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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..84d7581 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64126 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64126) diff --git a/old/64126-0.txt b/old/64126-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5c1e472..0000000 --- a/old/64126-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8430 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Brother Jonathan, by Hezekiah Butterworth - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Brother Jonathan - -Author: Hezekiah Butterworth - -Release Date: December 25, 2020 [eBook #64126] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Image source(s): https://archive.org/details/brotherjonathan00buttiala - -Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHER JONATHAN *** - - - - -[Illustration: The rider gasped, “Where is your father, Faith?”] - - - - - BROTHER JONATHAN - - - BY - HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH - - AUTHOR OF - IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON, IN THE BOYHOOD OF LINCOLN, - IN THE DAYS OF JEFFERSON, ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - NEW YORK - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - 1903 - - - - - Copyright, 1903 - By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - - -_Published September, 1903_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -The writer has heretofore produced in the vein of fiction, after the -manner of the Mühlbach interpretations, several books which were -anecdotal narratives of the crises in the lives of public men. While -they were fiction, they largely confided to the reader what was truth -and what the conveyance of fiction for the sake of narrative form. -It was the purpose of such a book to picture by folk-lore and local -stories the early life of the man. - -The folk-lore of a period usually interprets the man of the period -in a very atmospheric way. Jonathan Trumbull, Washington’s “Brother -Jonathan,” who had a part in helping to save the American army in -nearly every crisis of the Revolutionary War, and who gave the -popular name to the nation, led a remarkable life, and came to be -held by Washington as “among the first of the patriots.” The book is -a folk-lore narrative, with a thread of fiction, and seeks to picture -a period that was decisive in American history, and the home and -neighborhood of one of the most delightful characters that America -has ever known――the Roger de Coverley of colonial life and American -knighthood; very human, but very noble, always true; the fine old -American gentleman――“Brother Jonathan.” - -It has been said that a story of the life of Jonathan Trumbull would -furnish material for pen-pictures of the most heroic episodes of the -Revolutionary War, and bring to light much secret history of the -times when Lebanon, Conn., was in a sense the hidden capital of the -political and military councils that influenced the greatest events -of the American struggle for liberty. The view is in part true, and a -son of Governor Trumbull so felt that force of the situation that he -painted the scenes of which he first gained a knowledge in his father’s -farmhouse, beginning the work in that plain old home on the sanded -floor. - -From Governor Trumbull’s war office, which is still standing at -Lebanon, went the post-riders whose secret messages determined some of -the great events of the war. Thence went forth recruits for the army in -times of peril, as from the forests; thence supplies for the army in -famine, thence droves of cattle, through wilderness ways. - -Governor Trumbull was the heart of every need in those terrible days of -sacrifice. - -His wife, Faith Trumbull, a descendant of the Pilgrim Pastor Robinson -of Leyden, was a heroic woman to whom the Daughters of the Revolution -should erect a monument. The picture which we present of her in the -cloak of Rochambeau is historically true. - -The eminent people who visited the secret town of the war during the -great Revolutionary events were many, and their influence had decisive -results. - -Look at some of the names of these visitors: Washington, Lafayette, -Samuel Adams, Putnam, Jefferson, Franklin, Sullivan, John Jay, Count -Rochambeau, Admiral Tiernay, Duke of Lauzun, Marquis de Castellax, and -the officers of Count Rochambeau and many others. - -The post-riders from Governor Trumbull’s plain farmhouse on Lebanon -Hill (called Lebanon from its cedars) represented the secret service of -the war. - -When the influence of this capital among the Connecticut hills became -known, Governor Trumbull’s person was in danger. A secret and perhaps -self-appointed guard watched the wilderness roads to his war office. - -One of these, were he living, might interpret events of the hidden -history of the struggle for liberty in a very dramatic way. - -Such an interpreter for the purpose of historic fiction we have made in -Dennis O’Hay, a jolly Irishman of a liberty-loving heart. - -In a brief fiction for young people we can only illustrate how -interesting a larger study of this subject of the secret service of the -Revolution at this place might be made. We shall be glad if we can so -interest the young reader in the topic as to lead him to follow it in -solid historic reading in his maturer years. - -HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.――TWO QUEER MEN MEET 1 - - II.――THE JOLLY FARMER OF WINDHAM HILLS AND HIS - FLOCK OF SHEEP 20 - - III.――THE FIRST OF PATRIOTS AT HOME 30 - - IV.――“OUT YOU GO” 44 - - V.――THE WAR OFFICE IN THE CEDARS――AN INDIAN - TALE――INCIDENTS 58 - - VI.――THE DECISIVE DAY OF BROTHER JONATHAN’S LIFE 79 - - VII.――WASHINGTON SPEAKS A NAME WHICH NAMES THE - REPUBLIC 104 - - VIII.――PETER NIMBLE AND DENNIS IN THE ALARM-POST 123 - - IX.――A MAN WITH A CANE――“OFF WITH YOUR HAT” 135 - - X.――BEACONS 156 - - XI.――THE SECRET OF LAFAYETTE 170 - - XII.――LAFAYETTE TELLS HIS SECRET 187 - - XIII.――THE BUGLES BLOW 199 - - XIV.――A DAUGHTER OF THE PILGRIMS 215 - - XV.――“CORNWALLIS IS TAKEN!” 237 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - FACING - PAGE - - The rider gasped, “Where is your father, Faith?” _Frontispiece_ - - The surrender of Burgoyne 51 - - “Brother Jonathan’s” war office and residence in Lebanon, - Connecticut 60 - - The battle of Bunker Hill 129 - - Jonathan Trumbull 154 - - Madam Faith Trumbull contributing her scarlet cloak to the - soldiers of the Revolution 223 - - - - -BROTHER JONATHAN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TWO QUEER MEN MEET - - -Dennis O’Hay, a young Irishman, and a shipwrecked mariner, had been -landed at Norwich, Conn., by a schooner which had come into the Thames -from Long Island Sound. A lusty, hearty, clear-souled sailor was -Dennis; the sun seemed to shine through him, so open to all people was -his free and transparent nature. - -“The top of the morning to everybody,” he used to say, which feeling of -universal brotherhood was quite in harmony with the new country he had -unexpectedly found, but of which he had heard much at sea. - -Dennis looked around him for some person to whom he might go for advice -in the strange country to which he had been brought. He did not have to -look far, for the town was not large, but presently a man whose very -gait bespoke importance, came walking, or rather marching, down the -street. Dennis went up to him. - -“An’ it is somebody in particular you must be,” said Dennis. “You seem -to me like some high officer that has lost his regiment, cornet, horse, -drum-major, and all; no, I beg your pardon. I mean――well, I mean that -you seem to me like one who might be more than you are; I beg your -pardon again; you look like a magistrate in these new parts.” - -“And who are you with your blundering honesty, my friend? You are -evidently new to these parts?” - -“And it is an Irishman that I am.” - -“The Lord forbid, but I am an Englishman.” - -“Then we are half brothers.” - -“The Lord forbid. What brings you here?” - -“Storms, storms, and it is a shipwrecked mariner that I am. And I am as -poor as a coot, and you have ruffles, and laces, and buckles, but you -have a bit of heart. I can see that in your face. Your blood don’t flow -through a muscle. Have you been long in these parts?” - -“Longer than I wish to have been. This is the land of blue-laws, as you -will find.” - -“And it is nothing that I know of the color of the laws, whether -they be blue, or red, or white. Can you tell me of some one to whom -a shipwrecked sailor could go for a roof to shelter him, and some -friendly advice? You may be the very man?” - -“No, no, no. I am not your man. My name is Peters, Samuel Peters, and -I am loyal to my king and my own country, and here the people’s hearts -are turning away from both. I am one too many here. But there is one -man in these parts to whom every one in trouble goes for advice. If a -goose were to break her leg she would go to him to set it. The very -hens go and cackle before his door. Children carry him arbutuses and -white lady’s-slippers in the spring, and wild grapes in the fall, and -the very Indians double up _so_ when they pass his house on the way -to school. His house is in the perpendicular style of architecture, I -think. Close by it is a store where they talk Latin and Greek on the -grist barrels, and they tell such stories there as one never heard -before. He settles all the church and colony troubles, which are many, -doctors the sick, and keeps unfaculized people, as they call the poor -here, from becoming an expense to the town. He looks solemn, and wears -_dignified_ clothes, but he has a heart for everybody; the very dogs -run after him in the street, and the little Indian children do the -same. He is a kind of Solomon. What other people don’t know, he does. -But he has a suspicious eye for me.” - -“That is my man, sure,” said Dennis. “Children and dogs know what is -in the human heart. What may that man’s name be? Tell me that, and you -will be doing me a favor, your Honor.” - -“His name is Jonathan Trumbull. They call him ‘Brother Jonathan,’ -because he helps everybody, hinders nobody, and tries to make broken-up -people over new.” - -“And where does he live, your Honor?” - -“At a place called Lebanon, there are so many cedars there. I do not -go to see him, because I did so once, but while he smiled on every one -else, he scowled _this way_ on me, as if he thought that I was not all -that I ought to be. He is a magistrate, and everybody in the colony -knows him. He marries people, and goes to the funerals of people who go -to heaven.” - -“That is my man. What are the blue-laws?” - -“One of the blue-laws reads that married people must live together or -go to jail. If a man and woman who were not married were to go to _him_ -to settle a dispute, he would say to them――‘Join your right hands.’ -When he rises up to speak in church, the earth stands still, and the -hour glass stops, and the sun on the dial. But he has no use for me.” - -“That is my man, sure,” said Dennis. “Trumbull, Trumbull, but it was -his ship on which I sailed from Derry, and that was lost.” - -“He has lost two ships before. It is strange that a man whose -meal-chest is open to all should be so unfortunate. It don’t seem to -accord with the laws of Providence. I sometimes doubt that he is as -good as all the people think him to be.” - -“But the fruits of life are not money-making, your Honor. A man’s -influence on others is the fruit of life, and what he is and does. A -man is worth just what his soul is worth, and not less or more. He is -the man that I am after, for sure. How does one get to his house?” - -“The open road from Norwich leads straight by his house, all the way -to Boston, through Windham County, where lately the frogs had a great -battle, and _millions_ of them were slain.” - -Dennis opened his eyes. - -“Faix?” - -“Faix, stranger. Yes, yes; I have just written an account of the -battle, to be published in England. After the frogs had a battle, the -caterpillars had another, and then the hills at a place called Moodus -began to rumble and quake, and become colicky and cough. This is a -strange country. - -“But these things,” he added, “are of little account in comparison to -the fact that the heart of the people is turning against the laws that -the good king and his minister make for the welfare of the colony. They -allow the people here to be one with the home government by bearing a -part of the taxes. And the people’s hearts are becoming alien. I do not -wonder that frogs fight, and caterpillars, and that the hills groan and -shake and upset milk-pans, and make the maids run they know not where.” - -“I must seek that man they call ‘Brother Jonathan.’ Something in me -says I must. That way? Well, Dennis O’Hay will start now; it is a sorry -story that I will have to tell him, but it is a true heart I will have -to take to him.” - -“I am going back to England,” said Mr. Peters. - -“Well, good-by is it to you,” said Dennis, and the young Irishman set -his face toward Lebanon of the cedars, on the road from Boston to -Philadelphia by way of New York. He stopped by the way to talk with the -people he met about the warlike times, and things happening at Boston -town. - -His mind was filled with wonder at what he heard. What a curious man -the same Brother Jonathan might be! Who were the Indian children? What -was the story of the battle of the frogs, and of the caterpillars; what -was the cause of the coughing mountains at Moodus; why did Brother -Jonathan, a man of such great heart, scowl at the same Mr. Peters, and -who was this same Mr. Peters? - -Dennis took off his hat as he went on toward Lebanon, turning over in -his mind these questions. He swung his hat as he went along, and the -blue jays peeked at him and laughed, and the conquiddles (bobolinks) -seemed to catch the wonder in his mind, and to fly off to the hazel -coverts. Rabbits stood up in the highway, then shook their paws and ran -into the berry bushes by the brooks. - -Everything seemed strange, as he hurried on, picking berries when he -stopped to rest. - -At noon the sun glared; fishing hawks, or ospreys, wheeled in the air, -screaming. A bear, with her cubs, stopped at the turn of the way. The -bear stood up. Dennis stood still. - -The bear looked at Dennis, and Dennis at the bear. Then the bear seemed -to speak to the cubs, and she and her family bounded into the cedars. - -This was not Londonderry. Everything was fresh, shining and new. At -night the air was full of the wings of birds, as the morning had been -of songs of birds. - -The sun of the long day fell at last, and the twilight shone red behind -the gray rocks, oaks and cedars. - -Dennis sat down on the pine needles. - -“It is a sorry tale that I will have to tell Brother Jonathan -to-morrow,” said he. “It will hurt my heart to hurt his heart.” - -Then the whippoorwills began to sing, and Dennis fell asleep under the -moon and stars. - -If the reader would know more about Mr. Peters, Samuel Peters, let him -consult any colonial library, and he will find there a collection of -stories of early Connecticut, such as would tend to make one run home -after dark. The same Mr. Peters was an Episcopal clergyman, who did not -like the Connecticut main or the “blue-laws.”[1] - -[1] See Appendix for some of Rev. Samuel Peters’ queer stories. - -Dennis came to the farming town on the hills among the green cedars; he -banged on the door of the Governor’s house with his hard knuckles, in -real Irish vigor. - -The Governor’s wife answered the startling knock. - -“And faith it is a shipwrecked sailor. I am from the north of ould -Ireland, it is now, and would you be after a man of all work, or any -work? There is lots of days of work now in these two fists, lady, and -that you may well believe.” He bowed three times. - -“The Governor is away from home,” said my lady. “He has gone to New -Haven by the sea. What is your name?” - -“My name is Dennis O’Hay, an honest name as ever there was in Ireland -of the north countrie, and I am an honest man.” - -“You look it, my good friend. You have an honest face, but there is -fire in it.” - -“And there are times, lady, when the coals should burn on the hearth of -the heart, and flame up into one’s cheeks and eyes. A storm is coming, -lady, a land storm; there are hawks in the air. I would serve you well, -lady. It is a true heart that you have. I can see it in your face, -lady.” - -“And what can you do, Dennis O’Hay? You were bred to the sea.” - -“And it is little that I can not do, that any man can do with his two -fists. You have brains up here among the hills, lady, but there may -come a day that you will need fists as well as brains, and wits more -than all, for I am a peaceable man; I can work, and I could suffer or -die for such people as you all seem to be up here. The heart of Dennis -O’Hay is full of this new cause for liberty. I could throw up my hat -over the sun for that cause, lady. I would enlist in that cause, and -drag the guns to the battle-field like a packhorse. Oh, I am full of -America, honest now, and no blarney.” - -“I do not meddle with my husband’s affairs, but I can not turn you -away from these doors. How could I send away any man who is willing -to enlist for a cause like ours? Dennis O’Hay, go to the tavern over -there, and ask for a meal in the name of Faith Trumbull. Then come back -here and I will give you the keys to the store in the war office, for I -can trust you with the keys, and when my goodman comes back I will send -him to you.” - -“Lady, this is the time to say a word to you. Ask about me among the -other sailors, if they come here, so that you may know that I have -lived an honest life. Does not your goodman need a guard?” - -“I had never thought of such a thing.” - -“You are sending soldiers and food and cattle to the camps, I hear; who -knows what General Gage might be led to do? They have secret guards in -foreign parts, men of the ‘secret service,’ as they call them. Lady, -there are things that come to one, down from the skies, or up from the -soul. It is all like the ‘pattern on the mount of vision’ that they -preach about. A voice within me has been saying, ‘Go and work for the -Governor among the hills, and watch out for him.’ But you must test me -first, lady. I would keep _you_ from harm; there is nothing that should -ever stand between these two fists of Dennis O’Hay and such as you. But -that day will come. I will go to the tavern now, and God and all the -saints bless you, and your goodman forever, and make a great nation of -this green land of America, and keep the same Dennis O’Hay, which I am -that, in the way of his duty.” - -The tavern, which became an historic inn, where some of the most -notable people of America and of France were entertained during the -days of the Revolution, stood at a little distance from the Governor’s -house. Dennis O’Hay went there so elated that he tossed his sailor’s -hat into the air. - -“It is little that I would not do for a lady like that,” he said. “The -sea tossed me here on purpose. Night, thou mayest have my service; -watch me, ye stars! Liberty, thou mayest have my blood; call me, ye -fife and drum. Let me but get at the heart of the Governor, and his -life and home shall be secure from all harm under the clear eye of -Dennis O’Hay. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! and it is here I am in America!” - -The landlord stood in the door. - -“And who are you, my friend?” - -“Dennis, your Honor.” - -“And what brings you here?” - -“Not the ship; for the ship went down. What brings me here? My two -legs――no――――” - -He paused, and looked reverent. - -“The Hand Unseen. I came to enlist in the struggles for the freedom of -America. Give me a bite in the name of the lady down the road.” - -“My whole table is at your service, my friend. I like your spirit. We -need you here.” - -“And here I am――how I got here I do not know, but I _am_ here, and my -name is Dennis O’Hay.” - -He waited long for the return of the Governor to the war office, or -country store, looking out of the window over the tops of the green -hills. - -“An’ faix, I do believe,” he said at last, “I minds me that this is the -day when the world stands still. But, O my eyes, what is it that you -see now?” - -A light form of a little one came out of the door of the Governor’s -house and walked to the war office. It was a girl, beautiful in figure, -with a sensitive face, full of sympathy and benevolence. - -She opened the door. - -“My name is Faith,” said she. “I am Mr. Trumbull’s daughter. I keep -store sometimes when my father, the Governor, is away late. I thought I -would open the store this afternoon. Customers are likely to come, near -nightfall.” - -“I would help you tend store,” said Dennis O’Hay, “if I only knew how. -It is not handy at a bargain that I would be now, and barter people, if -you call them that here, would all get the best of me. But I may be -able to do such things some day.” - -He looked out of the window, and suddenly exclaimed――“Look!” - -A man on a noble horse was coming, flying as it seemed, down the -Lebanon road from the Windham County hills. His horse leaped into the -air at times, as full of high spirit, and dashed up to the store. - -Faith, the beautiful girl, went to the door. - -The rider gasped――“Where is your father, Faith?” - -“He is gone to New Haven, Mr. Putnam.” - -“I want to see him at once; there is secret news from Boston. But I -must see him. I must not leave here until he returns. I will go over to -the tavern and wait.” - -Dennis came out and stood in front of the store. - -“Stranger,” said the rider, “and who are you? You do not look like a -farmer.” - -“Who am I? I am myself, sure, a foreigner among foreigners, Dennis -O’Hay, a castaway, from the north of Ireland.” - -“And what brings you here?” - -“I came to enlist,” said Dennis. - -“You will be wanted,” said Mr. Putnam. “You have shoulders as broad as -Atlas, who carried the world on his back.” - -“The world on his back? What did he walk upon?” - -“That is a question too much,” said the rider. “I’ll leave my horse in -your hands, Dennis O’Hay, and go to the tavern and see what I can find -out about the Governor’s movements there.” - -He strode across the green. - -The sun was going down, sending up red and golden lances, as it were, -over the dark shades of the cedars. On the hills lay great farms half -in glittering sunlight, half in dark shadows. - -“Have you any thought when the Governor will return?” asked the rider -of the tavern-keeper. - -“No, Israel, I have not――but I hear that there is important news from -Boston――that it is suspected that the British are about to make a move -to capture the stores of American powder at Concord. The Governor, I -mind me, knows something about the secrets of powder hiding, but of -that I can not be sure.” - -“Great events are at hand,” said Putnam. “I can feel them in the air. -I had the same feeling before the northern campaign. I must stay here -until the Governor arrives.” - -“You shall have the best the tavern affords,” said the innkeeper. - -The sun went down blazing on the hills, seeming like a far gate of -heaven, as its semicircular splendors filled the sky. Then came the -hour of shadows with the advent of the early stars, and then the grand -procession of the night march of the hosts of heaven that looks bright -indeed over the dark cedars. - -The air was silent, as though the world were dead. The taverners -listened long in front of the tavern for the sound of horses’ feet on -the Lebanon road. - -“Will the Governor come alone?” asked Dennis O’Hay of Israel Putnam, -the rider. - -“Yes, my sailor friend; who is there to harm him?” - -“But there will be danger. There ought to be a guard on the Lebanon -road. Did not the Governor save the powder, ammunition, and stores, in -the northern war? So they said at Norwich. Some day General Gage will -put a long eyes on him.” - -“Silence!” - -The taverners went into the tavern and sat down in the common room. - -“I will wait until midnight before I go to my room. My message to the -Governor must be delivered as soon as he returns.” - -The public room was lighted with candles, and a fire was kindled on the -hearth. It was spring, but a hearth fire had a cheerful glow even then. - -The taverners talked of the military events around Boston town, then -told stories of adventure. Dennis came from the store, and sat down -with the rest. - -“Mr. Putnam,” said one of them, “the story of your hunting the she-wolf -is told in all the houses of the new towns, but we have never heard it -from yourself. The clock weights sink low, and we wish to keep awake. -Tell us about that wily wolf, and how you felt when your eyes met hers -in the cave.” - - -THE WITCH-WOLF - -“I never boast of the happenings of my life,” said Israel Putnam. “It -is my nature to dash and do, and I but give point to the plans of -others. That is nothing to boast of. Put on cedar wood and I will tell -the tale of that cunning animal, a ‘witch-wolf,’ as some call her, as -well as I can. The people at the taverns often ask me to kill time for -them in that way. - -“I came to Pomfret in 1749. For some years I was a busy man, toiling -early and late, as you may know. I raised a house and barn; some of -you were at the raising. I chopped down trees, made fences, planted -apple-trees, sowed and reaped. - -“My farm grew. I had a growing herd of cattle, but my pride was in my -flock of sheep. - -“One morning, as I went out to the hill meadows, I found that some of -my finest sheep had disappeared. I called them, and I wandered the -woods searching for them, but they were not to be found. Then a herdman -came to me and said that he had found blood and wool in one place, and -sheep bones in another, and that he felt sure that the missing sheep -had been destroyed by powerful wolves. - -“In a few days other sheep were missing. Day by day passed, and I lost -in a few months a great number of sheep. - -“One morning I went out to the sheepfolds, and found that some animal -had killed a whole flock of sheep. - -“‘It is a she-wolf that is the destroyer’ said a herdman, ‘a witch-wolf, -it may be. Would you dare to attack her?’ - -“My brain was fired. There lay my sheep killed without a purpose, by -some animal in which had grown a thirst for blood. - -“‘Yes, yes――’ said I, ‘wolf or demon, whatever it be, I will give my -feet no rest until I hold its tongue in my own hands, and that I will -do. I have force in my head, and iron in my hands. Call the neighbors -together and let us have a wolf hunt.’ - -“The neighbors were called together, and the conch shell was blown. We -tracked the wolf and got sight of her. She was no witch, but a long, -gaunt, powerful she-wolf, a great frame of bones, with a sneaking head -and evil eyes. - -“We pursued her, but she was gone. She seemed to vanish. ‘She is a -witch,’ said the herdman. ‘She is no witch,’ said I, ‘and if she were, -it is my duty to put her out of existence, and I will!’ - -“We hunted her again and again, but she was too cunning for us. She -disappeared. She would be absent during the summer, but in the fall she -would return, and bring her summer whelps with her. She fed her brood -not only on my flocks but on those of the farms of the country around. -We gathered new bands to hunt her; the people rose in arms against -her――against that one cunning animal.――Put cedar wood on the fire. - -“I formed a new plan. We would hunt her continuously, two at a time. - -“She lost a part of one foot in a steel trap at last. Then the people -came to know that she was no witch. We could track her now by the mark -of the three feet in the snow. She limped, and her three sound feet -could not make the quick shifts that her four feet had made of old. - -“One day we set out on a continuous hunt. We followed her from our -farms away to the Connecticut River. Then the three-footed animal came -back again, and we followed her back to the farms. - -“But the bloodhounds now knew her and had got scent of her, and they -led us to a den in the woods. This den was only about three miles from -my house. She may have hidden in it many times before. - -“We gathered before the den, and lighted straw and pushed it into the -den to drive her out. But she did not appear. - -“Then we put sulphur on the straw and forced it into the den, so that -it might fill the cavern with the fumes. But the three-footed wolf did -not come out of the den. The cave might be a large one; it might have -an opening out some other way. - -“We called a huge dog, and bade him to enter the cave. He dove down -through the opening. Presently we heard him cry; he soon backed out of -the opening, bleeding. The wolf was in the cave. - -“Another dog, and another were forced to enter the cave, both returning -whining and bleeding. Neither smoke nor dogs were able to destroy that -animal that had made herself a terror of the country round. - -“I called my negro herder. - -“‘Sam,’ said I, ‘you go into the cave and end that animal.’ - -“‘Not for a thousand pounds, nor for all the sheep on the hills of the -Lord. What would become of Sam? Look at the dogs’ noses. Would you send -me where no dog could go?’ - -“‘Then I shall go myself,’ said I, for nothing can stop me from -anything when my resolution has gathered force; there are times when I -must lighten. - -“I took off my coat and prepared to go down into the cave. My neighbors -held me back. I took a torch, and plunged down the entrance to the -cave, head first, with the torch blazing. - -“Had I made the effort with a gun, the wolf might have rushed at me, -but she crouched and sidled back before the fire. - -“The entrance was slippery, but my will forced me on. - -“I could rise up at last. The cave was silent; the darkness might be -felt. I doubt that any human being had ever entered the place before. - -“I walked slowly, then turning aside my torch, peered into the thick -darkness. - -“Two fierce eyes, like balls of fire, confronted me. The she-wolf was -there, waiting for some advantage, but cowed by the torch. - -“Presently I heard a growl and a gnashing of teeth. - -“I had drawn into the cave a rope tied around my body, so that I might -be drawn out by my neighbors if I should need help. I gave the signal -to pull me out. I understood the situation. - -“I was drawn up in such a way that my upper clothing was pulled over -my body, and my flesh was torn. I grasped my gun and crawled back -again.――Put more cedar wood on the fire. - -“I saw the eyes of the wolf again. I heard her snap and growl. I -leveled my gun. - -“_Bang!_ The noise seemed to deafen me. The smoke filled the cave. - -“I gave a signal to my neighbors to draw me out. I listened at the -mouth of the cave. All was silent. The smoke must have found vent. I -went into the cave again. - -“It was silent. - -“I found the body of the wolf. It was stiff and was growing cold. I -took hold of her ears and gave a signal to those outside to draw me out. - -“As I was drawn from the mouth of the cave I dragged the wolf after me. - -“Then my friends set up a great shout. My eyes had met those of the -she-wolf but once, then there was living fire in them, terrible but -pitiful. Hark――what is that?” - -There was a sound of horses’ feet. - -“The Governor is coming,” said one of the taverners. - -Israel Putnam ran out to meet him, and spoke to him a few words. - -“Let us go to the war office at once, and shut the door and be by -ourselves,” said the Governor. - -They hurried to the war office, and the Governor shut the door, not to -open it again until morning. - -Dennis O’Hay went back to the tavern, and wondered and wondered. - -“Faix, and this is a quare country, and no mistake,” said he. What -would the Governor say to him? - -Would he be the first to tell him that the ship had gone down? - -He talked with taverners about the subject. - -“I must break the news, gently like,” he said. “I would hate to hurt -his heart.” - -“He has lost ships before,” said one. - -“His losses have made him a poor man,” said another. “But he marches -right on in the way of duty, as though he owned the stars.” - -Dennis fell asleep on the settle, wondering, and he must have dreamed -wonderful dreams. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE JOLLY FARMER OF WINDHAM HILLS AND HIS FLOCK OF SHEEP - - -There was an old manor in sunny England to which Lord Cornwallis used -to resort, and a certain Captain Blackwell purchased a territory in -Windham, Conn., among the green hills and called it Mortlake Manor, -after the English demesne. Here Israel Putnam purchased a farm of some -500 acres, at what is now Pomfret, Conn., and began to raise great -herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and to plant apple-trees. - -He was made a major in the northern campaign, afterward a colonel, then -in the Indian War he became a general. They called him “Major Putnam,” -for the title befitted his character, and he wished to be sparing of -titles among the farmers of Windham. - -Israel Putnam was born a hero. He had in him the spirit of a Hannibal. -He had character as well as daring; his soul rose above everything, and -he never feared a face of day. - -He had the soul of Cincinnatus, and not of a Cæsar. He could leave the -plow, and return to it again. - -His conduct in the northern campaign had shown the unselfish character -of his heroism. A jolly farmer was he, and as thrifty as he was jolly. -He could strike hard blows for justice and liberty, and like a truly -brave man he could forgive his enemies and help them to rise in a right -spirit again. - -Why had he come here at this time? - -Let us go into the store, or, as it was beginning to be called, the -“war office,” with these two men of destiny. - -“Governor Trumbull,” he said, “I am about to go to Boston, and I want -your approval. Boston is being ruined by British oppression. She is -almost famine-stricken, and why? Because her people are true to their -rights. - -“Governor, I can not sleep. Think of the situation. Here I am on my -farm, with hundreds of sheep around me, and the men of liberty of -Boston town are sitting down to half-empty tables. Some of my sheep -must be driven away. - -“They must be started on their way to Worcester, and to Newtowne, and -to Boston, and, Governor, the flock must _grow_ by the way. - -“I am going to ask the farmers to swell the number of the flock as I -start with my own. Boston Common is a British military post now――but I -am going to Boston Common with my sheep, and my flock will grow as I -go, and I will appear there at the head of a company of sheep, and if -the British Government does not lift its hand from Boston town, I will -go there with a company of soldiers. Have I your contentment in the -matter?” - -“Yes, go, hero of Lake George and of Ticonderoga, go with your sheep -and your flock, increase it as it goes; but as for that other matter -you suggest, let us talk of that, the matter of what is to be done if -British oppression is to increase.” - -They talked all night, and Putnam said that the liberties of the -colonies were more than life to him, and that he stood ready for any -duty. He rode away in the light of the morning. - -As he passed the tavern, Dennis O’Hay went to the war office, where the -Connecticut militia used to appear, to meet the Governor. - -“The top of the morning to you, Governor,” said Dennis, holding his cap -in his hand above his head. - -“My good friend, I do not know you,” said the Governor, “but that you -are here for some good purpose, I can not doubt. What is your business -with me?” - -“I was a sailor, sir, and our ship went down, sir, but I came up, sir, -and am still on the top of the earth. I am an Irishman, sir, from -Ireland of the North, that breeds the loikliest men on the other side -of the world, sir, among which, please your Honor, I am one. - -“I have heard about the stamp act, sir. England has taxed Ireland into -the earth, sir. We live in hovels, sir, that the English may dwell in -castles, sir. I wouldn’t be taxed, sir, were I an American without any -voice in the government, sir. That would be nothing but slavery. - -“I would like to enlist, sir. I have heard of the minutemen, sir, and -it is a half-a-minute man that I would like to become.” - -“I see, I see, my good fellow; I read the truth of what you say in -your looks. Let me go to my breakfast, and I will talk over your -case with my wife, Faith, and my daughters, and my son John. In the -meantime, go and get your breakfast in the tavern.” - -“The top of this earth and all the planets to you, sir.” - -After breakfast the Governor summoned Dennis to the store, which came -to be called the “war office.” The back room in the store was the -council room. - -“Did you notice that man who rode away in the morning?” he asked. - -“Sure, I did, sir. I heard him tell a story last night in the tavern. -The flesh was gone from one of his hands.” - -“It was torn from his hand while pouring water on a fire which was -burning the barracks near a magazine which contained 300 barrels of -powder. That was in the north.” - -“Did he save the magazine?” - -“Yes, my good friend. He is a brave man, and he is soon going with a -drove of sheep to Boston. - -“You ask for work,” continued the Governor. “I want you to go with that -man, Major, Colonel, General Putnam, and his drove of sheep to Boston, -and to keep your eye out on the way, so, if needed, you might go over -it again. I wish to train a few men to learn a swift way to Boston -town. You may be one of them. I will have a horse saddled for you at -once; follow that man to Pomfret, to the manor farm at Windham. I will -write you a note to him, a secret note, which you must not open by the -way.” - -“Never you fear, Governor; I couldn’t read it if I did, but I can read -life if I can not read messages.” - -In a few minutes he was in the saddle, with his face turned toward the -Windham hills. - -He found General Putnam, the “Major,” on his farm. - -“It is the top of the morning that I said to the Governor this morning, -and it is the top of the evening that I say to you now. I am Dennis -O’Hay, from the north of Ireland, and it is this message――which may -ask that I be relieved of my head for aught I know――that the Governor -he asked me to put into your hand. He wants me to learn all the way to -Boston town, so that I may be able to drive cattle there, it may be. I -am ready to do anything to make this country the land of liberty. After -all that ould Ireland has suffered, I want to see America free and -glorious――and hurrah, free! That word comes out of my heart; I don’t -know why I say it. It rises up from my very soul.” - -“You shall learn all the way to Boston town,” said the Major, “and I -hope I shall not find you faithless, or give you over to the British to -be dealt with according to the law.” - -Putnam was preparing to leave for his long journey on the new Boston -road. His neighbors gathered around him, and young farmers brought -to him fine sheep, to add to those he had gathered for the suffering -patriots of Boston town. - -The driver of this flock knew the way, the post-houses, the inns, the -ordinaries, and the Major assigned Dennis to him as an assistant. - -Putnam was a lusty man at this time, in middle life. He wore homespun -made from his own flocks. His great farm among the hills had been -developed until it was made sufficient to support a large family and -many work-people. He raised his own beef, pork, corn, grain, apples and -fruit, and poultry. His family made their own butter and cheese; his -wife wove the clothing for all; spun her own yarn. The manor farm might -have been isolated for a hundred years, and yet thrift would have gone -on. - -No one was ever more self-supporting than the old-time thrifty New -England farmer. His farm was more independent than a baron’s castle in -feudal days. - -He “put off” his butter, cheese and eggs, or bartered them for “West -India goods”; but even in these things he might have been independent, -for his maple-trees might have yielded him sugar, and roasted crusts -and nuts a nutritious substitute for coffee and tea. - -Putnam drove away his sheep, stopping at post-houses by the way, -and telling some merry and some thrilling stories there of the wild -campaign of the north, and of his escapes from the Indians under -Pontiac. - -He arrived at Boston and was welcomed by the patriot Warren. - -A British officer faced him. - -“And you have come down here,” said the British officer, “to contend -against England’s arm with a lot of sheep. If you rebels do not cease -your opposition, do you want to know what will happen?” - -“Yes.” - -“Twenty ships of the line and twenty regiments will be landed at the -port of Boston.” - -“If that day comes, I shall return to Boston, and I shall bring with me -men as well as sheep.” - -“Ho, ho!” laughed the British officer. “That is your thought, is it, -hey? It is treason, sir; treason to the British Crown.” - -“Sir,” said Putnam, “an enemy to justice is my enemy; is every man’s -enemy. It is a man’s duty to stand by human rights.” - -Dennis studied every farmhouse and nook and corner by the way. He had a -quick mind and a responsive heart, and he was learning America readily. - -He could read lettered words, so he looked well at the sign-boards -at four corners and on taverns and milestones. He “stumbled” in book -reading, but could define signs. - -“Could you find your way back again?” asked the Major of him, as they -rested beneath the great trees on Boston Common. - -“And sure it is, Major. I would find my way back there if I had been -landed at the back door of the world.” - -“Well,” said the Major, “then you may go back in advance of us alone.” - -Dennis parted from the Major, and dismounted in a couple of days or -more before the Governor’s war office with - -“And it is the top of the morning, it is, Governor.” - -“Did you bring a recommendation from the Major?” asked the Governor. - -“No, no, he sent me on ahead, but I can give a good report of him.” - -“That is the same as though he brought a good report of you. A man who -speaks well of his master is generally to be trusted. - -“Well, you know the way to Boston town. I think that I can now make you -useful to me, and to the cause. We will see.” - -Dennis found work at the tavern. He would sit on the tavern steps to -watch for the Governor in the evenings when the latter appeared on the -green. He soon joined the good people in calling the Governor “Brother -Jonathan.” - -Dennis was superstitious――most Irishmen are――but he was hardly more -given to ghostly fears than the Connecticut farmers were. Nearly every -farmstead at that period had its ghost story. Good Governor Trumbull -would hardly have given an hour to the fairy tale, but he probably -would have listened intently to a graveyard or “witch” story. - -People did not see angels then as in old Hebrew days, but thought that -there were sheeted ghosts that came out of graveyards, or made night -journeys through lonely woods, and stood at the head of garret stairs, -“avenging” spirits that haunted those who had done them wrong. - -So we only picture real life when we bring Dennis into this weird -atmosphere, that made legs nimble, and cats run home when the clouds -scudded over the moon. - -Dennis had heard ghost story after ghost story on his journey and -at the store. Almost everybody had at least one such story to tell; -how that Moodus hills would shake and quake at times, and tip over -milk-pans, and cause the maid to hide and the dog to howl; how -the timbers brought together to build a church, one night set to -capering and dancing; how a woman who had a disease that “unjinted -her jints” (unjointed her joints) came all together again during a -great “revival”; how witches took the form of birds, and were shot -with silver bullets; and like fantastic things which might have filled -volumes. - -“I never fear the face of day,” said Dennis, “but apparitions! Oh, for -my soul’s sake, deliver me from them! I am no ghost-hunter――I never -want to face anything that I can’t shoot, and on this side of the water -the woods are full of people that won’t sleep in their graves when you -lay them there. I shut my eyes. Yes, when I see anything that I can’t -account for, I shut my eyes.” - -That was the cause of the spread of superstition. People like Dennis -“shut their eyes.” Did they meet a white rabbit in the bush, they did -not investigate――they ran. - -Dennis would have faced a band of spies like a giant, but would have -run from the shaking of a bush by a mouse or ground squirrel in a -graveyard. - -He once saw a sight that, to use the old term, “broke him up.” He was -passing by a family graveyard when he thought that an awful apparition -that reached from the earth to the heavens rose before him. - -“Oh, and it was orful!” said he. “It riz right up out of the graves -into the air, with its _paws_ in the moon. It was a white horse, and he -_whickered_. My soul went out of me; I hardly had strength enough in my -legs to get back to the green; and when I did, I fell flat down on my -face, and all America would never tempt me to go that way again.” - -The white horse whose “paws” were in the moon was only an animal turned -out into the highway to pasture, that lifted himself up on the stout -bough of a graveyard wild apple-tree to eat apples from the higher -limbs. Horses were fond of apples, and would sometimes lift themselves -up to gather them in this way. - -The ghost story was the favorite theme at the store on long winter -evenings. - -“If one could be sure that they met an evil ghost, one would know that -there must be good spirits that had gone farther on,” reasoned the men. - -“They may as well all go farther on,” said Dennis. “Such things do not -haunt good people.” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE FIRST OF PATRIOTS AT HOME - - -A noble private school first made Lebanon of the cedars famous. It had -been founded by the prosperous hill farmers under the influence of -the Governor. To this school the latter sent his five children, who -prepared there for college or the higher schools. - -The Governor possessed a strong mind, that was so clear and full of -imagination as to be almost poetic and prophetic. - -The Scriptures were his book of poems, and he read many books――_Job_ in -Hebrew, and _John_ in Greek. - -At home among his five children, all of whom were destined to be -notable, and two of them famous, he was an ideal father. His one -thought was to educate his children for usefulness. - -One of his sons was named John, born in 1756. Nearly all of my readers -have seen his work, for it was his gift to paint the dramatic scenes of -the Revolutionary War, and these great historical paintings adorn not -only the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, but several of them most -public halls, and tens of thousands of patriotic homes in the country, -especially The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Signers of the Declaration -of Independence, The Death of Wolf, The Surrender of Cornwallis, and -Washington’s Farewell to his Army. - -The home of the Governor may have been matted, but was not carpeted. -It was the custom at that time to strew white sand over floors and to -“herring-bone” spare rooms. Of this sand we have a curious story. - -Two of the daughters, Faith and Mary, were born to a love of art. They -were sent to school in Boston after graduating at the Lebanon school, -and there Faith began to admire portraits painted in oil. - -She studied painting in oil, and she returned to her plain and simple -home. She hung upon the walls two portraits painted by her own hand -that were a local wonder. - -The Governor looked upon his gifted daughter’s work with commendable -pride. - -“You have done well, Faith. I did not expect such gifts of you. To -detain age, in keeping the face at the age in which it is painted, is -indeed a noble art. It is worthy of you, Faith.” - -At this time John Trumbull was a little boy. He had been housed and -nursed tenderly by his mother, because he had a misformed head which -had to be shaped out of a defect by pressure. - -This boy turned his face to his sister Faith’s paintings with surprise, -as they transformed the walls of the room. - -“I want to paint, too,” said he. - -“No, no,” said the Governor, “painting is not for boys.” - -He asked his sister for oils. - -“You are too young,” thought the artistic Faith, who was a loving, -noble sister. - -“But I must, I must.” - -One day his mother entered the sanded room. The white sand had been -disturbed. It was lying about in curious angles. She stopped; the sand -had formed a picture. Whose picture――probably it was intended for -herself. - -The boy’s face met hers, possibly at an opposite door. - -“My son, what have you been doing with the sand?” - -“Painting, mother.” - -“But what led you to paint in that way?” - -“Faith’s pictures on the wall. I had to paint. I must. I will be a -painter if I grow up. The things that father does will not live unless -they are painted. Pictures make the past _now_――they hold the past; -they make it live.” - -“My little boy sees the value of the art like a philosopher. You and -Faith have a gift that I little expected. I have nursed that little -head of yours many an hour; there may be pictures in it――who knows?” - -“But father thinks that painting is girlish. How can I get him to let -me paint?” - -“You may be able to paint so well, that he will be proud of your art.” - -The next day the sand took new form; another picture filled the floor, -and so day by day new pictures came to delight the good mother’s heart. - -The Governor saw them. - -“There is a gift in them,” said he. “It is all right for a little -shaver like him. Boys will have to wield something stronger than the -brush in the new age that is upon us. But we must not crush any gift of -God.” - -He turned away. - -His family loved to be near him, and he told them wonderful tales from -the Hebrew Scriptures. - -Queer tales of early times in the colonies he related to them, too; -stories that tended to correct false views of life and character. -Suppose we spend an hour with the good Governor in his own home. - - * * * * * - -It was early evening; snow was falling on the green boughs of the -cedars of Lebanon. A great fireplace blazed before the sitting-room -table, on which were the Bible and books. - -On one side of the fireplace hung quartered apples drying; on the other -a rennet and red peppers, and on the mantelpiece were shells from the -Indies, candlesticks, and pewter dishes. - -The room became silent. The Governor’s thoughts were far away, -planning, planning, almost always planning. - -The stillness became lonesome. Then little John, the painter in the -sand, ventured to ask his mother for a story, and she said: - -“I am narrowing now in my knitting; ask your father, he is -wool-gathering; call him home.” - -Little John touched his father on the arm. - -“It is a story that you would have,” said the Governor. “I am thinking -all by myself on a case that comes up before me to-morrow, of a young -man who has broken the law, but did not know that there was any such -law to break. He had just come in from sea. - -“Now, what would you do in such a case as that, Johnny? I am thinking -how to be merciful to the man and just to others.” - -“I would do what mother would do――mother, what would you do in a case -like that?” - -“I do not know; there may be things to be considered. I would follow my -heart; if it would not endanger others.” - -“Father, what will you do? Animals break laws about which they do not -know. I pity them.” - -“Well said, John,” said the Governor. - -He added, beating on the back of his chair: - -“I may have to follow my heart; but I will tell you a story of an old -Connecticut judge who followed his heart, and something unexpected -happened.” - -The Governor dropped his stately tone, and used the language of home. -That was a charm, the home tone. - - * * * * * - -“It was at the time of the blue-laws,” he said. “Those laws in one part -of the State were so strict as to forbid the making of mince pies at -Christmas-time. - -“One of these laws forbid a man to kiss his wife in public on Sunday.” - -The Governor seldom used story-book language. He was going to do so -now, and it would make the very fire seem friendly. - -“Wandering Rufus was a merry lad. He married a young wife, a very -handsome girl, and he loved her. Soon after his marriage he went to -sea, and it was after he went to sea that the law was enacted against -the Sunday kissing. The lawmakers little thought of the men at sea. - -“His wife looked out for him to come back, as a good wife should. She -pressed her nose against the pane. She dreamed and dreamed of how happy -she should be when he should come leaping up from the wharf to greet -her. - -“Three years passed, for he was a whaler as well as a sailor. - -“Three years! - -“One day there was heard a boom at sea――boom off New Haven. The ship -was coming in, and it was Sunday. - -“The young wife dressed herself in her best gown, and she never looked -so pretty before. Her cheeks glowed like roses in dew-time. - -“She hurried down toward the wharf to meet him, just as the bells were -ringing and the people were all going to meeting. - -“He came up the highway to greet her, leaping――not a becoming thing, -I will allow. And he rushed into her arms, and gave her smack after -smack, and her bonnet fell off, and the people stopped and wondered. -The magistrate wondered, too. - -“There was a man in the seaport who was like Mr. Legality in the -Pilgrim’s Progress. The next day he had the young sailor arrested for -unbecoming conduct on the street on Sunday, and I mind me that his -conduct was not altogether becoming. - -“The judge came into court, and read the law, and asked: - -“‘Rufus, my sailor boy, what have you to plead?’ - -“‘I did not know that there was any such law, your Honor; else I would -have obeyed it.’ - -“You may see that he had a true heart, like a robin on a cherry bough. - -“‘I must condemn you to have thirty lashes at the whipping-post,’ said -the judge――‘No, twenty lashes――no, considering all the points of the -case, ten; or five will do. Five lashes at the whipping-post. This is -the lightest sentence that I ever imposed. But _he_ did not know the -law; and he was a married man, and he had not seen his wife for nearly -three years; I must be merciful in this particular case, and I will not -say in this same case how hard the lashes shall be laid on.’ - -“So the young sailor was whipped, and Mr. Legality said that five -lashes would not have scampered a cat. - -“Rufus, the wanderer, prepared to go whaling again. - -“Now, the captain of the ship had caused a chalk-mark to be drawn -across the deck of the ship, and had made a ship law that if any one -but an officer of the ship should cross the mark, the person violating -the law should be whipped with a cat-o’-nine-tails. - -“I am sorry to say that our young sailor should have had a revengeful -spirit, but he seems to have shown a disposition not altogether -benevolent. He invited Mr. Legality to go on board the ship with him, -just as the ship was about to sail. Mr. Legality to atone for his want -of charity went, and he had hardly got on board before he stepped over -the chalk-line. - -“‘Halt, halt!’ said Rufus. ‘We have a law that if any one steps over -the chalk-line he must be whipped.’ - -“‘But I did not know that there was any such a law,’ said Mr. Legality. - -“‘But it is the law,’ said Wandering Rufus. - -“‘But how could I have known?’ asked Mr. Legality. - -“‘How could I have known that there was a law that a man must not kiss -his wife on the street on Sunday?’ asked Rufus. - -“‘I see, I see; but don’t let me be whipped with the cat-o’-nine-tails.’ - -“‘That I will not, for I am a hearty sailor. If any one is whipped it -shall be me. I wanted to show you how the human heart feels.’ - -“Mr. Legality left the ship as fast as his legs would carry him, and -somehow that story sometimes rises before me like a parable. I think I -shall follow my heart with this new case that comes off to-morrow.” - -“Do, do,” said the children, all five; and the mother, lovely Faith -Trumbull, said, “Yes, Jonathan, do.” - -“And now,” said the Governor, “let us read together the most beautiful -chapter, as I mind, in all the Epistles.” - -The snow fell gently without; the fire cracked, and they read together -the chapter containing “Charity suffereth long, and is kind.” - -“Beareth all things, endureth all things,” read little John. Then tears -filled his eyes, and he said: - -“Father, I love you.” - -But there was another side to the love and loyalty of this sheltered -town in the cedars. There were Tories here, and they did not like the -patriarchal Governor. You must meet some of them, if it does change the -atmosphere of the narrative. - -It has been said that no dispute could ever stand before Brother -Jonathan; it would melt away like snow on an April day when he lifted -his benignant eyes and put the finger of one hand on the other, and -said, “Let me make it clear to you.” - -Queer old Samuel Peters, the Episcopal agent, or missionary in -the colony, made so much fun of the good people in his History of -Connecticut, and so led England and America to laugh by his marvelous -anecdotes and description of the blue-laws, that the really thrifty and -heroic character of these people has been misjudged. - -A wonderful family had Brother Jonathan. His children who lived to -become of age became famous, and they were all remarkable as children. -Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., could read Virgil at five, and had read Homer -at twelve, and could talk with his father in Latin and Greek, and -discuss Horace and Juvenal when a boy. He, as we have said, became a -great painter, and commenced by drawing pictures in the sand which was -sprinkled on his father’s floor. They used “herring-bone” to tidy rooms -in those days, spare rooms, by dusting clean sand on the floor, in a -wavy way, leaving the floor in the angles of a herring-bone. We do not -know that it was in such herring-boning sand that young Trumbull began -to draw pictures, but it may have been so. - -We have visited the rooms in the old perpendicular house where he began -to draw. His good father did not approve of his purpose to become a -painter, but he thought that genius should be allowed to follow its own -course. A man is never contented or satisfied outside of his natural -gifts and haunting inclinations. So the battles into which his father’s -spirit entered, John made immortal by painting, and his work may be -seen not only in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, but in the -“Trumbull Collection” at Yale College. - -Young Trumbull was led to continue to paint by his sisters Faith and -Mary, who went to Boston to school. This was the Copley age of art in -Boston. You may see Copley’s pictures at the Art Museum, Boston, and -among them the almost living portrait of Samuel Adams. When these girls -returned from visits to Boston, Mary began to paint inspiring pictures -and to adorn the rooms with them. - -She and her brother studied the lives and works of the old masters. -How? We do not know, but genius makes a way. - -A thrifty farmer and merchant was Col. Jonathan Trumbull in his young -days. You laugh at these old-fashioned men, but look at what this -man, who could discuss Homer and Horace with his boys, and the arts -of Greece with his girls, accomplished through the good judgment and -private thrift in his early life. Says his principal biographer, G. W. -Stuart, of the fine young farmer, who had ships on the sea, and was -beginning to turn from a farmer to a notable merchant: - -“So the first years of Trumbull’s life as a merchant passed in -successful commerce abroad, in profitable trade at home, and with high -reputation in all his contacts, negotiations, and adventures. And ‘his -corn and riches did increase.’ A house and home-estate worth over four -thousand pounds; furniture, and a library, worth six hundred pounds; -a valuable store adjacent to the dwelling; a store, wharf, and land -at East Haddam; a lot and warehouse at Chelsea in Norwich; a valuable -grist-mill near his family seat at Lebanon; ‘a large, convenient -malt-house;’ several productive farms in his neighborhood, carefully -tilled, and beautifully spotted with rich acres of woodland; extensive -ownership, too, in the ‘Five-mile Propriety,’ as it was called, in -Lebanon, in whose management as committeeman, and representative at -courts, and moderator at meetings of owners, Trumbull had much to do; -a stock of domestic animals worth a hundred and thirty pounds――these -possessions, together with a well-secured indebtedness to himself, -in bonds, and notes, and mortgages, resulting from his mercantile -transactions, of about eight thousand pounds, rewarded, at the close -of the year 1763, the toil of Trumbull in the field of trade and -commerce. In all it was a property of not less than eighteen thousand -pounds――truly a large one for the day――but one destined, by reverses -in trade which the times subsequently rendered inevitable, and by -the patriotic generosity of its owner during the great Revolutionary -struggle, to slip, in large part, from his grasp.” - -Here is a picture of thrifty life in a country village estate in old -New England days. - -He preached at first, then became a judge, and he “doctored.” - -They were queer people who doctored then, with wig and gig. Brother -Jonathan doctored the poor. He doctored out of his goodly instincts -more than from a medical code, though he could administer prescriptions -from Latin that it was deemed presumptuous for the patient to inquire -about. Now people know what medicine they take, but it was deemed -audacious then to ask any questions about Latin prescriptions, or -to seek to penetrate such an awful mystery as was contained in the -“Ferrocesquicianurit of the Cynide of Potassium,” or to find out that a -ranunculus bulbosus was only a buttercup. - -Among the good old tavern tales of such old-time doctors was one of a -notional old woman, who used to send for the doctor as often as she saw -any one passing who was going the doctor’s way. Once when there was -coming on one of these awful March snow-storms that buried up houses, -she saw a teamster hurrying against the pitiless snow toward the town -where the doctor’s office was. - -“Hay, hay!” said she to the half-blinded man. “Whoa, stop! Send the -doctor to me――it is going to be a desperate case.” - -The doctor came to visit his patient, and found her getting a bountiful -meal. - -“The dragon!” said he. “Hobgoblins and thunder, what did you make me -come out here for in all this dreadful storm?” - -“Oh, pardon, doctor,” said she, “it was such a good chance to send.” - -In ill temper, the country doctor faced the storm again. - -There was both an academy and an Indian school in the town, and all the -children loved Brother Jonathan. - -The children of Boston used to follow Sam Adams in the street in -the latter’s benign old age, and the white children and red tumbled -over their dogs to meet Brother Jonathan, when he appeared in his -three-cornered hat, ruffles and knee-breeches, and all, in the snug -village green around which the orioles sung in the great trees. - -He had some kind word for them all. When his face lighted up, all was -happiness. - -Among his neighbors was William Williams, a signer of the Declaration -of Independence, and a man of beautiful soul. - -The old church gleamed in air over the green. On the country roads they -held meetings in smaller churches and in schoolhouses. - -A queer story is told of one of these churches at the time of -foot-stoves; how a good woman took a foot-stove to church and hid it -under her cloak. The stove smoked, and the warm smoke rose up under her -cloak, which was spread around her like a tent, and caused her to go -to sleep. As she bent over the smoke came out of her cloak at the back -of her neck and ascended into the sunlight of a window. Now smoke is -likely to form a circle as it ascends, and the good people, who did not -know of the foot-stove, thought that they saw a crown of glory hanging -over her head, and that a miracle was being performed. - -Brother Jonathan and his good wife and children were always in their -pew on Sunday. Probably there was a sounding-board in the primitive -church and an hour-glass. Possibly, a tithing man went about with a -feather to tickle sleepy old women on the nose, who lost consciousness -between the 7thlys and the 10thlys, and so made them jump and say, “O -Lud, massy sakes alive!” or something equally surprising and improper. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -“OUT YOU GO” - - -Old Peter Wetmore, of Lebanon, was suspected of being a Tory, but he -kept shut lips. “Don’t open the doors of your soul,” he used to say, -“and people will never know who you are. They can’t imprison your soul -without the body, nor the body unless the soul opens its gates,” by -which he meant the lips. “What I say is nothing to nobody. I chop wood!” - -Morose, silent, grunting, if he spoke at all, he lived in a mossy, -gable-roofed house, with a huge woodpile before his door. - -There was a great oak forest on rising ground above him. Below him was -a cedar swamp, with a village of crows and crow-blackbirds, which all -shouted in the morning, and told each other that the sun was rising. - -He was in his heart true to the King. When the patriots of Lebanon came -to him to talk politics after the Lexington alarm, he simply said, “I -chop wood.” - -Chop wood he did. His woodpile in front of his house was almost as high -as his house itself. But he chopped on, and all through the winter his -ax flew. And he split wood, hickory wood, with a warlike expression on -his face, as his ax came down. He had one relative――a nephew, Peter, -whom he taught to “fly around” and to “pick up his heels” in such a -nervous way that people ceased to call him Peter Wetmore, but named -him Peter _Nimble_. The boy was so abused by his uncle that he wore a -scared look. - -Lebanon was becoming one of the most patriotic towns in America. At one -time during the Revolutionary War there were five hundred men in the -public services. The people were intolerant of a Tory, and old Peter -Wetmore, who chopped wood, was a suspect. - -A different heart had young Peter, the orphan boy, who was for a time -compelled to live with him or to become roofless. - -The Lexington alarm thrilled him, as he heard the news on Lebanon green. - -He caught the spirit of the people, and as for Governor Trumbull, he -thought he was the “Lord” or almost a divinity. The Governor probably -used to give him rides when he met him in the way. The Governor did not -“whip behind.” - -When Peter had heard the news of the Lexington alarm, he said: - -“I must fly home now and tell uncle that.” - -It was a long way from the green to the cabin that Peter called “home.” - -He hurried home and lifted the latch, and met his uncle, who was -scowling. - -“What has happened now?” said the latter, seeing Peter had been -running. - -“A shot has been fired on the green.” - -“What, on Lebanon green?” gasped the old man in alarm. - -“No, on Lexington green.” - -“That doesn’t matter. Lexington green is so far off. Who fired the -shot? The regulars,” he added. - -“The young men at Lebanon are all enlisting. I wish I were old enough -to go!” - -“For what?” - -“To fight the British.” - -“What, the King?” - -“Yes.” - -“The King? Do I hear my ears, boy?” - -“Uncle?” - -“I am going to pull the latch-string, and out you go. Don’t talk back. -Do you hear? Out you go, and you may never be able to tell _all_ you -lose.” - -The boy half comprehended the hint, for he believed that his uncle had -money stored in the cellar, or in some secret place near the house. As -the latter would never let any one but himself go to the soap-barrel in -the cellar, the boy suspected the treasure might be there, or in the -ash-flue in the chimney. - -Young Peter turned white. - -Old Peter tugged his rheumatic body to the door, and turned. - -“I am going to pull the string, Peter.” - -To the boy the words sounded like a hangman’s summons. - -“Where shall I go, uncle?” - -“That is for you to say. I’ve got store enough, boy. Somebody will bury -me if I die. But the King, my King, he who goes against the King goes -against me. Who do you go for?” - -“The people.” - -“The people!” shrieked the old man. “Then _out_ you go; out!” - -“There is one house, uncle, whose doors are open to all people who have -no roof.” - -“Which one is that――the poorhouse?” - -“No, the Governor’s.” - -“That makes me mad――mad! I hate the Governor, and his’n and all! I can -live alone!” - -He pulled the latch-string and cried, in trumpet tone: - -“_Out!_” - -Peter went out into the open April air, into the wood. He went to the -Governor’s, and told him all, but in a way to shield the old man. - -“He is a little touched in mind,” said Peter, charitably. - -“You shall have a home with me, or mine,” said the Governor. “My -son-in-law over the way will employ you as a shepherd. If he doesn’t, -others will. And you can use the hills for a lookout, while you herd -sheep. Dennis will find work for you to do at times in his service. -Boy, perilous times are coming, and you have a true heart. I know your -heart; I can see it――I know your thoughts, and people who sow true -thoughts, reap true harvests. Don’t be down-hearted; you own the stars. -I will cover you.” He lifted his hand over him. - -“You won’t harm uncle for what I have said?” - -“No, no, I will not harm the old man for what you have said now. It is -better to change the heart of a man and make him your friend than to -seek to have revenge on him. He will turn to you some day, and perhaps -he will leave you his gold, for they say that he has gold stored away -somewhere. You have a heart of charity――I can see――as well as of truth. -Charity goes with honor. As long as you do right, nothing can happen to -you that you can not glorify.” - -Peter was made acquainted with Dennis by the Governor, who was a father -to all friendless children, and he was employed as a shepherd boy, on -the hills. - -The hills were lookouts now. - -People went to the old man to reprove him for his treatment of his -nephew, but he would only say: - -“I am cutting wood!” - -While he lived with his Tory uncle, Peter used to hear strange things -at night. - -The old man would get up, bar all the doors, light the bayberry candle, -and bring something like a leather bag to his table. - -Then he would talk to himself strangely. - -“_One_,” he would say, putting down something that rang hard on the -table. - -“_One_, if he stays with me, and is true to the King. - -“_Two._” - -There would follow a metallic sound. - -“_Two_, if he stays with me, and is loyal to the King. - -“_Three_, if he stays and is loyal. - -“_Four._ All for him when I go out, if only he is true.” - -Then the bag would jingle. Then would follow a rattling sound. - -“_Five_, _six_, _seven_, _eight_,” and so on, adding up to a hundred. -He seemed to be counting coin. - -Then there would be a sound of sweeping hands. Was he gathering up -coin――gold coin? Presently there would be sounds of chubby feet, and a -chest would seem to open, and the lid to close, and to be bolted. - -“All, all for him,” the old man would say, “if he only stays with me -and is loyal to the King, whose arms are like those of the lion and the -unicorn.” - -Then he would lie down, saying, “All for him,” and the house would -become still in the still world of the cedars. - -The boy wondered if “him” were the King, or if it were he, or some -unknown relative, or friend. He could hardly doubt that the old man had -treasure, and counted it at night, either for the King, or for himself. - -So now, often when the great moon shone on the cedars, he lay awake -and wondered what the old man meant. Had he missed a fortune by his -patriotic feeling? - -The words, “if he stays with me and is loyal to the King,” made him -think that the wood-chopper meant himself, or some unknown relative. - -But “if he stays with me” suggested himself so strongly, that he often -asked himself, if the hard old man really loved him and was carrying -out some vision for his welfare in his silent heart. - -Peter used to meet Brother Jonathan as the latter crossed the green, -which he did almost daily. The Governor was usually so absorbed in -thought that he did not seem to see the shining sun, or to hear the -birds singing; he lived in the cause. - -But when he met Peter he would stretch out his hand in the Quaker -manner, and look pleasant. To see the old man’s face light up was a joy -to the susceptible boy; it made him so happy as to make him alert the -rest of the day. - -One day as the two were crossing the green, in near ways, the Governor -suddenly said: - -“Let us _consider_ the matter: - -“My young man, for so you are before your time, I must have a clerk in -my store, and he must be no common clerk; he must be one that I can -trust, for he must do more than sell goods and barter; he must look out -for me, when I am in the back room, the war office; and he must be the -only one to enter the war-office room when the council is in session. -The council has met more than three hundred times now. And, Peter, -Peter of the hills, shepherd-boy, night-watch――my heart turns to you. -You must be my clerk――that is, to the people; meet customers, barter, -trade, sell; but to me, you must be the sentinel of the door of the war -office. Peter, I can see your soul; you will be true to me. I am an old -man; don’t say it, but I forget, when I have so many things to weigh -me down. You shall stand between the store and the war office, at the -counter, and I will give you the secret keys, and if any one must see -me, you must see about the matter. Peter, the Council of Safety is a -power behind the destiny of this nation. It is revealed to me so. Will -you come?” - -“Yes, yes, Governor. I live in my thoughts for you. Yes, yes, and I -will be as faithful as I can.” - -“Of course you will. Come right now. You may sleep in the store at -night. The drovers will tell you stories on the barrels. I can trust -you for everything. So I dismiss myself now――you are myself. Here is -the secret key. Don’t feel hurt if I do not speak to you much when you -see me. I live for the future, and must think, think, think.” - -The Governor went into the tavern, and Peter, with the secret key, went -to the store. The Governor had considered the matter. He used the word -_consider_ often. - -The Governor soon began to send almost all people who came to see him, -except the members of the council, to Peter. “Go to my clerk,” he would -say, “he will do the best he can for you.” - -Peter rose in public favor. Two plus two in him made five, as it does -in all growing people. He was more than a clerk. He was keen, hearty, -true. - -Peter received news from couriers for years. What news was reported -there――The battle of Long Island, the operations near New York, -Trenton, Princeton, Morristown, Burgoyne’s campaign, Brandywine, -Germantown, Monmouth, the southern campaign, the exploits of Green, and -hundreds, perhaps thousands, of incidents of the varying fortunes of -the war! - -The couriers, despatchmen, the wagoners, the drovers, came to the war -office and went. They multiplied. - -But the activity diminished as the army moved South. - -People gathered in the front store in the evenings to hear the news, -and often to wait for the news. They saw the members of the Council of -Safety come and go; and while the things that lay like weights in the -balance of the nation were there discussed, the men told tales on the -barrels that had come from the West Indies, or on the meal chests and -bins of vegetables. What queer tales they were! - -Let us spend an evening at the store, and listen to one of the old -Connecticut folk tales. - - * * * * * - -It is a winter night. The ice glares without in the moon, on the ponds -and cedars. There is an open fire in the store; in the window are -candy-jars; over the counter are candles on rods, and on the counter -are snuff-jars and tobacco. - -One of the old-time natural story-tellers sits on a rice-barrel; he -is a drover and stops at wayside inns, and knows the tales of the -inns, and especially the ghost-stories. Such stories did not frighten -Peter as they did Dennis, who was new to the country. Peter had become -hardened to them. - -Let us give you one of these peculiar old store stories that was told -on red settles, and that is like those which passed from settle to -settle throughout the colony. The speaker is a “grandfather.” - - -THE TREASURE DIGGER OF CAPE ANN - -“Oh, boys, let me smoke my pipe in peace. How the moon shines on the -snow, far, far away, down the sea! That makes me think of Captain Kidd. -Ah, he was a hard man, that same Captain Kidd, and he had a hard, hard -heart, if he was the son of a Scotch preacher.” - -Here the grandfather paused and shook his head. - -The pause made an atmosphere. The natural story-teller lowered his -voice, and the earth seemed to stand still as he said: - - “My name was Captain Kidd, - As I sailed, as I sailed, - My name was Captain Kidd, - As I sailed. - - “My name was Captain Kidd, - And wickedly I did, - God’s laws I did forbid, - As I sailed. - - “I murdered William Moore, - As I sailed, as I sailed, - And left him in his gore, - As I sailed. - - “I’d the Bible in my hand, - ’Twas my father’s last command, - But I sunk it in the sand, - As I sailed.” - -Here the old man paused, pressed down the tobacco in his pipe with a -quick movement of his forefinger, and shook his head twice, leaving the -impression that the said Captain Kidd was a very bad sea-rover. - -The room was still. You could hear the sparks shoot out; the -corn-sheller stopped in his work. The old maiden lady who had come in -for snuff touched the pepper pods: the air grew peppery, but no one -dared to sneeze. - -The old man bobbed up his head, as making an atmosphere for highly -wrought work of the imagination. - -“There was once an old couple,” he said, “who lived down on Cape Ann, -and beyond their cottage was a sandy dune, and on the dune there was a -thatch-patch. - -“They had grown old and were poor, and both thought that their lot had -been hard, and the old woman said to the old man: - -“‘It was you who made my life hard. I was once a girl, and what I might -have been no one knows. Ah me, ah me!’ - -“One fall morning the old man got up, and frisked around in an unusual -way. - -“‘What makes you so spry?’ asked the old woman. - -“‘I dreamed a dream last night in the morning.’ - -“‘And what did you dream?’ - -“‘I dreamed that Captain Kidd hid his treasure in an iron box under the -thatch-patch, right in the middle of the patch, where the shingle goes -round.’ - -“‘Then go out and dig. If you don’t, I will. Think what we might be, -if we could find that treasure. We might have a chariot like the -Pepperells, and fine horses like the Boston gentry, the Royalls, and -the Vassals.’ - -“‘But I can have the treasure only on one condition.’ - -“‘What is that?’ - -“‘I must not speak a word while I am digging.’ - -“‘That would be hard for you. Your mouth is always open, answering your -old wife back. I could dig without a word, now. Well, well, ah-a-me! If -you should dream that dream a second time, it would be a sign.’ - -“The next morning the old man got up spryer than before. He clattered -the shovel and the tongs. - -“‘Wife, wife, I dreamed the same dream again this morning.’ - -“‘Well, if you were to dream it a third time, it would be a -certainty――that is, if you could dig for the treasure without speaking -a word, which a woman of my sense and wit could do. Go and dig.’ - -“‘But the voice that came to me in my dream told me to dig at midnight, -at the rising of the moon.’ - -“That night as the great moon rose over the waters of Cape Ann, like -the sun, the old man took his hoe and hung on to it his clam-basket, -and put both of them over his shoulder. He went out of the door over -which the dry morning-glory vines were rattling. - -“‘Now, husband, you stop and listen to me,’ said the old wife. -‘Remember all the time that you are not to speak a word, else we will -have no chariot to ride past the Pepperells, nor cantering horses, -leaving the dust all in their eyes. Now, what are you to do?’ - -“‘Never to speak a word.’ - -“‘Under no surprise.’ - -“‘Not if the sea were to roar, nor the sky to fall, nor an earthquake -to uproot the hills, nor anything!’ - -“‘Well, you may go now, and when you return we will be richer than the -Governor himself. I have always been dreaming that such a day might -come to us as a sort of reward for all that we have suffered. But they -say that Captain Kidd tricks those who dig for his treasures. His ghost -appears to them. Never you fear if he lays hands on you.’ - -“The old man went down to the sea. The moon rose so fast that he could -see it rising. - -“The old couple had a black cat, a very sleek, fat little animal, which -lived much on the broken clams that the clam-diggers threw out of their -piles of bivalves at low tides. - -“When she saw that the old man was going down to the sea, she started -after him, with still feet――still, still. - -“The old man measured by his eye the center of the thatch-patch, and -dug into the tough roots of the thatch lustily. He became exhausted -at last and stopped to rest, looking up to the moon that glittered in -the autumn sea. He pushed the handle of the hoe down into the sand. It -struck something that sounded like iron. He felt sure of the treasure. - -“Suddenly he felt something rubbing against his leg. It was like a -hand. ‘Captain Kidd came back to disconcert me,’ thought he. ‘But -I will never speak a word,’ thought he silently, ‘not for the moon -herself, nor for a thousand moons.’ - -“The supposed hand again rubbed against his leg――still, still. - -“He turned his head very slowly and cautiously. He saw something move. -It was like a gloved hand. ‘Captain Kidd’s, sure,’ he thought, but did -not speak a word. The thing had still feet or hands. - -“He turned his head a little more and was humbled to discover that -it was not Captain Kidd’s hand at all, but only Tommy, purring and -purring――still, still. - -“His pride fell. He was disconcerted. No one can tell what he may do -when he finds a pirate’s ghost to be only the house cat, all so still. - -“There are some situations that take away all one’s senses, little -things, too. - -“He inclined his head more, so to be certain, when the truth was in an -instant revealed to him beyond a possibility of doubt, but everything -was still, still, still. - -“‘SCAT!’” - -The story-teller had been talking in a very low tone. He uttered the -last word with an explosive voice when he had caused all ears to be -strained. His hearers leaped at this electric ending of his Red Settle -Tale. - -He resumed his pipe, and merely added: - -“There are some things that human nature can not stand. When a man -finds out something to be nothing, for example, like the treasure -digger of Cape Ann.” - -After a long time, during which heart-beats became normal, some one -might venture to ask: - -“And what became of the old woman?” - -“Oh, after the old man spoke the sea roared and came rushing into the -thatch-patch and over it, and he and the cat ran, and I mind me that -that cat didn’t have much peace and comfort in the house after that.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE WAR OFFICE IN THE CEDARS――AN INDIAN TALE――INCIDENTS - - -The old war office at Lebanon, Conn., is still to be seen. That war -office is a relic room and a library now. The great cedars are gone -that once surrounded it, and the old Alden Tavern, which was enlivened -by colonial tales, and in later times by the queer Revolutionary tale -of the humiliation of the captured Prescott, has now left behind it the -borders of the village green. The ground where Washington reviewed the -army of Rochambeau is still held sacred, and near by rises the church -of the Revolution, and in a wind-swept New England graveyard, on the -hillside, in a crumbling tomb, sleeps Governor Trumbull, Washington’s -“Brother Jonathan,” whom the great leader of the soldier commoners used -to consult in every stress of the war. - -In the same lot of rude, mossy, zigzag headstones rests one of the -signers of the Declaration of Independence, William Williams, who -married Governor Trumbull’s daughter. - -This place of rare history stands apart from the main traveled roads. -To reach it, go to Willimantic, and take a branch railroad to Lebanon, -which town of hidden farms was so called from its cedars. - -What a wonder to a lover of history this place is! The farms, with -orchards, great barns and meadows, rise on the hill-slopes as beautiful -as they are thrifty. The town is some two or more miles from the -railroad, and the visitor wonders how a place that decided the greatest -events of history could have been left to primitive life, simplicity, -and country roads, amid all the industrial activities that circle round -it in near great factory towns. - -There may be seen the New England of old――the same bowery landscapes -and walls that the rugged farmers knew, who left their plows for -Bunker Hill, after the Lexington alarm. Putnam often rode over these -hills, and young John Trumbull, as we have shown, began his historical -pictures there. - -The little gambrel-roofed house called the war office, where the -greatest and most decisive events of the Revolution had their origin, -or support, was probably the country store of Governor Trumbull’s -father, and was erected near the beginning of the eighteenth century. - -Why did this little building gain this great importance, an importance -greater than any other, except, perhaps, the old State House, Boston, -and Independence Hall, Philadelphia? Let us repeat some facts for -clearness. - -Lebanon of the cedars lay on the direct road to Boston, and was -connected with the principal Connecticut towns. There was sounded the -Lexington alarm. The Connecticut Assembly delegated great powers to a -committee of public safety. Governor Trumbull, who was the leading -spirit of it, and three other members, resided in Lebanon, and held the -early sessions of the committee there. This committee continued its -sessions here during the war. - -The house occupied by Governor Trumbull still stands, as we have said, -but the tavern is gone. - -[Illustration: “Brother Jonathan’s” war office and residence in -Lebanon, Connecticut.] - -The writer dined in the house a few months before beginning this story, -and was shown the part of the house where the alarm-post, as we call -the guard’s room, and overlook, were. - -We give a picture of this most interesting house, one of the most -significant in the country. The spirit of the Revolution dwelt there, -and from this place it exercised a wonderful but unseen power. - -The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the winter of -1890–’91 made provision for the preservation of the war office, as a -notable relic of the Revolution. - -The building was repaired. The oak framework was found to be sound, -and the decayed sills were replaced by new timber, and the chimney -was restored and furnished with colonial firepieces from old houses -in Lebanon. Andirons made in the Revolution, old iron cranes, and -primitive utensils were brought to the council room, and the place of -the meetings of the Committee of Public Safety was thus made to resume -the aspect of a bygone age of the farmer heroes. - -The celebration of the restoration of the war office by the Sons of -the Revolution took place May 14, 1891, on Flag-day, when there -waved a flag with the motto of “Brother Jonathan” in company with the -Star-Spangled Banner. - -On that occasion the modern American flag was raised over the old war -office for the first time, where - - Jonathan Trumbull never failed - In his store on Lebanon Hill. - -Jonathan Trumbull has well been called the Cedar of Lebanon. The story -of his early life is that of one of nature’s independent noblemen, -than which no title is higher. His own brains and hands caused him to -be a powerful influence; he made character, and character made him; -he became poor, but nothing lives but righteousness, and character is -everything. - -The origin of his family name is interesting. - -A Scottish king was out hunting, and was attacked by a bull. A young -peasant threw himself before the king, twisted the bull’s horns, and -saved the king’s life. The king gave him the name of “Turnbull,” with -a coat of arms and the motto, _Fortuna favet audaci_. Hence the name -Trumbull. - -The wife of Trumbull, as we have shown, came from a family equally -noble. She was the great-granddaughter of Robinson of Leyden, the -patriarch of the church of the Pilgrim Fathers in Holland. It was he -who said to the Pilgrims on their departure: “Go ye forth into the -wilderness, and new light shall break forth from the Word.” - -He had intended to follow the Pilgrims to America, but died in Holland. - -Jonathan Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Conn., 1710. He was a successful -trader at sea for a time; he then lost his ships and property and -became a poor man, when he was called into the public service, and from -that time devoted himself to patriotic duties, without any thought of -poverty or riches, but only to fulfil the duties into which he had been -called. He lived not for himself, but for others; not for the present, -but for the future; he forgot himself, and it was fame. - -His son, John Trumbull, the famous historical painter, pictures by -anecdotes some of the scenes of his early home. Among these incidents -is the following story, which carries its own lesson: - - -AN INDIAN TALE - -“At the age of nine or ten a circumstance occurred which deserves to -be written on adamant. In the wars of New England with the aborigines, -the Mohegan tribe of Indians early became friends of the English. -Their favorite ground was on the banks of the river (now the Thames) -between New London and Norwich. A small remnant of the Mohegans still -exists, and they are sacredly protected in the possession and enjoyment -of their favorite domain on the banks of the Thames. The government -of this tribe had become hereditary in the family of the celebrated -chief Uncas. During the time of my father’s mercantile prosperity he -had employed several Indians of this tribe in hunting animals, whose -skins were valuable for their fur. Among these hunters was one named -Zachary, of the royal race, an excellent hunter, but as drunken and -worthless an Indian as ever lived. When he had somewhat passed the age -of fifty, several members of the royal family who stood between Zachary -and the throne of his tribe died, and he found himself with only one -life between him and empire. In this moment his better genius resumed -its sway, and he reflected seriously. ‘How can such a drunken wretch as -I am aspire to be the chief of this honorable race――what will my people -say――and how will the shades of my noble ancestors look down indignant -upon such a base successor? Can I succeed to the great Uncas? I will -drink no more!’ He solemnly resolved never again to taste any drink but -water, and he kept his resolution. - -“I had heard this story, and did not entirely believe it; for young as -I was, I already partook in the prevailing contempt for Indians. In the -beginning of May, the annual election of the principal officers of the -(then) colony was held at Hartford, the capital. My father attended -officially, and it was customary for the chief of the Mohegans also to -attend. - -“Zachary had succeeded to the rule of his tribe. My father’s house was -situated about midway on the road between Mohegan and Hartford, and the -old chief was in the habit of coming a few days before the election -and dining with his brother governor. One day the mischievous thought -struck me, to try the sincerity of the old man’s temperance. The family -were seated at dinner, and there was excellent home-brewed beer on the -table. I addressed the old chief: ‘Zachary, this beer is excellent; -will you taste it?’ The old man dropped his knife and fork, leaning -forward with a stern intensity of expression; his black eye, sparkling -with indignation, was fixed on me. ‘John,’ said he, ‘you do not know -what you are doing. You are serving the devil, boy! Do you not know -that I am an Indian? I tell you that I am, and that, if I should but -taste your beer, I could never stop until I got to rum, and became -again the drunken, contemptible wretch your father remembers me to have -been. _John, while you live never again tempt any man to break a good -resolution._’ - -“Socrates never uttered a more valuable precept; Demosthenes could not -have given it in more solemn tones of eloquence. I was thunderstruck. -My parents were deeply affected; they looked at each other, at me, and -at the venerable old Indian, with deep feelings of awe and respect. -They afterward frequently reminded me of the scene, and charged me -never to forget it. - -“Zachary lived to pass the age of eighty, and sacredly kept his -resolution. He lies buried in the royal burial-place of his tribe, near -the beautiful falls of the Yantic, the western branch of the Thames, in -Norwich, on land now owned by my friend, Calvin Goddard, Esq. I visited -the grave of the old chief lately, and there repeated to myself his -inestimable lesson.” - -Mr. Trumbull, the painter, also thus pictures his own youth, and what a -character it presents in the studies he made, and the books he read! - -“About this time, when I was nine or ten years old, my father’s -mercantile failure took place. He had been for years a successful -merchant, and looked forward to an old age of ease and affluence; but -in one season almost every vessel, and all the property which he had -upon the ocean, was swept away, and he was a poor man at so late a -period of life as left no hope of retrieving his affairs. - -“My eldest brother was involved in the wreck as a partner, which -rendered the condition of the family utterly hopeless. My mother and -sisters were deeply afflicted, and although I was too young clearly -to comprehend the cause, yet sympathy led me too to droop. My bodily -health was frail, for the sufferings of early youth had left their -impress on my constitution, and although my mind was clear and the -body active, it was never strong. I therefore seldom joined my little -schoolfellows in plays or exercises of an athletic kind, for there I -was almost sure to be vanquished; and by degrees acquired new fondness -for drawing, in which I stood unrivaled. Thus I gradually contracted a -solitary habit, and after school hours frequently withdrew to my own -room to a close study of my favorite pursuit. - -“Such was my character at the time of my father’s failure, and this -added gloomy feelings to my love of solitude. I became silent, -diffident, bashful, awkward in society, and took refuge in still closer -application to my books and my drawing. - -“The want of pocket-money prevented me from joining my young companions -in any of those little expensive frolics which often lead to future -dissipation, and thus became a blessing; and my good master Tisdale had -the wisdom so to vary my studies as to render them rather a pleasure -than a task. Thus I went forward, without interruption, and at the age -of twelve might have been admitted to enter college; for I had then -read Eutropius, Cornelius Nepos, Virgil, Cicero, Horace, and Juvenal -in Latin; the Greek Testament and Homer’s Iliad in Greek, and was -thoroughly versed in geography, ancient and modern, in studying which -I had the advantage (then rare) of a twenty-inch globe. I had also -read with care Rollin’s History of Ancient Nations; also his History -of the Roman Republic; Mr. Crevier’s continuation of the History of -the Emperors, and Rollin’s Arts and Sciences of the Ancient Nations. -In arithmetic alone I met an awful stumbling-block. I became puzzled -by a sum in division, where the divisor consisted of three figures. I -could not comprehend the rule for ascertaining how many times it was -contained in the dividend; my mind seemed to come to a dead stand; my -master would not assist me, and forbade the boys to do it, so that I -well recollect the question stood on my slate unsolved nearly three -months, to my extreme mortification. - -“At length the solution seemed to flash upon my mind at once, and I -went forward without further let or hindrance through the ordinary -course of fractions, vulgar and decimal, surveying, trigonometry, -geometry, navigation, etc., so that when I had reached the age of -fifteen and a half years, it was stated by my good master that he -could teach me little more, and that I was fully qualified to enter -Harvard College in the middle of the third or junior year. This was -approved by my father, and proposed to me. In the meantime my fondness -for painting had grown with my growth, and in reading of the arts -of antiquity I had become familiar with the names of Phidias and -Praxiteles, of Zeuxis and Apelles.” - -This son, who began his great career as an historical painter by -drawing pictures in sand on the floor, after the manner we have shown, -as he grew older and had seen Europe, determined to follow his genius. -The young man gives us the following view of his father, a lovely -picture in itself: - -“My father urged me to study the law as the profession which in a -republic leads to all emolument and distinction, and for which my -early education had well prepared me. My reply was that, so far as I -understood the question, law was rendered necessary by the vices of -mankind; that I had already seen too much of them willingly to devote -my life to a profession which would keep me perpetually involved either -in the defense of innocence against fraud and injustice, or (what was -much more revolting to an ingenuous mind) to the protection of guilt -against just and merited punishment. In short, I pined for the arts, -again entered into an elaborate defense of my predilection, and again -dwelt upon the honors paid to artists in the glorious days of Greece -and Athens. My father listened patiently, and when I had finished he -complimented me upon the able manner in which I had defended what to -him still appeared to be a bad cause. - -“‘I had confirmed his opinion,’ he said, ‘that with proper study I -should make a respectable lawyer; but,’ added he, ‘you must give me -leave to say that you appear to have overlooked, or forgotten, one very -important point in your case.’ ‘Pray, sir,’ I rejoined, ‘what was -that?’ ‘You appear to forget, sir, that _Connecticut is not Athens_’; -and with this pithy remark he bowed and withdrew, and never more -opened his lips upon the subject. How often have those few impressive -words occurred to my memory――‘Connecticut is not Athens!’ The decision -was made in favor of the arts. I closed all other business, and in -December, 1783, embarked at Portsmouth, N. H., for London.” - -He could begin to make Connecticut like Athens by his own work. - -Queer tales they told “grave people” at the ordinaries, and inns, and -at the store of the war office. - -The New England mind in the colonial period saw no chariots of angels -in the air, and heard no rustlings of angels’ wings, like the ancient -Hebrews, and looked for no goddesses, like the Greeks and Romans. Ugly -hags and witches, “grave people” in winding-sheets, scared folks in a -cowardly manner in lonely highways and hidden byways; bad people who -died with restless consciences came forth from their “earthly beds” to -make startling confessions to the living. It was a time of terror, of -people fleeing from persecutions, and of Indian hostilities. Let us -have another old-time store story, to picture the social life of those -decisive times. - -It was the beginning of the days of the “drovers,” when our tale was -told, such drovers as used to go wandering over New England in the fall -and spring, selling cattle, or trading in cattle, with the farmers by -the way. - -It was fall. Maples flamed; the grape-leaves turned yellow around the -purple clusters that hung over the walls; the fringed gentians lined -the brooks; the cranberries reddened; the birds gathered in flocks; the -blue jays trumpeted, and the crows cawed. Great stacks of corn filled -the corners of the husking-fields. - -The drovers came to the valleys of the Connecticut and to the Berkshire -Hills, and rested at last with full purses at the Plainfield Inn. - -In the inn lived an aunt of the innkeeper, a Quaker woman by the name -of Eunice. - -There was a young drover named Mordecai, who was all imagination, -eyes and ears. He seemed to be so earnest to learn everything that -he attracted the notice of Eunice, and she said to him on one of his -annual visits: - -“Mordecai, and who may thy father be?” - -“Gone――gone with the winds. That’s him.” - -“And thy mother?” - -“Gone――gone after him. That’s her. Where do you suppose they are?” - -“Did they leave anything?” - -“Left all they had.” - -“And how much was that, Mordecai?” - -“The earth――all.” - -“And thou wert left all alone. I pity thee, Mordecai.” - -Now, Quaker Eunice knit. She not only knit stockings and garters, but -comforters for the neck, and gallows, as suspenders for trousers were -then called. The latter were called _galluses_. She did not knit these -useful and convenient articles for her own people alone, but for those -who most needed them. - -When serene Aunt Eunice saw how friendless the drover boy Mordecai -was, her benevolent heart quickened, and she resolved to knit for him -a comforter of many bright colors, a yard long, and a pair of gallows -of stout twine, to give him on his return another year, when the cattle -traders should come down from Boston. It took time to fabricate these -high-art treasures of many kinds and colors. So when Mordecai was -leaving the inn this year, she called after him: - -“Mordecai, thee halt in thy goings.” - -Mordecai looked back. - -“Boy, thee has no mother to look after thee now, except from the -spirit-world. I am going to knit a comforter for thee that will go -around thy neck three times and hang down at that. I will set the -dye-pot and dye the wool――the ash-barrel is almost full now. And thee -listen. I am going to knit a pair of gallows for thee――――” - -The boy’s eyes dilated. He had never heard the word used before except -for the cords that hung pirates on the green isle in Boston harbor. Did -she expect him to be hung? - -“I will knit the gallows stout and strong, so that they will hold. But -I must not tell thee all about it now――thee shall know all another -year, after killing-time, in the Indian summer, when the wich-hazels -that bloom in the fall are in flower.” - -Mordecai, who had been filled with New England superstitions by the -drovers’ tales in the country inns, stood with open mouth, when Aunt -Eunice added: - -“I am going to put a new invention on those gallows; it will prove a -surprise to thee.” - -It did. - -The boy Mordecai passed a year in wonder at what the zigzag journey to -hill towns at the west of the State would bring him in the holiday or -rest seasons of the fall. He wandered with the drovers to the towns -around Boston, and on the Charles and “Merrimack,” trading and selling -cattle, and “putting up” at the inns by the way, he himself sleeping in -the barns, under the swallows’ nests. - -They were merry merchantmen, the drovers. Whittier describes them in -a poem. Their cattle trades had a dialect of its own, and there was -an unwritten law that “all was fair in trade,” to which “honorable -dishonesty” clear-minded Aunt Eunice made objection, and against which -she “delivered exhortations.” - -Some of these merry rovers used a boy to help them in tricks of -trade――to shorten the age of cattle, and the time when the latter were -“broke,” and like matters. - -One day in the spring tradings a Quaker on one of the Salem farms said -to Mordecai: - -“Boy, thee must never let thy tongue slip an untruth, or thee will come -to the gallows.” - -The next year the drovers and Mordecai took their annual journey from -Cambridge to Springfield and eastern Connecticut, and stopped at the -Plainfield Inn. - -The trees flamed with autumnal splendors again; the sun seemed burning -in the air, now with a clear flame, now with a smoky haze; there were -great corn harvests everywhere. The twilight and early evening hours -were still. The voices on the farms echoed――those of the huskers, and -of the boys driving the oxen, with carts loaded with corn. The hunters’ -moon that rose over the hills like a night sun lengthened out the day. - -They went on slowly, and so allowing their cattle to graze on the -succulent grasses by the roadside, and to fatten, and become lazy. - -They rested at great farmhouses, bartering and selling as long as the -light of the day lasted, and telling awful tales of the Indian wars and -old Salem witchcraft days later in the evening. - -Some of the drovers’ stories were awful indeed. One of them concerned -the “Miller of Durham.” The said miller used to remain in his mill -late in the evening alone. One night he was startled by the dripping -of water inside of the mill-house. He turned from the hopper, and saw -there a woman, with five bloody wounds, and wet garments, and wide eyes. - -“Miller of Durham,” she said, “you must avenge me, or I will haunt the -mill. You will find my body in the well in the abandoned coal-pit. -Mattox killed me――he knows why.” - -The miller knew Mattox, and he saw that the woman had a familiar look, -and had probably been employed on the farm of the accused man, who -was a prosperous farmer. He resolved to conceal the appearance of the -accusing ghost. But the apparition followed him, and so made his life -a terror that he went perforce to a magistrate and made confession. The -woman’s body, with five wounds, was found in the well of the coal-pit, -and Mattox was accused of the murder, tried, condemned, and executed. -The story was a true one, but it was an old one. The events occurred in -England on a moor. - -The boy Mordecai listened to these inn tales at first with a clear -conscience, and he felt secure, for he had been taught that innocence -renders “apparitions” harmless; but after a time his moral condition -changed, and his fears were aroused, and they grew into terrors. - -For one day, as the lively cattle-owner was driving a bargain with a -rich farmer under some great elms that rose like hills of greenery by -the roadside, he declared that a certain cow had given fifteen quarts -of milk a day during the summer, and had said, “There is the boy that -milked her――the boy Mordecai, he of the Old Testament name. Speak up, -Mordecai. You milked her, didn’t you, now?” - -Mordecai stood silent. The cow had given some eight or ten quarts of -milk a day. - -“He can’t deny that he milked her,” said the bantering trader. - -“And did she give fifteen quarts of milk regularly during the summer, -boy?” asked the farmer. - -“I did not measure the milk myself,” said the boy. “The boss did that.” - -“That was I, or rather my wife,” said the drover. - -Mordecai’s conscience began to be disturbed, and disturbed consciences -are the stuff out of which ghosts grow. - -At the next inn, in the lovely Connecticut valley, a still more -terrible story was told. A forest tavern-keeper, after this tale, had -trained a huge mastiff to drown his rich guests in a pond in a wood -at the back of the tavern. The strong dog had been bought of a drover -named Bonny, who had treated him kindly. Years passed, and the same -Mr. Bonny visited the inn, and was recognized by the dog, but not by -the tavern-keeper. The latter invited Mr. Bonny to go with him to the -trout-pond in the wood, and while they were on the margin of the pond -he suddenly whistled to his mastiff as a signal. The dog whined and -howled and ran around in a circle. - -“Why don’t you do as you always do?” exclaimed the tavern-keeper to the -dog in anger. - -The dog’s eyes blazed; he leaped upon his master and dragged him into -the pond. But his master in his struggles drowned the mastiff. Mr. -Bonny witnessed the scene in horror, and seeing what it meant――for -several rich drovers had disappeared from the inn and had never been -heard of again――he determined to conceal the matter, as the crime could -not be repeated. But the dead dog howled nights, and so drew people to -the pond, and disclosed the crime. - -“Life,” said the story-teller, “is self-revealing: everything is found -out at last. The stars in their courses fight against a liar!” - -The inward eyes of Mordecai now began to expect to see “sights.” The -boy’s conscience burned. He had the ghost atmosphere. - -The next time that the lusty drover tried to sell the cow that had -given “fifteen quarts of milk a day” he declared that she had given -sixteen quarts, and called the milker as before to witness the -statement. - -“You milked her?” he asked. - -“Yes; but you measured the milk,” said Mordecai. - -“So I did,” said the drover in an absent tone in which was the usual -false note, “so I did. I remember now. But you used to milk her.” - -“Yes,” faltered the boy, feeling that the heavens were likely to fall -or the earth to cave in. - -The story at the next inn, near Pittsfield, on the Albany way, outdid -all the rest. A man who had robbed his neighbors by deception, after -this story, had been followed nights by the clanking of an invisible -chain. A neighbor whom he had ruined died, and after that the clankings -of the “invisible chain” began to be heard in his bedchamber. If he ran -down-stairs they followed him, clank, clank, clank, on the oak steps, -and out into the garden. - -Mordecai could fancy it all: the man running half-crazed down the oak -stairs, with the invisible chain clanking behind him. - -When the drover next tried to sell that cow he declared that she had -given “eighteen quarts of milk a day,” to which he called Mordecai to -witness. The boy gasped “Yes” to the question if he had milked her -regularly, but he seemed to hear the clanking of the invisible chain as -he acted his part for the last time. The wonderful cow was sold. - -In this state of mind Mordecai came to the Plainfield Inn, and again -met there the serene and truthful Aunt Eunice. - -“I’ve kept my promise that I made to thee a year ago,” said the -sympathetic woman, “gallows and all. The dyestuff took, and the colors -of the comforter are real pretty. Thee looks troubled.” - -Near midnight the foresticks in the fireplace broke and fell, and the -men went to their rooms. - -“Thee will sleep in the cockloft,” said Aunt Eunice to Mordecai, “but -before thee goes up let me sew some buttons on thy trousers for the -gallows [galluses]. Stand up by me; I have some stout thread for the -purpose.” - -Mordecai took off his jacket and loosened his belt, and Aunt Eunice -sewed on the buttons as he stood beside her. She then attached the -gallows to the back buttons, leaving them otherwise free for him to -button on in front in the morning. - -“See here, Mordecai,” she said. “These are no common gallows. I’ve put -buckles on them――buckles that my grandfather wore in the Indian wars. -These are wonderful buckles. If the gallows are too long, thee can -h’ist them up, so; if they are then too short, thee can let them out -again, so.” - -Now, when Mordecai saw that the gallows had no connection with hanging -he felt happy, and he went up to the cockloft, candle in hand. - -“Be careful and not let the buckles drag upon the floor, Mordecai,” -were the good woman’s last words as she saw the boy disappear with the -light, holding the wonderful suspenders in his hand. - -Mordecai could not sleep. The cockloft did not look right, did not -fulfil his moral ideal. The great moon rose over the hills and flooded -the valley with white light. He began to think of the three acted -lies of which he had been a part. The cow that had given “fifteen,” -“sixteen,” “seventeen,” “eighteen” quarts of milk a day had been -sold――what if the purchaser should commit suicide? - -At midnight he heard a cry out in the field. - -“Hello! that steer is out and is at the corn-stack!” - -The voice was that of a drover. Mordecai felt that he should get up and -go to the corn-stack and help impound the steer. - -He forgot the gallows, so they hung down to the floor behind him after -he had dressed. He tried to light the candle after the old slow way, -for the ladder to the cockloft was “poky,” when he heard something -clink behind him. He turned around, when an iron hoof seemed to follow -him around, clink, clink, clink. The sound was not alarming or vengeful -or in a way terrible, but to his imagination it shook the roof. - -He whirled around again. - -Clink, clink! - -Again. - -Clink! - -His heart seemed bursting, his brain to be on fire. He rushed toward -the ladder and the “thing” followed him. He attempted to go down the -ladder, but after some steps the “thing” held him back, when he -uttered a cry that shook the whole tavern and made the people leap from -their beds. - -“Hel-up! Hel-up! Let go! Let go!” - -The landlord came running, and saw the situation. - -“I never thought that you would come to the gallows,” said he, “but you -have!” - -“All the powers have mercy on me now!” cried Mordecai. “But I’ll -confess. Will you let me go if I confess?” - -“Yes, yes,” said the landlord. “What have you on your mind?” - -The drovers came running in. - -“That cow didn’t give no fifteen quarts. I connived. The drover put me -up to it――the Lord of massy, what will become of his soul? I’ll never -connive again!” - -Then said the landlord: - -“I’ll have to let you go.” - -He unloosened the “galluses,” which had wound around a rung in the -ladder, and Mordecai kept his conscience clear even in cattle trade -ever after. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE DECISIVE DAY OF BROTHER JONATHAN’S LIFE - - -Before we leave this part of our subject we should study the event that -made the great character of the Governor. - -All lives have decisive days. Such a day determined the great destiny -of Jonathan Trumbull. - -The stamp act had been passed in Parliament, by which a stamp duty -was imposed upon all American paper that should be used to transact -business and upon articles essential to life. Persons were to be -appointed to sell stamps for the purpose. This was taxation without -representation in Parliament, and was regarded as tyranny in America. - -All persons holding office under England were required to make oath -that they would support the stamp duty. Among these were the Governor -of Connecticut and his ten councilors, and one of these councilors at -that time was Jonathan Trumbull. - -The day arrived on which the Governor, whose name was Fitch, and his -councilors assembled to take the oath or to resign their commissions. - -“I am ready to be sworn,” said the then Governor. “The sovereignty of -England demands it. Are you all ready?” - -There was a grave silence. - -Jonathan Trumbull rose. - -“The stamp act,” said he, “is a derogation of the chartered rights of -the colony. It takes away our freedom. The power that can tax us as -it pleases can govern us as it pleases. The stamp act takes away our -liberties and robs us of everything. It makes us slaves and can reduce -us to poverty. I can not take the oath.” - -“But,” said the royal Governor, “the officers of his Majesty must obey -his commands or not hold his commissions. For you to refuse to be sworn -is contempt of Parliament. The King’s displeasure is fatal. Gentlemen, -I am ready for the oath, and I ask that it be now administered to me.” - -The Governors of all the provinces except Rhode Island had taken the -oath. Even Franklin and Otis and Richard Henry Lee had decided to -submit to the act of unrestrained tyranny. They thought it politic to -do so. - -But Trumbull’s conscience rose supreme over every argument and -consideration. In conscience he was strong, as any one may be. - -“I _can not_ take the oath,” said Trumbull. “Let Parliament do -its worst, and its armies and navies thunder. I will not violate -my provincial oath, which I deem to be right. I will be true to -Connecticut, and to the liberties of man. You have sworn by the awful -name of Almighty God to be true to the rights of this colony. I have so -sworn, and that oath will I keep.” - -It was near the close of the day. The red sun was setting, casting -his glimmering splendors over the pines. The oath was about to be -administered by the royal Governor. - -Jonathan Trumbull rose up among the councilors. His soul had arisen to -a sublime height, and despised all human penalties or martyrs’ fires. - -His intense eyes bespoke the thoughts that were burning within him. - -He did not speak. He was about to make his conduct more eloquent than -words. - -He seized his tricornered hat, and gave back a look that said, “I will -not disgrace myself by witnessing such a ceremony of degradation.” He -moved toward the door. - -His every motion betokened his self-command, his soul value, his -uncompromising obedience to the law of right. Erect, austere, he -retreated from the shadow of the room, into the burning light of the -sunset. - -He closed the door behind him, and breathed his native air. - -Six of the councilors followed him――six patriot seceders. - -That was a notable day for liberty: it made Trumbull a power, though he -could not see it. - -The people upheld Trumbull. At the next election they cast out of -office the Governor and those of his councilors who had received the -oath, and Connecticut was free. - -In a short time the people made Jonathan Trumbull, who risked all by -leaving the room at the dusk of that decisive day, their Governor, and -they continued him in office until his hair turned white, and he heard -the town bells all ringing for the independence and peace of America. - -Had his act cost him his life he would have done the same. He would -have owned his soul. Honor to him was more than life―― - - My life and honor both together run; - Take honor from me and my life is done. - -When “Brother Jonathan” returned to Lebanon he was greeted by all -hearts. The rugged farmers gathered on the green around him with lifted -hats. The children hailed him, even the Indian children. The dogs -barked, and when the bell rang out, it rang true to his ears; for him -forever the bell of life rang true. - -But his life was forfeited to the Crown. What of that? His soul was -safe in the Almighty, and he slept in peace, lulled to rest by the -whispering cedars. So began the great public career of Trumbull. He was -chosen Lieutenant-Governor in 1766, and Governor in 1769. - -He was made the chairman of the Connecticut Council of Public Safety, -which met at his war office, which at first was a protected room in his -little store. His biographer, Stuart, thus gives us glimpses of this -busy place: - -“Within that ‘war office,’ with its old-fashioned ‘hipped’ roof and -central chimney-stack, he met his Council of Safety during almost -the entire period of the war. Here he received commissaries and -sub-commissaries, many in number, to devise and talk over the means of -supply for our armies. From hence started, from time to time during the -war, besides those teams to which we have just alluded, numerous other -long trains of wagons, loaded with provisions for our forces at the -East, the West, the North, and the South; and around this spot――from -the fields and farmyards of agricultural Lebanon and its vicinity――was -begun the collection of many a herd of fat cattle, that were driven -even to the far North around Lake George and Lake Champlain, and to the -far distant banks of the Delaware and the Schuylkill, as well as to -neighboring Massachusetts and the banks of the Hudson. - -“Here was the point of arrival and departure for numberless messengers -and expresses that shot, in every direction, to and from the scenes of -revolutionary strife. Narragansett ponies, of extraordinary fleetness -and astonishing endurance――worthy such governmental post-riders as -the tireless Jesse Brown, the ‘alert Samuel Hunt,’ and the ‘flying -Fessenden,’ as the latter was called――stood hitched, we have heard, at -the posts and palings around, or by the Governor’s house, or at the -dwelling of his son-in-law Williams, ready, on any emergency of danger, -to fly with advices, in any desired direction, on the wings of the -wind. The marks of the spurs of the horsemen thus employed were but a -few years back visible within the building――all along upon the sides -of the counters upon which they sat, waiting to receive the Governor’s -orders. - -“So we find him during the period now under consideration (1775), -executing in person the business of furnishing troops, and of procuring -and forwarding supplies――now flour, particularly from Norwich; now, -from various quarters, beef and pork; now blankets; now arms; but -especially, at all times, whenever and wherever he could procure it, -powder, the manufacture of which vital commodity he stimulated through -committees appointed to collect saltpeter in every part of the State. -‘The necessities of the army are so great’ for this article, wrote -Washington to him almost constantly at this time, ‘that all that can -be spared should be forwarded with the utmost expedition.’――‘Soon as -your expected supply of powder arrives,’ wrote his son-in-law, Colonel -Huntington, from Cambridge, August 14th, ‘I imagine General Putnam -will kick up a dust. He has got one floating battery launched, and -another on the stocks.’ The powder was sent――at one time six large -wagon-loads, and at the same time two more for New York, on account of -an expected attack in that direction. ‘Our medicine-chests will soon be -exhausted,’ wrote Huntington at the same time. The medicine-chests were -replenished. And before September Trumbull had so completely drained -his own State of the materials for war that he was obliged to write to -Washington and inform him that he could not then afford any more.” - -In these thrilling days the people awaited the news upon the village -green. - -The village green of Lebanon! Across it the old war Governor walked a -thousand times to attend meetings at the office in the interests of the -State and the welfare of man. A monument to him should arise there. - -The village greens of New England were fields of the highest -patriotism, and their history would be a glorious record. The church -spires rose over them; the schoolhouse bells; and on them or in a -hall near them the folkmotes were held. These town meetings were the -suggestions of republican government and the patterns of the great -republic. - -How the words “Brother Jonathan,” that became the characteristic name -of the nation, reached the ears of Washington at Cambridge we do not -know. It became the nickname――the name that bespoke character to the -army through Washington. It will always live. - -How did the people of Lebanon among the cedars come to give that -name to the great judge, assistant, and governor that rose among -them? In his official life he was so dignified and used such strong -Latin-derived words to express his thoughts that one could hardly have -suspected a Roger de Coverley behind the courtly dressed man and his -well-weighed speech. He was an American knight. - -But in his private life he was as delightful as a veritable Roger -de Coverley, even if he did not fall asleep in church. The true -character of an old New Englander was in him. He loved his neighbors -as his own self with a most generous and sympathetic love. No tale of -knight-errantry could be more charming than that of the life he led -among his own folk in Lebanon. - -He probably studied medicine that he might doctor the poor. Were any -poor man sick, he sent another in haste to consult Brother Jonathan; -and Brother Jonathan, in gig, and possibly in wig, with his greatcoat -in winter, and vials, and probably snuff-box, and all, hurried to the -sick-bed. - -He carried the medicine of medicine with him in his heart, which was -that of hope and cheer. Whatever other doctors might say, he often -said: “I have seen sicker men than you recover; you may get well if you -only look up; it is the spiritual that heals, and the Lord is good to -all.” - -He always asserted that the unspiritual perishes; that that truth was -not only the Bible and the sermon, but that it was law. He had charity -for all men, and he made it the first condition of healing that one -should repent of his sins. So he prayed with the sick, and the sick -people whom he visited often found a new nature rising up within them. -The sick poor always remembered the prescriptions of Brother Jonathan. - -He was an astronomer and made his own almanacs. If any one was in doubt -as to what the weather was likely to be, he went to Brother Jonathan. - -The cattlemen and sheep-raisers came to him for advice. Did a poor cow -fall sick, she too found a friend in Brother Jonathan. - -He would have given away his hat off his head had it not been a cocked -one, had he found a poor man with his head uncovered. - -He gave his fire to those who needed it on cold days. - -There had been established a school in Lebanon for the education -of Indian children for missionaries. His heart went into it; of -course it did. When he was yet rich――a merchant worth nearly $100,000 -(£18,000)――he made a subscription to schools; but when ship after ship -was lost by the stress of war and other causes, and he became poor, he -hardly knew how to pay his school subscriptions, so he mortgaged two of -his farms. - -“I will pay my debts,” he said, “if it takes a lifetime.” And none -doubted the word of Brother Jonathan. - -The people all pitied him when he lost his property, and came to say -that they were sorry for him when he partly failed, and their hearts -showed him a new world, and made him love every one more than before. - -Great thanksgivings they used to have in his perpendicular house among -the green cedars, and the stories that were told by Madam Trumbull and -her friends expressed the very heart of old New England days. - -What people may have been there that afterward came to tower aloft, and -some of them to move the world! Samuel Occum may have been there, the -Indian who moved London; Brant may have been there, whose name became -a terror in the Connecticut Colony in the Wyoming Valley, and whom the -poet Campbell falsely associates with the tragedies of Wyoming. - -The old church stood by the green; it stands there now. In it Governor -Trumbull’s stately proclamations were read; there probably the -Declaration of Independence was proclaimed. - -Thanksgiving――what stories like Christmas tales of to-day used to be -told by long log fires after the church and the dinner, which latter -exhibited all the products of the fields and woods! A favorite story -concerned people who were frightened by ghosts that were not ghosts. - -Let us give one of these stories that pictures the heart and -superstition of old New England and also one of Connecticut’s -handicrafts. For the clock-cleaner was a notable story-teller in those -old days. He cleaned family clocks and oiled them, sometimes with -walnut oil. He usually remained overnight at a farmhouse or inn, and -related stories of clocks wherever he found a clock to clean. - -These Connecticut clock stories in Brother Jonathan’s day were -peculiar, for clocks were supposed to be family oracles――to stop to -give warning of danger, and to stop, as arrested by an invisible hand, -on the approach of death. - -Curious people would gather at the war office when the wandering -clock-cleaner appeared upon the green. The time-regulator was sure to -tell stories at the Alden Tavern or at the war office, and usually at -the latter. Men with spurs would sit along the counter, and dig their -spurs into the wood, under excitement, as the clock tale was unfolded: -how that the family clock stopped and the Nestor of the family died, -and the oldest son went out and told the bees in their straw hives. - -Peter the outcast had an ear for these many tales while about his -work, and Dennis O’Hay was often found on the top of a barrel at these -gatherings. - -Dennis heard these New England tales with increasing terror. There -were supposed to be fairies in the land from which he came――fairy -shoemakers, who brought good to people and eluded their hand-grasp. He -became so filled with the “signs” and superstitions of the people that -once, when he met a white rabbit, he thought it was a rabbit turned -into a ghost, and he ran back from the woods to the tavern to ask what -the “sign” meant, when one saw the ghost of “bunny.” A nimble little -rabbit once turned its white cotton-like tail to him, and darted into a -burrow. He ran home to ask what meant the sign, and the good taverner -said that was a sign that he had lost the rabbit, which was usually the -case when a white tail so vanished from sight. - -There was one story of the clock that was associated with early -revolutionary days that pictures the times as well as superstitions -vividly, and we will tell it and place it in the war office on a long -evening when the Governor was busy with his council in the back room. - -The clock-cleaner has come, the farmers sit on boxes and barrels, -some “cavalry” men hang over the “counter,” and swing their feet and -spurs. The candles sputter and the light is dim, and the Connecticut -clock-cleaner, amid increasing stillness and darkness, relates his tale -slowly, which was like this: - - -THE LIFTED LATCH - -An old house on the Connecticut way to Boston stood high on the windy -hill. I have ridden past it at night when the dark savins lifted their -conical forms on the hillside by the decrepit orchards and the clouds -scudded over the moon. It had two chimneys that seemed to stand -against the sky, and I saw it once at night when one of those chimneys -was on fire, which caused my simple heart to beat fast in those -uneventful days. I had heard say that the minutemen stopped there on -their march from Worcester to Bunker Hill and were fed with bread from -out of the great brick oven. - -My father told me another thing which greatly awakened my curiosity. -When the minutemen stopped there on their march to meet the “regulars,” -they were in need of lead for bullets. They carried with them molds in -which to make bullets, but they could not obtain the lead. - -The good woman of the house was named Overfield, Farmer Overfield’s -wife. She was called Mis’ Overfield. She had one daughter, a lithe, -diminutive, beautiful girl, with large blue eyes and lips winsome and -red, of such singular beauty that one’s eyes could hardly be diverted -from following her. When she had anything to say in company, there was -silence. She was the “prettiest girl in all the country around,” people -used to say. And she was as good in these early days as she was pretty. - -Her name was Annie――“sweet Annie Overfield” some people named her. - -When she saw that the minutemen were perplexed about lead, she left her -baking, wiped the meal from her nose that had been itching as a sign -“that company was coming,” and, waving her white apron, approached the -captain and said: - -“Captain, I could tell you where there is lead if I had a mind to. But -what would father say if I should? And my grandfather and grandmother, -who are in their graves――they might rise up and shake the valances o’ -nights, and that would be scary, O Captain!” - -Annie’s father came stalking in in a blue blouse, a New England guard, -ready for any duty. - -“Father, I know where there is lead. May I tell?” - -“Yes, girl, and the men shall have it wherever it be. Where is it, -Annie? I have no lead, else I would have given it up at once.” - -“In the clock weights, father.” - -“Stop the clock!” cried the father. “Oh, Annie, ’tis a marvel you are!” - -The old clock, with an oak frame, stood in the corner of the “living -room,” as the common room was called, whose doors faced the parlor and -the kitchen. It had stood there for a generation. It was some eight -feet high and two broad in its upper part and two in its lower. It had -a brass ornament on the top, and it ticked steadily and solemnly always -and so loud as to be heard in the upper rooms at night. On its face -were figures of the sun and moon. Annie’s hand had for several years -wound the clock. - -The great clock was stopped, the heavy weights were removed, and the -minutemen carried them to the forge of Baldwin, the blacksmith, where -they were speedily melted and poured into the molds. - -The company went joyfully away, and as they marched down the hill the -captain ordered the men to give three cheers for Annie Overfield. That -that lead did much for the history of our country there can be no -doubt. How much one can not tell. - -One day, shortly after these events, a clock-cleaner came to the house -on the hill. The maple leaves were flying and the migrating birds -gathering in the rowen meadows. He said: - -“I can not regulate the clock now, but I will be around again another -year.” - -When he came back, the sylph-like Annie was gone――where, none knew. She -had been gone a long time. - -Why had she gone? It was the old tale. A common English sailor from the -provinces came to work on the farm. He received his pay in the fall -and disappeared, and the day after he went Annie went too. It was very -mysterious. She had been “her mother’s girl.” - -She had spent her evenings with the sailor after the mowing days by -the grindstone under the great maple-trees. He had sung to her English -sailor songs and told her stories of the Spanish main and of his -cottage at St. John’s. He was a homely man, but merry-hearted, and -Annie had listened to him as to one enchanted. She carried him cold -drinks “right from the well” in the field. She watched by the bars for -him to come in from the meadows and fields. She grew thin, had “crying -spells,” thought she was going “into a decline.” She was not like -herself. The love stronger than that for a mother had found Annie amid -the clover-fields when the west winds were blowing. The common sailor -had become to her more than life. She felt that she could live better -without others than without him. - -She had said to her mother one day: - -“Malone”――the sailor’s name――“has a good heart. I find my own in it. I -wish we could give him a better chance in life.” - -“He is an adventurer, thrown upon the world like a hulk of driftwood, -hither and thither,” said her mother. - -“I pity him. His heart deserves better friends than he has found. I -want to be his friend. Why may I not?” - -“If you were ever to marry a common sailor, Annie, I would strew salt -on your grave. I married a common man, but he has been good to me. I -have no respect whatever for those who marry beneath them and shame -their own kin. But, Annie, that rover is worse than a common sailor――he -is a Tory; think of that――a Tory!” - -Such was the condition of the family when the old clock-cleaner -returned. - -He heard the story and said: - -“I can hardly trust my ears. Annie was such a good girl. But the heart -must wed its own. I pity her. She will come back again, for Annie is -Annie.” - -Then he turned to the clock and said: - -“Now I’m going to examine it again and see what I can do. I will try to -set it going till Annie comes back.” - -“I shall never take any interest in such things any more,” said Mis’ -Overfield. “It is all the same to me whether the clock goes or stands -still, or whether life goes or stands still, for that matter. I loved -Annie, and that is what makes it so hard. She used to watch over me -when I was sick, oh, so faithfully, but I shall never feel the touch -of her hand again, Annie’s hand. I would weep, but I have no tears to -shed. Life is all a blank since this came upon me. The burying lot, as -it looks to me, is the pleasantest place on earth. I look out of the -pantry window sometimes and say, ‘Annie, come back.’ Then I shut my -heart. Oh, that this should come to me!” - -She seemed to be listening. - -“How I used to wait for Annie evenings――conference meeting and -candle-light meeting nights and singing-school evenings! How my heart -used to beat hard when she lifted the latch of the porch door in the -night! - -“She came home like an angel then. I wonder if Annie’s hand will ever -again lift the latch in the night. Trouble brings the heart home and -sends us back to God. But I wouldn’t speak to her――lud, no, no, no!” - -The tenderness went out of her face, and a strange, foreign light came -into her blue-gray eyes. - -She sat looking fixedly toward the hill. The old graves were there. - -Farmer Overfield came in. - -“Thinking?” said he. - -“I was thinking of how Annie used to lift the latch evenings. I wish it -could be so again. But it can’t.” - -“Why not? There can be no true life in any household where it is -forbidden to any to lift the latch.” - -The clock-cleaner could not find the key of the clock. It had -disappeared. He pounded on the case and said: - -“It sounds hollow.” - -Thanksgiving day came, and that day was supposed to bring all of the -family home. - -Mis’ Overfield watched the people coming, and she said to her little -nurse Liddy as she waited: - -“Have they all come, Liddy?” - -“No, mum; not all.” - -“Who is there to come?” - -“Annie, mum.” - -“She’s dead――dead here. I sometimes wish she would come, Liddy. But -I wouldn’t speak to her if she were to come――that common sailor’s -wife――and he a Tory! I wouldn’t――would you, Liddy?” - -“Yes, mum.” - -“You would? Tell me why now.” - -“Because she is Annie. You would too.” - -Mis’ Overfield gave a great sob and threw her apron over her head, and -said in a muffled voice: - -“What made you say that, Liddy?” - -“There may come a day when Annie can not come back. The earth binds -fast――the grave does. Think what you might have to reflect upon.” - -“I, Liddy――I?” - -“Yes. And there are more folks in some old houses than one can see -always. They come back. There’s been a dead soldier here already. I saw -him. And last night I heard the latch of the back door lift up three -times.” - -“Oh, Liddy! Nothing can ever harm us if we do just right. It was Annie -that went wrong, not I. What do you suppose made the latch lift up?” - -She stood silent, then said, with sudden resolution: - -“Liddy, you go straight to your duties and never answer your mistress -back again, not on Thanksgiving day nor on any other day.” - -The rooms filled. Brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, came, and -some of the guests offered to help the women folks about. - -The hand of the new brass clock was moving around toward 12. A savory -odor filled the room. Little Liddy flitted to and fro, handling hot -dishes briskly so as not to get “scalded.” - -Those who were voluntarily helping the women folks carried hot dishes -in wrong directions. For twenty minutes or more everything went wrong -in the usual way of the country kitchen at that hour of the day. - -There was a jingle in the new brass clock. Then it struck, and the -farmer raised his hand, and everybody stood still. - -Twelve! - -“Now, if you will all be seated at the tables,” said Farmer Overfield, -“I will supplicate a blessing.” - -He did. Prayer has a long journey around the world on Thanksgiving day. -He arrived at last at “all who have gone astray but are still a part of -the visible creation”――his mind wavered here――“grant ’em all repentance -and make us charitable,” he said in a lower voice. - -The room was very still. One could almost hear the dishes steam. - -There was a sound in the corner of the room. The old clock-case -quivered. Farmer Overfield became nervous in this part of his long -prayer, opened his eyes and said: - -“Oh, I thought I heard something somewhere. Where was I? Liddy, she -says that she heard the latch lift in the night. I didn’t know――――” - -Just here there was a crash of dishes. Little Liddy had seen the old -clock-case shake, which caused her to lose nerve power just as she was -very carefully moving some dishes when she thought all other eyes were -shut. The guests started. - -“Accidents will happen,” said Farmer Overfield. “Now, all fall to and -help yourselves. It seems like old times to find all the family here -again just as it used to be――all except Annie, Annie, Annie. Her name -has not been spoken to-day. I shall keep this plate and seat for her -here close by my side. Annie’s heart is true to me still. I seem to -feel that. I wish she were here to-day. The true note of Thanksgiving -is lacking in a broken family. There can be no true Thanksgiving where -there is an empty chair that might be filled. I shall always take -Annie’s part. A father is always true to his daughter. I will yet die -in her arms. A daughter is the angel for the father’s room when the -great shadow falls.” - -He stood, knife and fork in hand, the tears running down his face. - -There was a little shriek in the door leading to the pantry. - -“What now, Liddy?” asked the farmer. - -“I saw something,” said Liddy, with shuttling eyes. - -“What did you see, Liddy?” - -“The sun and moon moving.” - -“Massy! Where, Liddy?” - -“On the face of the clock. Something is in there. That clock comes to -life sometimes,” she added, going out. - -All eyes were turned toward the clock. Knives, forks, and spoons were -laid down, clicking on the many dishes. - -The top of the clock, which was uncovered, seemed animated. Some said -that they could see it move, others that the supposed movement was -merely a matter of the imagination. - -Liddy came into the room again with more dishes. - -“I think,” said she, “that the clock-case is haunted.” - -“Pshaw, Liddy!” said the farmer. “And what makes you say that? Who is -it that would haunt that old eight-day clock?” - -“One of the Britishers who was shot by a bullet made from the lead -weights. That’s my way of thinking. I’ve known about it for a long -time.” - -“Liddy, you’re a little bit off――touched in mind――that’s what you are, -Liddy. You never was quite all there.” - -There arose another nervous shriek. Knives and forks dropped. - -“What now, Liddy?” asked the farmer. “You set things all into -agitation.” - -The house dog joined Liddy in the new excitement. He ran under the -table and to the clock and began to paw the case and to bark. There was -a very happy, lively tone in his bark. He then sat down and watched the -clock in a human way. - -The guests waited for the farmer to speak. - -“What did you see, Liddy?” asked Mis’ Overfield. - -“The planets turned. Look there, now――now――there――there!” - -The sun and moon on the clock face were indeed agitated. The old dog -gave a leap into the air and barked more joyously than before. - -“The valley of Ajalon!” said the farmer. “That old timepiece is -bewitched. These things are mightily peculiarsome. I’m not inclined to -be superstitious, but what am I to think, the planets turning around -in that way? They say dogs do see apparitions first and start up. What -would Annie say if she were here now? You don’t believe in signs, any -of you, do you? I’m not superstitious, as I said, and I say it again. -But what can be the matter with that there old clock-case? I hope that -nothing has happened to Annie. She used to wind that clock. What do you -suppose is the matter?” - -The farmer’s eyes rolled like the planets on the clock face. - -“Let me go and see,” said Mis’ Overfield, rising slowly and going -toward the case, which seemed to quiver as she advanced, supporting -herself by the backs of the chairs. - -The nervous fancies of little Liddy could not be repressed. She called -in an atmospheric voice: - -“Mis’ Overfield, be careful how you open that clock door.” - -Mis’ Overfield stopped. - -“Why, Liddy, you distress me. The things that you say go to my nerves. -Why, Liddy, should I be afraid to open the clock door?” - -“Suppose, Mis’ Overfield――dare I say it――suppose you should find a dead -body there?” - -Mis’ Overfield leaned on the back of a chair, and Liddy added in an -awesome tone: - -“A girl’s――your own flesh and blood, Mis’ Overfield.” - -Farmer Overfield leaned back in his chair. - -The table was as silent as though it had been bare in an empty room. - -The dog gave a quick, sharp bark. - -Mis’ Overfield stood trembling. - -“Heaven forgive me!” she said. “My heart and Annie’s are the same. We -should be good to our own.” - -She shook. “If I only knew that Annie was alive, I would forgive her -everything. I would take her home to my bosom, her Tory husband and -all. I never would have one hour of peace if she were to die. I never -knew my heart before. Her cradle was here, and here should be her last -rest. Annie was a good girl, and I am blind and hard. Annie, Annie! Oh, -I would not have anything befall Annie. Albert, where is the key of the -clock?” - -The boy gave his mother the key. - -“Here, mother, and it is a jolly time we’ll have.” - -“Albert, how can you smile at a time like this! Didn’t you hear what -she suggested? Don’t you sense it? You go with me now slowly, for I am -all nerves, and my heart is weak.” - -“That I will, mother.” - -He gave her his arm and looked back with smiling eyes on the terrified -guests. - -“Dast that boy, he knows!” cried Liddy in almost profane excitement. -“Hold up your hands. The house is going to fall.” - -“Be quiet, Liddy,” said the farmer. “All be quiet now. We can not tell -what is before us. Be still. It seems as though I can hear the steps of -Providence. Something awaits us. I can feel it in my bones.” - -The guests arose, and all stood silent. - -Mis’ Overfield stopped before the clock door. - -“Annie’s hand used to wind the clock,” she said. “Oh, what would I give -to hear her wind the clock once more! I would be willing to lie down -and give up all to know that she was alive. Liddy’s words do so chill -me.” - -She knocked on the clock door. - -“Mother!” - -The voice was the music-like tone of old. “Mother, you will forgive me -if I did marry a Tory, for Annie is Annie――always Annie!” - -The guests stood with intent faces. - -The clock shook again. The old woman moved back. - -“That was Annie’s voice. Husband, you go and see. If that is not Annie, -then my heart is dead forever, and I hope there may be no hereafter for -me.” - -Farmer Overfield took the keys and slowly opened the clock door. - -The guests stood with motionless eyes. The opening door revealed at -first a dress, then a hand. The old woman threw up her arms. - -“That’s Annie’s hand. There is no ring on it. Annie was too poor to -have a wedding-ring. Open it slowly, husband. If she is not living, I -am dead.” - -The door was moved slowly by a trembling hand. A form appeared. - -“That’s Annie,” said the old woman. - -A face. The lips parted. - -“Father, may I come out and sit beside you in the chair at the table?” - -The dog whirled around with delight. - -“Annie, my own Annie, life of my life, heart of my heart! Annie, how -came you here?” exclaimed the farmer. - -“I wished to see you, father, and all of my kin on this day, and -mother――poor mother――――” - -“Don’t say that. I’m not worthy that you should say that, but my hard -heart is gone,” faltered Mis’ Overfield. - -“I got Albert to prepare the clock-case so I could stand here and move -the planets around so that I could see you through the circles made for -the planets. You can never dream how I felt here. My heart ached to -know if any one to-day would think of me, and when you talked of me my -heart made the old case tremble.” - -“Annie, come here,” said Farmer Overfield. - -“But I was not invited, father. I did not intend to make myself known -to any one but Albert. I have been here before in the disguise of a -soldier.” - -“Annie, you are Annie, if you did marry a Tory sailor!” and the family -heart was one again. - -The story illustrates the family feeling of the time both as regards -patriots and Tories. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -WASHINGTON SPEAKS A NAME WHICH NAMES THE REPUBLIC - - -When Washington was at Cambridge his headquarters were at the Craigie -House, now known as the “home of Longfellow,” as that poet of the -world’s heart lived and wrote there for nearly a generation. Go to -Cambridge, my young people who visit Boston, and you may see the past -of the Revolutionary days there, if you will close your eyes to the -present. The old tree is there under which Washington took command -of the army; a memorial stone with an inscription marks the place. -The old buildings of Harvard College are there much as they were in -Washington’s days. The Episcopal church where Washington worshiped -still stands, and one may sit down in the pew that the general-in-chief -occupied as in the Old North Church, Boston. - -The tree under which Washington took command of the army is decayed and -is rapidly falling away. It was once a magnificent elm, and Washington -caused a lookout to be made in the top, which overlooked Boston and -the British defenses. We can easily imagine him with his glass, hidden -among the green boughs of this lofty and bowery tree, watching the -movements of the enemy. Such an incident of the Revolution would seem -to invite a national picture like one of young John Trumbull’s. - -Washington held his councils of war at the Craigie House. It was -doubtless from there that he sent his courier flying to Jonathan -Trumbull for help. His message was that the army must have food. - -It was then that the Connecticut Governor called together the Committee -of Public Safety and sent his men of the secret service into the -farm-ways of Connecticut and gathered cattle and stores from the farms, -and forwarded the supplies on their way to Boston, and Dennis O’Hay -went with them. - -Boston was to be evacuated. Where were the British going? What was next -to be done? - -Washington called a council of his generals, and they deliberated the -question of the hour. - -The help that had given strength to the army investing Boston during -the siege had come from Connecticut; the great heart-beat of Jonathan -Trumbull had sent the British fleet out on the sea and away from Castle -William (now the water-park of South Boston). - -What should be done next? Officer after officer gave his views, without -conclusion. The Brighton meadows, afterward made famous by the pen of -Longfellow, glimmered in the light of early spring over which the happy -wings of birds were rising in song. The great trees rustled in the -spring winds. The officers paced the floor. What was to be done next? -The officers waited for Washington to speak. - -He had deliberated, but was not sure as to the wisest course to pursue. - -He lifted his face at last, and said: - -“We will have to consult _Brother Jonathan_.” - -The name had been used before in the army, but not in this official way -at a council. - -It was at this council, or one like this, that he began to impress the -worth of the judgment of the Connecticut Governor upon his generals. - -Washington had unconsciously named the republic. - -The Connecticut Governor’s home name began to rise to fame. - -These officers repeated it to others. - -Dennis O’Hay heard it. He was told that Washington had spoken -it, probably at a council in the Craigie House, possibly at some -out-of-door consultation. However this may be, the word had passed from -the lips of the man of destiny. - -“Cracky,” said Dennis, using the Yankee term of resolution, “and I will -fly back to Connecticut, I will, on the wings of me horse, and I will, -and tell the Governor of that, and I will, and all the people on the -green, and I will, and set the children to clapping their hands, and -the birds all a-singing in the green tree-tops, and I will.” - -Dennis leaped on his horse as with wings. He slapped the horse’s neck -with his bridle-rein and flew down the turnpike to Norwich, and did not -so much as stop to rest at the Plainfield Tavern. That horse had the -swiftness of wings, and Dennis seemed to be a kind of centaur. - -The people saw him coming, and swung their hats, but only to say, “Who -passed with the wind?” - -The people of the cedars saw him coming up the hill and gathered on the -green to ask: - -“What is it, Dennis?” - -“Great news! Great news!” - -It was a day at the brightening of spring among the cedars. The people -of the country around had heard of Dennis’s return and they gathered -upon the green, which was growing green. The buds on the trees were -swelling, the blue air was brightening, and nature was budding and -seemed everywhere to be singing in the songs of birds. - -All the world was full of joy, as the people gathered that day on the -green. The Governor came out of his war office to hear Dennis speak; -the schools were there, and William Williams, afterward a signer of the -Declaration of Independence, honored the occasion with his presence. - -Williams stood beside the Whig Governor under the glowing trees. - -Dennis came out on the green, full of honorable pride. - -His first words were characteristic: - -“Oh, all ye people, all of the cedars, you well may gather together――now. -Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, for it is good news that I bring to ye all. -Boston has fallen; it has tumbled into our hands, and Castle William has -gone down into the sea, to the Britisher, and the same will never play -Yankee Doodle there any more. - -“Oh, but you should have seen him, as your brothers and I did――General -Washington. He looked as though he had been born to lead the world. And -what did he call our Governor――now, that is what I am bursting to tell -you――what did he call our Governor?” - -“The first patriot in America,” answered a merry farmer. - -“Not that, now, but something better than that. Hear ye, open the -mouths of your ears, now, and prepare to shout; all shout. He -called――so the officers all say――he called him what you call him now. -Colonel? No, no; not that. Judge? No, no; not that. Governor? No, no; -not that. He called him what the heroes here who ran from the fields -with their guns call him; what the good wives all call him; what the -old men call him; what the children call him; what the dogs, cats, and -all the birds call him; no, no; not that, but all nature here catches -the spirit of what we called him. He called him _Brother Jonathan_! -Shout, boys! Shout, girls! Shout, old men! Shout all! The world will -call him that some day. My soul prophesies that. Shout, shout, shout! -with the rising sun over the cedars――all shout for the long life and -happiness of BROTHER JONATHAN!” - -Lebanon shouted, and birds flew up from the trees and clapped their -wings, and the modest old Governor said: - -“I love the soul of the man who delights to bring the people good news. -I wrote to Washington, when he took command of the army at Cambridge, -these words: - -“‘Be strong and very courageous. May the God of the armies of Israel -shower down his blessings upon you; may he give you wisdom and -fortitude; may he cover your head in the day of battle, and convince -our enemies of their mistake in attempting to deprive us of our -liberties.’ And, my neighbors, what did he answer me? He wrote to me, -saying: ‘My confidence is in Almighty God.’ So we are brothers. And my -neighbor Dennis brings good tidings of joy out of his great heart. His -heart is ours. What will we do for such a man as Dennis O’Hay?” - -“Make him an ensign, the ensign of the alarm-post,” said one. - -So Dennis O’Hay became known as Ensign Dennis O’Hay. - -The Governor saw that in Dennis he had a messenger to send out on -horses with wings, to bring back to Lebanon green the tidings of the -events of the war. - -The old Governor turned aside when the shouting was over. - -“Dennis?” - -“Your Honor?” - -“You have been by the cabin of old Wetmore, the wood-chopper of the -lane.” - -“Yes, your Honor.” - -“Well, I am afraid that the old man is a Tory. You have heard how -he turned tall Peter, his nephew, out of doors? He said to the -boy: ‘Out you go!’ The boy came to me; my mind is taken up by the -correspondences, so I made him my clerk. I want you to put your arms -around him――for me.” - -“Why did the old man say to the boy that?” - -“The boy rejoiced over the Concord fight――you see! Put your arms around -him. I want you two should be friends.” - -“I will put my arms around him, for your sake and for the sake of -Dennis O’Hay. He shall be my heart’s own.” - -Peter had found friends――hearts. - -He used to think of his old uncle as he slept under the cedars out of -doors, on guard after his duties in the store, amid the fireflies, the -night animals and birds. - -He would seem to hear the old wood-chopper counting: - -“One―― - -“Two―― - -“Three!” - -He would wonder if the old man were counting for him, or if that which -was counted would go to the King. If the patriots won their cause, the -counted gold, if such it were, could not go to the King. What were the -old man’s thoughts and purposes when he counted nights? - -At the corner of the Trumbull house, overlooking the hills and roads -in the country of the cedars, was a passageway that connected with -the high roof. From this passageway the approach of an enemy could be -signaled by a guard, and there was no point in the movements of the -army more important than this. - -Governor Trumbull became recognized as a power that stood behind the -American armies. Lebanon of the cedars was the secret capital of the -colonies. Here gathered the reserves of the war. - -The common enemy everywhere began to plot against the iron Governor. -Spies continued to come to Lebanon in many disguises and went away. - -The people of Lebanon warned the Governor against these plots and -spies, but he believed in Providence; that some good angel of -protection attended him. When they told him that his life was in -constant peril, he would say, like one who commanded hosts invisible, -that “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” - -Dennis was in terror when he came to see the Governor’s danger. He had -a bed in the garret, or “cockloft,” overlooking the cedars. From his -room he watched the roads that led up to the hill. - -One day some men of mystery came to the war office on horseback. -Dennis saw them coming, from the garret or upper room. He hastened to -the Governor at the war office, and gave the alarm. The men had their -story, but Dennis saw that they were spies, and thought that they -intended to return again. - -Dennis had gained the confidence of the Governor and of the good man’s -family perfectly now. He had become a shadow of the Governor, as it -were. - -After these mysterious men went away, the Governor called Dennis into -his war office, and said: - -“Dennis, you know a tremendous secret, and you warned me against these -men. Why do you suspect them?” - -“Because a conniving man carries an air of suspicion about him, your -Honor. I can see it; I have second sight; some folks have, your Honor.” - -“Dennis, you may be right. A pure heart sees clear, and you are an -honest man, else there are none. Why do you think these men came? What -was their hidden motive?” - -“To find out where you hid your powder, your Honor. They are powder -finders. In powder lies the hope of the cause, Governor. I have a thing -on my mind, if I have a mind.” - -“Well, Dennis, what have you on your mind?” - -“There must be a military alarm-post in the cedars. It must be -connected with hiding-places all along the way from Putnam to Norwich. -And it is a man that you can trust that you must set in charge of the -same alarm-post. As you said, I do know a tremendous secret.” - -“You are a man that I can trust, Dennis; if not, who?” - -“Your Honor,” said Dennis, bowing. - -“Your heart is as true to liberty as that of Washington himself. To be -true-hearted is the greatest thing in the world; hearts are more than -rank.” - -“Your Honor,” said Dennis, bowing again lower, “I would rather hear you -say that than be a king.” - -“Good, Dennis. Samuel Adams replied to the agent of General Gage who -said to him, ‘It is time for you to make your peace with the King,’ -and who then offered him bribes: ‘I trust that I have long ago made -my peace with the King of kings, and no power on earth shall make me -recreant to my duties to my country.’” - -“Samuel Adams is a glorious man, your Honor, and has a heart true to -your own. I would die for liberty, and be willing to be forgotten for -the cause. What matters what becomes of Dennis O’Hay――but the cause, -the cause!” - -“Then, Dennis, you are the one of all others to take charge of the -alarm-post that you propose to establish permanently.” Many are willing -to die in a cause that would not be willing to be forgotten, the old -man thought, and walked about with his hands behind him. - -“Forgotten, Dennis, what is it to be forgotten? The winds of the desert -blow over the Persepolis, but where is the Persepolis? Babylon, where -are thy sixty miles of walls, and the chariots that rolled on their -lofty ways? Gone with the wind. Egypt, where are all the kings that -raised thy pyramids? Gone with the wind. Solomon, where is thy throne -of the gold and gems of the Ind? Gone with the wind. We all shall -be forgotten, or only live in the good that we do. I like that word -which you spoke, willing to be _forgotten_ for the welfare of mankind. -Dennis, I would be willing to be forgotten. I live for the cause. I -seek neither money nor fame, but only to do the will of the everlasting -God, to which I surrender all. To live for good influence is the -whole of life. Soul value is everything. How will you establish the -alarm-post?” - -“I will watch the roads from the top of the second stairs as I have -done before. I will have trusty men in the cedars who will set up -signal lights at night. One of these men shall live in the rocks so -that he may guard the place where the powder is stored. He shall ride -a swift horse, and set up fire-signals at night. The secret shall -be known to but few, if you will trust it to me to pick my men. And -Peter――nimble Peter――your trusty clerk――who was sent out――he shall be -my heart’s own.” - -“I leave it all to you, Dennis. Establish the alarm-post. Select you -hidden men. As for me, I believe like the men in the camp of the -Hebrews, in helpers invisible. An angel stayed the hand of Abraham, -and went before the tribes on their march out of Egypt, and led the -feet of Abraham’s servant to find Rebecca; and when the young king was -afraid to encounter so great a host, the prophet opened his spiritual -eyes, and lo! the mountain was full of chariots and horsemen. The angel -of Providence protects me; I know it, I feel it; it is my mission to -reenforce the American army when it is in straits. Faith walks with the -heavens, and I live by faith.” - -Dennis went out. He felt free, like one commissioned by a higher power. -Yes, he did know a tremendous secret. He knew where the powder was -hidden. - -When he had come to share with the Governor the secrets of collecting -saltpeter and powder, he learned all the ways of this secret service. -There must be found a place where this powder could be hidden, so as to -be safely guarded. It was a necessity. - -Lebanon abounded in rocky hills in which were caves. These caves could -be guarded, and yet they would not be secure against spies. Dennis -began to put his Irish wits at work to devise a way to protect a -storage of powder against spies. - -The tall, nimble boy who had been in the service of William Williams -came first into Dennis’s mind and heart. Mr. Williams, for whom the -boy had kept sheep, was a graduate of Harvard College, and had been -a member of the Committee of Correspondence for the Union and Safety -of the Colonies. This man had written several pamphlets to awaken the -spirit of the colonies to resist aggression, and the nimble boy to whom -we have referred, now the clerk, had listened at doors to the reading -of these pamphlets, and drank in the spirit of them until he had become -so full of patriotic feeling that he thought of little but the cause. - -Dennis’s intuitive eye fixed itself upon this boy for secret service. - -“Peter Nimble,” said Dennis to the young farmhand one day, as the -latter was resting under the trees after the planting of pumpkin-seeds -among the corn, while the sheep grazed, “I have come over here to have -a secret talk with you. I have long had my eye on you. You are full of -the new fire; you see things quick; you have long legs, and you are all -brain, heart, and legs. You are just the lad I want.” - -“For what, Dennis?” - -“For the secret service. Will you promise me never to tell what I am -about to tell you now?” - -“Never, Dennis.” - -“Though the sky fall?” - -“Though the sky fall, and the earth cave in, and the waters cover the -land. Never, Dennis, if it be for the cause.” - -“It is for the cause, Peter. Hark ye, boy. We must store powder here. -Powder is the life of the war. We must store it in a cave, and we must -have some one to guard the cave, and to give an alarm if spies shall -come.” - -“I can run,” said Peter. - -“Yes, Peter, you can run, and run the right way, too. You will never -turn your heels against the country. You can outrun all the boys. But -it is not for your heels that I come to you. I want a guard with nimble -thoughts as well as legs. You could run to me quickly by day, as on -feet of air, but it is for the night that I want you; for a curious -service, a queer service.” - -“What would you have me do?” - -“Hold a window before your face, with a light in the window, and stand -back by the roadside in the cedars.” - -“That would be a strange thing for me to do, Dennis. How would that -help the cause?” - -“You know all the people of the town. You would know a stranger to be a -stranger. Now, no stranger can pass down the turnpike at night without -a passport. If he does, he is an enemy or a spy. - -“You are to stand behind the lighted window at night back in the -cedars, some distance from the road. If you see a stranger coming down -the road at night, or hear him, you are to leave the window and light -on a post and demand his passport. The window and light at a distance -will look like a house. If the traveler have no passport, you must ask -him to follow you at a distance toward the light in the window. Hear: -‘at a distance.’ - -“Then you are to take the window and the light and move up the hill, by -the brook ways, so that I can see the light at the alarm-post. Then you -may put out the light, and run for the war office: run like the wind. -That will detain the spy, should he be one, and we will be warned and -thwart his design. Do you see?” - -“I see, but am I to be stationed near a cave where the powder is -hidden?” - -“No――tish, tish――but at a place that would turn a night traveler from -the place where the powder is concealed. You yourself are not to know, -or to seek to know, where the powder is hidden. No, no――tish, tish. If -you were to be overpowered, you must be able to say that you do not -know where the saltpeter is. Tish, tish!” - -“That is a strange service, Dennis, but I will do as you say. I will -watch by the window in the heat and cold, in the rain and snow, and I -will never desert my post.” - -“That you will, my boy. The true heart never deserts its post. You may -save an army by this strange service. You are no longer to be Peter -Nimble, but a window in the cedars. Ah, Peter, Peter, not in vain did -the old man send you out. Boy, the Governor likes you, and you are my -heart’s own!” - -“But I will have to give up my place in the store?” - -“I will talk with the Governor about that.” - -One day Dennis O’Hay stood by the high window, looking down the -turnpike road. A horseman seemed to leap on his flying steed into -the way. Dennis ran down the stairs to give an alarm, and found the -Governor in the great room, thinking as always. - -“A man is coming on horseback, riding like mad. He looks like a -general.” - -“Spencer――I am expecting him――I sent for him. Sit down; your presence -may make a clearer atmosphere.” - -Dennis did not comprehend the Governor, but his curiosity was excited, -and he sat down by the stairway. - -A horse dashed up to the door. A man in uniform knocked, and entered -with little ceremony. - -“Governor, I am dishonored. Let me say at once that I am about to -resign my commission in the army.” - -“You have been superseded by General Putnam.” - -“Yes; I who offered my life and all in the north in the service of my -country, have been superseded. Congress little esteems such service as -mine. Governor, I am undone.” - -“General Spencer, Congress is seeking to place the best leaders in the -field. It has done so now. It has not dishonored you; it honors you; it -wants your service under Putnam.” - -“Under! You may well say under. Would you, with a record like mine, -serve _under_ any man?” - -“I would. My only thought is for the good of the people and the success -of the cause. I have given up making money, for the cause. I have given -up seeking position of popularity, for the cause. I am seeking to be -neither a general, nor a congressman, nor a diplomat, for the cause. -Whatever a man be or have, his influence is all that he is. I would do -anything that would tend to make my influence powerful for the cause. I -have snuffed out ambition, for the cause.” - -General Spencer dropped his hands on his knees. - -“Governor Trumbull, what would you have me do?” - -“Serve your country under Putnam――as Congress wills――and never hinder -the cause by any personal consideration. Be the cause.” - -“Governor, I will; for your sake, I will. I see my way clear. I was not -myself when I came――I am myself now.” - -“Not for my sake, General, but for the cause!” - -Dennis had seen the Governor’s soul. Giant that he was, tears ran down -his face. He went out into the open air. - -It was evening at Lebanon. He looked up to the hills and saw the clerk, -who had again become a shepherd-boy, there in the dusk guiding the -sheep to sheltered pastures among the savins. - -Dennis was lonesome for companionship. He was but a common laborer, -with no family or fortune, nothing but his honest soul. - -He longed to talk with one like himself. He walked up the hills, and -hailed the shepherd-boy, who had become a guard in the new secret -service. - -“Nimble,” he said, “you believe in the Governor, don’t you? I do, more -and more.” - -“’Fore the Lord, I do,” said the shepherd in an awesome tone. - -“I have just seen the soul of that man. He is more of a god than a man. -But, Nimble, Nimble, my heart’s own boy, he is surrounded more and more -by spies, and think of it, wagons of powder are coming here and going -away. What havoc a spy could make! - -“Boy, my heart goes out to that man. I would die for him. So would -you. I am going to act as a guard for him, not only openly――I do that -now――but secretly. You will act with me.” - -“Yes, yes, Dennis. But what more can I do?” - -“Keep your eyes open on the hills against surprise, and guard the -magazines.” - -“That I am doing, but where are the magazines?” - -“Where are the magazines?” - -“Oh, boy, boy, do not seek to know. Tish, tish! Have an eye on the -covered ways that are still. You watch nights by _the window_?” - -“Yes, and I can watch days.” - -The sheep lay down in the sheltered ways of the high hill, and the two -talked together as brothers. They had become a part of the cause. - -And Dennis found in his heart a new and unexpected delight. It was -when he said to the shepherd-boy of the green cedars, as he did almost -daily, “You are my heart’s own; we serve one cause, and look for -nothing more!” - -So these two patriots became to Brother Jonathan “helpers invisible.” - -The Governor now hurried levies. Lebanon was a scene of excitement. -Connecticut forgot her own perils, for the greater need. - -Dennis was ordered away with the men. He was to drive a powder-wagon. -The young shepherd was to leave for a time his place as a watchman and -to go with him. - -In the midst of these preparations a beautiful, anxious face flitted to -and fro. It was that of Madam Trumbull. - -“You must not go,” said she to Dennis. “We need you here.” - -“Who?” - -“I――spies swarm; the Governor is all of the time in peril. I can trust -your heart.” - -“He must go,” said the Governor. “The powder-wagon needs him more than -I do. I shall be guarded. I can hear the wings; the rocks of Lebanon -are not firmer than my faith. Powder is the battle. Go, Dennis, go. Our -powder told at Bunker Hill; they will need it again.” - -Dennis and the shepherd-boy went, guarding the powder. - -“Good-by, Governor,” said Dennis. “We leave the heavens behind us -still.” - -What a time that was! Every Whig forgot his own self and interests -in the cause. No one looked for any pay for anything. The cattle, -the sheep, the corn and grain, all belonged to the cause. Everything -followed the suggestion of the great Governor’s heart. - -Tories and spies came to Lebanon with plots in their hearts, but they -went away again. Ships down the river landed men, who came to Lebanon -with evil intents; but they looked at the Governor from the tavern -window, as he crossed the green, and went away again. - -The school for the training of Indian missionaries, that had been -founded in Lebanon and that had trained Occum, who became the marvelous -Indian preacher, had been removed to a log-house college on the upper -Connecticut now, where it was to become Dartmouth College. But Indians -still came to the green, and heard the cannon thunder with wonder. - -The Governor’s house, the alarm-post, was to become the head of a long -line of signal-stations. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -PETER NIMBLE AND DENNIS IN THE ALARM-POST - - -Peter, after being entrusted with Dennis’s secret of the hidden -powder, walked about like one whose head was in the air. If he stuck -pumpkin-seeds into corn-hills, he did so with a machine-like motion. -He had listened to the singing of the birds in the cedars, but he -forgot the bird-singing now; though he loved rare wild flowers, a white -orchid bloomed among the wintergreens by the ferny brookside, but he -did not see it now; the sky, the forests, and everything seemed to have -vanished away. - -He watched Dennis after their return as the latter came out of the -alarm-post over the way and went to the tavern or the war office. - -Dennis for a time merely bowed to him and passed him by, day by day, -when on duty; and the corn grew, and the orioles flamed in the air. -But one thought held him――a picture of the light in the window in the -cedars, guarding some unknown cave that contained the lightnings and -the thunder of the battle-field. What would come of that service? - -He at last felt that he must see Dennis. He could stand the suspense no -longer. - -So one night he crept up to Dennis’s chamber under the rafters. - -“I could stay away from you no longer, after what you told me,” said -he. “Strange things are going on――horsemen coming and going; queer -people haunt the Colchester road; knife-grinders, clock-cleaners, going -into the forest to get walnut-oil; men calling out ‘Old brass to mend’; -and I seem to see spies in them, and I fear for _him_.” - -“Boy, I fear for him. He is an old man now, but he walks erect, and -seems to think that some host unseen is guarding him. He wears the -armor of faith. I can see it, other people do not; and he does not fear -the face of clay.” - -“Dennis, when are you going to set me behind the window and the light -in the cedars, at night?” - -“Soon, boy, soon. Let us look out of the window.” - -It was a June night. Below them was the war office, the Alden Tavern, -the house of William Williams――the boy’s home. Afar stretched the -intervales, now full of fireflies and glowing with the silvery light of -the half-moon. Night-hawks made lively the still air, and the lonely -notes of the whippoorwills rang out from the cedars and savins in -nature’s own sad cadences. The roads were full of the odors of wild -roses and sweetbrier, but were silent. - -“Dennis,” said Peter, “I have been thinking. Suppose I were to watch in -the cedars, and an unknown man were to come down the open road toward -the light in the window. And suppose I were to say, ‘Halt, and give -the countersign,’ and he were to have no countersign. Then I would say, -‘Follow me, but do not come near me, or I will discharge my duty upon -you.’ And suppose he were to follow, and I move back, back, back with -the window and light, and he were to think that I were a house, and -that I were to draw him into a trap and lose him, and put out the light -and run for you――what would you do then?” - -“I would hunt for him in the ravine where you left him――in the wood -trap――and would find him, and wring from him the cause of his being on -the highway without a passport.” - -“Dennis, do you think that such a thing as that will ever happen?” - -“Yes; my instincts tell me that it will. Boy, there is one man whom -Washington trusts, whom the Governor relies upon, but in whom I can see -a false heart. He was born only a few miles from here. He is famous. If -he were to turn traitor to our cause, as I believe he will, he would -send spies to Lebanon. He would seek to destroy the hiding-places of -powder, and he knows where they are to be found. Then, boy, your time -to thwart such designs would come.” - -“What is that man’s name?” - -“I hardly dare to breathe it even to you, with a heart of truth.” - -“I will never break your confidence. What is the name?” - -“Benedict Arnold!” - -It now began to be seen in the army that the Governor was in peril. -The Tories plotted a secret warfare against the leading patriots. - -One day Governor Trumbull met the Council of Public Safety with the -alarming declaration: - -“They have put a price upon my head.” - -A reward had been secretly offered for his capture. - -“I must have a guard,” he said, and a guard was granted him of four -sturdy, loyal men――a public guard, who examined all strangers who came -by day to Lebanon. - -The plots of the Tories filled the country with alarm. One of these -plots was to assassinate Washington. Others were to abduct the royal -Governors. - -These plotters tried to seize Governor Clinton of New York, and William -Livingston, the patriotic Governor of New Jersey. They did seize -General Stillman at Fairfield and carried him away as a prisoner. - -Lebanon was exposed to such incursions from the sea. Spy boats were -on the waters, and these might land men on the highway to Lebanon and -seize the Governor and bear him away. - -The biographer of Governor Trumbull (Stuart) thus relates an incident -that illustrates the perils to which the Governor was exposed: - -“A traveler, in the garb of a mendicant――of exceedingly suspicious -appearance――came into his house one evening when he was unwell and had -retired to bed. The stranger, though denied the opportunity of seeing -him, yet insisted upon an interview so pertinaciously that at last the -Governor’s wary housekeeper――Mrs. Hyde――alarmed and disgusted at his -conduct, seized the shovel and tongs from the fireplace and drove him -out of the house. At the same time she called loudly for the guard; but -the intruder suddenly disappeared, and, though careful search was made, -eluded pursuit, and never appeared in that quarter again.” - -One of the reasons that made Lebanon a perilous place and that invited -plots and spies was that magazines of powder from the West Indies were -thought to be hidden here, as well as at New London and along the -Connecticut main and river. Powder was the necessity of the war; to -explode a powder magazine was to retard the cause. - -Lebanon was like a secret fortress to the cause. Prisoners of war -were sent to Governor Trumbull. It was thought that they could not -be rescued here. But their detention here by the wise, firm Governor -invited new plots. The thirteen colonies sent their State prisoners -here. Among these prisoners was the Tory son of Benjamin Franklin, a -disgrace to the great patriot, that led him to carry a heavy heart amid -all of his honors as the ambassador to the French court. Dr. Benjamin -Church, a classmate of Trumbull at college, was sent to him among these -prisoners. - -Trumbull became universally hated by the Tories. They saw in him the -silent captain of the world’s movement for liberty. The condition -became so alarming that in November, 1779, Washington sent a message -to him to seize all Tories. “They are preying upon the vitals of the -country,” he said. The Continental Congress demanded of him to “arrest -every person that endangered the safety of the colony.” The condition -that became so alarming, then, was beginning now. - -What a position was that that was held by this brave, clear-headed, -conscience-free man! - -Strangers were coming and going; any one of them might have a cunning -plot against the Governor in his heart. The way to him was easy. -Express-wagons with provisions started from Lebanon; drivers of cattle -came there; people who had cases of casuistry; men desiring public -appointment in the army; peddlers, wayfarers, seamen, the captains of -privateers. - -But he walked among them――amid these accumulating perils――as one who -had a “guard invisible.” He had. He knew that his own people were loyal -to him, that they believed him as one directed by the Supreme Power for -the supreme good, and that they loved him as a father. - -Dennis guarded the good old man as though he had had a commission from -the skies to do so. He gave to him the strength of his great heart. -He caused a tower――“the alarm-post”――over his head, one secret room, -to protect him――“a room over the gate”――and the room must have seemed -to the man whose brain directed all like the outstretched wing of -a guardian divine. The Governor was an old man when the war began. -Born in 1710, he was at the time of the Declaration of Independence -sixty-six years old. - -Dennis was like a guardian sent to him, and Peter like a messenger sent -to Dennis. There was something in the glances of each to the other -that was out of the common of life――it was the cause. - -One day there was a shout in the alarm-post. - -A man was riding up the Colchester road, dashing, as it were, as if his -own body and that of his horse were only agents of this thought. He was -an Irishman. When the Lexington alarm came, he had heard the clock of -liberty strike; his hour had come. - -“A man is coming like mad, riding with the wind,” said the sentinel in -common terms. - -The man came rushing up to the store, and drew his rein. The Governor -met him there. - -“Knox, your Honor, Knox of the artillery. I was at Bunker Hill.” - -“I know you by your good name,” said the Governor. “You know how to put -your shoulder to the wheel.” - -Knox of the artillery smiled. - -He had won the reputation of knowing how to put his shoulder to the -wheel in a queer way. There was a rivalry between the Northenders and -Southenders in Boston, and both parties celebrated Guy Fawkes’s day -with grotesque processions, in which were effigies of Guy Fawkes and -the devil. In an evening procession of the party to which young Knox -belonged on Guy Fawkes’s day the wheel of the wagon or float bearing an -effigy, possibly of Guy Fawkes, broke, and that the rival party might -not know it and ridicule his party, he said: - -“I will put my shoulder to the wheel.” - -He did this, and the float moved on, and the pride of his party was -saved. - -Knox of the artillery had kept a bookstore in Boston. It was like the -New Corner Bookstore before the famous Old Corner Bookstore. When the -war broke out he was attached to the artillery. There was a great need -of powder, and he had a scent for it. He found it, he hid it; he was -the “powder-monkey” of the great campaigns. - -Like Paul Revere, he caught the spirit of the minutemen. He could ride -for liberty! He was riding for liberty now! - -“Washington recommended you to volunteer for the artillery service,” -said the Governor. “I could have no more favorable introduction to you. -You do not ride for nothing, my young friend. May I ask what brings you -here? Your horse foams.” - -“There is no time to be lost in days like these,” said the young -artilleryman. “These are days of destiny, and we must make the success -of our cause sure. I went to Washington for permission to bring the -siege-guns and powder from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. I have come to -you for a like reason. I am sure, in my soul, of ultimate victory; I -know it will come, but preparation is victory. Boston is evacuated, and -to defend New York we must protect the coast of Connecticut. I have -conferred with Washington, and I must have a word with you.” - -“To the tavern with the horse,” said the Governor. “Into the store, -or war office, as I call my place here, we will go and shut the -weather-door, and I will answer ‘Go’ if any call. We will consider the -matter.” - -They went into the store and the door was shut. - -Without sighed the cedars in the April or May winds. It was the coming -of summer; the bright wings of southern birds were blooming in the air. -The cedars were dressing in green, and the elms flaming in the glowing -suns of the long days. - -They talked, as we may fancy, of the sons of liberty, the siege of -Boston, and the outlook, and here young Knox gained strength to face -the strenuous campaigns of New York and the Jerseys, and to cause the -cannon of liberty to thunder as never before. - -They talked of Rhode Island. Strange things were happening there. - -Then the Committee of Safety came. And they considered the matter. - -The Governor had a habit of saying, “Let us consider the matter”; after -a time he added, “and bring it before the council.” - -He walked about like a visitor to the world. He was always “considering” -some matter. - -He would stand before the church, considering; cross the green, -considering; the public men who came to visit him usually found him -considering. - -Why had Knox come to Lebanon? - -It was to talk of powder. How could saltpeter be found? Where could it -be stored? - -There might be a powder magazine at New London, or near it, or in -covert in a place on the Connecticut, or right here among the rocky -caves of the hills. Where? - -The Governor would “consider.” He did, and the secret hiding-places of -powder were known to few besides him. The Governor knew the guards of -the magazines. So Connecticut stored powder. - -“Powder, powder, ye gods, send us powder!” cried General Putnam at the -battle of Bunker Hill. - -[Illustration: The battle of Bunker Hill.] - -There was a powder famine. The whole army needed powder. - -One day the Governor sat before his door on the green, waiting the -return of Dennis. The latter came back from a commission which he had -executed quickly, and dropped from his horse on the green. - -“You have made short time, Dennis.” - -“Yes, Governor; I never think of myself, but only of the cause.” - -“You may well say that, and I know it to be true. Such a spirit as that -in these testing times is invaluable. I have a new commission for you.” - -“Let me have it. I will die for it; I am in for liberty now――head, -heart, and heels.” - -He sunk down on the green. - -“Let us consider,” the Governor said; “let us consider. You have heard -me speak of Salisbury, the hidden town in the northwest corner of the -State, on the Housatonic. The world knows little of that town, but -it hears much. There has been a foundry there since ’62. I am going -to make an arsenal there, and manufacture guns there, and make it a -powder-post. I must have post-riders who can lead teamsters and who can -be trusted, and move quickly, to go from Lebanon green to Salisbury -with my orders. No spot in America can be made more useful to our army -than this. I am going to appoint you as an officer for this business, -as a special messenger to Salisbury in the secret service. - -“Dennis, no one can do so much as when he is doing many things. When I -am doing two things well, I can do three. I never undertake anything -that I can not do well, but experience enables us to do many things -well, as you are learning yourself, Dennis O’Hay.” - -Dennis bowed. - -Salisbury was a hidden place, but rich in nature. It was a place of -iron-mines, with limestone and granite at the foot of the mountains. -Here the United States began to cast cannon and gather saltpeter. -The works grew. Cannon-balls, bombs, shells, grape-shot, anchors, -hand-grenades, swivels, mess-pots and kettles, all implements of war -were made and stored here. The armaments of ships were furnished here -by skilled hands. Here the furnaces blazed night and day. Here the -ore-diggers, founders, molders, and guards were constantly at work. -There came here an army of teamsters for transportation. The Governor -wished one whom he could trust to bear his orders to this town hidden -among the mountains, and Dennis was such a man. Dennis could be spared, -as there was a regular guard at the alarm-post now, and the church -afforded it a shelter. - -The reader who makes a pilgrimage to Lebanon to visit the “war office” -should note the old church and recall the habits of a stately past, -when men lived less for money-making and more for the things that live. - -The solemn bell rings out as of old, but it is over the graves of -people who were the empire builders, but who knew it not except by -faith. The gray stones are crumbling where they lie. The engine-whistle -sounds afar, and Willimantic reflects the life of new times. Here New -England of old lives on――apart from the hurrying world of steam and -electricity. - -The great cedars are gone, though cedar swamps are near. Night settles -down over all in silence, and one feels here that this is a lonely -world. - -The lights have gone out in the old Alden Tavern, and the tavern itself -is gone, but nature here is beautiful among the hills, and to the -susceptible eye the hills are touched by the spirit of the patriots of -old. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A MAN WITH A CANE――“OFF WITH YOUR HAT” - - -Dennis O’Hay, who had created for the cause the alarm-post in the -cedars, learned all the ways and byways of the Connecticut colonies, -and the ways leading to and out of Boston. He was, as we have said, -a giant in form, and his usual salutation――“The top of the morning -to everybody,” or “The top of the morning to everybody on this green -earth”――won the hearts of people, and as much by the tone in which it -was spoken as by the whole-hearted expression itself. He came to be -known as the Irish giant of the hill country. - -He traveled much in the secret service from Lebanon to Plainfield and -Providence, which was a part of the turnpike road to Norwich. The -children and dogs seemed to know him, and the very geese along the way -to salute him with honks of wonder quite uncommon. - -He greeted titled people and laborers in the same common way, and he -one day said to the Governor: - -“If I were to meet General Prescott himself, I would not take off my -hat to him unless he met me civil.” - -Who was General Prescott? Not the patriot hero of Bunker Hill. He was -a British general that had been sent to Rhode Island, and had made -himself a terror there. The women, children, dogs, and perhaps the -farmhouse geese, ran _from_ him when he appeared; even the Rhode Island -Quakers moved aside when he was seen in a highway. - -He carried a cane. - -When he met a person in the highway he used to say: - -“Off with your hat! Don’t you know who I am?” - -If the person so accosted did not doff his hat, the pompous General -gave the hat a vigorous whack with his stout cane, and the wearer’s -head rung, and the latter did not soon again forget his manners. - -He once met an aged Quaker on the way――and these incidents are largely -traditional――who approached him respectfully, after the usual way, with -his broad-brimmed hat covering his curly locks. - -“Yea, verily, one day outshines another, and to goodly people this is a -goodly world.” - -“Who are you?” said the testy General. - -“A servant of the Lord, as I hope.” - -“A servant of the Lord? Off with your hat! Haven’t you any reverence -for me, nor the Lord either? Don’t you know who _I_ am?” - -“Nay, nay, softly; speak not thus, my friend.” - -“Off with your hat!” said the irate General. “None of your yea says and -nay says in my presence.” - -“I never unhat or unbonnet, my friend, in the presence of any man. I -could not do it if I were to meet the King himself.” - -The General grew red in the face. - -“There, you Pharisee, take that,” and here he applied his cane to the -good Quaker’s hat, “and that, and _that_, and THAT!” - -The Quaker strode away, and would need a new hat when next he went -abroad on the highway of the orchards and gardens. - -General Prescott, while at Newport, desired to have a sidewalk in front -of his house, so he ordered all of his neighbors’ door-stones to be -removed for the purpose. - -He was a petty tyrant, and he liked nothing so much as to make the -people――“rebels,” as he called them――feel his power. He would order -any one whom he disliked to be sent to the military prison without -assigning any reason. - -He once sent a greatly respected citizen to prison and forbade that the -latter should have any verbal communication with his friends or family. -The wife of the prisoner used to send him notes in loaves of bread. - -One day she appeared before Prescott, and desired him to allow her to -make one visit to her husband. - -“Who do you think I am?” said the General, or words in this spirit. -“Instead of allowing you to visit him, I will have him hanged before -the end of the week.” - -Under the petty tyranny of Prescott no one seemed safe on the island. - -The stories of Prescott’s insults to worthy people roused the spirit of -Dennis. - -“An’ sure it is, now,” he said to the Governor, “if I were to meet -that big-feeling Britisher, I would make him take off his own hat. Look -at me now.” - -Dennis stretched himself up to a height of nearly seven feet. - -“If he sassed me back, I’d give him one box on the ear with this shovel -of a hand, and he would never speak one word after he felt its swoop; -and it will be a sorry day if he ever says ‘Off with your hat’ to me, -now!” - -He repeated these things to Peter on the green. - -Dennis had met a man in Providence by the name of Barton――Colonel -Barton. This man was a native of Warren, R. I., and the son of a -thrifty farmer who owned a beautiful estate on Touisset Neck. The farm -and the family burying-ground are still to be seen there, much as they -were in the Revolutionary days. The place is now owned by Elmer Cole. - -Barton was a brave, bold man. He conceived a plan to capture the -tyrannical Prescott and humiliate the testy Britisher. For this -enterprise he desired to enlist strong, fearless, seafaring men. - -He had met Dennis and had said to himself that he must have the rugged -Irishman’s assistance. - -He met Dennis again one day in Providence. - -“Dennis O’Hay, can you keep a secret?” - -“Sure I can, if anybody. Dennis O’Hay would not betray a secret if the -earth were to quake and the heavens were all to come tumbling down, -sure as you are living――never that would Dennis O’Hay.” - -“Then close your mouth and open your ears. I have a plan to capture -General Prescott.” - -“An’ I am with ye. I’ll like to make that man feel the wake of my two -fists, and he wouldn’t dare to cane me after that.” - -“I want to secure twenty men or more that I can trust, seafaring men. -You must be one of them,” he continued. - -“I plan to go down to Warwick Neck, and to go over to the island with -my picked men in the night on whale-boats. The General and his guard -are at the Overing House on the north end of the island, down by the -sea. - -“I plan to pass through the British fleet in the night with muffled -oars, to land near Prescott’s headquarters, and――――” - -“Whoop!” said Dennis rudely, “to carry him off before he has time to -put on his clothes. You hand him over to me, and I would get him back -down to the boats as easy as a chicken-hawk with a chicken. He would -not even ask me to take off my hat. Put me down as one of the picked -men.” - -“You will meet me at the wharf on Warwick Neck on the afternoon of July -10th.” - -“That I will. You are a brave man and have the spirit of the times. -That man will know what are the rights of men if I ever get him between -these two fists. What did Providence make these hands for?” - -Dennis opened them and swung them around like a windmill. - -Dennis hurried back to Lebanon. He found the Governor there, and said: - -“I am going on an adventure with Colonel Barton; and when I return -perhaps I will bring a stranger with me. Mum is the word, your Honor.” - -“Barton, who is he?” asked the Governor. - -“A man with a stout heart, who can see in the dark.” - -“Go, Dennis, I have confidence in you.” - -Then Dennis went to Peter. He did not tell him the plot, not all of it, -but he said: - -“I am going to attempt something that will tip over the world. I -want you to watch for my coming back. I will signal to you from the -Plainfield Hills, and when you see the signal, run to the Governor and -say: ‘They’ve got him!’ Oh, Peter, it is a foine lad that you are now.” -Dennis slapped both hands on his knees, and laughed in a strange way. - -When the evening of the 10th of July came and Warwick Point, with its -green sea meadows and great trees, faded in the long cloudy twilight, -off the new wharfage lay three whale-boats, strong ribbed, and ample -enough to hold immense storage of blubber. - -In the shadows of the waving trees were Colonel Barton and some forty -men. The old ballad says: - - ’Twas on that dark and stormy night, - The winds and waves did roar, - Bold Barton then with twenty men - Went down upon the shore. - -There were more than twenty men who gathered at Warwick Point on that -eventful evening. - -It had been a windy day, a July storm, and the bay, usually so blue and -placid, was ruffled. - -Dennis was on hand at the appointed hour. - -“This is a good night for our enterprise,” said Barton. “This is a -night of darkness, and it favors us; let it be one of silence.” - -“Aye, aye,” said Dennis. “Oh, General Prescott, how I long to fold you -in my arms and give you a pat, pat on your face!” - -“Stop your joking,” said Barton. “We face serious work now.” - -Darkness fell on the waters. The men were mostly sailors, or used to -seafaring life. - -They heard the boom of the sunset gun from the British war-ships lying -between them and Rhode Island. - -The boats started toward Rhode Island in the darkness with silent men -and muffled oars. - -They passed between the ships that were guarding the British camp. - -“All is well,” called a sentinel on one of the ships whose lights -glimmered in the mist. - -“Much you know about it,” said Dennis. - -“Silence!” said Barton, as the oars dipped in the waters in which lay -the cloud. - -As silent as sea-birds and as unseen as birds in the cloud the boats -passed on and reached the shores of Rhode Island, beyond the two -islands of Prudence and Patience. - -There were lights in the Overing House. They glimmered in the mist -through the wet and dripping trees. - -The clouds were breaking and the moon was rolling through them. - -Barton summoned to him four trusty men. Among them was the giant -Dennis, and a powerful negro called Sile Sisson. - -This party stole through the side ways to the house. - -A guard was there. - -“Halt and give the countersign!” said the sentinel. - -“We need no countersign,” said the leader. “Are there any deserters -here?” - -The sentinel was thrown off his guard. - -Suddenly he found his gun wrenched from him, and he himself, poor man, -in the hands of the giant Dennis. He was greatly astonished. - -Colonel Barton entered the house, and found Mr. Overton, a Quaker, -reading in one of the lower rooms. - -“Is General Prescott here?” asked Colonel Barton. - -The Quaker’s eyes rounded. - -“He has retired.” - -“Where is his room?” - -“At the head of the stairs.” - -Colonel Barton ascended the stairs and stood before Prescott’s door. - -He gave a startling rap. - -There was no response. - -He tried the door. It was locked. He endeavored to force open the door, -but it was firm. - -“I will open the door,” said the giant negro. “Stand back.” - -His head was like a battering ram. He drew back, bent forward, and -struck the door with the top of his head. - -Crash! - -An old gentleman jumped out of bed, all astonished and excited. - -“Thieves! help!” cried the terrified man; but the sentry was in charge -of Dennis. - -Colonel Barton laid his hand on General Prescott’s shoulder. - -“General Prescott, you are my prisoner, and you must go immediately to -my boats.” - -“The dragon I am! Give me time to dress.” - -“No, you can have no time to dress. I will take your clothes with you; -march right on, just as you are.” - -The proud General was pushed down-stairs, greatly to the amazement of -the good Quaker, Mr. Overton, and was led out into fields which were -full of briers, partly naked as he was. He was so filled with terror -that he did not greatly mind the briers. He was hurried over the rough -ways, gasping and trembling, and found himself on a whale-boat, with -two other boats near him. The three boats moved away. - -“All is well!” said the sentinels on the ships. - -The noon of night passed, the clouds scudding over the moon; and the -silent boats, amid the British assurances that all was well, landed -near Providence, and horses with couriers ran hither and thither to -carry the news that Colonel Barton had captured General Prescott. - -It was decided to send Prescott to Washington’s headquarters, and he -would pass through Lebanon. - -Dennis rode swiftly toward Lebanon to tell the people the great news. -He raised the signal at Plainfield, and Peter ran to the Governor’s -office. - -“Raree show! raree show!” shouted Dennis as he entered the town, and -met the open-mouthed people on the green. “Let the heavens rejoice and -the earth be glad, and all good people shout now. Colonel Barton has -captured General Prescott, and they are bringing him here!” - -General Prescott, with his spirit unbroken, was brought to Lebanon. The -carriage in which he was held as a prisoner rolled up to the door of -the old Alden Tavern, and Prescott was led into the office. - -“I must have something to eat,” said Prescott. - -The good woman of the tavern bustled about, and brought out her -bean-pot and set it down on the dining-table. She had stewed corn, too, -and of the two one might make the old-time luxury called succotash. - -The beans and corn steamed, and the good woman, loyal as she was, was -glad that she could present so fine a supper to such a notable man. - -But General Prescott had been used to the dining-halls of castles. - -“Do you call that a supper?” said he angrily. “It is not fit for hogs -to eat. Take it away!” - -Dennis had come upon the scene. - -“Take it away!” demanded Prescott haughtily. - -“I’ll take you away for insulting my wife,” said the tavern-keeper. -“Dennis, take down the cowhide and I will make this Britisher dance.” - -The tavern-keeper applied the cowhide to the leaping General as an -old-fashioned schoolmaster might have used a birch switch on an unruly -boy. - -It was a terrible chastisement that the General received, and he -always remembered it. One day, in the course of the war, after he -had been exchanged for General Lee, he met a man who looked like the -tavern-keeper, and he shrunk back in alarm and said: “Oh, but I thought -that was the man who cowhided me.” - -These incidents are mainly true, and have but a thread of fiction. - -Dennis became a local hero among the friends of Brother Jonathan, and -took his place as the keeper of the alarm-post again. - -“Dennis,” said the Governor to him one day, “our hearts are one; I can -trust you anywhere. I will have important service for you some day. -When there shall come some great emergency, I will know whom I can -trust. General Washington trusts me, and I can trust you.” - -What a compliment! Dennis threw up his arms, and leaped. - -“I feel as though I could shake the heavens now. After General -Washington, you, and after you――hurrah for Dennis O’Hay! I wish my old -mother in Ireland could hear that, now. You shall never trust the heart -of Dennis O’Hay to your sorrow. These times make men, and one does not -get acquainted with himself until he is tried.” - -Dennis had grown. He felt that something noble in the secret service -awaited him. If he could not make himself famous, he could be a cause -of success in others. That he would be, and this sense of manhood -filled his ambition. - -“It is only a matter of time,” he said, “between Shakespeare and the -King and Dennis O’Hay. We will all go into oblivion at last, like the -kings of the pyramids of Egypt. It is only what we do that lasts.” - -So our shipwrecked mariner and rustic philosopher night after night -mounted the stairs to the outlook window, and saw the stars rise and -set, and was glad that he was living. - -He shared his life with the shepherd-boy. He lived outside of himself, -as it were――all did then. - -Dennis often joined the story-tellers on the Alden green and in the -war-office store. At the store the wayfarers bartered in a curious way: -they swapped stories. The drovers were a pack of clever story-tellers, -but also the wayfarers from the sea. - -Dennis O’Hay, who had been used to the docks of Belfast, Liverpool, and -London, saw some strange sights on his rides to secure stores for the -army, and saltpeter among the hill towns. - -One cold March day he stopped before the fence of a hillside farmhouse, -and his eye rested upon the most curious object that he had ever beheld -in his life. It seemed to be a sheep dressed in man’s clothing, eating -old sprouts from cabbage stumps. - -He sat on his horse and watched the man, or sheepman, as the case might -be. - -“Ye saints and sinners,” said he, “and did any one ever see the like -o’ that before? Not a man in sheep’s clothing, but a sheep in a man’s -clothing, browsing on last year’s second growth of cabbage. I must call -at the door and find out the meaning o’ that.” - -He called to the sheep: - -“You there, baa, baa, baa!” - -The sheep in his jacket answered him, “Baa-baa,” and came running to -the gate as if to welcome him. - -Dennis dismounted and pulled the strap of the door. - -The sheep followed him to the door, and when the latter was opened, -announced the arrival of a stranger by a baa. - -A tall, elderly man stood at the door, dressed in a new woolen suit. He -had a high neck-stock, and bowed in a very stately way. He had manners. - -“An’ I am out on business for the Governor,” said Dennis. - -“You are welcome,” said the tall man. “Any one in the service of the -Governor is welcome to my home, and to the best of my scanty fare.” He -bowed again. - -Dennis walked in, so did the sheep, with many baas. - -“Take a place before the fire,” said the tall old man. “I feel the -snows of age falling upon me,” he continued. “The sun and the light of -the moon will soon be darkened to me, and the clouds already return -after the rain. - -“The keepers of the house tremble,” here he lifted his hands, which -shook with a slight palsy; “and the grinders cease because they -are few,” here he pointed to his almost toothless gums; “and those -that look out of the windows be darkened,” here he took a pair of -spectacles from his eyes. He talked almost wholly in scriptural -language. - -The sheltered sheep said baa, and dropped down before the fire. Dennis -knew not what to say, but uttered a yum, when the tall man broke out -again: “The sound of the grinding is low, and I fear when I walk on the -places that are high, and the grasshopper is a burden. Yes, my friend, -the silver cord will soon be loosed, and the golden bowl broken and -the pitcher at the fountain and wheel at the cistern. You find me a -reed shaken by the wind, a trembling old man; but I have never seen the -righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. I am at your service; -my house, such as it is, is yours.” He bowed, and turned around and -bowed. - -“I am out and about collecting saltpeter,” said Dennis, “and all that -I ask is to warm myself by your fire, except, except――well, that shorn -sheep puzzles my wits. Pardon me, I beg a thousand pardons if I seem -uncivil, but why is it dressed up in that way?” - -“I will explain and enlighten your curiosity, my friendly traveler. The -sheep has on my old clothing, and I have on his.” - -He continued: “I am the teacher here, and my pay is small, and the war -taxes take all I can save. My old clothes became very worn, as you can -see there, and I had to maintain my dignity. I am a graduate of Yale, -and so I exchanged clothing with my one sheep. - -“My noble wife brought it about; she is at her wheel now. Let me call -her and introduce her.” - -He opened a door to a room where a wheel was whirling and buzzing like -a northern wind. - -“May, my dear!” - -May appeared. The withered man bowed, holding his right hand in air on -a level with his forehead. May made a courtesy. - -“Behold a virtuous woman,” said the tall man, with manners. “Her price -is above rubies. - -“The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, that he shall have -no need of spoil. - -“She seeketh wool and flax.” - -Here the sheep seemed to be in a familiar atmosphere, and responded in -his one word, baa. - -“She layeth hands on the spindle, and holds the distaff. Her household -are clothed in scarlet. Her children rise up and call her blessed, and -her husband praiseth her.” - -Dennis had seen many parts of the world, but he had never been -introduced to any one in that way before. - -The old man added, much to the wonder and amusement of his guest: - -“I sheared the sheep and _she_ carded the wool, and she spun the wool -and wove it into strong cloth, and dyed the cloth, and here I am -clothed against the storm. You see what a wife I have got.” - -“And what a sheep you have got, too,” said Dennis. “But may the Lord -protect you both. You have a heart to let the sheep warm himself by -your fire, and that is why you give me a place here.” - -“And now, wife,” said the tall man, “place the best that you have on -the table for the stranger. ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.’” - -“But, my dear consort, we have only one cake left for us two.” - -“Well, give that to him, and we will go supperless to Him who owns the -cattle upon a thousand hills. He is riding in the cause of liberty, and -needs the cake more than we. God will give us the white stone and the -hidden manna, and to serve the patriots we have gone supperless before.” - -Queer as it may seem, this story pictures the time. This man plowed -with a cow, but treated the animal as if she was a member of the -household; men and animals suffered together then in those hard, -sturdy, and glorious old New England days. - -“This is a queer country,” said Dennis, “but what men it makes! What -will they be when they are free!” - -But now came the disastrous battle of Long Island. New York was taken, -and the fall winds began to blow. - -There was sadness in every true American’s heart. England was -rejoicing, and felt secure in the rising success of her arms. - -Washington appealed to Trumbull. A former appeal had come in -spring-time, when Putnam left his plow in the furrow. - -The appeal now came in harvest-time. What were the farmers to do? - -“The wives and boys and old men will harvest the crops,” was the public -answer. “Save Washington _again_, Brother Jonathan!” - -It was in 1777. Disaster had again befallen the American army, and Lord -Howe was on the sea. - -Where was the British commander going? Some thought to the Hudson -River, some to Philadelphia. No patriot could know. - -Washington was in great distress and perplexity. - -Putnam commanded Philadelphia. In this crisis a young man presented -himself to General Putnam. - -“I am a patriot at heart,” he said, “but have been with Lord Howe. I -have been commanded by Lord Howe to bear a letter to General Burgoyne, -but, true to the American cause, I have brought the letter to you.” - -The letter was, or seemed to be, in the handwriting of Lord Howe. It -was sent to Washington. It informed Burgoyne that the fleet was about -to proceed against Boston. - -“The letter is a feint,” said Washington. But he read into it the real -design of Lord Howe, which was to proceed against him, and he was -thrown by it into the greatest perplexity. - -He must have more troops, and at once. He consulted Putnam, and said: -“I want you to send an express to Governor Trumbull at once. Tell -him to send the State militia without delay. He will not fail me.” -He added: “Connecticut can not be in more danger than this. Governor -Trumbull will, I trust, be sensible to this. I must appeal again to -Brother Jonathan.” - -These were nearly Washington’s own words to Connecticut Putnam, of the -fearless heart. - -Putnam sent a courier to Connecticut, a man on a winged horse, as it -were, who “flew” as Dennis had done. - -“If you ever rode, ride now,” was the probable order. “If we ever had -need of Brother Jonathan, it is now.” - -Still Brother Jonathan, whose heart was like a hammer and head like a -castle. This courier was destined to startle indeed the people of the -cedars. - -The American army was in dire distress and Lord Howe was on the sea! - -Brother Jonathan! He had grown now in reputation so that the hearts -of the people beyond his own State were his. If he could save the -situation he would indeed be the first of patriots. - -The messenger came, and said: “I am sent to you from Washington.” - -The Governor turned to the courier: - -“Go to the tavern; take your horse and yourself, and say to your chief, -‘It shall be done!’” - -What was it that should be done? - -The Council of Safety assembled in the back store. - -“Washington waits another regiment,” said one of the members in the -back store. - -“Yes, so it seems,” said another. “Every point seems to be threatened.” - -“We may find it hard to raise another regiment,” said a third member. - -“One,” said the Governor, “one regiment? We must raise NINE! We can do -it.” - -“Will the men descend from the sky?” questioned one. “We can not create -men.” - -“He can who thinks he can,” said the Governor. “Nine regiments he -needs, and nine regiments he shall have. Shall he not?” - -“Yes,” said all, “if you can find the men.” - -“I can find the men. Dennis?” - -There was no response. - -The shell was blown. The latch-string bobbed. - -“Dennis, Washington must have NINE regiments for the defense of New -York. That means work for you. Go to the towns――fly! Tell the selectmen -that Washington wants men. He has sent his appeal to me; he has put -confidence in my heart, notwithstanding my weak hands. He shall not -appeal in vain. Go, Dennis; these days are to live again. I feel the -divinity of the times; I must act, though I myself am nothing. Go to -Norwich, Hartford, New Haven――fly, Dennis, fly!” - -“I am not a bird, your Honor.” - -“Yes, Dennis, you are. Fly!” That word was the order now. - -Then the Governor talked with the Committee of Safety in the back store -until midnight. - -The candles went out, and the men slept there. - -The nine regiments of three hundred and fifty men each were raised. - -Men were few in old Windham County now. “Gone to the war,” answered -many inquiries. - -The women led the teams to the field; the old men, old women, and the -boys went to the husk-heap and husked corn. The boys learned to use the -threshing flails and winnowing sieves in the barns with open doors. - -The young and old filled the potato bins in the cellar and stored the -apples there. They banked the houses with thatch. - -Governor Trumbull was now at the full age when the vital powers ripen, -and when many men begin to abate their activities. But he seemed to -forget his age; he was never so active as now. - -[Illustration: Jonathan Trumbull.] - -Washington noted this activity of age with wonder, and he wrote to him: -“I observe with great pleasure that you have ordered the remaining -regiments of militia that can be spared from the immediate defense of -the seacoast to march toward New York with all expedition. I can not -sufficiently express my thanks.” To which Brother Jonathan replied: - -“When your Excellency was pleased to request the militia of our State -to be sent forward with all possible expedition to reenforce the army -at New York, no time was lost to expedite the march; and I am happy to -find the spirit and zeal that appeared in the people of this State, to -yield every assistance in their power in the present critical situation -of our affairs. The season, indeed, was most unfavorable for so many -of our farmers and laborers to leave home. Many had not even secured -their harvest; the greater part had secured but a small part even of -their hay, and the preparation of the crop of winter’s grain for the -ensuing year was totally omitted; but they, the most of them, left all -to afford their help in protecting and defending their just rights and -liberties against the attempt of a numerous army sent to invade them. -The suddenness of the requisition, the haste and expedition required -in the raising, equipping, and marching such a number of men after the -large drafts before made on this State, engrossed all our time and -attention.” - -The people forgot themselves for the cause. When Washington and -Trumbull made a call upon them for help it was like Moses and Aaron. -They did not argue or question; they hurried to the village greens, -there to receive their orders as from the Deity. - -That autumn the Governor issued a wonderful proclamation for a day of -fasting and prayer. - -The bell rang; the people assembled. Trumbull always attended church, -and the chair in which he used to sit is still shown in Lebanon. The -people followed his example. They felt that what was best for them -would be best for their children, and that whether they left them rich -estates or not, they must bequeath them liberty and the examples of -virtue. So they lived _mightily_ in “Brother Jonathan’s day.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -BEACONS - - -There is one history of the Revolution that has never been written; it -is that of _beacons_. The beacon, in the sense of a signal, was the -night alarm, the night order. The hills on which beacons were set were -those that could be seen from afar, and those who planted these far -angles of communications of light were patriots, like the rest. - -There was a beacon at Mt. Hope, R. I. It probably signaled to a beacon -on King’s Rocks, Swansea, which picturesque rocks are near to the -Garrison House at Myles Bridge, and the Swansea church, founded in the -spirit of liberty and learning by the famous John Myles, a learned -exile from Wales, who came to Swansea, Mass., for religious liberty, -bringing his church records from Swansea, Wales, with him. The old -Hessian burying-ground is near the place. Here John Myles founded -education in the spirit of the education of all. He made every house a -schoolhouse by becoming a traveling teacher. - -The King’s Rocks beacon communicated with Providence, and Providence -probably with Boston. - -In Boston was the beacon of beacons. Beacon Hill now bears its name. -A book might be written in regard to this famous beacon. It stood on -Sentry Hill, a tall mast overlooking city and harbor, not at first with -a globe on the top and an eagle on the globe, as is represented on the -monument. Sentry Hill was the highest of the hills of Trimountain. The -golden dome of the State-house marks the place now. - -The first beacon in Boston was erected here in 1635. It was an -odd-looking object. - -The general court of Massachusetts thus gave the order for the erection -of the beacon: - -“It is ordered that there shall be a beacon set on Sentry Hill, to give -notice to the country of danger.” - -The beacon had a peg ladder and a crane, on which was hung an iron pot. - -This beacon seems to have remained for nearly one hundred and fifty -years. It was the suggestion of beacons in many places, and these were -the telegraph stations of the Revolutionary War. A history of the -beacons would be a history of the war. - -What a signal it made as it blazed in the heavens! What eyes were -turned toward it in the nights of alarm of the Indian wars, and again -in the strenuous times of the expedition against Louisburg, and in -all the years of the great Revolution! A tar-barrel was placed on the -beacon-mast in perilous times, and it flamed in the sky like a comet -when the country was in danger. - -Beacon (or Sentry) Hill was almost a mountain then. The owners lowered -it for the sake of gravel for private and public improvements. It -filled hollows and lengthened wharves, and at last the beacon gave -place to the monument of its usefulness. - -In New York beacons were set along the highlands whose tops fired the -night sky in times of danger. - -These beacons or signals probably suggested the semaphore――a system -of signals with shutters and flags used in France during the wars of -Napoleon. - -Governor Trumbull said one day to Dennis: “We must consider the matter -of beacons.” - -The two went into the war office to consider. - -“I will bring the subject before the Committee,” said the Governor -after they had “considered” the matter for a time, “and you may get -Peter to point out to you the longest lookouts on the high hills. The -sky must be made to speak for the cause in tongues of fire.” - -The Tories more and more hated the war Governor. - -“I would kill him as I would a rattlesnake,” said one of these. - -There were new plots everywhere among Tory people to destroy him and -his great influence. - -Peter Nimble, though really a guard on secret service, still herded -sheep and roamed after his flocks and guided them in the pleasant -seasons of pasturage. He went up on the hills of the savins above the -cedar swamps. He knew the hills better than many of the people of -Lebanon. - -One day he met the Governor on the green. - -“Governor,” he said, “I watch at nights. You know all. I watch for -spies that are looking for the magazines. You know, Governor. I can do -you a greater service than that.” - -“Well, boy, you speak well. What can you do?” - -“I can think and talk with the skies.” - -“That is bravely said, but what do you mean?” - -“I can set beacons on the hills. I have studied the hilltops, and how -to look far. I can see how I could flash a signal from one hill to -Plainfield, and to Providence, and to New London.” - -“Boy, boy, you see. I can trust you. Have you told Mr. Williams of -this? Shepherd-boy, shepherd-boy, you are one after my own heart. Find -out the way to set beacons. Set signals. How did this knowledge come to -you?” - -“My heart is full of my country, when I am among the flocks on the -hills.” - -“You are like another David. Talk with Dennis about these things.” - -“Governor?” - -“Well, my shepherd-boy?” - -“One day, it may be, I will see something.” - -The Governor went to his war office. People were coming from four -different ways, all to consult with the Governor: horsemen, men in -gigs, men from the ships, people with provisions, all with something -special to say to the Governor. - -The Governor met William Williams, “the signer,” at the door of the war -office. - -“That is a bright boy that you keep to herd sheep,” said he. - -“Peter?” - -“Yes. He has just said something to me that I think remarkable. -Give him freedom to do much as he pleases. He is carrying out secret -instructions of mine.” - -Peter studied hilltops, and told Dennis of all the curious angles that -he discerned on the far and near hills. He set beacons and found out -how he could communicate with Plainfield, Providence, and Groton. - -In the meantime he watched in the midnight hours at an angle in the -turnpike road behind the curious window. He knew that the magazine was -near; he did not seek to learn where. While the young patriot’s mind -was employed in these things there came to him one night a very strange -adventure, which led him to see to how great peril the Governor’s -person was exposed. - -Peter thought much of his aged uncle, the wood-chopper, who had said to -him, “Out you go!” The boy had a forgiving heart. “He did it on account -of his love for the King, and he thinks that a king is appointed by -God,” he would say to the Governor. “Do not disturb him.” - -The Governor would not disturb him. He, too, had a forgiving heart. - -Peter’s heart was true to the old man. He sometimes wondered as to -where would fall the old man’s gold at last――to the King, or him. -But he had no selfish schemes in the matter――for him to do right was -to live. In his midnight watches, and with his most curious means of -communication with the alarm-post in the cedars, he held one purpose -uppermost: it was, to protect from harm the unselfish Governor who had -spoken so kindly to him when his heart was hungry, and whom all the -people loved. - -The Governor still went about with apparent unconcern; he would talk -here and there with those who detained him and needed him, now at -the tavern, now upon the village green. But the people all knew that -dangerous people were coming and going to and from the green-walled -town. - -Peter saw something suspicious in the conduct of several sailors who -visited the place from the ports, and who called the inland province -the Connecticut main. - -“I would sooner die myself,” he said to Dennis, “than to see any harm -befall the Governor. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man -lay down his life for his friends.’” He had learned to quote Scripture -from the Governor. - -One night as he was watching with his window at the elbow of the -turnpike, he was surprised to hear a soft, slow, cautious footfall, and -to see a curious stranger in a blanket approaching in the dim light. He -turned up the hill behind the window and light to see if the man in the -blanket would follow him. - -The man in the blanket turned when Peter set down the window, and went -down the hill as from a house to meet the traveler. - -Peter stopped the stranger, whom he saw to be dark and tall, and who -held under his blanket some weapon which seemed to be a hatchet. - -“Do you live in yonder house?” the man asked. - -“No,” said the boy, “that is not my house. Whom are you seeking?” - -“Does an old man live there?” asked the stranger. “An old man who used -to live with a boy――his brother’s boy?” - -“No, no,” answered Peter in much surprise. - -“Do you know of any old man that lives all alone? They say that the boy -has left him.” - -“I have in mind such an old man, stranger.” - -“What became of the boy?” - -“He tends sheep during the days.” - -“Can you direct me to the place where the old man lives?” - -“What would you have of him?” - -“I would have him help me. I need help.” - -“Did you ever meet him?” - -“No.” - -“How did you hear of him?” - -“I am partly an Indian. The scholars of the Indian school that were -once here used to meet him on the road in front of his woodpile. They -heard that he had concealed money. Indian need heap money. Indian must -have help.” - -The last sentence showed that the Indian spoke true in regard to his -nationality. - -A suspicion flashed across Peter’s mind; this stray Indian was out in -the forest at this time with no honest purpose. - -He simply said: “Follow me.” - -He led the Indian to the alarm-post. The Indian thought that he was -going to the wood-chopper’s cabin. Dennis received the night wanderer -and detained him. - -“I must go and alarm my uncle,” said Peter to Dennis, privately. - -He hurried away toward the old wood-chopper’s cabin. - -He beat on the door, and cried: - -“Lift the latch!” - -There was a noise within, and presently the latch was lifted. - -“You, boy? You? What brings you here at this time of night?” - -“To warn you of danger. There has been a man in the cedar swamp who is -seeking you, and he has no honest purpose in his heart, as I could see. -He is a half-breed. He says that you have money concealed.” - -The old man’s face took on a look of terror. - -He began to dance around. - -“Who――ah――says that I have money concealed?” he said, lighting a -candle――“who――who――who?” He lit another light. - -“Boy, you are not deceiving me? You never deceived anybody. And what -a heart you must have to come here to protect an old man like me, who -said to you, ‘Out you go!’ And you have held no hardness against me――I -have cursed you――because you have turned against the King. Come in――sit -down――I am afraid. You don’t think that the Indian meant to rob me, do -you?” - -“I think he intended to find you in the night and beg money, and if you -refused him to demand money, and if you refused him, then to find out -where you hid money. If I had not turned him aside, I don’t believe -that you would have been living in the morning. Bad Indians murder -lone men by lonely ways. There was crime in his eye.” - -“Boy, let me bar the door. I know your heart. You had a mother who had -a true heart, and a boy’s heart is his mother’s heart. You only come -here for a good purpose. I know that. And you have come in to-night to -protect me, who turned you out. - -“Boy, I have money. I am willing to tell you now where it is!” - -“But, uncle, I am not seeking your money――I do not wish to know where -it is.” - -“But you must――you must; you are the only friend that I have on earth. -What made me say, ‘Out you go!’ when I needed you? - -“The money――if ever I should die, do you come back here and take all -I leave, and wash and wash and wash until you find the bottom of the -soap-barrel. There, I haven’t told you anything. People don’t hide -money in the soap-barrel――no, no; lye eats――no, no. You know enough -now. Will you stay with me until morning?” - -“No; I have come to take you to the war office, for protection――to the -store. One room there is almost always open.” - -“To the Governor’s! He suspects me of being a Tory. What would the -King say, if he were to know that I went to the rebel Governor for -protection? No, no, no, no. Let the Indians kill me――I will die true to -my king. You may go――you will not betray me.” - -“I can not leave you until morning, and then I will see that you are -guarded.” - -“Who will guard me?” - -“The Governor will see that you are kept from harm.” - -“No, no, no. Go, Peter, go――out into the night. I want the King to know -that he has one heart that is true to him in the land of the cedars. -Go! I will bolt my door nights――and will chop wood. That is what I tell -people who come to visit me――I chop wood――and I will say no more. - -“You would die for the Governor, and I am willing to suffer any danger -for my king――for King George of Hanover. Go!” - -Peter went out into the night. There was something in his grim uncle’s -loyalty that kindled his admiration, and there was a touch in the old -man’s desire that he should possess his property that really awakened -a chord of love in his heart. He resolved that he would be as true to -the old man as ever his duties to the cause would allow, although the -rugged Tory had said to him a second time, “Out you go!” The heart -knows its own. - -Peter could ride like the wind. So the people said “that he streaked it -through the air.” With his night service, and his placing of beacons on -the hills, and his place at the door of the war office in the store, -which he yet sometimes filled, and the spirit that he had shown toward -his unhappy old uncle, the wood-chopper, he was making for himself a -personality. - -The Governor entrusted him with a message to the army at Valley Forge. - -The Governor’s wife was a noble woman, as we have seen. She was true -to her own. Her family were very tender-hearted and affectionate. Her -daughter Faith, who could paint and who had inspired her brother, the -great historic painter, in his boyhood, died of insanity after hearing -the thunders of Bunker Hill. She had married Colonel Huntington, who -went to the camps around Boston. She hoped to meet him there, but -arrived just as the battle of Bunker Hill was rending the air. - -When she thought of what war might mean to her father, her husband, and -her brother, who was an officer, her mind could not withstand the dark -vision that arose before her, and it went out. She died at Dedham. One -of her brothers, too, had so much of the human and elemental nature as -to have become greatly depressed by disappointment. The Trumbulls were -a marvelous family, with a divine spark in them all, but not all the -children had the rugged nerve of their father. - -The wife of Governor Trumbull guarded her family when the Governor was -absent on official duties at Hartford. - -The family now were like so many listeners――to get tidings from the -war was their life, and anxiety filled their faces as messengers -from Boston, Providence, New London, and Hartford, and the great -powder-mills and ordnance works of hidden Salisbury came to them. - -One evening, when the Governor was away, a messenger came to the green, -and stopped before the tavern. It was dark and rainy. - -“It is the shepherd-boy!” said Faith Trumbull, standing in the door, -with a lantern in her hand. “He has returned from Valley Forge. I -almost shut my heart against the news. His face is white.” - -The boy came to the house and Madam Trumbull received him by laying her -hand on his shoulders. - -Dennis came running in. - -“You, my boy Nimble? You made a quick journey.” - -The family sat down by the broad, open fire. Their anxiety was shown by -their silence. - -“Well,” said madam, “the time has come to speak. What news?” - -“Oh, could you see,” said the shepherd-boy, “shoeless men, foodless -men――snow and blood. When the men move, the snow lies red behind them. -Oh, it makes my heart sick to tell it. I would think that the stars -would look down in pity.” - -“Dennis,” said madam, “call the women of the Relief Committee here -to-night, all of them――now.” - -“Let us hear what more the boy has to say.” - -“No; suffering has no right to be delayed one moment of relief. Go now.” - -Dennis went out into the night. He returned with the women, who began -to knit stockings for the barefoot soldiers of Valley Forge. - -Madam addressed the women. - -“I belong to the Pilgrim Colony,” said she, “but of that I would not -boast. Hear the rain, hear the sleet, and the wind rising! You have met -here in the rain. The fire burns warm. - -“Let me tell you my thoughts――something that comes to me. It was such -a night as this when John Howland with a band of Pilgrims sailed in the -deep darkness, near the coast, on the shallop of the Mayflower, and he -knew not where he was.” - -“What did he do?” asked one of the knitters. - -“He sang in the storm. Darkness covered him――there was ice on the oars -as they lifted and fell. There was no light on the coast. The wind rose -and the seas were pitiless, but he sang――John Howland.” - -“What did he sing?” - -“That I can not tell. I think that he sang the Psalm that we sing to -the words - - ‘God is the refuge of his saints, - Though storms of sharp distress invade.’ - -Let us sing that now. The storm that tossed the shallop of the -Mayflower broke; the clouds lifted. So it will be at Valley Forge. Knit -and sing.” - -And the knitters sang. The storm rose to a gale. Shutters banged, and -there was only the tavern lights to be seen across the black green. - -Suddenly a strange thing happened. - -Peter opened the door, hat in hand. - -“Madam Trumbull,” said he, “may I speak to you?” - -“Yes, Peter, boy; what have you to say?” - -“I saw a strange man at Valley Forge. He was young――a Frenchman. - -“One cold night he was standing near Washington in the marquee, and -Washington, the great Washington, put his own cloak about him, and the -two stood under the same cloak, and some officers gathered around him. -And I heard him say, the young Frenchman: ‘When you shall hear the -_bugles of Auvergne_, the cause of liberty will have won the battle of -the world.’ What did he mean?” - -“I do not know,” said Madam Robinson; “it seems like a prophecy; like -John Howland, the pilgrim, singing in the night-storm on the shallop of -the Mayflower. The bugles of Auvergne!――the words seem to ring in my -ears. What was the young Frenchman’s name?” - -“Lafayette.” - -The next day Peter went to Dennis and related the same story, and said: - -“America will be free when she shall hear the bugles of Auvergne.” - -“So she will; I feel it in my soul she will――the bugles of Auvergne! -That sounds like a silver trumpet from the skies. But where are the -bugles of Auvergne?” - -“I do not know, but we will hear them――Lafayette said so.” - -“But who is that same Lafayette?” - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE SECRET OF LAFAYETTE - - -THE STORY OF THE WHITE HORSE - -Lafayette was born on September 6, 1757, in the province of Auvergne, -now Cantal, Puy-de-Dôme, and Haute-Loire. His birthplace was the -Château de Chavagnac, situated some six miles from ancient Brionde. - -Auvergne was celebrated for men of character and honor rather than -wealth and distinction――men who deserved to outlive kings, and whose -jewels were virtues. It became a proverb that the men of Auvergne knew -no stain, and hence the ensigns and escutcheons of the rugged soldiers -of the mountain towns were associated with the motto, “Auvergne sans -tache.” - -These soldiers kept this motto of their mountain homes ever in view; -they would die rather than violate the spirit of it. - -Lafayette was of noble family, and appeared at court when a boy. But -the gay court did not repress the spirit of Auvergne which lived in -him, and grew. He was of noble family, and his father fell at the -battle of Minden. The battery that caused his father’s death was -commanded by General Phillips, against whom Lafayette fought in the -great Virginia campaign. - -At the age of sixteen, the spirit of the mountaineers of Auvergne rose -within him. He became an ardent advocate of the liberties of men, and -he seemed to see the star of liberty rising in the Western world, and -he was restless to follow it. He heard of the American Congress as -an assembly of heroes of a new era――the new Senate of God and human -rights. Princes, after his view, should not violate the law of the -people. - -The heart of the King of France, while France at first professed -neutrality in the American struggle, was with the patriots; so was -the sympathy of the gay French court. The boy Lafayette knew this; he -longed to carry this secret news to America. - -He came to America, as we have described, with this secret in his heart. - -The capture of Burgoyne in October, 1777, delighted France. The clock -of liberty had struck; it only needed the aid of France to give -independence to the Americans. - -Lafayette became more restless. He had married into a noble family, -but the companionship of a beautiful and true woman could not stifle -this patriotic restlessness. He saw that he might be an influence in -bringing France to the aid of America. To do this became his life. - -The Queen espoused the cause of America; let us ever remember this, -notwithstanding that there are so many unpleasant things about her to -remember. Then the American cause seemed to fail in the Jerseys and -France to lose her interest in it. - -Young Lafayette’s heart was true to America in these dark hours. He -knew that France could be aroused to action. He espoused the cause of -America in her darkness, and doubtless dreamed of being able to convey -to Washington a secret, that few other men so clearly saw. France would -espouse the cause of America when events should open the way. - -Never such a secret crossed the sea as young Lafayette bore in his -bosom to Washington. It came, as it were, out of Auvergne; it was -borne against every allurement of luxury and self; it was an inborn -imperative. When a new world was to be revealed, Columbus had to sail; -when liberty was to be established among men, Lafayette, the child -of destiny, had to face the west; where was there another race of -liberty-loving men like those of the Connecticut farmers? In Auvergne. -Who of all men could represent this spirit of liberty in America? -Lafayette. - -He won the heart of America; even the British respected him. His true -sympathy was the cause of his great popularity; his heart won all -hearts. - -In the terrible winter of 1778 the American army with Washington and -Lafayette were at Valley Forge; the British were in Philadelphia, -spending a gay winter reveling. - -No pen can describe the destitution and suffering of the 5,000 or -more patriots at Valley Forge. The white snows of that winter in the -wilderness were stained with the blood of naked feet. Famine came with -the cold. - -The men were “hutted” in log cabins. “The general’s apartment is very -small,” wrote Mrs. Washington; “he has a log cabin built to dine in, -which has made our quarters much more tolerable than they were at -first.” - -There was no fresh meat there; no sufficient salted provisions. There -were no cattle in the neighboring towns or States that could be spared -for the army. - -But they suffered in silence. They went half-clothed and hungry, but -they did not desert. - -“Nothing can equal their sufferings,” wrote one of an examining -committee. Even the cannon was frozen in, and bitten by the frost were -the limbs of those who were commissioned to handle them. - -Had General Howe, whose army was dissipating at Philadelphia, led out -his troops against the famine-stricken army in the Valley, what might -have been the fate of the American cause? - -The dissipations of the English army was one cause of its overthrow. -That army had been reveling when surprised at Trenton. - -With his men wasting and dying around him, shoeless, coatless, -foodless, what was Washington to do? - -At one of the dismal councils of his generals there came a counsel that -made the hearts all quicken. - -“Send to Connecticut for cattle. Let us appeal to Brother Jonathan -again; he has never failed us.” - -“I never made an appeal to Brother Jonathan but to receive help,” said -the great commander. - -The appeal was made. In his letter to Governor Trumbull, Washington -said: - -“What is still more distressing, I am assured by Colonel Blaine, deputy -purchasing commissary for the middle district, comprehending the -States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, that they are nearly -exhausted, and the most vigorous and active exertions on his part will -not procure more than sufficient to supply the army during this month, -if so long. This being the case, and as any relief that can be obtained -from the more southern States will be but partial, trifling, and of -a day, we must turn our eyes to the eastward, and lay our account -of support from thence. Without it, we can not but disband. I must, -therefore, sir, entreat you in the most earnest terms, and by that zeal -which has eminently distinguished your character in the present arduous -struggle, to give every countenance to the person or persons employed -in the purchasing line in your State, and to urge them to the most -vigorous efforts to forward supplies of cattle from time to time, and -thereby prevent such a melancholy and alarming catastrophe.” - -Read these words twice: “Without it the army must disband.” - -As soon as Governor Trumbull had received the letter he called together -the Council of Safety. He read it to them. They wept. - -“An army of cattle might save the cause,” said one. - -“Our suffering brothers shall have the army of cattle,” said Brother -Jonathan. - -He at once aroused the farmers of Connecticut. Horsemen dashed hither -and thither, away from Hartford and from the war office to the hillside -farms. - -“Cattle! cattle!” they cried. “Our army is perishing. Washington has -appealed to Brother Jonathan!” - -At the head of these alarmists rode Dennis O’Hay, awakening the -villages with his resonant brogue: - -“It is cattle, an army of cattle, that Washington must have now! His -men are going barefooted in the snow. Oh, the shame of it! His men have -no meat to warm their veins in the cold. Oh, the shame of it! They -fever, they wither, they are buried in clumps and clods. Oh, the shame -of it! Arouse, or the heavens will fall down on you! Cattle! Cattle!” - -The thrifty hillside farmers had made many sacrifices already, but they -responded. - -An army of cattle began to form. It increased. Nearly every farm could -spare one or more beeves, armed with fat flesh and warm hides. - -So it started, armed, as it were, with horns, Dennis leading them under -officers. - -Three hundred miles it marched, gathering force along the way. - -It entered at last the dreary wilderness of the suffering camp. The men -saw it coming. There went up a great shout, which ran along the camp, -and went up from even the hospital huts: - -“The Lord bless Brother Jonathan!” - -The officers hailed the cattle-drivers. - -“Should we win our independence,” said an officer, “what will we not -owe to Brother Jonathan and his army of cattle from the provision -State!” - -Dennis froze with the others that winter. - -In the spring he returned, moneyless, fameless. Half of his face was -black, and one hand had gone. The explosion of a powder-wagon which -he had been forcing on toward Washington’s army had caused the change -in his appearance, but it was rugged work that Dennis O’Hay had done -during that past winter for the army. - -The Governor heard his story. - -“Dennis O’Hay,” said he, “when America achieves her liberty, and her -true history shall be written, the inspired historian will see in -such as you the cause of the mighty event. It is men who are willing -to suffer and be forgotten that advance the welfare of mankind; it is -not wealth or fame that lifts the world: it is sacrifice, sacrifice, -sacrifice! That means you, Dennis O’Hay. - -“Dennis, did you know that they once offered me the place of the -colonial agent to London? They did, and I refused for the good of my -own people at home. That is a sweet thing for me to remember. The only -thing that a man can have in this world to last is righteous life. This -is true, Dennis: that the private soldier who seeks all for his cause -and nothing for himself is the noblest man in the annals of war, unless -it be a Washington.” - -“And you, Governor Trumbull.” - -Dennis took off his hat and bowed low. - -The Governor also took off his hat and bowed twice, and the people who -had gathered around took off their hats and shouted. - -“The stars will hear ye when ye shout for Brother Jonathan,” said -Dennis O’Hay. “I have brought home a secret with me.” - -“What may it be?” asked many. - -“It would not be a secret were I to tell it.” - -Dennis, after driving his army of cattle, with underdrivers, had -entered lustily the place of the halted army of desolation. He had -remained there until spring. He was greeted there one day by two men, -one a tower of majestic manhood, the other a glittering young man of -warm heart and enthusiasm; they were Washington and Lafayette. - -“Your army will save us, my good friend,” said the man of majestic -presence. - -“This army will save the cause,” said the younger officer. - -There was a look of hope in his face that revealed to Dennis that he -had some secret ground for this confidence. - -Washington moved away to his marquee. - -Dennis, hat in hand, said to Lafayette: - -“May I detain you a moment, your Honor?” - -“Yes, my honest man; what would you have? I hope that it may be -something that I can grant.” - -“Do you remember that day when you spoke of a body of men as the bugles -of Auvergne?” - -“Yes, my good friend, and how do those words impress you?” - -“I can never tell. They are words within words. What I want to ask -of you is――pardon my bluntness, I was not bred in courts, as you -see――couldn’t you induce those men who blow the bugles of Ovan to come -here and give us a lift? My heart tells me that they would be just the -men we would need. I don’t so much hear words as the spirit of things, -and the heart knows its own.” - -“I will think of these things, my good friend of the honest heart. I do -think of them now. I will entrust you, a stranger, with a secret. Will -you never tell it until the day that makes it clear arrives?” - -“Never, never, never――oh, my heart dances when I hear good things -of the cause of these people struggling so mightily for their -liberties――no, no, the tail goes with the kite; I will never tell.” - -“I am now writing to the court of France. If I get good news, I will -ask for the French mountaineers whose banner is _Auvergne sans tache_!” - -“May the heavens all take off their hats to ye and the evil one never -get ye. I can see them coming now, a kind o’ vision, with their banners -flying. I have second sight, and see good things. Why do not people see -good things now, like the prophets of old, and not witches and ghosts? -To Dennis O’Hay the passing clouds are angels’ chariots. Oh, I will -never forget you, and I would deem it an honor above honors if you will -not forget Dennis O’Hay.” - -“One thing more, good Dennis, I have to say to you before we part. If a -French ship should come to Norwich from Lyons, you may learn more about -Auvergne, which is the Connecticut of France.” - -“Then you must be like the Governor, who is so all wrapped up in the -cause that he has forgotten to grow old.” - -The young French officer drew his cloak about him, and touched his hat -and went to the marquee. - -Dennis laid down to rest among some wasted men of the army by a fire -of fagots. He dreamed, and he saw French ships sailing in the air. He -had read the success of the cause amid all these miseries in the heart -of young Lafayette. - -“That boy general has the vision of it all,” said he. - -The Irishman as a bearer of despatches from Governor Trumbull was not -without importance. - -Dennis lingered to rest by the marquees of the officers under the moon -and stars. He listened for words of hope. One night Lafayette talked. -He engaged all ears. - -“I was born at Auvergne, in the mountain district of France,” said -he, “and the soldiers of Auvergne are sons of liberty. They are -mountaineers. I would that I could induce France to send an army of -those mountaineers to America. They are rugged men; they believe in -justice, and equal rights, and equal laws, and for this cause they are -willing to die. They have a grand motto, to which they have always been -true. It is ‘Auvergne sans tache’――Auvergne without a stain. I love a -soldier of Auvergne, a mountaineer of the glorious air in which I was -born.” - -His mind seemed to wander back to the past. - -“‘Auvergne sans tache,’” said he. “‘Auvergne sans tache’――these words -command me, they have entered into my soul. Would these men were here, -and that I could lead them to victory!” - -Dennis caught the atmosphere. - -“And sure, your Honor, people find what they seek, and all good dreams -come true sometime, and you will bring them here some day. I seem to -feel it in my soul.” - -The officers shouted. - -“And it is from Connecticut I am.” - -The young Frenchman may never have heard of the place before. - -“And brought despatches to General Putnam from Brother Jonathan. - -“May I ask what were these words of the French mountaineers who are -just like us――‘Auvergne sans tache’? I wonder if this poor head can -carry those words back to Lebanon green――_Ovan-saan-tarche_! The words -ring true, like a bell that rings for the future. I somehow feel that I -will hear them again somewhere. _Ovan-saan-tarche, Ovan-saan-tarche!_ -I will go now. I must tell the Governor and all the people about it -on the green――_Ovan-saan-tarche_! What shall I tell the people of the -cedars?” - -“Tell the people of the cedars that there is a young French officer in -the camp here that thinks that he carries in his heart a secret that -will give liberty to America; that aid will come from a district in -France that grows men like the cedars.” - -Now the secret of Lafayette haunted the mind of Dennis. - -“A spandy-dandy boy told me something strange,” said he to the -Governor, on his return. “He was a Frenchman, with a shelving forehead -and red hair, and Washington seemed to be hugging his company, as it -were; the General saw something in him that others did not see. I think -he has what you would call a discerning of spirits. I thought I saw the -same thing.” - -“Washington, it is likely, relies on this officer, because the young -Frenchman believes in him and in the cause,” said the Governor. -“Washington is human, and he must have a lonesome heart, and he must -like to have near him those who believe in him and in the cause. That -is natural.” - -There was to be a corn-roast in the cedars――a popular gathering where -green corn was roasted on the ear by a great fire and distributed among -the people. - -Had Lebanon been nearer the sea there would have been a clambake, as -the occasion of bringing together the people, instead of a corn-roast. - -At the clambakes bivalves and fish were roasted on heated stones under -rock-weed, sea-weed, and a covering of sail-cloth, the latter to keep -down the steam. - -The people gathered for the corn-roast, bringing luscious corn in -the green husks, new potatoes, apples, and fruit. The women brought -pandowdy, or pot-pies, made of apples baked in dough, which candied in -baking, and also brown bread, and rye and Indian bread, and perhaps “no -cake,” all of which was to be eaten on the carpet of the dry needles of -the great pines that mingled among the cedars. - -This was to be a lively gathering, for a report had gone abroad that -Dennis had seen a prophet and had received great news from a young -French officer, and that he would tell his story among the speeches on -that day. - -It was in the serene and sunny days of September. The locusts made a -silvery, continuous music in the trees. The birds were gathering for -migrations. The fields were full of goldenrod and wild asters, and the -oaks by the wayside were here and there loaded with purple grapes. - -The people came to the cedar grove from near and from far, and every -one seemed interested in Dennis. - -The Irishman towered above them all, bringing deadwood for the fires. - -The feast was eaten on the ground, and the people were merry, all -wondering what story Dennis, who had been to the army and seen the -great Washington himself, would have to tell. - -The people watched him as he brought great logs on his shoulders to -feed the fire where the corn was roasted. - -Brother Jonathan and his good wife came to the goodly gathering. The -people arose to greet him, and the children gathered around him, and -looked up to him as a patriarch. He was then some sixty-seven years old. - -After the feast he lifted his hands and spoke to the people. The cedar -birds gathered around him in the trees, and one adventurous crow came -near and cawed. Dennis threw a stick at the crow, and said: - -“Be civil now, and listen to the Governor!” - -After the Governor had spoken, “Elder” Williams spoke. But it was from -Dennis that the people most wished to hear. - -They called upon the village esquire to speak. - -He was a portly man. He arose and said: - -“I will not detain you long. It is Dennis for whom you are waiting.” - -He said a few words, and then called: - -“Dennis? Dennis O’Hay?” - -“At your service,” said Dennis, drawing near, hat in hand. - -“Dennis, they say that you met a prophet in the army.” - -“That I did, sir, and I mind me the secret of the skies is in his -heart.” - -“How did he look?” - -“Oh, he was a skit of a man, with a slanting roof to his forehead, -and lean-to at the back of it. He was all covered with spangles and -bangles, and he followed the great Washington here and there, like as -if he was his own son. That is how it was, sir.” - -The people wondered. This was not the kind of a prophet that Elder -Williams had preached about in the Lebanon pulpit for twoscore years. - -The elder stood up, and said: “Be reverent, my young man.” - -“That I am, sir. I answered the esquire after the truth, sir.” - -“And what made you think that such a frivolous-looking man as that -could be a prophet? Prophets are elderly men, and plain in their dress -and habits, and grave in face. Why did you think that this gay young -man was a prophet?” - -“Because, your reverence, I could see that Washington believed in -him――the great Washington, and the man prophesied, too.” - -“To whom did he prophesy?” - -“To me, to your humble servant, sir.” - -The people laughed in a suppressive way, but wondered more than ever. - -“What did he say, Dennis?” - -“That I can never tell, sir. He has a woman’s heart, sir, and she has -a man’s heart, sir, and both have the people’s heart, sir; and one day -there will be fleets on the sea, sir, and strange armies will appear -on our shores, sir. They may come here, sir, and encamp in the cedars, -sir. Oh, I am an honest man, and seem to see it all, sir.” - -“How old is your prophet, Dennis?” - -“I would think that he might be twenty, sir; no, a hundred; no, as old -as liberty, sir, with all his bangles and spangles.” - -“That is very strange,” said the esquire. “I fear that you may have -wheels in your head, Dennis――were any of your people ever a little -touched in mind?” - -“No, never; they had clear heads. An’ why do I believe that this young -man carries a secret in his heart that will deliver America? Because -he has the heart of the mountaineers of God. He belongs to the sons of -liberty in France, and little he cares for his bangles and spangles.” - -“But he is too young.” - -“No, no; pardon me, sir, he has an ardent heart, that he has. It is all -on fire. Wasn’t David young when he took up a little pebbly rock and -sent the giant sprawling? Wasn’t King Alfred young when he put down his -foot and planted England? Wasn’t Samuel young when he heard a voice?” - -The people began to cheer Dennis. - -“The true heart knows its own. Washington’s heart does. - -“You may laugh, but I have met a prophet. The gold lace on him does not -spoil his heart. He comes out of the past, he is going into the future; -he loves everybody, and everybody that meets him loves him. Laugh if -you will, but Dennis O’Hay has seen a prophet, and you will see what is -in his heart some day. - -“He has a motto. What is his motto, do you ask? _Ovan-saan-tarche_!――Ovan -without a stain. That is the motto of the soldiers of the place where he -was born. That place is like this place, I mind me. He says: ‘America -will be free when she shall hear the bugles of Ovan.’” - -“What is his name?” asked the esquire. - -“His name? Bother me if I can remember it now. It is the same as the -boy said. But you will come to know it some day, now heed you this -word in the cedars. Lafayette――yes, Lafayette――that is his name. It is -written in the stars, but bother me, it flies away from me now like a -bird from a wicker-cage. But, but, hear me, ye good folks all, receive -it, Governor, believe it, esquire――that young man’s heart holds the -secret of America. There are helpers invisible in this world, and the -heavens elect men for their work, not from any outward appearance, but -from the heart. This is the way God elected David of old.” - -A blue jay had been listening on a long cedar bough stretched out like -an arm. - -She archly turned her head, raised her crown and gave a trumpet-call, -and flew over the people. - -The men shouted, and the women and children cheered Dennis, and the -grave Governor said: - -“Life is self-revealing, time makes clear all things, and if our good -man Dennis has indeed discovered a prophet, it will all be revealed to -us some day. Elder Williams, pray!” - -The old man stood up under the cedars; the women bowed. Then the people -went home to talk of the strange tidings that Dennis had brought them. - -Was there, indeed, some hidden secret of personal power in the heart of -this young companion of Washington, who had made honor his motto and -liberty his star? - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -LAFAYETTE TELLS HIS SECRET - - -There is one part of the career of young Lafayette that has never been -brought into clear light, and that part was decisive in the destinies -of America. It was his letters home. From the time of his commission -as an officer in the American army he was constantly writing to French -ministers, asking them to use their influence to send aid to America. - -He had the favor of the court, and the heart of the popular and almost -adored Queen. He felt that his letters must bring to America a fleet. -He poured his heart into them. - -The surrender of Burgoyne brought about a treaty between France and the -United States. It was one of alliance and amity. France recognized the -United States among the powers of the world, and received Dr. Benjamin -Franklin as minister plenipotentiary to the court. - -[Illustration: The surrender of Burgoyne.] - -For this great movement the letters of Lafayette had helped to prepare -the way. - -His heart rejoiced when he found that this point of vantage had been -gained. - -He was the first to receive the news of the treaty. - -He went with the tidings to Washington. It revealed to the strong -leader the future. - -Washington was a man of silence, but his heart was touched; a sense of -gratitude to Heaven seemed to inspire him. - -“Let public thanksgivings of gratitude ascend to Heaven,” he said. -“Assemble the brigades, and let us return thanks to God.” - -The brigades were assembled. The cannon boomed! Songs of joy arose and -prayers were said. - -Then a great shout went up that thrilled the young heart of Lafayette. - -“_Vive le roi!_――Long live the King of France!” - -That thanksgiving set the bells of New England to ringing, and was a -means of recruiting the army everywhere. - -Lafayette heard the news with a full heart, and he himself only knew -how much he had done silently to renew the contest for liberty. - -Congress began to see his value. They honored him, and that gave him -the influence to say: - -“I came here for the cause. I must return to France for the cause.” - -He said of this crisis, and we use his own words here: - -“From the moment I first heard the name of America, I began to love -her; from the moment I understood that she was struggling for her -liberties, I burned to shed my best blood in her cause, and the days -I shall devote to the service of America, whatever and wherever it -may be, will constitute the happiest of my life. I never so ardently -desired as I do now to deserve the generous sentiments with which these -States and their representatives have honored me.” - -He obtained from Congress permission to return to France in the -interest of the cause of liberty. - -It was 1778. He had arrived on the American shores a mere boy and a -stranger. Now that he returned to France, the hearts of all Americans -followed him. He was twenty-two years of age. He was carrying a secret -with him that he was beginning to reveal and that the world was -beginning to see. - -In serving the cause of the States he felt that he was promoting -the cause of the liberty of mankind. France might one day feel its -reaction, burst her old bonds, and become a giant republic. - -France arose to meet him on his return. Havre threw out her banners to -welcome his ship. He was acclaimed, feasted, and lauded everywhere, -until he longed to fly to some retreat from all of this adoration of a -simple young general. - -The Queen, Marie Antoinette, admired him, and became his patron. She -received him and delighted to hear from him about America and the -character of Washington. Lafayette delighted the Queen with his story -of Washington. - -After these interviews, in which Lafayette saw that he had secured -her favor for the American cause, the Queen had an interview with Dr. -Franklin. - -“Do you know,” said the Queen to Franklin, “that Lafayette has really -made me fall in love with your General Washington. What a man he must -be, and what a friend he has in the Marquis!” - -The court opened its doors to meet him. The King welcomed him. All -Paris acclaimed him. The people of France were all eager to hear of him. - -What an opportunity! Lafayette seized upon it. He was not moved by the -flattery of France. Every heart-beat was full of his purposes to secure -aid for America. - -This he did. - -“I will send a fleet to America,” said the King. - -The young King was popular then, and this decision won for him the -heart of liberty-enkindled France. - -Lafayette’s heart turned home to the heroic mountaineers. - -“If it can be done,” he said to the military department, “let there -be sent to America the soldiers of Auvergne, they of the banners of -‘Auvergne sans tache.’” - -Two hundred young noblemen offered their services to Lafayette. - -He left France for America. Banquet-halls vied with each other in -farewells. - -But the night glitter of the palaces were as nothing to the words of -the young King: “You can not better serve your King than by serving the -cause of America!” - -He left France in tears, to be welcomed by shouts of joy in America. - -He brought back the news to Washington that henceforth the cause of -America and France were one, and that he hoped soon to welcome here the -grenadiers of Auvergne――“Auvergne sans tache!”――the bugles of Auvergne! - -Peter brought the message that announced this great news to the war -office. - -The Governor’s face lighted when the boy appeared at the door. - -“What is it now?” he asked. “You always bring joy to my heart!” - -“France in alliance,” said the Governor. “May France herself live to -become a republic. And the Queen has espoused our cause!” - -Peter went from the office with heart full of joy. Good news from the -seat of war made his heart as light as a bird――it made him whittle and -whistle. - -Out in the cold, watching nights, Peter’s heart turned to the -wood-chopper, who had seemed to love the King more than him. He felt -that the old man must be lonely in his cabin, with only the blue jays -and the squirrels, and the like to cheer him. Peter could seem to hear -him chop, chop, chopping wood. - -He met him once in the way, and the old man talked of the King――“my -king.” - -“He is only a man,” said Peter, in defense of the cause. - -“Only a man?” said the wood-chopper. “His arms are like the lion and -unicorn――and they have taken down the King’s arms in Philadelphia and -overturned his statue in New York. But the lion and the unicorn still -stand on the old State-house, Boston. Hurrah for King George III! They -may do what they will with me, but my heart will still say: ‘Long live -the King!’” - -He seemed to think that the King wore a real lion and unicorn on his -arms, or to so imagine him. - -Poor old man on the by-way of the Lebanon cedars! Peter pitied him, for -he felt that he had, after all, a very human heart. - -Dennis went again to the camp of Washington to confer with the General -in regard to movements of powder, and there he saw Lafayette. - -The Frenchman, indeed, did not look like a prophet now, nor like one of -the yeomen of the hill-towns of Connecticut. - -He was in command of the advance guard of Washington’s army (1780), -composed of six battalions of light artillery. These men glittered in -the sun. They did not look like Connecticut volunteers. The officers -were armed with spontoons and fuses; they wore sabres――French sabres, -presented them by Lafayette. Their banners shone. Their horses were -proud. - -“An’ I fear I have missed my prophet that I calculated him to be,” said -Dennis, “and that the cedar folks will all laugh at me. Prophets do not -dash about in such finery as this. There he comes, sure, on a spanking -horse. I wonder if he would speak to me now.” - -The young Frenchman came dashing by in his regalia. - -Dennis lifted his hat. - -Lafayette halted. - -“I came from the cedars――Brother Jonathan’s man, that I am. You -remember _Ovan-saan-tarche_.” - -“Yes, yes, my hearty friend,” said the Frenchman, bowing. - -“How is his Excellency?” - -“Sound in head and heart, and firm in his heels, which he never turns -to his country’s enemies.” - -“Have you a wife, my friend?” bowing. - -“No, no, but I’ve a sweetheart in old Ireland.” - -“Happy man!” bowing. - -“But I go my way alone now.” - -“Lucky dog!” said the Marquis, with provincial rudeness, bowing and -bowing. - -“And there is one question which I wish to ask you. I have been telling -the home people that you are a prophet, and not much like an old -prophet do you look now――pardon me, your Honor. You once told me that -you carried a secret in your heart that was to free America. Do you -carry that secret now?” - -“Yes, yes, my friend, from the cedars. The French fleet came; that was -a part of my secret. But I am carrying a greater one. You will soon -hear the bugles of Auvergne. When you hear the bugles of Auvergne, then -you will believe that my soul is true to America. Dennis, let me take -your hand.” - -He took the Irishman’s hand, bowing. - -“There is true blood in that hand,” bowing. - -“There is true blood in yours,” said Dennis, “and the secret of the -skies is in your soul.” - -“And there are two crowns in that secret and the heart of France. And -one of the crowns is a woman’s――a glorious woman’s. Oh, Dennis, you -should see our Queen! She admires Washington, she loves America!” - -Dennis dropped down on his knees. - -The glittering Frenchman rode away, bowing to the prostrate man. - -“An’ I do believe he is a prophet, after all,” said Dennis. - -It would be great news that he would have to take back to Lebanon now. -How that French prophet bowed and bowed to him. - -His heart rejoiced to bear good news to the Governor. - -Peter, as we have said, delighted in bringing the Governor good news. -One day he was sent to Boston for letters which were expected to arrive -from England. One was given him for the Governor which was marked -“Important.” He hurried back to the war office with it, running his -spirited horse much of the way. - -He delivered the letter to the Governor, in the war office. - -“Wait!” said the Governor, as he was about to go. - -The Governor read the letter, and then walked around and around in the -little room. - -“It is from my son John,” said he. “He has been arrested in London, and -is in prison.” The Governor continued to walk in the room. - -John Trumbull had gone abroad in 1780, to study painting under the -great master, Benjamin West. The British Secretary for American Affairs -had assured him that he would be protected as an artist if he did not -interfere in political affairs. - -Colonel Trumbull once thus related the story of his arrest in a vivid -way: - -“A thunderbolt falling at my feet would not have been more astounding; -for, conscious of having done nothing politically wrong, I had become -as confident of safety in London as I should have been in Lebanon. For -a few moments I was perfectly disconcerted, and must have looked very -like a guilty man. I saw, in all its force, the folly and the audacity -of having placed myself at ease in the lion’s den; but by degrees I -recovered my self-possession, and conversed with Mr. Bond, who waited -for the return of Mr. Tyler until past one o’clock. He then asked for -my papers, put them carefully under cover, which he sealed, and desired -me also to seal; having done this, he conducted me to a lock-up house, -the Brown Bear in Drury Lane, opposite to the (then) police office. -Here I was locked into a room, in which was a bed, and a strong, -well-armed officer, for the companion of my night’s meditations or -rest. The windows, as well as the door, were strongly secured by iron -bars and bolts, and seeing no possible means of making my retreat, I -yielded to my fate, threw myself upon the bed, and endeavored to rest. - -“At eleven o’clock the next morning I was guarded across the street, -through a crowd of curious idlers, to the office, and placed in -the presence of the three police magistrates――Sir Sampson Wright, -Mr. Addington, and another. The examination began, and was at first -conducted in a style so offensive to my feelings that it soon roused -me from my momentary weakness, and I suddenly exclaimed: ‘You appear -to have been much more habituated to the society of highwaymen and -pickpockets than to that of gentlemen. I will put an end to all this -insolent folly by telling you frankly who and what I am. I am an -American――my name is Trumbull; I am a son of him whom you call the -rebel Governor of Connecticut; I have served in the rebel American -army; I have had the honor of being an aide-de-camp to him whom you -call the rebel General Washington.’” - -He had said too much; he slept that night “in a bed with a highwayman.” - -“This is not your accustomed good news, my boy,” said the Governor. - -“Another ship with letters is soon expected in the fort,” said Peter. -“That may bring good news.” - -“Peter, I love the bearer of good news. Go back to Boston, and if you -bring me news to comfort me, it is well; if not, you will have done -your duty. Ride with the wind!” These were common words of hurry. - -Peter rode with the wind. In a few days he returned on a foaming horse -to the war office. - -The Governor met him. - -“He is released!” said the boy. - -The Governor stood with beaming face. - -Presently an old man came hobbling up to the door. It was the -wood-chopper. - -He looked up to Peter helplessly and yet with a glow of pride and -gratitude. - -“Boy,” he said, “I turned you out, but you came back in my hour of -danger. Is there any news from the King?” - -“Yes, uncle.” - -“What may it be?” - -“He is going to spare John Trumbull’s life and set him free.” - -The old man staggered. - -“Hurrah for King George!” he said. “My king! my king!” - -He sunk down on the grass. “My king! my king!” - -That the reader may have the exact truth of this bit of fact-fiction, -let me give you the anecdote from history, that so finely reveals the -better side of the character of the half-insane old King. - -Benjamin West, on hearing of the arrest of his pupil, went directly -to the King in Buckingham Palace, and asked for the young American -painter’s release. - -“I am sorry for the young man,” said his Majesty George III, “but -he is in the hands of the law, and must abide the result; I can not -interpose. Do you know whether his parents are living?” - -“I think I have heard him say,” replied Mr. West, “that he has very -lately received news of the death of his mother; I believe his father -is living.” - -“I pity him from my soul!” exclaimed the King. “But, West,” said he, -after musing for a few moments, “go to Mr. Trumbull immediately, and -pledge to him my royal promise, that, _in the worst possible event of -the law, his life shall be safe_!” - -“I pity him from my soul!” The poor King had a heart to feel. This is -the most beautiful anecdote of King George that we have ever found. