of a
singly cellar, and then he would get only a pound or two of it at most.

It did not seem likely that much could be done in this way, but all the
people were anxious to help, and so the cry went up from every part of
the country, "Send us chemists to teach us how, and we will do the work
and get the nitre ourselves." This was quickly done. All the chemists
were set at work teaching the people how to get a little nitre out of a
great deal of earth, and then every family went to work. In a little
while the nitre began to come in to the powder-factories. Each family
sent its little parcel of the precious salt as a free gift to the
country. Some of them were so proud and glad of the chance to help that
they dressed their little packages of nitre in ribbons of the national
colors, and wrote patriotic words upon them. Each little parcel held
only a few ounces, or at most a pound or two, of the white salt; but the
parcels came in by tens of thousands, and in a few weeks there were
hundreds of tons of nitre at the powder-mills.

As soon as there was powder enough the new armies began to press their
enemies, and, during the summer and fall of 1794, they steadily drove
them back. When they met their foes in battle they nearly always forced
them to give way. They charged upon forts and took them at the point of
the bayonet; cities and towns everywhere fell into their hands, and by
the time that winter set in they were so used to winning battles that
nothing seemed too hard for them to undertake.

But the French soldiers were in a very bad condition to stand the cold
of winter. One great army, under General Pichegru, which had driven the
English and Dutch far into the Netherlands, was really almost naked. The
shoes of the soldiers were worn out, and so they had to wrap their feet
in wisps of straw to keep them from freezing. Many of the men had not
clothing enough to cover their nakedness, and, for decency's sake, had
to plait straw into mats which they wore around their shoulders like
blankets. They had no tents to sleep in, but, nearly naked as they were,
had to lie down in the snow or on the hard frozen ground, and sleep as
well as they could in the bitter winter weather.

There never was an army more in need of a good rest in winter-quarters,
and as two great rivers lay in front of them, it seemed impossible to do
anything more until spring. The English and Dutch were already safely
housed for the winter, feeling perfect