er guests were surprised. They regarded the act as a direct
insult to the commander-in-chief. Washington read their feelings in
their faces, and he remarked: "Gentlemen, my friend is right; I do not
wish any of my guests to partake of anything against their inclination,
and I certainly do not wish them to violate any established _principle_
in their social intercourse with me. I honor Mr. ---- for his frankness,
for his consistency in thus adhering to an established rule which can
never do him harm, and for the adoption of which, I have no doubt, he
has good and sufficient reasons."

While Washington was watching the British fleet, General Burgoyne was
advancing from the north, his Hessian soldiers and Indian allies
indulging themselves in terrifying and plundering the defenceless
inhabitants. On the 16th of August the battle of Bennington was fought,
in which the American troops, under the brave General Stark, won a
decisive victory. Stark addressed his troops in words of cheer before
going into battle, and closed by saying:

"Now, my men, there are the red-coats. Before night they must be ours,
or Molly Stark will be a widow."

Stark captured thirty-two British officers, five hundred and sixty-four
privates, four brass field-pieces, a thousand stand of arms, and a large
quantity of ammunition.

The moral effect of this victory was grand. The farmers rushed to the
American camp, to follow up the victory by surrounding Burgoyne, cutting
off his supplies, and driving him to Saratoga.

Washington hailed the victory with great joy, and proclaimed it at the
head of his army to inspire his troops to nobler deeds.

Another bloody battle was fought at Fort Schuyler, where the Americans
bravely defended and held the fort. The Indians conducted so much like
fiends incarnate that even the Hessians were shocked. A Hessian officer
wrote:

"These savages are heathen; huge, warlike, and enterprising, but wicked
as Satan. Some say they are cannibals, but I do not believe it; though,
in their fury, they will tear the flesh of the enemy with their teeth."

A Miss McCrea, daughter of a New Jersey clergyman, was visiting friends
at the North. Her lover was a Tory, and he was in the British army, so
that she felt no anxiety at the approach of Burgoyne.

Early one morning she was startled by the horrid yells of savages, who
had surrounded the house where she was visiting. Before she was scarcely
aware of her peril, they burst into