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE BUGLES BLOW - - -A high sound of bugles rang out in the still summer air. - -It stopped all feet in the country of the cedars――it seemed as though -the world stopped to listen. - -Again the tone filled the summer air――nearer. - -The ospreys and crows were flying high in air, down the odorous way -where the bugles were blowing. - -Again, and nearer. - -Were the bugles those of Rochambeau, who had landed at Newport, or of a -troop of the enemy coming to surprise the town? - -It was a time of expectancy, and also of terror. - -Why of terror? - -It was known that Rochambeau had landed at Newport, and was coming -to Lebanon――it was in the air. He would stop at Newport, and it was -believed that Washington would go there to meet him. Washington might -go by way of New London and Lebanon or over the great turnpike road of -Massachusetts and Connecticut; but whatever way he might take, it was -believed that he would stop in the hidden Connecticut town. - -One day a courier had come to the alarm-post. - -“Are the ways guarded?” he asked. “There is a plot to capture -Washington if he makes a progress to meet Rochambeau.” - -“Let us go to the war office and consider the matter,” said the -Governor. - -“If the matter is serious, I will bring it before the Committee of -Safety.” - -They considered the matter. The Governor was alarmed, and he said to -Peter: - -“Leave the store and go back to your post on the by-road.” - -The danger at this time is thus treated in Sparks’s Life of Trumbull: - -“Intelligence had come from New York that three hundred horsemen had -crossed over to Long Island and proceeded eastward, and that boats -at the same time had been sent up the Sound. It was inferred that -the party would pass from Long Island to Connecticut and attempt to -intercept General Washington on his way to Newport, as it was supposed -his intended journey was known to the enemy. Lafayette suggested that -the Duke de Lauzun should be informed of this movement as soon as -possible, that he might be prepared with his cavalry, then stationed at -Lebanon, to repel the invaders.” - -There had landed at Newport with Rochambeau a most brilliant French -officer of cavalry, who was destined to become the general-in-chief of -the Army of the Rhine, and to lose his head in the French Revolution. -It was the Duke de Lauzun, born in Paris, 1747. He commanded a force -known as Lauzun’s Legion, which consisted of some six hundred Hussars, -with the French enthusiasm for liberty. They were well equipped, wore -brilliant uniforms, and bore the banners of heroes. - -The alarm-post became the seat of numerous orders; the roads were dusty -with hurrying feet. - -The people met on the green as soon as the bugles were heard. - -Peter was there. He heard the bugles ring out, and cried: - -“Auvergne! They are the bugles of Auvergne!” - -Dennis listened as the air rung merrily. - -“Yes, Peter, those are the bugles of Auvergne.” - -Faith Trumbull came out and stood on the green beside Peter. - -“Do you think those are the French bugles?” she asked. “If so, the -cause is saved.” - -An advance horseman, a Hussar, came riding up the hill. The bugles blew -behind him, now near to the town. - -“The Duke is at hand,” said he in French. - -The people sank upon their knees. - -The Governor heard and stood like a statue on the green. - -“They are coming!” he said. “They are on the way of victory!” - -Six hundred horsemen, glittering in insignia, banners, and trappings, -swept into the town, and their dashing leader, the Duke de Lauzun, -threw up his hand and took off his hat before the war office. No one -had ever dreamed of a scene like that. - -The people gathered around him uncovered. The farmers shouted. Children -danced in the natural way; old men wept. - -Dennis approached a French officer who could speak English. - -“An’ have you been blowing the bugles of Auvergne?” asked he, hat in -hand. - -“You may well call them so,” said the courtly officer. “The bugles of -Auvergne are the heralds of victory!” - -“The cause of liberty in America is won,” said Dennis. “Lafayette said -it would be so when the French bugles should blow.” - -Peter fell down on the green and wept like a child, saying, over and -over: “The bugles of Auvergne! The bugles of Auvergne!” - -It was a glorious day. The very earth seemed to be glad. - -The Hussars sat for a time on their restless horses, surveying a scene -unusual to their eyes. That simple church was not Notre Dame; the -Governor’s house was not the Tuileries, nor Versailles, nor Marley, -nor Saint Cloud. The green was not the Saint Cloud garden, the people -were not courtiers. Yet their hearts glowed. They saluted the simple -Governor. - -Then the bugles blew again――the bugles of Auvergne, and a great sound -rent the air. - -The Hussars went to the fields for quarters, and the Duke followed the -Governor into the war office to “consider.” - -Washington came to Connecticut in safety. He reviewed the army on -Lebanon green and at Hartford. Near Hartford he planned the campaign in -Virginia that was to end the war. - - -“AUVERGNE SANS TACHE”――AUVERGNE WITHOUT A STAIN - -This motto a part of the French soldiers bore proudly wherever they -went. They carried it out of France with shoutings, and trailed it -across the sea. They bore it into Newport amid booming guns, and to -Lebanon amid the shouts of the heroic farmers. They planted it on -Lebanon green. It should be put to-day among the mottoes of schools for -Flag days and Independence days. - -That day of review――it may well rise again in our fancy! - -Spring is in the air. The birds in the woods are appearing again. There -is new light and odors in the cedars. - -The French heroes of Auvergne, the mountaineers, whose aid Lafayette -had sought, assembled on the green. On one side of the green was the -tavern, and on the other side rose the country village church. The -hills everywhere were renewing their circle of green. - -Rochambeau was there with the escutcheon. The Marquis de Chastellux was -probably there――a man of genius, who wielded the pen of a painter. The -gay, and perhaps profane, Duke de Lauzun was there――he who laughed at -the Governor’s prayers at the table, and who died many years afterward -on the guillotine. Men were there who had sought the animal delights -of the glittering palaces of Versailles, Marley, and Saint Cloud. The -heroes were there whose descendants made France a republic. - -The sun rose high on the glittering hills. The bugles sounded again, -horses neighed and pranced, uniforms glittered, and the band filled the -air with choral strains. - -The simple country folks gathered about the green, bringing -“training-day” ginger-bread, women with knitted hoods, boys and girls -in homespun. - -The cedar of Lebanon was there――Governor Trumbull――and his wife, also, -more noble than most of the stately dames of Trianon. - -The American flag arose, and was hailed as the flag of the future. - -A shout for honor went up in which all joined. The hearts of the -French heroes and American heroes were one. Honor and liberty was the -sentiment that ruled the hour, and here the pioneers of liberty of the -two republics of the future clasped hands. - -A glorious day, indeed, was that! Keep it in eternal memory, O Lebanon -hills! Make your old graves a place of pilgrimages. Sons of the -Revolution, have you ever visited Lebanon? - -There came an August night, misty and still. A cloud covered the hills, -and seemed to fall down like a lake on the cedar swamp. The few distant -stars went out. - -It lightened――“heat lightning,” as the lightning without thunder was -called in the old New England villages. - -The turnpike road was silent. There were no sounds of night-birds in -the deep cedar swamps. - -Peter, the shepherd-boy, stood behind his window light in silence under -a cedar that spread itself like a tent. The tree gathered mist and shed -it like rain. He had put a mask in the window, for fear of a shot, in -case of danger. - -“Nothing to-night,” he said. - -But what was that? - -A dead twig of a tree broke under a foot. - -He started and moved behind the window toward the highway. - -Another twig snapped. - -“Who goes there?” he called. - -“A friend.” - -“Give the countersign.” - -“Groton,” said the voice. - -“Wrong,” said the lad. “Follow the window, but keep at a distance, for -you are my prisoner.” - -It lightened. The lad saw the man, and that he was no ordinary traveler. - -The lad moved back. The traveler followed, and presently said: - -“Hello! where am I?” - -“A prisoner; follow me.” - -“But the house moves.” - -“Follow me――you are in my power.” - -It lightened again. - -The flash disclosed that the traveler had drawn a pistol. - -“It is useless for you to use weapons,” said Peter; “you are in my -power.” - -There was a crack in the air. A pistol-shot struck the mask in the -window and broke it. Then all was darkness and silence. - -“Follow me,” said the lad. “Your shot was vain. You are a traitor, and -you are in my power. I could take your life in a minute. Follow me.” - -“But your house moves,” said the man in a voice that trembled. - -He may have had a brave heart, but few brave men at that time were -proof against the terrors of superstition. The man evidently believed -that he was in the power of some evil spirit. - -There was another lightning flash. The man had turned. - -“Follow me,” said the lad, “or you are a dead man.” - -“Will you spare me if I will follow?” asked the adventurer. - -“Follow me until I tell you to stop, and I will be your friend if you -speak fair.” - -The steps followed the moving window at a distance. Suddenly they went -down, and there arose a cry as of a penned animal. The man had fallen -into a cave. - -The moving window went up the hill in sight of the alarm-post, and then -the light went out. - -Peter went down in the darkness to the rescue of the fallen stranger. - -“Where am I?” asked the stranger. - -“In the cave.” - -“In the cave of the magazine?” - -The stranger had asked the question in an unguarded moment of terror. - -“You are a spy, and were seeking for the magazines,” said the boy. “I -know your heart. Let me help you out, and come with me to the shelter -of the cedars.” - -Peter took the stranger’s hand, and led him by flashes of lightning to -a covert under the cedars. Some crows cawed in the darkness above. - -The two sat down. - -“You are in my power,” said Peter. - -“Then you must be the Evil One. Why am I in your power more than you in -mine? Do you live in a house that travels? Where has your house gone?” - -“Tell me, now, who you are,” said Peter. - -“I am a traveler.” - -“Why did you give me a false countersign?” - -“To put you off so that I might go on.” - -“Who are you seeking?” - -“I was going to the war office.” - -“For what?” - -“To see the Governor.” - -“But why did you say ‘magazine’?” - -“I deal in saltpeter.” - -The clouds were lifting. The great cedars seemed to shudder now and -then as a faint breeze stole through them. Then the full moon rolled -out. The crows flapped away from the place when they heard voices. - -“Let us go,” said the man. “For what are you waiting?” - -There was a sound of horses’ feet. Dennis had seen the signal. - -“Who is coming?” asked the man. - -“The guard.” - -“So you have entrapped me. Where is the house?” - -“There was none.” - -Dennis and two men rode up. - -“This man,” said Peter, “is a spy; he has given a false countersign, -and is looking for magazines.” - -“Who are you?” demanded Dennis, with a leveled musket. - -“I am your prisoner,” said the man, “and more is the pity. I have been -tricked. I followed a window; it is gone.” - -“Stranger, no trifling,” said Dennis. “What brought you here? If you -will tell me the truth, I will befriend you as far as I can. But -listen: you have no hope of anything outside of my friendly heart, and -I am one of the guard of the first of patriots in the land. I am an -Irishman, but I am loyal to America. Tell me the truth――what brought -you here?” - -“You speak true when you say that I have no hope but in your heart, and -I am inclined to tell you all.” - -Dennis and the two men whom he had brought with him dismounted, and sat -down under the cedars, through which the moon shone. - -“I was led here through the suggestion of a bad example. We are led by -the imagination. Imagination follows suggestion. Benedict Arnold went -over to the cause of the King, and he is a power now. I once served -under Arnold. It was in the northern campaign. I will acknowledge -all. I am seeking to do him a service――to find out where your powder -magazines are stored. Arnold will soon be thundering off this coast!” - -Dennis started. - -“What! in Connecticut?” - -“Yes, in Connecticut.” - -“Among his own kin?” - -“Among his own kin.” - -“Black must be the heart of a man that would fall upon his own -neighborhood. Such a heart must be born wrong. They say that he liked -to torture animals when he was a boy. Man, what do you know? Remember -the fate of André.” - -The man suddenly recollected it. He began to shake, for with the rising -of the moon and the clearing of the air it was cool. - -“I know not where I am,” said he. “Everything is strange. But let me -talk to you in confidence. - -“I have money.” - -He took out a purse, and jingled some coin. - -“Let me go and I will pay you. Here, take this.” He extended the purse -toward Dennis. “Let me go back and you shall have it all.” - -“Man,” said Dennis, “André offered gold to his captors, and tried to -bribe them to let him go. Put up thy gold. There is money that does -not enrich. I would not betray the cause of liberty in America and the -great heart of Jonathan Trumbull for all the gold of Peru. Tell me now -your whole heart, or I take you to the alarm-post, to be shot as a spy.” - -The man shook. - -“Well, here is my confession. I hoped to find the secret places of -the magazines where the powder that supplies the army is hidden, and -to report to Arnold. This is the whole truth. I am sorry for what I -planned. I would not do so again. Now I ask your mercy.” - -“To Arnold, did you say? Where did you expect to meet Arnold?” - -“On the coast――it might be at New London or Groton.” - -“When?” - -“Soon.” - -“Soon, soon. Peter, set the beacon on the hill!” - -The boy ran; a light streamed up. Dennis hurried with his prisoner to -the alarm-post. - -The prisoner knew not what to make of that night when windows moved -and a shot that shattered a head did not kill, and the heavens flamed -before the nimble feet of a boy. - -Had he been drawn into a witch’s cave? What had led him to disclose the -secret? He thought of André, and when he was led into the guard-house -he sat down, wondered, and wept. - -But he hoped Dennis, his captor, had a human heart. Was he a second -André? - -Dennis went to the guard-house the next day to visit a new prisoner. -The suggestions that the latter made were most alarming. - -If Benedict Arnold was to make attack along the coast his object was -to divide the American army, which was now moving south for the great -Virginia campaign against Cornwallis. - -“It would be like the British to strike us now upon the coast,” said -the Governor, “but he would be more than a traitor who would slaughter -his own kin on the soil where he was born and bred.” - -The man gave his name as Ayre; probably from the suggestion of the name -of the British colonel who was under Arnold. - -He was despondent, and sat in the guard-house with drooping head. - -“Of what are you thinking?” asked Dennis. “You may give me your -thoughts with safety. The Governor is the soul of honor, and he will -not cause me to violate the spirit of my promise that I have made.” - -“I am thinking of the moment when the captors of André said to him, ‘We -must take off your boots.’” - -For in the boots of the unfortunate officer were the despatches from -Arnold offering to treacherously surrender West Point. - -“That moment must have stricken terror to André’s heart,” said the man. -“Then it was that he saw the whole of life. Your Governor seems to be a -very kind-hearted man――the people love him. I am sorry that I ever had -evil thoughts of him. But, my friend, send me away; for should a fleet -descend upon the coast, the hatred of all these people will fall upon -me. The man who suggests an evil that comes is held in detestation. I -would not be safe here.” - -“You are right, and you shall be sent to Boston.” - -It was in the air that the Connecticut coast was to be attacked again. -Connecticut must be defended by her own people, should it come, for it -would not do to divide the American army in its great movement to crush -the main army of the British of the south. - -“I will send you, with the Governor’s approval, to Fort Trumbull, at -New London, and I will accompany you there myself,” decided Dennis. - -It was the 6th of November when the two set out on horseback for New -London and Groton――a bright, glimmering day, the wayside bordered with -goldenrod. The meadows were clouded with the aftermath and webby wild -grasses, and seemed to sing with insects. - -Boom! - -What was that? - -Boom! Boom! - -“There is a cannonade going on at New London,” said Dennis. - -They hurried on. - -The air thundered. - -“It is Arnold!” said the prisoner. - -As they passed down their way amid cidery orchards, they began to meet -people flying with terror. - -“What has happened?” asked Dennis. - -“Arnold!” was the answer of one. “He is burning everything――the streets -that he trod in his boyhood, the very houses that sheltered him. He is -standing on the hill, glass in hand, gloating in the power to kill his -own neighbors’ sons. Oh, is it possible that one should come to kill -his own!” - -As they went on, the cannonading grew louder and the roads presented a -scene such as had hardly ever been witnessed in America before. - -The people were flying with their goods: women on beds on the backs of -horses; old women driving cows before them; boys with sheep; men in -carts, with valuables; dogs who had lost their masters. - -They met one scene that was indeed pitiful. It was a man hurrying with -the coffin of a child on his back toward the burying-ground. He must -bury the little one as he fled. - -The farmhouses were full of people with white faces, people who crowded -upon each other. - -It was a terrible story that they had to tell. Arnold had surprised New -London by the sea, and had burned down every house, even the houses -that sheltered him in his boyhood. - -But the destruction of New London was a light event compared to the -horrors of Groton, across the river. - -They found that Colonel Ayre had attacked Fort Griswold, and was -slaughtering the men after they had surrendered. Arnold had sent a -messenger to arrest this slaughter, but the latter had arrived too -late. The garrison had refused to surrender. When, at last, they were -compelled to yield, they were put to the sword without mercy, and -the wounded were killed, and even the dead were maltreated. The men -under Colonel Ayre had become human fiends. They had gone mad with the -passion for killing. - -One of the British officers ran from place to place to restrain the -soldiers. - -“Stop! stop!” said he. “In the name of heaven, I say stop――I can not -endure it!” - -But the work of killing went on, and of killing the wounded and -stabbing the dead. - -Night fell. The British set a bomb to the magazine and passed up the -river, expecting to see a terrible explosion that would fire the -heavens. But the explosion did not come. A brave band of Americans had -extinguished the fuse. - -“There is no Fort Trumbull to which I can take you now,” said Dennis to -his prisoner. “You may go to your own.” - -“Then I will return with you, and you will never find a heart more true -to your Governor than mine will be. Christ forgave Peter, and was not -Peter true? Our truest friends are those whom we forgive. To know all -is to forgive all. I know your Governor now. I once hated him; he is -led by the spirit of the living God, and I would die for a man like -that. It is better to change the heart of an enemy than to kill him. -Let me follow you back, and the people will receive my repentance even -at this awful hour.” - -Dennis, through fear of his safety, left him outside of Lebanon at a -farmhouse, but when he had told his tale to the people, they said: - -“Bring him back; he is another man now.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A DAUGHTER OF THE PILGRIMS - - -It was past midsummer――the shadow of change was in the year. The birds -were gathering in flocks in the rowened meadows, and the woods were -displaying their purple grapes and first red leaves. - -Rochambeau had been receiving the hospitalities of the Governor, and -had also received lessons in the new school of liberty from Faith -Robinson Trumbull, the wife of the Governor. The hero of Minden had -come to see this grand woman, and wished to make her a present before -he marched on to join the army of Washington against Clinton, with his -six thousand heroes. - -What should his present to this noble woman be? - -He had among his effects a scarlet cloak. It was suitable for a -woman or for a man. It covered the whole form, and made the wearer -conspicuous, for it was made of fine fabric, and represented the habit -of the battle-field. - -He took the cloak out of his treasures one evening and came down into -the public room of the forest inn, where some of the French officers -of the regiment of _Auvergne sans tache_ were seated in a merry mood -before the newly kindled fire. - -He held up the scarlet cloak. “Here,” said he, “is a garment to be worn -after the war for liberty is over. A field-marshal might wear it after -the day of victory. This war will soon end; I am going to present this -cloak to one of the most patriotic souls that I have ever met. Who do -you think it is?” - -“The Governor,” said an officer, a colonel; “Washington’s own ‘Brother -Jonathan.’ He has made himself poor by the war, but has been the -inspiration of every battle-field, so they say. Well, you do well to -honor the rustic Governor. The world is richer for him. That is a good -thought, General. You honor the soldiers of _Auvergne sans tache_.” - -The General, the hero of Lafeldt, held up the cloak before the cooling -summer fire. A soldier turned a burning stick with iron tongs, and -flames with sparks like a little volcano shot up and threw a red gleam -on the scarlet cloak with its gold thread. - -“You have made a wrong guess, Colonel,” said Rochambeau. “This cloak is -for Madam Faith Trumbull, who has the blood of Robinson of Leyden in -her veins, and who is the very spirit of liberty.” - -Immediately the officers leaped to their feet. - -“Cheers!” said the Colonel. “Cheers for Madam Faith――may she soon wear -the cloak――after the war!” - -The soldiers of _Auvergne sans tache_ were chivalrous, and they swung -their arms in wheel-like circles and cheered for the wife of the -self-forgetful Governor. - -In the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring of feeling the Governor -himself appeared in the reception-room of the forest inn with madam, -smiling and stately, on his arm. - -“You came at a happy moment, Governor,” said Rochambeau. “I am showing -my men this scarlet cloak.” - -“It is a fine garment,” said the Governor. “It were worthy of a -field-marshal of France.” - -“Would it be worthy of the wife of a marshal of a regiment of _Auvergne -sans tache_?” asked the courtly Frenchman. - -“It would,” said the Governor in a New England tone. - -“Then it would be worthy of _your_ wife, Governor.” - -Rochambeau approached Madam Faith. “Will you allow me, madam, to honor -you, if it be an honor, with the scarlet cloak? I wish you to wear it -in memory of the soldiers of Auvergne, and of your humble servant, -until you shall find some one who is more worthy of it――and I do not -believe, madam, if you will allow me to say it, that any heart truer -than yours to the principles of liberty and to all mankind beats in -these provinces.” - -He placed the scarlet cloak over her shoulders, and the officers -shouted for madam, for the Governor, for Rochambeau, and for the -soldiers of the banner of _Auvergne sans tache_. - -How noble, indeed, Madam Faith looked as she stood there in the scarlet -cloak, its gold threads glimmering in the first firelight! - -Her face glowed. She tried to speak, but could only say: “My heart is -full, General. But any soldier who sleeps to-night on the battle-field -is nobler than I――my heart would cover him with this cloak.” - -The officers shouted enthusiastically: “Auvergne!” - -The Governor stood off from his wife and her dazzling garment. - -“You do look real pretty, Faith――wear it in memory of the French――wear -it to church――your wearing it will honor the cause, and be a service to -liberty. I wish Washington could see you now.” - -“I will wear it,” said Madam Faith. “My heart thanks you!” she said to -Rochambeau. She began to retreat from the room, her face almost as red -as the cloak, and her eyes bright with tears. “I thank you in the name -of Liberty!” She moved farther away and out of the door. - -“Going, Faith?” asked the Governor. - -There came back a voice――“God bless you!”――the scarlet cloak had gone. -She thought that it was unworthy of her to remain where she would -secure homage, when the Connecticut soldiers had had scarcely clothes -to wear in their march against Clinton in the midst of the poverty that -had befallen the colonies during the war. - -She became greatly distressed. In her enthusiasm for the French -deliverers she had promised to wear the cloak until some one more -worthy of it could be found, some one who needed it more. - -She took off the garment in her own room and sat down. She thought -of the past. She saw in her vision her godly ancestor, Robinson, -addressing the Pilgrim Fathers for the last time. - -“Go ye into the wilderness,” he had said, “and new light shall break -out from the word. I will follow you.” - -She saw in fancy the Mayflower sail away, lifting new horizons. She saw -the many Pilgrims’ graves amid the May flowers after the first winter -at Plymouth. - -She rose and put on the cloak and stood before the glass. - -“I can not wear it,” she said. “I must wear only the clothes made with -my own hands, in times like these.” - -She looked into the glass again. - -“But my promise?” she asked. “I must keep that――I must be worthy of the -confidence that these soldiers of liberty have given me. I must honor -Rochambeau and the soldiers of the land of Pascal. How shall I do it? -I will wear it once and then seek some one more worthy to wear it; he -will not be hard to find.” - -Governor Trumbull had become famous for his Fast-Day and Thanksgiving -proclamations. His words in these documents had the fire of an ancient -prophet. - -This year his proclamation sang and rang. He called upon the people -to assemble in their meeting-house, and to bring with them everything -that they could spare that could be made useful to the soldiers on the -battle-field and be laid upon the altar of sacrifice. - -Madam Faith heard his message as the pastor read it from the tall -pulpit under the sounding-board. - -She thought of the scarlet cloak. She must wear it to the church on -that great day to honor Rochambeau and the soldiers of Auvergne. But of -what use could her garment be to the soldiers in the stress of war? - -It was a bright mid-autumn day. The people were gathering on the -harvest-laden plateau on Lebanon Hill. The church on the high green, -founded some eighty years before, opened its doors to the sun. The -yeomen gathered on its steps and looked down on the orchards and -harvest fields. The men of the great farms assembled in groups about -the inn and talked of the fortunes of the war. They were rugged men in -homespun dress, with the purpose of the time in their faces. The women, -too, were in homespun. - -While groups of people were gathering here and there the door of the -Governor’s plain house opened, and in it appeared Madam Faith in her -scarlet cloak. All eyes were turned upon her. She stepped out on to the -green. She did not look like the true daughter of the Pilgrims that she -was! The gay and glittering garment did not become the serious purpose -in her face. - -She waited outside the door, and was soon joined by the Governor. The -two approached the church under the gaze of many eyes, and entered -the building, which is to-day in appearance much as it was then, and -the people followed them. The chair in which Governor Trumbull sat in -church is still to be seen in the old Trumbull house. A colored picture -of the church as it then appeared, with its high pulpit, sounding-board -and galleries, may be seen in Stuart’s “Life of Trumbull.” - -A silence fell upon the assembly. The people felt that the crisis of -the war had passed with the coming of Rochambeau, but the manner of the -issue was yet doubtful. - -The minister arose――“Be still, and know that I am the Lord.” - - “God is the refuge of His saints, - Though storms of sharp distress invade; - Before they utter their complaints - Behold Him present with their aid!” - -The stanza, or a like one, was sung in a firm tone, such as only -times like these could inspire. The heroic quality sank into tuneful -reverence with the lines: - - “There is a stream whose gentle flow - Supplies the city of our God,” - -or a like paraphrase. A long prayer followed; the hour-glass was -turned――silence in the full pews! - -The sermon followed in the silence. Then the minister made an appeal -which went to every heart. - -“The nation stands waiting the Divine will. We have given to the cause -our sons, our harvests, the increase of our flocks. We have sent of our -substance, our best, to every northern battle-field. We have seen our -men go forth, and they come not back. We have seen our cattle driven -away, and our cribs and cellars left empty; we have heard our Governor -called a ‘brother’ by the noble Washington, and the glorious regiment -of France’s honor has sung amid these cedars the songs of Auvergne. - -“But the trumpets of the northern winds are sounding, and our army -faces winter again, cloakless and some of them shoeless, in tatters. We -are making new garments for the soldiers, but we have no red stripes to -put upon them; we may not honor the noblest soldier in the world with -any uniform, or insignia of his calling. He goes forth in homespun, -and in homespun he faces the glittering foe, and falls. His honor is -in himself, and not in his garments. He courageously goes down to the -chambers of silence without stripe or star.” - -At the words _red stripes_, all eyes, as by one impulse, turned to the -scarlet cloak. It would furnish the ornament of dignity and honor to a -score of uniforms. - -“Women of Lebanon, you have with willing hands laid much on the altar -of liberty. Under the pulpit stands a rail that guards holy things. I -appeal to you once more――I hope that it may be for the last time――to -spare all you can for the help and comfort of the soldier. Come up to -the altar one by one and put your offerings inside of the rail, and I -will lift my hands over your sacrifices in prayer and benediction.” - -Silence. A few women began to remove the rings from their fingers and -ears. One woman was seen to loosen her Rob Roy shawl. Two Indian girls -removed strings of wampum from their necks. But no one rose. All seemed -waiting. - -The Governor sat in his chair, and beside him his good wife in the red -Rochambeau cloak. They were in the middle aisle. - -Madam Trumbull was thinking. Could she offer the scarlet garment to the -cause without implying a want of gratitude toward the noble Rochambeau? - -Would she not _honor_ Rochambeau by offering the gift to the camp and -battle-field? - -“Stripes on the soldiers’ garments are inspirations,” she may have -whispered to her husband. “I am going to give my cloak――it shall -follow Rochambeau――I am going to make it live and march――_he_ shall see -it again in the lines that dare death. Shall I go to the altar?” - -“Yes, go. Send your cloak to Rochambeau again. Let it move on the -march. You will honor the regiment of Auvergne――_Auvergne sans tache_.” - -She rose, almost trembling. Every eye was fixed upon her. Madam Faith -was held in more than common esteem, not only because she was the wife -of the Governor, but also because she was a descendant of the _Prophet_ -of the Pilgrims of Leyden and Plymouth. - -She stood by the Governor’s chair, unfastening the red garment. The -people saw what she was about to do. Some of them bowed their heads; -some wept. - -The pastor spoke: “I would that the Pilgrim, John Robinson, were here -to-day!” - -Madam Faith removed the cloak and laid it over her arm. She bent her -face on the floor, and slowly walked toward the rail that guarded the -sacred things of the simple altar. - -The pastor lifted his hands. - -“Pray ye all for the principle of the right, for the cause of the -soldier of liberty.” - -She laid the scarlet cloak on the altar, and turned to the people and -lifted her eyes to God. - -[Illustration: Madam Faith Trumbull contributing her scarlet cloak to -the soldiers of the Revolution.] - -She looked like a divinity as she stood forth there that day, like a -spirit that had come forth from the Mayflower. - -That Thanksgiving was long remembered in Lebanon. That cloak was turned -into stripes on soldiers’ uniforms and made history, and some of the -uniforms bearing them are yet to be seen. - -To Dennis and Peter was entrusted the sending of the new uniforms with -the red stripes to the army gathering around Yorktown. The faithful -Irishman and the lad rode away from the alarm-post in the cedars amid -the cheers of the people. What news would they bring back when they -should return? - -It was an anxious time in the cedars. In the evenings the people -gathered about the war office and at the Alden Inn. A stage-driver, -who was a natural story-teller, used to relate curious stories at -the latter place, on the red settle there, and in these silent days -of moment the people hugged the fire to hear him: it was their only -amusement. - -One evening a country elder, who had done a noble work in his day, -stopped at the tavern. This event brought the Governor over to the -place, and the elder was asked to relate a story of his parish on the -red settle. He had a sense of humor as keen as Peters, who was still -telling strange tales in England of the people that he had found in the -“new parts.” - -Let us give you one of the parson’s queer stories: it pictures the -times. - - -THE COURTING STICK - -Asenath Short――I seem to see her now (said the elder). One day she said -to her husband: - -“Kalub, now look here; we’ve got near upon everything so far as this -world’s goods go――spinnin’ wheels and hatchels, and looms and a -mahogany table, and even a board to be used to lay us out on when -the final time shall come. The last thing that you bought was a -dinner-horn, and then I put away the conch shell from the Indies along -with the cradle and the baby chair. But, Kalub, there’s one thing more -that we will have to have. The families down at Longmeadow have all -got them; they save fire and fuel, and they enable the young folks and -their elders all to talk together at the same time, respectfully in the -same room, and when the young folks have a word to say to each other in -private it encourages them. Now I’m kind o’ sociable-like myself, and I -like to encourage young people; that’s why I wanted you to buy a spinet -for Mandy. I don’t like to see young folks go apart by themselves, -especially in winter; there is no need of extra lights or fires, if one -only has one of _them_ things.” - -“One of them things? Massy sakes alive, what is it, Asenath?” - -“Why, haven’t you never seen one, Kalub? It is a courtin’ stick. They -didn’t used to have such things when we were young. A courtin’ stick is -like Aaron’s rod that budded.” - -“A courtin’ stick! Conquiddles! Do I hear my ears? There don’t need to -be any machinery for courtin’ in this world no more than there does to -make the avens bloom, or the corn cockles to come up in the corn. What -is a courtin’ stick, Asenath?” - -“Well, Kalub, a courtin’ stick is a long, hollow wooden tube, with -a funnel at each end――one funnel to cover the mouth of the one -that speaks, and one to cover the ear of the one that listens. By -that stick――it is all so proper and handy when it works well and -steady――young people can talk in the same room, and not disturb the old -people or set the work folks and the boys to titterin’ as they used -to do when we were young. It was discovered here in the Connecticut -Valley, which has always been a place of providences. Just as I said, -it is a savin’ of fire and lights in the winter-time, and it suggests -the right relations among families of property. It is a sort of -guide-post to life. - -“Kalub, don’t you want that I should show you one?” - -“Where did you get it, Asenath?” - -“Asahel made it for me. I told him how to make it, but when I came to -explain to him what it was for his face fell, and he turned red and he -said, ‘Hyppogriffo!’ I wonder where he got that word――‘hyppogriffo!’ It -has a pagan sound; Asahel, he mistrusted.” - -“Mistrusted what, Asenath?” - -“Well, I haven’t told you quite all. When the head of a family knows -that a certain young man is comin’ to visit him at a certain time and -hangs up a courtin’ stick over the mantel-tree shelf, or the dresser, -it is a sign to the visitor he is welcome.” - -“But there is no need of a sign like that, Asenath.” - -Asenath rose, went into the spare bed-room, a place of the mahogany -bureau, the mourning piece, valences and esconces, and brought out a -remarkable looking tube, which seemed to have leather ears at each end, -and which was some dozen feet long. - -“Moses!” said Caleb, “and all the patriarchs!” he added. “Let’s you -and me try it. There, you put it up to your ear and let me speak. Is -the result satisfyin’?” - -Asenath assured him that the experiment was quite satisfactory. - -“Well, well,” said Caleb. “Now I will go on shellin’ corn and think -matters over; it may be all right if the elder says it is.” - -For a few minutes there was a rain of corn into the basket, when -Caleb started up and said, “Cracky!” He put his hand into one pocket -after another, then went up to the peg board and took down his fur -overcoat and felt of the pockets in it. He came back to the place of -the corn-shelling doubtfully, and began to trot, as it were, around the -basket, still putting his hand into one pocket after another. - -“Lost anything, Kalub?” asked Asenath. - -“Yes, the stage-driver gave me a parcel directed to Asahel, in the -care of Amanda, and I don’t know what I did with it. I meant to have -told you about it, but you set me all into confusion over that there -courtin’ stick.” - -We know not how many old New England homesteads may have a courting -stick among their heirlooms, but imagine that they are few. Such a -stick used to be shown to the curious in the Longmeadow neighborhood -of Springfield, Mass., and we think it may be seen there still. It was -especially associated with the manners and customs of the Connecticut -Valley towns, and it left behind it some pleasing legends in such -pastoral villages as Northampton, Hadley, and Hatfield. It was a -promising object-lesson in the domestic life of the worldly wise, and -could have been hardly unwelcome to marmlet maidens and rustic beaux. - -Caleb Short continued his shelling corn for a time, but he worked -slowly. He at last turned around and looked at his wife, who was sewing -rags for a to-be-braided mat. - -“Well, what is it now, Kalub?” asked the latter. - -“Asahel.” - -“Yes――I know――I’ve been thinkin’ much about him of late. He came to us -as a bound boy after his folks were dead, and we’ve done well by him, -now haven’t we, Kalub? I’ve set store by him, but――I might as well -speak it out, he’s too sociable with our Mandy now that they have grown -up. It stands to reason that he can never marry Mandy.” - -“Why not, Asenath?” - -“Why not? How would you like to have people say that our Amanda had -married her father’s hired man? How would it look on our family tree?” -Asenath glanced up to a fruitful picture on the wall. - -“Asahel is a true-hearted boy,” said Caleb. “Since our own son has -taken to evil ways, who will we have to depend upon in our old age but -Asahel, unless Mandy should marry?” - -“O Kalub, think what a wife I’ve been to you and listen to me. -Mandy _is_ going to marry. I am going to invite Myron Smith here on -Thanksgiving, and to hang up the courtin’ stick over the dresser, -so that he will see it plain. That stick is goin’ to jine the two -farms. It is a yard-stick――there, now, there! I always was great on -calculation; Abraham was, and so was Jacob; it’s scriptural. You would -have never proposed to me if I hadn’t encouraged you, and only think -what a wife I’ve been to you! Just like two wives.” - -“But Asahel Bow is a thrifty boy. He is sensible and savin’, and he is -feelin’.” - -“Kalub, Kalub Short, now that will do. Who was his father? Who but old -Seth Bow? Everybody knows what he was, and blood will tell. Just think -of what that man did!” - -“What, Asenath?” - -“Why, you know that he undertook to preach, and he thought that if -he opened his mouth the Lord would fill it. And he opened his mouth, -and stood with it open for nearly ten minutes, and he couldn’t speak -a word. He was a laughing-stock, and he never went to meetin’ much -after that, only to evenin’ meetin’s in the schoolhouse――candle-light -meetin’s.” - -“Yes, Asenath, that is all true. But Seth Bow was an honest man. Just -hear how he used to talk to me. He used to say to me――I often think -of it――he used to say: ‘Caleb Short, I’ve lost my standin’ among the -people, but I haven’t lost my faith in God, and there is a law that -makes up for things. I couldn’t preach, but Asahel is goin’ to preach. -He’s inherited the germ of intention from me, and one day that will be -something to be thankful for, come Thanksgiving days. I will preach -through Asahel yet. I tell you, Caleb, there is a law that makes up -for things. No good intention was ever lost. One must do right, and -then believe that all that happens to him is for his good. That is the -way the Book of Job reads, and I have faith, faith, faith! You may all -laugh at me, but Asahel will one day be glad that his old father wanted -to preach, and tried, even if he did fail. The right intention of the -father is fulfilled in the son, and I tell you there’s a law that makes -up for things, and so I can sing Thanksgiving Psalms with the rest of -um, if I don’t dare to open my mouth in doin’ it.’ Asenath, I look upon -Asahel as a boy that is blessed in the intention of his father. The -right intentions of a boy live in the man, and the gov’nin’ purpose -of the man lives in his boys or those whom he influences, and I tell -you, Asenath, there’s nothing better to be considered on Thanksgiving -days than the good intentions of the folks of the past that live in us. -There are no harvests in the world ekul to those. You wait and see.” - -At this point of the story, the clergyman said: - -“That is good old Connecticut doctrine, Brother Jonathan.” - -The story-teller continued: - -The weather-door slowly opened, and the tall form of a young man -appeared. - -“Asahel,” said Asenath, “we were just speakin’ of you and your folks, -and now I want to have a talk with you. Take off your frock, and don’t -be standing there like a swamp crane, but sit down on the uniped -here close by me, as you used to do when you was a small boy. I set -store by you, and you just think what a mother I’ve been to you since -your own mother was laid away in the juniper lot! But I am a proper -plain-speakin’ woman, as your own mother was――she that answered the -minister back in meetin’ time when the good old elder said that your -father was a hypocrit.” - -Presently the weather-door opened, and Amanda appeared and sat down on -the same uniped with Asahel. - -The good woman continued: - -“You two have been cowslippin’ together, and sassafrassin’ together, -and a-huntin’ turkeys’ nests and wild honey, and pickin’ Indian pipe -and all. Now, that was all right when you were children. But, Asahel, -you and Amanda have come to the pastur’ bars of life, and you must -part, and you, Asahel, must be content to become just one of our hired -men and sit at the table with the other hired men, on Thanksgivin’ days -the same as on all other days, and not stand in the way of any one. -And, Amandy Short, do you see that?” - -Asenath held up the courting stick. - -“Do you know what that is?” - -“It is just a hollow stick. I’ve seen sticks before. What does all this -mean?” - -“You’ve seen sticks before, have you, Amanda? And you have experienced -’em, too, for I have been a faithful mother to you――as good as two. But -this is the stick that must unite some farm to ours, and I am goin’ -to hang it up over the dresser, and when the right young man comes, -Amanda, I want you to take it down and put it up to your ear, so, -and it may be that you will hear somethin’ useful, somethin’ to your -advantage and ourn. I hope that I made myself clearly understood.” - -She did. The two young people had not been left in any darkness at -all in regard to her solution of their social equation. Asahel stepped -into the middle of the great kitchen floor. His face was as fixed as an -image, and the veins were mapped on his forehead. - -He bent his eyes on Asenath for a moment and then his soul flowed out -to the tone of the accompaniment of honor. - -“Mrs. Short, you were good to me as a boy, and I will never do a thing -against your will in your family affairs. My father prayed that I -might have the ability to fulfil what he was unable to do in life. To -inherit such a purpose from such a father is something to be grateful -for, and now that I am disappointed in my expectation of Amanda I shall -devote all that I am to my father’s purpose in me. I am going to be a -minister.” - -“You be, hey? But where is the money comin’ from?” - -“Mrs. Short, it is to come out of these two fists.” - -Poor tender-hearted Caleb, he shelled corn as never before during this -painful scene. Suddenly he looked up and about for relief. His eye fell -upon the courting stick. - -“Here,” said he to Amanda, who was crying, “just let us try this new -comical machine, and see how it works. Mandy, let’s you and I have a -little talk together. I’ll put the thing up to my mouth, so, and you -just listen at the other end of it. There――I’m going to say something. -Ready now, Mandy? Did you hear that?” - -“Yes, father, I heard it just as plain as though you spoke it into my -ear.” - -“_You_ didn’t hear anything in particular, did you, Asenath?” - -“No, only a sound far away and mysterious like.” - -“Curis, ain’t it, how that thing will convey sound in that way? I -should think that some invention might come out of it some day. Now, -Amanda, you just put your ear up to the funnel and listen again. -Mandy,” he continued through the tube, “if your heart is sot on Asahel, -do you stand by him, and wait; time makes changes pleasantly.” He put -aside the tube. “There, now, do you hear?” - -“You didn’t hear, mother, did you?” said Caleb to Asenath, glancing -aside. - -“No, Kalub.” - -“This is a great invention. It works well. Now let me just have a word -with Asahel.” - -Amanda conveyed one end of the tube to Asahel’s ear. - -“Asahel.” He took his mouth from the tube. “Did you hear?” - -“You didn’t hear anything, did you?” he said, looking toward Asenath. - -“No, Kalub.” - -“Now, Asahel, you listen again,” said Caleb, putting his mouth to the -tube. “If your heart is sot on Mandy, you just hang on, and wait. Time -will be a friend to you, and I will. There, now, did you hear, Asahel?” - -“You didn’t hear anything, did you?” asked Caleb of Asenath again with -a shake. - -“I don’t know,” said Asenath, “it seems to me as though the hands are -the hands of Esau, but that the voice is the voice of Jacob.” - -“Show! Well, now, Amanda, you and Asahel talk now with each other. -Here’s the tube.” - -“Asahel Bow,” said Amanda, through the tube, “I believe in you through -and through.” - -“Amen!” said Asahel, speaking outside of the tube. “Amen whenever your -mother shall say Amen, and never until then. There is no need of any -courting stick for me.” - -At this point of family history Caleb leaped around. - -“I know what I did with it――I do now!” - -“Did with what, Kalub?” asked Asenath. - -“That letter for Asahel――it is right under my bandanna in my hat!” - -Caleb went to his hat and handed the lost letter to Asahel. - -The latter looked at it and said, “England!” He read it with staring -eyes and whitening face, and handed it to Mrs. Short, who elevated her -spectacles again. - -“That old case in chancery is decided,” said he, “and I am to get my -father’s share of the confiscated property. I may have yet to wait for -it, though. My great-grandfather was Bow of Bow. He was accused of -resisting the Act of Uniformity, and his property was withheld.” - -Asenath lifted her brows. - -“Bow of Bow,” she repeated. “He was a brave man, I suppose. Resisted -the Act of Uniformity? How much did he leave?” - -“An estate estimated at £20,000.” - -“Heavens be praised!” said the suddenly impressible Asenath. She added: -“I always knew that you had good blood in you, and was an honest man, -Asahel, just like your father; nobody could ever turn him from the -right, no more than you could the side of a house; no Act of Uniformity -could ever shape the course of old Seth Bow. And you are a capable man, -Asahel; your poor father had limitations and circumstances to contend -with, but you are capable of doing all that he meant to do. I always -did think a deal of your father, and I think considerable of your -grandfather now. I always was just like a mother to you, now wasn’t I, -Asahel, good as two or more ordinary stepmothers and the like? - -“‘Bow of Bow,’ ‘Bow of Bow,’” continued Asenath. “Well, I have prayed -that Amanda might marry well, and your part of £20,000 would be just -about twenty times the value of the Smith farm, as I see it. That farm -isn’t anything but a bush pastur’, anyhow. - -“‘Bow of Bow,’ what a sort of grand sound that has! ‘Bow of Bow.’ I -once had an uncle that was a stevedore, an English stevedore, or a -cavalier, or something of the kind, but he didn’t leave any estate like -Bow of Bow. I think he uniformed in the time of the Uniformity. - -“Asahel, you just put that there courtin’ stick up to your ear once -more and let me say a word, now that I have new light and understand -things better.” - -Asahel obeyed. There came a response that could be heard outside of the -hollow tube: “Amen!” A murmurous sound followed which was understood -only by Asahel. “You will overlook my imperfections now, won’t you, -Asahel? Pride is a deceitful thing, and it got the better of me. I -only meant well for Amandy, same as you do. I’m sorry for what I said, -Asahel. Marry Mandy, and I’ll be a mother to you as I always have been. -As good as two common mothers, or more, same as I have always been to -Kalub.” - -“And I am Asahel. Have my father’s intentions been fulfilled in me?” - -“Yes, elder,” said the Governor. “They have!” shouted all. “That is -a tale that makes me pray to become all I can,” said a taverner from -Boston. - -“The purpose of life is growth,” said the Governor. “Growth is -revelation. Grow, grow, and past intentions will be fulfilled in you.” - -He crossed Lebanon green in the moonlight. - -Lebanon, the place that had been filled with life, with hasty orders -to couriers, as “Fly!” “Haste!” was silent now. What would be the next -news to come by the green? - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -“CORNWALLIS IS TAKEN!” - - -These were thrilling days. The American armies were marching south, and -with them were advancing the bugles of Auvergne. - -Simple incidents, as well as incidents tragic and dramatic, picture -times and periods, and we relate some of the family stories of General -Knox of the artillery, who had collected powder and directed, often -with his own hands, the siege-guns of the great events of the war. - -When the French officers arrived in Philadelphia after their journey -from Lebanon, they were entertained at a banquet by Chevalier de -Luzerne, the ambassador from the French court. Philadelphia was the -seat of the American Government then. - -The banquet was a splendid one for those times, and it had a lively -spirit. The American guests must have been filled with expectation. - -For the plan to shut up Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown was full of -promise, and the military enterprises to effect this were proceeding -well. The lord himself was dissatisfied with the plans he was compelled -to pursue, and any fortress is weak in which the heart of the commander -is not strong in the faith of success. - -In the midst of the banquet, there was a summons for silence. The -Chevalier arose, his face beaming. - -He looked into the eager faces and said: - -“My friends, I have good news for you all. - -“Thirty-three ships of the line, commanded by Monsieur le Compte de -Grasse, have arrived in the Chesapeake Bay.” - -A thrill ran through the assembly. The atmosphere became electric, and -amid the ardor of glowing expectation the Chevalier added: - -“And the ships have landed three thousand men, and the men have opened -communication with Lafayette.” - -The guests leaped to their feet. - -“Cornwallis is surrounded and doomed!” said they. - -They grasped each other’s hands, and added: - -“This is the end!” - -The army, now confident of victory, marched toward Yorktown, under the -command of Washington. - -The inhabitants along the way hailed it as it passed――women, children. -There were cheers from the doorsteps, fences, and fields, from white -and black, the farmer and laborer. The towns uttered one shout, and -blazed by night. The land knew no common night, every one was so filled -and thrilled with joy. All flags were in air. - -The morning of liberty was dawning, the sun was coming, the people knew -it by the advance rays. The invader must soon depart. - -“Cornwallis is doomed!” was the salutation from place to place, from -house to house. - -General Washington, with Knox and members of his staff, stopped one -morning at a Pennsylvania farmhouse for breakfast. - -The meal was provided. The officers partook of it, and ordered their -horses, and were waiting for them when the people of the place came -into the house to pay their respects to Washington. He stood in the -simple room, tall and commanding, with the stately Knox beside him. - -“Make way,” said the people, “make way for age!” - -An old man appeared, the patriarch of the place. He entered the house -without speaking a word. He looked into the face of Washington and -stood silent. There had come to him the moment that he had hoped to -see; the desire and probably prayers of fading years had been answered. -The room became still. - -The old man did not ask an introduction to the great commander. He -lifted his face upward and raised his hands. Then he spoke, not to -Washington and his generals, but to God: - -“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have -seen thy salvation.” - -The generals rode on toward Virginia, cheered by the spirit of prophecy -in the patriarch’s prayer. - -It was a little episode, but the soul of destiny was in it. - -October, with its refreshing shade of coolness, its harvest-fields and -amber airs, was now at hand. Cornwallis was surrounded at Yorktown. -He had warned Sir Henry Clinton, his superior, that this might be -his fate. He is lost who has lost his faith, and begins to make the -provision to say, “I told you so!” - -Knox with his siege-guns, twenty-three in number, was preparing for the -final tempest of the war. - -And against Yorktown were marching the heroes of the old liberty -banners of _Auvergne sans tache_. - -In the early autumn of 1781 the field of war had become the scene of a -thrilling drama in the British camp. Lord Cornwallis had taken his army -into Yorktown, and under the protection of the British fleet on the -York River had fortified his position by semicircular fortifications -which extended from river to river. - -He must have felt his position impregnable at first, with the advantage -which the fleet would bring to him in the wide river, until there came -news to him that unsettled his faith in his position. But he soon began -to lose confidence. He seemed to foreshadow his doom. - -Yorktown was situated on a projecting bank of the York River. The river -was a mile wide, and deep. Lord Cornwallis expected to have the place -fortified by middle fall, and that Sir Henry Clinton would join him -there. - -“I have no enemy now to contend against but Lafayette,” he thought -until the coming of the French fleet was announced to him. - -Washington determined to cut off Lord Cornwallis from any retreat -from Yorktown by land or by sea. His plan was to pen up the British -commander on the peninsula, and there to end the war. He largely -entrusted the siege by land to young Lafayette. He probably felt a -pride in giving the young general the opportunity to end the war. He -liked to honor one who had so trusted his heart, and whose service had -so honored him. - -Washington ordered the French army to the Virginia peninsula, and with -them went the grand regiment of Gatinais, or Gatinois, with which many -years before Rochambeau had won his fame. The heroes of old Auvergne -were to be given the opportunity to fight for liberty here, as they had -done in the days of old. - -These heroes had had their regimental name officially taken away from -them on being brought to America――_Auvergne sans tache_. They desired -to serve liberty under this glorious name of noble memories again. They -appealed to Rochambeau for that distinction. - -Their hearts beat high, for they were going to reenforce Lafayette, -who was born in Auvergne, and who had desired their presence and -inspiration. - -So on sea and land a powerful force was gathering to shut up Lord -Cornwallis in Yorktown and to shatter the British army on the banks of -the York. - -Washington himself was approaching Lafayette by way of Philadelphia, -Rochambeau by way of Chester and Philadelphia, and De Grasse by the -sea. General Thomas Nelson, Governor of Virginia, was arousing the -spirit of Virginia again and calling out the militia. - -At the great banquet which was given in Philadelphia by the French -minister, Chevalier de Luzerne, to Washington and the French officers, -when came the news that Count De Grasse and Marquis St. Simon with -3,000 troops had joined Lafayette, all Philadelphia had rung with -cheers, and the news thrilled the country. At that hour the destiny -of America was revealed. There could but one thing happen at Yorktown -now――Cornwallis must surrender. The General was certain to be blocked -up in York River. - -Everything was going well. Washington and Rochambeau went to Baltimore -and found the city blazing as with the assurance of victory. At this -time, with victory in view, Washington visited Mount Vernon, from which -he had been absent six anxious years. He passed the evening there with -Count Rochambeau, and they were joined there by Chastellux. Washington -now left his old home for the field of final victory. - -The great generals next faced Yorktown, with their forces, some 16,000 -men. They saw the helplessness of Cornwallis, and as De Grasse wished -to return soon to the West Indies, the combined forces prepared to move -on the British fortifications at once. Seven redoubts and six batteries -faced the allies, with abatis, field-works, and barricades of fallen -trees. - -The allies began to prepare for an immediate conflict. They erected -advancing earthworks, in a semicircle, and with the French fleet in the -bay, the 1st of October heard the sound of the cannonade. - -The peninsula thundered and smoked, and the drama there begun was -watched by Washington, Rochambeau, Chastellux, and Count de Grasse. -What men were these with Lafayette at the front! - -A great cannonade began on the 9th of October, Washington himself -putting the match to the first gun. - -Governor Nelson of Virginia was in the field. His house was there, too, -within the enemy’s lines in Yorktown. “Do you see yonder house?” said -he to a commander of the artillery. It was the headquarters of the -enemy. “It is my house, but fire upon it.” - -This recalls John Hancock’s message to Washington at the beginning of -the war. “Burn Boston, if need be, and leave John Hancock a beggar.” - -The enemy responded. The shells of each crossed each other in the -bright, smoky October air. The British fired red-hot shot, and set on -fire some of their own shipping. The nights seemed full of meteors, as -though red armies were battling in the sky. - -The 14th of October came――a day of heroes. That day the redoubts were -to be stormed. - -Lafayette prepared his own men for the assault. - -Then Baron de Viomenil led out the heroes of Gatinais. - -Before this regiment De Rochambeau appeared to give them their orders, -which meant death. He had won, as we have said, his own fame in Europe -with these mountain heroes. The attack to which he was to order them -now was to be made at night. - -“My lads,” said he, “I have need of you this night, and I hope that you -will not forget that we have served together in that brave regiment of -_Auvergne sans tache_.” - -A cheer went up in memory of old, followed by: - -“Restore to us our name of ‘Auvergne sans tache’ and we will die.” - -“That name shall be restored,” said Rochambeau. - -They marched to death side by side with the bold regiment of Lafayette, -who was to lead the advance. - -About eight o’clock the signal rockets for the attack reddened the sky. - -The regiment of Gatinais rushed forward. They faced the hardest -resistance of the siege. This redoubt was powerfully garrisoned and -fortified. - -Baron de Viomenil led his heroes into the fire, and his men fought like -ancient heroes, to whom honor was more than life. In the midst of the -struggle an aide came to him from Lafayette. - -“I am in the redoubt,” said the message. “Where are you?” - -“I will be in _my_ redoubt in five minutes.” - -Strongly fortified as that redoubt was, it could not withstand the men -of Gatinais. They entered it with a force that nothing could withstand, -but _one third of them fell_. - -“Royal Auvergne,” said Rochambeau, “your survivors shall have your own -name again.” - -He reported the action to the French King, and the latter gave back to -the heroes their regimental name of old _Auvergne sans tache_. - -These men are worthy of a monument under that noble motto. We repeat, -the words should be used on decorative ensigns of the Sons of the -Revolution; nothing nobler in war ever saw the light. - - * * * * * - -Yorktown fell on the morning of the 17th, and a courier sped toward -Philadelphia, crying, as he went: “Cornwallis is taken!” Bells rang, -people cheered. - -The messenger reached Philadelphia at night――“Cornwallis is taken!” - -Windows opened. The citizens leaped from their beds. The bells -rang on, and the city blazed with lights, and Congress gave way to -transports of joy. - -Dennis and Peter came riding back to the alarm-post, shouting by the -way, “Cornwallis is taken!” - -The Governor knelt down in the war office, and the people shouted -without the silent place. - - * * * * * - -Peter could afford to be magnanimous now to his feeble old uncle. He -hurried to the old man’s cabin and knocked at the door. - -“I chop wood,” said a voice within. - -“Uncle, it is Peter. Cornwallis has surrendered!” - -The latch was lifted, and the wood-chopper appeared as one withered and -palsied. - -“What is that you tell me? Cornwallis has surrendered? What has become -of the King?” - -“The cause of the King is lost!” - -“Then I don’t see that I have anything more to live for. Come in. I -have nothing against you now, so far as I am concerned, for _you came -back_――don’t you remember that on the night that I was to have been -robbed you came back? I have never forgotten that. You came back.” - -He tottered to the chest beside the table. - -“Here, let me open the chest now while I have strength to unlock the -lid. The King! the King! How he will feel when he hears the news! And -he said of young Trumbull, ‘I pity him.’ His heart will go down like a -sailor on the sea on a stormy night. Peter, I feel for him. Don’t you -pity him? Sit down by me.” - -He lifted the lid of the chest, and took out of the chest a leather -bag. He untied the bag-string, and turned a pile of doubloons on the -table. - -“_One._ That is yours. You _came back_ to your poor old uncle on the -night when the robber was trying to find me. - -“_Two._ It is yours, for you came back. - -“_Three._ My sight is going. It is all yours, for you came back. - -“My hands grow numb, the world is going. I can feel it going. But -all that I leave is yours. My breath grows cold. I have only time to -say, ‘God save the King!’ I want to go, and leave what I have to you, -Peter, for you came back. Good-by, earth; I leave you my woodpile; warm -yourself by my fire when I am gone. God――save――the――King!” - -He sat silent. Peter bent over him. The old man’s breath was cold, and -soon the last pulse beat. - -Peter gathered up the gold. He would turn it into education at -Plainfield Academy and at Yale College. Then he would go away, after -Dennis, perhaps, to the Western territory which would become a new -Connecticut. - - -THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate. - - ――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHER JONATHAN *** - -***** This file should be named 64126-0.txt or 64126-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/2/64126/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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- padding-top: .5em; - padding-left: .5em; - padding-right: .5em; -} - -.tntitle { - font-size: 1.25em; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Title page borders and content. */ -.title { - font-size: 1.75em; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -.author { - font-size: 1.25em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -.works { - font-size: .75em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Advertisement formatting. */ -.adauthor { - font-size: 1.25em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Hanging indent. */ -.hang { - text-indent: -1.5em; - padding-left: 1.5em; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold;'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Brother Jonathan, by Hezekiah Butterworth</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Brother Jonathan</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Hezekiah Butterworth</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 25, 2020 [eBook #64126]</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHER JONATHAN ***</div> - - -<div class="figcenter" id="cover"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" title="cover" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<!-- No page break since cover image is hidden in .epub & .mobi --> -<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis"> - <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_11">The rider gasped, “Where is your father, Faith?”</a></p> - </div> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h1>BROTHER JONATHAN</h1> - -<p class="p2 noic">BY</p> - -<p class="noi author">HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH</p> - -<p class="noi works">AUTHOR OF<br /> -IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON, IN THE BOYHOOD OF LINCOLN,<br /> -IN THE DAYS OF JEFFERSON, ETC.</p> - -<div class="pad4"> -<div class="logocenter" id="logo"> - <img src="images/logo.jpg" style="width: 100%" alt="logo" title="logo" /> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noi adauthor">NEW YORK<br /> -D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br /> -1903</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="noic"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1903<br /> -By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</span></p> - -<p class="p4 noi"><i>Published September, 1903</i></p> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The writer has heretofore produced in the vein of -fiction, after the manner of the Mühlbach interpretations, -several books which were anecdotal narratives of the crises -in the lives of public men. While they were fiction, they -largely confided to the reader what was truth and what -the conveyance of fiction for the sake of narrative form. -It was the purpose of such a book to picture by folk-lore -and local stories the early life of the man.</p> - -<p>The folk-lore of a period usually interprets the man -of the period in a very atmospheric way. <a href="#i_fp154">Jonathan Trumbull</a>, -Washington’s “Brother Jonathan,” who had a part -in helping to save the American army in nearly every -crisis of the Revolutionary War, and who gave the popular -name to the nation, led a remarkable life, and came -to be held by Washington as “among the first of the patriots.” -The book is a folk-lore narrative, with a thread -of fiction, and seeks to picture a period that was decisive -in American history, and the home and neighborhood of -one of the most delightful characters that America has -ever known—the Roger de Coverley of colonial life and -American knighthood; very human, but very noble, always<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span> -true; the fine old American gentleman—“Brother -Jonathan.”</p> - -<p>It has been said that a story of the life of Jonathan -Trumbull would furnish material for pen-pictures of the -most heroic episodes of the Revolutionary War, and bring -to light much secret history of the times when Lebanon, -Conn., was in a sense the hidden capital of the political -and military councils that influenced the greatest events -of the American struggle for liberty. The view is in -part true, and a son of Governor Trumbull so felt that -force of the situation that he painted the scenes of which -he first gained a knowledge in his father’s farmhouse, -beginning the work in that plain old home on the sanded -floor.</p> - -<p>From Governor Trumbull’s <a href="#i_fp060">war office</a>, which is still -standing at Lebanon, went the post-riders whose secret -messages determined some of the great events of the war. -Thence went forth recruits for the army in times of peril, -as from the forests; thence supplies for the army in -famine, thence droves of cattle, through wilderness ways.</p> - -<p>Governor Trumbull was the heart of every need in -those terrible days of sacrifice.</p> - -<p>His wife, Faith Trumbull, a descendant of the Pilgrim -Pastor Robinson of Leyden, was a heroic woman -to whom the Daughters of the Revolution should erect -a monument. The picture which we present of her in -the cloak of Rochambeau is historically true.</p> - -<p>The eminent people who visited the secret town of the -war during the great Revolutionary events were many, -and their influence had decisive results.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>[vii]</span></p> - -<p>Look at some of the names of these visitors: Washington, -Lafayette, Samuel Adams, Putnam, Jefferson, Franklin, -Sullivan, John Jay, Count Rochambeau, Admiral -Tiernay, Duke of Lauzun, Marquis de Castellax, and the -officers of Count Rochambeau and many others.</p> - -<p>The post-riders from Governor Trumbull’s plain farmhouse -on Lebanon Hill (called Lebanon from its cedars) -represented the secret service of the war.</p> - -<p>When the influence of this capital among the Connecticut -hills became known, Governor Trumbull’s person -was in danger. A secret and perhaps self-appointed guard -watched the wilderness roads to his war office.</p> - -<p>One of these, were he living, might interpret events -of the hidden history of the struggle for liberty in a very -dramatic way.</p> - -<p>Such an interpreter for the purpose of historic fiction -we have made in Dennis O’Hay, a jolly Irishman of a -liberty-loving heart.</p> - -<p>In a brief fiction for young people we can only -illustrate how interesting a larger study of this subject -of the secret service of the Revolution at this place might -be made. We shall be glad if we can so interest the young -reader in the topic as to lead him to follow it in solid historic -reading in his maturer years.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Hezekiah Butterworth.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a>[viii]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<col style="width: 20%;" /> -<col style="width: 70%;" /> -<col style="width: 10%;" /> -<tr> - <th class="pr smfontr">CHAPTER</th> - <th class="tdl"></th> - <th class="smfontr">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">I.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Two queer men meet</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">1</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">II.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">The jolly farmer of Windham -Hills and his flock of sheep</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">20</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">III.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">The first of patriots at -home</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">30</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">IV.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">“Out you go”</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">44</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">V.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">The war office in the cedars—An -Indian tale—Incidents</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">58</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">VI.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">The decisive day of Brother Jonathan’s -life</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">79</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">VII.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Washington speaks a name which names the -republic</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">104</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">VIII.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Peter Nimble and Dennis in the alarm-post</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">123</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">IX.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">A man with a cane—“Off with your hat”</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">135</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">X.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Beacons</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">156</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">XI.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">The secret of Lafayette</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">170</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">XII.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Lafayette tells his secret</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">187</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">XIII.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">The bugles blow</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">199</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">XIV.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">A daughter of the Pilgrims</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">215</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="pt tdrt">XV.—</td> - <td class="pt tdl hang smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">“Cornwallis is taken!”</a></td> - <td class="pt tdrb">237</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x"></a>[x]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi"></a>[xi]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> -<tr> - <th> </th> - <th class="tdrb smfont">FACING<br />PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_frontis">The rider gasped, “Where is your father, -Faith?”</a> <span class="flright"><i>Frontispiece</i></span></td> - <td class="tdrb"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp051">The surrender of Burgoyne</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">51</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp060">“Brother Jonathan’s” war office and residence -in Lebanon, Connecticut</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">60</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp129">The battle of Bunker Hill</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">129</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp154">Jonathan Trumbull</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">154</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp223">Madam Faith Trumbull contributing her scarlet -cloak to the soldiers of the Revolution</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">223</td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<p class="noi title">BROTHER JONATHAN</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<small>TWO QUEER MEN MEET</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Dennis O’Hay, a young Irishman, and a shipwrecked -mariner, had been landed at Norwich, Conn., by a schooner -which had come into the Thames from Long Island -Sound. A lusty, hearty, clear-souled sailor was Dennis; -the sun seemed to shine through him, so open to all -people was his free and transparent nature.</p> - -<p>“The top of the morning to everybody,” he used to -say, which feeling of universal brotherhood was quite in -harmony with the new country he had unexpectedly -found, but of which he had heard much at sea.</p> - -<p>Dennis looked around him for some person to whom -he might go for advice in the strange country to which he -had been brought. He did not have to look far, for the -town was not large, but presently a man whose very gait -bespoke importance, came walking, or rather marching, -down the street. Dennis went up to him.</p> - -<p>“An’ it is somebody in particular you must be,” said -Dennis. “You seem to me like some high officer that has -lost his regiment, cornet, horse, drum-major, and all; no,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -I beg your pardon. I mean—well, I mean that you seem -to me like one who might be more than you are; I beg -your pardon again; you look like a magistrate in these -new parts.”</p> - -<p>“And who are you with your blundering honesty, my -friend? You are evidently new to these parts?”</p> - -<p>“And it is an Irishman that I am.”</p> - -<p>“The Lord forbid, but I am an Englishman.”</p> - -<p>“Then we are half brothers.”</p> - -<p>“The Lord forbid. What brings you here?”</p> - -<p>“Storms, storms, and it is a shipwrecked mariner that -I am. And I am as poor as a coot, and you have ruffles, -and laces, and buckles, but you have a bit of heart. -I can see that in your face. Your blood don’t flow -through a muscle. Have you been long in these parts?”</p> - -<p>“Longer than I wish to have been. This is the land -of blue-laws, as you will find.”</p> - -<p>“And it is nothing that I know of the color of the -laws, whether they be blue, or red, or white. Can you -tell me of some one to whom a shipwrecked sailor could -go for a roof to shelter him, and some friendly advice? -You may be the very man?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no. I am not your man. My name is -Peters, Samuel Peters, and I am loyal to my king and my -own country, and here the people’s hearts are turning -away from both. I am one too many here. But there -is one man in these parts to whom every one in trouble -goes for advice. If a goose were to break her leg she -would go to him to set it. The very hens go and cackle -before his door. Children carry him arbutuses and white<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -lady’s-slippers in the spring, and wild grapes in the fall, -and the very Indians double up <em>so</em> when they pass his -house on the way to school. His house is in the perpendicular -style of architecture, I think. Close by it is a -store where they talk Latin and Greek on the grist barrels, -and they tell such stories there as one never heard -before. He settles all the church and colony troubles, -which are many, doctors the sick, and keeps unfaculized -people, as they call the poor here, from becoming an -expense to the town. He looks solemn, and wears <em>dignified</em> -clothes, but he has a heart for everybody; the very -dogs run after him in the street, and the little Indian -children do the same. He is a kind of Solomon. What -other people don’t know, he does. But he has a suspicious -eye for me.”</p> - -<p>“That is my man, sure,” said Dennis. “Children -and dogs know what is in the human heart. What may -that man’s name be? Tell me that, and you will be doing -me a favor, your Honor.”</p> - -<p>“His name is Jonathan Trumbull. They call him -‘Brother Jonathan,’ because he helps everybody, hinders -nobody, and tries to make broken-up people over new.”</p> - -<p>“And where does he live, your Honor?”</p> - -<p>“At a place called Lebanon, there are so many -cedars there. I do not go to see him, because I did -so once, but while he smiled on every one else, he scowled -<em>this way</em> on me, as if he thought that I was not all that I -ought to be. He is a magistrate, and everybody in the -colony knows him. He marries people, and goes to the -funerals of people who go to heaven.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<p>“That is my man. What are the blue-laws?”</p> - -<p>“One of the blue-laws reads that married people -must live together or go to jail. If a man and woman -who were not married were to go to <em>him</em> to settle a dispute, -he would say to them—‘Join your right hands.’ -When he rises up to speak in church, the earth stands -still, and the hour glass stops, and the sun on the dial. -But he has no use for me.”</p> - -<p>“That is my man, sure,” said Dennis. “Trumbull, -Trumbull, but it was his ship on which I sailed from -Derry, and that was lost.”</p> - -<p>“He has lost two ships before. It is strange that a -man whose meal-chest is open to all should be so unfortunate. -It don’t seem to accord with the laws of Providence. -I sometimes doubt that he is as good as all the -people think him to be.”</p> - -<p>“But the fruits of life are not money-making, your -Honor. A man’s influence on others is the fruit of life, -and what he is and does. A man is worth just what his -soul is worth, and not less or more. He is the man that -I am after, for sure. How does one get to his house?”</p> - -<p>“The open road from Norwich leads straight by his -house, all the way to Boston, through Windham County, -where lately the frogs had a great battle, and <em>millions</em> of -them were slain.”</p> - -<p>Dennis opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Faix?”</p> - -<p>“Faix, stranger. Yes, yes; I have just written an account -of the battle, to be published in England. After -the frogs had a battle, the caterpillars had another, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -then the hills at a place called Moodus began to rumble -and quake, and become colicky and cough. This is a -strange country.</p> - -<p>“But these things,” he added, “are of little account -in comparison to the fact that the heart of the people is -turning against the laws that the good king and his minister -make for the welfare of the colony. They allow the -people here to be one with the home government by bearing -a part of the taxes. And the people’s hearts are -becoming alien. I do not wonder that frogs fight, and -caterpillars, and that the hills groan and shake and upset -milk-pans, and make the maids run they know not where.”</p> - -<p>“I must seek that man they call ‘Brother Jonathan.’ -Something in me says I must. That way? Well, Dennis -O’Hay will start now; it is a sorry story that I will have -to tell him, but it is a true heart I will have to take -to him.”</p> - -<p>“I am going back to England,” said Mr. Peters.</p> - -<p>“Well, good-by is it to you,” said Dennis, and the -young Irishman set his face toward Lebanon of the cedars, -on the road from Boston to Philadelphia by way of New -York. He stopped by the way to talk with the people -he met about the warlike times, and things happening at -Boston town.</p> - -<p>His mind was filled with wonder at what he heard. -What a curious man the same Brother Jonathan might -be! Who were the Indian children? What was the -story of the battle of the frogs, and of the caterpillars; -what was the cause of the coughing mountains at Moodus; -why did Brother Jonathan, a man of such great heart,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -scowl at the same Mr. Peters, and who was this same -Mr. Peters?</p> - -<p>Dennis took off his hat as he went on toward Lebanon, -turning over in his mind these questions. He swung his -hat as he went along, and the blue jays peeked at him -and laughed, and the conquiddles (bobolinks) seemed to -catch the wonder in his mind, and to fly off to the hazel -coverts. Rabbits stood up in the highway, then shook -their paws and ran into the berry bushes by the brooks.</p> - -<p>Everything seemed strange, as he hurried on, picking -berries when he stopped to rest.</p> - -<p>At noon the sun glared; fishing hawks, or ospreys, -wheeled in the air, screaming. A bear, with her cubs, -stopped at the turn of the way. The bear stood up. -Dennis stood still.</p> - -<p>The bear looked at Dennis, and Dennis at the bear. -Then the bear seemed to speak to the cubs, and she and -her family bounded into the cedars.</p> - -<p>This was not Londonderry. Everything was fresh, -shining and new. At night the air was full of the wings -of birds, as the morning had been of songs of birds.</p> - -<p>The sun of the long day fell at last, and the twilight -shone red behind the gray rocks, oaks and cedars.</p> - -<p>Dennis sat down on the pine needles.</p> - -<p>“It is a sorry tale that I will have to tell Brother -Jonathan to-morrow,” said he. “It will hurt my heart -to hurt his heart.”</p> - -<p>Then the whippoorwills began to sing, and Dennis -fell asleep under the moon and stars.</p> - -<p>If the reader would know more about Mr. Peters,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -Samuel Peters, let him consult any colonial library, and -he will find there a collection of stories of early Connecticut, -such as would tend to make one run home after -dark. The same Mr. Peters was an Episcopal clergyman, -who did not like the Connecticut main or the -“blue-laws.”