The smile, however, with which the communication was received gave instant relief to the embarrassed officer. Mrs. Motte not only assented, but declared that she was "gratified with the opportunity of contributing to the good of her country, and should view the approaching scene with delight." Moreover, shortly after, seeing by accident the bow and arrows which had been prepared to carry the balls of blazing rosin and brimstone to the shingled roof of the mansion, Mrs. Motte sent for Lee, and presented him with a bow and its apparatus, which had been imported from India, and was better adapted for the object than those provided.
The scorching rays of the noonday sun had prepared the roof for the conflagration, and, despite the efforts of McPherson's men to tear off the shingles as they caught fire, it soon became evident that the place could not be held against the flames, and the commandant hung out the white flag and surrendered the garrison.
"If ever a situation in real life afforded a fit subject for poetry," remarks one historian, "it was that of Mrs. Motte contemplating the spectacle of her home in flames, and rejoicing in the triumph secured to her countrymen — the benefit to her native land by her surrender of her own interest to the public service."
After the captors had taken possession of the fortified house, McPherson and his officers accompanied the victorious Generals to Mrs. Motte's dwelling, where they all sat down to a sumptuous dinner. Here again the value of their hostess' character shone. She showed herself prepared not only to give up her splendid mansion to insure victory to the American arms, but to do her part toward obliterating the recollection of her loss, and at the same time to remove from the minds of the prisoners the weight of their misfortune.
To her example of dignified, courteous and graceful con-
