Feeling that his statements in a former letter ought to have been sufficiently explanatory to General Knox, Washington continued: "I do not know that these explanations will afford you any satisfaction, or produce any change in your determination, but it was just to myself to make them. If there has been any management in the business, it has been concealed from me. I have had no agency therein, nor have I conceived a thought on the subject that has not been disclosed to you with the utmost sincerity and frankness of heart. And now, notwithstanding the insinuations, which are implied in your letter, of the vicissitudes of friendship and the inconstancy of mine, I will pronounce with decision that it ever has been, and, notwithstanding the unkindness of the charge, ever will be, for aught I know to the contrary, warm and sincere.

"I earnestly wished, on account of that friendship, as well as on the score of military talents, to have had the assistance of you and Colonel Hamilton in the arduous scenes with which we are threatened. I wish it still devoutly, as well on public as on private accounts; for dissentions of this sort will have an unhappy effect among the friends of government, while it will be sweet consolation to the French partisans, and food for their pride."

Washington's letter touched the heart of Knox, and soothed his wounded spirit. "In your welcome and much-esteemed favor," he wrote in reply, "I recognize fully all the substantial friendship and kindness which I have always so invariably experienced from you." His former letter was written, he said, "under a pressure of various ideas, all sharpened by a strong sense of the comparison which had been publicly made between others" and himself. But, he said, in conclusion, "it is certainly far from my intention to embarrass, or to force myself unbidden into a station designed for another. It is neither my nature nor practice to excite dissention. I shall, therefore, submit to any proper authority. But, if an invasion shall take place, I shall deeply regret all circumstances which would insuperably bar my having an active command in the field. But, if such a measure should be my destiny, I shall fervently petition to serve as one of your aids-de-camp, which, with permission, I shall do with all the cordial devotion and attachment of which my soul is capable."

During the autumn of 1798, Washington's time was alternately devoted to the business of his estate, and the duties of his responsible office. The latter occupied much the larger portion of his thoughts and exertions. Difficulties, which gave him much trouble in the old war, now appeared—namely, questions of rank, and tardiness in the recruiting-service. The friends of Knox, lacking that officer's love and veneration for Washington, importuned the president, in whose hands resided the power to make military appointments, to reverse the order in which the lieutenant-general had named the major-generals. Adams was secretly hostile to Hamilton at that time, and was not favorable to his promotion; and he was strongly inclined to place Knox at the head of the military staff, Pinckney second, and Hamilton third. This inclination produced some dissentions in his cabinet, when the jealous irritability of his temper, and his egotistical reliance upon his own judgment, made him resolve to change the order of the major-generals. When this subject, and the fact that the president intended to appoint an adjutant-general without the chief's concurrence, came before Washington in official form, he wrote a decided letter to Adams, giving him to understand that he should consider a refusal to place Hamilton in the front rank, a breach of an agreement, not formally made, but fully implied, by the terms upon which the commander-in-chief accepted the appointment—a breach sufficient to justify his own resignation. This settled the matter, and the arrangement of the major-generals made by Washington was not changed.

In the same letter, the chief complained of the tardiness in the recruiting-service. "We are now near the end of September," he said, "and not a man recruited, nor a battalion-officer appointed, that has come to my knowledge. The consequence is, that the spirit and enthusiasm, which prevailed a month or two ago, and would have produced the best men in a short time, are evaporating fast, and a month or two hence may induce but a few, and those perhaps of the worst sort, to enlist. Instead, therefore, of having the augmented force in a state of preparation, and under a course of discipline, it is now to be raised, and possibly may not be in existence when the enemy is in the field. We shall have to meet veteran troops, inured to conquest, with militia or raw recruits."

Washington also complained, at this time, of the remissness of the secretary of war in giving him full information. In a friendly but decisive tone he wrote to Mr. M'Henry on the subject. "Short letters," he said, "taking no notice of suggestions or queries, are unsatisfactory and distressing. Considering the light in which I think my services have placed me, I should expect more attention from the secretary of war; but from Mr. M'Henry, as a friend and coadjutor, I certainly shall look for it."

A month later, Washington wrote a friendly letter to Knox, urging him to accept the proffered appointment. The president had not, till then, made his final decision as to the relative position of Knox and Hamilton. The commander-in-chief again dwelt upon the cause of the selection. "If an amicable arrangement could have been settled between Generals Hamilton, Pinckney, and yourself, previous to the nomination, it would have been perfectly satisfactory to me; but driven as I was to make it myself, at the time and in the manner it was transmitted, I was governed by the best views and best evidence I could obtain of the public sentiment relative thereto. The senate acted upon it under an impression that it was to remain so, and in that light the matter is understood by the public; and it would be uncandid not to add that I have found no cause since to believe that I mistook that sentiment.

"We shall have," he continued, "either no war or a severe contest with France. In either case, if you will allow me to express my opinion, this is the most eligible time for you to come forward. In the first case, to assist with your counsel and aid in making judicious provisions and arrangements to avert it; in the other case, to share in the glory of defending your country, and, by making all secondary considerations yield to that great and primary object, display a mind superior to embarrassing punctilios at so critical a moment as the present.

"After having expressed these sentiments, with the frankness of undisguised friendship, it is hardly necessary to add that, if you should finally decline the appointment of major-general, there is none to whom I would give a more decided preference as aid-de-camp, the offer of which is highly flattering, honorable, and grateful to my feelings, and for which I entertain a high sense. But, my dear General Knox—and here, again, I speak to you in the language of candor and friendship—examine well your mind upon this subject. Do not unite yourself to the suite of a man whom you may consider as the primary cause of what you call a degradation, with unpleasant sensations. This, while it was growing upon you, would, if I should come to the knowledge of it, make me unhappy; as my first wish would be, that my military family and the whole army should consider themselves as a band of brothers, willing and ready to die for each other."

Before this letter reached Knox, he had heard of the decision of the president to place Hamilton in the position for which Washington had nominated him, and he had written to the secretary of war, declining the appointment, if compelled to serve under Hamilton and Pinckney, saying, "No officer can consent to his own degradation by serving in an inferior station."

General Pinckney's course was more patriotic and generous. He arrived at New York, from France, at the middle of October. Washington had awaited this event with anxiety, for he was fearful that he might have a repetition of the difficulties with General Knox. But Pinckney cheerfully acquiesced in the arrangement, and accepted his commission. He expressed his pleasure at seeing the name of Hamilton at the head of the major-generals, and applauded the commander-in-chief for his sagacity and discernment in placing it there. He also expressed his regret that General Knox had declined his appointment, and that his feelings had been severely wounded by being outranked. He added, "If the authority which appointed me to the rank of second major in the army, will revise the arrangement, and place General Knox before me, I will neither quit the service nor be dissatisfied."

At the request of the secretary of war, Washington repaired to Philadelphia as early in November as a due regard to health would allow, the yellow fever having prevailed in that city during the autumn. He was requested to meet there Generals Hamilton and Pinckney, to make arrangements respecting the provisional army about to be raised. M'Henry had prepared a series of thirteen questions for their consideration, and Washington propounded fourteen more, all bearing upon the construction and disposition of the army. For almost five weeks the three generals were closely engaged in the consideration of this subject, and thus the result of their deliberations was reduced to proper arrangement, in the form of two letters to the secretary of war, which were prepared by Hamilton and signed by Washington. While in Philadelphia on this occasion, the latter was present at the opening of Congress. This was his last visit to the seat of the federal government.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon about the twentieth of December, leaving the executive department of the provisional army in the hands of General Hamilton. He still adhered to the opinion that there would be no actual war with France, or at least that the people of the United States need not have any fear of a French invasion; yet he acted upon the wise principle of being prepared. On his way home, being detained, he wrote out some general suggestions for the guidance of the secretary of war in the disposition of the army.

Arriving at Mount Vernon, Washington was delighted with a letter from Lafayette, who spoke with much feeling of the pleasure he derived from conversations with his son about that pleasant home on the Potomac. The marquis then adverted to politics, and said it was his full persuasion that the French Directory seriously desired to be at peace with the United States. Under this conviction, he expressed a hope that Washington would use his "influence to prevent the breach from widening, and to insure a noble and enduring reconciliation." In his reply to this portion of the letter, Washington said, "You have expressed a wish worthy of the benevolence of your heart." He assured him that no man could deprecate a rupture between the two governments more than he. "You add," he said, "that the executive Directory are disposed to an accommodation of all differences. If they are sincere in this declaration, let them evidence it by their actions; for words, unaccompanied therewith, will not be much regarded now. I would pledge myself that the government and people of the United States will meet them heart and hand, at a fair negotiation; having no wish more ardent than to live in peace with all the world, provided they are suffered to remain undisturbed in their just rights.... On the politics of Europe, I shall express no opinion, nor make any inquiry who is right or who is wrong. I wish well to all nations and to all men. My politics are plain and simple. I think every nation has a right to establish that form of government under which it conceives it may be most happy, provided it infracts no right, or is not dangerous to others; and that no governments ought to interfere with the internal concerns of another, except for the security of what is due to themselves."



