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Last Wednesday afternoon His Most Christian Majesty's regiment of Soissonnais was exercised on the commons near this city in the presence of their Excellencies the President of Congress, the Minister of France, and the Count de Rochambeau, General Chattelaux, M. de Marbois, and a vast concourse of the inhabitants, who expressed the highest satisfaction at the various evolutions and firings exhibited by this truly veteran corps, which was accompanied by four field pieces. And we are happy to assure the public of the great harmony which exists between all ranks of the allied army; and it is a fact too deeply impressed on the heart of every honest American to need our mentioning the great affection shown by the people individually, as well as at large, toward these troops. It is with much pleasure we also relate that no accident happened on the above occasion."

The day so happily opened closed with a joyous enthusiasm to which there had been no parallel in Philadelphia since the remarkable fourth of July, 1776. Then the excitement, though founded on fixed purpose and high motive, was yet tinged with gloom; now suddenly all apprehensions were dispelled and independence seemed to be assured.

At the close of the manoeuvres the Chevalier de la Luzerne, whose state and hospitality were princely, invited the French officers to dine. Hardly were the guests seated when a courier arrived. The dispatch was handed to the Chevalier. It contained the announcement of the arrival in the Chesapeake of the Count de Grasse with thirty-six ships of the line and three thousand troops, who had already landed and opened communication with the Marquis de Lafayette. Impossible to describe the enthusiasm of the officers. Healths were drunk in rapid succession; notably that of the Duke de Castries, the French Minister of Marine, to which the presence of his son the Count de Charlus, Colonel in second of the Regiment of Saintonge, gave peculiar zest. While the gayety was at its height, Mr. Thompson, the Secretary of Congress, arrived to tender his congratulations. His thin and wrinkled face, his deep sunk and sparkling eyes, and straight white hair, worn plain and hardly reaching his ears, and his plain costume, attracted the attention of the company, and presented a strong contrast to their courtly costumes, with gay colors, periwigs military decorations and knightly orders.

The joyful news of the arrival of the fleet and the blockade of the Chesapeake soon spread through the city, the excited population of which thronged to the hotel of the Minister with shouts of Vive le Roi! Our histories preserve but slight details of these popular outbursts, but

in this time of centennial remembrance which mark the anniversaries of these gala days, those of 1781 will surely not be forgotten by the . patriotic city of Philadelphia.

THE ROUTE FROM PHILADELPHIA TO ELK RIVER

The light troops under Scammel, which passed through Philadelphia, on the 2d September, went into camp on the banks of the Schuylkill. On the 3d they marched ten miles and encamped about three miles above Chester. The next day they marched through Chester, Brandywine and Wilmington, and on the 5th through Christiana, where was the park of artillery which had been brought down by boats. Lieutenant-Colonel Stevens, of Lamb's regiment, and its active officer, in consequence of the invalid condition of the Colonel, was in charge.

On the morning of the 5th the entire American force having passed Philadelphia, the French arrived and in camp, and the necessary arrangements "in a tolerable train," Washington left for the head of Elk to hasten the embarkation there. At Chester, fifteen miles distant, he was met by a courier from General Gist, who was at Baltimore, dated the day before (the 4th), announcing the arrival there of the Serpent cutter, Captain Arne de Laune, with dispatches from the Count de Grasse, who had arrived in Chesapeake Bay on the 26th, and the next day landed his troops and taken station with his ships from the middle ground to Cape Henry. As the French officer who bore the dispatches was not in readiness to continue his journey immediately, General Gist gave a circumstantial account of the number of vessels and their further movements, and announced that he had ordered all the vessels in Baltimore harbor to sail immediately to the head of Elk to receive the troops. Washington instantly sent a courier to the President of Congress with the joyful news, the effect of which has already been related. Fortunately and of great value, as showing an insight into Washington's nature, there is contemporaneous testimony to his feelings on this

occasion.

