by the demure little Quakeress was never guessed, though the
British knew that some one had betrayed their plan to the American
general. Had they suspected, it must have gone hard with Lydia; but she
escaped the consequences of her brave act, which might have been death,
while her country reaped the benefits thereof.

Not so marked by the evidence of personal courage, yet splendid in its
patriotic self-sacrifice, was the spirit shown by Rebecca Motte when her
house was occupied by the British soldiery under McPherson and besieged
by Marion and Lee. McPherson's position was apparently impregnable; and
he was holding out in anticipation of the coming of Lord Rawdon with a
large force. Mrs. Motte was a firm friend of the American cause and had
often bestowed generous hospitality upon the American officers,
including Lee himself. To burn the house seemed to be the sole means of
dislodging McPherson; but how could the friends of liberty destroy the
property of one so devoted to the cause as Mrs. Motte, a widow, and one
who had often nursed back to life some stricken Continental soldier? But
Mrs. Motte overheard the discussion, and she assured the leaders that
she "was gratified with the opportunity of contributing to the good of
her country and should view the approaching scene with delight."
Moreover, when the generals had reluctantly determined upon the measure,
she gave them a bow and arrows, which had been imported from India, that
by this means the flaming combustibles might be shot upon her roof. The
plan was carried out and McPherson forced to surrender, while the house
was burned to the ground. Mrs. Motte contemplated the destruction of her
home with an unmoved smile, and busied herself in succoring and caring
for the wounded--Tory as well as Whig, for suffering annihilates such
distinctions--with a heart apparently as free from care and rejoicing in
victory as if she had gained rather than lost by the day's work.

Another daughter of South Carolina, which State claimed Mrs. Motte as
its own, displayed on more than one occasion qualities that fell nothing
short of heroism. Martha Bratton was the wife of a revolutionary
colonel, and she lived in a spot in York District that was exposed to
all the storm of war that swept over the devoted State. Her husband was
peculiarly obnoxious to the Tories, and Captain Huck or--Huyck, as it is
spelled in the order of his commanding officer--was dispatched, after a
severe defeat i