tagion; or of being damped and mortified at the Sight of such Scenes of Vice, Extravagance and Oppression. "Horace, who knew the Estate of the all-conquering Roman Army, in the Period of its highest Glory, and most illustrious Victories, will teach us the Discipline proper for Soldiers. ""Our hardy Youth should learn to bear With pointed Force, and bid the Parthian bleed. Inur'd to Summer's Heats, and Winter's Cold.' "But it seems the Delicacy of modern Soldiers cannot bear such hardy Discipline. Their Ease and Pleasure must not be disturbed by the Fatigues and Dangers of the Field or Woods. ""Their Country calls; and see! the Heroes run "Luxury and Sensuality have unmanned many an Army, and enslaved or ruined many flourishing Cities and Kingdoms. Let me enumerate a few Instances, for the Warning of surviving Nations. -The first great Empire of the World, viz. the ASSYRIAN, owed its Destruction entirely to the Luxury of its Prince, Sardanapalus: an effeminate Creature, that never went out of his Palace; but spent all his Time in the Company of Women. Feasting, rioting, and all manner of sensual Indulgencies were his daily Employ. At Length his Generals cut him off in the Midst of his Debaucheries, and overturned the Empire.-BABYLON, the strongest City, perhaps, that ever was built upon Earth, was taken in the Night by Surprise, while the King, his Wives and Concubines, with a Thousand of his Lords, were carousing in a Debauch, unapprehensive of Danger. After listing numerous other eminent drinkers and debauchees, the article ends with a warning: "The Application of these pieces of History is easy." As a piece of writing, this unrivalled onslaught was what used to be called "elegant." It created an earthquake in Virginia. To its devastating abuse, the officers answered, October 6, 1756, that the attack was "so scandalous and altogether so unjust" that they unanimously agreed to apply to their Lieut-Col. Stephen for Orders. Out of "the great and just Regard we have for Collo. Washington and yourself join'd to the Duty we owe to our King in Defending as much as it is in our Power His Colony of Virginia to which we belong, we do with the greatest exactness obey the Orders of our Superior Officers. But unless we have ample Satisfaction for these so groundless and barb'rous Aspersions, we are one and all (at this Garrison) fully determin'd to present our Commissions to the Governor (as in that Paper it is hinted) given to a Reg't of dastardly Debauchees; and desire that you will inform His Honor we expect that he will provide a Sett of Men for the Service, that will better answer the expectations of Our Countrey and of himself; we say Himself, believing The Printer wou'd never have dar'd to insert such a Paper in His Gazette without His previous knowledge or Consent, in either of which cases He must have believ'd the Censures therein to be just. "You, Sir, may therefore assure Him, we are resolv'd to obey as Officers no longer than the twentieth day of November next, unless we have as Publick Satisfaction, as the Injury receiv'd." XX HE DRAINS THE DREGS OF HUMILIATION T HIS sensation shook all Virginia and drove Washington to another of his determinations to resign. It took all the prayers and persuasions of his friends to keep him in the service. Landon Carter exclaimed: "How are we grieved to hear Colonel George Washington hinting to his country that he is willing to retire! . . . No Sir, rather let Braddock's bed be your aim, than anything that might discolor those laurels, which I promise myself are kept in store for you."1 Colonel Fairfax added his protest and praise: "Your good health and fortune are the toast of every table." The Speaker of the House of Burgesses wrote: "Our hopes, dear George, are all fixed on you for bringing our affairs to a happy issue. Consider of what fatal consequences to your country your resigning the command at this time may be: more especially as there is no doubt most of the officers would follow your example." It had taken the abuse to bring forward the praise. He needed it. It restored him to reason and patriotism, but it left him sick and irascible. He was always enfuriated. when the purity of his motives was befouled in the public press, as it was at intervals from then on. He withdrew his resignation and went back to the treadmill. But the intrigues against him did not cease. Poor Dinwiddie was accused of being interested in replacing him. This charge is what he would have called "monstrious," though it is still repeated by historians. Dinwiddie had actually written to England begging that Washington should receive a royal commission, and saying that if Braddock had lived, "he would have provided handsomely for him in the Regulars. He is a person much beloved here and has gone through many hardships in the Service, and I really think he has great Merit, and believe he can raise more Men than any one present that I know. If his Lordship will be so kind as to promote him in the British Establishment I think he will answer my recommendation." " But the prayer was never answered. Following the Centinel No. X scandal, Dinwiddie turned peevish with the dangerous illness of "a Paralytick Disorder in my head." Washington's tone to him grew a trifle impatient and Dinwiddie resented it. On November 16, 1756, he wrote with unusual harshness: "You seem to charge Neglect in me. This Charge is unmannerly. . . . You ment'n hav'g made a Choice of a Person [for Commissary] with't mention'g his name for my Approbat'n; . . . I can't consent to it. . . the same in reg'd to a Chaplain. . . . I hereby order You im'dtly to march 100 Men to F't. Cumb'l'd. . . These Orders I expect You will give due Obedience to." 3 Always the good soldier who finds his highest pride in that subordination to his superiors which he demands and desires from his inferiors, Washington wrote, disclaiming any disrespect: "I am very sorry any expression in my letter should be deemed unmannerly. I never intended insults to any; on the contrary, have endeavoured to demean myself in that proper respect due to superiors. "I seem also to be reprimanded for giving a vague account of my tour to the southward. I was rather fearful of blame for prolixity and impertinence in meddling with matters I had no immediate concern with. . . . And am sorry to find, that this, and my best endeavours of late, meet with unfavorable constructions. What it proceeds from, I know not. If my open and disinterested way of writing and speaking has the air of pertness and freedom, I shall correct my error by acting reservedly, and shall take care to obey my orders without offering any thing more. . . . "When I spoke of a chaplain, it was in answer to yours. I had no person in view, tho' many have offered; and only said, if the country would provide subsistence, we could procure a chaplain, without thinking there was offence in the expression. Because I was told the commissary had endeavored but could get no one to accept of it. "When I spoke about scalps, I had the Indians chiefly, indeed solely in my view, knowing their jealous, suspicious natures are apt to entertain doubts of the least delay and a suspension of rewards causes a dissatisfaction and murmuring among them, which might be productive of bad events at this critical juncture." Washington's eagerness that there should be no delay in paying the Indians for scalps was opposed by others. Edmund Atkin, the Indian agent for the South, disapproved of offering high rewards to Indians for scalps, as it encouraged "private scalping, whereby the most innocent and helpless persons even women and children" were murdered for their scalps. He instanced also some cases where the Indians picked quarrels among themselves that the scalp of the killed might be sold. Further, the high rewards sharpened the ingenuity of the Indians; "for the Cherokees in particular have got the art of making four scalps out of one man killed." Atkin asserted that he was "well assured Lord Loudoun detests that practice, and that the French general Montcalm in Canadas does the same. Sir Wm. Johnson gives no reward at all for scalps." " 5 Washington, with gruelling meekness, said that he would |