The Little Washington's Relatives Read online

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  The Little Washingtons' Relatives

  Lillian Elizabeth Roy

  CONTENTS CHAPTER I--THE CITY COUSINS CHAPTER II--THE CUSTIS WEDDING PARTY CHAPTER III--MARTHA CUSTIS' STORY CHAPTER IV--WASHINGTON THE GENERAL CHAPTER V--THE BOSTON TEA PARTY CHAPTER VI--THE BATTLE OF BOSTON CHAPTER VII--BATTLES ABOUT NEW YORK CHAPTER VIII--EARNING THE PRIZES CHAPTER IX--THE ARMY WINS UNIFORMS

  "OH, I'VE GOT IT ALL PLANNED OUT"--DECLARED GEORGE.]

  THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' RELATIVES

  BY

  LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

  Made in the United States of America

  Copyright, 1918, by

  THE PLATT & NOURSE COMPANY

  THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' RELATIVES

  CHAPTER I

  THE CITY COUSINS

  "I heard the automobile horn, Martha!" shouted George Parke, jumpingfrom the newel post of the front veranda steps, where he had perchedhimself to await the Philadelphia cousins who were expected thatmorning.

  "I didn't hear anything but Jim squealing 'cause his mammy won't let himpeek around the corner of the house," scorned Martha Parke, his sister,a year and a half younger than George.

  "Well, it's time for them to be here, anyway," argued George, with theusual finality of a boy past ten years of age.

  "I wonder what they look like. Can you remember either one when wevisited Philadelphia five years ago?" ventured Martha.

  "All I can remember is Anne having yellow hair and her pinafore alwaystwisted in her hands, and Jack going around with that little paper matthat he wove in kindergarten school his first day. Don't you rememberhow he took it to bed with him, and all the red paper came off on hispillow during the night when he breathed on it, and his mother thoughthe was bleeding at the nose and mouth?" and George laughed at the dimrecollections of five years ago.

  "Oh, yes, I remember that! Wasn't it funny when his nurse scrubbed andscrubbed to get the red dye from his face, and all the soap-suds got inhis mouth so's he yelled and fought!" laughed Martha also.

  "And don't you remember the day we were left alone to play while auntytook mother to the opera--we couldn't go out 'cause it rained so hard,and we began sliding down the marble end of the bath tub? That wasfun--just like winter when the snow is on the ground," reminded Martha.

  "Yes, and then two of us tried to slide down at the same time and gotstuck in the bottom of the tub. Jack was bigger, so he pulled himselfout, and in doing so managed to turn on the faucet. My, but wasn't I wetthat day!" roared George, slapping his knee.

  "Oo-oh, but do you remember how Uncle Fred scolded when he saw thescratches our shoes had made in the porcelain tub?" breathed Martha,still fearful of that escapade.

  "Ha, ha! Martha, do you remember the day we went to the zoo and fedpeanuts to the monkeys? Wasn't that funny when the chimpanzee caughtAnne's little straw hat and carried it to the top of the cage and put iton his own head? I'll never forget how we all screamed to him to bringit back--as if the monkey understood us."

  "Even the animal trainer couldn't make him give it back, and Aunt Allybegged him to leave it, as she would not take it again, anyway,"chuckled Martha, picturing the scene again.

  "That was a fine visit, Martha--eh?" said George, looking at his sisterfor smiling approval.

  "Yes, and I've been thinking, George, we ought to give our cousins justas good a time while they visit us here," said the little girl.

  "Oh, I've got it all planned out--you wait and see!" declared George.

  "You have? Oh, you never said a word to me about it! Do tell me what itis."

  "Well, in the first place, we have to take them all over and introducethem to John Graham and his place," said George, counting off the planon his fingers.

  "Uh-huh--and don't forget Jim. We must introduce Jim, you know," remindedMartha.

  "Da's right! Yo' all jus' cough when yo' want's me an' Ah'll pop rightout. I'se hidin' heah now whar mammy cain't see me," came a hoarsewhisper from the Virginia creeper vine at the side of the porch.

  "Oo-oh, you there, Jim--come out and let's plan things," called George,running over to drag out a seven-year-old pickaninny who was theirconstant shadow and general factotum,--especially so when there wasmischief brewing, for Jim always was the scapegoat.

  Jim resisted for a few moments, as he feared his mammy's large, flathand; but George assured him that as he was invited to be present at thereception of the city cousins it was all right with mammy.

  "As I was telling Martha--we must plan some great fun for our cousins'visit here, 'cause they gave us such a good time when we were littlechildren," explained George, now an _old man_ past the age of ten.

  "First we're going to show them all over the place--take them over toJohn's and everywhere," added Martha, explaining.

