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shoulders - His limbs rather sinewy than muscular, & slightly corpulent; His figure erect, easy & majestic. "On taking command of the Army at Cambridge" says Irving - "Welcomed by the shouts of the multitude & the thundering of cannon - his personal appearance, notwithstanding the dust of travel, (for he performed the long journey from Mount Vernon on horseback), was calculated to captivate the public eye, as he rode through the Camp, amidst of throng of Officers, he was the admiration of the soldiery, and of a curious throng collected from the surrounding country; and happy was the Countryman that could get a full view of him."
Mrs John Adams, then writing to her husband, said "Dignity, ease and complacency - the gentleman and the soldier, look agreeably blended in him" and she quoted Drydens lines as applicable to him.
"Make his majestic fabric! He's a Temple
Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine!
His soul's the Deity that lodges there
Nor is the Pile unworthy of the God"
"Though habitually grave and thoughtful" says
Irving he was of a social disposition, and loved cheerful company; hearty laughter, however, was rare with him"