Lillian Elizabeth Roy

“ It’s all right in a way, but not for a second time,” said George, thinking of the battle of the day before.
“Then let’s have a fight on Long Island, when the British drove the Americans from Brooklyn, to cross the East River to their main army,” said John.
“I don’t want that either! Can’t we go somewhere or do something different?” asked Martha.
“If Washington’s army had only used submarines or airships like they do at present, we could have heaps of fun that way,” hinted Jack meaningly.
“Oh, say, why can’t we build an aeroplane and try it?” cried George eagerly. ”

“ Jim’s got a rabbit hutch at the barns, and John’s going to lend us his pony when we want to use it in our play,” explained George, leading the group over the lawn by walking backward in front of them.
Martha skipped on one side of the two new arrivals, and John Graham on the other side, while Jim, the dark shadow, followed closely at their heels.
“Say, you’ve got a dandy place for fun, haven’t you?” admired Jack, gazing around at the wide expanse of lawns and gardens at the rear of the estate.
“Yes, but they always find us out just when we’re having the finest time!” sighed John dolefully. ”

“ If Washington wasn’t that kind God would have raised up another Moses in the Land of Bondage, to lead the poor colonists out of Egypt!” declared Martha triumphantly.
“You said yourself, while explaining some Bible reading the other day, that it wasn’t the name or mortal man that did all the great and glorious things, but the power of the Principle that influenced and operated through a being. Then I could be as great as General Washington if the test came and I was being moved to do glorious deeds through the help of God,” said George, frowning over such a theological problem. ”

“ Give us a fight!” declared George.
Every one laughed and Jack seconded his cousin’s plan for a more active story than the one that had just been read.
“If you insist upon having war when there was no war, I must skip the fifteen years of quiet life on his estate, to get Washington in the midst of fresh battle scenes,” argued Mrs. Parke.
“Why not read us about the Boston Tea Party?” said Anne.
“That will satisfy the boys and interest us girls, too,” added Martha. ”

“ You’re the servant now and you must do the chores,” ordered George, pointing to some faded artificial flowers sprinkled on the floor before the black-gowned minister.
Martha backed away, catching her satin high-heeled shoe in the very long Watteau pleats as she did so, and frantically catching at Anne to keep from falling.
“Now, then, begin again,” said George, looking for Jack, the groom, to march slowly out from behind the high bookcase. As both bride and groom appeared, George played on a mouth-organ to delude the actors into a belief that it was a wedding-march. ”

“ They never entered a room—it was either a mad rush from the hallway or a stealthy entrance through a window.
“Why, children! Haven’t you been up in the bathroom washing and dressing after the journey, and preparing to come down to tea?” asked Mrs. Davis in surprise.
“Oh, we prepared somewhat for tea, aunty, but not with soap and water,” replied Martha.
“What have you been doing all this time?—and here is John, too. How do you do, John? Come here and meet George and Martha’s aunt from Philadelphia,” said Mrs. Parke sweetly. ”

“ He stood by the window with the great book on “Life of George Washington” in his hands, reading aloud from it.
Right before him stood Jack Davis and Martha—one robed in old-fashioned clothes worn by Parke ancestors before the Civil War, and the other dressed in the lavender flowered Watteau silk gown of her great-great-grandmother.
George was “best man” in a black swallow-tail coat with velvet cuffs, collar and pocket lapels. The buttons were gold-embroidered on black velvet. A high stock collar and a pot-shaped beaver hat gave him quite a Colonial appearance. ”

“ Thus the tea that lay scattered one night on the bosom of the sea off Boston, was much the same tea that rotted in the cellars of Charlestown and the South, or mouldered in Philadelphia and New York stores.
“‘Tea stood for Toryism, and no tea meant Independence. All over the land activities started up such as were never before heard of. Looms and spindles whirred as fabrics were woven of home-grown flax and wool, and material hitherto imported from England now began to be made by the colonists at home. ”

