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On the 14th, the snow was so deep that Washington sent off his horses very lightly loaded, in the care of four of his men, to Venango, having determined to go down himself, with the remainder of his party, in a canoe. Young Washington had to contend with a variety of mild and artful means used to detain his convoy of Indians, and to draw them away from the English interests. He was at length obliged to assume a tone of remonstrance before he could induce the French and Indians to part.--The French commandant, at last, ordered a plentiful store of provisions to be put on board Washington's boat, and appeared very friendly and complaisant. They had a tedious passage down the Creek. They found it extremely crooked. Several times they came near being staved against the rocks. At times they were all hands obliged to get out, and remain in the water half an hour or more, getting over the shoals. At one place, the ice had lodged and blocked up the passage by water, so that they were obliged to carry their boat a quarter of a mile across a neck of land. They did not reach Venango till the 22d. Here they found their horses.

The next day, when Washington was prepared to leave Venango, he inquired of the Half-King whether he intended to go down with him by land or to go by water. He replied that White Thunder had hurt himself badly, and was sick and unable to walk, and that he must carry him down in a canoe. As Washington found that the Half-King intended to stay behind a few days, he cautioned him against the flatteries of the French. He desired Washington not to be concerned, for he knew the French too well to be influenced by them against the English. He offered to order the young hunter to attend Washington and his party, and procure provisions for them on their journey. He said he should soon be at the forks, and there deliver a speech, to be carried to his Honor the Governor of Virginia. Washington then took leave of the Half-King, and with his party left Venango.

The next day they continued travelling till it was quite dark, when they reached the Allegany river about two miles above the forks of the Ohio. There was no way for them to get over the river but upon a raft. The next morning they set about making one, with the assistance of but one poor hatchet, and finished it just after sunset.--The next day they launched it, went on board and pushed off; but before they were half across the river, they were so wedged in between flakes of ice running forcibly down stream, that they expected every moment their raft would sink and themselves perish. Young Washington put out his setting pole to stop the raft, that the ice might pass by it, when the rapidity of the stream threw the ice with so much violence against his pole that it jerked him into the river. He instantly seized hold of one of the raft logs and saved himself from the dashing flakes of ice, by springing to his former station on the raft. In spite of all their efforts they could not get to either shore; but were obliged to quit their raft and pass from one mass of ice to another, till they reached a small island in the river. Here they spent the night. The cold was so extremely severe that Mr. Gist had all his fingers and part of his toes frozen. They left the island the next morning, on the ice, without difficulty, and went to the house of a trader, on the Monongahela, a few miles distant. About three miles from this house, there was an Indian settlement on the spot where the Monongahela and Youghiogany rivers unite, where the Indian Queen Alliquippa held her rude court. She had expressed great concern that Washington and his party had passed her by without attention, on his way to the French fort; and, as he was now waiting for horses, he took this opportunity to make a visit to her majesty. Though it is evident that Queen Alliquippa, like persons of similar rank and birth in Europe, was very tenacious of the respect due to royalty, we are not informed by Washington, with what particular marks of attention she received him. We may, however, form some idea of the style which he found prevalent at court, from the nature of the present which he made her. He presented her with a box coat.

About thirty miles from this Indian settlement, Washington bought a fresh horse, rode on to Wills Creek, and reached Williamsburg on the 16th of January, 1754.--He immediately waited upon the Governor, delivered his letter from the French commandant, together with a journal of his proceedings and observations during the tour. This journal was published in England, and has been several times reprinted in this country. Major Washington thus completed his perilous expedition, and accomplished the objects of it in such a faithful and able manner as gave entire satisfaction.

Major Washington, at the age of twenty-two, is appointed to command the regular Virginia forces, consisting of two companies--being increased to six companies, he is raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second in command--his modesty--the fort, just begun at the fork of the Ohio, surrenders to the French--Washington attacks and defeats a party of French.

