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
the army against the injustice of Congress. The brightest mind among his
contemporaries was Hamilton's; a character which cannot be contemplated
without frequent admiration, and constant affection. His talents took
the form of genius, which Washington's did not. But active, various,
and brilliant, as the faculties of Hamilton were, whether viewed in the
precocity of youth, or in the all-accomplished elegance of maturer
life--lightning-quick as his intelligence was to see through every
subject that came before it, and vigorous as it was in constructing the
argumentation by which other minds were to be led, as upon a shapely
bridge, over the obscure depths across which his had flashed in a
moment--fertile and sound in schemes, ready in action, splendid in
display, as he was--nothing is more obvious and certain than that when
Mr. Hamilton approached Washington, he came into the presence of one who
surpassed him in the extent, in the comprehension, the elevation, the
sagacity, the force, and the ponderousness of his mind, as much as he
did in the majesty of his aspect and the grandeur of his step. The
genius of Hamilton was a flower, which gratifies, surprises, and
enchants; the intelligence of Washington was a stately tree, which in
the rarity and true dignity of its beauty is as superior as it is in its
dimensions.

* * * * *

VALLEY FORGE

BY HENRY ARMITT BROWN

_From Centennial Address delivered at Valley Forge, June 19, 1878_

The century that has gone by has changed the face of Nature, and wrought
a revolution in the habits of mankind. We to-day behold the dawn of an
extraordinary age. Man has advanced with such astounding speed, that,
breathless, we have reached a moment when it seems as if distance had
been annihilated, time made as nought, the invisible seen, the
intangible felt, and the impossible acc