f Yorktown from the sea. At the same time Washington, who had
been closely watching what was going on, broke camp before New York and
marched southward as fast as his men could go. Before Cornwallis could
guess what was about to happen the trap was closed on him. In the bay
near Yorktown was the strong French fleet; before Yorktown was the army
of American and French soldiers.

There was no escape. The army and the fleet bombarded the town. A week
of this was enough for Lord Cornwallis. He surrendered his army, seven
thousand strong, on October 19, 1781, and the war was at an end. America
was free.

CHAPTER XV

THE VOYAGE OF OUR SHIP OF STATE

HAVE any of my young readers ever been to Europe? Likely enough some of
you may have been, for even young folks cross the ocean now-a-days. It
has come to be an easy journey, with our great and swift steamers. But
in past times it was a long and difficult journey, in which the ship was
often tossed by terrible storms, and sometimes was broken to pieces on
the rocks or went to the bottom with all on board.

What I wish to say is, that those who come from Europe to this country
leave countries that are governed by kings, and come to a country that
is governed by the people. In some of the countries of Europe the people
might almost as well be slaves, for they have no vote and no one to
speak for them, and the man who rules them is born to power. Even in
England, which is the freest of them all, there is a king and queen and
a House of Lords who are born to power. The people can vote, but only
for members of the House of Commons. They have nothing to do with the
monarch or the lords.

Of course you all know that this is not the case in our country. Here
every man in power is put there by the votes of the people. As President
Lincoln said, we have a government "of the people, by the people, and
for the people."

We did not have such a government before the 4th of July, 1776. Our
country was then governed by a king, and, what was worse, this king was
on the other side of the ocean, and cared nothing for the people of
America except as money bags to fill his purse. But after that 4th of
July we governed ourselves, and had no king for lord and master; and we
have got along very well without one.

Now you can see what the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution
meant. With the Declaration we cut loose from England. Our ship of state
set out on its long voyage to l