CHAPTER XLI.

GLOOMY ASPECT OF AFFAIRS—WASHINGTON'S HOPEFULNESS—THE FRENCH DIRECTORY ALARMED—NEW MISSION TO FRANCE—OPPOSITION TO IT—WASHINGTON'S VIEWS—ENVOYS DEPART FOR FRANCE—NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AT THE HEAD OF FRENCH AFFAIRS—RESULT OF THE MISSION—WASHINGTON AT HOME—CORRESPONDENCE WITH YOUNG CUSTIS—MARRIAGE OF NELLY CUSTIS—PREPARATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS—WASHINGTON MAKES HIS WILL—LETTER TO LAWRENCE LEWIS—PLAN FOR MANAGING HIS ESTATES—WASHINGTON'S LATEST CORRESPONDENCE.

At the opening of the year 1799, the political firmament was dark with the portentous clouds of war. Washington yet viewed them with calmness, for he fully believed that they would pass by and leave his country unscathed by the lightning and the hail. Already they had begun to break, and let the sunlight through. But these promises were discerned by few, while they were clear and full to the mental eye of the commander-in-chief and other sagacious men. They perceived that the military preparations made so vigorously by the United States had already begun to produce an effect upon the belligerent feelings of the French Directory. The appointment of Washington to the chief command of the American armies had filled the boastful leaders in France with alarm; and the wily Talleyrand, with a sagacity possessed by few of his compeers, had already turned his thoughts toward reconciliation, and made indirect exertions to induce the United States to offer amicable overtures. He at length wrote to the French secretary of legation at the Hague, intimating that any minister plenipotentiary which the American government might be pleased to send to France, to negotiate for the settlement of existing difficulties between the two countries, would undoubtedly be received with all due respect. A copy of this letter was immediately communicated by the secretary to William Vans Murray, the United States minister at the Hague, who transmitted it to his government.

Mr. Murray's despatch gave President Adams much joy. He had been greatly perplexed by the belligerent attitude assumed by the United States and France toward each other. He now perceived an open door of escape from the whole difficulty; and, apparently without considering the impropriety, under the circumstances, of making any overtures to the French republic, he laid the whole matter before the senate on the eighteenth of February, at the same time nominating Mr. Murray to be minister plenipotentiary to that republic. The president pledged himself that Mr. Murray should not enter France without having first received direct and unequivocal assurances from Talleyrand that he should be received as full minister, and be treated with by an officer of equal grade.

This nomination took the country by surprise. Much as Washington desired peace, he was unwilling to obtain it by a sacrifice of national dignity. To Timothy Pickering he wrote on the third of March, saying: "The unexpectedness of the event communicated in your letter of the twenty-first ultimo did, as you may suppose, surprise me not a little. But far, very far indeed, was this surprise short of what I experienced the next day, when, by a very intelligent gentleman, immediately from Philadelphia, I was informed that there had been no direct overture from the government of France to that of the United States for a negotiation; on the contrary, that M. Talleyrand was playing the same loose and round-about game he had attempted the year before with our envoys, and which, as in that case, might mean anything or nothing, as would subserve his purposes best.

"Had we approached the ante-chamber of this gentleman when he opened the door to us," he continued, "and there waited for a formal invitation into the interior, the governments would have met upon equal ground, and we might have advanced or receded according to circumstances, without commitment. In plain words, had we said to M. Talleyrand, through the channel of his communication, 'We still are, as we always have been, ready to settle by fair negotiation all differences between the two nations upon open, just, and honorable terms, and it rests with the Directory (after the indignities with which our attempts to effect this have been treated), if they are equally sincere, to come forward in an unequivocal manner, and prove it by their acts'—such conduct would have shown a dignified willingness on our part to negotiate, and would have proved their sincerity on the other. Under my present view of the subject, this would have been the course I should have pursued, keeping equally in view the horrors of war and the dignity of the government."

The disposition throughout the country to avoid war if possible, had great influence upon the president and the senate; but, before the latter made a decision on the nomination of Mr. Murray, the whole subject was seriously considered. It was finally concluded to associate two others with Murray. The president accordingly nominated Oliver Wolcott and Patrick Henry. These nominations were immediately confirmed by the unanimous vote of the senate. The latter gentleman declined the commission, on account of his advanced age and increasing debilities, but with the assurance that "nothing short of absolute necessity" could induce him to withhold what little aid he could give "an administration whose abilities, patriotism, and virtue, deserved the gratitude and reverence of all their fellow citizens." Governor William R. Davie, of North Carolina, was appointed in Henry's place; and Mr. Murray, still at the Hague, was instructed to apprize Talleyrand of the appointments, but to inform him that the envoys would not embark until the Directory should give assurances that they would be received with courtesy due to their rank, and treated with on terms of perfect equality. He was also instructed not to have any further informal communications with agents of the French republic.

It was October before the president received assurances of the proper reception of the envoys, and they did not leave for France until November. Meanwhile, although war between the two nations had not been formally declared, it actually existed upon the ocean. Hostile collisions had taken place between vessels belonging to the two governments; and upward of three hundred private American vessels had been armed for self-defence.

From the beginning, some of the best friends of Mr. Adams had deprecated the new mission to France. The nominations had been made by the president without consulting his cabinet; and both Pickering, the secretary of state, and M'Henry, the secretary of war, lamented the occurrence, not only because it was undignified, but because it was likely to complicate the already perplexing relations with the French. They remonstrated, but the president refused to listen. Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and other supporters of the administration, were equally opposed to the measure, but the president paid little heed to their opinions. This produced a feud between the president and his cabinet, which made Washington uneasy, for the times were too ominous of mischief to the government to make such feud otherwise than perilous in a degree to the commonwealth. "I have, some time past," wrote Washington to Pickering late in November, just after the departure of the envoys, "viewed the political concerns of the United States with an anxious and painful eye. They appear to me to be moving by hasty strides to a crisis; but in what it will result, that Being, who sees, foresees, and directs all things, alone can tell. The vessel is afloat, or very nearly so, and, considering myself as a passenger only, I shall trust to the mariners (whose duty it is to watch) to steer it into safe port."

Fortunately for all parties concerned, when the American envoys reached France, a change in the French government had taken place. Napoleon Bonaparte was at the head of the civil and military affairs of the nation, with the title of First Consul. The weak Directory had yielded to the increasing powers of that wonderful man, and his energy and audacity had rescued France from impending anarchy and ruin. He promptly received the United States embassadors; and, several months afterward, he concluded a treaty with them, and gave them such assurances of friendship, that, on their return home, the provisional army was disbanded. The commander-in-chief, meanwhile, had been laid in the grave. Washington did not live to see the clouds break and disperse according to the prophecies of his faith.

We have anticipated events, in order that a glimpse might be given of the conclusion of the difficulties with France. Let us now turn back to the beginning of 1799, and consider Washington personally during that last year of his life. To his family it opened with joy, and closed in sorrow.

