darting modestly into an adjoining room

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Could you rewrite the title, so that I may better understand what it has said？

Now, my poor understanding is:

Dart = run quickly; room = position; so "darting modestly into an adjoining room" meant that Washington swiftly yet modestly got a position adjoining to John Hancock's. But, Washington was commander in chief, his position was above John Hancock's, so why the writer wanted to express the thing like this?

Context:

On June 15, Washington, whose military counsel had already proved invaluable on two committees, was nominated and chosen by unanimous vote. Beyond the considerations noted, he owed his choice to the facts that Virginia stood with Massachusetts as one of the most powerful colonies; that his appointment would augment the zeal of the southern people; that he had made an enduring reputation in the Braddock campaign; and that his poise, sense, and resolution had impressed all the delegates. The scene of his election, with Washington darting modestly into an adjoining room and John Hancock flushing with jealous mortification, will alway impress the historical imagination; so also will the scene of July 3, 1775, when wheeling his horse under an elm in front of the troops paraded on Cambridge common he drew his sword and took command of the army investing Boston. News of Bunker Hill had reached him before he was a day's jouney from Philadelphia, and he had expressed confidence of victory when told how the militia had fought. In accepting the command he refused any payment beyond his expenses and called upon "every gentleman in the room" to bear witness that he disclaimed fitness for it. At once he showed characteristic decision and energy in organizing the raw volunteers, collecting provisions and munitions, and rallying Congress and the colonies to his support.

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Another question, what does "under an elm" mean? I felt that the elm is a holy symbol for military forces or political power.

And "investing Boston"? Invest = besiege?

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What we have here are several historic scenes and the writer is trying to be a little poetic. History is difficult to write, one has to describe facts and try not to make it too deadly dull.

Scene one: Washington and Hancock were two brash men involved in a revolution, both were leaders and both wanted to be the leader. Washington won the position, he got the job, but rather than stay and make Hancock's loss even more embarrassing, he 'darts modestly out of the room.'

You write

Quote:

Dart = run quickly; room = position; so "darting modestly into an adjoining room" meant that Washington swiftly yet modestly got a position adjoining to John Hancock's.

No, Washington didn't get anything that was ajoining Hancock, it was the rooms that were adjoining not the men's positions. Understand that what happened was that Washington just beat Hancock out of the top position and at the same time became Hancock's boss.
He quickly and politely exited so as to not rub it in Hancock's face.
Oristar, do you know that expression?
Meanwhile, poor Hancock is left with the men who have just voted for his rival. Don't feel too badly for Hancock though, he did alright for himself later.

The scene on the Common is a wonderful one. A common was, and is still, a large open space with tall trees surrounding it. The elm the piece refers to is one of those large trees. Imagine the scene: the men are all lined up on the grass with the muskets and their kitbags. They are waiting to see what kind of man has come to lead them in their revolution. In rides Washington, he wheels his horse and pulls out his sword, that is, he makes the horse do a tight little circle while waving his weapon. He looks like someone who can command, someone who can lead these men to victory!! Okay, let's go!

investing= in this case it means 'being placed in' or 'taking a position in'

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Yes, I completely got the expression -- Washington was so good at saving face! Thanks for clearing the misunderstanding up. Very Happy

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Oristar, I told you before, some of the texts you are studying are not easy, and are a bit old-fashioned.
That makes them difficult for a foreigner to understand.
I think this one is badly-written and in a poor style. Do not worry if you cannot easily understand it; from this brief excerpt, I would say it is not straightforward nor very pleasant or rewarding to read, even for native speakers.

McT

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Joe, that was a fine explanation and I enjoyed reading it. Nice job.

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Thanks for reminding me of that.

You know that I have to learn the history of the US. Whether or not the writings about the history are excellent or crappy in grammar and rhetoric, somethimes I had to pay most attention to what they said, not how they said. And you know I have not read enough original English writings with which I could exactly smell out if an article is well-written or bad done.

The UK, has its long history of the development of English language, while the US just has had about 200 years history. No wonder the British English has its particularly wonderful skills. But if I enter the US, do in Rome as Rome does. First, understand what Americans say, secondly, polish speech, as well as in the UK.

All in all, I need time to polish my reading and writing skills in English. There is one day I will know how to properly appreciate English.

Thank you.

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Well, I did not mean to come over too sniffy, if you see what I mean.
If you've got to study American history, then you must use that material.
My point was, for learning the language, it's not ideal. There are better ways. But for learning history, that's different.

I would still encourage you to keep in touch with current affairs through the lead articles of the major newspapers. These are usually written in an accessible way. And, a website I like (American!) is Arts & Letters Daily. http://www.aldaily.com/

McT

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Yes, I've bookmarked the link that you have recommended me about one year ago. With every day I read news articles from New York Times, WashingtonPost, USAToday and CNN; sometimes I read Guardian Unlimited, because downloading it is so slow from China, though I had once made it as the homepage of my browser. I could not open London Time, BBC from China, I think the stupid China's filter works. Razz

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Gosh, Oristar, I admire your industry.
The Chinese nation is of course famous wordwide for that quality, among others.

If only I would work so hard on my German texts!
And I need to resurrect some French, we will go there in September I hope.

McT

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Thanks for the kind word, joeblow.

Before my wife and I made a trip to Paris, I spent about three months listening to tapes everyday on the train. I learned to say all the very basic things: "I don't speak French but..."; "Where is the _____?";"How much does this cost?; and, of course, "Please, stop laughing, this is the best French I know." We had a wonderful time and I felt better, not comfortable, but better, about being in places where English is not generally spoken. (She was going to fabric marts.)

When we returned I related all this to a friend and he said, "Well, you had the basics, but you still don't know the depth of the language." To which I replied, "I don't the depth of English yet either." I love these challenges from Oristar because it makes me think-- how can I be clearer? What words will make the meaning rise up from the deep?

McTag: Arrgh. Now you've done it. I made Arts and Letters my homepage. You shall never hear from me again because I intend to read every link of it every day, maybe stop eating if necessary. So farewell, and it's your fault. Laughing

Joe Nation

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oristarA wrote:

Thanks for reminding me of that.

You know that I have to learn the history of the US. Whether or not the writings about the history are excellent or crappy in grammar and rhetoric, somethimes I had to pay most attention to what they said, not how they said. And you know I have not read enough original English writings with which I could exactly smell out if an article is well-written or bad done.

The UK, has its long history of the development of English language, while the US just has had about 200 years history. No wonder the British English has its particularly wonderful skills. But if I enter the US, do in Rome as Rome does. First, understand what Americans say, secondly, polish speech, as well as in the UK.

All in all, I need time to polish my reading and writing skills in English. There is one day I will know how to properly appreciate English.

Thank you.

If you want to see some truly bad writing, take a look at a North American law school entrance exam (LSAT). Laughing

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Joe Nation wrote:

Before my wife and I made a trip to Paris, I spent about three months listening to tapes everyday on the train. I learned to say all the very basic things: "I don't speak French but..."; "Where is the _____?";"How much does this cost?; and, of course, "Please, stop laughing, this is the best French I know." We had a wonderful time and I felt better, not comfortable, but better, about being in places where English is not generally spoken. (She was going to fabric marts.)

When we returned I related all this to a friend and he said, "Well, you had the basics, but you still don't know the depth of the language." To which I replied, "I don't the depth of English yet either." I love these challenges from Oristar because it makes me think-- how can I be clearer? What words will make the meaning rise up from the deep?

Yes, I see! Thanks for that.

(running off to learn "Please, stop laughing, this is the best French I know.") Love it.

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darting modestly into an adjoining room

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