v^" •^*. 
 
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 in 2010 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
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 A POETICAL EPISTLE 
 
 TO 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq,, 
 
 COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE 
 UNITED S TA TES OF A ME RICA . 
 
 REV. CHARLES HENRY WHARTON, D. D. 
 
 FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT BELONGING TO 
 
 DAVID PULSIFER, A.M., 
 
 MEMBER OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC- GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, FELLOW 
 OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION, CORRESPONDING 
 MEMBER OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE, AND OF THE RHODE 
 ISLAND, NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, AND WIS- 
 CONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX. 
 
 /'/sr./f.K|^ 
 
 BOSTON: ^^^ 
 
 PRINTED FOR DAVID PUL SIFE R. "^'^" 
 
 FOR SALE BY A. WILLIAMS & CO., 
 283 Washington Street. 
 
 1881. 
 
^3ie 
 
 .65 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 
 
 1881, 
 
 By David Pulsifer. 
 
 Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
 Ko. 4 Pearl Street. 
 
 Printed by Rand, Avery & Co., Printers to the Commonwealth, 
 Ko. 117 Franklin Street. 
 
TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 JOHN ALBION ANDREW, 
 
 Statesman, Magistrate, Orator, and 
 Lover of Men: •. 
 
 Governor of Massachusetts when the Nation's life 
 
 WAS AT STAKE, — WHO UPHELD THE UnION WITH ALL THE 
 POWER OF THE StATE AND MADE THE StATE FELT 
 AT EVERY FIRESIDE IN THE UnION, — WHO BY HIS CLEAR 
 INSIGHT WAS ABLE TO FORESEE, AND BY HIS WISE 
 FORETHOUGHT TO PREPARE FOR, AND WITH WELL-CON- 
 TROLLED ENTHUSIASM AND UNCHECKED COURAGE TO MEET, 
 BUT NEVER, BY ILL-JUDGED HASTE, TO PRECIPITATE THE DE- 
 CISIVE ISSUES OF THE WAR, — WHOSE VOICE AND PEN WERE AS 
 ELOqUENT AS HIS INTELLECT AND MANHOOD WERE DOMINANT, 
 
 ONE WHOSE happiness IT IS 
 
 TO HAVE BEEN SO NEAR HIM DURING THAT DREADFUL 
 HOUR AS TO KNOW HOW WORTHILY, BOTH AS MAGISTRATE 
 AND MAN, WITHIN THESE WALLS, THE SILENT WITNESSES OF 
 HIS LABORS, HE STANDS IN ENDURING MARBLE BY THE SIDE OF 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 HAS PRESUMED TO DEDICATE THIS LITTLE VOLUME. 
 
 State House, 
 Boston, February 22, 1881. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Poetical Epistle, 7 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 An Account of the Author, 17 
 
 II. 
 
 Address of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts to 
 General Washington, July i, 1775, 24 
 
 III. 
 
 General Washington's Answer, 27 
 
 IV. 
 
 Celebration of August 14th, 1765, 29 
 
 V. 
 
 Letter from General Washington to the Council, . . 31 
 
 VI. 
 
 Resolve of Congress, March 25, 1776 : That the Thanks, in 
 their own name and in the name of the Thirteen United 
 
 (3) 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 Colonies whom they represent, be Presented to His Ex- 
 cellency General Washington, and that a Medal of Gold 
 be struck and Presented to His Excellency, . . -33 
 
 VII. 
 
 Address of the " Great and General Court or Assembly of 
 the Colony of Massachusetts Bay," March 27, 1776, . 34 
 
 VIII. 
 Answer, 37 
 
 IX. 
 
 Copy of Record of a Public Town Meeting in Boston, 
 March 29, 1776, 40 
 
 X. 
 
 Address of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and Reply, ........ 41 
 
 XI. 
 
 Address of the Governor and Council of Massachusetts to 
 the President of the United States, Oct. 27, 17S9, . . 46 
 
 XII. 
 
 Answer of the President, 48 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Address of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, R. I., to 
 the President of the United States, August 17, 1790, . 50 
 
CONTENTS. 5 
 
 XIV. 
 The Answer, 53 
 
 XV. 
 
 Statue of Washington in the State House, , . • • 55 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Mr. Bryant's Last Poem, written Feb. 22, 1878, . . .69 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Report of the Celebration of Washington's Birthday in 
 Switzerland, Feb. 22, 1879, . = .... 71 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Extract from the Speech of His Honor Moses Gill, Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor of Massachusetts, Acting Governor, to the 
 two Branches of the Legislature, January loth, 1800, with 
 Extracts from their Answers thereto, . . . .81 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Fac-simile of Memorial Tablets of the Washington family, 
 in England, presented to the Commonwealth by Hon. 
 Charles Sumner, ........ 86 
 
 XX. 
 
 Verses by Bishop Berkeley, on the Prospect of Planting 
 Arts and Learning in America. 105 
 
ABBREVIATIONS. 
 
 B— tes Butes. 
 
 Brit— c Maj — ty Britannic Majesty. 
 
 Dunm— re Dunmore. 
 
 G— 1 General. 
 
 K— gs Kings. 
 
 Mans— ds Mansfields. 
 
 N— hs Norths. 
 
 Roy — 1 Royal. 
 
 W—n, Wash— n, Was — n Washington. 
 
 Tyr — nic Tyrannic. 
 
 Murd— d Murdered. 
 
 Sand— h Sandwich. 
 
 St. Ja— s St. James. 
 
 (6) 
 
A POETICAL EPISTLE 
 
 TO 
 
 George W n^ Esqr., Commander in cheif of 
 
 The Army s of the tmited States of America^ from 
 a Native of the Province of Maryland, 
 
 Ille Deum vitam accipiet, Divisque videbit 
 Permistos Heroas, et Ipse videbitur illis. Virg. 
 
 1778 
 
 The Reader may depend upon the following lines 
 being the genuine production of a Native of Amer- 
 ica : The Author is not vain enough to flatter him- 
 self, that they will throw any fresh lustre on the 
 character of General W n ; or entitle his un- 
 tutored muse to the smallest share of Poetical fame. 
 His sole view in penning this Epistle is to express 
 in the best manner he is able, the warm feelings of 
 a grateful Individual towards that best of men, to 
 whom He & every x\merican will in all likelyhood 
 be principally indebted for the establishment of the 
 Independence & commercial prosperity of their dear 
 Country. 
 
 Philadelphia Auguct ao . 1778 
 
 7 
 
A POETICAL EPISTLE TO GEORGE W- 
 &c. &c. 
 
 While many a servile Muse her succour lends 
 To flatter Tyrants, or a Tyrant's friends ; 
 While thousands slaughter'd at Ambition's shrine 
 Are made a plea to court the tuneful nine ; 
 Whilst Whitehead * lifts his Hero to the skies, 
 Foretells his conquests twice a year, and lies, 
 Damns half starv'd Rebels to eternal shame, 
 Or paints them trembling at Britannia's name ; 
 Permit an humble Bard, Great Cheif, to raise 
 One truth-erected trophy to thy praise. 
 No abject flat'ry shall these numbers seek 
 To raise a blush on Virtue's modest cheek, 
 Rehearse no merit, no illustrious deed. 
 But Foes must own, & W n may read. 
 
 First, where along yon venerable wood. 
 My native stream f swells thy Potomack's flood, 
 
 * Poet Laureat to his Brit — c Maj — ty, & obliged from his 
 office to discover in his Roy-1 Patron matter of praise twice in 
 the year. 
 
 t The River Wicomaco in the Province of Maryland. 
 
 8 
 
POETICAL EPISTLE. < 
 
 These artless lines shall usher in the song, 
 
 Which millions yet unborn in rapture shall prolong. 
 
 Fair Freedom too, great Source of evVy bliss, 
 That man'can taste in other Worlds or this, 
 Retiring exiled from yon Eastern climes 
 May deign, perhaps, to hsten to these rimes ; 
 And on these plains well pleas'd to find relief, 
 May bear them smiling to her fav'rite Chief 
 
 Yes, happy Man ! Thee with one common voice 
 Thy Country chose, & Freedom bless'd the choice. 
 Forth from the bosom of thy calm retreat, 
 At once the Hero's & the Sage's seat. 
 Where lavish Nature spreads her choicest gifts 
 Of woods & lawns along thy Native cliffs ; * 
 Where with the Graces Wisdom chose to roam, 
 Where sweet Simplicity had fixt her home, 
 Where wedded Love display'd his mildest ray 
 To guild each rising & each setting day, 
 And with a smile could smooth the brow of care 
 Save when thy Country's cries alarm'd thy ear, 
 The Goddess call'd Thee to the glorious strife. 
 She bad Thee quit the peaceful walks of life ; 
 
 * The Cliffs of Virginia. 
 
lO POETICAL EPISTLE. 
 
 And made Thee Guardian of the mighty Cause, 
 Whilst ev'ry sister Province shouts applause. 
 
 Thus, when of old, from his paternal farm 
 She bad the rigid Cincinnatus arm ; 
 Th' illustrious Peasant rushes to the feild. 
 Soon are the haughty Volsci taught to yeild ; 
 His Country sav'd, the solemn triumph o'er, 
 He grubs his native acres as before. 
 
 Or when Timoleon's godlike bosom glow'd 
 To court true fame, & Virtue mark'd the road ; 
 Joyful she led him to Trinacria's * shore 
 And Kings & Kinglings quickly were no more. 
 On his firm aid fair Syracusa calls, 
 And from his throne, lo ! Dyonisius falls. 
 Yet Tyrant-like, ambitious still to rule. 
 He struts the petty Monarch of a school : 
 Whilest Thee, illustrious Cheif, no titles grace, 
 Save Friend & Guardian of the human race. 
 Hail happy man ! -crown'd with immortal bays. 
 Before whose glory shrink the dazzling rays 
 Of Royal pageantry ; thy gen'rous heart 
 To Freedom's sons shall still its warmth impart, 
 
 * Sicily. 
 
' POETICAL EPISTLE. II 
 
 Teach them their native dignity to scan, 
 
 And scorn the Wretch who spurns his fellow man. 
 
 And when in eastern Climes 'midst lawless sway, 
 
 Thy fame shall sink & Freedom's wreaths decay, 
 
 These infant States shall catch the godlike flame, 
 
 And tyrants still shall shudder at thy name : 
 
 O Yes Columbia,* dare but to be free, 
 
 And what Timoleon was, thy W n shall be. 
 
 What, tho proud Britain yet undrench'd with blood 
 Pour her destructive thousands o'er the flood. 
 What, tho' the spoils of some defenseless coast 
 Swell dull Gazettes or feed the Morning Post ; 
 What, tho with fierce pedantic proclamation 
 Some future Burgoine scare this ptmy nation ; 
 Rouze the grim Savage to relentless war. 
 And scarce persuade his scalping arm to spare ; 
 What, tho' fresh wreaths more bloody vict'rys twine 
 To grace thy temples. Gates, or Arnold, thine ; 
 What, tho' Herculean labours still remain, 
 And ev'ry battle must be fought again ; 
 Yet, if th' embattled field thy Genius guide. 
 Or at the Senate Wisdom still preside. 
 Sooner shall yon blew mist-clad Mountain f dread 
 
 * America. 
 
 t A very lofty mountain on the confines of Maryland call'd 
 Blew Ridge. 
 
12 POETICAL EPISTLE. • 
 
 The rattling storms that war around his head, 
 Sooner shall night usurp the beam of day 
 Than freedom crouch to slav'ry's iron sway : 
 Calm and serene Columbia views the storm 
 Whilest her brave youth around thy standard swarm, 
 Each bosom panting for the glorious wreath, 
 Or, should they fall, each grasping it in death. 
 
 Come, then Ye minions of tyr — nic sway 
 Strive who shall best its dire Commands obey : 
 Once more fierce Vaughan lead forth thy savage band, 
 And scatter desolation thro* the land, 
 Once more let Hudson mourn his rifled plains 
 His ravish'd daughters, and his murd — d swains ; 
 Or, if in British cheifs there still should dwell 
 Souls black as that, which Dunm — re cuU'd from hell ; 
 
 Ev'n thy Virginia, Wash n, may view 
 
 Her Infants bleed, her Norfolks blaze anew : 
 All this may be ; the blood already spilt 
 Fills not, perhaps, Britannia's cup of guilt : 
 Stern disappointment still her arm may brace 
 To aim at vengeance by some fresh disgrace ; 
 Or, ma}^ not Heav'n still eager to disclose 
 Th' unconquer'd mind, that in Thy bosom glows, 
 Dangers on dangers heap, new labours raise 
 'Till in full lustre all thy virtues blaze : 
 
POETICAL EPISTLE. I3 
 
 'Till led by Thee, the brave untutor'd band 
 Chase hardy Vetrans from this injur'd land ; 
 Till mighty Clinton at thy trophies bow, 
 Or sink unnotic'd as a Gage, or Howe ; 
 'Till hapless Britain curse the fatal hour, 
 When urged by Pride & insolence of pow'r. 
 She, sternly deaf to ev'ry meek petition 
 Thought with a frown, to look us to submission. 
 
 Alass ! poor Britain ! thus thy Sand h spoke, 
 
 And eager Senates caught the dreadful joke : 
 Yankees & Dastards now congenial names. 
 Amuse the Lord of catch-clubs, or St. Ja — s 
 Each pension'd scribbler draws his servile pen 
 And proves Americans are hardly men ; 
 Each strives revenge, or laughter to create 
 From Don Pomposo, * down to Parson Bate,t 
 And with this gospel pray'r each pulpit rings, 
 Heav'n ! spare not Rebels to the best of K — gs. 
 