“ Had the creek been clear of mud and roots, the British might have landed their sea forces, and thus the history of the American colonists might never have been written as such; but which one of the combating parties could dream of the unseen menace that took a part in this tragic fight?
The two girls and John saw Jim slide off and push the soap-box in front of him, but they felt a sympathy for him, for it was apparent that Jack and George preferred to remain on the raft and let Jim try to land. Then they would claim the right to fire three shots to one at the Americans. ”

“ Jack has a rifle that shoots peas or beans, and it takes a load of care from my mind, for I know he can’t injure anything with a dried pea. And boys will have some form of gun, you know, especially if they are forever playing George Washington, in the days of Indian wars and revolutions,” said Mrs. Davis.
“I’ll ask father and we’ll see what he thinks,” replied Mrs. Parke.
“One won’t be enough! Martha and Jim each need one, and John will have to get one, too,” reminded George anxiously. ”

“ What do you think of it?”
“Oh, George and Martha have plenty of those things, but somehow they never sit still long enough to knit more than one row a day, and the war will end before they complete a single sock. Besides, they feel as if knitting was worse than going in the trenches, so I haven’t insisted upon the work as yet. Better supply them with the boat, where they can frolic and keep healthy out-of-doors without danger to themselves,” advised Mrs. Parke.
“Quite a difference in cash between a boat and knitting outfits,” laughed Mr. Parke. ”

“ We have only as much open space on each side of our house as from here to there.” As he explained, Jack showed a distance of five feet in front of him.
“But you have the loveliest park only a few blocks away—and the museums, and zoo, and lots of things we haven’t!” said George enviously.
“You can’t have fun in the zoo or a museum as you can in the open like this place; but we’ll make up here for not having the place in Philadelphia, won’t we, Anne?” laughed Jack.
“Yes, if George and Martha won’t have to spend all the time at lessons,” said Anne anxiously. ”

“ We’ll go back to London and find some guns and shot, too,” promised George, looking at the Americans and then at Jack, who was wallowing through the mud to gain the bank again.
“Jim, haul up your ship for us to load with ammunition,” ordered George, as soon as Jim’s head appeared from under the raft, where he had rolled when the warship keeled over.
But the clever Yanks kept all news of their ammunition from the eyes and ears of the British. ”

“ We can build earthworks and fight down the British as they come up the hill, and then the British can win the battle and fight us all the way back to Charlestown; and General Washington can come along and pat us on the back for courage and bravery, and then we can all plan together how to get back at the British,” exclaimed George eagerly. ”

“ Jim looked around for explanations, and Jack laughed. “I mean, we will run over to John’s side of the creek while you sail the ship across the sea to attack us there.”
“No, Jim isn’t going to enter into any such plan as that! The boat is not to be used for a sea-fight till every one knows how to manage and row it,” interjected Mrs. Davis.
During the next week armies and uniforms were forgotten, while the children spent their entire time at the creek learning to row the boat. It had been named “The Washingtons,” and many wonderful cruises were planned by the American army that week. ”

“ Now, I suppose I’ll have to go straight home and find a cook!”
“If you will listen to me, I’ll make a suggestion,” said Mr. Parke, lowering his newspaper.
“We always listen to the men, but we seldom follow their advice,” laughed Mrs. Parke.
“I was about to say: Why not wire Sam to meet you in New York, and in that way forget his club dinners for a few days? I am going to New York on a business trip, and I had a vague idea of inviting my wife to accompany me. Now, if you will consider such a plan, we may as well take George and Martha, too, and make a family party of it. ”

“ It had not been Jack’s plan to have George take the first ride on the raft, nor, indeed, command the warship, but having said it he could not very well change the order, so the next best plan was to sail with Lord Somebody, with Jim the captain.
The captain, so proud of his title and position, forgot about his muddy appearance, and eagerly hauled the cumbersome raft to the bank.
“S’posin’ you girls and John be the colonists on the other bank. You must use the guns and anything you can to keep us from landing the tea,” said Jack. ”

“ We must have George getting married now—’cause he must begin the American Revolution and do lots of things that he did after he was married. Of course, I could play all he did without getting married, but as long as you’re here and will want to play with us, I’ll marry you, and then leave you at Mount Vernon while I go and have a good time fighting with the boys,” generously said George to Martha.
“She didn’t! Martha Custis didn’t stay at home! She followed the general when he camped in the winters, and did lots of fine things for the soldiers in the army. ”

