The Sage
Seeds of Liberty
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
“Harumph.” Carroll closed the first door and walked to the ladder. “Jack. When I get up there, please hand me two of those casks, one marked with an ‘R’ and one marked with a ‘W’.” He climbed up, propped the trapdoor open and, with some effort, pulled himself up and climbed out onto the floor above.
Jack handed the two oaken casks, along with his cane, up through the hatchway. Once all three were up the ladder, the old patriot plopped down in a comfortable-looking rocking chair. “I fear my years have surpassed the vigor required for endeavors such as this. But I enjoyed myself.”
“So did we, sir.” Penny sighed heavily. The tear went halfway up her leg. “Well, maybe not my dress.” So, that’s why Mrs. Decatur wore pants at the tavern today.
“I’ve never known ladies’ fashion to be practical.” He looked at Jack, standing with the casks under his arms. “Oh. Right. Just set those on the sideboard. I think you shall find the necessary cradles under it.”
“You wouldn’t have a needle and thread under there as well, would you?”
“No, I think not, young lady. But you can snuff out that lantern. We have plenty of daylight up here. Or we will when Jack pulls down the shield from the rear window.”
“Aye, sir.” Jack pulled the shield and peeked outside. He could see the faint outline of the secret door.
“Now, young man. You may proceed to tap those casks. I trust you found the tools already.”
“Aye, Sir. They were with the cradles.”
“Good. Now please dispense a goblet of the wine to Lady Rollings and bring two of the rye over for us.”
The elder patriot stood and folded his hands in front of him. Jack and Penny looked at each other and did the same.
“Rest assured, there is a well-considered plan behind my eccentric actions, which I will fully explain. But please join me in a brief prayer?”
Charles Carroll bowed his head.
“Heavenly Father, I humbly come before your presence with a heavy heart. I pray for the souls of my dear friends and colleagues, Thomas Stone, William Paca, and Samuel Chase, who have departed this world. Grant them eternal peace and rest in Your Loving Presence. May their legacies continue to shine as beacons for future generations of our young country.”
“I also ask for Your divine guidance, strength, wisdom, and compassion. So that I might better prepare these young people as they and our country come of age together and endure the trials of providence that lie before them. Amen.”
“Amen.”
“Thank you. Please. Take your goblets in hand and raise them in a toast to my dear friend, Sam Chase.”
“Mister Carroll?”
“Yes, dear lady?”
“As I suspected, you and Jack have in your goblets, Maryland rye whiskey of an ancient vintage. I must ask you why a lady must be relegated to wine?”
Jack smiled to himself. That took courage.
The old patriot placed his goblet down on the table. “Jack, hand me another, please?” With the empty goblet placed in his hand, he decanted the whiskey and handed it to Penny along with a wry smile. “Your audacity bears a striking resemblance to that of a young lady who shares a close friendship with my daughter, Catharine.”
“Now then.” Carroll stood and raised his goblet. “To Samuel Chase. Patriot, Justice, Advocate, and friend. Rest in peace, Sam.”
In unison, “To Mister Chase.”
As soon as she took a sip, Penny’s eyes crossed, her cheeks flushed red and puffed behind the fingers she raised to her mouth, and swallowed the whiskey even as tears glistened in her eyes.
His old eyes twinkled as he plopped back down in the rocking chair. “I commend you, young lady, for your remarkable fortitude and your unwavering resolve.”
With a smirk and in a raspy voice, she looked him in the eye. “You had mentioned something about ‘eccentricity’, sir?”
Carroll chuckled. “In which lies another lesson, dear lady. Harsh truth, like Maryland Rye, once swallowed, warms the soul.”
Penny carefully peered out the window. “They’ve started lighting the torches, and Miss Anne is sending out the hors d’oeuvres to be served.” She stood up quickly. “We need to head back. I have to help mother get the dinner courses ready.”
Jack stood up.
“Why do you think I would not have already tended to the matter?”
Two young heads immediately turned toward the gruff voice and saw the man’s fingers tapping on the arm of his rocking chair. The pair sat back down and smiled sheepishly.
“Forgive me, Mister Carroll.”
The old gentleman lifted a hand. “No forgiveness necessary, Miss Rollings. Nor from you, Mister Pyle. You are both well-schooled in manners and responsibility. I would even tell you that is to be commended.”
The sound of a key turning a lock on the front door startled the pair. “Heavens!”
“Harrumph. Have not I already told you I have tended to this matter?”
“Yes, sir. But ...”
The door opened just enough to let the well-dressed woman slide into the room. Basket in hand, she immediately closed the door behind her and smiled at the gentleman in the rocking chair.
