48 CHARACTER OF SIR THOxMAS PICTON. 



therefore expressed to him my suspicions; upon 

 which he desired her in rather a severe tone to be 

 gone, and turning his head we continued our con- 

 versation. The woman, however, with national 

 persererance, still trudged on by the general's side, 

 looking piteously up in his face, and pouring forth 

 a strain of natural eloquence, depicting in strong 

 colours a long train of miseries. I suspected my 

 companion's attention was gradually leaving the 

 subject of our discourse, as his repHes lost much of 

 their usual force, and he seemed absent. The 

 woman (doubtless a better judge of 'the effect pro- 

 duced upon the object of her solicitation) opened a 

 fresh battery, held up her babe, said she had four 

 more at home unable to crawl from disease and star- 

 vation ; that her husband was dying on the floor, 

 without a morsel of food or a soul to give him a drink 

 of water, while she came out half-mad to rob, or 

 beg a few halfpence to make his last moments com- 

 fortable. God knows, this tale might have been 

 true ; it made me relent, and forget my suspicions ; 

 but General Picton did more : the woman added 

 something to what she had already said, — I think, 

 that her husband had been a soldier. The general 

 had not uttered a word for nearly two minutes ; and 

 as she continued heightening the picture of her woes, 

 I could perceive the blood rushing to his face, until 

 no longer able to bear the contention of his i'eelings, 

 and unwilling to believe all he had heard, he cried 

 out in a most singular tone, as if almost stifled by 

 the fulness of his breast, "Fom lie!'' threw her a 

 piece of gold, and then, without any notice to me, 

 put spurs to his horse, and it was some time before 

 I could overtake him. 



G. r. HtARDER, P1UNT£K, PLYMOUTH, 



