that their opponents were worthy foemen. The Americans had retaken
Ticonderoga and Lake George. Burgoyne had no place to retreat, and
the lines were slowly but surely closing in around him. October 7th
Burgoyne commenced the battle, but in half an hour his line was
broken. He attempted to rally his troops in person, but they could not
stand before the impetuous charge of the Americans. He was compelled
to order a full retreat, and fell back on the heights above
Schuylerville. The Americans surrounded him, and he surrendered. It
was a decisive victory, and cheered the friends of freedom, not only
in America, but in the English House of Commons.

* * *

The leaves were red with crimson
And then brave Gates did cry,
'Tis diamond now cut diamond,
We'll beat them boys or die.

_Ballads of the Revolution._

* * *

=Mount McGregor=, where General Grant died, associates the Saratoga of
the Revolution with the story of our Civil War. Near the monument
to the old heroes at Schuylerville, where Burgoyne surrendered,
a monument to the Boys in Blue was dedicated in 1904. It was the
privilege of the writer to be the poet of the occasion, and in his
lines "The Flag They Bore," to bind the noble memorials of those who
made and those who saved the Republic.

Two monuments in triumph stand
To catch with joy the morning sun,
One chorus joins them hand in hand--
Heroes of Grant and Washington.

And wider yet the chorus leaps!
Two famous hills the song unites,
As Mount MacGregor's anthem sweeps
Across the plains to Bemis Heights.

In Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester's book, entitled "Historical Sketches
of Northern New York and the Adirondack Wilderness," we learn that the
earliest date in which the word Saratoga appears in history is 1684,
and was then the name of an old hunting ground on both sides of the
Hudson. Its interpretations have been various. Some say "The Hillside
Country of the Great River;" others, the place of swift waters, while
Morgan, in his "League of the Iroquois," says the signification of
Saratoga is lost.

Whatever the origin of the name whether from the old High Rock spring
or a "reach of the river," one thing is sure: Saratoga is the most
attractive point in the country as a gathering place for conventions
and large meetings, and, in response to the growing demand for
adequate facilities, a splendid convention hall, with a seating
capacity for five t