proved to be in practice. Still it was evident, that of the neighbouring provinces, and some regular they had made an extraordinary effort in hopes of terminating the war at a single blow. New York being the most advantageous position, they had selected it as the centre of their operations. General Howe took possession of Staten Island, on the second of July; and his brother Admiral Howe, with fresh forces from England joined him about the twelfth of regiments from Maryland, from Pennsylvania, and from New England, which had swelled his army to the number of twenty-seven thousand men; but a fourth of these troops was composed of invalids, and scarcely was another fourth furnished with arms. The American army, such as it was, occupied the positions most suitable to cover the menaced the same month. General Clinton arrived there points. The corps which had been stationed on about the same time with the troops he reconducted Long Island, was commanded by Major-general from the unfortunate expedition of Charleston. Greene, who, on account of sickness, was afterCommodore Hotham also appeared there with the wards succeeded by General Sullivan. The main reinforcements under his escort; so that in a short body of the army encamped on the island of New time the hostile army amounted to about twenty-four York, which, it appeared, was destined to receive thousand men; English, Hessians, and Waldeckers. the first blows of the English. Several regiments of Hessian infantry were expect Two feeble detachments guarded Governour's ed to arrive shortly, when the army would be swell- Island, and the point of Paulus's Hook. The militia ed to the number of thirty-five thousand combatants, of the province, commanded by the American genof the best troops of Europe, all abundantly supplied eral Clinton, were posted upon the banks of the with arms and ammunition, and manifesting an extreme ardour for the service of their king. The plan was first to get possession of New York, which was deemed of most essential importance. Then if General Carleton, after having passed, as was hoped, the lakes of Canada, could penetrate to the banks of the Hudson, and descend this river at the same time that General Howe should ascend it, their junction would have the immediate effect of interrupting all communication between the provinces of New England, on the left bank, and those of the middle and south upon the right. While General Howe was seconded in his invasion of New York by the twelve or thirteen thousand men coming from Canada under Governour Carleton, General Clinton was to operate in the provinces of the south, and to attack Charleston. The American troops being thus divided, and their generals surprised, and pressed on so many sides at once, it was not doubted but that the British arıns would soon obtain a complete triumph. But in executing this design they had counted too much on an admirable concurrence of a great number of parts, and had not taken into account the difficulties sound, where they occupied the two Chesters, East and West, and New Rochelle. For it was to be feared that the enemy, landing in force upon the north shore of the sound, might penetrate to Kingsbridge, and thus entirely lock up all the American troops in the island of New York. Lord Howe made some overtures of peace upon terms of submission, to the royal clemency, which resulting in nothing, decided the British general to attack Long Island. Accordingly, (says Botta,) on the twenty-second of August, the fleet approached the Narrows; all the troops found an easy and secure landing place between the villages of Gravesend and New Utrecht, where they debarked without meeting any resistance on the part of the Americans. A great part of their army, under the command of General Putnam, encamped at Brooklyn, in a part of the island itself which forms a sort of peninsular. He had strongly fortified the entrance of it with moats and intrenchments; his left wing rested upon the Wallabout bay, and his right was covered by a marsh contiguous to Gowanus's Cove. Behind him of the winds and seasons. Admiral Howe did not he had Governour's Island, and the arm of the sca arrive, until after Clinton's expedition of Charleston which separates Long Island from the island of had totally miscarried. The army of Canada was New York, and which gave him a direct communientirely interrupted at the lakes. It was still, how-cation with the city, where the other part of the ever, confidently expected that General Howe would be able alone to make a decisive campaign. To resist this impending storm, Congress had ordained the construction of rafts, gun-boats, galleys and floating batteries for the defence of the port of New York and the mouth of the Hudson. They had also decreed that thirteen thousand of the provincial militia should join the army of Washington, who, being seasonably apprized of the danger of New York, had made a movement into that quarter; they also directed the organization of a corps of ten thousand men, destined to serve as a reserve in the provinces of the centre. "All the weakest posts army was stationed under Washington himself. The commander-in-chief perceiving that battle was approaching, continually exhorted his men to keep their ranks, and summon all their courage: he reminded them that in their valour rested the only hope that remained to American liberty; that upon their resistance depended the preservation or the pillage of their property by barbarians; that they were about to combat in defence of their parents, their wives, and their children, from the outrages of a licentious soldiery; that the eyes of America were fixed upon her champions, and expected from their success on this day either safety or total destruction. had been carefully intrenched, and furnished with The English having effected their landing, marchartillery. A