great world, or to partake in its politics, yet I am not without my regrets at parting with (perhaps never more to meet) the few intimates, whom I love, and among these, be assured, you are one.

"The account, given by Mr. Bingham and others, of your agreeable situation and prospects at St. George's, gave me infinite pleasure; and no one wishes more sincerely than I do, that they may increase with your years. The remainder of my life, which in the course of nature cannot be long, will be occupied in rural amusements; and, though I shall seclude myself as much as possible from the noisy and bustling crowd, none would more than myself be regaled by the company of those I esteem, at Mount Vernon; more than twenty miles from which, after I arrive there, it is not likely that I ever shall be.

"As early in next week as I can make arrangements for it, I shall commence my journey for Mount Vernon. To-morrow at dinner I shall, as a servant of the public, take my leave of the President elect, of the foreign characters, the heads of departments, &c., and the day following, with pleasure, I shall witness the inauguration of my successor to the chair of government.

"On the subject of politics I shall say nothing. You will have an opportunity of seeing and conversing with many of the legislators, from whom, so far as it relates to the proceedings of their own body, you can learn the details. The gazettes will furnish the rest.

"Mrs. Washington unites with me in every good wish for you, Mrs. Knox, and family; and, with unfeigned truth, I am yours always and affectionately."

"To Jonathan Trumbull.

6.6

Philadelphia, 3 March, 1797. "MY DEAR SIR,-Before the curtain drops on my political life, which it will do this evening I expect for ever, I shall acknowledge, although it be in a few hasty lines only, the receipt of your kind and affectionate letter of the 23d of January last.

"When I add, that according to custom all the acts of the session, excepting two or three very unimportant

bills, have been presented to me within the last four days, you will not be surprised at the pressure under which I write at present. But it must astonish others, who know that the Constitution allows the President ten days to deliberate on each bill which is brought before him, that he should be allowed by the Legislature less than half of that time to consider all the business of the session; and, in some instances, scarcely an hour to revolve the most important. But as the scene is closing with me, it is of little avail now to let it be with murmurs.

"I should be very unhappy, if I thought, that my relinquishing the reins of government would produce any of the consequences, which your fears forebode. In all free governments, contentions in elections will take place, and, whilst it is confined to our own citizens, it is not to be regretted; but severely indeed ought it to be reprobated, when occasioned by foreign machinations. I trust, however, that the good sense of our countrymen will guard the public weal against this and every other innovation, and that, although we may be a little wrong now and then, we shall return to the right path with more avidity. I can never believe, that Providence, which has guided us so long and through such a labyrinth, will withdraw its protection at this crisis.

"Although I shall resign the chair of government without a single regret, or any desire to intermeddle in politics again, yet there are many of my compatriots, among whom be assured I place you, from whom I shall part sorrowing; because, unless I meet with them at Mount Vernon, it is not likely that I shall ever see them more, as I do not expect that I shall ever be twenty miles from it, after I am tranquilly settled there. To tell you how glad I should be to see you at that place is unnecessary. To this I will add, that it would not only give me pleasure, but pleasure also to Mrs. Washington, and others of the family with whom you are acquainted, and who all unite, in every good wish for you and yours, with, dear sir, &c."

"To Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State.

"Philadelphia, 3 March, 1797.

"DEAR SIR,-At the conclusion of my public employments, I have thought it expedient to notice the publication of certain forged letters, which first appeared in the year 1777, and were obtruded upon the public as mine. They are said by the editor to have been found in a small portmanteau, that I had left in the care of my mulatto servant, named Billy, who, it is pretended, was taken prisoner at Fort Lee, in 1776. The period, when these letters were first printed, will be recollected, and what were the impressions they were intended to produce on the public mind. It was then supposed to be of some consequence to strike at the integrity of the motives of the American Commander-in-chief, and to paint his inclinations as at variance with his professions and his duty. Another crisis in the affairs of America having occurred, the same weapon has been resorted to, to wound my character and deceive the people.

"The letters in question have the dates, addresses, and signatures here following.

666

New York, June 12th, 1776. To Mr. Lund Washington, at Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia.

1776.

"G. W.'

"To John Parke Custis, Esq., at the Hon. Benedict Calvert's, Esquire, Mount Airy, Maryland, June 18th, GEO. WASHINGTON.' "New York, July 8th, 1776. To Mr. Lund Washington, at Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia.

"G. W.'

"New York, July 15th, 1776. To Mr. Lund Washington. G. W.' "New York, July 16th, 1776. To Mr. Lund Washington. G. W.' "'New York, July 22d, 1776. To Mr. Lund Wash

G. W.'

G. W.'

"At the time, when these letters first appeared, it was notorious to the army immediately under my com

mand, and particularly to the gentlemen attached to my person, that my mulatto man Billy had never been one moment in the power of the enemy. It is also a fact, that no part of my baggage, nor any of my attendants, were captured during the whole course of the war. These well-known facts made it unnecessary, during the war, to call the public attention to the forgery, by any express declaration of mine; and a firm reliance on my fellowcitizens, and the abundant proofs, which they gave of their confidence in me, rendered it alike unnecessary to take any formal notice of the revival of the imposition during my civil administration. But, as I cannot know how soon a more serious event may succeed to that, which will this day take place, I have thought it a duty, that I owed to myself, to my country, and to truth, now to detail the circumstances above recited; and to add my solemn declaration, that the letters herein described are a base forgery, and that I never saw or heard of them until they appeared in print.

"The present letter I commit to your care, and desire that it may be deposited in the office of the department of State, as a testimony of the truth to the present generation and to posterity. Accept, I pray you, the sincere esteem and affectionate regard of, dear sir, &c."

On the 4th of March, 1797, John Adams was inaugurated, having been elected President of the United States. In his Address, Mr. Adams, after alluding to the administration of the preceding eight years, thus expressed his feelings towards his predecessor :

"A citizen, who, by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, conducting a people inspired with the same virtues, and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty, to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity.

In that retirement which is his voluntary choice, may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his ser

vices, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of his country, which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives a bulwark, against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace."

CHAPTER XXV.

Washington's final Retirement from Public Life.

SOON after this, Washington retired to his residence at Mount Vernon. As he withdrew from the cares of office, he was followed, as ever before, with the love and gratitude of his countrymen. He had now completed his glory, and had added to the fame of a military conqueror, in the cause of liberty, the greater and more difficult distinction, of a most profound statesman. The imaginations of men could conceive of nothing that could enhance his reputation, and the people of America felt, with one heart, and acknowledged, with one voice, that the measure of his public services had been filled to overflowing, and that he had done all that could be asked of a patriot, hero, and ruler. As they parted from him for this, as it proved, last time, they raised one wide-spread universal prayer to Heaven, that the remainder of his days might be spent in rest and peace. The sentiment which pervaded the country, at that moment, was the same which an old soldier was heard to utter, overpowered by the excitement of the occasion, when he had beheld Washington's first inauguration, as President of the United States. "I have beheld him when commanding the American armies I saw him at the conclusion of the war, returning to the bosom of his family in his rural habitation, and now I behold him in the chair of the Presidency. I have not another wish, but that he may die, as he has lived, the BELOVED OF HIS COUNTRY."

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