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> See Appendix -for some of Rev. Samuel Peters’ queer stories.</p> -</div> - -<p>Dennis came to the farming town on the hills among -the green cedars; he banged on the door of the Governor’s -house with his hard knuckles, in real Irish vigor.</p> - -<p>The Governor’s wife answered the startling knock.</p> - -<p>“And faith it is a shipwrecked sailor. I am from the -north of ould Ireland, it is now, and would you be after -a man of all work, or any work? There is lots of days of -work now in these two fists, lady, and that you may well -believe.” He bowed three times.</p> - -<p>“The Governor is away from home,” said my lady. -“He has gone to New Haven by the sea. What is your -name?”</p> - -<p>“My name is Dennis O’Hay, an honest name as ever -there was in Ireland of the north countrie, and I am an -honest man.”</p> - -<p>“You look it, my good friend. You have an honest -face, but there is fire in it.”</p> - -<p>“And there are times, lady, when the coals should -burn on the hearth of the heart, and flame up into one’s -cheeks and eyes. A storm is coming, lady, a land storm; -there are hawks in the air. I would serve you well, -lady. It is a true heart that you have. I can see it in -your face, lady.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p> - -<p>“And what can you do, Dennis O’Hay? You were -bred to the sea.”</p> - -<p>“And it is little that I can not do, that any man can -do with his two fists. You have brains up here among -the hills, lady, but there may come a day that you will -need fists as well as brains, and wits more than all, for I -am a peaceable man; I can work, and I could suffer or die -for such people as you all seem to be up here. The heart -of Dennis O’Hay is full of this new cause for liberty. I -could throw up my hat over the sun for that cause, lady. -I would enlist in that cause, and drag the guns to the -battle-field like a packhorse. Oh, I am full of America, -honest now, and no blarney.”</p> - -<p>“I do not meddle with my husband’s affairs, but I -can not turn you away from these doors. How could I -send away any man who is willing to enlist for a cause -like ours? Dennis O’Hay, go to the tavern over there, -and ask for a meal in the name of Faith Trumbull. Then -come back here and I will give you the keys to the store -in the war office, for I can trust you with the keys, and -when my goodman comes back I will send him to -you.”</p> - -<p>“Lady, this is the time to say a word to you. Ask -about me among the other sailors, if they come here, so -that you may know that I have lived an honest life. -Does not your goodman need a guard?”</p> - -<p>“I had never thought of such a thing.”</p> - -<p>“You are sending soldiers and food and cattle to the -camps, I hear; who knows what General Gage might be led -to do? They have secret guards in foreign parts, men of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -the ‘secret service,’ as they call them. Lady, there are -things that come to one, down from the skies, or up from -the soul. It is all like the ‘pattern on the mount of -vision’ that they preach about. A voice within me has -been saying, ‘Go and work for the Governor among the -hills, and watch out for him.’ But you must test me first, -lady. I would keep <em>you</em> from harm; there is nothing -that should ever stand between these two fists of Dennis -O’Hay and such as you. But that day will come. I will go -to the tavern now, and God and all the saints bless you, -and your goodman forever, and make a great nation of -this green land of America, and keep the same Dennis -O’Hay, which I am that, in the way of his duty.”</p> - -<p>The tavern, which became an historic inn, where some -of the most notable people of America and of France -were entertained during the days of the Revolution, stood -at a little distance from the Governor’s house. Dennis -O’Hay went there so elated that he tossed his sailor’s hat -into the air.</p> - -<p>“It is little that I would not do for a lady like that,” -he said. “The sea tossed me here on purpose. Night, -thou mayest have my service; watch me, ye stars! Liberty, -thou mayest have my blood; call me, ye fife and -drum. Let me but get at the heart of the Governor, -and his life and home shall be secure from all harm -under the clear eye of Dennis O’Hay. Hurrah, hurrah, -hurrah! and it is here I am in America!”</p> - -<p>The landlord stood in the door.</p> - -<p>“And who are you, my friend?”</p> - -<p>“Dennis, your Honor.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span></p> - -<p>“And what brings you here?”</p> - -<p>“Not the ship; for the ship went down. What brings -me here? My two legs—no——”</p> - -<p>He paused, and looked reverent.</p> - -<p>“The Hand Unseen. I came to enlist in the struggles -for the freedom of America. Give me a bite in the name -of the lady down the road.”</p> - -<p>“My whole table is at your service, my friend. I like -your spirit. We need you here.”</p> - -<p>“And here I am—how I got here I do not know, but -I <em>am</em> here, and my name is Dennis O’Hay.”</p> - -<p>He waited long for the return of the Governor to the -war office, or country store, looking out of the window -over the tops of the green hills.</p> - -<p>“An’ faix, I do believe,” he said at last, “I minds -me that this is the day when the world stands still. But, -O my eyes, what is it that you see now?”</p> - -<p>A light form of a little one came out of the door of -the Governor’s house and walked to the war office. It -was a girl, beautiful in figure, with a sensitive face, full -of sympathy and benevolence.</p> - -<p>She opened the door.</p> - -<p>“My name is Faith,” said she. “I am Mr. Trumbull’s -daughter. I keep store sometimes when my father, -the Governor, is away late. I thought I would open -the store this afternoon. Customers are likely to come, -near nightfall.”</p> - -<p>“I would help you tend store,” said Dennis O’Hay, -“if I only knew how. It is not handy at a bargain that -I would be now, and barter people, if you call them that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -here, would all get the best of me. But I may be able to -do such things some day.”</p> - -<p>He looked out of the window, and suddenly exclaimed—“Look!”</p> - -<p>A man on a noble horse was coming, flying as it -seemed, down the Lebanon road from the Windham -County hills. His horse leaped into the air at times, as -full of high spirit, and dashed up to the store.</p> - -<p>Faith, the beautiful girl, went to the door.</p> - -<p><a href="#i_frontis">The rider gasped—“Where is your father, Faith?”</a></p> - -<p>“He is gone to New Haven, Mr. Putnam.”</p> - -<p>“I want to see him at once; there is secret news from -Boston. But I must see him. I must not leave here -until he returns. I will go over to the tavern and wait.”</p> - -<p>Dennis came out and stood in front of the store.</p> - -<p>“Stranger,” said the rider, “and who are you? You -do not look like a farmer.”</p> - -<p>“Who am I? I am myself, sure, a foreigner among -foreigners, Dennis O’Hay, a castaway, from the north -of Ireland.”</p> - -<p>“And what brings you here?”</p> - -<p>“I came to enlist,” said Dennis.</p> - -<p>“You will be wanted,” said Mr. Putnam. “You -have shoulders as broad as Atlas, who carried the world -on his back.”</p> - -<p>“The world on his back? What did he walk upon?”</p> - -<p>“That is a question too much,” said the rider. “I’ll -leave my horse in your hands, Dennis O’Hay, and go to -the tavern and see what I can find out about the Governor’s -movements there.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span></p> - -<p>He strode across the green.</p> - -<p>The sun was going down, sending up red and golden -lances, as it were, over the dark shades of the cedars. On -the hills lay great farms half in glittering sunlight, half -in dark shadows.</p> - -<p>“Have you any thought when the Governor will -return?” asked the rider of the tavern-keeper.</p> - -<p>“No, Israel, I have not—but I hear that there is -important news from Boston—that it is suspected that -the British are about to make a move to capture the -stores of American powder at Concord. The Governor, -I mind me, knows something about the secrets of powder -hiding, but of that I can not be sure.”</p> - -<p>“Great events are at hand,” said Putnam. “I can feel -them in the air. I had the same feeling before the -northern campaign. I must stay here until the Governor -arrives.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have the best the tavern affords,” said -the innkeeper.</p> - -<p>The sun went down blazing on the hills, seeming like -a far gate of heaven, as its semicircular splendors filled -the sky. Then came the hour of shadows with the advent -of the early stars, and then the grand procession of the -night march of the hosts of heaven that looks bright -indeed over the dark cedars.</p> - -<p>The air was silent, as though the world were dead. -The taverners listened long in front of the tavern for -the sound of horses’ feet on the Lebanon road.</p> - -<p>“Will the Governor come alone?” asked Dennis -O’Hay of Israel Putnam, the rider.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, my sailor friend; who is there to harm him?”</p> - -<p>“But there will be danger. There ought to be a guard -on the Lebanon road. Did not the Governor save the -powder, ammunition, and stores, in the northern war? -So they said at Norwich. Some day General Gage will -put a long eyes on him.”</p> - -<p>“Silence!”</p> - -<p>The taverners went into the tavern and sat down in -the common room.</p> - -<p>“I will wait until midnight before I go to my room. -My message to the Governor must be delivered as soon -as he returns.”</p> - -<p>The public room was lighted with candles, and a fire -was kindled on the hearth. It was spring, but a hearth -fire had a cheerful glow even then.</p> - -<p>The taverners talked of the military events around -Boston town, then told stories of adventure. Dennis came -from the store, and sat down with the rest.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Putnam,” said one of them, “the story of your -hunting the she-wolf is told in all the houses of the new -towns, but we have never heard it from yourself. The -clock weights sink low, and we wish to keep awake. Tell -us about that wily wolf, and how you felt when your -eyes met hers in the cave.”</p> - - -<h3>THE WITCH-WOLF</h3> - -<p>“I never boast of the happenings of my life,” said -Israel Putnam. “It is my nature to dash and do, and I -but give point to the plans of others. That is nothing -to boast of. Put on cedar wood and I will tell the tale<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -of that cunning animal, a ‘witch-wolf,’ as some call her, -as well as I can. The people at the taverns often ask -me to kill time for them in that way.</p> - -<p>“I came to Pomfret in 1749. For some years I was -a busy man, toiling early and late, as you may know. I -raised a house and barn; some of you were at the raising. -I chopped down trees, made fences, planted apple-trees, -sowed and reaped.</p> - -<p>“My farm grew. I had a growing herd of cattle, but -my pride was in my flock of sheep.</p> - -<p>“One morning, as I went out to the hill meadows, I -found that some of my finest sheep had disappeared. I -called them, and I wandered the woods searching for -them, but they were not to be found. Then a herdman -came to me and said that he had found blood and wool in -one place, and sheep bones in another, and that he felt -sure that the missing sheep had been destroyed by powerful -wolves.</p> - -<p>“In a few days other sheep were missing. Day by day -passed, and I lost in a few months a great number of -sheep.</p> - -<p>“One morning I went out to the sheepfolds, and -found that some animal had killed a whole flock of sheep.</p> - -<p>“‘It is a she-wolf that is the destroyer’ said a herdman, -‘a witch-wolf, it may be. Would you dare to -attack her?’</p> - -<p>“My brain was fired. There lay my sheep killed -without a purpose, by some animal in which had grown -a thirst for blood.</p> - -<p>“‘Yes, yes—’ said I, ‘wolf or demon, whatever it be,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -I will give my feet no rest until I hold its tongue in my -own hands, and that I will do. I have force in my head, -and iron in my hands. Call the neighbors together and -let us have a wolf hunt.’</p> - -<p>“The neighbors were called together, and the conch -shell was blown. We tracked the wolf and got sight of -her. She was no witch, but a long, gaunt, powerful she-wolf, -a great frame of bones, with a sneaking head and -evil eyes.</p> - -<p>“We pursued her, but she was gone. She seemed to -vanish. ‘She is a witch,’ said the herdman. ‘She is -no witch,’ said I, ‘and if she were, it is my duty to put -her out of existence, and I will!’</p> - -<p>“We hunted her again and again, but she was too -cunning for us. She disappeared. She would be absent -during the summer, but in the fall she would return, and -bring her summer whelps with her. She fed her brood -not only on my flocks but on those of the farms of the -country around. We gathered new bands to hunt her; -the people rose in arms against her—against that one -cunning animal.—Put cedar wood on the fire.</p> - -<p>“I formed a new plan. We would hunt her continuously, -two at a time.</p> - -<p>“She lost a part of one foot in a steel trap at last. -Then the people came to know that she was no witch. -We could track her now by the mark of the three feet -in the snow. She limped, and her three sound feet could -not make the quick shifts that her four feet had made -of old.</p> - -<p>“One day we set out on a continuous hunt. We followed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -her from our farms away to the Connecticut River. -Then the three-footed animal came back again, and we -followed her back to the farms.</p> - -<p>“But the bloodhounds now knew her and had got -scent of her, and they led us to a den in the woods. This -den was only about three miles from my house. She may -have hidden in it many times before.</p> - -<p>“We gathered before the den, and lighted straw and -pushed it into the den to drive her out. But she did not -appear.</p> - -<p>“Then we put sulphur on the straw and forced it -into the den, so that it might fill the cavern with the -fumes. But the three-footed wolf did not come out of -the den. The cave might be a large one; it might have -an opening out some other way.</p> - -<p>“We called a huge dog, and bade him to enter the -cave. He dove down through the opening. Presently -we heard him cry; he soon backed out of the opening, -bleeding. The wolf was in the cave.</p> - -<p>“Another dog, and another were forced to enter the -cave, both returning whining and bleeding. Neither -smoke nor dogs were able to destroy that animal that had -made herself a terror of the country round.</p> - -<p>“I called my negro herder.</p> - -<p>“‘Sam,’ said I, ‘you go into the cave and end that -animal.’</p> - -<p>“‘Not for a thousand pounds, nor for all the sheep -on the hills of the Lord. What would become of Sam? -Look at the dogs’ noses. Would you send me where no -dog could go?’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span></p> - -<p>“‘Then I shall go myself,’ said I, for nothing can -stop me from anything when my resolution has gathered -force; there are times when I must lighten.</p> - -<p>“I took off my coat and prepared to go down into the -cave. My neighbors held me back. I took a torch, and -plunged down the entrance to the cave, head first, with -the torch blazing.</p> - -<p>“Had I made the effort with a gun, the wolf might -have rushed at me, but she crouched and sidled back -before the fire.</p> - -<p>“The entrance was slippery, but my will forced -me on.</p> - -<p>“I could rise up at last. The cave was silent; the -darkness might be felt. I doubt that any human being -had ever entered the place before.</p> - -<p>“I walked slowly, then turning aside my torch, peered -into the thick darkness.</p> - -<p>“Two fierce eyes, like balls of fire, confronted me. -The she-wolf was there, waiting for some advantage, but -cowed by the torch.</p> - -<p>“Presently I heard a growl and a gnashing of -teeth.</p> - -<p>“I had drawn into the cave a rope tied around my -body, so that I might be drawn out by my neighbors if -I should need help. I gave the signal to pull me out. -I understood the situation.</p> - -<p>“I was drawn up in such a way that my upper clothing -was pulled over my body, and my flesh was torn. I -grasped my gun and crawled back again.—Put more -cedar wood on the fire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> - -<p>“I saw the eyes of the wolf again. I heard her snap -and growl. I leveled my gun.</p> - -<p>“<em>Bang!</em> The noise seemed to deafen me. The smoke -filled the cave.</p> - -<p>“I gave a signal to my neighbors to draw me out. I -listened at the mouth of the cave. All was silent. The -smoke must have found vent. I went into the cave -again.</p> - -<p>“It was silent.</p> - -<p>“I found the body of the wolf. It was stiff and was -growing cold. I took hold of her ears and gave a signal -to those outside to draw me out.</p> - -<p>“As I was drawn from the mouth of the cave I -dragged the wolf after me.</p> - -<p>“Then my friends set up a great shout. My eyes -had met those of the she-wolf but once, then there was -living fire in them, terrible but pitiful. Hark—what is -that?”</p> - -<p>There was a sound of horses’ feet.</p> - -<p>“The Governor is coming,” said one of the taverners.</p> - -<p>Israel Putnam ran out to meet him, and spoke to him -a few words.</p> - -<p>“Let us go to the war office at once, and shut the -door and be by ourselves,” said the Governor.</p> - -<p>They hurried to the war office, and the Governor shut -the door, not to open it again until morning.</p> - -<p>Dennis O’Hay went back to the tavern, and wondered -and wondered.</p> - -<p>“Faix, and this is a quare country, and no mistake,” -said he. What would the Governor say to him?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span></p> - -<p>Would he be the first to tell him that the ship had -gone down?</p> - -<p>He talked with taverners about the subject.</p> - -<p>“I must break the news, gently like,” he said. “I -would hate to hurt his heart.”</p> - -<p>“He has lost ships before,” said one.</p> - -<p>“His losses have made him a poor man,” said another. -“But he marches right on in the way of duty, as though -he owned the stars.”</p> - -<p>Dennis fell asleep on the settle, wondering, and he -must have dreamed wonderful dreams.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<small>THE JOLLY FARMER OF WINDHAM HILLS AND HIS FLOCK -OF SHEEP</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There was an old manor in sunny England to which -Lord Cornwallis used to resort, and a certain Captain -Blackwell purchased a territory in Windham, Conn., -among the green hills and called it Mortlake Manor, after -the English demesne. Here Israel Putnam purchased a -farm of some 500 acres, at what is now Pomfret, Conn., -and began to raise great herds of cattle and flocks of -sheep, and to plant apple-trees.</p> - -<p>He was made a major in the northern campaign, afterward -a colonel, then in the Indian War he became a -general. They called him “Major Putnam,” for the title -befitted his character, and he wished to be sparing of -titles among the farmers of Windham.</p> - -<p>Israel Putnam was born a hero. He had in him the -spirit of a Hannibal. He had character as well as daring; -his soul rose above everything, and he never feared -a face of day.</p> - -<p>He had the soul of Cincinnatus, and not of a Cæsar. -He could leave the plow, and return to it again.</p> - -<p>His conduct in the northern campaign had shown<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -the unselfish character of his heroism. A jolly farmer -was he, and as thrifty as he was jolly. He could strike -hard blows for justice and liberty, and like a truly brave -man he could forgive his enemies and help them to rise -in a right spirit again.</p> - -<p>Why had he come here at this time?</p> - -<p>Let us go into the store, or, as it was beginning to -be called, the “war office,” with these two men of destiny.</p> - -<p>“Governor Trumbull,” he said, “I am about to go to -Boston, and I want your approval. Boston is being -ruined by British oppression. She is almost famine-stricken, -and why? Because her people are true to their -rights.</p> - -<p>“Governor, I can not sleep. Think of the situation. -Here I am on my farm, with hundreds of sheep around -me, and the men of liberty of Boston town are sitting -down to half-empty tables. Some of my sheep must be -driven away.</p> - -<p>“They must be started on their way to Worcester, -and to Newtowne, and to Boston, and, Governor, the flock -must <em>grow</em> by the way.</p> - -<p>“I am going to ask the farmers to swell the number -of the flock as I start with my own. Boston Common is -a British military post now—but I am going to Boston -Common with my sheep, and my flock will grow as I go, -and I will appear there at the head of a company of sheep, -and if the British Government does not lift its hand from -Boston town, I will go there with a company of soldiers. -Have I your contentment in the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, go, hero of Lake George and of Ticonderoga,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -go with your sheep and your flock, increase it as it goes; -but as for that other matter you suggest, let us talk of -that, the matter of what is to be done if British oppression -is to increase.”</p> - -<p>They talked all night, and Putnam said that the liberties -of the colonies were more than life to him, and that -he stood ready for any duty. He rode away in the light -of the morning.</p> - -<p>As he passed the tavern, Dennis O’Hay went to the -war office, where the Connecticut militia used to appear, -to meet the Governor.</p> - -<p>“The top of the morning to you, Governor,” said -Dennis, holding his cap in his hand above his head.</p> - -<p>“My good friend, I do not know you,” said the -Governor, “but that you are here for some good purpose, -I can not doubt. What is your business with me?”</p> - -<p>“I was a sailor, sir, and our ship went down, sir, but -I came up, sir, and am still on the top of the earth. I -am an Irishman, sir, from Ireland of the North, that -breeds the loikliest men on the other side of the world, sir, -among which, please your Honor, I am one.</p> - -<p>“I have heard about the stamp act, sir. England -has taxed Ireland into the earth, sir. We live in hovels, -sir, that the English may dwell in castles, sir. I wouldn’t -be taxed, sir, were I an American without any voice in -the government, sir. That would be nothing but slavery.</p> - -<p>“I would like to enlist, sir. I have heard of the -minutemen, sir, and it is a half-a-minute man that I -would like to become.”</p> - -<p>“I see, I see, my good fellow; I read the truth of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -what you say in your looks. Let me go to my breakfast, -and I will talk over your case with my wife, Faith, and -my daughters, and my son John. In the meantime, go -and get your breakfast in the tavern.”</p> - -<p>“The top of this earth and all the planets to you, sir.”</p> - -<p>After breakfast the Governor summoned Dennis to -the store, which came to be called the “war office.” The -back room in the store was the council room.</p> - -<p>“Did you notice that man who rode away in the -morning?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Sure, I did, sir. I heard him tell a story last night -in the tavern. The flesh was gone from one of his -hands.”</p> - -<p>“It was torn from his hand while pouring water on -a fire which was burning the barracks near a magazine -which contained 300 barrels of powder. That was in the -north.”</p> - -<p>“Did he save the magazine?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my good friend. He is a brave man, and he is -soon going with a drove of sheep to Boston.</p> - -<p>“You ask for work,” continued the Governor. “I -want you to go with that man, Major, Colonel, General -Putnam, and his drove of sheep to Boston, and to keep -your eye out on the way, so, if needed, you might go -over it again. I wish to train a few men to learn a -swift way to Boston town. You may be one of them. -I will have a horse saddled for you at once; follow that -man to Pomfret, to the manor farm at Windham. I will -write you a note to him, a secret note, which you must not -open by the way.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p> - -<p>“Never you fear, Governor; I couldn’t read it if I -did, but I can read life if I can not read messages.”</p> - -<p>In a few minutes he was in the saddle, with his face -turned toward the Windham hills.</p> - -<p>He found General Putnam, the “Major,” on his farm.</p> - -<p>“It is the top of the morning that I said to the Governor -this morning, and it is the top of the evening that -I say to you now. I am Dennis O’Hay, from the north -of Ireland, and it is this message—which may ask that I -be relieved of my head for aught I know—that the Governor -he asked me to put into your hand. He wants me -to learn all the way to Boston town, so that I may be -able to drive cattle there, it may be. I am ready to do -anything to make this country the land of liberty. After -all that ould Ireland has suffered, I want to see America -free and glorious—and hurrah, free! That word comes -out of my heart; I don’t know why I say it. It rises up -from my very soul.”</p> - -<p>“You shall learn all the way to Boston town,” said -the Major, “and I hope I shall not find you faithless, or -give you over to the British to be dealt with according -to the law.”</p> - -<p>Putnam was preparing to leave for his long journey -on the new Boston road. His neighbors gathered around -him, and young farmers brought to him fine sheep, to -add to those he had gathered for the suffering patriots -of Boston town.</p> - -<p>The driver of this flock knew the way, the post-houses, -the inns, the ordinaries, and the Major assigned -Dennis to him as an assistant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p> - -<p>Putnam was a lusty man at this time, in middle life. -He wore homespun made from his own flocks. His great -farm among the hills had been developed until it was -made sufficient to support a large family and many work-people. -He raised his own beef, pork, corn, grain, apples -and fruit, and poultry. His family made their own butter -and cheese; his wife wove the clothing for all; spun -her own yarn. The manor farm might have been isolated -for a hundred years, and yet thrift would have -gone on.</p> - -<p>No one was ever more self-supporting than the old-time -thrifty New England farmer. His farm was more -independent than a baron’s castle in feudal days.</p> - -<p>He “put off” his butter, cheese and eggs, or bartered -them for “West India goods”; but even in these things -he might have been independent, for his maple-trees might -have yielded him sugar, and roasted crusts and nuts a -nutritious substitute for coffee and tea.</p> - -<p>Putnam drove away his sheep, stopping at post-houses -by the way, and telling some merry and some thrilling -stories there of the wild campaign of the north, and of -his escapes from the Indians under Pontiac.</p> - -<p>He arrived at Boston and was welcomed by the patriot -Warren.</p> - -<p>A British officer faced him.</p> - -<p>“And you have come down here,” said the British -officer, “to contend against England’s arm with a lot of -sheep. If you rebels do not cease your opposition, do -you want to know what will happen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></p> - -<p>“Twenty ships of the line and twenty regiments will -be landed at the port of Boston.”</p> - -<p>“If that day comes, I shall return to Boston, and I -shall bring with me men as well as sheep.”</p> - -<p>“Ho, ho!” laughed the British officer. “That is -your thought, is it, hey? It is treason, sir; treason to the -British Crown.”</p> - -<p>“Sir,” said Putnam, “an enemy to justice is my -enemy; is every man’s enemy. It is a man’s duty to -stand by human rights.”</p> - -<p>Dennis studied every farmhouse and nook and corner -by the way. He had a quick mind and a responsive heart, -and he was learning America readily.</p> - -<p>He could read lettered words, so he looked well at the -sign-boards at four corners and on taverns and milestones. -He “stumbled” in book reading, but could -define signs.</p> - -<p>“Could you find your way back again?” asked the -Major of him, as they rested beneath the great trees on -Boston Common.</p> - -<p>“And sure it is, Major. I would find my way back -there if I had been landed at the back door of the world.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the Major, “then you may go back in -advance of us alone.”</p> - -<p>Dennis parted from the Major, and dismounted in a -couple of days or more before the Governor’s war office -with</p> - -<p>“And it is the top of the morning, it is, Governor.”</p> - -<p>“Did you bring a recommendation from the Major?” -asked the Governor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span></p> - -<p>“No, no, he sent me on ahead, but I can give a good -report of him.”</p> - -<p>“That is the same as though he brought a good report -of you. A man who speaks well of his master is generally -to be trusted.</p> - -<p>“Well, you know the way to Boston town. I think -that I can now make you useful to me, and to the cause. -We will see.”</p> - -<p>Dennis found work at the tavern. He would sit on -the tavern steps to watch for the Governor in the evenings -when the latter appeared on the green. He soon joined -the good people in calling the Governor “Brother Jonathan.”</p> - -<p>Dennis was superstitious—most Irishmen are—but he -was hardly more given to ghostly fears than the Connecticut -farmers were. Nearly every farmstead at that -period had its ghost story. Good Governor Trumbull -would hardly have given an hour to the fairy tale, but -he probably would have listened intently to a graveyard -or “witch” story.</p> - -<p>People did not see angels then as in old Hebrew days, -but thought that there were sheeted ghosts that came out -of graveyards, or made night journeys through lonely -woods, and stood at the head of garret stairs, “avenging” -spirits that haunted those who had done them -wrong.</p> - -<p>So we only picture real life when we bring Dennis -into this weird atmosphere, that made legs nimble, and -cats run home when the clouds scudded over the moon.</p> - -<p>Dennis had heard ghost story after ghost story on his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -journey and at the store. Almost everybody had at least -one such story to tell; how that Moodus hills would shake -and quake at times, and tip over milk-pans, and cause the -maid to hide and the dog to howl; how the timbers -brought together to build a church, one night set to capering -and dancing; how a woman who had a disease that -“unjinted her jints” (unjointed her joints) came all -together again during a great “revival”; how witches -took the form of birds, and were shot with silver bullets; -and like fantastic things which might have filled volumes.</p> - -<p>“I never fear the face of day,” said Dennis, “but -apparitions! Oh, for my soul’s sake, deliver me from -them! I am no ghost-hunter—I never want to face -anything that I can’t shoot, and on this side of the water -the woods are full of people that won’t sleep in their -graves when you lay them there. I shut my eyes. Yes, -when I see anything that I can’t account for, I shut my -eyes.”</p> - -<p>That was the cause of the spread of superstition. -People like Dennis “shut their eyes.” Did they meet a -white rabbit in the bush, they did not investigate—they -ran.</p> - -<p>Dennis would have faced a band of spies like a giant, -but would have run from the shaking of a bush by a -mouse or ground squirrel in a graveyard.</p> - -<p>He once saw a sight that, to use the old term, “broke -him up.” He was passing by a family graveyard when -he thought that an awful apparition that reached from -the earth to the heavens rose before him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, and it was orful!” said he. “It riz right up out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -of the graves into the air, with its <em>paws</em> in the moon. It -was a white horse, and he <em>whickered</em>. My soul went out -of me; I hardly had strength enough in my legs to get -back to the green; and when I did, I fell flat down on my -face, and all America would never tempt me to go that -way again.”</p> - -<p>The white horse whose “paws” were in the moon was -only an animal turned out into the highway to pasture, -that lifted himself up on the stout bough of a graveyard -wild apple-tree to eat apples from the higher limbs. -Horses were fond of apples, and would sometimes lift -themselves up to gather them in this way.</p> - -<p>The ghost story was the favorite theme at the store -on long winter evenings.</p> - -<p>“If one could be sure that they met an evil ghost, -one would know that there must be good spirits that had -gone farther on,” reasoned the men.</p> - -<p>“They may as well all go farther on,” said Dennis. -“Such things do not haunt good people.”</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<small>THE FIRST OF PATRIOTS AT HOME</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>A noble private school first made Lebanon of the -cedars famous. It had been founded by the prosperous -hill farmers under the influence of the Governor. To -this school the latter sent his five children, who prepared -there for college or the higher schools.</p> - -<p>The Governor possessed a strong mind, that was so -clear and full of imagination as to be almost poetic and -prophetic.</p> - -<p>The Scriptures were his book of poems, and he read -many books—<em>Job</em> in Hebrew, and <em>John</em> in Greek.</p> - -<p>At home among his five children, all of whom were -destined to be notable, and two of them famous, he was -an ideal father. His one thought was to educate his -children for usefulness.</p> - -<p>One of his sons was named John, born in 1756. Nearly -all of my readers have seen his work, for it was his gift to -paint the dramatic scenes of the Revolutionary War, and -these great historical paintings adorn not only the rotunda -of the Capitol at Washington, but several of them most -public halls, and tens of thousands of patriotic homes in -the country, especially The Battle of Bunker Hill, The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -Signers of the Declaration of Independence, The Death -of Wolf, The Surrender of Cornwallis, and Washington’s -Farewell to his Army.</p> - -<p>The home of the Governor may have been matted, -but was not carpeted. It was the custom at that time -to strew white sand over floors and to “herring-bone” -spare rooms. Of this sand we have a curious story.</p> - -<p>Two of the daughters, Faith and Mary, were born to -a love of art. They were sent to school in Boston after -graduating at the Lebanon school, and there Faith began -to admire portraits painted in oil.</p> - -<p>She studied painting in oil, and she returned to her -plain and simple home. She hung upon the walls two -portraits painted by her own hand that were a local -wonder.</p> - -<p>The Governor looked upon his gifted daughter’s work -with commendable pride.</p> - -<p>“You have done well, Faith. I did not expect such -gifts of you. To detain age, in keeping the face at the -age in which it is painted, is indeed a noble art. It is -worthy of you, Faith.”</p> - -<p>At this time John Trumbull was a little boy. He had -been housed and nursed tenderly by his mother, because -he had a misformed head which had to be shaped out of -a defect by pressure.</p> - -<p>This boy turned his face to his sister Faith’s paintings -with surprise, as they transformed the walls of the room.</p> - -<p>“I want to paint, too,” said he.</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said the Governor, “painting is not for -boys.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span></p> - -<p>He asked his sister for oils.</p> - -<p>“You are too young,” thought the artistic Faith, who -was a loving, noble sister.</p> - -<p>“But I must, I must.”</p> - -<p>One day his mother entered the sanded room. The -white sand had been disturbed. It was lying about in -curious angles. She stopped; the sand had formed a -picture. Whose picture—probably it was intended for -herself.</p> - -<p>The boy’s face met hers, possibly at an opposite door.</p> - -<p>“My son, what have you been doing with the sand?”</p> - -<p>“Painting, mother.”</p> - -<p>“But what led you to paint in that way?”</p> - -<p>“Faith’s pictures on the wall. I had to paint. I -must. I will be a painter if I grow up. The things -that father does will not live unless they are painted. -Pictures make the past <em>now</em>—they hold the past; they -make it live.”</p> - -<p>“My little boy sees the value of the art like a philosopher. -You and Faith have a gift that I little expected. -I have nursed that little head of yours many -an hour; there may be pictures in it—who knows?”</p> - -<p>“But father thinks that painting is girlish. How can -I get him to let me paint?”</p> - -<p>“You may be able to paint so well, that he will be -proud of your art.”</p> - -<p>The next day the sand took new form; another picture -filled the floor, and so day by day new pictures came to -delight the good mother’s heart.</p> - -<p>The Governor saw them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> - -<p>“There is a gift in them,” said he. “It is all right -for a little shaver like him. Boys will have to wield -something stronger than the brush in the new age that is -upon us. But we must not crush any gift of God.”</p> - -<p>He turned away.</p> - -<p>His family loved to be near him, and he told them -wonderful tales from the Hebrew Scriptures.</p> - -<p>Queer tales of early times in the colonies he related -to them, too; stories that tended to correct false views -of life and character. Suppose we spend an hour with -the good Governor in his own home.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was early evening; snow was falling on the green -boughs of the cedars of Lebanon. A great fireplace -blazed before the sitting-room table, on which were the -Bible and books.</p> - -<p>On one side of the fireplace hung quartered apples -drying; on the other a rennet and red peppers, and on -the mantelpiece were shells from the Indies, candlesticks, -and pewter dishes.</p> - -<p>The room became silent. The Governor’s thoughts -were far away, planning, planning, almost always planning.</p> - -<p>The stillness became lonesome. Then little John, the -painter in the sand, ventured to ask his mother for a story, -and she said:</p> - -<p>“I am narrowing now in my knitting; ask your -father, he is wool-gathering; call him home.”</p> - -<p>Little John touched his father on the arm.</p> - -<p>“It is a story that you would have,” said the Governor.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -“I am thinking all by myself on a case that comes -up before me to-morrow, of a young man who has broken -the law, but did not know that there was any such law -to break. He had just come in from sea.</p> - -<p>“Now, what would you do in such a case as that, -Johnny? I am thinking how to be merciful to the man -and just to others.”</p> - -<p>“I would do what mother would do—mother, what -would you do in a case like that?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know; there may be things to be considered. -I would follow my heart; if it would not endanger -others.”</p> - -<p>“Father, what will you do? Animals break laws -about which they do not know. I pity them.”</p> - -<p>“Well said, John,” said the Governor.</p> - -<p>He added, beating on the back of his chair:</p> - -<p>“I may have to follow my heart; but I will tell you -a story of an old Connecticut judge who followed his -heart, and something unexpected happened.”</p> - -<p>The Governor dropped his stately tone, and used the -language of home. That was a charm, the home tone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>“It was at the time of the blue-laws,” he said. -“Those laws in one part of the State were so strict as to -forbid the making of mince pies at Christmas-time.</p> - -<p>“One of these laws forbid a man to kiss his wife in -public on Sunday.”</p> - -<p>The Governor seldom used story-book language. He -was going to do so now, and it would make the very fire -seem friendly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span></p> - -<p>“Wandering Rufus was a merry lad. He married a -young wife, a very handsome girl, and he loved her. -Soon after his marriage he went to sea, and it was after -he went to sea that the law was enacted against the Sunday -kissing. The lawmakers little thought of the men -at sea.</p> - -<p>“His wife looked out for him to come back, as a good -wife should. She pressed her nose against the pane. -She dreamed and dreamed of how happy she should be -when he should come leaping up from the wharf to -greet her.</p> - -<p>“Three years passed, for he was a whaler as well as -a sailor.</p> - -<p>“Three years!</p> - -<p>“One day there was heard a boom at sea—boom off -New Haven. The ship was coming in, and it was -Sunday.</p> - -<p>“The young wife dressed herself in her best gown, -and she never looked so pretty before. Her cheeks glowed -like roses in dew-time.</p> - -<p>“She hurried down toward the wharf to meet him, -just as the bells were ringing and the people were all -going to meeting.</p> - -<p>“He came up the highway to greet her, leaping—not -a becoming thing, I will allow. And he rushed into her -arms, and gave her smack after smack, and her bonnet -fell off, and the people stopped and wondered. The magistrate -wondered, too.</p> - -<p>“There was a man in the seaport who was like Mr. -Legality in the Pilgrim’s Progress. The next day he had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -the young sailor arrested for unbecoming conduct on the -street on Sunday, and I mind me that his conduct was -not altogether becoming.</p> - -<p>“The judge came into court, and read the law, and -asked:</p> - -<p>“‘Rufus, my sailor boy, what have you to plead?’</p> - -<p>“‘I did not know that there was any such law, your -Honor; else I would have obeyed it.’</p> - -<p>“You may see that he had a true heart, like a robin -on a cherry bough.</p> - -<p>“‘I must condemn you to have thirty lashes at the -whipping-post,’ said the judge—‘No, twenty lashes—no, -considering all the points of the case, ten; or five will do. -Five lashes at the whipping-post. This is the lightest -sentence that I ever imposed. But <em>he</em> did not know the -law; and he was a married man, and he had not seen his -wife for nearly three years; I must be merciful in this -particular case, and I will not say in this same case how -hard the lashes shall be laid on.’</p> - -<p>“So the young sailor was whipped, and Mr. Legality -said that five lashes would not have scampered a cat.</p> - -<p>“Rufus, the wanderer, prepared to go whaling again.</p> - -<p>“Now, the captain of the ship had caused a chalk-mark -to be drawn across the deck of the ship, and had -made a ship law that if any one but an officer of the ship -should cross the mark, the person violating the law should -be whipped with a cat-o’-nine-tails.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to say that our young sailor should have -had a revengeful spirit, but he seems to have shown a -disposition not altogether benevolent. He invited Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -Legality to go on board the ship with him, just as the ship -was about to sail. Mr. Legality to atone for his want of -charity went, and he had hardly got on board before he -stepped over the chalk-line.</p> - -<p>“‘Halt, halt!’ said Rufus. ‘We have a law that if -any one steps over the chalk-line he must be whipped.’</p> - -<p>“‘But I did not know that there was any such a law,’ -said Mr. Legality.</p> - -<p>“‘But it is the law,’ said Wandering Rufus.</p> - -<p>“‘But how could I have known?’ asked Mr. Legality.</p> - -<p>“‘How could I have known that there was a law that -a man must not kiss his wife on the street on Sunday?’ -asked Rufus.</p> - -<p>“‘I see, I see; but don’t let me be whipped with the -cat-o’-nine-tails.’</p> - -<p>“‘That I will not, for I am a hearty sailor. If any -one is whipped it shall be me. I wanted to show you -how the human heart feels.’</p> - -<p>“Mr. Legality left the ship as fast as his legs would -carry him, and somehow that story sometimes rises before -me like a parable. I think I shall follow my heart with -this new case that comes off to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Do, do,” said the children, all five; and the mother, -lovely Faith Trumbull, said, “Yes, Jonathan, do.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” said the Governor, “let us read together -the most beautiful chapter, as I mind, in all the -Epistles.”</p> - -<p>The snow fell gently without; the fire cracked, and -they read together the chapter containing “Charity suffereth -long, and is kind.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span></p> - -<p>“Beareth all things, endureth all things,” read little -John. Then tears filled his eyes, and he said:</p> - -<p>“Father, I love you.”</p> - -<p>But there was another side to the love and loyalty -of this sheltered town in the cedars. There were Tories -here, and they did not like the patriarchal Governor. You -must meet some of them, if it does change the atmosphere -of the narrative.</p> - -<p>It has been said that no dispute could ever stand -before Brother Jonathan; it would melt away like snow -on an April day when he lifted his benignant eyes and -put the finger of one hand on the other, and said, “Let -me make it clear to you.”</p> - -<p>Queer old Samuel Peters, the Episcopal agent, or -missionary in the colony, made so much fun of the good -people in his History of Connecticut, and so led England -and America to laugh by his marvelous anecdotes and -description of the blue-laws, that the really thrifty and -heroic character of these people has been misjudged.</p> - -<p>A wonderful family had Brother Jonathan. His -children who lived to become of age became famous, -and they were all remarkable as children. Jonathan -Trumbull, Jr., could read Virgil at five, and had read -Homer at twelve, and could talk with his father in Latin -and Greek, and discuss Horace and Juvenal when a boy. -He, as we have said, became a great painter, and commenced -by drawing pictures in the sand which was -sprinkled on his father’s floor. They used “herring-bone” -to tidy rooms in those days, spare rooms, by dusting clean -sand on the floor, in a wavy way, leaving the floor in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -the angles of a herring-bone. We do not know that it -was in such herring-boning sand that young Trumbull began -to draw pictures, but it may have been so.</p> - -<p>We have visited the rooms in the old perpendicular -house where he began to draw. His good father did not -approve of his purpose to become a painter, but he -thought that genius should be allowed to follow its own -course. A man is never contented or satisfied outside -of his natural gifts and haunting inclinations. So the -battles into which his father’s spirit entered, John made -immortal by painting, and his work may be seen not only -in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, but in the -“Trumbull Collection” at Yale College.</p> - -<p>Young Trumbull was led to continue to paint by his -sisters Faith and Mary, who went to Boston to school. -This was the Copley age of art in Boston. You may see -Copley’s pictures at the Art Museum, Boston, and among -them the almost living portrait of Samuel Adams. When -these girls returned from visits to Boston, Mary began to -paint inspiring pictures and to adorn the rooms with them.</p> - -<p>She and her brother studied the lives and works of the -old masters. How? We do not know, but genius makes -a way.</p> - -<p>A thrifty farmer and merchant was Col. Jonathan -Trumbull in his young days. You laugh at these old-fashioned -men, but look at what this man, who could discuss -Homer and Horace with his boys, and the arts of -Greece with his girls, accomplished through the good judgment -and private thrift in his early life. Says his principal -biographer, G. W. Stuart, of the fine young farmer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -who had ships on the sea, and was beginning to turn from -a farmer to a notable merchant:</p> - -<p>“So the first years of Trumbull’s life as a merchant -passed in successful commerce abroad, in profitable trade -at home, and with high reputation in all his contacts, -negotiations, and adventures. And ‘his corn and riches -did increase.’ A house and home-estate worth over four -thousand pounds; furniture, and a library, worth six -hundred pounds; a valuable store adjacent to the dwelling; -a store, wharf, and land at East Haddam; a lot and -warehouse at Chelsea in Norwich; a valuable grist-mill -near his family seat at Lebanon; ‘a large, convenient -malt-house;’ several productive farms in his neighborhood, -carefully tilled, and beautifully spotted with rich -acres of woodland; extensive ownership, too, in the ‘Five-mile -Propriety,’ as it was called, in Lebanon, in whose -management as committeeman, and representative at -courts, and moderator at meetings of owners, Trumbull -had much to do; a stock of domestic animals worth a -hundred and thirty pounds—these possessions, together -with a well-secured indebtedness to himself, in bonds, and -notes, and mortgages, resulting from his mercantile transactions, -of about eight thousand pounds, rewarded, at the -close of the year 1763, the toil of Trumbull in the field -of trade and commerce. In all it was a property of not -less than eighteen thousand pounds—truly a large one for -the day—but one destined, by reverses in trade which the -times subsequently rendered inevitable, and by the patriotic -generosity of its owner during the great Revolutionary -struggle, to slip, in large part, from his grasp.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span></p> - -<p>Here is a picture of thrifty life in a country village -estate in old New England days.</p> - -<p>He preached at first, then became a judge, and he -“doctored.”</p> - -<p>They were queer people who doctored then, with wig -and gig. Brother Jonathan doctored the poor. He doctored -out of his goodly instincts more than from a medical -code, though he could administer prescriptions from -Latin that it was deemed presumptuous for the patient -to inquire about. Now people know what medicine they -take, but it was deemed audacious then to ask any questions -about Latin prescriptions, or to seek to penetrate -such an awful mystery as was contained in the “Ferrocesquicianurit -of the Cynide of Potassium,” or to find -out that a ranunculus bulbosus was only a buttercup.</p> - -<p>Among the good old tavern tales of such old-time -doctors was one of a notional old woman, who used to -send for the doctor as often as she saw any one passing -who was going the doctor’s way. Once when there was -coming on one of these awful March snow-storms that -buried up houses, she saw a teamster hurrying against the -pitiless snow toward the town where the doctor’s office was.</p> - -<p>“Hay, hay!” said she to the half-blinded man. -“Whoa, stop! Send the doctor to me—it is going to be -a desperate case.”</p> - -<p>The doctor came to visit his patient, and found her -getting a bountiful meal.</p> - -<p>“The dragon!” said he. “Hobgoblins and thunder, -what did you make me come out here for in all this dreadful -storm?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, pardon, doctor,” said she, “it was such a good -chance to send.”</p> - -<p>In ill temper, the country doctor faced the storm -again.</p> - -<p>There was both an academy and an Indian school in -the town, and all the children loved Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>The children of Boston used to follow Sam Adams in -the street in the latter’s benign old age, and the white -children and red tumbled over their dogs to meet Brother -Jonathan, when he appeared in his three-cornered hat, -ruffles and knee-breeches, and all, in the snug village -green around which the orioles sung in the great trees.</p> - -<p>He had some kind word for them all. When his face -lighted up, all was happiness.</p> - -<p>Among his neighbors was William Williams, a signer -of the Declaration of Independence, and a man of beautiful -soul.</p> - -<p>The old church gleamed in air over the green. On -the country roads they held meetings in smaller churches -and in schoolhouses.</p> - -<p>A queer story is told of one of these churches at the -time of foot-stoves; how a good woman took a foot-stove -to church and hid it under her cloak. The stove smoked, -and the warm smoke rose up under her cloak, which was -spread around her like a tent, and caused her to go to -sleep. As she bent over the smoke came out of her cloak -at the back of her neck and ascended into the sunlight of -a window. Now smoke is likely to form a circle as it -ascends, and the good people, who did not know of the -foot-stove, thought that they saw a crown of glory hanging<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -over her head, and that a miracle was being performed.</p> - -<p>Brother Jonathan and his good wife and children -were always in their pew on Sunday. Probably there -was a sounding-board in the primitive church and an hour-glass. -Possibly, a tithing man went about with a feather -to tickle sleepy old women on the nose, who lost consciousness -between the 7thlys and the 10thlys, and so -made them jump and say, “O Lud, massy sakes alive!” -or something equally surprising and improper.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<small>“OUT YOU GO”</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Old Peter Wetmore, of Lebanon, was suspected of -being a Tory, but he kept shut lips. “Don’t open the doors -of your soul,” he used to say, “and people will never know -who you are. They can’t imprison your soul without the -body, nor the body unless the soul opens its gates,” by -which he meant the lips. “What I say is nothing to -nobody. I chop wood!”</p> - -<p>Morose, silent, grunting, if he spoke at all, he lived -in a mossy, gable-roofed house, with a huge woodpile -before his door.</p> - -<p>There was a great oak forest on rising ground above -him. Below him was a cedar swamp, with a village of -crows and crow-blackbirds, which all shouted in the morning, -and told each other that the sun was rising.</p> - -<p>He was in his heart true to the King. When the -patriots of Lebanon came to him to talk politics after -the Lexington alarm, he simply said, “I chop wood.”</p> - -<p>Chop wood he did. His woodpile in front of his house -was almost as high as his house itself. But he chopped -on, and all through the winter his ax flew. And he split -wood, hickory wood, with a warlike expression on his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -face, as his ax came down. He had one relative—a -nephew, Peter, whom he taught to “fly around” and to -“pick up his heels” in such a nervous way that people -ceased to call him Peter Wetmore, but named him Peter -<em>Nimble</em>. The boy was so abused by his uncle that he -wore a scared look.</p> - -<p>Lebanon was becoming one of the most patriotic towns -in America. At one time during the Revolutionary War -there were five hundred men in the public services. The -people were intolerant of a Tory, and old Peter Wetmore, -who chopped wood, was a suspect.</p> - -<p>A different heart had young Peter, the orphan boy, -who was for a time compelled to live with him or to -become roofless.</p> - -<p>The Lexington alarm thrilled him, as he heard the -news on Lebanon green.</p> - -<p>He caught the spirit of the people, and as for Governor -Trumbull, he thought he was the “Lord” or almost -a divinity. The Governor probably used to give him -rides when he met him in the way. The Governor did -not “whip behind.”</p> - -<p>When Peter had heard the news of the Lexington -alarm, he said:</p> - -<p>“I must fly home now and tell uncle that.”</p> - -<p>It was a long way from the green to the cabin that -Peter called “home.”</p> - -<p>He hurried home and lifted the latch, and met his -uncle, who was scowling.</p> - -<p>“What has happened now?” said the latter, seeing -Peter had been running.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p> - -<p>“A shot has been fired on the green.”</p> - -<p>“What, on Lebanon green?” gasped the old man in -alarm.</p> - -<p>“No, on Lexington green.”</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t matter. Lexington green is so far off. -Who fired the shot? The regulars,” he added.</p> - -<p>“The young men at Lebanon are all enlisting. I -wish I were old enough to go!”</p> - -<p>“For what?”</p> - -<p>“To fight the British.”</p> - -<p>“What, the King?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“The King? Do I hear my ears, boy?”</p> - -<p>“Uncle?”</p> - -<p>“I am going to pull the latch-string, and out you go. -Don’t talk back. Do you hear? Out you go, and you -may never be able to tell <em>all</em> you lose.”</p> - -<p>The boy half comprehended the hint, for he believed -that his uncle had money stored in the cellar, or in some -secret place near the house. As the latter would never -let any one but himself go to the soap-barrel in the cellar, -the boy suspected the treasure might be there, or in the -ash-flue in the chimney.</p> - -<p>Young Peter turned white.</p> - -<p>Old Peter tugged his rheumatic body to the door, -and turned.</p> - -<p>“I am going to pull the string, Peter.”</p> - -<p>To the boy the words sounded like a hangman’s -summons.</p> - -<p>“Where shall I go, uncle?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> - -<p>“That is for you to say. I’ve got store enough, boy. -Somebody will bury me if I die. But the King, my -King, he who goes against the King goes against me. -Who do you go for?”</p> - -<p>“The people.”</p> - -<p>“The people!” shrieked the old man. “Then <em>out</em> -you go; out!”</p> - -<p>“There is one house, uncle, whose doors are open to -all people who have no roof.”</p> - -<p>“Which one is that—the poorhouse?”</p> - -<p>“No, the Governor’s.”</p> - -<p>“That makes me mad—mad! I hate the Governor, -and his’n and all! I can live alone!”</p> - -<p>He pulled the latch-string and cried, in trumpet tone:</p> - -<p>“<em>Out!</em>”</p> - -<p>Peter went out into the open April air, into the -wood. He went to the Governor’s, and told him all, -but in a way to shield the old man.</p> - -<p>“He is a little touched in mind,” said Peter, charitably.</p> - -<p>“You shall have a home with me, or mine,” said the -Governor. “My son-in-law over the way will employ -you as a shepherd. If he doesn’t, others will. And you -can use the hills for a lookout, while you herd sheep. -Dennis will find work for you to do at times in his service. -Boy, perilous times are coming, and you have a true -heart. I know your heart; I can see it—I know your -thoughts, and people who sow true thoughts, reap true -harvests. Don’t be down-hearted; you own the stars. I -will cover you.” He lifted his hand over him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span></p> - -<p>“You won’t harm uncle for what I have said?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, I will not harm the old man for what you -have said now. It is better to change the heart of a man -and make him your friend than to seek to have revenge -on him. He will turn to you some day, and perhaps he -will leave you his gold, for they say that he has gold -stored away somewhere. You have a heart of charity—I -can see—as well as of truth. Charity goes with honor. -As long as you do right, nothing can happen to you that -you can not glorify.”</p> - -<p>Peter was made acquainted with Dennis by the Governor, -who was a father to all friendless children, and he -was employed as a shepherd boy, on the hills.</p> - -<p>The hills were lookouts now.</p> - -<p>People went to the old man to reprove him for his -treatment of his nephew, but he would only say:</p> - -<p>“I am cutting wood!”</p> - -<p>While he lived with his Tory uncle, Peter used to hear -strange things at night.</p> - -<p>The old man would get up, bar all the doors, light the -bayberry candle, and bring something like a leather bag -to his table.</p> - -<p>Then he would talk to himself strangely.</p> - -<p>“<em>One</em>,” he would say, putting down something that -rang hard on the table.</p> - -<p>“<em>One</em>, if he stays with me, and is true to the King.</p> - -<p>“<em>Two.</em>”</p> - -<p>There would follow a metallic sound.</p> - -<p>“<em>Two</em>, if he stays with me, and is loyal to the King.</p> - -<p>“<em>Three</em>, if he stays and is loyal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span></p> - -<p>“<em>Four.</em> All for him when I go out, if only he is -true.”</p> - -<p>Then the bag would jingle. Then would follow a -rattling sound.</p> - -<p>“<em>Five</em>, <em>six</em>, <em>seven</em>, <em>eight</em>,” and so on, adding up to a -hundred. He seemed to be counting coin.</p> - -<p>Then there would be a sound of sweeping hands. -Was he gathering up coin—gold coin? Presently there -would be sounds of chubby feet, and a chest would seem -to open, and the lid to close, and to be bolted.</p> - -<p>“All, all for him,” the old man would say, “if he only -stays with me and is loyal to the King, whose arms are -like those of the lion and the unicorn.”</p> - -<p>Then he would lie down, saying, “All for him,” and -the house would become still in the still world of the -cedars.</p> - -<p>The boy wondered if “him” were the King, or if it -were he, or some unknown relative, or friend. He could -hardly doubt that the old man had treasure, and counted it -at night, either for the King, or for himself.</p> - -<p>So now, often when the great moon shone on the -cedars, he lay awake and wondered what the old man -meant. Had he missed a fortune by his patriotic feeling?</p> - -<p>The words, “if he stays with me and is loyal to the -King,” made him think that the wood-chopper meant himself, -or some unknown relative.</p> - -<p>But “if he stays with me” suggested himself so -strongly, that he often asked himself, if the hard old man -really loved him and was carrying out some vision for his -welfare in his silent heart.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span></p> - -<p>Peter used to meet Brother Jonathan as the latter -crossed the green, which he did almost daily. The Governor -was usually so absorbed in thought that he did -not seem to see the shining sun, or to hear the birds singing; -he lived in the cause.</p> - -<p>But when he met Peter he would stretch out his hand -in the Quaker manner, and look pleasant. To see the -old man’s face light up was a joy to the susceptible boy; -it made him so happy as to make him alert the rest of -the day.</p> - -<p>One day as the two were crossing the green, in near -ways, the Governor suddenly said:</p> - -<p>“Let us <em>consider</em> the matter:</p> - -<p>“My young man, for so you are before your time, I -must have a clerk in my store, and he must be no common -clerk; he must be one that I can trust, for he must do -more than sell goods and barter; he must look out for -me, when I am in the back room, the war office; and he -must be the only one to enter the war-office room when -the council is in session. The council has met more than -three hundred times now. And, Peter, Peter of the hills, -shepherd-boy, night-watch—my heart turns to you. You -must be my clerk—that is, to the people; meet customers, -barter, trade, sell; but to me, you must be the sentinel of -the door of the war office. Peter, I can see your soul; -you will be true to me. I am an old man; don’t say it, -but I forget, when I have so many things to weigh me -down. You shall stand between the store and the war -office, at the counter, and I will give you the secret keys, -and if any one must see me, you must see about the matter.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -Peter, the Council of Safety is a power behind the destiny -of this nation. It is revealed to me so. Will you -come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, Governor. I live in my thoughts for you. -Yes, yes, and I will be as faithful as I can.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you will. Come right now. You may -sleep in the store at night. The drovers will tell you -stories on the barrels. I can trust you for everything. -So I dismiss myself now—you are myself. Here is the -secret key. Don’t feel hurt if I do not speak to you -much when you see me. I live for the future, and must -think, think, think.”</p> - -<p>The Governor went into the tavern, and Peter, with -the secret key, went to the store. The Governor had -considered the matter. He used the word <em>consider</em> -often.</p> - -<p>The Governor soon began to send almost all people -who came to see him, except the members of the council, -to Peter. “Go to my clerk,” he would say, “he will do -the best he can for you.”</p> - -<p>Peter rose in public favor. Two plus two in him -made five, as it does in all growing people. He was more -than a clerk. He was keen, hearty, true.</p> - -<p>Peter received news from couriers for years. What -news was reported there—The battle of Long Island, the -operations near New York, Trenton, Princeton, Morristown, -Burgoyne’s campaign, Brandywine, Germantown, -Monmouth, the southern campaign, the exploits of Green, -and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of incidents of the varying -fortunes of the war!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span></p> - -<p>The couriers, despatchmen, the wagoners, the drovers, -came to the war office and went. They multiplied.</p> - -<p>But the activity diminished as the army moved South.</p> - -<p>People gathered in the front store in the evenings to -hear the news, and often to wait for the news. They saw -the members of the Council of Safety come and go; and -while the things that lay like weights in the balance of -the nation were there discussed, the men told tales on the -barrels that had come from the West Indies, or on the -meal chests and bins of vegetables. What queer tales -they were!</p> - -<p>Let us spend an evening at the store, and listen to one -of the old Connecticut folk tales.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It is a winter night. The ice glares without in the -moon, on the ponds and cedars. There is an open fire -in the store; in the window are candy-jars; over the -counter are candles on rods, and on the counter are snuff-jars -and tobacco.</p> - -<p>One of the old-time natural story-tellers sits on a rice-barrel; -he is a drover and stops at wayside inns, and -knows the tales of the inns, and especially the ghost-stories. -Such stories did not frighten Peter as they did -Dennis, who was new to the country. Peter had become -hardened to them.</p> - -<p>Let us give you one of these peculiar old store stories -that was told on red settles, and that is like those which -passed from settle to settle throughout the colony. The -speaker is a “grandfather.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span></p> - - -<h3>THE TREASURE DIGGER OF CAPE ANN</h3> - -<p>“Oh, boys, let me smoke my pipe in peace. How -the moon shines on the snow, far, far away, down the -sea! That makes me think of Captain Kidd. Ah, he -was a hard man, that same Captain Kidd, and he had a -hard, hard heart, if he was the son of a Scotch preacher.”</p> - -<p>Here the grandfather paused and shook his head.</p> - -<p>The pause made an atmosphere. The natural story-teller -lowered his voice, and the earth seemed to stand -still as he said:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“My name was Captain Kidd,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">As I sailed, as I sailed,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">My name was Captain Kidd,</div> - <div class="verse indent5">As I sailed.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“My name was Captain Kidd,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And wickedly I did,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">God’s laws I did forbid,</div> - <div class="verse indent5">As I sailed.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I murdered William Moore,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">As I sailed, as I sailed,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And left him in his gore,</div> - <div class="verse indent5">As I sailed.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I’d the Bible in my hand,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">’Twas my father’s last command,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">But I sunk it in the sand,</div> - <div class="verse indent5">As I sailed.”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Here the old man paused, pressed down the tobacco -in his pipe with a quick movement of his forefinger, and -shook his head twice, leaving the impression that the said -Captain Kidd was a very bad sea-rover.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span></p> - -<p>The room was still. You could hear the sparks shoot -out; the corn-sheller stopped in his work. The old maiden -lady who had come in for snuff touched the pepper pods: -the air grew peppery, but no one dared to sneeze.</p> - -<p>The old man bobbed up his head, as making an atmosphere -for highly wrought work of the imagination.</p> - -<p>“There was once an old couple,” he said, “who lived -down on Cape Ann, and beyond their cottage was a sandy -dune, and on the dune there was a thatch-patch.</p> - -<p>“They had grown old and were poor, and both thought -that their lot had been hard, and the old woman said to -the old man:</p> - -<p>“‘It was you who made my life hard. I was once -a girl, and what I might have been no one knows. Ah -me, ah me!’</p> - -<p>“One fall morning the old man got up, and frisked -around in an unusual way.</p> - -<p>“‘What makes you so spry?’ asked the old woman.</p> - -<p>“‘I dreamed a dream last night in the morning.’</p> - -<p>“‘And what did you dream?’</p> - -<p>“‘I dreamed that Captain Kidd hid his treasure in an -iron box under the thatch-patch, right in the middle of -the patch, where the shingle goes round.’</p> - -<p>“‘Then go out and dig. If you don’t, I will. Think -what we might be, if we could find that treasure. We -might have a chariot like the Pepperells, and fine horses -like the Boston gentry, the Royalls, and the Vassals.’</p> - -<p>“‘But I can have the treasure only on one condition.’</p> - -<p>“‘What is that?’</p> - -<p>“‘I must not speak a word while I am digging.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span></p> - -<p>“‘That would be hard for you. Your mouth is -always open, answering your old wife back. I could dig -without a word, now. Well, well, ah-a-me! If you should -dream that dream a second time, it would be a sign.’</p> - -<p>“The next morning the old man got up spryer than -before. He clattered the shovel and the tongs.</p> - -<p>“‘Wife, wife, I dreamed the same dream again this -morning.’</p> - -<p>“‘Well, if you were to dream it a third time, it would -be a certainty—that is, if you could dig for the treasure -without speaking a word, which a woman of my sense -and wit could do. Go and dig.’</p> - -<p>“‘But the voice that came to me in my dream told -me to dig at midnight, at the rising of the moon.’</p> - -<p>“That night as the great moon rose over the waters -of Cape Ann, like the sun, the old man took his hoe and -hung on to it his clam-basket, and put both of them over -his shoulder. He went out of the door over which the -dry morning-glory vines were rattling.</p> - -<p>“‘Now, husband, you stop and listen to me,’ said the -old wife. ‘Remember all the time that you are not to -speak a word, else we will have no chariot to ride past -the Pepperells, nor cantering horses, leaving the dust all -in their eyes. Now, what are you to do?’</p> - -<p>“‘Never to speak a word.’</p> - -<p>“‘Under no surprise.’</p> - -<p>“‘Not if the sea were to roar, nor the sky to fall, -nor an earthquake to uproot the hills, nor anything!’</p> - -<p>“‘Well, you may go now, and when you return we -will be richer than the Governor himself. I have always<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -been dreaming that such a day might come to us as a sort -of reward for all that we have suffered. But they say -that Captain Kidd tricks those who dig for his treasures. -His ghost appears to them. Never you fear if he lays -hands on you.’</p> - -<p>“The old man went down to the sea. The moon rose -so fast that he could see it rising.</p> - -<p>“The old couple had a black cat, a very sleek, fat -little animal, which lived much on the broken clams that -the clam-diggers threw out of their piles of bivalves at -low tides.</p> - -<p>“When she saw that the old man was going down -to the sea, she started after him, with still feet—still, -still.</p> - -<p>“The old man measured by his eye the center of the -thatch-patch, and dug into the tough roots of the thatch -lustily. He became exhausted at last and stopped to -rest, looking up to the moon that glittered in the autumn -sea. He pushed the handle of the hoe down into the -sand. It struck something that sounded like iron. He -felt sure of the treasure.</p> - -<p>“Suddenly he felt something rubbing against his leg. -It was like a hand. ‘Captain Kidd came back to disconcert -me,’ thought he. ‘But I will never speak a -word,’ thought he silently, ‘not for the moon herself, nor -for a thousand moons.’</p> - -<p>“The supposed hand again rubbed against his leg—still, -still.</p> - -<p>“He turned his head very slowly and cautiously. He -saw something move. It was like a gloved hand. ‘Captain<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -Kidd’s, sure,’ he thought, but did not speak a word. -The thing had still feet or hands.</p> - -<p>“He turned his head a little more and was humbled -to discover that it was not Captain Kidd’s hand at all, but -only Tommy, purring and purring—still, still.</p> - -<p>“His pride fell. He was disconcerted. No one can -tell what he may do when he finds a pirate’s ghost to be -only the house cat, all so still.</p> - -<p>“There are some situations that take away all one’s -senses, little things, too.</p> - -<p>“He inclined his head more, so to be certain, when -the truth was in an instant revealed to him beyond a -possibility of doubt, but everything was still, still, still.</p> - -<p>“‘<span class="smcap">Scat!</span>’”</p> - -<p>The story-teller had been talking in a very low tone. -He uttered the last word with an explosive voice when he -had caused all ears to be strained. His hearers leaped at -this electric ending of his Red Settle Tale.</p> - -<p>He resumed his pipe, and merely added:</p> - -<p>“There are some things that human nature can not -stand. When a man finds out something to be nothing, -for example, like the treasure digger of Cape Ann.”</p> - -<p>After a long time, during which heart-beats became -normal, some one might venture to ask:</p> - -<p>“And what became of the old woman?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, after the old man spoke the sea roared and -came rushing into the thatch-patch and over it, and he -and the cat ran, and I mind me that that cat didn’t have -much peace and comfort in the house after that.”</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<small>THE WAR OFFICE IN THE CEDARS—AN INDIAN TALE—INCIDENTS</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The old war office at Lebanon, Conn., is still to be -seen. That war office is a relic room and a library -now. The great cedars are gone that once surrounded -it, and the old Alden Tavern, which was enlivened by -colonial tales, and in later times by the queer Revolutionary -tale of the humiliation of the captured Prescott, -has now left behind it the borders of the village -green. The ground where Washington reviewed the -army of Rochambeau is still held sacred, and near by -rises the church of the Revolution, and in a wind-swept -New England graveyard, on the hillside, in a crumbling -tomb, sleeps Governor Trumbull, Washington’s “Brother -Jonathan,” whom the great leader of the soldier commoners -used to consult in every stress of the war.</p> - -<p>In the same lot of rude, mossy, zigzag headstones rests -one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, -William Williams, who married Governor Trumbull’s -daughter.</p> - -<p>This place of rare history stands apart from the main -traveled roads. To reach it, go to Willimantic, and take<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -a branch railroad to Lebanon, which town of hidden -farms was so called from its cedars.</p> - -<p>What a wonder to a lover of history this place is! -The farms, with orchards, great barns and meadows, rise -on the hill-slopes as beautiful as they are thrifty. The -town is some two or more miles from the railroad, and -the visitor wonders how a place that decided the greatest -events of history could have been left to primitive life, -simplicity, and country roads, amid all the industrial -activities that circle round it in near great factory towns.</p> - -<p>There may be seen the New England of old—the -same bowery landscapes and walls that the rugged -farmers knew, who left their plows for Bunker Hill, -after the Lexington alarm. Putnam often rode over -these hills, and young John Trumbull, as we have shown, -began his historical pictures there.</p> - -<p>The little gambrel-roofed house called the war office, -where the greatest and most decisive events of the Revolution -had their origin, or support, was probably the country -store of Governor Trumbull’s father, and was erected -near the beginning of the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>Why did this little building gain this great importance, -an importance greater than any other, except, perhaps, -the old State House, Boston, and Independence -Hall, Philadelphia? Let us repeat some facts for clearness.</p> - -<p>Lebanon of the cedars lay on the direct road to Boston, -and was connected with the principal Connecticut -towns. There was sounded the Lexington alarm. The -Connecticut Assembly delegated great powers to a committee<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -of public safety. Governor Trumbull, who was -the leading spirit of it, and three other members, resided -in Lebanon, and held the early sessions of the committee -there. This committee continued its sessions here during -the war.</p> - -<p>The <a href="#i_fp060">house</a> occupied by Governor Trumbull still -stands, as we have said, but the tavern is gone.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp060"> - <img src="images/i_fp060.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic">“Brother Jonathan’s” <a href="#Page_vi">war office</a> and <a href="#Page_60">residence</a> in Lebanon, -Connecticut.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>The writer dined in the house a few months before -beginning this story, and was shown the part of the house -where the alarm-post, as we call the guard’s room, and -overlook, were.</p> - -<p>We give a picture of this most interesting house, one -of the most significant in the country. The spirit of the -Revolution dwelt there, and from this place it exercised -a wonderful but unseen power.</p> - -<p>The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the Revolution -in the winter of 1890–’91 made provision for the -preservation of the war office, as a notable relic of the -Revolution.</p> - -<p>The building was repaired. The oak framework was -found to be sound, and the decayed sills were replaced -by new timber, and the chimney was restored and furnished -with colonial firepieces from old houses in Lebanon. -Andirons made in the Revolution, old iron cranes, -and primitive utensils were brought to the council room, -and the place of the meetings of the Committee of Public -Safety was thus made to resume the aspect of a bygone -age of the farmer heroes.</p> - -<p>The celebration of the restoration of the war office -by the Sons of the Revolution took place May 14, 1891,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -on Flag-day, when there waved a flag with the motto -of “Brother Jonathan” in company with the Star-Spangled -Banner.</p> - -<p>On that occasion the modern American flag was raised -over the old war office for the first time, where</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Jonathan Trumbull never failed</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In his store on Lebanon Hill.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Jonathan Trumbull has well been called the Cedar of -Lebanon. The story of his early life is that of one of -nature’s independent noblemen, than which no title is -higher. His own brains and hands caused him to be a -powerful influence; he made character, and character made -him; he became poor, but nothing lives but righteousness, -and character is everything.</p> - -<p>The origin of his family name is interesting.</p> - -<p>A Scottish king was out hunting, and was attacked -by a bull. A young peasant threw himself before the -king, twisted the bull’s horns, and saved the king’s life. -The king gave him the name of “Turnbull,” with a coat -of arms and the motto, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Fortuna favet audaci</i>. Hence -the name Trumbull.</p> - -<p>The wife of Trumbull, as we have shown, came from a -family equally noble. She was the great-granddaughter -of Robinson of Leyden, the patriarch of the church of the -Pilgrim Fathers in Holland. It was he who said to the -Pilgrims on their departure: “Go ye forth into the -wilderness, and new light shall break forth from the -Word.”</p> - -<p>He had intended to follow the Pilgrims to America, -but died in Holland.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<p>Jonathan Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Conn., -1710. He was a successful trader at sea for a time; he -then lost his ships and property and became a poor man, -when he was called into the public service, and from that -time devoted himself to patriotic duties, without any -thought of poverty or riches, but only to fulfil the duties -into which he had been called. He lived not for himself, -but for others; not for the present, but for the future; he -forgot himself, and it was fame.</p> - -<p>His son, John Trumbull, the famous historical painter, -pictures by anecdotes some of the scenes of his early -home. Among these incidents is the following story, -which carries its own lesson:</p> - - -<h3>AN INDIAN TALE</h3> - -<p>“At the age of nine or ten a circumstance occurred -which deserves to be written on adamant. In the wars -of New England with the aborigines, the Mohegan tribe -of Indians early became friends of the English. Their -favorite ground was on the banks of the river (now the -Thames) between New London and Norwich. A small -remnant of the Mohegans still exists, and they are sacredly -protected in the possession and enjoyment of their -favorite domain on the banks of the Thames. The government -of this tribe had become hereditary in the family -of the celebrated chief Uncas. During the time of my -father’s mercantile prosperity he had employed several -Indians of this tribe in hunting animals, whose skins were -valuable for their fur. Among these hunters was one -named Zachary, of the royal race, an excellent hunter,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -but as drunken and worthless an Indian as ever lived. -When he had somewhat passed the age of fifty, several -members of the royal family who stood between Zachary -and the throne of his tribe died, and he found himself -with only one life between him and empire. In this -moment his better genius resumed its sway, and he -reflected seriously. ‘How can such a drunken wretch -as I am aspire to be the chief of this honorable race—what -will my people say—and how will the shades of my -noble ancestors look down indignant upon such a base -successor? Can I succeed to the great Uncas? I will -drink no more!’ He solemnly resolved never again to -taste any drink but water, and he kept his resolution.</p> - -<p>“I had heard this story, and did not entirely believe -it; for young as I was, I already partook in the prevailing -contempt for Indians. In the beginning of May, the -annual election of the principal officers of the (then) -colony was held at Hartford, the capital. My father -attended officially, and it was customary for the chief of -the Mohegans also to attend.</p> - -<p>“Zachary had succeeded to the rule of his tribe. My -father’s house was situated about midway on the road -between Mohegan and Hartford, and the old chief was -in the habit of coming a few days before the election -and dining with his brother governor. One day the -mischievous thought struck me, to try the sincerity of -the old man’s temperance. The family were seated at -dinner, and there was excellent home-brewed beer on the -table. I addressed the old chief: ‘Zachary, this beer is -excellent; will you taste it?’ The old man dropped his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -knife and fork, leaning forward with a stern intensity of -expression; his black eye, sparkling with indignation, was -fixed on me. ‘John,’ said he, ‘you do not know what you -are doing. You are serving the devil, boy! Do you not -know that I am an Indian? I tell you that I am, and -that, if I should but taste your beer, I could never stop -until I got to rum, and became again the drunken, contemptible -wretch your father remembers me to have -been. <em>John, while you live never again tempt any man -to break a good resolution.</em>’</p> - -<p>“Socrates never uttered a more valuable precept; -Demosthenes could not have given it in more solemn -tones of eloquence. I was thunderstruck. My parents -were deeply affected; they looked at each other, at me, -and at the venerable old Indian, with deep feelings of -awe and respect. They afterward frequently reminded -me of the scene, and charged me never to forget it.</p> - -<p>“Zachary lived to pass the age of eighty, and sacredly -kept his resolution. He lies buried in the royal burial-place -of his tribe, near the beautiful falls of the Yantic, -the western branch of the Thames, in Norwich, on land -now owned by my friend, Calvin Goddard, Esq. I visited -the grave of the old chief lately, and there repeated to -myself his inestimable lesson.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Trumbull, the painter, also thus pictures his own -youth, and what a character it presents in the studies he -made, and the books he read!</p> - -<p>“About this time, when I was nine or ten years old, -my father’s mercantile failure took place. He had been -for years a successful merchant, and looked forward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -to an old age of ease and affluence; but in one season -almost every vessel, and all the property which he had -upon the ocean, was swept away, and he was a poor man -at so late a period of life as left no hope of retrieving -his affairs.</p> - -<p>“My eldest brother was involved in the wreck as a -partner, which rendered the condition of the family -utterly hopeless. My mother and sisters were deeply -afflicted, and although I was too young clearly to comprehend -the cause, yet sympathy led me too to droop. -My bodily health was frail, for the sufferings of early -youth had left their impress on my constitution, and -although my mind was clear and the body active, it was -never strong. I therefore seldom joined my little schoolfellows -in plays or exercises of an athletic kind, for there -I was almost sure to be vanquished; and by degrees acquired -new fondness for drawing, in which I stood unrivaled. -Thus I gradually contracted a solitary habit, -and after school hours frequently withdrew to my own -room to a close study of my favorite pursuit.</p> - -<p>“Such was my character at the time of my father’s -failure, and this added gloomy feelings to my love of -solitude. I became silent, diffident, bashful, awkward in -society, and took refuge in still closer application to my -books and my drawing.</p> - -<p>“The want of pocket-money prevented me from joining -my young companions in any of those little expensive -frolics which often lead to future dissipation, and thus -became a blessing; and my good master Tisdale had the -wisdom so to vary my studies as to render them rather<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -a pleasure than a task. Thus I went forward, without -interruption, and at the age of twelve might have been -admitted to enter college; for I had then read Eutropius, -Cornelius Nepos, Virgil, Cicero, Horace, and Juvenal -in Latin; the Greek Testament and Homer’s Iliad in -Greek, and was thoroughly versed in geography, ancient -and modern, in studying which I had the advantage -(then rare) of a twenty-inch globe. I had also read with -care Rollin’s History of Ancient Nations; also his History -of the Roman Republic; Mr. Crevier’s continuation of -the History of the Emperors, and Rollin’s Arts and -Sciences of the Ancient Nations. In arithmetic alone I -met an awful stumbling-block. I became puzzled by a -sum in division, where the divisor consisted of three -figures. I could not comprehend the rule for ascertaining -how many times it was contained in the dividend; -my mind seemed to come to a dead stand; my master -would not assist me, and forbade the boys to do it, so that -I well recollect the question stood on my slate unsolved -nearly three months, to my extreme mortification.</p> - -<p>“At length the solution seemed to flash upon my mind -at once, and I went forward without further let or hindrance -through the ordinary course of fractions, vulgar -and decimal, surveying, trigonometry, geometry, navigation, -etc., so that when I had reached the age of fifteen -and a half years, it was stated by my good master -that he could teach me little more, and that I was fully -qualified to enter Harvard College in the middle of the -third or junior year. This was approved by my father, -and proposed to me. In the meantime my fondness for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -painting had grown with my growth, and in reading of -the arts of antiquity I had become familiar with the -names of Phidias and Praxiteles, of Zeuxis and Apelles.”