les in their sconces in the hall fell upon his thickly
powdered wig, ran in little ripples up and down the length of his
polished dress-sword, and sparkled in the brilliants in the buckles of
his shoes. His face was the grave face of a man accustomed from of old
not only to command, but to assume the responsibility of his orders;
when they were carried out, his manner was a happy mixture of the
haughty sternness of a soldier and the complacent suavity of the
courtier, tempered both by the spirit of frankness and geniality born
of the free life of a Virginia planter in colonial times.

In his early youth he had been a soldier under Admiral Vernon, with his
old and long-deceased friend Lawrence Washington at Cartagena; later
on, he had served under Wolfe at Quebec. A visitor, and a welcome one
too, at half the courts of Europe, he looked the man of affairs he was;
in spite of his advanced age, he held himself as erect, and carried
himself as proudly as he had done on the Heights of Abraham or in the
court of St. Germain.

Too old to incur the hardships of the field, Colonel Wilton had yet
offered his services, with the ardor of the youngest patriot, to his
country, and pledged his fortune, by no means inconsiderable, in its
support. The Congress, glad to avail themselves of the services of so
distinguished a man, had sent him, in company with Silas Deane and
Benjamin Franklin, as an embassy to the court of King Louis, bearing
proposals for an alliance and with a request for assistance during the
deadly struggle of the colonies with the hereditary foe of France.
They had been reasonably successful in a portion of their attempt, at
least; as the French government had agreed, though secretly, to furnish
arms and other munitions of war through a pseudo-mercantile firm which
was represented by M. de Beaumarchais, the gifted author of the comedy
"Le Mariage de Figaro." The French had also agreed to furnish a
limited amount of money; but, more important than all these, there were
hints and indications that if the American army could win any decisive
battle or maintain the unequal conflict for any length of time, an open
and closer alliance would be made. The envoys had despatched Colonel
Wilton, from their number, back to America to make a report of the
progress of their negotiations to Congress. This had been done, and
General Washington had been informed of the situation.

The little ship, one of the gallant vessels of