my
when they hastily retreated thence in the following spring. His
cardinal doctrine was that the Revolution depended upon the existence
of the army, and not on the possession of any particular spot of
ground, and his masterly adherence to this theory brought victory,
slowly but surely. Lincoln's very natural inability to grasp it, and
to withstand popular pressure, cost us for a time the southern States
and a great deal of bloody fighting.

In the midst of this anxiety about the south, and when he foresaw the
coming disasters, Washington was cheered and encouraged by the arrival
of Lafayette, whom he loved, and who brought good tidings of his
zealous work for the United States in Paris. An army and a fleet were
on their way to America, with a promise of more to follow. This was
great news indeed. It is interesting to note how Washington took it,
for we see here with unusual clearness the readiness of grasp and
quickness of thought which have been noted before, but which are
not commonly attributed to him. It has been the fashion to treat
Washington as wise and prudent, but as distinctly slow, and when he
was obliged to concentrate public opinion, either military or civil,
or when doubt overhung his course, he moved with great deliberation.
When he required no concentration of opinion, and had made up his
mind, he could strike with a terribly swift decision, as at Trenton
or Monmouth. So when a new situation presented itself he seized with
wonderful rapidity every phase and possibility opened by changed
conditions.

The moment he learned from Lafayette that the French succors were
actually on the way, he began to lay out plans in a manner which
showed how he had taken in at the first glance every chance and every
contingency. He wrote that the decisive moment was at hand, and that
the French succors would be fatal if not used successfully now.
Congress must improve their methods of administration, and for this
purpose must appoint a small committee to cooeperate with him. This
step he demanded, and it was taken at once. Fresh from his interview
with Lafayette, he sent out orders to have inquiries made as to
Halifax and its defenses. Possibly a sudden and telling blow might
be struck there, and nothing should be overlooked. He also wrote to
Lafayette to urge upon the French commander an immediate assault on
New York the moment he landed. Yet despite his thought for New York,
he even then began to see the opportunities