MRS. WASHINGTON (opening her bag). Here are six pairs of warm woolen stockings that I knit for you with my own hands. (Gives them to Washington) WASHINGTON. That is excellent, but I have no right to wear them when many of my men have not even shoes. 5 Let us bestow them where they are more needed. (Puts them on the table. A knock is heard.) Enter! (Enter TOM MILLER, JOHN RAYMOND, JOE CROCKER. Miller is a short man. He wears Washington's long coat, which almost touches the ground. Otherwise he is very ragged. Raymond and Crocker are in rags, with their shoes full of holes, and no stockings.) MILLER. Your Excellency! You are too kind! The coat was too much! WASHINGTON (smiling). Yes, it seems to be. But I have 10 called for you to build another log house, next to this. We shall call it a dining room. It will be for Mrs. Washington. This, men, is Mrs. Washington. (Soldiers bow awkwardly.) MRS. WASHINGTON (going to them and taking each by the hand). I am proud to shake hands with men who have 15 done so much for their country. (Goes to the table; counts out three pairs of the stockings which Washington has placed there; hands one pair to Raymond) Wear this warm pair of stockings which I have knit. And you also (handing a pair to Miller), and you (handing the third pair to Crocker). This is General Washington's gift to you, not mine. 20 CROCKER. May heaven bless such a lady! There was surely never another like her, or (to Washington) never another such a general as your Excellency! WASHINGTON. Now to work, my boys. The house is 5 to be precisely like yours. Have it done as promptly as may be. ALL. We will, sir. (They go out. A knock is heard.) (Enter COLONEL HAMILTON, who turns to Mrs. Washington and bows low.) MRS. WASHINGTON (advancing and shaking hands). 10 Colonel Hamilton! We have met several times under pleasanter circumstances, but not I think under more interesting or hopeful ones. HAMILTON. You have the same spirit as your honored husband the spirit that has cheered and kept us from 15 heart-breaking through this long dreary winter. But (to Washington) I have the honor to make a report to you which proves Mrs. Washington to be a prophet. Six wagon loads of provisions and clothing have arrived and more are only a day's journey behind them. 20 WASHINGTON (to Mrs. Washington). We shall have use for the dining room, after all. [CURTAIN] QUESTIONS AND HELPS 1. Why were the British fighting against the Americans in the Revolutionary War? 2. Write a story telling what you know about George Washington. 3. Write a story telling what you know of Lafayette. 4. Tell what you know of Colonel Hamilton. 5. What had Washington's army done since the British drove them out of New York City? 6. What other large American city was now occupied by British troops, and how far was it from the American camp? 7. Why was Washington waiting at Valley Forge, and why could he not get what he needed? 8. Describe the condition of the soldiers at Valley Forge. 9. How did Washington treat them and what did they think of him? 10. What can you say of the plot against Washington? 11. What does Mrs. Washington's visit to the camp show us about her? 12. How did the soldiers keep warm at Valley Forge, and how did they sleep? Tell what you can about their huts. 13. What things does Washington do in this play that make you like him? 14. What does Mrs. Washington do? 15. What two reasons can you give for the soldiers' cheerfulness during the winter at Valley Forge? supplies (sup plies): food, clothing, and other necessary things. ration (ra ́shon): a fixed amount of provisions given to a soldier each day. Excellency (Ex ́çěl lĕn çỹ): a title.. plot (plot): a secret plan against some one. expose (ex pōşe'): to lay open or make known. adore (à dōre'): to worship or love very earnestly. marquis (mär'quis): a nobleman a little higher in rank than a count. patriot (pā'tri ot): one who loves Patsy (Păt'sỹ): a nickname given PART VII. SONGS OF THE SEASONS SEPTEMBER HELEN HUNT JACKSON [Some years ago in the old college town of Amherst, Massachusetts, lived a little girl named Helen Fiske. She was born in 1831. Her father was a professor in Amherst College and she was a bright, active little person who was 5 very fond of the flowers and the birds. She liked nothing so well as to roam about the fields and woods and gather wild flowers and queer, interesting plants. When she was twelve years old her parents died and she went to live with her grandfather, who was very kind and good to her. She 10 grew up, happy and well, and when she was twenty-one married a young army officer, Major Hunt. She traveled with him and lived in many different cities and at many army posts until his death in 1863. At about this time she began to write poems for the newspapers and magazines, 15 and afterwards published them in a book which she called "Verses by H. H." She never signed her writings with her full name. After a number of years she married a Mr. Jackson and lived in Colorado Springs. She wrote two interesting books for children, "Cat Stories" and "Nelly's Silver Mine," and several stories for grownups, the most famous of which is an Indian story called Ramona." One of her favorite spots was at the foot of a mountain not far from her home in Colorado Springs. Here she used to go and gather wild flowers and berries 5 and autumn leaves. She called it her garden. Just before she died, in 1884, she asked that she might be buried there, and her wish was carried out. Her grave is shaded by trees, covered with wild vines, and bright with wild flowers. The poem "September" tells what you may see on a walk in the country in the early fall.] The goldenrod is yellow; The corn is turning brown; The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down. The gentian's bluest fringes Are curling in the sun; The sedges flaunt their harvest Make asters in the brook. 10 |