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THE

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND CHARACTER

WASHINGTON.

BY E. C. M'GUIRE.

'A Christian is the highest style of man." . . . YoUiva.

NEW- YORK :
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82, CLIFF-STREET.
M DCCC XXXVI.

EntereB, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836,
ET HARPER AND BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern Diatrict of the State of New- York.

HENRY LUDWIG, PBIMTBR.

PREFACE.

The author would here give a brief explanation of
the motives which have led him to engage in the
work now submitted to the public.
The character of Washington, on which time has
fixed its authentic and unequivocal seal, is justly con
sidered the property of his country, and, in a measure,
of the civilized world. They may fairly claim him as
their own, for whom, when hving, he hazarded his
all — his honour, fortune, and life ! for whom he ever
cherished anxious cares — for whom he , toiled and suf
fered. Nor are they without a title, who, partaking of
our common nature, shared his philanthropic sympa
thies, and earnest prayers.
Such a reputation is a treasure to mankind which
never can be told. Blessings innumerable descend up
on the favoured people who rest under its shadow. It
sheds upon them peace, security, and credit. They
shine in its light, and derive from it, directly and indi
rectly, many eminent advantages.
But some of the choicest benefits of so rare a charac
ter, are found in its influence upon the principles and
conduct of those, who are taught to regard the same

with attention and reverence. A virtuous example is
very powerful to persuade and control the human mind.
Abundant evidence have we of this, in the happy fruits
of that ascendancy which lias marked the honoured
, , name before us. The good eflfects which have flowed
i i to our land from the moral weight of his excellent life,
i ; cannot be justly estimated. These effects have been in
creasing with the rapid growth of our country, and must
continue to multiply as she advances in nvimbers and
intelligence. Nor will the limits of his own country
confine the virtue of his high example. It has already
extended in its salutary efficacy to other cUmes, and no
doubt will prevail wherever goodness is revered, or great
ness respected.
As few men have acted a more important or spirit-
stirring part in the drama of human life, so few have
awakened a deeper interest, or a more rigid scrutiny of
their principles, motives, and actions. The inquiry,
jirorapted by an ardent sympathy, has been attended b)''
much diligent research, severe analysis, and patient
reflection. Whatever he thought, or said, or did, has
been examined, considered, and weighed, with a solici
tude and caution, prompted by the wish to understand
aright, and fitly appreciate, the character of one so emi
nently useful to his kind, and signally owned of Heav
en. The fruit of this investigation is so well known,
that it is scarcely necessary to add, that the trial to
which his fame has been subjected, has issued in the
! I universal admission, that greatness and goodness at
tach to his character, in a degree, seldom found to exist
in the same human beinsr.

PREFACE. V
It appears, however, to the writer, that among the
vaiious traits distinguishing so rare a personage, the
attention of the public has been rather partially distri
buted. The qualities of the hero and statesman, uni^
versally attractive as they are, have been those on
which the most have chiefly dehghted to dwell. Here
they have hngered, with fixed and unwearied admi
ration. In the mean time other important peculi
arities of disposition and habit, have been sufiered to
pass unnoticed, or with only a reluctant and impatient
glance. Among these may be especially numbered the
religious views and character of this illustrious man.
These, indeed, have not been entirely unobserved by
the public, and no doubt have much engaged the atten,
tion of some. But they have not shared a due pro
portion of interest, or their merited pre-eminence in the
constellation of his virtues.
It is well known, that distinguished persons in our (
land, have evinced a strange anxiety to impress the
world with a behef that the Father of his Country was
sceptical at heart, in regard to the Divine Authority of the
Bible  Instances of this singular zeal could
readily be specified, if it was expedient to do so. The
remarkable fact, however, is within the recollection of'
many, that a pubUc discussion took place some few
years ago, in one of our principal cities, in reference to
this very question— Washington's faith in Christianity
being boldly denied by one individual, and as positively
.aflfirmed by another.*
* This public debate was held in tlie City of New- York, and
conducted by Mr. OweOj of radical memory, and Mr. Bachelor,
1*

VI PREFACE.

Without attaching any undue importance to the judg
ment of any mere man, in reference to the Holy Scrip
tures, or indeed on any other subject, the writer is yet
impressed with the belief that a useful service may be
rendered the cause of religion and morality, by placing
the question of Washington's religious opinions and con
duct, in a satisfactory point of view. The solicitude
which others have manifested to perplex and mislead
inquirers, may be considered a justification of any eflfbrt,
fairly made, to disabuse the public mind of false impres
sions. The truth being once established, it may then
pass for what it is worth, and every man be left to draw
his own conclusions, and place upon the result such an
estimate as he may think fit.
This humble performance is presented by the author
to his fellow-citizens, without any of the pomp of Uterary
pretence, or the hope of literary reward. He has but
one design in contemplation, as the fruit of hia labour,
and that is, the advancement of true religion and virtue
in his native land ; and with this cherished view, does
he lay upon the altar of his country, this ofTering of a
single heart, if not of an accomplished pen.

Fredericksbuugh, Virginia, Sept. 15, 1836.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The author has been at much pains to acquire the
requisite materials for his present undertaking. To this
end, he flatters himself that the means within his reach,
are unusually ample. Besides the ordinary sources of
information, he has enjoyed the advantages of access to
some, not heretofore thrown open to others. His main
dependance, however, has been on such authorities as
are familiar to aU, though not before so collected and
combined into one harmonious whole, as to give them
their just influence on the pubhc mind. It may be ad
ded, that in search of matter, there has been a studious
refusal of whatever could be regarded as apocryphal or
fanciful — care being taken to employ only such facts as
can be proved authentic, or bear the indubitable marks
of being so.
As there will be in the body of the work, the usual
references to important authorities, it wiU not be neces
sary to enumerate them here. This may, however, be
the place to. say, that in consequence of the miscella
neous, and in some respects desultory character which
the work has assumed, the author has not encumbered

ADVERTISEMENT.

his pages, or obstructed the progress of his readers, with
a reference, in every instance, of a quoted article. In
deed it was not possible always to decide on whose
authority particular facts depend for their claim to con
fidence. Through so many hands have they passed,
regarded ahvays as common property, that their pater
nity can only be appropriated to a universally credited
tradition.

CONTENTS.
Introduction,  13
CHAPTER I.
Religious education of Washington — Record of his birth and bap
tism — Sponsors — Solemn vows of sponsors — Parental instruc
tion — Death of his father — The untamed colt — George is sent
to Westmoreland — Pope's Creek Church — Goes to school —
Peaceable disposition — Beloved by his companions — Adopts
sundry rules of conduct — Is anxious to enter the British navy —
Affection for his mother causes him to decline — Leaves West
moreland — Resides with his brother Lawrence at Mount Ver
non, and with his mother near Fredericksburg — Religious and
moral instruction — Familiar with a pious work, "Contempla
tions, Moral and Divine, by Sir Matthew Hale" — Extracts
from the volume,  29
CHAPTER n.
His religious opinions — Northern journal — Letter to the State
Governours — Judge Boudinot's opinion of his faith — Farewell
address — Religion and morality essential to the welfare of
mankind — French infidelity — The contagion thereof reaches
America — Extracts from Robert Hall, Dr. Wardlaw, and Dr.
Chalmers — Bequest of a Bible — Testimony of Chief Justice
Blarshall  69
CHAPTER III.
His views of Divine Providence— Reflections on the doctrine— His
belief in a particular Providence, firm and unqualified — Extracts
from his letters, declaring his convictions on the subject, , . . 99
CHAPTER IV.
His devotional habits— Remarks on the duty of prayer— Prayers
at Fori Necessity— Performed the funeral service at the inter
ment of General Braddock— Conducts the devotions of his
troops during the French and Indian war— Urges Governour
Dinwiddle to appoint a chaplain to his regiment— Extracts from
his diary— Holds the office of vestryman ji> his pansh^Ths

X CONTENTS.
church in a state of decay— Instrumental in building a new one
— A constant attendant — A communicant — Testimony of Rev.
Lee Massey— Reverential deportment in the house of 9°°7"
Visitors not suffered to keep him from the church— Rigid ob
servance of a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer — Visit to
Philadelphia— Attendance on public worship— Order issued the
day after he took command of the American army— Extracts
from the Orderly Book— After the war, worships at Christ
church, Alexandria— Renders his pew liable for the clergyman's
salary — National convention — Dr. Franklin's motion for the
appointment of a chaplain — Infidel objection — Chaplain appoint
ed — Washington's gratification — His attendance on pubhc wor
ship whilst President of the United States— Attended at Christ
Church — Bishop White the rector — After his retirement wor
ships again in Christ church, Alexandria — Habits of private de
votion — Remarks of Dr. Mason,  134
CHAPTER V.
His respect for the Sabbath — Reflections on the Day by Dr.
Dwight, Dr. Rush, and Chief Justice Hale — Washington in
Connecticut — Stopped on Sunday morning by an informing offi
cer—Commends the officer, and explains the cause of his travel
ling on the Lord's Day — Whilst President, would not receive
company on the Sabbath — Speaker Trumbull alone admitted —
After church, spent the evening in reading a sermon, or the Holy
Scriptures, to Mrs. Washington,  171
CHAPTER VI.
His respect for the clergy — Solicits Governour Dinwiddie to ap
point a chaplain — The Governour offended at his importunity —
Renews his application to the president of the council — Letter
to Dr. Cooper, president of King's College, New- York — Instruc
tions to General Arnold — Letter in behalf ofthe Rev. Mr. Kirk-
land, missionary to the Oneida Indians — Testimonial in favour
ofthe Rev. Mr. Leonard — Urges on Congress an increase ofthe
chaplains' pay — Requires the troops to render them a suitable
respect — Mentions kindly the Rev. Mr. Caldwell — Letter to
Rev. Israel Evans — Dr. Dwight wishes to dedicate a poem to
him — Letter to that gentleman — Letter to the minister, elders,
and deacons, of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan^-Rev.
Dr. Griffith, minister of the church in Alexandria — Bishop..eIeot
of Virginia— Died in Philadelphia, August, 1789— Extract from
his funeral sermon, preached by Dr. William Smith — Washing
ton's affection for him as his friend and pastor — Bishop White a
guest at the mansion of the President,  , . 176
CHAPTER VII.
His almsgiving — Reflections on the duty — Charity to the poor-
Kindness to an English soldier-^Liheral offer to educate a

CONTENTS. Xi
youth — Letter to Edward Snickers — Letter to Lund Washing
ton — Sundry instances of benevolence,  18G
CHAPTER VIII.
His filial love— Remarks on the virtue — His desire for the navy
relinquished in deference to his mother's wishes — Letters to his
mother — Extract from his diary — Visit to his mother at Freder
icksburg — Her death — Will — Appoints him executor and prin
cipal legatee — Letter from him to his sister,  196
CHAPTER IX.
His conjugal love — The value of this virtue — Proofs ofthe sam6 in
him^A miniature likeness of Mrs. Washington found on his
bosom after his death — Worn by him for forty years, .... 208
CHAPTER X.
His respect for superiors — Importance of such a spirit in commu
nities — Letter to Governour Dinwiddie — Letter to Joseph
Reed — Respect for Congress,  218
CHAPTER XL
His self-denial — A painful but wholesome duty — Extracts from
his journal — Trials of his early military life — Health impaired
— Retires to Mount Vernon — On recovery of his health, resumes
his command — Much discouraged in prosecuting the war — Plain
ness of dress — Difficulties during the revolutionary war — En
dured with great patience — Letter to Major General Green —
Visit of Colonel Meade, his former aid-de-camp — The simplici
ty of his dress,  224
CHAPTER XII.
His disinterestedness — Letter to John Robinson, speaker of the
House of Burgesses — Disclaims selfish motives on entering into
the service of his country — Losses under General Braddock —
Declines compensation on accepting the command of the Amer
ican army — Letters to Lund Washington,  240
CHAPTER XIII.
His humanity — Excellence of this virtue — Kindness to French
prisoners — Letter to Governour Dinwiddie — Sympathy with
those suffering by the French and Indian war — Letter to Gen
eral Gage — Instructions to General Arnold — Lord Chatham's
son — Letter to the President of Congress — Proclamation, &c —
Expostulates with Lord Howe on cruel treatment of prisoners —
Cases of Major Andr6 and Captain Asgill, considered — The
humanity of Washington in regard thereto, vindicated, . . . 249

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.
His views of profane swearing, gaming, and drunkenness-— Evil
of these vices — Letters to Governour Dinwiddie in relation to
them — Order issued to his troops in the French and Indian
war — Similar orders in the revolutionary war — Letter to his
nephew, Bushrod Washington,  - 306
CHAPTER XV.
His views of war — Pernicious effects of war — Remarks of Robert
Hall — Letters to Richard Washington — Address to the New-
York Provincial Congress — Letter to Arthur Young, Esq.—
Letter to the Humane Society — Letter from Dr. Letsom, of
London — War regarded as a necessary evil by Washing
ton — Peace his delight,  317
CHAPTTR XVI.
His views of duelling — His conduct under provocation in Alexan
dria — Letter to Marquis La Fayette — Refuses him his con
sent to send a challenge to Lord Carlisle,  328
CHAPTER XVn.
His death — Account thereof by Tobias Lear — Death sudden —
Resignation to the will of God — Mrs. Washington at his bed
side — Bible on the bed — Directions concerning his funeral —
Closes his own eyes — His funeral — Inscription on the door of
the Family vault,  336
CHAPTER XVIIL
Posthumous honours — Public grief and lamentations at his
death — Funeral orations and eulogies pronounced in all the
principal towns and cities — Extracts from those delivered by
General H. Lee, J. M. Sewall, Esq., Hon. David Ramsay,
George Blake, Esq., Hon. Fisher Ames, Hon. Timothy
Bigelow, John Davis, Esq., Rev. William Linn, D.D., Hon.
J. Smith, Dr. Joseph BIyth, Rev. J. M. Mason, Major Wil
liam Jackson, Rev. Devereux Jarratt, Josiah Dunham, Esq.,
Rev. John Thornton Kirkland  356
CHAPTER XIX.
The Character of Washington  397

INTRODUCTION.

An account ofthe early years of Washington, will pro
bably be regarded as a proper introduction to the following
work. With such a chart, the progress of the reader will
be rendered more easy, as he will not then be detained with
explanations and references, otherwise unavoidable. Some
thing of the kind becomes expedient, moreover, for other
reasons entitled to weight.
Ofthe many narratives published of this period of Wash
ington's life, it is believed that none have been correct.
The prominent facts may have been given, but not without
sticking errors and contradictions in them all. These, in
deed, may not be of very great moment, but it certainly is
desirable that the statements should be accurate. If the
history is of any value, it is worthy of being exact in its
details. The author cannot say that he has attained to
perfect accuracy, in regard to all the facts, dates, &c., but
he has been enabled to rectify sundry mistakes of former
biographers, and to give, as he thinks, a record more faith
ful than any which has yet appeared.
GrEOEGE Washington was born on the 22d of February,
(n. s.) A.D. 1732. The place of his nativity was Pope's
Creek, Washington parish, Westmoreland county, Vir
ginia. The estate on which he was born had been in possession
of his family for about seventy-five years. It was origi
nally settled by his great-grandfather, John Washington,
an English gentleman, who had emigrated from the north
2

•XIV introduction.
of England, somewhere about the year 1655. As his re
moval took place during the protectorate of Oliver Crom
well, he was probably one of those who preferred liberty in
a strange land, to a dishonourable submission at home.
He is believed to have been a military man in early life.
His will, now at Mount Vernon, has the follovwng endorse
ment, " The will of Lieutenant Colonel Washington." This
document also bears witness to an ardent piety in the testa
tor ; the venerable founder of his family. As the parish
in which he lived, has always borne his name, he was
probably mainly instrumental in its establishment. A
slight bequest in favour of the church, evinced his dying
solicitude for the decent maintenance of those services
which he had cherished while living. After his arrival and
settlement in Westmoreland, he married Miss Pope,
daughter of the gentleman from whom the creek on which
he lived took its name. By this marriage he had three
children, viz. Lawrence, John, and Ann. To Lawrence, the
oldest son, he bequeathed the estate on which he lived — the
Pope's Creek farm. Augustine Washington, the father
of George, was the son of Lawrence, and born in the year
1694. He was probably the oldest son of his father, as he
inherited the patrimonial estate at Pope's Creek. He was
twice married. His first wife was Jane Butler, by whom
he had four children, viz. Butler, Lawrence, Augustine
and Jane. Of these, Butler diedyoung, and Jane the 17th
of January, 1735, when about thirteen years of age ; Law
rence and Augustine attained to manhood. The first was
born in the year 1718, The second wife was Mary Ball,
a young lady of highly respectable family, in the northern
neck of Virginia. To her he was married on the 6th of
March, 1731, being himself thirty-seven years of age. Of
this union George was the first fruit. He was the oldest of
* The date of the will is Oct. 21, 1675.

INTRODUCTION. XV
six children, viz. George, Betty, Samuel, John Augustine,
Charles, and Mildred. The latter died when sixteen
months old.
It was about the year 1739 that Mr. Washington remov
ed from his estate in Westmoreland, to a farm owned by him
in King George county, (now Stafford county,) on the
Rappahannock river, directly opposite to Fredericksburg.
This change of residence was probably induced by consi
derations of health — ^the Potomac estate being sickly. Pre
vious to this event, George had been sent to a school kept
by an old man named Hobby, who was at once a teacher
and se.xton of Washington parish. By this old man was
the future hero and statesman taught to read. During this
period domestic incidents occurred, embracing the religious
instruction of George, to which reference will be made in
the proper place. Between him and his father, it would
seem that a delightful intercourse always subsisted ; it be
ing a matter of regret to the latter that he was obbged to
be separated from his child, even duringthe hours of school.
Mr. Washington survived his removal from Westmoreland
but a few years. He had time enough allowed him, how
ever, to mark the budding virtues of his son. It was in the
Easter holy days that Mr. Washington was taken sick.
George was absent at the time, on a visit to some of his ac
quaintances* in Chotanct, King George county. He was
sent for after his father's sickness became serious, and
reached the paternal abode in time to witness the last struggle
and receive the parting benediction of his beloved parent.
Lawrence Washington, the eldest son by the first wife,
indulging a military spirit, joined the army, a little after he
* In his will, General Washington made the following bequests. " To
the acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, Lawrence Washington
and Robert Washington, of Chotanct, I give my other two gold.headed
canes, having my arms engraved on thero," &c.

Xvi INTRODUCTION.
became of age, and received a captain's commission, dated
June 9th, 1740. " He was assigned to a company m a
regiment to be raised in America, under the command of
Colonel Alexander Spotswood, designed for the West India
service, and to act in the Spanish war. The regiment was
transported to Jamaica early in 1741, where it was united
with the British forces in time to take a part in the unsuc
cessful siege of Carthagena, conducted by Admiral Vernon
and General Wentworth, in March, of that year. After the
failure of the expedition, the fleet sailed back to Jamaica,
where the land forces were stationed, except durnig a few
months in the summer season, when, for reasons not known,
they were taken to Cuba. Captain Washington returned to
Virginia near the close ofthe year 1742, having been absent
about two years."* In a few months after his return,
his father's death took place. He died at his house, oppo
site to Fredericksburg, on the 12th of April, 1743, aged 49
years. As the eldest son, Lawrence had been charged
>vith the care ofthe family and estate. About this time he
married Ann Fairfax, a daughter of Mr. William Fairfax,
and relative of Lord Fairfax. Soon after which event, he
settled on an estate, not purchased by him, as has been said,
but bequeathed him by his father ; and called by himself
Mount Vernon, in honour of Admiral Vernon. While
Lawrence settled at Mount Vernon,in the neighbourhood of
his father-in-law, his brother Augustine took possession of
the family estate at Pope's Creek, which property had been
also bequeathed him by his father. To him was George
sent a short time after the death of Mr. Washington. Here
he continued about three years, going to school all the time
to a Mr. Williams ; a plain, but respectable teacher.
During this period he was taught the manual exercise by
Adjutant Muse, a Westmoreland volunteer, who had been
* J. Sparlt:s.

INTRODUCTION. Xvii
in the West India service with his brother Lawrence. He
was also instructed in the art of fencing, by Mens. Van-
braam, who afterwards accompanied him to Venango as his
interpreter. At the conclusion of his residence in West
moreland, we find him attempting to enter the naval service
of Great Britain. In September, 1746, he went to the
county of Fairfax, where his brother Lawrence resided.
With the consent of his mother a midshipman's warrant
had been obtained for him by this brother. But a change
of mind, on the part of Mrs. Washington, had suspended his
final decision, and in a month or two induced him entirely to
abandon the thought of going to sea. He did not again
return to Westmoreland, but spent his time at Mount Ver
non, and with his mother near Fredericksburg. Here he
again went to school, and continued till his seventeenth
year ; at the commencement of which, viz. in March, 1748,
he engaged as a surveyor in the western part of Virginia,
associated with Mr. George Fairfax, in the service of Lord
Thomas Fairfax. In this laborious office he continued
about three years, with occasional intervals of absence, on
visits to his brother at Mount Vernon, and to his mother.
In the month of September, 1751, if not before, he relin
quished the occupation of surveyor, for the purpose of ac
companying his brother Lawrence to the West Indies,
whose declining health rendered such a trip necessary.
There he did not stay long, taking the small-pox during the
time, and returning to Virginia alone in February, 1752,
Lawrence remained with the hope of deriving benefit to his
health, but faibng in this respect, he returned home the fol
lowing summer to his grave. He died at Mount Vernon,
July 26th, 1752. George was at Mount Vernon when his
brother died, and immediately took charge of his affairs.
On opening the will of the deceased, it was found that he
2*

XVlll INTRODUCTION.
had given to George the Mount Vernon estate,* together
with some valuable lands in Berkley county, Virginia.
A short time before this, according to Judge Marshall,
George had been appointed by the governour and council,
adjutant to the northern division ofthe Virginia mihtia, with
the rank of major. It was about fifteen months from the
death of his brother that he received the appointment, and
engaged in his first public duties as envoy to the French
commandant on the Ohio. The colony of Virginia having
been recently divided into four military districts, his appoint
ment of adjutant-general was renewed during his absence,
and the northern district assigned him. In his visit to the
Ohio he was to act as the messenger of the governour,! to
deliver a letter to the French commandant, and ascertain
the meaning of sundry recent hostile movements of the
French, consisting of undue encroachments on the lands of
his majesty, the king of England, and maltreating subjects
of the British crown. Being commissioned on the 30th of
October, 1753, he set out the same day on his arduous and
dangerous enterprize. Through many difficulties, priva
tions, and hazards, did he persevere in the fulfilment of his
mission, which he at length accomplished to the perfect sa
tisfaction ofthe authorities by whom he had been employed.
After many risks of his life, with much suffering from cold
and fatigue, he returned to Williamsburg, with the answier
of the French commander, and an account of his own
travels and proceedings, on the 16th of January, 1754, hav
ing been absent about six weeks.
Inconsequence ofthe zeal, fidelity and ability, with which
* Though prompted by his fraternal affection for George, in giving him
Mount Vernon, yet it appears fiom an inspection ofthe will ofthe father, that
¦¦i desire had been therein expressed that Lawrence, in case he should die
without issue, would give that property to George. He died without issue,
it is believed, and obeyed the father's wish.
I Dinwiddie.

INTRODUCTION. XIX
Major Washington accomplished the objects of his western
tour, he was appointed, soonafter his return, to the command
of two companies, of one hundred men each, ordered to be
raised by the governour and council, with a view to the con
struction of a fort, at the fork of the Ohio, as a means of
resisting the hostihties of the French. The Virginia assem
bly, however, at a recent sitting, having voted ten thousand
pounds for this service, the governour was induced to increase
the force to three hundred men, divided into six companies,
the command of the whole being given to Colonel Joshua
Fry. Major Washington was then raised to the rank of
lieutenant-colonel, and made second in command, an ho
nour beyond which he did not aspire, and with which he ex
pressed himself perfectly satisfied.
Having been stationed at Alexandria, for the purpose of
filling up his company. Colonel Washington left that place
on the 2d of April, and arrived at Will's Creek on the 20th,
having been joined on the route by a detachment under
Captain Stephen. Colonel Fry, the chief in command, be
ing detained by bad health, Colonel Washington went on
from his quarters at Will's Creek toward the Great Mea
dows. This he was induced to do, by learning that the
French, in great numbers, had appeared before the fort, then
in an unfini.'^hed state, at the fork ofthe Ohio, and demand
ed its surrender, which was accordingly complied with by
Ensign Ward, who had been left there by Captain Trent,
with a handful of men. Considering the frontiers as thus
actually invaded, Colonel Washington regarded it as his
duty, id compliance with the orders given him, to move on
ward, prepared to meet the invading army wherever it should
appear. On the 1st of May, his feeble force, consisting of
one hundred and fifty men, moved from Will's Creek, and
entered the wilderness by slow and tedious marches. The
friendly Indians brought infrequent reports of French scouts

XX INTRODUCTION.
seen in the woods, and on the 24th of May, the half-king sent
message to Washington, apprisinghim that a French force, a
in what numbers he could not tell, was on its march to at
tack the English, and warning him to be on his guard.
The army was now a few miles beyond the Great Meadows,
and on receiving this intelligence, Washington hastened
back to that place, and at once engaged his men in throwing
up an entrenchment, determined to wait the approach ofthe
enemy. Early on the morning of the 27th, Mr. Gist arrived in
camp, and informed Colonel Washington that M. La Force,
a French officer, had been at his plantation, about thirteen
miles off, the day before ; and that on his way he had seen
the tracks of the same party five miles from the encamp
ment. Washington, suspecting a design to surprise him, imme
diately made provision for finding out, and attacking this
roving detachment ofthe enemy. In this he succeeded on
the morning of the 28th. In connexion with a few friendly
Indians, he surprised the French in their hiding place, and
after an action of about fifteen minutes, subdued them, kill
ing some, and capturing the rest. Among the killed was
the commander, M. Jumonville. This was the first battle
in which Washington had ever been engaged.
A few days after this action, viz : on the 31st of May,
Colonel Fry died at Will's Creek. Governour Dinwiddie
was now in Winchester. Colonel Innis, from North
Carolina, had recently arrived in that town with 350 troops.
Soon after the death of Colonel Fry, the governour appoint
ed Innis to the chief command of all the forces destined
for the Ohio. Colonel Washington was promoted to the
command of the Virginia regiment. Neither Colonel
Innis nor his troops ever joined Colonel Washington, or
rendered him any aid. He was joined by a Captain

INTRODUCTION. XXl
Mackay, with an independent company from South Caroli
na, who were of little service, as they stood very much
upon their rights as the king's soldiers, claiming an exemp
tion from many duties on that account. Leaving this offi
cer and his company at the Great Meadows, Colonel
Washington marched forward with the Virginia regiment.
He soon learned, however, the extent of the French force,
and though Captain Mackay overtook him, a retreat was
thought expedient. They reached the Great Meadows on
the 1st of July, when Colonel Washington, finding his men
too much fatigued to go any further, determined to in
crease the strength of the fortifications, and await the
movements of the enemy.
On the 3d of July, early in the morning, an alarm was
received from a sentinel, who had been wounded by the
enemy ; and at nine o'clock, intelligence came that their
whole body, amounting, as was reported, to 900 men, were
only four miles off. The action soon commenced. It con
tinued from eleven A. m., to eight o'clock at night, when the
French commander requested a parley. The proposal
issued in the capitulation of Washington, and his return
with the troops to Will's Creek. Thence, with Captain
Mackay he proceeded to Williamsburgh, and communicated,
in person, the results of the expedition.
There was a good deal of dissatisfaction expressed in
regard to some of the articles of capitulation, when they
became public. The house of burgesses, however, met
in August, and requested the governour to lay before them
a copy of the capitulation. This being done, upon a due
consideration of the subject, they passed a vote of thanks
to Colonel Washington, and his officers, for their bravery
and gallant defence of the country. Indeed, all the pro
ceedings of the campaign were not only approved, but
applauded by the government and the pubhc generally.

.1 INTRODUCTION.
/ Soon after Colonel Washington's return from this expe
dition, the governour and council resolved on renewing the
contest, in which they had been so lately foiled. There
was,however,a difference between the governour and house
of burgesses, which prevented an appropriation of money
at this juncture. When Washington was informed of the
plans of the governour and council, to engage in another
enterprize against the French, without delay, he expostu
lated so warmly against the folly of such an attempt being
made without money, men, or provisions, that the scheme
was readily abandoned.
When the assembly met in October, they granted twenty
thousand pounds for the pubhc exigencies, and the
governour received from England, ten thousand pounds in
specie, with the promise of as much more, and two thou
sand fire-arms. Thereupon he resolved to enlarge the
army to ten companies, of one hundred men each, and to
reduce them all to independent companies, by which means
there would be no officer in the Virginia regiment above
the rank of a captain. In consequence of this singular
arrangement. Colonel Washington retired from the army,
as he would not accept a lower commission than the one
he had held, and in which he had exhibited a rare example
of bravery and good conduct.
From this time, October 1754, he remained on his farm
engaged in the pursuits of agriculture ; for which he ever
had a strong predilection. It was not long, however, that
a man of such decided military talents could be suffered to
remain inactive, when the cloud of war was impending. On
the 20th of February, 1755, General Braddock arrived in
Virginia, as commander-in-chief of all the military forces
of North America. He had heard of Colonel Washington
as a man of worth, and finding that he had resigned his
commission, when his command was reduced, commended

INTRODUCTION. XXUl
the military spirit of the youthful soldier, and, to remove all
difficulty on that score, he offered him a place in his family,
as volunteer aid-de-camp. By this arrangement, ex
cluding all question of rank, every objection on the part of
Washington being effectually obviated, he freely accepted
the offer.
On the 20th of April General Braddock marched from
Alexandria, where his troops had first landed. Colonel
Washington, detained by his private concerns, did not leave
Mount Vernon till the 23d. He joined the army in a few
days at Fredericktown, Maryland. From hence they pur
sued their way into the wilderness. On the 14th of June
he was taken sick with a violent fever in the Alleghany
mountain. The army proceeded without him, the violence
of his disease rendering it impossible for him to travel.
He was, however, convalescent in a few weeks, and so far
recovered as to bear his part in the memorable battle ofthe
Monongahela. This fatal event occurred on Wednesday,
the 9th of July. Colonel Washington had only joined the
army the day before : he was weak an4 feeble from the
effects of his late sickness ; yet did he nobly fulfil his duty
that day. While death was strewing the plain with its ago
nized victims, he conducted himself with the greatest cour
age and resolution. General Braddock, with almost every
officer of distinction, and a large proportion of the troops,
were either killed or wounded. Washington alone abided
unhurt the horrors of that dreadful conflict. When Brad
dock himself fell, the wretched remnant of his blasted army
was conducted by Washington to a place of safe retreat.
The general was also carried off by his assistance, but died
of his wounds a few days after the battle. He was buried
at night, in the road, near Fort Necessity, at the Great
Meadows. This disaster, of which a sanguine public had not enter-

XXIV INTRODUCTION.
tained the most distant apprehension, came upon the whole
country like the shock of an earthquake. And yet Colonel
Washington lost no ground in the confidence of his country
men. The belief was general, that if he had been com
mander the calamity would not have occurred. By his
brilliant behaviour during the action, and his skill in direct
ing the retreat, he acquired increased reputation and esteem
with the public.
In proof of this undiminished confidence he v/as immedi
ately advanced to the chief command ofthe Virginia forces.
The assembly voted forty thousand pounds for the public
service, and the governour and council immediately resolved
to increase the Virginia regiment to sixteen companies. Of
this regiment Colonel Washington v/as appointed command
er-in-chief. His commission was dated on the 14th of Au
gust. Permission was given him to appoint his own offi
cers, together with an aid-de-camp and secretary.
Thus cordially sustained, he entered upon the duties of
his command with that energy and resolution for which he
had been distinguished in all his enterprizes. For these, in
deed, there was abundant occasion in that irregular and pro
tracted warfare which grew out of the peculiar policy of the
French, and habits ofthe Indians. It now became his duty
to defend three hundred and sixty miles of frontier, against
the incursions of a blood-thirsty and unrelenting foe. Win
chester was made the head quarters of the army, and the
valley of the Shannondoah, in which that town was situat
ed, being thinly settled by inhabitants, was the frequent
scene ofthe most dreadful depredations, and inhuman mur
ders. Hordes of savages and Frenchmen were continually
hovering, Uke birds of prey, over that defenceless country,
for the protection of which an undisciplined and incompe
tent force, as it appeared, had been assigned the youthful
commander. For three tedious and anxious years did

INTRODUCTION. XXV
Washington maintain the unequal and harassing strife.
The governour, jealous, as it was thought, of his rising popu
larity, extended to him a tardy and reluctant support. He
was refused an adequate provision in men and money when
they were absolutely necessary, and yet censured for disas
ters which no human power, under such circumstances,
could avert. He continued, notwithstanding, amidst the
most trying and perplexing scenes, to do all that could be
done, both with his sword and his pen. He repelled the
foe with the one, and expostulated with the other, where
there was any hope of success. He was untiring in his ef
forts to defend a deserted and afflicted people, who looked
up to him with tears and entreaties for protection ; while, in
tones of manly remonstrance, he represented to the govern
ment the insufficiency ofthe means allowed him for a work
so arduous and trying.
At length, the great object of his hopes and desires was
accomplished, in the expulsion of the enemy from Fort
Duquesne. The design, which the British government had
formed, of carrying the war into Canada, being known to
the French governour in that country, the greater part of their
troops were recalled from the Ohio. About five hundred
men had been left for the defence of the French possessions.
These soon yielded to the British troops, under General
Forbes. It was on the 25th of November, 1758, that his
majesty's forces took possession of Fort Duquesne — now
Pittsburg. The French had previously set fire to the fort,
and passed down the Ohio. The war was transferred to
Canada, and Virginia was permitted to rest for a season,
exchanging the hazards and ravages of war for the tranquil
lity and improvements of peace.
Colonel Washington now determined to retire from the
army, and seek, m the repose and relaxation of home, the
3

XXVI INTRODUCTION.
restoration of his injured health, and the improvement of
of his private affairs, which had suffered much by his long
absence. His word and affections were also pledged at this time to
that excellent female who in a short time became his devoted
wife. He had been thus engaged since the preceding spring.
This fact, not generally known, is unimportant, except as
serving to enhance the value of those hazards and privations
encountered by him in the cause of his country, and from
which he could not be seduced by the charms of one so
tenderly beloved.
In the month of May, of this year, he visited Williamsburg,
on pressing business, under the direction of Sir John St.
Clair.* Itwas at thistime that the following circumstances
occurred, as related in a recent publication by the grandson
of Mrs. Washington. "It was in 1758, that an officer, at
tired in a military undress, and attended by a body ser
vant, tall and mihtaire as his chief, crossed the ferry called
Williams', over the Pamunkey, a branch of the York river.
On the boat touching the southern, or New Kent side, the
soldier's progress was arrested by one of those personages,
who give the beau ideal of the Virginia gentleman of the
old regime, the very soul of kindliness and hospitality. It
was in vain the soldier urged his business at Williamsburg,
important communications to the governour, &c. Mr.
Chamberlayne, on whose domain the militaire had just
landed, would take no excuse." It was now, in accepting
an invitation to dine, that Colonel Washington became ac
quainted with Mrs. Custis, who was a guest that day at the
mansion of Mr. Chamberlayne. Having seen her again on
his return from Williamsburg at her own house in New
* See his letter to the president of the council, dated May 28th 1758
as contamed in 2d. vol. of his " Writings." p. 285 ; published by J. Sparks. '

INTRODUCTION. XXVll
Kent, he pursued his way to the post of duty, at head
quarters, in Winchester. Passing through the toils and
dangers ofthe following campaign, which terminted on the
25th of November, we find him again in Williamsburg,
with a view to a final settlement of his accounts with the
government on the 30th of December. He was married
in about a week from this time, viz. on the 6th of January,
1759, — the marriage ceremony being preformed at the
White House, New Kent county, the residence of Mrs.
Custis, by the Rev. Mr. Mossom, rector of St. Peter's
church, New Kent.
During the previous summer, havingdetermined to resign
his commission at the close of the campaign. Colonel
Washington had proposed himself to the electors of Fred
erick county as a candidate for the house of burgesses.
Though detained from the hustings by the duties of his
command, he was elected by a large majority over three
active rival candidates. The assembly was convened by
prorogation, in the month of February, when he joined the
body as the member from Frederick. It was on this oc
casion that the following incident occurred, as related by
Mr. Wirt, in his " Life of Patrick Henry,"* on the authority
of Edmund Randolph. It had been resolved, when it was
known that Colonel Washington would be a member, that
the thanks of the house should be returned to him, in a
pubUc manner, for his distinguished services to his country ;
and the duty devolved upon Mr. Robinson, the speaker.
" As soon as Colonel Washington took his seat," says
Mr. Wirt, " Mr. Robinson, in obedience to this order, and
following the impulse of his own generous and grateful
heart, discharged the duty with great dignity ; but with such
warmth of colouring, and strength of expression, as entirely
* Page 45.

INTRODUCTION.

confounded the young hero. He rose to express his ac
knowledgements for the honour, but such was his trepida-
tion and confusion, that he could not give distinct utterance
to a single syllable. He blushed, stammered, and trembled,
for a second ; when the speaker relieved him, by a stroke of
address that would have done honour to Louis the XIV. in
his proudest and happiest moment. " Sit down Mr. Wash
ington," said he, with a conciUating smile ; " your modesty
is equal to your valour ; and that surpasses the power of
any language that I possess."
Colonel Washington remained in Williamsburg during the
session of the assembly, after which he repaired, with Mrs.
Washington, to his residence at Mount Vernon. Here was
he allowed the repose of peace, and the pleasure of his
favourite agricultural occupations, for the space of sixteen
years, mingling, however, with them those civil and religi
ous pursuits, which became him as a patriot and a Christian.
He was a magistrate ofthe county, and a frequent member
ofthe house of burgesses, as well as ofthe first and second
continental congress. He was also a fast friend of the
church, in the parish where he lived, doing all in his power
to advance the interests of morality and religion, through
her consecrated instrumentality.
We here conclude our hasty narrative, because no longer
necessary to a proper understanding of the following work.
There is so much greater notoriety attaching to the suc
ceeding years of his life, than to those which preceded
them, that it will be easy for the reader of ordinary informa
tion, to understand and appreciate the facts and incidents,
insulated as they may be, which it will be our business to se
lect and record, in the course of the following investigation.

THE
RELiaiOUS OPINIONS AND CHARACTER
0 P
WASHINGTON.

CHAPTER I.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF WASHINGTON.
The advantages of early rehgious instruction, imparted
with due affection and skill, have long since been decid
ed by the testimony of human experience, as well as by
the voice of divine revelation. So well established is the
principle, that the character of the man may in general
be safely inferred from the moral discipline of the youth.
The consent and approval of mankind, has in one sense
consecrated the familiar adage : —
" Just as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined ;"
And the Wise Man declares the same in substance, when
he says, " Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
" It is true, indeed," says one,* " that our first years
* Kev. J, "W. Cunningham, A. M.
3*

30 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
seldom supply that sober ear, which the lessons of religion
demand ; but then every avenue to the heart is open ;
and whatever spirit is introduced into the system, often
lives, though latent, and animates the frame forever.
Early piety may sometimes languish, but then it is often
but for a season, as rivers sometimes suddenly disappear,
but as often rise again in a distant spot, with brighter
waves and increased rapidity. — Early scholars in reli
gion are the best, for they have less to unlearn. Indeed,
it is rare to see the gray hairs of Devotion silver the head
which was not early taught of Heaven."
A striking confirmation of the doctrine in question ap
pears to be furnished by the life and character of Wash
ington. Of this, however, we must leave our readers to
form their own judgment, when the evidences of his re
hgious education shall have been laid before them.
There is reason, indeed, to regret that the amount of
positive knowledge on this subject is not so ample as
could have been desired. And yet there are some things
known to us, which aflford very strong presumptive tes
timony, while a few scattered examples of parental
care have been given, which enable us to conclude, with
considerable certainty, in regard to the general course of
moral and spiritual instruction pursued in his case.
The record of his early reception into the Christian
church, by the sacred rite of baptism, has been copied
firom the family Bible. It is here submitted, not only as
an article of some interest in itself but as serving to in
troduce reflections which may shed a little light upon
our subject.
" George Washington, Son to Augustine and Mary his
Wife, was born the 11th day of Febuary, 1731-2 about

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 31
10 in the morning, and was baptized the 5th of April
following — Mr. Beverly Whiting and Captain Christopher
Brooks, Godfathers, and Mrs. Mildred Gregory, God
mother." The parents of Washington, as the reader will no
doubt understand, were members of the Church of Eng
land ; which was almost the only denomination of Chris
tians then known in the colony of Virginia. And in the
matter before us, the baptism of their child, and the ac
companying sponsorial provision, they acted, it would
seem, in precise and scrupulous conformity with the
rules of that ancient Church.
In the absence of accurate information, as before inti.
mated, there is very good ground of belief that the course
subsequently pursued by the parents, was according to
the good beginning here made. The vows of those who
devoted their offspring to God in holy baptism, as admin
istered by the Church of England, were very solemn, and
the age distinguished by a rigid punctuality respecting
the duties enjoined by those vows. The solemnity of
the engagements incurred, may be more clearly perceiv
ed, and fully understood from the emphatic terms of the
following exhortation, always dehvered in the conclusion
of the service, by the oflSciating minister : —
" Forasmuch as this child hath promised, by you, hia
Sureties, to renounce the devil and all his works, to be
lieve in God, and to serve him ; ye must remember, that
it is your parts and duties to see that this infant be taught,
so soon as he shall be able to learn, what a solemn vow,
promise and profession, he hath here made by you. And
that he may know these things the better, ye shall call
upon him to hear Sermons ; and chiefly ye shall provide,

32 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
that he may learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the
Ten Commandments, and aU other things which a Chris
tian ought to know, and believe to his soul's health ; and
that this Child may be virtuously brought up, to lead
a godly and a Christian life — remembering always
that Baptism doth represent unto us our profession ;
which is, to follow the example of our Saviour Christy
and to be made like unto him, that as he died and rose
again for us, so should we, who are baptized, die from
sin, and rise again unto righteousness ; continually mor
tifying all our evil, and corrupt affections, and daily pro
ceeding in all virtue and godliness of living."
These peculiarities are referred to, solely for the pur
pose of exhibiting the nature of the obligations incurred,
equally by the sponsors and parents of Washington, in
the religious observance under consideration — obligations
which we have good reason to believe they conscien
tiously fulfilled. Their exact conformity with the regula
tion of the church in the original instance, seems to
authorize the conclusion, that they subsequently acted
with the same scrupulous regard to engagements, bound
upon them by the solemn sanctions of religion, and en
forced by motives drawn from the hopes and fears of
another world.
We shall here introduce a few biographical incidents,
as not unworthy the attention of our readers. They
may be quoted, as serving, in some degree, to aid our
inquiries, and confirm our impressions of parental fidehty
in the case before us. Nor let any complain of them, as
unimportant and trifling. Life is very much made up of
small things, and it is often to them we must look for the
development and proof of principles. What these little

CRARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 33
domestic occurrences shall be found to want in historical
dignity, we think they will make up in real worth and
useful intimations. Their employment may at least
contribute to the amusement and edification of our juve
nile readers, and, perhaps, not be deficient in salutary
suggestions to older persons entrusted with the instruc
tion and government of the young.
The following account rests on the testimony of a
venerable lady, now deceased, who, as a friend and rela
tive, spent many of her youthful days in the family of
Mr. Washington.
" On a fine morning in the fall of 1737, Mr. Washing
ton, having George by the hand, came to the door, and
asked cousin Washington and myself to walk with him
to the orchard, promising to show us a fine sight. On
arriving at the orchard, we were presented with a fine
sight, indeed. The whole earth, as far as we could see,
was strewed with fruit ; and yet the trees were bending
under the weight of apples. 'Now, George,' said his
father, ' look here, my son ! Do n't you remember, when
this good cousin of yours brought you that fine, large
apple last spring, how hardly I could prevail on you to
divide with your brothers and sisters, though I promised
that if you would but do it, the Almighty would give you
a plenty of apples this fall ? ' Poor George could not
say a word ; but, hanging down his head, looked quite
confused. 'Now, look up, my son,' continued his father,
' and see how richly the Almighty has made good my
promise to you ! ' George looked, in silence, on the wide
wilderness of fruit ; then, hfting his eyes to his father, he
eaid, with emotion, ' Well, pa, only forgive me this time,
and see if I am ever so stingy any more.' "

34 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Mr. Washington, it would seem, earnestly addressed
himself to the work of inspiring his son with an early
love of truth. On this subject he often spoke to him,
commending the virtue as one of pre-eminent value and
excellence. Of the efficacy of his instructions the follow
ing incident may afibrd some illustration. The nanrative
rests upon the authority of the excellent lady before
mentioned. " When George was about six years old, he became
the happy owner of a hatchet, of which, hke most little
boys, he was immoderately fond, and was constantly
going about, chopping every thing that came in his way-
One day, in the garden, where he often amused himself,
he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body
of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he
barked so terribly that I believe the tree never got the
better of it. The next morning, the old gentleman, find
ing out what had befallen his tree — which, by-the-by,
was a great favourite with him — came into the house,
and, with much warmth, asked for the mischievous au
thor — declaring, at the same time, that he would not
have taken five guineas for his tree. Nobody could
tell him any thing about it. Presently George and
his hatchet made their appearance. ' George,' said
his father, ' do you know who killed that beautiful httle
cherry-tree yonder in the garden ? ' George was taken
by surprise, and for a moment staggered under the
question ; but he quickly recovered himself, and, looking
at his father, he said, ' I can't tell a lie, pa — I cut it, with
my hatchet.' The delighted father embraced his child,
saying, ' Glad am I, George, that you killed the tree, for
you have paid me for it a thousand-fold ! Such an act

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 35
of heroism, my son, is worth a thousand such trees as
the one destroyed.' "*
It was not, however, forgotten by Mr. Washington,
while instructing his son in the obligations of morahty,
that " the fear ofthe Lord is the beginning of knowledge,"
and the only effectual source of real vutue and goodness.
To give his son this knowledge, and inspire him with
this fear, as far as human agency could effect it, was
accordingly a cherished aim with this considerate parent.
To accomplish his pious object by an impression that
v/ould be deep and enduring, he adopted the following
expedient. On a properly prepared bed in his garden, he traced,
with a stick, the letters of his son's name ; and, sowing
seed in them, he covered the same over, and smoothed
the ground nicely with a roller. In a short time the
usual progress of vegetation brought up the plants, and
displayed, in prominent and legible characters, the words,
George Washington. It was not many days before
the vegetable wonder caught the eye for which it was
intended. Again and again did the astonished boy
read his name, springing up from the earth in letters
fresh and green. But soon he turned with eager steps
to seek his beloved father, and tell him of the sight he
had seen. The conscious father hastened with him to
the spot, and hstened for a time to the expression of his
childish admiration and perplexity. It was in vain that
he sought for a cause of the phenomenon. He could not
? This and the preceding occurrence were communicated to Rev.
Mr. Weems, for a short time rector of Mount Vernon parish, after the
death of Washington.

36 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
be satisfied until his father revealed his own agency. He
had made the letters with his stick, and had sowed the
seed in the furrows ; and the warm earth had caused
them to spring up. And now he availed himself of the
propitious occasion to direct the excited faculties of his
child toward the contemplation of that Infinite Intelli
gence whence all things had proceeded. He showed the
necessary existence of God, from the works of nature —
from the manifest traces of design, contrivance, and wise
adjustment, every where discernable in the various pro
ductions of his Almighty hand. The moment was emi
nently auspicious. The mind could not have been more
impressible, or open to salutary instruction, tinder any
ordinary influence. Such a demonstration as that pre
sented to the eye, was eminently calculated to stimulate
reflection, enlighten the mind, and rivet conviction.
Here, in the name inscribed on the earth, was an effect ;
for this there must have been a cause ; and an intelhgent
cause must be inferred from the design manifest in the
work. If such a conclusion was authorized, yea, com
pelled, by the present instance of intelligent contrivance,
how much more might it be inferred that " the Lord by
wisdom hath founded the earth, and by understanding
established the heavens ! " What varied and cogent
proof of infinite wisdom as well as power could be pointed
out in the wonderful formation of the globe, and in the
yet more wonderful structure of the human frame ! In
the due illustration and explanation of these things, ad
dressed in the hquid tones of parental affection, was Mr.
Washington, perhaps, instrumental m making those im
pressions, which, growing with his growth, and strength
ening with his strength, constituted, under a higher

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 37
influence, the germ of those reverential and devout feel
ings towards the Deity, which ever after so signally marked
the character and conduct of the Father of his Country.
Thus happily and profitably to young Washington,
rolled on the days of his early age. But not many years,
in the providence of God, were allotted as the term of this
pleasant intercourse between the father and his beloved
child. George had just concluded his eleventh year
when his father was removed by the hand of death.
From this time, the care of her first-born, devolved en
tirely on Mrs. Washington. She had always no doubt
united with her excellent husband in the sacred duty of
parental instruction, endeavouring to " bring up her chil
dren in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." But
now the whole burden falls upon her, — and if success is
made the test of fidelity and fitness for the delicate office,
surely it is not an humble degree of either, that will be
ascribed to her by posterity. Of her high estimate of
virtue at least, and of the harmony of sentiment exist
ing between herself and departed spouse, in reference
thereto, let the following incident bear witness.
" After Washington attained to manhood, he was re
markable for his sobriety ; yet his boyhood was not with
out some instances of folly and rashness.
" The story related ofthe favourite colt will serve as an
illustration of this latter remark. At the time the occur
rence happened, which I am about to relate, George
might have been somewhat past ten years old. At all
adventures his father was dead ;* and upon his mother
devolved the general care of the plantation.
* He was certainly'past eleven years of age as his father died in
April, 1743. 4

38 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" Among other things she owned a colt ; which, on ac
count of its many fine points, was quite a favourite. It
was old enough to have been broken long before ; but
for some reason it had been neglected, and was remarka
bly wild.
" George had frequently eyed this colt as it pranced
round the field, proudly snuffing up the wind, wheeling
and halting, and displaying its fine proportions ; and
more than once he wished that he was upon its back.
" One day, at length, he told his wishes to some of his
school companions, and engaged them to meet him early
the next morning, when, with their assistance, he would
have a ride.
" Accordingly the little party assembled the following
day, soon after sunrise, and repaired to the field, where
the young Arabian was kept, at no great distance from
the house. With some effort, they contrived to pen him,
and with still more effort to put a bridle upon him.
" Several took hold of the bridle, while the athletic
youngster, with a single leap, vaulted upon his back.
" The necessary consequences of such an undertaking
now took place. A desperate struggle followed between
the horse and his rider. For a long time the contest con
tinued doubtful, till at length in the fuiy of his plunges,
the noble animal falling headlong burst a blood vessel,
which produced instant death.
" By this fall George received no injury. But it grieved
him to see lying before him the lifeless body of the spirit
ed animal, whose death he was now sensible had been
occasioned by his censurable folly and rashness. His
mother, too ! her fondness for this animal came crowding
upon him, to render his trouble still more distressing.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 39
" Shortly after a call to breakfast was heard. Some of
the companions of George, I believe, had been invited tp
breakfast with him that morning; and now, however
much they could have desirexl to have been excused, they
went in, and were soon seated at the table.
" For a time, httle was said — less than usual. Whether
Mrs. Washington remarked this, I cannot say. But, at '
length, breaking the silence, she inquired whether they
had seen her fine sorrel colt in their rambles.
" To this no one of the boys replied, and the question
was therefore repeated.
" There was now no escape. The case was to be met,
and met at once. The integrity of George had been
tried in still younger days ; and now again tried, it no
bly stood the test. He replied to the question put by his
mother. " ' Your sorrel colt is dead, mother.'
" ' Dead ! George,' exclaimed Mrs. W., with a good deal
of surprise — ' dead, do you say V her hands relaxing
from some service which she was performing at the table.
" ' Yes, he is dead.'
'¦ ' How happened it, George 1 '
" ' I will tell you, mother. I am the only one in
fault.' And now he proceeded to give her a circumstan
tial and correct account of the whole transaction.
" Before the story was ended, the flush, which had for a
short space risen upon the cheek of Mrs. W., an evidence
of her displeasure, had all passed away, and in conclusion
she observed, quite kindly and calmly, ' While I regret
the loss of my favourite, / rejoice in my son, loho al-
loays speaks the truth! "*
* Anonymous.

40 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Soon after the above occurrence, the father having
been dead some months, George was sent to Westmore
land to reside with his half-brother, Augustine, who, as
heir thereof, occupied the family seat in that county. It
was mainly with a view to the benefits of a respectable
school in the neighbourhood, that George was removed
from the maternal roof
What the religious advantages were, which awaited
him in his new situation, we have not the means of ascer
taining. There is no doubt but he enjoyed the privilege
of public worship at the parish church, known then and
now as Pope's Creek Church. Here his attendance was
probably habitual, as it was an age in which every body
in that region frequented the House of God whenever di
vine service was performed. This fact, otherwise noto
rious, is also indicated by the size of the churches built in
Virginia at that period, and by none more strongly than
by the one above-named, which, from its vast extent, could
once have accommodated a multitude of worshippers.
During his temporary residence in Westmoreland, and
while the pupil of a Mr. Williams, the manifestations of
good dispositions were numerous and striking. Such
was his reputation, (as an old gentleman who had been
at school with him once testified) such was his reputa
tion for veracity, impartiality, andsoundjudgment, among
his schoolmates, that in all their httle differences and dis
putes he was ever called to act as their chosen umpire.
And so great was their confidence in him, that his deci
sions were seldom called in question. With his com
panions he never quarrelled ; nor would he ever con
sent to see them fight with each other. Instead of en,
couraging a practice so degrading, he would often inform

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 41
the teacher when he became acquainted with any such
wicked design — for which, however, he was much cen
sured by the boys.
By nature possessed of a resolute and martial spirit,
how shall we account for his gentle and pacific conduct
in the instances referred to. How, except on the ground
of a very refined temper, or of a gracious state of mind.
It is known that the Spirit of God does often, at a very
tender age, secretly imbue the soul with generous feelings
and kind affections. We are inchned to think that the
traces of his hallowed agency were clearly apparent in
the dispositions and conduct under consideration.
The few meagre records which have been spared us
of this period of his life, enable us to form some idea of
the particular direction of his mind, and ofthe manner in
which his leism-e hours were spent. When about thirteen
years of age he kept a blank book for the reception, in
manuscript, of such articles as he thought instructive and
useful. Among other things we find him transferring to
this book, from a source not signified, a numbet of max
ims, or rules of conduct, for the government of a young
person. We here present the reader with a selection from
these rules. They are such as may afford profit to all if
carefully considered.
" 1. Every action in company ought to be with sorne
sign of respect to those present.
" 2. Be no flaterrer.
" 3. Let your countenance be pleasant ; but in serious
matters, somewhat grave.
"4. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of an
other, though he were your enemy.
« 5. When yQu meet with one of greater quality that

42 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
yourself, stop and retire ; especially if it be at a door, or
any strait place, to give way for him to pass.
" 6. They that are in dignity or in office, have in all
places precedency ; but whilst they are young they
ought to respect those that are their equals in birth, or
other qualities, though they have no public charge.
" 7. It is good manners to prefer them to whom we
speak before ourselves ; especially if they be above us, with
whom in no sort we ought to begin.
" 8. Let your discourse with men of business be short
and comprehensive.
" 9. In writing or speaking, give to every person his
due title, according to his degree and the custom of the
place. " 10. Strive not with your superiours in argument, but
always submit your judgment to others with modesty.
"11. Undertake not to teach your equal in the art
himself professes ; it savours of arrogancy.
" 12. When a man does all he can, though it succeeds
not well, blame not him that did it.
" 13. Being to advise, or reprehend any one, consider
whether it ought to be in public or in private, presently
or at some other time, in what terms to do it ; and in re
proving show no signs of choler, but do it with sweetness
and mildness.
" 14. Take all admonitions thankfully, in what time
or place soever given; but afterwards, not being culpable
take a time or place convenient to let him know it that
gave them.
" 15. Mock not, nor jest at any thing of unportance ;
break no jests that are sharp-biting, and if you deliver

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 43
any thing that is witty and pleasant, abstain from laugh
ing thereat yourself
"16. Wherein you reprove another be unblamabk
yourself ; for example is more prevalent than precepts.
" 17. Use no reproachful language against any one ;
neither curse, nor revile.
" 18. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the dis
paragement of any.
" 19. In your apparel be modest, and endeavour to ac
commodate nature, rather than to procure admiration ;
keep to the fashion of your equals, such as are civil and
orderly with respect to times and places.
" 20. Play not the peacock, looking every where about
you to see if you be well decked, if your shoes fit well, if
your stockings sit neatly, and clothes handsomely.
"21. Associate yourself with men of good quality, if
you esteem your own reputation ; for it is better to be
alone than in bad company.
" 22. Let your conversation be without maUce or envy,
for it is a sign of a tractable and commendable nature ;
and in all causes of passion, admit reason to govern.
" 23. Utter not base and frivolous things among grave
and learned men ; nor very difficult questions or subjects
among the ignorant : nor things hard to be believed.
" 24. Be not immodest in urging your friend to discover
a secret. " 25. Break not a jest where none takes pleasure in
mirth ; laugh not aloud, nor at all without occasion.
Deride no man's misfortune, though there seem to be some
cause. " 26. Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor
in earnest ; scoff at none, though they give occasion.

44 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" 27. Be not forward, but friendly and courteous ; the
first to salute, hear and answer ; and be not pensive
when it is time to converse.
" 28. Detract not from others ; neither be excessive
in commending.
" 29. Go not thither, where you know not whether
you shall be welcome or not. Give not advice, without
being asked, and when desired do it briefly.
" 30. Reprehend not the imperfections of others ; for
that belongs to parents, masters and superiours.
" 31. Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of others,
and ask not how they came. What you may speak in
secret to your friend, deliver not before others.
" 32. When another speaks, be attentive yourself, and
disturb not the audience. If any hesitate in his words
help him not, nor prompt him without being desired ;
interrupt him not, nor answer him till his speech be
ended. " 33. Make no comparisons ; and if any of the com
pany be commended for any brave act of virtue, com
mend not another for the same.
" 34. Be not apt to relate news if you know not the
truth thereof. In discoursing of things you have heard^
name not your author always. A secret discover not.
" 35. Undertake not what you cannot perform, but
be careful to keep your promise.
" 36. Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.
" 37. Set not yourself at the upper end of the table,
but if it be your due, or that the master of the house will
have it so, contend not lest you should trouble the com
pany. " 38. When you speak of God, or his attributes, let it

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.
be seriously in reverence. Honour and obey your natu
ral parents, although they be poor.
" 39. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.
" 40. Labour to keep alive in your breast that little
spark of celestial fire, called conscience."
In the code of rules, of which the above are a speci
men, there is contained some very useful instruction for
improvement in morals and manners. The vigilant care
which furnished young Washington with such seasonable
aid, was probably mindful of the advantages of still
higher knowledge, even the knowledge of God and re
vealed truths. We should at least so conclude from the
spirit and practice of the day, in reference to the claims
and duties of family religion.
From this period we learn httle of the life of Washing
ton, (except his continuance in Westmoreland, at school)
till the summer of 1746. He was now in his fifteenth
year, and seeking to enter the British navy. During his
suspense, or rather the suspense of his mother, he found
his way into the county of Fairfax, the residence of his
brother Lawrence and other friends. While there, per
haps, on his way to Mount Vernon, he appears to have
spent a little time at the house of Mr. William Fairfax,
the father-in-law of his brother, and a most amiable and
excellent individual. The following extract of a letter
from him to Lawrence Washington, is the last notice we
have of George, having any reference to his character,
till he entered upon the active stage of hfe, some eighteen
months from this time, as a surveyor in the western part
ofVuginia. In the letter alluded to, dated September
10th, 1746, Mr. Fairfax writes,—
"George has been with us, and says he will be steady

46 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
a7id thankfully follow your advice as his best friend.
I gave him his mother's letter to dehver, with a caution
not to show his. I have spoken to Dr. Spencer, who I
find is often at the widow's, [Mrs. Washington's] and has
some influence, to persuade her to think better of your
advice in putting George to sea with good recommen
dations." In the autumn of this year it was settled that George
should not go to sea. The tenderness of a mother's love,
under God, prevented this step. The circumstances at
tending the final relinquishment of a scheme, so captivat
ing to the youthful fancy, were marked by some highly
honourable proofs of filial affection on his part. Every
necessary preparation for his indulgence having been
completed, the surrender of his prospects was a costly sa
crifice at the shrine of duty — the peace of an honoured pa
rent being consulted at the expense of cherished anticipa
tions. The divine command had doubtless been im
pressed on his mind, "Honour thyfather and thy mother,
that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee ;'' and he had seen the same sub
stantially reiterated, in the moral sentences just quoted
from his manuscript book, " Honour and obey your na
tural parents, although they be poor" — and being always
principled in what he thought right, he did not hesitate
to deny himself in this instance, painful as the effort was,
that he might contribute to the satisfaction and comfort of
her who had nourished and brought him up, and lavish
ed upon him her fondest regard, her tenderest affection.
To this event, however, we shall have occasion to revert
again, and therefore forbear to dwell upon it here.
From this time, till March 1748, when he engaged

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 47
as a surveyor with Lord Fairfax, being just sixteen years
of age, George, it is beheved, resided at Mount Vernon,
and with his mother at her abode opposite to Fredericks
burg. In that town he went to school, and as Mrs.
Washington was connected with the church there, her
son no doubt shared, under her own eye, the benefits of
divine worship, and such religious instruction as mothers
in that day were eminently accustomed to give their chil- 1
dren.* It was the habit to teach the young the first
principles of religion according to the formularies of the
church, to inculcate the fear of God, and the strict ob
servance of the moral virtues, such as truth, justice, cha- ,
rity, humility, modesty, temperance, chastity, and indus
try. That such instruction was not withheld in the case
under consideration, we have good reason to believe, and
think a confirmation thereof may be found, not only in
the known spirit of the age, but in the subsequent life of
him who thus shared the advantages of so excellent a
means of grace.
By indulgence of the present estimable possessor of
Mount Vernon, the writer has upon his table an ancient
volume, entitled, " Contemplations, Moral and Divine,
by Sir Mathew Hale, Knight ; late Chief Justice of the
King's Bench." This book belonged to Mrs. Washing
ton, and has her name in it, written with her own hand.
It would seem that the volume passed, the time unknown,
into the hands of General Washington, as it was found
after his death in the Ubrary at Mount Vernon. It bears
* Mrs. Washington had an only daughter, the mother of a large fa
mily. Tlie writer once heard a member of that family say, that when
he first left the parental roof, the last thing his mother said to him was,
" Aly son, neglect not the duty of secret prayer."

