come to it as myself." "Your Honour knows," said the Corporal, "I had no orders." "True," quoth my uncle Toby,—"thou didst very right, Trim, as a soldier—but certainly very wrong as a man.
"In the second place, for which, indeed, thou hast the same excuse," continued my uncle Toby, "when thou offeredst him whatever was in my house, thou shouldst have offered him my house too. A sick brother officer should have the best quarters, Trim; and if we had him with us, we could tend and look to him. Thou art an excellent nurse thyself, Trim; and what with thy care of him, and the old woman's, and his boy's, and mine together, we might recruit him again at once, and set him upon his legs.
"In a fortnight or three weeks," added my uncle Toby, smiling, "he might march." "He will never march, an' please your Honour, in this world," said the Corporal. "He will march," said my uncle Toby, rising up from the side of the bed with one shoe off. "An' please your Honour," said the Corporal, "he will never march but to his grave." "He shall march," cried my uncle Toby, marching the foot which had a shoe on, though without advancing an inch, "he shall march to his regiment." "He cannot stand it," said the Corporal. "He shall be supported," said my uncle Toby. "He'll drop at last," said the Corporal, "and what will become of his boy?" "He shall not drop," said my uncle Toby firmly. "A-well-a-day! do what we can for him," said Trim, maintaining his point, "the poor soul will die." "He shall not die, by G——," cried my uncle Toby.
The accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven's
