motions had been formed, long before he took command of the American
Armies, in the wars of the interior and in the surveying of wilderness
lands, employments in which grace and elegance were not likely to be
acquired. At the age of sixty-five, time had done nothing towards bending
him out of his natural erectness. His deportment was invariably grave; it
was sobriety that stopped short of sadness."

The French officers and travellers supply other descriptions. The Abbé
Robin found him of "tall and noble stature, well proportioned, a fine,
cheerful, open countenance, a simple and modest carriage; and his whole
mien has something in it that interests the French, the Americans, and
even enemies themselves in his favor."

The Marquis de Chastellux wrote enthusiastically, "In speaking of this
perfect whole of which General Washington furnishes the idea, I have not
excluded exterior form. His stature is noble and lofty, he is well made,
and exactly proportionate; his physiognomy mild and agreeable, but such as
to render it impossible to speak particularly of any of his features, so
that in quitting him you have only the recollection of a fine face. He has
neither a grave nor a familiar face, his brow is sometimes marked with
thought, but never with inquietude; in inspiring respect he inspires
confidence, and his smile is always the smile of benevolence."

To this description, however, Brissot de Warville took exception, and
supplied his own picture by writing in 1791, "You have often heard me
blame M. Chastellux for putting too much sprightliness in the character he
has drawn of this general. To give pretensions to the portrait of a man
who has none is truly absurd. The General's goodness appears in his looks.
They have nothing of that brilliancy which his officers found in them when
he was at the head of his army; but in conversation they become animated.