who had
achieved such wonders at dinner, now successively demolish what might be
deemed a stout allowance for a well fed lion.

"It almost seems to go against the credit of my house," said the
hostess, "to set gentlefolks down at my table without a cup of tea; but
so it is; we must get used to be stripped of all the old-fashioned
comforts. It is almost treason for an honest woman to have such an
article in her house now, even if it could be fairly come by. Still,
I'll engage I am tory enough yet to like the smell of hyson. They have
no mercy upon us old women, major; they should have a care, or they will
drive us into the arms of the enemy."

"Faith then, ma'am," interrupted Horse Shoe bluntly, as he threw his eye
over his shoulder at the landlady, who had broken into a laugh at her
own sally of humor, "it would be no wonder if you were soon driven back
again."

"Shame on you, Mr. Sergeant Robinson," retorted the dame, laughing
again, "I didn't expect to hear such a speech from you; that's a very
sorry compliment to a poor country woman. If the men on our side think
so little of us as you do, it would be no wonder if we all desert to
King George; but Major Arthur Butler, I am sure, will tell you that we
old bodies can sometimes make ourselves very useful--gainsay it who
will."

"You seem to be rather hard, Galbraith," said Butler, "on my good friend
Mistress Dimock. I am sure, madam, the sergeant has only been unlucky in
making himself understood; for I know him to be a man of gallantry to
your sex, and to cherish an especial liking for the female friends of
our cause, amongst whom, Mistress Dimock, I can certify he is prepared
to set a high value upon yourself. The sergeant was only endeavoring to
provoke your good humor. Try this honey, Galbraith; Mistress Dimock is
famous for her beehives; and perhaps it will give a sweeter edge to your
tongue."

"I spoke, major," replied Robinson, awkwardly endeavoring to extricate
himself under this joint rebuke, and, at the same time, plunging a spoon
into the dish to which Butler had invited his notice, "consarning the
difficulty of having ladies--whether old or young makes no difference,
it wan't respecting the age of Mistress Dimock, nor her beauty, by no
means, that I said what I did say; but it was consarning of the
difficulty of having the women with them in their marches and their
counter-marches. What could such tender creatures have done at such a
place as the sieg