“ Then, turning to the still amazed guest, she explained.
“I have lately been reading the life of George Washington to the children and they have a great deal of fun playing the chapters as I read them. Only they sometimes have very realistic fun—for instance when they burned down the old homestead, and again when they went on a survey trip. Last week they had the dreadful battle between the French and British at Fort Duquesne, and as a result, our entire hedge is broken down for more than thirty feet in length.” ”

“ Of course they will see the broken-down hedge and wonder at it—then we can tell them all about the fun without bragging,” giggled Martha.
“We’re not through with that affair yet, either,” added George. “I read in our history this morning that Braddock was not killed that same day, but Washington pulled him out of the fight and tried to save his life, and for that great deed, General Braddock bequeathed his wonderful charger and also his body-servant, Bishop, to Washington. After that Washington always rode that favorite horse and Bishop went everywhere the general went.” ”

“ The servants were all downstairs eating lunch and talking, so the time was most opportune for a raid. Jim was already there trying to pry up lids of cereal cartons and other boxes.
“Heah’s some mos’ empty,” said he, the moment Martha appeared in the store-room.
“They’re all right! Even if there is a little oatmeal and rice in some of ’em—so much the better, cause we must try to fish ’em out of the water when the Yanks throw the cargo in,” said Martha, carrying the three boxes to the window, and dropping them out on the grass where George stood waiting. ”

“ It will be lots of fun! You’ll be the cook to fix the fine party dinner, and Jack can play minister. John and Anne will be my children and Washington’s step-children, you know,” explained Martha.
“Kin we-all git some cookies an’ watermelyon fer de party?” asked Jim with sudden interest.
“Sure! I’ll get mother to ask mammy for some, and besides I’ll find some more good things to eat. John can bring some, too, and we can have a make-believe stove and cook lots of fine things that they had at that wedding supper,” replied George. ”

“ That’s what I planned,” quickly added George, to cover any delighted surprise he felt at Jim’s novel idea.
“Then, when we get all through with showing our cousins how we fought that ambush of Indians, when Jim hit John on the stiff beaver with the hatchet, we can finish the play. There’s lots to be played out in that battle. For instance, we buried Braddock right off, you see, and we ought to have dragged him away while the Indians tried to scalp him. We can let him die after we get him to a settlement, and bury him decently with a fine funeral. ”

“ Untrained men in the ranks, no arms, no resources for war, no ships or field-pieces—in fact, nothing such as the British thought absolutely necessary to win in a fray. Nothing but Principle!
“‘But the colonists realized what they were standing for, and every man accepted the work for ultimate salvation from the yoke. Each stood in his place obedient to his superior, and each chief confined his action to his own sphere, while all felt the bond of brotherhood in the furtherance of a grand plan for all. ”

“ These important errands completed, they all went to the creek that crossed the private road leading to the Parke estate.
Again assembled for play, they examined the items on hand and John said: “You can’t have ships without material.”
“I thought maybe we could rope together some of these logs the men chopped down last spring; but they look kind of heavy to handle,” replied George calculatively.
“Humph! They’d take a tackle and derrick to move. What we need is just boards and some crosspieces to tie together like a raft. I’ve made ’em in camp,” said Jack. ”

“ For every set of contemplations or maxims we learn each day we are to receive something from those packages as a reward. If we learn a long paragraph like some you read to us just now we ought to have some big item in the package. For a short verse or paragraph you are to give us a glove or a shoe or a cap—if there are any in the boxes,” said George. ”

“ The teamster and the help went away, but the army was not aware of their going—all eyes were fixed on the boat.
Mrs. Parke told the children that it was a gift from aunty, so that they could play American history with a warship better than without any.
“Who can row? Can you, Jack?” asked George.
“No, but it’s easy. You just pull back and forth on the upper end of the oar and away she goes,” said Jack.
“Well, please take off the general’s uniform before you begin practice. A bathing suit would be better to wear while you are learning,” laughed Mrs. Parke.
“Why, we won’t fall out,” said Anne. ”