"I have trembling fits sometimes," said he. "Take a pinch of snuff with me; it will steady me. Take a pinch of snuff for Queen Charlotte's sake."
He shook like the leaves of the elm tree in the summer wind.
Dame Bond hesitated.
He trembled more violently. "Do you hesitate to honor the name of Queen Charlotte?" he said.
The woman took a pinch of snuff in memory of the days gone. He grew calmer.
"That strengthens me," he said. "What am I to do? The things that I see daily tear me all to pieces. It broke my heart to see that child run away. I can not cross the sea, and if they were to tear down the king's arms from the State House I would die. I would tremble until I grew cold and my breath left me. You do pity me, don't you? I sometimes grow cold now when I tremble."
It was June. A bugle rang out in the street.
"What is that?" he asked of a volunteer who passed by.
"It is the summons."
"For what?"