At the beginning of the year, there were preparations in progress at Mount Vernon for an event which gave pleasure to Washington—the marriage of Lawrence Lewis, his favorite nephew, with Nelly Custis, his adopted daughter, of whose mutual attachment we have already spoken. At the same time, Washington was much perplexed concerning Nelly's brother George, who was then a youth of eighteen, talented but wayward. He had been in college for a few years, first at Princeton and then at Annapolis; and now, on account of his unwillingness to return to the latter place, he had been for some time pursuing his studies at home, under the eye of his foster father, but with indifferent success. The correspondence between them, for several years, to which allusion has already been made, reveals the anxiety with which Washington watched the development of his foster-son—sometimes hoping, sometimes almost despairing, yet always kind, though firm.[130]

Nelly Custis was married at Mount Vernon on Friday, the twenty-second of February, 1799, Washington's birthday. It was a bright and beautiful day. "The early spring flowers were budding in the hedges, and the blue-bird, making its way cautiously northward, gave a few joyous notes in the garden that morning. The occasion was one of great hilarity at Mount Vernon, for the bride was beloved by all; and Major Lewis, the bridegroom, had ever been near to the heart of his uncle, since the death of his mother, who so much resembled her illustrious brother, that when, in sport, she would place a chapeau on her head, and throw a military cloak over her shoulders, she might easily have been mistaken for the chief."[131]

It was the wish of Nelly that her foster-father should wear, on that occasion, the splendidly-embroidered uniform which the board of general officers had adopted as the costume of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, but he could not be persuaded to wear a suit bedizened with tinsel. He preferred the plain old continental blue and buff, and the modest, black-ribbon cockade. Magnificent white plumes, which General Pinckney had presented to him, he gave to the bride; and to the Reverend Thomas Davis, rector of Christ church, Alexandria, who performed the marriage ceremony, he presented an elegant copy of Mrs. Macaulay's History of England, in eight octavo volumes, saying, when he handed them to him: "These, sir, were written by a remarkable lady, who visited America many years ago; and here is also her treatise on the Immutability of Moral Truth, which she sent me just before her death. Read it, and return it to me."

With characteristic modesty, Washington made no allusion to the fact that Mrs. Macaulay (Catharine Macaulay Graham) crossed the Atlantic, in the spring of 1785, for no other purpose, as she avowed, than to see the great leader of the American armies, whom she revered as a second Moses.[132]

During the spring, Washington made preparations for changes and improvements in his estate. He appeared at times to feel that the end of his earthly pilgrimage was near. In a letter written to Mr. M'Henry in March, after alluding to the inconvenience of leaving home, on public business, on account of the demands upon his attention by his private affairs, he said: "This is not all, nor the worst; for, being the executor, the administrator, and trustee, for others' estates, my greatest anxiety is to leave all these concerns in such a clear and distinct form, that no reproach may attach itself to me when I shall have taken my departure for the land of spirits."

In April, he surveyed with his own hands, and made a chart of some lands belonging to him near Alexandria, which he bequeathed to the late Mr. Custis. "To complete this," he wrote, "employed nearly three days."[133]

In July, he wrote and executed his last will and testament. It was written entirely by himself; and at the bottom of each page of the manuscript he signed his name in full—GEORGE WASHINGTON.[134]

In September, Lawrence Lewis, who, with his wife, was still residing at Mount Vernon, applied to Washington for a portion of his estate. Lewis was then on a visit with his friends at Fredericksburg, and Washington wrote to him as follows:—

"MOUNT VERNON, 20th September, 1799.

"DEAR SIR: From the moment Mrs. Washington and myself adopted the two youngest children of the late Mr. Custis, it became my intention (if they survived me, and conducted themselves to my satisfaction) to consider them in my will when I was about to make a distribution of my property. This determination has undergone no diminution, but is strengthened by the connection one of them has formed with my family.

"The expense at which I live, and the unproductiveness of my estate, will not allow me to lessen my income while I remain in my present situation. On the contrary, were it not for occasional supplies of money in payment for lands sold within the last four or five years, to the amount of upward of fifty thousand dollars, I should not be able to support the former without involving myself in debt and difficulties.

"But as it has been understood, from expressions occasionally dropped from Nelly Custis, now your wife, that it is the wish of you both to settle in this neighborhood, contiguous to her friends, and as it would be inexpedient as well as expensive for you to make a purchase of land, when a measure which is in contemplation would place you on more eligible ground, I shall inform you that, in the will which I have made, which I have by me, and have no disposition to alter, that the part of my Mount Vernon tract which lies north of the public road leading from the Gum spring to Colchester, containing about two thousand acres, with the Dogue-river farm, mill, and distillery, I have left you. Gray's heights is bequeathed to you and her jointly, if you incline to build on it; and few better sites for a house than Gray's hill and that range, are to be found in this country or elsewhere.

"You may also have what is properly Dogue-run farm, the mill, and distillery, on a just and equitable rent; as also the lands belonging thereto, on a reasonable hire, either next year, or the year following—it being necessary, in my opinion, that a young man should have objects of employment. Idleness is disreputable under any circumstances; productive of no good, even when unaccompanied by vicious habits; and you might commence building as soon as you please, during the progress of which Mount Vernon might be made your home.

"You may conceive that building before you have an absolute title to the land is hazardous. To obviate this, I shall only remark that it is not likely any occurrence will happen, or any change take place, that would alter my present intention (if the conduct of yourself and wife is such as to merit a continuance of it); but be this as it may, that you may proceed on sure ground with respect to the buildings, I will agree—and this letter shall be an evidence of it—that if hereafter I should find cause to make any other disposition of the property here mentioned, I will pay the actual cost of such buildings to you or yours.

"Although I have not the most distant idea that any event will happen that could effect a change in my present determination, nor any suspicions that you or Nelly could conduct yourselves in such a manner as to incur my serious displeasure, yet, at the same time that I am inclined to do justice to others, it behooves me to take care of myself, by keeping the staff in my own hands.

"That you may have a more perfect idea of the landed property I have bequeathed to you and Nelly in my will, I transmit a plan of it, every part of which is correctly laid down and accurately measured, showing the number of fields, lots, meadows, &c., with the contents and relative situation of each; all of which, except the mill and swamp, which has never been considered as a part of Dogue-run farm, and is retained merely for the purpose of putting it into a better state of improvement, you may have on the terms before-mentioned.

"With every kind wish for you and Nelly, in which your aunt, who is still much indisposed, unites,

"I remain your affectionate uncle,

"GEO. WASHINGTON."

Little did any of the parties concerned then suppose that in less than three months the hand that penned this letter would be paralyzed by death; and that the Will, so lately written by that hand, would so soon call for executors.

During the autumn, Washington digested a complete system of management for his estate for several succeeding years, in which were tables designating the rotation of crops. The document occupied thirty folio pages, all written in his clear and peculiar style. It was completed only four days before his death, and was accompanied by a letter to James Anderson, the manager of his farms, dated on the same day (December 10th), in which he gave him some special directions, as if the master was about to depart on a journey. This appears the more singular, as Washington expected to reside at home, and exercise a personal supervision of the whole. In his letter to Anderson, Washington remarked:—

"Economy in all things is as commendable in the manager as it is beneficial and desirable to the employer; and, on a farm, it shows itself in nothing more evidently or more essentially than in not suffering any provender to be wasted, but, on the contrary, in taking care that every atom of it be used to the best advantage; and likewise in not permitting the ploughs, harness, and other implements of husbandry, and the gears belonging to them, to be unnecessarily exposed, trodden under foot, run over by carts, and abused in other respects. More good is derived from attending to the minutiae of a farm than strikes people at first view; and examining the farmyard fences, and looking into the fields to see that nothing is there but what is allowed to be there, is oftentimes the means of producing more good, or at least of avoiding more evil, than can be accomplished by riding from one working-party or overseer to another. I have mentioned these things, not only because they have occurred to me, but because, although apparently trifles, they prove far otherwise in the result."

During the year, Washington had conducted the preparations of the provisional army for the field almost wholly through the medium of letters. These were numerous and sometimes voluminous, and exhibit his constant watchfulness and care. One of his later letters to the secretary of war was in reference to a plan of Hamilton's for hutting the troops then in the field; and the last letter which, it is believed, he ever wrote—having been penned on the day when he was attacked by fatal disease—was to General Hamilton, on a topic of public interest. Hamilton had communicated to the secretary of war his views concerning the establishment of a military academy. A copy of this paper he transmitted to the commander-in-chief, with a request that he would give it his consideration. To this Washington replied:—

"The establishment of an institution of this kind, upon a respectable and extensive basis, has ever been considered by me as an object of primary importance to this country; and, while I was in the chair of government, I omitted no proper opportunity of recommending it, in my public speeches and otherwise, to the attention of the legislature. But I never undertook to go into a detail of the organization of such an academy; leaving this task to others, whose pursuit in the path of science, and attention to the arrangement of such institutions, had better qualified them for the execution of it. For the same reason, I must now decline making any observations on the details of your plan; and, as it has already been submitted to the secretary of war, through whom it will naturally be laid before Congress, it might be too late for alterations, if any should be suggested. I sincerely hope that the subject will meet with due attention, and that the reasons for its establishment, which you have so clearly pointed out in your letter to the secretary, will prevail upon the legislature to place it upon a permanent and respectable footing."

