fe, when the soldiers of
the tyrant were threatening all the Americans held most dear? But his
friends at home did not encourage his practical patriotism. He was told
that he must stay at home, and work on the farm, and get ready for
college; the country would get on very well without him; and so he did
stay for four years, and the war seemed no nearer an end than ever. At
last one night he could stand it no longer; so he ran away, and joined
the nearest camp, where he enlisted. But the pride of the
sixteen-year-old boy received a blow: they made him servant to one of
the officers, and in this menial position he was obliged to stay. He
found that he was far from being his own master now. He behaved so well,
though, that he was placed in the ranks after a while, and in 1783 was
made a sergeant, and discharged.

He went home, and taught, to support himself, while he prepared for
college; for he had no father now to help him along. He entered
Dartmouth College, and graduated honorably, though he had lost five
years for study out of his young life. Not long after his graduation,
while he was teaching again, he was given a captain's commission in the
army for his service during the Revolution. A soldier's life suited his
bold character far better than the quiet occupation of country teacher.
Then he married, and went first west, then south, on military service,
and saw plenty of wild life, and made enemies as well as friends, for
the best of us can not expect to please everybody, and Captain Eaton had
too strong a character not to make some people, who did not think as he
did, very angry.

When he was about thirty-five years old, trouble rose between the United
States government and some of the countries of Africa, and the President
sent Eaton out to Tunis as consul. Tunis is one of the Moorish kingdoms
of Africa that border on the Mediterranean Sea, and were called "Barbary
States." The other Barbary States were Morocco, Algiers, and Tripoli.
For a long time these countries had been nests of pirates, who made
their living by preying on the commerce of Christian nations, and making
slaves of their seamen, so that the black flags of their ships were the
terror of the Mediterranean. These robbers had the daring to demand
tribute of European nations, which many of them paid annually for the
sake of not being molested, and lately they had tried to extort money
from the United States on the same plea. Eaton managed so cleverly a