Young Washington was, however, raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second in command. He left Alexandria with his troops, for the frontier, on the 2d of April, 1754, and being joined by a small detachment in his route, arrived at Wills Creek on the 20th, with one hundred and fifty men. He was here met by Captain Trent's ensign, Mr. Ward, directly from the fort just begun at the fork of the Ohio, with the unpleasant information that he had been obliged to surrender to a French force of one thousand men, with eighteen pieces of cannon, on the 17th of April. He said that the Captain and the Lieutenant were both absent at the time, and that the whole number of men under his command was but forty-one. He stated that the French commander approached near the fort, halted his troops, and sent in an officer with a summons to surrender, allowing him but one hour to consider of it, and directing him to come to the French camp at the expiration of the hour, with his determination in writing. He asked the Half-King, who was in the fort at the time, what it was best to do. The chief advised him to inform the French that he was not an officer of rank, nor invested with power to answer their summons, and request them to wait till his commander should arrive. He accordingly went with this reply to the French camp, accompanied by the Half-King; but the French commander refused to wait, telling them that he must have an immediate and decisive answer, or he should take possession of the fort by force. He then agreed to surrender, with liberty to depart with his men the next day. The French commander invited the ensign to supper in the evening, and treated him with much civility. The seizure of this post was considered by the British, at the time, the first open act of hostility in the memorable French war which followed it. The French fortified the post strongly, and called it Fort Du Quesne.

Colonel Washington considered that the British territory was now actually invaded, and that it was his duty, in compliance with his orders, to march forward prepared to meet the invading foe. A council of war was held, which confirmed this opinion, and resolved to proceed to the junction of Red Stone Creek with the river Monongahela, thirty-seven miles south of Fort Du Quesne, there build a fort and wait for reinforcements. Colonel Fry, the chief in command, being detained by bad health, Lieutenant Colonel Washington with his one hundred and fifty men, moved on through the wilderness and over the mountains with all possible dispatch. He first sent forward sixty men to prepare a passage by mending the road, and in some places making a new one; and on the 1st of May, followed them with the main body. In the course of the march, the friendly Indians brought to Washington frequent reports of French scouts being seen in the woods. When he had advanced about fifty miles beyond Wills Creek, he met a messenger from the Half-King, informing him that a French force was on its march to attack the English, and warning him to be on his guard. This induced Washington to fall back a few miles to a favorable place for meeting the enemy, called the Great Meadows. Here he immediately employed his men in clearing away the bushes and throwing up an intrenchment, and sent a small party to look out for the enemy and observe their strength and motions. But the party returned without seeing any thing of them. The troops were, however, alarmed in the night, and were under arms during the latter part of it.

On the morning of May 27th, an English trader who lived in the neighborhood, came to the camp from his residence, where a detachment of fifty Frenchmen, he said, had been seen the day before at noon. He added that he saw their tracks himself about five miles distant. Washington immediately sent out seventy-five men in pursuit of this party; but they returned without discovering it. Washington sent a messenger to the Half-King, who was encamped with some of his people about six miles distant. This messenger returned about nine o'clock in the evening, with information from the Half-King that he had seen the tracks of two Frenchmen across the road, which had been traced to an obscure part of the woods, and that he thought the main body of them must be concealed at no great distance.--Washington, suspecting a design to surprise him, set out that night with forty men for the Indian's camp. The night was dark and rainy, and they often lost the path and were unable to find it again for fifteen or twenty minutes. They, however, arrived at the Indian's camp before sunrise. The Half-King agreed "to go hand in hand with their brothers the English," "and strike the French." Accordingly they set out together, and proceeded through the woods in single file, after the manner of the Indians, till they came to the place where the tracks were. The Half-King then sent two Indians to follow these tracks again, till they should find the very spot where the enemy lay. The two Indians soon discovered them about half a mile from the road, in a very retired place, surrounded by rocks. The men were immediately formed for the attack. They then advanced, with Washington at their head, till they came very near the French. The moment the French discovered them, they seized their arms. Washington gave the order to fire, and a brisk engagement ensued, which continued about fifteen minutes. The French were defeated with the loss of their whole party, except one who escaped, ten men being killed, including Jumonville, their commander, one wounded and twenty-one taken prisoners. Colonel Washington's loss was one man killed, and a Lieutenant and two privates wounded. As the French directed their fire chiefly at Washington's men, the Indians received no injury. This skirmish took place on the 28th of May, 1754, at about seven o'clock in the morning. It was the first battle in which Washington had ever been engaged.