</p> - -<p>This son, who began his great career as an historical -painter by drawing pictures in sand on the floor, after the -manner we have shown, as he grew older and had seen -Europe, determined to follow his genius. The young man -gives us the following view of his father, a lovely picture -in itself:</p> - -<p>“My father urged me to study the law as the profession -which in a republic leads to all emolument and -distinction, and for which my early education had well -prepared me. My reply was that, so far as I understood -the question, law was rendered necessary by the vices of -mankind; that I had already seen too much of them willingly -to devote my life to a profession which would keep -me perpetually involved either in the defense of innocence -against fraud and injustice, or (what was much more revolting -to an ingenuous mind) to the protection of guilt -against just and merited punishment. In short, I pined -for the arts, again entered into an elaborate defense of my -predilection, and again dwelt upon the honors paid to -artists in the glorious days of Greece and Athens. My -father listened patiently, and when I had finished he complimented -me upon the able manner in which I had defended -what to him still appeared to be a bad cause.</p> - -<p>“‘I had confirmed his opinion,’ he said, ‘that with -proper study I should make a respectable lawyer; but,’ -added he, ‘you must give me leave to say that you -appear to have overlooked, or forgotten, one very important<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -point in your case.’ ‘Pray, sir,’ I rejoined, ‘what -was that?’ ‘You appear to forget, sir, that <em>Connecticut -is not Athens</em>’; and with this pithy remark he bowed -and withdrew, and never more opened his lips upon the -subject. How often have those few impressive words -occurred to my memory—‘Connecticut is not Athens!’ -The decision was made in favor of the arts. I closed all -other business, and in December, 1783, embarked at -Portsmouth, N. H., for London.”</p> - -<p>He could begin to make Connecticut like Athens by -his own work.</p> - -<p>Queer tales they told “grave people” at the ordinaries, -and inns, and at the store of the war office.</p> - -<p>The New England mind in the colonial period saw -no chariots of angels in the air, and heard no rustlings of -angels’ wings, like the ancient Hebrews, and looked for -no goddesses, like the Greeks and Romans. Ugly hags -and witches, “grave people” in winding-sheets, scared -folks in a cowardly manner in lonely highways and hidden -byways; bad people who died with restless consciences -came forth from their “earthly beds” to make startling -confessions to the living. It was a time of terror, of -people fleeing from persecutions, and of Indian hostilities. -Let us have another old-time store story, to picture -the social life of those decisive times.</p> - -<p>It was the beginning of the days of the “drovers,” -when our tale was told, such drovers as used to go wandering -over New England in the fall and spring, selling -cattle, or trading in cattle, with the farmers by the way.</p> - -<p>It was fall. Maples flamed; the grape-leaves turned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -yellow around the purple clusters that hung over the -walls; the fringed gentians lined the brooks; the cranberries -reddened; the birds gathered in flocks; the blue -jays trumpeted, and the crows cawed. Great stacks of -corn filled the corners of the husking-fields.</p> - -<p>The drovers came to the valleys of the Connecticut -and to the Berkshire Hills, and rested at last with full -purses at the Plainfield Inn.</p> - -<p>In the inn lived an aunt of the innkeeper, a Quaker -woman by the name of Eunice.</p> - -<p>There was a young drover named Mordecai, who was -all imagination, eyes and ears. He seemed to be so -earnest to learn everything that he attracted the notice -of Eunice, and she said to him on one of his annual -visits:</p> - -<p>“Mordecai, and who may thy father be?”</p> - -<p>“Gone—gone with the winds. That’s him.”</p> - -<p>“And thy mother?”</p> - -<p>“Gone—gone after him. That’s her. Where do -you suppose they are?”</p> - -<p>“Did they leave anything?”</p> - -<p>“Left all they had.”</p> - -<p>“And how much was that, Mordecai?”</p> - -<p>“The earth—all.”</p> - -<p>“And thou wert left all alone. I pity thee, -Mordecai.”</p> - -<p>Now, Quaker Eunice knit. She not only knit stockings -and garters, but comforters for the neck, and gallows, -as suspenders for trousers were then called. The latter -were called <em>galluses</em>. She did not knit these useful and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -convenient articles for her own people alone, but for -those who most needed them.</p> - -<p>When serene Aunt Eunice saw how friendless the -drover boy Mordecai was, her benevolent heart quickened, -and she resolved to knit for him a comforter of many -bright colors, a yard long, and a pair of gallows of stout -twine, to give him on his return another year, when the -cattle traders should come down from Boston. It took -time to fabricate these high-art treasures of many kinds -and colors. So when Mordecai was leaving the inn this -year, she called after him:</p> - -<p>“Mordecai, thee halt in thy goings.”</p> - -<p>Mordecai looked back.</p> - -<p>“Boy, thee has no mother to look after thee now, -except from the spirit-world. I am going to knit a comforter -for thee that will go around thy neck three times -and hang down at that. I will set the dye-pot and dye -the wool—the ash-barrel is almost full now. And thee -listen. I am going to knit a pair of gallows for -thee——”</p> - -<p>The boy’s eyes dilated. He had never heard the -word used before except for the cords that hung pirates -on the green isle in Boston harbor. Did she expect him -to be hung?</p> - -<p>“I will knit the gallows stout and strong, so that they -will hold. But I must not tell thee all about it now—thee -shall know all another year, after killing-time, in the -Indian summer, when the wich-hazels that bloom in the -fall are in flower.”</p> - -<p>Mordecai, who had been filled with New England<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -superstitions by the drovers’ tales in the country inns, -stood with open mouth, when Aunt Eunice added:</p> - -<p>“I am going to put a new invention on those gallows; -it will prove a surprise to thee.”</p> - -<p>It did.</p> - -<p>The boy Mordecai passed a year in wonder at what -the zigzag journey to hill towns at the west of the State -would bring him in the holiday or rest seasons of the fall. -He wandered with the drovers to the towns around -Boston, and on the Charles and “Merrimack,” trading -and selling cattle, and “putting up” at the inns by the -way, he himself sleeping in the barns, under the swallows’ -nests.</p> - -<p>They were merry merchantmen, the drovers. Whittier -describes them in a poem. Their cattle trades had -a dialect of its own, and there was an unwritten law that -“all was fair in trade,” to which “honorable dishonesty” -clear-minded Aunt Eunice made objection, and against -which she “delivered exhortations.”</p> - -<p>Some of these merry rovers used a boy to help them -in tricks of trade—to shorten the age of cattle, and the -time when the latter were “broke,” and like matters.</p> - -<p>One day in the spring tradings a Quaker on one of the -Salem farms said to Mordecai:</p> - -<p>“Boy, thee must never let thy tongue slip an untruth, -or thee will come to the gallows.”</p> - -<p>The next year the drovers and Mordecai took their -annual journey from Cambridge to Springfield and eastern -Connecticut, and stopped at the Plainfield Inn.</p> - -<p>The trees flamed with autumnal splendors again; the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -sun seemed burning in the air, now with a clear flame, now -with a smoky haze; there were great corn harvests everywhere. -The twilight and early evening hours were still. -The voices on the farms echoed—those of the huskers, -and of the boys driving the oxen, with carts loaded with -corn. The hunters’ moon that rose over the hills like a -night sun lengthened out the day.</p> - -<p>They went on slowly, and so allowing their cattle to -graze on the succulent grasses by the roadside, and to -fatten, and become lazy.</p> - -<p>They rested at great farmhouses, bartering and selling -as long as the light of the day lasted, and telling -awful tales of the Indian wars and old Salem witchcraft -days later in the evening.</p> - -<p>Some of the drovers’ stories were awful indeed. -One of them concerned the “Miller of Durham.” The -said miller used to remain in his mill late in the evening -alone. One night he was startled by the dripping of -water inside of the mill-house. He turned from the -hopper, and saw there a woman, with five bloody wounds, -and wet garments, and wide eyes.</p> - -<p>“Miller of Durham,” she said, “you must avenge me, -or I will haunt the mill. You will find my body in the -well in the abandoned coal-pit. Mattox killed me—he -knows why.”</p> - -<p>The miller knew Mattox, and he saw that the woman -had a familiar look, and had probably been employed on -the farm of the accused man, who was a prosperous -farmer. He resolved to conceal the appearance of the -accusing ghost. But the apparition followed him, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -so made his life a terror that he went perforce to a magistrate -and made confession. The woman’s body, with five -wounds, was found in the well of the coal-pit, and Mattox -was accused of the murder, tried, condemned, and executed. -The story was a true one, but it was an old one. -The events occurred in England on a moor.</p> - -<p>The boy Mordecai listened to these inn tales at first -with a clear conscience, and he felt secure, for he had -been taught that innocence renders “apparitions” harmless; -but after a time his moral condition changed, and his -fears were aroused, and they grew into terrors.</p> - -<p>For one day, as the lively cattle-owner was driving -a bargain with a rich farmer under some great elms that -rose like hills of greenery by the roadside, he declared -that a certain cow had given fifteen quarts of milk a day -during the summer, and had said, “There is the boy that -milked her—the boy Mordecai, he of the Old Testament -name. Speak up, Mordecai. You milked her, didn’t you, -now?”</p> - -<p>Mordecai stood silent. The cow had given some eight -or ten quarts of milk a day.</p> - -<p>“He can’t deny that he milked her,” said the bantering -trader.</p> - -<p>“And did she give fifteen quarts of milk regularly -during the summer, boy?” asked the farmer.</p> - -<p>“I did not measure the milk myself,” said the boy. -“The boss did that.”</p> - -<p>“That was I, or rather my wife,” said the drover.</p> - -<p>Mordecai’s conscience began to be disturbed, and disturbed -consciences are the stuff out of which ghosts grow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span></p> - -<p>At the next inn, in the lovely Connecticut valley, a -still more terrible story was told. A forest tavern-keeper, -after this tale, had trained a huge mastiff to drown his -rich guests in a pond in a wood at the back of the tavern. -The strong dog had been bought of a drover named -Bonny, who had treated him kindly. Years passed, and -the same Mr. Bonny visited the inn, and was recognized -by the dog, but not by the tavern-keeper. The latter -invited Mr. Bonny to go with him to the trout-pond in -the wood, and while they were on the margin of the -pond he suddenly whistled to his mastiff as a signal. -The dog whined and howled and ran around in a -circle.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you do as you always do?” exclaimed -the tavern-keeper to the dog in anger.</p> - -<p>The dog’s eyes blazed; he leaped upon his master and -dragged him into the pond. But his master in his struggles -drowned the mastiff. Mr. Bonny witnessed the scene -in horror, and seeing what it meant—for several rich -drovers had disappeared from the inn and had never been -heard of again—he determined to conceal the matter, -as the crime could not be repeated. But the dead dog -howled nights, and so drew people to the pond, and disclosed -the crime.</p> - -<p>“Life,” said the story-teller, “is self-revealing: everything -is found out at last. The stars in their courses -fight against a liar!”</p> - -<p>The inward eyes of Mordecai now began to expect to -see “sights.” The boy’s conscience burned. He had -the ghost atmosphere.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span></p> - -<p>The next time that the lusty drover tried to sell the -cow that had given “fifteen quarts of milk a day” he -declared that she had given sixteen quarts, and called the -milker as before to witness the statement.</p> - -<p>“You milked her?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but you measured the milk,” said Mordecai.</p> - -<p>“So I did,” said the drover in an absent tone in which -was the usual false note, “so I did. I remember now. -But you used to milk her.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” faltered the boy, feeling that the heavens were -likely to fall or the earth to cave in.</p> - -<p>The story at the next inn, near Pittsfield, on the Albany -way, outdid all the rest. A man who had robbed -his neighbors by deception, after this story, had been -followed nights by the clanking of an invisible chain. A -neighbor whom he had ruined died, and after that the -clankings of the “invisible chain” began to be heard in -his bedchamber. If he ran down-stairs they followed -him, clank, clank, clank, on the oak steps, and out into -the garden.</p> - -<p>Mordecai could fancy it all: the man running half-crazed -down the oak stairs, with the invisible chain clanking -behind him.</p> - -<p>When the drover next tried to sell that cow he declared -that she had given “eighteen quarts of milk a -day,” to which he called Mordecai to witness. The boy -gasped “Yes” to the question if he had milked her regularly, -but he seemed to hear the clanking of the invisible -chain as he acted his part for the last time. The wonderful -cow was sold.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span></p> - -<p>In this state of mind Mordecai came to the Plainfield -Inn, and again met there the serene and truthful Aunt -Eunice.</p> - -<p>“I’ve kept my promise that I made to thee a year -ago,” said the sympathetic woman, “gallows and all. The -dyestuff took, and the colors of the comforter are real -pretty. Thee looks troubled.”</p> - -<p>Near midnight the foresticks in the fireplace broke -and fell, and the men went to their rooms.</p> - -<p>“Thee will sleep in the cockloft,” said Aunt Eunice -to Mordecai, “but before thee goes up let me sew -some buttons on thy trousers for the gallows [galluses]. -Stand up by me; I have some stout thread for the purpose.”</p> - -<p>Mordecai took off his jacket and loosened his belt, and -Aunt Eunice sewed on the buttons as he stood beside her. -She then attached the gallows to the back buttons, leaving -them otherwise free for him to button on in front -in the morning.</p> - -<p>“See here, Mordecai,” she said. “These are no common -gallows. I’ve put buckles on them—buckles that -my grandfather wore in the Indian wars. These are -wonderful buckles. If the gallows are too long, thee -can h’ist them up, so; if they are then too short, thee -can let them out again, so.”</p> - -<p>Now, when Mordecai saw that the gallows had no -connection with hanging he felt happy, and he went up -to the cockloft, candle in hand.</p> - -<p>“Be careful and not let the buckles drag upon the -floor, Mordecai,” were the good woman’s last words as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -she saw the boy disappear with the light, holding the -wonderful suspenders in his hand.</p> - -<p>Mordecai could not sleep. The cockloft did not look -right, did not fulfil his moral ideal. The great moon -rose over the hills and flooded the valley with white -light. He began to think of the three acted lies of which -he had been a part. The cow that had given “fifteen,” -“sixteen,” “seventeen,” “eighteen” quarts of milk a day -had been sold—what if the purchaser should commit -suicide?</p> - -<p>At midnight he heard a cry out in the field.</p> - -<p>“Hello! that steer is out and is at the corn-stack!”</p> - -<p>The voice was that of a drover. Mordecai felt that -he should get up and go to the corn-stack and help impound -the steer.</p> - -<p>He forgot the gallows, so they hung down to the -floor behind him after he had dressed. He tried to -light the candle after the old slow way, for the ladder to -the cockloft was “poky,” when he heard something clink -behind him. He turned around, when an iron hoof -seemed to follow him around, clink, clink, clink. The -sound was not alarming or vengeful or in a way terrible, -but to his imagination it shook the roof.</p> - -<p>He whirled around again.</p> - -<p>Clink, clink!</p> - -<p>Again.</p> - -<p>Clink!</p> - -<p>His heart seemed bursting, his brain to be on fire. -He rushed toward the ladder and the “thing” followed -him. He attempted to go down the ladder, but after<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -some steps the “thing” held him back, when he uttered -a cry that shook the whole tavern and made the people -leap from their beds.</p> - -<p>“Hel-up! Hel-up! Let go! Let go!”</p> - -<p>The landlord came running, and saw the situation.</p> - -<p>“I never thought that you would come to the gallows,” -said he, “but you have!”</p> - -<p>“All the powers have mercy on me now!” cried Mordecai. -“But I’ll confess. Will you let me go if I confess?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” said the landlord. “What have you on -your mind?”</p> - -<p>The drovers came running in.</p> - -<p>“That cow didn’t give no fifteen quarts. I connived. -The drover put me up to it—the Lord of massy, what will -become of his soul? I’ll never connive again!”</p> - -<p>Then said the landlord:</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to let you go.”</p> - -<p>He unloosened the “galluses,” which had wound -around a rung in the ladder, and Mordecai kept his conscience -clear even in cattle trade ever after.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<small>THE DECISIVE DAY OF BROTHER JONATHAN’S LIFE</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Before we leave this part of our subject we should -study the event that made the great character of the -Governor.</p> - -<p>All lives have decisive days. Such a day determined -the great destiny of Jonathan Trumbull.</p> - -<p>The stamp act had been passed in Parliament, by -which a stamp duty was imposed upon all American paper -that should be used to transact business and upon articles -essential to life. Persons were to be appointed to sell -stamps for the purpose. This was taxation without representation -in Parliament, and was regarded as tyranny -in America.</p> - -<p>All persons holding office under England were required -to make oath that they would support the stamp -duty. Among these were the Governor of Connecticut -and his ten councilors, and one of these councilors at that -time was Jonathan Trumbull.</p> - -<p>The day arrived on which the Governor, whose name -was Fitch, and his councilors assembled to take the oath -or to resign their commissions.</p> - -<p>“I am ready to be sworn,” said the then Governor.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -“The sovereignty of England demands it. Are you -all ready?”</p> - -<p>There was a grave silence.</p> - -<p>Jonathan Trumbull rose.</p> - -<p>“The stamp act,” said he, “is a derogation of the -chartered rights of the colony. It takes away our freedom. -The power that can tax us as it pleases can govern -us as it pleases. The stamp act takes away our liberties -and robs us of everything. It makes us slaves and can -reduce us to poverty. I can not take the oath.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said the royal Governor, “the officers of his -Majesty must obey his commands or not hold his commissions. -For you to refuse to be sworn is contempt of -Parliament. The King’s displeasure is fatal. Gentlemen, -I am ready for the oath, and I ask that it be now administered -to me.”</p> - -<p>The Governors of all the provinces except Rhode -Island had taken the oath. Even Franklin and Otis and -Richard Henry Lee had decided to submit to the act of -unrestrained tyranny. They thought it politic to do so.</p> - -<p>But Trumbull’s conscience rose supreme over every -argument and consideration. In conscience he was strong, -as any one may be.</p> - -<p>“I <em>can not</em> take the oath,” said Trumbull. “Let Parliament -do its worst, and its armies and navies thunder. -I will not violate my provincial oath, which I deem to -be right. I will be true to Connecticut, and to the liberties -of man. You have sworn by the awful name of -Almighty God to be true to the rights of this colony. -I have so sworn, and that oath will I keep.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> - -<p>It was near the close of the day. The red sun was -setting, casting his glimmering splendors over the pines. -The oath was about to be administered by the royal Governor.</p> - -<p>Jonathan Trumbull rose up among the councilors. His -soul had arisen to a sublime height, and despised all human -penalties or martyrs’ fires.</p> - -<p>His intense eyes bespoke the thoughts that were burning -within him.</p> - -<p>He did not speak. He was about to make his conduct -more eloquent than words.</p> - -<p>He seized his tricornered hat, and gave back a look -that said, “I will not disgrace myself by witnessing such -a ceremony of degradation.” He moved toward the -door.</p> - -<p>His every motion betokened his self-command, his -soul value, his uncompromising obedience to the law of -right. Erect, austere, he retreated from the shadow of -the room, into the burning light of the sunset.</p> - -<p>He closed the door behind him, and breathed his -native air.</p> - -<p>Six of the councilors followed him—six patriot seceders.</p> - -<p>That was a notable day for liberty: it made Trumbull -a power, though he could not see it.</p> - -<p>The people upheld Trumbull. At the next election -they cast out of office the Governor and those of his councilors -who had received the oath, and Connecticut was -free.</p> - -<p>In a short time the people made Jonathan Trumbull,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -who risked all by leaving the room at the dusk of that -decisive day, their Governor, and they continued him in -office until his hair turned white, and he heard the town -bells all ringing for the independence and peace of -America.</p> - -<p>Had his act cost him his life he would have done the -same. He would have owned his soul. Honor to him -was more than life—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">My life and honor both together run;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Take honor from me and my life is done.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>When “Brother Jonathan” returned to Lebanon he -was greeted by all hearts. The rugged farmers gathered -on the green around him with lifted hats. The children -hailed him, even the Indian children. The dogs barked, -and when the bell rang out, it rang true to his ears; -for him forever the bell of life rang true.</p> - -<p>But his life was forfeited to the Crown. What of -that? His soul was safe in the Almighty, and he slept -in peace, lulled to rest by the whispering cedars. So -began the great public career of Trumbull. He was -chosen Lieutenant-Governor in 1766, and Governor in -1769.</p> - -<p>He was made the chairman of the Connecticut Council -of Public Safety, which met at his war office, which -at first was a protected room in his little store. His biographer, -Stuart, thus gives us glimpses of this busy place:</p> - -<p>“Within that ‘war office,’ with its old-fashioned -‘hipped’ roof and central chimney-stack, he met his -Council of Safety during almost the entire period of the -war. Here he received commissaries and sub-commissaries,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -many in number, to devise and talk over the means -of supply for our armies. From hence started, from time -to time during the war, besides those teams to which -we have just alluded, numerous other long trains of wagons, -loaded with provisions for our forces at the East, -the West, the North, and the South; and around this -spot—from the fields and farmyards of agricultural Lebanon -and its vicinity—was begun the collection of many -a herd of fat cattle, that were driven even to the far -North around Lake George and Lake Champlain, and -to the far distant banks of the Delaware and the Schuylkill, -as well as to neighboring Massachusetts and the banks -of the Hudson.</p> - -<p>“Here was the point of arrival and departure for -numberless messengers and expresses that shot, in every -direction, to and from the scenes of revolutionary strife. -Narragansett ponies, of extraordinary fleetness and astonishing -endurance—worthy such governmental post-riders -as the tireless Jesse Brown, the ‘alert Samuel Hunt,’ and -the ‘flying Fessenden,’ as the latter was called—stood -hitched, we have heard, at the posts and palings around, -or by the Governor’s house, or at the dwelling of his -son-in-law Williams, ready, on any emergency of danger, -to fly with advices, in any desired direction, on the wings -of the wind. The marks of the spurs of the horsemen -thus employed were but a few years back visible within -the building—all along upon the sides of the counters -upon which they sat, waiting to receive the Governor’s -orders.</p> - -<p>“So we find him during the period now under consideration<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -(1775), executing in person the business of -furnishing troops, and of procuring and forwarding supplies—now -flour, particularly from Norwich; now, from -various quarters, beef and pork; now blankets; now arms; -but especially, at all times, whenever and wherever he -could procure it, powder, the manufacture of which vital -commodity he stimulated through committees appointed -to collect saltpeter in every part of the State. ‘The -necessities of the army are so great’ for this article, wrote -Washington to him almost constantly at this time, ‘that -all that can be spared should be forwarded with the -utmost expedition.’—‘Soon as your expected supply of -powder arrives,’ wrote his son-in-law, Colonel Huntington, -from Cambridge, August 14th, ‘I imagine General -Putnam will kick up a dust. He has got one floating -battery launched, and another on the stocks.’ The powder -was sent—at one time six large wagon-loads, and at -the same time two more for New York, on account of -an expected attack in that direction. ‘Our medicine-chests -will soon be exhausted,’ wrote Huntington at the -same time. The medicine-chests were replenished. And -before September Trumbull had so completely drained -his own State of the materials for war that he was obliged -to write to Washington and inform him that he could not -then afford any more.”</p> - -<p>In these thrilling days the people awaited the news -upon the village green.</p> - -<p>The village green of Lebanon! Across it the old -war Governor walked a thousand times to attend meetings -at the office in the interests of the State and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -welfare of man. A monument to him should arise -there.</p> - -<p>The village greens of New England were fields of the -highest patriotism, and their history would be a glorious -record. The church spires rose over them; the schoolhouse -bells; and on them or in a hall near them the -folkmotes were held. These town meetings were the suggestions -of republican government and the patterns of -the great republic.</p> - -<p>How the words “Brother Jonathan,” that became -the characteristic name of the nation, reached the ears -of Washington at Cambridge we do not know. It became -the nickname—the name that bespoke character to the -army through Washington. It will always live.</p> - -<p>How did the people of Lebanon among the cedars -come to give that name to the great judge, assistant, and -governor that rose among them? In his official life he -was so dignified and used such strong Latin-derived words -to express his thoughts that one could hardly have suspected -a Roger de Coverley behind the courtly dressed -man and his well-weighed speech. He was an American -knight.</p> - -<p>But in his private life he was as delightful as a veritable -Roger de Coverley, even if he did not fall asleep -in church. The true character of an old New Englander -was in him. He loved his neighbors as his own self with -a most generous and sympathetic love. No tale of knight-errantry -could be more charming than that of the life he -led among his own folk in Lebanon.</p> - -<p>He probably studied medicine that he might doctor the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -poor. Were any poor man sick, he sent another in haste -to consult Brother Jonathan; and Brother Jonathan, in -gig, and possibly in wig, with his greatcoat in winter, -and vials, and probably snuff-box, and all, hurried to the -sick-bed.</p> - -<p>He carried the medicine of medicine with him in his -heart, which was that of hope and cheer. Whatever -other doctors might say, he often said: “I have seen sicker -men than you recover; you may get well if you only look -up; it is the spiritual that heals, and the Lord is good -to all.”</p> - -<p>He always asserted that the unspiritual perishes; that -that truth was not only the Bible and the sermon, but that -it was law. He had charity for all men, and he made it -the first condition of healing that one should repent of -his sins. So he prayed with the sick, and the sick people -whom he visited often found a new nature rising up within -them. The sick poor always remembered the prescriptions -of Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>He was an astronomer and made his own almanacs. -If any one was in doubt as to what the weather was likely -to be, he went to Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>The cattlemen and sheep-raisers came to him for advice. -Did a poor cow fall sick, she too found a friend -in Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>He would have given away his hat off his head had it -not been a cocked one, had he found a poor man with his -head uncovered.</p> - -<p>He gave his fire to those who needed it on cold days.</p> - -<p>There had been established a school in Lebanon for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -the education of Indian children for missionaries. His -heart went into it; of course it did. When he was yet rich—a -merchant worth nearly $100,000 (£18,000)—he made -a subscription to schools; but when ship after ship was -lost by the stress of war and other causes, and he became -poor, he hardly knew how to pay his school subscriptions, -so he mortgaged two of his farms.</p> - -<p>“I will pay my debts,” he said, “if it takes a lifetime.” -And none doubted the word of Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>The people all pitied him when he lost his property, -and came to say that they were sorry for him when he -partly failed, and their hearts showed him a new world, -and made him love every one more than before.</p> - -<p>Great thanksgivings they used to have in his perpendicular -house among the green cedars, and the stories -that were told by Madam Trumbull and her friends expressed -the very heart of old New England days.</p> - -<p>What people may have been there that afterward -came to tower aloft, and some of them to move the -world! Samuel Occum may have been there, the Indian -who moved London; Brant may have been there, whose -name became a terror in the Connecticut Colony in the -Wyoming Valley, and whom the poet Campbell falsely -associates with the tragedies of Wyoming.</p> - -<p>The old church stood by the green; it stands there -now. In it Governor Trumbull’s stately proclamations -were read; there probably the Declaration of Independence -was proclaimed.</p> - -<p>Thanksgiving—what stories like Christmas tales of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -to-day used to be told by long log fires after the church -and the dinner, which latter exhibited all the products -of the fields and woods! A favorite story concerned -people who were frightened by ghosts that were not -ghosts.</p> - -<p>Let us give one of these stories that pictures the heart -and superstition of old New England and also one of -Connecticut’s handicrafts. For the clock-cleaner was -a notable story-teller in those old days. He cleaned -family clocks and oiled them, sometimes with walnut oil. -He usually remained overnight at a farmhouse or inn, -and related stories of clocks wherever he found a clock -to clean.</p> - -<p>These Connecticut clock stories in Brother Jonathan’s -day were peculiar, for clocks were supposed to be family -oracles—to stop to give warning of danger, and to stop, -as arrested by an invisible hand, on the approach of death.</p> - -<p>Curious people would gather at the war office when -the wandering clock-cleaner appeared upon the green. -The time-regulator was sure to tell stories at the Alden -Tavern or at the war office, and usually at the latter. -Men with spurs would sit along the counter, and dig their -spurs into the wood, under excitement, as the clock tale -was unfolded: how that the family clock stopped and the -Nestor of the family died, and the oldest son went out -and told the bees in their straw hives.</p> - -<p>Peter the outcast had an ear for these many tales while -about his work, and Dennis O’Hay was often found on -the top of a barrel at these gatherings.</p> - -<p>Dennis heard these New England tales with increasing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -terror. There were supposed to be fairies in the land -from which he came—fairy shoemakers, who brought -good to people and eluded their hand-grasp. He became -so filled with the “signs” and superstitions of the people -that once, when he met a white rabbit, he thought it -was a rabbit turned into a ghost, and he ran back from -the woods to the tavern to ask what the “sign” meant, -when one saw the ghost of “bunny.” A nimble little -rabbit once turned its white cotton-like tail to him, and -darted into a burrow. He ran home to ask what meant -the sign, and the good taverner said that was a sign -that he had lost the rabbit, which was usually the case -when a white tail so vanished from sight.</p> - -<p>There was one story of the clock that was associated -with early revolutionary days that pictures the times as -well as superstitions vividly, and we will tell it and place -it in the war office on a long evening when the Governor -was busy with his council in the back room.</p> - -<p>The clock-cleaner has come, the farmers sit on boxes -and barrels, some “cavalry” men hang over the “counter,” -and swing their feet and spurs. The candles sputter -and the light is dim, and the Connecticut clock-cleaner, -amid increasing stillness and darkness, relates his tale -slowly, which was like this:</p> - - -<h3>THE LIFTED LATCH</h3> - -<p>An old house on the Connecticut way to Boston stood -high on the windy hill. I have ridden past it at night -when the dark savins lifted their conical forms on the -hillside by the decrepit orchards and the clouds scudded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -over the moon. It had two chimneys that seemed to -stand against the sky, and I saw it once at night when -one of those chimneys was on fire, which caused my -simple heart to beat fast in those uneventful days. I -had heard say that the minutemen stopped there on their -march from Worcester to Bunker Hill and were fed with -bread from out of the great brick oven.</p> - -<p>My father told me another thing which greatly awakened -my curiosity. When the minutemen stopped there -on their march to meet the “regulars,” they were in need -of lead for bullets. They carried with them molds in -which to make bullets, but they could not obtain the -lead.</p> - -<p>The good woman of the house was named Overfield, -Farmer Overfield’s wife. She was called Mis’ Overfield. -She had one daughter, a lithe, diminutive, beautiful girl, -with large blue eyes and lips winsome and red, of such -singular beauty that one’s eyes could hardly be diverted -from following her. When she had anything to say in -company, there was silence. She was the “prettiest girl -in all the country around,” people used to say. And she -was as good in these early days as she was pretty.</p> - -<p>Her name was Annie—“sweet Annie Overfield” -some people named her.</p> - -<p>When she saw that the minutemen were perplexed -about lead, she left her baking, wiped the meal from her -nose that had been itching as a sign “that company was -coming,” and, waving her white apron, approached the -captain and said:</p> - -<p>“Captain, I could tell you where there is lead if I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -had a mind to. But what would father say if I should? -And my grandfather and grandmother, who are in their -graves—they might rise up and shake the valances o’ -nights, and that would be scary, O Captain!”</p> - -<p>Annie’s father came stalking in in a blue blouse, a -New England guard, ready for any duty.</p> - -<p>“Father, I know where there is lead. May I tell?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, girl, and the men shall have it wherever it be. -Where is it, Annie? I have no lead, else I would have -given it up at once.”</p> - -<p>“In the clock weights, father.”</p> - -<p>“Stop the clock!” cried the father. “Oh, Annie, -’tis a marvel you are!”</p> - -<p>The old clock, with an oak frame, stood in the corner -of the “living room,” as the common room was called, -whose doors faced the parlor and the kitchen. It had -stood there for a generation. It was some eight feet -high and two broad in its upper part and two in its -lower. It had a brass ornament on the top, and it ticked -steadily and solemnly always and so loud as to be heard -in the upper rooms at night. On its face were figures -of the sun and moon. Annie’s hand had for several years -wound the clock.</p> - -<p>The great clock was stopped, the heavy weights were -removed, and the minutemen carried them to the forge -of Baldwin, the blacksmith, where they were speedily -melted and poured into the molds.</p> - -<p>The company went joyfully away, and as they -marched down the hill the captain ordered the men to -give three cheers for Annie Overfield. That that lead<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -did much for the history of our country there can be -no doubt. How much one can not tell.</p> - -<p>One day, shortly after these events, a clock-cleaner -came to the house on the hill. The maple leaves were -flying and the migrating birds gathering in the rowen -meadows. He said:</p> - -<p>“I can not regulate the clock now, but I will be -around again another year.”</p> - -<p>When he came back, the sylph-like Annie was gone—where, -none knew. She had been gone a long time.</p> - -<p>Why had she gone? It was the old tale. A common -English sailor from the provinces came to work on the -farm. He received his pay in the fall and disappeared, -and the day after he went Annie went too. It was very -mysterious. She had been “her mother’s girl.”</p> - -<p>She had spent her evenings with the sailor after the -mowing days by the grindstone under the great maple-trees. -He had sung to her English sailor songs and told -her stories of the Spanish main and of his cottage at St. -John’s. He was a homely man, but merry-hearted, and -Annie had listened to him as to one enchanted. She -carried him cold drinks “right from the well” in the -field. She watched by the bars for him to come in from -the meadows and fields. She grew thin, had “crying -spells,” thought she was going “into a decline.” She was -not like herself. The love stronger than that for a mother -had found Annie amid the clover-fields when the west -winds were blowing. The common sailor had become to -her more than life. She felt that she could live better -without others than without him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span></p> - -<p>She had said to her mother one day:</p> - -<p>“Malone”—the sailor’s name—“has a good heart. -I find my own in it. I wish we could give him a better -chance in life.”</p> - -<p>“He is an adventurer, thrown upon the world like -a hulk of driftwood, hither and thither,” said her mother.</p> - -<p>“I pity him. His heart deserves better friends than -he has found. I want to be his friend. Why may I -not?”</p> - -<p>“If you were ever to marry a common sailor, Annie, -I would strew salt on your grave. I married a common -man, but he has been good to me. I have no respect -whatever for those who marry beneath them and shame -their own kin. But, Annie, that rover is worse than -a common sailor—he is a Tory; think of that—a Tory!”</p> - -<p>Such was the condition of the family when the old -clock-cleaner returned.</p> - -<p>He heard the story and said:</p> - -<p>“I can hardly trust my ears. Annie was such a good -girl. But the heart must wed its own. I pity her. She -will come back again, for Annie is Annie.”</p> - -<p>Then he turned to the clock and said:</p> - -<p>“Now I’m going to examine it again and see what -I can do. I will try to set it going till Annie comes -back.”</p> - -<p>“I shall never take any interest in such things any -more,” said Mis’ Overfield. “It is all the same to me -whether the clock goes or stands still, or whether life goes -or stands still, for that matter. I loved Annie, and that -is what makes it so hard. She used to watch over me<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -when I was sick, oh, so faithfully, but I shall never -feel the touch of her hand again, Annie’s hand. I would -weep, but I have no tears to shed. Life is all a blank -since this came upon me. The burying lot, as it looks -to me, is the pleasantest place on earth. I look out of -the pantry window sometimes and say, ‘Annie, come -back.’ Then I shut my heart. Oh, that this should -come to me!”</p> - -<p>She seemed to be listening.</p> - -<p>“How I used to wait for Annie evenings—conference -meeting and candle-light meeting nights and singing-school -evenings! How my heart used to beat hard when -she lifted the latch of the porch door in the night!</p> - -<p>“She came home like an angel then. I wonder if -Annie’s hand will ever again lift the latch in the night. -Trouble brings the heart home and sends us back to God. -But I wouldn’t speak to her—lud, no, no, no!”</p> - -<p>The tenderness went out of her face, and a strange, -foreign light came into her blue-gray eyes.</p> - -<p>She sat looking fixedly toward the hill. The old -graves were there.</p> - -<p>Farmer Overfield came in.</p> - -<p>“Thinking?” said he.</p> - -<p>“I was thinking of how Annie used to lift the latch -evenings. I wish it could be so again. But it can’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? There can be no true life in any household -where it is forbidden to any to lift the latch.”</p> - -<p>The clock-cleaner could not find the key of the clock. -It had disappeared. He pounded on the case and said:</p> - -<p>“It sounds hollow.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span></p> - -<p>Thanksgiving day came, and that day was supposed -to bring all of the family home.</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield watched the people coming, and she -said to her little nurse Liddy as she waited:</p> - -<p>“Have they all come, Liddy?”</p> - -<p>“No, mum; not all.”</p> - -<p>“Who is there to come?”</p> - -<p>“Annie, mum.”</p> - -<p>“She’s dead—dead here. I sometimes wish she would -come, Liddy. But I wouldn’t speak to her if she were to -come—that common sailor’s wife—and he a Tory! I -wouldn’t—would you, Liddy?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mum.”</p> - -<p>“You would? Tell me why now.”</p> - -<p>“Because she is Annie. You would too.”</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield gave a great sob and threw her apron -over her head, and said in a muffled voice:</p> - -<p>“What made you say that, Liddy?”</p> - -<p>“There may come a day when Annie can not come -back. The earth binds fast—the grave does. Think what -you might have to reflect upon.”</p> - -<p>“I, Liddy—I?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. And there are more folks in some old houses -than one can see always. They come back. There’s -been a dead soldier here already. I saw him. And -last night I heard the latch of the back door lift up -three times.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Liddy! Nothing can ever harm us if we do -just right. It was Annie that went wrong, not I. What -do you suppose made the latch lift up?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span></p> - -<p>She stood silent, then said, with sudden resolution:</p> - -<p>“Liddy, you go straight to your duties and never -answer your mistress back again, not on Thanksgiving -day nor on any other day.”</p> - -<p>The rooms filled. Brothers and sisters, nephews and -nieces, came, and some of the guests offered to help the -women folks about.</p> - -<p>The hand of the new brass clock was moving around -toward 12. A savory odor filled the room. Little Liddy -flitted to and fro, handling hot dishes briskly so as not -to get “scalded.”</p> - -<p>Those who were voluntarily helping the women folks -carried hot dishes in wrong directions. For twenty minutes -or more everything went wrong in the usual way of -the country kitchen at that hour of the day.</p> - -<p>There was a jingle in the new brass clock. Then it -struck, and the farmer raised his hand, and everybody -stood still.</p> - -<p>Twelve!</p> - -<p>“Now, if you will all be seated at the tables,” said -Farmer Overfield, “I will supplicate a blessing.”</p> - -<p>He did. Prayer has a long journey around the world -on Thanksgiving day. He arrived at last at “all who -have gone astray but are still a part of the visible creation”—his -mind wavered here—“grant ’em all repentance -and make us charitable,” he said in a lower voice.</p> - -<p>The room was very still. One could almost hear the -dishes steam.</p> - -<p>There was a sound in the corner of the room. The -old clock-case quivered. Farmer Overfield became nervous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -in this part of his long prayer, opened his eyes and -said:</p> - -<p>“Oh, I thought I heard something somewhere. Where -was I? Liddy, she says that she heard the latch lift in -the night. I didn’t know——”</p> - -<p>Just here there was a crash of dishes. Little Liddy -had seen the old clock-case shake, which caused her to lose -nerve power just as she was very carefully moving some -dishes when she thought all other eyes were shut. The -guests started.</p> - -<p>“Accidents will happen,” said Farmer Overfield. -“Now, all fall to and help yourselves. It seems like old -times to find all the family here again just as it used to -be—all except Annie, Annie, Annie. Her name has not -been spoken to-day. I shall keep this plate and seat for -her here close by my side. Annie’s heart is true to me -still. I seem to feel that. I wish she were here to-day. -The true note of Thanksgiving is lacking in a broken -family. There can be no true Thanksgiving where there -is an empty chair that might be filled. I shall always -take Annie’s part. A father is always true to his daughter. -I will yet die in her arms. A daughter is the angel -for the father’s room when the great shadow falls.”</p> - -<p>He stood, knife and fork in hand, the tears running -down his face.</p> - -<p>There was a little shriek in the door leading to the -pantry.</p> - -<p>“What now, Liddy?” asked the farmer.</p> - -<p>“I saw something,” said Liddy, with shuttling eyes.</p> - -<p>“What did you see, Liddy?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<p>“The sun and moon moving.”</p> - -<p>“Massy! Where, Liddy?”</p> - -<p>“On the face of the clock. Something is in there. -That clock comes to life sometimes,” she added, going out.</p> - -<p>All eyes were turned toward the clock. Knives, forks, -and spoons were laid down, clicking on the many dishes.</p> - -<p>The top of the clock, which was uncovered, seemed -animated. Some said that they could see it move, others -that the supposed movement was merely a matter of the -imagination.</p> - -<p>Liddy came into the room again with more dishes.</p> - -<p>“I think,” said she, “that the clock-case is haunted.”</p> - -<p>“Pshaw, Liddy!” said the farmer. “And what makes -you say that? Who is it that would haunt that old eight-day -clock?”</p> - -<p>“One of the Britishers who was shot by a bullet made -from the lead weights. That’s my way of thinking. I’ve -known about it for a long time.”</p> - -<p>“Liddy, you’re a little bit off—touched in mind—that’s -what you are, Liddy. You never was quite all -there.”</p> - -<p>There arose another nervous shriek. Knives and forks -dropped.</p> - -<p>“What now, Liddy?” asked the farmer. “You set -things all into agitation.”</p> - -<p>The house dog joined Liddy in the new excitement. -He ran under the table and to the clock and began to -paw the case and to bark. There was a very happy, lively -tone in his bark. He then sat down and watched the -clock in a human way.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p> - -<p>The guests waited for the farmer to speak.</p> - -<p>“What did you see, Liddy?” asked Mis’ Overfield.</p> - -<p>“The planets turned. Look there, now—now—there—there!”</p> - -<p>The sun and moon on the clock face were indeed -agitated. The old dog gave a leap into the air and -barked more joyously than before.</p> - -<p>“The valley of Ajalon!” said the farmer. “That -old timepiece is bewitched. These things are mightily -peculiarsome. I’m not inclined to be superstitious, but -what am I to think, the planets turning around in that -way? They say dogs do see apparitions first and start up. -What would Annie say if she were here now? You don’t -believe in signs, any of you, do you? I’m not superstitious, -as I said, and I say it again. But what can be -the matter with that there old clock-case? I hope that -nothing has happened to Annie. She used to wind that -clock. What do you suppose is the matter?”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s eyes rolled like the planets on the clock -face.</p> - -<p>“Let me go and see,” said Mis’ Overfield, rising slowly -and going toward the case, which seemed to quiver as -she advanced, supporting herself by the backs of the -chairs.</p> - -<p>The nervous fancies of little Liddy could not be repressed. -She called in an atmospheric voice:</p> - -<p>“Mis’ Overfield, be careful how you open that clock -door.”</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield stopped.</p> - -<p>“Why, Liddy, you distress me. The things that you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -say go to my nerves. Why, Liddy, should I be afraid -to open the clock door?”</p> - -<p>“Suppose, Mis’ Overfield—dare I say it—suppose -you should find a dead body there?”</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield leaned on the back of a chair, and -Liddy added in an awesome tone:</p> - -<p>“A girl’s—your own flesh and blood, Mis’ Overfield.”</p> - -<p>Farmer Overfield leaned back in his chair.</p> - -<p>The table was as silent as though it had been bare -in an empty room.</p> - -<p>The dog gave a quick, sharp bark.</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield stood trembling.</p> - -<p>“Heaven forgive me!” she said. “My heart and -Annie’s are the same. We should be good to our -own.”</p> - -<p>She shook. “If I only knew that Annie was alive, -I would forgive her everything. I would take her home -to my bosom, her Tory husband and all. I never would -have one hour of peace if she were to die. I never knew -my heart before. Her cradle was here, and here should -be her last rest. Annie was a good girl, and I am blind -and hard. Annie, Annie! Oh, I would not have anything -befall Annie. Albert, where is the key of the -clock?”</p> - -<p>The boy gave his mother the key.</p> - -<p>“Here, mother, and it is a jolly time we’ll have.”</p> - -<p>“Albert, how can you smile at a time like this! Didn’t -you hear what she suggested? Don’t you sense it? You -go with me now slowly, for I am all nerves, and my -heart is weak.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<p>“That I will, mother.”</p> - -<p>He gave her his arm and looked back with smiling -eyes on the terrified guests.</p> - -<p>“Dast that boy, he knows!” cried Liddy in almost -profane excitement. “Hold up your hands. The house -is going to fall.”</p> - -<p>“Be quiet, Liddy,” said the farmer. “All be quiet -now. We can not tell what is before us. Be still. It -seems as though I can hear the steps of Providence. -Something awaits us. I can feel it in my bones.”</p> - -<p>The guests arose, and all stood silent.</p> - -<p>Mis’ Overfield stopped before the clock door.</p> - -<p>“Annie’s hand used to wind the clock,” she said. -“Oh, what would I give to hear her wind the clock once -more! I would be willing to lie down and give up all -to know that she was alive. Liddy’s words do so chill -me.”</p> - -<p>She knocked on the clock door.</p> - -<p>“Mother!”</p> - -<p>The voice was the music-like tone of old. “Mother, -you will forgive me if I did marry a Tory, for Annie -is Annie—always Annie!”</p> - -<p>The guests stood with intent faces.</p> - -<p>The clock shook again. The old woman moved -back.</p> - -<p>“That was Annie’s voice. Husband, you go and see. -If that is not Annie, then my heart is dead forever, and -I hope there may be no hereafter for me.”</p> - -<p>Farmer Overfield took the keys and slowly opened -the clock door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p> - -<p>The guests stood with motionless eyes. The opening -door revealed at first a dress, then a hand. The old -woman threw up her arms.</p> - -<p>“That’s Annie’s hand. There is no ring on it. Annie -was too poor to have a wedding-ring. Open it slowly, -husband. If she is not living, I am dead.”</p> - -<p>The door was moved slowly by a trembling hand. A -form appeared.</p> - -<p>“That’s Annie,” said the old woman.</p> - -<p>A face. The lips parted.</p> - -<p>“Father, may I come out and sit beside you in the -chair at the table?”</p> - -<p>The dog whirled around with delight.</p> - -<p>“Annie, my own Annie, life of my life, heart of my -heart! Annie, how came you here?” exclaimed the -farmer.</p> - -<p>“I wished to see you, father, and all of my kin on -this day, and mother—poor mother——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t say that. I’m not worthy that you should say -that, but my hard heart is gone,” faltered Mis’ Overfield.</p> - -<p>“I got Albert to prepare the clock-case so I could -stand here and move the planets around so that I could -see you through the circles made for the planets. You -can never dream how I felt here. My heart ached -to know if any one to-day would think of me, and -when you talked of me my heart made the old case -tremble.”</p> - -<p>“Annie, come here,” said Farmer Overfield.</p> - -<p>“But I was not invited, father. I did not intend to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -make myself known to any one but Albert. I have been -here before in the disguise of a soldier.”</p> - -<p>“Annie, you are Annie, if you did marry a Tory -sailor!” and the family heart was one again.</p> - -<p>The story illustrates the family feeling of the time -both as regards patriots and Tories.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<small>WASHINGTON SPEAKS A NAME WHICH NAMES THE REPUBLIC</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>When Washington was at Cambridge his headquarters -were at the Craigie House, now known as the “home of -Longfellow,” as that poet of the world’s heart lived and -wrote there for nearly a generation. Go to Cambridge, -my young people who visit Boston, and you may see -the past of the Revolutionary days there, if you will close -your eyes to the present. The old tree is there under -which Washington took command of the army; a memorial -stone with an inscription marks the place. The old -buildings of Harvard College are there much as they -were in Washington’s days. The Episcopal church where -Washington worshiped still stands, and one may sit down -in the pew that the general-in-chief occupied as in the -Old North Church, Boston.</p> - -<p>The tree under which Washington took command of -the army is decayed and is rapidly falling away. It was -once a magnificent elm, and Washington caused a lookout -to be made in the top, which overlooked Boston and the -British defenses. We can easily imagine him with his -glass, hidden among the green boughs of this lofty and -bowery tree, watching the movements of the enemy.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -Such an incident of the Revolution would seem to invite -a national picture like one of young John Trumbull’s.</p> - -<p>Washington held his councils of war at the Craigie -House. It was doubtless from there that he sent his -courier flying to Jonathan Trumbull for help. His message -was that the army must have food.</p> - -<p>It was then that the Connecticut Governor called together -the Committee of Public Safety and sent his men -of the secret service into the farm-ways of Connecticut -and gathered cattle and stores from the farms, and forwarded -the supplies on their way to Boston, and Dennis -O’Hay went with them.</p> - -<p>Boston was to be evacuated. Where were the British -going? What was next to be done?</p> - -<p>Washington called a council of his generals, and they -deliberated the question of the hour.</p> - -<p>The help that had given strength to the army investing -Boston during the siege had come from Connecticut; -the great heart-beat of Jonathan Trumbull had sent the -British fleet out on the sea and away from Castle William -(now the water-park of South Boston).</p> - -<p>What should be done next? Officer after officer gave -his views, without conclusion. The Brighton meadows, -afterward made famous by the pen of Longfellow, glimmered -in the light of early spring over which the happy -wings of birds were rising in song. The great trees rustled -in the spring winds. The officers paced the floor. -What was to be done next? The officers waited for Washington -to speak.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p> - -<p>He had deliberated, but was not sure as to the wisest -course to pursue.</p> - -<p>He lifted his face at last, and said:</p> - -<p>“We will have to consult <em>Brother Jonathan</em>.”</p> - -<p>The name had been used before in the army, but not -in this official way at a council.</p> - -<p>It was at this council, or one like this, that he began -to impress the worth of the judgment of the Connecticut -Governor upon his generals.</p> - -<p>Washington had unconsciously named the republic.</p> - -<p>The Connecticut Governor’s home name began to rise -to fame.</p> - -<p>These officers repeated it to others.</p> - -<p>Dennis O’Hay heard it. He was told that Washington -had spoken it, probably at a council in the Craigie -House, possibly at some out-of-door consultation. However -this may be, the word had passed from the lips of the -man of destiny.</p> - -<p>“Cracky,” said Dennis, using the Yankee term of -resolution, “and I will fly back to Connecticut, I will, -on the wings of me horse, and I will, and tell the Governor -of that, and I will, and all the people on the green, -and I will, and set the children to clapping their hands, -and the birds all a-singing in the green tree-tops, and -I will.”</p> - -<p>Dennis leaped on his horse as with wings. He slapped -the horse’s neck with his bridle-rein and flew down the -turnpike to Norwich, and did not so much as stop to -rest at the Plainfield Tavern. That horse had the swiftness -of wings, and Dennis seemed to be a kind of centaur.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> - -<p>The people saw him coming, and swung their hats, -but only to say, “Who passed with the wind?”</p> - -<p>The people of the cedars saw him coming up the hill -and gathered on the green to ask:</p> - -<p>“What is it, Dennis?”</p> - -<p>“Great news! Great news!”</p> - -<p>It was a day at the brightening of spring among the -cedars. The people of the country around had heard of -Dennis’s return and they gathered upon the green, which -was growing green. The buds on the trees were swelling, -the blue air was brightening, and nature was budding -and seemed everywhere to be singing in the songs of -birds.</p> - -<p>All the world was full of joy, as the people gathered -that day on the green. The Governor came out -of his war office to hear Dennis speak; the schools were -there, and William Williams, afterward a signer of the -Declaration of Independence, honored the occasion with -his presence.</p> - -<p>Williams stood beside the Whig Governor under the -glowing trees.</p> - -<p>Dennis came out on the green, full of honorable -pride.</p> - -<p>His first words were characteristic:</p> - -<p>“Oh, all ye people, all of the cedars, you well may -gather together—now. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, for it -is good news that I bring to ye all. Boston has fallen; -it has tumbled into our hands, and Castle William has -gone down into the sea, to the Britisher, and the same -will never play Yankee Doodle there any more.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, but you should have seen him, as your brothers -and I did—General Washington. He looked as though -he had been born to lead the world. And what did he -call our Governor—now, that is what I am bursting to -tell you—what did he call our Governor?”</p> - -<p>“The first patriot in America,” answered a merry -farmer.</p> - -<p>“Not that, now, but something better than that. -Hear ye, open the mouths of your ears, now, and prepare -to shout; all shout. He called—so the officers all -say—he called him what you call him now. Colonel? -No, no; not that. Judge? No, no; not that. Governor? -No, no; not that. He called him what the heroes here -who ran from the fields with their guns call him; what -the good wives all call him; what the old men call him; -what the children call him; what the dogs, cats, and -all the birds call him; no, no; not that, but all nature -here catches the spirit of what we called him. He called -him <em>Brother Jonathan</em>! Shout, boys! Shout, girls! -Shout, old men! Shout all! The world will call him -that some day. My soul prophesies that. Shout, shout, -shout! with the rising sun over the cedars—all shout for -the long life and happiness of <span class="smcap">Brother Jonathan</span>!”</p> - -<p>Lebanon shouted, and birds flew up from the trees -and clapped their wings, and the modest old Governor -said:</p> - -<p>“I love the soul of the man who delights to bring -the people good news. I wrote to Washington, when he -took command of the army at Cambridge, these words:</p> - -<p>“‘Be strong and very courageous. May the God of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -the armies of Israel shower down his blessings upon you; -may he give you wisdom and fortitude; may he cover -your head in the day of battle, and convince our enemies -of their mistake in attempting to deprive us of our liberties.’ -And, my neighbors, what did he answer me? He -wrote to me, saying: ‘My confidence is in Almighty God.’ -So we are brothers. And my neighbor Dennis brings good -tidings of joy out of his great heart. His heart is ours. -What will we do for such a man as Dennis O’Hay?”</p> - -<p>“Make him an ensign, the ensign of the alarm-post,” -said one.</p> - -<p>So Dennis O’Hay became known as Ensign Dennis -O’Hay.</p> - -<p>The Governor saw that in Dennis he had a messenger -to send out on horses with wings, to bring back to Lebanon -green the tidings of the events of the war.</p> - -<p>The old Governor turned aside when the shouting was -over.</p> - -<p>“Dennis?”</p> - -<p>“Your Honor?”</p> - -<p>“You have been by the cabin of old Wetmore, the -wood-chopper of the lane.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, your Honor.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I am afraid that the old man is a Tory. You -have heard how he turned tall Peter, his nephew, out of -doors? He said to the boy: ‘Out you go!’ The boy -came to me; my mind is taken up by the correspondences, -so I made him my clerk. I want you to put your arms -around him—for me.”</p> - -<p>“Why did the old man say to the boy that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p> - -<p>“The boy rejoiced over the Concord fight—you see! -Put your arms around him. I want you two should be -friends.”</p> - -<p>“I will put my arms around him, for your sake and -for the sake of Dennis O’Hay. He shall be my heart’s -own.”</p> - -<p>Peter had found friends—hearts.</p> - -<p>He used to think of his old uncle as he slept under the -cedars out of doors, on guard after his duties in the store, -amid the fireflies, the night animals and birds.</p> - -<p>He would seem to hear the old wood-chopper counting:</p> - -<p>“One—</p> - -<p>“Two—</p> - -<p>“Three!”</p> - -<p>He would wonder if the old man were counting for -him, or if that which was counted would go to the King. -If the patriots won their cause, the counted gold, if such -it were, could not go to the King. What were the old -man’s thoughts and purposes when he counted nights?</p> - -<p>At the corner of the Trumbull house, overlooking the -hills and roads in the country of the cedars, was a passageway -that connected with the high roof. From this passageway -the approach of an enemy could be signaled by -a guard, and there was no point in the movements of the -army more important than this.</p> - -<p>Governor Trumbull became recognized as a power -that stood behind the American armies. Lebanon of the -cedars was the secret capital of the colonies. Here gathered -the reserves of the war.</p> - -<p>The common enemy everywhere began to plot against<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -the iron Governor. Spies continued to come to Lebanon in -many disguises and went away.</p> - -<p>The people of Lebanon warned the Governor against -these plots and spies, but he believed in Providence; that -some good angel of protection attended him. When they -told him that his life was in constant peril, he would -say, like one who commanded hosts invisible, that “the -angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear -him.”</p> - -<p>Dennis was in terror when he came to see the Governor’s -danger. He had a bed in the garret, or “cockloft,” -overlooking the cedars. From his room he watched -the roads that led up to the hill.</p> - -<p>One day some men of mystery came to the war office -on horseback. Dennis saw them coming, from the garret -or upper room. He hastened to the Governor at the -war office, and gave the alarm. The men had their story, -but Dennis saw that they were spies, and thought that -they intended to return again.</p> - -<p>Dennis had gained the confidence of the Governor -and of the good man’s family perfectly now. He had -become a shadow of the Governor, as it were.</p> - -<p>After these mysterious men went away, the Governor -called Dennis into his war office, and said:</p> - -<p>“Dennis, you know a tremendous secret, and you -warned me against these men. Why do you suspect -them?”</p> - -<p>“Because a conniving man carries an air of suspicion -about him, your Honor. I can see it; I have second -sight; some folks have, your Honor.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<p>“Dennis, you may be right. A pure heart sees clear, -and you are an honest man, else there are none. Why -do you think these men came? What was their hidden -motive?”</p> - -<p>“To find out where you hid your powder, your Honor. -They are powder finders. In powder lies the hope of the -cause, Governor. I have a thing on my mind, if I have -a mind.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Dennis, what have you on your mind?”</p> - -<p>“There must be a military alarm-post in the cedars. -It must be connected with hiding-places all along the way -from Putnam to Norwich. And it is a man that you -can trust that you must set in charge of the same alarm-post. -As you said, I do know a tremendous secret.”</p> - -<p>“You are a man that I can trust, Dennis; if not, -who?”</p> - -<p>“Your Honor,” said Dennis, bowing.</p> - -<p>“Your heart is as true to liberty as that of Washington -himself. To be true-hearted is the greatest thing -in the world; hearts are more than rank.”</p> - -<p>“Your Honor,” said Dennis, bowing again lower, -“I would rather hear you say that than be a king.”</p> - -<p>“Good, Dennis. Samuel Adams replied to the agent -of General Gage who said to him, ‘It is time for you to -make your peace with the King,’ and who then offered -him bribes: ‘I trust that I have long ago made my peace -with the King of kings, and no power on earth shall -make me recreant to my duties to my country.’”</p> - -<p>“Samuel Adams is a glorious man, your Honor, and -has a heart true to your own. I would die for liberty,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -and be willing to be forgotten for the cause. What -matters what becomes of Dennis O’Hay—but the cause, -the cause!”</p> - -<p>“Then, Dennis, you are the one of all others to take -charge of the alarm-post that you propose to establish -permanently.” Many are willing to die in a cause that -would not be willing to be forgotten, the old man thought, -and walked about with his hands behind him.</p> - -<p>“Forgotten, Dennis, what is it to be forgotten? The -winds of the desert blow over the Persepolis, but where -is the Persepolis? Babylon, where are thy sixty miles of -walls, and the chariots that rolled on their lofty ways? -Gone with the wind. Egypt, where are all the kings that -raised thy pyramids? Gone with the wind. Solomon, -where is thy throne of the gold and gems of the Ind? -Gone with the wind. We all shall be forgotten, or only -live in the good that we do. I like that word which you -spoke, willing to be <em>forgotten</em> for the welfare of mankind. -Dennis, I would be willing to be forgotten. I live -for the cause. I seek neither money nor fame, but only -to do the will of the everlasting God, to which I surrender -all. To live for good influence is the whole of -life. Soul value is everything. How will you establish -the alarm-post?”</p> - -<p>“I will watch the roads from the top of the second -stairs as I have done before. I will have trusty men in -the cedars who will set up signal lights at night. One -of these men shall live in the rocks so that he may guard -the place where the powder is stored. He shall ride a -swift horse, and set up fire-signals at night. The secret<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -shall be known to but few, if you will trust it to me -to pick my men. And Peter—nimble Peter—your trusty -clerk—who was sent out—he shall be my heart’s own.”</p> - -<p>“I leave it all to you, Dennis. Establish the alarm-post. -Select you hidden men. As for me, I believe like -the men in the camp of the Hebrews, in helpers invisible. -An angel stayed the hand of Abraham, and went before -the tribes on their march out of Egypt, and led the feet -of Abraham’s servant to find Rebecca; and when the -young king was afraid to encounter so great a host, the -prophet opened his spiritual eyes, and lo! the mountain -was full of chariots and horsemen. The angel of Providence -protects me; I know it, I feel it; it is my mission -to reenforce the American army when it is in straits. -Faith walks with the heavens, and I live by faith.”</p> - -<p>Dennis went out. He felt free, like one commissioned -by a higher power. Yes, he did know a tremendous -secret. He knew where the powder was hidden.</p> - -<p>When he had come to share with the Governor the -secrets of collecting saltpeter and powder, he learned all -the ways of this secret service. There must be found a -place where this powder could be hidden, so as to be -safely guarded. It was a necessity.</p> - -<p>Lebanon abounded in rocky hills in which were caves. -These caves could be guarded, and yet they would not -be secure against spies. Dennis began to put his Irish -wits at work to devise a way to protect a storage of -powder against spies.</p> - -<p>The tall, nimble boy who had been in the service of -William Williams came first into Dennis’s mind and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -heart. Mr. Williams, for whom the boy had kept sheep, -was a graduate of Harvard College, and had been a member -of the Committee of Correspondence for the Union -and Safety of the Colonies. This man had written several -pamphlets to awaken the spirit of the colonies to -resist aggression, and the nimble boy to whom we have -referred, now the clerk, had listened at doors to the reading -of these pamphlets, and drank in the spirit of them -until he had become so full of patriotic feeling that he -thought of little but the cause.</p> - -<p>Dennis’s intuitive eye fixed itself upon this boy for -secret service.</p> - -<p>“Peter Nimble,” said Dennis to the young farmhand -one day, as the latter was resting under the trees -after the planting of pumpkin-seeds among the corn, while -the sheep grazed, “I have come over here to have a -secret talk with you. I have long had my eye on you. -You are full of the new fire; you see things quick; you -have long legs, and you are all brain, heart, and legs. -You are just the lad I want.”</p> - -<p>“For what, Dennis?”</p> - -<p>“For the secret service. Will you promise me never -to tell what I am about to tell you now?”</p> - -<p>“Never, Dennis.”</p> - -<p>“Though the sky fall?”</p> - -<p>“Though the sky fall, and the earth cave in, and the -waters cover the land. Never, Dennis, if it be for the -cause.”</p> - -<p>“It is for the cause, Peter. Hark ye, boy. We -must store powder here. Powder is the life of the war.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -We must store it in a cave, and we must have some one -to guard the cave, and to give an alarm if spies shall -come.”</p> - -<p>“I can run,” said Peter.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Peter, you can run, and run the right way, -too. You will never turn your heels against the country. -You can outrun all the boys. But it is not for your -heels that I come to you. I want a guard with nimble -thoughts as well as legs. You could run to me quickly -by day, as on feet of air, but it is for the night that I -want you; for a curious service, a queer service.”</p> - -<p>“What would you have me do?”</p> - -<p>“Hold a window before your face, with a light in -the window, and stand back by the roadside in the -cedars.”</p> - -<p>“That would be a strange thing for me to do, Dennis. -How would that help the cause?”</p> - -<p>“You know all the people of the town. You would -know a stranger to be a stranger. Now, no stranger -can pass down the turnpike at night without a passport. -If he does, he is an enemy or a spy.</p> - -<p>“You are to stand behind the lighted window at night -back in the cedars, some distance from the road. If -you see a stranger coming down the road at night, or -hear him, you are to leave the window and light on -a post and demand his passport. The window and light -at a distance will look like a house. If the traveler have -no passport, you must ask him to follow you at a distance -toward the light in the window. Hear: ‘at a distance.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> - -<p>“Then you are to take the window and the light and -move up the hill, by the brook ways, so that I can see -the light at the alarm-post. Then you may put out the -light, and run for the war office: run like the wind. That -will detain the spy, should he be one, and we will be -warned and thwart his design. Do you see?”</p> - -<p>“I see, but am I to be stationed near a cave where -the powder is hidden?”</p> - -<p>“No—tish, tish—but at a place that would turn a -night traveler from the place where the powder is concealed. -You yourself are not to know, or to seek to -know, where the powder is hidden. No, no—tish, tish. -If you were to be overpowered, you must be able to -say that you do not know where the saltpeter is. Tish, -tish!”</p> - -<p>“That is a strange service, Dennis, but I will do as -you say. I will watch by the window in the heat and -cold, in the rain and snow, and I will never desert my -post.”</p> - -<p>“That you will, my boy. The true heart never deserts -its post. You may save an army by this strange -service. You are no longer to be Peter Nimble, but a -window in the cedars. Ah, Peter, Peter, not in vain -did the old man send you out. Boy, the Governor likes -you, and you are my heart’s own!”</p> - -<p>“But I will have to give up my place in the store?”</p> - -<p>“I will talk with the Governor about that.”</p> - -<p>One day Dennis O’Hay stood by the high window, -looking down the turnpike road. A horseman seemed -to leap on his flying steed into the way. Dennis ran down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -the stairs to give an alarm, and found the Governor in -the great room, thinking as always.</p> - -<p>“A man is coming on horseback, riding like mad. -He looks like a general.”</p> - -<p>“Spencer—I am expecting him—I sent for him. Sit -down; your presence may make a clearer atmosphere.”</p> - -<p>Dennis did not comprehend the Governor, but his -curiosity was excited, and he sat down by the stairway.</p> - -<p>A horse dashed up to the door. A man in uniform -knocked, and entered with little ceremony.</p> - -<p>“Governor, I am dishonored. Let me say at once -that I am about to resign my commission in the army.”</p> - -<p>“You have been superseded by General Putnam.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I who offered my life and all in the north in -the service of my country, have been superseded. Congress -little esteems such service as mine. Governor, I -am undone.”</p> - -<p>“General Spencer, Congress is seeking to place the -best leaders in the field. It has done so now. It has not -dishonored you; it honors you; it wants your service -under Putnam.”</p> - -<p>“Under! You may well say under. Would you, with -a record like mine, serve <em>under</em> any man?”</p> - -<p>“I would. My only thought is for the good of the -people and the success of the cause. I have given up -making money, for the cause. I have given up seeking -position of popularity, for the cause. I am seeking to -be neither a general, nor a congressman, nor a diplomat, -for the cause. Whatever a man be or have, his influence<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -is all that he is. I would do anything that would -tend to make my influence powerful for the cause. I -have snuffed out ambition, for the cause.”</p> - -<p>General Spencer dropped his hands on his knees.</p> - -<p>“Governor Trumbull, what would you have me -do?”</p> - -<p>“Serve your country under Putnam—as Congress -wills—and never hinder the cause by any personal consideration. -Be the cause.”</p> - -<p>“Governor, I will; for your sake, I will. I see my -way clear. I was not myself when I came—I am myself -now.”</p> - -<p>“Not for my sake, General, but for the cause!”</p> - -<p>Dennis had seen the Governor’s soul. Giant that he -was, tears ran down his face. He went out into the -open air.</p> - -<p>It was evening at Lebanon. He looked up to the hills -and saw the clerk, who had again become a shepherd-boy, -there in the dusk guiding the sheep to sheltered pastures -among the savins.</p> - -<p>Dennis was lonesome for companionship. He was but -a common laborer, with no family or fortune, nothing but -his honest soul.</p> - -<p>He longed to talk with one like himself. He walked -up the hills, and hailed the shepherd-boy, who had become -a guard in the new secret service.</p> - -<p>“Nimble,” he said, “you believe in the Governor, -don’t you? I do, more and more.”</p> - -<p>“’Fore the Lord, I do,” said the shepherd in an awesome -tone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>“I have just seen the soul of that man. He is more -of a god than a man. But, Nimble, Nimble, my heart’s -own boy, he is surrounded more and more by spies, and -think of it, wagons of powder are coming here and going -away. What havoc a spy could make!</p> - -<p>“Boy, my heart goes out to that man. I would die -for him. So would you. I am going to act as a guard -for him, not only openly—I do that now—but secretly. -You will act with me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, Dennis. But what more can I do?”</p> - -<p>“Keep your eyes open on the hills against surprise, -and guard the magazines.”</p> - -<p>“That I am doing, but where are the magazines?”</p> - -<p>“Where are the magazines?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, boy, boy, do not seek to know. Tish, tish! -Have an eye on the covered ways that are still. You -watch nights by <em>the window</em>?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and I can watch days.”</p> - -<p>The sheep lay down in the sheltered ways of the high -hill, and the two talked together as brothers. They had -become a part of the cause.</p> - -<p>And Dennis found in his heart a new and unexpected -delight. It was when he said to the shepherd-boy of the -green cedars, as he did almost daily, “You are my heart’s -own; we serve one cause, and look for nothing more!”</p> - -<p>So these two patriots became to Brother Jonathan -“helpers invisible.”</p> - -<p>The Governor now hurried levies. Lebanon was a -scene of excitement. Connecticut forgot her own perils, -for the greater need.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p> - -<p>Dennis was ordered away with the men. He was to -drive a powder-wagon. The young shepherd was to leave -for a time his place as a watchman and to go with him.</p> - -<p>In the midst of these preparations a beautiful, anxious -face flitted to and fro. It was that of Madam Trumbull.</p> - -<p>“You must not go,” said she to Dennis. “We need -you here.”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“I—spies swarm; the Governor is all of the time in -peril. I can trust your heart.”</p> - -<p>“He must go,” said the Governor. “The powder-wagon -needs him more than I do. I shall be guarded. -I can hear the wings; the rocks of Lebanon are not -firmer than my faith. Powder is the battle. Go, Dennis, -go. Our powder told at Bunker Hill; they will need it -again.”</p> - -<p>Dennis and the shepherd-boy went, guarding the -powder.</p> - -<p>“Good-by, Governor,” said Dennis. “We leave the -heavens behind us still.”</p> - -<p>What a time that was! Every Whig forgot his own -self and interests in the cause. No one looked for any -pay for anything. The cattle, the sheep, the corn and -grain, all belonged to the cause. Everything followed the -suggestion of the great Governor’s heart.</p> - -<p>Tories and spies came to Lebanon with plots in their -hearts, but they went away again. Ships down the river -landed men, who came to Lebanon with evil intents; but -they looked at the Governor from the tavern window, -as he crossed the green, and went away again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<p>The school for the training of Indian missionaries, -that had been founded in Lebanon and that had trained -Occum, who became the marvelous Indian preacher, had -been removed to a log-house college on the upper Connecticut -now, where it was to become Dartmouth College. -But Indians still came to the green, and heard the cannon -thunder with wonder.</p> - -<p>The Governor’s house, the alarm-post, was to become -the head of a long line of signal-stations.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<small>PETER NIMBLE AND DENNIS IN THE ALARM-POST</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Peter, after being entrusted with Dennis’s secret of -the hidden powder, walked about like one whose head was -in the air. If he stuck pumpkin-seeds into corn-hills, he -did so with a machine-like motion. He had listened to -the singing of the birds in the cedars, but he forgot the -bird-singing now; though he loved rare wild flowers, a -white orchid bloomed among the wintergreens by the ferny -brookside, but he did not see it now; the sky, the forests, -and everything seemed to have vanished away.</p> - -<p>He watched Dennis after their return as the latter -came out of the alarm-post over the way and went to the -tavern or the war office.</p> - -<p>Dennis for a time merely bowed to him and passed -him by, day by day, when on duty; and the corn grew, -and the orioles flamed in the air. But one thought held -him—a picture of the light in the window in the cedars, -guarding some unknown cave that contained the lightnings -and the thunder of the battle-field. What would -come of that service?</p> - -<p>He at last felt that he must see Dennis. He could -stand the suspense no longer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span></p> - -<p>So one night he crept up to Dennis’s chamber under -the rafters.</p> - -<p>“I could stay away from you no longer, after what -you told me,” said he. “Strange things are going on—horsemen -coming and going; queer people haunt the Colchester -road; knife-grinders, clock-cleaners, going into the -forest to get walnut-oil; men calling out ‘Old brass to -mend’; and I seem to see spies in them, and I fear for -<em>him</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Boy, I fear for him. He is an old man now, but -he walks erect, and seems to think that some host unseen -is guarding him. He wears the armor of faith. I can -see it, other people do not; and he does not fear the -face of clay.”</p> - -<p>“Dennis, when are you going to set me behind the -window and the light in the cedars, at night?”</p> - -<p>“Soon, boy, soon. Let us look out of the window.”</p> - -<p>It was a June night. Below them was the war office, -the Alden Tavern, the house of William Williams—the -boy’s home. Afar stretched the intervales, now full of -fireflies and glowing with the silvery light of the half-moon. -Night-hawks made lively the still air, and the -lonely notes of the whippoorwills rang out from the -cedars and savins in nature’s own sad cadences. The -roads were full of the odors of wild roses and sweetbrier, -but were silent.</p> - -<p>“Dennis,” said Peter, “I have been thinking. Suppose -I were to watch in the cedars, and an unknown man -were to come down the open road toward the light in the -window. And suppose I were to say, ‘Halt, and give<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -the countersign,’ and he were to have no countersign. -Then I would say, ‘Follow me, but do not come near -me, or I will discharge my duty upon you.’ And suppose -he were to follow, and I move back, back, back with -the window and light, and he were to think that I were -a house, and that I were to draw him into a trap and -lose him, and put out the light and run for you—what -would you do then?”</p> - -<p>“I would hunt for him in the ravine where you left -him—in the wood trap—and would find him, and wring -from him the cause of his being on the highway without -a passport.”</p> - -<p>“Dennis, do you think that such a thing as that will -ever happen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; my instincts tell me that it will. Boy, there -is one man whom Washington trusts, whom the Governor -relies upon, but in whom I can see a false heart. He was -born only a few miles from here. He is famous. If he -were to turn traitor to our cause, as I believe he will, -he would send spies to Lebanon. He would seek to destroy -the hiding-places of powder, and he knows where -they are to be found. Then, boy, your time to thwart -such designs would come.”</p> - -<p>“What is that man’s name?”</p> - -<p>“I hardly dare to breathe it even to you, with a heart -of truth.”</p> - -<p>“I will never break your confidence. What is the -name?”</p> - -<p>“Benedict Arnold!”</p> - -<p>It now began to be seen in the army that the Governor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -was in peril. The Tories plotted a secret warfare -against the leading patriots.</p> - -<p>One day Governor Trumbull met the Council of Public -Safety with the alarming declaration:</p> - -<p>“They have put a price upon my head.”</p> - -<p>A reward had been secretly offered for his capture.</p> - -<p>“I must have a guard,” he said, and a guard was -granted him of four sturdy, loyal men—a public guard, -who examined all strangers who came by day to Lebanon.</p> - -<p>The plots of the Tories filled the country with alarm. -One of these plots was to assassinate Washington. Others -were to abduct the royal Governors.</p> - -<p>These plotters tried to seize Governor Clinton of New -York, and William Livingston, the patriotic Governor -of New Jersey. They did seize General Stillman at -Fairfield and carried him away as a prisoner.</p> - -<p>Lebanon was exposed to such incursions from the sea. -Spy boats were on the waters, and these might land men -on the highway to Lebanon and seize the Governor and -bear him away.</p> - -<p>The biographer of Governor Trumbull (Stuart) thus -relates an incident that illustrates the perils to which -the Governor was exposed:</p> - -<p>“A traveler, in the garb of a mendicant—of exceedingly -suspicious appearance—came into his house one -evening when he was unwell and had retired to bed. -The stranger, though denied the opportunity of seeing -him, yet insisted upon an interview so pertinaciously that -at last the Governor’s wary housekeeper—Mrs. Hyde—alarmed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -and disgusted at his conduct, seized the shovel -and tongs from the fireplace and drove him out of the -house. At the same time she called loudly for the guard; -but the intruder suddenly disappeared, and, though careful -search was made, eluded pursuit, and never appeared -in that quarter again.”