Blue Robin, the Girl Pioneer Part 30

"Hurrah for the Concord flag," cried Kitty Corwin, as she hoisted up a small maroon banner inscribed with the motto, "Conquer or Die." "This is one of the oldest flags in America, for it was the one carried when the 'embattled farmers fired the shot heard round the world'"-she twirled it high in air-"on the 19th of April, 1775, at the first battle of the Revolution!"

"Oh, but your flag hasn't the romance that mine has," said Edith, ostentatiously waving a crimson flag fringed at the ends, and with a cord and ta.s.sel. "This is the Eutaw flag and was made by Miss Jane Elliot. Col. William Was.h.i.+ngton-he was a relative or something of little Georgie-when stationed at Charleston, South Carolina, fell in love with Miss Jane. One night, after spending the evening with his lady love, as he bade her good night, she said she hoped to hear good news of his flag and fortune. Whereupon the poor colonel was forced to confess that his corps had no flag. Upon hearing this the young lady pulled down one of the portieres, cut it to the right size, fringed it at the ends, stuck it on a curtain pole, and then presented it to her gallant lover, telling him to make it his standard. Of course after that it brought good luck and won a great victory at Cowpens, January, 1781, and another at Eutaw Springs the following September. Forty years later the flag was presented by the hands that made it to the Was.h.i.+ngton Light Infantry of Charleston, for the fair Jane married the colonel, all right."

"Well, don't you girls boast too much," declared Jessie, "for if it hadn't been for my flag there wouldn't have been any banners of liberty to make you patriotic." And Jessie held up a white flag barred with the scarlet cross of St. George, the flag dear to Merrie Old England as the flag of the people, and beloved by the colonists as the ensign that floated from the little s.h.i.+p _Mayflower_.

As if to supplement Jessie's declaration, an Oriole gayly flaunted the Red Ensign of Great Britain with its canton quartered by the cross of St. George and St. Andrew. "This is the flag that followed Jessie's and was necessarily adopted by the colonists as the flag of the mother country. It was called the Union flag-the two crosses signifying the union of Scotland and England, when King James of Scotland became king-and remained in use in America until the beginning of the Revolution."

Grace, who had been impatiently waiting to float her flag, now cried, "Away with your old Johnnie Bull flags! Mine is worth a hundred of those old English rags, for it was the first distinctively American flag used by the Colonies, 'The Pine Tree Flag of New England.'"

"But it has the red cross on the white canton just the same," ventured Jessie, "and it is red, too."

"Of course it has the cross on it," quickly retorted Grace, "for at that time the Colonies still belonged to England; but if you look, my lady, you'll see that pine in the first quarter of the canton, and that is American all through, every pine on it. It meant that the colonists, although they were English, had a right to representation in the mother country and to a symbol of their own."

"Well," persisted Jessie, in whose veins flowed a goodly supply of English blood, "your scrubby old pine was such a poor representation of that n.o.ble tree that Charles II asked what it represented-and was told it was an oak."

"Come, Jessie," laughed Helen, "that story is a back number. Every one can guess without much effort that the man who told that yarn to the king was a New Englander. He wanted to gain favor with Charles and bluffed him a bit, trying to make out it was a model of the royal oak in which his majesty took refuge after the battle of Worcester."

"Oh, stop discussing the merits of that old pine and look at my banner,"

sang out Louise Gaynor, shaking her flag furiously to and fro so as to get the attention of the girls. "This flag is the Crescent flag and stands for the bravest of the brave. Now listen, and you will all understand what true heroism means."

The girls, impressed by the Flower's declaration, grew silent, and gazed curiously at a red banner with a white crescent in the upper corner near the staff. "This flag was designed by Col. Moultrie of the Second Carolina Infantry in 1775. During the siege of Charleston when the flag was shot down, Sergeant William Jasper at the peril of his life recovered it, and held it in place on the parapet until another staff was found. In 1779, at the a.s.sault on Savannah, it was again shot from its holdings. Two lieutenants sprang forward and held it in position until they were killed by the enemy's bullets. Jasper again sprang forward and held the colors up until he, too, was riddled with bullets, and fell into a ditch. As he was dying he seized the flag in his hands and cried, 'Tell Mrs. Elliot'-she was the wife of one of the majors-'that I lost my life supporting the colors she gave our regiment.'"

Barbara, who was usually so placid and mild, now grew quite intense as she pointed to her flag, the Cambridge flag, claiming that it was the first flag on this side of the water to float the red and white bars. It signified, she said, that although the colonists were willing to return to the rule of the English, they were a body of armed men fighting for just and equal rights with their brothers who had crossed the sea to whip them into submission. "But they didn't," ended Barbara with triumphant eyes. "And this flag, also known as the Union flag-meaning that the colonists stood as a man in their desire for the right-was displayed by Was.h.i.+ngton in his camp at Cambridge, January 2nd, 1776."