Battle of the Great Meadows--vote of thanks to Colonel Washington and his officers--disapproving of the arrangement of the Virginia troops, he retires from the service.

On the third of July, early in the morning, an alarm was given by a sentinel who had been wounded by the enemy. At nine o'clock, intelligence was received that the whole body of the French, amounting to nine hundred men, was only four miles distant. They were commanded by M. De Villiers, brother of Jumonville. At eleven o'clock they approached the fort, and began to fire, at the distance of six hundred yards, but without effect. Colonel Washington had drawn up his men on the open and level ground outside of the trenches, awaiting the attack, which he supposed would be made immediately, having ordered his men to reserve their fire till the enemy were so near that it would certainly do execution. But the French kept up a distant firing from the woods. Washington considered this as a stratagem to draw his men into the woods and there take them at a disadvantage. He therefore maintained his position till he found that the French did not incline to leave the woods and attack the fort by assault, as he had thought they would, considering their superiority of numbers. He then drew his men back within the trenches, and gave them orders to fire as they found favorable opportunities of doing so with effect. The French and Indians remained on the side of a piece of rising ground near the fort, and sheltered by the trees, kept up a brisk fire of musketry upon it, but never appeared upon the open plain below.

In this way, the battle continued till eight o'clock in the evening, when the French called out and proposed a parley. Suspecting this to be a mere feint in order to procure the admission of a French officer into the fort to spy out his condition, the Colonel at first declined the proposal; but when the call was repeated, with the request that an officer might be sent to them, and with the pledge of their parol of honor for his safety, he sent out Captain Van Braam, the only person under his command who could speak French, excepting the Chevalier De Payrouny, an ensign in the Virginia regiment, who was dangerously wounded and disabled. Van Braam returned, and brought with him M. De Villiers and the proposed articles of capitulation. These he read and interpreted. After making some alterations in the articles, by mutual agreement, both parties signed them about midnight.

The exact number engaged in the action at the Great Meadows, cannot be ascertained. According to a return made by Colonel Washington himself, the Virginia regiment, including officers, consisted of three hundred and five men, of which twelve were killed and forty-three wounded. The company of South Carolinians was said to contain about one hundred; but the number of them killed and wounded is not known. The French force was probably not far from nine hundred. M. De Villiers says he left Fort Du Quesne with five hundred Frenchmen and eleven Indians. The number of French is probably correct; but the Indians were much more numerous when they arrived at the scene of action.

Although there was at this time a disagreement between the Governor and the Legislature of Virginia, which prevented the appropriation of money for the service, the Governor and his counsel resolved to renew the contest with the French without delay. When Washington was informed of this, he expostulated so warmly against attempting such an enterprise, without money, men, or provisions, that it was abandoned.

The Assembly met in October, 1754, and granted ?20,000. The Governor received from England ?10,000 in specie, with the promise of as much more, and two thousand fire arms. The Governor and his counsel then resolved that the army should be divided into ten independent companies, of one hundred men each, and should contain no officer above the rank of Captain. Washington, disapproving of this singular arrangement as unfavorable to the interest of the service, retired from the army to his farm.

Is invited by General Braddock to join his expedition as a volunteer--accepts the invitation--Battle of Monongahela--Washington conducts the retreat with ability, and retains the confidence of the public.

