Plan and Name of the Society of the Cincinnati.

The Constitution.

Opposition of Judge Burke and others.

Knox, Hand, and Huntington, and Captain Shaw, was appointed to revise the proposals for the institution. Another meeting was held on the 13th of May, at the quarters of Steuben (Verplanck's), when the committee reported. A plan, in the following words, was adopted,' and the society was duly organized:

"It having pleased the Supreme Governor of the universe, in the disposition of human affairs, to cause the separation of the colonies of North America from the domination of Great Britain, and, after a bloody conflict of eight years, to establish them free, independent, and sovereign states, connected by alliances, founded on reciprocal advantages, with some of the greatest princes and powers of the earth:

"To perpetuate, therefore, as well the remembrance of this vast event, as the mutual friendships which have been formed under the pressure of common danger, and in many instances cemented by the blood of the parties, the officers of the American army do hereby, in the most solemn manner, associate, constitute, and combine themselves into one society of friends, to endure so long as they shall endure, or any of their eldest male posterity, and in failure thereof, the collateral branches, who may be judged worthy of becoming its supporters and members."

"The officers of the American army, having generally been taken from the citizens of America, possess high veneration for the character of that illustrious Roman, LUCIUS QUINTIUS CINCINNATUS, and being resolved to follow his example, by returning to their citizenship, they think they may with propriety denominate themselves the

SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI.

"The following principles shall be immutable, and form the basis of the Society of the Cincinnati :

"An incessant attention to preserve inviolate those exalted rights and liberties of human nature for which they have fought and bled, and without which the high rank of a rational being is a curse instead of a blessing.

"An unalterable determination to promote and cherish, between the respective states, that unison and national honor so essentially necessary to their happiness and the future dignity of the American empire.

"To render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the officers, this spirit will dictate brotherly kindness in all things, and particularly extend to the most substantial acts of beneficence, according to the ability of the society, toward those officers and their families who unfortunately may be under the necessity of receiving it.

"The general society will, for the sake of frequent communications, be divided into state societies, and these again into such districts as shall be directed by the state society.

"The societies of the districts to meet as 'often as shall be agreed on by the state society; those of the state on the 4th day of July annually, or oftener if they shall find it expedient; and the general society on the first Monday in May annually, so long as they shall deem it necessary, and afterward at least once in every three years.

This document, according to Colonel Timothy Pickering, was drawn up by Captain Shaw, who was the secretary of the committee.

This clause gave considerable alarm to the more rigid Whigs, because of the recognition of the right of primogeniture in membership succession. Judge Ædanus Burke, of South Carolina, attacked it with much vehemence, as an incipient order of nobility, and an attempt to establish the pretensions of the military to rank above the mass of citizens. The objection was groundless, for no civil, military, political, or social prerogative was claimed. On the other hand, the King of Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus III.) declined permitting the few officers in the French army who were his subjects to wear the order of the Cincinnati, on the ground that the institution had a republican tendency not suited to his government. On this subject, Washington, in a letter to Rochambeau, written in August, 1784, said, "Considering how recently the King of Sweden has changed the form of the government of that country, it is not so much to be wondered at that his fears should get the better of his liberality as to any thing which might have the semblance of republicanism; but when it is further considered how few of his nation had, or could have, a right to the order, I think he might have suffered his complaisance to have overcome them."-See Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, ix., 56.

Certificate of Membership of the Cincinnati.

The Design and Engraving.

Alteration of the Plate,

"At each meeting, the principles of the institution will be fully considered, and the best measures to promote them adopted.

"The state societies to have a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and assistant treasurer, to be chosen annually by a majority of votes, at the stated meeting.

"In order to obtain funds which may be respectable, and assist the unfortunate, each officer shall deliver to the treasurer of the state society one month's pay, which shall remain

This engraving is a fac simile of a certificate, about one fourth the size of the original, which is thirteen inches and a half in breadth, and twenty inches in length. The originals are printed on fine vellum. The plate was engraved in France by J. J. le Veau, from a drawing by Aug. le Belle. I am indebted to the late James G. Wilson, son of Ensign Wilson, named in the certificate, for the use of the original in making this copy. The former was engraved on copper; this is engraved on wood. The design represents American liberty as a strong man armed, bearing in one hand the Union flag, and in the other a naked sword. Beneath his feet are British flags, and a broken spear, shield, and chain. Hovering by his side is the eagle, our national emblem, from whose talons the lightning of destruction is flashing upon the British lion. Britannia, with the crown falling from her head, is hastening toward a boat to escape to a fleet, which denotes the departure of British power from our shores. Upon a cloud, on the right, is an angel blowing a trumpet, from which flutters a loose scroll. Upon the scroll are the sentences, Palam nuntiata libertatis, A.D. 1776. Fœdus sociale cum Gallia, An. D. 1778. Pax: libertas parta, An. D. 1783. "Independence declared, A.D. 1776. Treaty of alliance with France declared, A.D. 1778. Peace! independence obtained, A.D. 1783."

