CHAPTER VIII
EARNING THE PRIZES
As may be imagined, no time was lost in play or other occupations aslong as those packages remained unopened in the case. From theexamination of the outside George said he was sure they containedcomplete outfits for the army. If this surmise was correct, what aglorious time they would have when all dressed up in suitable uniforms!
"Mother, how can we all learn those maxims by heart when we have onlyone book to study from?" asked George.
"I thought of that, too, and asked father to have his secretary copythem on paper, so each of you could have a set to study," said Mrs.Parke.
"Oh, then you knew all about these prizes before they came, eh?" saidMartha.
"Yes, and now I'll get the papers for you. Jim will have to have youread his aloud and help him memorize them," replied Mrs. Parke, goingover to the desk, where she took up a bundle of typewritten sheets todistribute to the children.
"I wish to read a short introduction to these rules that were such aguide to our great general. These 'Contemplations' formed the subject ofWashington's early study and devotions. They exerted a direct influencein the formation of his principles of action. His well-known habits ofprivate devotion to Deity were formed somewhat by imprinting on him mindsuch passages as the following:
"'An humble man leans not to his own understanding; he is sensible ofthe deficiency of his own power and wisdom, and trusts not in it; he isalso sensible of the all-sufficient power, wisdom and goodness ofalmighty God, and commits himself to Him for counsel, guidance,direction and strength.
"'I can call my own experience to witness that in the external actions,occurrences and incidents of my whole life I was never disappointed ofthe best guidance and direction when in humility and sense of my owndeficiency, or inability to direct myself, or to grapple with thedifficulties of my life, I have with humility and sincerity implored thesecret direction and guidance of the Divine Wisdom and Providence.
"'And I dare appeal to the strict observation of any man'sexperience--whether those counsels and purposes which have been taken upafter an humble invocation of the Divine Direction have not always beenmost successful in the end.
"'Consider what it is that thou pridest thyself in and examine well thenature of the things themselves, how little and inconsiderable they are;at least how uncertain and unstable they are.
"'Thou hast fine clothes, and this makes children and young men andwomen proud, even to admiration; but thou art not half so fine and gayas the peacock, ostrich or parrot, nor is thy finery so much thine astheirs is, but it is borrowed from the silkworm, the gold mines, theindustry of the embroiderer, weaver, tailor, and is no part of thyself.And hast thou the patience to suffer thyself to be abused into thischildish, pitiful, foolish pride?
"'Thou hast, it may be, wealth, stores of money; but how much of it isof use to thee? That which thou spendest is gone; that which thoukeepest is as insignificant as so much dirt or clay; only thy care aboutit makes thy life the more uneasy.
"'Thou hast honor, esteem; thou art deceived, for thou hast it not; hehath it that giveth it thee, and which he may detain from thee atpleasure; but suppose it were as fixed a reputation as a rock of marble,and that it were the best kind of honor imaginable--the result of virtueor worth--canst thou think it reasonable to be proud of the shadow, wherethou oughtest not to be proud of that worth that causeth it?
"'Again: Thou art in great power, or place and authority; but thou artmistaken in this; the power thou hast is not inherent in thyself. One ofthe meanest of those whom it may be thou oppressest is as powerful asthee, and could, it may be, overmatch thee in strength, wit or policy;but thy power is invested in thee by those men whose promises, faith, orvoluntary assistance thou hast. This power depends upon the fidelity orassistance of others, which, if withdrawn, leaves you like Samson shornof his locks. _Thy strength will go from thee, and thou wilt becomeweak, and be like another man._'"
"Mother, you have read quite enough for one day. It will likely take usa week to learn all that by heart, and that will be a week of this visitlost!" cried George disconsolately.
"But suppose I entreat father to have you learn some verses from 'MotherGoose' to recite to us instead of these maxims--do you think you couldmemorize them quickly?" suggested Mrs. Parke.
"Oh, yes, mother! Do ask him that. We can learn 'Jack and the Beanstalk'or anything like that in no time," hastily replied Martha.
"Ah! then it shows that the only trouble with memorizing these trulygreat sayings is that you won't bother to study what is good andhelpful! 'Mother Goose' is funny and amusing, and you promise to learnany such verses quickly; that is why father wishes you to learn these'Contemplations' and afterward wear the uniform of an American soldier;because one cannot be frivolous and inclined to constant fun if he is tobe the custodian of his country's safety," declared Mrs. Parke.
"But can't you see that 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?'"argued George impatiently.
"Have you any proposal to make better than the one father planned forthe earning of the prize packages?" asked his mother.
"Well, we might arrange it this way: For every set of contemplations ormaxims we learn each day we are to receive something from those packagesas a reward. If we learn a long paragraph like some you read to us justnow we ought to have some big item in the package. For a short verse orparagraph you are to give us a glove or a shoe or a cap--if there are anyin the boxes," said George.
"Yes, yes! That is a fine idea!" shouted the other children in chorus,so that the ladies smiled.
"Well, as the main thing is to have you learn these valuable sayings byheart, it may be better to serve them out to you one a day, and pay thereward as you suggest. But remember, the prize is not what we are aimingat--it is the memory of the great words, that will have its effect onyour after lives," responded Mrs. Parke.