On the 20th of February, 1755, General Braddock arrived in Virginia, from England, as Commander in Chief of all the military forces in North-America. He brought with him two Regiments of the British Army, consisting of five hundred men each. One of them was commanded by Sir Peter Halket, and the other by Colonel Dunbar. These were accompanied by a proper train of artillery and sufficient military supplies and provisions. The General made his first head quarters at Alexandria. He addressed, through his Aid-de-Camp, a polite letter to Colonel Washington, inviting him, as he had declined any military command under the Virginia regulations, to join his family as a volunteer, and accompany him upon his intended expedition against Fort Du Quesne, as one of his aids, and desiring him to consult his own pleasure and convenience, as to the particular time of joining the army. Colonel Washington accepted this invitation. General Braddock marched from Alexandria for Fort Cumberland at the mouth of Wills Creek on the 20th of April. Colonel Washington left Mount Vernon on the 23d, and overtook the army in a few days at Fredericktown, in Virginia. The army arrived at Fort Cumberland about the middle of May. It then consisted of more than two thousand men. About one thousand of them were colonial troops. The army was detained at this post three weeks; nor could it then have moved on, but for the personal exertions of Benjamin Franklin, and his influence among the Pennsylvanian farmers, in procuring horses and wagons, to transport the artillery, provisions, and baggage. During the detention of the army at Fort Cumberland, Colonel Washington was dispatched to Williamsburg, in the eastern part of Virginia, to obtain ?4000 in money, for the use of the army, and to bring it on to the camp. He promptly and successfully executed this commission, taking with him at Winchester, on his return, a sufficient guard of militia through the most unfrequented and dangerous part of the route.

About the first of June, a detachment was sent forward to open the roads as far as a place called Little Meadows, about twenty miles beyond Fort Cumberland, and there to erect a small Fort. The main body soon followed this detachment, and when they came up with it, the whole army was divided into two divisions. The advanced division under General Braddock, consisted of about twelve hundred men. The other division, consisting of about eight hundred men under Colonel Dunbar, was left in the rear to proceed with the baggage by slow marches. Washington says in a letter to his brother John Augustine, written on the march, that the advance of the first division of the army, though retarded by many real obstacles and difficulties, was yet unnecessarily slow, in consequence of halting to level too many mole hills, and to build bridges over too many brooks. Colonel Washington accompanied the advanced division until a fever with which he was taken on the march became so violent, that he was obliged to fall in the rear, into Colonel Dunbar's division.

At 1 o'clock P. M. the whole army had crossed the river; and almost at the same moment a sharp firing was heard upon the advanced parties, who were now ascending the rising ground. A heavy discharge of musketry poured in upon their front, gave them the first notice that an enemy was near. This was suddenly followed by another discharge upon their right flank.--These were followed by others in continual and rapid succession. They were filled with the greater consternation because no enemy was in sight, and the fire seemed to come from an invisible foe. They fired, however, in their turn, but at random and without effect. The General speedily advanced to the relief of the detachments; but before he could reach them, they gave way and fell back upon the artillery and other columns, causing extreme confusion, and striking the whole mass with such a panic that no order could afterwards be restored. The yell of the savages with which the woods resounded, struck terror into the hearts of the British soldiers, and added to the consternation. The General and his officers behaved with the utmost courage. They made every effort to rally the men and bring them to order, but all in vain.--In this state they continued nearly three hours, huddling together in confused bodies, firing irregularly, shooting down their own officers and comrades, and doing little or no harm to the enemy. The Virginians were the only troops who seemed to retain their senses. They behaved with bravery and resolution. They adopted the Indian mode, and fought each man for himself behind a tree. This was forbidden by the General, who endeavored to form the men into platoons and columns, as if he were manoevering them upon the plains of Flanders.--During all this time, the French and Indians concealed in the ravines and behind trees, kept up a continual and deadly discharge of musketry, singling out their objects, taking deliberate aim, and producing a carnage almost unparalleled in the annals of modern warfare. More than half of that whole army which had crossed the river in such proud array only three hours before, were either killed or wounded. General Braddock, after having five horses shot under him, had received a mortal wound, and many of his best officers had fallen by his side. Sir Peter Halket was killed upon the spot. Colonel Washington had two horses shot under him, and his clothes were shot through in several places. The bodies left on the field were stripped and scalped by the Indians. All the artillery, ammunition, provisions, baggage, everything in the train of the army fell into the enemy's hands, and were given up to be pillaged by the savages.