"Now let me have a chance," pleaded Nathalie, who had been impatiently waiting to show her design for some time. "My flag has a story, too."

She held up as high as she could a white flag with a rattlesnake in the center. It bore in black letters the name, "The Culpeper Minute Men of Virginia," the snaky slogan, "Don't Tread On Me," and the famous words of its commander, Patrick Henry, "Liberty or Death!"

"Do you see that rattlesnake?" continued Miss Nathalie, as she brought her flag to a standstill and pointed to the snaky emblem. "That has a story-"

"Pooh," interposed Edith, who was jealously guarding her declaration that her flag was the most beautiful because it had a story. "I don't see any story about that snaky old thing. Ugh, I never could understand why so many flags had that design."

"I will tell you why," declared Nathalie, "because I have looked it up, and-"

"But you are not the only one who has looked up flags," chimed Jessie, "for my eyes were just about ruined trying to get a merit badge for proficiency in flag history-"

"And for deftness and skill in making our flags," broke in a Pioneer from the Bob White group.

"I beg your pardon, girls, I know you are all very wise on the subject of flags this morning," rejoined Nathalie good-naturedly, "but do you know why the rattlesnake was chosen as an ensign?"

She waited a moment, but as no one seemed to know she went on. "The rattlesnake is to be found only in America; my authority is Benjamin Franklin. It is the wisest of the snake family, therefore a symbol of wisdom. Its bright, lidless eyes never close, this signifies vigilance.

It never attacks without giving due notice, which meant that the American colonies were on the square. Each rattle is perfect, while at the same time it is so firmly attached to its fellows that it cannot be separated without incurring the ruin of all; each colony was a complete unit in itself, and yet it could not stand unless it had the support of the others. As it ages, the rattles increase in numbers, which meant that it was the fervent desire of the people that the colonies should increase in numbers with the years."

As Nathalie finished her little lecture, Helen, with a sudden movement, shouldered her flag like a musket, and parting the group of girls, marched jubilantly down the center, crying, "Oh, girls, you have had the floor long enough to tell of the beauties and glories of your paltry banners, but let me tell you, not a flag has won the honors and glories that mine has. Hurrah, girls, for Old Glory!" she ended with a triumphant wave of the Stars and Stripes above their heads.

As if inspired by the sight of the cheery banner so gallantly flung to the breezes by their comrade, the girls with one accord broke into the flag cheer:

"Hear! hear; hear Girl Pioneer!

For flag so dear give a cheer!

For the bars that are white and red, And stars on blue overhead We honor thee with a cheer!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Girl Pioneer!"

Before the echo of the cheer had died in the distance Nathalie cried, "Oh, girls, the first signal!" Immediately these little patriotic Daughters of that which every one holds dear fell into line, and with flags upheld fastened their eyes on a small platform that had been erected in the center of the lawn draped with the national colors, where the G.o.ddess of Liberty had just appeared. Holding up a green branch in her hand she began to walk agitatedly up and down the stage, pausing abruptly every moment or so to peer to the right or left, as if watching for some one.

Suddenly she halted, and with the dramatic gestures of Lillie Bell-for it was she-cried in mournful tone, "'Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty G.o.d! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!'"

As the tragic intonation of her voice ceased, the band-composed, by the way, of a number of Scouts-burst forth with that old melody, "The Wearing of the Green." This was another signal, and the girls waiting under the arch began to march slowly towards the stage, while the G.o.ddess in feigned mystification moved quickly from side to side with her hand held to her ear, as if trying to ascertain whence came this martial tune.

But on came the Daughters of Liberty with flashes of white and red, and with banners of many designs and devices. They presented such a brilliant showing that the audience seated in rows on the circling mounds broke into loud applause, which burst into enthusiastic cheers of greeting, as in the bright glare of the sunlight they perceived Old Glory floating far above the heads of the banner bearers as they proudly marched across the green.

When the G.o.ddess perceived this procession of fair damsels she stood apparently in a maze for a moment, and then slowly retreated backward until she stood on the scarlet draped dais with its throne. As the thirteen maids of freedom filed slowly on the platform, forming a half circle before the G.o.ddess, the band struck into that old-time air, "The Liberty Tree," and a second later every Daughter had chimed in and was singing:

"In a chariot of light from the regions of day The G.o.ddess of Liberty came; Ten thousand celestials directed the way, And hither conducted the dame.

A fair budding branch from the gardens above, Where millions and millions agree She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love, And the plant she named Liberty Tree."

CHAPTER XVIII-THE PRINCESS MAKES TWO MORE FRIENDS

"And the plant she named Liberty Tree," sang Nita blithely up in the window of the sun parlor, where she sat with her mother and her old Scotch nurse, Ellen, watching the brilliant scene being enacted down on the lawn.