</p> - -<p>One of the reasons that made Lebanon a perilous place -and that invited plots and spies was that magazines of -powder from the West Indies were thought to be hidden -here, as well as at New London and along the Connecticut -main and river. Powder was the necessity of the -war; to explode a powder magazine was to retard the -cause.</p> - -<p>Lebanon was like a secret fortress to the cause. Prisoners -of war were sent to Governor Trumbull. It was -thought that they could not be rescued here. But their -detention here by the wise, firm Governor invited new -plots. The thirteen colonies sent their State prisoners -here. Among these prisoners was the Tory son of Benjamin -Franklin, a disgrace to the great patriot, that led him -to carry a heavy heart amid all of his honors as the -ambassador to the French court. Dr. Benjamin Church, -a classmate of Trumbull at college, was sent to him among -these prisoners.</p> - -<p>Trumbull became universally hated by the Tories. -They saw in him the silent captain of the world’s movement -for liberty. The condition became so alarming that -in November, 1779, Washington sent a message to him -to seize all Tories. “They are preying upon the vitals -of the country,” he said. The Continental Congress<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -demanded of him to “arrest every person that endangered -the safety of the colony.” The condition that became -so alarming, then, was beginning now.</p> - -<p>What a position was that that was held by this brave, -clear-headed, conscience-free man!</p> - -<p>Strangers were coming and going; any one of them -might have a cunning plot against the Governor in his -heart. The way to him was easy. Express-wagons with -provisions started from Lebanon; drivers of cattle came -there; people who had cases of casuistry; men desiring -public appointment in the army; peddlers, wayfarers, -seamen, the captains of privateers.</p> - -<p>But he walked among them—amid these accumulating -perils—as one who had a “guard invisible.” He had. -He knew that his own people were loyal to him, that -they believed him as one directed by the Supreme -Power for the supreme good, and that they loved him -as a father.</p> - -<p>Dennis guarded the good old man as though he had -had a commission from the skies to do so. He gave to -him the strength of his great heart. He caused a tower—“the -alarm-post”—over his head, one secret room, to -protect him—“a room over the gate”—and the room -must have seemed to the man whose brain directed all -like the outstretched wing of a guardian divine. The -Governor was an old man when the war began. Born -in 1710, he was at the time of the Declaration of Independence -sixty-six years old.</p> - -<p>Dennis was like a guardian sent to him, and Peter -like a messenger sent to Dennis. There was something<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -in the glances of each to the other that was out of the -common of life—it was the cause.</p> - -<p>One day there was a shout in the alarm-post.</p> - -<p>A man was riding up the Colchester road, dashing, -as it were, as if his own body and that of his horse were -only agents of this thought. He was an Irishman. When -the Lexington alarm came, he had heard the clock of -liberty strike; his hour had come.</p> - -<p>“A man is coming like mad, riding with the wind,” -said the sentinel in common terms.</p> - -<p>The man came rushing up to the store, and drew -his rein. The Governor met him there.</p> - -<p>“Knox, your Honor, Knox of the artillery. I was -at Bunker Hill.”</p> - -<p>“I know you by your good name,” said the Governor. -“You know how to put your shoulder to the wheel.”</p> - -<p>Knox of the artillery smiled.</p> - -<p>He had won the reputation of knowing how to put -his shoulder to the wheel in a queer way. There was a -rivalry between the Northenders and Southenders in -Boston, and both parties celebrated Guy Fawkes’s day -with grotesque processions, in which were effigies of Guy -Fawkes and the devil. In an evening procession of the -party to which young Knox belonged on Guy Fawkes’s -day the wheel of the wagon or float bearing an effigy, -possibly of Guy Fawkes, broke, and that the rival party -might not know it and ridicule his party, he said:</p> - -<p>“I will put my shoulder to the wheel.”</p> - -<p>He did this, and the float moved on, and the pride -of his party was saved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<p>Knox of the artillery had kept a bookstore in Boston. -It was like the New Corner Bookstore before the famous -Old Corner Bookstore. When the war broke out he -was attached to the artillery. There was a great need -of powder, and he had a scent for it. He found it, he -hid it; he was the “powder-monkey” of the great campaigns.</p> - -<p>Like Paul Revere, he caught the spirit of the minutemen. -He could ride for liberty! He was riding for -liberty now!</p> - -<p>“Washington recommended you to volunteer for the -artillery service,” said the Governor. “I could have no -more favorable introduction to you. You do not ride -for nothing, my young friend. May I ask what brings -you here? Your horse foams.”</p> - -<p>“There is no time to be lost in days like these,” said -the young artilleryman. “These are days of destiny, and -we must make the success of our cause sure. I went to -Washington for permission to bring the siege-guns and -powder from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. I have come -to you for a like reason. I am sure, in my soul, of -ultimate victory; I know it will come, but preparation -is victory. Boston is evacuated, and to defend New York -we must protect the coast of Connecticut. I have conferred -with Washington, and I must have a word with -you.”</p> - -<p>“To the tavern with the horse,” said the Governor. -“Into the store, or war office, as I call my place here, -we will go and shut the weather-door, and I will answer -‘Go’ if any call. We will consider the matter.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span></p> - -<p>They went into the store and the door was shut.</p> - -<p>Without sighed the cedars in the April or May winds. -It was the coming of summer; the bright wings of southern -birds were blooming in the air. The cedars were -dressing in green, and the elms flaming in the glowing -suns of the long days.</p> - -<p>They talked, as we may fancy, of the sons of liberty, -the siege of Boston, and the outlook, and here young -Knox gained strength to face the strenuous campaigns -of New York and the Jerseys, and to cause the cannon -of liberty to thunder as never before.</p> - -<p>They talked of Rhode Island. Strange things were -happening there.</p> - -<p>Then the Committee of Safety came. And they considered -the matter.</p> - -<p>The Governor had a habit of saying, “Let us consider -the matter”; after a time he added, “and bring -it before the council.”</p> - -<p>He walked about like a visitor to the world. He was -always “considering” some matter.</p> - -<p>He would stand before the church, considering; cross -the green, considering; the public men who came to visit -him usually found him considering.</p> - -<p>Why had Knox come to Lebanon?</p> - -<p>It was to talk of powder. How could saltpeter be -found? Where could it be stored?</p> - -<p>There might be a powder magazine at New London, -or near it, or in covert in a place on the Connecticut, -or right here among the rocky caves of the hills. Where?</p> - -<p>The Governor would “consider.” He did, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -secret hiding-places of powder were known to few besides -him. The Governor knew the guards of the magazines. -So Connecticut stored powder.</p> - -<p>“Powder, powder, ye gods, send us powder!” cried -General Putnam at <a href="#i_fp129">the battle of Bunker Hill</a>.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp129"> - <img src="images/i_fp129.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_132">The battle of Bunker Hill.</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>There was a powder famine. The whole army needed -powder.</p> - -<p>One day the Governor sat before his door on the -green, waiting the return of Dennis. The latter came -back from a commission which he had executed quickly, -and dropped from his horse on the green.</p> - -<p>“You have made short time, Dennis.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Governor; I never think of myself, but only -of the cause.”</p> - -<p>“You may well say that, and I know it to be true. -Such a spirit as that in these testing times is invaluable. -I have a new commission for you.”</p> - -<p>“Let me have it. I will die for it; I am in for liberty -now—head, heart, and heels.”</p> - -<p>He sunk down on the green.</p> - -<p>“Let us consider,” the Governor said; “let us consider. -You have heard me speak of Salisbury, the hidden town -in the northwest corner of the State, on the Housatonic. -The world knows little of that town, but it hears much. -There has been a foundry there since ’62. I am going -to make an arsenal there, and manufacture guns there, -and make it a powder-post. I must have post-riders who -can lead teamsters and who can be trusted, and move -quickly, to go from Lebanon green to Salisbury with my -orders. No spot in America can be made more useful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -to our army than this. I am going to appoint you as -an officer for this business, as a special messenger to -Salisbury in the secret service.</p> - -<p>“Dennis, no one can do so much as when he is doing -many things. When I am doing two things well, I can -do three. I never undertake anything that I can not do -well, but experience enables us to do many things well, -as you are learning yourself, Dennis O’Hay.”</p> - -<p>Dennis bowed.</p> - -<p>Salisbury was a hidden place, but rich in nature. It -was a place of iron-mines, with limestone and granite at -the foot of the mountains. Here the United States began -to cast cannon and gather saltpeter. The works -grew. Cannon-balls, bombs, shells, grape-shot, anchors, -hand-grenades, swivels, mess-pots and kettles, all implements -of war were made and stored here. The armaments -of ships were furnished here by skilled hands. Here -the furnaces blazed night and day. Here the ore-diggers, -founders, molders, and guards were constantly at work. -There came here an army of teamsters for transportation. -The Governor wished one whom he could trust to bear his -orders to this town hidden among the mountains, and -Dennis was such a man. Dennis could be spared, as there -was a regular guard at the alarm-post now, and the church -afforded it a shelter.</p> - -<p>The reader who makes a pilgrimage to Lebanon to -visit the “war office” should note the old church and -recall the habits of a stately past, when men lived less for -money-making and more for the things that live.</p> - -<p>The solemn bell rings out as of old, but it is over the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -graves of people who were the empire builders, but who -knew it not except by faith. The gray stones are crumbling -where they lie. The engine-whistle sounds afar, -and Willimantic reflects the life of new times. Here New -England of old lives on—apart from the hurrying world -of steam and electricity.</p> - -<p>The great cedars are gone, though cedar swamps are -near. Night settles down over all in silence, and one -feels here that this is a lonely world.</p> - -<p>The lights have gone out in the old Alden Tavern, -and the tavern itself is gone, but nature here is beautiful -among the hills, and to the susceptible eye the hills are -touched by the spirit of the patriots of old.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<small>A MAN WITH A CANE—“OFF WITH YOUR HAT”</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Dennis O’Hay, who had created for the cause the -alarm-post in the cedars, learned all the ways and byways -of the Connecticut colonies, and the ways leading to -and out of Boston. He was, as we have said, a giant in -form, and his usual salutation—“The top of the morning -to everybody,” or “The top of the morning to everybody -on this green earth”—won the hearts of people, and -as much by the tone in which it was spoken as by the -whole-hearted expression itself. He came to be known -as the Irish giant of the hill country.</p> - -<p>He traveled much in the secret service from Lebanon -to Plainfield and Providence, which was a part of the turnpike -road to Norwich. The children and dogs seemed to -know him, and the very geese along the way to salute him -with honks of wonder quite uncommon.</p> - -<p>He greeted titled people and laborers in the same -common way, and he one day said to the Governor:</p> - -<p>“If I were to meet General Prescott himself, I would -not take off my hat to him unless he met me civil.”</p> - -<p>Who was General Prescott? Not the patriot hero -of Bunker Hill. He was a British general that had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -sent to Rhode Island, and had made himself a terror -there. The women, children, dogs, and perhaps the farmhouse -geese, ran <em>from</em> him when he appeared; even the -Rhode Island Quakers moved aside when he was seen in a -highway.</p> - -<p>He carried a cane.</p> - -<p>When he met a person in the highway he used to -say:</p> - -<p>“Off with your hat! Don’t you know who I am?”</p> - -<p>If the person so accosted did not doff his hat, the -pompous General gave the hat a vigorous whack with his -stout cane, and the wearer’s head rung, and the latter -did not soon again forget his manners.</p> - -<p>He once met an aged Quaker on the way—and these -incidents are largely traditional—who approached him -respectfully, after the usual way, with his broad-brimmed -hat covering his curly locks.</p> - -<p>“Yea, verily, one day outshines another, and to goodly -people this is a goodly world.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” said the testy General.</p> - -<p>“A servant of the Lord, as I hope.”</p> - -<p>“A servant of the Lord? Off with your hat! Haven’t -you any reverence for me, nor the Lord either? Don’t -you know who <em>I</em> am?”</p> - -<p>“Nay, nay, softly; speak not thus, my friend.”</p> - -<p>“Off with your hat!” said the irate General. “None -of your yea says and nay says in my presence.”</p> - -<p>“I never unhat or unbonnet, my friend, in the presence -of any man. I could not do it if I were to meet -the King himself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span></p> - -<p>The General grew red in the face.</p> - -<p>“There, you Pharisee, take that,” and here he applied -his cane to the good Quaker’s hat, “and that, and -<em>that</em>, and <span class="allsmcap">THAT</span>!”</p> - -<p>The Quaker strode away, and would need a new hat -when next he went abroad on the highway of the orchards -and gardens.</p> - -<p>General Prescott, while at Newport, desired to have -a sidewalk in front of his house, so he ordered all of -his neighbors’ door-stones to be removed for the purpose.</p> - -<p>He was a petty tyrant, and he liked nothing so much -as to make the people—“rebels,” as he called them—feel -his power. He would order any one whom he disliked -to be sent to the military prison without assigning -any reason.</p> - -<p>He once sent a greatly respected citizen to prison and -forbade that the latter should have any verbal communication -with his friends or family. The wife of the prisoner -used to send him notes in loaves of bread.</p> - -<p>One day she appeared before Prescott, and desired -him to allow her to make one visit to her husband.</p> - -<p>“Who do you think I am?” said the General, or -words in this spirit. “Instead of allowing you to visit -him, I will have him hanged before the end of the week.”</p> - -<p>Under the petty tyranny of Prescott no one seemed -safe on the island.</p> - -<p>The stories of Prescott’s insults to worthy people -roused the spirit of Dennis.</p> - -<p>“An’ sure it is, now,” he said to the Governor, “if<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -I were to meet that big-feeling Britisher, I would make -him take off his own hat. Look at me now.”</p> - -<p>Dennis stretched himself up to a height of nearly -seven feet.</p> - -<p>“If he sassed me back, I’d give him one box on the -ear with this shovel of a hand, and he would never speak -one word after he felt its swoop; and it will be a sorry -day if he ever says ‘Off with your hat’ to me, now!”</p> - -<p>He repeated these things to Peter on the green.</p> - -<p>Dennis had met a man in Providence by the name -of Barton—Colonel Barton. This man was a native of -Warren, R. I., and the son of a thrifty farmer who -owned a beautiful estate on Touisset Neck. The farm -and the family burying-ground are still to be seen there, -much as they were in the Revolutionary days. The place -is now owned by Elmer Cole.</p> - -<p>Barton was a brave, bold man. He conceived a plan to -capture the tyrannical Prescott and humiliate the testy -Britisher. For this enterprise he desired to enlist strong, -fearless, seafaring men.</p> - -<p>He had met Dennis and had said to himself that he -must have the rugged Irishman’s assistance.</p> - -<p>He met Dennis again one day in Providence.</p> - -<p>“Dennis O’Hay, can you keep a secret?”</p> - -<p>“Sure I can, if anybody. Dennis O’Hay would not -betray a secret if the earth were to quake and the heavens -were all to come tumbling down, sure as you are living—never -that would Dennis O’Hay.”</p> - -<p>“Then close your mouth and open your ears. I have -a plan to capture General Prescott.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span></p> - -<p>“An’ I am with ye. I’ll like to make that man feel -the wake of my two fists, and he wouldn’t dare to cane -me after that.”</p> - -<p>“I want to secure twenty men or more that I can -trust, seafaring men. You must be one of them,” he -continued.</p> - -<p>“I plan to go down to Warwick Neck, and to go over -to the island with my picked men in the night on whale-boats. -The General and his guard are at the Overing -House on the north end of the island, down by the sea.</p> - -<p>“I plan to pass through the British fleet in the night -with muffled oars, to land near Prescott’s headquarters, -and——”</p> - -<p>“Whoop!” said Dennis rudely, “to carry him off -before he has time to put on his clothes. You hand -him over to me, and I would get him back down to the -boats as easy as a chicken-hawk with a chicken. He -would not even ask me to take off my hat. Put me down -as one of the picked men.”</p> - -<p>“You will meet me at the wharf on Warwick Neck -on the afternoon of July 10th.”</p> - -<p>“That I will. You are a brave man and have the -spirit of the times. That man will know what are the -rights of men if I ever get him between these two fists. -What did Providence make these hands for?”</p> - -<p>Dennis opened them and swung them around like a -windmill.</p> - -<p>Dennis hurried back to Lebanon. He found the Governor -there, and said:</p> - -<p>“I am going on an adventure with Colonel Barton;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -and when I return perhaps I will bring a stranger with -me. Mum is the word, your Honor.”</p> - -<p>“Barton, who is he?” asked the Governor.</p> - -<p>“A man with a stout heart, who can see in the dark.”</p> - -<p>“Go, Dennis, I have confidence in you.”</p> - -<p>Then Dennis went to Peter. He did not tell him the -plot, not all of it, but he said:</p> - -<p>“I am going to attempt something that will tip over -the world. I want you to watch for my coming back. -I will signal to you from the Plainfield Hills, and when -you see the signal, run to the Governor and say: ‘They’ve -got him!’ Oh, Peter, it is a foine lad that you are now.” -Dennis slapped both hands on his knees, and laughed in -a strange way.</p> - -<p>When the evening of the 10th of July came and -Warwick Point, with its green sea meadows and great -trees, faded in the long cloudy twilight, off the new -wharfage lay three whale-boats, strong ribbed, and ample -enough to hold immense storage of blubber.</p> - -<p>In the shadows of the waving trees were Colonel -Barton and some forty men. The old ballad says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">’Twas on that dark and stormy night,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The winds and waves did roar,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Bold Barton then with twenty men</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Went down upon the shore.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>There were more than twenty men who gathered at -Warwick Point on that eventful evening.</p> - -<p>It had been a windy day, a July storm, and the bay, -usually so blue and placid, was ruffled.</p> - -<p>Dennis was on hand at the appointed hour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p> - -<p>“This is a good night for our enterprise,” said Barton. -“This is a night of darkness, and it favors us; let it be -one of silence.”</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye,” said Dennis. “Oh, General Prescott, -how I long to fold you in my arms and give you a pat, -pat on your face!”</p> - -<p>“Stop your joking,” said Barton. “We face serious -work now.”</p> - -<p>Darkness fell on the waters. The men were mostly -sailors, or used to seafaring life.</p> - -<p>They heard the boom of the sunset gun from the -British war-ships lying between them and Rhode Island.</p> - -<p>The boats started toward Rhode Island in the darkness -with silent men and muffled oars.</p> - -<p>They passed between the ships that were guarding the -British camp.</p> - -<p>“All is well,” called a sentinel on one of the ships -whose lights glimmered in the mist.</p> - -<p>“Much you know about it,” said Dennis.</p> - -<p>“Silence!” said Barton, as the oars dipped in the -waters in which lay the cloud.</p> - -<p>As silent as sea-birds and as unseen as birds in the -cloud the boats passed on and reached the shores of -Rhode Island, beyond the two islands of Prudence and -Patience.</p> - -<p>There were lights in the Overing House. They glimmered -in the mist through the wet and dripping trees.</p> - -<p>The clouds were breaking and the moon was rolling -through them.</p> - -<p>Barton summoned to him four trusty men. Among<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -them was the giant Dennis, and a powerful negro called -Sile Sisson.</p> - -<p>This party stole through the side ways to the house.</p> - -<p>A guard was there.</p> - -<p>“Halt and give the countersign!” said the sentinel.</p> - -<p>“We need no countersign,” said the leader. “Are -there any deserters here?”</p> - -<p>The sentinel was thrown off his guard.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he found his gun wrenched from him, and -he himself, poor man, in the hands of the giant Dennis. -He was greatly astonished.</p> - -<p>Colonel Barton entered the house, and found Mr. -Overton, a Quaker, reading in one of the lower rooms.</p> - -<p>“Is General Prescott here?” asked Colonel Barton.</p> - -<p>The Quaker’s eyes rounded.</p> - -<p>“He has retired.”</p> - -<p>“Where is his room?”</p> - -<p>“At the head of the stairs.”</p> - -<p>Colonel Barton ascended the stairs and stood before -Prescott’s door.</p> - -<p>He gave a startling rap.</p> - -<p>There was no response.</p> - -<p>He tried the door. It was locked. He endeavored to -force open the door, but it was firm.</p> - -<p>“I will open the door,” said the giant negro. “Stand -back.”</p> - -<p>His head was like a battering ram. He drew back, -bent forward, and struck the door with the top of his -head.</p> - -<p>Crash!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> - -<p>An old gentleman jumped out of bed, all astonished -and excited.</p> - -<p>“Thieves! help!” cried the terrified man; but the -sentry was in charge of Dennis.</p> - -<p>Colonel Barton laid his hand on General Prescott’s -shoulder.</p> - -<p>“General Prescott, you are my prisoner, and you -must go immediately to my boats.”</p> - -<p>“The dragon I am! Give me time to dress.”</p> - -<p>“No, you can have no time to dress. I will take your -clothes with you; march right on, just as you are.”</p> - -<p>The proud General was pushed down-stairs, greatly -to the amazement of the good Quaker, Mr. Overton, and -was led out into fields which were full of briers, partly -naked as he was. He was so filled with terror that he -did not greatly mind the briers. He was hurried over -the rough ways, gasping and trembling, and found himself -on a whale-boat, with two other boats near him. -The three boats moved away.</p> - -<p>“All is well!” said the sentinels on the ships.</p> - -<p>The noon of night passed, the clouds scudding over -the moon; and the silent boats, amid the British assurances -that all was well, landed near Providence, and -horses with couriers ran hither and thither to carry the -news that Colonel Barton had captured General Prescott.</p> - -<p>It was decided to send Prescott to Washington’s headquarters, -and he would pass through Lebanon.</p> - -<p>Dennis rode swiftly toward Lebanon to tell the people -the great news. He raised the signal at Plainfield, and -Peter ran to the Governor’s office.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span></p> - -<p>“Raree show! raree show!” shouted Dennis as he -entered the town, and met the open-mouthed people on -the green. “Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be -glad, and all good people shout now. Colonel Barton -has captured General Prescott, and they are bringing him -here!”</p> - -<p>General Prescott, with his spirit unbroken, was -brought to Lebanon. The carriage in which he was held -as a prisoner rolled up to the door of the old Alden -Tavern, and Prescott was led into the office.</p> - -<p>“I must have something to eat,” said Prescott.</p> - -<p>The good woman of the tavern bustled about, and -brought out her bean-pot and set it down on the dining-table. -She had stewed corn, too, and of the two one might -make the old-time luxury called succotash.</p> - -<p>The beans and corn steamed, and the good woman, -loyal as she was, was glad that she could present so fine -a supper to such a notable man.</p> - -<p>But General Prescott had been used to the dining-halls -of castles.</p> - -<p>“Do you call that a supper?” said he angrily. “It -is not fit for hogs to eat. Take it away!”</p> - -<p>Dennis had come upon the scene.</p> - -<p>“Take it away!” demanded Prescott haughtily.</p> - -<p>“I’ll take you away for insulting my wife,” said the -tavern-keeper. “Dennis, take down the cowhide and I -will make this Britisher dance.”</p> - -<p>The tavern-keeper applied the cowhide to the leaping -General as an old-fashioned schoolmaster might have used -a birch switch on an unruly boy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span></p> - -<p>It was a terrible chastisement that the General -received, and he always remembered it. One day, -in the course of the war, after he had been exchanged -for General Lee, he met a man who looked like the -tavern-keeper, and he shrunk back in alarm and said: -“Oh, but I thought that was the man who cowhided -me.”</p> - -<p>These incidents are mainly true, and have but a thread -of fiction.</p> - -<p>Dennis became a local hero among the friends of -Brother Jonathan, and took his place as the keeper of -the alarm-post again.</p> - -<p>“Dennis,” said the Governor to him one day, “our -hearts are one; I can trust you anywhere. I will have -important service for you some day. When there shall -come some great emergency, I will know whom I can -trust. General Washington trusts me, and I can trust -you.”</p> - -<p>What a compliment! Dennis threw up his arms, and -leaped.</p> - -<p>“I feel as though I could shake the heavens now. -After General Washington, you, and after you—hurrah -for Dennis O’Hay! I wish my old mother in Ireland -could hear that, now. You shall never trust the heart -of Dennis O’Hay to your sorrow. These times make -men, and one does not get acquainted with himself until -he is tried.”</p> - -<p>Dennis had grown. He felt that something noble in -the secret service awaited him. If he could not make -himself famous, he could be a cause of success in others.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -That he would be, and this sense of manhood filled his -ambition.</p> - -<p>“It is only a matter of time,” he said, “between -Shakespeare and the King and Dennis O’Hay. We will -all go into oblivion at last, like the kings of the pyramids -of Egypt. It is only what we do that lasts.”</p> - -<p>So our shipwrecked mariner and rustic philosopher -night after night mounted the stairs to the outlook window, -and saw the stars rise and set, and was glad that -he was living.</p> - -<p>He shared his life with the shepherd-boy. He lived -outside of himself, as it were—all did then.</p> - -<p>Dennis often joined the story-tellers on the Alden -green and in the war-office store. At the store the wayfarers -bartered in a curious way: they swapped stories. -The drovers were a pack of clever story-tellers, but also the -wayfarers from the sea.</p> - -<p>Dennis O’Hay, who had been used to the docks of -Belfast, Liverpool, and London, saw some strange sights -on his rides to secure stores for the army, and saltpeter -among the hill towns.</p> - -<p>One cold March day he stopped before the fence of a -hillside farmhouse, and his eye rested upon the most curious -object that he had ever beheld in his life. It seemed -to be a sheep dressed in man’s clothing, eating old sprouts -from cabbage stumps.</p> - -<p>He sat on his horse and watched the man, or sheepman, -as the case might be.</p> - -<p>“Ye saints and sinners,” said he, “and did any one -ever see the like o’ that before? Not a man in sheep’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> -clothing, but a sheep in a man’s clothing, browsing on -last year’s second growth of cabbage. I must call at the -door and find out the meaning o’ that.”</p> - -<p>He called to the sheep:</p> - -<p>“You there, baa, baa, baa!”</p> - -<p>The sheep in his jacket answered him, “Baa-baa,” and -came running to the gate as if to welcome him.</p> - -<p>Dennis dismounted and pulled the strap of the door.</p> - -<p>The sheep followed him to the door, and when the -latter was opened, announced the arrival of a stranger -by a baa.</p> - -<p>A tall, elderly man stood at the door, dressed in a -new woolen suit. He had a high neck-stock, and bowed -in a very stately way. He had manners.</p> - -<p>“An’ I am out on business for the Governor,” said -Dennis.</p> - -<p>“You are welcome,” said the tall man. “Any one in -the service of the Governor is welcome to my home, and -to the best of my scanty fare.” He bowed again.</p> - -<p>Dennis walked in, so did the sheep, with many baas.</p> - -<p>“Take a place before the fire,” said the tall old man. -“I feel the snows of age falling upon me,” he continued. -“The sun and the light of the moon will soon be darkened -to me, and the clouds already return after the -rain.</p> - -<p>“The keepers of the house tremble,” here he lifted -his hands, which shook with a slight palsy; “and the -grinders cease because they are few,” here he pointed to -his almost toothless gums; “and those that look out of -the windows be darkened,” here he took a pair of spectacles<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -from his eyes. He talked almost wholly in scriptural -language.</p> - -<p>The sheltered sheep said baa, and dropped down before -the fire. Dennis knew not what to say, but uttered a -yum, when the tall man broke out again: “The sound -of the grinding is low, and I fear when I walk on the -places that are high, and the grasshopper is a burden. -Yes, my friend, the silver cord will soon be loosed, and -the golden bowl broken and the pitcher at the fountain -and wheel at the cistern. You find me a reed shaken -by the wind, a trembling old man; but I have never -seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging -bread. I am at your service; my house, such as it -is, is yours.” He bowed, and turned around and -bowed.</p> - -<p>“I am out and about collecting saltpeter,” said Dennis, -“and all that I ask is to warm myself by your fire, except, -except—well, that shorn sheep puzzles my wits. Pardon -me, I beg a thousand pardons if I seem uncivil, but why -is it dressed up in that way?”</p> - -<p>“I will explain and enlighten your curiosity, my -friendly traveler. The sheep has on my old clothing, -and I have on his.”</p> - -<p>He continued: “I am the teacher here, and my pay -is small, and the war taxes take all I can save. My old -clothes became very worn, as you can see there, and I -had to maintain my dignity. I am a graduate of Yale, -and so I exchanged clothing with my one sheep.</p> - -<p>“My noble wife brought it about; she is at her wheel -now. Let me call her and introduce her.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span></p> - -<p>He opened a door to a room where a wheel was whirling -and buzzing like a northern wind.</p> - -<p>“May, my dear!”</p> - -<p>May appeared. The withered man bowed, holding -his right hand in air on a level with his forehead. May -made a courtesy.</p> - -<p>“Behold a virtuous woman,” said the tall man, with -manners. “Her price is above rubies.</p> - -<p>“The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, -that he shall have no need of spoil.</p> - -<p>“She seeketh wool and flax.”</p> - -<p>Here the sheep seemed to be in a familiar atmosphere, -and responded in his one word, baa.</p> - -<p>“She layeth hands on the spindle, and holds the distaff. -Her household are clothed in scarlet. Her children -rise up and call her blessed, and her husband praiseth -her.”</p> - -<p>Dennis had seen many parts of the world, but he had -never been introduced to any one in that way before.</p> - -<p>The old man added, much to the wonder and amusement -of his guest:</p> - -<p>“I sheared the sheep and <em>she</em> carded the wool, and -she spun the wool and wove it into strong cloth, and dyed -the cloth, and here I am clothed against the storm. You -see what a wife I have got.”</p> - -<p>“And what a sheep you have got, too,” said Dennis. -“But may the Lord protect you both. You have a heart -to let the sheep warm himself by your fire, and that is -why you give me a place here.”</p> - -<p>“And now, wife,” said the tall man, “place the best<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -that you have on the table for the stranger. ‘Be not -forgetful to entertain strangers.’”</p> - -<p>“But, my dear consort, we have only one cake left -for us two.”</p> - -<p>“Well, give that to him, and we will go supperless -to Him who owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. He -is riding in the cause of liberty, and needs the cake more -than we. God will give us the white stone and the hidden -manna, and to serve the patriots we have gone supperless -before.”</p> - -<p>Queer as it may seem, this story pictures the time. -This man plowed with a cow, but treated the animal as if -she was a member of the household; men and animals suffered -together then in those hard, sturdy, and glorious old -New England days.</p> - -<p>“This is a queer country,” said Dennis, “but what -men it makes! What will they be when they are free!”</p> - -<p>But now came the disastrous battle of Long Island. -New York was taken, and the fall winds began to blow.</p> - -<p>There was sadness in every true American’s heart. -England was rejoicing, and felt secure in the rising success -of her arms.</p> - -<p>Washington appealed to Trumbull. A former appeal -had come in spring-time, when Putnam left his plow in -the furrow.</p> - -<p>The appeal now came in harvest-time. What were -the farmers to do?</p> - -<p>“The wives and boys and old men will harvest the -crops,” was the public answer. “Save Washington <em>again</em>, -Brother Jonathan!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span></p> - -<p>It was in 1777. Disaster had again befallen the American -army, and Lord Howe was on the sea.</p> - -<p>Where was the British commander going? Some -thought to the Hudson River, some to Philadelphia. No -patriot could know.</p> - -<p>Washington was in great distress and perplexity.</p> - -<p>Putnam commanded Philadelphia. In this crisis a -young man presented himself to General Putnam.</p> - -<p>“I am a patriot at heart,” he said, “but have been -with Lord Howe. I have been commanded by Lord Howe -to bear a letter to General Burgoyne, but, true to the -American cause, I have brought the letter to you.”</p> - -<p>The letter was, or seemed to be, in the handwriting -of Lord Howe. It was sent to Washington. It informed -Burgoyne that the fleet was about to proceed against -Boston.</p> - -<p>“The letter is a feint,” said Washington. But he read -into it the real design of Lord Howe, which was to proceed -against him, and he was thrown by it into the greatest -perplexity.</p> - -<p>He must have more troops, and at once. He consulted -Putnam, and said: “I want you to send an express -to Governor Trumbull at once. Tell him to send the -State militia without delay. He will not fail me.” He -added: “Connecticut can not be in more danger than this. -Governor Trumbull will, I trust, be sensible to this. I -must appeal again to Brother Jonathan.”</p> - -<p>These were nearly Washington’s own words to Connecticut -Putnam, of the fearless heart.</p> - -<p>Putnam sent a courier to Connecticut, a man on a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -winged horse, as it were, who “flew” as Dennis had -done.</p> - -<p>“If you ever rode, ride now,” was the probable order. -“If we ever had need of Brother Jonathan, it is now.”</p> - -<p>Still Brother Jonathan, whose heart was like a hammer -and head like a castle. This courier was destined -to startle indeed the people of the cedars.</p> - -<p>The American army was in dire distress and Lord -Howe was on the sea!</p> - -<p>Brother Jonathan! He had grown now in reputation -so that the hearts of the people beyond his own State were -his. If he could save the situation he would indeed be the -first of patriots.</p> - -<p>The messenger came, and said: “I am sent to you from -Washington.”</p> - -<p>The Governor turned to the courier:</p> - -<p>“Go to the tavern; take your horse and yourself, and -say to your chief, ‘It shall be done!’”</p> - -<p>What was it that should be done?</p> - -<p>The Council of Safety assembled in the back store.</p> - -<p>“Washington waits another regiment,” said one of -the members in the back store.</p> - -<p>“Yes, so it seems,” said another. “Every point seems -to be threatened.”</p> - -<p>“We may find it hard to raise another regiment,” said -a third member.</p> - -<p>“One,” said the Governor, “one regiment? We -must raise <span class="allsmcap">NINE</span>! We can do it.”</p> - -<p>“Will the men descend from the sky?” questioned -one. “We can not create men.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span></p> - -<p>“He can who thinks he can,” said the Governor. -“Nine regiments he needs, and nine regiments he shall -have. Shall he not?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said all, “if you can find the men.”</p> - -<p>“I can find the men. Dennis?”</p> - -<p>There was no response.</p> - -<p>The shell was blown. The latch-string bobbed.</p> - -<p>“Dennis, Washington must have <span class="allsmcap">NINE</span> regiments for -the defense of New York. That means work for you. -Go to the towns—fly! Tell the selectmen that Washington -wants men. He has sent his appeal to me; he has -put confidence in my heart, notwithstanding my weak -hands. He shall not appeal in vain. Go, Dennis; these -days are to live again. I feel the divinity of the times; -I must act, though I myself am nothing. Go to Norwich, -Hartford, New Haven—fly, Dennis, fly!”</p> - -<p>“I am not a bird, your Honor.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Dennis, you are. Fly!” That word was the -order now.</p> - -<p>Then the Governor talked with the Committee of -Safety in the back store until midnight.</p> - -<p>The candles went out, and the men slept there.</p> - -<p>The nine regiments of three hundred and fifty men -each were raised.</p> - -<p>Men were few in old Windham County now. “Gone -to the war,” answered many inquiries.</p> - -<p>The women led the teams to the field; the old men, -old women, and the boys went to the husk-heap and husked -corn. The boys learned to use the threshing flails and -winnowing sieves in the barns with open doors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p> - -<p>The young and old filled the potato bins in the cellar -and stored the apples there. They banked the houses -with thatch.</p> - -<p>Governor Trumbull was now at the full age when the -vital powers ripen, and when many men begin to abate -their activities. But he seemed to forget his age; he -was never so active as now.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp154"> - <img src="images/i_fp154.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_v">Jonathan Trumbull.</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Washington noted this activity of age with wonder, -and he wrote to him: “I observe with great pleasure that -you have ordered the remaining regiments of militia that -can be spared from the immediate defense of the seacoast -to march toward New York with all expedition. -I can not sufficiently express my thanks.” To which -Brother Jonathan replied:</p> - -<p>“When your Excellency was pleased to request the -militia of our State to be sent forward with all possible -expedition to reenforce the army at New York, no time -was lost to expedite the march; and I am happy to find -the spirit and zeal that appeared in the people of this -State, to yield every assistance in their power in the -present critical situation of our affairs. The season, indeed, -was most unfavorable for so many of our farmers -and laborers to leave home. Many had not even secured -their harvest; the greater part had secured but a small -part even of their hay, and the preparation of the crop -of winter’s grain for the ensuing year was totally omitted; -but they, the most of them, left all to afford their help -in protecting and defending their just rights and liberties -against the attempt of a numerous army sent to invade -them. The suddenness of the requisition, the haste and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -expedition required in the raising, equipping, and marching -such a number of men after the large drafts before -made on this State, engrossed all our time and attention.”</p> - -<p>The people forgot themselves for the cause. When -Washington and Trumbull made a call upon them for help -it was like Moses and Aaron. They did not argue or question; -they hurried to the village greens, there to receive -their orders as from the Deity.</p> - -<p>That autumn the Governor issued a wonderful proclamation -for a day of fasting and prayer.</p> - -<p>The bell rang; the people assembled. Trumbull always -attended church, and the chair in which he used to -sit is still shown in Lebanon. The people followed his -example. They felt that what was best for them would -be best for their children, and that whether they left -them rich estates or not, they must bequeath them liberty -and the examples of virtue. So they lived <em>mightily</em> in -“Brother Jonathan’s day.”</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<small>BEACONS</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There is one history of the Revolution that has never -been written; it is that of <em>beacons</em>. The beacon, in the -sense of a signal, was the night alarm, the night order. -The hills on which beacons were set were those that could -be seen from afar, and those who planted these far angles -of communications of light were patriots, like the rest.</p> - -<p>There was a beacon at Mt. Hope, R. I. It probably -signaled to a beacon on King’s Rocks, Swansea, which -picturesque rocks are near to the Garrison House at Myles -Bridge, and the Swansea church, founded in the spirit -of liberty and learning by the famous John Myles, a -learned exile from Wales, who came to Swansea, Mass., -for religious liberty, bringing his church records from -Swansea, Wales, with him. The old Hessian burying-ground -is near the place. Here John Myles founded -education in the spirit of the education of all. He made -every house a schoolhouse by becoming a traveling -teacher.</p> - -<p>The King’s Rocks beacon communicated with Providence, -and Providence probably with Boston.</p> - -<p>In Boston was the beacon of beacons. Beacon Hill<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> -now bears its name. A book might be written in regard -to this famous beacon. It stood on Sentry Hill, a tall -mast overlooking city and harbor, not at first with a -globe on the top and an eagle on the globe, as is represented -on the monument. Sentry Hill was the highest -of the hills of Trimountain. The golden dome of the -State-house marks the place now.</p> - -<p>The first beacon in Boston was erected here in 1635. -It was an odd-looking object.</p> - -<p>The general court of Massachusetts thus gave the -order for the erection of the beacon:</p> - -<p>“It is ordered that there shall be a beacon set on -Sentry Hill, to give notice to the country of danger.”</p> - -<p>The beacon had a peg ladder and a crane, on which -was hung an iron pot.</p> - -<p>This beacon seems to have remained for nearly one -hundred and fifty years. It was the suggestion of beacons -in many places, and these were the telegraph stations of -the Revolutionary War. A history of the beacons would -be a history of the war.</p> - -<p>What a signal it made as it blazed in the heavens! -What eyes were turned toward it in the nights of alarm -of the Indian wars, and again in the strenuous times of -the expedition against Louisburg, and in all the years of -the great Revolution! A tar-barrel was placed on the -beacon-mast in perilous times, and it flamed in the sky -like a comet when the country was in danger.</p> - -<p>Beacon (or Sentry) Hill was almost a mountain then. -The owners lowered it for the sake of gravel for private -and public improvements. It filled hollows and lengthened<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -wharves, and at last the beacon gave place to the -monument of its usefulness.</p> - -<p>In New York beacons were set along the highlands -whose tops fired the night sky in times of danger.</p> - -<p>These beacons or signals probably suggested the semaphore—a -system of signals with shutters and flags used -in France during the wars of Napoleon.</p> - -<p>Governor Trumbull said one day to Dennis: “We -must consider the matter of beacons.”</p> - -<p>The two went into the war office to consider.</p> - -<p>“I will bring the subject before the Committee,” said -the Governor after they had “considered” the matter -for a time, “and you may get Peter to point out to you -the longest lookouts on the high hills. The sky must be -made to speak for the cause in tongues of fire.”</p> - -<p>The Tories more and more hated the war Governor.</p> - -<p>“I would kill him as I would a rattlesnake,” said one -of these.</p> - -<p>There were new plots everywhere among Tory people -to destroy him and his great influence.</p> - -<p>Peter Nimble, though really a guard on secret service, -still herded sheep and roamed after his flocks and guided -them in the pleasant seasons of pasturage. He went up on -the hills of the savins above the cedar swamps. He knew -the hills better than many of the people of Lebanon.</p> - -<p>One day he met the Governor on the green.</p> - -<p>“Governor,” he said, “I watch at nights. You know -all. I watch for spies that are looking for the magazines. -You know, Governor. I can do you a greater service -than that.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, boy, you speak well. What can you do?”</p> - -<p>“I can think and talk with the skies.”</p> - -<p>“That is bravely said, but what do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I can set beacons on the hills. I have studied the -hilltops, and how to look far. I can see how I could -flash a signal from one hill to Plainfield, and to Providence, -and to New London.”</p> - -<p>“Boy, boy, you see. I can trust you. Have you -told Mr. Williams of this? Shepherd-boy, shepherd-boy, -you are one after my own heart. Find out the way to -set beacons. Set signals. How did this knowledge come -to you?”</p> - -<p>“My heart is full of my country, when I am among -the flocks on the hills.”</p> - -<p>“You are like another David. Talk with Dennis -about these things.”</p> - -<p>“Governor?”</p> - -<p>“Well, my shepherd-boy?”</p> - -<p>“One day, it may be, I will see something.”</p> - -<p>The Governor went to his war office. People were -coming from four different ways, all to consult with the -Governor: horsemen, men in gigs, men from the ships, -people with provisions, all with something special to say -to the Governor.</p> - -<p>The Governor met William Williams, “the signer,” -at the door of the war office.</p> - -<p>“That is a bright boy that you keep to herd sheep,” -said he.</p> - -<p>“Peter?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He has just said something to me that I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -think remarkable. Give him freedom to do much as he -pleases. He is carrying out secret instructions of mine.”</p> - -<p>Peter studied hilltops, and told Dennis of all the curious -angles that he discerned on the far and near hills. -He set beacons and found out how he could communicate -with Plainfield, Providence, and Groton.</p> - -<p>In the meantime he watched in the midnight hours -at an angle in the turnpike road behind the curious window. -He knew that the magazine was near; he did not -seek to learn where. While the young patriot’s mind -was employed in these things there came to him one night -a very strange adventure, which led him to see to how -great peril the Governor’s person was exposed.</p> - -<p>Peter thought much of his aged uncle, the wood-chopper, -who had said to him, “Out you go!” The boy -had a forgiving heart. “He did it on account of his love -for the King, and he thinks that a king is appointed by -God,” he would say to the Governor. “Do not disturb -him.”</p> - -<p>The Governor would not disturb him. He, too, had -a forgiving heart.</p> - -<p>Peter’s heart was true to the old man. He sometimes -wondered as to where would fall the old man’s gold at -last—to the King, or him. But he had no selfish schemes -in the matter—for him to do right was to live. In his -midnight watches, and with his most curious means of -communication with the alarm-post in the cedars, he held -one purpose uppermost: it was, to protect from harm the -unselfish Governor who had spoken so kindly to him when -his heart was hungry, and whom all the people loved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span></p> - -<p>The Governor still went about with apparent unconcern; -he would talk here and there with those who detained -him and needed him, now at the tavern, now upon -the village green. But the people all knew that dangerous -people were coming and going to and from the green-walled -town.</p> - -<p>Peter saw something suspicious in the conduct of several -sailors who visited the place from the ports, and who -called the inland province the Connecticut main.</p> - -<p>“I would sooner die myself,” he said to Dennis, -“than to see any harm befall the Governor. ‘Greater -love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life -for his friends.’” He had learned to quote Scripture from -the Governor.</p> - -<p>One night as he was watching with his window at the -elbow of the turnpike, he was surprised to hear a soft, -slow, cautious footfall, and to see a curious stranger in -a blanket approaching in the dim light. He turned up -the hill behind the window and light to see if the man -in the blanket would follow him.</p> - -<p>The man in the blanket turned when Peter set down -the window, and went down the hill as from a house to -meet the traveler.</p> - -<p>Peter stopped the stranger, whom he saw to be dark -and tall, and who held under his blanket some weapon -which seemed to be a hatchet.</p> - -<p>“Do you live in yonder house?” the man asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the boy, “that is not my house. Whom -are you seeking?”</p> - -<p>“Does an old man live there?” asked the stranger.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -“An old man who used to live with a boy—his brother’s -boy?”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” answered Peter in much surprise.</p> - -<p>“Do you know of any old man that lives all alone? -They say that the boy has left him.”</p> - -<p>“I have in mind such an old man, stranger.”</p> - -<p>“What became of the boy?”</p> - -<p>“He tends sheep during the days.”</p> - -<p>“Can you direct me to the place where the old man -lives?”</p> - -<p>“What would you have of him?”</p> - -<p>“I would have him help me. I need help.”</p> - -<p>“Did you ever meet him?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“How did you hear of him?”</p> - -<p>“I am partly an Indian. The scholars of the Indian -school that were once here used to meet him on the road -in front of his woodpile. They heard that he had concealed -money. Indian need heap money. Indian must -have help.”</p> - -<p>The last sentence showed that the Indian spoke true -in regard to his nationality.</p> - -<p>A suspicion flashed across Peter’s mind; this stray Indian -was out in the forest at this time with no honest -purpose.</p> - -<p>He simply said: “Follow me.”</p> - -<p>He led the Indian to the alarm-post. The Indian -thought that he was going to the wood-chopper’s -cabin. Dennis received the night wanderer and detained -him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p> - -<p>“I must go and alarm my uncle,” said Peter to Dennis, -privately.</p> - -<p>He hurried away toward the old wood-chopper’s cabin.</p> - -<p>He beat on the door, and cried:</p> - -<p>“Lift the latch!”</p> - -<p>There was a noise within, and presently the latch was -lifted.</p> - -<p>“You, boy? You? What brings you here at this -time of night?”</p> - -<p>“To warn you of danger. There has been a man in -the cedar swamp who is seeking you, and he has no honest -purpose in his heart, as I could see. He is a half-breed. -He says that you have money concealed.”</p> - -<p>The old man’s face took on a look of terror.</p> - -<p>He began to dance around.</p> - -<p>“Who—ah—says that I have money concealed?” he -said, lighting a candle—“who—who—who?” He lit another -light.</p> - -<p>“Boy, you are not deceiving me? You never deceived -anybody. And what a heart you must have to come here -to protect an old man like me, who said to you, ‘Out you -go!’ And you have held no hardness against me—I have -cursed you—because you have turned against the King. -Come in—sit down—I am afraid. You don’t think that -the Indian meant to rob me, do you?”</p> - -<p>“I think he intended to find you in the night and -beg money, and if you refused him to demand money, -and if you refused him, then to find out where you hid -money. If I had not turned him aside, I don’t believe -that you would have been living in the morning. Bad<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -Indians murder lone men by lonely ways. There was -crime in his eye.”</p> - -<p>“Boy, let me bar the door. I know your heart. You -had a mother who had a true heart, and a boy’s heart -is his mother’s heart. You only come here for a good -purpose. I know that. And you have come in to-night -to protect me, who turned you out.</p> - -<p>“Boy, I have money. I am willing to tell you now -where it is!”</p> - -<p>“But, uncle, I am not seeking your money—I do not -wish to know where it is.”</p> - -<p>“But you must—you must; you are the only friend -that I have on earth. What made me say, ‘Out you go!’ -when I needed you?</p> - -<p>“The money—if ever I should die, do you come back -here and take all I leave, and wash and wash and wash -until you find the bottom of the soap-barrel. There, I -haven’t told you anything. People don’t hide money in -the soap-barrel—no, no; lye eats—no, no. You know -enough now. Will you stay with me until morning?”</p> - -<p>“No; I have come to take you to the war office, -for protection—to the store. One room there is almost -always open.”</p> - -<p>“To the Governor’s! He suspects me of being a Tory. -What would the King say, if he were to know that I -went to the rebel Governor for protection? No, no, no, -no. Let the Indians kill me—I will die true to my king. -You may go—you will not betray me.”</p> - -<p>“I can not leave you until morning, and then I will -see that you are guarded.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span></p> - -<p>“Who will guard me?”</p> - -<p>“The Governor will see that you are kept from harm.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no. Go, Peter, go—out into the night. I -want the King to know that he has one heart that is true -to him in the land of the cedars. Go! I will bolt my -door nights—and will chop wood. That is what I tell -people who come to visit me—I chop wood—and I will -say no more.</p> - -<p>“You would die for the Governor, and I am willing -to suffer any danger for my king—for King George of -Hanover. Go!”</p> - -<p>Peter went out into the night. There was something -in his grim uncle’s loyalty that kindled his admiration, -and there was a touch in the old man’s desire that he -should possess his property that really awakened a chord -of love in his heart. He resolved that he would be as -true to the old man as ever his duties to the cause would -allow, although the rugged Tory had said to him a second -time, “Out you go!” The heart knows its own.</p> - -<p>Peter could ride like the wind. So the people said -“that he streaked it through the air.” With his night -service, and his placing of beacons on the hills, and his -place at the door of the war office in the store, which -he yet sometimes filled, and the spirit that he had shown -toward his unhappy old uncle, the wood-chopper, he was -making for himself a personality.</p> - -<p>The Governor entrusted him with a message to the -army at Valley Forge.</p> - -<p>The Governor’s wife was a noble woman, as we have -seen. She was true to her own. Her family were very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> -tender-hearted and affectionate. Her daughter Faith, -who could paint and who had inspired her brother, the -great historic painter, in his boyhood, died of insanity -after hearing the thunders of Bunker Hill. She had married -Colonel Huntington, who went to the camps around -Boston. She hoped to meet him there, but arrived just -as the battle of Bunker Hill was rending the air.</p> - -<p>When she thought of what war might mean to her -father, her husband, and her brother, who was an officer, -her mind could not withstand the dark vision that arose -before her, and it went out. She died at Dedham. One -of her brothers, too, had so much of the human and -elemental nature as to have become greatly depressed by -disappointment. The Trumbulls were a marvelous family, -with a divine spark in them all, but not all the children -had the rugged nerve of their father.</p> - -<p>The wife of Governor Trumbull guarded her family -when the Governor was absent on official duties at Hartford.</p> - -<p>The family now were like so many listeners—to get -tidings from the war was their life, and anxiety filled -their faces as messengers from Boston, Providence, -New London, and Hartford, and the great powder-mills -and ordnance works of hidden Salisbury came to -them.</p> - -<p>One evening, when the Governor was away, a messenger -came to the green, and stopped before the tavern. -It was dark and rainy.</p> - -<p>“It is the shepherd-boy!” said Faith Trumbull, standing -in the door, with a lantern in her hand. “He has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -returned from Valley Forge. I almost shut my heart -against the news. His face is white.”</p> - -<p>The boy came to the house and Madam Trumbull received -him by laying her hand on his shoulders.</p> - -<p>Dennis came running in.</p> - -<p>“You, my boy Nimble? You made a quick journey.”</p> - -<p>The family sat down by the broad, open fire. Their -anxiety was shown by their silence.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said madam, “the time has come to speak. -What news?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, could you see,” said the shepherd-boy, “shoeless -men, foodless men—snow and blood. When the men -move, the snow lies red behind them. Oh, it makes my -heart sick to tell it. I would think that the stars would -look down in pity.”</p> - -<p>“Dennis,” said madam, “call the women of the Relief -Committee here to-night, all of them—now.”</p> - -<p>“Let us hear what more the boy has to say.”</p> - -<p>“No; suffering has no right to be delayed one moment -of relief. Go now.”</p> - -<p>Dennis went out into the night. He returned with the -women, who began to knit stockings for the barefoot soldiers -of Valley Forge.</p> - -<p>Madam addressed the women.</p> - -<p>“I belong to the Pilgrim Colony,” said she, “but of -that I would not boast. Hear the rain, hear the sleet, -and the wind rising! You have met here in the rain. -The fire burns warm.</p> - -<p>“Let me tell you my thoughts—something that comes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -to me. It was such a night as this when John Howland -with a band of Pilgrims sailed in the deep darkness, near -the coast, on the shallop of the Mayflower, and he knew -not where he was.”</p> - -<p>“What did he do?” asked one of the knitters.</p> - -<p>“He sang in the storm. Darkness covered him—there -was ice on the oars as they lifted and fell. There -was no light on the coast. The wind rose and the seas -were pitiless, but he sang—John Howland.”</p> - -<p>“What did he sing?”</p> - -<p>“That I can not tell. I think that he sang the Psalm -that we sing to the words</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">‘God is the refuge of his saints,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Though storms of sharp distress invade.’</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noi">Let us sing that now. The storm that tossed the shallop -of the Mayflower broke; the clouds lifted. So it will be -at Valley Forge. Knit and sing.”</p> - -<p>And the knitters sang. The storm rose to a gale. -Shutters banged, and there was only the tavern lights -to be seen across the black green.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a strange thing happened.</p> - -<p>Peter opened the door, hat in hand.</p> - -<p>“Madam Trumbull,” said he, “may I speak to you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Peter, boy; what have you to say?”</p> - -<p>“I saw a strange man at Valley Forge. He was young—a -Frenchman.</p> - -<p>“One cold night he was standing near Washington in -the marquee, and Washington, the great Washington, put -his own cloak about him, and the two stood under the -same cloak, and some officers gathered around him. And<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> -I heard him say, the young Frenchman: ‘When you shall -hear the <em>bugles of Auvergne</em>, the cause of liberty will have -won the battle of the world.’ What did he mean?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know,” said Madam Robinson; “it seems -like a prophecy; like John Howland, the pilgrim, singing -in the night-storm on the shallop of the Mayflower. The -bugles of Auvergne!—the words seem to ring in my ears. -What was the young Frenchman’s name?”</p> - -<p>“Lafayette.”</p> - -<p>The next day Peter went to Dennis and related the -same story, and said:</p> - -<p>“America will be free when she shall hear the bugles -of Auvergne.”</p> - -<p>“So she will; I feel it in my soul she will—the bugles -of Auvergne! That sounds like a silver trumpet from -the skies. But where are the bugles of Auvergne?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know, but we will hear them—Lafayette -said so.”</p> - -<p>“But who is that same Lafayette?”</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<small>THE SECRET OF LAFAYETTE</small></h2> -</div> - - -<h3>THE STORY OF THE WHITE HORSE</h3> - -<p>Lafayette was born on September 6, 1757, in the -province of Auvergne, now Cantal, Puy-de-Dôme, and -Haute-Loire. His birthplace was the Château de Chavagnac, -situated some six miles from ancient Brionde.</p> - -<p>Auvergne was celebrated for men of character and -honor rather than wealth and distinction—men who deserved -to outlive kings, and whose jewels were virtues. -It became a proverb that the men of Auvergne knew no -stain, and hence the ensigns and escutcheons of the rugged -soldiers of the mountain towns were associated with the -motto, “Auvergne sans tache.”</p> - -<p>These soldiers kept this motto of their mountain homes -ever in view; they would die rather than violate the -spirit of it.</p> - -<p>Lafayette was of noble family, and appeared at court -when a boy. But the gay court did not repress the spirit of -Auvergne which lived in him, and grew. He was of noble -family, and his father fell at the battle of Minden. The -battery that caused his father’s death was commanded by -General Phillips, against whom Lafayette fought in the -great Virginia campaign.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span></p> - -<p>At the age of sixteen, the spirit of the mountaineers -of Auvergne rose within him. He became an ardent advocate -of the liberties of men, and he seemed to see the -star of liberty rising in the Western world, and he was -restless to follow it. He heard of the American Congress -as an assembly of heroes of a new era—the new -Senate of God and human rights. Princes, after his view, -should not violate the law of the people.</p> - -<p>The heart of the King of France, while France at -first professed neutrality in the American struggle, was -with the patriots; so was the sympathy of the gay French -court. The boy Lafayette knew this; he longed to carry -this secret news to America.</p> - -<p>He came to America, as we have described, with this -secret in his heart.</p> - -<p>The capture of Burgoyne in October, 1777, delighted -France. The clock of liberty had struck; it only needed -the aid of France to give independence to the Americans.</p> - -<p>Lafayette became more restless. He had married into -a noble family, but the companionship of a beautiful and -true woman could not stifle this patriotic restlessness. He -saw that he might be an influence in bringing France -to the aid of America. To do this became his life.</p> - -<p>The Queen espoused the cause of America; let us ever -remember this, notwithstanding that there are so many -unpleasant things about her to remember. Then the -American cause seemed to fail in the Jerseys and France -to lose her interest in it.</p> - -<p>Young Lafayette’s heart was true to America in these -dark hours. He knew that France could be aroused to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -action. He espoused the cause of America in her darkness, -and doubtless dreamed of being able to convey to -Washington a secret, that few other men so clearly saw. -France would espouse the cause of America when events -should open the way.</p> - -<p>Never such a secret crossed the sea as young Lafayette -bore in his bosom to Washington. It came, as it were, -out of Auvergne; it was borne against every allurement -of luxury and self; it was an inborn imperative. When -a new world was to be revealed, Columbus had to sail; -when liberty was to be established among men, Lafayette, -the child of destiny, had to face the west; where was there -another race of liberty-loving men like those of the Connecticut -farmers? In Auvergne. Who of all men could -represent this spirit of liberty in America? Lafayette.</p> - -<p>He won the heart of America; even the British respected -him. His true sympathy was the cause of his -great popularity; his heart won all hearts.</p> - -<p>In the terrible winter of 1778 the American army -with Washington and Lafayette were at Valley Forge; -the British were in Philadelphia, spending a gay winter -reveling.</p> - -<p>No pen can describe the destitution and suffering of -the 5,000 or more patriots at Valley Forge. The white -snows of that winter in the wilderness were stained with -the blood of naked feet. Famine came with the cold.</p> - -<p>The men were “hutted” in log cabins. “The general’s -apartment is very small,” wrote Mrs. Washington; -“he has a log cabin built to dine in, which has made our -quarters much more tolerable than they were at first.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span></p> - -<p>There was no fresh meat there; no sufficient salted -provisions. There were no cattle in the neighboring towns -or States that could be spared for the army.</p> - -<p>But they suffered in silence. They went half-clothed -and hungry, but they did not desert.</p> - -<p>“Nothing can equal their sufferings,” wrote one of -an examining committee. Even the cannon was frozen -in, and bitten by the frost were the limbs of those who -were commissioned to handle them.</p> - -<p>Had General Howe, whose army was dissipating at -Philadelphia, led out his troops against the famine-stricken -army in the Valley, what might have been the fate of -the American cause?</p> - -<p>The dissipations of the English army was one cause -of its overthrow. That army had been reveling when -surprised at Trenton.</p> - -<p>With his men wasting and dying around him, shoeless, -coatless, foodless, what was Washington to do?</p> - -<p>At one of the dismal councils of his generals there -came a counsel that made the hearts all quicken.</p> - -<p>“Send to Connecticut for cattle. Let us appeal to -Brother Jonathan again; he has never failed us.”</p> - -<p>“I never made an appeal to Brother Jonathan but to -receive help,” said the great commander.</p> - -<p>The appeal was made. In his letter to Governor -Trumbull, Washington said:</p> - -<p>“What is still more distressing, I am assured by Colonel -Blaine, deputy purchasing commissary for the middle -district, comprehending the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, -and Maryland, that they are nearly exhausted,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -and the most vigorous and active exertions on his part -will not procure more than sufficient to supply the army -during this month, if so long. This being the case, and -as any relief that can be obtained from the more southern -States will be but partial, trifling, and of a day, we must -turn our eyes to the eastward, and lay our account of -support from thence. Without it, we can not but disband. -I must, therefore, sir, entreat you in the most earnest -terms, and by that zeal which has eminently distinguished -your character in the present arduous struggle, to give -every countenance to the person or persons employed in -the purchasing line in your State, and to urge them to -the most vigorous efforts to forward supplies of cattle -from time to time, and thereby prevent such a melancholy -and alarming catastrophe.”</p> - -<p>Read these words twice: “Without it the army must -disband.”</p> - -<p>As soon as Governor Trumbull had received the letter -he called together the Council of Safety. He read it -to them. They wept.</p> - -<p>“An army of cattle might save the cause,” said one.</p> - -<p>“Our suffering brothers shall have the army of cattle,” -said Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>He at once aroused the farmers of Connecticut. -Horsemen dashed hither and thither, away from Hartford -and from the war office to the hillside farms.</p> - -<p>“Cattle! cattle!” they cried. “Our army is perishing. -Washington has appealed to Brother Jonathan!”</p> - -<p>At the head of these alarmists rode Dennis O’Hay, -awakening the villages with his resonant brogue:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> - -<p>“It is cattle, an army of cattle, that Washington must -have now! His men are going barefooted in the snow. -Oh, the shame of it! His men have no meat to warm -their veins in the cold. Oh, the shame of it! They fever, -they wither, they are buried in clumps and clods. Oh, -the shame of it! Arouse, or the heavens will fall down on -you! Cattle! Cattle!”</p> - -<p>The thrifty hillside farmers had made many sacrifices -already, but they responded.</p> - -<p>An army of cattle began to form. It increased. -Nearly every farm could spare one or more beeves, armed -with fat flesh and warm hides.</p> - -<p>So it started, armed, as it were, with horns, Dennis -leading them under officers.</p> - -<p>Three hundred miles it marched, gathering force along -the way.</p> - -<p>It entered at last the dreary wilderness of the suffering -camp. The men saw it coming. There went up a -great shout, which ran along the camp, and went up from -even the hospital huts:</p> - -<p>“The Lord bless Brother Jonathan!”</p> - -<p>The officers hailed the cattle-drivers.</p> - -<p>“Should we win our independence,” said an officer, -“what will we not owe to Brother Jonathan and his army -of cattle from the provision State!”</p> - -<p>Dennis froze with the others that winter.</p> - -<p>In the spring he returned, moneyless, fameless. Half -of his face was black, and one hand had gone. The explosion -of a powder-wagon which he had been forcing -on toward Washington’s army had caused the change in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -his appearance, but it was rugged work that Dennis O’Hay -had done during that past winter for the army.</p> - -<p>The Governor heard his story.</p> - -<p>“Dennis O’Hay,” said he, “when America achieves -her liberty, and her true history shall be written, the -inspired historian will see in such as you the cause of -the mighty event. It is men who are willing to suffer and -be forgotten that advance the welfare of mankind; it is -not wealth or fame that lifts the world: it is sacrifice, -sacrifice, sacrifice! That means you, Dennis O’Hay.</p> - -<p>“Dennis, did you know that they once offered me -the place of the colonial agent to London? They did, -and I refused for the good of my own people at home. -That is a sweet thing for me to remember. The only -thing that a man can have in this world to last is righteous -life. This is true, Dennis: that the private soldier -who seeks all for his cause and nothing for himself is the -noblest man in the annals of war, unless it be a Washington.”</p> - -<p>“And you, Governor Trumbull.”</p> - -<p>Dennis took off his hat and bowed low.</p> - -<p>The Governor also took off his hat and bowed twice, -and the people who had gathered around took off their -hats and shouted.</p> - -<p>“The stars will hear ye when ye shout for Brother -Jonathan,” said Dennis O’Hay. “I have brought home -a secret with me.”</p> - -<p>“What may it be?” asked many.</p> - -<p>“It would not be a secret were I to tell it.”</p> - -<p>Dennis, after driving his army of cattle, with underdrivers,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -had entered lustily the place of the halted army -of desolation. He had remained there until spring. He -was greeted there one day by two men, one a tower of -majestic manhood, the other a glittering young man of -warm heart and enthusiasm; they were Washington and -Lafayette.</p> - -<p>“Your army will save us, my good friend,” said the -man of majestic presence.</p> - -<p>“This army will save the cause,” said the younger -officer.</p> - -<p>There was a look of hope in his face that revealed -to Dennis that he had some secret ground for this confidence.</p> - -<p>Washington moved away to his marquee.</p> - -<p>Dennis, hat in hand, said to Lafayette:</p> - -<p>“May I detain you a moment, your Honor?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my honest man; what would you have? I hope -that it may be something that I can grant.”</p> - -<p>“Do you remember that day when you spoke of a body -of men as the bugles of Auvergne?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my good friend, and how do those words impress -you?”</p> - -<p>“I can never tell. They are words within words. -What I want to ask of you is—pardon my bluntness, I -was not bred in courts, as you see—couldn’t you induce -those men who blow the bugles of Ovan to come here -and give us a lift? My heart tells me that they would -be just the men we would need. I don’t so much hear -words as the spirit of things, and the heart knows its -own.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p> - -<p>“I will think of these things, my good friend of the -honest heart. I do think of them now. I will entrust -you, a stranger, with a secret. Will you never tell it until -the day that makes it clear arrives?”</p> - -<p>“Never, never, never—oh, my heart dances when I -hear good things of the cause of these people struggling -so mightily for their liberties—no, no, the tail goes with -the kite; I will never tell.”</p> - -<p>“I am now writing to the court of France. If I get -good news, I will ask for the French mountaineers whose -banner is <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>!”</p> - -<p>“May the heavens all take off their hats to ye and -the evil one never get ye. I can see them coming now, -a kind o’ vision, with their banners flying. I have second -sight, and see good things. Why do not people see good -things now, like the prophets of old, and not witches and -ghosts? To Dennis O’Hay the passing clouds are angels’ -chariots. Oh, I will never forget you, and I would deem -it an honor above honors if you will not forget Dennis -O’Hay.”</p> - -<p>“One thing more, good Dennis, I have to say to you -before we part. If a French ship should come to Norwich -from Lyons, you may learn more about Auvergne, which -is the Connecticut of France.”</p> - -<p>“Then you must be like the Governor, who is so all -wrapped up in the cause that he has forgotten to grow -old.”</p> - -<p>The young French officer drew his cloak about him, -and touched his hat and went to the marquee.</p> - -<p>Dennis laid down to rest among some wasted men of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -the army by a fire of fagots. He dreamed, and he saw -French ships sailing in the air. He had read the success -of the cause amid all these miseries in the heart of young -Lafayette.</p> - -<p>“That boy general has the vision of it all,” said he.</p> - -<p>The Irishman as a bearer of despatches from Governor -Trumbull was not without importance.</p> - -<p>Dennis lingered to rest by the marquees of the officers -under the moon and stars. He listened for words of hope. -One night Lafayette talked. He engaged all ears.</p> - -<p>“I was born at Auvergne, in the mountain district of -France,” said he, “and the soldiers of Auvergne are sons -of liberty. They are mountaineers. I would that I could -induce France to send an army of those mountaineers to -America. They are rugged men; they believe in justice, -and equal rights, and equal laws, and for this cause they -are willing to die. They have a grand motto, to which -they have always been true. It is ‘Auvergne sans tache’—Auvergne -without a stain. I love a soldier of Auvergne, -a mountaineer of the glorious air in which I was -born.”</p> - -<p>His mind seemed to wander back to the past.</p> - -<p>“‘Auvergne sans tache,’” said he. “‘Auvergne sans -tache’—these words command me, they have entered -into my soul. Would these men were here, and that I -could lead them to victory!”</p> - -<p>Dennis caught the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>“And sure, your Honor, people find what they seek, -and all good dreams come true sometime, and you will -bring them here some day. I seem to feel it in my soul.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span></p> - -<p>The officers shouted.</p> - -<p>“And it is from Connecticut I am.”</p> - -<p>The young Frenchman may never have heard of the -place before.</p> - -<p>“And brought despatches to General Putnam from -Brother Jonathan.</p> - -<p>“May I ask what were these words of the French -mountaineers who are just like us—‘Auvergne sans -tache’? I wonder if this poor head can carry those words -back to Lebanon green—<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ovan-saan-tarche</i>! The words -ring true, like a bell that rings for the future. I somehow -feel that I will hear them again somewhere. <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ovan-saan-tarche, -Ovan-saan-tarche!</i> I will go now. I must -tell the Governor and all the people about it on the -green—<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ovan-saan-tarche</i>! What shall I tell the people -of the cedars?”</p> - -<p>“Tell the people of the cedars that there is a young -French officer in the camp here that thinks that he carries -in his heart a secret that will give liberty to America; -that aid will come from a district in France that -grows men like the cedars.”</p> - -<p>Now the secret of Lafayette haunted the mind of -Dennis.</p> - -<p>“A spandy-dandy boy told me something strange,” -said he to the Governor, on his return. “He was a -Frenchman, with a shelving forehead and red hair, and -Washington seemed to be hugging his company, as it -were; the General saw something in him that others did -not see. I think he has what you would call a discerning -of spirits. I thought I saw the same thing.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p> - -<p>“Washington, it is likely, relies on this officer, because -the young Frenchman believes in him and in the -cause,” said the Governor. “Washington is human, and -he must have a lonesome heart, and he must like to have -near him those who believe in him and in the cause. -That is natural.”</p> - -<p>There was to be a corn-roast in the cedars—a popular -gathering where green corn was roasted on the ear by a -great fire and distributed among the people.</p> - -<p>Had Lebanon been nearer the sea there would have -been a clambake, as the occasion of bringing together -the people, instead of a corn-roast.</p> - -<p>At the clambakes bivalves and fish were roasted on -heated stones under rock-weed, sea-weed, and a covering -of sail-cloth, the latter to keep down the steam.</p> - -<p>The people gathered for the corn-roast, bringing luscious -corn in the green husks, new potatoes, apples, and -fruit. The women brought pandowdy, or pot-pies, made -of apples baked in dough, which candied in baking, and -also brown bread, and rye and Indian bread, and perhaps -“no cake,” all of which was to be eaten on the carpet of -the dry needles of the great pines that mingled among -the cedars.</p> - -<p>This was to be a lively gathering, for a report had -gone abroad that Dennis had seen a prophet and had -received great news from a young French officer, and -that he would tell his story among the speeches on that -day.</p> - -<p>It was in the serene and sunny days of September. -The locusts made a silvery, continuous music in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -trees. The birds were gathering for migrations. The -fields were full of goldenrod and wild asters, and the -oaks by the wayside were here and there loaded with -purple grapes.</p> - -<p>The people came to the cedar grove from near and -from far, and every one seemed interested in Dennis.</p> - -<p>The Irishman towered above them all, bringing deadwood -for the fires.</p> - -<p>The feast was eaten on the ground, and the people -were merry, all wondering what story Dennis, who had -been to the army and seen the great Washington himself, -would have to tell.</p> - -<p>The people watched him as he brought great logs on -his shoulders to feed the fire where the corn was roasted.</p> - -<p>Brother Jonathan and his good wife came to the goodly -gathering. The people arose to greet him, and the -children gathered around him, and looked up to him as -a patriarch. He was then some sixty-seven years old.</p> - -<p>After the feast he lifted his hands and spoke to the -people. The cedar birds gathered around him in the trees, -and one adventurous crow came near and cawed. Dennis -threw a stick at the crow, and said:</p> - -<p>“Be civil now, and listen to the Governor!”</p> - -<p>After the Governor had spoken, “Elder” Williams -spoke. But it was from Dennis that the people most -wished to hear.</p> - -<p>They called upon the village esquire to speak.</p> - -<p>He was a portly man. He arose and said:</p> - -<p>“I will not detain you long. It is Dennis for whom -you are waiting.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span></p> - -<p>He said a few words, and then called:</p> - -<p>“Dennis? Dennis O’Hay?”</p> - -<p>“At your service,” said Dennis, drawing near, hat -in hand.</p> - -<p>“Dennis, they say that you met a prophet in the -army.”</p> - -<p>“That I did, sir, and I mind me the secret of the -skies is in his heart.”</p> - -<p>“How did he look?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he was a skit of a man, with a slanting roof to -his forehead, and lean-to at the back of it. He was all -covered with spangles and bangles, and he followed the -great Washington here and there, like as if he was his -own son. That is how it was, sir.”</p> - -<p>The people wondered. This was not the kind of a -prophet that Elder Williams had preached about in the -Lebanon pulpit for twoscore years.</p> - -<p>The elder stood up, and said: “Be reverent, my young -man.”</p> - -<p>“That I am, sir. I answered the esquire after the -truth, sir.”</p> - -<p>“And what made you think that such a frivolous-looking -man as that could be a prophet? Prophets are elderly -men, and plain in their dress and habits, and grave in -face. Why did you think that this gay young man was -a prophet?”</p> - -<p>“Because, your reverence, I could see that Washington -believed in him—the great Washington, and the man -prophesied, too.”</p> - -<p>“To whom did he prophesy?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span></p> - -<p>“To me, to your humble servant, sir.”</p> - -<p>The people laughed in a suppressive way, but wondered -more than ever.</p> - -<p>“What did he say, Dennis?”</p> - -<p>“That I can never tell, sir. He has a woman’s heart, -sir, and she has a man’s heart, sir, and both have the -people’s heart, sir; and one day there will be fleets on -the sea, sir, and strange armies will appear on our shores, -sir. They may come here, sir, and encamp in the cedars, -sir. Oh, I am an honest man, and seem to see it all, sir.”</p> - -<p>“How old is your prophet, Dennis?”</p> - -<p>“I would think that he might be twenty, sir; no, a -hundred; no, as old as liberty, sir, with all his bangles -and spangles.”</p> - -<p>“That is very strange,” said the esquire. “I fear that -you may have wheels in your head, Dennis—were any -of your people ever a little touched in mind?”</p> - -<p>“No, never; they had clear heads. An’ why do I believe -that this young man carries a secret in his heart -that will deliver America? Because he has the heart of -the mountaineers of God. He belongs to the sons of -liberty in France, and little he cares for his bangles and -spangles.”</p> - -<p>“But he is too young.”</p> - -<p>“No, no; pardon me, sir, he has an ardent heart, that -he has. It is all on fire. Wasn’t David young when -he took up a little pebbly rock and sent the giant sprawling? -Wasn’t King Alfred young when he put down his -foot and planted England? Wasn’t Samuel young when -he heard a voice?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span></p> - -<p>The people began to cheer Dennis.</p> - -<p>“The true heart knows its own. Washington’s heart -does.</p> - -<p>“You may laugh, but I have met a prophet. The -gold lace on him does not spoil his heart. He comes out -of the past, he is going into the future; he loves everybody, -and everybody that meets him loves him. Laugh if -you will, but Dennis O’Hay has seen a prophet, and you -will see what is in his heart some day.</p> - -<p>“He has a motto. What is his motto, do you ask? -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ovan-saan-tarche</i>!—Ovan without a stain. That is the -motto of the soldiers of the place where he was born. -That place is like this place, I mind me. He says: -‘America will be free when she shall hear the bugles -of Ovan.’”</p> - -<p>“What is his name?” asked the esquire.</p> - -<p>“His name? Bother me if I can remember it now. -It is the same as the boy said. But you will come to -know it some day, now heed you this word in the cedars. -Lafayette—yes, Lafayette—that is his name. It is written -in the stars, but bother me, it flies away from me -now like a bird from a wicker-cage. But, but, hear me, -ye good folks all, receive it, Governor, believe it, esquire—that -young man’s heart holds the secret of America. -There are helpers invisible in this world, and the heavens -elect men for their work, not from any outward appearance, -but from the heart. This is the way God elected -David of old.”</p> - -<p>A blue jay had been listening on a long cedar bough -stretched out like an arm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span></p> - -<p>She archly turned her head, raised her crown and -gave a trumpet-call, and flew over the people.</p> - -<p>The men shouted, and the women and children -cheered Dennis, and the grave Governor said:</p> - -<p>“Life is self-revealing, time makes clear all things, -and if our good man Dennis has indeed discovered a -prophet, it will all be revealed to us some day. Elder -Williams, pray!”</p> - -<p>The old man stood up under the cedars; the women -bowed. Then the people went home to talk of the strange -tidings that Dennis had brought them.</p> - -<p>Was there, indeed, some hidden secret of personal -power in the heart of this young companion of Washington, -who had made honor his motto and liberty his -star?</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<small>LAFAYETTE TELLS HIS SECRET</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There is one part of the career of young Lafayette -that has never been brought into clear light, and that -part was decisive in the destinies of America. It was -his letters home. From the time of his commission -as an officer in the American army he was constantly -writing to French ministers, asking them to use their -influence to send aid to America.</p> - -<p>He had the favor of the court, and the heart of the -popular and almost adored Queen. He felt that his letters -must bring to America a fleet. He poured his heart -into them.</p> - -<p><a href="#i_fp051">The surrender of Burgoyne</a> brought about a treaty -between France and the United States. It was one of -alliance and amity. France recognized the United States -among the powers of the world, and received Dr. Benjamin -Franklin as minister plenipotentiary to the court.