“I hope, George,” said the earl, as they rose from the table, “that you have the excellent habit of learning something every day. As a beginning, you may have Lance’s services every morning for two hours to teach you fencing--not only with the rapier, but the sword-exercise on horseback and afoot. It is not only well for you, as you intend entering a military life, to know this, but it is the finest exercise possible for the muscles and the eye, and also in the art of keeping one’s temper. I shall expect you to become proficient in this noble art.” “I’ll try, sir,” was George’s modest answer. Lord Fairfax then led the way to the room which Lance had called the arsenal. Here were all manner of arms: quaint old arquebuses and matchlocks, every sort of pistol then in use, fowling-pieces, and on a rack in a corner two dozen serviceable modern muskets, shining and polished, and evidently ready for use; then there were rapiers and small swords and broadswords and claymores and strange curved Turkish scimitars. George’s eyes glittered with delight as he examined all these curious and interesting things. Presently Lance entered, and Lord Fairfax left the room. George soon found that this room and its contents were the old soldier’s pride. He had some interesting story to tell about every weapon in the collection, but George cut him short with a request to begin his fencing-lesson. Lance took down the foils and masks, and, while examining them, said: “Mr. Washington, what do you think is the first and greatest thing a man must have to learn to be a good fencer?” “Courage,” replied George. “Courage is necessary; but no man ever learned fencing by being courageous.” “Swiftness, dexterity, keeping your eyes wide open--” “All of them are necessary too, sir; but the great thing is good temper. If you lose your temper and fly into a passion, your adversary has you at his mercy. I never saw a man with an ungovernable temper that I couldn’t knock the blade out of his hand in five minutes.” George’s face fell at this. “I am afraid, Lance,” he said, “that I have a very quick temper, and a very high temper.” “Do you let it run away with you, sir?” asked Lance, passing his foil through his fingers. “Sometimes,” answered George, dejectedly; “though I have never fallen into a passion before my mother, or any woman, since I was a little boy, because it is certainly not gentlemanlike to be violent where ladies are--’tis a gross insult to them, of which I would not be guilty.” “Well, sir,” continued Lance, still critically examining his foil, “if you can do so much out of respect for ladies, I should think you could do a little more out of respect for yourself, and keep your temper always.”