48 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the marks of frequent use, and appears, in certain parts,
to have engaged particular attention. There is reason
able ground of assurance that Mrs. Washington was in
the habit of reading from this book, lessons of piety and
wisdom to her children. Such was the pious custom of
parents ; and the tradition in the family is that " it was
a counsellor of past days."
It is proposed to make a few extracts from the work,
embracing especially such portions as have been evidently
most frequently used and particularlyreferred to. There
will be found in the truths and principles inculcated here
in, so much that assimilates with the character and habits
of Washington, that it is hard to avoid the persuasion
that he was familiar with the subject-matter of the vo
lume, either through the early instructions of his mother,
or by the diligent study thereof at a subsequent period of
his life.
From the treatise on " Humility," the fifth in the vo
lume, we make the following extracts : —
" But on the other side, an humble man leans not to
his own understanding ; he is sensible of the deficiency
of his own power and wisdom, and trusts not in it ; he is
also sensible of the all-sufficient power, wisdom and good
ness of Almighty God ; and commits himself to him for
counsel, guidance, direction, and strength. It is natural
for any man or thing, that is sensible of his own defi
ciency, to seek out after that which maybe a support and
strength to him, and as Almighty God is essentially good
and perfect, so he is (if I may use the expression) most
naturally communicative of it, to any that seek unto him
for it in humility and sincerity. The air does not more
naturally yield to our attraction in respiration, or to ui-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 49
sinuate itself into those spaces that are receptive of it,
than the Divine assistance, guidance, and beneficence,
does to the desires, and exigencies, and wants, of an hum
ble soul, sensible of its own emptiness and deficiency, and
imploring the direction, guidance, and blessing, of the
most wise and bountiful God. I can call my own ex
perience to witness, that even in the external actions,
occurrences and incidences of my whole life, I was never
disappointed of the best guidance and direction, when in
humility and sense of my own deficiency, and diffidence
of iny own ability to direct myself, or to grapple with the
difficLiltes of my life, I have with humiUty and sincerity,
implored the secret direction and guidance of the Divine
Wisdom and Providence. And I dare therein appeal to
the vigilant and strict observation of any man's experi
ence, whether he has not found the same experience
in relation to himself, and his own actions and successes ;
and whether those counsels and purposes which have
been taken up after an humble invocation of the Divine
direction, have not been always most successful in the
end. " Consider, what it is thou pridest thyself in, and ex
amine well the nature ofthe things themselves, how little
and inconsiderable they are; at least, how uncertain and
unstable they are. ^
" Thou hast fine gay clothes, and this makes children
and young men and women proud, even to admiration.
Bu( thou art not half so fine and gay as the Peacock,
Ostrich, or Parrot ; nor is thy finery so much thine own,
as theirs is ; but it is borrowed from the silk- worm, the
golden mines, the industry of the Embroiderer, Weaver,
Tailor ; and it is no part of thyself And hast thou the
5

50 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
patience to suffer thyself to be abused into this childish,
pitiful, foolish pride ?
" Thou hast it may be wealth, stores of money, but
how much of it is of use to thee ? That which thou
spendest, is gone ; that which thou keepest, is as insig
nificant as so much dirt or clay ; only thy care about it
makes thy life the more uneasy.
" Thou hast honour, esteem ; thou art deceived, thou
hast, it not, he hath it that gives it thee, and which he
may detain from thee at pleasure  But sup
pose it were as fixed and stable a reputation and honour,
as a rock of marble or adamant, and that it were the
best kind of honour imaginable, namely, the result of
thy virtue and merit ; yet still it is but a shadow, a re
flection of that virtue or worth, which if thou art proud
of, thou degradest into vanity and ostentation ; and
canst thou think it reasonable to be proud of the shadow,
where thou oughtest not to be proud of that worth that
causeth it ?
" Again ; thou hast power, art in great place and
authority ; but thou art mistaken in this, the power thou
hast, is not inherent in thyself One of the meanest of
those whom it may be thou oppressest, is inherently as
powerful as thee, and could, it may be, over-match thee in
strength, wit, or policy ; but the power thou hast is, (next
to the dispensation of Divine Providence) from those
men, that either by their promises, faith or voluntary
assistance, have invested thee with this power. This
power is aothing inherent in thee, but it depends upon
the fidelity or assistance of others, which if they either

CHARACTER OF WASHFNGTON. 5l
by perfidiousness to thee, or resistance against thee,
or withdrawing their assistance from thee, shall call
again home to themselves, thou art like Sampson
having lost his loclcs. Thy strength will go from,
thee, and thou wilt become weak, and be like ano
ther man!'
The treatise on " Redeeming Time," seems to have
engaged particular attention. We make a few quota
tions which we regard as appropriate.
" How time is to be redeemed. The particular me
thods of husbanding time under both the former rela
tions, viz., in relation to opportunity, and in relation to
our time of life, shall be promiscuously set down. Now
the actions of our lives may be distinguished into several
kinds, and in relation to those several actions, will the
employments of our time be diversified. 1. There are
actions natur al ; such as eating, drinking, sleep, motion,
rest. 2. Aciians civil ; as provision for families, bearing
of public offices in times of peace or war ; moderate recre
ations and diversions ; employments in civil vocations, as
Agriculture, Mechanical Trades, Liberal Professions. 3.
Actions moral; whether relating to ourselves, as sobri
ety, temperance, moderation, or relating to others, as acts
of justice, charity, compassion, liberahty. 4. or lastly,
actions religious; relating to Almighty God, as invoca
tion, thanksgiving, inquiring into his works, will, obedi
ence to his law, and commands, observing the solemn
seasons of his worship and service, and, which must go
through and give a tincture to all the rest, a habit of fear
of him, love to him, humihty and integrity of heart and
soul before him ; and in sum, a habit of religion towards

53 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AJfD
God m his Son Jesus Christ, which is the one thuig ne
cessary, and overweighs aU the rest.
*******
"Much tune might be saved and redeemed, in retrench
ing the unnecessary waste thereof in our ordinary sleep,
attiring and dressing ourselves, and the length of our
meals, as breakfast, dinners, suppers ; which, especially
in this latter age, and among people of the better sort,
are protracted to an immoderate and excessive length.
" Beware of too much recreation. Some bodily ex
ercise is necessary, for sedentary men especially; but
let it not be too frequent, nor too long. Gaming Taverns,
and Plays, as they are pernicious, and corrupt youth ;
so if they had no other fault, yet they are justly to be de
clined in respect of their excessive expense of time, and
habituating men to idleness and vain thoughts, and dis
turbing passions, when they are past, as well aswhEe they
are used. Let no recreations of any long continuance be
used in the morning, for they hazard the loss or discom
posure of the whole day after.
" Be obstinately constant to your dewtions at certain
set times, and be sure to spend the Loin's day entirely in
those rehgious duties proper for it ; and let nothing but
an inevitable necessity divert you fi-om it.
" Be industrious and faithful in your calling. The
merciful God has not only indulged us with a far greater
portion of time for our ordinary occasions, than he has re
served to himself, but also enjoins and requhes our indus
try and dfligence in it. And remember, that you observe
that industry and diligence, not only as the means of ac-
quuing a competency for yourself and your family, but
also as an act of obedience to his command and ordi-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 53
nance, by means whereof, you make it not only an act
of civil conversation, but of obedience to Almighty God ;
and so it becomes in a manner spuituahzed into an act
of rehgion. " Whatever you do, be very careful to retain in your
heart b. habit of religion, that may be always about youi
and keep your heart and life always as in his presence,
and tending towards him. This wiU be continually with
you, and put itself into acts, even though you are not in a
solemn posture of rehgious worship, and will lend you
multitudes of religious appUcations to God, upon all occa
sions and interventions, which will not at all hinder you
in any measure, in your secular concerns, but better and
further you. It will make you faithful in your calling,
through reflection on the presence and command of Him
you fear and love. It will make you thankful for all
successes and supplies ; temperate and sober in all your
natural actions ; just and faithful in all your dealings ;
patient and contented in all your disappointments and
crosses ; and actually consider and intend His honour in
all you do ; and will give a tincture of religion and devo
tion upon all your secular employments, and turn those
very actions, which are materially civil or natural, into
the very true and formal nature of religion, and make
your whole life to be an unintermitted life of religion and
duty to God. For this habit of piety in your soul, will
not only not lie sleeping and inactive, but almost in every
hour of the day, will put forth actual exertings of itself
in applications of short occasional prayers, thanksgivings,
dependence, resort unto that God that is always near you,
and lodgeth in a manner in your heart by his fear, and
love, and habitual religion towards him. And by thjs
5*

54 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
means you do effectually, and in the best manner, redeem
your time."
But that part of the volume specially deserving atten
tion, as exhibiting a singularly accurate counterpart of
the character of Washington, is the treatise styled " The
Great Audit," with " The Account of The Good Stew
ard." In this production we have the final judgment
supposed — all mankind standing before the bar of God,
who submits to each a charge, and receives from the good
steward an account of his hfe. In the charge, among
other things, we have the following :
" 1. I have given unto you all your senses, and princi
pally those two great senses of discipline, your sight and
your hearing.
" Item. I have given unto you all. Understanding and
Reason, to be a guide of your actions, and to some of you
more eminent degrees thereof.
" Item. I have given you all. Memory, a treasury of
things past, heard, and observed.
" Item. I have given you a Conscience to direct you,
and to check you in your miscarriages, and to encourage
you in well-doing ; and I have furnished that Conscience
of yours with light, and principles of truth and practice,
conformable to my will.
" Item. I have given you the advantage of Speech,
whereby to communicate your minds to one another, and
to instruct and advantage one another by the help thereof.
'' Item. I have given over to you the rule and domi
nion over my creatures, allowing you the use of them for
your food, raiment, and other conveniences.
" Item. Besides these common talents, I have enrich
ed some of you with special and eminent talents above

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 55
others. I have given such great learning and know
ledge in the works of Nature, Arts and Sciences ; great
prudence and wisdom in the conduct of affairs, elocution,
excellent education. I have given you a firm and healthy
constitution, strength, beauty and comeliness ; also great
affluence of wealth and riches, eminence of place, and
power and honour ; great reputation and esteem in the
world ; great success in enterprizes and undertakings,
pubhc and private. Christian and liberal education you
have had ; counsel and advice of faithful and judicious
friends ; good laws in the place and country where you
live ; the written word of God acquainting you with my
will, and the way to eternal hfe ; the word preached by
able and powerful ministers thereof; the sacraments
both for your initiation and confii mation," &c. ifcc.
In answer to these things the good steward is represent
ed as giving in his account. Among many other things
which he is svipposed to say, the following are put into
his mouth.
" As to all the blessings and talents wherewith thou
hast entrusted me — I have looked up to thee with a thank
ful heart, as the only author and giver of them. I have
looked upon myself as unworthy of them. I have looked
upon them as committed to my trust and stewardship,
to manage them for the ends that they were given, the
honour of my Lord and Master. I have therefore been
watchful and sober in the use and exercise of them, lest
I should be unfaithfiil in them. If I have at any time,
through weakness, or inadvertence, or temptation, mis
employed any of them, I have been restless, till I have
in some measure rectified my miscarriage, by repentance
and amendment.

56^ RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" As touching my conscience and the hght thou hast
given me in it. — It has been my care to improve that
natural light, and to furnish it with the best principles I
could. Before I had the knowledge of thy word, I got as
much furniture as I could from the writings of the best
moralists, and the examples ofthe best men ; after I had
the light of thy word, I furnished it with those most pure
and unerring principles that I found in it. I have been
very jealous either of wounding,or grieving, or discourag
ing, or deadening my conscience. I have therefore chosen
rather to forbear that which seemed but indifferent, lest
there might be somewhat in it that might be unlawful ;
and would rather gratify my conscience with being too
scrupulous, than displease or disquiet it by being too ven
turous. I have still chosen rather to forbear what might
probably be lawful, than to do that which might be pos
sibly unlawful ; because I could not err in the former, 1
might in the latter. If things were disputable whether
they might be done, I rather chose to forbear because the
lawfulness of my forbearance was unquestionable.
" Concerning my speech, I have always been careful
that I offend not with my tongue ; my words have been
few, unless necessity or thy honour required more speech
than ordinary ; my words have been true, representing
things as they were ; and sincere, bearing conformity to
my heart and mind  I have esteemed it the
most natural and excellent use of my tongue, to set forth
thy glory, goodness, power, wisdom and truth ; to in-
struct others, as I had opportunity, in the knowledge of
thee, in their duty to thee, to themselves and others ; to re
prove vice and sin, to encourage virtue and good living,
to convince of errors, to maintain the truth, -to call up-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 57
on thy name, and by vocal-prayers to sanctify ray tongue,
and to fix my thoughts to the duty about which I was ;
to persuade to peace and charity and good works.
" Touching thy creatures, and the use of them, and
the dominion over them, I have esteemed them thine in
propriety : thou hast committed unto me the use, and a
subordinate dominion over them ; yet I ever esteemed
myself accountable to thee for them, and therefore I have
received them with thankfulness unto thee, the great
Lord both of them and me. When the earth yielded me
a good crop of corn, or other fruits ; when flocks increas
ed; when my honest labours brought me in a plentiful or
convenient supply, I looked up to thee as the Giver, to thy
Providence and blessing, as the source of all my increase.
I did not sacrifice to my own net, or industry or pru
dence, but I received all as the gracious and bountiful
returns of thy hberal hand ; I looked upon every grain of
corn that I sowed as buried and lost, unless thy power
quickened and revived it ; I esteemed the best production
would have been but stalk and straw, unless thou hadst
increased it ; I esteemed my own hand and industry but
impotent, unless thou hadst blessed ; for it is thy blessing
that maketh rich, and it is thou that givest power to get
wealth. " I esteemed it my duty to make a return of this my
acknowledgment, by giving the tribute of my increase in
the maintenance of thy ministers, and the relief of the
poor ; and I esteemed the practice enjoined to thy ancient
people of giving the tenth of their increase, not only a
sufficient warrant, but instruction to me, under the Gos
pel, to do the like.

58

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

"Concerning human prudence, and understanding
in aflTairs, and dexterity in the management of them. — I
have always been careful to mingle justice and honesty
with my prudence; and have always esteemed prudence,
actuated by injustice and falsity, the arrantest and most
devilish practice in the world, because it prostitutes tliy
gift to the service of Hell, and mingles a beam of thy
Divine excellence, with an extract ofthe devil's furnish
ing, making a man so much the worse by how much
he is wiser than others. I always thought that wisdom,
which in a tradesman, and in a politician, was mingled
with deceit, falsity, and injustice, deserved the same
name ; only the latter is so much the worse, because it
was of the more public and general concernment ; yet
because I have often observed great employments,
especially in public affairs, are sometimes under great
temptations of minghng too much craft with prudence
and then to miscall it, pohcy, I have as much as may
be, avoided such temptations, and if I have met with
I hem, I have resolutely rejected them.
" I have always observed, that honesty and plain-deal
ing in transactions, as well pubhc as private, is the best
and soundest prudence and policy, and commonly at the
long run over-matches craft and subtlety ; for the de
ceived and deceiver are thine, and thou art privy to
the subtlety of the one, and the simplicity of the other ;
and as the great observer and ruler of men, dost dispense
success and disappointments accordingly.
" As human prudence is abused if mingled with falsity
and deceit, though the end be ever so good, so it is much
more debased, if directed to a bad end ; to the disho
nour of thy name, the oppression of thy people, the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON-. 59
corrupting of thy woi-ship or truth, or to execute any
injustice towards any person. It hath been my care as
not to err in the manner, so neither in the end, of the ex
ercising of thy Providence. I have ever esteemed my
prudence then best employed, when it was exercised in
the preservation and support of thy truth, in the uphold
ing of thy faithful ministers, in countermining, discover
ing, and disappointing the designs of evil and treacher
ous men, in dehveruig the oppressed, in righting the in
jured, in preventing of wars and discords, in preserving
the public peace and tranquillity of the people where I
live ; and in all those offices incumbent upon me by thy
Providence under every relation.
" When ray end was most unquestionably good, I
ever then took most heed that the means were suitable
and justifiable. Because the better the end was, the more
easily are we cozerled into the use of iU means to . effect
it. We are too apt to dispense with ourselves in the
practice of what is amiss, in order to the accomplishing
of an end that is good ; we are apt, while with great in-
tenseness of mind we gaze upon the end, not to take care
what course we take so we attain it ; and we are apt to
think that God will dispense with, or at least overlook,
the miscarriages in our attempts, if the end be good.
Because many times, if not most times, thy name and
honour do more suffer by attempting a good end by bad
means, than by attempting both a bad end, and by bad
means. For bad ends are suitable to bad means ; they
are alike ; and it doth not immediately as such concern
thy honour. But every thing that is good hath some
what of thee in it ; thy name, and thy nature, and thy
honour is written upon it ; and the blemish that is cast

60 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
upon it, is, in some measure, cast upon thee ; and the
evil, and scandal, and infamy, that is in the means, is
cast upon the end, and doth disparage and blemish it,
and consequently it dishonours thee. To rob for burnt-
offerings, and to lie for God, is a greater disservice to thy
majesty, than to rob for rapine or to lie for advantage.
" Whensoever my prudence was successfid, in the at
tainment of a good end, I ever gave thy name the glory,
and that in sincerity. I have known some men, (and if
a man will observe his own heart, he will find it there
also, unless it be strictly denied,) that will give God the
glory of the success of a good enterprize, but yet with a
kind of secret reservation of somewhat of praise for them
selves, theh prudence, conduct, and wisdom ; and will
be glad to hear of it, and secretly angry and discontented
if they miss it ; and many times give God the glory,
with a kind of ostentation and vanity in doing so. But
I have given thee the glory of it because of my very
judgment, that it is due, and due only to thee. I do
know that that prudence that I have, comes from thee ;
and I do know that it is thy providential ordering of oc
currences, that makes prudential deliberations successful ;
and more is due unto thy ordering, disposing, fitting,
timing, directing of all in seeming casualties, than there
is to that human counsel by which it is moved or seems
to be moved ; the least whereof, if not marshaUed by thy
hand, would have shattered and broken the counsel into
a thousand pieces. Thou givest the advice by thy wis
dom, and dost second it by thy Providence ; thou dealest
by us, as we do by our children, when we set them to lift
up a heavy weight, and we lift with them ; and we again

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 61
are too like those children that think we moved the
weight, when we moved not a grain of it.
" In reference to my health, I always avoided these two
extremes : I never made it my idol, I declined not the
due employment of my body in the works of charity or
necessity, or my ordinary caUing, out of a vain fear of
injuring my health ; for I reckoned my health given me
in order to these employments. And as he is over-care
ful, that will not put on his clothes, for fear of wearing
them out, or use his axe, for fear of hurting it ; so he
gives but an ill account of a healthy body, that dares not
employ it in a suitable occupation, for fear of hurting
his health. Nor was I vainly prodigal of it, but careful
in a due manner to preserve it. I would decline places
of infection, if I had no special duties that brought me
to them, also unnecessary journeys, exposing myself to
unnecessary dangers, especially intemperance in eating
and drinking.
" Touching my eminence of place or power in this
world, this is my account. I never sought or desired it,
and that for these reasons. First, because I easily saw
that it was rather a burden than a privilege. It made
my charge and my account the greater, my content
ment and my rest the less. I found enough in it to
make me decline it in respect of myself, but not any
thing that could make me seek or desire it. That ex
ternal glory and splendour also that attended it, I esteem
ed as vain and frivolous in itself, a bait to allure vain
and inconsiderate persons, not valuable enough to in
vite a considerate judgment to desire or undertake it. 1
esteemed them as ihe gilding that covers a bitter piU,
and I looked through this dress and outside, and easily
6

62 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
saw that it covered a state obnoxious to danger, sohcitude,
care, trouble, envy, discontent, disquietude, temptation,
and vexation. I esteemed it a condition, which, if there
were any distempers abroad, they would infalhbly be
hunting and pushing at it ; and if it found any corrup
tions within, either of pride, vain-glory, insolence, vindic-
tiveness, or the like, it would be sure to draw them out
and set them to work. And if they prevailed, it made
my power and greatness, not only my burden but my
sin ; if they prevailed not, yet it required a most watch
ful, assiduous, and severely vigilant labour and industry?
to suppress them.
" When I undertook any place of power or eminence,
first, I looked to my call thereunto, to be such as I might
discern to be thy call, not my own ambition. Second,
that the place were such as might be answered by suita
ble abilities, in some measure, to perform. Third, that my
end in it might not be the satisfaction of any pride, ambi
tion, or vanity in myself, but to serve thy Providence and
my generation faithfully. In all which, my undertaking
was not an act of my choice, but of my duty.
" In the holding or exercising these places, I kept my
heart humble ; I valued not myself one rush the more for
it. First, because I easily found that that base affection
of pride, which commonly is the fly that haunts such em
ployments, would render me dishonourable to thy majes
ty, and disserviceable in the employment. Second, be
cause I easily saw great places were slippery places, the
mark of envy. It was, therefore, always my care so to be
have myself in them, as 1 might be in a capacity to leave
them, and so to leave them, that when I had left them, I
might have no scars and blemishes stick upon me. I

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 63
carried, therefore, the same evenness of temper in holding
them, as might become me, if I were without them. —
Third, I found enough in great employments, to make
me sensible of the danger, troubles, and cares of them ;
enough to make me humble, but not enough to make me
proud and haughty.
" I never made use of my power or greatness to serve
my own turns, either to heap up riches, or to oppress my
neighbour, or to revenge injuries, or to uphold injustice.
For, though others thought me great, I knew myself to
be still the same, and in all things, besides the due exe
cution of my place, my deportment was just the same as
if I had been no such man ; for first, I knew that I was
but thy steward and minister, and placed there to serve
thee, and those ends which thou proposedst in my prefer
ment, and not to serve myself, much less my passions or
corruptions. And further, I very well and practically
knew, that place, and honour, and preferment, are things
extrinsical, and form no part of the man. His value and
estimate before, and under, and after his greatness, is stiU
the same in itself, as the counter that now stands for a
penny, anon for six-pence, and then for twelve-pence, is
still the same counter, though its place and extrinsical de
nomination be changed.
" I improved the opportunity of my place, eminence,
and greatness, to serve thee and my country in it, with
aUvigilance, diligence and fidelity. I protected, counte
nanced, and encouraged thy worship, name, day, and
people. I did faithfully execute justice according to that
station I had. I rescued the oppressed from the cruelty,
malice, and insolence of their oppressors. I cleared the in
nocent from unjust calumnies and reproaches. I was in-

(B4 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND '
Strumental to place those in offices, places, and employments
of trust and consequence, that were honest and faithful. I
removed those that were dishonest, irreligious, false, or
unjust, &.C.
" Touching my reputation and credit, I never affected
the reputation of being rich, great, crafty, or politick ; but
I esteemed much a deserved reputation of justice, honesty,
integrity, virtue, and piety.
" I never thought that reputation was the thing pri
marily to be looked after in the exercise of virtue, forthat
were to affect the substance for the sake of the shadow,
which had been a kind of levity and weakness of mind ;
but I looked at virtue, and the worth of it, as that which
was the first desirable, and reputation, as a fair and useful
accession to it.
" The reputation of justice and honesty, I was always
careful to keep untainted, upon these grounds. First, be
cause a blemish in my reputation would be dishonourable
to thee. Second, it would be an abuse of a talent which
thou hadst committed to me. Third, it would be a
weakening of an instrument which thou hadst put into
my hands, upon the strength whereof much good might
be done by me.
" Though I have loved my reputation, and have been
vigilant not to lose, or impair it, by my own default or
neglect, yet I have looked upon it as a brittle thing, a
thing that the devil aims to hit in a special manner, a
thing that is much in the power of a false report, a mis
take, a misapprehension, to wound and hurt ; and not
withstanding all my care, I am at the mercy of others,
without God's wonderful, over-ruhng providence. And
as my reputation is the esteem that others have of me, so

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 65
that esteem may be blemished without my default. I
have, therefore, always taken this care, not to set my heart
upon my reputation. I will use all fidelity and honesty,
and take care it shall not be lost by any default of
mine ; and if, notwithstanding all this, my reputation be
soiled by evil, or envious men, or angels, I will patiently
bear it, and content myself with the serenity of my own
conscience. " When thy honour, or the good of my country, was
concerned, I then thought it was a seasonable time to lay
out my reputation for the advantage of either, and to act
with it, and by it, and upon it, to the highest, in the use
of all lawful means. And upon such an occasion, the
counsel of Mordecai to Esther was my encouragement —
' Who knoweth whether God hath not given thee this re
putation and esteem for such a time as this ? ' "
In these striking selections, from this excellent producr
tion, our readers will doubtless see reason for the behef,
that no small influence was contributed thereby towards
the formation of Washington's character. Herewe might
stop, in the assurance that such a persuasion would be
general. But we cannot forbear another quotation, be
cause of the singular coincidence of its sentiments with
those which are known to have distinguished the Father
of his Country. We cite the discourse in which the au
thor treats " Of Wisdom and the Fear of God." His laur
guage is : —
" Sincerity, uprightness, integrity, and honesty, are cer-V
tainly true and real wisdom. Let any man observe it
where he will, an hypocrite, or dissembler, or doubler
hearted man, though he may shuffle it out for awhile,
yet at the long run, he is discovered, and disappointed,

66 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
and betrays very much folly at the latter end ; when a
plain, sincere, honest man, holds it out to the very last ; so
that the proverb is most true, that '¦^Honesty is the best
Policy!^ Now the great privilege of the fear of God is,
that it makes the heart sincere and upright, and even that
will certainly make th». words and actions so. For he
is under the sense of the inspection and animadversion of
that God who searches the heart ; and therefore, he
dares not lie, nor dissemble, nor flatter, nor prevaricate,
because he knows the pure, all-seeing, righteous God, that
loves truth and integrity, and hates lying and dissimula
tion, beholds and sees and observes him, and knows his
thoughts, words and actions.
********
" Another great cause of folly in the world is, inadver
tence, inconsideration, precipitancy, and over-hastiness
in speeches or actions. If men had but the patience many
times, to pause but so long in actions and speeches of mo
ment, as might serve to repeat but the Creed or Lord's
Prayer, many follies in the world would be avoided that
do very much mischief, both to the parties themselves
and others. And therefore, inadvertence and precipi
tancy in things of great moment, and that required much
deliberation, must needs be a very great folly, because
the consequence of miscarriage in them is of greater mo-
jnent. Now the fear of God, being actually present up
on the soul, and exerting itself, is the greatest motive and
obligation in the world to consideration and attention,
touching things to be done or said.
*******
" It mightily advanceth and improveth the worth and
excellency of most human actions in the world, and

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 67
makes them a nobler kind of a thing, than otherwise
without it, they would-be. Take a man that is employ
ed as a statesman or politician, though he have much
wisdom and prudence, it commonly degenerates into
cfaft, and cunning, and pitiful shuffling, without the fear
of God, but mingle the fear of Almighty God with that
kind of wisdom, it renders it noble, and generous, and
staid, and honest, and stable. Again, take a man that is
much acquainted with the subtler kind of learning, as
philosophy for instance, without the fear of God upon his
heart, it will carry him over to pride, arrogance, self-con
ceit, curiosity, presumption ; but mingle it with the fear
of God, it wiU ennoble that knowledge, carry it up to the
honour and glory of that God, who is the author of nature,
to the admiration of his power, wisdom and goodness ; it
will keep him humble, modest, sober, and yet rather
with an advance, than detriment, to his knowledge."
Copious as these extracts are, from a volume which I
seems to have been the vade mecum, of Washington, the |
indulgence of the intelligent reader is confidently antici
pated. It is gratifying to know that he took dehghtin
such a work, that he was habitually familiar withitsholy
and edifying instructions, and sympathized with the en-
hghtened and pious author, in views and sentiments so
exalted. In contemplating the circumstance, we feel as
if a debt of gratitude was due the illustrious man, who gave
himself to the labour of writing such a book, while he
fulfilled those duties of his high office, which gave him
an imperishable claim to the homage and gratitude of his
own country. By his pre-eminent ability, and abundant 1
labours, as the chief judicial officer of the Enghsh bench, t
he sustained the character of its brightest ornament, and

68 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
yet found time and means, by the admirable production
before us, to confer inestimable spiritual- good upon his
fellow-men. It was of this valued man that one of the
first of poets sung.*

 ¦' piety has found
Friends in the friends of science, and true pray'r
Has flow'd from lips wet with Castalian dews.
Such was thy wisdom, Newton, child-like sage !
 And such thine, in whom
Our British Themis gloried with just cause.
Immortal Hale ! for deep discernment prais'd.
And sound integrity, not more than famed,
For sanctity of manners undefil'd."
Nor can we forget what we owe to the kind and con
siderate mother, who having stored the mind of her son
with the priceless wisdom of this book, gave it to him, in
all probability, as the memorial of her love, when he first
left her widowed habitation for the boisterous sea of life.
Let the example encourage parents to imitate her mater
nal fidelity, and early sow the seed, which may, in a pro
pitious soil, to ample harvests grow.
* Cowper.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 69

CHAPTER II.
his RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.
Impressed, as we have seen, at an early age, with
reverence for the Divine Being, and educated in the
principles of Christianity, the next subject 'of inquiry
claiming attention, involves the question of Washington's
matured opinions, in regard to the truth of those things,
which had been received by him, in the less competent
season of youth. It has been affirmed by some, thatf
whatever may have been imagined on the subject, he!
never did in fact fully embrace the Christian system, or
admit its divine authority. To estabUsh this point,
has been a favourite design with individuals of a certain
class, ever since his eminence has imparted peculiar
weight to his opinions. With the motives, which have
induced these statements, we have not so much to do, as
with their want of claim to public confidence.
The following incident, taken from a northern journal,
will at once explain the allusions just indulged, and in
troduce the written testimony of Washington, in favour of
a sincere belief, on his part, in the truth and divinity of
the Holy Scriptures.
"Messrs Editors, — -The publication in your lastf
paper on the subject of the religious sentiments of Gene'-i

70 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
ral Washington, and other distinguished men of the
revolution, reminds me of a conversation I heard some
years ago on the same subject, at the residence of the
late Judge Boudinot. at Newark, N. J. It was asserted
by some one, that although General Washington had, in
his public documents, acknowledged the existence and
sovereignty of a Supreme Being, who governed and ruled
the affairs of this world, yet there was no proof that he
was a Christian, or acknowledged a divine revelation or
belief in a Saviour. This, Judge Boudinot remarked,
was a mistake. ' The General,' he observed, ' was a
Christian,' and cited the address or circular letter* to the
several governours of the different states, as a proof This
address he produced, and from it I extracted the part
bearing on this subject, a copyt of which I now enclose
for publication, if you think proper."
" The citizens of America, placed in the most enviable
condition, as the sole lords and proprietors of a vast tract
of continent, comprehending all the various soils and
climates ofthe world, and abounding with all the neces
saries and conveniences of life, are now, by the late satis
factory pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of ab
solute freedom and independency. They are, from this
period, to be considered as the actors on a most conspicu
ous theatre, which seems to be peculiarly designated by
Providence, for the display of human greatness and feli
city. Here, they are not only surrounded with every
thing, which can contribute to the completion of private
+ The circular letter was dated Head-Gluarters, Newburg, 8 June,
1783. f The extract given above is somewhat more extended than the one
referred to.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 71
and domestic enjoyment, but heaven has crowned all its
other blessings, by giving a fairer opportunity for political
happiness, than any other nation has ever been favoured
with. Nothing can illustrate these observations more
forcibly, than a recollection of the happy conjuncture of
times and circumstances, under which, our republic as
sumed its rank among the nations. The foundation of
our empire, was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance
and superstition ; but at an epocha, when the rights of
mankind were better understood, and more clearly defin
ed, than at any former period. The researches of the
human mind after social happiness, have been carried to
a great extent : the treasures of knowledge, acquired by
the labours of philosophers, sages and legislators, through
a long succession of years, are laid open for our use, and
their collected wisdom may be happily apphed in the
establishment of our forms of government. The fi"ee cul
tivation of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce,
the progressive refinement of manners, the growing
liberality of sentiment, and above all, the pure and
benign light of Revelation, have had a meliorating in-
fluenceon mankind, and increased the blessingsof society-
At this auspicious period, the United States came into ex
istence as a nation, and if their citizens should not be
completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their
own." Having thus supphed us, especially in the words which
we have itahcized, with a conclusive proof of his belief
in revealed religion, we have from his pen, in the con
clusion ofthe "Letter," if possible, a still stronger expres
sion of his faith in the fundamental verities of the Gos
pel. His words are : —

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" It remains then to be my final and only request, that
your Excellency will communicate these sentiments to
your legislature at their next meeting, and that they
may be considered as the legacy of one, who has ardent'
ly wished, on all occasions, to be useful to his country,
and who, even in the shade of retireriient, will not fail to
implore the Divine benediction upon it.
" I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would
have you, and the State over which you preside, in his
holy protection ; that he would incline the hearts of the
citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedi
ence to government ; to entertain a brotherly affection and
love for one another, for their fellow-citizens ofthe United
States at large, and particularly for their brethren who
served in the field ; and finally, that he would most
graciously be pleased, to dispose us all to do justice, to
love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that humility
and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteris
tics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and with
out an humble imitation of whose example in these
things, we can never hope to be a happy nation."
Does the language here quoted require any comment?
What more satisfactory evidence could be asked or given,
of unqualified faith in Revelation as a fact, or in the
doctrines announced thereby. The illustrious author
dwells, dehghted, on the sources of national good, ilis-
tinguishing the age. He refers to education, commerce,
refinement of manners, and liberality of sentiment, as
promising a favourable influence ; and then adds — " Butj
above all, the pure and benign light of Revelation
has had a meliorating influence on mankind and in
creased the blessings of society." Revelation in his

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 73
view, has not only shed " hght" upon the world, but that
light is " pure and benign." By it the condition of man
kind has been improved, and the "blessings of society
increased." Nor does his testimony end with this strong
expression of his belief. He proceeds, in the closing para
graph of this memorable letter, to give utterance to opini
ons, which must be regarded as still stronger than those
before lecorded, as more decisive of his evangelical con
victions. In urging upon his fellow-citizens the amiable
virtues of social life, such as justice, mercy, humility, and
charity ; their observance is enforced by no less a motive,
than the example of Jesus Christ, as the "Divine
Author of our blessed religion." Let the reader mark
the force of the language. It is not Jesus Christ " the
Author," but the " Divine Author." Nor is it the " Di
vine Author of our religion," but of our " blessed re
ligion.'' With so good a confession before them, subject to their .
investigation and scrutiny, how is it, that men have pro
fessed doubt and ignorance, in relation to the religious
belief of Washington. Could terms more explicit, or
language more transparent, be employed to announce
the honest convictions of the mind ? Or was there ever
an individual, on whose formal declarations of opinion,
more entire reliance might be placed '.'
There is yet another public official expression of his
religious sentiments, to which we are concerned in giv
ing special attention. In his " Farewell Address to the
People of the United States," when retiring from the
Presidential Chair, we have a forcible and unequivocal
declaration of his confirmed opinions, in relation to the
doctrines of Revelation. Having devoted the greater
7

74 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
part of his days to the service of his country — to the
good of his fellow-citizens — he takes his final leave of
them, and of all the employments of public hfe, in this
Address, celebrated by a judicious writer, as " an enduring
monument of the goodness of his heai t, the wisdom of
his head, and the eloquence of his pen." Among many
other truths of the highest political value and practical
excellence, his parting advice on the subject of rehgion,
was conveyed in the following accents of unfaltering
conviction, and emphatic warning.
" Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to poli
tical prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable
supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of
patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great pil
lars of human happiness ; these firmest props of the
duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally
with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them.
A volume could not trace all their connexions with pri
vate and pubhc felicity. Let it simply be asked, where
is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the
sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are
the instruments of investigation in courts of justice?
And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that
morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever
may be conceded to the influence of refined education, on
minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both
forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in
exclusion of religious principles.
" It is substantially true, that virtue or morality, is a
necessary spring of popular government. The rule, in
deed, extends with more or less force, to every species of
government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 75
with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation
of the fabric l "
In the well-weighed instruction of this valuable ex
tract, we have a vindication of evangelical doctrine,
which cannot, we think, be too highly estimated. A
full development of the pregnant meaning of its state
ments, cannot fail to give entire assurance, not only of
the faith of the writer in the truth of Christianity, but
also to impress us with the most gratifying views of the
accuracy and soundness of his theological tenets.
That his testimony, however, may be duly appreciated,
it will be necessary to consider the circumstances which
induced this manly and seasonable confession, as well as
the intrinsic value and orthodoxy of the truths embraced
in its unequivocal terms.
The period at which the views before us were ex
pressed, was distinguished by the alarming prevalence,
in another hemisphere, of a reckless and heaven-daring
spirit of infidelity. The principles of its system, indus
triously circulated, greedily received, and widely pervad
ing the mass of mind in the land — if not of their first
germination, yet of their rank and luxuriant growth —
had already produced their own bitter fruit, in the unpa
ralleled succession of civil commotions, tumults, conspi
racies and murders, by which, the recent revolution in
that afflicted country, had been signalized. Had the
evil been restricted to its native clime, there had not
been so much reason to assail it, or warn of its danger.
Unhappily it was not so confined. Unpropitious winds
had wafted the foul contagion to our distant shores, and
its fatal breath was fast infecting our hitherto untainted
population. The profane dogmas of the Gallic philoso-

76 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND-
phers, had been imbibed by some of our eminent coun
trymen, and difl!used through their agency, were eagerly
fostered by the people, in their sympathy with a nation,
to whom we were under real obligations for the essen
tial aid they had rendered us, in our recent arduous
struggle for independence. But he, whom Providence
had raised up, to guard the interests of America, was on
his watch-tower, in the exercise of a vigilance that never
slumbered. The portentous mischief did not long escape
his penetrating eye. He saw it in the principles of some,
secretly debauched by a foreign residence, but near his
person for a time, and otherwise in his confidence. The
influence of great abilities on humbler minds was not
unknown to him. He could not, therefore, hesitate about
his course./ Impelled by his ardent love of country and
honest regard for truth, he resolved to throw his weight
into the scale of revealed religion, and essay to neutralize
the deadly poison of infidelity, before the foundations of
public and private felicity should be totally corrupted and
irretrievably undermined.
In putting forth his magnanimous efforts for this end,
he has not only furnished a conclusive proof of his own
individual behef in Divine Revelation, as refused and
denied by the new philosophy ; but has left on record an
imperishable memorial of the substantial agreement of his
religious views, with those of the great body of orthodox
believers, in every age and country. The existence of
this pleasing harmony may be clearly traced, in the just
and scriptural ideas advanced in the Address, as cited,
respecting the intimate connexion, subsisting in the eco
nomy of Heaven, betwixt religion and m,orality. We
quote his words again. — " Let us with caution indulge

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.

the supposition, that morality can be maintained
without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the
influence of refined education , on minds of peculiar
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to
expect, that national morality can prevail in exclu
sion of religious principle." The position here present
ed, briefly, but explicitly, appears plainly to be this. —
" There is not in man, unassisted by religion, strength
enough to ensure a moral life ; nor motives accessible to
him, sufficient to dissuade from vice, or persuade to virtue ;
or in' other words, — the corruption of human nature is
such, that immorality of life will certainly ensue, if the
depraved principle is not subdued, and the heart purified
by a divine influence ; religion being the consecrated
channel of that influence, operating on the soul directly
by grace applied, or indirectly by motives competent to
sway the reason and control the affections." It may be
said, that there is in the text, a concession, admitting an
exception to the main position of the writer. That a
moral life may sometimes exist without religious principle,
through '• the influence of refined education, on minds of
peculiar structure," is the exception alluded to. This,
however, is not positively asserted by the author, but as
it would seem, reluctantly " conceded." Nor does this
admission on his part, involve any surrender of the prin
ciple laid down, nothing being therein allowed, but what
the scriptures admit, and experience attests, with certain
Umitations. That the principal doctrine here maintained is, by no
means, a favourite one with the world, is well known ; nor
is it always admitted in so unqualified a sense, by some,
who profess acquiescence in the truth of Christianity, It
7*

78

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

is, in fact, a view held only with decision, by the most
evangehcal religious communions. The natural man
does not readily discern, nor his heart admit, that all hu
man goodness — that every social and domestic virtue, to
be perfect, must have its source in the principlesof religion,
implanted in the soul by a divine power. Human pride,
disdaining reliance on supernatural aid, for those moral
accomplishments which sustain its loudest boast, repels
with scorn, a doctrine, which aims its blows unsparingly,
at the foundation of its fondly-cherished and vaunted self-
sufficiency. But is not the truth in question, however refused and
contradicted, susceptible of an ample and satisfactory
vindication ? Does it assert that, ordinarily, the hfe will
be bad, where the restraints of religion do not exist ? And
may not this proposition be easily sustained ? If man is
a depraved creature, as all experience shows him to be,
what will probably be his life, if left to the unrestrained
impulse of his own wayward inchnations ? Is it as true
in themoral, as in the physical world, that nothing can rise
above its level ? Can a " clean thing be brought out of
an unclean?" Will not the stream partake ofthe na
ture ofthe fountain ? — the fruit of the quality ofthe tree ?
" Does the same fountain send forth sweet waters and bit
ter ? " "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of this
tles V Is there any result more certain, as a consequence
of man's moral constitution, than a hfe of unlimited in
dulgence, where the lusts and desires of the mind are
inordinate, and the means of gratification within his
reach ? This effect must follow the violence of passion,
operating on a mind destitute of moral ability, or of inch-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 79
nation to resist the seducing charms of sensual and
worldly good.
Is it, however, denied that Passion is irresistible, and a
sufficiency of moral strength claimed for man, to author
ize a belief in the theory of Human Virtue. Where, then,
apart from religion, do you find motives, by which the
love of pleasure may be dethroned, and that of moral
excellence made supreme. What inducements can be
held out, which shall operate effectually upon the under
standing, as well as upon the affections ? If the under
standing does give its cold approbation, will your boasted
motives be able to curb the fury of the passions when
roused into a tempest ? Whence, then, are they derived ?
From a philosophic love of goodness for its own sake, or
an estimate of the delights arising from its practice, or
from calculations, as to the comparative advantages of Vice
and Virtue? And what are these to a man in the hour
of temptation ? When passion stimulates, and appetite
goads him, of what avail to restrain and allay the tumult
of the soul, will fine spun moral theories be ? Or of what
avail, the intimation of future inconveniences, which may
never arrive, or if they do, may not be serious or difficult
to bear ?
In excluding religion, then, there is no other influ
ence left, by which the conduct of mankind can be
controlled. No agency^ exists for rectifying the disor
ders of the soul, nor does any motive remain, of sufficient
power, to operate on the judgment, or aflfect the heart.
Such a system, therefore, of necessity, is destructive of all
genuine morahty, and giving up mankind at large, to
the blind and lawless impulses of sinful passions, turr\s

89 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the world into a dreary scene of confusion, tumult,
and crime.
In regard to the concession, implying the efficacy
of causes, other than those of religion, in producing the
fruits of morality — there is no ground for serious doubt
as to the fact. Many there are in society, who have been
renderer", useful members thereof, by influences, far less
sacred than those, which come down from above. Refined
education, good examples, respectable associations, a high
standard of morals in the community, a regard to secular
interest — all these have great power over the minds of
men, inspiring them with just and liberal sentiments,
and gradually new-modeling the character, making them
upright, honest, truthful, humane, gentle, courteous. —
And yet, so far do these things fall short of the fruits of
true religion, in respect to uniformity of result, number,
and quality of the virtues produced — that the principle
of the "Address," remains unshaken, by all that has been
conceded. Of how much greater worth, then, will that
principle appear, when it is remembered, that besides
the morality arising from other causes, being of meagre
and stunted growth — it is but a very small proportion
of mankind, that share even this equivocal and unequal
agency. This one consideration, of itself, furnishes a con
clusive answer to every vain objection, and gives irresis
tible energy to the argument in favour of that divine
system, wliich, all-powerful to bless, alone can become
universal, and influential alike with high and low, rich
and poor, bond and free.
As further illustrative and explanatory of the views
contained in the important extract, on the statements of
which we have ventured a few reflections, it is proposed

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 81
to introduce here some remarks, made by distinguished
authors, living and dead, in reference to the same points.
It will be found, that these remarks reflect an important
hght on the object of our present investigation.
We submit, in the first place, some appropriate obser
vations, from the distinguished pen of Robert Hall,
published in England, in the year , 1800 — about four
years after the pubhcation of the " Farewell Address."
The subject Of his remarks, was " Modern Infidelity," as
then, and for some years before, widely prevalent in
Europe. The beauty of the sentiments, and their
relation to the subject in hand, wiU no doubt excuse the
length of the citation.
" The skeptical or irreligious system, subverts the whole
foundation of morals. It may be assumed, as a maxim,
that no person can be requked to act contrary to his
greatest good, or his highest interest, comprehensively
viewed in relation to the whole duration of his being.
It is often our duty, to forego our own interest partially,
to sacrifice a smaller pleasure for the sake of a greater,
to incur a present evil in pursuit of a distant good of more
consequence. In a word, to arbitrate among interfering
claims of inchnation, is the moral arithmetic of human
life. But to risk the happiness o'f the whole duration of
our being in any case whatever, were it possible, would
be foolish ; because the sacrifice must by the nature of
it, be so great, as to preclude the possibility of com
pensation. " As the present world, on skeptical principles, is the
only place of recompense, whenever the practice of
virtue fails to promote the greatest smn of present good — -
cases which often occur in reahty, and much oftener in

82 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
appearance — every motive to virtuous conduct is super
seded ; a deviation from rectitude becomes the part of
wisdom ; and should the path of virtue, in addition to this,
be obstructed by disgrace, torment or death, to persevere,
would be madness and folly, and a violation of the first
and most essential law of nature. Virtue, on these
principles, being in numberless instances, at war with
self-preservation, never can or ought to become, a fixed
habit of the mind.
" The system of infidelity is not only incapable
of arming virtue for great and trying occasions, but
leaves it unsupported in the most ordinary occurrences.
In vain will its advocates appeal to a moral sense, to
benevolence, and S3'mpathy; for it is undeniable, that
these impulses may be overcome. In vain will they
expatiate on the tranquillity and pleasure attendant oq
a virtuous course : for, though you may remind the
offender, that in disregarding them, he has violated his
nature, and that a conduct consistent with them, is
productive of much internal satisfaction ; yet, if he reply
that his taste is of a different sort, that there are other
gratifications which he values more, and that every
man must choose his own pleasures, the argument is at
an end.
'• Rewards and punishments, assigned by infinite
power, afford a palpable and pressing motive, which can
never be neglected, without renouncing the character of
a rational creature : but tastes and relishes, are not to be
prescribed. "A motive, in which the reason of man shah acquiesce,
enforcing the practice of virtue at all times and seasons,
enters into the very essence of moral obligation. Modern

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 83
infidelity supplies no such motives : it is, therefore, essen
tially and infallibly, a system of enervation, turpitude,
and vice.
" This chasm in the construction of morals, can only
be supplied, by the firm belief of a rewarding and aveng
ing Deity, who binds duty and happiness, though
they may seem distant, in an indissoluble chain;
without which, whatever usurps the name of virtue, is
not a principle, but a feeling; not a determinate rule,
but a fluctuating expedient, varying with the tastes of
individuals, and changing with the scenes oflife.
" Nor is this the only way, in which infidelity subverts
the foundation of morals. AU reasoning on morals
presupposes a distinction between inclinations and
duties, affections and rules. The former prompt, the
latter prescribe. The former supply motives to action ;
the lattfr regulate and control it. Hence, it is evident,
if virtue have any just claim to authority, it must be
under the latter of these notions ; that is, under the cha
racter of a law. It is under this notion, in fact, that its
dominion has ever been acknowledged to be paramount
and supreme.
" But without the intervention of a superior will, it is
impossible there should be any moral laws, except in
the lax metaphorical sense, in which we speak of the
laws of matter and motion. Men being essentially equal,
morality is only a stipulation, or silent compact, into
which every individual is supposed to enter, as far as
suits his convenience, and for the breach of which, he
is accountable to nothing but his own mind. His own
muid is his law, his tribunal, and his judge !
"Two consequences, the most disastrous to society,

84 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
wdl inevitably follow the general prevalence of this
system ; — the frequent perpetration of great crimes, and
the total absence of great virtues.
"I. In those conjunctures which tempt avarice, or
inflame ambition, when a crime flatters with the prospect
of impunity, and the certainty of immense advantage,
what is to restrain an atheist from its commission ? To
say that remorse will deter him, is absurd ; for remorse,
as distinguished from pity, is the sole offspring of religious
belief, the extinction of which, is the great purpose of the
infidel philosophy.
" The dread of punishment, or infamy, from his fellow-
creatures, will be an equally ineffectual barrier ; because,
crimes are only committed under such circumstances, as
suggest the hope of concealment : not to say that crimes
themselves will soon lose their infamy and their horror,
under the influences of that system, which destroys the
sanctity of virtue, by converting it into a low calculation of
worldly interest. Here, the sense of an ever-present Ruler
and of an avenging Judge, is of the most awful and indis
pensable necessity ; as it is that alone which impresses on
all crimes the character oi folly, shows that duty and in
terest in every instance coincide, and, that the most
prosperous career of vice, the most brilliant successes of
criipinality, are but an accumulation of wrath against
the day of wrath.
" As the frequent perpetration of great crimes, is an
inevitable consequence of the diffusion of skeptical prin
ciples, so, to understand this consequence in its full ex
tent, we must look beyond their immediate effects, and
consider the disruption of social ties, the destruction of
confidence, the terror, suspicion, and hatred, which
must prevail in that state of society, in which barbarous

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTQN. 85
deeds are famihar. The tranquilhty which pervades a
well-ordered community, and the mutual good offices
which bind its members together, are founded on an im-
phed confidence in the indisposition to annoy, in the
justice, humanity, and moderation of those among whom
we dwell. So that the worst consequence of crimes
is, that they impair the stock of public charity, and
general tenderness. The dread and hatred of our spe
cies would infaUibly be grafted on a conviction that we
were exposed, every moment, to the surges of an unbridled
ferocity, and that nothing, but the power of the magistrate
stood between us and the daggers of assassins. In such
a state, laws, deriving no support from public manners,
are unequal to the task of curbing the fury of the
passions; which, from being concentrated into selfish
ness, fear, and revenge, acquire new force. Terror and
suspicion beget cruelty, and inflict injuries by way of
prevention. Pity is extinguished in the stronger impulse
of self-preservation. The tender and generous affections
are crushed, and nothing is seen but the retahation of
wrongs, the fierce, and unmitigated struggle for superiority.
This is but a faint sketch of the incalculable calamities
and horrors we must expect, should we be so unfortunate
as ever to witness the triumph of modern infidelity.
" 2. This system is a soil as barren of great and
subhme virtues, as it is prolific in crimes. By great and
subhme virtues, are meant those which are called into
action on great and trying occasions, which demand the
sacrifice of the dearest interests and prospects of human
life, and sometimes of hve itself: the virtues, in a word,
which by their rarity and splendour draw admiration,
and have rendered illustrious the character of patriots,
8

86 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
martyrs, and confessors. It requires but httle reflection
to perceive, that whatever veils a future world, and
contracts the hmits of existence, within the present life,
must tend, in a proportionable degree, to diminish the
grandeur, and narrow the sphere of human agency.
"As well might you expect exalted sentiments of
justice from a professed gamester, as look for noble prin
ciples in the man whose hopes and fears are all suspend
ed on the present moment, and who stakes the whole
happiness of his being on the events of this vain and
fleeting life. If he be ever impehed to the performance
of great achievements, in a good cause, it must be solely
by the hope of fame ; a motive which, besides that it
Inakes virtue the servant of opinion, usually grows
weaker at the approach of death, and which, however
it may surmount the love of existence in the heat of
battle, or in the moment of public observation, can
seldom be expected to operate with much force on the
retired duties of a private station.
"In affirming that infidelity is unfavourable to the
higher class of virtues, we are supported, as well by facts,
as by reasoning. We should be sorry to load our ad
versaries with unmeiited reproach : but to what history,
to what record will they appeal, for the traits of moral
greatness exhibited by their disciples ? Where shall we
look for the trophies of infidel magnanimity, or atheistical
virtue ? Not that we mean to accuse them of inactivity :
they have recently filled the world with the fame of
their exploits ; exploits of a different kind indeed, but of
imperishable memory and disastrous lustre.
" Though it is confessed, great and splendid actions
are not the ordinary employment of life, but must, from

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. S7
their nature, be reserved for high and eminent occasions ;
yet that system is essentially defective which leaves no
room for their production. They are important, both
from their immediate advantage and their remoter in
fluence. They often save, and always illustrate, the
age and nation in which they appear. They raise
the standard of morals ; they arrest the progress of
degeneracy ; they diffuse a lustre over the path of life :
monuments of the greatness of the human soul, they
present to the world the august image of virtue in her
sublimest form, from which streams of hght and glory
issue to remote times and ages, while their commemor
ation, by the pen of historians and poets, awakens, in dis
tant bosoms, the sparks of kindred excellence.
" Combine the frequent and familiar perpetration of
atrocious deeds with the dearth of great and generous
actions, and you have theexact picture of that condition
of society which complete the degradation ofthe speciess —
the frightful contrast of dwarfish virtues and gigantic
vices, where every thing good is mean and little, and
every thing evil is rank and luxuriant : a dead and
sickening uniformity prevails, broken only at intervals
by volcanic eruptions of anarchy and crime."
We have before us the views of another author, so
fully concurring in the tenet under consideration, and so
amply confirming it, by his lucid expositions of sacred
truth, that we cannot forbear inserting his excellent re
marks. The author, (Dr. Wardlaw, of Glasgow,) hx
one, of a series of " Lectures on Christian Ethics," re
cently dehvered by him, has the following language : —
" As there is a necessary harmony between the divine
character and the divine will, whatever contauia in it

88 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
an intimation that ' God is light,' and that ' God is love,'
may be regarded as containing in it also a voice to all
his intelligent creatures. ' Be ye holy, for I am holy ;'
' Be ye merciful, as your Father, who is in heaven, is
merciful.' This is, in truth, the sum of human virtue,
and the sum of the motives to the practice of it : and
this, were the ears of men but open to hear it, is the
concurrent voice of providence, and of revelation. By
this remark, I am naturaUy led to the proper subject of
the present discourse, the identity of morality and re
ligion ; a subject, which the preceding observations
have not only been intended to introduce, but in part
prospectively, to illustrate.
" The words which I read as my text, express, with
clearness and emphasis, this identity ; ' This is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments.' The ' keep
ing of God's commandments' is a comprehensive defi
nition of morality ; ' the love of God' is the sum of re
ligious pruiciple ; and the text affirms, ' This is the
love of God, that we keep his commandments.' The
meaning is, that there is no love of God without the
keeping of his commandments ; and that there is no
keeping of his commandments without love to God : a
statement which amounts to the same thing as this
other, THAT THERE IS NO RELIGION WITHOUT MO
RALITY, AND THAT THERE IS NO MORALITY WITHOUT
RELIGION. He who loves God keeps the command
ments in principle ; he who keeps the commandments
loves God in action. Love is obedience in the heart ;
obedience is love in the hfe. Morality, then, is re
ligion in practice ; religion is morality in principle.
" I know few things more preposterous in theory, or

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 89
more mischievous in effect, than the prevailing divorce
between rehgion and morahty : the manner in which
they are not only spoken of, in the current vocabulary
ofthe world, but even treated in the disquisitions of philo
sophy, as if they were separable and separate things.
As to the world, you cannot but be aware how indefinite
is the meaning of vii'tue, and with what variety of ap
plication, but in them all with what convenient vague
ness and generality, the designation is bestowed of a
good m,an. On Change, the good man is the man who
has sufficient means, and sufficient honour, to pay his
debts. In the ordinary intercourse of hfe, its most com
mon application is to the relative and social virtues, and
especiaUy those which impart confidence between man
and man ; without which, it is universally felt, the
transactions of business would be at a stand, the mutual
dependence of men upon each other could have no salu
tary operation, and the very frame-work of society
would be dissolved.
'• These virtues, the virtues of truth, and integrity, and
honour, especially when united with generosity and
practical kindness, will secure the designation, although
there should be no very rigid adherence to those of tem
perance and chastity ; but if these, in any unusual de
gree, are united with the former, the man becomes a
paragon of goodness, the very best of men, and sure of
heaven, if any on earth are. The union described is a
rarity, except under the superadded influence of rehgious
principle : but we shaU suppose it. We shall suppose a
man personally chaste and sober in his habits of hfe,
amiable in its domestic relations, honourable in all its
transactions, veracious in every utterance, and faithful
8*

90 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
in every trust ; and withal, humane and generous in his
disposition and practice ; what, it may be added, can be
wished for more? 'What lacketh he yet?' I answer,
in one word, godliness ; that which is entitled to the
precedence of aU these virtues — nay, more, that which
ought to preside over them aU, and to infuse its spirit in
to them all, and without which they are destitute of the
very first principle of true morality.
'' But it is not in the customary phraseology of the
world only, and the loose conceptions of which that
phraseology is the vehicle, that religion and morahty
are severed. It is lamentable to find, in the writings of
ethical philosophers, the same dissociating principle ;
discussions on morals, such as would require no very ma
terial alteration to accommodate them to atheism ; and
even, at tunes, in the treatises of philosophical divines, so
indistinct a recognition of the basis on which the whole
system of ethics ought ever to rest. It is far otherwise
in the Holy Scriptures : and I cannot but regard the
manner in this, and other respects, in which these writ
ings uniformly treat the subject of morals, as forming
one, arid not the least considerable, of the internal
evidences of their divine original. It is one of the dis
tinguishing peculiarities of all Bible morality, that it be
gins loith God, — that it makes godliness its first and
fundamental principle. The first commandment, in the
moral code of the Bible, is a requisition for God : ' Thou
shah love the Lord thy God with aU thy heart, with all
thy soul with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.'
Thus God stands first. For him is claimed the throne
of the heart. The foundation of all morals is laid in
devotion : no right moral principle is there admitted to

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 91
exist, independent of a primaiy and supreme regard to
Deity. No true goodness is acknowledged without this.
There is no such anomaly to be found there, as that
which meets us so frequently in the nomenclature of the
world's morahty — a good heart, or a good man, without
the principles and sentiments of godhness. According to
its representations, the rehgious principle is the first prin
ciple of aU morals ;— a good heart is a heart in which
the fear and the love of God reign ; and a good man, a
man of whose hfe the love and the fear of God are the
uniform regulators. Every thing assuming the name of
vutue, that has not these principles for its foundation, is
there set aside, as coin that has not the image and
superscription of Heaven, ' reprobate silver' — ' weighed
in the balances and found wanting.' "
The incidental remarks of this author, respecting the
virtuous deportment of some worldly men, might be re
ferred to as shedding light upon the concession before
alluded to on the same subject. But this point is so
fuUy and beautifully unfolded by another distinguished
living writer, and his remarks are so strikingly confirm
atory of the imphed views of Washington, that the in
dulgence of our readers must be asked for a few of his
eloquent observations. The hand of a master wiU be
traced in the graphic sketches annexed.
In a Discouise on " The Emptiness of Natural Vir
tue," Dr. Chalmers v^Tites : " Let us suppose the heart to
be furnished, not merely with the finest sensibihties of
our nature, but with its most upright and honourable
principles. Let us conceive a man, whose pulse beats
high with the pride of integrity; whose every word car
ries security along with it ; whose faithfiilness in the

93 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
walks of business, has stood the test of many fluctua-
' tions ; who, amid all the varieties of his fortune, has
nobly sustained the glories of an untainted character ;
and whom we see, by the salutations of the market
place, to be acknowledged and revered by all, as the
most respectable of the citizens. Now, which of the two
great regions of human character shall we make him to
occupy? This question depends on another. May all
this manly elevation of soul, and of sentiment, stand dis
united in the same heart, with the influence of the
authority of God, or that love of God which is the keep
ing of the commandments? The discerning eye of
Hume saw that it could ; and he tells us, that natural
honesty of temper is a better security for the faithfulness
of a man's doings, than all the authority of religion
over him. We deny the assertion ; but the distinction
between the two principles on which it proceeds is indis
putable. There is a principle of honour, apart in the
human mind altogether from any reference to the reali
ties of a spiritual world. It varies in the intensity of its
operation, with different individuals. It has the chance
of being more entire, when kept aloof from the tempta
tions of poverty ; and therefore it is, that we m,ore fre
quently m,eet with it in the upper and middling
classes of life. And we can conceive it so strong in its
original influence, or so grateful to the possessor, from
the elevating consciousness which goes along with it,
or so nourished by the voice of an applauding world, as
to throw all the glories of a romantic chivahy over the
character of him with whom God is as much unthought
of, as he is unseen. We are far from refusing our admir
ation. But we are saying, that the Being who brought

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 93
this noble specimen of our nature into existence ; who
fitted his heart for all its high and generous emotions ;
who threw a theatre around him for the display and
exercise of his fine moral accomphshments ; who furnish
ed each of his admirers with a heart to appreciate his
worth, and a voice to pour into his ear the flattering
expression of it; the Being whose hand upholds and
perpetuates the whole of this illustrious exhibition, may
all the while be forgotten, and unnoticed as a thing of no
consequence. We are merely saying, that the man whose
heart is occupied with a sentiment of honour, and is at
the same time unoccupied with a sense of Him, who is
the first and greatest of sphitual beings, is not a spiritual
man. But, if not sphitual, we are told in the Bible,
that there are only two terms in the alternative, and he
must be carnal. And the God whom he has disregard
ed in time, will find, that in the praises and enjoyments
of time, he has gotten all his reward, and that he owes
him no recompense in Eternity.
Again ; " Now it carries us at once to the bottom of
this delusion to observe, that though the religious princi
ple can never exist, without the amiable and virtuous
conduct of the New Testament, yet that conduct may,
in some measure, be maintained, without the religious
principle. A man may be led to precisely the same
conduct, on the impulse of many different principles : —
he may be gentle, because it is a prescription ofthe divine
law ; or, he may be gentle, because he is naturally of a
peaceful, or indolent constitution ; or, he may be gentle,
because he sees it to be an amiable gracefulness, with
which he wishes to adorn his own character ; or, he
may be gentle, because it is the ready way of perpetuating

94

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

the friendship of those around him ; or, he may be gen
tle, because taught to observe it as a part of courtly and
fashionable deportment, and what was im,planted by
education, may come in time to be confirmed, by habit
and experience. Now, it is only under the first of these
principles, that there is any rehgion in gentleness. The
other principles may produce all the outward appear
ance of this virtue, and much even of its inward com
placency, and yet be as distinct from the rehgious prin
ciple, as they are distinct from one another. To infer
the strength of the religious principle, from the taste of
the human mind, for what is graceful and lovely in cha
racter, would just be as preposterous, as to infer it from
the admiration of a fine picture, or a cultivated landscape.
They are not to be confounded. They occupy a differ
ent place, even in the classifications of philosophy. We
do not deny, that the admhation of what is fine in
character, is a principle of a higher order, than the ad
miration of what is fine in external scenery. So is a
taste for what is beautiful, in the prospect before us, a prin
ciple of a higher order, than a taste for the sensualities of
the epicure. But they, one and all of them, stand at a
wide distance from the rehgious principle : and whether
it be taste, or temper, or the love of popularity, or the
high impulse of honourable feeling, or even the love of
trath, and a natural principle of integrity ; the virtues in
question may be so unconnected with religion, as to
flourish in the world, and be rewarded by its admiration,
even though God were expunged from the belief, and
immortality from the prospects of the species."
In these extracts we have the opinions contained
in the Address iuWy explained,and its doctrines carried

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 95
out and established. In the ampler illustrations 'and
minuter developments furnished by these writers, the
intelligent reader will, no doubt, take pleasure in tracing
the intrinsic meaning and legitimate bearing of Washing
ton's principles — by which he must have been conducted
to similar conclusions, had it comported with the object
before him to expatiate in the same field, over which it
was then professional privilege and duty to range at
large. The views maintained by him and them are
manifestly the same. They all teach, substantiaUy, that
without religion there is no morality, through lack of
motive to produce the result. Or if this effect may
exist in a measure, in the case of some individuals
sharing special propitious influences — such a life will be
confined to a few favoured persons — whilst the mass, of
mankind, cut off from their advantages, the social state
must be dissolved through the inevitable prevalence of
crime. The special application of the doctrine to the
interests of another life, which it belonged more particu
larly to some of the writers to enforce - is a fair use of
the principle, and one which properly attaches to its due
practical exhibition. The doctrine then, we say, was
essentially the same as held by them all. In the views
of the one, we had, as it were, the vital seed of immortal
truth ; in the writings of the others, we have the full
blown and variegated flower. In the one, we had the
unwrought, massy bullion ; in the others, we have the
same beat out and fashioned variously for ornament
and for use. Considering the different circumstances
and aims of the writers, the correspondence in their
productioris will appear sufficiently remarkable, and in
dicating a common fountain as the source of opinions so

96 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
harmonious and consistent with each other. If it should
be objected by any that the statements contained in the
Address are brief and compressed, we may answer, that
it was obviously fit, in such a document, that the author,
feeling the responsibihty of his pecuhar position, should
commend the subject of religion to his countrymen. But
it was equally fit that hints, merely, should be thrown
out. More than this, the spuit of the age would not
bear. Religion was regarded with jealousy in connexion
with politics. There was necessity, then, for caution, in
preparing such a paper as the one before us. While
fidelity demanded decision and explicitness on the one
hand, prudence required moderation and generality of
statement, on the other. There must be truth in the
exposition, but truth in its least offensive form.
That Washington was under the influence of these
considerations is manifest. Had it been fit that he
should, on such an occasion, speak out more fully — that
he should enlarge on the truth, the reality, and the efficacy
of rehgion, and of morahty, as its genuine fruit — would
he have wanted words or thoughts ? Did not a mind,
teeming with clear and rational conceptions on these
topics, prompt the ardent language used, when he says : —
" A VOLUME could uot trace all their cofinexions ivith
private and public felicity!^ — It was not, then, the
want of sympathy with the subject, or the lack of
knowledge ; but the nature of the document, and the
proprieties of his station, which restrained his usually
prolific pen.
Without regarding the question of Washington's faith
in the word of God, as needing any additional confirm
ation, we will yet quote one brief paragraph from his

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 97
last will and testament, as furnishing a touching proof
of his sincerity : —
" To the Rev. now Bryan Lord Fairfax,* I give a
Bible, in three large foho volumes, with notes presented
to me by the Right Rev. Thomas 'Wilson\, bishop of
Sodor and Man. "
Gen. Washington wrote the will, from which the
above was taken, but a few months before his death.
Admonished, by the rapid approach of old age, to set
his house in order, and prepare for another world, he
makes, among other bequests, the very significant one
before us, in favour of an old, valued, and highly respect
able friend. He, doubtless, thought the legacy worthy
of his acceptance.
We shall conclude the present chapter with the testi
mony of Chief Justice Marshall. He had been the
personal friend, the frequent associate, and was now the
biographer of Washhigton. With the best opportunities
? Mr. Fairfax was an Episcopal clergyman. During the latter
years of his life, he became the eighth and last Lord Fairfax — the
title having descended to him through Robert Fairfax, from Thomas
Lord Fairfax, ofGreenway Court, Frederick county, Virginia. His
own residence was in Fairfax county.
t Was not Gen. Washington mistaken in ascribing this gift to the
Right Rev. Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man ? The bishop
died in March, 1755, some months before Braddock's defeat — anterior
to which event, Washington did not enjoy much celebrity. Bishop
Wilson could scarcely have known that such a. person was in being.
But the bishop left an only son— the Rev. Thomas Wilson, D.D., a man
of wealth, and like his honoured father, distinguished for piety and ac
tive benevolence. He died, an old man, in the year 1784, when
Washington's fame had filled Europe. Attracted by the character of
the American commander-in-chief, he was no doubt the author of the
present. The Bible sent may have belonged to the bishop, his
excellent father. 9

98 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
of learning his opinions, and observing his habits, hts

" Without making ostentatious professions of religion,*
he (Washington) was a sincere believer in the Christian
faith, and a truly devout man."t
* What the precise import of this disclaimer is, touching " ostenta
tious professions of religion," does not seem to be perfectly clear. If
the allusion is to Washington's reserve and taciturnity on this, as on
other subjects, in the ordinary intercourse oflife, then the remark is no
doubt just. His nice sense of propriety always prevented him from
obtruding his religious opinions upon his best friends, much more was
he restrained by his knowledge of men from troubling those with the
subject to whom he knew it to be strange or disagreeable. He would
not thus "cast his pearls before swine:" But certainly no public
man, in this, or in any other country, ever availed himself more uni
formly of every fit occasion for declaring his sentiments. Seldom, it
would appear, did he suffer an opportunity to escape him, without
bearing his solemn testimony to the importance and necessity of
religion. In this respect, he truly " let his light shine before men."
t Life of Washington, vol. ii., p. 445, abridged edition.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 99

CHAPTER IIL
HIS VIEWS OP DIVINE PROVIDENCE.
There are few doctrines of religion about which men
are more divided, than that of the Providence of God.
They are indeed generally united as to the fact of a
providence exercised over the world, but are very widely
separated in opinion as to its nature. According to the
system of some, there is a general, but not a^particular,
Providence, displayed in the affairs of men. The Deity
is regarded as having originaUy impressed upon the ma-
cliinery of the universe those great laws which he in
tended should govern it, and having done so, leaves it
to roll on with a process so uniform and settled, that no
departure from its great leading operations may ever be
expected. That this is a cold and comfortless speculation, must
be admitted by all. But it is as irrational, as it is gloomy.
It certainly is entirely at variance with the animating
disclosures of Revelation. Indeed the whole theory is
based upon a gratuitous assumption, unsupported, save
by the fancy of its framers. For how is it known that
the Author of aU things has so settled and fixed the laws
of his kingdom that the possibility of departure has beei^
excluded. How do we know, in fact, what is uniformity,
and what irregularity? That which we may call a

100 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
detour, in the march of his laws, may be only the result
of a primeval impulse given them. It is impossible for
us to know what principles the Almighty has thought
proper to adopt for the government of his universe.* We
talk of the order of Nature, and of the great principles
which prevail therein, and of the straight-forward course,
and the overwhelming energy of its powers ; and having
settled it, in our minds, that such is the system adopted
by the Creator, we forthwith apply this ideal standard
to every thing extraordinary in the occurrences of
earth. Thus a miracle, no matter how unexceptionable
in regard to the design of its performance, or how well
attested by credible witnesses — is at once cried down
as a fraud upon the senses, because, forsooth, it is in oppo
sition to a theory having for its basis our experience of
the uniformity of Nature. It is, in the mean time, for
gotten by the objector, that his experience is very hinited,
and that the experience of another man may be the very
reverse of his. He rejects what is credibly reported to
him as extraordinary, because he has never seen, or
heard, or felt, any thing of the kind, yet is strangely
offended because his informer believes what he has seen,
heard, and felt. The same inconsistency marks the
decision to which some men come, in regai-d to events,
involving merely a digression, as it were, and not a sus
pension, of the laws of the universe. Every thing of
this kind, in the course of events, is held to be strange
* " Now, general laws," (says the Edinburgh Review, No. 100,)
" however, for the most part, undiscovered by us, govern alike the con-
Btituton of our nature, and the course of events," &c. — Even the
general laws, then, which govern us are undiscovered.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 101
and unaccountable, and rather to be ascribed to chance,
or accident, than to any direct agency of God.
Whilst we, by no means, call in question the syste
matic action of Deity, in carrying on the affairs of his
universal kingdom, yet we do object to a rigid adjust
ment of the principles of his system by the mere dictum
of human authority. We do not doubt that there is a
beautiful order in the Divine operations, and that they all
tend, with infinite harmony, to some great and good re
sult. And yet we are assured that the Almighty is as
methodical, in deviating from his ordinary course, as he is
in the most regular and uniform of his processes.
It is not, then, in disparagement of a general, that we
contend for a particular Providence. The terms, in
truth, should not be set in opposition to each other. The
Providence of God is both general and particular. He
acts by general laws in the government of his universe,
physical and moral ; and yet can bend them, at any mo
ment, to the production of any given result, as he may, in
his sovereign pleasure, see fit ; whether at the beseeching
voice of his humble and dependant creatures, or from other
motives which may arise to sway his Divine agency. Nor
is there, in all this, any want of foresight, or any thing like
variableness, or mutability implied. It is Deity in motion,
for the accomplishment ofthe greatest amount of good, in
the way which seems best in his sight. " Many persons,"
says a judicious writer, "when they hear any event spoken
of as providential, seem to understand it as signifying,
that all the circumstances which have conduced to bring it
about, have been arranged for that particular purpose,
and if left to their natural course, they would have pro
duced different results. But I consider this to be a com-
9*

102 RELIfflOUS OPINIONS AND
plete misapprehension. The doctrine of an over-ruling
Providence does not imply the interruption of the regular
operations of cause and effect in nature, any morC than
our seeing these operations proceed regularly, proves that
there is no such thing as an over-ruling Providence.''
Here we have the sublimity of the general, with the
comfort of the particular Providence of God. He now
wheels the planets in their courses, and preserves the
host of heaven, in unfading splendour, and yet guards the
feeble sparrow, so that it cannot faU to the ground with
out Him. He preserves the seasons, in their unwearied
rounds, causing summer and winter, night and day,
seed-time and harvest, to follow each other in regular
and constant successions — and yet he controls the ele
ments at his pleasure. When he would punish, he
" makes the heavens above, brass, and the earth be
neath, iron." He " commands the clouds that they
rain no rain." He " sends the palmer-worm, the cater
pillar, and the locust." Sometimes he " causes it to rain
upon one city, and not upon another — to rain upon one
piece, and not upon another." Or, would he reward and
bless, he then reverses these dispensations, and causes
those who obey Him to rejoice in all " good things."
Such we conceive to be the testimony of the Holy
Scriptures, on the subject before us, and, in accordance
with these views, have been the sentiments of the majo
rity of behevers in Christianity.
That such were the views of the distinguished subject
of our present work, admits of evidence as satisfactory
as the reflection is gratifying. The abundant proof is
furnished by his writings of every date. It was one of

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 103
the earliest and the latest of those convictions, by which
his life was materially governed.
It is proposed to draw from his writings, published*
and unpublished, the proofs of his opinions. In these
productions of his diligent pen, marked, as they are, by
the frankness and sincerity which ever characterized
him, we have his undissembled thoughts and feelings on
this, as on other topics. If our quotations should be nu
merous, we hope they will prove interesting for the piety
ofthe allusions, as well as for their historical associations.
In a letter to Gov. Dinwiddie, dated Great Meadows,
June 10, 1754, when in the 23d year of his age, we
have the following striking acknowledgment of a parti
cular Providential interposition, in supplying, with pro
visions, the troops recently placed under his command.
" We have been six days without flour, and there is
none upon the road for our relief that we know of, though
I have, by repeated expresses, given him timely notice.
We have not provisions of any sort enough in camp to
serve us two days. Once before we should have been
four days without provisions, if Providence had not sent
a trader from the Ohio to our relief, for whose flour I was
obliged to give twenty-one shillings and eight-pence per
hundred." In a letter to his brother, John A. Washington, written
a few days after Braddock's defeat, he says, in reference
to his own wonderful preservation on that memorable
occasion :
"By the aU-powerful dispensations of Providence I
have been protected beyond all human probability, or
?,We shall mainly rely upon his "Writings," as recently edited and
published by J. Sparks.

