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TREACHERY OF GENERAL ARNOLD.

was summoned to appear before a court-martial, and received a severe reprimand from the commander-in-chief. The irritated pride of Arnold now led him to seek revenge, and he resolved to become a traitor to his country. This determination seems to have been cherished for more than twelve months, and for a long time he engaged in a secret correspondence with André, an adjutant-general in the British army. That he might carry out his plan with greater success, he managed to get himself appointed to the command of a considerable body of troops at West Point on the Hudson.

Washington being engaged in an interview with Rochambeau, for the purpose of arranging the plan of the next campaign, his absence from the army seemed to Arnold a favourable opportunity for completing his design. André came over the river, and was met by Arnold on Friday, September 22, and a long conference ensued between the two; in which, among other things, it was agreed that Arnold should deliver up West Point to the British on the following Monday. Some important papers relating to the strength and plans of the American army were given to André, who then prepared to depart; but the boatman who had brought him from the sloop in which he had crossed the river, refused to take him back the unfortunate young man therefore resolved to travel to New York by land. By the advice of Arnold he laid aside his English uniform, and receiving a pass from the traitor, authorizing him to travel under the name of John Anderson, he set out on his journey to rejoin the camp of Sir Henry Clinton. He had however just passed the last American post, when he was seized by three men, who soon discovered that he belonged to the royalists. On searching him they found in his boots the papers he had received from Arnold. The men, who belonged to the militia, immediately carried him before their commanding officer, lieutenant-colonel Jameson, who sent a despatch to Washington, announcing the event. Arnold having by some means heard of the capture, hastily left his wife and child, and fled to New York; where it must be recorded to the disgrace of the commander, he was immediately invested with the rank of brigadier-general in the British army.

EXECUTION OF ANDRÉ.

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André, now finding that all hope of escape was gone, wrote to Washington, giving his real name, and stating the rank he held. The vigilant general hastened back on receiving the despatch from Jameson, and learning from the papers the plot that had been formed, took every precaution to prevent a surprise. André was soon brought before a court of general officers, of whom Lafayette was one. After a lengthened investigation, they reported, "that the prisoner came on shore in the night to hold a secret interview with general Arnold; that he assumed a disguised habit in the American lines; that he had in his possession papers giving intelligence to the enemy; that he ought to be considered as a spy, and, according to the law and usage of nations, to suffer death." This decision was laid before general Washington, by whom it was approved, and André was ordered for execution. Sir Henry Clinton employed the most strenuous efforts to save his life, and several letters passed between him and Washington, but without avail. André himself behaved after the passing of the sentence with the greatest calmness and dignity. He wrote to the commander-in-chief, soliciting that the mode of his death. might be in accordance with his rank as a soldier, and that he might not die on a gibbet; but Washington, whose feelings of sympathy for the unfortunate young man seem to have been intense, felt that he could not make an exception in the case, and on the 2nd October Major André was executed.

Thus perished, through the treachery of Arnold, the young, accomplished, and amiable André. That the transaction in which he was engaged was both dishonourable and criminal is indisputable; but the guilt of the affair must be shared by the man who was plotting an act of treachery against his country, and the English general by whom he had been employed in the nefarious attempt. In England André was so much loved and lamented, that a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey. Arnold soon after published "An address to the inhabitants of America," in which he attempted to justify the course he had pursued; but the universal execration which was poured upon his name, showed how fruitless was the attempt. An alarming mutiny broke out in the

VOL. VII.

7

82

LORD CORNWALLIS SURRENDERS.

