also what we owe it.'

"'Truly,' resumed I, 'we owe it all that we are; it is a question of
love.'

"'And of honesty, my son,' concluded he. 'The member of a family who
does not contribute his share of work and of happiness fails in his duty,
and is a bad kinsman; the member of a partnership who does not enrich it
with all his might, with all his courage, and with all his heart,
defrauds it of what belongs to it, and is a dishonest man. It is the
same with him who enjoys the advantages of having a country, and does not
accept the burdens of it; he forfeits his honor, and is a bad citizen!'

"'And what must one do, lieutenant, to be a good citizen?' asked I.

"'Do for your country what you would do for your father and mother,' said
he.

"I did not answer at the moment; my heart was swelling, and the blood
boiling in my veins; but on returning along the road, my uncle's words
were, so to speak, written up before my eyes. I repeated, 'Do for your
country what you would do for your father and mother.' And my country is
in danger; an enemy attacks it, while I--I turn cups and balls!

"This thought tormented me so much all night that the next day I returned
to Vincennes to announce to the lieutenant that I had just enlisted, and
was going off to the frontier. The brave man pressed upon me his cross
of St. Louis, and I went away as proud as an ambassador.

"That is how, neighbor, I became a volunteer under the Republic before I