Not waiting to take part in the military display of the day, or the festivities at the hotel of the Ambassador in the evening, Count de Rochambeau, who was as fully alive as Washington himself to the value of time, the most important factor in military problems, marched his first. division early in the morning of the 5th to Chester. But desirous of examining the position of Mud Island and Red Bank, he sailed down the Delaware by boat, accompanied by M. de Mauduit, the hero of Red Bank in the famous defence of 1777 against Donop and his Hes

sians. The fort was no longer standing, and Fort Mifflin, on the right bank, was not as yet finished. Continuing his route by water, de Rochambeau drew near to Chester, when his attention was attracted by Washington standing on the bank and waving his hat with signs of delight. The Duke de Deux-Ponts testifies to the manner in which Washington's bearing affected him on this occasion. "Cold by nature," he says "and of a grave and noble demeanor, which in him is only the true dignity becoming the head of an entire nation, his features, his countenance, his manner immediately changed. He threw off his character as arbiter of North America, and was for a moment content with that of a citizen, happy in the good fortune of his country. A child, whose wishes had been satisfied, could not have experienced a more lively sensation of pleasure, and I think I am honoring the feelings of this rare man in seeking to describe them in all their vivacity."

De Rochambeau was equally delighted, and the young officers, who saw near triumph, glory and reward in the almost certain capture of Cornwallis, were wild with joy. On the 6th the march was continued to the pretty town of Wilmington, eleven miles distant, over an extremely fine road. The French staff officers again turned aside to visit the battlefield of Brandywine, where Lafayette first distinguished himself as an officer, and the next day (the 7th) the first division crossed Christiana Bridge and marched to Elktown, where they were joined the day after by the second division, which arrived full of the same ardor to reach the enemy and close the campaign. At Elktown, Washington, finding a great deficiency in transports, brought to the remedy his own commanding personal influence, writing numerous letters to gentlemen of position on the eastern shore, "beseeching them," to use his own words, "to exert themselves in drawing forth every kind of vessel which would answer the purpose." None of these letters appear in Sparks' writings of Washington, nor have recent researches brought any of them to light, but there is hope that the new interest awakened in this interesting period of our history may draw these invaluable documents from their resting places. He then agreed with de Rochambeau that the first embarkation should consist of one thousand of the American troops, including Lamb's regiment of artillery, and the grenadiers and chasseurs of the brigade of Bourbonnois, with the infantry of de Lauzun, while the remainder of the troops should continue their march to Baltimore by land or water, according to circumstances, and the cavalry and necessary teams of both armies should go round by land.

These dispositions made, and feeling his presence to be necessary

with the army in Virginia, Washington set out on the 8th for the camp of the Marquis de Lafayette, accompanied by the Count de Rochambeau, the Chevalier de Chastellux and the Counts de Fersen and de Damas of the French general staff.

Military records present no account of a combined movement of troops of different nationalities executed with more order and precision than this historic march from the embattled cliffs of the Hudson to the quiet waters of the Head of Elk.

SMITH'S HOUSE AT HAVERSTRAW, N. Y.

WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS

Between two and three miles above the village of Haverstraw, on the west side of the road leading to Stony Point, stands the old Smith mansion, memorable as the house wherein André and Arnold met to concert the details of the latter's treason. It is It is a square, two-storied stone house, with wooden wings, and looks out from an eminence above the road over many a mile of woodland, field and river. A dwelling of considerable size and elegance, it was well known in the Revolution, and "Smith's White House," as it was called, would still be remembered in connection with the contest, even apart from the story of the traitor and the spy.

There were three brothers of the Smith family residing at Haverstraw when the war broke out. Their father, the Hon. William Smith, an eminent lawyer and member of the Council, emigrated from Buckinghamshire, England, in 1715, and died in 1769. Of his sons, all men of position and influence in the colony, the best known was William, the historian and renowned Tory Chief Justice of New York. Judge Smith seems to have wavered at first in his espousal of the royal side. September 24, 1776, Tryon wrote to Lord George Germaine that Smith had withdrawn to his plantation up the North River, and had not been seen or heard from in five months. Suspected by the Committee of Safety, his house at Haverstraw was considered to be in too close proximity to New York city, and he accordingly was ordered to reside at Livingston manor, whence we find him writing to Schuyler, in December, 1777, begging for some books to read: "Anything, French or English, provided it be neither law nor mathematics, nor anything in favor of a Republican form of government." Later he came to be looked on by the Whigs as an arch-enemy. September 15, 1780, only eight days before Andre's capture, Thomas Smith asked the privilege of an interview with his brother in reference to family affairs-a request which was peremptorily refused by Governor Clinton (to whom the petition was addressed) on the ground that it was his duty to prevent any communication with him. Thomas Smith is said to have