 Such was thy folly, Britain, such thy fate. 
 Thus sink the Selfish, Insolent & Great, 
 Of heav'nly vengeance doom'd to feel the rod, 
 Who dare deride great Nature & her God. 
 
 * The Great Dr. Johnson Author of Taxation no Tyranny. 
 f The Rev'd Editor of an edifying paper called the Mont- 
 ing Post. 
 
14 POETICAL EPISTLE. 
 
 Far other thoughts, Columbia, be thy Pride, 
 Far other springs thy public councils guide : 
 Thine be the godlike Task, the Glory Thine 
 First to adopt & spread the flames divine 
 Of wide Benevolence ; her gentle star 
 Shall light the rescued millions from afar ; 
 Sweetly invite them on these plains to find 
 The great Azylum of oppress'd mankind, 
 Then to their eyes unfold the wondrous plan 
 Where the poor slave shall read that He is Man, 
 Taste Freedom's charms more pure than Rome could 
 
 boast. 
 Or Albion, once her fav'rite Isle has lost. 
 
 Great without pomp, without Ambition brave, 
 Proud not to conquer fellow-men, but save ; 
 Friend to the wretched, Foe to none, but those 
 Who plan their greatness on their Brethren's woes ; 
 Aw'd by no titles, faithless to no trust, 
 Free without faction, obstinately just ; , 
 Too rough for flatt'ry, dreading ev'n as death, 
 The baneful influence of Corruption's breath ; 
 Warm'd by Religion's sacred genuine ray 
 That points to future bliss th' unerring way, 
 Spurning as Hell, grim Superstition's laws 
 Too long a Tyrant in the noblest cause ; 
 
POETICAL EPISTLE. 15 
 
 The World's great mart, yet not by gold defil'd, 
 To mercy prone, in Justice ever mild, 
 Save to the man, who saps great Freedom's roots ; 
 And never cursed with Mans— ds, N— hs, or B— tes. 
 Such be my Country ; what her Sons should be, 
 
 O, may they learn, great Was n, from Thee ! 
 
 Thy patriot virtues be th' enlighten'd rule, 
 Thy public conduct be the Patriot school 
 Brighter than precept ; whence her rising youth 
 May gather Wisdom, Constancy & Truth, 
 Of independence catch the gen'rous flame, 
 And shudder early at Oppression's name. 
 
 And when retiring late from earthly cares 
 Thy better part shall mount her native spheres 
 Midst Patriot Cheifs to quaff the pure delight 
 Of ever thinking, speaking, acting right ; 
 O still thy fame shall guide this fav'rite race ! 
 Some bold Macauley's faithful pages grace, 
 Or flow expanded down the stream of time 
 The darling subject of immortal rime : 
 Such as rehears'd Pelydes' fatal ire, 
 Such as great Milton echo'd to thy lyre, 
 Or that sweet Bard's, who sung the man that bore 
 His course to Latium from the Trojan shore.* 
 
 * This line is from Pitt's translation of Virgil. 
 
l6 POETICAL EPISTLE 
 
 Then Commerce here shall fix her cheif abode 
 And thy Potomack heave beneath the load 
 Of crowding fleets, each crew in grateful lays 
 Thro' their rough throats shall pour thy deathless 
 
 praise, 
 And pointing to Mount Vernon * shall relate, ■ ) 
 There once lived Wash — n, the Good, the Great \ 
 Pride, Love, & Saviour of this mighty State : \ 
 Yon noble structures rose at his command,! 
 Yon waving Groves were planted by his hand ; 
 There pensive would he roam, or in yon bow'r 
 Reclin'd, would plan his Country's bliss & pow'r : 
 In Camps, in Senates this his constant aim. 
 That her great cause, & Nature's be the same : 
 That here with Virtue, Science, Justice reign, 
 And Freedom rear her everlasting Fane. 
 
 July 10, 1778. 
 
 * The General's seat on the Potomac River, a few miles 
 below Alexandria. 
 
 t 'Tis said the G 1 intends building an elegant house at 
 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 The author, in a short sketch of his Hfe, written 
 by himself, and published after his decease in the 
 first volume of "The Remains of the Rev. Charles 
 Henry Wharton, D. D., with a memoir of his life, 
 by George Washington Doane, D. D., Bishop of the 
 Diocese of New Jersey," published at Philadelphia, 
 MDCCC XXXIV, says: 
 
 ** I was born in St. Mary's county, in the province, 
 now the state, of Maryland, on the 25th day of May, 
 O. S. [answering to our 5th of June] in the year 
 1748. The family plantation is called Notley Hall. 
 It had been the residence of a Governor of that 
 name ; and was presented to my grandfather by Lord 
 Baltimore, towards the close of the 17th century. 
 From him, it descended to my father, Jesse Whar- 
 ton ; and, at his death in 1754, it became my prop- 
 2 17 
 
l8 APPENDIX. 
 
 erty, and continued so until I took orders in the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church, and then I conveyed it to my 
 brother, — after whose death it became the property 
 of his son, C. H. Wharton, now residing in Wash- 
 ington. My mother was Anne Bradford, descended, 
 like my father, from one of the respectable and first 
 settlers in the province. She was a woman of sweet 
 manners and of uncommon beauty : and many of 
 her maternal precepts and tender caresses are still 
 fresh in my memory and frequently present her dear 
 image to mind." 
 
 " In the year 1760, I was sent to the Jesuits' Col- 
 lege at St. Omers, a seminary at that time very de- 
 servedly celebrated for teaching the Greek and Latin 
 classics Vv'ith great accuracy, and for its strict disci- 
 pline in all literary and religious duties. My master, 
 or preceptor, was the Rev. Edward Walsh, to whom, 
 as a most amiable and affectionate man, as well as a 
 good classical scholar, I was attached by the most 
 unlimited confidence, and the warmest sentiments of 
 gratitude and love. 
 
 "In 1763, the English College was broken up at 
 St. Omers, and the officers, teachers and scholars 
 retired to the city of Bruges in Flanders, where they 
 received the protection and encouragement of the 
 
APPENDIX. 19 
 
 Austrian government. It was there that I com- 
 pleted my classical education, under the instruction 
 and tuition of my beloved master, Mr. Walsh. Se- 
 questered from' all society beyond the walls of the 
 College, and of course a total stranger to every thing 
 unconnected with the strictest discipline in acquir- 
 ing classical attainments, and those habits of devo- 
 tion, which were deemed essential to a Roman Cath- 
 olic youth, I applied myself very diligently to my 
 studies, and became prominent among my associates, 
 in a very accurate knowledge of the Latin language, 
 which became nearly as familiar as English, as we 
 were obliged to converse in it during our ordinary 
 relaxations from our studies." 
 
 At the latter end of the war of the American Rev- 
 olution, he was residing in Worcester, in England, in 
 the capacity of Chaplain to the Roman Catholics of 
 that city. When this residence commenced cannot 
 be determined. He was deeply interested on the 
 side of his country, and anxious to return. In the 
 year 1778, as appears at the end of the manuscript, 
 he wrote the Poetical Epistle to General Washing- 
 ton, which was printed for the benefit of the Ameri- 
 can Prisoners. The first of a series of letters ad- 
 
20 APPENDIX. 
 
 dressed to him at that place and continued until the 
 time of his departure for America, is dated March, 
 1777. The letters were written by a fellow country- 
 man, in the confidence and employment of the Brit- 
 ish government ; and evince in both of them an 
 ardent love of civil liberty, and a deep and glowing 
 sympathy with their brethren in America, who were 
 engaged in that desperate struggle by which its tri- 
 umphs were achieved. A prominent subject of this 
 correspondence was the publication, for the benefit 
 of the American prisoners, of the " Poetical Epistle." 
 His correspondent, in a letter dated Nov. 2, 1778, 
 after stating that the poem had been criticised by Sir 
 William Jones, (calling him " the celebrated Persian 
 Jones,") and that he had procured a print from Paris 
 of General Washington, but as it was " a front face 
 and only of bust size," he had got the distinguished 
 painter, Benjamin West, "to promise to make a full- 
 length drawing, in order to get a print engraved," 
 adding, "but the artists in that way ask such a con- 
 founded deal of money, that I doubt if my finances 
 will allow me to get it struck off." In a later letter 
 (14th April, 1 779,). he writes : '' I am inclined to think 
 if this is done/' — the poem published, with a life and 
 character of General Washington, — " and a proper 
 
APPENDIX. 21 
 
 dedication to some distinguished personage, (suppose 
 the Duchess of Devonshire, for she particularly dis- 
 tinguished him as .a toast at her table,) it may sell 
 for half a crown or two shillings. Mr. West has for- 
 merly seen General Washington, and I think, with 
 my recollection of him and description of his face, 
 a drawing may be made tolerably like him, so that a 
 small full length may be got for the frontispiece of 
 a quarto edition. I have spoken to West about it, 
 but he cannot think of anything else but two pic- 
 tures he is finishing, for the exhibition, which opens 
 the 24th instant." . . . . " think also of a dedication. 
 The Duchess has befriended the American prisoners, 
 and the mention that the poem is pubHshed solely to 
 raise a little money for our imprisoned brethren, 
 whose distresses have been very great, may lead to 
 a good sale of the book." 
 
 In the year 1782 the author left the Church of 
 Rome. He returned to this country in 1783. In 
 1798, he was ordained Rector of St. Mary's Church, 
 Episcopal, at Burlington, N. J., where he died, July 
 23d, 1833, in the 86th year of his age. 
 
 In the memoir of his life, by George Washington 
 Doane, D. D., his biographer says : *' I have not been 
 able to find a copy of this publication, though 
 
22 APPENDIX. 
 
 much inquiry for it has been made. From one of 
 the manuscript copies found among the papers of the 
 author, the EngHsh pubUcation seems to have been 
 a re-print from an edition printed in Philadelphia, in 
 1778, by J. Bradford. But this opinion I have not 
 been able to substantiate. Whatever may be thought 
 of its poetical merits, the benevolent purpose for 
 which it was published must commend it to the gen- 
 eral favour." 
 
 In an appendix to the memoir, his biographer adds : 
 *' In Dr. Wharton there was a rare combination of 
 great and varied excellencies. In purity of mind 
 and heart he was almost like an infant. His char- 
 acter was transparent in its beautiful simplicity. He 
 was a personification of that loveliest attribute of 
 love, 'charity tJiinketh no evil.' Among the very 
 first (by confession of all) of American divines, 
 revered and honoured by all who ever knew him, he 
 was the humblest and most diffident of men. He 
 seemed not only unconscious of his distinction, but 
 incapable of its consciousness. There was in him, 
 as nearly as in humanity there can be, an absorption 
 of the principle of self. He had literally learned, in 
 whatsoever state he was, to be therewith content. 
 To all mankind his heart overflowed with kindness 
 
APPENDIX. 23 
 
 and charity. He was emphatically a man of peace. 
 His charities were constant, generous, and unosten- 
 tatious. He was the most tender and affectionate of 
 husbands. Constitutionally reserved, and rendered 
 more so by education and early habits, he associated 
 intimately with but few. To them he was the most 
 agreeable of companions and the most engaging of 
 friends. He was the lover of little children, and of 
 course beloved by them. In sickness and in sorrow 
 he was prompt and assiduous as the minister of 
 consolation. The poor rise up and call him blessed. 
 The tears of a whole congregation were mingled in 
 his grave." — David Pulsifer. 
 
24 APPENDIX. 
 
 II. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 OF THE Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. 
 
 July I, 1775. 
 
 To his Excelle7icy George Washington^ Esqr., General and 
 Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. 
 
 May it please your Excellency : 
 
 The Congress of the Massachusetts Colony, 
 impress'd with every Sentiment of Gratitude and 
 Respect, beg leave to congratulate you on your safe 
 arrival : and to wish you all imaginable Happiness 
 and Success, in the execution of the important duties 
 of your elevated station. While we applaud that 
 Attention to the public good, manifested in your 
 Appointment, we equally admire that disinterested 
 Virtue, and distinguished Patriotism, which alone 
 could call you from those Enjoyments of domestic 
 Life, which a sublime & manly Taste Joined with a 
 most affluent Fortune can afford, to hazard your Life, 
 and to endure the fatigues of War in the Defence 
 
APPENDIX. 25 
 
 of the Rights of Mankind, and the good of your 
 Country. 
 
 The laudable zeal for the common Cause of Ameri- 
 ca, and Compassion for the Distresses of this Colony, 
 exhibited by the great dispatch made in your Jour- 
 ney hither, fully justify the universal Satisfaction we 
 have, with pleasure, observed on this Occasion ; and 
 are promising Presages that the great Expectations 
 formed from your personal Character, and military 
 Abilities are well founded. 
 
 We wish you may have found such Regularity and 
 Discipline already established in the Army, as may 
 be agreeable to your Expectation. The Hurry with 
 which it was necessarily collected, and the many dis- 
 advantages, arising from a suspension of Government, 
 under which we have raised, and endeavoured to reg- 
 ulate the Forces of this Colony, have rendered it a 
 work of Time. And tho' in great measure effected, 
 the Completion of so difficult, and at the same time 
 so necessary a Task is reserved to Your Excellency ; 
 and we doubt not will be properly consider'd and 
 attended to. 
 
