Upon further acquaintance, Washington found this old veteran a man of
courteous though somewhat haughty manners, of a hasty and uneven
temper, strict and rigid in the discipline of his soldiers, much given
to martial pomp and parade, and self-conceited and wilful to a degree
that was sometimes scarcely bearable. He was, however, of a sociable
and hospitable turn; often inviting his officers to dine with him, and
entertaining them like princes. So keen a relish had he for the good
things of the table, that he never travelled without his two cooks,
who were said to have been so uncommonly skilful in their line of
business, that they could take a pair of boots, and boil them down
into a very respectable dish of soup, give them only the seasoning to
finish it off with. The little folks, however, must be very cautious
how they receive this story, as their Uncle Juvinell will not
undertake to vouch for the truth of it.

The contractors--that is to say, the men who had been engaged to
furnish the army with a certain number of horses, pack-saddles, and
wagons, by a certain time, and for a certain consideration--had failed
to be as good as their word, and had thereby seriously hindered the
progress of the campaign. As might have been expected, this was enough
to throw such a man as Braddock into a towering passion; and, to mend
his humor, the governors of the different provinces were not as ready
and brisk to answer his call for men and supplies as he thought he had
a right to expect.

So he poured forth his vials of wrath upon whomsoever or whatsoever
chanced to come uppermost. He stormed at the contractors; he railed at
the governors, and sneered at the troops they sent him; he abused the
country in general, and scolded about the bad roads in particular.

Washington, with his usual clearness of insight into character, soon
saw, to his deep disappointment, that this was hardly the man to
conduct a wilderness campaign to any thing like a successful end,
however brave the testy old veteran might be, and expert in the
management of well-drilled regulars in the open and cultivated regions
of the Old World. Of the same opinion was Dr. Franklin, who, being at
that time Postmaster-General of all the Colonies, came to Braddock's
quarters at Fort Cumberland to make some arrangements for transporting
the mail to and from the army during the progress of the expedition. I
will read you his own lively account of this interview, as it wi