His
address was graceful and easy; in manners he was truly exemplary, and in
conversation affable and instructive. Polite to all ranks and classes of
people, he was universally respected; fond of discipline, and always
alive to the just claims and feelings of others, he was beloved in the
army, and generally appealed to as the common arbitrator and conciliator
of the contentions of those around him. In a word, he was a sincere
friend, a scholar, and accomplished gentleman, a patriot, a gallant
soldier, an able commander, and a Christian.
General Washington, when called upon to sign his death-warrant, which
he did not do without hesitation, it is said, dropped a tear upon the
paper, and spoke at the same time to the following effect:--"That were
it not infringing upon the duty and responsibility of his office, and
disregarding the high prerogative of those who would fill that office
after him, the tear, which now lay upon that paper, should annihilate
the confirmation of an act to which his name would for ever stand as
a sanction. He was summoned that day to do a deed at which his heart
revolted; but it was required of him by the justice of his country, the
desires and expectations of the people: he owed it to the cause in which
he was solemnly engaged, to the welfare of an infant confederacy, the
safety of a newly organized constitution which he had pledged his honour
to protect and defend, and a right given to him that was acknowledged
to be just by the ruling voice of all nations.
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