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Rh cabbage as I pleased, and that, boiled with the meat, was all we could eat. The next morning we proceeded; it was cool weather, and about six inches deep of snow on the ground. After two or three days journeying, we arrived in the neighbourhood of the game that we were in pursuit of. It was now sundown; and our furloughed Captain and man, concluded to stop for the night; here we fell in with some soldiers of the corps that our man belonged to. Our captain inquired if they knew such a man, naming him; they equivocated and asked many questions concerning our business. Our officious Captain answered them so much to their satisfaction that Mr. Deserter took so good care of himself that I could not find him, and I cared but little about it. I knew he would get nothing with us, if we caught him, but a striped jacket; and as we concluded the war was nearly ended, we thought it would be but of little service to him, nor his company any to us.

The Captain put me and my two men into the open cold kitchen of a house that they said, had sometime or other, been a tavern; but as it was in the vicinity of the place where I passed the winter of 1779—80, I was acquainted with several of the inhabitants in the neighbourhood, and accordingly sent one of my men to a house hard by, the master of which I knew to be a fine man, and obtained his leave to lodge there. We had a good warm room to sit and lodge in, and as the next day was thanksgiving, we had an excellent supper. In the morning, when we were about to proceed on our journey, the man of the house came into the room and put some bread to the fire to toast; he next produced some cider, as good and rich as wine, then giving each of us a large slice of his toasted bread, he told us to eat it and drink the cider,—observing that he had done so for a number of years and found it the best stimulater imaginable. We again prepared to go on, having given up the idea of finding the deserter. Our landlord then told us that we must not leave his house till we had taken breakfast with him; we thought we were very well dealt by already, but concluded not to refuse a good offer. We therefore staid and had a genuine New-Jersey breakfast, consisting of buckwheat slapjacks, flowing with butter and honey, and a capital dish of chockolate. We then went