“Father.”
Jack and Penny glanced at each other with arched brows. They shifted to father and daughter and back to each other again.
“Catharine. Just set it down on the sideboard.” He looked at the young couple and raised an open hand toward the woman. “My lovely daughter. Kitty, these are Miss Penny Rollings and Mister Jack Pyle.”
“I hope I am not unduly disturbing you.”
“Not unduly, no. But I am teaching at the moment.”
“Then I shall leave you to it.” Kitty gave Penny a commiserating smile, patted her on the shoulder, then slipped out the door as she had entered.
“Wouldn’t somebody notice?” Jack got up to relock the door.
“Oh, I am certain someone did. Though, I seriously doubt if anyone thought it irregular for a venue to be prepared for an after-dinner event. Miss Rollings. Would you be so kind as to set out the contents of the basket so that our bodies may partake of this evening’s nourishment?”
As they all settled back down in their seats once more, Jack looked the patriot in the eye. “Sir, I’m getting the feeling that you are about to expound on the previous lessons.”
“Hmmmm.” Charles Carroll took a long draught from his goblet. Sat it back down. Clasped his hands in front of his waist. Leaned back in the rocking chair, and returned the young man’s gaze. “Aye. As you both reach your majority, you must learn to discern the importance of liberating yourselves from doctrines imposed upon you. Instead, you must cultivate your intellect with knowledge you actively pursue.”
Penny and Jack looked at each other with questioning eyes. Then she turned to the older man. “I think we understand, Mister Carroll. But.”
The old patriot nodded. “Perhaps drawing a parallel could aid in grasping this lesson. Indeed, I would tell you that the parallel is the very heart of this lesson.”
He eyed each of them while once again rapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. With his other hand, he reached into his pocket and tossed the item to Jack. “What is that?”
“An acorn.” Jack’s voice carried a bit of skepticism.
“Aye. That is what it’s called. But what is it?”
“A seed?”
“Well, Mister Pyle, that is one small step in the correct direction.”
Once again, the old patriot procured an item from his pocket. This time, he tossed it to Penny. “What is it?”
“A key. It is the key you used to open the secret door leading us here.”
“Very good, Miss Rollings. You know what it’s called. You know it has a specific purpose. And you know what it leads to.”
“Mister Pyle. How does she know these things?”
“Well, we learned about keys when we were growing up.”
“Again, Mister Pyle, ‘learning’ is what we call that particular process. How did you both learn about keys and their purpose? Did you read about them in a book? Was that a lesson taught to you by your parents? A teacher? A friend? Another adult? All possible. But none is likely. They are not likely because none of those by themselves will lead to the retention of the subject.”
Penny’s eyes brightened. “We saw keys being used.”
“Now we are getting somewhere. Well done, Miss Rollings.”
“Mister Pyle. What is the difference between seeing and observing?”
Jack frowned. “I do not know what you are getting at, Mister Carroll.”
“Hmmmm. Well. Recognizing and admitting what you don’t know is a very important lesson in itself.”
“Wait!” Jack raised a finger and sat back in his chair. “Seeing is what I do when I’m a lookout. Observing is what I report to the Commodore.”
The patriot smiled and looked each of them in the eye before he continued. “Yes. Seeing is visual perception. That is all it is. Is that clear so far?”
Jack and Penny looked at each other again and answered with nods.
“Good. Now. Observation is the use of all of your senses to gain information, which leads to understanding.” His eyes shifted to Jack’s. “Yes, your report to the Commodore is an observation, but it is only the first layer.”
He leaned back in the rocking chair again. “Now. Use the tool of observation to glean information and come to an understanding of the items I have given you.”
Jack’s eyes lit up. He looked at Carroll, then at Penny, and back to Carroll again. “The Sons of Liberty?” He is among the last of them. Pay attention, Pyle.
“Yes! Well done!” The old patriot’s eyes beamed. “But, more precisely, Maryland’s chapter. New England used the elm. We used the Oak. Chase, Paca, and I were all members. Now, can you tell me why we chose the oak instead of the elm? The answer to that question is key to our lesson.”
“Oak is stronger. They made our frigates from it.”
“That is one of the correct answers. There are two more.”
Penny furrowed her brow and cocked her head. “Oak lives much longer, and its roots are deeper and wider.”
“Correct! Yes! Very well done, Miss Rollings!” The old patriot leaned comfortably back in his rocking chair. “The roots are the foundation that supports the tree throughout the centuries of its life as it grows and strengthens. This, dear ones, is the eternal hope of the Sons and Daughters, of Liberty.”
