on; others thought it a ruined enterprise; the armies engaged
in it had been defeated and broken up. They beheld the
commander-in-chief retreating through their country with a handful of
men, weary, wayworn, and dispirited; without tents, without clothing,
many of them barefooted, exposed to wintry weather, and driven from
post to post by a well-clad, well-fed, triumphant force, tricked out
in all the glittering bravery of war. Could it be wondered at that
peaceful husbandmen, seeing their quiet fields thus suddenly overrun
by adverse hosts, and their very hearthstones threatened with outrage,
should, instead of flying to arms, seek for the safety of their wives
and little ones, and the protection of their humble means, from the
desolation which too often marks the course even of friendly armies?

Lord Howe and his brother sought to profit by this dismay and
despondency. A proclamation, dated 30th of November, commanded all
persons in arms against his majesty's government to disband and return
home, and all Congresses to desist from treasonable acts: offering a
free pardon to all who should comply within fifty days. Many who had
been prominent in the cause, hastened to take advantage of this
proclamation. Those who had most property to lose were the first to
submit. The middle ranks remained generally steadfast in this time of
trial.

In this dark day of peril to the cause, and to himself, Washington
remained firm and undaunted. In casting about for some stronghold
where he might make a desperate stand for the liberties of his
country, his thoughts reverted to the mountain regions of his early
campaigns. General Mercer was at hand, who had shared his perils among
these mountains, and his presence may have contributed to bring them
to his mind. "What think you," said Washington, "if we should retreat
to the back parts of Pennsylvania, would the Pennsylvanians support
us?" "If the lower counties give up, the back counties will do the
same," was the discouraging reply.

"We must then retire to Augusta County in Virginia," said Washington.
"Numbers will repair to us for safety, and we will try a predatory
war. If overpowered, we must cross the Alleghanies." Such was the
indomitable spirit, rising under difficulties, and buoyant in the
darkest moment, that kept our tempest-tost cause from foundering.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
RETREAT ACROSS THE DELAWARE.--BATTLE OF TRENTON.

Notwithstanding the repeated and pressing ord