ou hast left this matter short," said my uncle Toby to the corporal,
as he was putting him to bed, "and I will tell thee in what, Trim. In
the first place, when thou madest an offer of my services to LeFevre, as
sickness and traveling are both expensive, and thou knewest he was but a
poor lieutenant, with a son to subsist as well as himself out of his
pay, that thou didst not make an offer to him of my purse, because, had
he stood in need, thou knowest, Trim, he had been as welcome to it as
myself."

"Your honor knows," said the corporal, "I had no orders." "True," quoth
my uncle Toby, "thou did'st very right, Trim, as a soldier, but
certainly very wrong as a man."

"In the second place, for which, indeed, thou hast the same excuse,"
continued my uncle Toby, "when thou offeredst him whatever was in my
house, thou shouldst have offered him my house, too. A sick brother
officer should have the best quarters, Trim, and if we had him with us,
we could tend and look to him. Thou art an excellent nurse thyself,
Trim, and what with thy care of him, and the old woman's, and his boy's
and mine together, we might recruit him again at once and set him upon
his legs."

"In a fortnight, or three weeks," added my uncle Toby, smiling, "he
might march." "He will never march, an', please your honor, in this
world," said the corporal. "He will march," said my uncle Toby, rising
from the side of the bed with one shoe off. "An', please your honor,"
said the corporal, "he will never march, but to his grave." "He shall
march," cried my uncle Toby, marching the foot which had a shoe on,
though without advancing an inch, "he shall march to his regiment." "He
can not stand it," said the corporal. "He shall be supported," said my
uncle Toby. "He'll drop at last," said the corporal, "and what will
become of his boy?" "He shall not drop," said my uncle Toby, firmly.
"Ah, welladay, do what we can for him," said Trim, maintaining his
point, "the poor soul will die." "He shall not die, by G--d," cried my
uncle Toby.

The _accusing spirit_ which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath,
blushed as he gave it in, and the _recording angel_, as he wrote it
down, dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever.

My uncle Toby went to his bureau, put his purse into his breeches
pocket, and, having ordered the corporal to go early in the morning for
a physician, he went to bed and fell asleep.

The sun looked bright the morning after to eve