Chapter XXV.

A Crestfallen Return to Albany.



For a man who had his physician's personal assurance that there was
nothing serious in his case, I recovered my strength with vexatious
slowness. There was a very painful and wearing week, indeed, before it
became clear to me that I was even convalescent, and thereafter my
progress was wofully halting and intermittent. Perhaps health would have
come more rapidly if with every sound of the guns from the platforms, and
every rattle of the drums outside, I had not wrathfully asked myself, "Of
what use is all this now, alas!"

These bad days were nearing their end when Dr. Teunis one afternoon came
in with tidings from home. An express had arrived from Albany, bringing
the intelligence that General Wooster was shortly to come with
re-enforcements, to take over our headless command. There were many
letters for the officers as well, and among these were two for me. The
physician made some show of keeping these back from me, but the cousin
relented, and I was bolstered up in bed to read them.

One was a business epistle from Albany, enclosing a brief memorandum of
the disposition of certain moneys and goods belonging to the English
trading company whose agent I had been, and setting my mind at ease
concerning what remained of its interests.