210 



MIDDLE STATES. 



of troops to Hartford, where the Assembly was in session, and demanded the charter. The 

 Assembly hesitated, and put off his demand till the evening, when the instrument was brought 

 formally into the hall and laid upon the table ; but the lights were suddenly extinguished as if 

 by concert, and the charter conveyed away. It was concealed in a hollow tree in the town, 

 which is still pointed out to visiters as the Charter Oak. Andros ruled the State arbitrarily, 

 till deposed by the people of Boston in 16S9, when the charter was resumed, and the State 

 overnrnent was administered according to its forms till 1818. 



CHAPTER XL GENERAL VIEW OF THE MIDDLE STATES. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. The five States next to be described, form a distinct geo- 

 graphical region, to which has been applied the general name of the Middle States. This 

 region is bounded N. by Lakes Erie and Ontario, the St. Lawrence, and Lower Canada ; E. 

 by New England and the Atlantic Ocean ; S. by the Potomac and Virginia, and W. by 

 Virginia and Ohio. It extends from latitude 38^ to 45° N., and from longitude 72° to 80° 36' 

 W., comprising an area of about 116,000 square miles. 



States. 



New York, 

 New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania, 



Capitals. 

 Albany. 

 Trenton. 

 Harrisburg. 



States. 



Delaware, 

 Maryland, 



Capitals. 



Dover. 

 Annapolis. 



2. Mountains. These States exhibit the most extensive mountainous tracts in the Union. 

 The Appalachian chain spreads to its widest limits in Pennsylvania. None of the eminences 

 of these mountains equals in height the loftiest summits of the New Hampshire ranges, but 

 their general elevation is not much below that of the other mountains in New England. They 

 are almost universally covered with forests, and there are many wild solitudes among them, 

 which are seldom or never visited by man. In Pennsylvania, there are vast tracts among the 

 mountains, where the most timid of all wild animals find a secure and undisturbed abode. 



3. Valleys. The great streams have generally rocky banks, with little interval land ; but 

 here and there extensive valleys occur. The broadest is that of the Hudson, which, in one 

 part of its course, widens to the breadth of 40 miles. 



4. Rivers. This region slopes on the north to the basin of the great lakes, and on the west 

 to the Ohio basin. Bu^ its principal rivers are on the eastern declivity of the table-land, which 

 occupies its interior, and run in a southeasterly direction into the Atlantic. The most impor- 



