Boys of Old Monmouth: A Story of Washington's Campaign in New Jersey in 1778

by John Henry Goldfrap

  CHAPTER X

  THE STORY OF THE MISCHIANZA

  "I'VE been sent out, as a good many others have been, to look up thebridges over the creeks" (the young officer called them "runs," as manyof the Jerseymen did then, and still do for the matter of that) "andfind out the lay of the land. As I happened to be born in Old Monmouth,and lived here till I was a man grown, it was naturally thought I'd bepretty well informed, so you see I was selected for this special work. Idon't know that I object to it, but I'd rather be back with my men."

  "And that's what you've been doing, is it?" said Tom.

  "Yes, I've been in that work ever since the British started out fromPhiladelphia. I've kept just a little ahead of the men all the way, andhave gone back every night to report, and then the next day they'dfollow all my plans. You see I've got a map of every road in the countyhere," and as he spoke the young lieutenant drew from his pocket apaper on which had been traced every road and every little stream in theregion, while the places where bridges were to be found were indicatedby red marks.

  "Whew!" he added, throwing back his coat. "Isn't it warm! I don'tbelieve there's been a summer like this in years. We've had showers andthunder-storms almost every day. The air now feels as if we'd getanother one pretty soon, too."

  The air was exceedingly sultry, and a strange stillness seemed to beresting over all. Not a leaf was stirring, and as Tom looked up throughthe tops of the trees the bright blue of the sky appeared to be moreintense than ever he had seen it before. Here and there separate massesof heavy clouds could be seen, which, with the sunlight streamingthrough them, glistened almost like silver. He knew the signs well.There was the appearance of a coming shower.

  "It's too hot to go on," said the young lieutenant. "I'm almost afraidto take my horse out in such heat. I've got the most of my work for theday done, though, and I thought that perhaps you might be able to helpme out, Tom. You must know every bridge in this part of the country.Now you go over this map with me, and tell me if the places are markedright. I've been gone so long I'm not sure of myself, but you ought toknow. It'll save me a trip in this broiling sun, if you can help me."

  Tom took the map and looked over it carefully. He was thoroughlyfamiliar with the roads and streams, as the lieutenant had intimated,and in a brief time he had given him all the information he possessed.

  "There," said the lieutenant at last, folding the paper and restoring itto his pocket again, "that helps me out. I'd been over most of the way,and the two or three places you have told me about finishes the wholething. I'm ready to go back and report. I think I'll take a bite,though, before I start, and wait and see what the weather is likely tobe."

  Going to his saddle-bags the young officer brought out the dinner whichhe carried with him. "Sometimes I stop at some farmhouse and getsomething to eat," he explained, "but it isn't always safe to trust tothat, you see, so I always go provided. I want you to join me, Tom.It'll seem almost like old times."

  The horse had been tied to one of the trees, and, as the lieutenantseated himself upon the ground, Tom gladly joined him. He was tired andhungry, and the piece of bread which he had in his own pocket wouldkeep, and, as he was aware that he might find further use for it, he wasthe more willing to accept the invitation which had been given him. Fora few minutes neither spoke, for they both seemed to be intent upon theimmediate duty.

  As soon, however, as the first pangs of his hunger were relieved Tomsaid, "I never understood just why it was that the British leftPhiladelphia. They'd been there all winter, and after holding the cityso long I never could understand why it was that they abandoned itwithout even a skirmish. What did they do it for?"

  "Why, the way of it was this," replied the lieutenant, taking anunusually large bite of the bread he was holding in his hand, as hespoke. "You see, we'd been trying for a long time to get up some kind ofa treaty with France. Ben Franklin, and I don't know who all, had beenover there trying to work it up, and at last the Frenchmen agreed. OurCongress ratified the treaty on the 4th of last May, and thatcompletely changed the plans of the redcoats."

  "I don't see just how that could do it," replied Tom, somewhat puzzled.

  "Why it really means a declaration of war by the French against theBritish. I don't believe the Frenchmen care very much for us, barringyoung Lafayette and a few others of his kind, but they hate the British,and took this way to get even with them. It's expected that they'll senda fleet over here, and of course the redcoats have got to be ready tomeet it,--that is, if they can. Well, Philadelphia doesn't amount tovery much any way in war times. It isn't very easy to get into it, sothe British there thought they'd better get out and go over to New York,which was a good deal more likely to be threatened by the French fleets.That's the cause of the change, my lad."

  "I should think the redcoats would feel like giving up, now that theFrench are going to join us."

