excellency General Howe, and Mr.
Newville's other guests, was very appetizing,--oysters raw and fried,
clam soup, broiled halibut, fresh mackerel, corned beef and pork,
plum-pudding and pie.

Lord William Howe, commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in
America, was a gentleman, polite, affable, who delighted to make
himself agreeable to beautiful ladies. At Bunker Hill he had shown the
army that he could be brave on the battlefield. The other guests were
Brigadier-General Timothy Ruggles, appointed commander of the militia,
loyal to the king, and Captain John Coffin of his staff. General Howe
solicited the honor of escorting Miss Newville to the dinner-table;
Captain Coffin, possibly preferring the society of the girl with whom
he often had romped to that of the mother, offered his arm to
Berinthia, leaving to General Ruggles the honor of escorting the
hostess.

"The state of the times," said Mr. Newville, "does not enable me to
provide an elaborate repast, but Phillis has done her best with what
she had."

"I am sure your dinner will be far more elaborate than anything I have
upon my own table," said General Howe. "There being no fresh
provisions in the market, I have to put up with salt junk."

"Do you think the present scarcity of food will continue long?" Ruth
inquired.

"I trust not. It will be some time before the government supplies
reach me from England, but I have dispatched vessels to Halifax and
the West Indies, which, with fair winds, ought to be here in the
course of a week."

"It is tantalizing to know there are abundant supplies of vegetables
in the farmers' cellars, not twenty miles away, that droves of cattle
and sheep come to Mr. Washington, and we cannot get a joint of mutton
or a cabbage," said Mr. Newville.

"If the provincial pirates do not intercept the vessels, we shall have
fresh provisions soon; but they are a daring set of rebels who live
down towards Cape Ann. A schooner darted out the other day from
Marblehead, and captured the brig Nancy and a rich cargo which I could
ill afford to lose,--two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand
flints, thirty thousand cannon-balls, and thirty tons of musket-balls,
and a thirteen-inch mortar. I understand Mr. Washington is greatly
elated by the capture, as well he may be."

"Cannot Admiral Graves protect the transports?" Mr. Newville asked.

"Perhaps a little more enterprise on the part of the marine force
would be commendable. The provi