"We're all with you there, man, and I guess this time we get a chance," replied one of the speakers, amid a chorus of approval which showed the spirit of the men.
While the men were talking among themselves thus, the four riders on the tired horses had ridden up to the farmhouse1. A soldier dressed no better than the rest stood before the door.
"Halt! Who are you?" he cried, presenting his musket2.
"Friends. Officers from Philadelphia, with messages for his excellency," replied the foremost. "Don't you recognize me, my man?"
"Why, it's Lieutenant3 Talbot! Pass in, sir, and these other gentlemen with you," answered the soldier, saluting4. "It's glad the general will be to see you."
Without further preliminaries the young man opened the door and entered, followed by his three companions. A cheerful fire of logs was blazing and crackling in the wide fireplace in the long low room. On the table before it stood a great bowl of steaming punch, and several officers were sitting or standing5 about the room in various positions. The uniforms of all save that of one of them were scarcely less worn and faded, if not quite so tattered6, than were those of the escort; the same grim enemies had left the same grim marks upon them as upon the soldiers. The only well-dressed person in the room was a bright-eyed young man, a mere7 boy, just nineteen, wearing the brilliant uniform of an officer of the French army. He was tall and thin, red-haired, with a long nose and retreating forehead; his bright eyes and animated8 manner expressed the interest he felt in a conversation carried on in the French language with his nearest neighbor, another young man scarcely a year his senior. The contrast between the new and gay French uniform of the one and the faded Continental9 dress of the other was not less startling than that suggested by the difference in their size. The American officer was a small, a very small man; but, in spite of his insignificant10 stature11, the whole impression of the man was striking, and even imposing12. In contrast to the other, his face was very handsome, the head finely shaped, the features clear-cut and regular; he had a decisive mouth, bespeaking13 resolution and firmness, and two piercing eyes out of which looked a will as hard and imperious as ever dwelt in mortal man.
In front of the fire were two older men, each in the uniform of a general officer, one of thirty-five or six years of age, the other perhaps ten years older. The younger of the two, a full-faced, intelligent, active, commanding sort of man, whose appearance indicated confidence in himself, and the light of whose alert blue eyes told of dashing brilliancy in action and prompt decision in perilous14 moments, which made him one of those who succeed, would have been more noticed had not his personality been so overshadowed by that of the officer who was speaking to him. The latter was possessed15 of a figure so tall that it dwarfed16 every other in the room: he was massively moulded, but well proportioned, with enormous hands and feet, and long, powerful limbs, which indicated great physical force, and having withal an erect17 and noble carriage, easy and graceful18 in appearance, which would have immediately attracted attention anywhere, even if his face had not been more striking than his figure. He had a most noble head, well proportioned, and set upon a beautiful neck, with the brow broad and high, the nose large and strong and slightly aquiline19; his large mouth, even in repose20, was set in a firm, tense, straight line, with the lips so tightly closed from the pressure of the massive jaws21 as to present an appearance almost painful, the expression of it bespeaking indomitable resolution and unbending determination; his eyes were a grayish blue, steel-colored in fact, set wide apart, and deep in their sockets22 under heavy eyebrows23. He wore his plentiful24 chestnut25 hair brushed back from his forehead, and tied with a black ribbon in a queue without powder, as was the custom in the army at this juncture,—a fashion of necessity, by the way; and his ruddy face was burned by sun and wind and exposure, and slightly, though not unpleasantly, marked with the smallpox26.
There was in his whole aspect evidence of such strength and force and power, such human passion kept in control by relentless27 will, such attributes of command, that none looked upon him without awe28; and the idlest jester, the lowest and most insubordinate soldier, subsided29 into silence before that noble personality, realizing the ineffable30 dignity of the man. The grandeur31 of that cause which perhaps even he scarcely realized while he sustained it, looked out from his solemn eyes and was seen in the gravity of his bearing. His was the battle of the people of the future, and God had marked him deeply for His own. And yet it was a human man, too, and none of the immortal32 gods standing there. On occasion his laugh rang as loudly, or his heart beat as quickly as that of the most careless boy among his soldiers. He was fond of the good things of life too,—loving good wine, fair women, a well-told story, a good jest, pleasant society, and delighting in struggle and contest as well. He preserved habitually33 the just balance of his strong nature by the exercise of an unusual self-control, and he rarely allowed himself to step beyond that mean of true propriety34, so well called the happy, except at long intervals35 through a violent outbreak of his passionate36 temper, rendered more terrible and blasting from its very infrequency. And this was the man upon whom was laid the burden of the war of the Revolution, and to whom, under God, were due the mighty37 results of that epoch-making contest. Seldom, if ever, do we see men of such rare qualities that when they leave their appointed places no other can be found to fill them; but if such a one ever did live, this was he.
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1
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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bespeaking
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| v.预定( bespeak的现在分词 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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