As the last verse ended-and there were four-Helen stepped before the G.o.ddess, and after saluting told in a few words how the brave pioneers had brought to this land a tiny spark which had flamed into the sacred fire of Liberty. As time wore on, trampled by the sons of Tyranny, it was in danger of being stamped out, when the daughters of these pioneers fled to its aid in their great fight for the right, and by their bravery and heroic self-denial had revived the sacred fire. The ensigns now floating before her were the signals of their success in making this land, "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!"

An expression of regret flitted across Nita's face as she realized that she could not hear the words Helen was speaking, but in a moment, remembering, she cried, "But I have them, Mamma, for Nathalie not only taught me the words of the songs, but wrote down for me the speeches of the girls. Ah, Helen is telling the G.o.ddess how the Pilgrims came to this land and planted the Liberty Tree. Of course they did not really plant it, you know, only in their hearts, for they were determined to have liberty of conscience, speech, and action.

"Oh, and there's another daughter speaking to the G.o.ddess. See, she carries the flag that came over in the _Mayflower_ with the Pilgrims."

Then Miss Nita, finding she had an appreciative audience in her mother and Ellen, rattled on, highly pleased to think she was giving them such good entertainment. She repeated the words of each fair daughter as she displayed her trophy of liberty, and could clap as enthusiastically as the spectators watching from the hillocks in the distance. Mrs. Van Vorst, as she heard her daughter's words and witnessed her joy, entering with as much zest and spirit into the patriotic little drill as the Pioneers smiled in attune with the invalid, showing more enjoyment than she had done for years.

"There's the flag of Bunker Hill; it is just like the Pine Tree flag, only it is blue instead of red," exclaimed Nita. "And, oh, Mother, see, there's the real Liberty Flag with its pine tree, and motto, 'An Appeal to Heaven.' Look quick! that's the Markoe flag! See, it is yellow and has thirteen stripes of blue and silver. Nathalie said this flag was the first one on land to float stripes, and that it was the flag carried by the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse when they escorted Was.h.i.+ngton to New York. And that crimson silk flag is the Casimir flag; it belonged to Count Casimir. He was the son of Pulaski, who perished in a dungeon for advocating the cause of liberty. The Count came to America and organized a corps of cavalry at Baltimore, and when the Moravian nuns heard of it they presented him with that flag. But, oh, Mother, the poor Count died after all; he was shot at the siege of Savannah in 1779."

Ellen, the old Scotch nurse who adored her invalid charge, and who had always taken care of her from the time she was a wee tot, was deeply stirred as she saw how Nita entered into the new life that had suddenly been opened up to her, and her face fairly beamed with gratified pride as she heard her repeat the songs and speeches of the girls in the playlet.

When the last speech ended, the strains of Yankee Doodle were heard, and presently a Scout in the uniform of a Continental soldier appeared on the platform carrying a draped flag. After saluting the mother of Freedom he planted his pole in the center of the circle of Liberty maidens, and the next instant each one had caught up one of the red, blue, and white streamers that hung from it, and were swinging gayly around, singing "The Red, White, and Blue."

This song was followed by the "Battle Cry of Freedom," and then the soldier, saluting the G.o.ddess again in a short speech, said he desired to present to her an emblem, the outgrowth of the labors of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. The ensign that stands for everything that is just, true, and progressive, the symbol of the sovereignty of Civilization, the banner that had been unfurled in more movements for the protection, the liberty, and the elevation of mankind, than any ensign that ripples to the four winds of Heaven.

Oh, no, the little company up in the window didn't hear all these words from the lips of the soldier, but from Nita as she read them softly from her paper. But they did see the signal given by the soldier, and clapped with joy when each fair daughter pulled her streamer, the red drapings fell from the pole, and Old Glory stood revealed. And as the colors swayed softly in the gentle breeze they joined with patriotic fervor as the girls and audience broke into "The Star Spangled Banner!"

The Flag Drill was over, and the girls, breaking ranks, were soon scattered here and there over the lawn in groups, as they stood receiving the congratulations of their friends on the success of the entertainment. It was but a moment or so, however, and the girls had all rushed back to duty, and each one with a scout was serving ice-cream and cake to the buyers at the gayly festooned tables under the trees.

Nathalie, nerve and bone tired, was wis.h.i.+ng that she could sit down if only for a moment, when her eyes suddenly grew bright with thought, and the next second she had darted across the gra.s.s crying, "Oh, Grace, don't you think it would be nice if we could take some cream and cake up to Nita and her mother?"

"Nita?" repeated that young lady, who had never heard the name before.

"Why, what do you mean?"

Nathalie started. "Oh, why, to be sure, I forgot to tell you about her, but Mrs. Morrow thought best to-"

Nathalie broke off in despair as she realized that Grace knew nothing about the princess in the tower and the many other happenings at the gray house, only that its owner had consented to allow the girls to use her lawn.