270 THE FEENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



Princeton After a due course of preparation in the classics he 



entered Princeton College. Tradition has it that his 

 roommate there was James Madison. Certain it was that 

 Madison was among his classmates, as were Aaron Burr, 

 Aaron Ogden and Hugh Hemy Breckenridge. While in 

 college he gave much of his time to writing poetry, and 

 the year before his graduation in 1771 he and his friend 

 Breckenridge published a volume of verses. The yeara 

 between his leaving college and the breaking out of the 

 Revolution were devoted to teaching, and various light 

 skirmishes with the law, with theology, and with medi- 

 cine. Many of his choicest nature-lyrics were w^ritten 



Martial Songs during this period. In 1775 the cause of freedom aroused 

 Freneau to a high pitch of activity, and he freely gave 

 all that he had in the way of satirical power to arousing 

 the spirit of the public. He did not enter the army, but 

 it is safe to say that his satires and his martial songs ac- 

 comi^lished more for the cause of Independence than his 

 individual efforts as a soldier could have done. While 

 sailing in Delaware Bay in 1780, he was taken prisoner 

 by the British man-o'-war Iris, and spent many weary 

 weeks aboard an English prison-ship. When he was at 

 last released, he returned to New Jersey weak from fever 

 and hardship, but firm in will. He now had a personal 

 grievance to add to the fires of his zeal against the red- 

 coats, and his satire and invective became more biting 

 and effective than at first. Many of his pieces achieved 

 a wide-spread popularity among the troops and the 

 people, and did much to foster the spirit of patriotic 

 ardour. 



When the war was over, Freneau engaged in many 

 journalistic enterprises, the most notable of which was 

 the editing of The National Gazette. 



Freneau espoused the cause of Jefferson, as against the 

 Federalists under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, 

 and liecame involved thereby in a long train of acrimo- 

 nious disputes. And while Freneau was of too independ- 



Poems of 

 Patriotism 



Editor 



