or a Conway, would in a few weeks
render them an irresistible body of men. The last of the
above officers has accepted of the new office of
inspector-general of our army, in order to reform abuses;
but the remedy is only a palliative one. In one of his
letters to a friend he says, 'A great and good God hath
decreed America to be free, or the [General] and weak
counsellors would have ruined her long ago.' You may rest
assured of each of the facts related in this letter. The
author of it is one of your Philadelphia friends. A hint of
his name, if found out by the handwriting, must not be
mentioned to your most intimate friend. Even the letter must
be thrown into the fire. But some of its contents ought to
be made public, in order to awaken, enlighten, and alarm our
country. I rely upon your prudence, and am, dear Sir, with
my usual attachment to you, and to our beloved independence,

Yours sincerely.

How was Patrick Henry to deal with such a letter as this? Even though
he should reject its reasoning, and spurn the temptation with which it
assailed him, should he merely burn it, and be silent? The incident
furnished a fair test of his loyalty in friendship, his faith in
principle, his soundness of judgment, his clear and cool grasp of the
public situation,--in a word, of his manliness and his statesmanship.
This is the way in which he stood the test:--

PATRICK HENRY TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.

WILLIAMSBURG, 20 February, 1778.

DEAR SIR,--You will, no doubt, be surprised at seeing the
enclosed letter, in which the encomiums bestowed on me are
as undeserved, as the censures aimed at you are unjust. I am
sorry there should be one man who counts himself my friend,
who is not yours.

Perhaps I give you needless trouble in handing you this
paper. The writer of it may be too insignificant to deserve
any notice. If I knew this to be the case, I should not have
intruded on your time, which is so precious. But there may
possibly be some scheme or party forming to your prejudice.
The enclosed leads to such a suspicion. Believe, me, Sir, I
have too high a sense of the obligations America has to you,
to abet or countenance so unworthy a proceeding. The most
exalted merit has ever been found to attract