Page:Memoirs of a Huguenot Family.djvu/204

 198 examining the useless muskets, I found that one of them wanted a flint, another had some dirt in the touch-hole, and the third had two cartridges in it, one on the top of the other, and a ball below both, next to the touch-hole. I laughed at him when I showed him how promptly the muskets were put in order, and there were no more complaints on that score. My wife was perfectly fearless. I wanted a needle to broach the muskets, which she went to fetch for me from a place where the balls were coming in at the window like hail, and she did not think of stooping to avoid them until I called out to her to do so.

The children were naturally very much frightened by the noise made, when the roof was struck, and slates were shivered by the balls, which she observed, and she said to them, "Take courage, my children, do not forget that we are in the hands of God. It is not our fear that will give us safety, on the contrary, God will bless our courage. If you are not able to fire upon the enemy yourselves, you can at least load the muskets for your father, and for others who are older and stronger than you are. Drive away fear from your hearts as much as possible, and leave the care of your persons to God."

This address to the children was of much use to the older persons who were present; it appeared to inspire them with fresh confidence and courage. Ere long, however, we had a serious cause for anxiety; our powder was becoming so scarce, that we felt as if we ought to begin to use it more sparingly. We were in a state of great perplexity. If we did not continue the same fire, we thought the enemy would perceive the difference, and attack us with fresh vigor; and if we went on at the rate we had hitherto done, we should not have more