234 
WANDERINGS IN 
FOURTH 
JOURNEY. 
The great 
canal. 
axe of man, seemed almost to defy the blasting storm, 
and desolating hand of time; and there, he bade me 
observe an extended tract of wood, by which I might 
form an idea how rich and grand the face of the 
country had once been. Here it was that, in the 
great and momentous struggle, the colonists lost the 
day; and there they carried all before them :— 
“ They closed full fast, on every side 
No slackness there was found ; 
And many a gallant gentleman 
Lay gasping on the ground.” 
Here, in fine, stood a noted regiment; there, moved 
their great captain; here, the fleets fired their 
broadsides; and there, the whole force rushed on to 
battle :— 
“ Hie Dolopum manus, hie magnus tendebat Achilles, 
Classibus hie locus, hie acies certare solebat.” 
At tea-time we took our tea together, and the next 
morning this worthy American walked up with me 
to the inn in Albany, shook me by the hand, and then 
went his way. I bade him farewell, and again fare¬ 
well, and hoped that fortune might bring us together 
again once more. Possibly she may yet do so; and 
should it be in England, I will take him to my 
house, as an old friend and acquaintance, and offer 
him my choicest cheer. This excellent gentleman 
lived in New York, and his name was William Tyas. 
It is at Albany that the great canal opens into 
the Hudson, and joins the waters of this river to 
those of Lake Erie. The Hudson, at the city of 
Albany, is distant from Lake Erie about three 