  The young officer laughed as he replied: "That's just where you'remistaken, my young friend. They don't feel that way after they've sentso many armies over here and have spent so much money in discoveringus, you see. And then, too, they don't object to getting a few taxes andsuch like things out of us, either. I've a dim suspicion that theFrenchmen may have just a bit of a dream that they may get back some ofthe country that dropped out of their hands during the French and Indianwar. But, however that may be, we're glad to have their help now, for weneed it badly enough, and will have to let the future take care ofitself."

  "I don't see that any one can blame the British for wanting to hold onto us. They have spent a lot of money, and lots of their soldiers havebeen killed in the wars with the Indians and the Frenchmen."

  "Oh no, we don't blame them," laughed the lieutenant. "We don't blamethem. It's all natural enough for them to want to hold on to us, but howabout ourselves? What about the Stamp Act and the tea tax? What aboutall their oppression and the way they've treated us? They seem to forgetthat we're men of like passions with themselves. Oh, it's all naturalenough for them to want to keep a good hold on us, but it's just asnatural for us to object to being held on to. And, Tom, such things ashave happened lately, too! Why, this story about Little Peter's motheris only one of a thousand here in Jersey. I've been pretty much all overthe colony--the state, I mean--and it's the same story everywhere. It'sjust plundering, and robbing, and worse. And then to bring over herethose Dutch butchers,--that's the worst of it all! To think of hiringthose butchers! Why, it just makes my blood boil to think of it! Andagainst us, too, who are their own blood relatives! That's more thanhuman nature can stand!"

  Tom felt the contagion of the young lieutenant's enthusiasm, but he madeno reply, and his companion continued, "The redcoats had a great timewhen they cleared out of Philadelphia. I was there and saw it myself."

  "You were there? I thought you were up at Valley Forge all winter!"

  "So I was, when I wasn't in Philadelphia. I had to go there sometimes,but I never wore my uniform then. Oh no, I didn't think it was verybecoming to my peculiar style of beauty, so I always left it behind me."

  "What were you, a spy?"

  "That isn't what we call it," replied the young officer, lowering hisvoice and glancing quickly about him at Tom's words, "Never mind what Iwas, but I was there and that's enough. I'm telling you now about thetime the redcoats had when Sir William Howe gave over the command to SirHenry Clinton. His officers got it up as a kind of a farewell, you see.They called it the Mischianza."

  "What's that? I don't understand."

  "What, the Mischianza? Oh, that's an Italian word, and means a 'mix up'or a 'medley,' or some such thing; I don't know just what. But I'mtelling you now what it was, and what they did. It commenced with a kindof a regatta which they'd arranged in three divisions. Up the river infront came the Ferret galley, and on board were some of the generalofficers and their ladies. Then came the Centre galley,--that was calledthe Hussar,--and carried both the Howes and Clinton and their suites,along with a lot of ladies. Behind came the Cornwallis galley, in whichw
ere Knyphausen and some of the British generals, and, of course, a lotof ladies.

  "Well, sir, they looked fine, I can tell you, for I was in the crowdwhich watched the affair from the shore, and I saw every bit of it. Oneach quarter of the galleys there were five flatboats, all lined withgreen, and having lots of people on board. Then, in front of thegalleys, were three more flatboats, and a band of music was on board ofeach, and they could play, too, let me tell you, if they were redcoats.Six rowed along each flank, and they were all dressed up in brightcolors, and so were the ships and the transport boats, which made a lineall the way down to the city. All the wharves were crowded and thepeople were just wild. The boats started out from Knight's wharf--that'saway up in the northern part of the city, you know--and rowed all theway down to Market wharf. There they rested on their oars, the bandsplayed 'God save the King,' the people shouted and sang, and I couldn'thelp feeling something of the excitement, though I hate the very sightof a redcoat.

  "Well, they landed at the Old Fort, and the bands were still playing,and the Roebuck fired seventeen guns and then the Vigilant firedseventeen more. The grenadiers had been drawn up in a double file onshore, and the company then marched up between the lines. They hadhorsemen there, too, and what with the bright dresses of the ladies andthe bright favors of blue and white ribbons on the breasts of themanagers, who moved in front of the procession, and the uniforms andall, it was a great sight. I should have thought Lord Howe would almosthave been sorry he was going to leave.

  "The avenue led up to a big lawn, which was all fixed up with arches androws of benches, rising one above another, where the ladies were to beseated; and then they had some tilts and tournaments, something as theyused to have in old England. There were young ladies there, too, lots ofthem, and they were all dressed up in Turkish costumes, and such like.

  "Pretty soon the trumpets sounded, and then a band of knights, dressedin red and white silk, on horses all decked out in the same colors,advanced. Lord Cathcart was the chief, and he had squires to carry hislances and others to carry his shield, and two black slaves with silverclasps on their bare necks and arms held his stirrups. The band thenmarched around the square and saluted the ladies, and then the herald,after a great flourish of trumpets, declared the ladies of the BlendedRose were ahead of all others.

