The strong good sense of the baron was evinced in the manner in which he
adapted his tactics to the nature of the army and the situation of the
country, instead of adhering with bigotry to the systems of Europe. His
instructions were appreciated by all. The officers received them gladly
and conformed to them. The men soon became active and adroit. The army
gradually acquired a proper organization, and began to operate, like
a great machine; and Washington found in the baron an intelligent,
disinterested, truthful coadjutor, well worthy of the badge he wore of
the Order of _Fidelity_.
* * * * *
=_Richard Henry Wilde, 1789-1847._= (Manual, pp. 501, 521.)
From "Conjectures concerning Torquato Tasso."
=_186._= INTEREST OF TASSO'S LIFE.
There is scarcely any poet whose life excites a more profound and
melancholy interest than that of Torquato Tasso.
His short and brilliant career of glory captivates the imagination,
while the heart is deeply affected by his subsequent misfortunes.
Greater fame and greater misery have seldom been the lot of man, and a
few brief years sufficed for each extreme.
An exile even in his boyhood, the proscription and confiscation suffered
by his father deprived him of home and patrimony.
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