eople come to look at one, and admire one. O it must be a
fine thing to be a soldier!

Yet when the vexation of the moment was over, he found so much ease
and diversion in the great family, it was so suited to his low taste
and sensual appetites, that he thought no more of the matter. He
forgot the glories of a soldier, and eagerly returned to all the
mean gratifications of the kitchen. His evil habits were but little
attended to by those with whom he lived; his faults, among which
were lying and swearing, were not often corrected by the family, who
had little objections to those sins, which only offended God and
did not much affect their own interest or property. And except that
William was obliged to work rather more than he liked, he found
little, while he was young and healthy, that was very disagreeable
in this service. So he went on, still thinking, however, when things
went a little cross, what a fine thing it was to be a soldier! At
last one day as he was waiting at dinner, he had the misfortune to
let fall a china dish, and broke it all to pieces. It was a curious
dish, much valued by the family, as they pretended; this family were
indeed apt to set a false fantastic value on things, and not to
estimate them by their real worth. The heads of the family, who had
generally been rather patient and good-humored with William, as I
said before, for those vices, which though offensive to God did not
touch their own pocket, now flew out into a violent passion with
him, called him a thousand hard names, and even threatened to
horsewhip him for his shameful negligence.

William in a great fright, for he was a sad coward at bottom, ran
directly out of the house to avoid the threatened punishment; and
happening just at that very time to pass by the parade where the
soldiers chanced to be then exercising, his resolution was taken in
a moment. He instantly determined to be no more a slave, as he
called it; he would return no more to be subject to the humors of a
tyrannical family: no, he was resolved to be free; or at least, if
he must serve, he would serve no master but the king.

William, who had now and then happened to hear from the accidental
talk of the soldiers that those who served the great family he had
lived with, were slaves to their tyranny and vices, had also heard
in the same casual manner, that the service of the king was _perfect
freedom_. Now he had taken it into his head to hope that this might
be a fr