Upon the medallion on the right is a device representing Cincinnatus at his plow, a ship on the sea, and a walled town in the distance. Over his head is a flying angel, holding a ribbon inscribed Virtutis præmium; "Reward of virtue." Below is a heart, with the words, Esto perpetua; "Be thou perpetual." Upon the rim is the legend, Societas Cincinnatorum Instituta A.D. MDCCLXXXIII.; "Society of the Cincinnati, instituted 1783." The device upon the medallion on the left is Cincinnatus with his family near his house. He is receiving a sword and shield from three senators; an army is seen in the distance. Upon the rim are the words, Omnia relinquit servare rempublicam; "He abandoned every thing to serve his country;" (referring to Cincinnatus).

There is a fact connected with this sentence worthy of notice. In the earlier impressions from the plate, taken previous to the year 1785, the sentence is Palam nuntiata libertas, not libertatis. Some person, who doubtless supposed the original word to be incorrect, caused the letters tis to be crowded into the space occupied by the final s in libertas. I have the authority of one of our most learned Latin critics, to whom the question was submitted, for saying that the original word was correct, and that the alteration renders the sentence ungrammatical and totally incorrect, thereby destroying its meaning. Do any of our historical antiquaries know by whose authority the alteration was made?

The Order of the Society.

The successive Presidents General.

Departure for West Point.

forever to the use of the state society. The interest only of which, if necessary, to be appropriated to the relief of the unfortunate.

"The society shall have an order, by which its members shall be known and distinguished, which shall be a medal of gold, of a proper size to receive the emblems, and be suspended by a deep blue ribbon, two inches wide, edged with white, descriptive of the union of America with France."

I am indebted to the kindness of Colonel Joseph Warren Scott, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, now (1850) the president of the society of that state, for the following information respecting the successive presidents general of the institution. General Washington was the first president general, and continued in office until his death, in December, 1799. In May, 1800, General Alexander Hamilton was elected as his successor. He was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, and, at the next general meeting, General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, was elected as his successor. He died in August, 1825. At a special meeting of the society, held at Philadelphia in November, 1826, Major-general Thomas Pinckney was elected president general. At his death, Colonel Aaron Ogden, of New Jersey, was elected to fill his place. He held the office until his decease in April, 1838, when General Morgan Lewis, of New York, became his successor. General Lewis died on the 7th of May, 1844, in his ninetieth year, and the venerable Major Popham, also of New York, was elected as his successor at the general meeting in November following. Major Popham died in the summer of 1848, and at the meeting in November of that year, General Dearborn, the present incumbent, was elected to supply the vacancy. Such is the brief history of a society over which the venerated Washington first presided.

I left the interesting mansion wherein the society was organized at noon, and reached Newburgh in time to dine and embark at half past one for West Point, eight miles below.

ORDER OF THE CINCINNATI.?

"At that meeting," says Colonel Scott, in a letter to me dated July 9, 1850, "delegates attended from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and South Carolina. Colonel Ogden and myself were delegates from New Jersey. At that meeting it was ascertained that all the officers of the society, but one, had departed this life. The survivor was Major Jackson, of Pennsylvania. These communications were given and received in sadness, and a respectful and affectionate notice was taken of those who had left us forever."

This was drawn from an original in the possession of Edward Phalon, Esq., of New York. The engraving is the exact size of the original. The leaves of the sprigs of laurel are of gold, and green enamel : the head and tail of the eagle gold, and white enamel; and the sky in the center device blue enamel. The device and motto are the same as upon the medallion on the right of the certificate.

West Point and its Associations.

Mrs. Faugeres.

Sufferings of Mrs. Bleecker.

CHAPTER VI.

"What though no cloister gray nor ivyed column
Along these cliffs their somber ruins rear;
What though no frowning tower nor temple solemn
Of despots tell, and superstition here;

What though that moldering fort's fast-crumbling walls
Did ne'er inclose a baron's bannered halls,

Its sinking arches once gave back as proud
An echo to the war-blown clarion's peal-
As gallant hearts its battlements did crowd
As ever beat beneath a breast of steel,
When herald's trump on knighthood's haughtiest day
Called forth chivalric hosts to battle-fray."

"Low sunk between the Alleghanian hills

C. F. HOFFMAN.

For many a league the sullen waters glide,
And the deep murmur of the crowded tide
With pleasing awe the wondering voyager fills.
On the green summit of yon lofty clift
A peaceful runnel gurgles clear and slow,
Then down the craggy steep-side dashing swift,
Tumultuous falls in the white surge below."

MARGARETTA V. FAUGERES.'