  "An' show dem whar we-all had th' homestead fire at th' back uv th'lot," reminded Jim, feeling tenderly of his now fuzzy new crop of hairgrown since his other locks had been sizzled off.

  "And don't forget to tell them all about the battle we had with John andhis cousins at Fort Duquesne that day. Of course they will see thebroken-down hedge and wonder at it--then we can tell them all about thefun without bragging," giggled Martha.

  "We're not through with that affair yet, either," added George. "I readin our history this morning that Braddock was _not_ killed that sameday, but Washington pulled him out of the fight and tried to save hislife, and for that great deed, General Braddock bequeathed his wonderfulcharger and also his body-servant, Bishop, to Washington. After thatWashington always rode that favorite horse and Bishop went everywherethe general went."

  "I'se kin be Bishop, Marser Garge! Cain't we borrer John's pony for th'charger some day when we-all play tha' battle agin?" asked Jim eagerly.

  "Sure! That's what I planned," quickly added George, to cover anydelighted surprise he felt at Jim's novel idea.

  "Then, when we get all through with showing our cousins how we foughtthat ambush of Indians, when Jim hit John on the stiff beaver with thehatchet, we can finish the play. There's lots to be played out in thatbattle. For instance, we buried Braddock right off, you see, and weought to have dragged him away while the Indians tried to scalp him. Wecan let him die after we get him to a settlement, and bury him decentlywith a fine funeral. Think of all the fun we can have putting John downin a real hole and throwing flowers on top of him!" planned Georgezealously.

  "No, George, that won't be nice! We mustn't play things like that atall! I hate to see funerals and hear people cry, and I never want tomake-believe any such thing!" objected Martha.

  "'Sides, Garge, yo' mommer'll punish yo' agin ef we put John in thegroun' and play he's daid!" warned Jim ominously.

  "And we can kill John by just pretending we did and jump that gravescene," quickly suggested Martha.

  "We-el, you two are too young for such play, I s'pose, but it would havebeen great to creep out to the back hedge some dark night and do thatBraddock death-bed scene with John! I'd be reading the service from abook, and the rest of you could be weeping and wringing your hands whileJim dropped John in the grave. Then we'd cover him with bushes andthings so's the Indians couldn't find him--they wanted his scalp, youknow," sighed George, as he reluctantly sacrificed the impressive sceneat the urgent request of his two companions.

  "Then what? When we finish Braddock what shall we play?" asked Martha.

  "Then it will be time for us to use those old-fashioned costumes wefound in the attic the day Jim came down the rope and thought he waskilled. We must have George getting marr
ied now--'cause he must begin theAmerican Revolution and do lots of things that he did after he wasmarried. Of course, I could play all he did without getting married, butas long as you're here and will want to play with us, I'll marry you,and then leave you at Mount Vernon while I go and have a good timefighting with the boys," generously said George to Martha.

  "She didn't! Martha Custis didn't stay at home! She followed the generalwhen he camped in the winters, and did lots of fine things for thesoldiers in the army. I'm going to play the same thing, and if you won'tlet me I won't marry you at all. I'll get Jack to play husband instead,and I'll marry him, so there!"

  "But, Martha, you can't! Don't you see no one but Washington would dofor Martha Custis?--and besides, Jack must act another part, so hecouldn't marry you even if I'd let him!" argued George, anxious over apossible refusal of his suit to Martha.

  "Ah don' see dat dat's any fun--jes' gettin' dressed up in dat finery inde attic an' gettin' married. It's heaps moh fun playin' war and bein'Injuns!" sneered Jim, who always was the Indian in these wars.

  "Oh, Jim! It will be lots of fun! You'll be the cook to fix the fineparty dinner, and Jack can play minister. John and Anne will be mychildren and Washington's step-children, you know," explained Martha.

  "Kin we-all git some cookies an' watermelyon fer de party?" asked Jimwith sudden interest.

  "Sure! I'll get mother to ask mammy for some, and besides I'll find somemore good things to eat. John can bring some, too, and we can have amake-believe stove and cook lots of fine things that they had at thatwedding supper," replied George.

  "Den Ah'll play cook!" agreed Jim.

  "S-sh! I know I heard a horn that time!" cried Martha.

  "So'd I! And see--down by the road that runs over the bridge of thecreek--there comes the car!" shouted George, forgetting his weddingarrangements and wars in the imminent joy of seeing his cousins who werecoming to have a long visit at the Parkes' home.

  As you remember, George and Martha Parke were the two children whoplayed the youthful life of George Washington, in the first book called"Little Washingtons."

  Their home was situated in the beautiful country suburbs of Washington,D. C., and being descended in one line of the illustrious Parke familyof Washington fame, naturally these children loved to hear all about thegreat American general's life. In September of that year Mrs. Parkebegan reading the history of George Washington's life--beginning with hisintroduction when he chopped down the cherry tree.

