As we proceed with this narrative, after having enjoyed this glimpse of George's earliest years, the charming lines of Burleigh will find a fitting application. "By honest work and inward truth The victories of our life are won, And what is wisely done in youth For all the years is wisely done; The little deeds of every day Shape that within which lives for aye. "No thought so buried in the dark It shall not bear its bloom in light; No act too small to leave its mark Upon the young hearts tablet white; Our grand achievements, secret springs, Are tempered among trivial things. "No soul at last is truly great That was not greatly true at first; In childhood's play are seeds of fate Whose flower in manhood's work shall burst. In the clinched fist of baby Thor Might seem his hammer clutched for war. * * * * * "The firmest tower to heaven up-piled Hides deepest its foundation-stone; Do well the duty of the child, And manhood's task is well begun; In thunders of the forum yet Resounds the mastered alphabet." George was about eight years old when a great excitement arose among the colonists in Virginia, and the fife and drum were heard, to announce that England, the mother country, needed soldiers. "A regiment of four battalions is called for, by the king, for a campaign in the West Indies," announced Mr. Washington to his son Lawrence, a young man twenty-two years of age. "A good opportunity for me," answered Lawrence, who possessed much of the military spirit of his ancestors. "Perhaps I can get a commission." "Perhaps so," responded his father; "your education ought to place you above the common soldier." Lawrence had just returned from England, where he had spent seven years in study, enjoying the best literary advantages the country could afford. "Well, I can enlist and then see what can be done," continued Lawrence. "The regiment will be raised at once, and I can soon find out whether there is an appointment for me." Soon recruiting parties were parading at the sound of fife and drum, and the military spirit was aroused in the hearts of both young and old. The enthusiasm spread and grew like a fire in the wilderness. The colonists were truly loyal to the king, and their patriotism led them, heartily and promptly, into the defence of the English cause in the West Indies against the Spaniards.