He produced a map of the country, saying at the same
time: 'Dear Pop, we are sent like sacrifices to the altar,'"[195]--a
strange presentiment for a man of his sturdy temper.
[Footnote 195: _Apology for the Life of George Anne Bellamy, written by
herself_, II. 204 (London, 1786).]
Whatever were his failings, he feared nothing, and his fidelity and
honor in the discharge of public trusts were never questioned.
"Desperate in his fortune, brutal in his behavior, obstinate in his
sentiments," again writes Walpole, "he was still intrepid and
capable."[196] He was a veteran in years and in service, having entered
the Coldstream Guards as ensign in 1710.
[Footnote 196: Walpole, _George II._, I. 390.]
The transports bringing the two regiments from Ireland all arrived
safely at Hampton, and were ordered to proceed up the Potomac to
Alexandria, where a camp was to be formed. Thither, towards the end of
March, went Braddock himself, along with Keppel and Dinwiddie, in the
Governor's coach; while his aide-de-camp, Orme, his secretary, Shirley,
and the servants of the party followed on horseback. Braddock had sent
for the elder Shirley and other provincial governors to meet him in
council; and on the fourteenth of April they assembled in a tent of the
newly formed encampment. Here was Dinwiddie, who thought his troubles at
an end, and saw in the red-coated soldiery the near fruition of his
hopes.
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