The Little Washington's Relatives
This met with great approval, and soon every one was busy munching chicken sandwiches or enjoying juicy fruit. Half an hour was the time allotted for lunch, and then Mrs. Parke gave the signal for every one to climb back in the automobile.
When they arrived at the stately mansion they were impressed by the elegance of the place, and the children were overawed to find visitors there from every known part of the world.
They followed the official guide about and heard the descriptions of the articles exhibited. In the kitchen, the old-fashioned fireplace, the crane, the pot-hangers, iron pots and teakettles amused the girls. The ladies admired the old china kept in the cumbersome cupboards, and the boys smiled at the heavy solid chairs and tables once used by the slaves and servants of the Washingtons.
In the general’s private den, or study, were still found the yellow-aged papers, pens, ink horns and other items used by him in the management of his properties.
In the chambers the visitors found many interesting things to see – four-posted beds, quaint chairs, low rockers with most uncomfortable straight backs, queer dressers and wardrobes.
The garments and toilette articles were carefully protected in glass cases, and everything was labelled plainly so all could read the descriptions and dates when used.
On the homeward ride Martha said: “Well, both those ancestors seem more real to me now than ever before.”
“Yes, but it won’t be any fun playing war with broomsticks again, after seeing the great swords and other weapons shown there,” said George, feeling that he had lost much of the delusion of boyhood.
“Why don’t you ask your father for real guns – I mean the pea-shooters you can buy at a toy shop,” suggested Jack.
“Why, of course, mother. Will you ask him about it?” said George eagerly.
“If I were you, Kate, I would. 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.
“John had better ask his father if he will consent to this new plan of defense,” laughed Mrs. Parke.
“Ah rickon mah mammy won’t ’ject to a pea-gun ’cause it hain’t so bad as an axe, yo’ knows,” murmured Jim.
“Hoh, I guess not! And John’s folks will be glad to know he won’t be scalped again, even if we play Braddock and the Indians, like that other time,” added George, thinking of the great battle between the French and British at the time the hedge was broken down.
“If we could only have those guns while Jack and Anne are visiting us we could have the real battles of Long Island, Harlem and Jersey,” sighed John.
“Mother, you must try and have father tend to it next time he passes a toy shop in Washington, won’t you?” begged George eagerly.
“I’ll tell him what aunty said, and leave it to his own good judgment whether you should have a pea-shooter or a new form of punishment,” teased Mrs. Parke.
But George and Martha understood their mother so well that they felt sure she would advise the guns at once, so they chattered all about the forthcoming battles to be fought the moment the rifles arrived from the store.
That night Mr. Parke heard all about Mount Vernon from four excited children and the two ladies, who now and then were permitted to add a word or explain a remark; but the most interesting topic of conversation was the question of pea-shooters.
Finally Mr. Parke admitted he was defeated in his arguments against rifles in days of disarmament, so the children felt quite sure he would order the proper weapons for home defense.
A few days after the visit to Mount Vernon a large box came from a shop devoted entirely to toys and games for children. The excited juvenile members of the family stood impatiently waiting while the lid was removed, for they had expected guns, but not in such a packing case.
The first thing taken out was a long envelope addressed to “Soldiers and Defenders of America.” Upon opening it Mrs. Parke smiled and read aloud:
“‘The contents of this box to be presented to the different members of the Continental army, to wit: George and Martha Parke, Jack and Anne Davis, John Graham and Jim (Jackson) as addressed on each package herein, upon the satisfactory recital, learned by heart, of the maxims and rules learned and followed by George Washington from the time he attended Mr. Williams’ school, and written by Sir Matthew Hale under the title of “Contemplations.” As each student satisfactorily recites these “Contemplations” to Mrs. Parke and Mrs. Davis, he or she may take and become the owner of the package addressed to him or her.’”
CHAPTER VIII – EARNING THE PRIZES
As may be imagined, no time was lost in play or other occupations as long as those packages remained unopened in the case. From the examination of the outside George said he was sure they contained complete outfits for the army. If this surmise was correct, what a glorious time they would have when all dressed up in suitable uniforms!
“Mother, how can we all learn those maxims by heart when we have only one book to study from?” asked George.
“I thought of that, too, and asked father to have his secretary copy them on paper, so each of you could have a set to study,” said Mrs. Parke.
“Oh, then you knew all about these prizes before they came, eh?” said Martha.
“Yes, and now I’ll get the papers for you. Jim will have to have you read his aloud and help him memorize them,” replied Mrs. Parke, going over to the desk, where she took up a bundle of typewritten sheets to distribute to the children.
