[32] "A German doctor attended every morning at eight o'clock and administered such remedies as were thought proper. Thus things went on, two or three dying every day, who were carried on shore and buried in the bank, till three of our crew, who had got pretty hearty, stole the boat one night and made their escape. This occasioned new trouble. The doctor refused to come on board, and as
he rowed past us next morning to see somebody in the Jersey, which lay near us, some of the sick calling to him for blisters, he told them to put tar on their backs, which would serve as well as anything, and so rowed away. However, after two or three days his wrath was appeased, and he deigned to come on board again."--Freneau's Journal.
[Pg 39]
THE SPY[33]
Sir Henry Clinton, Major Andre, Lucinda, Amelia, Arnold, Gen. Green, Servants to Arnold, Peasants, Knyphausen, Gen. Robertson.
Scene I.--West Point Fort. Jeffery and Pasquin, servants to Arnold, working in a garden.
Pasq. (Throwing down his spade) Faith, Jeffery, I am weary of toiling among these rocks and precipices. I must e'en give o'er. Our master should have fetched his soil along with him to these savage retreats. We may work till we are gray-headed ere we can produce a turnip or a cabbage for him on these barren, unthrifty rocks.
Jeff. Be not discouraged, Pasquin, we shall have better soil to work in ere long. Pasq. How know you that?[Pg 40]
Jeff. I overheard my master t'other day telling a friend of his, whom, by the by, the people of this country call a Tory, that he had planned matters so that in a little time the war would be over, and then he would purchase one of the most fertile tracts of land in
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America and entitle it a Manor; that he would settle the same goodly possession with tenants and vassals, and so being master among them, spend the remainder of his days in quiet.
Pasq. I pray for the speedy fulfilling of this design. Our master, I know, is an able general. Why, I suppose he intends to rout the enemy out of New York, retake Charleston, conquer the warships of Britain, kill the king, and so force the English nation to make peace with the Americans.
Jeff. Heaven only knows in what manner he intends to act or what his plan may be, but this I am sure of, he keeps it very secret, and
I believe there are not above one or two of his friends that know anything of it.
Pasq. Well, the sooner he gets a new garden for us the better. I have worn out a dozen mattocks and as many spades on these cursed craggy rocks. One's tools to work here should be made of adamant. But, Jeffery, do you not observe how gracious and intimate our master has been for these several months past with some who are called disaffected?
Jeff. I have had it in my mind to make the same observation to you, and do you not perceive that their intimacy daily increases? Pasq. And then, when our master is at table with some of these chosen favorites, how he sneers and hints ludicrous things against
the American officers and army. One would think he heartily despised them, by his behaviour.[Pg 41]
Jeff. And what was it he said of the French the other day? Did he not say they were a perfidious nation of knaves, a herd of needy scoundrels who were endeavoring to conquer this country from the king of Britain, that they might add it to their own dominions and make the people here slaves?
Pasq. And when the general gives a dance or an entertainment or a ball, we see none of the true-heart Americans invited. His guests are a lukewarm, half-disaffected sort of people, who say more than for their own sakes I would choose to mention to everybody.
Jeff. Well, this may all be true, and yet I cannot help thinking our master is a hearty friend to his country. He does these things for a feint, under a mask, as it were, to find out secrets from the enemy. In good faith, I am of opinion he will shortly drive every British soldier off the continent and then become possessed of his Lordship or Manor, or what-so you call it.
Pasq. Amen, I say, and so let us work on in hopes of better times.
Scene II.--Scene changes to New York. Sir Henry Clinton and Major Andre in a private apartment.
Sir Henry. Andre, my friend and faithful confidant,
Since Fortune now vouchsafes to smile again,
And stubborn Charlestown bends to Britain's yoke, What shall we next attempt or next achieve?
I have transmitted home a full account
Of that great capture, that important city Which long has bid defiance to our arms, With all particulars and circumstances Attending on the siege, and in the list
Of British officers with honour mentioned, You, sir, are not forgot. I must confess,[Pg 42] By your advice I planned that expedition, Which now shall set me high in royal favor,
By your unconquered spirit and perseverance,
A mind that laughs at toils and difficulties, I carried on the siege with fire and vigour Against a foe with hearts of adamant,
And found them to submit--but princely favor
Is like a fire that only burns as long
As you afford it fuel. Before this conquest
Of Charlestown wears away, and hardly leaves
A faint impression on the royal mind,
Let's hatch some great exploit, some daring action
That strikes into the heart of this rebellion,
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That one deed, treading on the heels of t'other, May make us great indeed.
Maj. Andre. I have been thinking
Some time, Sir Henry, what we should be doing.
'Tis yet but early in the active season;
The summer scarce has finished her career,
And in this mild, this pleasing temperate climate Three months as yet are open for campaigns; But then our worn-out, dying, wounded soldiers
Demand our pity. Those who came from Charlestown
Have brought with them a lingering hectic fever Which hardly one survives. Our soldiers here Who do the duty of the garrison,
With constant watching, unremitted labor,
Cannot be spared from hence. Were we sufficient
In horse and foot to combat with the foe, I forthwith would advise your Excellency Once more to try the force of Washington, That so, by killing and by captivating
Him and his troops, we totally might ruin
This only stay, this bulwark of rebellion.[Pg 43] But since our circumstances don't allow
With open force t' attack the hostile lines, Let's try the witching power of bribery. We read the Prince of Macedon declared
That those strong gates his javelins could not pierce
Nor battering ram effect a breach upon, Were open still to gold. [Pauses
Sir Henry. Speak on, my friend,
For I approve the motion to my soul
If any project likely to succeed,
Or well-planned scheme thou canst impart to me, Gold shall not be deficient. Millions lie Appropriated to this very purpose,
And often have I sent to sound some chiefs
Whose qualities and influence are great
In yonder hostile camp, but their stern souls
Are so well armed with more than Spartan virtue
That there corruption seems to have no power,
And all