great soldier and statesman which we should remember. The most
memorable thing to us, and to all men, is the heroic spirit of
the man, which rose in those dreary December days to its greatest
height, under conditions so adverse that they had crushed the
hope of every one else. Let it be remembered, also, that it was
not a spirit of desperation or of ignorance, a reckless daring
which did not count the cost. No one knew better than
Washington--no one, indeed, so well--the exact state of affairs;
for he, conspicuously among great men, always looked facts
fearlessly in the face, and never deceived himself. He was under
no illusions, and it was this high quality of mind as much as any
other which enabled him to win victories.

How he really felt we know from what he wrote to Congress on
December 20, when he said: "It may be thought that I am going a
good deal out of the line of my duty to adopt these measures or
to advise thus freely. A character to lose, an estate to forfeit,
the inestimable blessing of liberty at stake, and a life devoted,
must be my excuse." These were the thoughts in his mind when he
was planning this masterly campaign. These same thoughts, we may
readily believe, were with him when his boat was making its way
through the ice of the Delaware on Christmas Eve. It was a very
solemn moment, and he was the only man in the darkness of that
night who fully understood what was at stake; but then, as
always, he was calm and serious, with a high courage which
nothing could depress.

The familiar picture of a later day depicts Washington crossing
the Delaware at the head of his soldiers. He is standing up in
the boat, looking forward in the teeth of the storm. It matters