“I wish to read a short introduction to these rules that were such a guide to our great general. These ‘Contemplations’ formed the subject of Washington’s early study and devotions. They exerted a direct influence in the formation of his principles of action. His well-known habits of private devotion to Deity were formed somewhat by imprinting on him mind such passages as the following:
“‘An humble man leans not to his own understanding; he is sensible of the deficiency of his own power and wisdom, and trusts not in it; he is also sensible of the all-sufficient power, wisdom and goodness of almighty God, and commits himself to Him for counsel, guidance, direction and strength.
“‘I can call my own experience to witness that in the external actions, occurrences and incidents of my whole life I was never disappointed of the best guidance and direction when in humility and sense of my own deficiency, or inability to direct myself, or to grapple with the difficulties of my life, I have with humility and sincerity implored the secret direction and guidance of the Divine Wisdom and Providence.
“‘And I dare appeal to the strict observation of any man’s experience – whether those counsels and purposes which have been taken up after an humble invocation of the Divine Direction have not always been most successful in the end.
“‘Consider what it is that thou pridest thyself in and examine well the nature of the things themselves, how little and inconsiderable they are; at least how uncertain and unstable they are.
“‘Thou hast fine clothes, and this makes children and young men and women proud, even to admiration; but thou art not half so fine and gay as the peacock, ostrich or parrot, nor is thy finery so much thine as theirs is, but it is borrowed from the silkworm, the gold mines, the industry of the embroiderer, weaver, tailor, and is no part of thyself. And hast thou the patience to suffer thyself to be abused into this childish, pitiful, foolish pride?
“‘Thou hast, it may be, wealth, stores of money; but how much of it is of use to thee? That which thou spendest is gone; that which thou keepest is as insignificant as so much dirt or clay; only thy care about it makes thy life the more uneasy.
“‘Thou hast honor, esteem; thou art deceived, for thou hast it not; he hath it that giveth it thee, and which he may detain from thee at pleasure; but suppose it were as fixed a reputation as a rock of marble, and that it were the best kind of honor imaginable – the result of virtue or worth – canst thou think it reasonable to be proud of the shadow, where thou oughtest not to be proud of that worth that causeth it?
“‘Again: Thou art in great power, or place and authority; but thou art mistaken in this; the power thou hast is not inherent in thyself. One of the meanest of those whom it may be thou oppressest is as powerful as thee, and could, it may be, overmatch thee in strength, wit or policy; but thy power is invested in thee by those men whose promises, faith, or voluntary assistance thou hast. This power depends upon the fidelity or assistance of others, which, if withdrawn, leaves you like Samson shorn of his locks. Thy strength will go from thee, and thou wilt become weak, and be like another man.’”
“Mother, you have read quite enough for one day. It will likely take us a week to learn all that by heart, and that will be a week of this visit lost!” cried George disconsolately.
“But suppose I entreat father to have you learn some verses from ‘Mother Goose’ to recite to us instead of these maxims – do you think you could memorize them quickly?” suggested Mrs. Parke.
“Oh, yes, mother! Do ask him that. We can learn ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ or anything like that in no time,” hastily replied Martha.
“Ah! then it shows that the only trouble with memorizing these truly great sayings is that you won’t bother to study what is good and helpful! ‘Mother Goose’ is funny and amusing, and you promise to learn any such verses quickly; that is why father wishes you to learn these ‘Contemplations’ and afterward wear the uniform of an American soldier; because one cannot be frivolous and inclined to constant fun if he is to be the custodian of his country’s safety,” declared Mrs. Parke.
“But can’t you see that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?’” argued George impatiently.
“Have you any proposal to make better than the one father planned for the earning of the prize packages?” asked his mother.
“Well, we might arrange it this way: 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.
“Yes, yes! That is a fine idea!” shouted the other children in chorus, so that the ladies smiled.
“Well, as the main thing is to have you learn these valuable sayings by heart, it may be better to serve them out to you one a day, and pay the reward as you suggest. But remember, the prize is not what we are aiming at – it is the memory of the great words, that will have its effect on your after lives,” responded Mrs. Parke.
“Yes, yes, we know! We’ll let it affect our after life if you will but let us have the soldiers’ outfits right now!” retorted George, so that every one laughed at his reply.
“Well, then take the first paragraph and learn it well. As each one knows it without error we will hear it recited and give the reward for the study,” sighed Mrs. Parke, who feared the wonderful words would fail to leave an impression such as her husband hoped for.
For the rest of that day very little commotion was heard about the Parke house, but Jack appeared about four o’clock with the assurance that he had mastered the first maxim.
Mrs. Davis heard him recite it while both ladies held a copy of the paper. He had memorized the words, but seemed to have failed in understanding them, so his recital was more like that of a parrot’s speech.
