39 



the volleying of fire-arms, and the cries of the com- 

 batants. We give the words of one who mingled in the 

 fight, and whom we have heard speak with horror of the 

 Banguinary fury with which the Hessians plied the bayo- 

 net. At length some of the Americans, by a desperate 

 effort, cut their way through the host of foes, and effed i 1 1 

 their retreat, fighting as they went ; others took refuge 

 among the woods and fastnesses of the hills, but a great 

 part were either killed or taken prisoners.'""' 



Let then this spot, so consecrated by the blood of 

 patriots, be preserved, if for no other reason than that 

 in recalling the memories of a glorious past, it may 

 incite new hopes for a more glorious future. 



Dlan of Implement. 



In laying down a plan for the improvement and em- 

 bellishment of the area which has been described, it 

 seems barely necessary to say that the natural topo- 

 graphical features should be the basis of that improve- 

 ment. For, laying aside the question of the greater 

 expense which any other method would incur, the 

 infringement upon good taste, and upon that regard for 

 the beauties of nature possessed by every cultivated 

 mind, which would result from a display of artificial 

 constructions, would defeat the primary object of the 

 park as a rural resort, where the people of all classes, 

 escaping from the glare, and glitter, and turmoil of the 

 city, might find relief for the mind, and physical recrea- 

 tion — the park, under such circumstances, becoming a 



* Irving's Life of Washington. 