When the battle was over, and the remnant of the army had gained in their flight the opposite bank of the river, Colonel Washington was dispatched by the General to meet Colonel Dunbar, and order forward wagons for the wounded with all possible speed; but they could not be procured till after the wounded had suffered much from pain, fatigue and hunger. The General was at first brought off the field in a cart.--He was then set on horseback, but being unable to ride, was carried by the soldiers. They reached Dunbar's camp, near the Great Meadows, to which the panic had already extended. A day was passed there in great confusion. General Braddock died on the 13th, and was buried in the road, for the purpose of concealing his body from the Indians. The spot is still pointed out within a few yards of the present national road, about a mile west of the site of Fort Necessity, at the Great Meadows, in Pennsylvania. On the 17th, the sick and wounded arrived at Fort Cumberland on Wills Creek, and were soon after joined by Colonel Dunbar with the remnant of the army. The French sent out a party as far as Dunbar's camp and destroyed every thing that had been left behind.

As to the numbers engaged in the battle of Monongahela, on the side of the French, Washington conjectured, as appears by his letters, that they amounted to no more than three hundred. Doctor Franklin, in his account of the battle, considers them as not exceeding four hundred at most.

It appears by the French narratives of this battle, that while the commandant of Fort Du Quesne, considering his force too small to encounter his approaching enemy, was hesitating what measures to adopt, M. De Beaujeu, a Captain in the French service, obtained from his commandant a detachment of French troops, with leave to advance with them and meet the enemy on their march. After much persuasion, Beaujeu induced a considerable party of Indians to join him. He began his march at an early hour on the morning of the 9th of July, intending to make a stand at the second fording place, there to annoy the English while passing the river, and then to retreat and make another stand at the rising ground where the whole contest actually took place. Captain Beaujeu and his party did not, however, arrive quite in time to make a stand at the ford, and thus failed to carry the first part of their plan into execution. They however immediately placed themselves in ambush, partly in front and partly concealed in the ravines flanking the road up the rising ground, and there waited till Braddock's advanced columns came up. The French gave the first fire in front.--This was repelled by so heavy a discharge from the British, that the Indians thought it came from artillery, and showed symptoms of wavering and retreat. At this moment M. De Beaujeu was killed. M. Dumas immediately took the command, rallied the Indians with great presence of mind, ordered his officers to lead them to the wings, while, with the French troops, he maintained the position in front. This order was promptly obeyed; the attack became general, and the English columns got into confusion.

As to the French accounts of their numbers, the highest states them at two hundred and fifty French and Canadians and six hundred and forty Indians, and the lowest at two hundred and thirty French and Canadians and six hundred Indians. A medium between the two will make the whole number under De Beaujeu eight hundred and sixty. The French admit, including Indians, thirty-three killed and thirty-four wounded.

When these French statements, the nature of the ground, and the mismanagement of General Braddock are duly considered, the result of the action will not appear very surprising. That the English should say "they were fighting with an invisible foe," and that "they could only tell where the enemy were by the smoke of their muskets," is no mystery, for it was literally true. Had Braddock known the position of his enemy, and raked the ravines with his artillery, or charged through them with the bayonet, they would have been cleared immediately.

Anecdote--Washington is appointed to command the Virginia forces--his visit to Boston--commands the advance division at the taking of Fort Du Quesne--resigns his military commission--marries--devotes himself chiefly to agricultural pursuits till called to take command of the American armies in the war of Independence.

About fifteen years after Braddock's defeat, as Washington was exploring wild lands near the Ohio river with a party of woodmen, a company of Indians came to them with an interpreter, headed by an aged and venerable chief. This chief told the party that, at the battle of Monongahela, he had singled out Colonel Washington as a conspicuous object, fired his rifle at him many times, and directed his young warriors to do the same, but to his utter astonishment, none of their balls took effect. He was then persuaded that the young man was under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, and stopped firing at him any longer. He said he had come a great way to pay his respects to a man who was the peculiar favorite of Heaven, and could never die in battle.

J. Sparks.

About a fortnight after Washington returned home from Braddock's defeat, he was appointed to the chief command of the Virginia forces, now increased to sixteen companies, with authority to appoint his own officers, together with an aid-de-camp and Secretary. In this command he continued three years, defending with energy and resolution three hundred and sixty miles of frontier against the continual incursions of a warlike and a savage foe, though furnished with very inadequate means for the arduous undertaking. His discipline was reasonable and steady, but rigid. Quarreling and fighting, drunkenness, card playing and profane swearing were promptly punished.

