cy, he said, could no longer be extended to them should Major
Andre suffer.

It may well be supposed that the interposition of Arnold could have no
influence on Washington. He conveyed Mrs. Arnold to her husband in New
York,[46] and also transmitted his clothes and baggage, for which he
had written; but, in every other respect, his letters, which were
unanswered, were also unnoticed.

[Footnote 46: General Lafayette mentions a circumstance not previously
known to the author, which serves to illustrate the character of
Washington, and to mark the delicacy of his feelings towards even the
offending part of that sex which is entitled to all the consolation
and protection man can afford it.

The night after Arnold's escape, when his letter respecting Andre was
received, the general directed one of his aids to wait on Mrs. Arnold,
who was convulsed with grief, and inform her that he had done every
thing which depended on him to arrest her husband, but that, not
having succeeded, it gave him pleasure to inform her that her husband
was safe. It is also honourable to the American character, that during
the effervescence of the moment, Mrs. Arnold was permitted to go to
Philadelphia, to take possession of her effects, and to proceed to New
York under the protection of a flag, without receiving the slightest
insult.]

The mingled sentiments of admiration and compassion excited in every
bosom for the unfortunate Andre, seemed to increase the detestation in
which Arnold was held. "Andre," said General Washington in a private
letter, "has met his fate with that fortitude which was to be expected
from an accomplished man and a gallant officer; but I am mistaken if
_at this time_ Arnold is undergoing the torments of a mental hell. He
wants feeling. From some traits[47] of his character which have
lately come to my knowledge, he seems to have been so hardened in
crime, so lost to all sense of honour and shame, that, while his
faculties still enable him to continue his sordid pursuits, there will
be no time for remorse."

[Footnote 47: This allusion is thus explained in a private letter from
Colonel Hamilton--"This man (Arnold) is in every sense despicable. In
addition to the scene of knavery and prostitution during his command
in Philadelphia, which the late seizure of his papers has unfolded,
the history of his command at West Point is a history of little as
well as great villanies. He practised every dirty act of peculation,
a