Gunpowder and Tea Cakes: My Journey with Felicity

Without another thought, Felicity marches right up to Joseph and turns to face the crowd. The people in the crowd recognize Felicity. She begins to explain that although her father sympathizes with the Patriot cause, but the men don’t let her finish.

I step forward and join Felicity and Joseph. I declare that I, too, am a Patriot, but watching them all makes me ashamed. I thought Patriots were good people who believed in justice and freedom. I ask why they’re treating Joseph that way.

A man says Joseph’s father hasn’t yet signed a promise to support the Patriot cause. They must send a clear message.

Felicity turns to him. She says he’s not paid his balance to her father’s shop in two months. Should they tie him up and throw rotten cabbages at him to send a message?

People laugh. The man stares at Felicity, but he can’t think of anything to say. Another man steps forward with a knife and cuts Joseph down, saying “No harm done.”

I’m angry. I’m pretty sure there was harm done. But when Felicity grabs Joseph’s arm to pull him away, I follow them. Joseph picks up his wig from the street, and we hurry away from the Liberty Pole as fast as we can.

When we stop, Joseph looks like he crawled from a compost pile into somebody’s garden, and his shaved head makes him look sickly in appearance. He says he’s all right, and he’ll be hurrying home now. We watch him go away, but I still have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I murmur that I always think of Patriots as the good guys. but those men at the Magazine were out of control. And the people that treated Joseph like that when they’re really angry at his father. Felicity agrees that it’s a disgrace. We’re both silent for a long moment.

Suddenly we turn to see the man with unpaid dues at the Merriman shop coming toward us. Nobody is chasing him, but we see some new stains on his shirt. It looks like somebody might’ve thrown an egg or two.

He passes by us, and we can’t help but chuckle. I hope he won’t be picking on anybody else any time soon.

After we’re done laughing, I tell Felicity it’s time for me to find my father. He’ll want to know I’m safe. Felicity nods. She’s never seen so much trouble in Williamsburg before. She should be getting back to the apothecary, too.

I have a lot to think about as I walk away. I guess I should stop believing in good guys and bad guys. I’m sorry I saw Patriots acting so badly, but I’ve seen good things today, too. I always thought girls didn’t get to do much in colonial days, but girls like Felicity have lots of opportunities to make a difference. I’m really starting to look forward to being a junior interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. I have more to talk about than I ever imagined.