284

APPLICATION TO GENERAL HOWE.

greatness of her obligation for his Excellency's permis sion for me to go home with her on parole; and then immediately to take up arms against us again, I suppose ! said the General. By no means, Sir; I solicit his release upon parole; that will restrain him until exchanged: but, on my own part, I will go farther, and say, that if I have any influence over him, he shall never take up arms again, Here the feelings of the patriot were wholly lost in those of the "war-detesting" mother. The General seemed to hesitate, but gave no answer. On the renewal of her suit, however, he appeared, by his manner, (for he was sparing of words,) to assent, and so she construed it. But, to put the matter out of doubt, she asked-Have I your Excellency's permission for my son to go home with me on his parole? Bowing, he answered, Yes. May Colonel Miles and Major West, added she, be permitted to go also? Now, Madam, observed the General, you are making two requests instead of one. She begged his pardon for presuming to do so, as she ought certainly to be satisfied with the great favour already granted; and inquired, if she was to mention the matter to Mr Loring. He said it was unnecessary, as the proper measures would be taken to effect the purpose. The reason of her mentioning Colonel Miles and Major West was, that they had already obtained a promise of being liberated on parole; and she was appréhensive, that, unless they were put upon the same footing with me, I should suspect improper terms had been made, and mar the whole business. This caution, probably, was unnecessary; the boon was extended to these gentlemen, as I presume it would have been, had they not been mentioned. From the General's quarters she immediately went to Mr Loring, whom she had known

AUTHOR LIBERATED ON HIS PAROLE.

285

in Philadelphia, where he had some time resided, and acquainted him with the indulgence which had been granted her; upon which he was pleased to observe, that it was more than I was entitled to, as not one of the prisoners had been more upon his high horse.

Whatever grounds there may be for ascribing cruelty to General Howe, it must be admitted, that no obduracy appeared at this interview; and I have been careful to give it precisely as it was related by my mother. War, indeed, in its essence, is cruelty, especially civil war its tendency is to make men ferocious and merciless. In conflicts, in which our lives are continually at stake, we, at length, become callous, even to the loss of our own party, and have, of course, still less concern for the destruction of our adversaries, notwithstanding that particular situations may sometimes call forth striking examples of sympathy and generosity. When, moreover, we consider the foe as obnoxious to legal punishment, our hearts are too apt to be steeled against all "compunctious visitings of nature." Such seems to be the nature of man; and the apathy of Howe, to the miseries of his prisoners, serves to show that he was too like the bulk of his species, ever prone to severity against the opposers of established authority, when partaking of, or friendly to it. What was the conduct of the Duke of Alva in the Low Countries? That of the British, which we, as liege subjects, did not then disapprove, against the rebels in the year forty-six, commemorated by Smollet in his "Mourn, hapless Caledonia, mourn ?" What were the hideous enormities of the French republicans against the people of La Vendee, and what mercy was evinced towards Burr by the high-toned advocates of prerogative under the mild sway of Mr Jefferson?

Though the abuse of power is always detestable, yet it may not be improper to look at home before we devote others to destruction as monsters of unheard of cruelty. I neither have palliated, nor do I mean to palliate, the sufferings of the prisoners at New York: they were shocking to humanity, and no one witnessed them with more anguish than myself; but this is no reason that we should not ask ourselves, whether it was to be expected, that they were, at once, to be set at liberty, and, if not, what other mode or place of confinement was within the power of the enemy? Or, if the want of good and sufficient food and other accommodations was the cause of the mortality, are we perfectly sure they had better to administer? If, in an entirely new state of the world, we are, on account of former injuries, to reject the aid of the only nation upon earth which has power to rescue us from impending perdition, it certainly behoves us to inquire calmly into the extent of her aggressions, and, for our own sakes, if not for her's or the sake of justice, to admit the effect of any alleviating circumstances which may be found. But few of us, I trust, are in the happy predicament to have been so hysterically alarmed during the war as to be unable to forgive; or to have incurred disgraces which can only be washed out and avenged by the common destruction of our old enemy and ourselves.

AUTHOR LEAVES LONG ISLAND.

287

CHAPTER XI.

The Author leaves Long Island for New York and Elizabethtown-Arrives at Philadelphia-Meets the Object of an Early Attachment-Public Feelings.

It was not long before the welcome summons arrived for our repairing to New York for the purpose of being transported from thence, in a flag vessel, to Elizabethtown; and, upon this occasion, we were escorted, to the end of the village, by a no small troop of our less lucky fellow prisoners. It was made a condition, by Loring, that our boarding should be paid before we left Flatbush; and the heart of old Jacob was accordingly gladdened, by the sight of a sum of money he had despaired of receiving. He and I parted very good friends; and it is but justice to say, that the treatment I received from him, and his family, Mr and Mrs Hagerman, was both civil and obliging. As there was no subject upon which we prisoners had been so much in the dark, and were, at the same time, so anxious to be informed of, as that of the state of our army and public affairs in general, Tudor, on my coming away, furnished me with a kind of cypher, by which, as soon as I had time to inform myself, I was to satisfy him by letter on certain points he particularly wished to know. The disguise was not in the character, but in the substitution of one piece of information for another,—for instance, a lady,

288

AUTHOR ARRIVES AT NEW YORK.

who was to be named, was to signify the army, and, if that was strong and in a prosperous train, it was to be indicated by announcing the health and charming looks of the lady. There was a scale in the key by which the intelligence might be graduated; and it was so contrived, as to admit of the transmission of pretty satisfactory information in a few important particulars. Knowing the deep interest that was taken in the expected communication, it was among my first cares, on getting home, to perform this duty. But I must admit, that my statements, though correct in the main, were rather more flattering than rigid truth would warrant. I could not endure the thought of reducing my compa nions in misfortune to despair. It was certainly admissi ble, on this occasion, to adopt the practice of painters; and, in preserving the lineaments and character of the countenance, to render the portrait as pleasing as possible. It had the effect, as I afterwards learned, to put them in good heart: for, although I had not said everý thing which might have been wished, it was ascribed to a propensity I was supposed to have, of looking rather on the unfavourable side of things; and, as I, so little sanguine, had ventured to say so much, it was inferred, that I might, with truth, have said a great deal more.

The particulars of this pleasing trip to New York have entirely escaped my memory; as how we travelled, though I presume it was in a waggon for the convenience of carrying our baggage; whether it was in the forenoon or afternoon; whether we left the city on the day we reached it, &c. though, as to this, it is more than probable that it was not until the day after, as I well recollect breakfasting with my mother at the house of Mr Matthews, the mayor, and that his daughter, who