104 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
expectation ; for I had four buUets through my coat, and
two horses shot under rae, yet escaped unhurt, although
death was leveUing my companions on every side of
me." Was there not, indeed, in that marvellous preservation,
a most signal proof given of the particular Providence of
Gcd ? The battle-field that day, was indeed a field of
blood. The French and Indians firing from ravines,
and from behind trees, with a deliberate and deadly aim,
produced an unparalleled carnage among the British and
Provincial troops. These seemed to be engaged with an
invisible foe. For three hours, however, did they main
tain the unequal conflict, but in much confusion and
dismay. " The officers," says one, in describing the ac
tion, " were absolutely sacrificed by their good behaviour,
advancing sometimes in bodies, sometimes separately,
hoping, by such example, to engage the soldiers to follow
them, but to no purpose. The General (Braddock) had
five horses shot under him, and at last received a wound
through his right arm into his lungs, of which he died
the 13th inst. Secretary Shirley was shot through the
head ; Captain Morris, wounded. Colonel Washington
had two horses shot under him, and his clothes shot
through in several places, behaving, the whole time, with
the greatest courage and resolution. Sir Peter Halket
was killed upon the spot. Colonel Burton, and Sir John
St. Clair, were wounded." — " In addition to these," says
another, " the other field-officers wounded were Lieuten
ant Colonel Gage, Colonel Orme, Major Sparks, and
Brigade-Major Halket. Ten captains were killed, and
five wounded ; fifteen lieutenants killed, and twenty-
two wounded ; the whole number of officers in the en-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 105
gagement was eighty-six, of whom twenty-six were killed,
and thirty -seven wounded. The killed and wounded ofthe
privates amounted to seven hundred and fourteen. Of
these, at least one half were supposed to be killed."* —
Washington, but partially recovered from a severe sick
ness, was one of General Braddock's aids-de-camp. Early
in the action, the other aids were kiUed or wounded, so
that the whole duty of distributing the General's orders
devolved on him. He was, consequently, exposed con-
tinuaUy to the fire of the enemy. Dr. Craik, the friend
of Washington from his youth, and who was with him
in this battle, has been often heard Xo say, " I expected
every moment to see him fall. Nothing but the super
intending care of Providence could have saved him from
the fate of aU around him." There is a tradition, resting
on the authority of this same individual, which may
deserve notice in this connexion. "In the year 1770,
fifteen years after the battle of the Monongahela, just
referred to. Dr. Craik and Washington traveUed together
on an expedition to the Western country, with a party
of woodsmen, for the purpose of exploring wild lands.
While near the junction of the Great Kenhawa and
Ohio Rivers, a company of Indians came to them with
an interpreter, at the head of whom was an aged and
venerable chief. This person made known to them, by
the interpreter, that hearing Colonel Washington was in
that region, he had come a long way to visit him, adding
that, during the battle of the Monongahela, he had
singled him out as a conspicuous object, fired his rifle at
him many times, and directed his young warriors to do
* The whole number engaged were twelve hundred men, besides
th« officers.

106 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the same, but, to his utter astonishment, none of their ball§
took effect. He was then persuaded, that the youthful
hero was under the special guardianship of the Great
Spirit, and ceased to fire at him any longer. He was
now come to pay homage to the man who was the par
ticular favourite of heaven, and who could never die in
batde." Let the reader carefuUy mark the foregoing circum
stances, and then say whether Washington had not
good reason for the language: — "By the aU-powerful
dispensations ofProvidencelhave been protected beyond
all human probability or expectation."^ — If we, moreover,
reflect on the distinguished and important part he after
wards acted in the cause of his country, and of humanity,
we cannot, if we beheve in a God at all, resist the con
viction, that he was preserved by a special divine agency,
being kept for that work which awaited him in the pur
poses of Heaven. This conviction will derive additional
strength from the recollection, that he was equally pro
tected during the Revolutionary War, though often
and greatly exposed. As a chosen instrument of the
Almighty, we may well apply to him the words, " Im
mortal till his work was done."
We proceed with his own language. From Winchester,
where he was stationed as commander of the troops, he
^vl¦ites to Gov. Dinwiddie, about a year after Braddock's
defeat : —
" With this smaU company of irregulars, with whom
order, regularity, circumspection, and vigilance, were
matters of derision and contempt, we set out, and by the
protection of Providence, reached Augusta Court House
in seven days, without meeting the enemy, otherwise we

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 107
must have fallen a sacrifice through the indiscretion of
these whooping, hallooing, gentlemen soldiers ! "
On the subject of an ill-managed expedition against
Fort Pitt, in the year 1758, he says: —
" From aU the accounts I can collect, it appears very
clear, that this was a very ill concerted, or a very ill
executed plan, perhaps both ; but it seems to be generally
acknowledged, that Major Grant exceeded his orders,
and that no disposition was made for engaging. The
troops were divided, which caused the front to give
way, and put the whole into confusion, except the Vir
ginians commanded by Captain Bullitt, who were, in
the hands of Providence, a means of preventing all our
people from sharing one common fate. "
Writing to Gov. TrumbuU, dated Cambridge, 18th
July, 1775, he says : —
" Allow me to return you my sincere thanks, for the
kind wishes and favourable sentiments, expressed in
yours, of the 13th inst. As the cause of our common
country calls us both to an active and dangerous duty, I
trust that Divine Providence, which wisely orders the
affairs of men, will enable us to discharge it with fidehty
and success," &c.
About the same time he wrote to Lieutenant-General
Ga.ge, ofthe British army, in answer to a letter from himi
"May that God to whom you then appeal, judge
between America and you. Under his providence, those
who influened the councils of America, and all the other
inhabitants of the United Colonies, at the hazard of their
lives, are determined to hand down to posterity those just
and invaluable privileges, which they received from their
ancestors."

108 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
He writes to some of his officers, in a circular. 8th
September, 1775 : —
"It is to know, whether, in your judgment, we cannot
make a successful attack upon the troops at Boston, by
means of boats, in co-operation with an attempt upon
their lines at Roxbury. The success of such an enter
prise depends, I well know, upon the All-wise Disposer
of events, and it is not within the reach of human wis
dom to foretel the issue ; but if the prospect is fair, the
undertaking is justifiable, for the following, among other
reasons which might be assigned," <fec. &c.
Instructions sent by him, at this time, to Gen.
Arnold, contain the foUowing language : —
" You are immediately, on their march from Cam
bridge, to take the command of the detachment from
the Continental army against Quebec, and use all
possible expedition, as the winter season is now advanc
ing ; and the success of this enterprise, under God ,
depends whoUy upon the spirit with which it is pushed,
and the favourable dispositions of the Canadians and
Indians." In a letter to Joseph Reed, respecting his perplexities,
he writes, under date of January, '76 : — •
"Thus, for more than two months past, I have
scarcely emerged from one difficulty before I have been
plunged into another. How it will end, God, in his
great goodness, will direct. I am, thankful for his
protection to this time. We are told that we shall
soon get the army completed, but I have been told so
many things which have never come to pass, that I
distrust every thing."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 109
To Gen. Schuyler he writes, in the same month : — •
" I congratulate you upon the success of your expe
dition into Tyron county. I hope General Lee wiU
execute a work of the same kind on Long Island. It is
high time to begin with our internal foes, when we are
threatened with such severity of chastisement fi'om ouf
kind parent without. That the Supreme Dispenser of
every good may bestow health, strength, and spirit, on
you and your army, is the fervent wish of, dear sir,
your most affectionate and obedient servant."
In a communication to Joseph Reed, the same month,
he says : —
"The men must be brought to face danger; they
cannot always have an intrenchment, or a stone wall,
as a safe-guard or shield; and it is of essential importance
that the troops in Boston should be destroyed, if possible,
before they can be reinforced or removed. This is clearly
my opinion. Whether circumstances wiU admit of the
trial, and, if tiled, what will be the result, the All-wise
Disposer of events alone can teU."
To the Council of Massachusetts Bay he writes,
February, '76 : —
"In this state ofthe matter, and to avoid putting an
affair of so much importance to a doubtful issue, when,
under Providence, it may be reduced to a certainty, I
submit it to the wisdom of your board, whether it may
not be best to direct the militia of certain towns, most
contiguous to Dorchester and Roxbury, to repair to the
lines at those places, with their arras, ammunition, and
accoutrements, instantly, upon a signal given."
After the evacuation of Boston, by the British troops
March 17th, '76, Washington received an Address from
10

110 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the General Assembly of Massachusetts. In answer to
this Address he has the following language : —
" That the metropolis of your colony is now relieved
from the cruel and oppressive invasions of those who
were sent to erect the standard of lawless domination,
and to trample on the rights of humanity, and is again
open and free for its rightful possessors, must give
pleasure to every virtuous and sympathetic heart ; and
its being effected without the blood of our soldiers and
fellow-citizens, must be ascribed to the interposition of
that Providence which has manifestly appeared in our
behalf through 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 and mankind.
May this distressed colony and its capital, and every part
of this wide extended continent, through his divine fa
vour, be restored to more than their former lustre and
once happy state, and have peace, liberty, and safety,
secured upon a sohd, permanent, and lasting founda
tion." Whilst the above extracts show unqualified reliance
on the Providence of God, the attentive reader will ob
serve the absence of every thing resembhng that fanatical
trust which supersedes the use of means. The good
ness of God is devoutly acknowledged, but every mea
sure is adopted which may contribute to the end in

CHARACTER OP WAStllNGTON. Ill
view. Washington never sought, hi his views of Provi
dence, an apology for neglect or indolence. He did not
deserve the censure given to some in the following hnes
of a distinguished writer.*—" It is to be lamented, that
this great doctrine of God's universal superintendance is
not only madly denied, or inconsistently overlooked by
one class of men, but is foolishly perverted, or fanaticaUy
abused by another. Without entering upon the wide
field of instances, we shall confine our remarks to two
that are the most common. First, the fanciful, frivo
lous, and bold familiarity with which this supreme
dictation and government are cited on the most trivial
occasions, and adduced in a manner dishonourable to
infinite wisdom, and derogatory to supreme goodness.
The persons who are guilty of this fault seem not to per
ceive, that it is not more foolish and presumptuous to
deny it altogether than to expect that God's particular
Providence will interpose, in order to save theh exertions
or excuse their industry. For though Providence di
rects and assists virtuous endeavours. He never, by su
perseding them, encourages idleness or justifies presump
tion. The highly censurable use to which some others con
vert this Divme agency, is, when not only the pretence
of trusting Providence is made the plea for the indolent
desertion of their own duty, but an unwarrantable con
fidence in providential leadings is adopted to excuse
their own imprudence. Great is the temerity, when
Providence is virtually reproached for the iU success of
our affairs, or pleaded as an apology for our own wilful-
* Hannah More.

112 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
ness, or as a vindication of our own absurdity in the fail
ure of some foohsh plan, or some irrational pursuit. We
have no right to depend on a supernatural interposition
to help us out of difficulties into which we have been
thrown by our misconduct, or under distresses into which
we have been plunged by our errors : God, though he
knows the prayers which we may offer, and accepts the
penitence which we feel, wiU not use his power to correct
our ill-judged labours any otherwise, than by making us
smart for their consequences."
In the justice of these reflections every sober-minded
person will acquiesce, and will appreciate the favourable
light they shed on the principles of Washington, in refer
ence to their subject.
In a letter to his brother John A. Washington, dated
Cambridge, March 31, 1776, he says, —
Upon their discovery of the works (on Dorchester
Heights) next morning, great preparations were made
for attacking them ; but not being ready before the af
ternoon, and the weather getting very tempestuous,
much blood was saved and a very important blow to
one side or the other, was prevented. That this most
remarkable interposition of Providence is for some wise
purpose, I have not a doubt. But as the principal design
of the manoeuvre was to draw the enemy to an engage
ment under disadvantages to them ; as a premeditated
plan was laid for this purpose, and seemed to be succeed
ing to my utmost wish ; as no men seemed better dis
posed to make the appeal than ours did upon that occa
sion ; I can scarcely forbear lamenting the disappointment,
unless the dispute is drawing to an accommodation, and
the sword going to be sheathed,"

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 113
In May he writes to the same : —
" We expect a very bloody summer at New- York and
Canada, as it is there, I presume, the grand efforts of the
enemy will be aimed, and 1 am sorry to say that we
are not, either in men or arms, prepared for it. How
ever it is to be hoped, that if our cause is just, as I do
most religiously believe it to be, the same Providence
which has, in many instances, appeared for us, wiU stiU
go on to afford its aid. Your convention is acting very
wisely in remo\ang the disaffected, and stores, from the
counties of Princess Anne and Norfolk ; and are much
to be commended for their attention to the manufacture
of salt, saltpetre, and powder."
In view of an expected attack from the combined
forces of the enemy, the foUowing order was issued,
July 2d :
" The time is now near at hand which must probably
determine, whether Americans are to be freemen or
slaves ; whether they are to have any property they can
caU their own ; whether their houses and farms are to
be piUaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a state
of wretchedness, from which no human efforts wUl proba
bly deliver them. The fate of unborn mUlions will
now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct
of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves
us no choice but a brave resistance or the most abject
submission. This is aU that we can expect. We have,
therefore, to resolve to conquer or die. Our own country's
honour calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion,
and if we now shamefully faU, we shall become infamous
to the whole world. Let us rely upon the goodness of the
cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in lohose
W

114 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great
and noble actions," &c.
To General Schuyler he writes, July, 76 : —
" From every appearance they mean to make a most
vigorous push to subdue us this campaign ; and for that
purpose to possess themselves of this colony, (N. Y.) if
possible, as a step leading to it. Our utmost exerrions
must be used, and I trust, through the favour of
Divine Providence, they will be disappointed in their
.views." To the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Asso
ciation, he writes, 8th of August following : —
" The honour and safety of our bleeding country, and
every other motive that can influence the brave and
heroic patriot, call loudly upon us to acquit ourselves
with resolution. In short, we must now determine to be
enslaved or free. If we make freedom our choice, we
must obtain it by the blessing of Heaven on our united
and vigorous efforts.
" I salute you, gentlemen, most affectionately, and
beg leave to remind you that hberty, honour, and safety,
are aU at stake ; and I trust Providence will smile upon
our efforts, and establish us once more the inhabitants of
a free and happy country."
In writing to General Armstrong, from Morristown,
N. J. 4th July, 1777, he says :
" The evacuation of Jersey (by the British troops) at
this time is a peculiar mark of Providence, as the inha
bitants have an opportunity of securing their harvests
of hay and grain, the latter of which would, in all proba
bility, have undergone the same fate with many farm
houses, had it been ripe enough to take fire. The dis-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 115
tress of many of the inhabitants, who were plundered
not only of their effects, but of their provision of every
kind, was such, that I sent down several wagon-loads
of meat and flour to supply their present wants."
The reader will observe in this extract a striking proof
of the writer's unqualified faith in the unmediate and
particular agency of the Almighty in the affairs of men.
By this agency, a plundering army had been forced to
leave the agricultural districts of the country at a period
the most critical to the farmer. It was near the season of
harvest when they evacuated the state, but the grain
was in too green a state to be burnt. But for this the
dependance for bread in that region would have been
cut off. This interposition was indeed "a peculiar
mark of Providence ! " and the reverential notice of it a
commendable instance of devout feeling.
To his brother, John A Washington, he writes in
October, '77. His subject is the battle of German-
town. " When my last to you was dated I know not ; for
truly I can say, that my whole time is so much engross
ed, that I have scarcely a moment but sleeping ones, for
relaxation, or to indulge myself in writing to a friend.
The anxiety you have been under, on account of this
army, I can easily conceive. Would to God there had
been less cause for it ; or that our situation at present
was such as to promise much. The enemy crossed the
SchuylkUl, (which, by the by, above the Falls, is as
easily crossed in any place as Potomac Run, Aquia, or
any other broad, shaUosv water) rather by stratagem ;
though I do not know that it v/as in our power to prevent
it, as their manoeuvres made it necessary for us to attend

116 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
to our stores which lay at Reading, towards which they
seemed bending their course, and the loss of which must
have proved our ruin. After they had crossed, we took
the first favourable opportunity of attacking them."
" This was attempted by a night's march of fourteen
miles to surprise them, which we effectually did, so far as
to reach their guards before they had notice of our com
ing ; and if it had not been for a thick fog, which ren
dered it so dark at times that we were not able to dis
tinguish friend from foe at the distance of thirty yards, we
should, I beheve, have made a decisive arid glorious day
of it. But Providence designed it otherwise ; for after
we had driven the enemy a mile or two ; after they were
in the utmost confusion, and flying before us in most
places : after we were on the point, as it appeared to every
body, of grasping a complete victory ; our own troops
took fright, and fled with precipitation and disorder.
How to account for this I know not ; unless, as I before
observed, the fog represented their own friends to them
for a reinforcement of the enemy, as we attacked in
different quarters at the same time, and were about
closing the wings of our army when this happened,"
<fec. After writing the above, or rather, concluding the let
ter. Gen. Washington received from Gov. Chnton a
brief despatch, announcing the capitulation of Burgoyne's
army, at Saratoga. This he enclosed to his brother, and
in a postscript, added, — " I most devoudy congratulate
my country, and every well-wisher to the cause, on this
signal stroke of Providence."
The day after writing the above, he wrote to General
Putnam.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 117
" The defeat of General Burgoyne is a most important
event, and such as must afford the highest satisfaction to
every well-affected American. Should Providence be
pleased to crown our arms in the course of the cam
paign, with one more fortunate stroke, I think we shall
have no great cause for anxiety respecting the future
designs of Britain. I trust all wiU be weU in His good
time." The postscript of a letter to Landon Carter, of Sabine
Hall, Richmond county, Virginia, is as follows : —
" I have this instant received an account of the prison
ers taken by the northern army, (including tories in
arras against us,) in the course of the campaign. This
singular instance of Providence, and of our good fortune
under it, exhibits a striking proof of the advantages
which result from unanimity and a spirited conduct in
the militia. The northern army, before the surrender
of General Burgoyne, was reinforced by upwards of
twelve hundred mihtia, who shut the only door by which
Burgoyne could retreat, and cut off all his supplies. How
different our case ! The disaffection of a great part of
the inhabitants of this State, the languor of others, and the
internal distraction of the whole, have been among the
great and insuperable difficulties which I have met with,
and have contributed not a litde to my embarrassments
in this campaign. But enough ; I do not mean to com
plain. I flatter myself, that a superintending Providence
is ordering every thing for the best, and that, in due
time, all will end well. That it may do so, and soon, is
the most fervent wish of yours," &c.
In another letter, to the same, he writes : — ¦

118

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

" Valley Forge, May 30, 1778.
" My Dear Sir :—
" I thank you much for your kind and aflfectionate
remembrance and mention of me, and for that sohcitude
for my welfare which breathes through the whole of
your letters. Were I not warm in my acknowledgments
for your distinguished regard, I should feel that sense of
ingratitude which I hope wUl never constitute a part of
my character, nor find a place in my bosom. My friends,
therefore, may believe me sincere in my professions of
attachmem to them, whilst Providence has a just claim
to my humble and grateful thanks for its protection and
direction of me, through the many difficult and intricate
scenes which this contest has produced ; and for its con
stant interposition in our behalf, when the clouds were
heaviest and seemed ready to burst upon us.
" To paint the distresses and perUous situation of this
army, in the course of last winter, for want of clothes,
provisions, and almost every other necessary essential to
the well-being, I may say existence of an army, would
require more time and an abler pen than mine ; nor,
since our prospects have so miraculously brightened, shaU
I attempt it, or even bear it in remembrance, further than
as a memento of what is due to the great Author of aU
the care and good that have been extended in relieving
us in difficulties and distress," (fcc.
Concerning the battle of Monmouth, he wrote his
brother John A. Washington, from Brunswick, 4th
July, 1778.
General Lee, having the command of the van of the
array, consisting of full five thousand chosen men, was

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 119
ordered to begin the attack next morning, (28th of
June,) so soon as the enemy began their march ; to be
supported by me ; but, strange to tell ! when he came
up with the enemy, a retreat commenced ; whether by
his order, or from other causes, is now the subject of in
quiry, and, consequently, improper to be descanted upon,
as he is in arrest, and a court-martial is sitting for his
trial. A retreat, however, was the fact, be the causes
what they may ; and the disorder arising from it would
have proved fatal to the army, had not that bountiful
Providence which has never failed us in the hour of dis
tress, enabled ra§ to forra a regiment or two (of those
that were retreating) in the face, of the enemy and un
der their fire, by which means a stand was made long
enough (the place through which the enemy were pur
suing being narrow,) to form the troops that were ad
vancing ,upon an advantageous piece of ground in the
rear. Here our affairs took a favourable turn ; and,
from being pursued, we drove the enemy back over the
ground they had followed, and recovered the field of battle,
and possessed ourselves of their dead. But as they
retreated behind a morass very difficult to pass, and
had both flanks secured with thick woods, it was found
impracticable, with our men, fainting with fatigue, heat,
and want of water, to do any thing more that night. In
the morning we expected to renew the action ; when,
behold ! the enemy had stolen off silently in the night,
after having sent away their wounded," &c.
To General Nelson, of Virginia, he wrote, in Au
gust :
'Tt is not a little pleasing, nor less wonderful to con
template, that after two years mantEuvring and under-

120 RELIGIOttS OPINIONS AND
going the strangest vicissitudes that ever attended any
one contest since the creation, both armies are brought
back to the very point they set out from ; and that the
offending party, at the beginning, is now reduced to the
use of the spade and picka;xe for defence. The hand of
Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he
must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and'
more than wicked that has not gratitude enough- to
acknowledge his obligations. But it will be time enough
for me to turn preacher when my present appointment
ceases ; and therefore I shall add no more on the doctrine
of Providence ; but make a tender of my best respects to
your good lady, the secretary, and other friends, and
assure you that with the most perfect regard, I am, dear
sir," &c.
Writing to Joseph Reed, in November, he says :
" It is most devoutly to be wished that faction was at
an end, and that those to whom every thing dear and
valuable is entrusted would lay aside party views and
return to first principles. Happy, happy, thrice happy
country, if such were the government of it ! But, alas !
we are not to expect that the path is to be strewed with
flowers. That great and good Being who rules the uni
verse, has disposed matters otherwise, and for wise pur
poses, I am persuaded."
To Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia.
" Philadelphia, 30 December, 1778.
" Dear Sir,
" I have seen nothing since I came here,* on the 22d
* He was in Philadelphia, by request of Congress, for the purpose
of n personal conference with them, touching the operations of the
next campaign.

character' of WASHINGTON. 121
inst., to change my opinion of men cr measures ; but
abundant reason to be convinced, that our affairs are in
a more distressed, ruinous and deplorable condition, than
they have been since the commencement of the war.
'• If I were to be called upon to draw a picture of the
times, and of men, from what I have seen, heard, and
in part know, I should, in one word, say, that idleness^
dissipation, and extravagance, seem to have laid fast
hold of most of them ; that speculation, peculation, and
an insatiable thirst for riches, seem to have got the
better of every other consideration, and almost of every
order of men ; that party disputes and personal quarrels
are the great business ofthe day ; whilst the raoraentous
concerns of an empire, a great and accumulating debt,
ruined finances, depreciated money, and want of credit,
which in its consequences is the want of every thing, are
but secondary considerations, and postponed from day
to day, from week to week, as if our affairs wore the
most promising aspect.
"I again repeat to you, that this is not an exaggerated
account. That it is an alarming one I do not deny ;
and I confess to you that I feel more real distress, on
account of the present appearances of things, than I
have done at any one time since the commencement of
the dispute. But it is time to bid you adieu. Providence
has heretofore taken us up when all other means and
hopes seemed to be departing from us. In this I will
confide. I am yours," &c.
ToGen. Thos. Nelson, in Congress, dated March '79:
" It gives me very singular pleasure to find, that
11

122 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
you have again taken a seat in Congress. I think
tliere never was a time, when cool and dispassionate
reasoning, strict attenrion and application, great integ
rity, and, if it was in the nature of things, unerring
'ivisdom, were more to be wished for than at the present.
Our affairs, according to my judgment, are now come
to a crisis, and require no small degree of political skiU
to steer clear of those shaUows and rocks, which, though
deeply buried, may wreck our hopes, and throw us upon
some inhospitable shore. Unanimity in our councils,
disinterestedness in our pursuits, and steady perseverance
in our national duty, are the only means to avoid mis
fortunes. If they come upon us after these, we shaU have
the consolation of knowing that we have done our best.
The rest is with God."
To Joseph Reed, President of Congress, he writes,
in July, '79 :—
" Discouraging as this is, I feel more from the state of
our currency, and the httle attention which hitherto
appears to have been paid to our finances, than from the
smallness of our army ; and yet. Providence having so
often taken us up when bereft of every other hope, I
trust we shall not fail even in this. The present temper
and disposition of the people to facUitate a loan, to dis
countenance speculation, and to raise the value ofthe
money, are a happy presage of resulting good, and ought
to be cherished by every possible means not repugnant
to good order and goverment."
To WiUiam Gordon, from Newport, March, 1781 : —
" I came here on business, and as soon as that business
is finished, 1 shall return to my dreary quarters at New
Windsor. We have, as you very justly observe, abun-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 123
dant reasons to thank Providence for its many favourable
interpositions in our behalf It has at times been my
only dependance, for all other resources seemed to have
failed us."
To General Armstrong, he writes, about the same
time : —
" Our affairs are brought to a perilous crisis, that the j
hand of Providence, I trust, may be more conspicuous |
in our dehverance. The many remarkable interpositions [
of the Divine government, in the hours of our deepest
distress and darkness, have been too luminous to suffer
me to doubt the happy issue of the present contest; but
the period for its accoraplishment may be too far distant
for a person of my years, who, in his morning and even
ing hours, and every moment unoccupied by business,
pants for retirement, and for those domestic and rural en
joyments, which, in my estimation, far surpass the
highest pageantry of this world."
To the President of Congress, November, 1781 : —
" Sir,
" I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your
favour of the 31st ultimo, covering the resolutions of
Congress of the 29th, and a proclamation for a day of
public prayer and thanksgiving ; and have to thank you
sir, most sincerely, for the very polite and affectionate
manner in which those enclosures have been conveyed.
The success of the combined arms against our enemies
at York and Gloucester, as it affects the welfare and in
dependence of the United States, I viewed as a most for
tunate event. In performing my part towards its ac
complishment, I consider myself to have done only my
duty, and in the execution of tljat, I ever feel myself

124 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
happy ; and at the same time, as it augurs weU to our
i cause, I take a particular pleasure in acknowledging,
' that the interposing hand of Heaven, in the various in
stances of our extensive preparations for this operation,
have been most conspicuous and remarkable."
About the same time he addressed to a committee of
gentlemen, inhabitants of Alexandria, the foUowing,
among other remarks, in answer to an address from
thera : —
'' The great Director of events has carried us through
a variety of scenes during this long and bloody contest
in which we have been for seven carapaigns, most nobly
strugghng. The present prospect is pleasing. The
late success at Yorktown is very promising, but on our
own improveraent of it depend its future good conse
quences. A' vigorous prosecution of this success, will, in
all probability, procure us what we have so long wished to
secure, an establishment of peace, liberty, and indepen
dence. A relaxation of our exertions, at this moment,
may cost us many more toilsome campaigns, and be at
tended with the most unhappy consequences."
In a '• Circular to the States," dated Philadelphia, 31
January, 1782, occur the following sentiments : —
" Although we cannot, by the best concerted plans,
absolutely command success ; although the race is not
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ; yet,
without presumptuously waiting for miracles to be
wrought in our favour, it is our indispensable duty, with
the deepest gratitude to Heaven for the past, and hum
ble confidence in its smiles on our future operations, to
make use of aU the means in our power for our defence
and security."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 125
We have here again a fair specimen of Washington's
views of tlie doctrine of Providence. With an unhesi
tating belief and trust in the divine agency, he did not f
vainly expect that Infinite AVisdom would sanction by
that agency so pernicious a result as human apathy. He
regarded the aids of Providence as designed to reward.
and not discourage industry. Therefore, while he hum
bly confided in the help of God, he diligently fulfilled the
duties of his station, not contented to commence a work,
but seeking ever to complete it also, esteeming nothing
done to good purpose, while any thing remained un
done. Addressing sundry individuals and bodiesof men, at
the close of the war, he has the following language : — -
" I anticipate with pleasure the day, and that, I trust,
not far off, when I shall quit the busy scenes of a mili
tary employment, and retire to the more tranqml walks
of domestic hfe. In that, or in whatever other situation
Providence may dispose my future days, the remem
brance of the many friendships and connexions I have
had the happiness to contract with the gentlemen of the
army, will be one of my most grateful reflections. Un.
der this contemplation, and impressed with the senti
ments of benevolence and regard, I commend you, my
dear sir, my other friends, and with them the interests
and happiness of our dear country, to the keeping and
protection of Almighty God.''
Again, he says ; " Notwithstanding Congress seem to
estimate the value of my life beyond any services I have
been able to render the United States, yet I must be per
mitted to consider the wisdom and unanimity of our
national councils, the firmness of our citizens, and the
IV

126 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
patience and bravery of our troops, which have produced
so happy a. termination ofthe war, as the most conspicu
ous effects of the Divine interposition, and the surest pre
sage of our future happiness."
In his farewell address to the armies of the United
States, he says : —
" A contemplation of the complete attainment (at a
period earlier than could have been expected,) of the
object for which we contended, against so formidable a
power, cannot but inspire us with astonishment and
gratitude. The disadvantageous circumstances, on our
part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be
,, forgotten. The singular interpositions of Providence, in
/ our feeble condition, were such as could scarcely escape
the attention of the most unobserving ; while the unpa-
raUeled perseverance of the armies of the United States,
through almost every possible suffering and discourage
ment, for the space of eight long years, was httle short of
a standing miracle.
*********
" And being now to conclude these his last pubhc
orders ; to take his ultimate leave in a short time of the
military character ; and to. bid a final adieu to the armies
he has so long had the hotfour to command^; he can only
again offer, in their behalf, his recommendations to their
grateful country, and his prayers to the God of armies.
May ample justice be done them here, and may the
choicest of Heaven's favours, both here and hereafter, at
tend those, who, under the Divine auspices, have secur
ed innumerable blessings for others. With these wishes,
and this benediction, the commander-in-chief is about to
retire from service. The curtain of separation will soon

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 127
be drawn, and the mUitary scene to him wiU be closed
forever." Address to Congress, on resigning his commission.
" Annapolis, December 23, 1783.
" Mr. President,
" The great events on which my resignation
depended having at length taken place, 1 have now the
honour of offering my sincere congratulations to Con
gress, and of presenting myself before them, to surrender
into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim
the indulgence of retiring from the service of my coun
try. " Happy in the confirmation of our independence and
sovereignty, and pleased with the oppoitunity afforded
the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I
resign with satisfaction, the appointment I accepted with
diffidence ; a diffidence in my abilties to accomplish so
arduous a task, which, however, was superseded by a
confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of
the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of
Heaven. " The successful termination of the war has verified
the most sanguine expectations ; and my gratitude for
the interposition'of Providence, and the assistance I have
received from my countrymen, increases with every re
view of the momentous contest.
****** **
" I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last
solemn' act of my official life, by commending the interests
of our dearest country, to the protection of Almighty
God, and those who have the superintendence of them,
to his holy keeping.

128 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" Having now finished the work assigned me, I re
tire from the great theatre of action ; and, bidding an
affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose
orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission
and take my leave of all the employments of public
hfe." We have before us the views of Washington in refer
ence to the doctrine of Providence, as habitually express
ed by him on aU proper occasions, from early life to the
close of the Revolutionary War. It only remains that a
few additional instances be cited, of his devout recogni
tion of this truth, during subsequent periods of his active
and useful hfe. As his piety shed splendour on his bril
liant mihtary course, so did it impart dignity and orna
ment to his distinguished civil career.
At his Inauguration as President of the United States,
April 30th, 1789, he expressed, among other appropriate
sentiments, the following : —
***«««* »
" Such being the impressions under which I have, in
obedience to the pubhc summons, repaired to the present
station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this
first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty
Being who rules over the universe — who presides in the
councils of nations — and whose providential aids can sup
ply every human defect — that his benediction may con
secrate to the liberties and happiness of the poeple of the
United States, a government instituted by themselves
for these essential purposes ; and may enable every in
strument employed in its administration, to execute with
success the functions allotted to his charge. In tender
ing this homage to the great Author of every pubhc

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 129
and private good, I assure myself that it expresses
your sentiments not less than my own ; nor those of my
fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can
be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible Hand
which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people
ofthe United States. Every step by which they have
advanced to the character of an independent nation,
seems to have been distinguished by some token of provi
dential agency. And in the important revolution just ac
complished, in the system of their united government,
the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so
many distinct communiUes, from which the event has
resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which
most governments have been established, without some
return of pious gratitude, along with an humble antici
pation of the future blessings, which the past seem to
presage. These reflections, arising out of the present'
crisis, have forced then.selves too strongly on my mind
to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in
thinldng that there are none under the influence of
which the proceedings of a new and free government
can more auspiciously commence.
*******
" Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they
have been awakened by the occasion which brings us
together, I shall take my present leave ; but not without
resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human
race, in humble supplication, that since he has been
pleased to favour the American people with opportuni-
nities for dehberating in perfect tranquilhty, and disposi
tions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity, on a form
of government for the securing of thek union, and the

130

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

advancement of their happiness ; so His Divine blessing
may be equaUy conspicuous in the enlarged \-iews, the
temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which
the success of this government must depend."
AA'e pass to the next and last instance of this devout
feeUng in the Father of his country, which we shaU cite
from pubhc documents. In October succeeding his in
auguration, the foUowing Proclamation was issued by
him :
'• AVhereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge
the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be
grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his pro
tection and favour : And, whereas, both houses of Con
gress have, by their joint committee, requested me ' to
recommend to the people of the United States a day of
pubhc Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by ac
knowledging, \vith grateful hearts, the many and signal
favours of Almighty God, especiaUy by affording them
an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of govern
ment for their safety and happiness.' "
'•Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thurs
day, the twenty-sixth day of November, to be devoted by
the people of these states, to the service of that great and
glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of aU the
good that was, that is, or wiU be ; that we may then all
unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble
thanks, for his kind care and protection of the people of
this country, previous to their becoming a nation ; — for
the signal and manifold mercies, and the favourable in
terpositions of his providence, in the course and conclu
sion of the late war ; — for the great degree of tranquilhty,
union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed ; — for

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 131
the peaceable and national manner in which we have
been enabled to establish constitutions of government for
our safety and happiness, and particularly the national
one, now lately instituted ; — for the civil and religious
hberty with which we are blessed, and the means we
have for acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge ; —
and, in general, for aU the great and various favours,
which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
'• And, also. That we may then unite in most hum
bly offering our prayers and supplications to the great
Lord and Ruler of nations ; and beseech him to pardon
our national and other transgressions : — to enable us
all, whether in pubhc or private stations, to perform our
several and relative duties properly and punctually ; —
to render our national government a blessiiig to all the
people, by constantly being a government of wise, just,
and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully exe
cuted and obeyed ; — to protect and guide aU sovereigns
and nations, (especiaUy such as have shown kindness
unto us,) and to bless them with good government,
peace, and concord ; — to promote the knowledge and
practice of true religion, and virtue, and the increase of
science among them and us ; — and, generally, to grant
unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity
as he alone knows to be best.
'•' Given under my hand, at the city of New- York, the
third day of October, in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and eighty-nme.
'¦G. Washington."
The writer has in his possession some of the private
letters of Gen. Washington, which have never seen the

132 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
light, in whole or in part. Of these, he shall avaU him
self on the topic under consideration, as on others, which
may receive elucidation from them in the course of this
work. The foUowing brief quotations are here made, as
showing the agreement between his pubhc and private
communications. The letters were written to a near
relative, engaged as his land agent, in Virginia. To
him he writes, in October, 1791 : —
" From long experience I have laid it down as an
unerring maxim, that to exact rents with punctuality is
not only the right of the landlord, but that it is also for
the benefit of the tenant that it should be so ; unless, by
uncontrollable events, and providential strokes, the lat
ter is rendered unable to pay them : in such cases, he
should not only meet with indulgence, but, in some in
stances, mth- a remittal of the rent. But in the ordina
ry course of these transactions, the rents ought to be col
lected with the most rigid exactness, especiaUy from my
tenants, who do not, for most of the farms, pay a fourth
of what the tenements would let for if they were now in
my possession. If it is found difficult for a tenant to pay
one rent, it is more difficult for him to pay ttvo : when
three are due he despairs or cares little about them ;
and, if it runs to a greater number, it is highly probable
to avoid paying any, he leaves you the bag to hold. For
these reasons, except tender the circumstances before
mentioned, it is my desire that you wUl give aU the
tenants timely notice, that you will give no indulgences
beyond those allowed by the covenants in the leases. If
they find you strict, they wiU be punctual; if other
wise, your trouble wUl be quadrupled, and I can have no

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 133
dependance upon my rents, which are now my principal
support." In a letter to the same, -written from Philadelphia, on
the 22d of February, 1795, he says :
" If the tenants are not punctual in the discharge of
their rents, when they become due, distrain for them
without delay or hesitation ; unless their disabiUty to pay,
proceeds from some providential interposition, or
from some other obvious cause which entitles them to
indulgence ; for it may be depended upon, if the failure
proceeds from idleness, the man who is unable to pay
one rent wiU never pay two wiUingly ; and, generally,
when it goes beyond that, the score is wiped out."
He wrote to the same in August, 1799 : — •
" Of the facts related in the enclosed letter, relative
to the loss of his crop by the Hessian fly, I know no
thing. If it should appear to you evident, that K 
has used his true endeavour to raise the means to dis
charge his rent, and is deprived thereof by an act of Pro
vidence, I am 'wiUing, however iUy I can afford to do it,
to make some reasonable abatement thereof, of which
you, from inquiry, wUl be the best judge."
With these ample evidences of Washington's sincere
belief in the Providence of God, and entire confidence in
the wisdom and goodness of the same, whether mani
fested in the fulfilment or frustration of his private wishes,
whether in favour or in opposition to his personal inter
ests, — we pass on to the next subject of inquiry claiming
our consideration.

12

134 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER IV.
HIS DEVOTIONAL HABITS.
The claims of the Almighty, on the homage of his in
telligent creatures, are confessed by mankind with a har
mony of assent, that is accorded by them to few other
principles of religion. His greatness and his glory are
too manifest to admit of disagreement on this point.
While it is freely owned, however, that He ought to be
worshipped as the greatest and best of Beings, it is not
so often, or so cordially admitted, that the sacrifice of
prayer is an equally appropriate offering. The spirit of
unbelief, and of secret aversion to a service demanding a
a profound humility and deep prostration of soul, causes
some to reject its obhgations and controvert its propriety,
and that on the ground of God's infinite wisdom and
overflowing benevolence. In these, they say, we may
confidently tnist for the supply of aU our necessities.
The urgency of prayer, therefore, is at once unnecessary
and presumptuous, implying distrust of the divine" good
ness, and a disposition to prescribe to Him whose know
ledge is perfect, and love unbounded.
In opinions so vain we have, indeed, an extreme of
folly rarely witnessed. A settled aversion to the duty of
prayer, whether in public or private, and the habitual

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 136
neglect thereof, unaccompanied by excuse or extenuation,
are much more frequent than the positive denial of the obli-
tion. Perhaps there is no one habit connected with
religion which finds in the human heart a more thorough
distaste, or one which mankind more entirely refuse.
It is not, indeed, unusual for persons of certain disposi
tions, and placed in particular circumstances, to faU in
with the customs of society in regard to the public wor
ship of God. Acquiescing in the manifest propriety of so
decent a practice, they go to the House of God, and
unite ostensibly in those becoming acts of adoration and
supplication, which mark the services ofthe Sanctuary.
But all this time there is no relish for the duty of prayer.
The closet never witnesses their bended knee, their uphft-
ed eye, or beseeching voice. The secret chamber, where
God has especiaUy promised to meet and bless his faith
ful people, possesses no charms for them. If they do, at
certain times, under certain circumstances, when oppress
ed, it may be, by calamity, — bow the knee in private, it is
by no means a uniform or continuing practice, but vary
ing ever with the fluctuations of condition, feehng, or oc
cupation. What, then, were the habits of Washington in relation
to this important Christian duty 1 The question is one
of much moment, in reference to the sincerity of his re
ligious principles and professions. And in proportion to
the importance of the inquiry do the means happily
abound of prosecuting the same to a satisfactory issue.
His uniform practice from youth to hoary age, furnish
ed, it would seem, a consistent exemphfication of this duty
in its double aspect of public and private prayer. To

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
we propose to direct the attention of our readers
in their order.
It was mentioned, in a former chapter, that Washing
ton spent his early years in parts of the country well fur-
" nished with houses of worship. He was then, however,
in his minority, and we wish now to speak of a riper
and more responsible age. L The first decisive indication
of his principles on this subject, with which we are ac
quainted, appeared during the encampment at the Great
Meadows, in the year 1754. While occupying Fort
Necessity, it was his practice to have the troops assem
bled for pubhc worship. This we learn from the foUow
ing note, by the pubhsher of his writings. " While
Washington was encamped at the Great Meadows, Mr.
Fairfax wrote to him ; ' I wUl not doubt your having
pubhc prayers in the camp, especially when the Indian
famUies are your guests, that they, seeing your plain
manner of worship, may have their curiosity excited to
be informed why we do not use the ceremonies of the
French, which being weU explained to their understand
ings, will more and more dispose them to receive our
baptism, and unite in strict bonds of cordial friendship.' "
" It may be added, that it was Washington's custom
to have prayers in the camp while he was at Fort Ne
cessity." Here we are informed, not only of the pious custom
of the youthful commander, at the time and place men
tioned, but are enabled to gather from the communica
tion of Mr. Fairfax, much that was highly favourable to
the character of his young friend. Mr. Fairfax says, " I
wiU not doubt your having public prayers in the camp."
Intimate as this gentleman was with Washington, he

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 13l
would scarcely have so addressed him had he not felt
encouraged to do so by his known sentiments of piety, if
not his known habits. Mr. Fairfax was the father-in-
law of Lawrence Washington, the brother of George,
and had possessed every opportunity of learning the
character and conduct of the latter. Assured of his
pious and serious deportment, he did not feel any hesi
tation in suggesting to him the expediency of the duty
in question.
Tha( it was customary with him to frequent the
House of God when in his power, appears from the
record made by him of an occurrence amongst his sol
diers, while encamped in Alexandria, in the summer of
1754, having himself returned but lately on a recruiting
expedition from the Great Meadows. " Yesterday, while
ive loere at church, twenty-five of them collected, and
were going off in the face of their officers, but were stop
ped and imprisoned before the plot came to its height.''
The next year he attended the fortunes of General
Braddock, as a volunteer aid-de-camp. The general
being mortally wounded at the battle of the Mononga
hela died on the third night. He was buried in his
cloak the same night in the road, to elude the search of
the Indians. Washington, on the testimony of an old
soldier, read the funeral service over his remains, by
the hght of a torch. Faithful to his commander whUe
he lived, he would not suffer him to wanl the customary
rites of religion when dead.* Though the probable pur
suit of savages threatened, yet did his humanity and
* It was very common in that day, and long afterwards, with gen
tlemen in 'Virginia, to perform such offices for a departed friend in tha
absence of a clergyman. 12*

138 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
sense of decency prevaU, to gain for the faUen soldier the
honour of Christian sepulture.
After this period, he was engaged in the French and
Indian war for some years. Of his habits, during the
vicissitudes of that trying contest, one of his aids. Colonel
B. Temple, of King William county, Virginia, has been
often heard to say, that, " frequently on the Sabbath,
he has known Colonel Washington to perform divine
service with .his reghnent, reading the scriptures and
praying with them, when no chaplain could be had." —
For a considerable part of the time during that border
war, his regiment was without a chaplain, of which he
often complained in his communications with the
governuor. In aU these he manifested his high sense
of the propriety and importance of public worship. In
a subsequent letter to the President of the CouncU, he
says : —
" The last Assembly, in their Supply Bill, provided
for a chaplain to our regiment. On this subject I had
often, without any success, applied to Governour Din
widdie. I now flatter myself that your Honour will be
pleased to appoint a sober, serious man, for this duty.
Common decency, sir, in a camp, caUs for the services
of a divine which ought not to be dispensed with,
although the world should be so uncharitable as to think
us void of religion and incapable of good instructions."
The following extracts, from a Diary kept by him
in the year 1760 — two years after the French and Indian
war, and the year after his marriage — wiU show his
practice at that period. Mount Vernon, as is known,
was now his residence.
" January 4th. — The weather continued drizzling and

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 139
warm, and I kept the house all day. Mrs. Washing
ton seeming to be very ill, (-with the measles,) I wrote
to Mr. Green this afternoon, desiring his company to
visit her in the morning.
" 5th. — Mrs. Washington appeared to be soraething
better. Mr. Green, however, came to see her about 11
o'clock, and in an hour Mrs. Fairfax arrived. Mr.
Green prescribed, and just as we were going to dinner,
Captain Walter Stuart appeared, with Dr. Laurie ; the
evening being very cold, and the wind high, Mrs. Fair
fax went home in the chariot.
" 6th. — The chariot not returning time enough from
Colonel Fairfax's, we were prevented from going to
church. Mrs. Washington is a good deal better
to-day." It would appear then, that even Mrs. Washington's
indisposition and confinement at home, would not have
been regarded as a sufficient excuse for neglecting the
public worship of God, had not the unexpected delay of
the chariot interfered with the performance of that
duty — it being perhaps too late, after its arrival, to
prepare. How many avail themselves of less valid
excuses for neglecting the public duties of the Sabbath.
" May 4th. — Warm and fine, set out for Frederick,
to see my negroes that lay Ul of the sraall-pox. Took
church in my way to Coleman's, where I arrived about
sun-setting.'' Some time subsequent to this period, the old parish
church being in a state of decay, the present one, called
Pohick Church, was erected on a new site. The cir
cumstances attending this event having some connexion

140

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

with our subject, shaU be referred to, as handed down
by tradition.
The dilapidation ofthe old church rendering it ex
pedient either to repair or rebuild, the subject was
agitated in the vestry, of which Colonel Washington was
a member. It having been determined, after due con
sideration, that a new church should be built, the question
of location next presented itself. Colonel  . a pro
minent member of the vestry, was in favour of the old
situation in the neighbourhood of which he had his
residence. Others maintained that the site was not
sufficiently central. Colonel  supposed the place, if
not perfectly central, yet not seriously inconvenient of
access to any ; and especially thought that the sacred
associations which belonged to it, as the place of worship
for several generations, and as hallowed by the sepul
chres of their fathers, should induce a preference for
the spot. Colonel Washington differed with Colonel  ,
"objecting to the distance and the inconvenience to which
his plan would subject the parishioners. He, moreover,
could not see the force of the consideration derived from
the contiguity of the grave-yard. He thought churches
were erected for the living, and not for the dead. Nor
was it necessary that any desecration of ihe place
should occur. The ashes of the dead could be pre
served inviolably secure by a proper enclosure." The
vestry, however, adjourned, without coming to any set
tled conclusion, another meeting being appointed with
a view to a final decision.
In the mean time Colonel Washington occupied
himself in surveying the parish, ascertaining its limits
and the relative position of the old church. Having

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 141
done this, and prepared a draught of the survey with
his usual accuracy and neatness, he awaited the meeting
of the vestry. On that occasion. Colonel  again
urged, aud with increased vehemence, the claims of
the old situation. Having done so. Colonel Washing
ton repeated his former objections, and having dweU
upon the remoteness of the place, took from his pocket
the plan which he had prepared, in which the old
church was found to be in an extreme corner of the
parish. This ocular demonstration soon settled the matter,
and brought about a decision against the old and in
favour of the new location, which would bring the
church in the centre of the parish.
Here it was at the new or Pohick Church, that Wash
ington habitually attended, from the period of its erec
tion, tUl the commencement of the Revolutionary War.
Here he offered his adorations to the God and Father of
aU, and here received the symbols of a Saviour's love at
the hands of the consecrated servant of the altar.*
The Rev. Lee Massey was the rector of the parish at
the time here referred to. He was a highly respectable
man, and shared much of the esteem of Washington.
In regard to the religious deportment of his distinguished
friend, especially in the House of God, he has often been
heard to express himself in the following strain : "I
never knew so constant an attendant on church as
Washington. And his behaviour in the House of God,
was ever so deeply reverential, that it produced the
happiest effects on my congregation ; and greatly assist-,
* The writer is aware that in the view of many, some obscurity
hangj over this habit of Washington's life. The reader may see the
subject considered in the Appendix, note A.

142 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
ed me in my pulpit labours. No company ever withheld
him from church. I have often been at Mount Vernon,
on the Sabbath morning, when his breakfast table was
filled with guests ; but to him they furnished no pretext
for neglecting his God, and losing the satisfaction of
setting a good example. For instead of staying at home,
out of false complaisance to them, he used constantly to
invite them to accompany him."
In the year 1774, Washington went to Williamsburg
as a member of the house of burgesses. The horizon of
our country was then becoming dark with clouds, por
tending the approach of war. In the month of May, a
short time after .the members had assembled, information
was received of an act of parhament for shutting up (he
port of Boston — to take effect on the 1st of June. The
members being much excited by this hostUe proceeding
on the part of the British government, when they met
on the 24th of May, passed an order that the 1st day
of June " should be set apart by that house as a day of
fasting, humihadon and prayer, devoutly to implore the
divine interposition for averting the heavy calamity
which threatened destruction to their civil rights, and
the evils of civil war, and to give them one heart and
one mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means,
every injury to American rights."
June the 1st being the day appointed as a day of fast
ing, humiliation, and prayer, the foUowing brief entry is
found in a diary kept by Washington at that time :—
" June 1st, Wednesday. — Went to church, and fasted
all day."
Will the reader mark especiaUy the latter clause of
this note. He went to church in conformity with the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 143
toder passed by the house of burgesses. But not only
so — ^he did that also which, perhaps, was not known
to any mortal ; which was known only to God, — he fast
ed all day. Who is not struck -vvith the sincerity and
piety of this conduct ? Who that was acting merely from
a regard to outward appearances, would thus have denied
himself throughout the whole day. He bowed himself,
no doubt, with profound adoration in the House of God ;
but who shall say with what earnestness and impor
tunity of prayer he approached the throne of mercy
in the retirement and secresy of his chamber — deprecat
ing the horrors of , that storm which was, to his practised
ear, then muttering hoarsely in the distance ; and im
ploring those blessings on his country, of which he little
thought that he himself should prove so illustrious an
instrument. But God was training his servant for the
mighty work which awaited him, and was mingling in
his soul those high elements of faith, fortitude, and self-
denial, essential to real greatness and true virtue in
man. In September of this year, he left home for Philadel
phia as a member from Virginia, of the first congress
about to meet in that city. The following entties made
in his diary, show him still mindful of the Sabbath day,
and of the duty of public worship. Being a stranger in
the city, and lodging at a public house, there may not
have been the regularity of attendance which usually
distinguished him.
" September 25th. — Went to the Cluaker meeting in
the forenoon, and to St. Peter's in the afternoon ; dined
at my lodgings.