 We would not presume to prescribe to Your Ex- 
 cellency, but supposing you would choose to be in- 
 formed of the general Character of the Soldiers who 
 
26 APPENDIX. 
 
 compose this Army, beg leave to represent, that the 
 greatest Part of them have not before seen Service. 
 And altho* naturally brave, and of good understand- 
 ing, yet for want of Experience in military Life, have 
 but little Knowledge of divers things most essential 
 to the Preservation of Health and even of Life. 
 The Youth in the Army are not posses'd of the 
 absolute Necessity of Cleanliness in their Dress, and 
 Lodging, continual Exercise, and strict Temperance, 
 to preserve them from Diseases frequently prevailing 
 in Camps ; especially among those, who, from their 
 Childhood, have been us'd to a laborious Life. 
 
 We beg Leave to assure you, that this Congress 
 will at all times, be ready to attend to such Requi- 
 sitions as you may have Occasion to make to us ; 
 and to contribute all the Aid in our Power, to the 
 Cause of America, and your Happiness and Ease, in 
 the Discharge of the Duties of your exalted Office. 
 
 We most fervently implore Almighty God, that 
 the Blessings of Divine Providence may rest on you. 
 That your Head may be cover'd in the Day of Bat- 
 tle : That every necessary Assistance may be af- 
 forded ; and that you may be long continued in Life, 
 and Health, a Blessing to Mankind. 
 
APPENDIX. 27 
 
 III. 
 
 GENERAL WASHINGTON'S ANSWER TO THE 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 Gentleinciiy 
 
 Your kind Congratulations on my Appoint- 
 ment, & Arrival demand my warmest Acknowledge- 
 ments, and will ever be retained in grateful Remem- 
 brance. 
 
 In exchanging the Enjoyments of domestic Life 
 for the Duties of my present honourable, but ardu- 
 ous Station, I only emulate the Virtue & public Spirit 
 of the whole Province of Massachusetts Bay, which 
 with a Firmness, & Patriotism without Example in 
 modern History, has sacrificed all the Comforts of 
 social & political Life, in Support of the Rights of 
 Mankind & the Welfare of our common Country. 
 My highest Ambition is to be the happy Instrument 
 of vindicating those Rights, & to see this devoted 
 Province again restored to Peace, Liberty & Safety. 
 
 The short Space of Time which has elapsed since 
 my Arrival does not permit me to decide upon the 
 State of the Army — The Course of human Affairs 
 
28 APPENDIX. 
 
 forbids an Expectation, that Troops formed under 
 such Circumstances, should at once possess the Or- 
 der, Regularity & Discipline of Veterans — What- 
 ever Deficiences there may be, will I doubt not, soon 
 be made up by the Activity & Zeal of the Officers, 
 and the Docility & Obedience of the Men. These 
 Qualities united with their native Bravery & Spirit 
 will afford a happy Presage of Success, & put a 
 final Period to those Distresses which now overwhelm 
 this once happy Country. 
 
 I most sincerely thank you, Gentlemen, for your 
 Declarations of Readiness at all Times to assist me 
 in the Discharge of the Duties of my Station : They 
 are so complicated, & extended that I shall Need 
 the Assistance of every good Man, & Lover of 
 his Country ; I therefore repose the utmost Con- 
 fidence in your Aid. In Return for your affection- 
 ate Wishes to my-self permit me to say, that I earn- 
 estly implore that Divine Being in whose Hands are 
 all human Events, to make you & your Constitu- 
 ents, as distinguished in private, & publick Happiness, 
 as you have been by ministerial Oppression, by pri- 
 vate & pubUck Distress. 
 
 Go. Washington. 
 
APPENDIX. 29 
 
 IV. 
 
 [Celebration of August 14th, 1765.] 
 
 Cambridge August 14TH, 1775. 
 This day the Field Officers of the 6th Brigade 
 under the command of Colo. James Frye met at the 
 House of Jonathan Hastings Esqr. to celebrate the 
 memorable 14th of August when the following toasts 
 were drank vizt. 
 
 1st The Continental Congress. 
 
 2d Success to our undertakings. 
 
 3d The memorable 14th Augt. 1765. 
 
 4th May American valor ever prove invincible to the 
 
 attempts of Ministerial tyranny to oppress 
 
 them. 
 5th The 12 United States. 
 6th All our Friends in Great Britain. 
 7th Liberty without Licentiousness. 
 8th A speedy & happy conclusion to the present 
 
 unhappy dispute. 
 9th The 29th of April. 
 lOth A speedy entrance possession 8z: opening of the 
 
 Town of Boston. 
 
30 APPENDIX. 
 
 nth The President of the Continental Congress. 
 1 2th General Washington & the other Genl Officers 
 
 of the American Army. 
 13th A speedy export to all the enemies of America 
 
 without any Draw Back. 
 14th Immortal Honor to that Patriot & Hero Doctor 
 
 Warren, & the Brave American Troops who 
 
 fought the Battle on the 17th of June, 1775. 
 
APPENDIX. 31 
 
 LETTER FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON TO THE 
 COUNCIL. 
 
 Cambridge 6th Dec'r 1775. 
 
 Copies of the Inclosed Letter I have already written 
 to the Governors of Rhode Island & Connecticut, & 
 shall do the same to the President of the Congress 
 in New Hampshire ; as I conceive our Affairs are in 
 a very critical Situation. — 
 
 It was mentioned to me yesterday, in conversation, 
 that the Militia of this Government ordered in, to 
 supply the place of the Connecticut Troops, are al- 
 lowed 40s pr month, of 28 days. — The first I highly 
 approv'd of, because I was unwilling to see any in- 
 viduous distinction in pay ; the never faihng conse- 
 quence of which is, jealousy, & discord — But Sir, 
 if the Genl Court of this Colony have resolved on 
 the latter, you must give me leave to add, that it 
 aims the most fatal stab to the Peace of this Army 
 that ever was given ; & that. Lord North himself, 
 could not have devised a more effectual blow to the 
 Recruiting Service. 
 
32 APPENDIX. 
 
 Excuse me Sir for the strength of these expres- 
 sions — if my Information is wrong (I had it from 
 Gen'l Heath, who says he had it from a Member of 
 your Court) they are altogether Improper & I crave 
 pardon for them. If right, my Zeal in the American 
 cause must plead my Excuse. — I am with great re- 
 spect Sir 
 
 Y'r Most Obed't H'ble Ser. 
 
 Go. Washington. 
 
 Superscribed 
 
 On the Service of the 
 United Colonies. 
 To 
 
 The Hon'ble the President 
 of the Council 
 
 Massachusets Bay. 
 
APPENDIX. 33 
 
 VI. 
 
 IN CONGRESS. 
 
 Monday, March 25, 1776. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of this Congress, in 
 their own name, and in the name of the thirteen 
 United Colonies, whom they represent, be presented 
 to his excellency general Washington, and the offi- 
 cers and soldiers under his command, for their wise 
 and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of 
 Boston ; and that a medal of gold be struck in com- 
 memoration of this great event, and presented to his 
 excellency ; and that a committee of three be ap- 
 pointed to prepare a letter of thanks, and a proper 
 device for the medal. 
 
 The members chosen, Mr. J. Adams, Mr. Jay, and 
 Mr. Hopkins. 
 
34 APPENDIX, 
 
 VII. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 OF THE "Great and General Court or Assem- 
 bly OF THE Colony of Massachusetts Bay," 
 March 27, 1776. 
 
 To his Excellency George Washington Esq'r General a?td 
 Commander in Chief of the Forces of the United American 
 Colonies. 
 
 May it please your Excellency : 
 
 When the Liberties of America were Attacked 
 by the Violent hand of Oppression : when Troops, 
 Hostile to the Rights of humanity Invaded this Col- 
 ony, seized our Capital, and spread havoc and de- 
 struction around it ; when our virtuous Sons were 
 Murdered, and our Houses destroyed by the Troops 
 of Britain : The Inhabitants of this and the other 
 American Colonies impelled by self preservation and 
 the love of Freedom, forgetting their (^omestick con- 
 cerns, determined, resolutely & Unitedly to oppose the 
 Sons of Tyranny. 
 
 Convinced of the Vast importance of having a 
 
APPENDIX. 35 
 
 Gentleman of great Military Accomplishments to 
 discipline, lead and conduct the Forces of the Col- 
 onies, it gave us the greatest Satisfaction to hear 
 that the Hon'ble Congress of the United Colonies, 
 had made choice of a Gentleman thus qualified, who 
 leaving the Pleasures of domestic and Rural life was 
 Ready to undertake the Arduous task — And your 
 Nobly declining to accept the pecuniary Emoluments 
 annexed to this high Office, fully evinced to us that 
 a Warm Regard to the Sacred rights of humanity 
 and sincere love to your Country, solely Influenced 
 you in the acceptance of this Important Trust. 
 
 From your Acknowledged Abilities as a Soldier 
 and your Virtues in public & private life, we had the 
 most pleasing hopes, but the fortitude & Equanimity 
 so conspicuous in your conduct: the wisdom of your 
 Councils, the Mild, yet strict Government of the 
 Army, your attention to the civil Constitution of this 
 Colony, the regard you have at all times shown for 
 the lives and health of those under your Command, 
 the fatigues you have with Chearfulness endured, 
 the Regard you have shewn for the preservation of 
 our Metropolis, and the great address with which our 
 Military Operations have been conducted, have ex- 
 ceeded our most sanguine expectations and demand 
 the warmest returns of Gratitude. — 
 
^6 APPENDIX. 
 
 The supreme Ruler of the Universe having smiled 
 on our Arms and crowned your labours with Re- 
 markable Success, we are now, without that Effusion 
 of Blood, we so much wished to avoid, again in the 
 quiet possession of our Capital : the Wisdom & 
 prudence of those movements which have Obliged 
 the Enemy to abandon our Metropolis, will ever be 
 Remembered by the Inhabitants of this Colony. 
 
 May you still go on approved by Heaven, revered 
 by all good Men, and dreaded by those Tyrants who 
 claim their Fellow men as their property — may the 
 United Colonies be defended from Slavery by your 
 Victorious Arms — may they still see their Enemies 
 flying before you — and (the deliverance of your 
 Country being effected) may you in retirement, enjoy 
 that peace & . satisfaction of mind which always at- 
 tends the good 8i great. And may future Genera- 
 tions, in the peaceful Enjoyment of that Freedom, the 
 Exercise of which your sword shall have established 
 raise, the Richest and most lasting Monuments to 
 the Nam-e of Washington. 
 
APPENDIX. 37 
 
 VIII. 
 
 GENERAL WASHINGTON'S ANSWER. 
 
 [Entered on the Records by order of the General Court, April i, 1776.] 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 I return you my most sincere & hearty thanks 
 for your poHte address : and feel myself called upon 
 by every principle of Gratitude, to acknowledge the 
 Honor you have done me in this Testimonial of your 
 approbation of my appointment to the exalted station 
 I now fill ; and what is more pleasing, of my con- 
 duct in discharging its important duties. 
 
 When the Councils of the British Nation had 
 formed a plan for enslaving America, and depriving 
 her Sons of their most sacred & invaluable privileges, 
 against the clearest Remonstrances of the Constitu- 
 tion — of Justice — and of truth: and to execute 
 their schemes had appealed to the sword — I es- 
 teemed it my duty to take a part in the contest, and 
 more especially, when called thereto by the unsolic- 
 ited suffrages of the Representatives of a free people ; 
 wishing for no other reward than that arising from 
 a conscientious discharge of the important trust, and 
 
38 APPENDIX. 
 
 that my Services might contribute to the Establish- 
 ment of Freedom and peace, upon a permanent foun- 
 dation ; and merit the applause of my Countrymen 
 and every virtuous Citizen. 
 
 Your professions of my attention to the civil con- 
 stitution of this Colony, v^hilst acting in the line of 
 my department, also demand my grateful thanks — 
 A Regard to every Provincial institution, where not 
 incompatible with the common Interest, I hold a 
 principle of duty & of Policy, and shall ever form 
 a part of my conduct — had I not learned this be- 
 fore, the happy experience of the advantages result- 
 ing from a friendly intercourse with your Honorable 
 body — their Ready and willing Concurrence to aid 
 and to counsel whenever called upon in cases of diffi- 
 culty and Emergency would have taught me the use- 
 ful lesson. 
 
 That the Metropolis of your Colony, is now re- 
 lieved from the cruel and oppressive invasion of those 
 who were sent to erect the standard of lawless domi- 
 nation, and to trample on the Rights of Humanity, 
 and is again open & Free for its rightful possessors, 
 must give pleasure to every virtuous and Sympa- 
 thetic heart — and being effected without the Blood 
 of our Soldiers, and fellow Citizens must be ascribed 
 
APPENDIX. 39 
 
 to the interposition of that providence, which has 
 manifestly appeared in our behalf thro' the whole of 
 this important struggle, as well as to the measures 
 pursued for bringing about the happy event. 
 
 May that being who is powerful to save, and in 
 whose hands is the fate of Nations, look down with 
 an Eye of tender pity and compassion upon the whole 
 of the United Colonies — May he continue to smile 
 upon their councils and Arms, and crown them with 
 success, whilst employed in the cause of Virtue & 
 of Mankind — May this distressed Colony & its Capi- 
 tal, and every part of this wide, extended Continent, 
 through his divine favour, be Restored to more than 
 their former Lustre and once happy State, and have 
 peace, liberty & safety secured upon a Solid, Perma- 
 nent ; & lasting foundation. 
 
