by, and Williams, to the lady on the evening of their
arrival. The two latter of these officers had already been personally
active in the behalf of Arthur Butler, and all felt the liveliest
interest in his fortunes. The singular relation in which Mildred seemed
to stand to the captive officer and the extraordinary zeal which her
present mission betrayed in his cause, drew forth a warm sympathy from
the generous soldiers around her, and there was even a tincture of the
romance of chivalry in the fervor with which, on the present visit, they
pledged themselves to her service. With the delicacy that always belongs
to honorable and brave hearts, they refrained from inquiry into the
special inducements which could so earnestly enlist the lady in the
service of their fellow-soldier, and sedulously strove to raise her
spirits into a cheerful and happy tone by the hopes they were able to
inspire.

CHAPTER LIV.

FERGUSON ADVANCES SOUTH.--HE HAS REASON TO BECOME CIRCUMSPECT.--ARTHUR
BUTLER FINDS HIMSELF RETREATING FROM HIS FRIENDS.

We return for a moment to look after Butler. As near as my information
enables me to speak--for I wish to be accurate in dates--it was about
the 23d of September when our hero arrived at Gilbert-town, and found
himself committed to the custody of Ferguson. His situation, in many
respects uncomfortable, was not altogether without circumstances to
alleviate the rigor of captivity. Ferguson, though a rough soldier, and
animated by a zealous partisanship in the royal cause which imbued his
feelings with a deep hatred of the Whigs, was also a man of education,
and of a disposition to respect the claims of a gentleman fully equal to
himself in rank and consideration--even when these qualities were found
in an enemy. His intercourse, of late, had been almost entirely confined
to the wild spirits who inhabited the frontier, and who, impelled by
untamed passions, were accustomed to plunge into every excess which the
license of war enabled them to practise. He had, accordingly, adapted
his behavior to the complexion of this population, and maintained his
authority, both over his own recruits and such of the opposite party as
had fallen into his hands, by a severe, and not unfrequently by even a
cruel bearing. Following the example set him by Cornwallis himself, he
had more than once executed summary vengeance upon the Whigs whom the
chances of war had brought into his power; or, what was equally
repr