamar, the Founder of the Alhambra; Yusef Abul Hagig, the Finisher of the Alhambra; Panorama from the Tower of Comares; Legend of the Moor’s Legacy; Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra; The Governor and the Notary; Governor Manco and the Soldier; Legend of Two Discreet Statues; Legend of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa; The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier.

The Sketch-Book, No. 17, single, complete selections, 121 pp.: The Author’s Account of Himself; The Broken Heart; The Spectre Bridegroom; Rural Life in England; The Angler; John Bull; The Christmas Dinner; Stratford-on-Avon.

Knickerbocker Stories, No. 23, single, complete selections, 140 pp.: I. Broek, or the Dutch Paradise; II. From Knickerbocker’s New York, (a) New Amsterdam under Van Twiller, (b) How William the Testy Defended the City, (c) Peter Stuyvesant’s Voyage up the Hudson; III. Wolfert’s Roost; IV. The Storm Ship; V. Rip Van Winkle; VI. A Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

KENNEDY, J. P.—*Horse-Shoe Robinson,a Tale of the Revolution, No. 10 (abr.), 192 pp.

LONGFELLOW—Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie, No. 21, single, complete, 102 pp.

BULWER-LYTTON—*Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings, No. 12 (abr.), 160 pp.

BYRON—The Prisoner of Chillonand Other Poems, No. 11, single, complete selections, 128 pp.: The Prisoner of Chillon; Mazeppa; Childe Harold.

DICKENS—Christmas Stories, No. 5, single (abr.), 142 pp.: A Christmas Carol; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Child’s Dream of a Star.

Little Nell(from Old Curiosity Shop), No. 22, single (abr.), 123 pp.Paul Dombey(from Dombey and Son), No. 14, single (abr.), 128 pp.

SCOTT—*Ivanhoe, No. 24 (abr.), 180 pp. *Kenilworth, No. 7 (abr.), 164 pp.; *Lady of the Lake, No. 9, complete, 192 pp.; Rob Roy, No. 3, single (abr.), 130 pp.

SWIFT—Gulliver’s Travels, Voyages to Lilliput and Brobdingnag, No. 13, single (abr.), 128 pp.

TENNYSON—Enoch Ardenand Other Poems, No. 6, single, complete selections, 110 pp.: Enoch Arden; The Coming of Arthur; The Passing of Arthur; Columbus; The May Queen; New Year’s Eve; Conclusion; Dora; The Charge of the Light Brigade; The Defence of Lucknow; Lady Clare; Break, Break, Break; The Brook; Bugle Song; Widow and Child; The Days That Are No More; I Envy Not; Oh, Yet We Trust; Ring Out, Wild Bells; Crossing the Bar (Tennyson’s last poem).

HUGO, VICTOR—*Ninety-Three, No. 18 (abr.), 157 pp.

Grading.—For History Classes: Spy, Pilot, Deerslayer, Horse-Shoe Robinson, Knickerbocker Stories, Harold, Kenilworth, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Ninety-Three, Alhambra.Geography: Two Years Before the Mast.English Literature: Evangeline, Lady of the Lake, Enoch Arden, Prisoner of Chillon, Sketch-Book.Lower Grammar Grades: Christmas Stories, Little Nell, Paul Dombey, Gulliver’s Travels, Twice-Told Tales.Primary Grades: Wonder-Book, Snow-Image.

Each with Introduction and Notes. Starred numbers, double.

25. ROBINSON CRUSOE. Defoe.Illustrated. For Young Readers.

*26. POEMS OF KNIGHTLY ADVENTURE.Tennyson,Arnold,Macaulay,Lowell. Four Complete Selections.

*27. THE WATER WITCH. Cooper.With Map.28. TALES OF A GRANDFATHER. Scott.Complete Selections.*29. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Cooper.With Map.30. THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. Bunyan.For Young Readers.*31. BLACK BEAUTY. Sewell.Complete.*32. THE YEMASSEE. Cooper.With Map.*33. WESTWARD HO! Kingsley.With Map.*34. ’ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS.Verne.35. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. Wyss.Illustrated.*36. THE CHILDHOOD OF DAVID COPPERFIELD. Dickens.*37. THE SONG OF HIAWATHA. Longfellow.Complete.*38. THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. Bulwer-Lytton.39. FAIRY TALES.Second School Year. Selected Tales.*40. THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Scott.Complete.