FOOTNOTES:

[130] The young man alluded to was the late George Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington House, Virginia, who lived to become the last surviving executor of Washington's will, and who died at his seat, on the tenth of October, 1857, when in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Mr. Custis prepared for the press a series of articles concerning the public and private life of his foster-father, which the present writer arranged, annotated, and published, under the title of "Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, by his Adopted Son." In that work is given a series of letters, composing portions of a correspondence between Washington and young Custis, during the period when the latter was in college, first at Princeton, in New Jersey, and then at Annapolis, in Maryland. From Washington's letters the following extracts have been taken, to show the parental solicitude which he felt for this talented but somewhat wayward boy, who was the idol of his grandmother, Mrs. Washington:—

"PHILADELPHIA, 15th November, 1796.

"DEAR WASHINGTON: Yesterday's mail brought me your letter of the twelfth instant, and under cover of this letter you will receive a ten dollar bill, to purchase a gown, &c., if proper. But as the classes may be distinguished by a different insignia, I advise you not to provide these without first obtaining the approbation of your tutors; otherwise you may be distinguished more by folly than by the dress.

"It affords me pleasure to hear that you are agreeably fixed; and I receive still more from the assurance you give of attending closely to your studies. It is you yourself who is to derive immediate benefit from these. Your country may do it hereafter. The more knowledge you acquire, the greater will be the probability of your succeeding in both, and the greater will be your thirst for more.

"I rejoice to hear you went through your examination with propriety, and have no doubt but that the president has placed you in the class which he conceived best adapted to the present state of your improvement. The more there are above you, the greater your exertions should be to ascend; but let your promotion result from your own application, and from intrinsic merit, not from the labors of others. The last would prove fallacious, and expose you to the reproach of the daw in borrowed feathers. This would be inexcusable in you, because there is no occasion for it, forasmuch as you need nothing but the exertion of the talents you possess, with proper directions, to acquire all that is necessary; and the hours allotted for study, if properly improved, will enable you to do this. Although the confinement may feel irksome at first, the advantages resulting from it, to a reflecting mind, will soon overcome it.

"Endeavor to conciliate the good will of all your fellow-students, rendering them every act of kindness in your power. Be particularly obliging and attentive to your chamber-mate, Mr. Forsyth; who, from the account I have of him, is an admirable young man, and strongly impressed with the importance of a liberal and finished education. But, above all, be obedient to your tutors, and in a particular manner respect the president of the seminary, who is both learned and good.

"For any particular advantages you may derive from the attention and aid of Mr. Forsyth, I shall have a disposition to reward. One thing more, and I will close this letter. Never let an indigent person ask, without receiving something, if you have the means; always recollecting in what light the widow's mite was viewed."

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28, 1796.

"The assurances you give me of applying diligently to your studies, and fulfilling those obligations which are enjoined by your Creator and due to his creatures, are highly pleasing and satisfactory to me. I rejoice in it on two accounts: first, as it is the sure means of laying the foundation of your own happiness, and rendering you, if it should please God to spare your life, a useful member of society hereafter: and, secondly, that I may, if I live to enjoy the pleasure, reflect that I have been, in some degree, instrumental in effecting these purposes.

"You are now extending into that stage of life when good or bad habits are formed; when the mind will be turned to things useful and praiseworthy, or to dissipation and vice. Fix on whichever it may, it will stick by you; for you know it has been said, and truly, that 'as the twig is bent so it will grow.' This, in a strong point of view, shows the propriety of letting your inexperience be directed by maturer advice, and in placing guard upon the avenues which lead to idleness and vice. The latter will approach like a thief, working upon your passions—encouraged, perhaps, by bad examples—the propensity to which will increase in proportion to the practice of it, and your yielding. This admonition proceeds from the purest affection for you; but I do not mean by it that you are to become a stoic, or to deprive yourself, in the intervals of study, of any recreations or manly exercise which reason approves.

"'Tis well to be on good terms with all your fellow-students, and I am pleased to hear you are so; but while a courteous behavior is due to all, select the most deserving only for your friendships, and, before this becomes intimate, weigh their dispositions and character well. True friendship is a plant of slow growth; to be sincere, there must be a congeniality of temper and pursuits. Virtue and vice can not be allied; nor can idleness and industry. Of course, if you resolve to adhere to the two former of these extremes, an intimacy with those who incline to the latter of them would be extremely embarrassing to you: it would be a stumbling-block in your way, and act like a millstone hung to your neck, for it is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain as many votaries as they can.

"I would guard you, too, against imbibing hasty and unfavorable impressions of any one. Let your judgment always balance well before you decide; and even then, where there is no occasion for expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent, for there is nothing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to make enemies than friends. And besides, to speak evil of any one, unless there are unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is an injury for which there is no adequate reparation. For, as Shakespeare says, 'He that robs me of my good name enriches not himself, but renders me poor indeed,' or words to that effect. Keep in mind that scarcely any change would be agreeable to you at first, from the sudden transition, and from never having been accustomed to shift or rough it; and, moreover, that if you meet with collegiate fare, it will be unmanly to complain. My paper reminds me it is time to conclude."

"MOUNT VERNON, 4th June, 1797.

"Your letter of the twenty-ninth ultimo came to hand by the post of Friday, and eased my mind of many unpleasant sensations and reflections on your account. It has, indeed, done more—it has filled it with pleasure more easy to be conceived than expressed; and if your sorrow and repentance for the disquietude occasioned by the preceding letter—your resolution to abandon the ideas which were therein expressed—are sincere, I shall not only heartily forgive, but will forget also, and bury in oblivion all that has passed....

"You must not suffer the resolution you have recently entered into, to operate as the mere result of a momentary impulse, occasioned by the letters you have received from hence. This resolution should be founded on sober reflection, and a thorough conviction of your error; otherwise it will be as wavering as the wind, and become the sport of conflicting passions, which will occasion such a lassitude in your exertions as to render your studies of little avail. To insure permanency, think seriously of the advantages which are to be derived, on the one hand, from the steady pursuit of a course of study to be marked out by your preceptor, whose judgment, experience, and acknowledged abilities, enables him to direct them; and, on the other hand, revolve as seriously on the consequences which would inevitably result from an indisposition to this measure, or from an idle habit of hankering after unprofitable amusements at your time of life, before you have acquired that knowledge which would be found beneficial in every situation—I say before, because it is not my wish that, having gone through the essentials, you should be deprived of any rational amusement afterward; or, lastly, from dissipation in such company as you would most likely meet under such circumstances, who but too often mistake ribaldry for wit, and rioting, swearing, intoxication, and gambling, for manliness."

Young Custis was placed in the college at Annapolis in the spring of 1798, when Washington wrote to Mr. M'Dowell, the president, as follows:—

"Mr. Custis possesses competent talents to fit him for any studies, but they are counteracted by an indolence of mind which renders it difficult to draw them into action. Doctor Stuart having been an attentive observer of this, I shall refer you to him for the development of the causes, while justice from me requires I should add, that I know of no vice to which this inertness can be attributed. From drinking and gaming he is perfectly free; and if he has a propensity to any other impropriety, it is hidden from me. He is generous, and regardful of truth.

"As his family, fortune, and talents (if the latter can be improved), give him just pretensions to become a useful member of society in the councils of his country, his friends, and none more than myself, are extremely desirous that his education should be liberal, polished, and suitable for this end."

Young Custis did not remain long at Annapolis. He was now eighteen years of age, and his mind was filled with visions of military glory. He received the appointment of cornet of horse, early in January, 1799, and was soon afterward promoted to the position of aid-de-camp to General Pinckney. As the army was not called to the field, he remained at Mount Vernon, awaiting orders. Meanwhile, Washington endeavored to keep him engaged in his studies, but with little success, as appears by the following extract from a letter to Doctor Stuart, young Custis's stepfather, written on the twenty-second of January, 1799, soon after the cornet received his appointment:—

"DEAR SIR: Washington leaves this to-day on a visit to Hope Park, which will afford you an opportunity to examine the progress he has made in the studies he was directed to pursue.

"I can, and I believe I do, keep him in his room a certain portion of the twenty-four hours, but it will be impossible for me to make him attend to his books if inclination on his part is wanting; nor, while I am out, if he chooses to be so, is it in my power to prevent it. I will not say this is the case, nor will I run the hazard of doing him injustice, by saying he does not apply as he ought to what has been prescribed; but no risk will be run, and candor requires I should declare it as my opinion that he will not derive much benefit in any course which can be marked out for him at this place, without an able preceptor always with him. I believe Washington means well, but has not resolution to act well."

For the entire correspondence alluded to, and a vast amount of information concerning the private life of Washington, the reader is referred to Custis's Recollections and Private Memoirs of the Father of his Country.

