and taught them the new manual of arms. Standing before his company, dressed in a blue hunting shirt and fringed trousers of the same material, with a buck's tail sticking in his hat for a cockade, and with a gun in his hand, he was a fine type of the young Revolutionary patriot.

A MINUTE-MAN IN THE REVOLUTION.

In still more picturesque garb he later served as a minute-man in the regiment in which his father was an officer. These were the citizen soldiery of whom John Randolph said in one of his eccentric speeches: "They were raised in a minute, armed in a minute, marched in a minute, fought in a minute, and were vanquished in a minute." The battle at the Great Bridge and subsequent events did not justify this opinion of them. They were as often called "shirt men" as they were minute-men, and their appearance was calculated to strike terror to the hearts of an enemy. They were dressed in green hunting shirts, "home-spun, home-woven and home-made," with the words "LIBERTY OR DEATH" in large, white letters on their bosoms. They wore in their hats buck tails and in their belts tomahawks and scalping knives. Their savage, warlike appearance excited the terror of the inhabitants as they marched through the country. Lord Dunmore told his troops before the action at the Great Bridge that if they fell into the hands of the shirt-men they would be scalped. A great many of the British did fall into their hands and were treated with great kindness, which was appreciated at the time and afterwards acknowledged.

The battle of the Great Bridge was Lieutenant Marshall's first experience in the war. A stratagem on the part of the Americans induced Lord Dunmore to begin the attack. A servant of the Marshalls was sent to the British camp and told to report that there were not more than three hundred shirtmen at the bridge. Lord Dunmore believed the tale and sent his troops to drive these Virginians from their position. As they advanced along the causeway to storm the breastworks they were exposed to a deadly and continuous fire from the American riflemen. The battle lasted but twenty minutes, for at the end of that time the British were completely routed, abandoning their entrenchments, spiking their cannon and fleeing to their ships.

As captain young Marshall acquitted himself gallantly in the action at Iron Hill, which was the prelude to the Battle of Brandywine.

At the battle of Germantown, Marshall was with the column that halted to make a windmill attack on a house into which six companies of retreating

British had taken refuge to avoid the bayonets of the Americans. The head of the pursuing column, thinking this attack to be something serious, returned to the assistance of their comrades. This gave the British time to re-form, and, believing the Americans to be in retreat, they followed them. Confusion ensued, and the Americans ran away from the arms of victory. That winter Washington went into quarters at Valley Forge.

TALES OF HARDSHIP AT VALLEY FORGE.

The horrors and suffering endured by the patriots that winter were cheerfully borne by Captain Marshall, who did much to mitigate the condition of his compatriots and to cheer them by his lively display of spirit. Lieutenant Philip Slaughter, one of Marshall's messmates, said of him: "Marshall was the best-tempered man I ever knew. During our sufferings at Valley Forge nothing discouraged, nothing disturbed him; if he had only bread to eat, it was just as well; if only meat, it made no difference. If any of the officers murmured at their deprivations he would shame them by good-natured raillery, or encourage them by his own exuberance of spirits. He was an excellent companion, and idolized by the soldiers and his brother officers, whose gloomy hours were enlivened by his inexhaustible fund of anecdote."

It was this same Slaughter, who, during that terrible winter, was reduced to a single shirt. While this was being washed he would wrap himself in a blanket. From the back of his only shirt he had wristbands and a collar made to complete his uniform for parade. It was Washington's custom to invite some of the officers daily to dine with him at his private table, but few were able to accept for want of decent clothing. Slaughter went frequently, being so much better provided than his fellow-officers, and, as he said, "that his regiment might be represented.'

When disputes arose among the officers Marshall was almost invariably chosen as arbiter. He always reduced his decision to writing and supported it by sound reasoning, so that even this early in life, when he was but twentytwo or twenty-three years af age, his decisions were considered final, and were never questioned. He frequently acted as Deputy Judge Advocate, and in this capacity became acquainted with Colonel Hamilton, who was then acting as Washington's aide-de-camp. A friendship then formed continued unbroken to the time of Hamilton's untimely death.

Marshall took part in the Battle of Monmouth and in two brilliant engagements in the campaign of 1779-the first with "Mad Anthony"

Wayne at the assault of Stony Point, and the second with a detachment sent to cover the retreat of Major Lee after his surprise of the enemy at Powle's Hook. The following year he served under Baron von Steuben, and later assisted in repelling Arnold's invasion of Virginia. Virginia had as great a surplus of officers at that time as Kentucky had of colonels after the Civil War, and Marshall resigned his position and resumed the study of his future profession.

There are many anecdotes of his carelessness of dress, and one of them relates to this period of his life. He took a journey to Philadelphia on foot to be vaccinated, walking at the rate of thirty-five miles a day. His long beard and worn-out garments and general unkempt appearance caused him to be taken for a tramp, and the hotels refused to receive him as a guest, but, as has been remarked, "to the man who had undergone the hardships of Morristown and Valley Forge, who had been reduced almost to nakedness, any garb that served the purpose of a covering must have seemed sufficient for any occasion."