"Yes, yes, we know! We'll let it affect our after life if you will butlet us have the soldiers' outfits right now!" retorted George, so thatevery one laughed at his reply.
"Well, then take the first paragraph and learn it well. As each oneknows it without error we will hear it recited and give the reward forthe study," sighed Mrs. Parke, who feared the wonderful words would failto leave an impression such as her husband hoped for.
For the rest of that day very little commotion was heard about the Parkehouse, but Jack appeared about four o'clock with the assurance that hehad mastered the first maxim.
Mrs. Davis heard him recite it while both ladies held a copy of thepaper. He had memorized the words, but seemed to have failed inunderstanding them, so his recital was more like that of a parrot'sspeech.
"Just what I thought," said Mrs. Parke, in an aside.
"Kate, we must add to this method of memorizing; each child should beable to explain what the words mean and how they individually interpretthem."
"Please give me my prize now and talk over the best way to impress ourminds when I am gone," cried Jack, disappointed that he had not beenhanded his package immediately upon rendering the maxim correctly.
With a sigh of despair his mother gave him the first reward--a khaki armycoat trimmed with blue braid and brass buttons. It was a very elaborateaffair, that any youthful general might be proud to wear.
The moment Jack saw it he gave a wild cheer and raced from the room tocall to his companions. From the lilac bushes, from the summer house,from the cool back porch and from the hammocks swung under the mapletrees ran the friends who were eager to admire the prize won by thefirst member of their army.
The boys had to try it on, and there followed many exclamations ofdelight and approval. Then, as each wished it was his they rememberedthe way to earn one, so they hurried back to their papers.
Thus, by learning the paragraphs in order as they came on the pages, thechildren not only won rewards, but also imbibed the high and excellentmaxims followed by General Washington.
When the first few rules were learned Mrs. Parke gave the children
newones. As she distributed them she said: "Before you go I wish to readsome splendid things Washington wrote as he supposes himself to bestanding before the Seat of Judgment, answering to God for the chargesgiven him to account for:
"'I have given unto you all understanding and reason, to be a guide ofyour actions, and to some of you more eminent degrees thereof.
"'I have given you a conscience to direct you, and to check you in yourmiscarriages, and to encourage you in well-doing; and I have furnishedthat conscience of yours with light and principles of truth and practiceconformable to my will.
"'I have given you the advantage of speech, whereby to communicate yourthoughts to one another and to instruct and advantage one another by thehelp thereof.
"'I have given you counsel and advice of faithful and judicious friends;good laws in the place and country where you live; the written word ofGod acquainting you with my will and the way to eternal life; the wordpreached thereof; the sacrament both for your initiation andconfirmation.
"'And the man who stands at the bar of judgment answering his God mustgive a true and faithful accounting of all he did or hoped to accomplishwith the talents thus given him on earth.'
"Now, children, this last section of Washington's words are to me mostimportant, as they embody the whole basis of his religious attitude. Andevery one knows what an account he could render the Master for being aGood Steward in the field.
"I am sure that his harvest must have been very acceptable to God, forthere were no tares mixed with his wheat," said Mrs. Parke seriously.
"If our children--descendants of that noble character, Washington--canrender as good a record of works accomplished on earth when they appearbefore the Throne of the Great Judge it will be a cause for greatrejoicing and thanksgiving for all," added Mrs. Davis.
"Yes, I suppose it would, aunty, but you see times change and so dofolks, and ways change with them. George Washington just had to be good'cause it was born in him, and God made him feel that he had to be anexample for America. Doesn't it show it was so, when he never wanted toquarrel in school, he never told a lie--even kept his mouth shut whensomething was being asked that he knew all about--and the way hesacrificed fun and good times just to study old dry stuff like thesemaxims? Oh, he was, indeed, a queer boy!" sighed George, rolling hiseyes upward in earnest contemplation of the ceiling.
The ladies had great difficulty in maintaining serious faces at theseremarks, but they felt all would be ruined if they laughed outright, sothey managed, both of them, to remain stern and respectful.
"Haven't we occasion to thank God that he was such a serious-minded boy?What would the United States have done if he had been otherwise?" askedMrs. Parke.
"But it didn't! If Washington wasn't that kind God would have raised upanother Moses in the Land of Bondage, to lead the poor colonists out ofEgypt!" declared Martha triumphantly.
"You said yourself, while explaining some Bible reading the other day,that it wasn't the name or mortal man that did all the great andglorious things, but the power of the Principle that influenced andoperated through a being. Then I could be as great as General Washingtonif the test came and I was being moved to do glorious deeds through thehelp of God," said George, frowning over such a theological problem.
"Yes, you could, if you understood enough of the Truth and operation ofGod, who _is_ Principle, to apply what you knew; but the Truth does notoperate blindly, remember, and Washington would never have been guidedas he was if he hadn't applied his _thoughts_ seriously to finding outthe 'deep things of God'," said Mrs. Parke earnestly.
The children showed an eagerness to get away from further preaching, sothe ladies rose as a signal that the meeting was over. With gratefulsighs the youngsters hurried away to learn the next dry and, to them,senseless maxim of Washington's.