[131] Lossing's Mount Vernon and its Associations, page 313.

[132] Ib., page 314.

[133] The original chart of this survey, made by Washington's own hand, is preserved by the daughter of Mr. Custis (Mrs. Colonel Robert E. Lee), at Arlington House. A facsimile of it is published in Custis's Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington.

[134] The following is a true copy of Washington's will:—

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Mount Vernon, a citizen of the United States, and lately President of the same, do make, ordain, and declare this instrument, which is written with my own hand, and every page thereof subscribed with my name, to be my last WILL AND TESTAMENT, revoking all others.

Imprimis.—All my debts, of which there are but few, and none of magnitude, are to be punctually and speedily paid; and the legacies, hereinafter bequeathed, are to be discharged as soon as circumstances will permit, and in the manner directed.

Item.—To my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, I give and bequeath the use, profit, and benefit of my whole estate, real and personal, for the term of her natural life, except such parts thereof as are specially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the town of Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Cameron streets, I give to her and her heirs for ever; as I also do my household and kitchen furniture of every sort and kind, with the liquors and groceries which may be on hand at the time of my decease, to be used and disposed of as she may think proper.

Item.—Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire that all the slaves whom I hold in my own right shall receive their freedom. To emancipate them during her life would, though earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of their intermixture by marriage with the dower-negroes, as to excite the most painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences, to the latter, while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it not being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower-negroes are held, to manumit them.[137] And whereas, among those who will receive freedom according to this devise, there may be some who, from old age or bodily infirmities, and others who, on account of their infancy, will be unable to support themselves, it is my will and desire that all, who come under the first and second description, shall be comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs while they live; and that such of the latter description as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the court until they shall arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and, in cases where no record can be produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the judgment of the court, upon its own view of the subject, shall be adequate and final. The negroes thus bound are (by their masters or mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and to be brought up to some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, providing for the support of orphan and other poor children. And I do hereby expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of the said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed of, under any pretence whatsoever. And I do, moreover, most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon my executors hereafter named, or the survivors of them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the epoch at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be established for their support, as long as there are subjects requiring it; not trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals. And to my mulatto man, William, calling himself William Lee, I give immediate freedom, or, if he should prefer it (on account of the accidents which have befallen him, and which have rendered him incapable of walking, or of any active employment), to remain in the situation he now is, it shall be optional in him to do so; in either case, however, I allow him an annuity of thirty dollars, during his natural life, which shall be independent of the victuals and clothes he has been accustomed to receive, if he chooses the last alternative; but in full with his freedom, if he prefers the first; and this I give him, as a testimony of my sense of his attachment to me, and for his faithful services during the Revolutionary War.

Item.—To the trustees (governors, or by whatsoever other name they may be designated) of the Academy in the town of Alexandria, I give and bequeath, in trust, four thousand dollars, or, in other words, twenty of the shares which I hold in the Bank of Alexandria, toward the support of a free school, established at, and annexed to, the said Academy, for the purpose of educating such orphan children, or the children of such other poor and indigent persons, as are unable to accomplish it with their own means, and who, in the judgment of the trustees of the said seminary, are best entitled to the benefit of this donation. The aforesaid twenty shares I give and bequeath in perpetuity; the dividends only of which are to be drawn for and applied, by the said trustees for the time being, for the uses above mentioned; the stock to remain entire and untouched, unless indications of failure of the said bank should be so apparent, or a discontinuance thereof, should render a removal of this fund necessary. In either of these cases, the amount of the stock here devised is to be vested in some other bank, or public institution, whereby the interest may with regularity and certainty be drawn and applied as above. And to prevent misconception, my meaning is, and is hereby declared to be, that these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not in addition to, the thousand pounds given by a missive letter some years ago, in consequence whereof an annuity of fifty pounds has since been paid toward the support of this institution.

Item.—Whereas, by a law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, enacted in the year 1785, the Legislature thereof was pleased, as an evidence of its approbation of the services I had rendered the public during the Revolution, and partly, I believe, in consideration of my having suggested the vast advantages which the community would derive from the extension of its inland navigation under legislative patronage, to present me with one hundred shares, of one hundred dollars each, in the incorporated Company, established for the purpose of extending the navigation of James River from the tide-water to the mountains; and also with fifty shares, of L100 sterling each, in the corporation of another Company, likewise established for the similar purpose of opening the navigation of the River Potomac from the tide-water to Fort Cumberland; the acceptance of which, although the offer was highly honorable and grateful to my feelings, was refused, as inconsistent with a principle which I had adopted, and had never departed from, viz., not to receive pecuniary compensation for any services I could render my country in its arduous struggle with Great Britain for its rights, and because I had evaded similar propositions from other States in the Union; adding to this refusal, however, an intimation that, if it should be the pleasure of the Legislature to permit me to appropriate the said shares to public uses, I would receive them on those terms with due sensibility; and this it having consented to, in flattering terms, as will appear by a subsequent law, and sundry resolutions, in the most ample and honorable manner;—I proceed after this recital, for the more correct understanding of the case, to declare; that, as it has always been a source of serious regret with me, to see the youth of these United States sent to foreign countries for the purpose of education, often before their minds were formed, or they had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of their own; contracting too frequently, not only habits of dissipation and extravagance, but principles unfriendly to republican government, and to the true and genuine liberties of mankind, which thereafter are rarely overcome; for these reasons it has been my ardent wish to see a plan devised, on a liberal scale, which would have a tendency to spread systematic ideas through all parts of this rising empire, thereby to do away local attachments and State prejudices, as far as the nature of things would, or indeed ought to admit, from our national councils. Looking anxiously forward to the accomplishment of so desirable an object as this is (in my estimation), my mind has not been able to contemplate any plan more likely to effect the measure, than the establishment of a University in a central part of the United States, to which the youths of fortune and talents from all parts thereof may be sent for the completion of their education, in all the branches of polite literature, in arts and sciences, in acquiring knowledge in the principles of politics and good government, and, as a matter of infinite importance in my judgment, by associating with each other, and forming friendships in juvenile years, be enabled to free themselves in a proper degree from those local prejudices and habitual jealousies which have just been mentioned, and which, when carried to excess, are never-failing sources of disquietude to the public mind, and pregnant of mischievous consequences to this country. Under these impressions, so fully dilated—

Item.—I give and bequeath, in perpetuity, the fifty shares which I hold in the Potomac company (under the aforesaid acts of the Legislature of Virginia), toward the endowment of a University, to be established within the limits of the District of Columbia, under the auspices of the general government, if that government should incline to extend a fostering hand toward it; and, until such seminary is established, and the funds arising on these shares shall be required for its support, my further will and desire is, that the profit accruing therefrom shall, whenever the dividends are made, be laid out in purchasing stock in the Bank of Columbia, or some other bank, at the discretion of my executors, or by the Treasurer of the United States for the time being, under the direction of Congress, provided that honorable body should patronize the measure; and the dividends proceeding from the purchase of such stock are to be vested in more stock, and so on, until a sum adequate to the accomplishment of the object is obtained; of which I have not the smallest doubt before many years pass away, even if no aid or encouragement is given by the legislative authority, or from any other source.

Item.—The hundred shares, which I hold in the James River Company, I have given, and now confirm in perpetuity, to and for the use and benefit of Liberty Hall Academy, in the County of Rockbridge, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Item.—I release, exonerate, and discharge the estate of my deceased brother, Samuel Washington, from the payment of the money which is due to me for the land I sold to Philip Pendleton (lying in the county of Berkeley), who assigned the same to him, the said Samuel, who by agreement was to pay me therefor. And whereas, by some contract (the purport of which was never communicated to me) between the said Samuel and his son, Thornton Washington, the latter became possessed of the aforesaid land, without any conveyance having passed from me, either to the said Pendleton, the said Samuel, or the said Thornton, and without any consideration having been made, by which neglect neither the legal nor equitable title has been alienated; it rests therefore with me to declare my intentions concerning the premises; and these are, to give and bequeath the said land to whomsoever the said Thornton Washington (who is also dead) devised the same, or to his heirs for ever, if he died intestate; exonerating the estate of the said Thornton, equally with that of the said Samuel, from payment of the purchase money, which, with interest, agreeably to the original contract with the said Pendleton, would amount to more than a thousand pounds. And whereas two other sons of my said deceased brother Samuel, namely, George Steptoe Washington and Lawrence Augustine Washington, were, by the decease of those to whose care they were committed, brought under my protection, and, in consequence, have occasioned advances on my part, for their education at college and other schools, for their board, clothing, and other incidental expenses, to the amount of near five thousand dollars, over and above the sums furnished by their estate, which sum it may be inconvenient for them or their father's estate to refund; I do for these reasons acquit them and the said estate from the payment thereof, my intention being, that all accounts between them and me, and their father's estate and me, shall stand balanced.

