“Was he a Christian man, papa?” asked Elsie.
“I think he was,” her father said in reply. “He had a pious mother and it seems never forgot her teachings. In his later years he became a member of the Presbyterian church in Winchester. ‘Ah,’ he would often exclaim, when talking of the past, ‘people said old Morgan never feared—they thought old Morgan never prayed—they did not know old Morgan was miserably afraid.’ He said he trembled at Quebec, and in the gloom of early morning, when approaching the battery at Cape Diamond, he knelt in the snow and prayed; and before the battle at the Cowpens, he went into the woods, ascended a tree, and there poured out his soul in prayer for protection.
“Morgan was large and strong. He was six feet in height and very muscular, and weighed more than two hundred pounds. His strength and endurance were remarkable; and he was a very handsome man—said to be equalled by but few men of his time in beauty of feature and expression. His manners were quiet and refined, his bearing was noble and his temper sweet, though his wrath was easily aroused by the sight of injustice.”
“No wonder, then, that he took up arms against King George,” remarked Lucilla.
“A natural result of having such a disposition, I think,” returned her father, and went on with his story.
“Morgan was noted for truthfulness and candor, and throughout life his conduct was regulated by the most rigid code of honor. He was also, as I have said, a devout Christian.”
“Oh, I am so glad of that!” exclaimed little Elsie; “and I hope we will all meet him in heaven—the dear, brave, good man.”
“I hope we will, daughter,” responded the captain heartily, while several of his other listeners looked as if they shared the feelings of love and admiration for the brave patriot, Daniel Morgan.