broader. All his features, he observed, were indicative of the strongest
and most ungovernable passions, and had he been born in the forests, it
was his opinion that he would have been the fiercest man among the savage
tribes."

Other and briefer descriptions contain a few phrases worth quoting. Samuel
Sterns said, "His countenance commonly carries the impression of a serious
cast;" Maclay, that "the President seemed to bear in his countenance a
settled aspect of melancholy;" and the Prince de Broglie wrote, "His
pensive eyes seem more attentive than sparkling, but their expression is
benevolent, noble and self-possessed." Silas Deane in 1775 said he had "a
very young look and an easy soldier-like air and gesture," and in the same
year Curwen mentioned his "fine figure" and "easy and agreeable address."
Nathaniel Lawrence noted in 1783 that "the General weighs commonly about
210 pounds." After death, Lear reports that "Doctor Dick measured the
body, which was as follows--In length 6 ft. 3-1/2 inches exact. Across the
shoulders 1.9. Across the elbows 2.1." The pleasantest description is
Jefferson's: "His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly what one
would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble."

How far the portraits of Washington conveyed his expression is open to
question. The quotation already given which said that no picture
accurately resembled him in the minute traits of his person is
worth noting. Furthermore, his expression varied much according to
circumstances, and the painter saw it only in repose. The first time he
was drawn, he wrote a friend, "Inclination having yielded to Importunity,
I am now contrary to all expectation under the hands of Mr. Peale; but in
so grave--so sullen a mood--and now and then under the influence of
Morpheus, when some critical strokes are making, that I fancy the skill of
this Gentleman's Pencil will be put to it, in describing to the World what