Item.—The balance due to me from the estate of Bartholomew Dandridge, deceased (my wife's brother), and which amounted on the first day of October, 1795, to four hundred and twenty-five pounds (as will appear by an account rendered by his deceased son, John Dandridge, who was the acting executor of his father's will), I release and acquit from the payment thereof. And the negroes, then thirty-three in number, formerly belonging to the said estate, who were taken in execution, sold, and purchased in on my account, in the year (blank), and ever since have remained in the possession and to the use of Mary, widow of the said Bartholomew Dandridge, with their increase, it is my will and desire shall continue and be in her possession, without paying hire, or making compensation for the same for the time past, or to come, during her natural life; at the expiration of which, I direct that all of them who are forty years old and upward shall receive their freedom; and all under that age, and above sixteen, shall serve seven years and no longer; and all under sixteen years shall serve until they are twenty-five years of age, and then be free. And, to avoid disputes respecting the ages of any of these negroes, they are to be taken into the court of the county in which they reside, and the judgment thereof, in this relation, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be adduced as evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise concerning the same. And I further direct, that the heirs of the said Bartholomew Dandridge shall equally share the benefits arising from the services of the said negroes, according to the tenor of this devise, upon the decease of their mother.

Item.—If Charles Carter, who intermarried with my niece, Betty Lewis, is not sufficiently secured in the title to the lots he had of me in the town of Fredericksburg, it is my will and desire, that my executors shall make such conveyances of them as the law requires to render it perfect.

Item.—To my nephew, William Augustine Washington, and his heirs (if he should conceive them to be objects worth prosecuting), a lot in the town of Manchester (opposite to Richmond), No. 265, drawn on my sole account, and also the tenth of one or two hundred-acre lots, and two of three half-acre lots, in the city and vicinity of Richmond, drawn in partnership with nine others, all in the lottery of the deceased William Byrd, are given; as is also a lot which I purchased of John Hood, conveyed by William Willie and Samuel Gordon, trustees of the said John Hood, numbered 139, in the town of Edinburgh, in the County of Prince George, State of Virginia.

Item.—To my nephew, Bushrod Washington,[136] I give and bequeath all the papers in my possession, which relate to my civil and military administration of the affairs of this country. I leave to him also such of my private papers as are worth preserving; and at the decease of my wife, and before, if she is not inclined to retain them, I give and bequeath my library of books and pamphlets of every kind.

Item.—Having sold lands which I possessed in the State of Pennsylvania, and part of a tract held in equal right with George Clinton, late governor of New York, in the State of New York, my share of land and interest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a tract of land which I owned in the County of Gloucester,—withholding the legal titles thereto, until the consideration money should be paid,—and having moreover leased and conditionally sold (as will appear by the tenor of the said leases) all my lands upon the Great Kenhawa, and a tract upon Difficult Run, in the County of Loudoun, it is my will and direction, that whensoever the contracts are fully and respectively complied with, according to the spirit, true intent, and meaning thereof, on the part of the purchasers, their heirs or assigns, that then, and in that case, conveyances are to be made, agreeably to the terms of the said contracts, and the money arising therefrom, when paid, to be vested in bank stock; the dividends whereof, as of that also which is already vested therein, are to inure to my said wife during her life; but the stock itself is to remain and be subject to the general distribution hereafter directed.

Item.—To the Earl of Buchan I recommit the "Box made of the Oak that sheltered the great Sir William Wallace, after the battle of Falkirk," presented to me by his Lordship, in terms too flattering for me to repeat, with a request "to pass it, on the event of my decease, to the man in my country, who should appear to merit it best, upon the same conditions that have induced him to send it to me." Whether easy or not to select the man, who might comport with his Lordship's opinion in this respect, is not for me to say; but, conceiving that no disposition of this valuable curiosity can be more eligible than the recommitment of it to his own cabinet, agreeably to the original design of the Goldsmiths' Company of Edinburgh, who presented it to him, and, at his request, consented that it should be transferred to me, I do give and bequeath the same to his Lordship; and, in case of his decease, to his heir, with my grateful thanks for the distinguished honor of presenting it to me, and more especially for the favorable sentiments with which he accompanied it.

Item.—To my brother, Charles Washington, I give and bequeath the gold-headed cane left me by Dr. Franklin in his will. I add nothing to it, because of the ample provision I have made for his issue. To the acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, Lawrence Washington and Robert Washington, of Chotanck, I give my other two gold-headed canes, having my arms engraved on them; and to each, as they will be useful where they live, I leave one of the spyglasses, which constituted part of my equipage during the late war. To my compatriot in arms, and old and intimate friend, Dr. Craik, I give my bureau (or, as the cabinet-makers call it, tambour secretary) and the circular chair, an appendage of my study. To Dr. David Stuart I give my large shaving and dressing table, and my telescope. To the Reverend, now Bryan, Lord Fairfax, I give a Bible, in three large folio volumes, with notes, presented to me by the Right Reverend Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man. To General de Lafayette I give a pair of finely-wrought steel pistols, taken from the enemy in the revolutionary war. To my sisters-in-law, Hannah Washington and Mildred Washington, to my friends, Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington, of Fairfield, and Elizabeth Washington, of Hayfield, I give each a mourning ring, of the value of one hundred dollars. These bequests are not made for the intrinsic value of them, but as mementoes of my esteem and regard. To Tobias Lear I give the use of the farm, which he now holds in virtue of a lease from me to him and his deceased wife (for and during their natural lives), free from rent during his life; at the expiration of which, it is to be disposed of as is hereinafter directed. To Sally B. Haynie (a distant relation of mine) I give and bequeath three hundred dollars. To Sarah Green, daughter of the deceased Thomas Bishop, and to Ann Walker, daughter of John Alton, also deceased, I give each one hundred dollars, in consideration of the attachment of their fathers to me; each of whom having lived nearly forty years in my family. To each of my nephews, William Augustine Washington, George Lewis, George Steptoe Washington, Bushrod Washington, and Samuel Washington, I give one of the swords, or couteaux, of which I may die possessed; and they are to choose in the order they are named. These swords are accompanied with an injunction not to unsheathe them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self-defence, or in defence of their country and its rights: and, in the latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their hands to the relinquishment thereof.

And now, having gone through these specific devises, with explanations for the more correct understanding of the meaning and design of them, I proceed to the distribution of the more important parts of my estate, in manner following;

FIRST.—To my nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his heirs (partly in consideration of an intimation to his deceased father, while we were bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during my military services in the former war between Great Britain and France, that, if I should fall therein, Mount Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at present, should become his property), I give and bequeath all that part thereof, which is comprehended within the following limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue Run, near my Mill, and extending along the road, and bounded thereby, as it now goes, and ever has gone, since my recollection of it, to the ford of Little Hunting Creek, at the Gum Spring, until it comes to a knoll opposite to an old road, which formerly passed through the lower field of Muddy-Hole Farm; at which, on the north side of the said road, are three red or Spanish oaks, marked as a corner, and a stone placed; thence by a line of trees, to be marked rectangular, to the back line or outer boundary of the tract between Thompson Mason and myself: thence with that line easterly (now double ditching, with a post-and-rail fence thereon) to the run of Little Hunting Creek; thence with that run, which is the boundary between the lands of the late Humphrey Peake and me, to the tide water of the said creek; thence by that water to Potomac River; thence with the river to the mouth of Dogue Creek; and thence with the said Dogue Creek to the place of beginning at the aforesaid ford; containing upwards of four thousand acres, be the same more or less, together with the mansion-house, and all other buildings and improvements thereon.

SECOND.—In consideration of the consanguinity between them and my wife, being as nearly related to her as to myself, as on account of the affection I had for, and the obligation I was under to, their father when living, who from his youth had attached himself to my person, and followed my fortunes through the vicissitudes of the late Revolution, afterwards devoting his time to the superintendence of my private concerns for many years, whilst my public employments rendered it impracticable for me to do it myself, thereby affording me essential services, and always performing them in a manner the most filial and respectful; for these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to George Fayette Washington and Lawrence Augustine Washington, and their heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting Creek, lying on the River Potomac, including the farm of three hundred and sixty acres, leased to Tobias Lear, as noticed before, and containing in the whole, by deed, two thousand and twenty-seven acres, be it more or less; which said estate it is my will and desire should be equitably and advantageously divided between them, according to quantity, quality, and other circumstances, when the youngest shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, by three judicious and disinterested men; one to be chosen by each of the brothers, and the third by these two. In the mean time, if the termination of my wife's interest therein should have ceased, the profits arising therefrom are to be applied for their joint uses and benefit.

