A small question, apparently, this of the form of address, especially to a lover of facts, and yet it was in reality of genuine importance.

To the world Washington represented the young republic, and he was determined to extort from England the first acknowledgment of independence by compelling her to recognize the Americans as belligerents and not rebels.

Washington cared as little for vain shows as any man who ever lived, but he had the highest sense of personal dignity, and of the dignity of his cause and country.
Neither should be allowed to suffer in his hands.

He appreciated the effect on mankind of forms and titles, and with unerring judgment he insisted on what he knew to be of real value.

It is one of the earliest examples of the dignity and good taste which were of such inestimable value to his country.
He had abundant occasion also for the employment of these same qualities, coupled with unwearied patience and tact, in dealing with his own men.