ir name should thus become the target of these
arrows flying in the dark, without an opportunity being allowed him of
a fair and open hearing in his own defence. He would have left the
service at once,--the very end his enemies had been plotting so hard
to bring about,--had not the frontier settlements, just at that
moment, been threatened with more than usual peril; and to have
deserted his post at such a time would have given his accusers real
grounds for the charges, which heretofore had been but a mere
pretence. Before the immediate danger was past that kept him at his
post, many of his warmest and most influential friends, residing in
different parts of the province, had written to him, earnestly
entreating him not to think of resigning his command; assuring him, at
the same time, that the base slanders of those evil-minded men had
found no place whatever in the minds of his fellow-countrymen. On the
contrary, beholding the courage, patience, and humanity with which he
was discharging the high and sacred duties they had intrusted to him,
they felt their love for him, and confidence in him, increasing every
day. With this gratifying assurance that his conduct and motives were
rightly understood by those whose approbation he was most desirous of
winning, Washington now held on his course with renewed hope and
spirit.

Thenceforward, Gov. Dinwiddie, as if to revenge himself for this
failure of his base and selfish design, never let an opportunity slip
of thwarting or annoying the man whose high public character his petty
malice could not reach, and whose private worth his mean envy could
not tarnish. His letters to Washington, the tone of which heretofore
had been uncivil enough, now became harsh and insolent, full of
fault-finding, and bristling all over with biting reproofs and unmanly
insinuations. Although wretchedly ignorant of military matters, and at
a distance from the seat of active operations, yet he must needs take
upon himself the full control of all the troops of the province,
without seeming to trouble his mind as to what might be the wishes and
opinions of him who was in fact their true leader. Whether from a
spiteful desire to perplex the object of his dislike, or natural
fickleness of character, every letter from him brought with it some
new plan. To-day, he ordered this; to-morrow, he ordered that; and,
the next day, upset the other two by something quite different from
either: so that Washington wa