ng House.

It was unusual for the northern tribes to hold a council in
winter--especially during the moon of the hard snow, but the growing
bitterness of the white men had alarmed them. They had learned that
another and greater war was at hand and they were restless for fear of
it. The quarrel was of no concern to the red man, but he foresaw the
deadly peril of choosing the wrong side. So the wise men of the tribes
were coming into council.

"If we fight England, we got to have the Injuns on our side er else
Tryon County won't be no healthy place fer white folks," Solomon wrote.
"I wished you could go 'long with me an' show 'em the kind o' shootin'
we'll do ag'in' the English an' tell 'em they could count the leaves in
the bush easier than the men in the home o' the south wind, an' all
good shooters. Put on a big, two-story bearskin cap with a red ribband
tied around it an' bring plenty o' gewgaws. I don't care what they be
so long as they shine an' rattle. I cocalate you an' me could do good
work."

Immediately the young man packed his box and set out by stage on his
way to the North. Near West Point, he left the sleigh, which had
stopped for repairs, and put on his skates and with the wind mostly at
his back, made Albany early that evening on the river roof. He found
the family and Solomon eating supper, with the table drawn close to the
fireside, it being a cold night.

"I think that St. Nicholas was never more welcome in any home or the
creator of more happiness than I was that night," he wrote in a letter
to Margaret, sent through his friend Doctor Franklin. "What a glow was
in the faces of my mother and father and Solomon Binkus--the man who
was so liked in London! What cries of joy came from the children!
They clung to me and my little brother, Josiah, sat on my knee while I
ate my sausage and flapjacks and maple molasses. I shall never forget
that supper hour for, belike, I was hungry enough to eat an ox. You
would never see a homecoming like that in England, I fancy. Here the
family ties are very strong. We have no opera, no theater, no balls
and only now and then a simple party of neighborhood folk. We work
hard and are weary at night. So our pleasures are few and mostly those
shared in the family circles. A little thing, such as a homecoming, or
a new book, brings a joy that we remember as long as we live. I hope
that you will not be appalled by the simplicity of my father's home and
ne