156 THE HISTORY oF

Tt was wonderfal to see how this child, thus left to nature,
increased in strength and vigour. Unfettered by bandages or
restraints, his limbs acquired their due proportions and form ;
his countenance was fall and florid, and gave indications of
perfect health ; and at an age when other children are scarcely
able to support themselves with the assistance of a nurse,
this little foundling could run alone. In a short time Little
Jack was completely master of his legs; and, as the summer
came on, he attended his mamma, the goat, upon the common,
and used to play with her for hours together; sometimes
rolling under her belly, now climbing upon her back, and
frisking about as if he had been really a kid. As to his
clothing, Jack was not much encumbered with it, He had
neither shoes nor stockings ; but the weather was warm, and
Jack felt himself so much lighter for every kind of exercise.
‘As he grew bigger, Jack became of considerable use to his
father ; he could trust him to look after the gate, and open it
during his absence ; and as to the cookery of the family, it was
not long before Jack was a complete proficient, and could make
broth almost as well as his daddy himself. During the winter
nights, the old man used to entertain him with stories of what
he had seen during his youth ; the battles and sieges he had
been witness to, and the hardships he had undergone ; all this
he related with so much vivacity, that Jack was never tired of
listening. But what delighted him beyond measure, was to see
daddy shoulder his crutch, instead of a musket, and give the
word of command :—“ To the right—to the left—present—fire
—march—halt.’ All this was familiar to Jack's ear as soon as
he could speak ; and, before he was six years old, he poised and
presented a broomstick, which his daddy gave him for that
purpose, with as good a grace as any soldier of his age in
Europe. The old man, too, instructed him in such plain and