Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/119

 Rh his sympathy with them immediately after their surrender. Stirling, who had but recently been exchanged after his capture on Long Island, told the officers that visited him that Heister had treated him like a brother, and that so would he treat them. He accompanied them on their visit to General Washington, and invited several of them to dinner. Washington paid the same politeness to some of the others. One of his guests has left in his journal the record of the impression made on him by the most famous of Americans: “This general does not show in his face the greatness with which he is generally credited. His eyes have no fire, but the smiling character of his expression when he speaks inspires affection and respect.”

Wiederhold writes: “On the 28th, as I said, I dined, as did several other officers, with General Washington. He did me the honor of talking a great deal with me, about the unlucky affair, and as I freely told him my opinion that our arrangements had been bad, otherwise we should not have fallen into his hands, he asked me if I could have made a better arrangement, and how. Thereupon I said yes; mentioned all the faults that had been committed, and showed what I should have done, and how I would have got out of the scrape with honor. He not only applauded this, but made me a complimentary speech on the subject, as also on my