Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PATRIOTIC FATHER. When the news of a skirmish at Lexington reached Barnstable, a company of militia immediately assembled and marched off to Cambridge. In the front rank, there was a young man, the son ot a respectable farmer, and his only child. In march mg from the village as they passed his house, lie came out to meet them. There was a momentary halt. The drum and fife paused for an instant. The father, suppressing a strong and evident emotion, said, " God be with you all, my friends! and, John, if you, my son, are called into battle, take care that you behave manfully, or else let me never see your face again." A tear started into every eye, and the march was resumed. ARNOLD'S MARCH THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. About the same time that Canada was invaded by the usual route from New York, a considerable detachment of. the American army was brought thither by a new and unexpected passage. Arnold, who conducted this bold undertaking, acquired thereby the name of the American Hannibal. He was sent, by General Washington, with a thousand men, from Cambridge, with orders to penetrate into that province, by ascending the Kennebec, and then, after crossing the mountains which divide Canada from Maine, by descending the Chaudiere to the St. Lawrence. Great were the difficulties, and severe the privations, they had to encounter, in marching 800 miles, by an unexplored way, through an uninhabited country. In ascending the Kennebec, they were constantly obliged to struggle against an impetuous current; and were often compelled, by cataracts, to land, and haul their batteaux up rapid streams, and over falls of rivers. They hadto contend with swamps, woods, and crag-gy nountains. At some places, they had to cut their way for miles together, through forests, so embar rassed, that their ...