 George Washington. 
 
40 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 IX. 
 
 At a Meeting of the Freeholders 
 and other Inhabitants of the Town 
 of Boston, duely quahfied & legally 
 warned in public Town Meeting 
 assembled at the old Brick Meet- 
 ing House, on Friday the 29th 
 Day of March Anno Dom. 1776 
 
 The Town brought in their 
 Votes for a Moderator of this Meeting, 81 upon sort- 
 ing them it appear'd that 
 
 The Hon'ble Thomas Gushing Esq. was chosen 
 unanimously, who took the chair, & made a Congrat- 
 ulatory Speech to the Inhabitants, upon the Recov- 
 ery of the Town out of the hands of the British 
 Enemy, & for the present Opportunity of transact- 
 ing the Affairs & business of the Town in a free 
 Town Meeting. 
 
APPENDIX. 41 
 
 X. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Of the Supreme Executive Council of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Sir: — The President and Supreme Executive 
 Council of Pennsylvania cheerfully embrace this in- 
 teresting occasion to congratulate you upon the 
 establishment of the Federal Constitution, and to 
 felicitate ourselves and our country upon your unani- 
 mous appointment to the Presidency of the United 
 States. 
 
 In reflecting upon the vicissitudes of the late war, 
 in tracing its difficulties and in contemplating its 
 success, we are uniformly impressed with the extent 
 and magnitude of the services which you have ren- 
 dered to your country, and by that impression we are 
 taught to expect that the exercise of the same virtues 
 and abilities which have been thus happily employed 
 in obtaining the prize of Liberty and Independence, 
 must be effectually instrumental in securing to your 
 fellow citizens and their posterity the permanent 
 
42 APPENDIX. 
 
 blessings of a free and efficient government. And 
 although the history of the Revolution will furnish 
 the best evidence of the invariable attachment of 
 this Commonwealth to the interests and honor of the 
 Union, yet we cannot resist this favorable opportu- 
 nity of personally assuring you that in ever}^ meas- 
 ure which tends to advance the national character, 
 you may rely on the zealous co-operation of the ex- 
 ecutive authority of Pennsylvania. 
 
 In discharging the duties of your present impor- 
 tant station it must, sir, be a never failing source of 
 consolation and support, that the unbounded love 
 and confidence of the people will produce a favor- 
 able construction of all your actions, and will con- 
 tribute to the harmony and success of your adminis- 
 tration. For we know that eventually your happiness 
 must depend upon the happiness of your country, 
 and we believe that in wishing an adequate execution 
 of your intentions and designs we comprehend all 
 that is necessary to both. 
 
 Uniting with our sister States in the admiration 
 of those motives which at this interesting aera of 
 our affairs have induced you again to relinquish the 
 enjoyment of domestic peace, for a conspicuous and 
 laborious participation in the cares and toils of pub- 
 
APPENDIX. 43 
 
 lie life, we fervently pray for the preservation of your 
 health, and we confidently hope that the consumma- 
 tion of a patriot's wishes — the glory and felicity of 
 your country will crown the period of a long and illus- 
 trious existence, and prepare you for an everlasting 
 reward. Thomas Mifflin, President. 
 
 Council Chamber, Philadelphia, April i8th, 1789. 
 
 The Council met. 
 
 Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 21st, 1789. 
 The President reported that the address which 
 was agreed to on the eighteenth instant, was this 
 morning presented to the President of the United 
 States, and that he was pleased to make the following 
 reply, vizt : 
 
 To THE President and Supreme Executive Coun- 
 cil OF Pennsylvania. 
 
 Gentlemen : — I receive with great satisfaction the 
 affectionate congratulation of the President and Su- 
 preme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, on my 
 appointment to the Presidency of the United States. 
 
 If under favor of the Divine Providence, and with 
 
44 APPENDIX. 
 
 the assistance of my fellow citizens, it was my for- 
 tune to have been in any degree instrumental in vin- 
 dicating the liberty and confirming the independence 
 of my country, I now find a full compensation for my 
 services, in a belief that these blessings will be per- 
 manently secured by the establishment of a free and 
 efificient government, and you will permit me to say 
 on this occasion, that as nothing could add to the 
 evidence I have formerly received of the invariable 
 attachment of your Commonwealth to the interests 
 and honor of the Union ; so nothing could have been 
 more agreeable to me at this time, than the assur- 
 ances you have given me of the zealous co-operation 
 of its Executive authority, in facilitating the accom- 
 plishment of the great objects which are committed 
 to my charge. 
 
 While I feel my sensibility strongly excited by the 
 expressions of affection and promises of support, 
 which I every where meet with from my countrymen, 
 I entertain a consolatory hope that the purity of my 
 intentions and the perseverance of my endeavors to 
 promote the happiness of my country, will atone for 
 any of the slighter defects which may be discovered 
 in my administration. For whatever may be the 
 issue of our public measures, or however I may err 
 
APPENDIX. 45 
 
 in opinion, I trust it will be believed that I could not 
 have been actuated by any interests separate from 
 those of my country. 
 
 Suffer me, gentlemen, to conclude by assuring you 
 that I am well pleased with the Justice you have 
 done to the motives from which I have acted, and by 
 thanking you for the tender concern you have been 
 pleased to manifest for my personal felicity. 
 
 George Washington. 
 
46 APPENDIX. 
 
 XI. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Of the Governor and Council of the Common- 
 wealth OF Massachusetts, to the President 
 of the United States. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 We meet you at this time, with our hearts replete 
 with the warmest affection and esteem, to express 
 the high satisfaction we feel in your visit to the Com- 
 monwealth of Massachusetts. 
 
 We can never forget the time, when, in the earli- 
 est stage of the war, and the day of our greatest 
 calamity, v/e saw you at the head of the army of 
 the United States, commanding troops determined, 
 though then undisciplined, by your wisdom and valor 
 preventing a sanguinary and well appointed army of 
 our enemies from spreading devastation through our 
 country, and sooner than we had reason to expect, 
 obliging them to abandon the capital. 
 
 We have since seen you in your high command, 
 superior to the greatest fatigues and hardships, sue- 
 
APPENDIX. 47 
 
 cessfully conducting our armies through a long war, 
 until our enemies were compelled to submit to terms 
 of peace, and acknowledge that independence which 
 the United States in Congress assembled had before 
 asserted and proclaimed. 
 
 We now have the pleasure of seeing you in a still 
 more exalted station, to which you have been elected 
 by the unanimous suffrages of a free, virtuous and 
 and grateful country. From that attachment which 
 you manifestly discovered while in your military 
 command, to the civil hberties of your country, we 
 do assure ourselves that you will ever retain this 
 great object in view, and that your administration 
 will be happy and prosperous. 
 
 It is our earnest prayer that the divine benediction 
 may attend you here and hereafter ; and we do sin- 
 cerely wish that you may, through this life, continue 
 to enjoy that greatest of earthly blessings, to be 
 accepted by the multitude of your brethren. 
 
 Council Chamber, Boston. October 27, 1789. 
 
48 APPENDIX. 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE ANSWER. 
 
 To HIS Excellency the Governor and the Hon- 
 ourable THE Members of Council of the 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 TO communicate the peculiar pleasure which 
 I derive from your affectionate welcome of me to the 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, requires a force of 
 expression beyond that which I possess. I am truly 
 grateful for your goodness towards me, and I desire 
 to thank you with the unfeigned sincerity of a feel- 
 ing heart. 
 
 Your obliging remembrance of my military ser- 
 vices is among the highest compensation they can 
 receive ; and, if rectitude of intention, may authorize 
 the hope, the favourable anticipations which you are 
 pleased to express of my civil administration, will 
 not, I trust be disappointed. 
 
 It is your happiness. Gentlemen, to preside in the 
 councils of a Commonwealth, where the pride of 
 
APPENDIX. 49 
 
 independence is well assimilated with the duties of 
 society, and where the industry of the citizens gives 
 the fullest assurance of public respect and private 
 prosperity. I have observed too, with singular satis- 
 faction, so becoming an attention to the Militia of 
 the State, as presents the fairest prospects of support 
 to the invaluable objects of national safety and 
 peace. Long may these blessings be continued to 
 the commonwealth of Massachusetts ! And may 
 you, Gentlemen, in your individual capacities, experi- 
 ence every satisfaction which can result from public 
 honour and private happiness. 
 
 G. Washington. 
 
 Boston, October 27, 17S9. 
 
50 APPENDIX. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode 
 Island, to the President of the United States 
 OF America. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to 
 approach you with the most cordial affection and 
 esteem for your person and merit, and to join with 
 our fellow-citizens in welcoming you to Newport. 
 
 With pleasure we reflect on those days — those 
 days of difficulty and danger, when the God of Israel, 
 who delivered David from the peril of the sword, 
 shielded your head in the day of battle ; and we re- 
 joice to think, that the same Spirit who rested in the 
 bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel, enabling him to 
 preside over the provinces of the Babylonish empire, 
 rests, and ever will rest, upon you, enabling you to 
 discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in 
 these States. 
 
APPENDIX. 51 
 
 Deprived as we heretofore have been of the inval- 
 uable rights of free citizens, we now (with a deep 
 sense of gratitude to the Almighty Disposer of all 
 events) behold a government erected by the Majesty 
 of the People — a government, which to bigotry 
 gives no sanction — to persecution no assistance ; but 
 generously affording to all, liberty of conscience, and 
 immunities of citizenship : deeming every one, of 
 whatever nation, tongue or language, equal parts of 
 the great governmental machine. This so ample and 
 extensive Federal Union, whose base is philanthropy, 
 mutual, confidence, and public virtue, we cannot but 
 acknowledge to be the work of the Great God, who 
 ruleth in the armies of heaven, and among the in- 
 inhabitants of the earth, doing whatsoever seemeth 
 him good. 
 
 For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty, 
 which we enjoy under an equal and benign adminis- 
 tration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient 
 of Days, the Great Preserver of men, beseeching him 
 that the Angel who conducted our forefathers through 
 the wilderness into the promised land, may gra- 
 ciously conduct you through all the difficulties and 
 dangers of this mortal life. Anfl when like Joshua, 
 full of days and full of honours, you are gathered to 
 
52 APPENDIX. 
 
 your fathers, may you be admitted into the heavenly 
 paradise, to partake of the water of life, and the tree 
 of immortality. 
 
 Done and Signed by order of the Hebrew 
 Congregation, in Newport, (Rhode Island). 
 
 Moses Seixas, Warden. 
 Newport, August 17, 1790. 
 
APPENDIX. 53 
 
 XIV. 
 
 THE ANSWER. 
 
 To THE Hebrew Congregation in Newport 
 Rhode Island. 
 Gentlemen^ 
 
 While I receive with much satisfaction your Ad- 
 dress, replete with expresssions of affection and es- 
 teem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, 
 that I shall always retain a greatful remembrance of 
 the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to 
 Newport, from all classes of citizens. The reflection 
 on the days of difficulty and danger which are past, 
 is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that 
 they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity 
 and security. 
 
 If we have wisdom to make the best use of the 
 advantages with which we are now favoured, we can- 
 not fail, under the just administration of a good gov- 
 ernment, to become a great and happy people. 
 
 The citizens of the United States of America, 
 have a right to applaud themselves for having given 
 to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal pol- 
 
54 APPENDIX. 
 
 icy : a policy worthy of imitation. All possess a 
 like liberty of conscience, and immunities of citizen- 
 ship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, 
 as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people 
 that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent 
 natural rights. For happily the government of the 
 United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to 
 persecution no assistance, requires only that they 
 who live under its protection should demean them- 
 selves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions 
 their effectual support. 
 
 It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my 
 character, not to avow that I am pleased with your 
 favourable opinion of my administration and fervent 
 wishes for my felicity. May the children of the 
 stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue 
 to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabi- 
 tants — while every one shall sit in safety under his 
 own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to 
 make him afraid. 
 
 May the Father of all Mercies scatter light and 
 not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our 
 several vocations useful here, and in his own due time 
 and way everlastingly happy. 
 
 G. Washington. 
 
APPENDIX. 55 
 
 XV. 
 
 STATUE OF WASHINGTON IN THE STATE HOUSE. 
 To the Honourable the Senate aiid House of Rep7'esentatives, 
 
 &r^C., &^C., &^C. 
 
