ure which did
not leave him thereafter.

The short distance between Trenton and Princeton on the direct road was
passed in a remarkably short time by the now thoroughly aroused and
anxious British. A little party under command of Seymour and Kelly,
which had been assiduously engaged in breaking down the bridge over
Stony Brook, was observed and driven away by two field-pieces, which
had been halted and unlimbered on a commanding hill, and which opened
fire while the troops advanced on a run; but the damage had been done,
and the bridge was already impassable. After a futile attempt to
repair it, in which much time was lost, the indefatigable earl sent his
troops through the icy water of the turbulent stream, which rose
breast-high upon the eager men, and the hasty pursuit was once more
resumed. A mile or so beyond the bridge the whole army was brought to
a stand by a sudden discharge from a heavy gun, which did some
execution; it was mounted in a breastwork some distance ahead. The
army was halted, men were sent ahead to reconnoitre, and a strong
column deployed to storm what was supposed to be a heavy battery. When
the storming party reached the works, there was no one there! A lone
thirty-two-pounder, too unwieldy to accompany the rapid march of the
Americans, had been left behind, and Philip Wilton had volunteered to
remain, after Seymour's party had passed, and further delay the British
by firing it at their army as soon as they came in range. These delays
had given Washington so much of a start that Cornwallis, despairing of
ever overtaking him, finally gave up the pursuit, and pushed on in
great anxiety to New Brunswick, to save, if possible, his magazines,
which he had the satisfaction in the end of finding intact.

To complete this brief _resume_ of one of the remarkable campaigns of
history, Washington strongly fortified himself on Cornwallis' flank at
Morristown, menacing each of the three depots held by the British
outside New York; Putnam advanced from Philadelphia to Trenton, with
the militia; and Heath moved down to the highlands of the Hudson. The
country people of New Jersey rose and cut off scattered detachments of
the British in every direction, until the whole of the field was
eventually abandoned by them, except Amboy, Newark, and New Brunswick.
The world witnessed the singular spectacle of a large, well-appointed
army of veteran soldiery, under able leaders, shut up in practically
one spot