N the midst of wild mountain scenery, picturesque but not magnificent when compared with the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Adirondack and Catskill range in New York, or the Alleghanies in Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, is a bold promontory called West Point, rising more than one hundred and fifty feet above the waters of the Hudson, its top a perfectly level and fertile plateau, and every rood hallowed by associations of the deepest interest. West Point! What a world of thrilling reminiscences has the utterance of that name brought to ten thousand memories in times past, now, alas! nearly all slumbering in the dreamless sleep of the dead! How does it awaken the generous emotions of patriotic reverence for the men, and things, and times of the Revolution, in the bosoms of the present generation! Nor is it by the associations alone that the traveler is moved with strong emotions when approaching West Point; the stranger, indifferent to our history and of all but the present, feels a glow of admira

1 Mrs. Faugeres was the grand-daughter of Brandt Schuyler, and daughter of Mrs. Anne Eliza Bleecker, one of the notable sufferers from the invasion of Burgoyne in 1777. Mrs. Bleecker was then living with her husband, about eighteen miles from Albany. Mr. Bleecker went to that city to make arrangements for moving his family thither. While absent, Mrs. Bleecker heard of the approach of Burgoyne and his horde of savages, and, leading her eldest child by the hand, and bearing her youngest in her arms, she started on foot for Albany. After a wearisome journey of a day, and a night passed in a wretched garret, she started forward with her precious charge, and soon met her husband, with whom she returned to the vity. Her babe died a few days afterward, and within a month her mother expired in her arms, at Red Hook, in Dutchess county. Her husband was afterward captured by a party of Tories. This event, and his sudden restoration when she thought him dead, so overpowered her, that her constitution sunk beneath the shocks, and she died in the autumn of 1783. Margaretta (afterward Mrs. Faugeres) was the "sweet sister" alluded to in the following lines, extracted from a poem written by Mrs. Bleecker on the death of her child:

Scenery around West Point.

The Military Establishment.

Wood's Monument.

Interesting Relics.

tion as he courses along the sinuous channel of the river or climbs the rough hills that embosom it. The inspiration of nature then takes possession of his heart and mind, and

"When he treads

The rock-encumbered crest, and feels the strange

And wild tumultuous throbbings of his heart,

Its every chord vibrating with the touch

Of the high power that reigns supreme o'er all,
He well may deem that lips of angel-forms
Have breathed to him the holy melody

That fills his o'erfraught heart."

BAYARD TAYLOR.

The high plain is reached by a carriage-way that winds up the bank from the landing ; the visitor overlooking, in the passage, on the right, the little village of Camptown, which comprises the barracks of United States soldiers and a few dwellings of persons not immediately connected with the military works. On the left, near the summit, is "the Artillery Laboratory," and near by, upon a little hillock, is an obelisk erected to the memory of Lieutenant-colonel Wood.' On the edge of the cliff, overlooking the steam boat landing, is a spacious hotel, where I booked myself as a boarder for a day or two. A more delightful spot, particularly in summer, for a weary traveler or a professed lounger, can not easily be found, than the broad piazza of that public dwelling presents. Breezy in the hottest weather, and always enlivened by pleasant company, the sojourner need not step from beneath its shadow to view a most wonderful variety of pleasing objects in nature and art. Upon the grassy plain before him are buildings of the military establishment-the Academic Halls, the Philosophical and Library buildings, the Observatory, the Chapel, the Hospital, the Barracks and Mess Hall of the cadets, and the beautifully shaded dwellings of the officers and professors that skirt the western side of the plateau at the base of the hills. On the parade, the cadets, in neat uniform, exhibit their various exercises, and an excellent band of music delights the ear. Lifting the eyes to the westward, the lofty summit of Mount Independence, crested by the gray ruins of Fort Putnam, and beyond it-the loftier apex of Redoubt Hill, are seen. Turning a little northward, Old Cro' Nest and Butter Hill break the horizon nearly half way to the zenith; and directly north, over Martelaer's Rock or Constitution Island, through the magnificent cleft in the chain of hills through which the Hudson flows, is seen the bright waters of Newburgh Bay, the village glittering in the sunbeams, and the beautiful, cultivated slopes of Dutchess and Orange. The scenery at the eastward is better comprehended and more extensive as seen from Fort Putnam, whither we shall presently climb.

1848.

I passed the remainder of the afternoon among the celebrities clustered around October 26, the plain. I first visited the Artillery Laboratory, where are deposited several interesting trophies and relics of the Revolution. In the center of the court is a group of great interest, consisting of a large brass mortar, mounted, which was taken from the English when Wayne captured Stony Point; two small brass mortars, taken from Burgoyne at Saratoga, and a portion of the famous chain which the Americans stretched across the river at West Point to obstruct the passage of the vessels of the enemy. The large mortar

"Rich in my children, on my arms I bore
My living treasures from the scalper's power.
When I sat down to rest beneath some shade,
On the soft grass how innocent she play'd,
While her sweet sister from the fragrant wild
Collects the flowers to please my precious child.”

The following is the inscription on this monument :

"To the memory of Lieutenant-colonel E. D. WOOD, of the corps of engineers, who fell while leading a charge at the sortie of Fort Erie, Upper Canada, 17th of September, 1814, in the 31st year of his age. He was exemplary as a Christian, and distinguished as a soldier. A pupil of this institution, he died an honor to his country. This memorial was erected by his friend and commander, Major-general JACOB BROWN."