144 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" October 2d. — Went to Christ church, and dined
at the new tavern.
" 9th. — Went to the Presbyterian meeting in the fore
noon, and the Romish church in the afternoon ; dined
at Bevan's.
"16th. — Went to Christ church in the morning;
after which rode to and dined at the Province Island ;
supped at Byrns's."
The congress being dissolved on the 26th of October,
Washington returned to Mount Vernon. He was again
a member of the second congress, which met in Phila
delphia the following year. By this congress he was
chosen, as is known, commander-in-chief of the Ameri
can array ; resistance to Britain having been firmly re
solved upon. And through that protracted and eventful
contest which followed this purpose, in what spirit did the
comraander-in- chief act in reference to the sacred duty
under consideration '} Was he stiU the same ? Was he
still consistent ? In the confusion and bustle of a camp,
was he still collected and mindful of the claims of Him
" who rules in the armies of heaven and among the inha
bitants of the earth 1 "
The day after he took command of the army an
order was issued, in which we find the following injunc
tion :
" The General requires and expects of all officers
and soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual at
tendance on divine service, to implore the blessings of
heaven upon the means used for our safety and defence."
A few days after this order was published, the Rev.
William Emerson, a chaplain in the army, writes to a
friend :

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 14o
" There is great overturning in the camp as to order
and regularity. New lords, new laws. The Generals
Washington and Lee are upon the lines every day. New
orders from his Excellency are read to the respective re
giments every morning, after prayers" <fcc.
The subjoined extracts, from orders issued from time
to time, will serve to witness the great care of the com
mander to encourage this duty :
From the Orderly Book, May 15th, 1776 :— The con
tinental congress have ordered Friday, the 17th instant,
to be observed as a day of fasting, humiliation, and
prayer, humbly to supplicate the mercy of Almighty God,
that it would please him to pardon our manifold sins and
transgi'essions, and to prosper the arms of the United
Colonies, and finally establish the peace and freedom
of America upon a solid and lasting foundation ; the
General commands all officers and soldiers to pay strict
obedience to the orders of the continental congress ; that,
by their unfeigned and pious observance of their religious
duties, they may incline the Lord and Giver of victory
to prosper our arms."
From the Orderly Book, August 3d. — "That the
troops may have an opportunity of attending public wor
ship, as weU as to take some rest after the great fatigue
they have gone through, the General, in future, excuses
them from fatigue duty on Sunday, except at the ship
yards, or on special occasions, till further orders."
In a Circular from the Commander-in-chief to the
brigadier generals, dated the 26th of May, 1777, are the
foUowing instructions : — " Let vice and immorality, of
every kind, be discouraged as much as possible in your
13

146 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS ANtJ
brigade ; and as a chaplain is aUowed to each regiment^
see that the men regularly attend divine worship."
From the Orderly Book, October 7th. — " The situation
of the army frequently not admitting of the regular per
formance of divine service, on Sundays, the chaplains of
the army are forthwith to meet together, and agree on
some method of performing it at other times, which
method they wiU make known to the Commander-in-
chief" From the Orderly Book, Dec. 17th, 1777, near Valley
Forge. " To-morrow being the day set apart by the
honourable Congress for pubhc thanksgiving and praise,
and duty caUing us devoutly to express our grateful ac
knowledgments to God for the manifold blessings he
has granted us, the General directs that the army re
main in its present quarters, and that the chaplains per
form divine service with their several corps and brigades ;
and earnestly exhorts aU officere and soldiers, whose ab
sence is not indispensably necessary to attend with re
verence the solemnities of the day."
The interruptions which sometimes occurred, prevent
ing divine service being performed in camp, did not in
terfere with attention to the duty on the part of the Com
mander-in-chief For one of his Secretaries, Judge Har
rison, has often been heard to say, that " whenever the
General could be spared from camp, on the Sabbath, he
never failed riding out to some neighbouring church, to
join those who were publicly worshipping the Great
Creator." This was done by him, we presume, when
there was no public worship in camp.
On the day succeeding the surrender of Lord Corn-
¦walhs, an event which virtually closed the war, the Gene-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 147
ral Order issued by AVashington, concluded in the fol
lowing words : — " Divine serWce shaU be performed to
morrow m the different brigades and divisions. The
Commander-in-chief recommends, that aU the troops that
are not upon duty, assist at it with a serious deportment,
and that sensibihty of heart, which the recoUection of the
surprising and particular interposition of Providence, in
our favour, claims."
That our iUustrious countryman continued to cherish
the same high reverence for the sacred institutions of
religion to the end of his life, is sustained by ample evi
dence. After the close of the war, and his return to
i\Iount Vernon, in December, 1783, his place of worship
was in Alexandria. It is probable that Pohick Chm'ch
had been closed during the commotions induced by the
revolution. At least, it is known that he had a pew in
Christ church, Alexandria, and habitually attended di
vine service there. The foUowing interesting document
wiU evince that faxt, and furnish very striking proof of
his unfeigned desire for the respectable support of the
Chrisdan ministry, and perpetual maintenance of religious
institutions and services. The design of the paper was,
as the reader wiU observe, to subject the pews of the
church to an annual rent, by a voluntary subscription
thereto on the part of the pewholders. Its language is : —
'• We, the subscribers, do hereby agree that the pews
we now hold in the Episcopal church at Alexandria,
shaU be forever charged -with an annual rent of five
pounds, Virginia money, each ; and we hereby promise
to pay, (each for himself separately promising to pay,)
aimuaUy, forever, to the minister and vestry of the Pro
testant Episcopal Church in Fairfex parish ; or, if the

148 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
parish should be divided, to the minister and vestry of
the Protestant Episcopal Chiirch in Alexandria, the said
sum of five pounds for each pew, for the purpose of sup
porting the ministry in the said church : Provided, ne
vertheless, that if any law of this commonwealth should
hereafter compel us, our heirs, executors, administrators,
or assigns, to pay to the support of religion, the pew rent,
hereby granted, shall, in that case, be considered as part
of what we may by such law be required to pay : Pro
vided, also, that each of us pay only in proportion to the
part we hold of the said pews. For the performance of
which payment, well and truly to be made, forever, an-
nuaUy, within six months after demanded, we hereby
bind ourselves, (each for himself separately,) our heirs,
executors, administrators, and assigns, firmly by these
presents. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our
hands and seals, this 25th day of April, in the year of
our Lord 1785."
The above is an attested copy of the original, now on
record in the vestry book of Christ church, Alexan
dria. The article was signed by a number of the pew
holders, the name of " G. Washington" being at the
head of the hst, in his own hand-writing, with the seal
attached. CordiaUy concurring, as he did, in this reasonable
mode of raising a permanent revenue for the church, by
uniting in a voluntary subjection of his pew to a per
petual ground rent, the father of his country evinced that
high sense of justice and propriety, together with that
spkit of noble liberality for which he was ever distin
guished. He was not disposed, in the absence of a le
gal provision for the support of religion, to hold the man

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 149
who was devoting his time and talents to the good of a
congregation, subject to the whims and caprices of the
same, for the amount and punctual payment of. his in
come. Whilst the clergyman wiUingly engaged to ren
der certain services in behalf of others, Washington
thought that they should be wilhng, on theh parts, to
bind themselves to render him a due compensation for
his labours. Nor was this course less prudential than
generous ; for what would a pew be worth if the pulpit
should be unsuppUed 1 The value of the pew, whether
occupied by the owner or transferred to another, would
certainly depend on the regularity and efficacy with
which the clerical duties were performed. A cunning
man might be disposed to take another view of the mat'
ter, and adopt a different course, refusing to bind himself,
with the vain idea of reserving his hberty of action, and
perhaps of escaping the obligation altogether if it should
prove necessary. But a man so magnanimous, and at
the same time practically wise as AVashington was, could
never act in any other way than as he did. The laws
of his character forbid his doing otherwise.
In May 1787, the delegates of the several States
assembled in Philadelphia, with a view to the formation
of a constitution for the better government of the Union.
Of this iUustrious body, Washington was unanimously
chosen President. During the session the following
occurrences took place. The account thereof, in its
present authentic form, was written in the year 1825,
by an intimate friend of the youngest member of the
convention. The part here given is that relating to
the reconsideration of the provision which had been
made in the beginning, for the representation of tho
13*

150 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
States in the Senate. It had been determined, that re
presentation should be according to population. To this
principle the representatives from the four smaUer states
objected. They moved a reconsideration, and expressed
their purpose of withdrawing from the convention, unless
the constitution was so modified, as to give each state
an equal representation.
'' There was much warmth," says the writer referred
to, and some acrimonious feeling exhibited by a number
of the speaker ; a rupture appeared almost inevitable,
and the bosom of Washington seemed to labour with
the most anxious sohcitude for its issue. HappUy
for the United States, the convention contained some in
dividuals possessed of talents and virtues of the highest
order, whose hearts were deeply interested hi the esta
blishment of a new and efficient form of government,
and whose penetrating minds had already deplored the
evUs which would spring up in our newly-established
Repubhc, should the present attempt to consohdate it
prove abortive. Among those personages, the most pro
minent wEis Dr. Franklin. He was esteemed the men
tor of our body. To a mind naturally strong and capa
cious, enriched by much reading, and the experience of
many years, he added a manner of communicating his
thoughts peculiarly his own, in which simplicity,
beauty, and strength, were equally conspicuous. As soon
as the angry orators who had preceded him had left him
an opening, the Doctor rose, evidently impressed with
the weight of the subject before them, and the difficulty
of rhanaging it successfuUy."
In a speech, as given by tlie writer, the Doctor
urged the consideration of the great interests involved

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 151
in the issue of their deliberations, and proposed a recess
of three days, for cool reflection and impardal conversa
tions among the members respecting their conflicting
views and opinions, that they might return to the discus
sion of the subject before them with more tranquil and
amicable feelings. He then concluded in the foUowing
words : —
" Before I sit down, Mr. President, I wiU suggest
another matter ; and I am really surprised that it has
not been proposed by some other member at an earher
period of om- deliberations. I wUl suggest, Mr. President,
the propriety of nominating and appointing, before we
separate, a chaplain to this convention, whose duty it
shall be uniformly to assemble with us, and introduce
the business of each day by an address to the Creator of
the universe, and the Governour of aU nations, beseeching
Him to preside in our council, enlighten our minds with
a portion of heavenly 'wisdom, influence our hearts
with a love of truth and justice, and crown our labours
with complete and abundant success."
" The Doctor sat down ; and never did I behold a
countenance at once so dignified and delighted, as was
that of Washington at the close of this address ; nor
were the members of the convention, generaUy, less af
fected. The Avoids of the venerable Franklin fell upon
our ears with a weight and authority, even greater than
we may suppose an oracle to have had in a Roman
senate ! A silent admiration superseded for a moment
the expression of that assent and approbation Avhich Avas
strongly marked on almost every countenance ; I say
almost — for one man Avas found in the convention, Mr.
 , of  ,Avho rose and said, with regard to the first

152 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
motion of the honourable gentleman, for an adjourmenf,
he would yield his assent ; but he protested against the
second motion for the appointment of a chaplain. He
then commenced a high-strained eulogium on the assem
blage of wisdom, talent, and experience which the
convention embraced ; declared the high sense he enter
tained of the honour Avhich his constituents conferred
upon him in making him a member of that respectable
body ; said he was confidently of opuiion that they AA'ere
competent to transact the business Avhich had been en
trusted to their care ; that they Avere equal to every exi
gence Avhich might occur ; and concluded by saying,
that, therefore, he had not seen the necessity of foreign
aid! " Washington fixed his eye upon the speaker with
a mixture of surprise aud indignation, Avliile he ut
tered this impertinent and impious speech !— and then
looked around to see in Avhat manner it affected others.
They did not leave him a moment to doubt — no one
deigned to reply, or take the smaUest notice of the
speaker,— but the motion for appointing a chaplain was
instantly seconded and carried ; Avhether under the
silent disapprobation of Mr.  , or his solitary negative,
I do not recoUect. The motion for an adjourment Avas
then put, and carried unanimously ; and the convention
adjourned accordingly.
" The three days of recess were spent in the man
ner advised by Dr. Franklin ; the opposite parties mixed
Aviih each other, and a free and frank interchange of sen
timents took place. On the fourth day Ave assembled
again ; and if great additional Hght had not been thrown
oji the subject, CA-ery unfrieixdly feeling had been ex-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 153
pelled ; and a spirit of concUiation had been cultivated,
Avliich promised, at least, a calm and dispassionate re
consideration of the subject.
" As soon as the chaplain had closed his prayer, and
the minutes of the last sitting were read, aU eyes were
turned to the Doctor. He rose, and in a few words,
stated that during the recess he had hstened attentively
to all the arguments, pro and con, which had been urged
by both sides of the house ; that he had himself said
much, and thought more on the subject ; he saw diffi
culties and objections which might be urged by indivi
dual States against every scheme Avhich had been pro
posed ; and he was now more than ever convinced that
the constitution which they were about to form, in order
to be jicst and equal, must be founded on the basis of
compromise and mutual concession. With such views
and feehngs, he would move a reconsideration of the
vote last taken on the organization of the senate. The
motion was seconded, the vote carried, the former A^ote
rescinded, and by a successful motion and resolution,
the senate Avas organized on the present plan."
In a year or two from this time, by the united
voice of a free people, Washington was elevated to the
high office of President of the United States.
In this exalted station his conduct continued to be
distinguished by the same uniform and punctual obseiw-
an<je of rehgious duties which had always marked his
hfe. As he was chiefly resident in PhUadelphia, during
the eight years of his administration, he had a pew in
Christ church of that city, of which the venerable
Bishop White was then, as he is stiU, the Rector,* being
* This venerable man has died, since the above was written, uni-
versally esteemed and honoured.

154

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

noAv near his ninetieth year. During all the time that
he was in the government, Washington was punctual in
his attendance on divine Avorship. His pew was seldom
Vacant Avhen the Aveather Avould permit him to attend.
In regard to his habit, at that time, the living grandson
of Mrs. Washington, Geo. W. P. Custis, Esq. of Arling
ton, bears the following testimony :
" On Sundays, unless the weather AA'as uncommonly
severe, the President, and Mrs. AVashington, attended
divine service at Christ church ; and in 'the evenings
the President read to Mrs. Washington, in her chamber,
a sermon, or some portion from the Sacred Writings.
No visitors, with the exception of Mr. Speaker Trum
bull, were admitted to the presidohad on Sundays."
After his retirement from the Chair of State, he stiU
continued the same in spirit and practice. The church
in Alexandria was again his place of worship. The
distance, indeed, was nine miles, and yet his pew was
seldom unoccupied on the Lord's day. The Avriter,
many years since, had the following circumstances, in
relation to this habit of the ex-President, from a valued
female friend, now numbered Avith the dead.
" In the summer of 1799," said Mrs. M., " I AA'as in
Alexandria, on a visit to the family of Mr. H., Avith
whom I Avas connected by the ties of relationship.
WliUst there, I expressed a wish to see General AVash
ington, as I had never enjoyed that pleasure. My
friend Mrs. H., observed, ' You AviU certainly see him on
Sunday, as he is never absent from church AA'hen he
can get there ; and as he often dines with us, we wUl ask
him on that day, Avhen you AviU have a better opportUT
nity of seeing him.' Accordingly, Ave aU repaired to

CHARAfcTER OF AVASHINGTON. l65
church on Sunday, and seated in Mr. H.'s large double
pCAV, I kept my eyes upon the door, looking for the vener
able form of him I had so long desired to see. Many
persons entered the doors, but none came up to my
impressions of General Washington's appearance. At
length, r; a person of noble and majestic figure entered,!
and the conviction was instantaneous that I beheld the
Father of his Country. It was so ! — my friend at that
moment intimated the fact to me. He Avalked to his
pew, at the upper part of the church, and demeaned
himself throughout the services of the day with that
gravity and propriety becoming the place and his own
high character. After the services were concluded we
Availed for him at the door, for his pew being near the
pulpit he was among the last that came out — Avhen
Mrs. H. invited him to dine with us. \ He dechned, how
ever, the invitation, observing, as he looked at the sky,
that he thought there were appearances of a thunder
storm in the afternoon, and he beheved he would return
home to dinner."
This occurrence is introduced, not for any peculiar
interest belonging to it, but merely for confirmation :
shoAving the punctuaUty and conscientiousness with
Avhich Washington attended to the duty in question,
even to old age. He was now within six months of his
death, having reached his 68th year ; and yet he is not
to be detained on the Sabbath from the House of God
either by distance or the fervours of a summer sun.
It may here be added, simply as evidence of his de
votional habits, that he always said grace at table. On
one occasion, from the force of habit, he performed this
duty himself when a clergyman was present — an in-

166 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
stance of indecorum very unusual with him. Being
told, after the clergyman's departure, of the incivility, he
expressed his regret at the oversight, but added, " the
reverend gentleman wiU at least be assured, that we are
not entirely graceless at Mount Vernon."
Thus have Ave ample illustration of the unvarying
practice to which the principles of Washington led him,
in regard to the sacred duty of public worship. It may
be, however, that the fuUest admission of his zeal and
good example in this respect, does not necessarily imply
a conviction of his inward faith and piety. Some may
think, that this outward attention to religion had no
higher source than patriotism — than a regard for the
prevalence of morahty and good order in society — of
Avhich ends he no doubt considered the public worship of
God to be highly promotive. That these motives alone
did not originate his devotional habits, as evinced in the
House of God, we are well assured ; and in confirmation,
shall now proceed to the consideration of those habits of
private prayer ascribed to him ; and which, if once
fuUy verified, wUl forever settle the question of his faith
and devotional feehng. He who prays habitually in
secret, furnishes the best possible evidence of his sincerity.
Such a one cannot be a -dissembler. He has regard to
no eye, but that of his Maker. If it is inevitable that a
man's private habits, in this respect, wUl be known to
his family, or those Avho are intimate with him ; yet, it
is clear that no motive can arise from such a source to
induce long continued perseverance in the duty. This
must be sustained by other influences. " Private pray
er," says a good writer, " differs from public prayer in
several respects. The proper subjects of public prayer

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 157
are such wants as belong to men in general. In private
prayer, the wants of our particular state, our peculiar
trials, dangers, and temptations, form the proper subjects
of our addresses. Hence, private prayer is a peculiarly
interesting part of devotion. It may also be considered
as more spiritual in its nature. In public prayer there
are many outAvard things to excite the affections — aU
good and profitable, perhaps, in themselves ; still it
must be OAvned, that the less our devotion arises from
outward causes, and the less it depends on these, the
more likely is it to be the genuine feeling of a pious
heart, actuated by giatitude to God, admiration of his
perfections, love to his character, confidence in his provi
dence, and faith in his promises. Private prayer, there
fore, is far more likely to be the result of a real fear and
love of God. It cannot, at least, be the offspring of osten
tation ; nor is it easy to conceive that it should flow from
hypocrisy. ********
'¦ Private prayer is also a better test, or index, of the
state of the soul, than public worship. Every man is,
Avhat he is in secret. When no eye is upon him, then
his true character and feelings show themselves. If,
then, he sincerely and devoutly pours out his heart be
fore God ; if, then, he truly mourns his sins, and fer
vently desires to obtain divine grace to pardon and
sanctify him, there is good ground for believing that he
is a real disciple of Christ."
In our inquiries respecting this practice of Washing
ton, the same amount or variety of matter will not be
expected as abounded in testimony of his more public
habits. And yet there is enough to satisfy every mind
14

158 RELIGIOUS OPINIOKS AND
that he was not less punctual and unremitting in his
attention to the duties of the closet, than to those of the
public Sanctuary.
At Avhat period of life his observance of this sacred
duty commenced it is impossible for mortals to know.
But the foUowing instances of secret prayer are submit
ted with the most perfect assurance of the certainty of
their occurrence.
We before adduced the testimony of one of his aids in
the French and Indian AVar, to his habit of reading the
Scriptures and praying with his troops on Sundays, in
the absence of the chaplain. This same individual.
Col. B. Temple, has often been heard to say in connex
ion with the above, " that on sudden and unexpected
visits into his (Washington's) marquee, he has, more
than once, found him on his knees at his devotions."
The annexed article wUl furnish another AveU au
thenticated instance, occurring at a subsequent period of
his life.
Extract of a letter from a Baptist minister to the
Editor of the (Boston) Christian Watchman, dated Bal
timore, January 13, 1832 :
" The Meeting-house (Avhich is built of stone) be
longing to the church just alluded 'to, is in sight of the
spot on which the American army, under the command
of General Washington, was encamped during a most
severe winter. This, you knoAV, was then called ' Vah
ley Forge! It is affecting to hear the old people nar
rate the sufferings of the army, Avhen the soldiers Avere
frequentiy tracked by the blood from their sore and bare
feet, lacerated by the rough and frozen roads over which
they were obUged to pass.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.
"You wiU recollect that a most interesting incii\
relation to the life of the great American Command
chief, has been related as follows : — That while station
ed here with the army, he Avas frequentiy observed to
visit a secluded grove. This excited the curiosity of a
Mr. Potts, of the denomination of 'Friends,' who
watched his movements at one of these seasons of retire
ment, tiU he perceived that he was on his knees and
engaged in prayer. Mr. Potts then returned, and said
to his famUy, ' Our cause is lost^ (he was with the
tories,) assigning his reasons for this opinion. There is
a man by the name of Devault Beaver, now living on
this spot, (and is eighty years of age) Avho says he has
had this statement from Mr. Potts and his family. I
had before heard this interesting anecdote in the life of
our venerated Washington, but had some misgivings
about it, all of which are noAV most fully removed."
It may be added, that besides the individual named by
the above writer as having witnessed the private devot
tions of Gen. Washington at VaUey Forge, it is known
that Gen. Knox also was an accidental Avitness of the
same, and was fully apprized that prayer was the object
of the Commander's frequent visits to the grove. This
officer was especially devoted to the person of the Com
mander-in-chief, and had very free and famihar access
to him, which may in some measure, account for his par
ticular knowledge of his habits.
That an adjacent wood should have been selected as
his private oratory, while regularly encamped foj: the
winter, may excite the inquiry of some. The cause
may possibly be found in the fact that, in common with
f,be officer? and soldiers of the army, he lodged during

160 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
that winter in a log hut, Avhich, from the presence of Mrs.
Washington, and perhaps other inmates, and the few
ness of the apartments, did not admit of that privacy
proper for such a duty.
Another instance of this pious habit, witnessed during
the war, has more recently been brought to light.
In the year 1820, a clergyman of this State, being in
company with Major  ¦, a relative of Gen. Wash-
mgton, had an accidental conversation with him on the
subject of Christianity. The conversation was of a con
troversial nature in the beginning, and as no good seem
ed to ensue, but some warmth of feeling, an effort was
made to arrest the unprofitable discussion by an inquiry
made of the Major, as to the religious opinions of his dis
tinguished kinsman, the subject of these pages. This
w'as done in part, as knowing his veneration for Wash
ington, and for information too, as he had been cap
tain of the General's body guard, during a greater part
of the war, and possessed the best opportunities of learn
ing his views and habits. In answer to the question, he
observed, after hesitating for a moment, " Gen. Wash
ington Avas certainly a pious man, his opinions being in
favour of religion, and his habits all of that character
and description.'' Being further interrogated as to his
habits — he replied, that his uncle, he knew, was in the
habit of praying in private — and with the animation of
an old soldier, excited by professional recoUections, rather
than sympathy with the subject, he related the circum
stances of the following occurrence " While encamped
at  * N. J., a soldier arrived one morning, about
day-break, with despatches for the Commander-in-chief,
+ The year and place forgotten by the writer.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 161
from a distant division of the army. As soon as his busi
ness was known, he Avas directed to me as captain of
the body guard, to whom he came forthwith, and giv
ing Hie his papers, I repaired at once to the General's
quarters. On my way to his room after reaching the
house, I had to go along a narrow passage of some length.
As I approached his door, it being yet nearly dark, I
was arrested by the sound of a voice. I paused and
listened for a moment, when I distinguished it as the
Generals voice, and in another moment found that he
Avas engaged in audible prayer. As in his earnestness
he had not heard my footsteps, or if he heard me did
not choose to be interrupted, I retired to the front of the
dweUing, tUl such time as I supposed him unengaged ;
when returning, and no longer hearing his voice, I knock
ed at the door, which being promptly opened, I delivered
the despatches, received an ansAver, and dismissed the
soldier." How impressive an example of sincere devotion have
we here ! The leader of our armies, though oppressed
Avith cares and labours, an unequalled burden, yet for
sakes his friendly couch at the dawn of day, and upon
his knees '¦ cries unto God with his voice." He is not
content with unuttered prayer. His earnestness seeks its
natural vent in audible and articulate sounds.
" The habit of early rising," says a pious writer,* " is
of great importance to the due discharge of morning
prayer. Oh, hoAV many precious hours do indolent
Christians lose ; whUe those who are more self-denying
and dUigent, are gaining the favour of God and enjoymg
communion with him." * Bickersteth, 14*

162 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" It was the daily practice of the eminent physician
Baerhaave," says the same writer, " through his whole
life, as soon as he rose in the morning, which was gene
rally very early, to retire for an hour to private prayer
and meditation on some part of the Scriptures. He
often told his friends, when they asked him how it was
possible for him to go through so much fatigue with such
patience and quietness, that it was this which gave him
spirit and vigour in the business of the day. This he
therefore recommended as the best rule which he could
give." An additional example as occurring during the war,
and taken from a respectable literary journal pyblished
in New- York, is here inserted as having in its promi
nent points, all the appearance of truth.
" One pleasant evening in the month of June, in
the year 17 — , a man was observed entering the bor
ders of a wood, near the Hudson river, his appearance
that of a person above the common rank. The inha
lants of a country viUage would have dignified himAvith
the title of squire, and from his manner, have pronounced
him proud ; but those more accustomed to society would
inform you, there was something like a military air
about him. His horse panted as if it had been hard
pushed for some miles, yet from the owner's frequent
Btops to caress the patient animal, he could not be
charged with want of humanity; but seemed to be
actuated by some urgent necessity. The riders forsaking
R good road for the by-path leading through the woods,
indicated a desire to avoid the gaze of other travellers.
He had not left the house where he inquired the direction
of the above mentioned path more than two hours, be-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 163
fore the quietude of the place was broken by the noise
of distant thunder. He was soon after oMiged to dis
mount, travelUng becoming dangerous, as darkness con
cealed surrounding objects, except Avhen the lightning's
terrific flash afforded a momentary view of his situation.
A peal louder and of longer duration than any of the
preceding, which now burst over his head, seeming as
if it would rend the woods asunder, was quickly followed
by a heavy faU of rain, which penetrated the clothing
of the stranger ere he could obtain the shelter of a large
oak, which stood at a httle distance.
" Almost exhausted with the labours of the day, he was
about making such disposition of the saddle and his
own coat, as would enable him to pass the night with
what comfort circumstances would admit, when he espied
a light glimmering through the trees. Animated with
the hope of better lodgings, he determined to proceed.
The way, which was somewhat steep, became attended
with more obstacles the farther he advanced, the soil
being composed of clay, which the rain had rendered so
soft that his feet slipped at every step. By the utmost
perseverance, this difficulty was finally overcome Avith-
out any accident, and he had the pleasure of finding him
self in front of a decent looking farm-house. The watch
dog began barking, which brought the owner of the
mansion to the door.
" Who is there ? " said he.
" A friend who has lost his way, and in search of a
place of shelter," was the answer.
" Come in, sir," added the first speaker, « and what
ever my house wUl afford, you shaU have with wel
come."

164 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
"I must first provide for the weary companion of
my journey," remarked the other.
" But the former undertook the task, and after conduct
ing the new-comer into a room where his wife was
seated, he led the horse to a well-stored barn, and there
provided for him most bountifully. On rejoining the
traveUer, he observed, '• That is a noble animal of yours,
sh." " Yes," was the reply, " and I am sorry that I was
obliged to misuse him so, as to make it necessary to give
you much trouble Avith the care of him ; but I have yet
to thank you for your kindness to both of us."
" I did no more than my duty, sir," said the enter
tainer, " and therefore am entitled to no thanks. But
Susan," added he, turning to the hostess, with a half-
reproachful look, '• why have you not given the gentle
man something to eat 7"
" Fear had prevented the good woman from exercising
her Av ell-known benevolence ; for a robbery had been
committed, by a lawless band of depredators, but a few
days before, in that neighbourhood, and as report stated
that the ruffians were all Avell dressed, her imagination
suggested that this man might be one of them.
" At her husband's remonstrance, she now readily en
gaged in repairing her error, by preparing a plentiful
repast. During the meal, there was much interesting
conversation among the three. As soon as the worthy
countryman perceived that his guest had satisfied his ap
petite, he informed him, that it was now the hour at
which the family usually performed their evening devo
tions, inviting him at the same time to be present. The
invitation was accepted in these words :

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 165
" It would afford me the greatest pleasure to commune
with my heavenly Preserver, after the events of the day ;
such exercises prepare us for the repose we seek in sleep."
" The host now reached his Bible from the shelf, and
after reading a chapter and singing, concluded the whole
Avith a fervent prayer ; then lighting a pine-knot, con
ducted the person he had entertained to his chamber,
Avished him a good night's rest, and retired to the adjoin
ing apartment.
" John," whispered the woman, " that is a good gentle
man, and not one of the highwaymen as I supposed."
" Yes, Susan," said he, " I hke him better for thinking
of his God, than for all his kind inquiries after our wel-
fai-e. I wish our Peter had been home from the army,
if it Avas only to hear this good man talk ; I am sure
AVashington himself could not say more for his country,
nor give a better history of the hardships endured by
our brave soldiers."
" Who knoAvs now," inquired the wife, " but it may be
he himself after all, my dear, for they do say, he travels
just so, all alone, sometimes.* Hark ! what' s that?"
" The sound of a voice came from the chamber of their
* In the summer of 1779 Washington had his Head-Q.uarters on
the Hudson river. That he was in the hubit of travelling alone
sometimes duiing the war is well known. The circumstances men
tioned above are said to have occurred in the month of June, — the
year it would seem hot remembered. It appears from one of his letters
that he was absent f\ om camp for a day or tfvo, about that time in
1779. In a letter dated New Windsor, July the 9th, he says, "I did
not receive intelligence of this till the afternoon of the 7th inst., having
been absent from head-quarters fi-om the morning of the preceding
d.ty, on a visit to our outposts below, and those lately established by
the enemy."

166 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
guest, Avho Avas noAv engaged in his private religious
worship. After thanking the Creator for his many
mercies, and asking a blessing on the inhabitants of the
house, he continued, 'And now, almighty Fa..her, if it is
thy holy will, that we shall obtain a place and a name
among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be
enabled to show our gratitude for thy goodness, by our
endeavours to fear and obey thee. Bless us with Avisdom
in our councils, success in battle, and let all our victories
be tempered Avith humanity. Endow also our enemies
Avith enlightened minds, that they may become sensible
of their injustice, and wiUing to restore our hberty and
peace. Grant the petition of thy servant for the sake of
Him whom thou hast called thy Beloved Son ; never
theless, not my will, but thine be done. Amen.' "
" The next raorning, the traveller, declining the press
ing solicitations to breakfast with his host, declared it
Avas necessary for hira to cross the river immediately ; at
the same time offering a part of his purse, as a compen
sation for the attention he had received, Avhich Avas
refused. '' Well, sir," concluded he, "since you will not permit
me to recompense you for your trouble, it is but just that
I should inform you on whom you have conferred so
many obligations, and also add to them by requesting
your assistance in crossing the river. I had been out
yesterday, endeavouring to obtain some information
respecting our enemy, and, being alone, ventured too far
from the camp ; on my return I was surprised by a
foraging party, and only escaped by my knowledge
of the roads and the fleetness of my horse. My name
is George Washington. '

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 1()7
" Surprise kept the listener sUent for a moment ; then,
after unsuccessfully repeating the invitation to partake
of some refreshment, he hastened to call tAvo negroes,
with whose assistance he placed the horse on a small
raft of timber, that Avas lying in the river near the
door, and soon conveyed the General to the opposite
side, Avhere he left him to pursue his Avay to the camp,
Avishing him a safe and prosperous journey. On his
return to the house, he found that Avhile he Avas
engaged in making preparations for conveying the
horse across the river, his illustrious visitor had persuaded
his Avife to accept a token of remembrance, Avhich the
family are proud of exhibiting to this day.
" The above is only one of the many hazards en
countered by this truly great patriot, for the purpose of
transmitting to posterity the treasures we now enjoy.
Let us acknowledge the benefits received, by our en
deavours to preserve thera in their purity ; and by
keeping in remembrance the Great Source whence these
blessings flow, may we be enabled to render our names
Avorthy of being enrolled with that of the father of his
country." Here Ave have again the same peculiarity of audible
prayer that appeared in the preceding instance. It
is certainly the natural way of expressing ardent and
intense feehng.*
One who speaks of the private devotions of the ce
lebrated Martin Luther, has these Avords : " I cannot
enough describe the cheerfulness, constancy, faith, and
hope of this man in these trying and vexatious times.
* This practice, it will be remembered, was recommended by Chief
Justice Hale in one ofthe treatises before quoted.

168 religious opinions and
He constantly feeds these good affections by a very
dUigent study of the word of God. Then, not a day
passes in which he does not employ in prayer, three
at least of his very best hours. Once I happened
to hear him at prayer. What spirit, and Avhat
faith there is in his expressions! He petitions God
with as much reverence as if he Avas actuaUy in
the divine presence, and yet with as firm a hope,
and confidence, as he would address a father or a
friend. 'I know,' said he, 'thou art our Father and
our God, therefore, I am sure thou wUt bring to nought
the persecutors of thy children. For shouldst thou fail
to do this, thine own cause, being connected with ours,
Avould be endangered. It is entirely thine OAvn concern :
we, by thy providence have been compelled to take a
part. Thou, therefore, wUt be our defence.' — Whilst
I Avas listening to Luther, praying in this manner at
a distance, my soul seemed on fire Avithin me, to hear
the man so address God like a friend, and yet with so
much gravity and reverence."
In the foUowing pefectly authentic incident, Ave have a
striking corroboration of those already recorded, and with
them, furnishing proof so ample of the point before
us, that it AvUl be unnecessary to look for additional
testimony. During his residence in PhUadelphia, as President of
the United States, it was the habit of AVashington, winter
and summer, to retire to his study at a certain hour
every night. He usually did so at nine o'clock — always
having a lighted candle in his hand, and closing the door
carefuUy after him. A youthful member of his house
hold whose room was near the study, being just across

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 169
the passage, observing this constant practice of the Pre
sident, had his thoughts excited in reference to the cause
of so uniform a custom. Accordingly, on one occasion,
in the indulgence of a juvenile curiosity, he looked into
the room, sometime after the President had gone in ;
and to his surprise, saw him upon his knees at a small
table, with a candle and open Bible thereon.
In these facts Ave have all the evidence Ave could ask
of his uniform attention to the divinely commanded ob
servance of private prayer. The evidence too, embraces
a very large portion of his life. Our Umited and partial
information compiehends a period of forty years — that is,
from his twenty-third to beyond his sixtieth year. It
was his habit whilst engaged in the French and Indian
Avar; it Avas so also during the revolutionary war ; and it
Avas the same during his presidential terms, and no doubt
it was so to the end of his life.
How rooted and fixed must that gracious principle
have been, which could produce such unwavering and
persevering devotion to these duties, — a devotion not to be
shaken or impaired by the trying scenes, circumstances
aud associations, which belonged to his peculiar avoca
tions and earthly allotment. But in this very duty, no
doubt, did he find strength for every trial. Here Avas in
a great measure the secret of his greatness, and of the
Avoiiderful successes which ever attended him. It Avas
the bles.?ing of God on him, as his chosen and dutiful
servant, that so fully equipped him for every service, and
conducted him to the highest usefulness and to the great
est honour. It was in reference to this knoAvii excellence
in Washington, that Dr. Mason of Ne\A'-York, in the fu
neral eulogy pronounced on the occasion of his death, in
15

170 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
February, 1800, uses the language : — " That invisible
hand which guded him at first, continued to guard and
to guide him through the successive stages of the revo-
iution. Nor did he account it a weakness to bend the
knee in homage to its supremacy, and prayer for its di
rection. This was the armour of AVashington, this the
salvation of his country."*
We cannot but remember with sadness, in this con
nexion, that many of the great ones of our Avorld appear
to think, that the important duty before us is altogether
unsuited to persons of their distinction and dignity. But
were not religion and greatness united in the person of
Washington ? Did religion impair his greatness or cloud
the lustre of his fame ? Count it not a weakness in him ;
the "majesty of his character" forbids the thought.
Rather let those endowed Avith talents and invested with
office, foUow his example ; and find in God a strength
tnore than human, for every duty and every trial.
* " The example of Washington teaches a poignant reproof to those
who think, or act as if they thought, that religion is incompatible with
PTeatness. The majesty of his character forbids a suspicion (hat his
reverence for the worship of God, and his solicitude for the prevalence
of religious principle, were either a tribute to prejudice, or a stratagem
of state. But every possible doubt is removed by the fact, that it was
bis uniform practice, even duiing the war, to retire at a certain houri
for the devotion of the closet."

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 171

CHAPTER V.
his respect for the sabbath.
The value of the Sabbath has ever been recognized
by wise and good men. Its happy influence on the tem
poral as well a,s spiritual Avelfare of mankind has been
seen by them. They have appreciated and confessed
its salutary tendency in favour of the inteUectual, moral
and physical advancement of communities, duly improv
ing its sacred advantages. Once, indeed, a vain phi
losophy, in its wantonness, attempted in another land to
overthrow this great moral institute of society, as useless,
if not injurious to the world ; and accordingly, with sa
crilegious hands, was it expunged from the calendar, and
superseded by the substitution of 07ie day in ten, as a day
of rest. Of the result of that experiment the world is
fully apprized. Short indeed Avas the reign of the De
cades. Experience soon taught the impious authors of
the change, that human wisdom could not instruct Je
hovah, or human skiU mend his work.
The importance of the Sabbath as an instrument of
moral good to men, is thus vindicated by a distinguished
writer.* " The Sabbath is erainentiy moral, as the in
dispensable means of preserving in the world a real and
, * Dr, Dwight,

172 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
voluntary obedience of all the other commands in the
Decalogue. AVherever the Sabbath is not, religion dies
of course; and morality of every kind, except so far as
convenience and selfishness may keep the forms of it
alive, is forgotten." Again, "Wherever the Sabbath
is not, there is no AVorship, no religion. Man forgets
God, and God forsakes man. The moral Avorid becomes
a desert, Av here life never springs, and beauty never smiles.
The beams of the sun of righteousness never dawn upon
the miserable waste ; the rains of heaven never descend.
Putrid with sin, and shrunk Avith ignorance, the soul of
man loses its rational character,a nd prostrates itself be
fore devils, men, beasts and reptUes, insects, stocks and
stones." That we possess this divine gift, is a ground of
unbounded gratitude and praise to God. "The Sab
bath, according to his abundaiit m.ercy, returns at the
close of every week, to shine upon us Avith its peaceful
and benevolent beams. At the close of every Aveek, with
a still, small voice, it summons us to the house of God.
Here we meet, iiid find, and know, and serve our glo
rious and blessed Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier ; here
he makes known his pleasure and our duty ; here he
promises to those avIio obey, divine and eternal rewards,
and threatens those who disobey, with terrible and never
ending punishments. Seen every week in these aAvful
and araiahle characters, God cannot be unknown nor for
gotten. Accordingly, throughout the ages of Christianity,
his presence and agency are understood every where, and
by every person who frequents the house of God. The
little child is as famiharly acquainted with them as the
man of gi-ay hairs ; the peasant as the monarch. All in

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 173
this sense know God, from the least to the greatest ;
and there is no occasion for a m,an to say to his
neigbour, Know the Lord."
Speaking of the Sabbath, Dr. Rush says, " If there
were no hereafter, individuals and societies Avculd be
great gainers by attending public worship every Sunday.
Rest from labour in the house of God, Avinds up the ma
chine of both soul and body, better than any thing else,
and thereby invigorates it for the labours and duties of
the ensuing week."
With this the testimony of Chief Justice Hale essen-
tiaUy agrees, having a more explicit reference to the di
vine blessing. " I have often found," says he, " by a
strict and diligent observation, that a due observing the
duty ofthe Lord's day, hath ever joined Avith it a bless
ing on the rest of my time, and the week that hath been
so begun, hath been blessed and prosperous to me ; so
that I could from the loose or strict observance of that
day, take a just prospect and trae calculation of my tem
poral successes the ensuing Aveek."
The wisdom and piety of Washington combined to
render him a strict observer of the Sabbath, and a jea
lous advocate of its authority and sanctity. Of this, we
have a strong collateral proof in his conscientious and
habitual attendance on the services of the Sanctuary as
performed on that day. But there are other evidences
Avhich directly show that his principles on this point
were fixed and settled. The following occurrence is
Avell authenticated, and serves to assure us of his unfeign-
,-ed reverence for the " Holy of the Lord.^

15*

l74 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
"In the town* of  , in Connecticut, where the
roads were extremely rough, Washington was overtaken
by night, on Saturday, not being able to reach the town,
where he designed to rest on the Sabbath. Next morning
about sun-rise, his coach Avas harnessed, and he was pro
ceeding onward to an inn, near the place of worship,
which he proposed to attend.
" A plain man, who Avas an informing officer, came
from a cottage, and inquired of the coachman Avhether
there Avere any urgent reasons for his traveUing on the
Lord's day. The General, instead of resenting this as
impertinent rudeness, ordered the coachman to stop, and
with great civihty explained the circumstances to the of
ficer, commending him for his fidelity, and assured him
that nothing was farther from his intention than to treat
with disrespect the laws and usages of Counnecticut,
relative to the Sabbath, which m,et icith his most
cordial approbation.''
Though he had, as we have seen, paid a marked re
spect to the claims of the Sabbath, throughout his pre\i-
ous life— there seemed to be, during his Presidency, an
increased regard and deference for the same. Not only
was he most punctual in his attendance on the public
AVorship of God, Avhenever it Avas possible, but the disci
pline of his house was strictly conformed to the obliga
tions and proprieties of the day. It was an estabhshed
rule of his mansion, that visitors could not be admitted on
Sundays. It is understood that an exception to the rule
* Town or Township — a section of country six miles square; into
a number of which the State is divided. General Washington was
now making the tour of New-England, in the autumn of 1789.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 175
Avas made in the case of one individual, viz., Mr. Trum
bull, Speaker of the House of Representatives. He often
spent an hour on Sunday evenings Avith the President ;
and so entirely Avas the privUege confined to him, that
it was usual with the house servant when he heard the
door-beU ring, on those evenings, to caU it, the " speak
er's beU."
After spending a part of the day at church, and oc-
casionaUy an hour in the evening with Mr. Trumbull,
one of the most pious men of his age — the rest of the
time preceding the hour of repose was occupied, as
mentioned in a previous chapter, by the President's read
ing to Mrs. Washington, a sermon or a portion of the
Holy Scriptures.

176

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER VI.
HIS RESPECT FOR THE CLERGY.
At every period of his life, was the conduct of Wash
ington marked by a special respect for the office and per
son of the ministers of religion. He honoured the call
ing, as one of express divine appointment, and him Avho
filled it, as the living representative of the Divine Author
of Christianity. This was the combined result of his
good sense and pious affections. He well knew that re
hgion could not long be maintained in any coraraunity,
Avhere its ministers Avere lightly esteemed. He also kncAV
and felt that no higher offence could be offered the Al
mighty, than to contemn and refuse his duly accredited
ambassadors. He Avas incapable of that injustice and
pusiUanimity, which can insult a clergyman, because he
is known to be comparatively defenceless— as of that
narrow-minded and Uliberal jealousy Avhich looks Avith
suspicion upon the ministers of Christ for no other assign
able reason, than the errors or vices which may have
distinguished some of theh order, in the lapse of ages.
He was well able to discriminate between the innocent
and the guilty ; and his sense of justice, as well as bene-

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 177
A'olence of feeling, prompted him to a scrupulous regard
for so manifest a duly.
Through every stage of his illustrious career the
marks of this Avise and becoming course may be distinct
ly traced.
AVhile embarked in the French and Indian Wai', as
Commander of the Virginia forces, he earnestly sought
of Governour Dinwiddie the supply of a chaplain to his
regiment. His language was: —
'• The Avant of a chaplain, I humbly conceive reflects
dishonour on the regiment, as aU other officers are al
lowed. The gentlemen of the coips are sensible of this,
and proposed to support one at their private expense.
But I think it would have a more graceful appearance
Avere he appointed as others are.''
To this the Governour rephed : —
" I have recommended to the commissary to get a
chaplain, but he cannot prevail upon any person to ac
cept of it ; I shall again press it to him."
In answer to Avhich AVashington Avrote : —
" As to a chaplain, if the government Avill grant a sub
sistence, we can readily get a person of merit to accept
the place, Avithout giving the commissary any trouble on
that point."
AVith the letter, of which this was a part, the Gover
nour seems not to have been AveU pleased. In his reply,
among other things, indicating displeasure, he says : —
" In regard to a chaplain, you should knoAV, that his
qualification and the bishop's letter of license, should be
produced to the commissary and myself: but this person
is also nameless."
AVashington answered : —

178

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

" When I spoke of a chaplain, it was in answer to
yours. I had no person in view, though many have
offered ; and I only said, if the country would provide
subsistence, Ave could procure a chaplain, Avithout think
ing there was offence in the expression."*
NotAvithstaiiding the importunity of Washington, no
chaplain was provided, at least by the government.
His solicitude on the subject continuing, he Avrote to the
President of the Council, about two years after the above
correspondence Avith the Governour, in words already
quoted under another head.
" The last Assembly, in their Supply Bill, provided for
a chaplain to our regiment. On this subject I had often,
Avithout any success, applied to Governour DiuAviddie. I
now flatter myself that your Honour wUl be pleased to
appoint a sober, serious man for this duty." (fee.
Having seen the nature of his feelings, in regard to
the Christian ministry, as evinced in his earlier daja, we
pass to sirailar indications as attending his subsequent
life. It has before appeared, that after his marriage, he was
a constant attendant on divine AVorship ; and that the
most friendly intercourse subsisted between himself and
the minister of the parish — the latter being often a guest
at Mount Vernon. The annexed portions of a letter
from his pen, are inserted more as serving to fUl up a
chasm in our record,^ than for any thing very decisive,
The letter is addressed to the Rev. Dr. Cooper, President
of King's College, New- York ; its date, Mount Vernon,
December 15, 1773 :
* Governour Dinwiddie, though compelled by public opinion, to pliics
Washington in honourable station, Avas never his cordial friend.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. ifQ
" The favourable account which you Avere pleased to
transmit to me of Mr. Custis's conduct at college, gave
me very great satisfaction. I hoped to have felt an increase
of it by his continuance at that place, under a gentleman
so capable of instructing him in every branch of useful
knowledge. " I am very sorry it Avas not in my poAver to see you
whUe in these parts. I thank you very sincerely, sir,
for your polite regard to Mr. Custis, during his abode at
college, and through you, beg leave to offer my acknow
ledgments in like manner to the professors. With very
great esteem and regard, reverend sir, I am," (fee.
In his instructions to Colonel Arnold, in September,
1775, Avhen that officer Avas about to march against
Quebec, he thus expresses himself :
" As the contempt of the religion of a country, by ri
diculing any of its ceremonies, or affronting its ministers
or votaries, has ever been deeply resented, you are to be
particularly careful to restrain every officer and soldier
from such imprudence and foUy, and to punish every in
stance of it. On the other hand, as far as lies in your
poAver, you are to protect and support the free exercise of
the religion of the country, and the undisturbed enjoy
ment of the rights of conscience in religious matters,
Avith your utmost influence and authority."
As showing the principle on which the above admo
nition was given — that it was not one of mere worldly
policy, a private communication to the same officer, on
the same subject, and of the same date, is here given :
" I also give it in charge to you to avoid aU disrespect

180 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
of the religion of the country, and its ceremonies. Pru
dence, policy, and a true Christian spirit, will lead us to
look Avith compassion upon their errors without insulting
them. AVhile Ave are contending for our own liberty Ave
should be very cautious not to violate the rights of con
science in others, ever considering that God alone is the
judge ofthe hearts of men, and to Him only in this case,
they are answerable."
The foUowing letter: AviU add yet other evidences of the
kind and respectful feelings which he ever cherished to-
Avards AVorthy ministers of Christ. The communication
is addressed to the President of Congress, and dated Sep
tember 30, 1775 :
" The Rev. Mr. Kirkland,* the bearer of this, having
been introduced to the honourable Congress, can need no
particular recommendation from rae. But as he now
Avishes to have the affairs of his mission and public cm-
ploy put upon some suitable footing, I cannot but inti
mate my sense of the importance of his station, and the
great advantages Avhich may result to the United Colo
nies, from his situation being made respectable.
"All accounts agree, that much of the favourable dis
position shown by the Indians, may be ascribed to his
labour and influence. He has accompanied a chief of
the Oneidas to this camp, which I have endeaA'oured to
make agreeable to hira, both by civility and some small
presents. Mr. Kirkland also being in some necessity fcr
money, to bear his travelling charges and other expenses,
* The Rev. Samuel Kii-ldand was missionary to the Oneida Indians,
among whom he resided many years.

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 181
I have supplied him with thirty-two pounds lawful
money.'' In writing to Governour Trumbull about this time,
he says :
" Having heard that it is doubtful whether the Rev
erend Mr. Leonard, from your colony, will have it in hia
power to continue here as chaplain, I cannot but express
some concern, as, I think, his departure wUl be a loss.
His general conduct has been exemplary and praise-
Avorthy ; in discharging the duties of his office, active
and industrious. He has discovered himself to be a warm
and steady friend to his country, and taken great pains
to animate the soldiers, and impress them with a know
ledge of the important rights we are contending for.
Upon the late desertion of the troops, he gave a sensible
and judicious discourse, holding forth the necessity of
courage and bravery, and at the same time of obedience
and subordination to those in command.
"In justice to the merits of this gentleman, I thought
it only right to give you this testimonial of my opinion of
him, and to mention him to you as a person AVorthy of
your esteem and that of the public."
In a letter to the President of Congress Avritten about
the same time, he says :
" I have long had it on my mind to mention to Con
gress, that frequent applications have been made to me
respecting the chaplains' pay, which is too small to en
courage men of abihties. Some of them, who haA^e left
their flocks, are obliged to pay the parson acting for them
more than they receive. I need not point out the great
utility of gentlemen, Avhose lives and conversation are
unexceptionable, being employed for that service in this
16

182 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
army. There are two ways of making it worth the
attention of such ; one is, an advancement of their pay ;
the other, that one chaplain be appointed to two regi
ments. This last, I think, may be done Avithout incon
venience. I beg leave to recommend this matter to
Congress, whose sentiments hereon I shall impatiently
expect." From the Orderly Book, July 9th, 1776. " The hon
ourable Continental Congress having been pleased to
allow a chaplain to each regiment, Avith the pay of thir
ty-three dollars and one-third per month, the colonels or
commanding officers of each regiment are directed to
procure chaplains accordingly, persons of good charac
ters and exemplary lives, and to see that all inferior
officers and soldiers pay them a suitable respect. The
blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times neces
sary, but especially so in times of public distress and
danger. The General hopes and trusts, that every
officer and man wUl endeavour so to live and act as be
comes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights
and liberties of his country."
To the President of Congress : — Trenton, 6th. Dec.
1776. " By a letter of the 14th ultimo from a Mr. CaldweU,
a clergyman, and a stanch friend to the cause, Avho has
fled from ElizabethtOAvn and taken refuge in the
mountains, about ten miles from hence, I am informed,
that General or Lord Howe was expected in that toAvn,
to pubhsh pardon and peace. His words, ' I have not
seen his proclamation, but can only say he gives sixty
days of grace, and pardons from the Congress down to
the committee. No one man in the continent is to be

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 183
denied his mercy.' In the language of this good man
' The Lord dehver us from his mercy ! ' "
From Valley Forge he Avrote to the Rev. Israel
Evans, as foUoAA's :
" Valley Forge, 13th March, 1778.
" Reverend Sir,
" Your favour of the 17th ultimo, enclosing the
Discourse which you delivered to General Poor's bri
gade on the 18th of December, the day set apart for a
general thanksgiving, never came to my hands till yes
terday. I have read this performance with equal atten
tion and pleasure ; and at the same time that I admire
and feel the force of the reasoning, which you have dis
played through the whole, it is more especially incumbent
upon me to thank you for the honourable but partial
mention you have made of my character ; and to assure
you that it Avill ever be the first wish of my heart to aid
your pious endeavours to inculcate a due sense of the
dependance Ave ought to place in that all-Avise and
powerful Being, on whom alone our success depends ;
and moreover to assure you, that, Avith respect and
regard, I am, reverend sir," (fee. (fee.
About this time, the late Dr. Dwight, President of
Yale College, then chaplain to General Parson's brigade,
wrote to General Washington in the foUowing language :
" The application Avhich is the subject of this letter,
is, I believe not common in these American regions, yet
it wUl not I hope on that account, be deemed impertinence
or presumption. For several years I have been employed
in writing a poem on the Conquest of Canaan by Joshua.
This poem, upon the first knowledge of your Excellen
cy's character, I determined, Avith leave, to inscribe to

184 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
you. If it wiU not be too great a favour, it wiU cer
tainly be remerabered with gratitude."
In answer Gen. Washington wrote, with the usual
address : —
" I yesterday received your favour of the 8th instant,
accompanied by so Avarm a recommendation from Ge
neral Parsons, that I cannot but form favourable presa
ges of the merit of the Avork, you propose to honour me
with the dedication of Nothing can give me more plea
sure, than to patronise the essays of genius, and a
laudable cultivation of the arts and sciences, Avhich had
begun to flourish in so eminent a degree, before the
hand of oppression was stretched over our devoted
country ; and I shall esteem myself happy, if a poem,
which has employed the labour of years, will derive any
advantage, or bear more weight in thcAvorld, by making
its appearance under a dedication to me. I am,' (fee.
In the year 1779 Gen. Washington addressed the
foUoAving respectful letter to " The Ministers, Elders, and
Deacons of the Dutch Reformed Church at Rariton. —
"Camp, Middlebrook, 2 June, 1779,
" Gentlemen,
" To meet the approbation of good men cannot but
be agreeable. Your affectionate expressions make it
still more so. In quartering an army, and in supplying
its v/ants, distress and inconvenience Avill often occur to
the citizen. I feel myself happy in a consciousness
that these have been strictly limited by necessity, and
in your opinion of my attention to the rights of my
fellow-citizens. I thank you, gentlemen, sincerely, for
the sense you entertain ofthe conduct ofthe army, and

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 185
for the interest you take in my welfare. I trust the
goodness of the cause and the exertions of the people,
under Divine protection, will give us that honourable
peace for Avhich Ave are contending. Suffer me, gen
tlemen, to wish the Reformed Church at Rariton, a long
continuance of its present minister and consistory, and
all the blessings Avhich flow from piety and religion.
I am," (fee.
In August of 1789, Dr. Griffith, minister of Farifax
Parish, Alexandria, but then Bishop elect of the Pro
testant Episcopal Church in Virginia, died in Phila
delphia. On the occasion. Dr. William Smith preached
a funeral sermon, in which the foUowing words
occur : —
"In the service of his country, during our late contest
for Liberty and Independence, he was near and dear to
our iUustrious Commander-in-chief — he was also his
neighbour, and honoured and cherished by him, as a
pastor and frieyid."
During his Presidency, Washington, as we have seen,
attended pubhc worship at Christ Church, PhUadelphia.
Of that church, Dr. White, was then the Rector ; as
he was also Bishop ofthe diocese of Pennsylvania. This
aged and venerable man, often recurs with grateful
remembrance to the kindly intercourse Avhich subsisted
between himself and his illustrious parishioner. He
Avas a frequent and honoured guest at the mansion of
the President — always sharing his marked attentionsj
with those of Mrs. Washington.

16*

186 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER VII.

HIS ALMS-GIVING.

Kindness to the poor is made an essential fruit of
Christian principle, by the authority of God's word. Nu
merous and express are the precepts of the inspired vo
lume, inculcating this duty as one of high and paramount
obhgation. Without making it a substitute for real piety,
it is uniformly declared to be a most excellent pioduct of
true religion, and necessary not only as an ornament but
as a proof of sincerity in those professing the faith of the
gospel. There are many, indeed, who manage to evade this
sacred obligation, never being at a loss for excuses, which
if not sound, are at least plausible. At one time they
think the poor are idle, — let them work and they will not
want. If this excuse wiU not avail, as many of the
poor cannot Avork. then they say, " We cannot afford to
give " and it may be that they wUl at last, with conve
nient facihty, take shelter under the authority of God's
word, forthat end quoting the apostle, — " If any provide
not lor his own, and specially for those of his own house,
he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
Washington was faithful in this as in his other duties ;

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 187
not seeking apologies for neglect, but rather for opportu
nities of discharging the claims of so excellent a virtue.
The foUoAving account rests on the authority of Mr.
Johnson, former Governour of Maryland, and a soldier
of the Revolution. The language of his informer was
in substance as follows :
" Just before the revolutionary war, I took a trip to the
Sweet Springs of Virginia. In consequence of the croAvd,
I at first found some difficulty in getting lodgings, but at
length Avas fortunate enough to get a mattrass in the hut
of a very honest baker, who often visited the springs for
the benefit of his business. Among others who came
daily to his shop for bread, there were sundry poor, sickly
looking individuals who came in, and at his nod Avould
take up each of them a loaf, and go out without paying,
as others did. This led to an inquiry on my part, and
to the assurance on his, that he had been authorized by
Colonel Washington, who was at the springs, to furnish
these people with bread, he engaging to pay the bill.
This bill, he added, sometimes amounted to eighty dol
lars, and those who received the charity never knew
from whence it came, entire secresy being enjoined on
him by the benevolent donor."
An English soldier, who had been an attendant of
General Braddock during his fatal expedition, and at his
death, after that event entered into the service of Wash
ington, and was attached to his person during the French
and Indian AVar. After that he married, and a home
was provided for him at Mount Vernon. "Being too
old to foUow his beloved commander in the struggle for
independence, he Avas left at home to enjoy the repose
which old age requires. Children loved to visit the old

188 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Soldier, and listen to the tales of the Indian war, which
he delighted in telling. When Washington was passing
round his farm, he often stopped to gladden the heart of
of the gray-headed veteran, with kind words ; and he
lived to enjoy the comforts which had been provided for
him until he was eighty years of age."
In the year 1769 Washington addressed the foUowing
kind proposal to a neighbour, Mr. W. R. :
" Having once or twice of late heard you speak highly
of the New- Jersey CoUege, as if you had a desire of
sending your son WiUiam there, (who, I am told, is a
youth fond of study and instruction, and disposed to a
studious life, in folloAving Avhich he may not only pro
mote his OAvn happiness, but the future Avelfare of others,)
I should be glad, if you have no other objection to it
than the expense, if you would send him to that college
as soon as convenient, and depend on me for tAventy-five
pounds a year for his support, so long as it may be ne
cessary for the completion of his education. If I live to
see the accomplishment of this term, the sum here sti
pulated shall be annually paid ; and if I die in the mean
time, this letter shall be obligatory upon my heirs or
executors to do it, according to the true intent and mean
ing hereof
" No other return is expected or Avished for this offer,
than that you will accept it with the same freedom and
good-will with which it is made, and that ycu may not
even consider it ui the light of an obhgation or mention
it as such ; for be assured, that from me it AviU never be
known." In 1774 he wrote to Edward Snickers, from WiUiams-
burg — " Enclosed you will receive Mr. Hughes' warrant

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.

189

in his own right for two thousand acres of land, the get
ting of which at this time, he must look upon as a
very great favour, as the Governour has dispensed with
two positive instructions to oblige him.
*******
" I got a gentieman of ray acquaintance in Maryland
to mention his case to Governour Eden, who promised to
have the matter inquired into, and dp what he could for
his relief. AVhy it has not been done I cannot teU ; but
if my contributing twenty or twenty-five pounds to his
relief will procure his liberty, you may set me down for
that sum, and I wiU pay it at any time when the sub
scription is full. But how he is to get over the other
matter of giving Maryland security for his good beha
viour, I know not."
From a letter addressed to Mr. Lund Washington, the
faithful manager of his estates during the revolutionary
war, we make the following extract. The date of the
letter is " Cambridge, 26th November, 1775.
" Let the hospitality of the house, with respect to the
poor, be kept up. Let no one go hungry away. If any
of this kind of people should be in Avant of corn, supply
their necessities, provided it does not encourage them in
idleness : and I have no objection to your giving my mo
ney in charity, to the amount of forty or fifty pounds a
year, when you think it weU bestowed. What I mean
by having no objection is, that it is my desire it should
be done. You are to consider that neither rayself nor
Avife is now in the way to do these good offices. In all
other respects, I recommend it to you, and have no doubt
of your observing the greatest economy and frugality, as I
suppose you know that I do not get a farthing for my ser-

190

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

I

vices here, more than my expenses ; it becomes neces
sary, therefore, for me to be saving at home."
" One of his ' managers,' after the war, Avas a Mr.
Peake, a respectable man, who once said in reference to
the subject before us : — ' I had orders from Gen. Wash
ington to fill a corn-house every year, for the sole use of
the poor in my neighbourhood, to whom it was a most
seasonable and precious relief, saving numbers of poor
women and children from extreme want, and blessing
thera with plenty.'"
He also provided for the poor around him in other
ways. "He owned several fishing stations on the Po
tomac, at Avhich excellent herring were caught, and
Avhich, when salted, proved an important article of food
to the poor. For their accommodation he appropriated a
station — one of the best he had, and furnished it with all
the necessary apparatus for taking herring. Here the
honest poor might fish free of expense, at any time, by
only an application to the overseer ; and if at any time
unequal to the labour of hauling the seine, assistance
Avas rendered by the order ofthe General. By this means,
all the poor round about had the means of procuring a
competent stock of this valuable food for their famihes."
One Reuben Rouzy, of Virginia, owed him about
1000 pounds. While President of the United States,
one of his agents brought an action for the money ; judg
ment Avas obtained, and execution issued against the
body of the defendant, who was taken to jaU. He had
a considerable landed estate, but this kind of property
cannot be sold in Virginia for debts, unless at the discre
tion of the owner. He had a large family, and for the

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 191
sake of his children preferred lying in jaU to seUing his
land. " A friend hinted to him that probably General Wash
ington did not know any thing of the proceeding, and
that it might be Avell to send him a petition, Avith a state
ment of the circumstances. He did so ; and the very
next post from Philadelphia, after the arrival of his peti
tion in that city, brought an order for his immediate re
lease, together Avith a full discharge, and a severe repri
mand to the agent for having acted in such a manner.
'•Poor Rouzy was in consequence restored to his fami
ly, Avho never laid down their heads at night without
presenting theii' prayers to heaven for their ' beloved
AVashington.' Providence srailed on the labours of the
grateful family, and in a few years Rouzy enjoyed the
exquisite pleasure of being able to lay the thousand
pounds, with the interest, at the feet of his benefactor. —
Washington reminded him that the debt was discharged.
Rouzy replied, the debt of his family to the father of
their country, and preserver of their parent, could never
be discharged ; and the General, to avoid the importuni
ty of his grateful debtor, who Avould not be denied, ac
cepted the money — only, however, to divide it among
Rouzy's children, which he immediately did."
From some of the private letters before referred to as
in the hands of the writer, a few extracts are here given
confirming the incidents already detailed.
He writes to his relative acting as his land agent ; the
date "Philadelphia, February 22, 1795:—
" Your letter of the 17th uU. came duly to hand ; but
the pressure of business in which I am always involved

1^2

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

whilst Congress are in session, has prevented my acknoAV-
ledging the receipt of it at an earlier date.
*******
" Mrs. H. should endea\'our to do what she can for
herself ; — this is the duty of every one. But you must
not let her suflfer, as she has throAvn herself upon me ;
your advances on this account will be aUoAved always at
settiement ; and I agree readily to furnish her Avith pro
visions; and from the good character you give of her
daughter, make the latter a present, in my name, of a
handsome but not costly gown, and other things which
she may stand mostly in need of You may charge me
also with the worth of your tenement on which she is
placed ; and where perhaps it is better she should be,
than at a greater distance from your attentions to her."
In a subsequent letter there is another reference to the
same case ; the date "Mount Vernon, June 26, 1796 :
" We arrived at this place on Monday last, where it is
probable I shall remain till the middle of August, when
public business AviU requiie m,y attendance in Philadel
phia, until towards the end of September. I shaU then
return to this place again for Mrs. Washington, with
Avhom, in the latter part of October, T shall make my last
journey, to close my public life the 4th of March ; after
Avhicli no consideration under heaven, that I can foresee,
shall again Avithdraw me from the Avalks of private life.
*******
" I am sorry to hear of the death of Mrs. H. ; and
wiU very cheerfully receive her daughter the moment I
get settled at this place ; sooner it would not be possible ;
because this house wUl be as it has been, empty from the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 193
time we shall quit it in October, until my final establish
ment in the spring. Such necessaries as she needs in
the mean time, may, however, be furnished her at my
expense, and if it is inconvenient for you to retain her
in your own house, let her be boarded in some respect
able family, Avhere her morals and good behaviour will
be attended to ; at my expense also. Let her want for
nothing that is decent and proper, and if she remains
in your family, I wish for the girl's sake, as well as for
the use she may be of to your aunt, when she comes
here, that Mrs.  would keep her industriously
employed always, and instructed in the care and eco
nomy of housekeeping.
" There is another reason against her coining here
until I am permanently fixed ; and that is, that my
house, I expect, wUl be croAvded with company all the
whUe we shall be at it, this summer ; as the ministers
of France, Great Britain and Portugal, in succession,
intend to be here— besides other strangers."
Writing to the same from " Mount Vernon, 11th Feb.
1798," he says, in reference to the same person. " En
closed is a letter for S. H. left open for your perusal
before it is forwarded to her; with the contents of which,
respecting the payment of ten pounds, I request you to
comply ; and charge the same to the account of your
collection of my rents."*
* The individual to whom these private letters were addressed,
once mentioned to the writer the following occurrence ; which is here
inserted as furnishing a pleasing example of the munificent disposition
of Washington. — " Whilst acting as his agent," he observed, "I ac-
cidently ascertained that he owned a tract of land in  county, of
^(lich he had given me no account. Some short time af.er tlie disco v-
ir

194 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
In his WiU, the following bequest is found, viz : — " To
the trustees, governours, or by whatsoever other name
they may be designated, of the academy in the tOAvn of
Alexandria, I give and bequeath, in trust, four thousand
dollars, or in other Avords, twenty of the shares Avhich I
hold in the bank of Alexandria, toward the support of a
free-school, established at, and annexed to, the said aca
demy, for the purpose of educating orphan children, or
the children of such other poor and indigent persons as
are unable to accomplish it Avith their own means, and
who, in the judgment of the trustees of the said semi
nary, are best entitled to the benefit of this dona-
lion. The aforesaid twenty shares I give and bequeath
in perpetuity, the dividends only of which are to be
drawn for, and applied by the said trustees, for the time
being, for the uses above mentioned, the stock to remain
entire and untouched, unless indications of failure of the
ery, being on a visit at Mount 'Vernon, with rny family, I mentioned
the fact to him, at which he seemed to be at a loss, expressing his sur
prise that such a claim should have escaped him. When the conver
sation had ended, I remarked, in a jocular tone, that I had had a
somewhat singular dream about that land, a few nights before. He
asked me what is was. I replied, that I had dreamed he had made me
a present of the tract. He smiled, and observed that my dieiiming
knack was a very convenient One, but why did I not dream at once
that he had given me Mount 'Vernon? A few days after this, in set
ting out for my residence, the General accompanied myself and wife to
the carriage, when in taking leave of us, he put into my hands a
small slip of paper, requesting me to examine it at my leisure. Think
ing it probably contained memoranda of some kind, relating to my
agency, I put it into my pocket, and did not look at it for some time.
When I did so, however, I was surprised to find, that in tl^e space of
six written lines, he had made me a conveyance of the land in 
county. The tract contained upwards of eleven hundred acres^

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 195
said bank should be so apparent, or a discontinuance
thereof should render a removal of this fund necessary.
In either of these cases, the amount of the stock here de
vised is to be vested in some other bank, or public insti
tution, whereby the interest may with regularity and cer
tainty be drawn and apphed as above. And, to prevent
misconception, my meaning is, and is hereby declared to
be, that these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not in ad
dition to, the £1000 given by a missive letter some years
ago, in consequence whereof an anmuty of £50 has
since been paid towards the support of this institution."
Many other instances might here be added, of the
benevolence of" the father of his country," — the insertion
of which, would especially evince one peculiarity mark
ing his character, which was, that he did not, in every
case, postpone them till death. He either thought it a
duty, or desired to share the luxury of doing good in his
life time. Besides the annuity secured by him, some
3'^ears before his death, to the Alexandria free school, he
also endowed " Liberty Hall Academy, Rockbridge
County,'' now Washington CoUege, with the sum of
$10,000 — the amount of stock given him by Virginia
in the James River Company.

196

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS ANli

CHAPTER VIIL

HIS FILIAL LOVE.

