id="id00101">"Are you all too tired of travel to enjoy a sail—perhaps only a short one—up or down the river?" asked the captain.

"Oh, no—not we, indeed!" was the simultaneous exclamation of many voices, older and younger; and not one was raised against it.

"I see you are all willing," said Captain Raymond, glancing about from
one to another of the bright, eager faces. "Suppose I take you to
Newburgh, which is not very far away, and let you see the Hasbrouck
House, Washington's old headquarters? How many would like that?"

"Oh, all of us! all of us!" cried several voices with enthusiasm.

"Then we will get up steam and go at once," he said. "Will that suit you, my dear?" turning to Violet.

"Perfectly—if we may have a few minutes to go up to the house and make some slight preparation. You see, I have come down without hat or bonnet," she added with merry look and tone.

"Oh, yes, anyone who wishes may do that," he replied pleasantly. "And
I must give orders to my cook."

"Oh, no, captain," exclaimed Evelyn, overhearing him; "I have arranged for dinner at the house, and——"

"Then, my dear girl, hurry up and rescind your orders; for we will not be back in season to take that meal here; and the Dolphin is well supplied with provisions," was his smiling rejoinder. And with a hasty "Oh, thank you, sir! You are very, very kind and thoughtful," accompanied by a pleased and grateful look, she hurried away after the others, who were already making rapid progress toward Crag Cottage.

It did not take long to gather up the few articles wanted and return to the yacht, which immediately started for Newburgh.

The weather was all that could be desired—a gentle breeze blowing from the north, and light, fleecy white clouds tempering the heat of the sun.

"How far from New York is Newburgh, papa?" asked Grace.

"Sixty miles," he replied. "It is on the western bank of the river and in the midst of some of the finest scenery in the world, Lossing says, and I entirely agree with him. Are you not of the same opinion, mother?" turning to Grandma Elsie.

"Yes," she said heartily; "and we will have a fine view of it from the piazza of the Hasbrouck House."

"Is that where we are going?" asked Little Elsie.

"Yes; that is the house where Washington had his headquarters at the close of the Revolution."

"Oh, I'm glad!" exclaimed the little girl. "I'd like to see every place where Washington used to be."

"Yes," said her mother; "I think we all would. But, now, let us not miss the beautiful scenery we are passing through on our way to Newburgh."

"Oh, yes, mamma, it is lovely! and I am proud of it as being part of my country—my own dear native land."

"As we all are," said Grace. "I think my native land the best and loveliest the sun shines upon."

Her father, standing near, smiled his approval of the sentiment, and Grandma Elsie remarked pleasantly: "That is a good frame of mind to be in when visiting Revolutionary scenes."

"This will not be your first visit to Newburgh and the Hasbrouck
House, mother?" said the captain in a tone of inquiry.

"No," she answered, "I was there some years ago, but am well pleased to repeat my visit."

"When was it that Washington was there?" asked Elsie. "I know that some of the time he was in Massachusetts and at other times in New Jersey and Pennsylvania."

"Yes," said her father, "but he was here on the Hudson, holding his headquarters at Newburgh, at the close of the Revolution. It was in April, 1782, he took possession of his quarters there, and there he continued most of the time until November, 1783, when the Continental Army was disbanded."

"Because the war was over?" asked Eric Leland.

"Yes; and the brave men who had done and suffered so much together had to bid each other farewell, separate, and go to their homes. Of course they were very glad and thankful that liberty was gained and the dreadful struggle over, yet it was sad to part; especially from their beloved chief."

"Wasn't it there, father, that some of them had proposed to make him king?" asked Grace.

"Yes; but he received the proposal with abhorrence. Washington had fought to win freedom for his country, not to win power and glory for himself. He had no hunger for them, but a great love of liberty for his country and himself."

"Do you think he was as great a man as Napoleon, captain?" asked
Sydney.

"Greater, much greater! Napoleon undoubtedly had genius, but he was utterly selfish, utterly unscrupulous in the means he took to gain power and satisfy his own ambition—even sacrificing the wife he probably really loved (after his own selfish fashion) in order to get an heir to the throne he had usurped."

"And his fortunes began to wane from the time that he divorced poor
Josephine," remarked Mr. Leland.

"Yes; and the son and heir to gain which he had done such wickedness never succeeded to the crown or throne," remarked Grandma Elsie. "'The triumphing of the wicked is short.'"

"I never thought of it before," remarked Sydney; "but isn't it odd that each of those great men married a widow with children, and had none of his own by her?"

"And of our Washington it has been said, 'Providence left him childless that his country might call him father,'" said Mrs. Leland. "I have always thought that a very pretty idea."

"A true one too, I do believe," said Evelyn; "he was so true a patriot—so wise, so unselfish, so true and good."

"A countryman to be very, very proud of, and very thankful to God for giving us," said Grandma Elsie; "especially at that time, when he was so much needed."

"Are there not a good many places in this neighborhood where something happened during the Revolution, papa?" asked Grace.

"Yes, a good many. Orange County was one of the first settled portions of this State, named in honor of William, Prince of Orange, afterward King of England. The first settlers in what is now the town of Newburgh were Germans. They remained for only a time, however. They grew dissatisfied, sold out, and left; some going to Pennsylvania. Their places were filled by English, Irish, New Englanders, and a few Huguenots; and a number of settlements were soon planted along the river and in the rich bottom lands bordering the smaller streams. Many stirring tales could be told of their privations, alarms, and sufferings from the attacks of the Indians, both before and during the Revolution."

"Papa," said Little Elsie earnestly, "don't you think we ought to thank our Heavenly Father very often that we didn't live then and here instead of now and where we do?"

"Yes, indeed, daughter," he replied; "we have great reason to thank God for the liberty and security that are ours, and I think we should ever remember with love and gratitude the brave men who fought and bled to secure these liberties for us."

"Indeed we should!" said Mrs. Travilla earnestly. "How it would have cheered and helped them in their toils and privations and struggles if they could have foreseen the great results visible in these days!"

It was not yet noon when they reached Newburgh, pausing in the southern suburbs, where, on a hill overlooking the river, stood a gray old building which the captain pointed out as the Hasbrouck House. They had soon climbed the hill and were