“Yes; but one would bear almost any thing for the sake of being loved so,” Marian said with an involuntary sigh; then suddenly changed the subject.
“Miss Lulu, won’t you tell me about the celebration you were talking of at breakfast and dinner to-day! I mean particularly why Americans should make so much of that day? I’m afraid you must think I ought to be ashamed of my ignorance, and I suppose I ought; but you must remember that I’ve lived in America only a few years, and have not mingled much with native-born citizens.
“It was a Mormon missionary that persuaded father and mother to come over, and most of the people I’ve known about here have been Mormons from foreign lands, and they are all taught by the Mormon leaders to believe that the United States Government is the worst and most tyrannical in the world, and to hate it accordingly.
“So, of course, they haven’t made anything of celebrating the Fourth of July. I do know enough to be aware that it’s the patriotic people who do that.”
“We keep it because it’s the nation’s birthday,” said Lulu; “and we’ve good reason to be glad, and thankful to God, that our nation was born; for instead of our government being the worst and most tyrannical, it is the very best and freest in the world.”
“The nation’s birthday? How do you mean? I don’t quite understand.”
“It was the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress signed it.
“You see, when the colonies began the struggle with England that we call the Revolutionary War, they had not thought of separating from her (they loved her, and called her the mother country), but as the fight went on the breach grew wider and wider, till, after a while, the people began to see that it could never be healed; and that the only thing to do, if they would be anything better than slaves to Great Britain, was to become a separate nation; declare themselves free and independent, and fight the British till they forced them to go back where they belonged and let us alone.
“Of course the declaration had to be made and signed by the leaders of the people, and that made us a new nation—one by ourselves—and so we call it the nation’s birthday; although most of the fighting to carry it out, and make the British and other nations own that we were really what we called ourselves, had to be done afterwards.
“It’s quite a nice story about the signing, and if you like I’ll tell it to you some time. To-morrow, papa and Mr. Austin and Max and Albert are all going with a hunting party, and I shall be at home alone; that will give me a good opportunity to tell the story, if you can find time to sit with me for awhile.”