strong detachment occupied Long ed rapidly forward. The two armies were separated Island, to prevent the English from landing there, by a chain of hills, covered with woods, called the or to repulse them if they should effect a debarkation. heights, and which, running from west to east, But the army of Congress was very far from having divide the island into two parts. They are only all the necessary means to support the burden of practicable upon three points; one of which is near so terrible a war. It wanted arms, and it was wasted the Narrows, the road leading to that of the centre by diseases. The reiterated instances of the com- passes the village of Flatbush, and the third is apmander-in-chief had drawn into his camp the militia proached, far to the right, by the route of another village called Flatland. Upon the summit of the hills is found a road which follows the length of the range, and leads from Bedford to Jamaica, which is intersected by the two roads last described: these ways are all interrupted by precipices, and by excessively difficult and narrow defiles. The American general wishing to arrest the enemy upon these heights, had carefully furnished them with troops, so that if all had done their duty, the English would not have been able to force the passages without extreme difficulty and danger. The posts were so frequent upon the road from Bedford to Jamaica, that it was easy to transmit, from one of these points to the other, the most prompt intelligence of what passed upon the three routes. Colonel Miles, with his battalion, was to guard the road of Flatland, and to scour it continually with his scouts, as well as that of Jamaica, in order to General Clinton learning from his prisoners that the road of Jamaica was not guarded, hastened to avail himself of the circumstance, and occupied it by a rapid movement. Without loss of time, he immediately bore to his left towards Bedford, and seized an important defile which the American generals had left unguarded. From this moment the success of the day was decided in favour of the English. Lord Percy came up with his corps ; and the entire column descended by the village of Bedford from the heights into the plain which lay between the hills and the camp of the Americans. During this time General Grant, in order to amuse the enemy and divert his attention from the events which took place upon the route of Flatland, endeavoured to disquiet him upon his right; accordingly, as if he intended to force the defile which led to it, he had reconnoitre the movements of the enemy. Mean- put himself in motion about midnight, and had attackwhile the British army pressed forward, its left winged the militia of New York and of Pennsylvania being to the north, and its right to the south; the who guarded it. They at first gave ground; but village of Falmouth was found in its centre. The General Parsons being arrived, and having occupied Hessians, commanded by General Heister, formed an eminence, he renewed the combat, and maintained the main body; the English, under Major-general his position till brigadier-general Lord Sterling Grant, the left; and other corps, conducted by Gene- came to his assistance with fifteen hundred men. ral Clinton, and the two lords, Percy and Cornwallis, composed the right. In this wing the British generals had placed their principal hope of success; they directed it upon Flatland. Their plan was, that while the corps of General Grant, and the Hessians of General Heister, should disquiet the enemy upon the two first defiles, the left wing, taking a circuit, should march through Flatland, and endeavour to The action became extremely animated, and fortune favoured neither the one side nor the other. The Hessians, on their part, had attacked the centre at break of day; and the Americans, commanded by General Sullivan in person, valiantly sustained their efforts. At the same time the English ships, after having made several movements, opened a very brisk cannonade against a battery established in the seize the point of intersection of this road with that little island of Red Hook, upon the right flank of the Americans, who combated against General Grant. This also was a diversion, the object of which was to prevent them from attending to what passed in the centre and on the left. The Americans defended themselves, however, with extreme gallantry, ignorant that so much valour was exerted in vain, since victory was already in the hands of the enemy. General Clinton being descended into the plain, fell upon the left flank of the centre, which was engaged with the Hessians. He had previously detached a strong corps in order to intercept the Americans. of Jamaica; and then rapidly descending into the plain which extends to the foot of the heights, upon the other side, should fall upon the Americans in flank and rear. The English hoped, that as this post was the most distant from the centre of the army, the advanced guards would be found more feeble there, and perhaps more negligent: finally, they calculated that, in all events, the Americans would not be able to defend it against a force so superiour. This right wing of the English was the most numerous, and entirely composed of select troops. The evening of the twenty-sixth of August, General Clinton commanding the vanguard, which consisted in light infantry; Lord Percy the centre, where were found the grenadiers, the artillery, and the cavalry; and Cornwallis the rearguard, followed by the baggage, some regiments of infantry and of heavy artillery; all this part of the English army put itself in motion with admirable order and silence, and leaving Flatland, traversed the country called New-Lots. Colonel Miles, who this night performed his service met again with the Hessians, who repulsed them with little exactness, did not perceive the approach of the