himney-corner, chatted in undertones, as if mindful that the door
of the drawing-room was open, and their voices might break in upon its
sacred privacy. The swinging light in the hall partly illuminated it,
or rather glanced gloomily from the black polished furniture, the
lustreless chairs, the quaint cabinet, the silent spinet, the
skeleton-legged centre-table, and finally upon the motionless figure of
a man seated by the fire.

It was a figure since so well known to the civilized world, since so
celebrated in print and painting, as to need no description here. Its
rare combination of gentle dignity with profound force, of a set
resoluteness of purpose with a philosophical patience, have been so
frequently delivered to a people not particularly remarkable for these
qualities, that I fear it has too often provoked a spirit of playful
aggression, in which the deeper underlying meaning was forgotten. So
let me add that in manner, physical equipoise, and even in the mere
details of dress, this figure indicated a certain aristocratic
exclusiveness. It was the presentment of a king,--a king who by the
irony of circumstances was just then waging war against all kingship; a
ruler of men, who just then was fighting for the right of these men to
govern themselves, but whom by his own inherent right he dominated.
From the crown of his powdered head to the silver buckle of his shoe he
was so royal that it was not strange that his brother George of England
and Hanover--ruling by accident, otherwise impiously known as the
"grace of God"--could find no better way of resisting his power than by
calling him "Mr. Washington."

The sound of horses' hoofs, the formal challenge of sentry, the grave
questioning of the officer of the guard, followed by footsteps upon the
porch, did not apparently disturb his meditation. Nor did the opening
of the outer door, and a charge of cold air into the hall that invaded
even the privacy of the reception-room, and brightened the dying embers
on the hearth, stir his calm pre-occupation. But an instant later
there was the distinct rustle of a feminine skirt in the hall, a
hurried whispering of men's voices, and then the sudden apparition of a
smooth, fresh-faced young officer over the shoulder of the unconscious
figure.

"I beg your pardon, general," said the officer doubtingly, "but--"

"You are not intruding, Col. Hamilton," said the general quietly.

"There is a young lady without who wishes