ay them down no more
Till we have driven the Briton
Forever from our shore."

"And we did drive the British away--or Marion and his men, and the
rest of our brave soldiers did," exclaimed Ned when the recitation of
the poem was finished, "didn't they, grandma?"

"Yes, Neddie boy, God helped us to get free and become the great
nation which we are to-day; and to him let us give all the glory and
the praise."

"Yes, grandma, I know that even those brave and good fighters couldn't
have done it if God hadn't helped them. Did Marion live long after the
war was over?"

"About a dozen years. He died on the 29th of February, 1795. We are
told his last words were, 'Thank God, since I came to man's estate I
have never intentionally done wrong to any man.'"

"And is that all the story about him?" asked Ned regretfully.

"Enough for the present, I think," replied his grandma; "when you are
older you can read of him in history for yourself. However, some of
his work will come in incidentally as I go on with some other
historical sketches. I want to tell you something of Mrs. Rebecca
Motte--one of the brave and patriotic women living in South Carolina
at that time--and the doings of the British and Americans on her
estate.

"Mrs. Motte was a rich widow. She had a fine large mansion occupying
a commanding position on the road between Charleston and Camden. The
British, knowing that she was a patriot, drove her and her family from
their home to a farmhouse which she owned, upon a hill north of her
mansion, into which they put a garrison of one hundred and fifty men
under Captain M'Pherson, a brave British officer.

"Early in May he was joined by a small detachment of dragoons sent
from Charleston with despatches for Lord Rawdon. They were about to
leave when Marion and Lee, with their troops, were seen upon the
height at the farmhouse where Mrs. Motte was now living. So the
dragoons remained to give their help in the defense of the fort.

"Lee took position at the farmhouse, and his men, with a fieldpiece
which General Greene had sent them, were stationed on the eastern
slope of the high plain on which Fort Motte stood. Marion at once
threw up a mound and planted the fieldpiece upon it in a position to
rake the northern face of the parapet of the fort against which Lee
was about to move.

"M'Pherson was without artillery. Between Fort Motte and the height
where Lee was posted was a narrow valley which enabled his men