enemy; so that two hours before day the English were already arrived within half a mile of the road of Jamaica, upon the heights. Then General Clinton halted, and prepared himself for the attack. He had met one of the enemy's patrols and made him prisoner. General Sullivan, who commanded all the troops in advance of the camp of Brooklyn, had no advice of what passed in this quarter. He neglected to send out fresh scouts; perhaps he supposed the English would direct their principal efforts against his right wing, as being the nearest to them. As soon as the appearance of the English light infantry apprised them of their danger, they sounded the retreat, and retired in good order towards their camp, bringing off their artillery. But they soon fell in with the party of royal troops which had occupied the ground on their rear, and who now charged them with fury; they were compelled to throw themselves into the neighbouring woods, where they upon the English and thus the Americans were driven several times by the one against the other with great loss. They continued for some time in this desperate situation, till at length several regiments, animated by a heroick valour, opened their way through the midst of the enemy, and gained the camp of General Putnam; others escaped through the woods. The inequality of the ground, the great number of positions which it offered, and the disorder which prevailed throughout the line, were the cause that for several hours divers partial combats were maintained, in which many of the Americans fell. Their left wing and centre being discomfited, the English, desirous of a complete victory, made a rapid movement against the rear of the right wing, which, in ignorance of the misfortune which had befallen the other corps, was engaged with General Grant. Finally, having received the intelligence, they retired. But encountering the English, who cut off their retreat, a part of the soldiers took shelter in the woods, others endeavoured to make their way through the marshes of Gowan's Cove; but here many were drowned in the waters, or perished in the mud; a very small number only escaped the hot She did not return to the asylum. Her insanity continued, but it was of the least painful kind. It exhibited itself in extreme sprightliness and wit in conversation. To strangers who had not known her disposition to have been the reverse of gayety, the observation that her spirits were too buoyant for a lady of her age, would suggest itself. With the hope that country air and scenery might be beneficial to her, her husband some years after removed to the state of Vermont with his family. They had resided there about a year when the house took fire and burned down. The terrible affright occasioned by pursuit of the victors, and reached the camp in safe- the disaster it was soon found had completely rety. The total loss of the Americans, in this battle, stored her to her right mind! The case is remarkwas estimated at more than three thousand men in able, in the fact that a cure was effected by the same killed, wounded, and prisoners. Among the last means which produced the disease, and that too were found General Sullivan, and Brigadier-generals after some six or seven years' alienation of mind. Lord, Sterling and Woodhull. Almost the entire regiment of Maryland, consisting of young men of the best families in that province, was cut to pieces. Six pieces of cannon fell into the power of the victors. The loss of the English was very inconsiderable; in killed, wounded, and prisoners, it did not amount to four hundred men. [To be continued.] For the Family Magazine. A lady of this city, in feeble health, some years ago fell from a carriage. She received very slight bodily injury, but the fright produced a sudden and total alienation of mind. She soon became so entirely unmanageable, that her friends were obliged to remove her to the lunatick asylum at Bloomingdale. In a few months, under the treatment of the institution, she had so far recovered from her malady, as to hold intelligent conversation on many subjects, and her friends were allowed to visit her. On one occasion, when her husband visited her, while he was consulting privately with the superintendent as to the The lady is now a resident of this city, and in per fect health. B. COAL TRADE OF PENNSYLVANIA The vast increase of this trade, within a few years, renders all authentick details relating to it a subject of general interest; and in the proof of this increase, it is only necessary to state, that in the year 1820, no more than 365 tons of anthracite coa! found their way to the market from the Lehigh mines, while in 1834 the quantity sold amounted to 374,222 tons, of which 106,500 were from the Lehigh, 224,242 from the Schuylkill, and 43,700 from the Lackawanna mines; the Schuylkill mines having been opened for the market for the first time in 1825, and the Lackawanna in 1829. The Lehigh Company employ on the Lehigh Canal and the Delaware 275 boats, and others are employed by individuals. On the Morris Canal, there are 250 boats employed in this trade. The number of vessels laden with coal at Philadelphia and Bristol in 1834, was 469. The amount of Le high coal shipped coastwise during the same year was 32,154 tons, of which 14,006 tons were shipped from Newark. of coal from the Lehigh mines, is 22,150 tons; on the Schuylkill, 24,733. The value of improvements and property connected with and arising from the anthracite coal trade of manner in which he should leave without her knowledge, she left the room unnoticed, and had untied his horse standing in front of the house and seated The number and description of vessels cleared herself in the wagon with the reins and whip in hand, from the river Schuylkill, laden with coal, during when she was discovered by the people of the house. the year 1834, were as