- Another letter from Goring to his sis—the letter is dated May 18, 1775:
- Goring's imagining that his sister is sitting in the cooperage (the family business is coopering—making wooden vessels, like barrels and casks), wood all around her, eating a big, fat mushroom.
- Yes, that's his fantasy. We know—it's a little odd.
- He tells her that they haven't heard much from Boston, except they can see Redcoats marching the streets and encamped in the Common; officers fishing off balconies; ladies rubbing ointment on their elbows—in other words, nothing newsy.
- In camp, his life is all about drills and more drills, but at night they go to their mess hall and play or listen to music.
- Octavian plays on his fiddle; he'll even play one of his classical pieces, but Goring thinks that's more for Octavian's ears than theirs.
- Goring (once again) states that Shun would just melt if she knew Prince (or Octavian).
- Goring imagines that Octavian must have suffered really badly because he's so gloomy all the time.
- One day, he offers to take Octavian shopping for new clothes with the little money Octavian's made in the regiment.
- Octavian really doesn't want to go, but Goring points out that Octavian's clothes—torn, dirty silk stockings, satin breeches, and fancy jacket—pretty much announce his runaway slave status.
- Octavian can't compete with that logic, so they go buy some cheap, humble clothing, typical of a Negro.
- Octavian's still sad and silent.
- In the evenings, Goring and Mr. Wheeler have to teach Octavian how to cook because he clearly doesn't know how.
- The night before, they ate squab that Octavian cooked (badly—it was like eating a leather sandal).
- Octavian stops chewing the squab at one point, so Goring tells him that if he chews, the food will go down better.
- Octavian is silent, but finally he points out that they all eat the flesh of animals; therefore, their human bodies are burial grounds for those animals. (Budding vegan maybe?)
- The other men around the mess are shocked and just gape at him.
- Octavian takes the meat out of his mouth and leaves it on his plate; it looks like all life has left Octavian's body.
- Poor Octavian.
- Then Goring quotes a Psalmist, who basically says that when you're silent, your bones grow old all throughout the livelong day.
- As Goring points out to his sister, that's definitely not his style.