 Respectfully represent the Undersigned, being 
 a Committee of the Trustees of the Washington 
 Monument Association, that at the last June Session 
 of the Honorable Legislature permission was given 
 to the Trustees, by a Resolve to place the Statue of 
 Washington in the Doric Hall of the State House. 
 At that time the Statue was not finished nor had the 
 eminent Sculptor, F. Chantrey, Esquire, in whose 
 hands it was, then expressed his Opinion or wishes, 
 with regard to its ultimate location. Among the 
 several places mentioned for its erection, the Doric 
 Hall was considered by some as the most eligible ; 
 and the Trustees deemed it expedient to obtain leave 
 to place it there, in case it should arrive before the 
 following session of the Le*gislature, and the Associ- 
 ation should then upon further examination be satis- 
 fied to give it that destination. Within a few weeks 
 
56 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Statue has arrived, and remains as yet unopened, 
 and the Trustees are anxious to afford the PubHc 
 the gratification of viewing it, as soon as a suitable 
 place for its exhibition can be provided. On further 
 consideration, however, the Trustees have become 
 satisfied, that there are some serious objections to 
 placing the Statue in the Doric Hall, arising chiefly 
 from its great extent, cross lights and direct interfer- 
 ence with its occasional uses. A room bearing a cer- 
 tain proportion to the figure, of an appropriate color, 
 and admitting the light in one direction, is thought 
 to be necessary to exhibit it to the greatest advan- 
 tage. Mr. Chantrey himself, whose wishes it was 
 thought proper to consult, and whose opinion is en- 
 titled to the highest respect, has requested that the 
 Statue should not, under any circumstances, be placed 
 before a Portico, or in an open Temple, because, as 
 he remarks, there would be no light to show it to ad- 
 vantage. Every citizen of Massachusetts would be 
 desirous that the Statue of Washington should lose 
 nothing of its dignity, beauty, or effect, by being seen 
 in a bad light or placed in disadvantageous position. 
 Under these impressions, the Committee respectfully 
 request permission of this Honorable Legislature to 
 erect a Semicircular Room, on the North front of the 
 
APPENDIX. 57 
 
 State House, to be connected, by the central door, with 
 the Doric Hall. Such a structure, on the North side 
 of the State House, of about sixteen feet in heighth, 
 and projecting about twenty-four feet, would be, it is 
 believed, rather an Ornament than a blemish, while it 
 would afford every advantage for the most perfect 
 exhibition of the Statue. To aid the judgment of 
 the Legislature, however, upon this point, the Com- 
 mittee have prepared plans and drawings of the pro- 
 posed room, which they are ready to submit to their 
 inspection. The funds of the Association are be- 
 lieved to be fully adequate to the expence of erecting 
 such a structure, including the Pedestal, with other 
 incidental expences and under the impression, that 
 the final disposition of the Statue, herein suggested, 
 is the best, the Committee in behalf of the Trustees 
 ask permission to carry their design into execution, 
 with the advice and co-operation of the Legislature, 
 to be given in such manner as they shall deem ex- 
 pedient. 
 
 Warren Button 
 James Lloyd 
 Jno Davis 
 Edward Everett 
 John Lowell 
 
<)8 APPENDIX. 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 In Senate, June Sth, 1827. 
 
 On the Petition of the Trustees of the Washing- 
 ton Monument Association, 
 
 Resolved, That permission be hereby given to the 
 Trustees of the Washington Monument Association 
 to erect, at their own expence, a suitable building on 
 the north front of the State- House, for the reception 
 & permanent location of the Statue of Washington, by 
 Chantrey — and that said building shall be of such 
 materials, and construction, as His Excellency the 
 Governor shall sanction & approve — and when com- 
 pleted & the Statue placed therein, His Excellency, 
 the Governor, is hereby authorised & requested to 
 take all such measures as may be needful & proper 
 for its preservation & safe keeping. 
 
 In Senate, June 8, 1827 
 Read twice and passed 
 
 Sent down for Concurrence, 
 
 John Mills, President. 
 House of Representatives, June 12, 1827 
 Read and passed in concurrence 
 
 Wm. C. Jarvis, 
 
 Speaker. 
 June 1 2th 1827, 
 
 Approved 
 
 Levi Lincoln 
 
APPENDIX. 59 
 
 EXTRACT 
 FROM THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. 
 
 ''The members of the Legislature have, at this 
 time, the gratification of personally witnessing the 
 execution of the Resolve of the 12th of June last, 
 which authorized the erection of a suitable building 
 for the reception and permanent location of the 
 Statue of Washington, by the Artist Chantrey, pro- 
 cured at the cost and under the direction of the 
 Washington Monument Association. The Trustees 
 of that Association have accomplished the interest- 
 ing commission with which they were charged, in a 
 manner alike honorable to themselves, and satisfac- 
 tory to the public. A splendid specimen of the arts, 
 and an enduring memorial of grateful remembrance 
 to noble virtues and patriotic services, is seen in the 
 Statue, which now adorns this Edifice. Henceforth, 
 the image of him *' who was first in the hearts of his 
 Countrymen!' will be sensibly present in the halls of 
 the government, with the representatives and ser- 
 vants of the people, to keep constantly alive in their 
 minds the recollection of his precepts and farewell 
 injunctions, and to animate them in the performance 
 
6o APPENDIX. 
 
 of public duty, by the teachings of his example for- 
 ever. No other place was so suited to the position 
 of this grand and impressive object. It will here 
 remind us all, of our obligation to country. It will 
 reprove in us, and those who shall come after us, 
 so long as a virtuous sentiment shall remain to re- 
 spect the consecrated marble, every disloyal and 
 unpatriotic feeling. It will instruct Rtders how they 
 are responsible to the people, and the People, what 
 should be the character of their Rulers. It will 
 speak more eloquently than tongues of the pre-emi- 
 nence of the civic virtues ; of the sovereignty of the 
 laws ; of reverence for the Constitution ; of the in- 
 violability of the Union. 
 
 To the Washington Monument Association, not 
 only is the Country indebted for the possession of 
 the Statue, but tJds Commonwealth, most especially 
 for its location and the entire expense of the appro- 
 priate and elegant Room which has received it. The 
 pecuniary benefaction has amounted to the consider- 
 able sum of sixteen tJwnsand dollars, and as the 
 result of an elevated spirit of liberality, it should be 
 borne in grateful and perpetual remembrance." 
 
 Levi Lincoln. 
 
 Council Chamber, Boston, January 2, 1828. 
 
APPENDIX. 6l 
 
 MESSAGE. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Senate and 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Representatives 
 
 I hasten to lay before You a Communication 
 from the President and Trustees of the Washino;ton 
 Monument Association, conveying a formal expres- 
 sion of their bestowment of the Statue of Washing- 
 ton, upon the Government And People of this Com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 The Letter addressed to me, on the Subject, altho' 
 of earlier date, was not received in season to admit 
 of its transmission with the documents, which accom- 
 panied my Message this Morning. 
 
 Levi Lincoln 
 Council Chamber 
 Jan'j 2d, 1828 
 
62 APPENDIX. 
 
 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF 
 THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Boston, December 20, 1827. 
 To 
 
 His Excellency Levi Lincoln 
 
 Governor and Commander in CJiief of iJie 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The Trustees of the Washington Monument 
 Association have the honour to inform your Excel- 
 lency that the edifice erected by them by permission 
 of the Government of Massachusetts and upon a 
 plan approved and sanctioned by your Excellency 
 has been completed in a style worthy of the char- 
 acter of the State, and that the noble Statue by 
 Chantrey, an illustrious Artist, has been happily with- 
 out accident or injury placed therein. 
 
 A more appropriate situation could not have been 
 selected, than a beautiful Hall connected with the 
 Seat of Legislation of a State, which had the glori- 
 ous privilege of making the earliest resistance to 
 oppression, and in relieving the Capital of which, 
 Washington first displayed, in our revolutionary 
 
APPENDIX. 63 
 
 struggle, that consummate wisdom and prudence 
 which contributed so essentially to our final suc- 
 cess. Long may this Monument of public gratitude 
 remain as a stimulus to our rulers in future times 
 to emulate the rare virtues of the immortal Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 We have the honour of transmitting to your Ex- 
 cellency the Act of the Trustees formally ceding and 
 confiding the care of the Hall of Washington and 
 of the Statue to the Government of the State. 
 The Provisoes annexed to the Act of Cession are 
 such as must be approved by every admirer of the 
 Father of his Country. The Hall was calculated in 
 its dimensions for one figure only, and however great 
 the merits of other patriots, there is such an unmeas- 
 urable distance between Washington and all others, 
 that all must agree, that he should stand alone. 
 The Provision that it should not be removed from 
 Boston is not only equitable because seven eighth 
 parts of the Subscription were furnished by Citizens 
 of that town, but the original articles of Association 
 having expressly provided for the erection of a Statue 
 in the Capital of the State, it must be considered as 
 part of the contract with the Subscribers, from which 
 the Trustees are not legally authorized to depart. 
 
64 APPENDIX. 
 
 To your Excellency we respectfully submit the mode 
 of making this Communication known. 
 
 We have the honour to subscribe ourselves, 
 Respectfully 
 Your Excellency's h'ble Servts 
 
 Israel Thorndike President 
 John Lowell, Vice President 
 Warren Dutton ^ Prfspott 
 
 by J. Lowell ^^^ Frescott 
 
 P. C. Brooks Treas'r 
 John C. Warren Daniel Sargent 
 
 JOSIAH OUINCY JnO. DaVIS 
 
 T. H. Perkins L P. Davis 
 
 Nath'el Bowditch Benj'n Russell 
 
 At a meeting of the Trustees of the Washington 
 Monument Association, held in the hall consecrated 
 to the memory of the Father of his Country, on 
 Monday the 26th of November 1827. 
 
 Whereas : The Hall erected by permission of the 
 Legislature of Massachusetts in the rear of the State 
 House for the reception of the Statue of Washington 
 has been completed at the expence of the Trustees 
 aforesaid, and the Statue of Washington has been 
 placed therein. 
 
 Voted : That the Trustees of said Association by 
 virtue of the powers vested in them, do confide and 
 entrust as well the said edifice erected at their ex- 
 
APPENDIX. 65 
 
 pence, as the noble Statue, the work of the first 
 Artist in Europe, to the care and patriotism of the 
 Government of the State of Massachusetts for the 
 use and benefit of the People of said State to all 
 future generations, with the following provisoes, that 
 the said Hall shall never be appropriated to any other 
 use, or the exhibition of any other Monument or work 
 of Art than the Statue of Washington, and that in 
 case the edifice of which the Hall of Washington 
 forms a part shall at any future time cease to be used 
 for* the purposes to which it is now devoted The 
 Trustees of the Washington Monument Association 
 or their Successors or in failure of them the Mayor 
 and Aldermen of the City of Boston for the time 
 being shall have a right to take possession of the 
 Statue of Washington and its pedestal and to remove 
 the same to any other situation within the City of 
 Boston which they may deem appropriate. 
 
 Attest : Israel Thorndike, President. 
 Secretary, 
 
 Ordered that the foregoing Communication be 
 
 recorded. Copies having been transmitted to both 
 
 Branches of the Legislature. 
 
 Levi Lincoln. 
 Council Chamber, Jan'y 2d 1S27. 
 
 5 
 
66 APPENDIX. 
 
 COMiMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 /;* t/ie year of our Lord one tJiousand eight hiDidred and 
 i'iVenty-eight. 
 
 Whereas the Trustees of the Washington Monu- 
 ment Association have passed the following vote : 
 " At a meeting of the Trustees of the Washington 
 Monument Association, held at the Hall, consecrated 
 to the memory of the Father of his country, on 
 Monday the 26th of November 1827. 
 
 " Whereas the Hall erected by permission of the 
 Legislature of Massachusetts in the rear of the 
 State House for the reception of the Statue of Wash- 
 ington has been completed at the expense of the 
 Trustees aforesaid ; Voted: that the Trustees of 
 said Association, by virtue of the power vested in 
 them do confide & entrust, as w^ell the said edifice 
 erected at their expense, as the noble statue, the 
 work of the first artist in Europe, to the care & 
 patriotism of the Government of the State of Massa- 
 chusetts, for the use & benefit of the people of said 
 state to all future generations, with the following pro- 
 visoes : — That the said Hall shall never be appropri- 
 
APPENDIX. 67 
 
 ated to any other use or the exhibition of any other 
 monument or work of art than the Statue of Wash- 
 ington, & that in case the edifice of which the Hall 
 of Washington forms a part, shall at any future time, 
 cease to be used for the purposes, to which it is now 
 devoted, the Trustees of the Washington Monument 
 Association or their successors, or in failure of them, 
 the Mayor & Aldermen of the City of Boston, for 
 the time being, shall have a right to take possession 
 of the Statue of Washington, and its pedestal & to 
 remove the same to any other situation within the 
 city of Boston, which they may deem expedient." 
 
 Therefore Resolved : That the Lesrislature of this 
 Commonwealth accepts the Statue of Washington 
 upon the terms and conditions, on which it is offered 
 by the Trustees of the Washington Monument Asso- 
 ciation ; and entertains a just sense of the patriotic 
 feeling of those individuals, who have done honour 
 to the State by placing in it a statue of the man, 
 whose life was among the greatest of his country's 
 blessings, and whose fame is her proudest inheri- 
 tance. 
 
 hi Senate Jan'y 4, 1828 
 
 Read & passed, sent down for concurrence. 
 John Mills, President 
 
6S APPENDIX. 
 
 /;/ House of Representatives, January 8, 1828. 
 Read and Concurred. 
 
 William C. Jarvis, Speaker 
 January 9th 1828. 
 
 Approved, 
 
 Levi Lincoln. 
 
APPENDIX. 69 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The following tribute to the memory of Washing- 
 ton, is taken from the Salem Register of June 
 24th, 1878: 
 
 MR. BRYANT'S LAST POEM. 
 
 Mr. Bryant's literary life extended over a period of 
 seventy-four years. In 1804, 3-t the age of ten, he 
 printed his first poem in a Massachusetts country 
 paper, and on February 22, 1878, he wrote his last 
 poem as a contribution to the Washington's Birth- 
 day number of the Sunday School Times of Phila- 
 delphia. The memory of Washington has never 
 received so worthy a tribute from an American poet 
 as the six noble stanzas given below : 
 
 THE TWENTY-SECOND OF FEBEUARY. 
 
 BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 
 Pale is the February sky, 
 
 And brief the mid-day's sunny hours ; 
 The wind-swept forest seems to sigh 
 
 For the sweet time of leaves and flowers. 
 
70 APPENDIX. 
 
 Yet has no month a prouder day, 
 Not even when the summer broods 
 
 O'er meadows in their fresh array, 
 Or autumn tints the glowing woods. 
 
 For this chill season now again 
 
 Brings, in its annual round, the morn 
 
 When, greatest of the sons of men. 
 Our glorious Washington was born. 
 
 Lo, where, beneath an icy shield, 
 Calmly the mighty Hudson flows ! 
 
 By snow-clad fell and frozen field 
 Broadening the lordly river goes. 
 
 The wildest storm that sweeps through space 
 ' And rends the oak with sudden force, 
 Can raise no ripple on his face, 
 Or slacken his majestic course. 
 
 Thus, 'mid the wreck of thrones, shall live 
 Unmarred, undimmed, our hero's fame ; 
 
 And years succeeding years shall give 
 Increase of honors to his name. 
 
APPENDIX. *Jl 
 
 XVII. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY IN SWITZERLAND. 
 
 The one hundred and forty-seventh anniversary of 
 the '' Father of his Country " was celebrated at the 
 Hotel National at Geneva on the 22d of February, 
 1879, when were present distinguished representatives 
 of every European nation, with the single exception 
 of Turkey, the American Consul, Major Montgomery, 
 presiding. From a Report of this celebration, pub- 
 lished in the Geneva Times, of February 26th, 1879, 
 a copy having been kindly brought to me by Hon. 
 Robert S. Rantoul, the following extracts are taken. 
 
 After a considerable time spent in agreeable gus- 
 tatory and colloquial exercises, the American Consul 
 called for order and proposed to close the sitting at the 
 table in the good old-fashioned American manner, 
 with a Uttle after-dinner talk. He then spoke elo- 
 quently as follows : 
 
 Remarks of the President. 
 
 We are assembled here to-night, as you are aware, 
 to commemorate the one hundred and forty-seventh 
 
72 APPENDIX. 
 
 Anniversary of him who was first in war, first in 
 peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. And 
 here I desire to remark that it is to me, as it must be 
 to all Americans here present, a source of no little 
 pride and gratification to find ourselves surrounded 
 by the Representatives of so many of the Powers of 
 Europe, and citizens of different Nationalities, all of 
 whom have willingly and gladly come to unite with 
 us in doing honor to him who so justly wore the 
 soubriquet of " the Father of his country." I accept 
 this as first evidence of the cordial relations which 
 exist between our respective Governments, and I am 
 sure that I echo the sentiments of all my fellow- 
 countrymen, when I add that this international 
 friendship is cordially appreciated, and we say in all 
 sincerity, esto perpetna ! 
 
 Ladies and gentlemen, it is not my purpose nor is 
 it neccessary to eulogize the character of our illus- 
 trious first President. The simple story of his life, 
 his untiring devotion to duty, his heroic sacrifices 
 and his peaceful retirement to the more congenial 
 pleasures of domestic scenes, is the noblest eulogy 
 which could be written, and no language, if mine 
 had the power of the most gifted of orators, could 
 intensify the imperishable halo which encircles his 
 honored name and perpetuates his undying glory. 
 
APPENDIX. 73 
 
 From the days of the great Alexander down 
 through the long lapse of centuries to our own modern 
 times, the pages of history are filled with the names of 
 warriors, heroes, and statesmen whose deeds have 
 shed lustre upon the ages in which they lived or who 
 have astonished the world by their skill, powers, and 
 diplomacy, but the pages of the same history can be 
 searched in vain for a character which combined so 
 much of the heroic, and resolute ; the gentle and the 
 mild. It resembled a shaft of pure Pentelic marble 
 built upon a foundation of firm., enduring granite. 
 Washington lived solely for his country and his 
 country's good, and, flinging away ambition, died 
 as he had lived, a Christian hero and patriot, be- 
 queathing to posterity a name which all Americans 
 revere, and which people of all civilized nations place 
 in the highest niche of human greatness and excel- 
 lence. 
 
 r feel that I cannot draw a better peroration to 
 these few remarks than by quoting a verse from a 
 beautiful ode by one of England's favorite poets : 
 
 " Land of the West ! though passing brief the record of thine age, 
 Thou hast a name which darkens all on history's wide page. 
 Let all the blasts of Fame ring out, thine is the loudest far ! 
 Let others boast their satellites, thou hast the planet star ! 
 
74 APPENDIX. 
 
 Thou hast a name whose characters of Hght shall ne'er depart ! 
 'Tis stamped upon the dullest brain, and moves the coldest heart ! 
 A war-cry fit for any land where Freedom 's to be won ! 
 Land of the West ! it stands alone ! it is thy Washington ! " 
 
 The Consul was greeted with applause, and closed 
 with the first toast of the evening, " The Memory of 
 Washington," which was received in silence, the com- 
 pany rising. 
 
 The second toast, " The President of the United 
 States," was responded to by Mr. Robert S. Rantoul 
 of Massachusetts, who spoke as follows : 
 
 Response of Mr. Rantoul. 
 
 Mr. Consul : You have proposed to this gath- 
 ering of mingled nationalities the health of the 
 President of the United States of America. And 
 you have devolved it upon me to return the thanks 
 of my countrymen for the manner in which that senti- 
 ment has been responded to. 
 
 The President of the United States, ladies and 
 gentlemen, is a shifting personality. In the magis- 
 trate, the American sees an embodiment of the au- 
 gust idea of Liberty, as coupled with that of Order, 
 and Progress, and Power, and Law. In the man, 
 who fills that exalted station to-day, the American 
 
APPENDIX. 75 
 
 sees, — and it is fitting that I should say it in this 
 presence, — the American sees an Executive who, in 
 point of personal purity and honor, and in breadth of 
 feeling for the country, has a right to sit in the chair 
 of Washington. (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. Chairman : The President of the United 
 States is the central figure of fifty millions of people, 
 drawn together from every quarter of the habitable 
 globe. You might bring here more flags than we 
 see folded in fraternal harmony to-night, — you 
 might bring them until we beheld 
 
 "In concord furled, 
 The war flags of a gathered world," 
 
 but not one flag would you find among them all that 
 had not danced before the boyish vision of some citizen 
 of America as the ensign of his native land. Draw- 
 ing our population, therefore, from all nations, we are 
 the natural friends and kindred of all nations. To 
 all alike we wish prosperity and peace and we ask 
 only their good-will and blessings in return. We 
 seem to see, in our country, an instrument of con- 
 ciliation, amity, and peace. For it has been permit- 
 ted us to behold the nationaHties of the earth, coming 
 together under the genial sunshine of our Repub- 
 
76 APPENDIX. 
 
 lie, to fuse themselves into one harmonious people, 
 — respecting one another's traditions, — guaran- 
 teeing one another's rights, — even as the flags 
 of the nations that wave their war-worn folds with 
 the Stars and Stripes to-night, find themselves in 
 union with each other because we are in friendship 
 with them all. (Bravos and applause.) 
 
 I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the una- 
 nimity with which you have received a sentiment so 
 dear to Americans. 
 
 Remarks of M. Vautier. 
 
 The third toast was to " Switzerland." Mr. Vau- 
 tier, President of the Canton de Geneve, stated that 
 he was not entitled to speak for the Confederation, but 
 would reply as a Swiss and as a citizen of Geneva. 
 The memory of Washington had come down to us 
 without a spot. While the First Consul had stifled 
 the Republic, Washington considered himself hon- 
 ored to be the first President of his liberated country. 
 
 To the fourth toast, " The Queen of Great Britain," 
 Mr. Auldjo, British Consul, responded as follows : 
 
 Mr. Consul, Ladies and Gentlemen : In rising to 
 address you at the request of your chairman, I do 
 not presume to return thanks for the toast of the 
 
APPENDIX. 77 
 
 health of Her Majesty the Queen, which you have 
 just drank. With us, as I have on former occasions 
 explained, it is neither the custom nor etiquette for 
 any one to return thanks for the compliment paid to 
 his Sovereign. But called upon by your chairman to 
 speak I obey his command. I think it was very be- 
 coming and very considerate of you, Mr. Chairman., 
 and your committee for this celebration, to invite the 
 British residents to take part in it. It however has 
 been asked. Why should you have done so .'' And 
 also. Why are we here ? I will tell you why this in- 
 vitation had its peculiar fitness. You remembered, as 
 we remember, that on the 22d February, 1732, there 
 was born in Virginia a British subject who was destined 
 to shed an undying lustre both on the old and the 
 new country, and that British subject was George 
 Washington. During the earlier part of his life, he 
 was a brave, loyal, hard-working servant of the 
 Crown, and as a Colonial soldier fought the battles 
 of his country against its invading foes, the French 
 and Indians. And he so distinguished himself, that 
 eventually holding the King's commission command- 
 ing the Royal and Colonial troops, he led them to 
 signal victory on the Banks of the Ohio, and freed the 
 State from the invading foe. Bravest of the brave 
 
78 APPENDIX. 
 
 he was ever in the thickest of the fight, yet so ex- 
 traordinary was his escape from wound, that history 
 tells us the pastor of his parish, from the pulpit, ex- 
 pressed a belief that Providence had spared him in 
 this manner for some more important service to his 
 country, and as we all know, it was so. It was not 
 his fault that he was driven to war against his King. 
 Can you suppose it was by the mere doctrine of 
 chance that the bigoted obstinacy of the Sovereign, 
 and the ill-advised counsels of his ministers should 
 have attempted to impose on an intelligent people 
 unnecessary taxes — the obnoxious stamp-act and 
 oppressive duties, until they drove it to desperation 
 and resistance. 
 
 No ! was it not rather in the progress of evolution 
 and the fitness of things that this attempted pressure 
 should in the hands of Providence be the means of 
 creating a nation, one of the greatest, and in all 
 probability about to be the greatest on the face of 
 the globe. But to lead this resistance a man was 
 wanted — strength of character, great prudence and 
 r>ectitude of conduct pointed out George Washington 
 to be that man. 
 
 I am not going to give you the history of that re- 
 sistance — of the War of Independence, its reverses 
 
APPENDIX. 79 
 
 and its crowning success at Saratoga and Yorktown. 
 Most of you know it, and those who do not, may 
 learn it all in the columns of to-day's Swiss Times, 
 Suffice it for me to say that George Washington was 
 the living corner-stone of the Great Temple of Free- 
 dom, which was erected on the other side of the At- 
 lantic, and over which floated the national banner of 
 the stripes and stars — the banner we see before us 
 to-night. 
 
 When Washington saw that the temple was firmly 
 erected, he felt his work was done, and returned to 
 his home and into the ranks of the private citizen. 
 Not long to remain there indeed, for when the storms 
 and dissensions surrounded the newly-launched bark 
 'of the Republic, he was summoned forth again to take 
 the helm and be the Pilot to guide it to port. That 
 done, he again sought his " ain fireside," which he 
 loved so well. 
 
 Washington was indeed a great commander, but as 
 has been said of him he never aspired to be an Al- 
 exander or a Cagsar. What he aspired to be was that 
 noblest work of God, an honest man. 
 
 You cannot, then, be surprised that we, as well as 
 yourselves, sisters and brothers of America, are proud 
 of this man, well knowing that the blood which 
 
80 APPENDIX. 
 
 flowed in his veins was British blood, that it was the 
 British feeHng of indomitable repugnance to all tyr- 
 anny that animated his whole conduct. It is this 
 knowledge that brings us here cordially to join you 
 in the celebration of this day, believing your George 
 Washington — our George Washington — to have 
 been the most single-hearted, most unambitious, most 
 virtuous patriot that ever adorned the annals of 
 history. 
 
APPENDIX. 8l 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 EXTRx\CT 
 
 From the Speech of His Honor Moses Gill, Lieu- 
 tenant Governor of Massachusetts, Acting 
 Governor, TO the two Branches of the Legis- 
 lature, January io'*", 1800, with Extracts 
 from their answers thereto. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Senate and 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Representatives 
 
 VERY soon after you began your last Session we 
 were called to the melancholly task of performing 
 the funeral obsequies of the Chief Magistrate of this 
 Commonwealth.* The unfeigned sorrow, universally 
 exhibited on that occasion, evinced the strong affec- 
 tion of his fellow citizens. His memory still lives, 
 and the lenient hand of time has not yet erased it 
 from my breast. 
 
 We are now called upon to lament the loss of 
 another Patriot, General George Washington, 
 
 * Increase Sumner, who died June 7, 1799. 
 
82 APPENDIX. 
 
 whose invaluable life was the ornament, example 
 and defence of our Nation ; and whose name itself 
 was a Host. — But Washington is dead ! — and we 
 sorrow most of all that we shall see his face no 
 more ; for God hath changed his countenance and 
 sent him away. May the recollection of his virtues 
 stimulate ; — and the force of his sentiments inspire 
 the whole Nation with a love of patriotism and na- 
 tional glory. The tears of the great and the good of 
 all countries are mingled with those of America on 
 this unsearchable dispensation of Divine Providence. 
 May our tears on this occasion embalm his precious 
 memory. Moses Giljl. 
 
