the Board, since which, upon further threats, he has been obliged to lease his estate, and take refuge with his family in Boston. . . Colonel Vassal of Cambridge, from intolerable threats and insolent treatment by mobs, has left his elegant seat there and retired to Boston, with his family, for protection."

The Loyalists in Boston are represented as suffering still worse things. In language not especially classic or Christian, we read this statement: "The fugitives from Boston are gone for Halifax; the people say, 'no d-d Tories shall be allowed to breathe in their air,' so that those 'd-ls' can't find a resting-place there, which was the only place on the continent that they ever dared to hope they might stay in."

It is known that our commander was seldom alluded to by his military title. Even Thomas Hutchinson, American born, who had been governor of Massachusetts, sneeringly calls him, in his contribution to history, "Mr. Washington." and the following would make it appear that, viewed in his domestic relations, neither he nor his were entitled to very great respect: "Mr. Washington we hear, is married to a very amiable lady, but it is said that Mrs. Washington, being a warm Loyalist, has separated from her husband since the commencement of the present troubles, and lives very much respected in the city of New York." And this when, at the moment, she was actively engaged in every form of kindness and relief to his suffering army.

The tone of some letters, in the correspondence of civil and military officials a century ago, seems to us, accustomed to the courtesies of such documents at the present time, incredible. Not long after the battle of Bunker Hill, Washington wrote to General Gage on his treatment of our officers who were in the Boston jail. His letter was in very mild terms, carefully avoiding any expressions that might be regarded as indecorous. The answer was in an entirely different strain; it was directed to "George Washington, Esq.," and called our people Rebels, Usurpers, and the like, affecting great clemency in having "forborne to hang our prisoners."

But, amid all this misjudgment and maltreatment, Washington, dishonored by British officials, and slightly esteemed even by the Loyalists of his own country, had abundant evidence of the almost idolatrous regard in which he was held by every true patriot in the land. How touching are such tributes as this, taken from the old Essex Gazette, January 7, 1776. "This morning the sixth daughter of Captain Bancroft of Dunstable, Massachusetts, was baptized by the name of Martha Dandridge, the maiden name of his Excellency, General Washington's, lady. The child was dressed in buff and blue, with a sprig of evergreen on its head, emblematic of his Excellency's glory and provincial affection."

And not by personal homage alone, but by the spirit of multitudes of both sexes, Washington was

cheered and sustained in many a trying moment. Notice the devotedness that permeated his native State. Says the Pennsylvania Journal, July 16, 1777:

We hear that the young ladies of Amelia County in Virginia, considering the situation of their county in particular, and that of the United States in general, have entered into a resolution not to permit the addresses of any person, be his circumstances or situation in life what they will, unless he has served in the American armies long enough to prove by his valor that he is deserving of their love.

A writer in the British army at Charleston, South Carolina, in a letter to a friend in London, December, 1781, says:

The assemblies which the officers have opened, in hopes to give an air of gayety and cheerfulness to themselves and the inhabitants, are but dull and gloomy, the men play at cards, indeed, to avoid talking, but the women. are seldom or never to be persuaded to dance. Even in their dresses the females seem to bid us defiance; the gay toys which are imported here they despise; they wear their own homespun manufactures, and take care to have in their breastknots, and even on their shoes, something from the flag of the thirteen stripes. An officer told Lord Cornwallis, not long ago, that he believed if we had destroyed all the men in North America, we should have enough to do to conquer the women.

History shows few instances in either sex of a heroism equal to the following. In 1779 Congress passed this resolve, honorable to them, and still

more so to the heroine this body thus appreciated:

Resolved, That Margaret Corbine, who was wounded and disabled at the attack of Fort Washington, while she heroically filled the post of her husband who was killed by her side, serving a piece of artillery, do receive during her natural life, or the continuance of the said disability, one half of the monthly pay drawn by a soldier in the service of these States; and that she now receive, out of the public stores, one complete suit of clothes, or the value thereof in money.

The confidence of those who knew Washington best, in his transcendent abilities and final success, is most touching. Surgeon Thacher speaks of a visit of the Commander-in-Chief at the hospital in his charge, and his deep interest in the sick and wounded, and particular inquiries as to their treatment and comfortable accommodations:

His personal appearance is that of the perfect gentleman and accomplished warrior. He is remarkably tall, full six feet, - erect and well proportioned. The serenity of his countenance and majestic gracefulness of his deportment impart a strong impression of that dignity and grandeur which are his peculiar characteristics; and no one can stand in his presence without feeling the ascendancy of his mind, and associating with his countenance the idea of wisdom, philanthropy, magnanimity, and patriotism. His nose is straight, and his eyes inclined to blue. He displays a native gravity, but devoid of all appearance of ostentation. No man could have more at command the veneration and regard

of the officers and soldiers of our army, even after defeat and misfortune. This is the illustrious chief a kind Providence has decreed as the instrument to conduct our country to peace and independence.

This was said, we are to recollect, amid the last gloomy days of October, 1778, after a time of depression, and on the eve of that dreary season to be spent largely under canvas tents, and amid exposures to cold and storms.

Often those of the British who spoke well of Washington personally, regarded his army and the people in this country generally as too wicked to prosper. So good a man in the main as young Aubury, an English letter-writer in America at the time, says: "As to redress from the Americans, little is to be expected. Though their Commanderin-Chief possesses a humanity that reflects the highest honors upon him, he has not been able, notwithstanding so much love and esteem, to dif fuse that benevolence and godlike virtue among others." He speaks of the many "horrid barbarities and persecutions which arise in consequence of this unnatural war, and which have branded the name of America with an odium that no time can obliterate, no merit expunge." Speaking of Burgoyne's army, then prisoners of war, he says: "For ten days the officers subsisted upon salt pork and Indian corn made into cakes," and adds, "they had not a drop of any kind of spirit.. . . Many officers to comfort themselves, put red pepper into water to drink, by way of cordial."