The obligations of filial affection have their founda
tion alike in the dictates of nature and of revelation.
He that can Avantonly violate them, in doing so, must
trample on some of the plainest demands of moral pro
priety, and set at naught the most solemn injunctions of
the Divine Word. In barbarous lands, indeed, this sacred
duty has been cruelly disregarded, and thereby practically
denied. There, has usage often authorized the child, in
raising his parricidal arms against those who gave him
birth ; especially Avlien age and infirmities rendered thera
unfit for the business of life, and a supposed burden to
the community. But a far different standard of filial
morality has been established in Christian lands, and of
consequence a widely different practice prevails. Here,
it is a duty of paramount obhgation. Indeed so obvious
and reasonable a one is it, that they are scarcely thought
deserving of praise who discharge it, seeing its glaring
neglect, would stamp the character with a mark of pecu
liar infamy. And yet, however monstrous a vice filial
ingratitude may be, its existence is not so rare, as to
render its opposite virtue AAdthout its claims to commenda-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 197
tion. There is certainly in the Avorld a great deal of
unkind ness in children towards their parents, — enouo-h
to cause much unhappiness in the latter, if not to tarnish
the characters of the former. They have a claim, then,
to the tribute of our approbation, who, resisting every
temptation to this sin, do faithfully and affectionately
exemplify a virtue of such distinguished excellence, and
important social effects as that of filial love.
'¦Every child," says a pious Avriter, " is bound to enter
tain the most respectful and reverential thoughts concern
ing his parents, and concerning the parental character.
He is to remember, and regard his parents, as standing
in the most venerable, and the most endearing, of all
earthly relations to him ; as those to whom, under God,
he owes his being, and the great mass of his blessings.
He is to regard them as the persons, to whose kindness,
care, and government, he has been committed by God
himself. He is to consider them as the best of all friends ;
the most affiectionate, the most faithful, the most confi
dential, the most perseveiing, the most watchful, the most
unwearied. " The words uttered by chUdren, Avhich respect their
parents in any manner, are to correspond with the
thoughts, which have been here recommended, and, if
effectual care is taken to make the thoughts right, the
words will be right of course.
"The deportment of children, Avhen their parents are
present, ought to exhibit every mark of respect. The
honour Avhich God commands them to giA'e, ought in
the literal sense to be here invariably rendered without
quahfication, without reserve, without reluctance. How
ever humble the station, the circumstances, the educa-
17*

198 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
tion, or the manners of parents may be ; the child instead
of discovering that he is ashamed of them, is bound
cheerfully to acknowledge their proper superiority ; to
exhibit towards them a respectful deference ; and always
to prevent even a remote suspicion, that he is reluctant
to give them their proper place.
" When children have left their father's house ; their
circumstances become materially changed, and with them
in several respects, their duties —
********
" StiU, as they are more indebted to their parents than
to any other human beings, and incomparably more in
debted, at least in ordinary cases ; their remaining duties
to their parents are numerous and important. In this
situation, more than any other, they are required to
contribute to the maintenance of their parents. This is
made by our Saviour so important a branch of the duty
under consideration, that he declares the 'Pharisees,'
' who by a fraudulent comment on the fifth command
ment, had released men from the obhgation in question,
to have 'made this command of God of none effect
through their tradition.' In this period, also, they are
bound as much as may be, to nurse and soothe their
parents in pain and sickness ; to bear patiently and
kindly their infirmities of body and mind ; to alleviate
their distresses ; to give them the cheering influence of
their company and conversation ; and in these and vari
ous other ways, to serene and brighten the evening, but
too frequently a melancholy one, of old age."
That the subject of our present work Avas an example
of this, as of many other virtues, we have very satisfac
tory ground of belief and assurance.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON ' 199
It would seem that from his earliest youth he had been
an obedient and dutiful child. This was the testimony
of his mother, in a conversation Avith certain distinguished
officers of the French army, who, after the War, paid
her a visit of compliment at her residence in Fredericks '
burg, Virginia. In answer to their encomiums on her
son, she simply remarked, that " George had ahvays
been a good boy." That it was so, let the subjoined
narrative attest.
That a mother should love such a son as George
proved himself to-be, and that a son should love such a
mother, as Mrs. Washington certainly Avas, is not at all
surprising. From his earliest days she had exerted her
Avhole influence to imbue him with a love of whatever is
lovely and of good report ; and her exertions had not
been in vain. How Avell he repaid her for her kind care
may be seen in the following story : —
" When about fourteen years of age, he became strong
ly inclined to go to sea, with a vieAV of enlisting in the
service of ' the mother country,' at that time engaged in
a war with France and Spain.
" It was surprising that a youth so young, and who
had been abroad so littie, should have had the/inoral
cojiragejo quit country and friends, on a purpose so full
of danger. But so it Avas. He Avas resolved to go. Pre
parations had been made. A midshipman's birth had
been procured for him on board a British man-of-war,
then lying in sight of his mother's house ; and even his
trunk was on board.
" When the precise time arrived that he Avas to go, he
passed into the sitting room of his mother, to take his
leave of her. She was seated and in tears.

200 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" He approached her, and putting his arms about her
neck, affectionately kissed her. He Avas about to bid
her ' farcAvell ; ' but he hesitated. Iler affection and
affliction unmanned him. He Avas young and ambi
tious ; and at that early day the spirit of patriotism, Avhich
so nobly characterized him in after life, in respect to his
country, Avas stirring within him. Yet the filial feelings
of his heart Avere stronger than any other ties ; and here,
nobly sacri|icing his pride and ambition, he relinquished
his purpose, and staid to comfort her avIio gave him birth
" It was a noble self-denial. And in the now more
than forty years, that the writer of this has been upon the
stage, and watched the course of human events, he can
bear his testimony to the uniform prosperity of such as
have honoured father and mother. There is a promise
recorded in favour of filial piety, and a God, Avho never
forgets it, and never faUs to fulfil it.
" But ray story is unfinished. The boat which Avas
conveying officers and men and baggage from the shore
to the ship, continued to ply. At length she returned on
shore for the last time. A signal flag Avas hoisted to
denote that aU was ready.
" George Avas standing vicAving the movements.
ScA'eral of his companions noAV entered the hodi, Avltich
presently Avas urged towards the ship by several lusty
oarsmen, " As they approached her, the signal gun for sailing
Avas fired. The flash foUoAved by the report was noticed
by George, soon after which the sails rose majestically
one after another.
" George could no longer bear the sight with calmness,
but turned away, and entered the room Avhere his motiiej

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 201
sat. She observed the grief wliich sat upon his counte
nance ; upon which she said : —
" ' I fear, my son, that you have repented your deter
mination to stay at home and make me happy.'
'¦ ' My dear mother,' he rephed, al the same time placing
his arras about her neck, and giving vent to his feelings
AAdth a gush of tears, ' I did strongly Avish to go, but I
could not endure being on board the ship, and know that
you Avere unhappy.'
'• ' AVell, ray dear boy,' said Mrs. Washington, return
ing his embrace, ' I deeply feel your tenderness tOAvards
your mother, and trust that God wUl not let your filial
affection go unrcAvarded.' "*
About eighteen months after the rehnquishment of
his maritime project, Washington, as has been before
noticed, entered into the service of Lord Fairfax as a
surveyor. During the three years in which he Avas thus
engaged, his home was Avith his brother at Mount Ver
non, a part of his leisure time being spent with his mo
ther at Fredericksburg; or rather on her farm directly
opposite to that town. During one of these visits, we
find him, Avith filial solicitude, guarding the interests of
Ids Avidowed parent, in the foUoAving communication
made to his brother Lawrence, then in AVUliamsburg,
as a member of the House of Burgesses. The date of
*In this story we have the facts as generally believed in relation to
that event in Washington's life. It is due, however, to the claims of
historical accuracy, to say, that the narrative is probably incorrect in
some of its details. If things ever reached the crisis there recorded, and
which is not here denied, it is certain that the scene is not properly laid
at Mrs. Washington's residence, near which no ship of war ever rode.
Mount Vernon was the place more probably, below which, in the Poto
mac, the vessel is said to have been.

202

RELIGIOUS OPINIOKS AND

the letter, of which Ave give an extract, is May 5th,
1749. "As my mother's term of years is out at the place at
Bridge Cieek, she designs to settle a quarter on the
piece at Deep Run, but seems backAvard in doing it, till
the right is made good, for fear of accident. It is reported
here, that Mr. SpotsAvood intends to put down the ferry
at the Avliarf where he now lives, and that Major Fran
cis Taliaferro intends to petition the Assembly to have it
kept from his house, over against my mother's quarter,
and through the very heart and best of the land. Where
as he can have no other vieAV in it, than for the (x>n-
venience of a small miU, which he has on the Avater-side,
Avhich will not grind above three months in the twelve,
and on account of the great inconvenience and prejudice
it will be to us, I hope it Avill not be granted. Besides, I
do not see where he can possibly have a landing-place
on his side, that will ever be sufficient for a lawful land
ing, by reason of the steepness of the banks. I think
we suffer enough from the free ferry, Avithout being trou
bled with such an unjust and iniquitous petition as
that ; but I hope, as it is only a flying report, that he
will consider better of it, and drop his pretensions."
The next reference to his mother on record is found in
a letter to Robert Orme, aid-de-camp of General Brad
dock ; dated, Mount Vernon, AprU 2, 1755 :
" The arrival of a good deal of company (among
whom is my mother, alarmed at the report of my inten
tion to attend your fortunes,) deprives me of the pleasure
of waiting upon you to-day, as I had designed. I there
fore beg that you AviU be kind enough to make my com-
plimsnts and excuse to the General, who I hope to hear

character of WASHINGTON. 203
is greatiy recovered from his indisposition, and recruited
sufficiently to prosecute his journey to Annapolis."
A few days after Braddock's defeat, and his own won
derful preservation in that battie^Avhilst halting at Fort
Cumberland, to recover a littie his strength Avhich had
been wasted by a severe sickness:— he Avrote to his mo
ther in the following language. His object seems to
have been, to relieve her maternal solicitude on his aC'
count. " Fort Cumberland, 18th July, 1755.
" Honoured Madam,
" As I doubt not but you ha\'e heard of our defeat,
and perhaps had it represented in a Avorse light, if possi
ble, than it deserves, I have taken this earliest oppor
tunity to give you some account of the engagement as it
happened, Avithin ten miles ofthe French Fort, on Wed
nesday, the 9th instant.
*******
" Captains Orme and Morris, two ofthe aids-de-camp,
were wounded early in the engagement, which rendered
the duty harder upon me, as I was the only person then
left to distribute the General's orders, which I Avas scarce
ly able to do, as I was not half recovered from a violent
iUness, that had confined me to my bed and wagon for
above ten days. I am still in a weak and feeble condi
tion, which induces me to halt here tAVO or three days
in the hope of recovering a little strength, to enable me
to proceed homewards ; from whence, I fear, I shall not
be able to stir till towards September ; so that I shall not
have the pleasure of seeing you till then, unless it be in
Fairfax. Please to give my love to Mr. LcavIs and my
sister ; and compliments to Mr. Jackson, and all other-

204 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
friends that inquire after me. I am, honoured madam,
your most dutiful son."
In a fcAv weeks subsequent to the above, he wrote
again : — - " Mount Vernon, 14th August, 1755.
" Honoured Madam,"
'If it is in my power to avoid going to the Ohio
again, I shall ; but if the coraraand is pressed upon me,
by the general voice of the country, and offered upon
such terms as cannot be objected against, it would re
flect dishonour on me to refuse it ; and that, I am sure,
must or ought to give you greater uneasiness, than my
going in an honourable command. On no other terms
will I accept of it. At present I have no proposals made
to me, nor have I any advice of such an intention,
except from private hands."
The foUowing extract from a Diary, which he kept
in the year 1760, the year after his marriage, wUl
supply a gratifying instance of his filial devotion.
" Jan. 16th. — I parted with Mr. Gisbourne, leaving
Colonel Champe's before the family was stirring, and
.about ten o'clock reached my mother's, where I break-
fested, and then went to Fredericksburg with my brother
Samuel, whom I found there. About noon it began
snowing, the Avind at north-west, but not cold. Was
disappointed of seeing ray sister Lewis, and getting a
few things, which I wanted out of the stores. Returned
in the evening to my mother's ; aU alone with her."
From this period he was in the habit of regulafly
visiting his mother as long as she lived. Mount Vernon
being about fifty mUes from Fredericksburg, he per
formed this duty once or twice a year, except when

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 206
his public engagements prevented. In the Fredericks
burg Newspaper of March 12th, 1789, Ave find the
subjoined notice of one of his visits.
"On Saturday evening last. His ExceUency General
Washington arrived in town from Mount Vernon, and
early on Monday morning he set out on his return.
The object of his Excellency's visit was probably to take
leave of his aged mother, sister, and friends, previous to
his departure for the ncAV Congress, over the councils
of which, the united voice of America has called hira to
preside." This Avas the last interview which Washington ever
had with his mother. She died on the 25th of August
following, in her 83d year, whilst he Avas in New- York.
The Avriter has before him, a part ofthe mourning dress
which he wore, as a token of respectful and affectionate
remembrance of her who had given him birth. On
opening her WiU he was found to be her principal heir
and chosen Executor. She gave hira all her landed
property. The language of the Will is as follows : —
" Imprimis, I give to my son General George Wash
ington, all my lands on Accokeek Run, in the County
of Stafford," (fee.
The WiU concludes thus : —
"LasUy, I nominate and appoint my son General
George Washington, Executor of this my Will; and
as I owe few or no debts, I direct my Executor to give
no Security, nor to appraise my Estate, but desire the
same may be allotted to my Devisees with as little
trouble and delay as may be — desiring their acceptance
thereof, as all the token I now have to give them of my
love for them." 18

206 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
The foUowing letter, written by General Washington
to his only sister, Mrs. Betty Lewis, of Fredericksburg,
Virginia, will attest the filial sensibility with which he
regarded the death of his mother, and the pious resigna
tion cherished by him in reference to the event.
" New- York, 13th September, 1789.
" My Dear Sister,
" Colonel Ball's letter gave me the first account of my
mother's death. Since that, I have received Mrs. Carter s
letter, Avritten at your request, and previous to both, I was
prepared for the event, by some advices of her illness
communicated to your son Robert.
"Awful and affecting as the death of a parent is, there is
consolation in knowing that Heaven has spared ours to
an age beyond which few attain, and favoured her with
the full enjoyment of her mental faculties, and as much
bodUy strength as usuaUy falls to the lot of fourscore.
Under these considerations, and the hope that she is
translated to a happier place, it is the duty of her rela
tives to yield due submission to the decrees of the Creator.
When 1 was last at Fredericksburg, I took a final leave
of my mother, never expecting to see her more.
" It will be impossible for me at this distance, and cir
cumstanced as I am, to give the smallest attention to the
execution of her will ; nor, indeed, is much required if,
as she directs, no security should be given, or appraise
ment made of her estate, but that the same should be al
lotted to the devisees with as little trouble and delay as
may be. How far this is legal, I know not. Mr. Mercer
can, and I have no doubt would readily advise you if
asked, which I wish you to do. If the ceremony of in-
ventoring, appraising, &c. can be dispensed with, all the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 207
rest, as the will declares that few or no debts are owing,
can be done with very little trouble. Every person in
that case, may immediately receive what is specificaUy
devised. " Were it not that the specific legacies* which are left
to me by the wiU, are meant, and ought to be considered
and received as mementos of parental affection, in the
last solemn act of life, I should not be desirous of receiv
ing or removing them ; but in this point of view, I set a
value on them much beyond their intrinsic worth.
" Give my love to Mrs. Carter, and thank her for
the letter she wrote to me. I would have done this
myself, had I more time for private correspondence. Mrs.
Washington joins me in best wishes for her, yourself, and
all other friends ; and I am, with the most sincere re
gard, your affectionate brother."
May we not commend to the youth of our country, this
example of persevering and respectful filial love. It com
menced Avith his childhood, and distinguished him tUl its
venerated object left the world, nor faUed to move him
with tenderest recoUections in contemplating that event.
And surely the wonted blessing attended it. The divine
promise was richly fulfilled in his history. He " lived
long upon the earth, and it was well with him aU the
days of his life," Filial piety is not only lovely, but it is
ever advantageous ; the approbation of the wise and
good, with the blessing of God, crowning it with pros
perity here, and bright rewards hereafter, its source be
ing conscientious and rehgious.
* The legacies alluded to, consisted of a few plain articles of house-
fiold furniture.

208 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER IX,
HIS CONJUGAL LOVE.
The importance of this affection to the happiness of
famihes, communities, and nations, has long since been
established by the experience of mankind. On its decided
existence in those united in the bonds of holy wedlock,
the benefits of that divine institution mainly depend.
Marriage is the fruitful source of the most of that felicity
which may be attained in this Avorld. It is the foundation of
aU t'lc grateful connexions of life, and instrumental of the
purest dehghts to those, who derive from it their unbought
claims, to the joys of reciprocal love and tenderness. It
is the prolific root, which teeming Avith the blossoms and
fruits of domestic and social sympathy, diffuses so much
BAveet odour, so much real delight through the family and
neighbourhood circles. Who can tell how much suffer
ing has been avert"', how much sorrow has been allayed,
hoAV much evil mitigated, or how much comfort has been
imparted, by the mutual love and encouragement of hus
band and Avife, parents and chUdren, brothers and sis
ters, with the auxiliary kindness added, of kindred, united
in acknowledged, though feebler bonds.
Of this sacred relationship, love is the haUoAved cement,
and bountiful nurse of aU its numerous progeny of

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 209
blessings — of its solicitudes, cares and labours for the
young-— as of its sympathies and charities diffused over
the wider surface of connexions, relatives and friends.
Of this important virtue the father of his country was
a distinguished example. For more than forty years he
owned the connubiaf tie, and during that protracted term,
he discharged the duties of the nuptial vow, with unim
peachable fidelity. He Avas himself denied the blessing
of issue. But this privation afforded an additional op
portunity of displaying his conjugal tenderness, in the
uniform kindness and care Avith which he protected, fos
tered, and educated the offspring of his wife, the fruit of
her former marriage.
AVe pass to the proofs of this virtue as furnished by
the varied and frank productions of his own pen.
In a letter to Richard Washington, London, written
some months after his marriage, he says, —
" I am now, I believe, fixed at this seat with an
agreeable partner for life ; and I hope to find more happi
ness in retirement, than I ever experienced amidst the
the Avide and bustiing world. I thank you heartily for
your good wishes. Why wUl you not give me an oc
casion of congratulating you in the same manner?
None Avould do so more cordially than, dear sir, your
most obedient and obUged servant."
In the year 1771, young Custis, the son of Mrs. Wash-:
ington, proposed to make the tour of Europe, with his'
tutor, the reverend Mr Boucher, of Annapolis, Maryland. '
In relation to that object. Gen. Washington wrote to Mr.
Boucher, in a strain of sensibUity, both in reference to the
youth and his mother, that must be gratifying to thq
reader ; 18*

210 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" Upon the whole," he says, in conclusion, " it is impos
sible for me at this time to give a more decisive ahsAver,
however strongly inclined I may be to put you upon a
certainty in this affair, than I have done ; and I should
think myself wanting in candour, if I concealed any
circumstance from you, Avhich leads me to fear, that there
is a possibility, if not a probability, that the whole design
may be totally defeated. Before I ever thought myself at
liberty to encourage this plan, I judged it highly reason
able and necessary that his mother should be consulted.
I laid your first letter and proposals before her, and desired
that she would reflect Avell before she resolved, as an un
steady behaviour might be a disadvantage to you. Her
determination was, that if it appeared to be his inclination
to undertake this tour, and it should be judged for his be
nefit, she would not oppose it, Avhatever pangs it might
give her to part with him. To this declaration she still
adheres, but in so faint a manner, that I think, Avith her
fears and his indifference, it Avould soon be declared he
has no inclination to go. I do not say that this wiU be
the case. I cannot speak positively, but as this is the
result of my own reflections upon the matter, I thought
it but fair to communicate it to you.
" Several causes I believe, have concurred to make
her vicAV his departure, as the time approaches, with
more reluctance than she expected. The unhappy situa
tion of her daughter has in some degree fixed . her eyes
upon him as her only hope. To what I have already
said, I can only add, that my warmest wishes are, to see
him prosecute a plan, at a proper period, which I may
be sure wiU redound to his advantage, and that nothing
shaU be wantuig on my part to aid and assist him."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 211
In his care for this young man, he wrote to the Pre
sident of King's college, New- York, under Avhose super
intendence he had been placed, for the purpose of com
pleting his education. His letter is dated " Mount Ver
non 15. December 1773.
" The fa\'ourable account which you were pleased to
transmit to me, of Mr. Custis's conduct at coUege, gave
me very great satisfaction. I hoped to have felt an increase
of it by his continuance at that place, under a gentie
man so capable of instructing him in every branch of
useful knowledge. But this hope is at an end ; and it
has been against my wishes, that he should quit college,
in order that he may enter soon into a new scene of
hfe, which I think he would be much fitter for some
years hence, than noAV.* But having his own inclinations,
the desires of his mother,and the acquiescence of almost
all his relatives to encounter, I did not care, as he is
the last of the family, to push my opposition too far, and
I have therefore submitted to a kind of necessity."
We give the following letter entire, as affording a most
satisfactory testimony to the tender and considerate
regard of the Avriter for his beloved spouse. It was
Avritten to her on occasion of his accepting the com
mand of the American army, at the hands of the second
Continental Congress, of Avhich he was a member.
" Philadelphia, 18th June, 1775,
" My Dearest,
" I am now set doAvn to write to you on a subject
which fills me Avith inexpressible concern ; and this con
cern is greatly aggravated and increased, when I reflect
* His marriage with the daughter of Mr. Benedict Calvert, which
took place on the 3d of February, 1774.

212 RELIGIOUS opinions and
upon the uneasiness I know it wiU give you. It has
been determined in Congress, that the whole army
raised for the defence of the American cause, shaU
be put under my care, and it is necessary for me
to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the
command of it.
" You may believe me, my dear Patsy, when I assure
you, in the most solemn manner that, so far from seek
ing this appointment, I have used every endeavour
in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwilling
ness to part with you and the famUy, but fi:om a con
sciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity ;
and that I should enjoy more real happiness in one
month Avith you at home, than I have the most distant
prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven
times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny
that has throAvn me upon this service, I shall hope that
my undertaking it is designed to ansAver some good pur
pose. You might, and I suppose did perceive, frora the
tenor of my letters, that I Avas apprehensive I could not
avoid this appointment, as I did not pretend to intimate
when I should return. That was the case. It was
utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment,
Avithout exposing my character to such censures, as
would have reflected dishonour upon myself, and given
pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and
ought not, to be pleasing to you, and must have lessen
ed me considerably in my own esteem. I shall rely,
tiierefore, confidemly on that Providence, Avhich has
heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubt
ing but that I shall return safe to you in the faU. I
shall feel no pain from the toU or the danger of the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 213
campaign ; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasi
ness I know you wiU feel from being left alone. I
therefore beg that you Avill summon your Avhole forti
tude, and pass your lime as agreeably as possible.
Nothing will give me so much sincere satisfaction as
to hear this, and to hear it from your own pen. My
earnest and ardent desire is, that you would pursue
any plan that is likely to produce content, and a tolerable
degree of tranquiUity ; as it must add greatly to my
uneasy feelings to hear, that you are dissatisfied or
complaining at what I really could not avoid.
" As life is always uncertain, and common prudence
dictates to every man the necessity of settling his tem
poral concerns, whilst it is in his poAver, and Avhilst the
mind is calm and undisturbed, I have, since I carae to
this place (for 1 had not tirae to do it before I left horae,)
got Colonel Pendleton to draft a WUl for me by the di
rections I gave him, which Will I now enclose. The
provision made for you in case of my death, will, I
hope, be agreeable.
" I shall add nothing more, as I have several letters to
write, but to desire that you will remember me to your
friends, and to assure you that I am, Avith the
most unfeigned regard, my dear Patsy, your affection
ate," (fee,
In a letter to his brother, written two days after the
above, be says :
" I shall hope that my friends will visit and endeavour
to keep up the spirits of my wife, as much as they can,
for my departure Avill, I know, be a cutting stroke upon
her ; and on this account alone I have^ nrany disagree-

214

RELIGIOUS OPI.VIONS AND

able sensations. I hope that you and my sister,
although the distance is great, wUl find so much
time this summer, as to spend a little of it at Mount
Vernon." In October he wrote again to the same brother — John
A. Washington.
" I am obliged to you for your advice to my wife, and
for your intention of visiting her. Seeing no great pros
pect of returning to my family and friends this winter,
I have sent an invitation to Mrs. Washington to come
to me, although I fear the season is too far advanced to
admit this with any tolerable degree of convenience,
especially if she should, when my letters get home
be in New Kent, as I believe the case A\rill be. I have laid
before her a statement ofthe difficulties, however, Avhich
must attend the journey, and left it to her own choice."
Some weeks after the above, he writes to Joseph Reed,
from the Camp at Cambridge : —
" I thank you for your frequent mention of Mrs.
Washington. I expect that she wUl be in PhUadelphia
about the time this letter may reach you, on her way
hither. As she and her conductor, who I suppose will
be Mr. Custis, her son, are perfect strangers to the road,
the stages, and the proper place to cross Hudson's River,
by all means avoiding New- York, I shall be much
obliged by your particular instructions, and advice to her.
I imagine, as the roads are bad and the weather cold,
her stages must be short, especially as I presume her
horses will be fatigued ; as Avhen they get to Philadelphia,
they AviU have performed a journey of at least four hun
dred and fifty miles, my- express having found her

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 2l5
among her friends near Williamsburg, one hundred
and fifty niUes below my OAvn house." *
He writes to the same December 15th, '75.
" Since my last, I have had the pleasure of receiving
your favours of the 28th ultimo, and the 2d instant. I
must again express ray gratitude for the attention shown
to Mrs. Washington at Philadelphia. It cannot but be
pleasing, although it did, in some measure, impede the
progress of her journey."
To the same, he writes, December 25th, 1775.
" I am so much indebted for the civilities shown to
Mrs. Washington on her journey hither, that I hardly
know hoAV to acknoAvledge them. Some of the enclosed
(aU of which I beg the favour of you to put into the
post-office) are directed to that end, and I shall be ob
liged to you for presenting my thanks to the command-
" Mrs. Washington arrived in camp on the 1 1th of December,
accompanied by iiei- son, Mr. Custis, and his wife. — It seems that
some persons thought her in danger at Mount Vernon, whicli stands
on the bank of the Potomac River, and is accessible to armed
ships of the largest size. Lund Washington had written to the
General. — " Many people have made a stir about Mrs. W. con
tinuing at Mount Vernon, but I cannot think there is any danger.
The thought I believe originated in Alexandria; from thence it got
to Loudoun, and I am told the people of Loudoun talk of sending a
guard to conduct her up to Berkley, with some of their principal men,
to persuade her to leave this place and accept their offer. Mr.
John A. Washington wrote, pressing her to leave Mount Vernon.
She does not believe herself in danger. Lord Dunmore will hardly
' himself venture up this river; nor dot believe 'he will send on that
errand. Surely, her old acquaintance, the attorney, who, with his
family, is on bo.ud his ship, would prevent his doing an act of that
kind. You may depend I will be watchful, and upon the least
alarm persuade her to remove."

216 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
ing officer of the tAvo battalions of PhUadelphia, for the
honour done to her and rae, as also to any others equally
entitled. I very sincerely offer you the comphments ofthe
season, and wish you and Mrs. Reed, and your fire-side, the
happy return ofmanyof them, being, dear sir, yours," (fee.
To John Augustine Washington, he writes, under
date of New- York, April 29, 1776.
''Mrs. Washington is stiU here, and talks of taking
the small-pox ; but I doubt her resolution. Mr. and Mrs.
Custis wUl set out in a few days for Maryland."
In May he wrote to the same :
" Mrs. Washington is now under inoculation in
this city ; and wiU, I expect, have the small-pox favour
ably. This is the thirteenth day, and she has very few
pustules. She would have Avritten to my sister, but
thought it prudent not to do so, notwithstanding there
could be but little danger of conveying the infection in
this manner. She joins me in love to you and aU the
little ones. I am with every sentiment of regard, dear
sir, your most affectionate brother."
Addressing the Marquis De La Fayette, then in
Paris, 30th September, 1779, he says :
" Mrs. Washington, who set out for Virginia when
we took the field in June, has often in her letters to me
inquired if I had heard from you, and wUl be much
pleased at hearing that you are well and happy. In her
name, as she is not here, I thank you for your pohte at
tention to her, and shall speak her sense of the honour
conferred on her by the Marchioness."
The foUowing is found in his last Will and Testa
ment : —
"Item. To my dearly beloved wife, Martha

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 217
Washington, I give and bequeath the use, profit, and be
nefit of my whole estate, real and personal, for the term
of her natural hfe, except such parts thereof as are spe
cially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the
town of Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Cameron streets,
I give to her and her heirs forever ; as I also do my
household and kitchen furniture of every sort and kind,
Avith the liquors and groceries which may be on hand at
the time of my decease, to be used and disposed of as she
may think proper.
* * * * * ' * *
"And whereas, it has always been my intention,
since my expectation of having issue has ceased, to con
sider the grand-chUdren of my Avife in the same hght
as I do my o\\"n relations, and to act a friendly part by
them, more especiaUy by the two who we have raised
fi-om thek earliest infancy: Wherefore, I give and be
queath, " (fee.
To these strong proofs of the warm and devoted at
tachment of Washington to his exceUent wife, we only
add the foUoAving touching incident :
/ On the sad night of his dissolution, when attend-
j ants were about to prepare his body for the grave, a mi
ll mature hkeness of Mrs. Washington Avas found on his
' breast, where it had hung, suspended by a ribbon from
his neck, for more than forty years.

19

218 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER X.
his respect for superiors.
There are fcAV dispositions of the human heart
of more worth, than that which inclines us to pay a
due respect to properly constituted authority, and render
a wiUing obedience to its legitimate commands. With
out this important virtue in cheerful exercise, it is mani
fest that the ends of society cannot be attained. All that
is precious in the social state, would soon fall a sacrifice
to the opposite spirit. Where there was once peace,
quiet, comfort and prosperity, " Avild uproar now lording
it wide," would convert the grateful scene into one of
universal confusion, distress and misery.
That the tendency of our age is to an abuse of Uberty,
and the sacrifice of its blessings at the shrine of an ex
aggerated equality among men, is obvious to the most
superficial observation. There is abroad a morbid dread
of power, which scarcely admits of the existence of any
kind or degree of government. Rulers are regarded in
the light of mere automata, elevated, not to govern, but
to be governed ; so that every thing hke free and intel
ligent action on their part, is considered an offence

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 219
against the majesty of those, who have delegated the
authority held by them.
That the jealousy of power, duly chastened and dis
creetly guarded, is fit and salutary in all communities,
does not admit of a doubt. The histories of most go
vernments sufficiently demonstrate this. But it is equaUy
clear and certain, that the restraints thrown around the
chosen ministers of laAV, by the ultra spirit of the tiraes,
are destructive of the real ends of government ; and
must eventually bring about anarchy and its horrid train
of attendant evils, or make way for the uon rule of a
bold and triumphant despotism.
Government is a divine ordinance. " The powers
that be are ordained of God." The mode and means
of their creation is very much left by the Almighty to
the wiU of nations. But vvhen exaUed to the seat of
authority, — reverence, obedience, and support become
high and religious duties.
The example of him Avho seems to have been right,
in almost every thing he did, wiU be found here also of
great value to his countrymen, especiaUy to youth.
From early life did he strikingly display this virtue. Its
foundation, indeed, as is generally the ease, was laid be
neath the paternal roof. He was there early taught to
obey. And from the beginning he did obey. His duti.
ful conduct towards his widowed mother, was uniformly
and consistently exhibited. He thus evinced his high
sense of filial obligation, and the duty of submission to
those by nature authorized to rule. This spirit animated
him aU his days, and attended hun in all the relations
of social hfe. With the unequivocal instances thereof,
his history abounds.

220 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
In a letter to Governour Dinwiddie, dated Alexan
dria, 24th November 1756, he says :
"At this place, on my way to WiUiamsburg, I receiv
ed your Honour's letter of the 16th instant. I shall take
care to pay the strictest obedience to your orders, and the
opinion, so far as I can.
*********
" I am very sorry any expression in my letter should
be deemed unmannerly. I never intended insults to
any ; on the contrary, I have endeavoured to demean
myself with the proper resjject due to superiors. In
the instance mentioned, I can truly say, so far from in
tending a charge or affront of any kind, it Avas distant
from my thoughts. *******
"I am sorry to find that my best endeavours of late
meet Avith unfavourable constructions. What it proceeds
from, 1 knoAV not. If my open and disinterested way of
Avriting and speaking, has the air of pertness and freedom,
I shall correct my error by actingreservedly,and shall take
care to obeymy orders Avithout offering any thing more.'"
A feAV weeks after the above, he Avrote to the same :
"I hope, after receiving a peremptory order, the mention
ing of these things wiU not appear presuming or odd. I
do not hesitate a moment to obey. On the contrary I shaU
comply as soon as I can. I mean nothing more than to
point out the consequences that must necessarily attend
this step, as I apprehend you were not thoroughly ap
prised of our situation. Some, sir, who are inclined to
put an unfavourable construction on this ingenuous re-
cUal, may say that I am loath to leave Winchester. I
declare, upon my honour, I am not, but had rather a

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTOrf. 221
thousand times be at Fort Cumberland, if I could do the
duty there. I am tired of this place, and the life I lead
here ; and if, after what I have said, you should think it
necessary for me to reside at that fort, I shall acquiesce
with pleasure and cheerfulness, and be freed from much
anxiety, plague, and business.
********
". The wampum and tomahaAvks I have purchased.
The want of the other articles may occasion some mur
muring, and there are very few things suitable at Fort
Cumberland. The Indians expect to be sent back upon
horses. Do you approve that they should ? I Avill not
take upon me to buy horses without your orders."
He soon wrote again to the same : '* I am a Uttie at a
loss to understand the meaning of your orders, and the
opinion of the CouncU, vvhen I am directed to evacuate
all the stockade forts, and at the same time to march only
one hundred men to Fort Cumberland, and to continue
the like number here to garrison Fort Lojidoun. If the
stockade forts are all abandoned, there will be more men
than are required for these tAVO purposes ; and the com^
munication between them of near eighty miles, will be
left without a settler, unguai-ded and exposed. Bnt I
mean nothing more by this intimation, than to ascertain
your intentions, to which I would willingly pay strict
obedience." The foUoAving note, by the Editor of AVashington's
writings, adds illustration to our subject :
" On the 12th Jan- Col. Washington wrote to the Go
vernour, respecting the trial of severalsubaltern officers and
soldiers for a mntiny. ' I thought it needless,' said he, ' to
send the proceedings of the court-martial, or to ask war-
19*

222 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
rants for execution, as Ave have no law to inflict punish
ment, even of the smallest kind. I shall keep those
criminals in irons, and if possible, under apprehensions
of death, until some faA'Ourable opportunity may counte
nance a reprieve.' The Governour replied, ' that as the
men were enlisted and paid with money raised for the
King's service, he conceived they Avere subject to the ar
ticles of war, in the same manner as the King's regular
forces.' But so tenacious was Colonel Washington in
upholding the rights of the Assembly and the laws ofthe
Colony, that he did not accede to this opinion. He con
sidered the Assembly as the only proper authority to pre
scribe rules of discipline for an army, raised and maintain
ed at their expense ; and he believed himself amenable
to the civil laws for any acts of severity not countenanced
by that code. This was conformable to the scrupulous
exactness Avith Avhich, during all his future military ca
reer, and frequentiy Avhen the interest of the public
service offered the strongest temptations to the contrary,
he yielded imphcit obedience to the civU power.' "
With one decisive indication of this spirit, as occurring
during the revolutionary war, Ave close this chapter. —
Writing to Joseph Reed under date of Cambridge, 3d
March, 1776, he says :
"This, you AV ill observe, was contrary to my expecta
tion and plan ; yet, as I thought it a matter of the last
importance to secure the communication of the North
River, I did not deem it expedient to countermand the
raising of the Connecticut regiments on account of the
pay. If I have done Avrong, those members of Congress,
who think the matter ought to have been left to them.

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 223
must consider my proceedings as an error of judgment,
and that a measure is not ahvays to be judged by the
even t .
" It is moreover AVorthy of consideration, that in cases
of extreme necessity like the present, nothing but deci
sion can ensure success ; and certain I am, that Clinton
had something more in view by peeping into New- York,
than to gratify his curiosity, or make a friendly visit to
his friend Mr. Tyron. HoAvever, I am not fond of
stretching my powers ; and if the Congress will say,
' Thus far and no farther you shaU go,' I wiU promise
not to offend whilst I continue in the service."
Thus, by obedience, was he trained for command.
Wisely respecting the claims of authority in others, sel
dom has the same been more respected, than in his own
person. " It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in
his youth." Having learned in so good a school, he ex
ercised power, when entrusted to him, with consummate
skill and wisdom. Acquainted Avith the rights of supe
riors, he also understood those which belonged to infe
riors. Thus he seldom erred in governing — never
requiring too much submission, or receiving less than
was due. With so much judgment did he always hit
the' golden mean, that never was there less complaint of
the personal bearing of a Ruler, or a more cheerful
obedience rendered to one in authority. He verified
throughout the sacred truth, that, " whosoever humbleth
himself shaU be exalted."

221 RELIGIOUS OPIN ONS AND

CHAPTER XI.

his self-denial.

There is nothing which human nature regards with
more aversion, than the duty here presented for conside
ration. Our earliest and strongest impulses ever incline
us to unrestrained indulgence. This inordinate ten
dency of the appetites and affections, is the fruit of a dis
eased and perverted nature in man, and distinguishes
him wherever he is found on the face of the earth. A'^ic-
tory over this morbid propensity is a rare achievement ;
indeed we may say, it is never really effected, without the
special aid of Heaven. By the force of motives drawn
from reason and interest, men may at times have
accomplished something in this Avay. Assured that no
thing great or good Avas ever compassed without it, they
have persuaded themselves to encounter a present incon
venience, in the hope of gaining thereby an eventual
recompense. In such cases, however, you may not look
for perseverance or consistency of practice. It is only
when prompted by religious principle, that the duty Avill
be embodied in the habits, and find therein an unaffected
and uniform exemphfication.
In the history of Washington aa^c have a striking
example of this spirit. Without a particle of the stoic

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 225
about him ; yea, Avith a very considerable taste for social
delights and domestic enjoyments ; — he did, frora a very
early period of hfe, evince a constant AviUingness to en
counter perils and endure privations in any cause, deem
ed by him of sufficient importance to merit the sacrifice.
To surrender personal ease and indulgence, at the call of
duty, seems to have been a fixed principle of his hfe.
In his first public undertaking, Avhich Avas to visit and
deliver a letter from Governour DiuAviddie, to the com
mandant of the French forces on the Ohio, we have
an early development of this strong trait of character-
He Avas then a very young man — being littie more than
tAventy-one years of age, and in possession of an ample
fortune. Yet, at the voice of his country, did he cheer-
fuUy resign the ease and comforts of home, and encounter
a journey, in the depth of Avinter, and through a savage
wilderness, the performance of which cost him every
privation, exposed him to many dangers, and subjected
him to incredible fatigue.
A few extracts from the journal of his tour shall sup
ply the proofs of his self-sacrificing spirit. His journey
commenced about the 1st of November, 1753.
"I was commissioned and appointed by the Honour
able Robert Din Aviddie, Esquire, Governour of Virginia, to
visit and dehver a letter to the commandant ofthe French
forces on the Ohio, and set out on the intended journey
on the same day ; the next I arrived at Fredericksburg,
and engaged Mr. Jacob Vanbraam to be my French in
terpreter, and proceeded with him to Alexandria, where
we provided necessaries. From thence we went to
Winchester, and got baggage, horses, (fee, and frora

226

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

thence we pursued the new road to Will's Creek, where
we arrived on the 14th of November.
" Here I engaged Mr. Gist to pilot us out, and also
hired four others as servitors,  and in company
with those persons left the inhabitants next day.
" The excessive rains and vast quantity of snow
Avhich had fallen, prevented our reaching Mr. Fra-
zier's,  until Thursday 22d.
" December 7th. — At twelve o'clock, Ave set out for the
fort, and Avere prevented arriving there untU the 11th, by
excessive rains, snows, aiid bad travelling through many
mires and swamps ; these Ave Avere obhged to pass, to
avoid crossing the creek, which was impassable, either
by fording or rafting, the water was so high and rapid.
" 14th.^ — As the siioav increased A^ery fast, and our
horses daily became Aveaker, I sent them off unloaded,
under the care of Barnaby Currin and tAvo others, to
make all convenient despatch to Venango, and there to
Avait our arrival, if there Avas a prospect of the river's
freezing ; if not. then to continue down to Shannopin's
Town, at the fork of the Ohio, and there to Avait until we
carae to cross the AUeghaiiy ; intending myself to go
down by Avater, as I had the offer of a canoe or tAvo.
" As I found many plots concerted to retard the In
dians' business, and prevent their returning with me,
I endeavoured aU that lay in my power to frustrate their
schemes, and hurried them on to execute their intended
design  I cannot say that ever in my life I
suffered so much anxiety, as I did in this affair. I saAV
that every stratagem, which the most fruitful brain could
invent, was practised (by the French) to win the Half-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 227
King to their interest ; and that leaving him there, was
giving them the opportunity aimed at, &;c.
" 16th. — We had a tedious and very fatiguing passage
doAvn the creek. Several times we had liked to have
been staved against rocks ; and many times were obliged,
all hands, to get out and remain in the Avater half an
hour or more, getting over the shoals. At one place the
ice had lodged, and made it impassable by Avater ; Ave
were, therefore, obliged to carry our canoe across the
neck of land, a quarter of a mile over. , We did not
reach Venango untU the 22d, where Ave met with our
horses. ********
" 23d. — Our horses Avere now so weak and feeble,
and the baggage so heavy, (as Ave were obliged to provide
all the necessaries Avhich the journey would require,)
that we doubted much their performing it. Therefore,
myself and others, except the drivers, who were obliged
to ride, gave up our horses for packs, to assist with the
baggage. I put myself in an Indian walking-dress,
and continued with them three days, until 1 found
there was no probabihty of their getting home in any
reasonable time. The horses became less able to travel
every day ; the cold increased very fast ; and the roads
Avere becoming much worse by a deep snoAV, continual
ly freezing ; therefore, as I Avas uneasy to get back, to
make report of my proceedings to his Honour the Go
vernour, I determined to prosecute my journey, the
nearest way through the Avoods, on foot.
" Accordingly, I left Mr. Vanbraam in charge of our
baggage, with money and directions to provide necessaries

228 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
from place to place for themselves and horses, and to
make the most convenient despatch in travelling.
" I took my necessary papers, puHed off my clothes,
and tied myself up in a watch-coat. Then, Avitli gun
in hand, and pack on my back, in which were my pa
pers and provisions, I set out Avith Mr. Gist, fitted in
the same manner, on Wednesday the 26th. The day
foUowing, just after we had passed a place called Mur
dering Town, Avhere we intended to quit the path and
steer across the country for Shannopin's Town, we feU
in with a party of French Indians, who had lain in
wait for us. One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me, not
fifteen steps off, but fortunately missed. We took this
feUow into custody, and kept hira until about nine o'clock
at night ; then let him go, and walked all the remain
ing part of the night without making any stop, that Ave
might get the start so far, as to be out of the reach of their
pursuit the next day, since we were Avell assured they
Avould foUow our track as soon as it Avas light. The
next day we continued traveUing untU quite dark, and
got to the river about two mUes above Shannopin's.
We expected to have found the river frozen, but it was
not, only about fifty yards from each shore. The ice,
I suppose, had broken up above, for it Avas driving in
vast quantities. There was no way for getting over but on
a raft, which we set about with but one poor hatchet, and
finished just after sun-setting. This Avas a whole day's
work ; Ave next got it launched, then Avent on board of
it, and set off ; but before we were half Avay over, Ave
Avere jammed in the ice in such a manner, that Ave ex
pected every moment our raft to sink, and ourselves to
perish. I put out my setting-pole to try to stop the raft.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 229
that the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the
stream threw it with so much violence against the pole,
tiiat it jerked me out into ten feet water ; but I fortunately
saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft-logs.
Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not get to
either shore, but were obliged, as we Avere near an
island, to quit our raft and make to it.
" The cold Avas so extremely severe, that Mr. Gist
had aU his fingers and some of his toes frozen, and the
water was shut up so hard, that we found no difficulty
in getting off the island on the ice in the morning, and
went to Mr. Frazier's.
*******
" Tuesday the 1st of January, Ave left Mr. Frazier's
house, and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at Monongahela, the
2d, where I bought a horse and saddle. The 6th, we
met seventeen horses loaded Avith materials and stone for
a fort at the Fork of the Ohio, and the day after, some
families going out to settle. This day we arrived at
WiU's Creek, after as fatiguing a journey as it is possi
ble to conceive, rendered so by excessive bad weather.
From the 1st of December to the I5th, there was but
one day on Avhich it did not rain or snoAv incessantly ;
and throughout the whole journey, we met with nothing
but one contmued series of cold, wet weather, Avhich oc
casioned very uncomfortable lodgings, especially after
we had quitted our tent, which Avas some screen from the
inclemency of it.
" On the llth, I got to Belvoir, Avhere I stopped one
day to tate necessary rest ; and then set out and arrived
in Williamsbm-g on the 16th, when I waited upon his
Honour the Governour, with the letter I had brought from
20

230 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the French commandant, and to give an account of
the success of my proceedings," <fec.
In the mihtary expedition to the West, which soon
followed the report of his first visit as contained in his
journal, just quoted, and of which he was, originally,
second in command, and then, first, in consequence of
the death of the commanding officer. Colonel Fry — the
same trials, difficulties, and privations were wUlingly
encountered. To this, his letters written at various
periods during the campaign, frequently refer. The
foUowing passages are taken from a communication to
Governour Dinwiddie, dated "Camp, at the Great Mea
dows, 29th May, 1754 :
" And here I cannot forbear answering one thing more
in your letter on this head, which, too, is more fully
expressed in a paragraph of Colonel Fairfax's letter
to me, as follows ; — 'If on the British estabhshment,
officers are allowed more pay, the regimentals they are
obliged annually to furnish, and their necessary table and
other incidental expenses, being considered, little or no
savings wiU be their portion.'
" I beheve it is wefrknown, that Ave have been at the
expense of regimentals ; and it is stUljbetter known, that
regimentals, and every other ^cessary, which we were
under an indispensable necessity of purchasing for this
expedition, were not to be bought for less in Virginia
currency, than they would cost British tifficers in sterhng
money ; which ought to have been the ca^ to put us on
a parity in this respect. Then, Colonel Fairla,x observes,
that their table and other incidental charges prevent
them from saving much. They have the enjoyment of
their pay, which Ave neither have in one sense noi- the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 231
Other. We are debarred the pleasure of good living ;
and, sir, I daie say you Avill acknowledge, that, with
one who has ahvays been used to it, it must go somewhat
hard to be confined to a little salt provision and water
and to do duty, hard, laborious duty, which is almost
inconsistent with that of a soldier, and yet have the same
reductions as if he were allowed luxuriously. My pay,
according to the British establishment and common
exchange, would be near tAventy shUlings per day ; in
the room of AA'hich, the Committee, (for I cannot in the
least imagine your Honour had any hand in it,) has pro
vided tAvelve shiUings and six-pence, so long as the service
continues, whereas one half of the other is confirmed to
British officers for life. Noav if Ave should be fortunate
enough to drive the French from the Ohio, as far as your
Honour would please to have them sent, in any short
time, our pay avUI not be sufficient to discharge our first
expenses. " I would not have you to imagine from this, that I
have said aU these things to have the pay increased, but
to justify myself, and show you that our complaints are
not frivolous, but founded upon strict reason.
********
" Noav, sir, as I have answered your letter, I shaU beg
leave to acquaint you with Avhat has happened since I
wrote by Mr. Gist. I there informed you that I had
detached a party of seventy-five men to meet fifty of the
French, Avho, we had intelhgence, Avere upon their
march towards us. About nine o'clock the same night,
I received an express from the Half-King, who was en
camped with several of his people about six miles off,
that be had seen the tracks of two Frenchmen crossing

232 'JELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the road, and that, behind, the whole body Avere lying
not far off, as he had an account of that number passing
Mr. Gist's.
" I set out with forty men before ten, and it was from
that time till near sunrise before we reached the Indians
camp, having marched in small paths, through a heavy
rain, and a night as dark as it is possible to conceive.
We were frequently tumbling one over another, and
often so lost, that fifteen or twenty minutes search would
not find the path again."
During the Avhole of the Avar, Avhich was noAV com
mencing, Ave find him ever acting upon the same prin
ciple, of patiently enduring every inconvenience groAving
necessarUy out of the service.
In October, 1757, he Avrote frora Fort Loudoun,
(Winchester), to the Speaker of the House of Bur-

' I applied to the Governour for perraission to go down
and settle my accounts before he leaves the country,
and to represent the melancholy situation of our distress
ed frontiers, which no Avritten narrative can so well
describe, as a verbal account to a judicious person in
clined to hear. In conversation, the questions resulting
from one relation beget others, till matters are perfectly
understood ; Avhereas the most explicit writing Avill be
found deficient. But his Honour Avas pleased to deny his
leave, thinking my request unreasonable, and that I
had some party of pleasure in view."
In writing to the Governour he said :
" It was not to enjoy a party of pleasure, that I
wanted leave of absence. I have been indulged with
few of those Avinter or summer."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 233
About this period. Colonel Washington's health be
came bad. By the urgent advice of Dr. Craik he left
the array, and retired to Mount Vernon, where he was
reduced so Ioav by dysentery and fever, that it was
more than four months before he Avas able to resume
his command.
He Avas not Avilhng hoAvever to be idle, as wiU appear
from the foUowing letter, Avritten to the President of the
CouncU, and dated "Mount Vernon, 20th February,
1758 :—
" I set out for Williamsburg the day after the date of
my letter, but found I Avas unable to proceed, my fever
and pain increasing upon me to a high degree ; and the
physicians assmed me, that I might endanger my hfe
by prosecuting the journey.
" In consequence of that advice, I returned to this
place again, and informed your Honour of the reason of
my detention, by the post, Avhom I met on the road, and
Avho, I have since understood, never lodged ray letter
in the post-office at Fredericksburg, Avhich is the cause of
my now Avriting to the same purport. When I shall be
sufficieritiy able to attempt the journey again, I cannot
say ; but I shaU make no delay after I am in a con
dition to perform it."
Some short time after this, Colonel Washington
resumed his command, and served till the end of the
war. During the five years of its continuance, his
sufferings and trials were many and great, A more
perplexing situation no man ever filled. And strange to
say, one of the most fruitful sources of vexation and
annoyance to him, was the Ul-nature and unkindness
of the Governour iroder whose authority he acted, and
20*

234

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

that with the utmost deference and humUity. To this the
Speaker of the House of Burgesses aUudes, in the fol
lowing language, addressed to Washington, in reference
to Dinwiddle's contemplated departure for England.
" We have not yet heard who is to succeed him. God
grant it may be somebody better acquainted with the
unhappy business Ave have in hand, and who by his
conduct and counsel, may dispel the cloud noAV hanging
over this distressed country. TiU that event, I beg, my
dear friend, that you Avill bear, so far as a man of honour
ought, the discouragements and slights you have too oft
en met with, and continue to serve your country, as I
am convinced you have always hitherto done, in the
best manner you can, Avith the sinaU assistance afforded
you.'' Thus did he continue to bear his difficulties, and labour
unceasingly for the good of his country, till the close of
the year 1758, Avlien the Avar and his service ended
together.
' Writing to Richard Washington, a friend in London,
under date of " Mount Vernon 20th October, 1761," he
thus expressed himself in reference to his dress : —
" On the other side is an invoice of clothes, which I beg
the favour of you to purchase for me, and to send them by
the first ship bound to this river. As they are designed for
wearing apparel for myself, I have committed the choice
of them to your fancy, having the best opinion of your
taste. / want neither lace nor embroidery. Plain
clothes, with gold or silver buttons, if worn in genteel
dress, are all that I desire. I have hitherto had my
clothes made by one Charles Lawrence. Whether it be
the fault of the tailor, or of the measure sent, I cannot

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 235
say, but, certain it is, my clothes have never fitted me
weU. I therefore leave the choice of the Avorkiiian to
you. I enclose a raeasure, and, for a further direction,
I think it not amiss to add, that my stature is six feet ;
otherAvise rather slender than corpulent."
During the Revolutionary War, the same spirit of
self-denial seems to have attended him. In a letter to
the President of Congress, dated New- York, 22d AprU,
1776, he thus writes :
" I give in to no kind of amusements myself; and
consequently, those about me can have none ; but are con
fined from morning till evening, hearing and answering
the appUcations and letters of one and another, which
wiU now, I expect, receive a considerable addition, as the
business of the northern and eastern departments, if I
continue here, must, I suppose, pass through my hands.
If these gentlemen (his aids) had the same relaxation
from duty as other officers have in their common routine,
there Avould not be so much in it. But, to have the mind
always upon the stretch, scarce ever unbent, and no hours
for recreation, makes a material odds. Knowing this, and
at the same time how inadequate the pay is, I can scarce
find inclination to impose the necessary duties of their
office upon theni. To what I have here said, this further
remark may be added, and it is a matter of no smaU
concernrhent to me, and in its consequences, to the public ;
namely, that AvhUe the duty is hard and the pay smaU,
it is not to be Avondered at, if there should be found a
promptness in them to seek preferment, or in me to do
justice to t^em by facUitating their views ; by which
means I niyist lose their aid, when they have it most in
their power to assist nie."

238 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
During the darkest period of the Avar, he wrote his
brother John A. Washington, date, "Camp, near the Falls
of Trenton, 18th December, 1776 :
" You can form no idea of the perplexity 'of my si
tuation. No man, I believe, ever had a greater choice
of difficulties, and less means to extricate himself from
them. However, under a fuU persuasion of the justice
of our cause, I cannot entertain an idea, that it wUl fi
nally sink, though it may remain for some time under a
cloud." About eight days after this letter was written, the
battle of Trenton was fought ; in which Providence once
more smiled upon the American cause, and dispelled the
heaviest cloud that had ever frowned upon our hopes of
freedom. The rehef to the Commander-in-Chief was as
great as his preceding anxieties had been bitter.
To Doctor John Cochran, Surgeon and Physician
General, he Avrote from West Point, 16th August, 1779 : —
" I have asked Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. Livingston
to dine AVitli me to-morrow ; but am I not in honour
bound to apprize them of their fare ? As I hate decep
tion, even where the imagination only is concerned, I
wiU. It is needless to premise, that my table is large
enough to hold the ladies. Of this they had ocular proof
yesterday. To say how it is usuaUy covered, is rather
more essential ; and this shaU be the purport of my letter.
" Since our amval at this happy spot, we have had
a ham, sometimes a shoulder of bacon, to grace the head
of the table ; a piece of roast beef adorns the foot ; and a
dish of beans, or greens, almost inperceptible, decorates
the centre. When the cook has a mind to cut a figure,
Avhich I presume wiU be the case to-morrow, we have

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 237
tAVO beef-steak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition, one on
each side of the centre dish, dividing the space and re
ducing the distance between dish and dish to about six
feet, Avhich Avithout them Avould be near twelve feet apart.
Of late he has had the surprising sagacity to discover,
that apples wUl make pies ; and it is a question, if, in the
violence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples, instead
of having both of beef-steaks. If the ladies can put up
with such entertainment, and will submit to partake of
it on plates, once tin, but now iron, (not become so by the
labour of scouring) I shall be happy to see them, and am,
dear Doctor, yours," (fee.
To Major-General Greene he wrote, from Head-
Gluarters at Morristown, 22d January, 1780 : —
" Appearances and facts must speak for themselves.
To these I appeal. I have been at ray present quarters
since the first day of December, and have not a kitchen
to cook a dinner in, although the logs have been put
together some considerable time by my oavii guard. Nor
is there a place at this moment, in which a servant can
lodge, Avith the smaUest degree of comfort. Eighteen be
longing to my famUy, and all Mrs. Ford's, are crowded
together in her kitchen, and scarce one of them able to
speak for the colds they have caught.
'• I have respeatedly taken notice of this incon
venience, to Major Gibbs, and have as often been told, that
boards were not to be had. I acquiesced, and beheve
you wUl do me the justice to acknowledge, that it never
has been my practice to involve the public in any ex
pense which I could possibly avoid, or derive benefits,
which Avould be inconvenient or prejudicial to others.
To share the common lot, and participate the incon-

238 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
venieiices, which the army, from the pecuharity of our
circumstances, are obhged to undergo, has Avith me, been
a fundamental principle ; and while I conceived this to
be the case universally, I was perfectly content. That
it is not so, I appeal to your own observation ; though I
never intended to make the remark, nor should I have
done it, but for the question which involuntarily drew
from me the answer, which has become the subject of
your letter.
'¦ Equally opposed is it to my Avishes and expectation,
that you should be troubled in matters respecting my
accommodation, further than to give the necessary orders,
and furnish materials, without which orders are nuga
tory. From Avhat you have said, I am fuUy satisfied
that the persons to Avhom you entrusted the execution of
the business are alone to blarae ; for certain I am, they
might by attention have obtained, equally with others,
as many boards as would have ansAvered my purposes
long ere this. Far, very far is it from me, to censure
any measure you haA'e adopted for your own accommoda
tion, or for the more immediate convenience of Mrs.
Greene. At aU times I think you are entitled to as
good, as circumstances wUl afford, and in the present con
dition of your lady, I conceive that no delay could
be admitted. I should therefore, with great wiUingness,
have made my convenience yield to hers, if tiie point
had lain there, being very sincerely, your obedient and
affectionate servant," (fee.
In regard to the simplicity of his dress the following
anecdote avUI serve for Ulustration : —
" One day. Colonel Meade, a valued friend of Wash
ington, was met by Mr. Custis, the then youthful grand-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 239
son of Mrs. Washington ; Colonel Meade inquired if he
should find the General at the house, or if he was out
on the farm. Mr. Custis not knowing Colonel Meade,
replied that the General was out ; and giving directions
as to the part of the farm on which he would probably
be found, added, " You wiU meet, sir, with an old gentie
man, riding alone, in plain drab clothes, a broad brim
med white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, and carry
ing an unbreUa, with a long staff, which is attached to
his saddle-bow, — that, sir, is General Washington ! "
The old friend of Washington replied, " Thank you,
thank you, young gentleman ; I think, if I fall in Avith
the General, I shall be apt to know him."