“Just what I thought,” said Mrs. Parke, in an aside.
“Kate, we must add to this method of memorizing; each child should be able to explain what the words mean and how they individually interpret them.”
“Please give me my prize now and talk over the best way to impress our minds when I am gone,” cried Jack, disappointed that he had not been handed his package immediately upon rendering the maxim correctly.
With a sigh of despair his mother gave him the first reward – a khaki army coat trimmed with blue braid and brass buttons. It was a very elaborate affair, that any youthful general might be proud to wear.
The moment Jack saw it he gave a wild cheer and raced from the room to call to his companions. From the lilac bushes, from the summer house, from the cool back porch and from the hammocks swung under the maple trees ran the friends who were eager to admire the prize won by the first member of their army.
The boys had to try it on, and there followed many exclamations of delight and approval. Then, as each wished it was his they remembered the way to earn one, so they hurried back to their papers.
Thus, by learning the paragraphs in order as they came on the pages, the children not only won rewards, but also imbibed the high and excellent maxims followed by General Washington.
When the first few rules were learned Mrs. Parke gave the children new ones. As she distributed them she said: “Before you go I wish to read some splendid things Washington wrote as he supposes himself to be standing before the Seat of Judgment, answering to God for the charges given him to account for:
“‘I have given unto you all understanding and reason, to be a guide of your actions, and to some of you more eminent degrees thereof.
“‘I have given you a conscience to direct you, and to check you in your miscarriages, and to encourage you in well-doing; and I have furnished that conscience of yours with light and principles of truth and practice conformable to my will.
“‘I have given you the advantage of speech, whereby to communicate your thoughts to one another and to instruct and advantage one another by the help thereof.
“‘I have given you counsel and advice of faithful and judicious friends; good laws in the place and country where you live; the written word of God acquainting you with my will and the way to eternal life; the word preached thereof; the sacrament both for your initiation and confirmation.
“‘And the man who stands at the bar of judgment answering his God must give a true and faithful accounting of all he did or hoped to accomplish with the talents thus given him on earth.’
“Now, children, this last section of Washington’s words are to me most important, as they embody the whole basis of his religious attitude. And every one knows what an account he could render the Master for being a Good Steward in the field.
“I am sure that his harvest must have been very acceptable to God, for there were no tares mixed with his wheat,” said Mrs. Parke seriously.
“If our children – descendants of that noble character, Washington – can render as good a record of works accomplished on earth when they appear before the Throne of the Great Judge it will be a cause for great rejoicing and thanksgiving for all,” added Mrs. Davis.
“Yes, I suppose it would, aunty, but you see times change and so do folks, and ways change with them. George Washington just had to be good ’cause it was born in him, and God made him feel that he had to be an example for America. Doesn’t it show it was so, when he never wanted to quarrel in school, he never told a lie – even kept his mouth shut when something was being asked that he knew all about – and the way he sacrificed fun and good times just to study old dry stuff like these maxims? Oh, he was, indeed, a queer boy!” sighed George, rolling his eyes upward in earnest contemplation of the ceiling.
The ladies had great difficulty in maintaining serious faces at these remarks, but they felt all would be ruined if they laughed outright, so they managed, both of them, to remain stern and respectful.
“Haven’t we occasion to thank God that he was such a serious-minded boy? What would the United States have done if he had been otherwise?” asked Mrs. Parke.
“But it didn’t! 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.
“Yes, you could, if you understood enough of the Truth and operation of God, who is Principle, to apply what you knew; but the Truth does not operate blindly, remember, and Washington would never have been guided as he was if he hadn’t applied his thoughts seriously to finding out the ‘deep things of God’,” said Mrs. Parke earnestly.
The children showed an eagerness to get away from further preaching, so the ladies rose as a signal that the meeting was over. With grateful sighs the youngsters hurried away to learn the next dry and, to them, senseless maxim of Washington’s.
CHAPTER IX – THE ARMY WINS UNIFORMS
It took a full week to win every prize contained in the packing case, but only half of the maxims had been learned, as there were more “Contemplations” than rewards. When the children heard there was no more prize clothing to be won they lost interest in the learning of Washington’s rules of life.
To insure continued interest in the maxims Mrs. Davis suggested a plan.
“Now that Mr. Parke bought and gave the army uniforms, I think I’ll ‘do my bit’ also. These children ought to begin to make things and earn money for War Relief in Europe. I had thought of getting them a lightweight boat that would float on the creek, but now that every one ought to do something I think I will send for wool and needles, that the girls may learn to knit vests, caps and mittens for our boys at the front. 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.
“Yes, and quite a margin in health, too, as Kate says,” replied Mrs. Davis.
