army, whose assistance he expected, were miserably conducted; sir Henry Clinton did not leave New York till October, and even then, instead of hastening forward to his destination, he employed his troops in burning the unresisting towns and villages, and devastating the country Whether this tardiness is to be ascribed to the weakness of the general, or to the insufficiency of the orders sent out by the ministry, is not easily ascertained, but from whatever cause, it proved the ruin of the entire expedition. On the 15th of October, general Vaughan, with the van of Clinton's army, could have rescued Burgoyne from all his difficulties, but Vaughan stopped to plunder and burn the little town of Esopus, and before he was again prepared to advance, Burgoyne and his army were prisoners of war to the American army under the command of general Gates.

16. Burgoyne, depending on the advance of the army from New York, had allowed himself to be cooped up in Saratoga; his provisions were exhausted, his ammunition beginning to fail, his troops dispirited, and his lines incapable of long defence. He therefore surrendered on the condition that his troops, after having laid down their arms, should be sent home, provided that they should not serve again in America during the present contest. Burgoyne returned to England on his parole only to experience greater mortifications; the leaders of the administration threw all the blame of a failure, attributable solely to themselves, on the unfortunate general; he was refused admittance into the presence of the sovereign, denied the justice of a courtmartial, and subjected to a series of petty persecutions infinitely more disgraceful to the ministry than to their victim. 17. General Gates, after his victory, advanced to check the outrages committed by Clinton's soldiers; sir Henry retreated to New York before the victorious army, and the American general was consequently enabled to send such a reinforcement to Washington's army, as made it once more a match for that of Howe, and sufficient to protect the province of Pennsylvania from the ravages of the enemy.

1. (A.D. 1778.) THE event of which ministers had been vainly warned from the commencement of the unfortunate contest into which they had rashly precipitated the country, at length took place. France acknowledged the independence of the United States, and entered into a close alliance with the revolted colonies. Before the news of this treaty could reach America, lord North introduced two conciliatory bills into the British parliament, granting the provincials every thing that they had demanded before their declaration of independence. In the debates that ensued, the minister found some of his former supporters more virulent antagonists than the opposition-they taunted him for deserting the high principles of prerogative and British supremacy which he had hitherto maintained, and complained bitterly of the deception by which he had gained their support. The/ bills, however, passed the lower house, but their progress through the upper was marked by an incident that must not be carelessly passed over. It was known that the duke of Richmond was of opinion that peace should be purchased even by acknowledging the independence of America, and that he intended to propound these sentiments during the discussion. 2. The venerable earl of Chatham, sinking under the weight of years and bodily infirmities, attended in his place for the purpose of protesting against the dismemberment of an empire to whose greatness he had so largely contributed, and deprecated such a proceeding with great warmth and eloquence. The duke of Richmond having answered this speech, the earl rose to reply, but the powers of nature were exhausted, he fell on the floor of the