240 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER XII.
HIS disinterestedness.
In proportion to the many evUs confessedly flowing
from a selfish principle, are the nuraerous blessings
arising from the influence of a large and hberal spirit.*
While the first aims at private good alone, unmindful of
the interests or weal of others ; the last looks upon the
general welfare with a generous concern, and seeks to
promote the same, by AviUing efforts, labours, and sacri
fices. " No man liveth to himself." The good of the
Avhole claims a common concern among all the merabers
of the social body ; and he Avho does not thus respect
his relatiA'e obligations, violates a sacred law of Heaven,
and subjects himself to a condemnation, as severe as the
offence is injurious. On the other hand the faithful and
conscientious observer of this claim, Avill find a high re
ward in the approbation of God ; and, in the gratitude
and applause ofthe virtuous among men.
Of this exceUent principle of action, Ave have a high
example in the immortal subject of our present work.
Through life, it was one of his distinguishing character
istics. It controUed him alike in war and peace. It

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 241
was always one of the most vigorous springs by which
his conduct was actuated. It is impossible to study
his character without seeing that, in aU his labours and
sacrifices, he was governed by an unfeigned concern
for the happiness of others, without regard to his own
personal convenience or comfort.
Let us turn to his writings again for the evidences of
this valuable trait.
Writing to John Robinson, Speaker of the House of
Delegates, under date of " Mount Vernon, 20th AprU,
1755," he says : —
" I litde expected, Avhen I wrote you last, that I should
so soon engage in another campaign ; but in doing it,
I may be allowed to claim some merit, if it is considered
that the sole motive which invites me to the field, is, the
laudable desire of serving my country, not the gra
tification of any am,bitious or lucrative plans. This,
I flatter myself, wiU manifestly appear by my going as a
volunteer, without expectation of reward, or prospect of
obtaining a command, as I am confidently assured it is
not in General Braddock's power to give me a commis
sion that I would accept. Perhaps, by many others, the
above declarations might be construed into self-applause,
which, unwUhng to lose, I proclaim myself. But, by
you, sir, I expect it wUl be viewed in a different light,
because you have sympathized in ray disappointments,
and lent your friendly aid to reinstate me in a suitable
command ; the recollection of which can never be lost
upon a mind that is not insensible of obhgations, but
always ready to acknowledge them.
" This is the reason Avhy I am so much more un
reserved in the expression of my sentiments to you, than
21

242 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
I should be to the world, whose censures and criticisms
often place good designs in a bad light. But [to be in
genuous, I must confess that I have other intentions in
writing this letter ; for if there is any merit in my case, I
am unwiUing to hazard it among my friends, without
this exposition of facts, as they might conceive that some
advantageous offers had engaged my services, when,
in reality, it is otherwise ; for I expect to be a consider
able loser in my private affairs by going."
Soon after Braddock's defeat, and the return of Wash
ington from that disastrous campaign, he wrote to his
brother, Augustine Washington, then in WiUiamsburg,
as a member of the Assembly, the date, " Mount Ver
non, 2d August, 1755.
" I am not able, were I ever so willing, to meet you in
town, for I assure you, it is with some difficulty, and
much fatigue, that I visit my plantations ; so much has
a sickness of five weeks' continuance reduced me.
But  so littie am I dispirited at what has
happened, that I assure you, I am always ready, and
always wiUing, to render my country any services that
I am capable of, but never upon the terms I have done ;
havmg suffered much in my private fortune, besides
impairing one of the best of constitutions.
" I was employed to go a journey in the winter, when,
I beheve, few or none would have undertaken it — and
what did I get by it ? My expenses borne ! I then
was appointed, with trifling pay, to conduct a handful of
men to the Ohio. What did I get by that? Why,
after putting myself to a considerable expense, in equip
ping and providing necessaries for the campaign, I went
out, Avas soundly beaten, and lost them aU ! — came in,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 243
and had my commission taken from me, or in other
words, my command reduced, under pretence of an order
from home. I then Avent out a volunteer Avith General
Braddock, and lost all my horses, and many other things.
But this being a voluntary act, I ought not to have men
tioned it : nor should I have done it, were it not to show,
that I have been upon the losing order ever since I en
tered the service, Avhich is noAv nearly two years. So
that I think I cannot be blamed, should I, if I leave my
famUy again, endeavour to do it upon such terms, as to
prevent my suffering ; to gain by it being the least of
my expectations."
In accepting the command of the American Army in
June, 1775, he delivered the following address, in answer
to one from the President of Congress, giving him
official notice of his appointment.
" Mr. President, — -Though I am truly sensible of the
high honour done to me in this appointment, yet I feel
great distress, from a consciousness that my abilities and
mihtary experience may not be equal to the extensive
and important trust. However, as the Congress desire it,
I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every
poAver I possess in their service, and for the support of
the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cor
dial thanks for this distinguished testimony of theh ap
probation. "But lest some unlucky event should happen, un^
favourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered
by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare
Avith the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to
the command I am honoured Avith.
" As to pay, sir, J beg leave to assure the Con-

244

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

gress that, as no pecuniary consideration could
have tem,pted m,e to accept this arduous em,ployment,
at the expense of my dom,estic ease and happiness, I
do not wish to m,ake any profit from it. I will keep
an exact account of my expenses. Those, 1 doubt
not, they will discharge ; and that is all 1 desire."
In reference to the generosity displayed in the above
address, John Adams wrote to Mr. Gerry, a feAV days
after the event : —
" There is something charming to me in the conduct
of Washingon. A gentleman of one of the first fortunes
upon the continent, leaving his dehcious retirement, his
famUy and friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding
aU in the cause of his country ! His views are noble
and disinterested. He declared, when he accepted the
mighty trust that he would lay before us an exact ac
count of his expenses, and not accept a shiUing for pay."
In a letter, dated VaUey Forge, 10th AprU, 1778, and
written to the President of Congress, in reference to a
previous suggestion concerning a better provision for the
officers of the army, he says :
" It may be said by some, sir, that my wish to see the
officers of this army upon a more respectable establish
ment, is the cause of my solicitude, and carries me too
far. To such I can declare, that my anxiety proceeds
from the causes above-mentioned  Person
ally, as an officer, I have no interest in the decision of
Congress, because I have declared, and I now repeat it
that I never Avill receive the smallest benefit from the
half-pay establishment ; ' ^but as a man who fights un-
* Washington could plead for others, while he would receive nothing
for himself.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 245
der the Aveight of a proscription, and as a citizen who
Avishes to see the hberties of his country estabhshed upon
a permanent foundation, and whose property depends
upon the success of our arms, I am deeply interested."
The following letter was Avritten by him to Lund
Washington, from West Point, 17th August, 1779.
"Sir, " Sometime ago you applied to me to know, if you
should receive payment of General M  's bonds,
and of the bond due from the deceased Mr. M  's
estate ; and you were, after animadverting a httle upon
the subject, authorized to do so. Of course, I presume
the money has been received. I have since considered
the matter in every point of view in which my judg
ment enables me to place it, and am resolved to receive
no more old debts, (such I mean as Avere contracted
and ought to have been paid before the war,) at' the pre
sent nominal value of the money, unless compelled to do
it, or it is the practice of others to do it. Neither justice,
reason, nor policy require it. The law undoubtetUy was
Avell designed. It was intended to stamp a value upon,
and to give a free circulation to, the paper bills of credit ;
but it never was nor coidd have been intended to make
a man take a shilling or six-pence in the pound, for a
just debt, which his debtor is well able to pay, and there
by involve himself in ruin. I am willing now, as ever
I was, to take paper money for every kind of debt, and
at its present depreciated value, for those debts which
have been contracted since the money became so ; but I
wUl not, in future, receive the nominal sum for such old
debts as come under the above description, except as be
fore specified. 21*

246

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

" The fear of injuring, by any exaraple of mine, the
credit of our paper currency, if I attempted to discrimi
nate betAveen the real and the nominal value of paper
money, has aheady sunk for me a large sura, if the
bonds before mentioned are paid off; the advantage
taken in doing which, no man of honour, or common
honesty, can reconcUe to his own feelings or conscience ;
not as respects me do I mean, but transactions of this
kind generally. The thing which induces me to men
tion the matter to you at present is, the circumstance you
have related respecting the Avages of Roberts, Avhicli
you say, according to his demands, wUl amount to up
wards of two thousand pounds, and come to as much
for the service of a comraon miller for one year only, as
I shaU get for six hundred acres of land sold to M 
in the best of times and in the most valuable part of
Virginia, that ought to have been paid for before the
money began to depreciate ; nay, years before the
war. This is such a manifest abuse of reason and jus
tice, that no arguments can reconcile it to common sense
or common honesty. Instead of appeahng to me, who
have not the means of information, or knoAvledge of
common usage and practice in matters of this kind in
the State, or the laws that govern there, I wish you
would consult men of honour, honesty, and firm attach
ment to the cause, and govern yourself by their advice,
or by their conduct. If it be customary with others to
receive money in this way, that is, six-pence or one
shUling in the pound for old debts ; if it is thought to be
promotive of the great cause we embarked in for indivi
duals to do so, thereby ruining themselves, whilst others
are reaping the benefit of such distress ; if the law impo-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 247
ses this, and it is thought right to submit, I wiU not say
aught against it, nor oppose another word to it. No man
has gone, and no man wiU go further to serve the pub
lic than rayself. If sacrificing ray whole estate would
effect any valuable pm-pose, I would not hesitate one
moraent in doing it. But my submitting in matters of
this kind, unless the same is done by others, is no more
than a drop in the bucket. In fact, it is not serving the
public, but enriching individuals, and countenancing
dishonesty ; for sure I am, that no honest man would at
tempt to pay twenty shiUings with one, or perhaps half
of one. In a word, I had rather make a present of the
bonds, than receive payment of them in so shameful a
way. I am," (fee.
He wrote to the same, 30th AprU, 1781 :
" I am very sorry to hear of your loss. I am a little
sorry to hear of my own ; but that Avliich gives me most
concern is, that you should go on board the enemy's
vessels, and furnish them with refreshments. It would
have been a less painful circumstance to me to have
heard, that in consequence of your non-compliance Avith
their request, they had burnt my house and laid the
plantation in ruins. You ought to have considered
yourself as my representative, and should have reflected
on the bad example of communicating with the enemy,
and making a voluntary offer of refreshments to them
with a view to prevent a conflagration.
********
I have no doubt of the enemy's intention to prosecute
the plundering plan they have begun ; and unless a stop
can be put to it, by the arrival of a superior naval force,
I have as little doubt of its ending in the loss of aU my

248 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
negroes, and in the destruction of my houses ; but I am
prepared for the event ; under the prospect of which, if
you could deposit in a place of safety the most valuable
and least bulky articles, it might be consistent Avith
policy and prudence, and a means of preserving them
hereafter. Such and so many things as are necessary
for common and present use must be retained, and must
run their chance through the fiery trial of this summer.
I am sincerely yours."
These various extracts need no comment. They all
bespeak a mind, duly estimating the ordinary benefits
and blessings of life, and yet able to forget theh value,
when duty required the sacrifice ; yea, rising superior to
the love of them, in his higher regard for the interests
and prosperity of his country.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 249

CHAPTER XIIL
HIS HUMANITY.
That a portion of our race are distinguished by a
humane and benevolent disposition, whUst others are
utter strangers thereto, may be confidently affirmed.
There is, indeed, in the most of men, a sympathy with
their feUow-creatures in distress ; but it is often very in
active and inefficient, producing little or no valuable fruit
in the hfe. It seldom goes beyond a slight momentary
excitement, which soon dies away, leaving behind it no
practical evidence of its purity or its power. In some
minds, hoAvever, there is a higher and more excellent
specimen of this vutue. In these it has a purer source.
And it is therefore far more energetic in operation, and
more noble in its achievements. Such persons are not
contented Avith mere feeling, they hold themselves
bound by sacred obligations, to act, and if necessary to
suffer too, in behalf of their felloAV-men. Their sensibility
is not repressed by the chilhng calculations of a selfish
mind, or their generous purposes turned aside by sug
gestions of danger and detriment, attending too much
activity, in benevolent undertakings. True love is never
so easily discouraged. It is in its nature active and

250 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
self-sacrificing — v/iUing to encounter difficulties, and pro-
sectite its designs of mercy, through frowning obstacles,
amidst delays, reproaches, and even the ingratitude of
its objects. WhUst an ordinary humanity thus distin
guishes some, and a purer flame of benevolence glows
in the bosoms of others, there is a thud class, of whom
Ave are compelled to beheve, that they know nothing
whatever of this amiable affection. Were it convenient
to name hving examples of a hard and unfeeling heart,
it would be but a painful and invidious task. We may,
however, freely refer to individuals of by-gone ages, Avho
OAve their chief celebrity to a monstrous inhumanity of
temper and barbarity of conduct ; among which must
especiaUy be numbered such men as Tiberius, Cahgula,
Nero, Danton, and Robespierre. These were doubtless
perfect strangers to the faintest emotion of benevolent
affection. The thought of kindness never visited their
bosoms — the language thereof never fell from their lips,
nor was a solitary page of their lives ever brightened
by its deeds. They found pleasure only in working evil
to their fellow-men — their dehght was in a rage for
human blood. Instead of sympathizing in the suffer
ings ofthe wretched, the groans and cries of such were
as grateful to their callous souls, as are the songs of the
happy to the hearts of the humane.
AVe claim for the father of our country a large share
of the virtue in question. Of this the most pleasing evi
dence will be found in his Avritings — which furnish, in
reference to the various traits of his flnished character,
a mirror of unsurpassed transparency and fidelity.
In a skirmish with a small party of French troops,
near the Great Meadows, in May, 1754, Washington

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON^ 251
took a number of prisoners, among AA'honi were Monsieur
La Force and Major Drouillon. Writing to Governour
Dinwiddie, he mentions these gentlemen, and says: —
" They beg to be recommended to your notice, and I
have promised that they shall meet with aU the favour due
to prisoners of war. I have shoAvn all the respect I could
to thera here, and have given them some necessary cloth
ing, by Avhich I have disfurnished myself; for having
brought no more than two or three shirts frora WUl's
Creek, that we raight be light, I Avas ill provided to
supply thera. I am," (fee.
About two years after this, he wrote to the same, under
date of Winchester, 22d April, 1756 :—
" This encloses several letters, and the minutes of a
councUof war, which was held upon the receipt of them.
Your Honour may see to what unhappy straits the dis
tressed inhabitants and myself are reduced. I am too
little acquainted, sir, with pathetic language to attempt a
description ofthe people's distresses, thoughl have a gene
rous soul, sensible of wrongs, and swelhng for redress.
But what can I do ? I see their situation, know their
danger, and participate in their sufferings, without having
it in my power to give them further relief, than uncertain
promises. In short, I see inevitable destruction in so clear
a light, that, unless vigorous measures are taken by the
Assembly, and speedy assistance sent from below, the
poor inhabitants that are noAV in forts, must unavoidably
faU, while the remainder are flying before the barbarous
foe. In fine, the melancholy situation of the people,
the little prospect of assistance, the gross and scandalous
abuse cast upon the officers in general, which is reflect
ing upon me in particular, for suffering misconduct of

252 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
such extraordinary kinds, and the distant prospect, if
any, of gaining honom- and reputation in the service, —
cause me to lament the hour that gave me a commission,
and would induce me, at any other tirae than this of
imminent danger, to resign, without one hesitating mo
ment, a command from which I never expect to reap
either honour or benefit; but, on the contrary, have almost
an absolute certainty of incurring displeasure below,
while the murder of helpless families may be laid to my
account here !
"The supplicating tears of the women, and moving
petitions of the men, melt me into such deadly sorrowj
that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I
could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering
enemy, provided that would contribute to the people's
ease. "
Two days after the above he wrote to the same : —
" Not an hour, nay scarcely a minute, passes, that
does not produce fresh alarms and melancholy accounts.
Nor is it possible to give the people the necessary assist
ance for their defence, on account of the small number
of men we have, or that are likely to be here for some
time. The inhabitants are removing daily, and in a
short time wiU leave this country as desolate as Hamp
shire, where scarce a family lives. Three famihes
were murdered the night before last, at the distance of
less than twelve mUes frora this place ;. and every day
we have accounts of such cruelties and barbarities, as
are shocking to human nature. It is not possible to con
ceive the situation and danger of this miserable country.
Such numbers of French and Indians are all around,

CHARACTER OF AA'ASHINGTON. 258
that no road is safe ; and here Ave know not the hour
Avhen we may be attacked. "
Three days after he wrote to the same agam.
" The inhabitants, who are noAV in forts, are greatly
distressed for the Avant of ammunition and provision,
and are incessantly importuning rae for both ; neither
of Avhich, have I at this place, [Winchester,] to spare.
And if I had, I should be much embarrassed to knoAV
how to act, as I could not be safe in delivering them
without your orders ; but to hear the cries of the hungry,
AAi'ho have fled for refuge to these places, with nothing
more than they carried on their backs, is exceedingly
moving. I hope, therefore, that you AviU give directions
concerning this matter."
In a letter to the same, dated Fort Loudoun, Win
chester, 27th August, 1757, Ave find the foUoAving ex
pression of his humane sensibihties.
" As you Avere pleased to leave it to my discretion to
punish or pardon the criminals, I have resolved on the
latter, since I find example of so little weight, and since
those poor unhappy criminals have undergone no small
pain of body and mind, in a dark prison, closely
ironed." To General Gage, of the British Army, he wrote, at
the commencement of the Revolutionary Avar, under
date of Cambridge, llth of August, 1775 :
" I understand that the officers engaged in the cause
of liberty and their country, who, by the fortune of Avar,
have fallen into your hands, have been throAvn, indiscrim
inately, into a common jail appropriated for felons ;
that no consideration has been had for those of the most
respectable rank, when languishing Avith wounds and
22

254 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
sickness ; and that some have even been amputated m
this unworthy condition.
"Let your opinion, sir, of the principle which actuates
them be what it may, they suppose that they act from
the noblest of all principles, a love of freedom and their
country. But pohtical principles, 1 conceive, are foreign
to this point. The obhgations arising from the rights of
humanity and claims of rank, are universally binding and
extensive, except in case of retaliation. These, I should
have hoped, would haA^e dictated a more tender treat
ment of those individuals, Avliom chance, or AA'ar, had put
in your poAver. Nor can I forbear suggesting its fatal
tendency to Avideii that unhappy breach, which you, and
those ministers under whom you act, have so repeatedly
declared your Avish is to see. forever closed.
" My duty now makes it necessary to apprize you,
that, for the future, I shall regulate all my conduct to
wards those gentlemen, who are or may be in our posses
sion, exactly by the rule you shall observe towards those
of ours now in your custody.
" If severity and hardship mark the line of your con
duct, painful as it may be to me, your prisoners will feel
its effects. But if kindness and humanity are shown to
ours, I shall, with pleasure, consider those in our hands
only as unfortunate ; and they shall receive from me that
treatment to which the unfortunate are ever entitled."
When Colonel Arnold Avas about to inarch against
Quebec, General Washington gave him " Instructions,"
(before referred to,) for the regulation of his conduct in the
management of that delicate and arduous enterprise.
Among other instructions we find the foUoAving :
" If Lord Chatham's son should be in Canada, and in

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 255
any way shoidd fall into your power, you are enjoined
to treat him with aU possible deference and respect. You
cannot err in paying too much honour to the son of so
illustrious a character, and so true a friend to America.
Any other prisoners, who may fall into your hands, you
AvUl treat with as much humanity and kindness, as
may be consistent with your own safety and the public
interest. Be very particular in restraining, not only
your own troops, but the Indians, from all acts of cruelty
and insult, which wUl disgrace the American arms, and
irritate our fellow-subjects against us."
To the President of Congress, he wrote from Cam
bridge, 7th December, 1775 :
' Sir, " I AVTote to you the 4tli instant, by express, to
which I beg you AviU be referred. My fears that Brough-
ton and Selman, would not effect any good purpose,
were too well founded. They are returned, and brouo-ht
with them three of the principal inhabitants fi'om the
island of St. John's, (in the gulf of St. Lawrence.) Mr.
Callbeck, as President of the Council, acted as Govern
our. They brought the Governour's Commission and
the Province Seal. As the captains (Broughton and
Selman) acted Avithout any warrant for such conduct, I
have thought it but justice to discharge these gentlemen,
whose families were left in the utmost distress."
The Editor of Washington's Writings, has thefoUow-
ing note on the above letter :
" Broughton and Selman commanded the two armed
vessels heretofore mentioned, that had been despatched
by Washington, in compliance with an order of Con
gress, to intercept in the river St. Lawrence, two brigan-

256 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
tines, which, it had been understood, were to saU from
England to Quebec, laden Avith arms and ammunition,
and without convoy. After a cruise of several days, the
American captains discovered no such vessels ; but they
committed a very unjustifiable act in making a descent
on the island of St. John's, pUlaging the defenceless inha
bitants, and bringing away some of them prisoners.
The gentlemen thus brought off, among whom was Mr.
Callbeck, presented a memorial to General Washington,
in which they stated, that the Governour's house and
other private dweUings were broken open, and robbed of
their plate, carpets, curtains, looking-glasses, table-linen,
wearing-apparel, and whatever else Avas of value, and
could be taken aAvay. This was done by the captains,
of course, without a shadow of license from their instruc
tions, though apparentiy rather through ignorance of the
customary rules of warfare, than by any conscious viola
tion of the laAVS of equity and honour. Such conduct,
hoAvever, could not faU to excite the indignation of the
Commander-in-chief, and he released the captives im
mediately, treating them with aU possible kindness and
respect. Orders were given for restoring the goods, Avhich
had been piUaged, and from the foUoAving note, written
by Mr. Callbeck. it may be presumed that he at least
was satisfied."
" I should Ul deserve the generous treatm'ent, which
your ExceUency has been pleased to show me, had I not
gratitude to acknowledge so great a favour. I cannot
ascribe any part of it to my own merit, but must impute
the Avhole to the philanthropy and humane disposi
tion that so truly characterize General Washington.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 401
ing, summer and winter. Frora the chamber he went
to his study, Avith a candle in his hand, remaining there
a longer or shorter time, according to the season ^s to
his employment there, no room for doubt exists. It
A\'as certainly his tirae for devotional exercises. The
weather permitting, he rode out daily upon his farm,
inspecting the agricultural operations of his managers
and servants. When enaged at horae he never suffered
hiraself to be interrupted by visitors, except on very
special occasions. But his business being over, he gave
himself with cheerfulness to their society.
In his enjoyments, he was very temperate. His
breakfast usually consisted of two or three small hoe
cakes, Avith honey ; and as many cups of tea. He
generally dined on a single dish, drinking after dinner
seldom more than two glasses of wine, and finishing the
repast with a fcAV nuts, of which he was especially fond.
Business again employed him in the afternoon. He
drank his favourite beverage, tea, before sun-down,
spent the evening Avith his famUy, and retired uniformly
when he had no company, to his study at nine o'clock.
There he usually spent an hour before retiring to rest.
Mrs. Washington sometimes Avent into his study
during the day, Avhen he Avas there. He would then lay
doAvn his book or his pen, and well-pleased, yield him
self to the charm of her pleasantry, or to any commu
nications of business, until she thought proper to leave
him. On Sunday mornings, as the hour for church ap
proached, he was accustomed to go into his Avife's cham
ber, and sit there till she was ready to go.
34*

402 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
He was habitually grave and sUent. He seldom
laughed — never aloud. When he observed a disposition
in any one to excite him by jokes or humorous stories, he
was immovable, except in very select circles.
He was habituaUy neat in his dress, but plain. He
seldom used ardent spirit. He never used tobacco in
any shape, always expressing a great averson to it.
He was kind and considerate to his servants. Nor
was he neglectful of his cattle, being always careful to
provide for the best shelter, and abundance of food.
He was pleased with an opportunity of joining Avith
chUdren in their innocent games. This he did, some
times, when through awe of him, the little folks Avere iU
at ease.*
An interesting question here occurs, and in a AVork
like this confessedly demands, a fair and impartial inves
tigation. Whilst acknowledging the rare endoAvments
and exceUent virtues of this eminent man, there wiU,
and ought to be, an inquiry respecting the source of
those singular virtues Avhich appeared in him, adorning
his hfe with a lustre so unusual. Whence, then, did his
many virtues proceed ? Had they their origin in the
unassisted powers of nature, or in the higher energies of
* His fondness for children was a marked peculiarity in him. Tha
writer once heard an old gentleman mention the following simple in
stance thereof. In the year 1794, when the troops were about to march
from Carlisle, Pa. against the western insurgents, he was one morning
about to review them in the streets of that town. As he passed along
on foot, amidst the busy hum of preparation, he met with a squad of
httle boys huddling together, and waiting anxiously for the parade.
Conceiving them to be in danger where they stood, he stopped amongst
them, and patting one or two of them on the head, he told them to go
to their homes, or they would be run over by the horses.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 403
diAine grace ? He was blessed beyond a doubt Avith
eminent advantages by nature. But can so many sig
nal exceUencies of character be referred solely to that
barren and unkindly source ? Does human nature, pro
fessedly rejecting superior aid, ever exhibit such singular
traits of goodness ? We believe that it does not. The
concession would be utterly at variance with the doctrine
of man's acknowledged state as a fallen creature, sinful
and depraved in all his powers and affections.
To suppose that such qualities spring from the unaided
sufficiency of human nature, is to contradict the testi
mony of experience, as well as of the word of God*
Their existence implies a strength of principle and power
of self-control, which never have been displayed in the
history of mankind, except as fruits of the Divine Agency
on the soul. And it is certain that the insphed Volume
ever refers such results in the human character to the
poAver of Him " from Avhom every good gift and every
perfect gift descends." A corresponding view is afforded
by the biographer of that valiant soldier of the cross,
Henry Martyn, when he says in reference to the virtues
of that holy man, — " As these extraordinary and seem
ingly contradictory qualities, were not imparted to him,
but by the Spirit of God, so they Avere not strengthened
and matured but in the dUigent use of the ordinary means
of grace. Prayer and the Holy Scriptures Avere those
wells of salvation out of Avhich he drcAV daily the living
water  The Sabbath, also, that sacred portion of
time set apart for holy purposes in Paradise itself, Avas so
employed by him, as to prove frequentiy a Paradise to
his soul on earth, and as certainly prepared him for an
endless state of spiritual enjoyment hereafter." Tha

404 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
peculiar and exceUent virtues distinguishing this favoured
servant of God, could not be ascribed to any other source,
than the grace of the Holy Spirit— grace noAV freely be-
stoAved on him, and then in new and fresh supplies, as
he abounded in the use of the appointed means. WhUst
there Avas also in the illustrious subject of these pages,
qualities which may well be styled " extraordinary and
seemingly contradictory," the presumption as to a com
mon source in both cases, is upheld by the fact of their
concurrence ia the use of the same gracious appoint
ments. Of Washington, the knoAvn habits of his life
justify us in saying, that — " Prayer and the Holy
Scriptures were those wells of salvation, out of Avhich he
drcAV, daily, the li\dng Avater." Nothing is better ascer
tained than the reality of his devotional feelings and
habits. His uniform practice of private prayer, may be
traced from an early period of his life, doAvii to the close
thereof With the Holy Scriptures too, did he cultivate a
sacred intimacy. The Bible which he OAvned and used, is
noAV in the library of Mount Vernon, having his name
Avritten therein by himself. Survivors have said that he
dUigently searched the Holy Volume. Nor did he fail
in a proper respect for the Lord s Day ; " that sacred por
tion of time set apart for holy purposes in Paradise itself."
He Avas always a strict observer of the Sabbath. It is
not knoAvn that he ever Avantonly violated it in a single
instance. In no one duty of his.^life, can a more fixed
purpose of obedience be traced than in reference to this
obligation. Thus distinguished by many rare traits of exellence,
and professedly regarding religion as the means of virtue
and ground of hope to man, is there not good reason

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 261
ing the capture of a John Anderson, who Avas endeaA-
ouring to go to Noav- York, with several interesting and
important papers, all in the handwriting of General
Arnold. This was also accompanied with a letter frora
the prisoner, avoAving himself to be Major John Andre,
Adjutant-General to the British array, relating the man
ner of his capture, and endeavouring to shoAV that he
did not come under the description of a spy. From the
several circumstances, and information that the General
seemed to be thrown into some degree of agitation on
receiving a letter, a little time before he Avent down from
his quarters, I was led tO conclude immediately, that he
had heard of Major Andre's captivity, and that he Avould
if possible escape to the enemy ; and I accordingly took
such measures, as appeared the most probable to appre
hend him. But he had embarked in a barge, and pro
ceeded doAvn the river under a flag to the Vulture sloop-
of-war, Avhich lay some miles below Stony and Ver-
plank's Points. After he got on board he wrote to me
a letter, of which the enclosed is a copy.
" Major Andre is not arrived yet, but I hope he is
secure, and that he will be here to-day. I have been
and am taking proper precautions, which I trust will
prove effectual, to prevent the important consequences,
which this conduct, on the part of General Arnold, was
intended to produce I do not know the party that
took Major Andre, but it is said to have consisted
only of mihtia, who acted in such a manner, as does
them the highest honour, and proves them to be men of
great virtue. They were offered, I am informed, a
large sum of money for his release, and as many goods
as they would demand, but without any effect,"

262 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Major Andre Avas taken prisoner, near Tarrytown,on
tiie morning of the 23d of September, and carried back
to the nearest American post at North-Castle. On the
24th he Avrote the foUoAving letter to General Wash
ington :
" Sir,
" What I have as yet said concerning rayself, was in
the justifiable attempt to be extricated ; I am too littie
accustomed to duplicity to have succeeded.
" I beg your ExceUency will be persuaded, tiiat no al
teration in the temper of my mind, or apprehension for
ray safety, induces me to take the step of addressing you,
but that it is to rescue myself from an imputation of hav
ing assumed a mean character for treacherous purposes
or self-interest ; a conduct incompatible Avith the prin
ciples that actuate me, as Avell as Avith my condition in
life. " It is to vindicate my fame that I speak, and not to
solicit security.
" The person in your possession is Major John Andre,
Adjutant-General to the British army.
" The influence of one Commander in the army of
his adversary, is an advantage taken in Avar. A cor
respondence for this purpose I held ; as confidential, (in
the present instance,) with his Excellency Sir Henry
Clinton. " To favour it, I agreed to meet upon ground not
Avithin the posts of either army, a person who was to
give me intelligence ; I came up in the Vulture man-of-
war for this effect, and Avas fetched by a boat from the
ship to the beach. Being there, I Avas told that the ap
proach of day Avould prevent my return, and that I must

CHARACtER OF WASHINGTON. 263
be concealed until the next night. I Avas in ray regi
mentals, and had fairly risked ray person.
Against my stipulation, my intention, and Avithout my
knowledge before hand, I Avas conducted Avithin one of
your posts. Your Excellency may conceive my sensa
tion on the occasion, and Avill imagine how much more
must I have been affected by a refusal to reconduct me
back the next night, as I had been brought. Thus be
come a prisoner, I had to concert my escape. I quitted
my uniform, and Avas passed another way in the night,
Avithout the American posts, to neutral ground, and in
formed I Avas beyond all armed parties and left to press
for New- York. I Avas taken at TarrytoAvn by some vo
lunteers. " Thus, as I have had the honour to relate, Avas I be
trayed (being Adjutant-General of the British army) into
the vUe condition of an enemy in disguise, within your
posts. " Having avoAved myself a British officer, I have no
thing to reveal but what relates to myself, which is true,
on the honour of an officer and a gentleman.
" The request I have to make to your Excellency, and
I am conscious I address myself avcU, is, that in any
rigour policy may dictate, a decency of conduct towards
me may mark, that though unfortunate I am branded
Avith nothing dishonourable, as no motive could be mine
but the service of iiiy king, and as I Avas, involuntarily,
an impostor.
" Another request is, that I may be permitted to write
an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton, and another to a
friend for clothes and linen.
" I take the liberty to mention the condition of some

264 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
gentiemen at Charlestown, who, being either on parole,
or under protection, were engaged in a consphacy
against us. Though their situation is not similar, they
are objects who may be set in exchange for me, or are
persons whom the treatment I receive might affect.
" It is no less, sir, in a confidence of the generosity of
your mind, than on account of your superior station, that
I have chosen to importune you Avith this letter. I have
the honour to be, Avith great respect. Sir, your Excel
lency's most obedient humble servant.
"John Andre, Adjutant-General.''
It wa,s on the raorning of the 25th of September,
that Arnold became apprized of the capture of Andre.
As soon as it was known to him, he left his house in
great haste, entered a boat, and in a short time reached
the Vulture man-of-war in safety. From this A'essel he
Avrote the following letter to Gen. AVashington dated the
same day.
" Sir, The heart which is conscious of its own recti
tude, cannot attempt to paUiate a step, a\ hich the world
may censure as wrong ; I have ever acted from a prin
ciple of love to my country, since the commencement of
the present unhappy contest between Great Britain and
the Colonies ; the same principle of love to my country
actuates ray present conduct, however it may appear in
consistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of
any man's actions.
" I have no favour to ask for myself. I have too often
experienced the ingratitude of my country to attempt it ;
but from the known humanity of your Excellency, I
am induced to ask your protection for Mrs. Arnold from
every insult and injury that a mistaken vengeance of

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 265
my country may expose her to. It ought to faU only on
me : she is as good and as innocent as an angel, and is
incapable of doing wrong. I beg she may be permitted
to return to her friends in Philadelphia, or to come to
me, as she may choose ; from your ExceUency, I have
no fears on her account, but she may suffer from the
mistaken fury of the country.
*******
On the next day, the 26th, Andrti Avas brought to
West Point, under an escort of dragoons. He remained
there till the 28th. In the mean time. General Wash
ington Avrote to General Greene, who was at Tappan,
the head-quarters of the army, under date of " Robin
son's House, 27th September, 1780: —
" Dear sir,
" I have concluded to send to camp to-raorroAV, Major
Andre of the British army, and Mr. Joshua H. Smith,
Avho has had a great hand in carrying on the business
between him and Arnold. They wUl be under an escort
of horse, and I wish you to have separate houses in
camp ready for their reception, in Avhich they may be
kept perfectly secure; and also strong, trusty guards,
trebly officered, that a part may be constantly in the
room with them. They have not been permitted to be
together, and must be still kept apart. I would wish the
room for Mr. Andre to be a decent one, and that he may
be treated with civihty ; but that he may be so guarded
as to preclude a possibility of his escaping, which he
will certainly attempt to effect, if it shall seem practi
cable in the most distant degree. Smith must also be
cjrefuUy secured, and not treated with asperity. I in
tend to return to-morroAv morning, and hope to have the
23

266 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
pleasure of seeing you in the course of the day. Yoil
may keep these several matters secret."
On the 28th Major Andre was sent to Tappan, and on
the next day, the 29th, he sent the foUowing letter, by
permission of General Washington, to Sir Henry Clinton.
Its date was, " Tappan, 29th September, 1780.
" Sir,
" Your Excellency is doubtless already apprised of the
manner in which I was taken, and possibly of the serious
light in which my conduct is considered, and the rigour-
ous determination that is impending.
" Under these circtimstances, I have obtained General
Washington's permission to send you this letter ; the ob
ject of which is, to remove from your breast any suspicion,
that I could imagine I was bound by your ExceUency's
orders, to expose rayself to what has happened. The
events of coming within an enemy's posts, and of chang
ing ray dress, which led me to my present situation, were
contrary to my own intentions, as they Avere to your
orders ; and the circuitous route, was imposed, (perhaps
unavoidably,) Avithout alternative upon me.
" 1 am perfectly tranquil in mind, and prepared for
any fate, to Avhich an honest zeal for my King's service
may have devoted me.
" In addressing myself to your Excellency on this
occasion, the force of aU my obligations to you, and of
the attachment and gratitude I bear you, recurs to me.
With all the warmth of my heart, I give you thanks for
your Excellency's profuse kindness to rae ; and I send
you the most earnest Avishes for your welfare, which a
faithful, affectionate, and respectful attendant can frame.
"I have a mother and three sisters, to whom the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 267
value of my commission would be an object, as the loss
of Grenada has much affected their income. It is need
less to be more exphcit on this subject ; I am persuaded
of your Excellency's goodness.
" I receive the greatest attention from his Excellency
General Washington, and from every person under
whose charge 1 happen to be placed. I have the honour
to be, with the most respectful attachment, your Excel
lency's most obedient humble servant,
"John Andre, Adjutant-General."
According to the intimation contained in his letter to
General Greene, General Washington returned to Tap-
pan on the 28th, and the next day addressed a letter
to the Board of General Officers, appointed to investigate
the charges against Major Andre. The Board was
composed of Fourteen officers — General Greene being
President of the Board. The letter of General Wash
ington was in the foUowing words : —
" Tappan, 29th Sept. 1780.
" Gentlemen,
" Major Andre, Adjutant-General to the British army,
will be brought before you for your examination. He
came within our hnes in the night, on an interview
Avith Major- General Arnold, and in an assumed charac
ter, and was taken within our lines in a disguised habit,
with a pass, under a feigned name, and with the enclosed
papers concealed upon him. After a careful examina
tion, you will be pleased, as speedily as possible, to report
a precise state of his case, together Avith your opinion of
the light in which he ought to be considered, and the
punishment that ought to be infficted. The judge-
advocate will attend to assist in the examination, who

268 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
has sundry other papers relative to this matter, which he
will lay before the Board. I have the honour to be, " (fee
The Board assembled the same day, and Major
Andre was brought before them. Besides his personal
examination, he submitted a short statement of his case
in writing. The Paper presented by him was to the
following effect : —
" On the 20th of September I left Noav- York to get on
board the Vulture, in order, (as I thought) to raeet Ge
neral Arnold there in the night. No boat, hoAvever,
carae off, and I waited on board until the night of
the 21st. During the day, a flag of truce Avas sent from
the Vulture, to complain of the violation of a militaiy
rule in the instance of a boat having been decoyed on
shore by a flag, and fired upon. The letter Avas address
ed to General Arnold, signed by Captain Sutherland,
but Avritten in my hand and countersigned ' J Anderson,
secretary. ' Its intent was to indicate my presence on
board the Vulture. In the night of the 21st, a boat
with Mr.  * and two hands came on board, in order
to fetch Mr. Anderson on shore, and if too late to bring
me back, to lodge me tUl the next night in a place of
safety. I Avent into the boat, landed, and spoke Avith
Arnold. I got on horseback Avith him to proceed to
[Smith's] house, and in the way passed a guard I
did not expect to see, having Sir Henry Clinton's
directions not to go within an enemy's post, or to quit
my own dress.
"In the morning A. quUted me, having himself
made me put the papers I bore between my stockings
? Joshua H. Smith.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 269
and feet. Whilst he did it, he expressed a wish in case
of any accident befaUing me, that they should be destroy
ed, Avhich I said of course would be the case, as when
I Avent into the boat I should have them tied about
Avith a string and a stone. Before we parted, some
mention had been made of my crossing the river, and
going by another route ; but I objected much against
it, and thought it was settled that in the way I came,
I Avas also to return.
Mr. — — * to my great mortification, persisted in his
determination of carrying me by the other route ; and
at the decline of the sun, I set out on horseback,
passed King's Feny, and came to Crorapond, where a
party of mihtia stopped us, and advised we should
remain. In the morning I came Avitli [Smith] as far
as Avithin two miles and a half of Pine's Bridge, where
he said he must part Avith me, as the Cow-boys in
fested the road thenceforward. I Avas noAV near thirty
miles from Kingsbridge, and left to the chance of pass
ing that space undiscovered. I got to the neighbourhood
of TarrytoAvn, which was far beyond the points describr
ed as dangerous, when I was taken by three volun
teers, Avho not satisfied with my pass, rifled me, and,
finding papers, made me a prisoner.
"I have omitted mentioning that, when I found
myself within an enemy's posts, I changed my dress."
Several papers were laid before the Board by the judge-
advocate, and shown to Major Andre, Avho confessed that
they were found on him when he Avas taken, and said
they were concealed in his boot, except the pass. These
papers contained information concerning the state of
+ ^o^hua H. Smith.
23*

270 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
West Point, and were addressed in Arnold's hand-wi'iting
to the Commander-in-chief of the British army.
The Board interrogated Major Andre about his con
ception of his coming on shore under the sanction of a
flag. He said, " That it was impossible for hira to sup
pose he came on shore under that sanction ;" and added,
" That if he came on shore under that sanction, he
certainly might have returned under it. "
Major Andre having acknowledged the preceding
factS; and being asked whether he had any thing to say
respecting them, ansAvered— "that he left them to ope
rate Avith the Board. "
The examination being concluded, the prisoner Avas
remanded into custody.
On the same day the Board made the folloAving Re
port to General Washington : —
" The Board having considered the letter from his
Excellency General Washington, respecting Major An
dre, Adjutant-General to theBritish army— the confession
of Major Andre, and the- papers produced to them. Re
port to his Excellency, the Coraraander-in-Chief, the
following facts, which appear to them relative to Major
Andre. " First, That he came on shore from the Vulture sloop
of war in the night of the 21st of September instant, on
an interview with General Arnold, in a private and
secret manner.
"Secondly, That he changed his dress Avithin our
lines ; and under a feigned name, and in a disguised
habit, passed our works at Stoney and Verplank's Points,
the evening of the 22d September instant, and was taken
the morning of the 23d of Sept. instant, at Tarrytown,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 271
in a disguised habit, being then on his way to New-York :
and Avhen taken, he had ui his possession several pa
pers, which contained intelligence for the enemy.
" The Board having maturely considered these facts,
do also Report to his Excellency General Washington,
that Major Andrti, Adjutant-General to the British army,
ought to be considered as a spy from the enemy, and
that, agreeably to the law and usage of nations, it is
their opinion, he ought to suffer death. "
This Report Avas signed by the Avhole Board, of which,
as Ave have mentioned. General Greene Avas President,
the Marquis de La Fayette and the Baron de Steuben,
members. The decision, approved as it was by the Commander-
in-chief, was to have been put in' execution on the 1st
day of October. But the British Commander wishing
to have a conference Avith him, in regard to the justice
and propriety of the sentence, the event was postponed
untU the 2d day of October. On that day, at 12 o'clock,
the conference having failed to produce any change in
the mind of General Washington, the determination of
the court was carried into effect.
On the day first appointed for his execution, Major
Andrti wrote the foUoAving letter to Gen. Washington : —
" Sir ; Buoyed above the terror of death, by the con
sciousness of a life devoted to honourable pursuits, and
stained with no action that can give me remorse, I trust
that the request I make to your ExceUency, at this seri
ous period, and which is to soften my last moments,
wiU not be rejected.
"Sympathy towards a soldier wiU surely induce

272 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
your exceUency, and a mihtary tribunal, to adapt the
mode of my death to the feelings of a man of honour.
" Let me hope, sir, that if aught in my character im
presses you with esteem towards me, if aught in my mis
fortunes marks me as the victim of policy, and not of re
sentment, I shall experience the operation of these feel
ings in your breast, by being informed that I am not to
die on a gibbet. I have the honour to be," (fee.
This request was duly considered by the Commander-
in chief and his principal officers ; but, taking into view
the nature of the offence, the peculiar circumstances at
tending it, the invariable rules of war, and the usage of
nations, Washington could not consistently Avith his
sense of duty, grant an indulgence, which might seem to
imply any doubt in his mind ofthe entire justice ofthe
sentence, howeverstrongly he might be moved by his well
known feelings of humanity, and his respect for the char
acter of the sufferer. Andrti Avas condemned as a sp}'',
and hanged as such, at twelve o'clock on the 2d of Oc
tober. The folloAving narrative from the elegant pen of Gene
ral HamUton, is here inserted, as giving the fullest and
most faithful account of this whole matter, which has
ever been submitted to the public. Il was written short
ly after the events so feelingly recorded by him. He Avas
at this time aid-de-camp to General Washington.
" Since my return from Hartford, my dear friend, my
mind has been too little at ease to permit me to write to
you sooner. It has been whoUy occupied by the inci
dents, and the tragic consequences, of Arnold's treason.
My feelings never were put to so severe a trial. You
wUl no doubt have heard the principal facts, before this

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 273
reaches you ; but there are particulars, to Avhich my
situation gave me access, that cannot have come to your
knoAvledge from pubhc report, Avhich I am persuaded you
wUl find interesting.
"From several circumstances, the project seems to
have originated with Arnold himself, and to have
been long premeditated. The first overture is traced
ed back to some time in June last. It Avas conveyed in
a letter to Colonel Robinson, the substance of which Avas,
that the ingratitude he had experienced from his country,
concurring with other causes, had entirely changed his
principles : that he now only sought to restore himself to
the favour of his King, by some signal proof of his re
pentance ; and would be happy to open a correspond
ence Avith Sir Heniy Chnton for that purpose. About
this period he made a journey to Connecticut ; on his
return from which to Philadelphia, he solicited the com
mand of West Point, aUeging that the effects of his
wound had disqualified him for the active duties of the
field. The sacrifice of this important post Avas the atone
ment he intended to make. General Washington hesi
tated the less to gratify an officer Avho had rendered
such eminent services, as he Avas convinced the post
might be safely trusted to one Avho had given so many
distinguished proofs of his bravery. In the beginning
of August, he joined the army, and reneAA^ed his apphca-
tion. The enemy, at this juncture, had embarked the
greatest part of their force on an expedition to Rhode
Island, and our army Avas in motion, to compel them to
relinquish the enterprise, or to attack New- York in its
Aveakened state. The General offered Arnold the left
wing of the army, which he dechned, on the pretext
aheady mentioned ; but not without visible embarrass-

274 RELItJIOUS OPINIONS AND
ment. He certainly might have executed the duties of
such a temporary command, and it was expected from
his enterprising temper that he would gladly have em
braced so splendid an opportunity. But he (hd not
choose to be diverted a moment from his favourite object ;
probably from an apprehension that some different dis
position might have taken place, which would have ex
cluded him. The extreme sohcitude he discovered to
get possession of the post, Avould have led to a suspicion
of the treachery, had it been possible from his past con
duct to have supposed him capable of it.
" The correspondence thus begun, was carried on be-
tAveen Arnold and Major Andre, Adjutant-General of the
British army, m behalf of Sir Henry Clinton, under feign
ed signatures, and a mercantUe disguise. In an inter
cepted letter of Arnold's, which lately feU into our hands,
he proposes an interview, ' to settle the risks and profits of
the co-partnership ;' and in the sarae style of metaphor,
intimates an expected augmentation of the garrisoti, and
speaks of it as the means of extending their traffic. It
appears by another letter, that Andre was to have met
him on the lines, under the sanction of a flag, in the
character of Mr. John Anderson. But some cause or
other, not known, prevented this interview.
" The tAventieth of last month, Robinson and Andre
Avent up the river in the Vulture sloop of war. Robinson
sent a flag to Arnold, with two letters, one to General
Putnam, enclosed in another to himself, requesting an
interview with Putnara, or in his absence with Arnold,
to adjust some private concerns. The one to General
Putnam was evidently meant as a cover to the other,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 275
in case, by accident, the letters should have fallen under
the inspection of a third person.
" General Washington crossed the river on his Avay to
Hartford, the day these despatches arrived. Arnold,
conceiving he must have heard of the flag, thought it
necessary, for the sake of appearances, to submit the let
ters to him, and ask his opinion of the propriety of com
plying with the request. The General, with his usual
caution, though Avithout the "least surmise of the design,
dissuaded hira from it, and advised him to reply to Ro
binson, that Avhatever related to his private affairs must
be of a civil nature, and could only properly be addressed
to the civil authoiity. This reference fortunately de
ranged the plan, and was the first link in the chain of
events that led to the detection. The interview could
no longer take place in the form of a flag, but was
obliged to be managed in a secret manner.
"Arnold employed one Smith to go on board the
Vulture the night of the twenty-second, to bring Andre
on shore with a pass for Mr. John Anderson. Andre
came ashore accordingly, and was conducted within a
picket of ours to the house of Smith, where Arnold and
he remained together in close conference all that night
and the day following. At day-light in the morning,
the commanding officer at King's Ferry, without the pri
vity of Arnold, moved a couple of pieces of cannon to a
point opposite to where the Vulture lay, and obliged her
to take a more remote station. This event, or some
lurking distrust, made the boatmen refuse to carry the
two passengers back, and disconcerted Arnold so much,
that by one of those strokes of infatuation which often
confound the schemes of men conscious of guUt, he in-

276 RELHJIOUS OPINIONS AND
sisted on Andre's exchanging his uniform for a disguise,
and returning in a mode different from that in Avhich he
carae. Andre, who had been undesignedly brought
within our posts, in'the first instance, remonstrated warm
ly against this ncAV and dangerous expedient. But
Arnold persisting in declaring it impossible for him to
return as he came, he at length reluctantly yielded to
his direction, and consented to change his dress, and
take the route he recommended. Smith furnished the
disguise, and in the evening passed King's Ferry with
him, and proceeded to Crompond, where they stopped the
remainder of the night, (at the instance of a militia offi
cer,) to avoid being suspected by him. The next morn
ing they resumed their journey. Smith accompanying
Andre a little beyond Pine's Bridge, where he left him.
He had reached Tarrytown, Avhen he Avas taken up by
three mihtia men, who rushed out of the woods and
seized his horse. At this critical moment, his presence
of mind forsook him. Instead of producing his pass,
which would have extricated him from our parties, and
could have done him no harm with his own, he asked
the militia men if they were of the upper or lower party,
distinctive appellations knoAvn among the refugee corps.
The militia men replied, they were of the loAver party ;
upon which he told them he was a British officer, and
pressed thera not to detain him as he was upon urging
business. This confession removed all doubt, and it was
in vain he afterwards produced his pass. He Avas in
stantly forced off to a place of greater security ; where,
after a careful search, tiiere were found concealed in the
feet of his stockings, several papers of importance, de
livered to him by Arnold. Among these there were a

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 2"i7
plan ofthe fortifications of AVest Point, a memorial from
the engineer on the attack and defence of the place, re
turns of the garrison, cannon, and stores, and a copy of the
minutes of a couiicU of Avar held by General Washington
a few weeks before. The prisoner at first was inadvert-
entiy ordered to Arnold ; but on recollection, while still
on the way, he was countermanded and sent to Old
Salem. " The papers were enclosed in a letter to General
Washington, Avhich having taken a route different from
that by Avhich he returned, made a circuit, that afforded
leisure for another letter, through an ill-judged delicacy
Avritten to Arnold, Avith information of Anderson's cap
ture, to get to him an hour before General Washington
arrived at his quarters ; time enough to elude the fate
that awaited him. He Avent down the river in his barge
to the Vulture, with such precipitate confusion, that he
did not take with him a single paper useful to the enemj^
On the first notice ofthe affair he was pursued, but much
too late to be overtaken.
" There Avas some colour for imagining it was a part
of the plan, to betray the General into the hands of the
enemy : Arnold was very anxious to ascertain from him
the precise day of his return, and the enemy's move
ments seem to have corresponded to this point. But
if it Avas reaUy the case, it was very injudicious. The
success must have depended on surprise ; and as the
officers at the advanced posts Avere not in the secret,
their measures might have given the alarm, and Gen
eral Washington taking the command of the post, might
have rendered the Avhole scheme abortive. Arnold, it is
true, had so dispersed the garrison as to have made a
24

278 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
defence difficult, but not impracticable ; and the acqui
sition of West Point was of such magnitude to the
enemy, that it Avould have been unwise to connect
Avith it any other object, hoAvever gi-eat, which might
make the obtaining of it precarious.
"Arnold, a moment before his setting out, went into
Mrs. Arnold's apartment, and informed her that some
transactions had just come to light which must forever
banish him from his country. She fell into a swoon at
this declaration, and he left her in it to consult his own
safety, till the servants, alarmed by her cries, came to
her relief. She remained frantic all day, accusing every
one who approached her with an intention to murder her
child, (an infant in her arms,) and exhibitirlg every other
mark of the most genuine and agonizing distress. Ex
hausted by the fatigue and tumult of her spirits, her
phrenzy subsided towards evening, and she sunk into
all the sadness of affliction. It was impossible not to
have been touched with her situation ; every thing
affecting in female tears, or in the misfortunes of beauty,
every thing pathetic in the wounded tenderness of a
wife, or in the apprehensive fondness of a mother, and,
till I have reason to change the opinion, I will add,
every thing amiable in suffering innocence, conspired to
make her an object of sympathy to all who were present.
She experienced the most delicate attentions, and every
friendly office till her departure for Philadelphia.
"Andre was, without loss of time, conducted to the
head-quarters of the army, where he was immediately
brought before a Board of General Officers, to prevent all
possibility of misrepresentation or cavU on the part of
the enemy.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 279
" The Board reported, that he ought to be considered-
as a spy, and according to the laws and usages of
nations, to suffer death, Avhich was executed two days
after.* "Never, perhaps, did any man suffer death Avitii
more justice, or deserve it less. The first step he took
after his capture, Avas to write a letter to General AVash
ington, conceived in terms of dignity Avithout insolence,
and apology without meanness. The scope of it was to
vindicate himself from the imputation of having assumed
a mean character, for treacherous or interested purposes j
asserting that he had been involuntarily an irapostor ;
that contrary to his intention, which Avas to meet a
person for intelligence on neutral ground, he had been
betrayed A\'ithin our posts, and forced into the vUe con
dition of an enemy in disguise ; soliciting only, that to
Avhatever rigour policy might devote him, a decency of
treatment might be observed, due to a person Avho, though
unfortunate, had been guilty of nothing dishonourable.
His request was granted in its full extent ; for in the
whole progress of the affair, he Avas treated with the
most scrupulous delicacy. When brought before the
Board of Officers, he met Avith every mark of indulgence)
and Avas required to answer no interrogatory which
Avould even embarrass his feelings. On his part, Avhilo
he carefully concealed every thing that might imphcate
others, he frankly confessed all the facts relating to him
self ; and upon his confession, without the trouble of
examining a witness, the Board made their report. The
members were not more impressed with the candour and
* He was executed on the third day. The sentence was pronounced
on the 23th of September, and put in execution on the ?d o'f Octoljer.

2S0 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
firmness, mixed Avith a becoming sensibUity Avliich he
displayed, than he Avas penetrated Avith their liberality
and politeness. He acknoAvledged the generosity of
the behaviour toAvards hira in every respect, but par
ticularly in this, in the strongest terms of manly grati
tude. In a conversation Avith a gentleman Avho visited
him after his trial, he said, he flattered himself he had
never been iUibcral ; but if there Avere any remains of
prejudice in his mind, his present experience must obli
terate them.
'¦ In one of the visits I made him, (and I saAV him
several times during his confinement,) he begged me to
be the bearer of a request to the General, for permission
to send an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton. ' I foresee
my fate,' said he, ' and though I pretend not to play the
hero, or to be indifferent about life, yet I am reconcUed
to what may happen, conscious that misfortune, not
guUt, has brought it upon me. There is only one thing
that disturbs my tranquilhty. Sir Henry Chnton has
been too good to me ; he has been lavish of his kindness ;
I am bound to him by too many obligations, and love
him too AveU to bear the thought that he should reproach
himself, or others should reproach him, on the supposi
tion of my having conceived myself obliged, by his in
structions, to run the risk I did. I Avould not, for the
Avorld, leave a sting in his mind that should embitter his
future days.' He could scarce finish the sentence ;
bursting into tears, in spite of his efforts to suppress them,
and with difficulty collected himself enough afterAvards
to add , ' I Avish to be permitted to assure hira, I did not
act under this impression, but submUted to a necessity

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 281
imposed upon me, as contrary to my own inclination, as
to his orders.' His request Avas readily complied with,
and he wrote the letter annexed, wUh Avhich I dare say
you will be as much pleased as I am, both for the senti
ment and diction. «,
" When his sentence Avas announced to him, he re
marked, that since it Avas his lot to die, there was stiU a
choice in the mode, which would make a material differ
ence to his feelings ; and he Avould be happy, if possible,
to be indulged with a professional death. He made a
second application by letter, in concise but persuasive
terms. It was thought this indulgence, being incompati
ble with the customs of war, could not be granted ; and
it was, therefore, determined, in both cases, to evade an
answer, to spare him the sensations, which a certain
knowledge of the intended mode Avould infiict.
" In going to the place of execution, he bowed fami
liarly as he went along, to all those Avith Avhora he had
been acquainted in his confinement. A smUe of com- '
placency expressed the serene fortitude of his soul. Ar
rived at the fatal spot, he asked Avith some eraotion,
' Must I then die in this manner ? ' He was told it had
been unavoidable. ' I am reconciled to ray fate, (said
he.) but not to the mode.' Soon, however recollecting
himself, ho added, ' It will be but a momentary pang ;'
and springing upon the cart, performed the last offices to
himself, Avith a composure that excited the admiration
and melted the hearts of the beholders. Upon being told
the final moraent Avas at hand, and asked if he had any
thing to say, he ansAvered, ' Nothing, but to request you
Avill witness to the world, that I die like a brave man.'
Among the extraordinary circumstances that attended
24*

282 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
him, in the midst of his enemies he died universally re
gretted, and universally esteemed.
" There Avas something singularly interesting in the
character and fortunes of Andre. To an exceUent under
standing well improved by education and travel, he united
a peculiar elegance of mind and manners, and the advan
tage of a pleading person. It is said, he possessed a pretty
taste for the fine arts, and had hiraself attained some
proficiency in poetry, music, and painting. His knoAV-
lodge appeared Avithout ostentation, and embellished by
a diffidence that rarely accompanies so many talents and
accomplishments, which left you to suppose more than
appeared. " His sentiments Avere elevated, and inspired esteem ;
they had a softness that concUiated affection. His elo
cution Avas handsome ; his address easy, polite, and in
sinuating. By his merit, he had acquired the unlimited
confidence of his General, and Avas making a rapid pro
gress in military rank and reputation. But in the height
of his career, flushed Avith ncAV hopes from the execu
tion of a project the most beneficial to his party that
could be devised, he Avas at once precipitated from the
summit of prosperity, and saw all the expectations of
his ambition blasted, and himself ruined.
" The character I haA^e given of him, is draAvn partly
from Avhat I saw of him myself, and partly from inform
ation. I am aware, that a man of real merit is never
seen in so favourable a light as through the medium of
adversity. The clouds that surround him are shades
that set off his good qualities. Misfortune cuts doAvn the
little vanities, that in prosperous limes serve as so many
spots in his virtues, and gives a tone of humUity that

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 283
makes his Avorth more amiable. His spectators, AA^ho en
joy a happier lot, are less prone to detract from it through
envy : and are more disposed by compassion to give him
the credit he deserves, and perhaps even to magnify it.
" I speak not of Andre's conduct in this affair as a
philosopher, but as a man of the world. The author
ized raaxiras and practices of war, are the satires of
human nature. They countenance almost every species
of seduction, as Avell as violence; and the General Avho
can make most traitors in the army of his adversary, is
frequently most applauded. On this scale we acquit
Andre, Avhile Ave would not but condemn hira if we Avere
to examine his conduct by the sober rules of phUosophy
and moral rectitude. It is, however, a blemish on his
fame, that he once intended to prostitude a flag ; — about
this, a man of nice honour ought to have had a scruple ;
but the temptation was great. Let his misfortunes cast
a veil over his error.
" Several letters from Sh Henry Clinton, and others,
were received in the course ofthe affair, feebly attempting
to prove that Andre came out under the protection of a
flag, with a passport from a, general-officer in actual ser
vice; and, consequently, could not be justly detained.
Chnton sent a deputation, composed of Lieutenant-Ge
neral Robinson, Mr. EUiot, and Mr. William Smith, to
represent, as he said, the true state of Major Andre's case.
General Greene met Robinson, and had a conversation
with him, in Avhich he reiterated the pretence of a flag,
urged Andre's release as a personal favour to Sir Henry
Clinton, and offered any friend of ours in their power in
exchange. Nothing could have been more frivolous than
the plea Avhich Avas used. The fact was, that besides

284 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the time, manner, object of the intervicAV, change of
dress, and other circumstances, there was not a single for
mality customary with flags ; and the passport was not
to Major Andrti but to Mr. Anderson. But had there
been, on the contrary, all the forraahties, it would be
an abuse of language to say, that the sanction of a flag,
for currupting an officer to betray his trust, ought to be
respected. So unjustifiable a purpose would not only
destroy its validity, but make it an aggravation.
" Andre hiraself has answered the argument, by ri
diculing and exploding the idea, in his examination be
fore the Board of Officers. It was a weakness to urge it.
" There was, in truth, no way of saving him. Arnold
or he must have been the victim ; the former Avas out
of our power.
" It was by some suspected, Arnold had taken his
measures in such a manner, that if the inlervicAV had
been (hscovered in the act, it might have been in his
power to sacrifice Andre to his own security. This sur
mise of double treachery, made them imagine Clinton
would give up Arnold for Andrti ; and a gentleman took
occasion to suggest the expedient to the latter, as a thing
that might be proposed by him. He dechned it. The
moment he had been capable of so much frailty, I should
have ceased to esteem hira."
Extracts frora a few of the letters written by Wash
ington, in reference to this event, Avill be here added, as
in some measure evincing his vicAvs and feehngs on the
subject. He wrote to Count De Rocharabeau 10th October,
1780: " Your ExceUency wiU have heard of the execution

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 285
of the British Adjutant-General. The circumstances,
under Avhich he Avas taken, justified it, and policy required
a sacrifice ; but as he Avas more unfortunate than crim
inal, and, as there was much in his character to interest,
Avhile Ave yielded to the necessity of rigour, Ave could not
but lament it."
'¦AVriting to Col. John Laurens, October 13th, he
says : —
'• In no instance since the commencement of the war.
has the interposition of Providence appeared more re
markably conspicuous, than in the rescue ofthe post and
garrison of West Point, from Arnold's vUlanous perfidy.
HoAV far he meant to involve me in the catastrophe of
this place, does not appear from any indubitable evi
dence ; and I am rather inclined to think he did not
wish to hazard the more important object of his treach
ery, by attempting to combine tAvo events, the less of
Avhich might have marred the greater. A combination
of extraordinary circumstances, an unaccountable de
privation of presence of mind in a man of the first abi
lities, and the virtue of three militia men, threw the Ad
jutant-General of the British forces, with fuU proof of
Arnold's treachery, into our hands. But for the egre
gious folly, or the bcAvildered conception of Lieutenant-
Colonel — ^B^Avho seemed lost in astonishment, and not to
know Avhat he AA'^as doing, I should undoubtedly have
got Arnold. Andre has met his fate, and with that for
titude which Avas to be expected from an accomplished
man and gaUant officer, but I am mistaken if, at this
time, 'Arnold is not undergoing the torment of a mental
hell.' He wants feeling," (fee.

286 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
In a letter to President Reed, Avritten on the 18th of
October, he says : —
" Arnold's conduct is so vUlanously perfidious, that there
are no terms Avhicli can describe the baseness of his heart.
That overruling Providence, Avhicli has so often and so
remarkably interposed in our favour, never manifested
itself more conspicuously than in the timely discovery of
his horrid design of surrendering the post and garrison
of West Po^nt, into the hands of the enemy. I confine
my remarks to this single act of perfidy, for I am far
frora thinking he intended to hazard a defeat of this im
portant object, by combining another with it, although
there were circumstances Avhich led to a contrary belief.
The confidence and folly Avhich have marked the sub
sequent conduct of this man, are of a piece Avith his
villany ; and all three are perfect in their kind. The in
terest you take in my supposed escape, and the manner
in Avhich you speak of it, claim my thanks as much as
if he had really intended to involve my fate with that
of the garrison, and I consider it a fresh instance of your
affectionate regard for me."
Such Avere the circumstances of this most distressing
case. In them Ave have the grounds of Major Andre's
condemnation, and the means of forming a judgment
in relation to the propriety of his execution. Major An
dre, was, in the first place, cordially engaged Avith the
rest of his countrymen, in the inhuman undertaking,
of enslaving the people of these United States. And at
this time, he Avas zealously labouring to effect an object,
which would have been most serious in its results to the
American cause, and in its accomplishment involved the
necessity of concealment, falsehood, and treachery, in

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 287
those, through Avhom it should be effected. He was ap-
prehended.undcr circumstances that rendered him justly
liable to death, according to the laAvs and usages of all
nations. He did not indeed intend to place himself in
that situation. This precaution, reflects credit on his
prudence, but does not diminish the criminahty of his
conduct. He did well in meditating his self-preservation.
He ought, upon the principles of sound morality, to have
been as careful not to injure others. Did he think him
self engaged in a just war '.' Then he differed with
some of the wisest and best men of his own country.
No ! personal advantage, honour and glory Avere before
him, and it was the inordinate pursuit of these that
bhnded his judgment, and at length brought hira into the
snare which a wonder-working Providence spread for
him, and in which he was flnally taken.
There cannot be a doubt but that the motives of hu
manity strongly plead for him. But there are critical
times in the affairs of nations, as of individuals, when
it is necessary to have a regard to private interests, when
there is no sacrifice of principle. In the case under con
sideration there were great national interests at stake.
It was necessary that a crime so monstrous should receive
a decisive proof of public detestation, and be so visited by
a severe penalty that similar offences might be prevented
by the checks of a salutary terror. Indulgence would
have been a kindness to the individual. But it might
have been a dreadful unkindness to multitudes. The
general welfare might have been sacrificed to private
good. The complaints of Biitish Avriters against the hu
manity of Washington, founded on this act of rigid

288 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
justice, cannot be sustained. The merits of Andre's case
Avere fairly canvassed by a Board of fourteen General
Officers, who were unanimous in pronouncing him a
spy, and AVorthy of death. General Washington merely
confirmed their sentence, and is no more liable to censure,
than the Judge who acquiesces in the decision of a Jury,
and pronounces sentence of death on a criminal, in con
formity with their verdict. Could he, indeed, have dis
creetly incurred the responsibility of acting in opposition
to the judgment of so inteUigent and respectable a body
of men as those composing the board ? Could he have
indulged his benevolent sympathies in behalf of the
prisoner, when the dictates of justice and the interests of
his country called on him to take the side of a painful
but necessary rigor ? AVe dismiss this subject Avith the
single remark, that severity may sometimes be a virtue,
as contributing in its effects to the good of the whole.
On that principle the Divine Being often acts, confess
edly swayed by a perfect benevolence in so doing.
Captain AsgiU, whose case we have next to con
sider, was a young British officer, who had been taken
prisoner at York-Town, and sent to York, in Pennsyl-
A^ania, with others of Ijord CornwaUis' troops. He was
the only son of Sir Charles Asgill, and a highly amiable
youth. In consequence of a horrid murder of an Ameri
can officer, General Washington, with the advice of
his general officers, had resolved on retaliation. And
the lot fell upon this young man. As it Avas known to
be the unchangeable purpose of the Commander-in-chief
to carry this decision into execution, he was charged
Avith cruelty by British writers, and that in terras of
bitter severity. One of them, remarking on the letter of

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 289
Washington to Sir Guy Carleton, in which he repeats
his firm determination to retaliate in the case of Captain
Asgill, says, that it is " stern and even savage.'' There
were other reflections cast upon his conduct, more courtly
indeed than those alluded to, but clearly impeaching his
humanity. The following letters, mainly frora his own
pen, wiU fuUy explain the origin and nature of the case,
with the motives which controUed and directed his
course throughout.
On the 19th of April, 1782, he wrote from head
quarters, at Newburgh, to the General and Field Officers
of the Army, in the foUoAving terms : —
" The Commander-in-chief submits the papers accom
panying this, containing the case of Captain Joshua
Huddy, lately hanged within the county of Monmouth,
in New- Jersey State, by a party of the enemy, to the
consideration of the general officers of brigades and
regiments, and thereupon requests of them, separately
and in writing, a direct and laconic reply to the follow
ing queries.
" ' 1. Upon the state of facts in the above case, is reta
liation justifiable and expedient ?
" ' 2. If justifiable, ought it to take place immediately,
or should a previous representation be made to Sir
Henry CUnton, and satisfaction be demanded from him ?
" ' 3. In case of representation and demand, who should
be the person or persons to be required ?
" ' 4. In case of refusal, and retaliation becoming ne
cessary, of what description shall the officer be on whom
it is to take place ; and how shall he be designated for
the purpose ? ' "
" Twenty-five officers sent answers to the above que
25

290 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
ries in writing. They Avere unanimous in the opinion,
that retaliation was justifiable and expedient; that the
leader of the party, [Captain Lippencot,] who murdered
Captain Huddy, was the person Avho ought to suffer ;
and that, in case he could not be obtained, an officer
equal in rank to Captain Huddy should be selected by
lot from the British prisoners. TAventy-tAvo of the Ame
rican officers agreed in the decision, that a representation
should first be made to Sir Henry Clinton, and satisfaction
demanded; the other three thought, that the laws of
war, and the enormity of the offence justified, an im
mediate execution without previous notice to the British
commander." *
On the 20th of April the following letter was address
ed by hira to General Knox, and Gouvernour Morris,
then of Elizabethtown, N. J. and acting as commis
sioners for the transaction of certain matters of reciprocal
advantage to the two armies :
" Gentlemen,
" I have been favoured with your letter of the 16th
of AprU, by General Forman. Convinced from the
state of facts which have been exhibited to me, that
justice, expediency, and necessity, require that satis
faction should be obtained for the murder of Cap-
taui Huddy, I have in the first instance, made a
representation to Sir Henry Chnton, and demanded
that the officer Avho commanded the party, or, if he
was not a captain, such a number of agents in the exe
cution as are equal by tariff to that rank, should be
delivered up to condign punishment. In case of refusal
* Note by the Editor of Washington's Writings.'