In March, 1756, Colonel Washington went with his aid to Boston on military business with General Shirley. He was treated with much politeness and attention at Boston. He attended with interest the proceedings of the Legislature of Massachusetts, and visited Castle William and other places worthy of a stranger's notice. On his return home, he passed through Providence, Newport, New London, New York, and Philadelphia, and spent several days in each of the two last mentioned cities.

The design of the British to carry the war into Canada, being known to the French Governor of Canada, he recalled the greater part of the French troops from the Ohio river. Only about five hundred men were left for the defence of the French possessions.

In 1758, another expedition marched against Fort Du Quesne, under the command of General Forbes. Colonel Washington commanded the advanced division of this army, which was sent forward to clear and prepare the way for the main body.--The night before the expedition reached Fort Du Quesne, the French, amounting to about five hundred men, set the Fort on fire, embarked on board their boats by the light of it, and sailed down the Ohio; so that the army had nothing to do but to take possession of the spot where the Fort stood. This they did on the 25th of November, 1758. General Forbes called the place Pittsburg, in honor of Mr. Pitt.

Immediately after his return to Virginia from this expedition, Colonel Washington resigned his military commission. On the 6th of January, 1759, at the age of twenty-seven, he married Martha Custis, the widow of Daniel Parke Custis, and daughter of John Dandridge. Colonel Washington, though absent at the time, was elected a member of the Virginia Assembly by a large majority over three active rival candidates. He attended the session of the Assembly held in the month of February. The house had resolved, without the knowledge of Washington, to return their thanks to him in a public manner for the distinguished services he had rendered his country. This duty devolved on Mr. Robinson, the Speaker. As soon as Colonel Washington took his seat, the Speaker, following the impulse of his feelings, discharged the duty assigned him with dignity, but with such warmth and strength of expression as entirely confounded the young hero. He rose to express his acknowledgments for the honor done him, but such was his trepidation and confusion that he could not give distinct utterance to a single sentence. He blushed, stammered and trembled for a moment, when the Speaker relieved him by a stroke of address that would have done honor to Louis the Eighteenth in his proudest and happiest moment. "Sit down, Colonel Washington," said he, with a conciliating smile, "your modesty is equal to your valor; and that surpasses the power of any language that I possess."

Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, page 45.

When the session closed, the Colonel repaired, with Mrs. Washington, to his residence at Mount Vernon. Here he enjoyed the pleasures of domestic life and his favorite agricultural occupations for sixteen years, until called by the voice of his country to take command of the American armies at the commencement of the war of the Revolution. He cultivated and improved his lands with remarkable judgment. He conducted his business upon a regular system. Economy was observed through every department of it. His accounts were inspected weekly. The divisions of his farm were numbered, an exact account was kept of the produce of each lot together with the expense of cultivating it, so that the profit or loss of any crop as well as the relative advantages of different modes of husbandry might be seen at one view.

During Washington's retreat from military life he was a magistrate of the county in which he resided, and frequently a member of the Virginia Legislature. He was hospitable and charitable; a friend to the church in the parish where he lived, and ever ready to do all in his power to promote the interests of morality and religion. He was indeed a friend of his country and a friend of mankind.

The first Congress of the United Colonies met at Philadelphia in 1774. Washington was a leading member of that body, and took an active part in opposition to the principles assumed by the then British administration and parliament in relation to the American colonies.

He was unanimously elected by Congress, General and Commander-in-chief of the United Colonies and of all their forces. When the President of Congress communicated this election, Washington thus addressed him:

"Mr. President--Although I am truly sensible of the high honor done me by this appointment, I feel a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty and exert every power I possess in their service and in support of our glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation.

"But unless some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command with which I am honored. I beg leave, sir, to assure the Congress, that, as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. These, I doubt not, the Congress will discharge, and that is all I desire."

Under what privations, difficulties and discouragements, Washington led our fathers through their revolutionary struggle, to victory and national independence, is well known. His agency in establishing that independence upon the basis of union in a national constitution, and his excellent administration of the government as the first President of the United States under that constitution, is equally well known.