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp051"> - <img src="images/i_fp051.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_187">The surrender of Burgoyne.</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>For this great movement the letters of Lafayette had -helped to prepare the way.</p> - -<p>His heart rejoiced when he found that this point of -vantage had been gained.</p> - -<p>He was the first to receive the news of the treaty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p> - -<p>He went with the tidings to Washington. It revealed -to the strong leader the future.</p> - -<p>Washington was a man of silence, but his heart was -touched; a sense of gratitude to Heaven seemed to inspire -him.</p> - -<p>“Let public thanksgivings of gratitude ascend to -Heaven,” he said. “Assemble the brigades, and let us -return thanks to God.”</p> - -<p>The brigades were assembled. The cannon boomed! -Songs of joy arose and prayers were said.</p> - -<p>Then a great shout went up that thrilled the young -heart of Lafayette.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vive le roi!</i>—Long live the King of France!”</p> - -<p>That thanksgiving set the bells of New England to -ringing, and was a means of recruiting the army everywhere.</p> - -<p>Lafayette heard the news with a full heart, and he -himself only knew how much he had done silently to renew -the contest for liberty.</p> - -<p>Congress began to see his value. They honored him, -and that gave him the influence to say:</p> - -<p>“I came here for the cause. I must return to France -for the cause.”</p> - -<p>He said of this crisis, and we use his own words here:</p> - -<p>“From the moment I first heard the name of America, -I began to love her; from the moment I understood that -she was struggling for her liberties, I burned to shed my -best blood in her cause, and the days I shall devote to the -service of America, whatever and wherever it may be, -will constitute the happiest of my life. I never so ardently<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span> -desired as I do now to deserve the generous sentiments -with which these States and their representatives have -honored me.”</p> - -<p>He obtained from Congress permission to return to -France in the interest of the cause of liberty.</p> - -<p>It was 1778. He had arrived on the American shores -a mere boy and a stranger. Now that he returned to -France, the hearts of all Americans followed him. He -was twenty-two years of age. He was carrying a secret -with him that he was beginning to reveal and that the -world was beginning to see.</p> - -<p>In serving the cause of the States he felt that he was -promoting the cause of the liberty of mankind. France -might one day feel its reaction, burst her old bonds, and -become a giant republic.</p> - -<p>France arose to meet him on his return. Havre threw -out her banners to welcome his ship. He was acclaimed, -feasted, and lauded everywhere, until he longed to fly -to some retreat from all of this adoration of a simple -young general.</p> - -<p>The Queen, Marie Antoinette, admired him, and became -his patron. She received him and delighted to hear -from him about America and the character of Washington. -Lafayette delighted the Queen with his story of -Washington.</p> - -<p>After these interviews, in which Lafayette saw that -he had secured her favor for the American cause, the -Queen had an interview with Dr. Franklin.</p> - -<p>“Do you know,” said the Queen to Franklin, “that -Lafayette has really made me fall in love with your General<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -Washington. What a man he must be, and what -a friend he has in the Marquis!”</p> - -<p>The court opened its doors to meet him. The King -welcomed him. All Paris acclaimed him. The people -of France were all eager to hear of him.</p> - -<p>What an opportunity! Lafayette seized upon it. -He was not moved by the flattery of France. Every -heart-beat was full of his purposes to secure aid for -America.</p> - -<p>This he did.</p> - -<p>“I will send a fleet to America,” said the King.</p> - -<p>The young King was popular then, and this decision -won for him the heart of liberty-enkindled France.</p> - -<p>Lafayette’s heart turned home to the heroic mountaineers.</p> - -<p>“If it can be done,” he said to the military department, -“let there be sent to America the soldiers of -Auvergne, they of the banners of ‘Auvergne sans -tache.’”</p> - -<p>Two hundred young noblemen offered their services -to Lafayette.</p> - -<p>He left France for America. Banquet-halls vied with -each other in farewells.</p> - -<p>But the night glitter of the palaces were as nothing -to the words of the young King: “You can not -better serve your King than by serving the cause of -America!”</p> - -<p>He left France in tears, to be welcomed by shouts of -joy in America.</p> - -<p>He brought back the news to Washington that henceforth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -the cause of America and France were one, and -that he hoped soon to welcome here the grenadiers of -Auvergne—“Auvergne sans tache!”—the bugles of Auvergne!</p> - -<p>Peter brought the message that announced this great -news to the war office.</p> - -<p>The Governor’s face lighted when the boy appeared -at the door.</p> - -<p>“What is it now?” he asked. “You always bring -joy to my heart!”</p> - -<p>“France in alliance,” said the Governor. “May -France herself live to become a republic. And the -Queen has espoused our cause!”</p> - -<p>Peter went from the office with heart full of joy. -Good news from the seat of war made his heart as light -as a bird—it made him whittle and whistle.</p> - -<p>Out in the cold, watching nights, Peter’s heart turned -to the wood-chopper, who had seemed to love the King -more than him. He felt that the old man must be lonely -in his cabin, with only the blue jays and the squirrels, -and the like to cheer him. Peter could seem to hear him -chop, chop, chopping wood.</p> - -<p>He met him once in the way, and the old man talked -of the King—“my king.”</p> - -<p>“He is only a man,” said Peter, in defense of the -cause.</p> - -<p>“Only a man?” said the wood-chopper. “His arms -are like the lion and unicorn—and they have taken -down the King’s arms in Philadelphia and overturned -his statue in New York. But the lion and the unicorn<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -still stand on the old State-house, Boston. Hurrah -for King George III! They may do what they will -with me, but my heart will still say: ‘Long live the -King!’”</p> - -<p>He seemed to think that the King wore a real lion -and unicorn on his arms, or to so imagine him.</p> - -<p>Poor old man on the by-way of the Lebanon cedars! -Peter pitied him, for he felt that he had, after all, a -very human heart.</p> - -<p>Dennis went again to the camp of Washington to confer -with the General in regard to movements of powder, -and there he saw Lafayette.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman, indeed, did not look like a prophet -now, nor like one of the yeomen of the hill-towns of -Connecticut.</p> - -<p>He was in command of the advance guard of Washington’s -army (1780), composed of six battalions of light -artillery. These men glittered in the sun. They did not -look like Connecticut volunteers. The officers were armed -with spontoons and fuses; they wore sabres—French sabres, -presented them by Lafayette. Their banners shone. -Their horses were proud.</p> - -<p>“An’ I fear I have missed my prophet that I calculated -him to be,” said Dennis, “and that the -cedar folks will all laugh at me. Prophets do not dash -about in such finery as this. There he comes, sure, on -a spanking horse. I wonder if he would speak to -me now.”</p> - -<p>The young Frenchman came dashing by in his regalia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span></p> - -<p>Dennis lifted his hat.</p> - -<p>Lafayette halted.</p> - -<p>“I came from the cedars—Brother Jonathan’s man, -that I am. You remember <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ovan-saan-tarche</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, my hearty friend,” said the Frenchman, -bowing.</p> - -<p>“How is his Excellency?”</p> - -<p>“Sound in head and heart, and firm in his heels, which -he never turns to his country’s enemies.”</p> - -<p>“Have you a wife, my friend?” bowing.</p> - -<p>“No, no, but I’ve a sweetheart in old Ireland.”</p> - -<p>“Happy man!” bowing.</p> - -<p>“But I go my way alone now.”</p> - -<p>“Lucky dog!” said the Marquis, with provincial rudeness, -bowing and bowing.</p> - -<p>“And there is one question which I wish to ask -you. I have been telling the home people that you -are a prophet, and not much like an old prophet do -you look now—pardon me, your Honor. You once -told me that you carried a secret in your heart that -was to free America. Do you carry that secret -now?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, my friend, from the cedars. The French -fleet came; that was a part of my secret. But I am carrying -a greater one. You will soon hear the bugles of -Auvergne. When you hear the bugles of Auvergne, then -you will believe that my soul is true to America. Dennis, -let me take your hand.”</p> - -<p>He took the Irishman’s hand, bowing.</p> - -<p>“There is true blood in that hand,” bowing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span></p> - -<p>“There is true blood in yours,” said Dennis, “and the -secret of the skies is in your soul.”</p> - -<p>“And there are two crowns in that secret and the -heart of France. And one of the crowns is a woman’s—a -glorious woman’s. Oh, Dennis, you should see our -Queen! She admires Washington, she loves America!”</p> - -<p>Dennis dropped down on his knees.</p> - -<p>The glittering Frenchman rode away, bowing to the -prostrate man.</p> - -<p>“An’ I do believe he is a prophet, after all,” said -Dennis.</p> - -<p>It would be great news that he would have to take -back to Lebanon now. How that French prophet bowed -and bowed to him.</p> - -<p>His heart rejoiced to bear good news to the Governor.</p> - -<p>Peter, as we have said, delighted in bringing the Governor -good news. One day he was sent to Boston for -letters which were expected to arrive from England. One -was given him for the Governor which was marked “Important.” -He hurried back to the war office with it, running -his spirited horse much of the way.</p> - -<p>He delivered the letter to the Governor, in the war -office.</p> - -<p>“Wait!” said the Governor, as he was about to go.</p> - -<p>The Governor read the letter, and then walked around -and around in the little room.</p> - -<p>“It is from my son John,” said he. “He has been -arrested in London, and is in prison.” The Governor -continued to walk in the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span></p> - -<p>John Trumbull had gone abroad in 1780, to study -painting under the great master, Benjamin West. The -British Secretary for American Affairs had assured him -that he would be protected as an artist if he did not -interfere in political affairs.</p> - -<p>Colonel Trumbull once thus related the story of his -arrest in a vivid way:</p> - -<p>“A thunderbolt falling at my feet would not have -been more astounding; for, conscious of having done nothing -politically wrong, I had become as confident of safety -in London as I should have been in Lebanon. For a few -moments I was perfectly disconcerted, and must have -looked very like a guilty man. I saw, in all its force, -the folly and the audacity of having placed myself at ease -in the lion’s den; but by degrees I recovered my self-possession, -and conversed with Mr. Bond, who waited for -the return of Mr. Tyler until past one o’clock. He then -asked for my papers, put them carefully under cover, -which he sealed, and desired me also to seal; having done -this, he conducted me to a lock-up house, the Brown -Bear in Drury Lane, opposite to the (then) police office. -Here I was locked into a room, in which was a bed, and -a strong, well-armed officer, for the companion of my -night’s meditations or rest. The windows, as well as the -door, were strongly secured by iron bars and bolts, and -seeing no possible means of making my retreat, I yielded -to my fate, threw myself upon the bed, and endeavored -to rest.</p> - -<p>“At eleven o’clock the next morning I was guarded -across the street, through a crowd of curious idlers, to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -office, and placed in the presence of the three police magistrates—Sir -Sampson Wright, Mr. Addington, and another. -The examination began, and was at first conducted -in a style so offensive to my feelings that it soon -roused me from my momentary weakness, and I suddenly -exclaimed: ‘You appear to have been much more -habituated to the society of highwaymen and pickpockets -than to that of gentlemen. I will put an end -to all this insolent folly by telling you frankly who -and what I am. I am an American—my name is -Trumbull; I am a son of him whom you call the rebel -Governor of Connecticut; I have served in the rebel -American army; I have had the honor of being an -aide-de-camp to him whom you call the rebel General -Washington.’”</p> - -<p>He had said too much; he slept that night “in a bed -with a highwayman.”</p> - -<p>“This is not your accustomed good news, my boy,” -said the Governor.</p> - -<p>“Another ship with letters is soon expected in the -fort,” said Peter. “That may bring good news.”</p> - -<p>“Peter, I love the bearer of good news. Go back to -Boston, and if you bring me news to comfort me, it is -well; if not, you will have done your duty. Ride with -the wind!” These were common words of hurry.</p> - -<p>Peter rode with the wind. In a few days he returned -on a foaming horse to the war office.</p> - -<p>The Governor met him.</p> - -<p>“He is released!” said the boy.</p> - -<p>The Governor stood with beaming face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span></p> - -<p>Presently an old man came hobbling up to the door. -It was the wood-chopper.</p> - -<p>He looked up to Peter helplessly and yet with a glow -of pride and gratitude.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” he said, “I turned you out, but you came -back in my hour of danger. Is there any news from the -King?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, uncle.”</p> - -<p>“What may it be?”</p> - -<p>“He is going to spare John Trumbull’s life and set -him free.”</p> - -<p>The old man staggered.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah for King George!” he said. “My king! -my king!”</p> - -<p>He sunk down on the grass. “My king! my king!”</p> - -<p>That the reader may have the exact truth of this bit -of fact-fiction, let me give you the anecdote from history, -that so finely reveals the better side of the character of -the half-insane old King.</p> - -<p>Benjamin West, on hearing of the arrest of his pupil, -went directly to the King in Buckingham Palace, and -asked for the young American painter’s release.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry for the young man,” said his Majesty -George III, “but he is in the hands of the law, and must -abide the result; I can not interpose. Do you know -whether his parents are living?”</p> - -<p>“I think I have heard him say,” replied Mr. West, -“that he has very lately received news of the death of -his mother; I believe his father is living.”</p> - -<p>“I pity him from my soul!” exclaimed the King.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span> -“But, West,” said he, after musing for a few moments, -“go to Mr. Trumbull immediately, and pledge to him -my royal promise, that, <em>in the worst possible event of the -law, his life shall be safe</em>!”</p> - -<p>“I pity him from my soul!” The poor King had -a heart to feel. This is the most beautiful anecdote of -King George that we have ever found.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<small>THE BUGLES BLOW</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>A high sound of bugles rang out in the still summer -air.</p> - -<p>It stopped all feet in the country of the cedars—it -seemed as though the world stopped to listen.</p> - -<p>Again the tone filled the summer air—nearer.</p> - -<p>The ospreys and crows were flying high in air, down -the odorous way where the bugles were blowing.</p> - -<p>Again, and nearer.</p> - -<p>Were the bugles those of Rochambeau, who had landed -at Newport, or of a troop of the enemy coming to -surprise the town?</p> - -<p>It was a time of expectancy, and also of terror.</p> - -<p>Why of terror?</p> - -<p>It was known that Rochambeau had landed at Newport, -and was coming to Lebanon—it was in the air. He -would stop at Newport, and it was believed that Washington -would go there to meet him. Washington might -go by way of New London and Lebanon or over the great -turnpike road of Massachusetts and Connecticut; but whatever -way he might take, it was believed that he would -stop in the hidden Connecticut town.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span></p> - -<p>One day a courier had come to the alarm-post.</p> - -<p>“Are the ways guarded?” he asked. “There is a plot -to capture Washington if he makes a progress to meet -Rochambeau.”</p> - -<p>“Let us go to the war office and consider the matter,” -said the Governor.</p> - -<p>“If the matter is serious, I will bring it before the -Committee of Safety.”</p> - -<p>They considered the matter. The Governor was -alarmed, and he said to Peter:</p> - -<p>“Leave the store and go back to your post on the -by-road.”</p> - -<p>The danger at this time is thus treated in Sparks’s Life -of Trumbull:</p> - -<p>“Intelligence had come from New York that three -hundred horsemen had crossed over to Long Island and -proceeded eastward, and that boats at the same time had -been sent up the Sound. It was inferred that the party -would pass from Long Island to Connecticut and attempt -to intercept General Washington on his way to -Newport, as it was supposed his intended journey was -known to the enemy. Lafayette suggested that the Duke -de Lauzun should be informed of this movement as soon -as possible, that he might be prepared with his cavalry, -then stationed at Lebanon, to repel the invaders.”</p> - -<p>There had landed at Newport with Rochambeau a -most brilliant French officer of cavalry, who was destined -to become the general-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine, -and to lose his head in the French Revolution. It was -the Duke de Lauzun, born in Paris, 1747. He commanded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span> -a force known as Lauzun’s Legion, which consisted -of some six hundred Hussars, with the French enthusiasm -for liberty. They were well equipped, wore -brilliant uniforms, and bore the banners of heroes.</p> - -<p>The alarm-post became the seat of numerous orders; -the roads were dusty with hurrying feet.</p> - -<p>The people met on the green as soon as the bugles -were heard.</p> - -<p>Peter was there. He heard the bugles ring out, and -cried:</p> - -<p>“Auvergne! They are the bugles of Auvergne!”</p> - -<p>Dennis listened as the air rung merrily.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Peter, those are the bugles of Auvergne.”</p> - -<p>Faith Trumbull came out and stood on the green beside -Peter.</p> - -<p>“Do you think those are the French bugles?” she -asked. “If so, the cause is saved.”</p> - -<p>An advance horseman, a Hussar, came riding up the -hill. The bugles blew behind him, now near to the town.</p> - -<p>“The Duke is at hand,” said he in French.</p> - -<p>The people sank upon their knees.</p> - -<p>The Governor heard and stood like a statue on the -green.</p> - -<p>“They are coming!” he said. “They are on the way -of victory!”</p> - -<p>Six hundred horsemen, glittering in insignia, banners, -and trappings, swept into the town, and their dashing -leader, the Duke de Lauzun, threw up his hand and took -off his hat before the war office. No one had ever dreamed -of a scene like that.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span></p> - -<p>The people gathered around him uncovered. The -farmers shouted. Children danced in the natural way; -old men wept.</p> - -<p>Dennis approached a French officer who could speak -English.</p> - -<p>“An’ have you been blowing the bugles of Auvergne?” -asked he, hat in hand.</p> - -<p>“You may well call them so,” said the courtly officer. -“The bugles of Auvergne are the heralds of victory!”</p> - -<p>“The cause of liberty in America is won,” said Dennis. -“Lafayette said it would be so when the French bugles -should blow.”</p> - -<p>Peter fell down on the green and wept like a child, -saying, over and over: “The bugles of Auvergne! The -bugles of Auvergne!”</p> - -<p>It was a glorious day. The very earth seemed to be -glad.</p> - -<p>The Hussars sat for a time on their restless horses, -surveying a scene unusual to their eyes. That simple -church was not Notre Dame; the Governor’s house was -not the Tuileries, nor Versailles, nor Marley, nor Saint -Cloud. The green was not the Saint Cloud garden, the -people were not courtiers. Yet their hearts glowed. They -saluted the simple Governor.</p> - -<p>Then the bugles blew again—the bugles of Auvergne, -and a great sound rent the air.</p> - -<p>The Hussars went to the fields for quarters, and the -Duke followed the Governor into the war office to “consider.”</p> - -<p>Washington came to Connecticut in safety. He reviewed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span> -the army on Lebanon green and at Hartford. -Near Hartford he planned the campaign in Virginia that -was to end the war.</p> - - -<h3>“AUVERGNE SANS TACHE”—AUVERGNE WITHOUT -A STAIN</h3> - -<p>This motto a part of the French soldiers bore proudly -wherever they went. They carried it out of France with -shoutings, and trailed it across the sea. They bore it into -Newport amid booming guns, and to Lebanon amid the -shouts of the heroic farmers. They planted it on Lebanon -green. It should be put to-day among the mottoes -of schools for Flag days and Independence days.</p> - -<p>That day of review—it may well rise again in our -fancy!</p> - -<p>Spring is in the air. The birds in the woods are -appearing again. There is new light and odors in the -cedars.</p> - -<p>The French heroes of Auvergne, the mountaineers, -whose aid Lafayette had sought, assembled on the green. -On one side of the green was the tavern, and on the other -side rose the country village church. The hills everywhere -were renewing their circle of green.</p> - -<p>Rochambeau was there with the escutcheon. The -Marquis de Chastellux was probably there—a man of -genius, who wielded the pen of a painter. The gay, and -perhaps profane, Duke de Lauzun was there—he who -laughed at the Governor’s prayers at the table, and who -died many years afterward on the guillotine. Men were -there who had sought the animal delights of the glittering<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -palaces of Versailles, Marley, and Saint Cloud. The -heroes were there whose descendants made France a republic.</p> - -<p>The sun rose high on the glittering hills. The bugles -sounded again, horses neighed and pranced, uniforms glittered, -and the band filled the air with choral strains.</p> - -<p>The simple country folks gathered about the green, -bringing “training-day” ginger-bread, women with knitted -hoods, boys and girls in homespun.</p> - -<p>The cedar of Lebanon was there—Governor Trumbull—and -his wife, also, more noble than most of the -stately dames of Trianon.</p> - -<p>The American flag arose, and was hailed as the flag of -the future.</p> - -<p>A shout for honor went up in which all joined. The -hearts of the French heroes and American heroes were -one. Honor and liberty was the sentiment that ruled the -hour, and here the pioneers of liberty of the two republics -of the future clasped hands.</p> - -<p>A glorious day, indeed, was that! Keep it in eternal -memory, O Lebanon hills! Make your old graves a place -of pilgrimages. Sons of the Revolution, have you ever -visited Lebanon?</p> - -<p>There came an August night, misty and still. A cloud -covered the hills, and seemed to fall down like a lake on -the cedar swamp. The few distant stars went out.</p> - -<p>It lightened—“heat lightning,” as the lightning without -thunder was called in the old New England villages.</p> - -<p>The turnpike road was silent. There were no sounds -of night-birds in the deep cedar swamps.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span></p> - -<p>Peter, the shepherd-boy, stood behind his window light -in silence under a cedar that spread itself like a tent. -The tree gathered mist and shed it like rain. He had -put a mask in the window, for fear of a shot, in case -of danger.</p> - -<p>“Nothing to-night,” he said.</p> - -<p>But what was that?</p> - -<p>A dead twig of a tree broke under a foot.</p> - -<p>He started and moved behind the window toward the -highway.</p> - -<p>Another twig snapped.</p> - -<p>“Who goes there?” he called.</p> - -<p>“A friend.”</p> - -<p>“Give the countersign.”</p> - -<p>“Groton,” said the voice.</p> - -<p>“Wrong,” said the lad. “Follow the window, but -keep at a distance, for you are my prisoner.”</p> - -<p>It lightened. The lad saw the man, and that he was -no ordinary traveler.</p> - -<p>The lad moved back. The traveler followed, and presently -said:</p> - -<p>“Hello! where am I?”</p> - -<p>“A prisoner; follow me.”</p> - -<p>“But the house moves.”</p> - -<p>“Follow me—you are in my power.”</p> - -<p>It lightened again.</p> - -<p>The flash disclosed that the traveler had drawn a pistol.</p> - -<p>“It is useless for you to use weapons,” said Peter; -“you are in my power.”</p> - -<p>There was a crack in the air. A pistol-shot struck the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span> -mask in the window and broke it. Then all was darkness -and silence.</p> - -<p>“Follow me,” said the lad. “Your shot was vain. -You are a traitor, and you are in my power. I could -take your life in a minute. Follow me.”</p> - -<p>“But your house moves,” said the man in a voice that -trembled.</p> - -<p>He may have had a brave heart, but few brave men -at that time were proof against the terrors of superstition. -The man evidently believed that he was in the power -of some evil spirit.</p> - -<p>There was another lightning flash. The man had -turned.</p> - -<p>“Follow me,” said the lad, “or you are a dead man.”</p> - -<p>“Will you spare me if I will follow?” asked the adventurer.</p> - -<p>“Follow me until I tell you to stop, and I will be your -friend if you speak fair.”</p> - -<p>The steps followed the moving window at a distance. -Suddenly they went down, and there arose a cry as of -a penned animal. The man had fallen into a cave.</p> - -<p>The moving window went up the hill in sight of the -alarm-post, and then the light went out.</p> - -<p>Peter went down in the darkness to the rescue of the -fallen stranger.</p> - -<p>“Where am I?” asked the stranger.</p> - -<p>“In the cave.”</p> - -<p>“In the cave of the magazine?”</p> - -<p>The stranger had asked the question in an unguarded -moment of terror.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span></p> - -<p>“You are a spy, and were seeking for the magazines,” -said the boy. “I know your heart. Let me -help you out, and come with me to the shelter of the -cedars.”</p> - -<p>Peter took the stranger’s hand, and led him by flashes -of lightning to a covert under the cedars. Some crows -cawed in the darkness above.</p> - -<p>The two sat down.</p> - -<p>“You are in my power,” said Peter.</p> - -<p>“Then you must be the Evil One. Why am I in your -power more than you in mine? Do you live in a house -that travels? Where has your house gone?”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, now, who you are,” said Peter.</p> - -<p>“I am a traveler.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you give me a false countersign?”</p> - -<p>“To put you off so that I might go on.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you seeking?”</p> - -<p>“I was going to the war office.”</p> - -<p>“For what?”</p> - -<p>“To see the Governor.”</p> - -<p>“But why did you say ‘magazine’?”</p> - -<p>“I deal in saltpeter.”</p> - -<p>The clouds were lifting. The great cedars seemed to -shudder now and then as a faint breeze stole through them. -Then the full moon rolled out. The crows flapped away -from the place when they heard voices.</p> - -<p>“Let us go,” said the man. “For what are you waiting?”</p> - -<p>There was a sound of horses’ feet. Dennis had seen -the signal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span></p> - -<p>“Who is coming?” asked the man.</p> - -<p>“The guard.”</p> - -<p>“So you have entrapped me. Where is the house?”</p> - -<p>“There was none.”</p> - -<p>Dennis and two men rode up.</p> - -<p>“This man,” said Peter, “is a spy; he has given a -false countersign, and is looking for magazines.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” demanded Dennis, with a leveled -musket.</p> - -<p>“I am your prisoner,” said the man, “and more is the -pity. I have been tricked. I followed a window; it is -gone.”</p> - -<p>“Stranger, no trifling,” said Dennis. “What brought -you here? If you will tell me the truth, I will befriend -you as far as I can. But listen: you have no hope of -anything outside of my friendly heart, and I am one of -the guard of the first of patriots in the land. I am an -Irishman, but I am loyal to America. Tell me the truth—what -brought you here?”</p> - -<p>“You speak true when you say that I have no hope -but in your heart, and I am inclined to tell you all.”</p> - -<p>Dennis and the two men whom he had brought with -him dismounted, and sat down under the cedars, through -which the moon shone.</p> - -<p>“I was led here through the suggestion of a bad example. -We are led by the imagination. Imagination -follows suggestion. Benedict Arnold went over to the -cause of the King, and he is a power now. I once served -under Arnold. It was in the northern campaign. I will -acknowledge all. I am seeking to do him a service—to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -find out where your powder magazines are stored. Arnold -will soon be thundering off this coast!”</p> - -<p>Dennis started.</p> - -<p>“What! in Connecticut?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in Connecticut.”</p> - -<p>“Among his own kin?”</p> - -<p>“Among his own kin.”</p> - -<p>“Black must be the heart of a man that would fall -upon his own neighborhood. Such a heart must be born -wrong. They say that he liked to torture animals when -he was a boy. Man, what do you know? Remember the -fate of André.”</p> - -<p>The man suddenly recollected it. He began to shake, -for with the rising of the moon and the clearing of the -air it was cool.</p> - -<p>“I know not where I am,” said he. “Everything is -strange. But let me talk to you in confidence.</p> - -<p>“I have money.”</p> - -<p>He took out a purse, and jingled some coin.</p> - -<p>“Let me go and I will pay you. Here, take this.” -He extended the purse toward Dennis. “Let me go back -and you shall have it all.”</p> - -<p>“Man,” said Dennis, “André offered gold to his captors, -and tried to bribe them to let him go. Put up thy -gold. There is money that does not enrich. I would -not betray the cause of liberty in America and the great -heart of Jonathan Trumbull for all the gold of Peru. -Tell me now your whole heart, or I take you to the -alarm-post, to be shot as a spy.”</p> - -<p>The man shook.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, here is my confession. I hoped to find the -secret places of the magazines where the powder that -supplies the army is hidden, and to report to Arnold. -This is the whole truth. I am sorry for what I -planned. I would not do so again. Now I ask your -mercy.”</p> - -<p>“To Arnold, did you say? Where did you expect to -meet Arnold?”</p> - -<p>“On the coast—it might be at New London or -Groton.”</p> - -<p>“When?”</p> - -<p>“Soon.”</p> - -<p>“Soon, soon. Peter, set the beacon on the hill!”</p> - -<p>The boy ran; a light streamed up. Dennis hurried -with his prisoner to the alarm-post.</p> - -<p>The prisoner knew not what to make of that night -when windows moved and a shot that shattered a head -did not kill, and the heavens flamed before the nimble -feet of a boy.</p> - -<p>Had he been drawn into a witch’s cave? What had -led him to disclose the secret? He thought of André, -and when he was led into the guard-house he sat down, -wondered, and wept.</p> - -<p>But he hoped Dennis, his captor, had a human heart. -Was he a second André?</p> - -<p>Dennis went to the guard-house the next day to visit -a new prisoner. The suggestions that the latter made -were most alarming.</p> - -<p>If Benedict Arnold was to make attack along the coast -his object was to divide the American army, which was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -now moving south for the great Virginia campaign against -Cornwallis.</p> - -<p>“It would be like the British to strike us now upon -the coast,” said the Governor, “but he would be more -than a traitor who would slaughter his own kin on the -soil where he was born and bred.”</p> - -<p>The man gave his name as Ayre; probably from the -suggestion of the name of the British colonel who was -under Arnold.</p> - -<p>He was despondent, and sat in the guard-house with -drooping head.</p> - -<p>“Of what are you thinking?” asked Dennis. “You -may give me your thoughts with safety. The Governor -is the soul of honor, and he will not cause me to violate -the spirit of my promise that I have made.”</p> - -<p>“I am thinking of the moment when the captors of -André said to him, ‘We must take off your boots.’”</p> - -<p>For in the boots of the unfortunate officer were the -despatches from Arnold offering to treacherously surrender -West Point.</p> - -<p>“That moment must have stricken terror to André’s -heart,” said the man. “Then it was that he saw the whole -of life. Your Governor seems to be a very kind-hearted -man—the people love him. I am sorry that I ever had -evil thoughts of him. But, my friend, send me away; for -should a fleet descend upon the coast, the hatred of all -these people will fall upon me. The man who suggests -an evil that comes is held in detestation. I would not be -safe here.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, and you shall be sent to Boston.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span></p> - -<p>It was in the air that the Connecticut coast was to -be attacked again. Connecticut must be defended by her -own people, should it come, for it would not do to divide -the American army in its great movement to crush the -main army of the British of the south.</p> - -<p>“I will send you, with the Governor’s approval, to -Fort Trumbull, at New London, and I will accompany -you there myself,” decided Dennis.</p> - -<p>It was the 6th of November when the two set out on -horseback for New London and Groton—a bright, glimmering -day, the wayside bordered with goldenrod. The -meadows were clouded with the aftermath and webby -wild grasses, and seemed to sing with insects.</p> - -<p>Boom!</p> - -<p>What was that?</p> - -<p>Boom! Boom!</p> - -<p>“There is a cannonade going on at New London,” -said Dennis.</p> - -<p>They hurried on.</p> - -<p>The air thundered.</p> - -<p>“It is Arnold!” said the prisoner.</p> - -<p>As they passed down their way amid cidery orchards, -they began to meet people flying with terror.</p> - -<p>“What has happened?” asked Dennis.</p> - -<p>“Arnold!” was the answer of one. “He is burning -everything—the streets that he trod in his boyhood, the -very houses that sheltered him. He is standing on the -hill, glass in hand, gloating in the power to kill his own -neighbors’ sons. Oh, is it possible that one should come -to kill his own!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span></p> - -<p>As they went on, the cannonading grew louder and -the roads presented a scene such as had hardly ever been -witnessed in America before.</p> - -<p>The people were flying with their goods: women on -beds on the backs of horses; old women driving cows before -them; boys with sheep; men in carts, with valuables; -dogs who had lost their masters.</p> - -<p>They met one scene that was indeed pitiful. It was -a man hurrying with the coffin of a child on his back -toward the burying-ground. He must bury the little one -as he fled.</p> - -<p>The farmhouses were full of people with white faces, -people who crowded upon each other.</p> - -<p>It was a terrible story that they had to tell. Arnold -had surprised New London by the sea, and had burned -down every house, even the houses that sheltered him -in his boyhood.</p> - -<p>But the destruction of New London was a light -event compared to the horrors of Groton, across the -river.</p> - -<p>They found that Colonel Ayre had attacked Fort Griswold, -and was slaughtering the men after they had surrendered. -Arnold had sent a messenger to arrest this -slaughter, but the latter had arrived too late. The garrison -had refused to surrender. When, at last, they were -compelled to yield, they were put to the sword without -mercy, and the wounded were killed, and even the dead -were maltreated. The men under Colonel Ayre had become -human fiends. They had gone mad with the passion -for killing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span></p> - -<p>One of the British officers ran from place to place to -restrain the soldiers.</p> - -<p>“Stop! stop!” said he. “In the name of heaven, I -say stop—I can not endure it!”</p> - -<p>But the work of killing went on, and of killing the -wounded and stabbing the dead.</p> - -<p>Night fell. The British set a bomb to the magazine -and passed up the river, expecting to see a terrible explosion -that would fire the heavens. But the explosion -did not come. A brave band of Americans had extinguished -the fuse.</p> - -<p>“There is no Fort Trumbull to which I can take you -now,” said Dennis to his prisoner. “You may go to -your own.”</p> - -<p>“Then I will return with you, and you will never -find a heart more true to your Governor than mine will -be. Christ forgave Peter, and was not Peter true? Our -truest friends are those whom we forgive. To know all -is to forgive all. I know your Governor now. I once -hated him; he is led by the spirit of the living God, and -I would die for a man like that. It is better to change -the heart of an enemy than to kill him. Let me follow -you back, and the people will receive my repentance even -at this awful hour.”</p> - -<p>Dennis, through fear of his safety, left him outside of -Lebanon at a farmhouse, but when he had told his tale -to the people, they said:</p> - -<p>“Bring him back; he is another man now.”</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<small>A DAUGHTER OF THE PILGRIMS</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was past midsummer—the shadow of change was -in the year. The birds were gathering in flocks in the -rowened meadows, and the woods were displaying their -purple grapes and first red leaves.</p> - -<p>Rochambeau had been receiving the hospitalities of -the Governor, and had also received lessons in the new -school of liberty from Faith Robinson Trumbull, the wife -of the Governor. The hero of Minden had come to see -this grand woman, and wished to make her a present -before he marched on to join the army of Washington -against Clinton, with his six thousand heroes.</p> - -<p>What should his present to this noble woman be?</p> - -<p>He had among his effects a scarlet cloak. It was -suitable for a woman or for a man. It covered the whole -form, and made the wearer conspicuous, for it was made -of fine fabric, and represented the habit of the battle-field.</p> - -<p>He took the cloak out of his treasures one evening -and came down into the public room of the forest inn, -where some of the French officers of the regiment of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i> were seated in a merry mood before -the newly kindled fire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span></p> - -<p>He held up the scarlet cloak. “Here,” said he, “is -a garment to be worn after the war for liberty is over. -A field-marshal might wear it after the day of victory. -This war will soon end; I am going to present this cloak -to one of the most patriotic souls that I have ever met. -Who do you think it is?”</p> - -<p>“The Governor,” said an officer, a colonel; “Washington’s -own ‘Brother Jonathan.’ He has made himself -poor by the war, but has been the inspiration of every -battle-field, so they say. Well, you do well to honor the -rustic Governor. The world is richer for him. That is -a good thought, General. You honor the soldiers of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>.”</p> - -<p>The General, the hero of Lafeldt, held up the cloak -before the cooling summer fire. A soldier turned a burning -stick with iron tongs, and flames with sparks like a -little volcano shot up and threw a red gleam on the scarlet -cloak with its gold thread.</p> - -<p>“You have made a wrong guess, Colonel,” said Rochambeau. -“This cloak is for Madam Faith Trumbull, -who has the blood of Robinson of Leyden in her veins, -and who is the very spirit of liberty.”</p> - -<p>Immediately the officers leaped to their feet.</p> - -<p>“Cheers!” said the Colonel. “Cheers for Madam -Faith—may she soon wear the cloak—after the war!”</p> - -<p>The soldiers of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i> were chivalrous, -and they swung their arms in wheel-like circles and cheered -for the wife of the self-forgetful Governor.</p> - -<p>In the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring of feeling -the Governor himself appeared in the reception-room of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span> -the forest inn with madam, smiling and stately, on his -arm.</p> - -<p>“You came at a happy moment, Governor,” said Rochambeau. -“I am showing my men this scarlet cloak.”</p> - -<p>“It is a fine garment,” said the Governor. “It were -worthy of a field-marshal of France.”</p> - -<p>“Would it be worthy of the wife of a marshal of a -regiment of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>?” asked the courtly -Frenchman.</p> - -<p>“It would,” said the Governor in a New England -tone.</p> - -<p>“Then it would be worthy of <em>your</em> wife, Governor.”</p> - -<p>Rochambeau approached Madam Faith. “Will you -allow me, madam, to honor you, if it be an honor, with -the scarlet cloak? I wish you to wear it in memory of -the soldiers of Auvergne, and of your humble servant, -until you shall find some one who is more worthy of it—and -I do not believe, madam, if you will allow me to -say it, that any heart truer than yours to the principles -of liberty and to all mankind beats in these provinces.”</p> - -<p>He placed the scarlet cloak over her shoulders, and -the officers shouted for madam, for the Governor, for -Rochambeau, and for the soldiers of the banner of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne -sans tache</i>.</p> - -<p>How noble, indeed, Madam Faith looked as she stood -there in the scarlet cloak, its gold threads glimmering in -the first firelight!</p> - -<p>Her face glowed. She tried to speak, but could only -say: “My heart is full, General. But any soldier who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -sleeps to-night on the battle-field is nobler than I—my -heart would cover him with this cloak.”</p> - -<p>The officers shouted enthusiastically: “Auvergne!”</p> - -<p>The Governor stood off from his wife and her dazzling -garment.</p> - -<p>“You do look real pretty, Faith—wear it in memory -of the French—wear it to church—your wearing it will -honor the cause, and be a service to liberty. I wish Washington -could see you now.”</p> - -<p>“I will wear it,” said Madam Faith. “My heart -thanks you!” she said to Rochambeau. She began to -retreat from the room, her face almost as red as the -cloak, and her eyes bright with tears. “I thank you in -the name of Liberty!” She moved farther away and out -of the door.</p> - -<p>“Going, Faith?” asked the Governor.</p> - -<p>There came back a voice—“God bless you!”—the -scarlet cloak had gone. She thought that it was unworthy -of her to remain where she would secure homage, when -the Connecticut soldiers had had scarcely clothes to wear -in their march against Clinton in the midst of the poverty -that had befallen the colonies during the war.</p> - -<p>She became greatly distressed. In her enthusiasm for -the French deliverers she had promised to wear the cloak -until some one more worthy of it could be found, some -one who needed it more.</p> - -<p>She took off the garment in her own room and sat -down. She thought of the past. She saw in her vision -her godly ancestor, Robinson, addressing the Pilgrim -Fathers for the last time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span></p> - -<p>“Go ye into the wilderness,” he had said, “and new -light shall break out from the word. I will follow you.”</p> - -<p>She saw in fancy the Mayflower sail away, lifting -new horizons. She saw the many Pilgrims’ graves amid -the May flowers after the first winter at Plymouth.</p> - -<p>She rose and put on the cloak and stood before the -glass.</p> - -<p>“I can not wear it,” she said. “I must wear only -the clothes made with my own hands, in times like these.”</p> - -<p>She looked into the glass again.</p> - -<p>“But my promise?” she asked. “I must keep that—I -must be worthy of the confidence that these soldiers -of liberty have given me. I must honor Rochambeau and -the soldiers of the land of Pascal. How shall I do it? -I will wear it once and then seek some one more worthy -to wear it; he will not be hard to find.”</p> - -<p>Governor Trumbull had become famous for his Fast-Day -and Thanksgiving proclamations. His words in these -documents had the fire of an ancient prophet.</p> - -<p>This year his proclamation sang and rang. He called -upon the people to assemble in their meeting-house, and -to bring with them everything that they could spare that -could be made useful to the soldiers on the battle-field and -be laid upon the altar of sacrifice.</p> - -<p>Madam Faith heard his message as the pastor read it -from the tall pulpit under the sounding-board.</p> - -<p>She thought of the scarlet cloak. She must wear it to -the church on that great day to honor Rochambeau and -the soldiers of Auvergne. But of what use could her -garment be to the soldiers in the stress of war?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span></p> - -<p>It was a bright mid-autumn day. The people were -gathering on the harvest-laden plateau on Lebanon Hill. -The church on the high green, founded some eighty years -before, opened its doors to the sun. The yeomen gathered -on its steps and looked down on the orchards and -harvest fields. The men of the great farms assembled -in groups about the inn and talked of the fortunes of the -war. They were rugged men in homespun dress, with -the purpose of the time in their faces. The women, too, -were in homespun.</p> - -<p>While groups of people were gathering here and there -the door of the Governor’s plain house opened, and in -it appeared Madam Faith in her scarlet cloak. All eyes -were turned upon her. She stepped out on to the green. -She did not look like the true daughter of the Pilgrims -that she was! The gay and glittering garment did not -become the serious purpose in her face.</p> - -<p>She waited outside the door, and was soon joined by -the Governor. The two approached the church under the -gaze of many eyes, and entered the building, which is -to-day in appearance much as it was then, and the people -followed them. The chair in which Governor Trumbull -sat in church is still to be seen in the old Trumbull -house. A colored picture of the church as it then appeared, -with its high pulpit, sounding-board and galleries, -may be seen in Stuart’s “Life of Trumbull.”</p> - -<p>A silence fell upon the assembly. The people felt -that the crisis of the war had passed with the coming -of Rochambeau, but the manner of the issue was yet -doubtful.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></p> - -<p>The minister arose—“Be still, and know that I am -the Lord.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“God is the refuge of His saints,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Though storms of sharp distress invade;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Before they utter their complaints</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Behold Him present with their aid!”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>The stanza, or a like one, was sung in a firm tone, such -as only times like these could inspire. The heroic quality -sank into tuneful reverence with the lines:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There is a stream whose gentle flow</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Supplies the city of our God,”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noi">or a like paraphrase. A long prayer followed; the hour-glass -was turned—silence in the full pews!</p> - -<p>The sermon followed in the silence. Then the minister -made an appeal which went to every heart.</p> - -<p>“The nation stands waiting the Divine will. We have -given to the cause our sons, our harvests, the increase of -our flocks. We have sent of our substance, our best, to -every northern battle-field. We have seen our men go -forth, and they come not back. We have seen our cattle -driven away, and our cribs and cellars left empty; we -have heard our Governor called a ‘brother’ by the noble -Washington, and the glorious regiment of France’s honor -has sung amid these cedars the songs of Auvergne.</p> - -<p>“But the trumpets of the northern winds are sounding, -and our army faces winter again, cloakless and some of -them shoeless, in tatters. We are making new garments -for the soldiers, but we have no red stripes to put upon -them; we may not honor the noblest soldier in the world -with any uniform, or insignia of his calling. He goes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span> -forth in homespun, and in homespun he faces the glittering -foe, and falls. His honor is in himself, and not in -his garments. He courageously goes down to the chambers -of silence without stripe or star.”</p> - -<p>At the words <em>red stripes</em>, all eyes, as by one impulse, -turned to the scarlet cloak. It would furnish the ornament -of dignity and honor to a score of uniforms.</p> - -<p>“Women of Lebanon, you have with willing hands -laid much on the altar of liberty. Under the pulpit stands -a rail that guards holy things. I appeal to you once more—I -hope that it may be for the last time—to spare all -you can for the help and comfort of the soldier. Come -up to the altar one by one and put your offerings inside -of the rail, and I will lift my hands over your sacrifices -in prayer and benediction.”</p> - -<p>Silence. A few women began to remove the rings -from their fingers and ears. One woman was seen to -loosen her Rob Roy shawl. Two Indian girls removed -strings of wampum from their necks. But no one rose. -All seemed waiting.</p> - -<p>The Governor sat in his chair, and beside him his good -wife in the red Rochambeau cloak. They were in the -middle aisle.</p> - -<p>Madam Trumbull was thinking. Could she offer the -scarlet garment to the cause without implying a want of -gratitude toward the noble Rochambeau?</p> - -<p>Would she not <em>honor</em> Rochambeau by offering the gift -to the camp and battle-field?</p> - -<p>“Stripes on the soldiers’ garments are inspirations,” -she may have whispered to her husband. “I am going<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> -to give my cloak—it shall follow Rochambeau—I am going -to make it live and march—<em>he</em> shall see it again in the -lines that dare death. Shall I go to the altar?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, go. Send your cloak to Rochambeau again. Let -it move on the march. You will honor the regiment of -Auvergne—<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>.”</p> - -<p>She rose, almost trembling. Every eye was fixed upon -her. Madam Faith was held in more than common esteem, -not only because she was the wife of the Governor, but -also because she was a descendant of the <em>Prophet</em> of the -Pilgrims of Leyden and Plymouth.</p> - -<p>She stood by the Governor’s chair, unfastening the -red garment. The people saw what she was about to do. -Some of them bowed their heads; some wept.</p> - -<p>The pastor spoke: “I would that the Pilgrim, John -Robinson, were here to-day!”</p> - -<p><a href="#i_fp223">Madam Faith</a> removed the cloak and laid it over her -arm. She bent her face on the floor, and slowly walked -toward the rail that guarded the sacred things of the simple -altar.</p> - -<p>The pastor lifted his hands.</p> - -<p>“Pray ye all for the principle of the right, for the -cause of the soldier of liberty.”</p> - -<p>She <a href="#i_fp223">laid the scarlet cloak</a> on the altar, and turned to -the people and lifted her eyes to God.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp223"> - <img src="images/i_fp223.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_223">Madam Faith Trumbull contributing her scarlet cloak to the -soldiers of the Revolution.</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>She looked like a divinity as she stood forth there -that day, like a spirit that had come forth from the -Mayflower.</p> - -<p>That Thanksgiving was long remembered in Lebanon. -That cloak was turned into stripes on soldiers’ uniforms<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> -and made history, and some of the uniforms bearing them -are yet to be seen.</p> - -<p>To Dennis and Peter was entrusted the sending of the -new uniforms with the red stripes to the army gathering -around Yorktown. The faithful Irishman and the lad -rode away from the alarm-post in the cedars amid the -cheers of the people. What news would they bring back -when they should return?</p> - -<p>It was an anxious time in the cedars. In the evenings -the people gathered about the war office and at the -Alden Inn. A stage-driver, who was a natural story-teller, -used to relate curious stories at the latter place, on -the red settle there, and in these silent days of moment -the people hugged the fire to hear him: it was their only -amusement.</p> - -<p>One evening a country elder, who had done a noble -work in his day, stopped at the tavern. This event brought -the Governor over to the place, and the elder was asked -to relate a story of his parish on the red settle. He had -a sense of humor as keen as Peters, who was still telling -strange tales in England of the people that he had found -in the “new parts.”</p> - -<p>Let us give you one of the parson’s queer stories: it -pictures the times.</p> - - -<h3>THE COURTING STICK</h3> - -<p>Asenath Short—I seem to see her now (said the -elder). One day she said to her husband:</p> - -<p>“Kalub, now look here; we’ve got near upon everything -so far as this world’s goods go—spinnin’ wheels and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -hatchels, and looms and a mahogany table, and even a -board to be used to lay us out on when the final time shall -come. The last thing that you bought was a dinner-horn, -and then I put away the conch shell from the Indies along -with the cradle and the baby chair. But, Kalub, there’s -one thing more that we will have to have. The families -down at Longmeadow have all got them; they save fire -and fuel, and they enable the young folks and their elders -all to talk together at the same time, respectfully in the -same room, and when the young folks have a word to say -to each other in private it encourages them. Now I’m -kind o’ sociable-like myself, and I like to encourage young -people; that’s why I wanted you to buy a spinet for Mandy. -I don’t like to see young folks go apart by themselves, -especially in winter; there is no need of extra lights or -fires, if one only has one of <em>them</em> things.”</p> - -<p>“One of them things? Massy sakes alive, what is it, -Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Why, haven’t you never seen one, Kalub? It is a -courtin’ stick. They didn’t used to have such things when -we were young. A courtin’ stick is like Aaron’s rod that -budded.”</p> - -<p>“A courtin’ stick! Conquiddles! Do I hear my ears? -There don’t need to be any machinery for courtin’ in -this world no more than there does to make the avens -bloom, or the corn cockles to come up in the corn. What -is a courtin’ stick, Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Well, Kalub, a courtin’ stick is a long, hollow wooden -tube, with a funnel at each end—one funnel to cover the -mouth of the one that speaks, and one to cover the ear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span> -of the one that listens. By that stick—it is all so proper -and handy when it works well and steady—young people -can talk in the same room, and not disturb the old people -or set the work folks and the boys to titterin’ as they used -to do when we were young. It was discovered here in -the Connecticut Valley, which has always been a place of -providences. Just as I said, it is a savin’ of fire and -lights in the winter-time, and it suggests the right relations -among families of property. It is a sort of guide-post -to life.</p> - -<p>“Kalub, don’t you want that I should show you one?”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get it, Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Asahel made it for me. I told him how to make it, -but when I came to explain to him what it was for his -face fell, and he turned red and he said, ‘Hyppogriffo!’ -I wonder where he got that word—‘hyppogriffo!’ It has -a pagan sound; Asahel, he mistrusted.”</p> - -<p>“Mistrusted what, Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I haven’t told you quite all. When the head -of a family knows that a certain young man is comin’ -to visit him at a certain time and hangs up a courtin’ stick -over the mantel-tree shelf, or the dresser, it is a sign to -the visitor he is welcome.”</p> - -<p>“But there is no need of a sign like that, Asenath.”</p> - -<p>Asenath rose, went into the spare bed-room, a place -of the mahogany bureau, the mourning piece, valences and -esconces, and brought out a remarkable looking tube, which -seemed to have leather ears at each end, and which was -some dozen feet long.</p> - -<p>“Moses!” said Caleb, “and all the patriarchs!” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -added. “Let’s you and me try it. There, you put it -up to your ear and let me speak. Is the result satisfyin’?”</p> - -<p>Asenath assured him that the experiment was quite -satisfactory.</p> - -<p>“Well, well,” said Caleb. “Now I will go on shellin’ -corn and think matters over; it may be all right if the -elder says it is.”</p> - -<p>For a few minutes there was a rain of corn into the -basket, when Caleb started up and said, “Cracky!” He -put his hand into one pocket after another, then went up -to the peg board and took down his fur overcoat and felt -of the pockets in it. He came back to the place of the -corn-shelling doubtfully, and began to trot, as it were, -around the basket, still putting his hand into one pocket -after another.</p> - -<p>“Lost anything, Kalub?” asked Asenath.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the stage-driver gave me a parcel directed to -Asahel, in the care of Amanda, and I don’t know what I -did with it. I meant to have told you about it, but you -set me all into confusion over that there courtin’ stick.”</p> - -<p>We know not how many old New England homesteads -may have a courting stick among their heirlooms, but imagine -that they are few. Such a stick used to be shown -to the curious in the Longmeadow neighborhood of Springfield, -Mass., and we think it may be seen there still. It -was especially associated with the manners and customs of -the Connecticut Valley towns, and it left behind it some -pleasing legends in such pastoral villages as Northampton, -Hadley, and Hatfield. It was a promising object-lesson<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span> -in the domestic life of the worldly wise, and could have -been hardly unwelcome to marmlet maidens and rustic -beaux.</p> - -<p>Caleb Short continued his shelling corn for a time, but -he worked slowly. He at last turned around and looked -at his wife, who was sewing rags for a to-be-braided mat.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it now, Kalub?” asked the latter.</p> - -<p>“Asahel.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—I know—I’ve been thinkin’ much about him of -late. He came to us as a bound boy after his folks were -dead, and we’ve done well by him, now haven’t we, Kalub? -I’ve set store by him, but—I might as well speak it out, -he’s too sociable with our Mandy now that they have -grown up. It stands to reason that he can never marry -Mandy.”</p> - -<p>“Why not, Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? How would you like to have people say -that our Amanda had married her father’s hired man? -How would it look on our family tree?” Asenath glanced -up to a fruitful picture on the wall.</p> - -<p>“Asahel is a true-hearted boy,” said Caleb. “Since -our own son has taken to evil ways, who will we have to -depend upon in our old age but Asahel, unless Mandy -should marry?”</p> - -<p>“O Kalub, think what a wife I’ve been to you and -listen to me. Mandy <em>is</em> going to marry. I am going to -invite Myron Smith here on Thanksgiving, and to hang -up the courtin’ stick over the dresser, so that he will see -it plain. That stick is goin’ to jine the two farms. It is -a yard-stick—there, now, there! I always was great on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span> -calculation; Abraham was, and so was Jacob; it’s scriptural. -You would have never proposed to me if I hadn’t -encouraged you, and only think what a wife I’ve been to -you! Just like two wives.”</p> - -<p>“But Asahel Bow is a thrifty boy. He is sensible and -savin’, and he is feelin’.”</p> - -<p>“Kalub, Kalub Short, now that will do. Who was -his father? Who but old Seth Bow? Everybody knows -what he was, and blood will tell. Just think of what that -man did!”</p> - -<p>“What, Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you know that he undertook to preach, and he -thought that if he opened his mouth the Lord would fill it. -And he opened his mouth, and stood with it open for -nearly ten minutes, and he couldn’t speak a word. He -was a laughing-stock, and he never went to meetin’ much -after that, only to evenin’ meetin’s in the schoolhouse—candle-light -meetin’s.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Asenath, that is all true. But Seth Bow was an -honest man. Just hear how he used to talk to me. He -used to say to me—I often think of it—he used to say: -‘Caleb Short, I’ve lost my standin’ among the people, but -I haven’t lost my faith in God, and there is a law that -makes up for things. I couldn’t preach, but Asahel is -goin’ to preach. He’s inherited the germ of intention from -me, and one day that will be something to be thankful for, -come Thanksgiving days. I will preach through Asahel -yet. I tell you, Caleb, there is a law that makes up for -things. No good intention was ever lost. One must do -right, and then believe that all that happens to him is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -for his good. That is the way the Book of Job reads, and -I have faith, faith, faith! You may all laugh at me, but -Asahel will one day be glad that his old father wanted -to preach, and tried, even if he did fail. The right intention -of the father is fulfilled in the son, and I tell you -there’s a law that makes up for things, and so I can sing -Thanksgiving Psalms with the rest of um, if I don’t dare -to open my mouth in doin’ it.’ Asenath, I look upon -Asahel as a boy that is blessed in the intention of his -father. The right intentions of a boy live in the man, -and the gov’nin’ purpose of the man lives in his boys or -those whom he influences, and I tell you, Asenath, there’s -nothing better to be considered on Thanksgiving days than -the good intentions of the folks of the past that live in -us. There are no harvests in the world ekul to those. -You wait and see.”</p> - -<p>At this point of the story, the clergyman said:</p> - -<p>“That is good old Connecticut doctrine, Brother Jonathan.”</p> - -<p>The story-teller continued:</p> - -<p>The weather-door slowly opened, and the tall form of -a young man appeared.</p> - -<p>“Asahel,” said Asenath, “we were just speakin’ of -you and your folks, and now I want to have a talk with -you. Take off your frock, and don’t be standing there -like a swamp crane, but sit down on the uniped here close -by me, as you used to do when you was a small boy. I -set store by you, and you just think what a mother I’ve -been to you since your own mother was laid away in the -juniper lot! But I am a proper plain-speakin’ woman,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -as your own mother was—she that answered the minister -back in meetin’ time when the good old elder said that -your father was a hypocrit.”</p> - -<p>Presently the weather-door opened, and Amanda appeared -and sat down on the same uniped with Asahel.</p> - -<p>The good woman continued:</p> - -<p>“You two have been cowslippin’ together, and sassafrassin’ -together, and a-huntin’ turkeys’ nests and wild -honey, and pickin’ Indian pipe and all. Now, that was -all right when you were children. But, Asahel, you and -Amanda have come to the pastur’ bars of life, and you -must part, and you, Asahel, must be content to become -just one of our hired men and sit at the table with the -other hired men, on Thanksgivin’ days the same as on all -other days, and not stand in the way of any one. And, -Amandy Short, do you see that?”</p> - -<p>Asenath held up the courting stick.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what that is?”</p> - -<p>“It is just a hollow stick. I’ve seen sticks before. -What does all this mean?”</p> - -<p>“You’ve seen sticks before, have you, Amanda? And -you have experienced ’em, too, for I have been a faithful -mother to you—as good as two. But this is the stick -that must unite some farm to ours, and I am goin’ to -hang it up over the dresser, and when the right young -man comes, Amanda, I want you to take it down and -put it up to your ear, so, and it may be that you will -hear somethin’ useful, somethin’ to your advantage and -ourn. I hope that I made myself clearly understood.”</p> - -<p>She did. The two young people had not been left in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -any darkness at all in regard to her solution of their social -equation. Asahel stepped into the middle of the great -kitchen floor. His face was as fixed as an image, and the -veins were mapped on his forehead.</p> - -<p>He bent his eyes on Asenath for a moment and then -his soul flowed out to the tone of the accompaniment of -honor.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Short, you were good to me as a boy, and I will -never do a thing against your will in your family affairs. -My father prayed that I might have the ability to fulfil -what he was unable to do in life. To inherit such a -purpose from such a father is something to be grateful -for, and now that I am disappointed in my expectation -of Amanda I shall devote all that I am to my father’s -purpose in me. I am going to be a minister.”</p> - -<p>“You be, hey? But where is the money comin’ -from?”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Short, it is to come out of these two fists.”</p> - -<p>Poor tender-hearted Caleb, he shelled corn as never -before during this painful scene. Suddenly he looked up -and about for relief. His eye fell upon the courting -stick.</p> - -<p>“Here,” said he to Amanda, who was crying, “just -let us try this new comical machine, and see how it -works. Mandy, let’s you and I have a little talk together. -I’ll put the thing up to my mouth, so, and you just listen -at the other end of it. There—I’m going to say something. -Ready now, Mandy? Did you hear that?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father, I heard it just as plain as though you -spoke it into my ear.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span></p> - -<p>“<em>You</em> didn’t hear anything in particular, did you, -Asenath?”</p> - -<p>“No, only a sound far away and mysterious like.”</p> - -<p>“Curis, ain’t it, how that thing will convey sound in -that way? I should think that some invention might come -out of it some day. Now, Amanda, you just put your -ear up to the funnel and listen again. Mandy,” he -continued through the tube, “if your heart is sot on Asahel, -do you stand by him, and wait; time makes changes -pleasantly.” He put aside the tube. “There, now, do -you hear?”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t hear, mother, did you?” said Caleb to -Asenath, glancing aside.</p> - -<p>“No, Kalub.”</p> - -<p>“This is a great invention. It works well. Now -let me just have a word with Asahel.”</p> - -<p>Amanda conveyed one end of the tube to Asahel’s -ear.</p> - -<p>“Asahel.” He took his mouth from the tube. “Did -you hear?”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t hear anything, did you?” he said, looking -toward Asenath.</p> - -<p>“No, Kalub.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Asahel, you listen again,” said Caleb, putting -his mouth to the tube. “If your heart is sot on Mandy, -you just hang on, and wait. Time will be a friend to -you, and I will. There, now, did you hear, Asahel?”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t hear anything, did you?” asked Caleb -of Asenath again with a shake.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said Asenath, “it seems to me as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> -though the hands are the hands of Esau, but that the voice -is the voice of Jacob.”</p> - -<p>“Show! Well, now, Amanda, you and Asahel talk -now with each other. Here’s the tube.”</p> - -<p>“Asahel Bow,” said Amanda, through the tube, “I -believe in you through and through.”</p> - -<p>“Amen!” said Asahel, speaking outside of the tube. -“Amen whenever your mother shall say Amen, and never -until then. There is no need of any courting stick for -me.”</p> - -<p>At this point of family history Caleb leaped around.</p> - -<p>“I know what I did with it—I do now!”</p> - -<p>“Did with what, Kalub?” asked Asenath.</p> - -<p>“That letter for Asahel—it is right under my bandanna -in my hat!”</p> - -<p>Caleb went to his hat and handed the lost letter to -Asahel.</p> - -<p>The latter looked at it and said, “England!” He -read it with staring eyes and whitening face, and handed -it to Mrs. Short, who elevated her spectacles again.</p> - -<p>“That old case in chancery is decided,” said he, “and -I am to get my father’s share of the confiscated property. -I may have yet to wait for it, though. My great-grandfather -was Bow of Bow. He was accused of resisting the -Act of Uniformity, and his property was withheld.”</p> - -<p>Asenath lifted her brows.</p> - -<p>“Bow of Bow,” she repeated. “He was a brave man, -I suppose. Resisted the Act of Uniformity? How much -did he leave?”</p> - -<p>“An estate estimated at £20,000.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span></p> - -<p>“Heavens be praised!” said the suddenly impressible -Asenath. She added: “I always knew that you had good -blood in you, and was an honest man, Asahel, just like -your father; nobody could ever turn him from the right, -no more than you could the side of a house; no Act of -Uniformity could ever shape the course of old Seth Bow. -And you are a capable man, Asahel; your poor father -had limitations and circumstances to contend with, but -you are capable of doing all that he meant to do. I always -did think a deal of your father, and I think considerable -of your grandfather now. I always was just like a mother -to you, now wasn’t I, Asahel, good as two or more ordinary -stepmothers and the like?</p> - -<p>“‘Bow of Bow,’ ‘Bow of Bow,’” continued Asenath. -“Well, I have prayed that Amanda might marry well, -and your part of £20,000 would be just about twenty -times the value of the Smith farm, as I see it. That farm -isn’t anything but a bush pastur’, anyhow.</p> - -<p>“‘Bow of Bow,’ what a sort of grand sound that has! -‘Bow of Bow.’ I once had an uncle that was a stevedore, -an English stevedore, or a cavalier, or something of the -kind, but he didn’t leave any estate like Bow of Bow. I -think he uniformed in the time of the Uniformity.</p> - -<p>“Asahel, you just put that there courtin’ stick up to -your ear once more and let me say a word, now that I -have new light and understand things better.”</p> - -<p>Asahel obeyed. There came a response that could be -heard outside of the hollow tube: “Amen!” A murmurous -sound followed which was understood only by Asahel. -“You will overlook my imperfections now, won’t you,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span> -Asahel? Pride is a deceitful thing, and it got the better -of me. I only meant well for Amandy, same as you do. -I’m sorry for what I said, Asahel. Marry Mandy, and -I’ll be a mother to you as I always have been. As good -as two common mothers, or more, same as I have always -been to Kalub.”</p> - -<p>“And I am Asahel. Have my father’s intentions -been fulfilled in me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, elder,” said the Governor. “They have!” -shouted all. “That is a tale that makes me pray to become -all I can,” said a taverner from Boston.</p> - -<p>“The purpose of life is growth,” said the Governor. -“Growth is revelation. Grow, grow, and past intentions -will be fulfilled in you.”</p> - -<p>He crossed Lebanon green in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>Lebanon, the place that had been filled with life, with -hasty orders to couriers, as “Fly!” “Haste!” was silent -now. What would be the next news to come by the green?</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /> -<small>“CORNWALLIS IS TAKEN!”</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>These were thrilling days. The American armies -were marching south, and with them were advancing the -bugles of Auvergne.</p> - -<p>Simple incidents, as well as incidents tragic and dramatic, -picture times and periods, and we relate some of the -family stories of General Knox of the artillery, who had -collected powder and directed, often with his own hands, -the siege-guns of the great events of the war.</p> - -<p>When the French officers arrived in Philadelphia after -their journey from Lebanon, they were entertained at a -banquet by Chevalier de Luzerne, the ambassador from -the French court. Philadelphia was the seat of the American -Government then.</p> - -<p>The banquet was a splendid one for those times, and -it had a lively spirit. The American guests must have -been filled with expectation.</p> - -<p>For the plan to shut up Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown -was full of promise, and the military enterprises -to effect this were proceeding well. The lord himself was -dissatisfied with the plans he was compelled to pursue, -and any fortress is weak in which the heart of the commander -is not strong in the faith of success.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span></p> - -<p>In the midst of the banquet, there was a summons -for silence. The Chevalier arose, his face beaming.</p> - -<p>He looked into the eager faces and said:</p> - -<p>“My friends, I have good news for you all.</p> - -<p>“Thirty-three ships of the line, commanded by Monsieur -le Compte de Grasse, have arrived in the Chesapeake -Bay.”</p> - -<p>A thrill ran through the assembly. The atmosphere -became electric, and amid the ardor of glowing expectation -the Chevalier added:</p> - -<p>“And the ships have landed three thousand men, and -the men have opened communication with Lafayette.”</p> - -<p>The guests leaped to their feet.</p> - -<p>“Cornwallis is surrounded and doomed!” said they.</p> - -<p>They grasped each other’s hands, and added:</p> - -<p>“This is the end!”</p> - -<p>The army, now confident of victory, marched toward -Yorktown, under the command of Washington.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants along the way hailed it as it passed—women, -children. There were cheers from the doorsteps, -fences, and fields, from white and black, the farmer and -laborer. The towns uttered one shout, and blazed by -night. The land knew no common night, every one was -so filled and thrilled with joy. All flags were in air.</p> - -<p>The morning of liberty was dawning, the sun was -coming, the people knew it by the advance rays. The -invader must soon depart.</p> - -<p>“Cornwallis is doomed!” was the salutation from -place to place, from house to house.</p> - -<p>General Washington, with Knox and members of his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -staff, stopped one morning at a Pennsylvania farmhouse -for breakfast.</p> - -<p>The meal was provided. The officers partook of it, -and ordered their horses, and were waiting for them when -the people of the place came into the house to pay their -respects to Washington. He stood in the simple room, tall -and commanding, with the stately Knox beside him.</p> - -<p>“Make way,” said the people, “make way for age!”</p> - -<p>An old man appeared, the patriarch of the place. He -entered the house without speaking a word. He looked -into the face of Washington and stood silent. There had -come to him the moment that he had hoped to see; the -desire and probably prayers of fading years had been -answered. The room became still.</p> - -<p>The old man did not ask an introduction to the great -commander. He lifted his face upward and raised his -hands. Then he spoke, not to Washington and his generals, -but to God:</p> - -<p>“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, -for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”</p> - -<p>The generals rode on toward Virginia, cheered by the -spirit of prophecy in the patriarch’s prayer.</p> - -<p>It was a little episode, but the soul of destiny was -in it.</p> - -<p>October, with its refreshing shade of coolness, its -harvest-fields and amber airs, was now at hand. Cornwallis -was surrounded at Yorktown. He had warned Sir -Henry Clinton, his superior, that this might be his fate. -He is lost who has lost his faith, and begins to make -the provision to say, “I told you so!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span></p> - -<p>Knox with his siege-guns, twenty-three in number, was -preparing for the final tempest of the war.</p> - -<p>And against Yorktown were marching the heroes of -the old liberty banners of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>.</p> - -<p>In the early autumn of 1781 the field of war had -become the scene of a thrilling drama in the British camp. -Lord Cornwallis had taken his army into Yorktown, and -under the protection of the British fleet on the York River -had fortified his position by semicircular fortifications -which extended from river to river.</p> - -<p>He must have felt his position impregnable at first, -with the advantage which the fleet would bring to him -in the wide river, until there came news to him that -unsettled his faith in his position. But he soon began -to lose confidence. He seemed to foreshadow his doom.</p> - -<p>Yorktown was situated on a projecting bank of the -York River. The river was a mile wide, and deep. Lord -Cornwallis expected to have the place fortified by middle -fall, and that Sir Henry Clinton would join him there.</p> - -<p>“I have no enemy now to contend against but Lafayette,” -he thought until the coming of the French fleet -was announced to him.</p> - -<p>Washington determined to cut off Lord Cornwallis -from any retreat from Yorktown by land or by sea. His -plan was to pen up the British commander on the peninsula, -and there to end the war. He largely entrusted the -siege by land to young Lafayette. He probably felt a -pride in giving the young general the opportunity to end -the war. He liked to honor one who had so trusted his -heart, and whose service had so honored him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span></p> - -<p>Washington ordered the French army to the Virginia -peninsula, and with them went the grand regiment of -Gatinais, or Gatinois, with which many years before Rochambeau -had won his fame. The heroes of old Auvergne -were to be given the opportunity to fight for liberty here, -as they had done in the days of old.</p> - -<p>These heroes had had their regimental name officially -taken away from them on being brought to America—<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne -sans tache</i>. They desired to serve liberty under -this glorious name of noble memories again. They appealed -to Rochambeau for that distinction.</p> - -<p>Their hearts beat high, for they were going to reenforce -Lafayette, who was born in Auvergne, and who had -desired their presence and inspiration.</p> - -<p>So on sea and land a powerful force was gathering -to shut up Lord Cornwallis in Yorktown and to shatter -the British army on the banks of the York.</p> - -<p>Washington himself was approaching Lafayette by -way of Philadelphia, Rochambeau by way of Chester and -Philadelphia, and De Grasse by the sea. General Thomas -Nelson, Governor of Virginia, was arousing the spirit of -Virginia again and calling out the militia.</p> - -<p>At the great banquet which was given in Philadelphia -by the French minister, Chevalier de Luzerne, to Washington -and the French officers, when came the news that Count -De Grasse and Marquis St. Simon with 3,000 troops had -joined Lafayette, all Philadelphia had rung with cheers, -and the news thrilled the country. At that hour the destiny -of America was revealed. There could but one thing -happen at Yorktown now—Cornwallis must surrender.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> -The General was certain to be blocked up in York -River.</p> - -<p>Everything was going well. Washington and Rochambeau -went to Baltimore and found the city blazing -as with the assurance of victory. At this time, with victory -in view, Washington visited Mount Vernon, from -which he had been absent six anxious years. He passed -the evening there with Count Rochambeau, and they were -joined there by Chastellux. Washington now left his old -home for the field of final victory.</p> - -<p>The great generals next faced Yorktown, with their -forces, some 16,000 men. They saw the helplessness of -Cornwallis, and as De Grasse wished to return soon to -the West Indies, the combined forces prepared to move -on the British fortifications at once. Seven redoubts and -six batteries faced the allies, with abatis, field-works, and -barricades of fallen trees.</p> - -<p>The allies began to prepare for an immediate conflict. -They erected advancing earthworks, in a semicircle, -and with the French fleet in the bay, the 1st of October -heard the sound of the cannonade.</p> - -<p>The peninsula thundered and smoked, and the drama -there begun was watched by Washington, Rochambeau, -Chastellux, and Count de Grasse. What men were these -with Lafayette at the front!</p> - -<p>A great cannonade began on the 9th of October, -Washington himself putting the match to the first gun.</p> - -<p>Governor Nelson of Virginia was in the field. His -house was there, too, within the enemy’s lines in Yorktown. -“Do you see yonder house?” said he to a commander<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> -of the artillery. It was the headquarters of the -enemy. “It is my house, but fire upon it.”</p> - -<p>This recalls John Hancock’s message to Washington -at the beginning of the war. “Burn Boston, if need be, -and leave John Hancock a beggar.”</p> - -<p>The enemy responded. The shells of each crossed -each other in the bright, smoky October air. The British -fired red-hot shot, and set on fire some of their own -shipping. The nights seemed full of meteors, as though -red armies were battling in the sky.</p> - -<p>The 14th of October came—a day of heroes. That -day the redoubts were to be stormed.</p> - -<p>Lafayette prepared his own men for the assault.</p> - -<p>Then Baron de Viomenil led out the heroes of Gatinais.</p> - -<p>Before this regiment De Rochambeau appeared to give -them their orders, which meant death. He had won, as -we have said, his own fame in Europe with these mountain -heroes. The attack to which he was to order them -now was to be made at night.</p> - -<p>“My lads,” said he, “I have need of you this night, -and I hope that you will not forget that we have served -together in that brave regiment of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>.”</p> - -<p>A cheer went up in memory of old, followed by:</p> - -<p>“Restore to us our name of ‘Auvergne sans tache’ -and we will die.”</p> - -<p>“That name shall be restored,” said Rochambeau.</p> - -<p>They marched to death side by side with the bold regiment -of Lafayette, who was to lead the advance.</p> - -<p>About eight o’clock the signal rockets for the attack -reddened the sky.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span></p> - -<p>The regiment of Gatinais rushed forward. They -faced the hardest resistance of the siege. This redoubt -was powerfully garrisoned and fortified.</p> - -<p>Baron de Viomenil led his heroes into the fire, and -his men fought like ancient heroes, to whom honor was -more than life. In the midst of the struggle an aide came -to him from Lafayette.</p> - -<p>“I am in the redoubt,” said the message. “Where -are you?”</p> - -<p>“I will be in <em>my</em> redoubt in five minutes.”</p> - -<p>Strongly fortified as that redoubt was, it could not -withstand the men of Gatinais. They entered it with a -force that nothing could withstand, but <em>one third of them -fell</em>.</p> - -<p>“Royal Auvergne,” said Rochambeau, “your survivors -shall have your own name again.”</p> - -<p>He reported the action to the French King, and the -latter gave back to the heroes their regimental name of -old <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Auvergne sans tache</i>.</p> - -<p>These men are worthy of a monument under that noble -motto. We repeat, the words should be used on decorative -ensigns of the Sons of the Revolution; nothing nobler -in war ever saw the light.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Yorktown fell on the morning of the 17th, and a -courier sped toward Philadelphia, crying, as he went: -“Cornwallis is taken!” Bells rang, people cheered.</p> - -<p>The messenger reached Philadelphia at night—“Cornwallis -is taken!”</p> - -<p>Windows opened. The citizens leaped from their beds.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -The bells rang on, and the city blazed with lights, and -Congress gave way to transports of joy.</p> - -<p>Dennis and Peter came riding back to the alarm-post, -shouting by the way, “Cornwallis is taken!”</p> - -<p>The Governor knelt down in the war office, and the -people shouted without the silent place.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter could afford to be magnanimous now to his -feeble old uncle. He hurried to the old man’s cabin and -knocked at the door.</p> - -<p>“I chop wood,” said a voice within.</p> - -<p>“Uncle, it is Peter. Cornwallis has surrendered!”</p> - -<p>The latch was lifted, and the wood-chopper appeared -as one withered and palsied.</p> - -<p>“What is that you tell me? Cornwallis has surrendered? -What has become of the King?”</p> - -<p>“The cause of the King is lost!”</p> - -<p>“Then I don’t see that I have anything more to live -for. Come in. I have nothing against you now, so far -as I am concerned, for <em>you came back</em>—don’t you remember -that on the night that I was to have been robbed you -came back? I have never forgotten that. You came -back.”</p> - -<p>He tottered to the chest beside the table.</p> - -<p>“Here, let me open the chest now while I have -strength to unlock the lid. The King! the King! How -he will feel when he hears the news! And he said of -young Trumbull, ‘I pity him.’ His heart will go down -like a sailor on the sea on a stormy night. Peter, I feel -for him. Don’t you pity him? Sit down by me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span></p> - -<p>He lifted the lid of the chest, and took out of the -chest a leather bag. He untied the bag-string, and turned -a pile of doubloons on the table.</p> - -<p>“<em>One.</em> That is yours. You <em>came back</em> to your poor -old uncle on the night when the robber was trying to -find me.</p> - -<p>“<em>Two.</em> It is yours, for you came back.</p> - -<p>“<em>Three.</em> My sight is going. It is all yours, for you -came back.</p> - -<p>“My hands grow numb, the world is going. I can -feel it going. But all that I leave is yours. My breath -grows cold. I have only time to say, ‘God save the King!’ -I want to go, and leave what I have to you, Peter, for -you came back. Good-by, earth; I leave you my woodpile; -warm yourself by my fire when I am gone. God—save—the—King!”</p> - -<p>He sat silent. Peter bent over him. The old man’s -breath was cold, and soon the last pulse beat.</p> - -<p>Peter gathered up the gold. He would turn it into -education at Plainfield Academy and at Yale College. -Then he would go away, after Dennis, perhaps, to the -Western territory which would become a new Connecticut.</p> - - -<p class="p2 noic">THE END</p> - - - - -<hr class="chapv" /> -<div class="tnote"> -<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p> - -<p class="smfont">Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).</p> - -<p class="smfont">Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate, so the page number of - the illustration may not match the page number in the List of - Illustrations.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p> -</div> - -<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHER JONATHAN ***</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 64126-h.htm or 64126-h.zip</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/2/64126/</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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