d was at that time
the king of this country too. The king liked West's pictures. West
became the king's painter. He came to be the most famous painter
in England.

He liked to remember his boyish work. He liked to remember the time
when he was a little Quaker boy making his paints of poke-juice and
Indian colors.

WASHINGTON'S CHRISTMAS GIFT.

Washington was fighting to set this country free. But the army that
the King of England sent to fight him was stronger than Washington's
army. Washington was beaten and driven out of Brook-lyn. Then he had
to leave New York. After that, he marched away into New Jersey to save
his army from being taken. At last he crossed the Del-a-ware River.
Here he was safe for a while.

Some of the Hes-sian soldiers that the king had hired to fight against
the Americans came to Trenton. Trenton is on the Del-a-ware River.

Washington and his men were on the other side of the Del-a-ware River
from the Hes-sians. Washington's men were dis-cour-aged. They had been
driven back all the way from Brook-lyn. It was winter, and they had no
warm houses to stay in. They had not even warm clothes. They were
dressed in old clothes that people had given them. Some of them were
bare-footed in this cold weather.

The Hes-sians and other soldiers of the king were waiting for the
river to freeze over. Then they would march across on the ice. They
meant to fight Washington once more, and break up his army. But
Washington was thinking about something too.

He was waiting for Christmas. He knew that the Hessian soldiers on the
other side of the river would eat and drink a great deal on
Christmas Day.

[Illustration: Marching to Trenton.]

The afternoon of Christmas came. The Hessians were singing and
drinking in Trenton. But Washington was marching up the river bank.
Some of his bare-foot men left blood marks on the snow as
they marched.

The men and cannons were put into flat boats. These boats were pushed
across the river with poles. There were many great pieces of ice in
the river. But all night long the flat boats were pushed across and
then back again for more men. It was three o'clock on the morning
after Christmas when the last Americans crossed the river. It was
hailing and snowing, and it was very cold. Two or three of the
soldiers were frozen to death.

It was eight o'clock in the morning when Washington got to Trenton.
The Hessians were sleeping soundly. The sound of the America