previous service, no circumstances whatever, authorize a good citizen to withhold his influence and exertions when it is clear that his country stands in need of them.

The following letter, written while war seemed probable, sums up, in brief terms, the views which actuated him in this, his last public service.

"To James Anderson.

"Mount Vernon, 25 July, 1798. "ESTEEMED SIR,-I little imagined, when I took my last leave of the walks of public life, that any event could bring me again on a public theatre. But the unjust conduct of France towards these United States has been and continues to be such, that it must be opposed by a firm and manly resistance, or we shall not only hazard the subjugation of our government, but the independence of our nation, also; both being evidently struck at by a lawless, domineering power, which respects no rights, and is restrained by no treaties, when it is found inconvenient to observe them.

"While we are thus situated, sustaining daily injuries, even indignities, with a patient forbearance, from a sincere desire to live in peace and harmony with all the world; the French Directory, mistaking the American character, and supposing that the people of this country were divided, and would give countenance to their nefarious measures, have proceeded to exact loans, (or in other words contributions,) and to threaten us, in case of non-compliance with their wild, unfounded, and inconsistent complaints, that we should share the fate of Venice and other Italian states.

"This has roused the people from their slumbers, and filled them with indignation from one extremity to the other of the Union; and I trust, if they should attempt to carry their threats into effect, and invade our territorial, as they have done our commercial rights, they will meet a spirit, that will give them more trouble than they are aware of, in the citizens of these States.

"When every thing sacred and dear to freemen is thus threatened, I could not, consistently with the principles which have actuated me through .ife, remain an idle spec

tator, and refuse to obey the call of my country to lead its armies for defence, and therefore have pledged myself to come forward whensoever the exigency shall require it.

"With what sensations, at my time of life, now turned of sixty-six, without ambition or interest to stimulate me thereto, I shall relinquish the peaceful walk to which I had retired, and in the shades of which I had fondly hoped to spend the remnant of a life, worn down with cares, in contemplation of the past, and in scenes present and to come of rural enjoyment, let others, and especially those who are best acquainted with the construction of my mind, decide; while I, believing that man was not designed by the all-wise Creator to live for himself alone, prepare for the worst that can happen."

CHAPTER XXVI.

Washington's Death.

On the 12th of December, 1799, General Washington rode out to his farms about ten o'clock, and returned about three. On reaching home he franked some letters, but did not send them to the post-office, saying that the weather was too bad to expose the servant in carrying them. The next day, Friday, he complained of having taken cold; he walked out, however, to attend to the marking of some trees. In the evening he was quite hoarse, but continued reading some newspapers that had been brought in, and engaging with great cheerfulness in conversation from time to time. Between two and three o'clock he awoke Mrs. Washington, and complained of an ague, saying that he was very unwell. He continued to grow worse. Every thing was done to relieve him. Several physicians, among them his old friend, Dr. Craik, were present. They bled him repeatedly, and applied other remedies, but in vain. In the course of Saturday afternoon he said to Mr. Lear, his Secretary, "I find I am going. My breath cannot last long. I believed,

from the first, that the disorder would prove fatal. Dc you arrange and record all my late military letters and papers. Arrange my accounts and settle my books." To one of his attendants he said, "I am afraid I shall fatigue you too much ;" and, upon a reply that the only wish of every one was to give him ease, he observed, "Well, it is a debt we must pay to each other, and I hope, when you want aid of this kind, you will find it.” About five o'clock he said to Dr. Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed, from my first attack, that I should not survive it. My breath cannot last long." Shortly after he said to his physicians, "I feel myself going; I thank you for your attentions; but I pray you to take no more trouble about me. me go off quietly. I cannot last long." Between ten and eleven o'clock on Saturday evening, December 14th, he expired. He was buried on Wednesday, the 18th.

Let

The effect produced by the intelligence, that Washington was dead, upon the people of the United States, was most striking and sublime. A whole nation was bowed down with sudden and profound grief and awe; and one wide-spread funereal pageant was seen all over the land. The feeling was deep, universal, and all-absorbing.

Congress, on hearing of his death, immediately adjourned. The next morning General Marshall rose and spoke as follows:

"MR. SPEAKER,-The melancholy event, which was yesterday announced with doubt, has been rendered but too certain. Our Washington is no more! The hero, the patriot, and the sage, of America; the man on whom in times of danger every eye was turned, and all hopes were placed, lives now only in his own great actions, and in the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted people.

"If, sir, it had even not been usual openly to testify respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has selected as its instruments for dispensing good to man, yet such has been the uncommon worth, and such the extraordinary incidents, which have marked the life of him whose loss we all deplore, that the whole American nation,

impelled by the same feelings, would call with one voice for a public manifestation of that sorrow, which is so deep and so universal.

"More than any other individual, and as much as to one individual was possible, has he contributed to found this our wide-spreading empire, and to give to the western world independence and freedom.

"Having effected the great object for which he was placed at the head of our armies, we have seen him convert the sword into the ploughshare, and sink the soldier in the citizen.

"When the debility of our federal system had become manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast continent were dissolving, we have seen him the chief of those patriots, who formed for us a Constitution, which, by preserving the Union, will, I trust, substantiate and perpetuate those blessings, which our Revolution had promised to bestow.

"In obedience to the general voice of his country, calling him to preside over a great people, we have seen him once more quit the retirement he loved, and, in a season more stormy and tempestuous than war itself, with calm and wise determination pursue the true interests of the nation, and contribute, more than any other could contribute, to the establishment of that system of policy, which will, I trust, yet preserve our peace, our honor, and our independence.

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Having been twice unanimously chosen the chief magistrate of a free people, we have seen him, at a time when his re-election with universal suffrage could not be doubted, afford to the world a rare instance of moderation, by withdrawing from his station to the peaceful walks of private life.

"However the public confidence may change, and the public affections fluctuate with respect to others, with respect to him they have, in war and in peace, in public and in private life, been as steady as his own firm mind, and as constant as his own exalted virtues.

“Let us, then, Mr. Speaker, pay the last tribute of respect and affection to our departed friend. Let the

grand council of the nation display those sentiments which the nation feels. For this purpose I hold in my hand some resolutions which I take the liberty of offering to

the house.

"Resolved, That this House will wait on the President, in condolence of this mournful event.

"Resolved, That the Speaker's chair be shrouded with black, and that the members and officers of the House wear black during the session.

"Resolved, That a committee, in conjunction with one from the Senate, be appointed to consider on the most suitable manner of paying honor to the memory of the man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens."

The following Addresses passed between the Senate and President Adams.

"Letter from the Senate to the President of the United States "23 December, 1799.

"SIR,-The Senate of the United States respectfully take leave to express to you their deep regret for the loss their country sustains in the death of General George Washington.

"This event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, must be peculiarly heavy to you, who have long been associated with him in deeds of patriotism. Permit us, sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this occasion it is manly to weep. To lose such a man, at such a crisis, is no common calamity to the world. Our country mourns a father. The Almighty Disposer of human events has taken from us our greatest benefactor and ornament. It becomes us to submit with reverence to Him who maketh darkness his pavilion.'

"With patriotic pride we review the life of our Washington, and compare him with those of other countries who have been pre-eminent in fame. Ancient and modern times are diminished before him. Greatness and guilt have too often been allied; but his fame is whiter than it is brilliant. The destroyers of nations stood