ounds the mastered alphabet."

George was about eight years old when a great excitement arose among the
colonists in Virginia, and the fife and drum were heard, to announce
that England, the mother country, needed soldiers.

"A regiment of four battalions is called for, by the king, for a
campaign in the West Indies," announced Mr. Washington to his son
Lawrence, a young man twenty-two years of age.

"A good opportunity for me," answered Lawrence, who possessed much of
the military spirit of his ancestors. "Perhaps I can get a commission."

"Perhaps so," responded his father; "your education ought to place you
above the common soldier."

Lawrence had just returned from England, where he had spent seven years
in study, enjoying the best literary advantages the country could
afford.

"Well, I can enlist and then see what can be done," continued Lawrence.
"The regiment will be raised at once, and I can soon find out whether
there is an appointment for me."

Soon recruiting parties were parading at the sound of fife and drum, and
the military spirit was aroused in the hearts of both young and old. The
enthusiasm spread and grew like a fire in the wilderness. The colonists
were truly loyal to the king, and their patriotism led them, heartily
and promptly, into the defence of the English cause in the West Indies
against the Spaniards.

Recruiting advanced rapidly, and the regiment was soon raised. Lawrence
obtained a captain's commission, and appeared wearing the insignia
of his office. Music, drilling, parading, now became the order of the
day, and it was a new and exciting scene to George. Soldiers in uniform,
armed and equipped for war, marching at the sound of music, captivated
his soul. It awakened all the ancestral spirit of chivalry that was in
his heart. The sight of his big brother at the head of his company,
drilling his men in military tactics, filled him with wonder. Gladly
would he have donned a soldier's suit and sailed with the regiment to
the West Indies, so wrought upon was his young heart.

In due time the regiment embarked for the West Indies, and George was
obliged to part with his noble brother, to whom he had become strongly
attached since his return from England. The departure of so many
colonists, and the cessation of military display, left George in a
serious frame of mind. For the first time in his life he experienced the
sensation of loneliness.

However, he had caught the military spiri