follows: 72 brigs, 1122 The horse was young and spirited, and she had never schooners, and 420 sloops. The amount of the reined a horse before. The agonies of the terrified tonnage of the boats employed in the transportation husband, when he saw her apply the lash to the furious animal, may not be easily imagined. She started off at full speed. The husband had called for a horse, and was already mounted in pursuit; and although he followed on at a rapid rate, he soon lost sight of her Pennsylvania in the three great coal fields, is estima amid the throng of carriages that crowded the road ted by a committee of the Legislature of that state as from Bloomingdale to New York. Breathless with follows, viz.: railroads and canals made by compaanxiety and fear he reached his home. He rushed nies and individuals, including part of the state into the house, and behold, there sat his wife in the canals, 489 miles, $9,750,937 42: colleries, boats, parlour, to his extreme surprise, chatting in high glee cars, &c. 1,270,280; capital invested in coal lands, with the family on the subject of her recent exploit. 4,900,000; mining capital, 480,000; value of towns "Ah," said she to her husband, " I saw you preparing in the coal fields, 3,375,000; making an aggregate to follow me, but I eclipsed them all." (It was about of $19,176,217 42: to which may be added the the time of the famous races of the Eclipse horse value of storehouses, wharves, landings, &c. in with Sir Henry.) She had driven through the gateway into the yard in rear of the house, and after giving the horse in charge of a servant, presented herself before her astonished family, to whom she was relating her adventure when her husband arrived. Philadelphia, New York, and other places, together with the value of vessels and capital employed in shipping coal. The bituminous coal lands in Pennsylvania are supposed by the same committee to comprehend an observations on good reading; the Declaration of Independence; extent of 21,000 square miles, and the anthracite of read the book nearly half through without feeling conscious that 975 square miles. Since the opening of the anthra- we were perusing mere set lessons in reading. In addition to cite coal trade in 1820, its average annual increase this excellent selection of articles in prose and verse, it contains has been 33 per cent. The committee believe that it will continue during the next ten years to increase in the same ratio; in which case, the consumption in 1843 will be 10,510,980 tons, the value of which, at the Constitution of the United States; Political definitions; variable orthography; concise principles of pronunciation; rules for the division of words; and the rules for spelling the plurals of $5 per ton, will be $52,544,450. Supposing the nouns, participles, present tense, and preterit of verbs, and the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives. It is designed increase not to exceed one half of the above estimate, for the use of the highest classes in schools and academies, for the trade of that year, in the article of coal alone, which we should think it a very desirable acquisition. Were will amount in value to twenty-six millions of dollars. schools acquainted with this book, the English Reader and Boston Patriot. CURIOUS PROPERTIES OF THE FIGURE 9. The following discovery of remarkable properties of the number 9 was accidentally made by Mr. V. Green, more than fifty years since, though, we believe, not generally known. 9 × 1 = 9;9+0= 9 American Preceptor, worn out as they are, would deservedly be thrown out of use. We rejoice that the practice of nipping words is becoming unfashionable, and that the innovations of Noah Webster, LL. D., a man who differs farther in his orthography from himself than men do from each other, are no longer to be tolerated. The Knickerbocker Magazine, is one of the best periodicals in the United States. It sustains itself with uniform vigour, interest, talent, and neatness of execution. Bacheler's Religious Magazine. We have received the 2d number of this comprehensive journal, and find it more than fulfils the promises of the first. The North American Arithmetick, by Frederick Emerson. 3 parts. Boston. Russel, Ordiorne & Metcalf. From a partial examination of Mr. Emerson's works, we should pronounce them to be more eminently well adapted to the business of schools than any that have ever seen. We intend giving The component figures of the product, made by them that critical review in our next number, which the impor the multiplication of every digit into the number 9, when added together make nine. The order of these component figures is reversed, after the said number has been multiplied by 5. The component figures of the amount of the multiplier, (viz. 45) when added together make nine. The amount of the several products, or multiples of 9, (viz. 405 when divided by nine, gives for a quotient, 45; that is 4+5=9. The amount of the first product, (viz. 9) when added to the other products, whose respective component figures makes 9, is 81; which is the square of nine. The said number 81, when added to the abovementioned amount of the several products, or multiples of 9, (viz. 405) makes 486; which, if divided by 9, gives for a quotient 54; that is 5+4=9. It is also observable that the number of changes that may be rung on 9 bells, is 362,880; which figures, added together, make 27; that is 2+7=9. And the quotient of 362,880, divided by 9, is 40,320; that is 4+0+3+2+0=9. tance of the subject demands. POETRY. THE ORPHAN GIRL. They tell me of an angel form And that same hand that held my own For they say the mother's heart is pleased For I know she is in heaven now- I remember, too, when I was ill, And I have still some little books I still remember well. And then she used to kneel with me, O mother! mother! in my heart |