Mrs. Murray's Farm
by Roy London

THE STORY: The time is 1776, the place Robert Murray's farm, in what is now mid-Manhattan.

Preparations are in progress for a gala dinner in honor of General Howe, commander of the British forces which now encircle the beleaguered American troops in lower Manhattan.

Mrs. Murray, a witty and ambitious woman with Tory leanings, sees the dinner as a means to curry favor with the expected victors; while her servants, rebels all, hope that delaying General Howe at table will create an opportunity for the hardpressed Americans to escape uptown.

Happily, and despite the conflicting motives of the lively and diverse characters involved in the action, this is precisely what occurs—to the bewilderment of the British, the delight of the servants and, in the end, to the grudging admiration of Mrs. Murray as well.