“Better let us share the cost of the boat together,” ventured Mrs. Parke.
“Indeed not! I have been wondering what to buy the two children as a gift when I came through Washington, but I determined to wait and see what they would enjoy most. Now that they have the General Washington idea in their minds, I think the boat is just the thing. They can have fights at sea and use it for crossing and recrossing the Hudson, the Delaware, or Lake Champlain, as they wish – all on the creek, where the water is not half as deep or dangerous as the Hudson,” explained Mrs. Davis.
“If you wish me to select one that I think will answer all purposes for the children I will do so, as I am going down to a building concern that specializes in canoes and pleasure crafts. I have to interview them about an insurance policy which they wish to increase. At the same time I can inquire as to the price of a light-weight boat,” said Mr. Parke.
So the next evening he returned home with news for Mrs. Davis. “I saw my man who handles boats and canoes and, fortunately, he had just the thing needed for the creek. He made the boat six months ago for some children, but the father lost a great deal of money in bad speculations and couldn’t pay the balance due on it. Now, you can have that same boat for the price still owing on the bill. In this way the children get a fine boat for the same cost as a cheap or poorer one.”
“I hope you ordered it sent on?” asked Mrs. Davis eagerly.
“Yes, I did so, for now that you have spoken of the idea I wonder that I never thought of a boat before,” replied Mr. Parke.
The Davises expected to remain about three weeks, but the first week had passed so quickly and the second week was so entirely taken up with studying maxims and winning prizes that it was not until the beginning of the third week that the plan was arranged to buy the Parke children a toy which they could enjoy for a long time.
All during the third week the Provincial army dressed in its hard-earned uniforms and paraded or drilled faithfully.
As usual, George was the commander-in-chief, John was Marquis de Lafayette, Jack was General Howe, although the Englishman wore the American uniform; Jim was the whole regular army, for Martha and Anne took turns in being General Sullivan, Nathan Hale, Allen, Schuyler, and others, just according to the battles fought or the places where the army camped.
Jim’s uniform was the same as that of the general, but his hat was different, and this constituted the rank. While George had a yellow tri-cornered hat trimmed with gold braid and tassels, Jim was made to wear a cap found in the attic chest. This was a sorry trial to Jim, who fondled the gold-trimmed hat he had won by learning maxims, but was not permitted to parade with it on. As Jack sternly told him when he protested, “We’ve got to keep discipline in the ranks, and if we should let you wear any fancy hat you wanted what would the army do?”
“Ah’m shore Ah donno, cuz dey ain’t no udder ranks den me!” retorted Jim rebelliously.
That made Jack think over the situation. And the result was: “Say, general, what’s the use of having so many officers and no regulars? Make Anne and Martha play the soldier once in a while; I need some one on my side besides myself.”
But Martha and Anne felt as much pleasure in their army uniforms, which were made exactly like the boys’, as the officers did in theirs, and they would not consent to wear common caps while gay cocked hats were put on the shelf.
So the argument over proper headgear in the army and the great need of more soldiers in the ranks continued all week, but the drilling with fife and drum and the rifle practice with dried peas or beans kept up, to the great amusement of the two ladies.
Saturday a telephone message came to the house while the army was on the lawn questioning Washington’s right to choose Englishmen to help Jack. It had been decided that John take turns being first French and then British to help out General Howe, and the girls were supposed to each take a side, but they declined the honor and preferred to remain American.
In the midst of an excited explanation from George why and wherefore, stating the reason the army never amounted to anything, Jim jumped up and pointed a trembling index finger at the driveway.
The others jumped up from the grass to see the cause of his surprise, and all stood still in wonderment.
On a long-framed wagon drawn by two truck horses lay a fine boat gayly painted in red, white and blue stripes. The ladies, Mrs. Parke and Mrs. Davis, walked behind the wagon as it slowly went down a side road that led over the bridge.
But the army did not remain long in a paralyzed state. Before the teamster had covered more than five yards of the side road crossing the creek British and American officers and men yelled and ran up to tug at the two ladies, demanding to know how the boat happened to be there.
So loud was the clamor that no one heard what any one else said, and the driver reached the creek, where many hands were eager to assist him in lifting the wonderful craft from the wagon to the creek.
“No, I sent for the gardener and chauffeur to help this man. He is responsible for the safe delivery of the boat, and it is not fair to him to risk its safety by letting excited boys help carry it from the wagon,” said Mrs. Davis firmly.
The two men soon arrived and helped transfer the boat to the water, where it rode gracefully on the slow surface of the stream. The teamster and the help went away, but the army was not aware of their going – all eyes were fixed on the boat.
