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CHAP. I. latter, having reached the haven to which all the former were directed; and from his house-top is 1787. looking back, and tracing with an eager eye, the meanders by which he escaped the quick-sands and mires which lay in his way, and into which none but the all powerful Guide and Dispenser of human events could have prevented his falling."

For several months after reaching Mount Vernon, almost every day brought him the addresses of an affectionate and grateful people. The glow of expression in which the high sense universally entertained of his services was conveyed, manifested a warmth of feeling seldom equalled in the history of man. It is worthy of remark, that this unexampled tribute of applause made no impression on the unassuming modesty of his character and deportment. The same firmness of mind, the same steady and well tempered judgment, which had guided him through the most perilous seasons of the war, still regulated his conduct; and the enthusiastic applauses of an admiring nation appeared only to cherish sentiments of gratitude, and to give greater activity to the desire still further to contribute to the prosperity of his country. It was not by addresses Resolves of only that the attachment of the public was maniof the legis fested. After peace had been proclaimed, congress had unanimously passed a resolution for the erection of an equestrian statue of their general,*

lature of Virginia, for erecting

statues in honour of him.

"Resolved that the statue be of bronze: the general to be represented in a Roman dress, holding a truncheon in his right hand, and his head encircled with a laurel wreath. The statue to be supported by a marble pedestal on which

at the place which should be established for the CHAP. I. residence of the government.

The legislature of Virginia too, at their first session after his resignation, passed the following resolution.*

"Resolved that the executive be requested to take measures for procuring a statue of general Washington, to be of the finest marble and best workmanship, with the following inscription on its pedestal.

"The general assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia have caused this statue to be erected as a monument of affection and gratitude to GEORGE WASHINGTON, who, uniting to the endowments of the HERO, the virtues of the PATRIOT, and exerting both in establishing

are to be represented, in basso relievo, the following principal events of the war, in which general Washington commanded in person: the evacuation of Boston:...the capture of the Hessians at Trenton:...the battle of Princeton:...the action of Monmouth:...and the surrender of York....On the upper part of the front of the pedestal to be engraved as follows: the United States in congress assembled, ordered this statue to be erected in the year of our Lord 1783, in honour of George Washington, the illustrious commander in chief of the armies of the United States of America, during the war which vindicated and secured their liberty, sovereignty and independence.

This resolution has been carried into execution. The statue it ordained now stands in the capitol of Virginia, in a spacious area in the centre of the building. A Bust of the marquis de la Fayette, which was also directed by the legislature, is placed in a niche of the wall in the same part of the building.

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CHAP. I. the liberties of his country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow citizens, and given the world an immortal example of true glory."

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Although the toils of general Washington were no longer exhibited to the public eye, his time continued to be usefully employed. Among the most valuable of those sources from which were to be drawn the future prosperity and happiness of America, he had ever placed the judicious cultivation of the earth. Nothing could be more wretched than the general state of agriculture south of the Susquehanna. To its melioration by examples which might be followed, and by the introduction of systems adapted to the soil, the climate, and to the situation of the people, the energies of his active and intelligent mind were now in a great degree directed.

No improvement of the implements to be used on a farm, no valuable experiments in husbandry, escaped his attention. His inquiries, which were equally minute and comprehensive, extended beyond the limits of his own country; and he engaged in a correspondence on this interesting subject with some distinguished foreigners, among whom, was the justly celebrated Arthur Young, the utility of whose labours has not been confined to the British empire.

Mingled with this favourite pursuit, were the multiplied avocations resulting from the high office he had lately filled. He was engaged in an extensive correspondence with the friends most dear to his heart...the foreign and American officers who had served under him during the late

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war, and with almost every conspicuous political CHAP. L character of his own, and with many of other countries. Literary men also were desirous of obtaining his approbation of their works, and his attention was solicited to every production of American genius. His fellow citizens who were about to travel, and who could make the request, were anxious to receive from general Washington some testimonial of their worth; and all those strangers of distinction who visited this newly created empire, were ambitious of being presented to its founder. Among those who were drawn across the Atlantic by curiosity, and perhaps by a desire to observe the progress of the popular governments which were instituted in this new world, was Mrs. Macauley Graham. By the principles contained in her history of the Stuarts, this lady had acquired much reputation in republican America, and she was received every where with marked attentions. For the sole purpose of paying her respects to a person whose fame had spread over Europe, she paid a visit to Mount Vernon; and if her letters may be credited, the exalted opinion she had formed of its proprietor, was "not diminished by a personal acquaintance with him."

To these occupations which were calculated to gratify an intelligent mind, or which derived a value from the indulgence they afforded to the feelings of the heart, were unavoidably added others, in the composition of which, no palatable ingredient was intermixed. Of these unwelcome intrusions upon his time, general Washington

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CHAP. I. thus complained to an intimate military friend. "It is not my dear sir, the letters of my friends which give me trouble, or add aught to my perplexity. I receive them with pleasure, and pay as much attention to them as my avocations will permit....It is references to old matters with which I have nothing to do :...applications which often times cannot be complied with;...inquiries, to satisfy which would employ the pen of a historian; ...letters of compliment, as unmeaning perhaps as they are troublesome, but which must be attended to ;...and the common place business;...which employ my pen and my time, often disagreeably. Indeed, these, with company, deprive me of exercise; and, unless I can obtain relief, must be productive of disagreeable consequences. Already I begin to feel their effects. Heavy and painful oppressions of the head, and other disagreeable sensations often trouble me. I am determined therefore to employ some person who shall ease me of the drudgery of this business. At any rate, if the whole of it is thereby suspended, I am determined to use exercise. My private affairs also require infinitely more attention than I have given, or can give them, under present circumstances. They can no longer be neglected without involving my ruin.

"This, my dear sir, is a friendly communication. I give it in testimony of my unreservedness with you, and not for the purpose of discouraging your letters; for be assured, that to correspond with those I love is among my highest gratifications; and I persuade myself you will not

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