PART II.

CHAPTER I.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Any Notice of Him Interesting to Americans-Birth and ParentageEducation-His Person and Youthful Sports-Early EmploymentsAs President-Marriage and Domestic Habits-As Farmer-Views on Siavery-On the Constitution.

ALTHOUGH but little identified with the political parties of his time, any notice of this truly eminent man can scarcely fail to intercst every American.

He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, February 22, 1732. His parents were of English descent, and were quite wealthy; his education was acquired at the schools of the neighborhood, and only included the common branches-reading, writing and arithmetic, and book-keeping and surveying. In these, however, he became, for the times, quite proficient, and was always remarkable for neat hand-writing and a system of order which pervaded all his affairs. In person he was tall and of a commanding appearance-six feet two two inches in height and muscularly proportioned, and in field sports and athletic exercises he greatly excelled.

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He also carly acquired a character for probity, veracity, justice and sterling honor, the foundation of his reputation, which will long preserve his memory.

Of his connection with the army previous to and during the Revolutionary War, it is hardly possible to allude here; to do so would be to write the history of those times. It is sufficient

to say, that he was brave, prudent, perscvering under every discouragement, and forgetful of self, only sought the good of his country.

When peace was declared and the Constitution adopted, he was chosen first President. When the term expired he was, against his wishes, again chosen nearly unanimously, and this, too, at a time when party spirit was becoming very warm. He called Jefferson and Hamilton to his Cabinet, though they were the acknowledged leaders of the different parties, and only remembered that he was the Chief Magistrate of the whole country, which our Presidents nowadays are somewhat apt to forget. Tired of public life, he absolutely refused a third term, and retired from civil, as he had previously from military service, to the astonishment of a world accustomed to the sight of men grasping for more power instead of resigning that with which they had been entrusted.

His marriage with a wealthy widow lady— Mrs. Custis-in 1759 was productive of much happiness, and having inherited his father's

estate of Mt. Vernon, he was in possession of an ample fortune. His estate consisted of 8,000 acres, of which 4,000 were in cultivation-wheat and tobacco the principal crops. In his later years he abandoned tobacco as too exhaustive of the soil. He reduced his farming to a perfect system, divided the estate into several farms, each one under its own manager, and all under a general superintendent, from each of whom he required frequent reports. He also gave

minute directions as to the system of cultivation and rotation of crops for each field. It was to this habit of supervision to which his death1799-was attributed, having been caught in a storm while riding over his estate. He had provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves and for their education and support, and in 1786 had written to Robert Morris: "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery."

The verdict of his fellow-countrymen at the time of his death is still repeated with ever increasing emphasis: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

The following extract from a letter of his, advocating the adoption of the Constitution, is an expression of views eminently proper and just, and worthy of frequent perusal:

"Nor am I such an enthusiastic, partial and

indiscriminating admirer of it as not to perceive it is tinctured with some real though not radical defects. With regard to the two great points my creed is simply, 1st. That the general government is not invested with more powers than are indispensably necessary to perform the functions of a good government, and consequently no objection ought to be made against the granting of powers delegated to it."

"Secondly, that these powers, as to the appointment of all our rulers, will ever arise from, and at short stated intervals recur, to the free suffrages of the people, are so distributed amongst the legislative, executive and judicial branches into which the general government is arranged, that it can never be in danger of degenerating into monarchy, an oligarchy or aristocracy, or any other despotic or oppressive form so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the people."