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 291
I have formed the resolution, that retaliation shaU take
place upon a British officer of equal rank. It therefore
remains with the enemy alone to prevent this distressing
alternative ; for, having formed my opinion upon the
most mature reflection and deliberation, I can never
recede from it."
He Avrote the next day to Sir Henry Clinton : —
" Sir,
" The enclosed representation from the inhabitants of
the county of Monmouth, with testimonials to the facts,
which can be corroborated by other unquestionable evi
dence, Avill bring before your Excellency the most
Avanton, unprecedented, and inhuman murder, that
ever disgraced the arms of a civilized people.
" I shaU not, because I believe it to be altogether un
necessary, trouble your Excellency with any animad
versions upon this transaction. Candour obliges me to
be exphcit. To save the innocent, I demand the guilty.
Captain Lippencot, therefore, or the officer who com
manded at the execution of Captain Huddy, must be
given up ; or, if that officer was of inferior rank to him,
so many of the perpetrators as wiU, according to the
tariff of exchange, be an equivalent. To do this will
mark the justice of your ExceUency's character. In
failure of it, I shall hold myself justiflable, in the eyes of
God and man, for the measure to which I shall
resort. " I beg your Excellency to be persuaded, that it cannot
be more disagreeable to you to be addressed in this lan
guage, than it is to me to offer it; but the subject
requires frankness and decision. I have to request your

292 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
speedy determination, as my resolution is suspended but
for your answer."
About ten days after, he wrote to Brigadier-General
Hazen : —
" The enemy, persisting in that barbarous line of
conduct which they have pursued during the couise of
this war, have lately most inhumanly executed Captain
Joshua Huddy, of the Jersey State troops, taken prisoner
by them at a post on Tom's river ; and in consequence
I have Avritten to the British Commander-in-chief, that,
unless the perpetrators of that horrid deed Avere delivered
up, I should be under the disagreeable necessity of retali
ating, as the only means left to put a stop to such in
human proceedings.
" You wUl, therefore, immediately, on receipt of this,
designate by lot for the above purpose, a British captain,
who is an unconditonal prisoner, if such a one is in
your possession  I need not mention to you, that
every possible tenderness, that is consistent with the se
curity of him, should be shown to the person whose
unfortunate lot it may be to suffer. "
On the next day he wrote to General Robertson of
the British army, and now Commander-in-chief; Sir
Henry Clinton having saUed for Europe : —
"Head Quarters, 4th May, 1782.
" Sir,
"I have had the honour to receive your letter of
the 1st instant. Your Excellency is acquainted with
the determination expressed in my letter of the 21st of
AprU to Sir Henry Clinton. I have now to inform you,
that so far from receding from that resolution, orders are
given to designate a Brkish officer for retaliation. The

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON, 293
time and place are fixed ; but I stiU hope the result of
your court-martial avUI prevent this dreadful alternative.
" Sincerely lamenting the cruel necessity, which alone
can induce so distressing a raeasure in the present in
stance, I do assure your Excellency, that I am as earn
estly desirous as you can be, that the war may be carried
on agreeably to the rules which humanity formed, and
the example of the politest nations recommends, " (fee.
To the Secretary at War.
" Newburgh, 4th May, 1782.
" Dear Sir,
" By the letter to Brigadier-General Hazen, which I
have enclosed to you under a flying-seal for your inspec
tion, you Avill observe the distressing alternative to which
we are at last reduced.
"As soon as the British officer, Avhose unfortunate lot it
is to be designated as the object of retaliation, shall arrive
in Philadelphia, it avUI be necessary to have a sufficient
escort, under the command of a very discreet and vigilant
officer. ********
" Keenly wounded as my feelings avUI be, at the de
plorable destiny of the unhappy victim, no gleam of
hope can arise to him but from the conduct ofthe enemy
themselves. This he may be permitted to communicate
to the British Commander-in-chief, in whose power alone
it rests to avert the impending vengeance from the inno
cent by executing it on the guilty. "
The foUoAving letter, or rather extract of a letter, writ
ten by General Hazen to General Washington, will
show the proceedings in designating the victim of reta
liation. 25*

294 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" On the evening of the 25th instant, I received your
ExceUency's letters of the 3d and 18th. As I had to
collect the British captains, prisoners of war at this place
[Lancaster, Pennsylvania,] and Yorktown, it was ten
o'clock this raorning before I could assemble those gen
tlemen together. At the drawing of lots, which was
done in the presence of Major Gordon and all the Brit
ish captains Avithin the limits prescribed, the unfortu
nate lot has fallen on Captain Charles AsgiU, of the
guards, a young gentleman nineteen years of age ; a
most amiable character ; the only son of Sir Charles
AsgiU ; heir to an extensive fortune, and an honourable
title ; and, of course, he has great interest in the British
court and army. The British officers are highly enraged
at the conduct of Sir Henry Clinton ; they have solicited
my leave to send an officer to New- York on this occa
sion, or that I should intercede with the minister of Avar
to grant it. Being fully convinced, that no inconve
nience could possibly arise to our cause from this indul
gence, but, on the contrary, that good policy and hu
manity dictate the measure, I was pleased at the appli
cation, and Avith cheerfulness have recommended to the
minister of war, to grant the honomable Captain LudloAV,
son to the earl of LutUow, leave to carry the repre
sentation of those unfortunate officers, who openly
declare they have been deserted by theh General, and
given up to suffer for the sins of the guilty," <fec.
Major Gordon, the principal officer among the British
prisoners at Lancaster, wrote to Sir Guy Carleton* as
follows, after informing him of Captain Asgill's having
been selected for retaliation :
* This oiScer had just arrived as successor of Sir H. Choton,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 295
" I have done all in my power to prevent it, Avhich
I hope Avill meet with your approbation. Lots were
drawn by the captains of Lord CoruAvaUis' army present
here, and when the unfortunate chance fell to Captain
Asgill, he received it with that firm coolness that would
have reflected honour upon any officer in his Majesty's
service. The delicate manner in which General Hazen
communicated his orders to the British officers, shows
him to be a man of real feeling ; and the mild treatment
the prisoners have met with since we carae to this place,
deserves the warraest acknowledgments of every British
officer. '
On the 4th of June, General Washington wrote to
Colonel Elias Dayton : —
" Sir,
" I am just informed by the Secretary at war, that
Captain Asgill, of the British guards, an unfortunate
officer, who is destined to be the unhappy victim to
atone for the death of Captain Huddy, had arrived in
Philadelphia, and would set off very soon for the Jersey
line, the place assigned for his execution. He avUI
probably arrive as soon as this will reach you, and will
be attended by Captain Ludlow, his friend, whom he
wishes to be permitted to go into New- York, with an
address to Sir Guy Carleton in his behalf
You Avill, therefore, give permission to Captain Ludlow,
to go by the way of Dobbs' Ferry into New- York, with
such representation as Captain AsgUl shaU please to make
to Sir Guy Carleton. At the same time, I would wish
you to intimate to the gentlemen, that, although I am
deeply affected with the unhappy fate, to which Captain
AsgUl is subjected, yet, that it wUl be to no purpose for

296 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
them to make any representation to Sir Guy Carleton,
which may serve to draw on a discussion of the present
point of retaliation ; that in the stage to which the matter
has been suffered to run, aU argumentation on the sub
ject is entirely precluded on ray part; that my resolutions
have been grounded on so mature dehberation, that they
must remain unalterably fixed. You will also inform
the gentiemen, that while ray duty calls me to make
this decisive determination, humanity prompts a tear
for the unfortunate offering, and inclines me to say,
that I most devoutly wish his hfe may be spared.
" In the mean time, I must begthat you Avill be pleased
to treat Captain AsgUl with every tender attention and
politeness, (consistent with his present situation,) which
his rank, fortune, and connexions, together with his un
fortunate state, demand."
Writing to John Dickinson, President of Delaware, on
the 19th of June, he says : —
" I feel myself exceedingly distressed on this occasion ;
but my resolutions having been taken on the most
mature dehberation, supported by the approbation of
Congress, and grounded on the general concurrence of
all the principal officers of the army, who were parti
cularly consulted, they cannot be receded from. Justice to
the army and the public, my own honour, and I think
I may venture to say, universal benevolence, require
them to be carried into fuU execution. It rests, therefore,
with the British Commander-in-chief to prevent this un
happy measure from taking effect. The matter is now
in agitation ; and I am told that a strict inquiry is mak
ing into the conduct of Lippencot, who is charged as be
ing the principal perpetrator ofthe cruel murder of Cap-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 2S7
tain Huddy. Should this inquiry lead to a giving of
satisfaction by a compliance Avith my original demand to
Sir Henry Clinton, my feelings Avill be greatiy reheved,
and I need not assure y )U, that I shaU receive the
highest pleasure from such an event."
The trial of Captain Lippencot by a general court-
martial, Avhich Avas in progress Avhen the above letter was
written, issued in the acquittal of that officer. He was
no doubt guUty of the murder of Pluddy, but was screen
ed, according to the general belief, by an Association of
Loyalists, under whose authority he had acted. The
British commanders Avere aAvare of this wicked conniv
ance, and altogether dissatisfied Avith the acquittal of
Lippencot. Of this Sir Guy Carleton gave General
Washington pretty plain intimations, when apprizing him
of the decision of the court-martial. To this corarauni-
cation, the following letter frora Washington to the Pre
sident of Congress refers ;^its date. Newburgh, 19 Au
gust, 1782 :
" As Sir Guy Carleton, notAvithstanding the acquittal
of Lippencot, reprobates the measure in unequivocal
terms, and has given assurance of prosecuting a further
inquiry, it has changed the ground I was proceeding up
on, and placed the matter upon an extremely delicate
footing. **#*»#»*
" The same reason Avhich induced me to lay the first
steps I took in this affair before Congress, urged me to
submit it to them at its present stage. It is a great
national concern, upon which an individual ought not
to decide. I shaU be glad to be favoured Avith the deter
mination of Congress as early as possible, as I shall sns-

299 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
pend giving any ansAver to Sir Guy Carleton, until I
am informed hoAV far they are satisfied with his conduct
hitherto. " I cannot close this letter without making a remark
upon that part of Sir Guy Carleton's, in which he
charges me with want of humanity in selecting a victim
from among the British officers so early as I did. He
ought to consider, that by the usages of war, and upon
the principles of retahation, I should have been justified
in executing an officer of equal rank with Captain Huddy,
immediately uponj receiving proofs of his murder ; and
then informing Sir Henry Clinton that I had done so.
Besides, it was impossible for me to foresee, that it would
be so very long before the matter would be brought to
some kind of issue."
It was some time before Congress acted on the matter
thus referred to their judgment. This delay was a great
trial to Washington's patience. He could not anticipate
their action, and of course every proceeding on his part
was suspended. In the meantime Sir Guy Carleton
looked for an answer, young AsgUl Avas tortured with
suspense, and the public were indulging surmises and
reflections in regard to the matter. In a letter to a mem
ber of Congress, Washington thus e;!f presses himself in
part on the subject. The letter was dated Verplank's
Point, 30 September, 1782 :
" The particular cause of my disquietude at this time
arises frora two things. First, whUe I am totaUy sUent
to the pubhc, AA'^aiting the decision of Congress on the
case of Huddy, I see publications on this head (importing
reflections) in one of the Pennsylvania papers, which no,
man could have made, tbat had not access to my official

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 299
letter ofthe 19th of August to Congress ; and secondly,
because I feel exceedingly for Captain Asgill, who was
designated by lot in retaliation for Captain Huddy.
While retaliation was apparently necessary, however
disagreeable in itself, I had no repugnance to the
measure. But Avhen the end proposed by it is answered,
by a disavowal of the act, by a dissolution of the board
of refugees, and by a promise (Avhether Avith or Avithout
meaning to comply Avith it, I shaU not determine), that
further inquisition should be made into the matter, I
thought it incumbent upon me, before I proceeded any
farther in the matter, to have the sense of Congress, Avho
had most explicitly approved, and imphedly indeed or
dered retaliation to take place.
" The letter of Asgill, a copy of which I enclose, and
the situation of his father, which I am made acquainted
with by the British prints, work too powerfully upon my
humanity not to wish that Congress would chalk a line
for me to walk by in this business. To effect this is the
cause of the trouble you now receive from, dear Sir,
" Your most obedient, and most humble servant."
" Captain Asgill had been for some time released from
close confinement, and allowed to go at large on parole
at Chatham, and in the neighbourhood of that place.
He wrote to General Washington, requesting permission
to return to Europe, on account of the iUness of his father,
and the distressed state of his mother and sister in con
sequence of that event, and of their anxiety for the fate
impending over the son and brother.
" In AAiTiting to the secretary of war, a week after the
above letter. General Washington said ; ' The delay of

300 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Congress places me not only in a very delicate, but a very
awkward situation. Were I to give my private opinion
respecting Asgill, I would pronounce in favour of his be
ing released from his duress, and that he should be per
mitted to go to his friends in Europe." — Note by the
Editor of Washington's toritings.
Duringthe month of October, General Washington re
ceived a letter from Count de Vergennes, containing a
very pathetic appeal in behalf of Captain AsgUl. This
letter enclosed one from Lady AsgiU to the Count, beg
ging his intercession with General Washington in favour
of her son. The letter of the French Minister was in
the following affecting strain : —
"Versailles, 29th July, 1782.
" Sir, " It is not in the quality of 'a King, the friend and
ally of the United States, (though Avith the knowledge
and consent of His Majesty,) that I now have the honour
to write to your Excellency. It is as a man of sensibility
and a tender father, who feels all the force of paternal
love, that I take the hberty to address to your ExceUency
my earnest solicitations in favour of a mother and family
in tears. Her situation seems the more worthy of notice
on our part, as it is to the humanity of a nation at war
with her own, that she has recourse, for what she ought
to receive from the impartial justice of her OAvn Ge
nerals. " I have the honour to enclose to your ExceUency a
copy of a letter, which Lady AsgiU has just written me.
I am not known to her, nor was I acquainted that her
son was the unhappy victim, destined by lot to expiate
the odious crime that a formal denial of justice obliges

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 301
you to avenge. Your ExceUency wUl not read this letter
without being extremely affected ; it had that effect upon
the King and Q,ueen, to whom I communicated it.
The goodness of their Majesties' hearts induces them to
desire, that the inquietudes of an unfortunate mother
may be calmed,, and her tenderness reassured. I felt,
sir, that there are cases where humanity itself exacts the
most extrerae rigour ; perhaps the one now in question
may be of the number — but, allowing reprisals to be
just, it is not less horrid to those who are the victims ;
and the character of your Excellency is too Avell known,
for me not to be persuaded, that you desire nothing more
than to be able to avoid the disagreeable necessity.
" There is one consideration, sir, which, though it is
not decisive, may have an influence on your resolution.
Captain Asgill is, doubtiess, your prisoner, but he is
among^those Avhom the arms of the King contributed to
put into your hands at Yorktown. Though this circum
stance does not operate as a safeguard, it however justi
fies the interest I permit myself to take in this affair.
If it is in your power, sir, to consider, and have regard
to it, you will do what is agreeable to their majesties ;
the danger of young AsgiU, the tears, the despair of his
mother, affect them sensibly ; and they wUl see with
pleasure the hope of consolation shine out for those un
fortunate people.
" In seeking to dehver Mr. AsgiU from the fate which
threatens him, I am far from engaging you to secure
another victim ; the pardon, to be perfectiy satisfactory,
must be entire. I do not imagine it can be productive of
any bad consequences. If the English General has not
been able to punish the horrible crime you complain of,
26

302 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
in so exemplary a manner as he should, there is reason
to think that he wiU take the most efficacious measures
to prevent the hke in future.
" I sincerely wish, sir, that my intercession may meet
success ; the sentiment which dictates it, and which you
have not ceased to manifest on every occasion, assures
me, that you will not be indifferent to the prayers
and to the tears of a family, which has recourse to your
clemency through me. It is rendering homage to your
virtue to implore it.
" I have the honour to be, with the most perfect consi
deration, sir, yours, (fee.
"Vergennes."
This letter and the enclosed copy of Lady AsgUl's
were, when received, transmitted to the President of
Congress. Being taken into consideration by that body,
it was resolved " that the Commander-in-chief be, and
he is hereby directed, to set Captain AsgUl at hberty."
When diUy informed of this resolution. General Wash
ington wrote the foUowing letter to Captain AsgUl.
" Head-Quarters, 13th Nov. 1782.
" Sir, " It affords me singular pleasure, to have it in my
power to transmit to you the enclosed copy of an Act of
Congress, of the 7th instant, by which you are released
fi-om the disagreeable circumstances in Avhich you have
so long been. Supposing that you would wish to go
into New- York as soon as possible, I also enclose a pass
port for that pmpose.
" Your letter of the 18th of October, came regularly
to my hands. I beg you to believe, that my not an
swering it sooner, did not proceed from inattention to

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 303
you, or a want of feehng for your situation. I daily ex
pected a determination of your case, and I thought it
better to await that, than to feed you with hopes, that
might in the end prove fruitless. You avUI attribute my
detention ofthe enclosed letters, Avhich have been in my
hands about a fortnight, to the same cause.
" I cannot take leave of you, sir, without assuring
you, that, in whatever hght my agency in this unplea
sant affair may be viewed, I v/as never influenced,
thiough the Avhole of it, by sanguinary motives, but by
what I conceived to be a sense of my duty, which loudly
called upon me to take measures, however disagreeable,
to prevent a repetition of those enormities which have
been the subject of discussion. And that this important
end is hkely to be answered, Avithout the effusion of the
blood of an innocent person, is not a greater relief to you,
than it is to, sir, your most obedient and humble ser
vant." On the 21st of November, he wrote to Count de Ver
gennes in answer to his letter. The conclusion of his
coraraunication Avas in the following words : —
" Captain Asgill has been released, and is at perfect li
berty to return to the arms of an affectionate parent, whose
pathetic address to your Excellency could not fail of inte
resting every feeling heart in her behalf I have no right
to assume any particular merit from the lenient manner in
which this disagreeable affair has terminated. But I beg
you to believe, sir, that I most sincerely rejoice, not only be
cause your huraane intentions are gratified, but because
the event accords with the wishes of His Most Christian
Majesty, and His Royal and Amiable Consort, who, by
theij benevolence and mnnificence, have endeared them-

304 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
selves to every true American. I have the honour to
be," (fee.
With every impartial person, we conceive that the de
tail now submitted, must be conclusive of Washington's
benevolent and humane sensibilities in reference to this
case. Though inflexible in his purposes of rigour — yet
these were cherished from a sense of duty and not from
any Avant of syrapathy in the sufferings of others. He
evidently thought that the partial sacriflce in question,
was demanded by the claims of " universal benevolence."
What his views and feelings were respecting the princi
ple in the abstract, and of course, as it was involved in
in the case before us, may be learned from the unbiassed
expression of his sentiments on that subject, in a letter
to General Greene, written some months before the event
whose occurrence subjected him to so severe a trial.
General Greene had requested the opinion of Congress,
and of the Commander-ui-chief, on the point of retalia
tion, in reference to the murder of Colonel Hayne by the
enemy. General Washington in reply, wrote hira, un
der date of December 15th, 1781 :
" I really know not what to say on the subject of retal
iation. Congress have it under consideration, and Ave
must await their determination. Of this I am convinced,
that of aU laws, it is the most difficult to execute, where
you have not the transgressor himself in your possession.
Humanity wiU ever interfere and plead strongly against
the sacrifice of an innocent person for the guilt of ano
ther." We sliaU detain the reader with a single remark. If
we have devoted to the subject of this chapter, (the hu
manity of Washington,) more space than some are dis-

CHARACtllR OF WASHINGTON. 305
posed to consider necessary, we think a sufficient reason
may be assigned. There was no one virtue in the father
of his country more exposed than this to the as
saults of temptation, nor one more frequently or violently
impeached by his enemies. A considerable portion of
his life being spent amidst scenes of mUitary conflict,
where spectacles of human suffering and bloodshed were
constantly before him, it is certain that the trial of his
virtue was great, and liable to suspicion from the very
fact of its exposm'e to influences so malign. If to these
unfaA'ourable accidents, we add the trying circumstances
and embarrassing duties of his high station, with all the
responsibilities and fearful consequences involved in the
faithful and effectual discharge of its obligations, we can
not be surprised, that a course of conduct should some
times be imposed on him, by which he Avould be rendered
hable to charges of inhumanity with partial, interested,
and incompetent judges. A military life is confessedly
adverse to the benignant feelings and sympathies of our
nature ; and in estimating their prevalence in the cha
racter of a Avarrior, great allowance should be made for
his pecuhar position and the unpropitious influences
thereof. In the present instance Ave claim the advantage
of this reasonable concession ; and if it is freely granted,
the question is settled. Nor only so. Washington's right
to the honour of this virtue will stand on the highest
ground : the closest scrutiny, we think, wiU serve to en
hance his claims, and show him entitled to a credit ren
dered the more iUustrious from the severity of the ordeal
through which it was his pecuhar destiny to pass.

26*

306 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER XIV.
HIS VIEWS OF PROFANE SWEARING,
GAMING AND DRUNKENNESS.
In the history of profaneness, there is this singular pe
culiarity ; that, whUst no man pretends to excuse or justi
fy it, there are yet multitudes of our race who give it the
sanction of their practical approval. The vice is acknow
ledged to be evil, and only evil, whUst the temptations to it
are few and feeble ; and yet many, in spite of their convic
tions, indulge in it, heedless of the consequences to them
selves or others.
In so serious a light does the Almighty regard this
offence, that He has included it among the sins specially
denounced in the decalogue. That there was ample
reason for this solemn prohibition, will be admitted by all
who duly consider the essential malignity of the vice,
and the injury done by it to the transgressor himself, as
to those with whom his example may have authority and
influence. The sin has its origin in a wrong state of the affec
tions. There must be irreverence towards God in the
heart, before the same could have so decided a mani
festation in the speech. The effect of indulgence in this,
as in everv other bad propensity, is to augment its force.
Habit gives strength and energy to the passion. The

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 307
smothered flre exposed to the quickening breeze, is
soon fanned into a flame. Nor is there any atmosphere
more Avithering to the buds of grace and virtue than that
of profaneness. Under its scorching influence there is
a gradual decay of every better feeling ; and waxing
worse and worse as his corruption spreads, man is at
length totally deserted by Him whose sacred name he
has not feared to dishonour, whenever incited thereto by
the impulses either of anger or of mirth.
Whilst the injury is great to the swearer himself, the
effects of his iniquity are not less serious in regard to so
ciety at large. Nothing is more demoralizing in its
influence upon mankind, than profane swearing. It not
only weakens Avhat has been termed the moral sense
in those Avho piuctise it, but very much corrupts that es
sential faculty in those Avho hear with frequency, the
polluting sounds of blasphemy. Where the vice pre
vails, the fear of God is never found ; and men, released
from the salutary checks of conscience and religion, give
free scope to their passions, and submit to no restraints
but those which self-interest may impose.
Gaming also is a practice, vicious in itself, and very
detrimental to society.- Whatever apologies may be made
for it by those interested in its defence, it is nevertheless
certain, that there are few vices more intrinsically evil,
or relatively injurious. As profaneness is a violation of
the command, " Thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord wiU not hold him guilt
less that taketh his name in vain," - so this is indulged, in
contravention of the command " Thou shalt not steal."
There are but two ways in which a man can honestly be
come the possessor ofthe property of others ; that is, by free

308 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
gift, or by returning an equivalent for what is received)
Now it is by neither of these methods, that the gamestei"
acquires the property of his associates. He does not receive
it as a free gift, nor does he give them an equivalent fof
their property. Their wealth has been transferred to his
coffers, sorely against their wiU, and he is in possession
of it Avithout the sacrifice of a farthing on his part ; and
it Avas with the desire for, and hope of such a result, that
he sat down to the gaming table. He coveted his neigh
bour's money, and avaUs himself of this Avay of getting
it from him, careless of the consequences to him, regard
less of his sufferings or his total ruin.
In such an engagement there must be the worst feel
ings embarked. Besides the "accursed love of gold,"Avhich
moves the whole, there is a feverish excitement of selfish
desire, which withers every generous feeling of the breast,
and exhausts every energy of mind and body. Self is
the idol at Avhose shrine the parties offer their adorations.
To this, as to another Moloch, do they sacrifice every
good affection, every tender sympathy, every claim of
humanity. No matter how severe the calamity, of for
tune lost, and famUy beggared ; no matter Avhat anguish
may wring the tortured soul of the loser ; the winner
in his triumph is heedless of it all. He Avitnesses the
distress he has caused, and cherishes no feeling of sym
pathy, nor any kind purpose of relieving the unhappy
sufferer. He could do so without injury to himself.
It Avould only be necessary for him to restore what be
longed to the other, and when thus restored, would leave
him where he was before the game commenced. But
this he will not do. He chooses to retain his ill-gotten

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 309
gains, that he may expend them in guilty extravagance
or in raiserly accumulation.
This unhallowed pursuit involves, moreover, a total
subversion of the economy of social life. The order of
Providence directs to honest and patient industry, as the
means of acquiring the ordinary benefits of earth. The
appointment is fraught with the richest blessings to men.
It gains for them a competency of Avorldly goods, Avith
comfort, health, and security. There is no other course
of conduct so favourable to the development of virtue and
the attainment of true happiness. Such a life is the
friend of sobriety, the nurse of contentment, and aid of
godliness. In this Avay alone can individuals or com
munities prosper. In this way alone can they gain
happiness for this life, or hope for the next. But with
this beneficent provision of a kind providence, the love
of play is entirely at war. Instead of industry, with its
train of blessings, there is idleness, extravagance, waste,
improvidence, fraud, inhumanity and impiety. If such
a spirit prevaUed universally, society Avould be dissolv
ed, and aU its precious blessings be no more.
The crime of Drunkenness is one of hideous aspect,
and appalling consequences. There is, hoAvever, less oc
casion to discuss this vice, because many pens and
tongues have been of late actively engaged in displaying
its enormity, and holding up its evils to the public view.
In all that is said of its guilt, its malignity, and awful
effects we entirely concur. It has, indeed, been the un
relenting scourge of our earth, and is now one ofthe
most dreadful curses by which the race is afflicted. It
is at this hour one of the most prolific sources of disease,
disgrace, poverty, and death, that is known in our world

310 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AKD
and more than any thing else, demands the zeal of the
patriot, phUanthropist, and Christian, in order to its correc
tion and final extinction.
Wise and good men have ever been the uncompromis
ing enemies of the evil practices and habits here detaUed.
Regarding thera as offensive to God and destructive to
men, they have held it their duty to condemn their in
dulgence, and endeavour to arrest their groAvth and
prevalence. Among the many Avorthies who have borne a decided
J and unequivocal testimony against them, the subject of
these pages is entitied to a high rank. From an early
period of his life he seems to have been impressed with a
proper sense of the great evil of them, and to have used
his influence, on aU proper occasions, to discourage and
suppress them in those with whom he might have Aveight
and authority.
In a letter written to an inferior officer of the army,
in the year 1756, he has the following language :
''The Governour seems determined to make the Offi
cers comply with the terms of Ifiolding their commissions,
or forfeit them  He seems uneasy at what I
OAvn gives me much concern ; naraely, that gaming is
introduced into the camp. I am ordered to discourage
it, and must desire that you Avill intimate the same."
In reference to this and kindred topics he wrote to
Governour Dinwiddie, from Winchester, under date of
AprU 18th, 1756.
" Sir,
" It gave rae inflnite concern to find in yours, by Go
vernour Innes, that any representations should inflame
the Assembly against the Virginia regiment, or give cause

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 311
to suspect the morahty and good behaviour of the offi
cers. How far any ofthe individuals may have deserved
such reflections, I will not take upon me to determine ; but
this I am certain of, and can call my conscience, and
Avhat 1 suppose will be a still more demonstrative proof
in the eyes ofthe world, ray orders, to witness how ranch
I have, both by threats and persuasive raeans, endeav
cured to discountenance gam,ing, drinking, swearing,
and irregularities of every other kind ; while I have,
on the other hand, practised every artifice to inspire a
laudable eraulation in the officers for the service of their
country, and to encourage the soldiers in the unerring
exercise of their duty. Hoav far I have failed in this
desirable end, I cannot pretend to say. But it is never
theless a point, which does in my opinion merit some
scrutiny, before it meets with a final condemnation.
Yet I will not undertake to vouch for the conduct of
many of the officers, as I know there are some, who
have the seeds of idleness very strongly implanted in
their natures. * It******
" However, if I continue in the service, I shall take
care to act with a little more rigour, than has hitherto
been practised, since I find it so necessary."
In the succeeding June, whilst at Fort Cumberland,
the following orders Avere issued by the Commander: —
" Colonel Washington has observed, that the men
of his regiment are very profane and reprobate. He
takes this opportunity to inform them of his gi-eat dis
pleasure at such practices, and assures them that, if
they do not leave them off, they shaU be severely
punished. The officers are desired, if they hear any

312 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
man swear, or make use of an oath or execration, to
order the offender twenty-five lashes immediately, Avith
out a cour^martial. For the second offence he wiU be
more severljr punished."
In Septei^jr he wrote, from Mount Vernon, to Gover
nour Dinwiddje : —
" I apprehend it will be thought advisable to keep a
garrison ahvays at Fort Loudoun ; for which reason I
would beg leave' to represent the number of tippling-
houses in Winchester, as a great nusiance to the soldiers,
who, by this means, in despite of the utmost care and
vigUance, are, so long as their pay holds out, inces
santly drunk, and unfit for service."
The day after General Washington took command
of the American army, under the authority of Congress,
he issued orders to the troops, of which the following is
an extract :
" The General most earnestly requires and expects a
due observance of those articles of war, established for
the government of the army, which forbid profane curs
ing, swearing, and drunkenness. And in hke manner,
he requires and expects of aU officers and soldiers, not
engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on divine
service," (fee.
On the 26th of February, 1776, the foUoAving orders
were issued :
" All officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers,
are positively forbid playing at cards and other games
of chance. At this time of public distress, men may find
enough to do in the service of their God and their coun
try, without abandoning themselves to vice and immo-
rahty."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 313
From the Orderly Book, August 30. — " The General
is sorry to be informed, that the foolish and wicked prac
tice of profane cursing and sAvearing, a vice heretofore
little knoAvn in an American, army, is groAving into
fashion ; he hopes the officers Avill, by example as Avell as
influence, endeavour to check it ; and that both they and
the men Avill reflect, that we can have httle hope of the
blessing of heaven on our arms, if Ave insult it by our im
piety and folly ; added to this, it is a vice so mean and
loAV, without any temptation, that every man of sense and
character detests and despises it."
In a circular to the brigadier-generals, dated 26tli of
May, 1777, are the foUoAving instructions:
" Let vice and immorality of every kind be discouragetl
as much as possible in your brigade ; and, as a chaplain
is aUowed to each regiment, see that the men regularly
attend divine Avorship. Gaming of every kind is ex
pressly forbidden, as being the foundation of evil, and the
cause of many a brave and gallant officer's ruin. Games
of exercise for amusement, may not only be permitted
but encouraged."*
* As an evidence of Washington's disposition to encourage among
his troops, innocent diversions in place of vicious ones ; the following
anecdote may not be unacceptable.
"In the year 1780, a command of about five hundred men had been
detached from the main army, to a post on the bank of the Hudson,
above Fort Lee, at what is now ctvlled, we believe, "The Pallisadoes."
Soon after, General Washington, accompanied by his staif, visited the
command. After the usual parade and salute, the troops stacked arms ;
and several of the officers and men amused themselves with efforts to
cast stones from the high bluff, (which to the eye appeared almost per
pendicular,) into the river ; but no one was able to effect it. Wash
ington, sitting on his charger, and \fitiiessing the sport, tmiled at the
ineffectual attempts, dismounted, gave his sword to his servant, search-
27

314

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

The foUowing is an extract of a private letter written
to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, then a student of
laAV in Philadelphia, and afterwards heir of Mount Ver
non, and an associate judge of the Supreme Court of the
UnUed States. It wUl be found to contain a forcible re
iteration of views, presented in our previous citations.
"Newburgh, 15th Jan. 1783.
" Dear Bushrod,
»***»***
" Let the object, which carried you to Philadelphia, be
always before your eyes. Remember, that it is not the
mere study of the law, but to become eminent in the pro
fession of it, that is to yield honour and profit. The first
was your choice ; let the second be your ambition. Dis
sipation is incompatible with both ; the company in
which you will unprove most, wiU be the least expensive
to you ; and yet I am not such a stoic as to suppose that
you wUl, or to think it right that you should, always be
in company with senators and philosophers ; but of the
juvenile kind, let me advise you to be choice. It is easy
to make acquaintances, but very difficult to shake them
off, hoAvever irksome and unprofitable they are found,
after Ave have once committed ourselves to them. The
ed for a stone, and finding a suitable one, took two or three quick steps,
and giving it a jerk, it seemed to take wings, and scaling a considera
ble distance almost horizontally, struck the water, at least a rod frora
the shore. All the troops witnessed the feat, and gave three spontan
eous cheers, when the General, without the least appearance of hav
ing made an exertion, remounted and returned to the camp. It would
be difficult to describe the sensations felt by the spectators, of this feat
of muscular strength, however trivial, performed by the idol of the
army."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 315
indiscretions, which very often they involuntary lead
one into, prove equally distressing and disgraceful.
" Be courteous to aU, but intimate with few ; and let
those few be well tried before you give them your confi
dence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and
must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity be
fore it is entitled to the appeUation.
" Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of
every one, and let your hand give in proportion to your
purse ; remembering always the estimation of the wi
dow's mite, but, that it is not every one that asketh, that
deserveth charity ; all, hoAvever, are worthy of the in
quiry, or the deserving may suffer.
" Do not conceive that fine clothes make fine men, any
more than fine feathers make fine birds. A plain gen
teel dress is more admired, and obtains more credit, than
lace and embroidery, in the eyes of the judicious and
sensible. " The last thing which I shaU mention, is first in im
portance ; and that is, to avoid gam,ing. This is a vice
Avhich is productive of every possible evU ; equally in
jurious to the morals and health of its votaries. It is the
child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and father of
mischief. It has been the ruin of many worthy fami
lies, the loss of many a man's honour, and the cause of
suicide. To all those who enter the hsts, it is equally
fascinating. The successful gamester pushes his good
fortune, till it is overtaken by a reverse. The losing
gamester, in hopes of retrieving past misfortunes, goes
on from bad to worse, tiU grown desperate, he pushes at
every thing and loses his ajl. In a word, few gain by
this abominable practice, Ayhile thousands are injured.

316 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" Perhaps you Avill say, ' My conduct has anticipated
the advice,' and, ' not one of the cases apphes to me.' I
shall be heartily glad of it. It wiU add not a little to
my happiness, to find those to whom I am so nearly con
nected, pursuing the right walk of life ; it will be the sure
road to ray favour, and to those honours and places of
profit, Avhich their country can bestow ; as merit rarely
goes unrcAvarded. I am, dear Bushrod, your affectionate
uncle." Thus strong and emphatic Avas the condemnation,
Avhich these vices incurred at the hands of the Father of
his Country. Nor wUl any, Avho have carefully marked
the tone and spirit of his admonitions, be disposed to as
cribe his opposition to a mere love of order, or concern
for the interests of the service in which he was engaged.
It is manifest that his disapprobation Avas cordial, spring
ing from a real and fixed aversion to the habits them
selves. They Avere offensive to his sense of moral and
religious propriety, and therefore discouraged, from prin
ciple, through every period of his life. It need scarcely
be added, that his example Avas in harmony with his
precepts, and was ahvays considered as fully authorizing
the decision and zeal AA'ith which he censured vice in
those who were in any way subject to his command.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 317

CHAPTER XV

HIS VIEWS OF WAR.
There is no fruit of huraan corruption raore strongly
marked Avith the impress of its unholy origin, than ag
gressive war. Few practices known in our world, can
be for a moment compared with this, for its essential ma
lignity of purpose, and its desolation of huraan happiness
and virtue. It exhibits at once the strongest proof of hu
man depravity, and the fearful connexion established
between vice and suffering. For it is indeed " the day
of the Lord, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger.". It
is a case in which retribution pursues transgression Avith
unwonted rapidity. In many instances of human folly
and sin, vengeance slumbers for a season. But here, as
if to deter mankind from an iniquity thus monstrous
and fatal, the punishment is so blended with the offence,
that the delusive hope of impunity can never be cherish
ed. If the Avorst effects of the storm are not encoun
tered, yet to pass through entirely unscathed is next to an
irapossibUity. If the physical evUs are escaped, yet the
moral will not be. If the body is not sacrificed, yet wUl
27*

318 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
a more costly offering be made in the immolation of the
spirit, in the loss of its virtue and its happiness.
" War," says a celebrated writer, * " may be considered
in two views, — as it affects the happiness, and as it affects
the virtue of mankind ; as a source of misery, and as a
source of crimes.
" 1. Though ice must all die, as the woman of Te-
koa said, and are as water spilt upon the grou?id
which cannot be gathered up, yet it is impossible for
a human mind to contemplate the rapid extinction of
innumerable lives Avithout concern. To perish in a mo
ment, to be hurried instantaneously, without preparation
and Avithout warning, into the presence of the Supreme
Judge, has something in it inexpressibly awful and af
fecting  War is the work, the element, or
rather the sport and triumph of death, who glories, not
only in the strength of his conquests, but in the richness
of his spoU. In the other methods of attack, in the other
forms Avhich death assumes, the feeble and the aged,
who at the best can live but a short time, are usually the
victims ; here it is the vigorous and the strong. It is
remarked by an ancient historian, that 'in peace children
bury their parents, in war parents bury theii- children :'
nor is the difference small. ChUdren lament their pa
rents, sincerely indeed, but with that moderate and tran
quil sorrow which it is natural for those to feel who are
conscious of retaining many tender ties, many animating
prospects. Parents mourn for their children with the
bitterness of despair; the aged parent, the Avidowed
mother, loses, when she is deprived of her children,
?Robert Hall. •

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 319
every thing but the capacity of suffering ; her heart
Avithered and desolate, admits no other object, cherishes
no other hope. It is Rachael iceeping for her children,
and refusing to be comforted because they are not.
" What a scene must a field of battie present, Avhere
thousands are left without assistance and without pity,
Avith their wounds exposed to the piercing air, Avhile the
blood, freezing as it flows, binds them to the earth, amid
the trampling of horses and the insults of an enraged
foe ! If they are spared by the humanity of the enemy,
and carried from the field, it is but a prolongation of tor
ment. Conveyed in uneasy vehicles, often to a remote
distance, through roads almost impassable, they are
lodged in ill-prepared receptacles for the Avounded and the
sick, where the variety of distress baffles aU the efforts of
humanity and skiU, and renders it impossible to give
to each the attention he demands. Far from their native
home, no tender assiduities of friendship, no well-knoAvn
voice, no Avife, or mother, or sister, is near to soothe their
sorrows, reUeve their thirst, or close their eyes in death.
Unhappy man ! and must you be swept into the grave
unnoticed and unnumbered, and no friendly tear be shed
for your sufferings or mingled AvUh your dust? "
After other forcible reflections on the numerous evils
of Avar, besides those Avhich touch the persons and lives
of men, our author proceeds to make the foUowing re
marks on the influence of national warfare on the morals
of mankind. " The contests of nations are both the offspring and
the parent of injustice. The word of God ascribes the
existence of war to the disorderly passions of mankind.
Whence corns wars and fightings among you ? saith

320

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

the apostie James ; come they not from your lusts that
war in your members 7 It is certain that two nations
cannot engage in hostilities, but one party must be guUty
of injustice ; and if the magnitude of crimes is to be
estimated by a regard to their consequences, it is difficult
to conceive an action of equal guUt Avith the wanton vio
lation of peace. Though soraething must generaUy be
alloAved for the complexness and intricacy of national
claims, and the consequent liabUity to (ieception, yet
where the guiU of an unjust war is clear and manifest,
it sinks every other crime into insignificance. If the ex
istence of war alAA-ays implies injustice in one at least
of the parties concerned, it is also the fruitful parent of
crimes. It reverses with respect to its objects, all the rules
of morality. It is nothing less than a temporary repeal
of the principles of virtue. It is a system out of which
almost all the virtues are excluded, and in which nearly
all the vices are incorporated. Whatever renders human
nature amiable or respectable, whatever engages love or
confidence, is sacrificed at its shrine. In instructing us to
consider a portion of our fellow-creatures as the proper
objects of enmity, it removes, as fa-r as they are con
cerned, the basis of all society, of aU ciA'ilization and
virtue ; for the basis of these is the good-Avill due to every
individual of the species, as being a part of ourselves.
Frora this principle all the rules of social virtue emanate.
Justice and humanity, in their utmost extent, are nothing
more than the practical application of this great law.
The sword, and that alone, cuts asunder the bond of con
sanguinity which unites man to man. As it immediate
ly aims at the extinction of life, it is next to impossible,
upon the principle that every thing may be laAvfuUy

CHARACTER OF AA'ASHINGTON. 321
done to him Avhom we have a right to kill, to set limits
to military license ; for when men pass from the domina
tion of reason to that of force, Avhatever restraints are
attempted to be laid on the passions Avill be feeble and
fluctuating. Though Ave must applaud, therefore, the
atterapts of the humane Grotius, to blend maxims of
humanity Avith mUitary operations, it is to be feared they
AvUl never coalesce,, since the former imply the subsist
ence of those ties which the latter suppose to be dissolved.
Hence the morality of peaceful times are dUectly opposite
to the maxims of war. I'he fundamental rule of the
first is to do good ; of the latter to inflict injuries. The
former commands us to succour the oppressed ; the
latter to overwhelm the defenceless. The former teaches
men to love their enemies ; the latter to make them
selves terrible even to strangers.
*******
" While the phUanthropist is devising raeans to miti
gate the evils and augment the happiness of the Avorld,
a fellow-AVorker together Avith God, in exploring and giv
ing effect to the benevolent tendencies of nature, the war
rior is revolving in the gloomy recesses of his capacious
raind, plans of future devastation and ruin. Prisons
crowded with captives, cities emptied of their inhabitants,
fields desolate and waste, are among his proudest tro
phies. The fabric of his fame is cemented Avith tears
aud blood ; and if his name is wafted to the ends of the
earth, it is in the shrill cry of suffering humanity ; in
the curses and imprecations of those Avhom his sword
has reduced to despair.
" Let rae not be understood to involve in this guilt,
every man Avho engages in Avar, or to assert that Avar it-

322

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

self is in all cases unlawful. The injustice of mankind,
hitherto incurable, renders it in some instances necessary,
and therefore lawful ; but unquestionably, these instances
are much more rare than the practice of the Avorld and
its loose casuistry would lead us to suppose.''
Ill these just and eloquent remarks we have such sen
timents as might Avell be expected from a minister of the
Prince of Peace. But do not the sentiiiients they con
tain' commend themselves to the cordial approbation of
every benevolent raind? That they Avere the vicAVs en
tertained by the eminent subject of these pages, though
a soldier from his youth, may be very clearly shown by
reference to his recorded opinions.
In the year 1761, we find him expressing himself in
the following language, in a letter Avritten from Mount
Vernon to Richard Washington, of London : —
" I do not know that I can muster up one tittle of ncAvs
to communicate. In short, the occurrences of this part
of the world are at present scarce Avortli reciting ; for as
Ave live in a state of peaceful tranquUhty ourselves, so we
are at very little trouble to inquire after the operations
against the Cherokees, who are the only people that dis
turb the repose of this great continent, and who, I believe,
would gladly accommodate differences upon almost any
terras ; not, I conceive, from any apprehensions they are
under, on account of our arms, but because they want
the supphes, with Avhich we, and Ave only can furnish
them. We catch the reports of peace with gaping mouth,
and every person seems anxious for a confirmation of
that desirable event, provided it comes, as no doubt it
Avill upon honourable terms."

CHARACTER OP WASHINGTON. 323
Writing to the same a few weeks later he says : —
" We have little or no news. Our assembly is at pre
sent convened, to grant supplies for carrying on the war
against the Cherokee Indians, should they choose to con
tinue it, but this I am persuaded, they are by no raeans
inclined to do, nor are they prepared for it, as they have
been soliciting peace for some time past. I wish the
powers of Europe were as AveU disposed to an accomoda
tion as these poor wretches. A stop would then be put
to the effusion of blood, and peace and plenty would re
sume their empire again, to the joy and content, I believe,
of most ranks and degrees of people. I am," (fee.
The same sentiments in favour of peace and harmony
among nations, will be found in the subjoined " Answer
to an address of the New- York Provincial Congress," —
the date of the answer being. New- York, 26th June,
1775 :—
" Gentlemen,
" At the same tune that Avith you I deplore the unhap
py necessity of such an appointment, as that with which
I am now honoured, I cannot but feel sentiments of the
highest gratitude for this affecting instance of distinction
and regard.
" May your every wish be realized in the success of
America, at this important and interesting period ; and
be assured, that every exertion of my worthy colleagues
and myself, wiU be equally extended to the re-estabhsh-
raent of peace and harmony betAveen the mother coun
try and the colonies, as to the fatal but necessary opera
tions of Avar. When we assumed the soldier, we did
not lay aside the citizen ; and we shall most sincerely

324

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

rejoice Avith you in that happy hour, when the estabhsh
ment of American hberty, upon the most firm and solid
foundations, shall enable us to return to our private sta
tions in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy coun
try. I am," (fee.
The feelings expressed in this letter, were those
which attended the Avriter through every period and vi
cissitude of the revolution. Though animated by a mili
tary spirU, and eminently quahfied for the operations of
Avar, yet was he heartUy averse to the necessity laid
upon him, and ever longing for the shades of his OAvn
rural retreat, and the peaceful employments of his farm.
He continued the pursuits of war from a solemn con
viction of duty ; but so soon as a sense of obligation per
mitted, he hastened aAvay from the camp and battle-field,
to the long desired scenes of domestic and agricultural
life. We find the foUoAving sentiments in a letter Avritten
to Arthur Young, Esq., of Great-Britain, some years after
the War ; its date is Mount Vernon, Dec. 4, 1788 : —
" The more I am acquainted with agricultural affairs,
the better I am pleased Avith them ; insomuch, that I
can no Avhere find so great satisfaction as in those inno
cent and useful pursuits. In indulging these feelings,
I am led to reflect hoAv much more delightful to an un-
debauched mind, is the task of making improvements
on the earth, than all the vain-glory which can be ac-
acquired from ravaging it, by the most uninterrupted
career of conquests. The design of this observation, is
only to shoAV how much,'as a member of human society,
I feel myself obhged by your labours to render respect
able and advantageous, an employment which is more

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 325
congenial to the natural dispositions of mankind, than
any other."
In a letter written about the same time to the secretary
of the Humane Society, in Boston, the foUowing views
are expressed :
" Your respectable favour covering a recent publica
tion of the Humane Society, has, within a few days
past, been put into my hands.
"I observe, with singular satisfaction, the cases in which
your benevolent institution has been instrumental in re
calling some of our fellow-creatures (as it were) from be
yond the gates of eternity ; and it has given occasion for
the hearts of parents and friends to leap with joy. The
provision made for shipwrecked mariners is also highly
estimable in the view of every philanthropic mind, and
greatly consolatory to the suffering part of the commu
nity. These things will draw upon you the blessings of
those who were nigh to perish. These Avorks of charity
and good-wiU towards men, reflect, in my estimation,
great lustre upon the authors, and presage an era of stiU
further improvements.
" How pitiful, in the eye of reason and religion, is that
false ambition which desolates the world Avith fire and
sword for the purposes of conquest and fame, compared to
the mUder virtues of making our neighbours and o^
feUoAV-men as happy as their fraU ponditions and perish
able natures will permit them to be."
The following extracts from letters written by a
Dr. Letsom, of London, to a friend in Boston, contain
references to the above communication :
" I received with great pleasure thy letter containing
an extract of another from General Washington, in
28

3iJi8 , RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
which that hero, who effected, Avith little bloodshed, the
greatest revolution in history, breathes the sentiments of
true phUanthropy.
" I have not the honour of knowing, or corresponding
Avith General Washington, but if any opportunity offers,
might I presume upon communicating to him the cor
dial approbation his humane sentiments have impressed
upon rae 1 A warrior clothed with humanity and wis
dom, is the symbol of Minerva ; and fcAV have united
them. Turenne had courage and some degree of hu
manity ; but he it Avas that burnt the Palatinate, and
had the Nero-like pleasure of seeing thirteen cities in
flames. Scipio's humanity Avas stained with the destruc
tion of Carthage; and Rome feU for Avant of a rival.
Alexander the Great, and the modern Frederick, had
their stains of cruelty. But your Hero, without the
lictor of Cincinnatus, was obeyed : — Conquers and re
tires, Avithout the foul stain of blood.
" Our anniversary dinner Avas attended by about 500.
In my address to those gentlemen, ex-officio, being trea
surer, I introduced the extract from General Washing
ton's letter, as a part of my speech, which was received
Avitli exclamations and plaudits. Lord Fife, the Bishop
of St. David's, Loid Stamford, and Lord Willoughby de
Broke, were present."
The suicerity of Washington's professions Avas never
rendered questionable by a single instance of aggressive
Avar on his part. He al ways fought in self-defence, in sup
port of the rights, liberties, andhves,ofhisfelloAv-country-
men Nor did he ever seek to prolong the contest from mo
tives of ambition or gain. He ever ardentiy desired the
cessation of hostUities, and the grateful return of peace,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. ^l'
harmony, and good-Avill. War was not a game in which
he sought amusement at the expense of others, but a last
resort, in Avhose dangers and toils he ahvays bore his full
share, and frora Avhich he sought release, as soon as
conscience and honour would perrait. The spirit in
Avhich he contended Avas that Avliich secured the favour
of a righteous Providence, and the approbation of all
good men. If the sarae principles Avere universally
cherished by those who rule the destinies of nations, the
auspicious day would soon daAvn upon the world,' in
which the people "shall beat their swords into plough
shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; in Avhich,
nation shall not hft up sword against nation, neither
shaU they learn war any more."

33Sr.

BELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER XVL
HIS VIEWS OP DUELLING.
It is one of the pleasing indications of a growing re
finement in morals and manners, that Duelling has
lost in our age, much of its imposing lustre, as a chival
rous and dignified custom. The lights of knowledge
and religion have unveUed its true character, and reveal
ed it as a barbarous practice, worthy of its gothic origin,
and founded in principles as fatal to the peace and stabi
lity ofthe social state, as they are derogatory to the honour
and authority of God.
There is, however, delusion enough on the subject stiU
hngering among men, to claim in this connection, a few
remarks in Ulustration of the evil and mischievous nature
of the vice.
The divine command, prohibiting the destruction of
human hfe, is violated in various ways, as moralists de
cide. Among these there are none more justly exposed
to the withering imputation, than the one now under
consideration. In DueUing, we have all the real con
stituents of this sin. Where a challenge is given and
accepted, there is assure(Uy, in the great majority of in
stances at least, a design to kUl cherished by both par-

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 329
ties. This is evinced as clearly as outAvard actions can
indicate the inward dispositions. It is rendered manifest
by every step taken in the honourable affair, from the
selection of deadly Aveapons, doAVii to the fatal aim at
the seat of life, in the hour of bloody combat. What
ever aggravation arises frora deliberate intention, also at
tends the deed. The challenge is usually given after time
has been taken for reflection, and it is accepted under
the same circumstances. Can it be said, notAvithstand
ing, that there is no intention to destroy hfe? What^
then, is the intention? Is it to be killed? This
cannot be. Does not hatred, or revenge, ordinarily
prompt the Avhole proceeding ? If it is ever otherwise, is
it not an exception to a general rule ? There has been
a real or imaginary injury received, and anger kindles
within the bosom a thirst for blood. Thus the Holy
Scriptures declare that " he that is angry AA'ith his brother
without a cause, and he that hateth his brother is a mur
derer." If the principle, though not revealed in the
conduct, is thus regarded as murder, in the bud, Avhat
shaU be thought of its practical development in the posi
tive attempt to kill. It is an imposition on the coraraon
sense of mankind to assign other motives to such con
duct, or to palliate the enormity ofthe act, by referring it
to other principles than those which manifestly prompt
it. Regarded in its most favourable aspect — as a sacri
fice to public opinion, the extenuation is very slight ; for
even in that case, without any just warrant, the hazard
is run of the most dreadful consequences. The loss of
two lives is risked, Avith all the distressing effects to re^
latives and friends. Those who, perhaps, claim the
care and protection of a husband and a father, may bo
left forlorn and desolate. The light of hope may be e^.-
28*

330 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
tinguished, and all the evils of friendless widowhood,
and helpless orphanage, come upon them. It is useless,
however, to enlarge. Whatever huraan ingenuity may
devise in its vindication, there is no crime more palpa
bly or grossly wicked in itself ; none more justly exposed
to the anathemas of Heaven, or the reprobation of men.
Nor can we rejoice too much in those just and humane
sentiments, which at length to a great extent, have ar
rayed against it the solemn enactments of law, and the
stern decisions of judicial officers and civil rulers.
What the Ariews of Washington were, in reference to
this barbarous practice, may be inferred from an occur
rence of his early years, of which the following facts are
the most prominent :
In the year 1754, when about twenty-two years of
age, he Avas stationed in Alexandria, as Colonel of a
regiment of Virginia troops. During his stay in that
town, an election" for members ofthe House of Burgesses
took place. The candidates were Colonel George Fair
fax and a Mr. Elzey. His warm friendship for Colonel
Fairfax brought him in collision with a Mr. Payne,
the friend of Mr. Elzey. In consequence of some offen
sive language into which he was betrayed tOAvards
Mr. Payne, that individual struck him Avith a stick,
and so violent was the blow, that it knocked him down.
There being a great excitement araong the officers and
men belonging to his regiment, because of this indignity
offered their beloved commander, he forthwith employed
his influence in aUaying the tumult, and then retired
to his lodgings in a public house. From thence he
wrote a note to Mr. Payne, requesting that he would
meet him next raorning at the tavern, as he Avished to

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 331
see him in reference to their recent disagreement. Payne,
in expectation of an unpleasant interview, repaired ac
cordingly to the appointed place, and instead of a hostUe
meeting, found Washington prepared to acknowledge
his fault, and sohcit pardon for the offence given in an
unguarded moment. It is needless to say, that Payne
witnessed Avith adrairation, this triumph of principle over
passion, and that a friendship was kindled in his bosom,
which he did not cease to cherish as long as he lived.
How noble and becoming was this conduct. It Avas
especiaUy admirable in a youthful soldier, whose very
profession exposed him to peculiar temptations on such
an occasion. How many Avould have been driven by
the fear of reproach, and dread of unfavourable insinu
ations, to incur the hazards of a duel ; thus offering
up at the shrine of honour the costly sacrifice of hu
man hfe. It was not possible that a man like Wash
ington, so endowed with moral courage and regard for
virtue, should be moved by the fear of man to such
a course. He dreaded not the charge of cowardice
from the mouths of fools. In his own bosom he had
its ample refutation. He was conscious of a fortitude
which no dangers could shake. To display it in mur
dering a fellow-citizen was not his ambition. He had be
fore him the tented field and the enemies of his country,
and he was pledged for the hazards of a mortal conflict
in her defence. Here he was wUling to show his cour
age, and lay down his life. He would not do so to gra
tify revenge, or win applause from the vain.
An incident attending the history of General Lafayette,
during the Revolutionary War, aflforded another occa-

332

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

sion for evincing his principles in reference to this perni
cious custom.
Having it in vicAV to send a challenge to Lord Carlisle,
President of the Board of British Commissioners, on ac
count of offensive language toAvards France, sanctioned
by him in an address to Congiess ; Lafayette, as in
duty bound, Avrote to General Washington, requesting his
opinion of the propriety of the proposed course, and re
ceived the foUoAving reply : —
" FisHKiLL, 4th Oct., 1778.
" My Dear Marquis,
" I have had the pleasure of receiving, by the hands
of Monsieur de la Colombe, your favour ofthe 28th ulti
mo, accompanied by one ofthe 24th, which he overtook
some where on the road. The leave requested in the
former, I am as much interested to grant, as to refuse
my approbation of the challenge proposed in the latter.
The generous spirit of chivalry, exploded by the rest of
the world, flnds a refuge, my dear friend, in the sensi
bility of your nation only. But it is in vain to cherish
it, unless you can find antagonists to support it ; and
hoAvever Avell adapted it might have been to the times
in which it existed, in our days it is to be feared, that
your opponent, sheltering himself behind modern opin
ions, and under his present public character of commis
sioner, would turn a virtue of such ancient date into
ridicule. Besides, supposing his Lordship accepted your
terms, experience has proved, that chance is often as
much concerned in deciding these matters as bravery ;
and always more than the justice ofthe cause. I would
not, therefore, have your life by the remotest possibihty
exposed, Avhen it may be reserved for so many greater

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 333
occasions. His ExceUency, the Admiral, 1 flatter my
self, wiU be in sentiment Avith rae ; and, as soon as he
can spare you, avUI senil you to head-quarters, where I
anticipate the pleasure of seeing you. "
In a letter to the French Admiral, written some Aveeks
after the above, he again refers to tliis subject : —
'• The coincidence betAveen your Excellency's senti
ments, respecting the Marquis de Lafayette's challenge,
communicated in the letter with which you honoured
me on the 20th, and those which I expressed to him on
the same subject, is peculiarly flattering to me. I am
happy to find that my disapprobation of this raeasure
was founded on the same arguments, which, in your
ExceUency's hands, acquire new force and persuasion.
I omitted neither serious reasoning nor pleasantry to
divert him from a scheme, in Avhich he could be ao
easily foiled, without having any credit given to him by
his antagonist for his generosity and sensibUity. He
intimated, that your Excellency did not discountenance
it, and that he had pledged himself to the principal offi
cers of the French squadron, to carry it into execution.
The charms of vindicating the honour of his tountry
were irresistible ; but, besides, he had in a manner com
mitted himself, and could not decently retract. I hoAV-
ever continued to lay my friendly commands upon him
to renounce his project ; but I was Avell assured that, if
he determined to persevere in it, neither authority nor
vigUance would be of any avail to prevent his message
to Lord Carlisle. And though his ardour overreached my
advice and influence, I console myself with the reflec
tion, that his Lordship will not accept the challenge ;
and that whUe our friend gains all the applause, which

334

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

is due to hira for Avishing to becorae the champion of
his country, he avUI be secure from the possibility of
such dangers as ray fears Avould otherAvise create for
hira, by those powerful barriers, which shelter his Lord
ship, and Avhich I am persuaded he wiU not in the
present instance A'iolate.
" The report of Lord Carhsle's having proposed a
substitute, reached rae for the first tirae, in your Excel
lency's letter. If this is really the case, his Lordship has
availed himself of one of the ways in Avhich he Avas at
liberty to waive the Marquis's defiance, and has probably
answered it in a strain of pleasantry ; for the affair being
AvhoUy personal, his Lordship could not have made such
a proposition seriously. Indeed I have every reason to
think, that the matter has terminated as I expected ; for
the Marquis Avas still in Philadelphia by my last accounts
from thence."
Thus decided Avas Washington in his opposition to the
proposed combat. In his vIcaa', the principle Avas one,
hoAvever sanctioned by the practice of barbarous ages,
yet justly exploded by modern opinions, and rendered
unreasonable by the inadequacy of the means to the con
templated end. He does not, indeed, dAvell on the wrong
feelings Avhich usually enter into such matters, for the
case and the circumstances Avere not of the ordinairy
kind. The parties Avere already at war. They Avere
arrayed against each other, hke DaAad and Goliath of
old, on opposite sides of a great national contest. It Avas
therefore more difficult to assign their true character, to
the feelings Avhicli prompted Lafayette to seek the en
counter. Had they met in the field of battie, none Avould
have condemned an effort made by the youthful friend

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 335
of America, to destroy the enemy of her liberties. He
Avould have been regarded as discharging a high duty
to the cause in which he had embarked. Such, indeed,
Avere not his avowed motives in the case before us. It
was professedly to avenge an insult offered his own
country. In this there was a needless exposure of his
OAvn life contemplated, together with a Avanton risk of
shedding the blood of another ; a risk Avhich was not re
quired by the nature of the contest in Avliich they were
respectively engaged. And yet there was enough in
the circumstances to perplex the subject in a degree, and
by presenting it in a somcAvhat tangled foim to the raind
of Washington, serve to soften the judgment which Avould
be expressed by him concerning the raeasure. He Avas,
however, positive in his disapprobation. And if he was
so, under such circumstances, when the antagonist was
a declared enemy, and the end, the vindication of a
national Avrong, — what Avould have been his judgment
in cases where the disagreement was between friends,
and the offence private and trivial, if not altogether im
aginary. Would he not have visited Avith unqualified
censure a proceeding, so causeless in its origin, and like
ly in its results to be attended by deplorable evils. A
slight knowledge of the laAvs of his character, will suffice
to assure us of his hostUity to a thing so absurd in itsel
and mischievous in its consequences.

^^^ RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER XVII.

HIS DEATH.

It is not to the death, but to the life of the Christian,
that Ave look for the proof of faith and test of character.
So many accidents may arise to cloud his expiring mo
ments and deprive him of self-possession, that they can
not be regarded as furnishing, generally, a safe criterion of
piety or hope. Death may suddenly overtake him ; or his
disease may be attended by such unfavourable influ
ences, as to preclude the possibility of any decisive ex
hibition of thought or feeling. The mind may be ab
sorbed by extreme bodily pain, or delirium may entirely
derange its action, extinguishing its lights and embarass-
ing all its perceptions. Every thing in the closing
scene may thus be indefinite and confused ; the believer
travels through the shadow of death in a state of dim
eclipse ; though he is in fact unchanged in principle, and
as much an objectof divine approbation and complacency,
as in his brightest seasons of devout enjoyment and de
light. The Scriptures, while they record the piety and display
the virtues of many distinguished worthies, never point
us to their death-bed for proof of sincerity or confirma-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 337
tion of excellence. It is to their lives that they mainly
direct our attention for scrutiny and imitation. The
servants of God have, in all ages, been more or less
favoured Avith grace to help them in death, and some
times they have gloriously triumphed in the hour of
dissolution. But the majority have rather adorned re
ligion by holy lives, than by happy deaths. The lan
guage of Scripture on this subject is, " Mark the perfect
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is
peace!' His death-bed is attended by peace, rather
than rapture. This he may not always enjoy. But
there is good ground for hope, that such Avill be the allot
ment of the righteous, in his last hour. Less than this
is indeed often ordained by Hira, who does aU things after
the counsel of his own wiU, but more also has been oc
casionally in mercy vouchsafed.
A pious and useful Avriter* has the following observa
tions on this subject :
" Thus it is said, ' The righteous hath hope in his
death.' The degrees of this hope vary. In some we see
this hope contending with fear, and not always able to
repel it. In some it produces a serenity in which the
mind is stayed upon God, yet unattended with any
higher feeling and pleasure; while some possess and
display the full assurance of hope ; and have an en
trance ministered unto them abundantly into the ever
lasting kingdom of their Lord and Saviour.
**»*»*»?
" Now we are not going to claim this joy unspeakable
and fuU of glory; or even this perfect peace; or even
* Jay.
29

338 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
this supporting confidence, for aU Christians in their
dying moments. And yet Ave mean to say that the
highest degree is attainable.
*******
" The useful death, hoAvever, is not that only which
abounds with ecstasy and rapture; but also that in
which an inferior degree of confidence is blended with
patience under suffering, submission to the will of God,
humbleness of mind, penitence at the foot of the cross, a
concern to recoraraend the Saviour's service and to pro
mote his cause. This, if it does not excite so much won
der and discourse, is more exemplary. A death, too,
strikes us where we see a victory over the world ; when
the individual is Avilling to depart, though not pressed by
the infirmities and pains of age ; but in the midst of life :
and leaving not a scene of penury and wretchedness
behind, but every present attraction and agreeable pros
pect. We also prize a death preceded by a holy and
consistent life."
With these remarks we pass to the death of Washing
ton. Of that event we have but one account in any de
gree extended or minute. This is from the pen of Mr.
Tobias Lear, for some years his private Secretary,, and
connected by marriage with a branch of his family. The
account is here copied as leading to reflections appro
priate to the subject.
" On Thursday, Dec. 12, 1799, the General rode out
to his farms at about ten o'clock, and did not return tiU
past three. Soon after he went out, the Aveather became
very bad ; rain, haU, and snow faUing alternately, with
a cold wind. • When he came in, I carried some letters
to him to frank, intending to send them to the post-office.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 339
He franked the letters, but said the weather was too
bad to send a servant to the office that evening. I ob
served to him that I Avas afraid he had got wet ; he said
no ; his great coat had kept him dry : but his neck ap
peared to be wet — the snoAV Avas hanging on his hah.
" He came to dinner without changing his dress. In
the evening he appeared as weU as usual. A heavy fall
of snow took place on Friday, Avhich prevented the Ge
neral from ri(hng out as usual. He had taken cold,
(undoubtedly from being so much exposed the day be
fore,) and complained of having a sore throat ; he had a
hoai-seness, Avhich increased in the evening, but he made
light of it, as he would never take any thing to carry
off a cold — alwaj'S observing, ' let it go as it came.' In
the evening, the papers lia\'ingcorae fi-om the post-office,-
he sat in the room Avith Mrs. Washhigton and myself,
reading them tiU about nine o'clock ; and when he met
with any thing which he thought diverting or interest
ing, he Avould read it aloud. He desired me to read to
him the debates of the Vhginia assembly on the election
of a senator and governour, which I did. On his retuing
to bed he appeared to be in perfect health, except the cold,
which he considered as trifling ; he had been remarkably
cheerful aU the evening.
"About two or three o'clock on Saturday morning, he
awoke Mrs. Washington, and informed her that he felt
very unweU, and had an ague. She observed that he
could scarcely speak, and breathed with difficulty, and
she Avished to get up and call a servant ; but he would
not permit h r lest she should take cold. As soon as
the day appeared, the Avoraan, Caroline, Avent into the
foom to make a flie, and the General desired that Mr.