  In the first book George and Martha Parke had heard read, and thenapplied to their play, the destruction of the homestead where George wasborn, the boy's education, his surveying trips and camp, and finally thebattle under General Braddock, when the latter was killed at FortDuquesne.

  Then, just as the two children found the old-fashioned costumes (whilebeing shut in the attic for punishment for ruining the hedge at thatmomentous battle) and Jim crept out of the attic window and foundhimself on the ground, the story ended. But it starts again in this bookwith the Parke children watching for their cousins' arrival.

  John Graham, the next-door neighbor of the Parke children, had not beenheard from or seen that morning, but Jim, the only child of mammy, thecook in the Parkes' household, was on hand to welcome the expectedvisitors; then, just as the machine turned in at the stone gateway toroll up the driveway, John Graham rushed breathlessly up from the sidelawn.

  "Aren't they here yet?" called John eagerly.

  "Just comin'!" cried George, never taking his eyes from thefast-approaching automobile.

  "Heigh--hello there!" shouted a boy's voice, as a smiling face showedbeaming over the side of the limousine.

  "Hello, Jack! We're glad to see you!" cried George, jumping down thesteps to reach the terrace where the car stopped.

  Martha followed after her brother, but Jim and John stood in thebackground, watching and wondering at the two strangers. The fourcousins found they were not shy at all, and in fact, as they stillretained the looks of former times, they soon felt very much at homewith one another. Jack was a year the senior of George, and Anne wasabout a year older than Martha.

  The Philadelphia children had lost none of their fun-lovingdispositions, although Mrs. Parke had hoped they had developed intomodels of perfection. So this visit promised to be of great importanceto the "Little Washingtons" in many ways. Hence the warm welcomebestowed by George and Martha, and later by John Graham and thefactotum, Jim.

  Mrs. Davis greeted her little niece and nephew affectionately, then shefollowed Mrs. Parke up the veranda steps and into the house.

  "Have you got to change your clothes before we do anything?" askedGeorge, who wore his second-best suit and clean blouse-shirt.

  "Oh, I guess not. We're all dusty from travelling anyway, so a littlemore dust won't hurt any," laughed Jack.

  "And mother said my dress had to go straight in the tub, 'cause I upseta glass of choklate soda all down the front," added Anne, spreading outthe dimity ruffled dress to show her companions.

  "Come on then and see the place. Jim's got a rabbit hutch at the barns,and John's going to lend us his pony when we want to use it in ourplay," explained George, leading the group over the lawn by walkingbackward in front of them.

  Martha skipped on one side of the two new arrivals, and John Graham onthe other side, while Jim, the dark shadow, followed closely at theirheels.

  "Say, you've got a dandy place for fun, haven't you?" admired Jack,gazing around at the wide expanse of lawns and gardens at the rear ofthe estate.

  "Yes, but they always find us out just when we're having the finesttime!" sighed John dolefully.

  Jack laughed. "I'm sure they wouldn't find me if I lived here! But Anneand I only have a yard in a city block. The front steps from the door goright down to the sidewalk, and there's a little patch of grass in frontof the basement windows, with an area-way going to the back kitchen. Wehave only as much open space on each side of our house as from here tothere." As he explained, Jack showed a distance of five feet in front ofhim.

  "But you have the loveliest park only a few blocks away--and the museums,and zoo, and lots of things we haven't!" said George enviously.

  "You can't have fun in the zoo or a museum as you can in the open likethis place; but we'll make up here for not having the place inPhiladelphia, won't we, Anne?" laughed Jack.

  "Yes, if George and Martha won't have to spend all the time at lessons,"said Anne anxiously.

  "Oh, no, we were going to have a private teacher at home because theonly school is so far away from us in winter, but the house-teachermother engaged was taken sick and couldn't come as soon as expected, somother has been hearing our lessons and reading history to us. Now thatyour mother is visiting here, mother won't have as much time to hear ourlessons, see?" explained Martha eagerly.

  "And we can have all the more time for fun," added George.

  "How about you, John?" asked Jack, turning to the little neighbor boy.

  "Oh, I was going to join George and Martha at their house for lessonsthis year--my mother and their mother arranged it, you see, 'cause we aredistantly related, too, but now I don't have to study, either!" saidJohn with satisfaction.

  "Then we're all free for a fine time! You see, it just happened that thesame week our school opened, the measles broke out so bad that they hadto close again for a short time; and as every one we knew got themeasles, mother hurried us off for a visit until the thing is overagain," laughed Jack, feeling very happy over the consequences of theepidemic.

  "Fine!" declared George, turning to lead the way to the last scene ofbattle--the broken-down hedge between the Grahams' and Parkes' countryestates.