 January, loth, 1800. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE ANSWER OF THE SENATE. 
 
 Scarcely had we reconciled ourselves to part 
 with the weeds, which, as an emblem of the grief 
 of our hearts, we had assumed, from respect to the 
 memory of our late excellent Governor, when our 
 sorrows were again called forth by the death of Gen- 
 eral George Washington. Most sincerely do we 
 deplore with you this common calamity of our coun- 
 
APPENDIX. 83 
 
 try, and of the. human race. His very name afforded 
 security to our peace and prosperity, and his eminent 
 qualities made him an example to the great ones of 
 the earth. — While it becomes our nation humbly to 
 submit to this afflictive dispensation of Providence, 
 no means can so effectually repair their misfortune, 
 as a general imitation of his virtues, and a practical 
 observance of the invaluable counsels which he has 
 left them. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE ANSWER OF THE HOUSE 
 OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 "Scarce had the tear, which had bedewed the 
 the cheek of Patriotism upon the death of our much 
 honoured Chief Magistrate, been dried away : His 
 passing knell was but just expiring in our ears, when 
 our feelings were again agonized with the afflictive 
 intelligence of the loss of our Country's Father, Pro- 
 tector and its first best human friend. The eloquence 
 of unaffected grief is silence : and were we to in- 
 dulge the feelings of our hearts, we should mourn in 
 forcible but dumb expression. — But to the preju- 
 dices and usages of mankind we owe some respect, 
 
84 APPENDIX. 
 
 and, therefore, in language as brief as it is incompe- 
 tent, we will speak his Eulogy. To call Washing- 
 ton a Hero, would be a debasement of him ; for 
 Heroism has been hitherto too often allied with crime. 
 To call him merely a great Soldier, would be injus- 
 tice ; for he fought not to destroy but to preserve. 
 To denominate him simply a great Statesman would 
 be inadequate ; for his politics were not like those 
 of most Statesmen, subservient to his ambition. In 
 War, he united the coolness of Fabius with the 
 spirit of C^SAR and the humility of Cincinnatus. 
 In Peace, he blended the virtues of Trajan with the 
 wisdom of Solon and the sublime prophetic ken of 
 Chatham. Uniform and consistent in his Political con- 
 duct, with equal severity he frowned on the intrigues 
 of Domestic Faction and the insidious wiles of For- 
 eign Artifice. Equally ready to draw his sword 
 in his ripened manhood, to establish the Indepen- 
 dence of his Country, and in his declining years to 
 snatch it from its sleeping scabbard to avenge its 
 insulted Honor and violated Rights. The watchful 
 Father and the illustrious Founder of a great Em- 
 pire, he did not strive to invest himself with the 
 insignia of Nobility, the ordinary ambition of vulgar 
 greatness ; but by his talents and virtues he has 
 
APPENDIX. 85 
 
 ennobled his Country. The mortal part of Wash- 
 ington is consigned to the silent cemetery, but he 
 hath bequeathed to his beloved Fellow Citizens a 
 glorious Legacy, in his Example, his Character and 
 his Virtues, which ought to render them pure and 
 virtuous in their Morals, devout in their Religion, 
 fervent in their Patriotism, just in the Cabinet, 
 and invincible in the Field. Four millions of Free- 
 men, with melancholly hearts, are living statues to 
 thy memory, thou sainted Patriot ! Unfading lau- 
 rels, fair as thy Virtues and imperishable as thy fame, 
 shall bloom around thy Monument, and protect, from 
 unhallowed touch, thy consecrated Urn ! 
 
86 APPENDIX. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 FAC-SIMILES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Memorial Stones of the Last English Ancestors 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF BRINGTON, NORTH- 
 AMPTONSHIRE, ENGLAND; 
 
 PERMANENTLY PLACED IN THE ■ 
 
 STATE HOUSE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 * Executive Department, Council Chamber, 
 Boston, March 15, 1861. 
 
 To the Honorable the House of Representatives : 
 
 I have the honor to present to the General Court, 
 as a gift to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 
 one of its citizens, certain memorials of great his- 
 toric interest. 
 
 The home and final resting-place of the ances- 
 tors of George Washington were until recently 
 
APPENDIX. 87 
 
 unvisited by, and unknown to, Americans. In the 
 genealogical table, appended to the " Life of Wash- 
 ington " by our distinguished fellow-citizen, Mr. Jared 
 Sparks, it is stated that Lawrence Washington, the 
 father of John Washington, (who emigrated to Vir- 
 ginia in 1657,) was buried at Brington ; but though 
 both Mr. Sparks and Washington Irving visited Sul- 
 grave, an earlier home of the Washingtons, neither 
 of these learned biographers appears by his works to 
 have repaired to this quiet parish in Northamptonshire. 
 
 Our fellow-citizen, the Hon. Charles Sumner, on a 
 recent visit to England, identified certain inscriptions 
 in the parish-church of Brington, near Althorp, as 
 being those of the father and uncle of John Wash- 
 ington, the emigrant to Virginia, who was the great- 
 grandfather of the Father of his Country. 
 
 Earl Spencer, the proprietor of Althorp, so hon- 
 orably known as an early advocate of Parliamentary 
 reform, sought out the quarry from which, more than 
 two centuries ago, these tablets were taken, and 
 caused others to be made which are tx2iQt facsimiles 
 of the originals. These he has presented to Mr. 
 Sumner, who has expressed the desire that memo- 
 rials so interesting to all Americans, may be placed 
 where they may be seen by the public, and has 
 authorized me to offer them to the Commonwealth 
 
88 APPENDIX. 
 
 if it be the pleasure of the legislature to order them 
 to be preserved in some public part of the State 
 House. 
 
 I send with this a letter addressed to myself by 
 the learned historian of Washington, bearing testi- 
 mony to the great interest of these memorials, and 
 expressing the desire that they may (Mr. Sumner 
 assenting) be placed in the capitol. 
 
 A letter from Mr. Sumner to Mr. Sparks also 
 accompanies this Message, describing the church at 
 Brington, and some of the associations which clus- 
 ter around the resting-place of the ancestors of our 
 Washington. John A. Andrew. 
 
 MR. SPARKS TO THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 Cambridge, 22d February, iS6i. 
 I?ear Sir: — I enclose a copy of a highly interest- 
 ing letter from Mr. Charles Sumner, describing the 
 church at Brington, near Althorp, in Northamton- 
 shire. In this church were deposited the remains of 
 Lawrence Washington, who was the father of John 
 and Lawrence W^ashington, the emigrants to Amer- 
 ica, and who was therefore the last English ancestor 
 of George Washington. A copy of the inscription 
 on the stone which covers the grave of Lawrence 
 
APPENDIX. 89 
 
 Washington, and also of another inscription over the 
 grave of his brother, Robert Washington, who was 
 buried in the same church, are given with exactness 
 in Mr. Sumner's letter. As far as I am aware, these 
 inscriptions are now for the first time made known 
 in this country. 
 
 Earl Spencer has sent to Mr. Sumner two stones, 
 being from the same quarry, and having the same 
 form and dimensions, as the originals, and containing 
 a facsimile of the inscriptions. It has been sug- 
 gested that these stones ought to be placed in the 
 State House, where they may be accessible to the 
 public, and my opinion on the subject has been 
 asked. As they are unquestionably genuine memo- 
 rials of the Washington family, and possess on this 
 account a singular historical interest, I cannot im- 
 agine that a more appropriate disposition of them 
 could be made. I understand that Mr. Sumner would 
 cheerfully assent to such an arrangement, and I can- 
 not doubt that your Excellency will be well inclined 
 to take such measures as may effectually aid in at- 
 taining so desirable an object. 
 
 I am, Sir, very respectfully yours, 
 
 Jared Sparks. 
 
 His Excellency John A. Andrew, 
 
 Governor of Massachusetts. 
 
go APPENDIX. 
 
 MR. SUMNER TO MR. SPARKS. 
 
 Boston, 22d November, i860. 
 
 Mj/ Dear Sir: — Since our last conversation Earl 
 Spencer has kindly sent to me precise copies of the 
 two " Memorial Stones " of the English family of 
 George Washington, which I have already described 
 to you as harmonizing exactly with the pedigree 
 which has the sanction of your authority. These 
 are of the same stone, and of the same size, with 
 the originals, and have the original inscriptions, — 
 being in all respects facsimiles. They will, there- 
 fore, give you an exact idea of those most interest- 
 ing memorials in the parish-church of Brington, near 
 Althorp, in Northamptonshire. 
 
 The largest is of Lawrence Washington, the father 
 of John Washington, who emigrated to America. 
 It is a slab of bluish-gray sandstone, and measures 
 five feet and nine inches long and two feet and six 
 inches broad. Here is the inscription; 
 
HERE-LIETH -THE-BODI OF-LAVRENCE 
 WASHINGTON • SONNE • & • HEIRE • OF 
 ROBERT-WASHINGTON • OF • SOVLGRA5 
 IN • THE • COVNTIE • OF • NORTHAMPTON 
 ESQViER • WHO • MARIED • MARGARET 
 THE • ELDEST-D AVGHTER-OFWILLIAM 
 BVTLER • OF • TEES • IN • THE • COVNTIE 
 OF • SVSSEXE • ESQVIER -WHOHADISSV 
 BY- HER - 8 • SONNS • & • 9 ' DAVGHTERS 
 WHICH -LAVRENCEJDECESSED-THE- 13 
 OFDECEMBERA : DNI : 1616 
 Thovthatbychance-or-choyce 
 
 OF-THISHAST-SiGHT 
 
 KNOW-LIFE-TO-DEATH-RESIGNES 
 
 ASDAYE-TONIGHT 
 
 BVT-AS-THESVNNS-RETORNE 
 
 REVtVESTHE-DAYE 
 
 SO-CHRiSTSHALL-VS 
 
 THOVGH'TVRNDE-TO-DVST-&'CLAY 9^ 
 
92 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Above the inscription carved in the stone, are the 
 arms of the Washingtons, with the arms of the But- 
 lers impaled, the latter being, in the language of 
 Heraldry, azure^ a chevro7i betiveen three covered 
 cups or, 
 
 [Copy of the following Inscrption on page 93.] 
 
 HSP.t. tTltiJWri?.? V li!l&IE£ Q( EuitAit] V,/AiHlMQ1DN 
 
 w.incc'/ '.V!-^ChAiiCtD )t\^ crwa fcOK ssftRir^Lakn!g, 
 
 ^1^^ 
 
 o 
 
 ■lllliM^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 The other stone is placed over Robert Washington 
 and Elizabeth his wife. Robert was the uncle of the 
 emigrant. This is a slab of the same sandstone, and 
 measures three feet and six inches long and two feet 
 
APPENDIX. 93 
 
 and six inches broad. The inscription is on a small 
 brass plate set into the stone, and is as follows : 
 
 Here lies interred y^ bodies of Elizab: Washington 
 
 WIDDOWE, who changed THIS LIFE FOR IMORTALLITIE 
 yE i^Tii OF MARCH 1622- As ALSO Y^ BODY OF ROBERT 
 
 Washington gent: her late hvsband second 
 
 SONNE of Robert Washington of Solgrave in y^ 
 
 CovNTY OF North: Esqi': who depted this life y^ 
 
 10'''" of March 1622* after they lived lovingly together 
 
 MANY YEARES IN THIS PARRISH 
 
 On a separate brass, beneath the inscription, are 
 the arms of the Washingtons without any addition 
 but a crescent, the mark of cadency that denotes the 
 second son. These as you are well aware, have the 
 combination of stars and stripes, and are sometimes 
 supposed to have suggested our national flag. In 
 heraldic language, they are argent, two bars gnies, in 
 chief three mnllets (or stars) of the second. 
 
 In the interesting chapter on the "Origin and 
 Genealogy of the Washington Family," which you 
 give in the Appendix to your " Life .of Washington," 
 it appears that Lawrence, the father of the emigrant, 
 died 13th December, and was buried at Brington 
 15th December, 1616. But the genealogical tables, 
 
94 APPENDIX. 
 
 which you followed, gave no indication of the locality 
 of this church. Had it appeared that it was the 
 parish-church of the Spencer family, in Northamp- 
 tonshire, the locality, which I believe, has not been 
 heretofore known in our country, would have been 
 precisely fixed. 
 
 In point of fact, the slab which covers Lawrence 
 Washington is in the chancel of the church, by the 
 side of the monuments of the Spencer Family. 
 These are all in admirable preservation, with full- 
 length effigies, busts, or other sculptural work, and 
 exhibit an interesting and connected series of sepul- 
 chral memorials, from the reign of Henry the Eighth 
 to the present time. Among them is a monument 
 by the early English sculptor, Nicholas Stone ; 
 another by Nollekens from a design by Cipriani ; and 
 another by Flaxman, with exquisitely beautiful per- 
 sonifications of Faith and Charity. Beneath repose 
 the successive representatives of this illustrious fam- 
 ily, which has added to its aristocratic claims by 
 services to the State, and also by the unique and 
 world-famous library collected by one of its mem- 
 bers. In this companionship will be found the last 
 English ancestor of our Washington. 
 
 The other slab, covering Robert, the uncle of the 
 
APPENDIX. 95 
 
 emigrant is in one of the aisles, where it is scraped 
 by the feet of all who pass. 
 
