mind and feeling--discretion superhuman--readiness of invention, and
dexterity of means, equal to the most desperate affairs--endurance,
self-control, regulated ardor, restrained passion, caution mingled with
boldness, and all the contrarieties of moral excellence--could have
expanded the life of an individual into a career such as this?

If we compare him with the great men who were his contemporaries
throughout the nation; in an age of extraordinary personages, Washington
was unquestionably the first man of the time in ability. Review the
correspondence of General Washington--that sublime monument of
intelligence and integrity--scrutinize the public history and the
public men of that era, and you will find that in all the wisdom that
was accomplished or was attempted, Washington was before every man in
his suggestions of the plan, and beyond every one in the extent to which
he contributed to its adoption. In the field, all the able generals
acknowledged his superiority, and looked up to him with loyalty,
reliance, and reverence; the others, who doubted his ability, or
conspired against his sovereignty, illustrated, in their own conduct,
their incapacity to be either his judges or his rivals. In the state,
Adams, Jay, Rutledge, Pinckney, Morris--these are great names; but there
is not one whose wisdom does not vail to his. His superiority was felt
by all these persons, and was felt by Washington himself, as a simple
matter of fact, as little a subject of question, or a cause of vanity,
as the eminence of his personal stature. His appointment as
commander-in-chief was the result of no design on his part; and of no
efforts on the part of his friends; it seemed to take place
spontaneously. He moved into the position, because there was a vacuum
which no other could supply: in it, he was not sustained by government,
by a party, or by connections; he sustained himself; and then he
sustained everything else. He sustained Congress against the army, and