LOST A BIG FEE.

This carelessness in dress once lost him a generous fee at a time when he was just beginning practice and stood greatly in need of money. An elderly gentleman from the country had a case before the Court of Appeals, and when he came to Richmond in search of an attorney the landlord of the hotel advised him to employ Marshall. Just then the tall, gaunt form of Marshall came strolling down the street. He was attired in a plain linen roundabout and shorts, with his hat under his arm, from which he was eating cherries. He stopped in front of the hotel, passed a little joke with the landlord and went on. The country gentleman was so prejudiced by his rustic appearance and languid air that he refused to employ him, and appealed to the clerk of the court to recommend him a lawyer. The clerk recommended Marshall, but the country gentleman again declined to employ him, and took instead a venerable-looking and dignified attorney in a powdered wig and great black coat. It so happened that in the first case Marshall and the powdered wig both addressed the Court. When the case was concluded the country gentleman introduced himself to Marshall, frankly told him what had happened, explained that he had paid his lawyer's fee of $100, and had but five dollars left, which he would cheerfully give to Marshall for assisting in the case. Marshall accepted the five and told his client in future not to rely too much in the omnipotence of a powdered wig and black coat.

CHAPTER XX.

MARSHALL'S LIVELY TILT WITH TALLEYRAND, NAPOL-
EON'S WILY MINISTER-REFUSED TO BRIBE THE
DIRECTORY-GEORGE WASHINGTON'S GOOD
STORY ABOUT MARSHALL AND

BUSHROD WASHINGTON.

66

“H

E IS a plain man, very sensible, cautious, guarded and learned in the law of nations. I think you will be pleased with him," wrote President John Adams to Elbridge Gerry, referring to John Marshall, who, with Gerry and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, had been appointed a special envoy to France.

The mission of these three Americans constitutes a curious chapter in American diplomacy. France was threatening war on account of the Jay treaty and trying to force the United States from its position of neutrality to that of an ally. Negotiations had been suspended between the two governments. Madison had been recalled as minister. Pinckney had been appointed to succeed him. The French Government had refused to receive Pinckney and ordered him out of the country. The three envoys were appointed to renew negotiations with France, and thus, if possible, avoid the alternative of war. Although their mission was a failure, France got a new idea of the dignity, independence and honesty of the American Government as a result of their attitude.

Talleyrand, the great dissembler, the man who said that "speech was given to man to conceal his thoughts," was Foreign Minister of the Directory. The negotiations were marked by the basest of intrigue on the part of Talleyrand, who endeavored through unofficial agents to enforce a bribe of $2,500,000 from the envoys for himself and the Directory, and also to induce them to make a loan to the French Government in violation of the neutrality of the United States. The reasons Talleyrand gave for demanding the bribe might easily have appealed to men of weaker and less honest natures. He represented that the members of the Directory were greatly incensed at some passages in the President's speech, and would insist that

the offensive remarks should be disavowed before the Directory would consider the recognition of the envoys. This, of course, he represented, would be very humiliating to the United States and to the envoys themselves, and the only way to avoid making a disavowal of the President's utterances would be by the payment of a large sum of money to the Directory at once. This shameful proposition, of course, was not submitted to the envoys in writing. It was made to them first by Talleyrand's outside agents. Talleyrand afterwards reduced it to writing, showed it to Mr. Gerry and then burnt it.

The official correspondence between Talleyrand and the envoys was conducted on the part of the Americans by Mr. Marshall. "General Marshall and his colleagues," said Patrick Henry, "exhibited the American character as respectable. France, in the period of her most triumphant fortune, beheld them as unappalled. Her threats left them as she found them, mild, temperate, firm."

Marshall in an admirable letter declared to Talleyrand that under no circumstances would the envoys disclaim the language of the President; he stated that they had no authority to pay money, and that they could not negotiate a loan without violating the neutral position of the American States.

TALLEYRAND'S OFFENSIVE LETTER.

In an offensive reply Talleyrand said that the Directory was disposed to treat with that one of the envoys whose opinion was presumed to be more impartial, intending by this language to designate Mr. Gerry, who was supposed to be favorable to the loan. He also intended it to be an affront to Mr. Marshall and Mr. Pinckney, and expected their indignation to take such a form that these two would leave France and permit Talleyrand to continue his negotiations with Mr. Gerry alone. In a letter to Mr. Gerry he said: "I suppose, sir, that Messrs. Pinckney and Marshall have thought it useful and proper, in consequence of the intimations which the end of my note of the 18th of March last presents, to quit the territory of the Republic."

The envoys, having foreseen the failure of their mission, by reason of a government decree subjecting to capture all neutral vessels, laden in whole or in part with English manufactures, had applied for their passports, but they would not leave Paris on the mere intimation of the French minister, nor without those protections which the law of nations entitled them to demand.