 The parish of Brington (in modern pronunciation 
 Brighton) is between seven and eight miles from the 
 town of Northampton, not far from the centre of 
 England. It is written in Domesday Book " Brinin- 
 tone " and also " Brintone." It contains about 2,210 
 acres, of which about 1,490 -belong to Earl Spencer, 
 about 326 acres to the rector in right of his church, 
 and about 130 acres to other persons. The soil is in 
 general a dark-colored loam, with a small tract of 
 clay towards the north. Nearly four-fifths of the 
 whole is pasture and feeding land. 
 
 In the village still stands the house said to have 
 been occupied by the Washingtons when the emi- 
 grant brother left them. You will see a vignette of 
 it on the title page of the recent English work, en- 
 titled The Washingtons. Over the door are carved 
 the words, The Lord geveth, the Lord taketh 
 
 AWAY, BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD ; while 
 
 the Parish Register gives a pathetic commentary by 
 showing, that, in the very year when this house was 
 built, a child had been born and another had died in 
 this family. 
 
 The church, originally dedicated to the Virgin, 
 
96 APPENDIX. 
 
 Stands at the north-east angle of the village, and 
 consists of an embattled tower with five bells, a nave, 
 north and south aisles, a chancel, a chapel, and a 
 modern porch. The tower is flanked by buttresses 
 of two stages. The present fabric goes back in its 
 origin to the beginning of the fourteenth century, 
 nearly two hundred years before the discovery of 
 America. The chancel and chapel, where repose the 
 Spencers and Lawrence Washington, were rebuilt by 
 Sir John Spencer, the purchaser of the estate, at the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century. They afford one 
 of the latest specimens of the Tudor style of archi- 
 tecture. The church is beautifully " situated on the 
 summit of the highest ground of Brington," and is 
 surrounded by a stone wall, lined with trees. Dib- 
 din says that a more complete picture of a country 
 churchyard is rarely seen. A well-trimmed walk 
 encircles the whole of the interior, while the fine 
 Gothic windows at the end of the chancel fill the 
 scene with picturesque beauty. 
 
 The Register of the Parish, which is still pre- 
 served, commences in 1560. From this it appears 
 that William Proctor was the rector from 160 1 to 
 1627, covering the period of the last of the Wash- 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 97 
 
 ingtons there. The following further entries occur, 
 relating to this family : 
 
 1616. "Mr. Lawrance Washington was buried the XVth day 
 
 of December." 
 1620 " Mr. Philip Curtis and M'« Amy Washington were 
 
 married August 8." 
 1622. ** Mr. Robert Washington was buried March y^ nth." 
 • ■» " M". Elisabeth Washington widow was buried March 
 
 ye 20th." 
 
 Of one of the ministers in this church we have an 
 interesting glimpse in Evelyn's Memoirs (Vol. I., p. 
 652), where the following entry will be found under 
 date of August i8th, ,1688 : *' Dr. Jeffryes [a mis- 
 nomer for yessop\ the minister of Althorp, who was 
 my Lord's chaplain when Ambassador in France, 
 preached the shortest discowse I ever heard ; but 
 what was defective in the amplitude of his sermon, 
 he had supplied in the largeness and convenience of 
 the parsonage house." 
 
 At a short distance — less than a mile — is Al- 
 thorp, the seat of the Spencers, surrounded by a 
 park of five hundred acres, of which one of the gates 
 opens near the church. There are oak trees, border- 
 ing on the church-yard, which were growing at the 
 time of the purchase of the estate, in the reign of 
 
96 APPEXDtX. 
 
 Henr)- the Seventh- E\'elyn was often here a de- 
 lighted visitor. On one occasion he speaks of ** the 
 boose;, or rath^- palace, at Althorp." (\'oL I., p. 652.) 
 In another place he describes it as "placed in a 
 pretty open bottom, very finely watered, and flanked 
 with stately woods and groves in a |»rk." (Vol I., 
 p. 4~S ' Ler r^e add, that there is an engraving of 
 AI.hr 7 2: - .Tie. by the younger Luke Vorster- 
 
 "V h ." It is 
 
 :ir ztz.zi :: :-e :: 7 -.re ;: plantations of 
 
 :: -■eguiu V. :i_c :.: :bis prac- 
 
 :.: Sylva," Evelyr -'y in- 
 
 s:i - :f the like i' . p3.rk 
 
 c: .Al::. : There ire siz ;: :liese commemora- 
 
 7 - 7 : 7 - - e ; :: Ir lanted by Sir 
 
 " ~ . e:-^d, a wood 
 
 ^ h ^ : : - i^jrmer, in 
 
 1 3 So: the third, a w: r.ted by Robert Lord 
 
 Szt'zer, in 1602 and 1603; ^^^ fourth, a wood 
 z\i-:ti by Sir William Spencer, Knight of the 
 li:-, afterwards Lord Spencer, in 1624. This stone 
 
APPENDIX. 99 
 
 is ornamented with the arras of the Spencers, and 
 on the back is inscribed, Vp and bee doing and 
 God will prosper. It was in this scenery, and 
 amidst these associations, that the Washingtons Hved. 
 When the emigrant left in 1657, these woods must 
 have been well-grown. It was not long afterwards 
 that they arrested the attention of Evelyn. 
 
 The Household Books at Althorp show, that for 
 many years the Washingtons were frequent guests 
 there. The hospitality of this seat has been re- 
 nowned. The Queen of James the First and Prince 
 Henry, on their way to London in 1603, were wel- 
 comed there in an entertainment, memorable for a 
 Masque from the vigorous muse of Ben Jonson. 
 (Ben Jonson's Works, Vol. VI., p. 475.) Charles the 
 First was at Althorp in 1647, when he received the 
 first intelligence of the approach of those pursuers 
 from whom he never escaped until his life had been 
 laid down upon the scaffold. In 1695, King William 
 was there for a week, and, according to Evelyn, was 
 •' mightily entertained." (Vol. II., p. 30.) At least 
 one of the members of this family was famous for 
 hospitality of a different character. Evelyn records 
 that he used to dine with the Countess of Sunder- 
 land, — the title then borne by the Spencers, — 
 
lOO APPENDIX. 
 
 "when she m\\\.Qdi fire-eat e7's, stone-eaters, and opera- 
 singers, after the fashion of the day." (Vol. I., pp. 
 458, 483, 579.) 
 
 The family was early and constantly associated 
 with literature ; Spencer, the poet, belonged to it, 
 and to one of its members he has dedicated his 
 " Tears of the Muses." It was for the same Alice 
 Spencer that Milton is said to have written his 
 "Arcades," and Sir John Harrington has celebrated 
 her memory by an epigram. The Sacharissa of 
 Waller was the Lady Dorothy Sidney, wife of the 
 first Earl of Sunderland, the third Lord Spencer, 
 who perished fighting for King Charles the First at 
 Newbury. I do not dwell on other associations of a 
 later day, as my object is simply to allude to those 
 which existed in the time of the Washingtons. 
 
 " The Nobility of the Spencers has been illustrated 
 and enriched by the trophies of Marlborough ; but I 
 exhort them to consider the Fairy Queen as the most 
 precious jewel of their coronet." Thus wrote Gib- 
 bon in his Memoirs, and all must feel the beauty of 
 the passage. Perhaps it is not too much to say 
 that this nobility may claim another illustration from 
 its ties of friendship and neighborhood with the fam- 
 ily of Washington. I cannot doubt that hereafter 
 
APPENDIX. lOI 
 
 the parish-church of Brington will be often visited by 
 our countrymen, who will look with reverence upon 
 a spot so closely associated with American history. 
 
 I trust that this little sketch, suggested by what 
 I saw at Althorp during a brief visit last autumn, 
 will not seem irrelevant. Besides my own personal 
 impressions and the volumes quoted, I have relied 
 upon Dibdin's " ^des Althorpianae," so interesting 
 to all bibliographical students, and especially upon 
 Baker's " History of Northamptonshire," — one of 
 those magnificent local works which illustrate Eng- 
 lish history — to which you refer in your Appendix. 
 
 Of course, the Memorial Stones, which I have re- 
 ceived from Lord Spencer, are of much historic 
 value ; and I think that I shall best carry out the 
 generous idea of the giver by taking care that they 
 are permanently placed where they can be seen by 
 the public ; perhaps in the State House near Chan- 
 trey's beautiful statue of Washington, — if this should 
 be agreeable to the Commonwealth. 
 
 Pray pardon this long letter, and believe me, my 
 
 dear Sir, with much regard, 
 
 Ever^ sincerely yours, 
 
 Charles Sumner. 
 Jared Sparks, Esq. 
 
I02 APPENDIX. 
 
 COiMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 House of Representatives, March 23, 1S61. 
 The Committee on the State House, to whom was 
 referred the Message of His Excellency the Gov- 
 ernor, presenting to the General Court, as a gift 
 from the Hon. Charles Sumner, certain memorials 
 of Washington, of great historic interest, report that 
 they consider it a matter of special congratulation 
 that the interesting facts concerning the Father of 
 his Country, contained in the papers accompanying 
 the Message, should have been first made known to 
 us by a citizen of Massachusetts ; and, deeming it 
 important that these valuable memorials should be 
 permanently preserved in the capitol of the State, 
 they report the accompanying resolves. 
 
 Per order, 
 
 R. WARD. 
 
 Resolves in relation to certain Memorials of the Ancestors 
 of Washington. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the General Court 
 be and hereby are presented to the Hon. Charles 
 
APPENDIX. 103 
 
 Sumner for his interesting and patriotic gift to the 
 Commonwealth, of two Memorial Tablets in imita- 
 tion of the originals which mark the final resting- 
 place of the last English ancestors of George Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 Resolved, That the Commissioners on the State 
 House cause the same to be prepared and placed, 
 with appropriate inscriptions, in some convenient 
 place in the Doric Hall of the State House, near the 
 Statue of Washington. — Approved, April 6, 1861. 
 
 Office of the Commissioners on the State House, ) 
 Boston, January i, 1S62. ) 
 
 The undersigned, commissioners on the State 
 
 House, hereby certify, that, in compliance with the 
 
 Resolve of the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed 
 
 April 6, 1 86 1, they have caused the above-named 
 
 Memorial Tablets of the Washington Family to be 
 
 permanently placed upon the marble floor of the 
 
 area in which the Statue of Washington stands, 
 
 within the railing in front of said Statue. 
 
 John Morissey, Sergeant-at-Arms, 
 Oliver Warner, Secretary. 
 Henry K. Oliver, Treasurer. 
 
I04 APPENDIX. 
 
 A white marble tablet, placed by the Commis- 
 sioners near the Washington Memorials, bears the 
 following inscription : 
 
 THESE FAC-SIMILES OF THE MEMORIAL 
 STONES OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY IN 
 THE PARISH CHURCH OF BRINGTON, THE 
 BURIAL-PLACE OF THE SPENCERS NEAR 
 ALTHORP, NORTH AMPTON SH IRE, ENGLAND, 
 WERE PRESENTED BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE 
 EARL SPENCER TO CHARLES SUMNER OF 
 MASSACHUSETTS, AND BY H I M OFFERED TO 
 THE COMMONWEALTH 22 FEBRUARY, 1861. 
 
 LAWRENCE WAS FATHER, AND ROBERT UNCLE, OF THE 
 ENGLISH EMIGRANT TO VIRGINIA, WHO WAS GREAT- 
 GRANDFATHER OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
APPENDIX. 105 
 
 XX. 
 
 VERSES BY BISHOP BERKELEY, 
 
 " ON THE 
 
 Prospect of planting Arts and Learning in 
 
 America^ 
 
 T 
 
 " First Printed A. D. MDCCXXXV." 
 
 HE Muse, disgusted at an Age and Clime, 
 Barren of every glorious Theme, 
 In distant Lands now waits a better Time, 
 Producing Subjects worthy Fame : 
 
 In happy Climes, where from the genial Sun 
 And virgin Earth such Scenes ensue, 
 
 The Force of Art by Nature seems outdone. 
 And fancied Beauties by the true : 
 
 In happy Climes the Seat of Innocence, 
 Where Nature guides and Virtue rules. 
 
 Where Men shall not impose for Truth and Sense, 
 The Pedantry of Courts and Schools : 
 
106 APPENDIX. 
 
 There shall be sung another golden Age, 
 
 The rise of Empire and of Arts, 
 The Good and Great inspiring epic Rage, 
 
 The wisest Heads and noblest Hearts. 
 
 Not such as Eitr^e breeds in her decay ; 
 
 Such as she bred when fresh and young, 
 When heav'nly Flame did animate her clay, 
 
 By future Poets shall be sung. 
 
 Westward the Course of Empire takes its Way ; 
 
 The four first Acts already past, 
 A fifth shall close the Drama with the Day ; 
 
 Time's noblest Offspring is the last. 
 
A POETICAL EPISTLE 
 
 TO 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq,, 
 
 COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE 
 UNITED ST A TES OF AMERICA. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. CHARLES HENRY WHARTON, D. D. 
 
 FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT BKLONGING TO 
 
 DAVID PULSIFER, A.M., 
 
 MEMBER OF THE NF.W ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, FfiLLOW 
 OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION, CORRESPONDING 
 MEMBER OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE, AND OF THE RHODE 
 ISLAND, NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, AND WIS- 
 CONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR DAVID PULSIFER. 
 
 FOR SALE BY A. WILLIAMS & CO., 
 
 283 Washington Street. 
 
 1881.