[344] On November 22, letters arrived from Sir Guy Carleton giving an account of the destruction of the American fleet on Lake Champlain, October 11-13, 1776. Arnold, after destroying Crown Point, retired to Ticonderoga. General Burgoyne returned to England on December 9, 1776.
[345] Remarks on the Two Last Chapters of Mr. Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by James Chelsum, D.D. London, 1776. 8vo.
[346] With Lord and Lady Ossory.
[347] The translation, commenced by M. Le Clerc de Septchênes, and completed by other hands, passed through numerous editions in France. It was the foundation of an Italian version published at Pisa in 1779-86.
[348] After the battle of Brooklyn, Washington withdrew his troops to the heights of Haarlem. General Howe, towards the end of October, engaged in several skirmishes with the Americans, but made no effort to bring them to a decisive engagement. On November 16, 1776, Fort Washington was taken by the British, and 2600 of the American troops, exclusive of officers, surrendered as prisoners of war. Following up his advantage, Howe advanced into New Jersey, Washington retreating beyond the Delaware.
[349] General Fraser lived in Downing Street, and died there, February 8, 1782.
[350] Mrs. Fraser.
[351] General Fraser.
[352] On December 7, 1776, a fire broke out in Portsmouth Dockyard, and in the hemp warehouse a quantity of combustibles were found; at Plymouth an attempt to set the dockyard on fire was discovered; at Bristol several houses close to the quay were set on fire. The incendiary was "John the Painter," whose real name was Aitken. He confessed his guilt, and asserted the complicity of Silas Deane, the American agent at Paris. He was tried at Winchester Assizes, convicted, and hanged at Portsmouth.
[353] I.e. probably the Abigail of Mrs. Abigail Holroyd.