army, in the beginning of 1781, occasioned by the miserable condition of privation which the parsimony and neglect of the congress had occasioned. But for the firmness and prudence of Washington, this spirit of disaffection would have ruined the American cause, and left the country at the mercy of its enemies. Order was however at length restored, and plans were considered for an attack upon New York, but subsequent events rendered this unnecessary. Sir Henry Clinton contented himself with watching and helping the efforts of lord Cornwallis in the south, to whom he sent as many detachments as he could spare; while the traitor Arnold was entrusted with a number of armed vessels on the Chesapeake, where he was eager to prove his zeal for his new friends. Washington now determined to attack Cornwallis; accordingly the united American and French troops besieged Yorktown and Gloucester, and soon compelled the British to offer terms of capitulation. These terms having been agreed to by Washington, the army surrendered their arms, marched out with the honours of war, and were finally sent back to England; the number of troops, besides seamen, being upwards of seven thousand. Several severe skirmishes happened after this, especially a fiercely contested struggle between Green and the English commander, Stuart, at Eutaw; but these may be passed over. The war was drawing to a close; the change in the condition of parties at home, and the conviction that was spreading amongst all classes in England that the war was useless and unjust, indicated that a settlement could not be far distant; and at length this disastrous contest was terminated by the treaty of peace being signed at Paris at the 20th January, 1783, when the independence of America was fully acknowledged.

Washington, whose skill and bravery had been the means, under Providence, of establishing the freedom of the United States, now left the army, and having resigned his commission into the hands of the president, retired into private life, followed by the blessings of the thousands whom he had served so well, and the admiration of the enemies with whom he had had to contend.

The pressure of war being withdrawn, the defects of

WASHINGTON FIRST PRESIDENT.

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the American constitution began to excite attention, and a convention was appointed to effect the necessary reforms; to this assembly Washington was appointed as a delegate for Virginia, and was unanimously chosen its president. The result of the four months' session was "the constitution of the United States," which it was proposed to substitute for "the articles of confederation." The plan being forwarded to congress was approved, and after receiving the ratification of the several provincial assemblies, was adopted. Congress then appointed the necessary measures for the election of a president. The high character he had secured, and the great services he had rendered, soon directed the electors to the one most fitted for the eminent station, and in 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected the first president of the United States. In this new position he manifested the same ability and high principle which had always distinguished him. So warmly was his administration appreciated, that at the close of the prescribed term of office, in 1793, he was re-elected, and compelled by the urgent importunities of all classes to consent to serve for four years longer. At the termination of the second presidentship, he retired into private life, and died December 18th, 1799, aged sixty-seven years, leaving a name which has been inscribed amongst the noblest, wisest, and most patriotic of those who have been recorded in the history of the world. As a man he was honourable, as a statesman he was true to his country, and as a Christian he was sincere.

Since his time a number of eminent men have filled the presidential chair, and America has risen to occupy a foremost rank amid the nations. May the one great blot of slavery soon pass away, and her honour and glory be without stain and without reproach.

CHAPTER VII.

National Perils.-A. D. 1788-1800.

ENGLAND.

RETURN OF THE KING'S MALADY.-HIS RECOVERY.-COMMENCEMENT OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.-WILBERFORCE OPPOSES THE SLAVE TRADE.-WAR AGAINST FRANCE. OPPOSITION TO THE WAR.-UNWISE POLICY TOWARDS IRELAND.-DISCONTENT OF THE PEOPLE.SECRET ASSOCIATIONS.-NEGOCIATIONS WITH FRANCE.

-CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.THE ORANGE LODGES.-SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. MOBS AND TUMULTS IN LONDON.-INCREASING EXPENSES OF THE WAR.-HEAVY TAXATION.-CASH PAYMENTS SUSPENDED BY THE BANK. STRANGE AND FUTILE INVASION.- MUTINIES IN THE NAVY.-THE IRISH REBELLION.-UNION OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND. -SECOND ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE KING.-EXPECTED FRENCH INVASION.

THE distressing malady with which the king had been visited in the early part of his reign, returned in 1788; and threw the ministry and the country into the greatest perplexity. At the prorogation of parliament in July, his majesty appeared to be in his usual robust health: but within a few weeks it was rumoured that he was unwell, and had gone to Cheltenham by the advice of his physicians. While there, he continually showed himself abroad in company with the queen; after he returned to Kew however in the autumn, but little was seen of him. Surmises and speculations began to be circulated, and the omission of the usual drawing rooms served to impart a degree of certainty to these suspicions. At length, a drawing room was held at St. James's, in October; when the king's conversation and manner painfully impressed all who approached him. After the ceremony he retired