THIRD.—And whereas it has always been my intention, since my expectation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grandchildren of my wife in the same light as I do my own relations, and to act a friendly part by them; more especially by the two whom we have raised from their earliest infancy, namely, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis; and whereas the former of these hath lately intermarried with Lawrence Lewis, a son of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, by which union the inducement to provide for them both has been increased; wherefore I give and bequeath to the said Lawrence Lewis, and Eleanor Parke Lewis, his wife, and their heirs, the residue of my Mount Vernon estate, not already devised to my nephew, Bushrod Washington, comprehended within the following description, viz. All the land north of the road leading from the ford of Dogue Run to the Gum Spring, as described in the devise of the other part of the tract to Bushrod Washington, until it comes to the stone and three red or Spanish oaks on the knoll; thence with the rectangular line to the back line (between Mr. Mason and me); thence with that line westerly along the new double ditch to Dogue Run, by the tumbling dam of my Mill; thence with the said run to the ford aforementioned. To which I add all the land I possess west of the said Dogue Run and Dogue Creek, bounded easterly and southerly thereby; together with the mill, distillery, and all other houses and improvements on the premises, making together about two thousand acres, be it more or less.

FOURTH.—Actuated by the principle already mentioned, I give and bequeath to George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, and to his heirs, the tract I hold on Four Mile Run, in the vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand two hundred acres, more or less, and my entire square, No. 21, in the city of Washington.

FIFTH.—All the rest and residue of my estate real and personal, not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever consisting, wheresoever lying, and whensoever found (a schedule of which, as far as is recollected, with a reasonable estimate of its value, is hereunto annexed), I desire may be sold by my executors, at such times, in such manner, and on such credits (if an equal, valid, and satisfactory distribution of the specific property cannot be made without), as in their judgment shall be most conducive to the interest of the parties concerned; and the moneys arising therefrom to be divided into twenty-three equal parts, and applied as follows, viz. To William Augustine Washington, Elizabeth Spotswood, Jane Thornton, and the heirs of Ann Ashton, sons and daughters of my deceased brother, Augustine Washington, I give and bequeath four parts; that is, one part to each of them. To Fielding Lewis, George Lewis, Robert Lewis, Howell Lewis, and Betty Carter, sons and daughters of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, I give and bequeath five other parts; one to each of them. To George Steptoe Washington, Lawrence Augustine Washington, Harriot Parks, and the heirs of Thornton Washington, sons and daughters of my deceased brother Samuel Washington, I give and bequeath other four parts; one to each of them. To Corbin Washington, and the heirs of Jane Washington, son and daughter of my deceased brother, John Augustine Washington, I give and bequeath two parts; one to each of them. To Samuel Washington, Frances Ball, and Mildred Hammond, son and daughters of my brother Charles Washington, I give and bequeath three parts; one part to each of them. And to George Fayette Washington, Charles Augustine Washington, and Maria Washington, sons and daughter of my deceased nephew, George Augustine Washington, I give one other part; that is, to each a third of that part. To Elizabeth Parke Law, Martha Parke Peter, and Eleanor Parke Lewis, I give and bequeath three other parts; that is, a part to each of them. And to my nephews, Bushrod Washington and Lawrence Lewis, and to my ward, the grandson of my wife, I give and bequeath one other part; that is, a third thereof to each of them. And, if it should so happen, that any of the persons whose names are here enumerated (unknown to me) should now be dead, or should die before me, that in either of these cases, the heirs of such deceased person shall, notwithstanding, derive all the benefits of the bequest, in the same manner as if he or she was actually living at the time. And, by way of advice, I recommend it to my executors not to be precipitate in disposing of the landed property (herein directed to be sold), if from temporary causes the sale thereof should be dull; experience having fully evinced, that the price of land, especially above the falls of the river and on the western waters, has been progressively rising, and cannot be long checked in its increasing value. And I particularly recommend it to such of the legatees (under this clause of my will), as can make it convenient, to take each a share of my stock in the Potomac Company, in preference to the amount of what it might sell for; being thoroughly convinced myself, that no uses to which the money can be applied, will be so productive as the tolls arising from this navigation when in full operation (and thus, from the nature of things, it must be, ere long), and more especially if that of the Shenandoah is added thereto.

The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of brick, and upon a larger scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard Enclosure, on the ground which is marked out; in which my remains, with those of my deceased relations (now in the old vault), and such others of my family as may choose to be entombed there, may be deposited. And it is my express desire, that my corpse may be interred in a private manner, without parade or funeral oration.

LASTLY, I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, my nephews, William Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington, George Steptoe Washington, Samuel Washington, and Lawrence Lewis, and my ward, George Washington Parke Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years), executrix and executors of this my will and testament; in the construction of which it will be readily perceived, that no professional character has been consulted, or has had any agency in the draft; and that, although it has occupied many of my leisure hours to digest, and to throw it into its present form, it may, notwithstanding, appear crude and incorrect; but, having endeavored to be plain and explicit in all the devises, even at the expense of prolixity, perhaps of tautology, I hope and trust that no disputes will arise concerning them. But if, contrary to expectation, the case should be otherwise, from the want of legal expressions, or the usual technical terms, or because too much or too little has been said on any of the devises to be consonant with law, my will and direction expressly is, that all disputes (if unhappily any should arise) shall be decided by three impartial and intelligent men, known for their probity and good understanding; two to be chosen by the disputants, each having the choice of one, and the third by those two; which three men, thus chosen, shall, unfettered by law or legal constructions, declare their sense of the testator's intention; and such decision is, to all intents and purposes, to be as binding on the parties as if it had been given in the Supreme Court of the United States.

In witness of all and of each of the things herein contained, I have set my hand and seal, this ninth day of July, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety,[135] and of the Independence of the United States the twenty-fourth.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

* * * * *

SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY

Comprehended in the foregoing Will, which is directed to be sold; and some of it conditionally is sold; with descriptive and Explanatory Notes relative thereto.

IN VIRGINIA.

Price. Acres. Dollars. Dollars.

Loudoun County, Difficult Run, 300 6,666 a Loudoun and Fauquier, Ashby's Bent, 2481 10 24,810} b Chattin's Run, 885 8 7,080} b Berkeley, South Fork of Bullskin, 1600 Head of Evan's M., 453 In Wormeley's Line, 183 —— 2236 20 44,720 c

Frederic, bought from Mercer, 571 20 11,420 d Hampshire, on Potomac River, above B., 240 15 3,600 e

Acres. Price. Dollars.

Gloucester, on North River, 400 about 3,600 f Nansemond, near Suffolk, one third of 1119 acres, 373 8 2,984 g Great Dismal Swamp, my dividend thereof, about 20,000 h Ohio River, Round Bottom, 587 Little Kenhawa, 2314 Sixteen miles lower down, 2448 Opposite Big Bent, 4395 ——— 9744 10 97,440 i Great Kenhawa, Near the mouth, west, 10990 East side, above, 7276 Mouth of Cole River, 2000 Opposite thereto, 2950 Burning Spring, 125 —— 3075 ——— 200,000 k

MARYLAND. Charles County 600 6 3,600 l Montgomery County, 519 12 6,228 m

PENNSYLVANIA. Great Meadows 234 6 1,404 n

NEW YORK. Mohawk River, about 1000 6 6,000 o

NORTHWEST TERRITORY. On Little Miami, 839 Ditto, 977 Ditto, 1235 ——— 3051 5 15,255 p KENTUCKY. Rough Creek, 3000 Ditto, adjoining, 2000 ——— 5000 2 10,000 q

LOTS.

CITY OF WASHINGTON.

Two near the Capitol, Square 634, cost 963 dollars, and with buildings, 15,000 r Nos. 5, 12, 13, and 14, the last three water lots on the Eastern Branch, in Square 667, containing together 34,438 square feet, at 12 cents, 4,132 s

ALEXANDRIA.

Corner of Pitt and Prince streets, half an acre, laid out into building lots, three or four of which are let on ground rent, at three dollars per foot, 4,000 t

WINCHESTER.

