One of the officers used his sword in the scabbard, the
other a cane, and as the song says,
At every stroke their jackets did smoke
As though they had been all on fire.
Some of the other officers who had not dipped their bills quite so deep, parted them, at the same time representing to them the ridiculous situation they stood in, fighting like blackguards in sight of the soldiers;—at length shame, so far as they had reason to let it operate, beginning to take hold of them, the other officers persuaded them to shake hands in token of future friendship, but they carried wonderful long faces all the rest of the day.
We arrived at Reading about Christmas or a little before, and prepared to build huts for our winter-quarters. And now came on the time again between grass and hay; that is, the winter campaign of starving. We had not long been here under the command of Gen. Putnam, before the old gentleman heard, or fancied he heard that a party of the enemy were out somewhere "down below;" we were alarmed about midnight, and as cold a night as need be, and marched off to find the enemy (if he could be found.) We marched all the remaining part of the night and all the forenoon of the next day, and when we came where they were, they were not there at all at all, as the Irishman said. We now had nothing more to do but to return as we came, which we immediately set about. We marched back to Bedford, near the encamping ground I had just left. We were conducted into our bedroom, a large wood, by our landlords, the officers, and left to our repose, while the officers stowed themselves away snugly in the houses of the village, about half a mile distant. We struck us up fires and lay down to rest our weary bones, all but our jawbones, they had nothing to weary them. About midnight it began to rain which soon put out all our fires, and by three or four o'clock it came down in torrents—there we were, but where our careful officers were, or what had become of them we knew not, nor did we much care. The men began to squib off their pieces in derision of the officers, supposing they were somewhere amongst us, and careless of our condition; but none of them appearing, the men began firing louder and louder, till they had brought it
