One evening the news reached them that a courier bearing important despatches was to pass that night along the road guarded by two British officers. Grace and Rachael determined to waylay the party and obtain possession of the papers. Disguised in their husbands' clothes, and well provided with arms, they hid in the bushes at a point on the road where the escort must pass. Darkness favored their plans and when the courier and his guards approached they were completely taken by surprise by the suddenness of the attack. They had no choice but to surrender. The young women took their papers, released the soldiers on parole, and hastened home to send the important documents to General Greene by a trusty messenger.
The paroled officers returned by the road they had come and stopping at the home of the Martins, asked accommodations for the night. The hostess asked the reason for their prompt return. They replied by showing their paroles, and saying they had been taken prisoners by two Rebel lads. The ladies rallied them on their lack of courage and asked if they were unarmed. They said they were armed but were suddenly taken off their guard.
They went on their way the next morning without a suspicion that they owed their capture to the women whose hospitality they had claimed.—Grace L. Martin, Piedmont Continental Chapter, D. A. R.
[A REVOLUTIONARY PUZZLE.]
These old rhymes were written in the early part of the Revolutionary War—about 1776. If read as written they are a tribute to the king and his army, but if read downward on either side of the comma, they indicate an unmistakable spirit of rebellion to both king and parliament. The author is unknown:
Hark, hark, the trumpet sounds, the din of war's alarms
O'er seas and solid grounds, doth call us all to arms
Who for King George doth stand, their honors shall soon shine
Their ruin is at hand, who with the congress join.
The acts of parliament, in them I might delight,
I hate their cursed intent, who for the congress fight
The Tories of the day, they are my daily toast,
They soon will sneak away, who independence boast,
Who nonresistant hold, they have my hand and heart
May they for slaves be sold, who act the Whiggish part,
On Mansfield, North and Bute, may daily blessings pour,
Confusion and dispute, on congress evermore;
To North and British Lord, may honors still be done,
I wish to block and cord, to General Washington.