[38] a stringed instrument that is caused to sound by the impulse of the air.
[39] fright.
[40] from the side.
[41] signs or motions.
[42] very great.
[43] using but few words.
[44] overcoat.
[45] change.
[46] on the Hudson, forty miles north of New York.
[47] is the duty of.
[48] to make easy.
[49] very hastily.
[50] trial.
[51] never to be loosened.
[52] free from blame.
[53] a mounted sentinel.
[54] These were Hessian soldiers (from Hesse-Cassel, in Germany) hired by Great Britain. The Cow-Boys were Americans enlisted as soldiers in the British army. On the next page they are referred to as the “refugee troop.”
[55] haughty.
[56] a noted park in London.
[57] changes in position.
[58] violent; fierce.
[59] that is, here, first lieutenant.
[60] inclination.
[61] threatening nature.
[62] It was a danger demanding immediate action.
[63] thinking quietly.
[64] foreshadowing something serious.
[65] search.
[66] lines of the face.
[67] They were known as “Skinners.”
[68] questions.
[69] fool.
[70] notes issued by the Continental Congress, worth but little.
[71] George III., King of England.
[72] little details.
[73] departure (literally, they go out).
[74] burial.
[75] agreements.
[76] forfeiting to the public treasury.
[77] supporter of the American cause.
[78] hard to suit.
[79] falling into decay.
[80] outburst.
[81] quickness.
[82] jocosely.
[83] change of sentinel.
[84] French aid was given the Americans.
[85] Colonists, who favored the British.
[86] counted.
[87] whipping.
[88] unsuccessful.
[89] gentleness, kindness.
[90] place of meeting.
[91] murder by secret assault.
[92] one not fighting.
[93] risk or danger.
[94] expressing one thing and meaning another.
[95] covered with a decorated cloth.
[96] upright windows built on a sloping roof.
[97] exclaimed.
[98] Sir Henry Clinton, commander of the English forces.
[99] a procession of persons on horseback.
[100] messenger.
[101] a stronghold on the Hudson.
[102] middle age.
[103] name.
[104] one who studies cases of conscience.
[105] communication of disease by contact.
[106] an American officer who was detected within the British lines in disguise.
[107] General Nathanael Greene, a noted American commander.
[108] William; a general in the American army, who organized the forces at Cambridge before the battle of Bunker Hill.
[109] Alexander Hamilton, aide-de-camp to Washington.
[110] wild and extravagant notions.
[111] aversion, dislike.
[112] refined—exalted.
[113] a city of Switzerland.
[114] read account in the book of Daniel (Bible).
[115] not sincere.
[116] very hungry.
[117] surveying the situation with his eye.
[118] medley.
[119] with haste.
[120] exciting fear.
[121] a woman’s short cloak.
[122] clefts or openings.
[123] sword.
[124] overcoat.
[125] arrest.
[126] penalty.
[127] She thought his sense of duty too exacting.
[128] marriage.
[129] pretence.
[130] a river flowing into the Hudson about thirty-two miles above New York; high ground bordering on this river.
[131] a ship of war.
[132] respect.
[133] forms required by good breeding.
[134] a former Spanish coin, worth about $8.
[135] name of river and falls between New York and Canada.
[136] bottomless depth.
[137] a village in Canada, twenty-one miles northwest of Buffalo.
[138] manner.
[139] a fort on the Canada side of the Niagara River, where it flows into Lake Ontario.
[140] a road leading west from Niagara River, near Niagara Falls.
[141] General Winfield Scott, commander of the American forces.
[142] torch.
[143] unrewarded.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters’ errors; otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the author’s words and intent.
2. The original of this book did not have a Table of Contents; one has been added for the reader’s convenience.