Page:Aristopia (1895).pdf/230



is not the purpose of this work to narrate all the details of the war for independence. Suffice it to say that, during all the war, the power and wealth of Aristopia formed the bulwark of the American cause. She realized that the welfare of the other colonies was her interest. Safe from invasion herself, she poured out men and means to repel invasion of the Atlantic colonies. Every port on the Atlantic was defended by great cannons cast in Aristopia, manned by well-trained Aristopian gunners. Everywhere, from the Kennebec to the Savannah, where invasion threatened, there were seen the long blue lines of the brigades of Aristopia, forming a firm nucleus around which might rally and a sure shield behind which might form the undisciplined and unskilled, if brave and ardent, patriots.

The soldiers of Aristopia had not the perfect marksmanship and the self-reliant, fierce,