ught nothing equal
to the round jacket and trowsers. A bantering ensued between them.
There was snow upon the ground, and snowballs began to fly when jokes
were wanting. The parties waxed warm with the contest. They closed,
and came to blows; both sides were reinforced, and in a little while
at least a thousand were at fisticuffs, and there was a tumult in the
camp worthy of the days of Homer. "At this juncture," writes our
informant, "Washington made his appearance, whether by accident or
design, I never knew. I saw none of his aides with him; his black
servant was just behind him mounted. He threw the bridle of his own
horse into his servant's hands, sprang from his seat, rushed into the
thickest of the melee, seized two tall brawny riflemen by the throat,
keeping them at arm's-length, talking to and shaking them."

As they were from his own province, he may have felt peculiarly
responsible for their good conduct; they were engaged, too, in one of
those sectional brawls which were his especial abhorrence; his
reprimand must, therefore, have been a vehement one. He was commanding
in his serenest moments, but irresistible in his bursts of
indignation. On the present occasion, we are told, his appearance and
strong-handed rebuke put an instant end to the tumult. The combatants
dispersed in all directions, and in less than three minutes none
remained on the ground but the two he had collared.

The invasion of Canada still shared the anxious thoughts of
Washington. His last accounts of the movements of Arnold, left him at
Point Levi, opposite to Quebec. It was his intention to cross the
river immediately. At Point Levi, however, he was brought to a stand;
not a boat was to be found there. Letters to Generals Schuyler and
Montgomery had been carried by his faithless messengers, to Caramhe,
the lieutenant-governor, who, had caused all the boats of Point Levi
to be either removed or destroyed.

Arnold was not a man to be disheartened by difficulties. With great
exertions he procured about forty birch canoes, but stormy winds
arose, and for some days the river was too boisterous for such frail
craft. In the meantime the garrison at Quebec was gaining strength.
The veteran Maclean arrived down the river with his corps of Royal
Highland Emigrants, and threw himself into the place. The Lizard
frigate, the Hornet sloop-of-war, and two armed schooners were
stationed in the river, and guard-boats patrolled at night.

On the 13t