refused even then to be led into favoritism, but he lived to win Hamilton back and make him of unfathomable use to his country.

Much more constant was the personal sympathy between Washington and Lafayette, who returned to America in the spring of 1780. He wrote to his wife in the autumn:—

"Gen. Washington felt very much what I said to him for you. He charges me to give you his most tender sentiments. He has many of them for George. He was much touched by the name which we gave him. We talk often of you and of the little family."

The Marquis was always vigilant, and he appears well in the frank words which he wrote to his chief about the matters which led to the famous reprimand of Lund Washington. He wrote on April 23d, 1781:

"Great happiness is derived from friendship; and I do particularly experience it in the attachment which unites me to you. But friendship has its duties, and the man that likes you the best will be the forwardest in letting you know everything where you can be concerned. When the enemy came to your house, many negroes deserted to them. This piece of news did not affect me much, as I little value those concerns. But you cannot conceive how unhappy I have been, to hear that Mr. Lund Washington went on board the enemy's vessels, and consented to give them provisions. This being done by the gentleman who, in some measure, represents you at your house, will certainly have a bad effect, and con

trasts with spirited answers from some neighbors, that had their houses burnt accordingly."

Lund Washington had already reported, however, and the general replied:

"DEAR LUND: Your letter of the 18th. came to me by the last Post. I am very sorry to hear of your loss. I am a little sorry to hear of my own; but that which gives me most concern is, that you should go on board the enemy's vessels, and furnish them with refreshments. It would have been a less painful circumstance to me to have heard, that in consequence of your non-compliance with their request, they had burnt my House and laid the Plantation in ruins. You ought to have considered yourself as my representative, and should have reflected on the bad example of communicating with the enemy, and making a voluntary offer of refreshments to them with a view to prevent a conflagration."

In such incidents as this Washington excites an approval almost warming to love. He lacked charm, that vague and magic something which so often wins against merit; but when the big shock came, or the final question, he rose above every mist, and we do homage to the grandeur of what is higher than all amenities, - the force of righteousness and truth. Undoubtedly there was a certain dryness in his character, an absence of poetry, that leads many intelligent students to feel, even if they do not name, an approach to philistinism, perhaps to smugness, in his nature.

Such qualities are more often felt in his written words than in his deeds or general thoughts, and nothing is more absurd than the praise which is sometimes given to his style. The style was never less adequately the man. Frequently the ready-made phrases in which good counsel is delivered are so conventional that they sound like cant, even where the conviction behind them is undoubted and the understanding broad. Nothing that he ever said, in his own words, gains through its form, and much noble perception is mangled in its expression, although no reported statement of his is as distressing as some of the most famous sayings of Admiral Nelson. In Franklin's phrases lurk always a raciness, a humor, and an instinct for language that make them literature; Jefferson's fame is inseparable from his gifts for expression, and Hamilton's words, spoken and written, were the weapons of an intellectual warrior. Lowell, to be sure, has praised the stately full dress of Washington's writing, but we may assume that the distinguished critic was unconsciously paying a tribute to one of the chief's brilliant secretaries. Surely, nobody could travel through the long collections of Sparks or Ford with unmitigated joy. There are big things about, mountains of competence and accomplishment, but not a green and fascinating surface. Intimacy, with what is left to us of

Washington gives us affection as well as admiration, but an affection austere, respectful, and remote, not warm and comfortable, - even such an affection as was felt by many of the friends who saw him face to face and went with him through war and peace.

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CHAPTER XIV

VICTORY

"Which was the most splendid spectacle ever witnessed: the opening feast of Prince George in London, or the resignation of Washington? Which is the noble character for after ages to admire : yon fribble dancing in lace and spangles, or yonder hero who sheathes his sword after a life of spotless honor, a purity unreproached, a courage indomitable, and a consummate victory? Which of those is the true gentleman? What is it to be a gentleman? Is it to have lofty aims, to lead a pure life, to keep your honor virgin; to have the esteem of your fellow-citizens, and the love of your fireside; to bear good fortune meekly; to suffer evil with constancy; and through evil or good to maintain truth always?"—THACKERAY.

A CHANGE was made in the military situation by Lafayette's arrival with news of further French reënforcements. They were under the command of the Count de Rochambeau, who has been praised by some writers, but generally accused of mediocrity. Mirabeau called him "altogether incapable." Of Washington's plans, Rochambeau wrote in his Memoirs :

"I ought to say, nevertheless, in justification of Lafayette, that he expressed substantially the sentiments of General Washington. That commander feared, and not without foundation, considering the absolute discredit of the finances of Congress, that the struggles of