"Yes; but he received the proposal with abhorrence. Washington had fought to win freedom for his country, not to win power and glory for himself. He had no hunger for them, but a great love of liberty for his country and himself." "Do you think he was as great a man as Napoleon, captain?" asked Sydney. "Greater, much greater! Napoleon undoubtedly had genius, but he was utterly selfish, utterly unscrupulous in the means he took to gain power and satisfy his own ambition--even sacrificing the wife he probably really loved (after his own selfish fashion) in order to get an heir to the throne he had usurped." "And his fortunes began to wane from the time that he divorced poor Josephine," remarked Mr. Leland. "Yes; and the son and heir to gain which he had done such wickedness never succeeded to the crown or throne," remarked Grandma Elsie. "'The triumphing of the wicked is short.'" "I never thought of it before," remarked Sydney; "but isn't it odd that each of those great men married a widow with children, and had none of his own by her?" "And of our Washington it has been said, 'Providence left him childless that his country might call him father,'" said Mrs. Leland. "I have always thought that a very pretty idea." "A true one too, I do believe," said Evelyn; "he was so true a patriot--so wise, so unselfish, so true and good." "A countryman to be very, very proud of, and very thankful to God for giving us," said Grandma Elsie; "especially at that time, when he was so much needed." "Are there not a good many places in this neighborhood where something happened during the Revolution, papa?" asked Grace. "Yes, a good many. Orange County was one of the first settled portions of this State, named in honor of William, Prince of Orange, afterward King of England. The first settlers in what is now the town of Newburgh were Germans. They remained for only a time, however. They grew dissatisfied, sold out, and left; some going to Pennsylvania. Their places were filled by English, Irish, New Englanders, and a few Huguenots; and a number of settlements were soon planted along the river and in the rich bottom lands bordering the smaller streams. Many stirring tales could be told of their privations, alarms, and sufferings from the attacks of the Indians, both before and during the Revolution." "Papa," said Little Elsie earnestly, "don't you think we ought to thank our Heavenly Father very often that we didn't live then and here instead of now and where we do?" "Yes, indeed, daughter," he replied; "we have great reason to thank God for the liberty and security that are ours, and I think we should ever remember with love and gratitude the brave men who fought and bled to secure these liberties for us." "Indeed we should!" said Mrs. Travilla earnestly. "How it would have cheered and helped them in their toils and privations and struggles if they could have foreseen the great results visible in these days!"