GENERAL GROSVENOR. 71 



" I have laid a guinea that you have got six waistcoats 

 on, let's see." Upon which Tom pulled off one, two, 

 three, four, five, six, and there is still another, or 

 perhaps two. " Come, let's see them all," said the 

 General laughing, and quite surprised at his success. 

 " Pull them all off, Tom, and let's see how many you 

 really do wear." Upon which the faithful Tom smiled 

 and said, " I beg your pardon, General, you must not 

 be too hard upon me, you've won your bet." 



" I'll tell you what a narrow escape I once had of 

 being blown to pieces," said the General to me; "you'll 

 hardly believe such a thing possible. I was sitting in 

 the trenches at the siege of Copenhagen, with some 

 other officers, and the enemy were shelling us. We 

 thought we were quite safe where we were, when sud- 

 denly a shell came hissing and fizzing, and alighted 

 upon the corner of my cloak, which it carried with it, 

 and buried it in the sand. The cloak was tightly 

 hooked round my neck ; there seemed to be no escape, 

 so I shouted to them, ' We must stand shot, down on 

 your faces,' which we luckily did in a twinkling. The 

 next moment the shell burst, and not one of us was 

 touched." 



He also related a curious anecdote as we were riding 

 along together, which was this That on the march 



