The early flight of the
Skinners left the dragoons at liberty to exert themselves in saving much
of the furniture, which lay scattered in heaps on the lawn, giving the
finishing touch of desolation to the scene. Whenever a stronger ray of
light than common shot upwards, the composed figures of Sergeant
Hollister and his associates, sitting on their horses in rigid
discipline, were to be seen in the background of the picture, together
with the beast of Mrs. Flanagan, which, having slipped its bridle, was
quietly grazing by the highway. Betty herself had advanced to the spot
where the sergeant was posted, and, with an incredible degree of
composure, witnessed the whole of the events as they occurred. More than
once she suggested to her companion, that, as the fighting seemed to be
over, the proper time for plunder had arrived, but the veteran
acquainted her with his orders, and remained inflexible and immovable;
until the washerwoman, observing Lawton come round the wing of the
building with Sarah, ventured amongst the warriors. The captain, after
placing Sarah on a sofa that had been hurled from the building by two of
his men, retired, that the ladies might succeed him in his care. Miss
Peyton and her niece flew, with a rapture that was blessed with a
momentary forgetfulness of all but her preservation, to receive Sarah
from the trooper; but the vacant eye and flushed cheek restored them
instantly to their recollection.
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