"There could be no excuse for such disobedience," continued Grandma
Elsie; "and one feels no sympathy for Lee in reading of his sudden
seizure by the British, who carried him off in such haste that he had no
time to dress but was taken bareheaded and in blanket coat and
slippers."

"I doubt if his capture was a loss to the American cause," remarked
Rosie.

"No," said her mother; "though much deplored at the time, I have no
doubt it was really for the good of the cause. General Sullivan
succeeded Lee in command and presently joined Washington with his
forces."

"I don't see how Washington could have patience with so many
disappointments and delays," said Lulu. "Didn't he ever give way to
despair, even for a little while, Grandma Elsie?"

"I have never seen the least intimation of it," replied Mrs. Travilla.
"He is said to have been at this time firm, calm, undaunted, holding
fast to his faith in the final triumph of the good cause for which he
was toiling and striving.

"There seemed to be nothing but the Delaware between the enemy and his
conquest of Philadelphia; the freezing of the river so that the British
could pass over it on the ice might occur at any time. Some one asked
Washington what he would do were Philadelphia to be taken. He answered,
'We will retreat beyond the Susquehanna River, and thence, if necessary,
to the Alleghany Mountains.' Doubtless he was even then planning the
masterly movements of his forces that presently drove the enemy from