The hospitality of the great colonial soldier was displayed on a scale of magnificence which must have tended to relieve the dullness; and when at home, he seldom allowed a day to pass without having visitors of intelligence and distinction. Moreover, he had a keen relish for field-sports. He hunted, at the proper season, twice or thrice a-week; was fond of the excitement and recreation which a fox-chase afforded; was familiar with the use of his fowling-piece; signalized his expertness against the game which abounded in his preserved grounds, and fought as courageously in an affray with poachers as he had ever done in a battle with the French. He was always eager to be useful, and took a particular interest in the affairs of his parish. He was recognized by the people in his neighborhood as a man of extraordinary candor and judgment; insomuch that when they became involved in quarrels, which there appeared no prospect of otherwise settling amicably, they were in the habit of resorting to him as a last appeal, and submitting the case to his reason, justice, and decision, just as his school-fellows had done in other days: “His doom contending neighbors sought―― Content with equity unbought.” Indeed, his wish to act without fear, favor, or affection, when thus consulted, and to promote peace and concord, was so evident, that few uttered an audible murmur against his arbitration. On relinquishing his military employment, he had been returned as a member of the House of Burgesses, and for a period of fifteen years was successful at each election. It was a rule with him through life to execute with unflinching diligence any duty he undertook; and as a representative his attendance was punctual and exemplary in the extreme. He seldom spoke; he had no longing for oratorical conflict, and altogether refrained from entering into stormy discussions; but his acute perception, earnest judgment, and sage prescience, gave him an influence in the assembly which his wordy, brawling, and disputatious compeers struggled and strove for in vain. He was in the habit of studying attentively, and forming opinions with scrupulous impartiality on the chief subjects under deliberation. In this respect, _Nunquam non paratus_ might have been his motto. Thus, when the Stamp Act was imposed on the colonies by Mr. Grenville, he at once assumed a position of antagonism to the infliction, and concurred with firmness and determination in the measures of opposition adopted by America. From this, and his high reputation, he was chosen to command the independent companies of militia which the colonists had hitherto been privileged and encouraged to raise; he was sent as a delegate to the Virginia Convention, and afterward elected as a member of the general Congress, in whose proceedings he acted a prominent and influential part.