Behold the
encampments, the splendid marches, the audacity, the precautions, the
perils, the resources of these brave men! Has there ever been beheld
in two men virtues such as these in characters so different, not to
say diametrically opposite? The one appears to be guided by deep
reflection, the other by sudden illumination; the latter as a
consequence, tho more impetuous, yet never acting with undue
precipitation; the former, colder of manner, tho never slow, is bolder
of action than of speech, and even while having the outward appearance
of embarrassment, inwardly determined and resolved. The one, from the
moment he appears in the army, conveys an exalted idea of his
worth and makes one expect of him something out of the ordinary;
nevertheless, he advanced in regular order, and performed, as it
were, by degrees, the prodigious deeds which marked the course of his
career. The other, like a man inspired from the date of his first
battle, showed himself the equal of the most consummate masters of the
art of warfare. The one by his prompt and continued efforts commanded
the admiration of the human race and silenced the voice of envy; the
other shone so resplendently from the very beginning that none dared
attack him.
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