Page:Republican Court by Rufus Griswold.djvu/96

Here he was made a prisoner of war, and as his influence and energy were well known, lie was treated with unusual and unmanly rigor, in order to crush his spirit, and intimidate others. Menaces and promises were alike resorted to to corrupt his fidelity. He was unmoved either by severity or temptations. He was true to his country. General Washington has a very high opinion of him, and he deserves it. He is a man of fine mind, and, as a scholar, ranked with the most eminent at Westminster and Oxford.

There is yet another from South Carolina, of the same name. This is Charles Pinckney. He is a gentleman of great polish of manners, remarkable colloquial powers, and fervid eloquence. Throughout the revolutionary struggle he proved himself equally sagacious, earnest, and unchangeable.

Only one more remains of whom we will speak ; not that the remaining characters before us are undistinguished or uninteresting, for there are several who might justly claim our notice; but there is danger of becoming wearisome. Here is Abraham Baldwin, a Connecticut man, but now a representative from Georgia, in which State he has resided, as a lawyer, for many years. He has been a representative in the legislature of his adopted state; and, with the aid of Mr. Milledge, may be said to have induced that body to found the university, at Athens. He has also been a delegate in the Continental Congress; and is a faithful, industrious man, of excellent common sense.

We shall find that we have here no assemblage of common men, but that the convention is composed almost entirely of those who have had experience, and have distinguished themselves by their talents and public services. In the very first assembly of the colonies, held at Albany, in 1754, Dr. Franklin was a member; in the Stamp Act Congress, of 1765, Dickinson of Delaware, Johnson of Connecticut, and Rutledge of South Carolina were members; in