y honor, my sword, and all
I am to Washington!"

He stood in silence; no other cup with his was raised. He left the
hall, and walked that night the square of York beneath the moon and
stars as he had done at Metz.

He poured forth his soul, thinking again the thoughts of Metz, and
making again the high resolves that he had made on Carolina's sands with
Baron de Kalb:

"O Liberty! the star of hope that lights each noble cause, uniting in
one will the hearts of men, and massing in one force the wills of men.
The stars obey the sun; the earth, the stars; the nations, those who
rise o'er vain ambitions and become the cause. Thou gavest Rome the
earth and Greece the sea; thou sweepest down the Alps, and made the
marbles bloom like roses, for thy heroes' monuments! I hear thy voice,
and I obey, as all the true have bowed who more than self have loved
mankind!"

The coming of Franklin to Passy and the going of Lafayette from Metz
were among the great influences of the age of liberty. Count Rochambeau
followed Lafayette after the alliance, and brought over with him among
his regiments the grenadiers of Auvergne--_Auvergne sans tache_, which
motto they honored at Yorktown.

Jenny's heart beat with joy as she heard of the coming of Lafayette. In
these years of the great struggle for human liberty she looked at the
watch and counted the hours.

Franklin had long been the hope of the country. America looked to him to
secure the help of France in the long struggle for liberty. Into this
hope humble Jane Mecom entered with a sister's confidence and pride.

She awaited the news from Philadelphia, which was the seat of
government, with the deepest concern. The nation's affairs were her
family affairs. She heard it said daily that if Franklin secured the aid
of the French arms, the cause of liberty in America would be won. It was
the kindly hand that led her when a girl that was now moving behind
these great events.

One July day, at the full tide of the year, she was standing in the
bowery yard of her simple home, thinking of her brother and the hope of
the people in him. She moved, as under a spell of thought, out of the
gate and toward Beacon Hill. She met Jamie the Scotchman on her way.

"An' do you think that he will be able to do it?" said Jamie. By "it" he
meant the alliance of France with the colonies. "Surely it is a big job
to undertake, but if he should succeed, Jane, I want you always to
remember what a friend I