W. T. Harris,Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C.: “I have examined very carefully one of the abridgments from Walter Scott, and I would not have believed the essentials of the story could have been retained with so severe an abridgment. But the story thus abridged has kept its interest and all of the chief threads of the plot. I am very glad that the great novels of Walter Scott are in course of publication by your house in such a form that school children, and older persons as yet unfamiliar with Walter Scott, may find an easy introduction. To read Walter Scott’s novels is a large part of a liberal education, but his discourses on the history of the times and his disquisitions on motives render his stories too hard for the person of merely elementary education. But if one can interest himself in the plot, and skip these learned passages, he may, on a second reading, be able to grasp the whole novel. Hence I look to such abridgments as you have made for a great extension of Walter Scott’s usefulness.”

William H. Maxwell,Superintendent of Public Instruction, New York City: “I take great pleasure in commending to those who are seeking for good reading in the schools, the Standard Literature Series. The editors of the series have struck out a new line in the preparation of literature for schools. They have taken great works of fiction and poetry, and so edited them as to omit what is beyond the comprehension, or what would weary the attention, of children in the higher grades of elementary schools.”

Walter B. Gunnison,Principal Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, N. Y.“I have watched with much interest the issues of the new Standard Literature Series, and have examined them all with care. I regard them as a distinct addition to the school literature of our country. The selections are admirable—the annotations clear and comprehensive, and the form convenient and artistic.”

A. E. Winship,Editor “Journal of Education,” Boston, Mass.“I desire to acknowledge, after many days, the volumes ‘Kenilworth’ and ‘Harold,’ in the Standard Literature Series. I am much pleased with these books. It is a great service which you are rendering the schools. Our children must read all the British-American classics which have any bearing upon history, and, with all that is absolutely required of them in this day, theycannotdo what they must do. There is a conflict of ‘oughts.’ You make it possible, here, for the child to get all he needs of each of all the books he must read. It is a great service. I admire the appreciation of the editors of their text.”

C. B. Gilbert,Superintendent of Schools, Newark, N. J.“The Standard Literature Series bids fair to prove a most valuable addition to literature available for use in schools. The books are well selected, carefully edited, and supplied with valuable notes and maps. ‘Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings,’ may serve as a type. For classes in English history it will prove invaluable, giving, as it does in the language of a master, a most vivid picture of early England; its struggles and its people. The Introduction paves the way for what is to follow. The portions omitted can be spared, and the notes are just enough to clear up difficult passages, but not enough to be burdensome.”

R. E. Denfeld,Superintendent of Schools, Duluth, Minn.“I have carefully read many of the numbers of the Standard Literature Series and do not hesitate to say that they are exceptionally well edited. One in particular I have in mind which was so carefully condensed as to make it of convenient size for a school reading book, and yet no part of the essentially connected matter was omitted.”

Henry R. Sanford,Institute Conductor for New York State, Penn Yan, N. Y.“You are doing a good thing in thus giving to the public cheap editions of standard literature.”

Correspondence is invited. Special discounts to schools and dealers. AddressUniversity · Publishing · CompanyNew York: 43-45-47 East Tenth St.Boston: 352 Washington StNew Orleans: 714-716 Canal St.

[1]The term “Continental” was applied to the army of the Colonies, to their Congress, to the money issued by Congress, etc.

[2]guesses.

[3]wrapper.

[4]declared.

[5]sharpness.

[6]eagerness.

[7]exactness in conduct.

[8]quickness and skill.

[9]centred upon one thing.

[10]looking at the surface only.

[11]love of gain.

[12]a door cut into halves, upper and lower.

[13]extreme.

[14]a British colonel.

[15]an American general; also spelled Sumter.

[16]a branch of the Broad, which is a branch of the Congaree River, South Carolina.

[17]irons for supporting wood in a fire-place.

[18]a village in Westchester County, north of the Harlem River.

[19]White Plains.

[20]regular troops, British.

[21]with scorn.

[22]readiness to converse.

[23]British spy, captured near Tarrytown, and hanged near Tappan.

[24]The glances conveyed a hidden meaning.

[25]DeLancey was a British officer in command of the Cow-Boys (see note, p.30).

[26]overspread.

[27]fears.

[28]a bright red color.

[29]open; frank.

[30]defeated.

[31]ended.

[32]Long Island Sound.

[33]waves.

[34]readiness.

[35]thinking.

[36]entertaining guests without pay.

[37]disturbed condition of mind.

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