A lot in the town, of half an acre, and another on the common, of about six acres, supposed, 400 u

BATH, OR WARM SPRINGS.

Two well-situated and handsome buildings, to the amount of L150, 800 v

STOCK. Dollars.

United States 6 per cent. 3,746 Ditto, deferred, 1,873 Ditto, 3 per cent. 2,946 ——— 2,500

——— 6,246 w

Potomac Company, 24 shares, cost each L100 sterling, 10,666 x James River Company, 5 shares, each cost 100 dollars, 500 y Bank of Columbia, 170 shares, 40 dollars each, 6,800} z Bank of Alexandria, 1,000} z Besides 20 shares in the free school,—5.

STOCK LIVING.

One covering horse, 5 carriage horses, 4 riding horses, 6 brood mares, 20 working horses and mares, 2 covering jacks and 3 young ones, 10 she-asses, 42 working mules, 15 younger ones, 329 head of horned cattle, 640 head of sheep, and a large stock of hogs, the precise number unknown. [Symbol: Hand with pointing finger.] My manager has estimated this live stock at L7000; but I shall set it down, in order to make a round sum, at 15,653 ———— Aggregate amount, $530,000

* * * * *

NOTES.

(a) This tract, for the size of it, is valuable, more for its situation than the quality of its soil; though that is good for farming, with a considerable proportion of ground that might very easily be improved into meadow. It lies on the great road from the city of Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown, to Leesburgh and Winchester, at Difficult Bridge, nineteen miles from Alexandria, less from the city of Georgetown, and not more than three from Matildaville, at the Great Falls of Potomac. There is a valuable seat on the premises, and the whole is conditionally sold for the sum annexed in the schedule.

(b) What the selling prices of lands in the vicinity of these two tracts are, I know not; but, compared with those above the Ridge, and others below them, the value annexed will appear moderate; a less one would not obtain them from me.

(c) The surrounding land, not superior in soil, situation, or properties of any sort, sells currently at from twenty to thirty dollars an acre. The lowest price is affixed to these.

(d) The observations made in the last note apply equally to this tract; being in the vicinity of them, and of similar quality, although it lies in another county.

(e) This tract, though small, is extremely valuable. It lies on Potomac River, about twelve miles above the town of Bath, or Warm Springs, and is in the shape of a horseshoe; the river running almost around it. Two hundred acres of it are rich low grounds, with a great abundance of the largest and finest walnut trees; which, with the produce of the soil, might (by means of the improved navigation of the Potomac) be brought to a shipping port with more ease, and at a smaller expense, than that which is transported thirty miles only by land.

(f) This tract is of second-rate Gloucester low ground. It has no improvements thereon, but lies on navigable water, abounding in fish and oysters. It was received in payment of a debt (carrying interest), and valued in the year 1789, by an impartial gentleman, at L800. N. B. It has lately been sold, and there is due thereon a balance, equal to what is annexed in the schedule.

(g) These 373 acres are the third part of an undivided purchase made by the deceased Fielding Lewis, Thomas Walker, and myself, on full conviction that they would become valuable. The land lies on the road from Suffolk and Norfolk, touches (if I am not mistaken) some part of the navigable water of Nansemond River. The rich Dismal Swamp is capable of great improvement, and from its situation must become extremely valuable.

(h) This is an undivided interest, which I hold in the Great Dismal Swamp Company, containing about 4000 acres, with my part of the plantation and stock thereon, belonging to the Company in the said swamp.

(i) These several tracts of land are of the first quality, on the Ohio River, in the parts where they are situated; being almost, if not altogether, river bottoms. The smallest of these tracts is actually sold at ten dollars an acre, but the consideration therefor not received. The rest are equally valuable, and sold as high; especially that which lies just below the Little Kenhawa, and is opposite to a thick settlement on the west side of the river. The four tracts have an aggregate breadth upon the river of sixteen miles, and are bounded thereby for that distance.

(k) These tracts are situated on the Great Kenhawa River, and the first four are bounded thereby for more than forty miles. It is acknowledged by all who have seen them (and of the tract containing 10,990 acres, which I have been on myself, I can assert), that there is no richer or more valuable land in all that region. They are conditionally sold for the sum mentioned in the schedule, that is, 200,000 dollars; and, if the terms of that sale are not complied with, they will command considerably more. The tract, of which the 125 acres is a moiety, was taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself, for and on account of a bituminous spring which it contains, of so inflammable a nature as to burn as freely as spirits, and is nearly as difficult to extinguish.

(l) I am but little acquainted with this land, although I have once been on it. It was received (many years since) in discharge of a debt to me from Daniel Jenifer Adams, at the value annexed thereto, and must be worth more. It is very level; lies near the river Potomac.

(m) This tract lies about thirty miles above the city of Washington, not far from Kittoctan. It is good farming land; and, by those who are well acquainted it, I am informed that it would sell at twelve or fifteen dollars per acre.

(n) This land is valuable on account of its local situation, and other properties. It affords an exceeding good stand on Braddock's Road from Fort Cumberland to Pittsburgh, and, besides a fertile soil, possesses a large quantity of natural meadow, fit for the scythe. It is distinguished by the appellation of the Great Meadows, where the first action with the French in 1754 was fought.

(o) This is the moiety of about 2000 acres, which remains unsold of 6071 acres on the Mohawk River (Montgomery County), in a patent granted to Daniel Coxe, in the township of Coxborough and Carolina, as will appear by deed from Marinus Willett and wife to George Clinton, late governor of New York, and myself. The latter sales have been at six dollars an acre, and what remains unsold will fetch that or more.

(p) The quality of these lands, and their situations, may be known by the surveyor's certificates, which are filed along with the patents. They lie in the vicinity of Cincinnati; one tract near the mouth of the Little Miami; another seven, and the third ten miles up the same. I have been informed, that they will command more than they are estimated at.

(q) For the description of these tracts in detail, see General Spotswood's letters, filed with the other papers relating to them. Besides the general good quality of the land, there is a valuable bank of iron ore thereon, which, when the settlement becomes more populous (and settlers are moving that way very fast), will be found very valuable, as the Rough Creek, a branch of Green River, affords ample water for furnaces and forges.

LOTS.

CITY OF WASHINGTON.

(r) The two lots near the Capitol, in square 634, cost me 963 dollars only. But in this price I was favored, on condition that I should build two brick houses, three stories high each. Without this reduction, the selling prices of those lots would have cost me about 1350 dollars. These lots, with the buildings thereon, when completed, will stand me in 15,000 dollars at least.

(s) Lots Nos. 5, 12, 13, and 14, on the Eastern Branch, are advantageously situated on the water; and, although many lots, much less convenient, have sold a great deal higher, I will rate these at 12 cents the square foot only.

ALEXANDRIA.

(t) For this lot, although unimproved, I have refused 3500 dollars. It has since been laid out into proper sized lots for building on; three or four of which are let on ground rent for ever, at three dollars a foot on the street, and this price is asked for both fronts on Pitt and Prince streets.

WINCHESTER.

(u) As neither the lot in the town or common have any improvements on them, it is not easy to fix a price; but, as both are well situated, it is presumed that the price annexed to them in the schedule is a reasonable valuation.

BATH.

(v) The lots in Bath (two adjoining) cost me, to the best of my recollection, between fifty and sixty pounds, twenty years ago; and the buildings thereon, one hundred and fifty pounds more. Whether property there has increased or decreased in its value, and in what condition the houses are, I am ignorant; but suppose they are not valued too high.

STOCK.

(w) These are the sums which are actually funded; and though no more in the aggregate than 7566 dollars, stand me in at least ten thousand pounds, Virginia money; being the amount of bonded and other debts due to me, and discharged during the war, when money had depreciated in that rate,—[symbol of hand with pointing finger] and was so settled by public authority.

(x) The value annexed to these shares is what they have actually cost me, and is the price affixed by law; and, although the present selling price is under par, my advice to the legatees (for whose benefit they are intended, especially those who can afford to lie out of the money) is, that each should take and hold one; there being a moral certainty of a great and increasing profit arising from them in the course of a few years.

(y) It is supposed that the shares in the James River Company must be productive. But of this I can give no decided opinion, for want of more accurate information.

(z) These are the nominal prices of the shares in the Banks of Alexandria and Columbia; the selling prices vary according to circumstances; but, as the stocks usually divide from eight to ten per cent. per annum, they must be worth the former, at least, so long as the banks are conceived to be secure, although from circumstances they may sometimes be below it.