In Freedom's Cause

Nathan and I have been reading In Freedom's Cause by G.A. Henty, which is the story of Scotland's struggle for independence from England. We started it as a read-aloud, but then Nathan wanted to continue on, so he just kept on reading. He kept telling me how exciting it was (in great detail, following me around the house to ddescribe various battles and close calls), which convinced me to finish it, so I am working towards that now. I told Nathan that this was really personal stuff, since we have Scottish ancestors on my mom's side. Imagine my horror when we read that Sir William Wallace was betrayed into the hands of the English by a Sir John Menteith! "Several Scotchmen took part in this base act, the principal being Sir John Menteith." I believe that my mom's maiden name is an Americanized adaptation of "Menteith", so this villian could very well be a distant relative! Ah well, as Anne of Green Gables might say, it does seem a bit romantic to have such a blackguard away back in the family tree. Speaking of Anne, we have been listening to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version of the book in the car and really enjoying it, even the boys. Whenever Anne says she is in the "depths of dispair" or something like that, Luke is always so surprised: "What?! Again?!" LOL! You can tell he has not had very much experience with girls of the sort as Anne is, so this is probably a very good learning experience for all the boys!