Washington was exactly six feet high. His limbs were well formed and indicated strength. His eyes were greyish, and his hair of a brown color. His complexion was light, and his countenance serene and thoughtful.

His manners were graceful, manly and dignified. His general appearance never failed to engage the respect and esteem of all who approached him. He possessed the most perfect self-government, and in a remarkable degree the faculty of hiding the weaknesses inseparable from human nature. He ever bore his distinguished honors with meekness and equanimity. Reserved but not haughty in his disposition, he was accessible to all but he unbosomed himself only to his confidential friends.

Mr. Stewart, the eminent portrait painter, used to say there were features in the face of Washington, different from any he had ever observed in any other human being. The sockets for the eyes were larger than he had ever met with before, and the upper part of his nose broader.

He always spoke with great diffidence, and sometimes hesitated for a word; but it was always to find one well adapted to his meaning. His language was manly and expressive.

Few persons ever found themselves for the first time in the presence of Washington, without being impressed with a degree of veneration and awe; nor did those emotions subside on a closer acquaintance; on the contrary, his person and deportment were such as tended rather to augment them. The whole range of history does not present to our view a character upon which we can dwell with such entire and unmixed admiration. The long life of Washington is unstained by a single blot. He was indeed a man of such rare endowments, and such a fortunate temperament, that every action he performed was equally exempted from the charge of vice or weakness. Whatever he said or did, or wrote, was stamped with a striking and peculiar propriety. His qualities were so happily blended and so nicely harmonized, that the result was a great and perfect whole. The passions of his mind and the dispositions of his heart were admirably suited to each other. His views, though liberal, were never extravagant. His virtues, though comprehensive and beneficent, were discriminating, judicious and practical.

Yet his character, though regular and uniform, possessed none of the littleness which may sometimes belong to these descriptions of men. It formed a majestic pile, the effect of which was not impaired, but improved by order and symmetry. There was nothing in it to dazzle by wildness, and surprise by eccentricity. It was of a higher species of moral beauty. It contained every thing great and elevated, but it had no false and tinsel ornament. It was not the model cried up by fashion and circumstance: its excellence was adapted to the true and just moral taste, incapable of change from the varying accidents of manners, of opinions and times. General Washington is not the idol of a day, but the hero of ages!

Placed in circumstances of the most trying difficulty at the commencement of the American contest, he accepted that situation which was pre-eminent in danger and responsibility. His perseverance overcame every obstacle; his moderation conciliated every opposition; his genius supplied every resource; his enlarged views could plan, revise, and improve every branch of civil and military operation. He had the superior courage which can act or can forbear to act, as policy dictates, careless of the reproaches of ignorance either in power or out of power. He knew how to conquer by waiting, in spite of obloquy, for the moment of victory; and he merited true praise by despising undeserved censure. In the most arduous moments of the contest, his prudent firmness proved the salvation of the cause which he supported.

His conduct was, on all occasions, guided by the most pure disinterestedness. Far superior to low and grovelling motives, he seemed even to be uninfluenced by that ambition which has justly been called the instinct of great souls. He acted ever as if his country's welfare, and that alone, was the moving spring. His excellent mind needed not even the stimulus of ambition, or the prospect of fame. Glory was a secondary consideration. He performed great actions; he persevered in a course of laborious utility, with an equanimity that neither sought distinction, nor was flattered by it. His reward was in the consciousness of his own rectitude, and in the success of his patriotic efforts.

As his elevation to the chief power was the unbiassed choice of his countrymen, his exercise of it was agreeable to the purity of its origin. As he had neither solicited nor usurped dominion, he had neither to contend with the opposition of rivals, nor the revenge of enemies. As his authority was undisputed, so it required no jealous precautions, no rigorous severity. His government was mild and gentle; it was beneficent and liberal; it was wise and just. His prudent administration consolidated and enlarged the dominion of an infant republic. In voluntarily resigning the magistracy which he had filled with such distinguished honor, he enjoyed the unequalled satisfaction of leaving to the state he had contributed to establish, the fruits of his wisdom and the example of his virtues.

Transcriber's Notes:

--Text in italics is enclosed by underscores .

--Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.

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