and was washing my face and hands by the
back door, I could hear him telling mother about it, as jubilant as one
of those old Hebrews over the fall of his enemies.

Goodness! If I had displayed the vanity and false pride that he showed
over me, I don't know what punishment he would not have given me.

When I came in, he bottled himself up, and looked at me in a sad,
reproving manner. But I knew he was as happy as a man could be. Mother
did not like it, and I had to assure her again and again that I was not
hurt. She began to talk about giving me some herb tea, and I got out of
the house as quickly as possible.

CHAPTER VII

TALES FROM THE FRONTIER--MR. TYTHINGMAN AND HIS SERVICES

This long war was a terrible strain on our Province. Some man from
almost every family in town was with the army at Lake George. The value
of our currency had fallen, and nearly one-half of what we earned and
produced went to pay the heavy taxes.

The Provinces did not work well together. There were rivalries and
dissensions among them. The French were united, and their army was led
by an able commander, the Marquis Montcalm.

Our generals were mostly incompetent men who owed their positions to
influence at court.

We kept up the bitter struggle, hoping that at last we should have a
general capable of coping with Montcalm.

[Sidenote: EDMUND ENLISTS]

It was a gloomy time, but we kept pegging away in a resolute manner, for
it was a question whether we or the French should be masters of this
country; whether we should keep our farms and have a roof over our heads
or should be overrun by murderous Indians. And arrangements were made to
have a larger army in the field than ever before.

About the middle of January, Edmund sent me word from Concord that
Captain Robert Rogers was enlisting men for a new company in his corps
of Rangers. He said: "I have joined the company and have been made
sergeant. Rogers will return to Boston by the way of Lexington and will
stay over night at Jonathan Raymond's tavern. Come up there sure and see
me."

As father and I were working in the barn, I said to him: "Father, I
think the time has come when I ought to go to the war. You promised that
I might enlist in the spring. But I'd a good deal rather go with this
man Rogers and do some fighting than sit round doing nothing and die of
camp disease as the rest of the army have been doing."

He kept on for a while pitching the hay down in front o