The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-10
TWO QUAINT OLD LETTERS.
EVSNIs or II 30. LIIOSARY DdrS
CALMLY DGNCR, BEn

An Eve witn-. Of tho Battle OF Queens
town Higgins Sends an Account ut II to
H.. Sister, Also News Of Ills Nnrringe-
John Pintard's Naive Dissertation Of the
Approaching Evacuation OF Nv York.
within the pas, few years, in Grca, Britain
and on the Coninrr, of Europe old letters and
unrdi,ed other rrTcrs belonging to private inmi.
lies have been diligently searched for facts that
illuminate events OF the past. in which the writer's
were either actual participants or in close relation
with those who took pnit In them. Our nomndic
mode Of life. and the numerous viciSsi,udrs OF
fortune that await us, oTrr barrier H. the pr"s"r
walton Of this eou Of material Through these
processos domestic disin'c-rr'ion. the rnvHCrs
Of FIRE, and individual hccdlcssrrss OF careless
ness. much valuable matter relating TO impor-
tnnt. social OF national events is los. Now md
again however. there is uneNrhed with us " small
repository Il old family letters and records thn,
tell in detailed and intimate way of harTrrinrs
Of which the historian has knowledge only through
formal otncinl reports or tradition
! The two subioinrd letters come from private
collection, that has hccn preserved only hecruse
the oldest surviving member Of a family Of dis
| tinciion has yielded 10 conservative impulse.
| r-'hrr than to the end Of the century contempt
for I'll that is not most modern The flrsi letter
Is to his sister from young man. native 81 Bed
| ford Westchestrr county, New York: a graduate
| of Columbia College Al thu age Of ?, he accom-
| panied his father. a missionary. TO the Indians
| 10 Buffalo, then small village The orcrng
paragraph Is retained ms II relates IN his marriage
! when 22, to young girl This provides the oppor-
, tuuity Tor A sentimental and emotional on'bu 81,
! from which the writer rrirrins This will inspire
confidence In his Judicial calmnrss, md in his
! account Of the battle oi Queenstown Heights Of
/ which he was an eyewitness from the opposite
I hnp MI ~ ths Nio0ara HiyeF--thaf which tho
action WIS fought This young man died after
two ve,rs NJ married iic The letter nj the wife
announcing the even, TO his family, none Of whom
she had ever met. hrs the same quality of self
restraint a. Ia noticeable in that NJ the husband.
The two letters should be printed side by sida
That Of the widow. however, is omitted rs II ON
tains intimate details, told with charming rrace
and naireie: but hardly suitable for enid dissec-
ton by a generation whose ideals mr. ~ lar 70
m wed from those OF the simple and loyal young
girl who wrote H.
BUFFALO CNIagara Coz, 10th Octb'r, 1879.
M Dear S a,r' Alter so long a y encc shall
not attempt an excuse for u Bulao' as you
percelva, is still nv place OF residsncs and will
as il NAV souni 70 yol, be assured thai about
three weeks ago. | was married to very fine
2, this ysSe with SsHor whom s'P sS,
fwiii present her to You an lei YOU lge oy your
you must rest content with knowing thu, her name
q short time ago was c., or rather Miss SN IVA
c.; that she Is between sixteen ana seventeen ,
years Of hHc; handsome AMI sensible In lev
words, abe is as good u not better vile than
deserve -
pose Of late to the calamities oi wa. For few
DAYS past there has been continual cannonad
Ing from tho opposite shore; not many lives. how
event that has as yet taken '."cs on 'hs Iron''o,
happened about thirty mil br,ow hero
detachment - M, army &c ,nssinE ., anG u
TO Queens o.n dire " opposite 70 II, un Ter III
command Of Col Solomon Van Rensselaer,, a
to ,h1 Gsnsyn and s SyaC. he Ts
out Of Queenstown, assembled a height Of Lam
, NOT far distant ATTACKED some batteries that ha'
been erected there ana IN snor. ,lme manr inrm
two hours from the time our troops left Lewiston
AMI before II was clcyrrly day.
, bouT high: a party n BRITISH regulars, Cnnadirl
militia and Indians mad" their appearance Gu
trcops, were soon IN readiness To NEE Them, an
our men ra were victorious Efet 10 The oommrnct
O. s 81 Tss es
, sseaer was woun led, which rendered II ncccssnr
for hin to ~, ne .r neS The S"%% e. Fl.
o brave hut inexperienced officer nv this tim
tho ammunition which our soldiers had carrie
with them ~ what thev hal gotten possession
though al the time IN sight q our army on mi
side. things were so badlr managed thew w-r
neither -, ,"tniorced with fresh men nor .nnDlis
enod our Iitt" ---'v were every moment becoming
weaker, In nseq ienc" ~ numbers that left theT
I" earv wi w hem w" ~h man Of mo.
WIN remained were reg line themselves with wha
they took from III. inhahi'ants around thnn
e,psily Of british rsula~ and Indians comm.n n
4 by Gen brock, wcro econ marching toward ou