increased among the mountain passes and wild fastnesses of our native scenery, induced me to look forward with a kind of adventurous pleasure, to the projected passage through the unexplored wilderness. The probable hazard and difficulty of the exploit presented only a spur to my newly awakened ardor; and thus, with my usual impetuosity of feeling, I pushed on among the most enthusiastic followers of Colonel Arnold. The concluding part of the history is written in the blood of our brave and gallant general; and now, in the closing scene of the drama, I find myself, by a singular freak of fortune, thrown again in your company, in a place where I had little dreamed of such a meeting.' "In the meanwhile, an interesting event happened on the banks of the Lehigh. The usual business in that part of the country was suspended. The men congregated to talk over the causes and events of the war, and the signs of the times. The appearance of the army in the heavens was still fresh in the minds of all; and it was but a few weeks after the departure of Murray and Lester that another spectacle was seen, even more astonishing than the first. "It was on a September evening that the _Aurora Borealis_ was discovered in the sky. It grew brighter and brighter, and soon drew together a large number of the inhabitants of the neighborhood. The distance was short to the highest ground on the ridge of the Lehigh Mountains, and the whole party ascended to the summit, near the old road between Easton and Philadelphia. There they paused, to view the surrounding scenery in the broad, clear light. The Kittating Mountain, enveloped in its blue shade of mist, lay far away to the north and west; while, on the Jersey side, to the east, the high Musconetcong rose darkly in the distance. Suddenly, a cloud appeared on the blue sky above, and immediately, quick, successive sounds, as of the firing of cannon, broke on the ear. The cloud dispersed with the noise, and flying troops were seen rushing on from the west. Men and horses were mingled in one indiscriminate mass of confusion. The soldiers wore the uniform of the British; but there was no order, as in the former vision. Ranks were cut up and destroyed--plumes were bent down and broken--horses fled without riders--and the fallen were trampled on by their companions. Terror seemed to move in their midst, as they hurried onward. The pillar of a cloud rose again behind them. It was like a thick smoke from the fire of the enemy. It curled and wreathed itself away in the heavens, and disappeared, as with another sound of guns. Then came the Continental Army. Soldiers marching in triumph--officers mounted, and flags of victory streaming on the sky. On and on, they followed in the pursuit, till the singular phantasm melted away in the east.