away.

"Perhaps you will have reason to alter your intention," said Mrs
Tarleton with marked emphasis. "I will make you known to Lord Stirling
and other friends; they may have more success than I have had in proving
to you which is the right side of the question."

Madeline looked at me, and I thought she seemed to say, "Oh, I wish they
may succeed!"

General Washington simply remarked, "At all events, Mr Hurry is welcome
here as long as he stays with us. I hope to have the pleasure of his
company at dinner to-day."

Several of the other officers came forward and spoke to me very kindly,
and by the general's directions a junior aide-de-camp attached himself
to me, while another accompanied Mrs Tarleton and her niece to Colonel
Hallet's quarters.

As they rode away I could do no more than take a hurried and formal
farewell of them both--I dared scarcely hope that I should be able to
see them again. Lieutenant Spinks had several friends in the camp, with
one of whom he intended to take up his quarters. He promised to call
for me if I persisted in my resolution to commence our return journey on
the following day. I found Captain Douglas, the officer in whose charge
I was placed, a very pleasing, gentlemanly man. To avoid giving any
cause of suspicion, I refrained from moving about without first asking
him if I could walk in that direction, and I thus soon gained his good
opinion, as he fully appreciated the motive of my conduct.

As the dinner-hour approached he took me to his tent, where I might get
rid of the dust of my journey. It was pitched close to a farm-house
occupied by the general. A barn attached to the farm-house, and hastily
fitted up, served as a dining-hall and council-chamber. Here a number
of officers, mostly generals and colonels, were assembled. I, a
midshipman, felt very small among them; and certainly the attention
which was paid me by so many great people was well calculated to turn my
head. However, I was wide awake enough to know that all is not gold
that glitters. From what I had previously heard, and from what I saw
when passing through the camp, I could not help discovering that the
American forces were in many respects in a very bad condition, ill-fed
and worse clothed. Whole corps were in a very ragged state, and some
were almost shoeless, and entirely stockingless. This in the summer was
bad enough, but with winter coming on, it was enough to disorganise the
whole army.