  "When the challenge had been given the third time, some other heraldsand a trumpeter came in, along with a lot of knights dressed up in blackand orange, and after going through a lot of motions and the bands hadplayed, the herald proclaimed that the Knights of the Burning Mountainwere prepared to contest the claim of the others. Then the gauntlet wasthrown down and picked up, and the encounter began.

  "After they had met four times, the two leaders, Lord Cathcart andCaptain Watson, advanced and began a contest between themselves. Afterthey had kept it up a little while, the marshal of the field rushed inbetween them, and declared the ladies were all right on either side, andcommanded the men to stop. Then bands filed off in different directions,playing lively tunes and saluting the ladies as they marched.

  "Then the whole company marched through great arches to the garden, andthen up into the hall, which had been painted up to resemble Siennamarble. They had a faro table in that room and one great cornucopia allfilled with flowers and fruit, and another one empty. Then they went tothe ballroom, which was all painted in pale blue, and there werefestoons of flowers, and I don't know what all. I never saw anythinglike it before. There were eighty-five big mirrors in the room, and theywere all fixed out with ribbons and flowers, and as they sent back thelight from the branches of waxlights, it made the room look brightenough, I can tell you. On that same floor they had four drawing-rooms,where they got their refreshments, and these rooms were all decoratedand lighted up, too.

  "They kept up the dancing till ten, and then the fireworks began and thewindows were all thrown open. I remember that the first of the fireworkswas a great bouquet of rockets,--but that was only one, and they kept itup till twelve o'clock.

  "When midnight came, the great folding doors, which had been all coveredover with flowers so that no one knew they were there, were thrown open,and there was a great room all decorated and lighted up, most toowonderful to tell about; and there, too, was a great table, which theysaid had twelve hundred dishes on it--just think of that, will you?--andfour hundred and thirty people could sit down to the table at the sametime.

  "They had supper then, and when they had finished that part of theprogramme the herald and trumpeters entered and proclaimed the health ofthe king and the royal family. Of course all the people there responded,and then there was a toast for the knights, and the ladies, and lots ofothers, and there was a great flourish of trumpets as each toast wasannounced.

  "Then they all went back to the ballroom and began to dance again. Theykept it up till four o'clock, and I don't know how much later, for Ileft then."

  "And you saw it all?" said Tom slowly.

  "Yes, almost every bit of it; 'twas a great sight, too. The like of ithas never been seen before on this side of the water, and never will beagain, I'm thinking. By the way, Tom, I heard a man there called by yourname. It was Captain Coward, I think--though it may have been colonel orjudge; I don't just recollect."

  "I'm sorry for him."

  "You needn't be. Just show that the name's of no account. But I've gotto start now. I wish I could take you with me, but I can't. I'll see yousoon, though, so good luck to you till we meet again."

  "But it's raining," said Tom quickly, as the patter of the fallingdrops could be heard on the leaves.

  "Can't stop for that; I'm due at five o'clock, rain or no rain. Good-byto you, Tom, and thank you for your help. You've saved me a hard ride insuch a day as this!"

  The young lieutenant was gone, and Tom waited for the shower to pass.The rain continued only a few minutes, but left the air still moresultry than it had been before, and walking became much more difficult.

  However, Tom started on as soon as the rain ceased, and kept steadily tohis work until the sun was low in the heavens. His thoughts had beenwithdrawn, in a measure, from the camp at Hopewell, and he was thinkingof the description which the young lieutenant had given of theMischianza, and the brilliant scene which it must have presented. Whatcould the poor and desperate Continentals do against men who had feastslike that? And Captain, or Colonel, Coward, who was he? Tom foundhimself thinking of the man, and wondering how he came to have the name.

  He turned the bend in the road and saw a band of soldiers marchingdirectly toward him, and not far away. Startled by the sight, hestopped a moment and gazed intently at them, striving to discoverwhether they wore red coats or buff; but they were covered with dust andhe could not decide.

  He quickly realized that he must act, and he had just turned about,prepared to run back in the road, when he heard several shots fired atthe approaching men from the woods by the roadside.

  The band instantly halted and prepared to defend themselves. Withoutwaiting to watch the contest, he once more turned to run, when heobtained a glimpse of men behind him, partially concealed among thetrees and standing with their guns raised to their shoulders, and withtheir attention fixed upon the advancing soldiers.

  Were the men friends or foes? Tom could not determine; and, tremblingwith fear and excitement, he stopped. He was between the opposing bands,while off on his right it was evident that other men were concealed.Thoughts of the Mischianza and of the captain with the unfortunate namewere all gone now. He could not advance; he dared not retreat.