340 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Rawhns, one of the overseers, who was used to bleeding
the people, might be sent for to bleed him before the doc
tor could arrive. I was sent for — went to the General's
chamber, where Mrs. Washington was up, and related
to me his being taken Ul between two and three o'clock,
as before stated. I found him breathing with difficulty,
and hardly able to utter a word inteUigibly. I went out
instantly, and wrote a line to Dr. Plask, and sent it with
all speed. Immediately I returned to the Generals
chamber, where 1 found him in the same situation I had
left hira. A raixture of molasses, vinegar, and butter,
was prepared, but he could not swaUow a drop ; when
ever he attempted he was distressed, convulsed and al
most suffocated.
" Mr. Rawlins came in soon after sunrise and pre
pared to bleed him ; when the arm was ready, the Ge
neral, observing Rawlins appeared agitated, said, with
difficulty, ' don't be afraid ;' and after the incision was
made, he observed the orifice was not large enough :
however, the blood ran pretty freely. Mrs. Washington,
not knoAving Avhether bleeding Avas proper in the Gene
ral's situation, begged that much might not be taken from
him, and desired rae to stop it. When I was about to
untie the string, the General put up his hand to prevent
it, and, as soon as he could speak, said ' more.'
" Mrs. Washington still uneasy lest too much blood
should be draAvn, it Avas stopped after about half a pint
had been taken. Finding that no rehef was obtained
from bleeding, and that nothing could be swallowed, I
proposed bathing the throat externaUy Avith sal volatUe,
which was done ; a piece of flannel was then put round
his neck. His feet Avere also soaked ii)^ warm water, but

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 341
this gave no rehef. By Mrs. Washington's request I
despatched a raessenger for Dr. Brown, at Port Tobacco.
About nine o'clock Dr. Craik arrived, and put a bhster of
cantharides on the throat ofthe General, and took raore
blood, and had sorae vinegar and hot water set in a tea
pot, for him to draw in the steam from the spout.
" He also had sage tea and vinegar mixed, and used
as a gargle, but when he held back his head to let it run
down, it almost produced suffocation. When the mix
ture came out of his mouth some phlegm followed it,
and he would attempt to cough, which the doctor ery-
couraged, but without effect. About eleven o'clock, Dir.
Dick was sent for : Dr. Craik bled the General again ;
no effect was produced, and he contmued in the same
state, unable to swallow any thing. Dr. Dick carae in
about three o'clock, and Dr. BroAvn arrived soon after ;
when, after consultation, the General was bled again :
the blood ran sloAvly, appeared very thick, and did not
produce any symptoms of fainting. At four o'clock the
General could swallow a little. Calomel and tartar
emetic were administered without effect. About half-past
four o'clock he requested me to ask Mrs. Washington to
come to his bed-side, when he desired her to go down to
his room, and take from his desk tAvo wiUs which she
would find there, and bring them to him, which she did.
Upon looking at one, which he observed was useless, he
desired her to burn it, which she did. After this was
done, I returned again to his bed-side and took his hand.
He said to me, 'I find I am going — my breath cannot
continue long — I believed from the first attack it would
be fatal. Do you arrange and record aU my mUitary let
ters and papers ; arrange my accoimts, and settle my
29*

342 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
books, as you know more about them than any one else ;
and let Mr. Rawhns finish recording my other letters,
which he has begun.' He asked when Mr. LeAvis and
Washington would return? I told him that I believed
about the twentieth ofthe month. He made no reply.
" The physicians came in between five and six o'clock,
and when they came to his bed-side. Dr. Craik asked him
if he would sit up in the bed : he held out his hand to
me and was raised up, when he said to the physician —
' 1 feel myself going ; you had better not take any more
trouble about me, but let me go off quietly ; I cannot last
long.' They found Avhat had been done was without ef
fect ; he laid down again, and they retired, excepting Dr.
Craik. He then said to him, ' Doctor, I die hard, but I
am not afraid to go ; I believed from the first I should
not survive it ; my breath cannot last long.' The doctor
pressed his hand, but could not utter a word ; he retired
from the bed-side and sat by the fire absorbed in grief
About eight o'clock, the physicians again carae into the
roora, and applied blisters to his legs, but went out Avith
out a ray of hope. From this time he appeared to breathe
with less difficulty than he had done, but was very rest
less, continually changing his position, to endeavour to
get ease. I aided him aU in my power, and was grati
fied in believing he felt it ; for he would look upon me
with eyes speaking gratitude, but unable to utter a word
without great distress. About ten o'clock he made several
attempts to speak to me before he could effect it ; at
length he said, ' I am just going. Have me decently
buried, and do not let my body be put into the vault in
less than two days after I am dead.' I bowed assent.
He looked at me again and said, ' Do you understand

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 343
me ? ' I replied, ' Yes, Sir.' ' 'Tis weU,' said he. About
ten minutes before he expired, his breathing became
much easier : he lay quietly : he withdrew his hand
from mine, and felt his own pulse. I spoke to Dr.
Craik, who sat by the fire ; he came to the bed-side. The
Geineral's hand fell from his wrist ; I took it in mine,
and placed it on my breast. Dr. Craik placed his hands
over his eyes ; and he expired without a struggle or a
sigh." The above contains no doubt an accurate relation as
far as it goes, of the circumstances attending the last sick
ness and death of Washington. That the account is
not perfect, Ave believe, however, to be equaUy certain.
We are assured on good evidence, that some things of
interest were overlooked, or at least omitted by the
writer. It is indeed a matter of regret that the indivi
duals who attended the Father of his Country in his
last moments, were not such as would most readily en
courage the expression of his religious feehngs, or care
fuUy record them when uttered. The author of the
memoranda, it is knoAvn, had but little sympathy with
the iUustrious subject of his narrative in reference to
religion ; nor had his other attendants, it is believed, any
more, at least at that time, though professionally eminent
and distinguished men. It was probably thought, that
this Avas not the point of highest worth and dignity in his
noble character ; and therefore not to be displayed with
very special care and effort. This may explain in some
measure the omission of interesting remarks and occur
rences, as being, from their nature, undervalued or mis
understood. Such facts, therefore, as are fenoAvn to have

344

RELIGIOUS OPlNUJNS AND

transphed, in addition to those recorded by Mr. Lear,
shall be here inserted for the gratification and instruction
of our readers.
One of the Rectors of Mount Vernon parish, aheady
referred to, and who was at much pains to ascertain the
most interesting events of Washington's hfe and death,
informs us, in remarking on the latter occurrence, that he
was once or twice heard to say, " I should have been
glad, had it pleased God, to (he a little easier, but I doubt
not it is for my good."
On the same authority we learn that " sorae hours be
fore his departure, he made the request that every person
would leave the room, that he raight be alone for a short
time." The same writer says, that in the moment of death,
"he closed his eyes for the last time with his own
hands — folded his arms decently on his breast, then
breathing out ' Father of mercies, take me to thy
self — he fell asleep."
The biographer of Mrs. Washington gives the follow
ing facts: —
" The Ulness [of Washington] was short and severe.
Mrs. Washington left not the chamber of the sufferer,
but was seen kneeling at the bed-side, her head resting
upon her Bible, which had been her solace in the many
and heavy afflictions she had undergone  The
last effort of the expiring Washington, was worthy of
the Roman fame of his life and character. He raised
himself up, and casting a look of benignity on all
around him, as if to thank them for their kindly atten
tions, he composed his limbs, closed his eyes, and fold-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 345
ing his arms upon his bosom, the Father of his Country
expired, gentiy as though an infant died !
" The afflicted relict could with difficulty be re
moved from the chamber of death, to which she returned
no more, but occupied other apartments for the residue
of her days."
That the circumstances now detailed, may be duly
appreciated, the habitual thoughtfulness of Washington
respecting his latter end, may not be unseasonably
considered, in connexion Avith remarks to be added on
the event itself.
A favourite nephew, who Avas ranch at Mount Ver
non (one of those concerning whose return he raade
inquiries of Mr. Lear,) thus describes his last intervicAV
Avith his revered kinsman.
" During this, my last visit to the General, we walk
ed together about the grounds, and talked of various
improvements he had in contemplation. The lawn
was to be extended down to the river in the direction
of the old vault, which was to be removed on account
of the inroads made by the roots of the trees, with which
it is crowned, which caused it to leak. ' I intend to
place it there,' said he, pointing to the place Avhere the
ncAV vault now stands. ' First of all I shall make
this change ; for after all I may require it before
the rest.'
" When I parted from him he stood on the steps of
the front door, where he took leave of myself and
another, and wished us a pleasant journey, as I was
going to Westmoreland on business. It was a bright
frosty morning ; he had taken his usual ride, and the
clear healthy flush on his cheek, and his sprightly

346

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

manner, brought the remark from both of us, that we
had never seen the General look so weU.
»**»»»***
" A few days afterwards, being on my way home in
company with others, whUst we were conversing about
Washington, I saw a servant rapidly riding towards
us. On his near approach I recognized him as belong
ing to Mount Vernon. He rode up — his countenance
told the story — he handed me a letter. Washington
was dead." *
In a private letter written on the Saturday before his
death, Avlien in perfect health, the following sentence
occurs : — " For I must, if Mrs. Washington and
m,yself should both survive another year, find some
place to which the supernumerary hands on this Estate
could be removed."
Thus habitually mindful of death, it may with reason
be presumed, that he was not taken by surprise,
when the enemy made his approach. Accordingly, it
would appear that as soon as the disease became violent,
he believed it would be fatal. He did not seek, through
a fond desire of hfe, to delude hiraself Avith hopes of
recovery ; but resigned hiraself at once to the will of
God, requesting that no more trouble might be taken
with him, as he wished to die quietly.
We learn from a memorandura of Mr. Lear that he
said during the day : " Doctor, I die hard, . but I am
not afraid to go." In the view of death the pious
monarch of Israel expressed himself in corresponding
terms : " Though I Avalk through the valley of the sha-
* Life of Washington, by J. K. Paulding. 2 Vol. pp. 196. 197.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 347
dow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art Avith
me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Whence
the absence of fear frora the bosom of Washington,
AvhUst his body was racked with pain, and eternity
opening before hira? Was it blindness of mind — a
low estimate of sin— an inadequate sense of accounta-
bihty? Or Avas it rather the result of confidence in
the raercy of God, assured to mankind through Him
whom he was dfccustomed to regard as the " Divine
Author of our blessed religion ? " We cannot doubt but
that his remarkable composure, under so sudden a visit
ation, had its origin in a comfortable sense of the
Divine goodness, and his own readiness for the great
change which was at hand. That Saviour, Avho in
pardoning sin deprives death of its sting, and the grave
of its victory, was surely his dependance and source of
his affectionate gratitude to ministering friends, and his
humble resignation to the Divine will and pleasure.
To what but an evangelical somce can we refer the
language used by him in reference to his dying pains ?
" 1 should have been glad, had it pleased God, to
die a little easier, but I doubt not it is for m,y
good." In what way was such an end to be answered 1
How should his sufferings be for his good ? It was in
one way only that they could be so. They could only
exert a salutary influence on his spiritual state and
prospects. The language ofthe Scriptures is : " Whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every
son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not. ' Again, it is written : " For
our light affliction, which is but for a moraent, worketh

348 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory ; whUe we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen ; for the things
which are seen are temporal ; but the things which
are not seen are eternal." With Avhat other views
than these, could the dying Washington regard his
sufferings as useful to him? WUhout the light
Avhich religion shed upon the painful dispensation under
which he was suffering unto death,' the profoundest
gloom would have enveloped his mind, and filled him
Avith a sense of unniingled evil in the bitter cup, he
was draining to the dregs. But Faith turned his
eye frora things seen, to things unseen ; and in the
assurance that the first Avere " temporal," Avhilst the last
were " eternal," enabled the possessor, though in much
affliction of body, to cheer himself with the happy con
viction that " it was for his good."
The request made by the sufferer "to be left alone
for a short time," is not less pregnant with important
meaning than the language just considered. Prayer
had been a confirmed habit of his hfe. From youth to
old age he had never omitted the duty. It had been a
cherished resource with him in the many difficulties and
trials of his varied course. The most serious of all trials
now oppressed hira. He was about to close his earthly
race. The world Avas receding from his sight, and the
solemn realities of Eternity rising on his view. In a
short time the mystic tie which bound him to this world
would be dissolved, and his future condition be unalter
ably fixed. What more natural, under such circum
stances, than prayer, to him who had always prayed
before ! He would surely desire now, once raore, before

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 349
he left the Avorld, and appeared before the judgment-
seat of Christ, to pour out his soul in earnest supplica
tion for himself, his friends, and all mankind.
But Avhy desire to be perfectly alone in order to this
duty? Might he not have engaged therein with all
necessary privacy, though others Avere near ? Could
any witness the secret thoughts and emotions of the
heart ? HoAvever this may be, Ave yet know that the
sick are ahvays liable (o interruptions from the tender
sohcitude and vigUant kindness of surrounding friends.
Washington Avas so exposed, and no doubt desired that
his last approach to the throne of grace should be made
Avith due solemnity, and undisturbed. He was more
over much averse to every thing like ostentation in reli
gion, and kncAV he could not, in the act of prayer,
escape observation in the presence of others. It had
also been a custom Avith hira in his secret devotions to
pray audibly, as mentioned in a former part of this
Avork. This may have had its influence Avith him,
and rendered the absence of his attendants desirable.
The presence of Mrs. Washington, and her attitude
of mingled piety and grief, in the chamber of death,
have been cited. "She left not the chamber ofthe suf
ferer, but was seen kneeling at the bed-side, her head
reclining upon her Bible." In reference to this circum
stance, Ave are induced to inquire the end for which the
Sacred Volume had been placed upon the dying bed of
Washington. Was it for the calm perusal and consola
tion of the afflicted Avife ? We think not. We should
regard it most improbable that such should haA'e been
the object. In cases of dangerous sickness, the attention
of near relatives is usually quite absorbed by sympathy
3'J

850 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Avith their suffering friends. The wife especially, Avhere
her husband is the victim of alarming disease, is on the
alert in doing whatever may alleviate his pains and
arrest the malady. To his coadition and his wants she
is aU eye, all ear. WhUst he is in danger, she knoAVs
neither weariness or faintness of mind. In the case
before us, sickness and death had entered the domestic
circle with umAronted surprise. Great must have been
the shock to a Avife so affectionate and devoted as Mrs.
Washington. If, therefore, she raight have stolen a mo
ment for throAving herself before the Mercy-Seat, and
begging for a life so dear to her, it is scarcely probable
that she would have thought it her duty or could have
commanded tranquiUity enough, to engage in the work
of reading and meditating in God's Word. It is far
more likely that her conjugal zeal and tenderness Avould
induce an attempt, in an hour so trying, to soothe the
mind, and fortify the faith of her dying husband, by
reachng to hira some of the precious promises and
consoling truths of the Inspired Volume. Often had he,
in the same chamber, and perhaps frora the same Bible,
read portions of the Divine Word, for their mutual com
fort and edification. She will noAV repay the debt of
kindness when it is most required. To such an effort
of devoted affection, painful as it may be, the heroism
of female piety is often equal. It was so, Ave believe,
in the instance under consideration.
As the hour of his departure drew nedr , every thing
else being arranged and settled, and nothing left undone,
the expiring chief turns his busy thoughts upon the
funeral offices awaiting his mortal remains. Addressing
Mr. Lear, his constant attendant, he said: — "I am just

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 351
going. Have me decently buried ; and do not let ray
body be put into the vault in less than tAVo days after I
ara dead."
The composure and serenity evinced in this direction
is sufficiently apparent. But what did he mean by
being ''decently buried 1" He probably refeiTed to the
customary religious solemnities. There was little danger
of any thing else -being neglected. The circumstances
under Avhich he met his end precluded the possibUity of
those offices of the church, appropriate to the bed of death.
He Avould not, however, have the funeral rites omitted ;
regarding them as necessary to a "decent" interment.
The last words which Washington uttered Avere
these: — "'T is Well." Fearing that his last retjuest
Avas not comprehended, he asked if he was understood.
Being answered in the affirmative, he said, "'T is well."
Every thing now was finished. He had done Avith
this Avorld ; he is ready to die ; and he closes his inter
course Avith earth in the language of satisfaction and
contentment. Speaking as he did with great difficulty,
it is probable that these were not mere words of course,
uttered Avithout particular meaning. He intended, most
likely, to express his perfect acquiescence in his death,
and every thing connected Avith it ; that his mind Avas
at rest — that every thing was right — that aU was well.
One cannot but remember in this connexion, a siraUar
expression of humble submission under affliction in
the case of a pious Scripture worthy. When death
bereaved the Shunamite woman of her only chUd,
she forthAvith repaired to the Prophet Elisha at Mount
Carmel. When he seav lier coming in haste, he said

352 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
to his servant; "Run noAv, I pray thee, to meet her,
and say unto her, "Is it weU Avith thee? Is it weU
with thy husband ? Is it well Avith the chUd ? " And
she answered, " It is ivell." Though her child was
dead, yet she says " It is well." It Avas the Lord's doing ;
therefore she acquiesced, and commended the dispensa
tion as right in itself And thus testified the renoAvned
Sufferer of the land of Uz. When oppressed Avith a
sore affliction "he fell upon the earth and worshipped,
and said. Naked came I out of my mother's AAomb, and
naked shall I return thither : the Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken aAvay ; blessed be the name of the
Lord. In all this," adds the sacred Avriter, "Job sinned
not, nor charged God foolishl}'." His pious resignation
Avas A'irtually expressed in the Avords, " It is loell."
Mr. Lear, in his description of the closing scene, has
these Avords : — "Dr. Craik placed his hands over his
eyes ; and he expired Avithout a struggle or a sigh. "
This statement is no doubt true, but it does not contain
the Avhole truth. It Avas said and believed at the time,
that General Washington closed his own eyes ; and the
Avriter is assured that such Avas the fact, since he heard
it asserted by one Avho had the best opportunity of knoAV-
ing the certainty of it. The matter, indeed, is one of no
great importance ; but serves to shoAV that some things
escaped the notice of Mr. Lear, or were thought too
trivial for record by him. This circumstance, hoAV-
ever, is not Avithout interest, as indicating a perfect self-
possession and composure of mind. It was of a piece
with the act nearly simultaneous, of feeling his oavii
pulse. After this he lingered but a fcAV moments ; — the

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 353
curtaui of time was drawn to him, and he passed quick
ly through the gates of Eternity, into the presence of
his Maker and his Judge.
He died on Saturday night, 14th of December. On
Wednesday the 18th, his body, attended by military ho
nours and the offices of religion, Avas placed in the family
vault. It has engaged the notice and remark of some, that
no spiritual attendance or service distinguished the last
sickness of Washington — that there was no minister of
Christ Avith him, nor any of the offices of the church ad
ministered in aid of his faith and hope. Whatever may
have been his vicAvs or Avishes in reference to this parti
cular religious privUege, it is very certain, that it would
have been next to impossible for him, had he desired it,
to have been gratified. He did not survive twenty-four
hours from the time of his attack. Of that period there
was not raore than ten hours of day-light. It was also
the depth of winter ; and the earth Avas covered with
a heavy snow. Nor Avas there a clergyman within a
less distance than nine mUes of Mount Vernon. The
General, moreover, was dying through a greater part of
the day. He considered himself to be going before others
did. In these things alone, we think, a sufficient reason
Avill be found for the alleged omission, no matter hoAV
great the importance attached to the observances in ques
tion. That they were not undervalued by the subject
of these pages Ave have sufficient reason for believing.
But the circumstances of his dying lot, rendered ft im
possible to evince his estimation of them, Avhatever that
may have been.*
* The subjoined notice of the death of IVTrs, Washington may
30*

354 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
Thus did the Father of his Country meet a sudden,
though not an untimely end. He had lived to fulfil the
exalted purposes of his creation. The measure of his
distinguished usefulness was full. At a period of high
pohtical excitement and temptation was he taken away.
In his removal, he left behind hira a name of surpassing
moral weight — as unimpaired in death, as in life. Since
living, he conferred on others so much good ; and dying,
bequeathed them so many blessings ; Ave cannot but cher
ish the grateful assurance, that the stroke Avhich severed
the mortal tie, dismissed him also frora every care and
pain, the heir of a happy immortality. In this behef
and holy confidence, no doubt, did his chosen successor
at Mount Vernon, cause the entrance of his loAvly sepul
chre to be adorned Avith the animating declaration of
not be here inappropriate. It is taken from the Alexandria Advertiser
of May, 1802.—
On Saturday the 22d of May, at 12 o'clock, P.M. Mrs. Washington
terminated her well-spent life. Composure and resignation were uni
formly displayed during seventeen days depredations of a severe fever.
Prom the commencement she declared that she was undergoing the
final trial, and had long been prepared for her dissolution. She took
the sacrament from Dr. Davis, (Rector of Christ Church, Alexandria,)
imparted her last advice and benediction to her weeping relations ; and
sent for a white gown, which she had previously laid by for her
last dress. Thus, in the closing scene, as in all the preceding ones,
nothing was omitted. The conjugal, maternal, and domestic duties
had all been fulfilled in an exemplary manner. She was the worthy
partner of the worthiest of men, and those who witnessed their con
duct could not determine which excelled in their different characters ;
both were so well sustained on every occasion. They lived an honour
and a pattern to their country, and are taken from us to receive the
rewards promised to the faithful and just."

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 355
the Divine Redeemer : — "I am the resurrection, and the
life ; he that beheveth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live : and Avhosoever liveth and beheveth in me,
shaU never die." — May the issues of the Last Day abun
dantly confirm the pious hopes of such as loved him in
life, and honoured hira in death.

356 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

CHAPTER XVIIL
POSTHUMOUS HONOURS. .
The death of Washington, unexpected as it Avas by
his feUow-citizens, produced a sensation among them,
reserabling the shock which agitates the members of a
family circle, suddenly bereaved of a beloved parent.
The melancholy tidings, borne as it were on the wings
of the Avind, spread with the velocity of a dark cloud,
which, rising in some distant corner ofthe heavens, soon
covers all the land with gloom and terror. One feeling
pervaded every section of the country, foUoAved by a con-
sintaneous movement araong the people, in manifesta
tion of an unfeigned sorroAv for his death, and their high
appreciation of his Ulustrious services and distinguished
personal excellence. A system of public mourning Avas
unanimously adopted by all classes ofthe community, in
which. Congress, then in session, took the lead. By
every suitable and appropriate method was the general
feehng declared, but chiefly by funeral eulogies and ora
tions, pronounced in all the principal towns and cities of
the Union by eminent individuals, designated for the
purpose by the public voice.
In the various productions of the pen, to Avhich these

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 357
appointments gave rise, avc have many valuable testimo
nies to the excellent character, as Avell as brilliant deeds
of the Ulustrious dead ; — testimonies the more important
as proceeding from his cotemporaries. The Avriters Avcre
in many instances, the personal acquaintances of the de
parted chief, and aU of thera had either seen him, or had
taken ranch interest in acquiring an accurate knoAvledgc
of his principles and conduct.
It is here proposed to select from some ofthe addresses,
as published at the time of their delivery, those parts
containing particular aUusion to his moral and religious
character. The value of the testimony, to our readers,
Avill not be diminished by the fact, that the work Avhicli
contains it, is now out of print.
The first oration delivered on the sad occasion, was by
Gen. H. Lee. It Avas pronounced by request of, and in
presence of, both Houses of Congress. We give the fol
lowing brief extract : — •
" First in Avar, first in peace, and first in the hearts of
his countrymen, he Avas second to none in the humble
and endearing scenes of private life. Pious, just, hu
mane, temperate and sincere ; uniform, dignified, and
commanding, his example Avas as edifying to all around
him, as were the effects of that exaraple lasting.
" To his equals he Avas condescending, to his inferiors
kmd, and to the dear <?bject of his affections, exemplarily
tender. Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his pre
sence, and virtue ahvays felt his fostering hand. The
purity of his private character gave effulgence to his pub
lic virtues.
"His last scene comported Avith the AA^hole tenor of
his hfe. Although in extreme pain, not a sigh, not a

358 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
groan escaped him; and Avith undisturbed serenity he
closed his AveU-spent life. Such Avas the man America
has lost!' Such Avas the man for whom our nation
mourns ! " Delivered, December 26, 1799.
" The private virtues of this great man, exactly cor
responded Avith those exhibited in public life.
" His mansion was the seat of hospitality. He Avas
idolized by his domestics ; by his neighbours and friends,
esteemed and venerated : and it is Avorihy of remark,
that all Avho best kncAV him, particularly those Avho
Avere more immediately attached to his person in
the course of the war, and during his civil administra
tion, are among his Avarmest admirers and panegyrists.
" There Avas a gravity and reserve, indeed, in his
countenance and deportment, partly national, and partly
the effect of habitual cares for the public Aveal ; but these
Avere AvhoUyunmixed Avith the least austerity or morose-
ness. " True native dignity was happily blended with the
most placid mUdness and condescension. He Avas a
pattern of moderation, meekness, and self-possession.
No person ever existed Avho had his passions under raore
complete control.
" To crown all these moral virtues, he had the deepest
sense of religion impressed on his heart ; the true found
ation-stone of all the moral virtues. This he constantly
manifested on aU proper occasions. He was a firm be
liever in the Christian religion ; and, at his first entrance
on his civil administration, he made it knoAvn, and ad
hered to his purpose, that no secular business could be
transacted Avith him on the day set apart by Christians
for the worship ofthe Deity.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 359
" Though he Avas from principle, a member of the
Episcopal church, he Avas candid and liberal in the
highest degree, not only to all sects and denominations
of Christians, but to all rehgious, where the professors
Avere sincere, throughout the world.*
" He constantly attended the public Avorship of God
on the Lord's day, was a communicant at his table, and
by his devout and solemn deportment, inspired every
beholder Avith some portion of that aAVe and reverence for
the Supreme Being, of which he felt so large a por
tion. " For my OAvn part, I trust I shall never lose the im- ,
pression made on ray OAvn mind, in beholding, in this
house of prayer, the venerable hero, the victorious leader
of our hosts, bending in humble adoration to the God of
armies, and great Captaijj of our salvation ! Hard and
unfeeling, indeed, must that heart be, that could sus
tain the sight unmoved, or its owner depart unsoftened
and unedified.
" Let the deist reflect on this, and remember that «
Washington, the saviour of his country, did not dis
dain to acknoAvledge and adore a greater Saviour, whom
deists and infidels affect to slight and despise.
"Thus have I attempted, Avith trembling hand and
overburthened heart, to exhibit a fcAV brief sketches of
* That Washington "was not indiiferent about error in religion, as
the above language might imply, let the following charge to General
Arnold, when that oflicer was about to march into Canada, attest :
" I also give it in charge to you to avoid all disrespect of the religion
of the country, and its ceremonies. Prudence, policy, and a true
Christian spirit will lead us to look with compassion upon their errors
without insulting them," &c.

360

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

the life, and to delineate a faint portrait of the character,
of this unrivalled hero, sage, and Christian. None Avill
think the picture overstrained,' or charge rae with flatter^
ing the dead. Alas ! the admirable original is far re
moved above all earthly praise or censure. And tell
me, my audience, have you ever heard or read of any
character, ancient or modern, in all respects compar
able to this wonderful man's, Avhose loss has fiUed a
Avorld Avithteais? I could almost venture to pronounce,
that all antiquity cannot boast a parallel ; unless, per
haps, the great legislator of the Jewish nation, may be
deemed an exception.
'• In contemplating the lives and characters of these
tAVO eminent servants of the most High, I think I can
trace no inconsiderable resemblance between them. Will
you indulge me, Avliile I attempt a parallel betAveen
the leader of the armies of Israel, and the leader of the
armies of America ?
" Did the former appear destined by Heaven to make
a nation great, independent, and happy ? So did the
latter. Did the former give early presages of this, in de^
fendino' his countrymen against lawless violence and
oppression ? We have seen that the latter did the same.
Was the former an invincible hero, a wise legislator, an
able statesman, and an upright judge ? All these char
acters as truly belonged to the latter. Did the leader of
the hosts of Israel dehver that nation from Egyptian bond-
ao-e ? So did Washington ours, from the galling yoke
of British tyranny. Was the former an early and shin
ing example of piety and aU the moral virtues ? So was
the latter. Did the former blend uncommon meekness
with undaunted bravery, and the most persevering forti-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 361
tude? Our leader and guide, in the most eminent de
gree; did the same.
" Was the meek prophet of Israel but once provoked
to act with rashness at Sinai's base, and once to speak
unadvisedly at the rock of Horeb? Our patient hero
did only the latter once on the plains of Monmouth.
Was the former often rashly censured by some of his
perverse countrymen ? How far the paraUel holds just
here, let others determine. Was the former found faith
ful in aU things? EquaUy so was the latter. After
rescuing a nation from slavery, did the former lead them
to the very borders of the promised land ? Washing
ton did more ; he put us into the fuU possession of the
heritage of our fathers. Did the former demand or re
ceive no compensation for his invaluable services? So
neither did the disinterested patriot of America. At the
close of his days, was the Hebrew leader unimpaired and
vigorous in all his faculties ? Our benefactor and father
Avas equally so, except that his corporeal optics were dim
med by incessant labours and nocturnal vigUs, while his
mental vision, as if purged with ' euphrasy and rue,'
Avas strengthened and refined.
" In one instance the paraUel seems to fail. The for
mer Avas blessed with offspring. Those tender pledges
of connubial bhss were indeed denied to the latter ; j^et
weeping millions in hira have lost a father, whUe he has
obtained 'a name far better than that of sons and of
daughters.' " FinaUy, did that eminent leader of the chosen seed,
having finished his course with joy, die honoured by
God, beloved of man, and universaUy lamented ? So
has the leader whose loss Ave are called upon this day
31

362

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

with heart-felt anguish to deplore." Pronounced at
Portsmouth, N. H. Dec* 31, 1799, by J.M. Seicall,
Esq.
'' Enemies he had, but they were few, and chiefly of
the same famUy with the man, who could not bear to
hear Aristides always called the just. Among them aU,
I have never heard of one who charged him with any
habitual vice, or even foible. There are few men of any
kind, and stiU fewer of those the world calls great, who
have not some of their virtues echpsed by corresponding
vices. But this was not the case with General Wash
ington. He had religion without austerity ; dig
nity Avithout pride ; modesty without diffidence ; courage
without rashness; politeness without affectation; affa
bility Avithout familiarity. His private character, as well
as his public one, will bear the strictest scrutiny. He was
punctual in aU his engagements ; upright and honest
in his dealings ; temperate in his enjoyments ; liberal
and hospitable to an eminent degree ; a lover of order ;
systematical and methodical in all his arrangements.
He was the friend of morality and religion; stead'
ily attended on public worship ; encouraged and
strengthened the hands of the clergy. In all his pub
lic acts he made the most respectful mention of Provi
dence, and in a word, canned the spirit of piety with
jiim, both in his private hfe and public administration.
He was far from being one of those minute philosophers,
who believe that " death is an eternal sleep ;" or of those,
who, trusting to the sufficiency of human reason, discard
the hght of Divine Revelation.
»***»»*
" Possessing an ample unencumbered fortune ; happy

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 363
at home in the most pleasing domestic connexions ; what
but love of country could have induced him to accept
the command of the American army in 1775 ? Could
it be hatred of Great-Britain ? He then ardentiy loved
her, and panted for a reconcihation with her. Could it
be partiality for a mihtary hfe ? He was then in the
44th year of his age, when a fondness for camps gene
raUy abates. Coidd it be love of fame ? The whole tenor
of his hfe forbids us to believe, that he was ever under
the undue influence of this passion. Fame followed
him, but he never pursued it. Could it have been the
love of power ? They who best knew the undissembled
wishes of his heart, wiU aU tell you, with what reluctance
he was dragged from a private station, and with what
ineffable dehght he returned to it. Had he not volun
tarily declined it, he would have died your President.
Others have resigned high stations from disgust ; but he
retired at rather an early period of old age, while his fa
culties were strong, and his health not much impaired,
and when the great body of the people sincerely loved
him, and ardently wished for his re-election. Could it
have been the love of money that induced him to accept
the command of the American army ? No such thing.
When he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Con
gress made him a handsome allowance ; but in his ac
ceptance of the command, he declared, that as no pecu
niary consideration could have tempted him to accept the
arduous employment, at the expense of his domestic
ease and happiness, he did not wish to make any profit
frona it." *
" I wiU keep, " said he, " an exact account of my ex
penses ; tliese, I 4Q^bt not) you wiU discharge, and that

364 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
is all I desire," <fcc. Delivered at Charleston, S. C
Jan. 15, 1800, By David Ramsay, M.D.
" With what unshaken firmness, with what unerring
fidelity, he executed the fearful duties of his station, it is
thy business. History ! to pronounce to future genera
tions ; thy work is aheady begun ; and when the story is
complete, it wiU be the largest, and the most instructive
volume, in thy archives. In vain may thy Plutarch and
Polybius vaunt their Alexanders, their Hannibals, their
Scipios and Cesars ; all their boasted virtues would but
serve as an appendix to the biography of our Washing
ton. Faithful Cho ! thou who presidest in the registry
of human transactions, thy book and thy trumpet, which
have been wont to report the deeds of heroic murderers,
are now required for a new and more grateful employ
ment ; before thou writest the name of Washington,
well mayest thou tear from thy records the pages on
which are inscribed the inevitable follies and crimes of
mankind ; weU mayest thou now exult ; there has once
hved a man, who had power without ambition, gloiy
without arrogance, fame without infatuation; a man,
who united the meekness of a Christian, Avith the influ
ence of a despot ; a man, Avhose heart did not sink by
misfortune, and whose head became more steady by ele
vation ; a man, who saved a country by his valour,
and could receive its praises without assumption.
" It was the sentiment of a very profound Avriter, ' that
eJI human advantages confer more power of doing CAril
than good.' To this opinion, founded on the degeneracy
of our nature, common experience had given' almost the
authority of a maxim ; but the degrading principle, hke
almost every other, deduced from the frailty, the imbect

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 365
lity of man, was precisely reversed in the character of
Washington. AU his advantages, all his powers, ex
tensive as they were, and in other hands, destructive as
they might have been, by a kind of supernatural agency,
seemed to have been directed to but one and the best of
purposes ; the welfare of his country and the glory of his
God." Eulogy by George Blake, Esq.
" It is natural that the gratitude of mankind should
be drawn to their benefactors. A number of these have
successively arisen, who were no less distinguished for
the elevation of their virtues, than the lustre of their ta
lents. Of those, however, Avho were born, and who
acted through life as if they were born, not for them
selves, but for their country and the whole human race,
how few, alas ! are recorded in the long annals of ages ;
and how wide the intervals of time and space that divide
them ! In all this dreary length of way, they appear
like flve or six light-houses on as many thousand mUes
of coast : they gleam upon the surrounding darkness
with an inextinguishable splendour, like stars seen
through a mist ; but they are seen like stars, to cheer,
to guide, and to save. Washington is now added to
that small number. Already he attracts curiosity, like
a newly discovered star whose benignant light will travel
on to the world's and time's farthest bounds. Already
his name is hung up by history, as conspicuously as if it
sparkled in one of the constellations of the sky.
" By commemorating his death, we are called this
day to yield the homage that is due to virtue ; to confess
the common debt of mankind, as well as our own ; and
to pronounce for posterity, now dumb, that eulogium
31*

366 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
which they will delight to echo ten ages hence, when
we are dumb.
" I consider myself not merely in the midst of the citi
zens of this town, [Boston,] or even of the State. In
idea, I gather around me the nation. In the vast and
venerable congregation of the patriots of aU countries,
and of aU enlightened men, I woidd, if I could, raise
my voice, and speak to mankind in a strain worthy of
my audience, and as elevated as my subject. But how
shall I express emotions that are condemned to be mute,
because they are unutterable ? I felt, and I was wit
ness, on the day when the news of his death reached
us, to the throes of that grief that saddened every coun
tenance, and Avrung drops of agony from the heart. Sor
row laboured for utterance, but found none. Eveiy man
looked round for the consolation of other men's tears.
But what consolation ! Each face was convulsed with
sorrow for the past ; every heart shivered with despair
for the future. The man who, and who alone, united
all hearts, Avas dead — dead, at the moment when his
power to do good was the greatest, and Avhen the aspect
of the imminent public dangers seemed more than ever
to render his aid indispensable, and his loss irreparable :
irreparable; for two Washingtons come not in one
age. " A grief so thoughtful, so profound, so mingled with
tenderness and admiration, so interwoven with our na
tional self-love, so often revived by being diffused, is not
to be expressed. You have assigned me a task that is
impossible. " ,0 if I could perform it ; if I could iUustrate his
principles in my discourse, as he displayed them in his

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 367
life ; if I could paint his virtues as he practised them ; if
I could convert the fervid enthusiasm of my heart into
the talent to transmit his fame, as it ought to pass, to pos
terity ; I should be the successful organ of your wUl, the
minister of his virtues, and, may I dare to say, the hum
ble partaker of his immortal glory. These are ambitious,
deceiving hopes, and I reject them. For it is perhaps
almost as difficult, at once Avith judgment and feeling,
to praise great actions, as to perform them. A lavish
and undistinguishing eulogium is not praise ; and to dis
criminate such exceUent qualities as were characterestic
and peculiar to him, would be to raise a name, as he
raised it, above envy, above paraUel — perhaps, for this
very reason, above eraulation.
" Such a portraying of character, however, must be ad
dressed to the understanding, and therefore, even if it
were well executed, would seem to be rather an analysis
of moral principles, than the recital of a hero's exploits.
It would rather conciliate confidence and esteem, than
kindle enthusiasm and admiration. It would be a pic
ture of Washington, and hke a picture, flat as the
canvass ; like a statue, cold as the marble on Avhich he
is represented ; cold, alas ! as his corpse in the ground.
Ah ! how unlike the man, late warm with living virtues^
animated by the soul once glowing Avith patriotic fires !
He is gone I The tomb hides all that the world could
scarce contain, and that once was Washington, ex
cept his glory ; that is the rich inheritance of his coun
try : and his example ; that let us endeavour, by de-
hneating, to impart to mankind. Virtue wUl place it in
her temple. Wisdom in her treasury." Prmiounced in
Boston, beforehis Honour the Lieutena7it- Governour,
the Council, Sfc. on Bth Feb. 1800, By Fisher Ames.

368 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" In Washington occurred a union rarely to be
found, of greatness and goodness. Courage, wisdom,
and magnaniraity, those eminent qualities, which
embrace the whole community in their operation, were
not those only which distinguished his character. He
was equaUy remarkable for the less splendid, though
not less amiable virtues, which more immediately re
spected himself, his famUy and friends. However the
abundance of his means, or his long and famUiar inter
course with the world, might have exposed him to tempt
ation, he preserved his morals not only pure, but even
unsullied, by the breath of suspicion. However the
applause of mankind, and the wealth and honours which
fortune no longer blind bestowed on him with a
liberal hand, might have attached him to the world,
he never forgot that he was mortal, and destined to
another state of existence. In him, religion was a
steady principle of action. It not only taught him
fortitude in danger, and patience under misfortunes, but
instructed him in the yet harder lesson of moderation, of
even huraihty in the full sAveU of prosperity. How often
does history inform us of commanders, transported with
success, and grown giddy in its eddies, forgetting their
dependence, and arrogating even divine honours ! As
a counterpart to this, our annals may record the con
cluding passage of the general orders, published on the
surrender of Yorktown ; " Divine service shall be per
formed to-morrow, in the different brigades and divisions.
The Commander-in-Chief recommends, that all the
troops that are not upon duty, do assist at it with a
serious deportment, and that sensibihty of heart, which

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 369
the recollection of the surprising and particular inter
position of Providence in our favour, claims."
" That Washington was affectionate and endearii^
in his conjugal relation, the anguish of his widqw^d
wife sufficiently evinces  That he was com
passionate and humane, is honourably told by the tears
of his disconsolate domestics. That he was benevolent,
his emancipated slaves Avill long remember, and even
their posterity acknowledge with gratitude." — Pro
nounced at Boston, February llth, 1800. By J.
Bigelow, Esq.
^-.- ...
'' These expressions of his sentiments and vicavs in
dicate the character which he Avould probably prefer to
sustain ; not merely that of a warrior, or statesman j
but as the enlightened friend of man, and aU his best
enjoyments : the advocate of religion : the supporter
of virtue : and, to adopt the language of your char
ter, the cultivator or patron of "every art and science
which may tend to advance the interest, dignity
and happiness, of a free, independent, and virtuous
people." ***** If *
" In studying the character of Washington, we
cannot refrain inquiring, by Avhat principles or motives
he was thus uniformly sAvayed to the practice of virtue,
and the steady pursuit of exceUence. Much, doubtless,
was due to his habitual respect for the approbation
and esteem of his fellow-citizens : and in attributing
the formation of his character and fame, in any degree,
to this source, Ave pay a just tribute to his countrymen ;
a tribute, he was ever prompt to bestow.

370 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
" To this motive was added that dehcate and refined
^ORAL Sense, which is the guardian and protectress
omU the virtues : which forbids committing any thing
ba^to.- unworthy ; any thing unbecoming the dignity
of mar^^ due reverence for himself, and the rank he
holds in^he scale of rational beings.
" But aBeve aU, he Avas influenced by the more perma
nent and optative principle of religion : by the firm and
active persuasfen of an All-Seeing, All-Powerful
Deity: by the^igh consciousness of future accounta-
bUity, and the assured hope and prospect of imraortahty.
Contrasting his sublime example, founded on such a
basis, with the tribe of infidel heroes who have lately
appeared on the bloody theatre of Europe, we cannot
but apply the impressive language of a sober and intel
hgent heathen : ' Earthquakes, lightning, storms and
torrents have an amazing power : but as for Justice
nothing participates of that, without thinking and rea
soning upon God.'
" Sound science wUl ever be found promotive of ra
tional religion, and the sohd interests of the common.
wealth : but there is a leprosy of false knowledge,
which is akin to impiety, and saps the compacted fabric
of social order. It is thus in the pohtical system. The
mUd and lovely form of true liberty, is opposed by a
harlot blustering counterfeit.
»* » »»•**
" False phUosophy is indeed the deceitful, Dehlah which
wUl enervate and corrupt the strongest establishments,
and deliver them, nerveless and resistless, to the Phi
listines of Infidelity, the Lords of Anarchy and
Misrule : but sound Science, with rational Rehgion,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 3'?!
will be the firm supporters of the Magistracy to the
latest time ; as Aaron and Hur sustained the hands of
Moses, until the going down of the sun." — Pro
nounced at Boston, February 19th, 1800, before the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, By
John Davis, Member of the Academy, (^c.
"This solemn assembly, and these sable, ensigns pro-.
claim no common grief Already has every American
wept ; already have the sad funeral processions, iinoved ;
and already have the virtues and services of Washing
ton, been celebrated from the pulpit and from the rostrum.
" Why are we again assembled ? And why is the
tomb uncovered ? It is that we may all take another
look. This is the birth-day of the beloved man. Was
there no other which could have been chosen than that
on which we have so frequently rejoiced ? It is kindly
intended to give indulgence to our sorrow ; to teach us
that no character is exempt from the stroke of death ;
and especially to induce our submission to the will, and
our adoration of, that Almighty Being who ' gave and
who hath taken away.'
" We find frora the earhest records of time, that the
practice has been usual in all ages, and in all nations,
of honouring those Avho were distinguished by their
exceUence, and were esteefned public blessings. Tro
phies have been decreed to them while living, and at
their decease, their bodies have been sometimes em
balmed ; monuments, elegies, and funeral orations have
perpetuated the memory "of their honourable deeds.
" This has a happy tendency to insure a noble and
virtuous conduct, and to. excite the imitation of others.
The love of fame, whelii subordinate to the general good

372 religious opinions and
of mankind, is inseparable from him who is truly great |
and he carries his views beyond the grave, to the reward
which posterity shaU bestow. Were there then no other
reason for praising the iUustrious dead, this would be
sufficient. " But there is an obligation of still higher raoment.
Eminent men are qualified for their work by God.
They are his servants. In honoming them we honour
hira. It is true that the heathen glorified not God, but
substituted creatures in his room ; and there is danger
that even Ave, with the clearest revelation, may be
guilty of idolatry in not lifting up our hearts to Him
from whom ' cometh down every good gift, and every
perfect gift.' Let us ascribe the glory to God, and we
may safely extol the man whose loss, this day, we
tljeplore. " America claims as her own, one Avho was justly the
admiration of the world. And shall she be sUent in his
praise ? Perhaps silence would have best expressed the
merits of him who is beyond aU eulogy. The language
of mortals can, with difficulty if ever, reach so noble a
theme. The name is above what Grecian or Roman
story presents, and it would require more than Grecian
or Roman eloquence to do it justice. One advantage
indeed it possesses, that hardly any thing can be said
which will be thought extravagant ; and what would in
other cases be deemed flattery, wiU sink far below the
conceptions of the public mind. Flattery was ever con
founded in the presence of Washington, nor will it
dare to approach his ashes. That humility, hoAvever,
which was the constant ornament of his virtues, should
not now obstruct the offerings of a feeling and grateful

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 373
people at his shrine. Nay, they rush Avith greater eager
ness to testify their sense of his transcendent and inestim
able AVorth. »»*»»»*
'" Though natutally reserved, yet he Avas not haughty.
Though those who approached hira felt his superi
ority, yet he did not assume. He blended, dignity and
condescension. The greatest and the smaUest object re
ceived from him a due attention. He ncA^er betrayed
any symptoms of vain-glory. When he was once asked,
whether he had ever said, as was reported, ' that he
knew no music so pleasing as the whistiing of bullets,'
he answered, ' If I said so, it was Avhen I was young."
Learning to estimate justly all human glory, and m_a-
tured by experience accustomed to lofty conceptions, and
moving always in the important spheres of hfe ; impress
ed Avith a sense that he derived aU from God, and that
all should be devoted to his service ; his deportment was
noble, equaUy removed from the supercUious and the
vain. Some men have been great at one time, and des
picable at another ; some men have performed a single
great action, and never rose to the like again ; but to
him great actions seemed common. Some men have
appeared great at the head of armies, or Avhen surrounded
by the trappings of power, and httle when stripped of
these, and alone ; some men have withstood the storms
of adversity, and been melted by the sunshine of pros
perity ; some men have possessed splendid pubhc talents,
and disgraced these by sordid private vices : but it is dif
ficult to determine Avhen and where Washington shone
* Gordon's History.
32

374 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
the brightest. It can only be said that he was uniform
ly great.
" One part of his character remains to be mentioned,
and which crowns the whole i that is, his reverence for
the Sabbath, his acknowledgment of a Providence, and
his Attendance upon the institutions of religion. In aU
his pubhc documents, God is honoured ; after deliver
ances or victories, thankgivings were by his order offered ;
and it is well known that he invariably attended divine
worship. 'TOie foohsh and wicked cant of exalting human
reason, andVascribing aU to fortune, received from him
no countenance. Neither in the parade of mihtary hfe,
nor in the cares of civil administration ; neither in a
state of depression, nor amidst the intoxicating sweets
of power and adiUation ; did he forget to pay homage
to the " MOST high, who doeth according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth."
" It is not wholly inprobable that the fate of the
unhappy Braddock, Avho, it is said, expressed himself in
a boasting and profene manner, left on the mind of
young Washington an indeUble impression. ' Thus
said the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wis
dom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might ; let
not the rich man glory in his riches : but let him that
glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and know
eth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kind
ness, judgment and righteousness in the earth.'*
" Hear the testimony which Washington bore for
religion on his resignation of the chief-magistracy : ' Of
aU the dispositions and habits which lead to pohtical
+ Jer. ix. 23, 24.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 375
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable sup
ports,' &c.* Incomparable man ! He devoted his time,
his talents, and his labours to our service, and he has
left his advice and his example, to us, and to all genera
tions !
" There was in him that assemblage of qualities which
constitutes real greatness ; and these qualities were
remarkably adapted to the conspicuous part which he was
called to perform. He was not tinsel, but gold ; not a
pebble, but a diamond ; not a meteor, but a sun. Were
he compared with the sages and heroes of antiquity, he
Avould gain by the comparison ; or rather he would be
found to be free from the blemishes, and to unite the
exellencies of them all. Like Fabius he was prudent ;
hke Hannibal he Avas unappalled by difficulties ; hke
Cyrus he conciliated affection ; like Cimon he was fru
gal ; like Scipio he was chaste ; like Philopoemen he
Avas humble ; and like Pompey he was successful. If
Ave compare him with characters in the Sacred Records,
he combined the exploits of Moses and Joshua, not only
by conducting us safely across the Red Sea, and through
the wUderness, but by bringing us into the promised
land ; like David he conquered an insulting Goliath,
and rose to the highest honours from a humble station ;
hke Hezekiah he ruled ; and like Josiah at his death,
there is a mourning 'as the mourning of Hadadrimmon
in the valley of Megiddon.' Nor is the mourning con
fined to us, but extends to all the wise and good who
ever heard of his name. The Generals whom he op
posed, will wrap their hUts in black, and stern Cornwal-
li§ drop a tear. * See page 74,

376 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
' He was honoured even in death. After aU his fa
tigues, and though he had arrived near to the limit fixed
for human life, yet his understanding Avas not impaired,
nor his frame Avasted by any lingering disease. We (hd
not hear of his sickness, untU we heard that he was no
more.- His acceptance of the office of Lieutenant-Gen
eral of the armies, is a proof that ' SaAC my country,
HeaAcn,' A'.-as his last. AVhat Avould have been to most
men the meridian of glory, Avas the setting sun of Wash
ington. With an increased orb, its parting rays
paint the clouds Avith brighest coloure, and iUumine aU
the mountain tops. In the fuU possession of his reason,
and without fear of death, Avhich he had often faced in
the field, he breathed his mighty soul into the hands of
his Almighty and merciful Creator.
" Hark ! — a message from the tomb !
" ' Citizens of America,
'• ' You are assembled to express jour gratitude for ser
vices Avhich you believe to have been rendered by me,
and to testify your sorroAV for my death. Next to the
testimony of a good conscience, it was ever the summit
of my Avishes to deserve A\eU of my country. But let
your gratitude ascend to Him who fashioned me as I
Avas, Avho kept me under his holy protection, and who
hath in his sovereign wiU, recaUed me from the earth.
My career was much longer than might have been ex
pected. It was anxious ; it was laborious ; it AA'as Aveari-
some — I now rest.
" ' Let the love you bore me, the confidence you were
ahvays pleased to repose in me, and the regard you now
profess for my memory, be shoAvn in foUoAving those ad
monitions which I have given you, and which 1 endeav-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 377
cured to enforce by my example. Banish party inter
est and party spirit. Suffer no foreign influence to affect
your councils. Give support and stabUity to your gov
ernment. Honour and leAvard your public officers. Pay
the strictest attention to the injunctions of religion
and fribrality. Then under the propituous smiles of
HeaA'en, you avUI long be a flourishing and happy
people.' "
" Thus raethinks, our deceased father addresses us
this Aay!'— Delivered Feb. 22d, 1800, in the City
of New- York, By William Linn, D.D.
" Of his virtues it may be said, that they were the
fruits of much cultivation bestowed on a good soil.
" He very early acquired the poAver of submitting his
passions to his* reason. He practised without effort, and
almost without merit, the habitual qualities of tempe^
ranee and sobriety. He was eminently distinguished for
prudence, moderation, and equanimity of soul. He de^
served the singular comraendation, that instead of being
corrupted by success, his virtues always expanded with
his fortune : the season of his prosperity was that of his
moderation. " Perhaps no man ever shared more largely in the
pubhc esteem, or received more flattering marks of dis
tinction ; but was there ever one, who deserved them betr
ter, or appreciated them more justly 1 His popularity
was earned by virtuous deeds, and it was spent in the
service of virtue.
" In despatch of business, his diligence was indefati
gable. He was remarkable for observing the most per^
feet order, without too rigid adherence to method, in all
his concerns, public and private. This nice arrangement

378 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
of labour, and exact distribution of time, enabled him to
transact an uncommon portion of business, and stiU left
him leisure to enjoy the innocent pleasures oflife. With
him, every hour had its duty, and every dulj- its hour.
How delightful that he could say at the close of his hfe,
1 have left nothing undone.
"His easy fortune, increased by his industiy and active
labours, afforded him the means, which he never faUed
to improve, of displapng his beneficence and generosity
to those who had any claims on his bounty, or Avho came
Avithin the enlarged circle of his acquaintance.
" To act altogether fi-om pure benevolence, or regard
to the good of others, seems hardly compatible Avith
human nature. The tenor of his whole life evinced,
that neither vanitA' nor interest impeUed film to action.
Vanity it could not be ; for who so raodest and unassum
ing ? It coiUd not be interest ; for though he dechned
no labour, he refused all pecuniary compensation. If
ambition fired his soul, it was a glorious ambition, for it
saved his country.
" The person as weU as the mind of our de
parted Chief, was enriched by nature Avith her choicest
endowments. His stature was loft}'. Ids countenance
dignified, his deportment graceful, and his manners libe
ral, courteous, and refined.
" The most singular trait in the character and fortunes
of this great man, remains to be mentioned ; he was
neither capable of envy himself, nor the object of that
passion in others. Can their be higher evidence of his
superior exceUence? His character was considered a
kind of public property ; every member of the com
munity had an interest in preserving it inviolate.

CHARACTER OF AVASHINGTON. 379
" Popular applause, of all the gifts in the poAver of for
tune to bestoAV, the most fickle and precarious, to him
AA'as constant, steady, and uniform as his virtues.
" Of his patriotism I need not speak. All virtues have
their extremes. There is a patriotism too narroAV ; and
the philosophy of the present day teaches one much too
broad ; it embraces all nations. There is also a love of
liberty, AA'hich is disorderly and tumultuous. It is suffi
cient to say, that the patriotism of our Washington,
was an ardent love of his own country ; and the liberty
he adored Avas that of which government is the guardian.
" I have reserved for the last to speak ofthe religious
character of the deceased ; because, like the key-stone,
Avhich completes the arch, it is this which completes the
lustre of his unrivalled name.
" We have seen thau his private life Avas marked, in an
eminent degree, with the practice of the moral virtues.
The maxims he prescribed for himself, as the basis of
his political conduct, will bear the strictest scrutiny,
when brought to the test of reason and morality.
" He taught, (and his own practice conesponded with
his doctrine,) that the foundation of national pohcy can
be laid only in the pure and immutable principles of
private morahty : that there exists in the economy of na
ture an indissoluble union betAveen duty and adA^antage ;
between genuine maxims of an honest and magnani
mous pohcy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity
and felicity: that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can
never be expected on a nation, that disregards the eternal
laAvs of order and right, Avhicli Heaven itself has or
dained. -.^
" In our country there are fcAV who AviU hesitate to

380 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
acknowledge the obhgations we are under, to make the
concerns of another world the governing principle of our
hves in this ; and that Christianity is the highest orna
ment of human nature. Washington practised upon
this belief. He publicly professed the rehgion in which
he was educated ; and his life affords the best evidence
of the purity of his principles, and the sincerity of his
faith. " He had aU the genuine mildness of Christianity with
all its force. He was neither ostentatious nor ashamed
of his Christian profession. He pursued in this, as in
every thhig else, the happy mean betAveen the extremes
of levity and gloominess, indifference and austerity. His
rehgion became him. He brought it with him into office,
and he did not lose it there His first and his last offi
cial acts, (as did all the intermediate ones,) contained an
explicit acknowledgment of the over-ruling providence
of the Supreme Being ; and the most fervent supplica
tion for his benediction on our government and nation.
" Without being charged Avith exaggeration, I may be
perraitted to say, that an accurate knowledge of his hfe,
while it would confer on him the highest title to praise,
Avould be productive ofthe most solid advantage to the
cause of Christianity.
********
" There is by the irrevocable decree of Heaven, a pe
riod fixed to huraan greatness and human glory. The
time had now arrived, that Washington must die. He
could not, in the day of death, disgrace a character sup
ported by virtue and fortitude. He Avho had hved Avith
out guilt, must die Avithout remorse. But I reckon it a
public blessing, and deserving our thanks to Almighty

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 381
God, that he Avas called to this last encounter, in the full
possession and vigour of his mental powers. Highly
favoured of Heaven, to hira it was given, to meet the last
enemy of man Avith the same firmness, the sarae forti
tude, and the same reliance on heavenly aid, AVith Avhich,
during his life, he met the foes of his country. And Avho
can doubt of his success in this last engagement t At
this aAvful moment he had the singular felicity, resulting
from a review of his well-spent life, that not a Avord had
escaped his tongue, Avhich a wise man might not utter ;
not a sentence dropped from his pen, Avhich, dying, he
could wish to blot ; not an action performed, Avhich pru
dence could condemn, nor one omitted which duty had
enjoined."* — Delivered at Exeter, N. H. Feb. 22.
1800. By j. Smith, Esq.
"Sixty-Eight years are this day completed since
the birth of George Washington, and this day we
are assembled in the temple of God to pay the tribute
of affection and respect due to the memory of the excel
lent citizen, the friend, the Father of his Country.
" Behold ! this day, and at this moment, thousands
and thousands, in their nuraerous assemblies over this
extended empire, are commemorating the exalted virtues,
the heroic deeds of our deceased patriot ; aud pouring
out their souls to the Almighty, in the keenness of
sorrow, for this irreparable loss, this national calamity,
this visitation of the Most High.
" America, covered with the mantle of grief, droops
over the grave of her departed father, and the funeral
^ It is raore than probable that Washington himself would not have
concurred in the justice of panegyric like the above. Such perfection
does not fall to the lot of humanity.

382

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

paU of Columbia's pride, like a dark and ominous cloud,
overspreads our land.
" Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go
about the streets. O ! fleeting, transitory man, learn
moderation and wisdom from a sense of thy fugitive
state ! Now, indeed, is a time to weep : to restrain the
bursting emotion, would be false fortitude. Let the heart
seek its relief in free effusions of just and natural sorroAA^
Washington was our companion in all the vicissitudes
of fortune ; he yvas the solace of his country ; he shared
in all her joys, and he participated in aU her misfortunes-
********
"Although our Washington was attached to hfe by
an ample store of earthly felicity, and by aU the natural
feelings of humanity, yet he was raised above aU weak
and unmanly regret at parting with it. When Provi
dence gave the signal for his removal, with composed
resolution and an undisturbed mind, he bade adieu to the
Avorld : What Heaven had made necessary, Washing
ton complied with cheerfuUy. Although he was inter
rupted in the midst of his settled designs ; although he
Avas broken off in the midst of the wise plans he had
formed of being useful to his country ; all these he left
Avith resignation and tranquilhty in the hands of the Fa
ther of mercies, to whom he had ever been accustomed to
look up— that Divine Goodness which had watched over
him in all the perils of hfe ; that aU-wise Being, who had
governed the Avorld graciously and wisely before he exist
ed, and who, he kncAV, Avould continue to govern it Avith
equal benignity and Avisdom, Avhen he should be in it no
more. " The tirae of his departure was not of our choice,

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 383
nor his own ; but it Avas the time appointed by Him
who cannot err. Honourable age is not that Avhich
standeth in length of tirae ; but wisdom is gray hairs to a
man, and an unspotted hfe is old age. He who is unwil-
hng to submit to death, Avhen Heaven decrees it, deserves
not to have hved. When our Washington beheld his
friends and relatives around him, his heart melted but
was not overpowered ; the retrospection of a virtuous life,
the testimony of a good conscience, and a hope of future
felicity, gave him composure and fortitude ; and in the
midst of these agonies, when the dust is about to return
to its dust, Avith firmness and dignity, he resigned the
spirit to God who gave it. He had served his country
with fidelity ; he had walked piously before his God ;
he had completed his career of glory and virtue ; he de
parted with the blessings of the whole American people,
and the tears of grateful mUlions have embalmed his
memory. How respectable is such a conclusion of human life !
thus to quit the stage, honoured and revered by his
country, supported by the presence of his Creator, and
enjoying, tiU the last moments of reflection, the pleasing
thoughts that he had not hved in vain." — Delivered
at All Saint's Parish, South Carolina, on the
22d of Feb. 1800. By Doctor Joseph Blyth.
" The name of Washington, connected with all
that is most brUliant in the history of our country, and in
human character, awakens sensations which agitate
the fervors of youth, and warm the chill bosom of age.
Transported to the times when America rose to repel her
wrongs, and to claim her destinies, a scene of boundless
grandeur bursts upon our view. Long had her fiUal

384 RELItJlOUS OPINIONS AND
duty expostulated with parental injustice. Long did
she deprecate the rupture of those ties which she had
been proud of preserving and clisplaying. But her hum
ble entreaty spurned,  she transfers her gricA'ances
from the throne of earth to the throne of Heaven ; and
precedes by an appeal to the God of judgment, her ap
peal to the sAA'ord of Avar.
" At issue now Avith the mistress of the seas ; unfur
nished Avith equal means of defence ; the convulsive
shock approaching ; and every evil omen passing before
her, one step of rashness or of foUy may seal her doom.
In this accumultation of trouble, who shaU command
her confidence, and face her dangers, and conduct her
cause ? God ; whose kingdom ruleth over all, prepares
from afar the instruments best adapted to his pui-pose.
By an influence Avhich it would be as irrational to dis
pute as it is vain to scrutinize, he stirs up the spirit of
the statesman and the soldier. Minds on which he
has bestowed the elements of greatness, are brought, by
his providence, into contact with exigencies which rouse
them into action. It is in the season of effort and of
perU that impotence disappears, and energy arises. The
whirhvind which sweeps away the gloAV-worm, uncovers
the fire of genius, and kindles it into a blaze, that irra
diates at once both the zenith and the poles.
" But among the heroes who sprung from obscurity,
Avhen the college, the counting-room, and the plough
teemed Avith 'thunderbolts of war,' none could, in aU
respects, meet the wants and the wishes of America.
She required, in her leader, a man reared under her
OAvn eye; who combined with distinguished talent, a
character above suspicion ; who had added to his phy-

CHARACfER OF WASHINGTQN. 385
Sical and moral qualities the experience of diffiicult ser
vice ; a man who should concentrate in himself the
public affections and confidence ; who should know
how to multiply the energies of every other man under
his direction, and to make disaster itself the means of
success — his arm a fortress, and his name a host. Such
a man it were almost presumption to expect ; but such
a man all-ruling Heaven had provided, and that man
was Washington.
" Pre-eminent already in worth, he is summoned to
the pre-eminence of toU and danger. Unallured by
the charms of opulence ; unappalled by the hazard of
a dubious warfare ; unmoved by the prospect of being^
in the event of failure, the first and most conspicuous
victim, he obeys the summons, because he loves his duty.
The resolve is firm, for the probation is terrible. His
theatre is a world ; his charge, a family of nations ;
the interest staked in his hands, the prosperity of mU
lions unborn in ages to come, tlis means, under aid
from on high, the resources of his own breast, with the
raw recruits and irregular supplies of distracted Colonies.
O, crisis worthy of such a hero ! FolloAved by her little
bands, her prayers and her tears, Washington espouses
the quarrel of his country. As he moves on to the con
flict, every heart palpitates, and every knee trembles.
The foe, alike valiant and veteran, presents no easy con
quest, nor ought inviting, but to those Avho ha dconsecra.
ted their blood to the public weal. The Omnipotent, who
allots great enjoyment as the meed of great exertions, had
ordained that America should be free, but that she should
learn to value the blessing by the price of its acquisition.
She shall go to a ' wealthy place,' but her way is 'through
33

386 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
fire and through water.' Many a generous chief must
bleed, and many a gaUant youth sink at his side, into
the surprised grave ; the field must be heaped with slain ;
the purple torrent roll, ere the angel of peace descend
with his ohve. It is here, amid devastation, and horror,
and death, that Washington must reap his laurelsj
and engrave his trophies on the shield of immortality ....
True, he suffered, in his turn, repulse and even defeat.
It was both natural and needful. Unchequered with
reverse, his story would have resembled rather the fic
tions of romance, than the truth of narrative ; and had he
been neither defeated nor repulsed, we had never seen
all the grandeur of his soul. He arrayed himself in
fresh honours by that which ruins even the great — vicis
situde. He could not only subdue an enemy, but,
what isi infinitely more, he could subdue misfortune.
With an equanimity which gave temperance to victory,
and cheerfulness to disaster, he balanced the fortunes
of the State. In the face of hostile prowess; in
the midst of mutiny and treason ; surrounded with
astonishment, irresolution, and despondence, Washing
ton remained erect, unmoved, invincible. Whatever
ills America might endure in maintaining her rights,
she exulted that she had nothing to fear from her Com
mander-in-chief The result justified her most sanguine
presages. That invisible hand which girded him at
first, continued to guard and to guide him through the
successive stages of the revolution. Nor did he account
it a Aveakness to bend the knee in homage to its supre
macy, and prayer for its direction. This was the armour
of Washington : this the salvation of his country.
"The hope of her reduction at length abandoned; her

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 387
war of hberty brought, in the estabhshment of inde
pendence, to that honourable conclusion for which it
had been undertaken, the hour arrived when he was to
resign the trust which he had accepted with diffidence-
To a mind less pure and elevated, the situation of
America would have furnished the pretext, as weU as
the raeans, of mUitary usurpation. Talents equal to
daring enterprise ; the derangement of public affairs ;
unbounded popularity ; and the devotion of a suffering
army, would have been to every other, a strong, and to
almost any other, an irresistable temptation. In Wash
ington they did not produce even the pain of self-denial.
They added the last proof of his disinterestedness ; and
imposed on his country the last obhgation to gratitude.
Impenetrable by corrupting influence; deaf to honest
but erring sohcitation ; irreconcilable with every disloyal
sentiment, he urged the necessity, and set the example
of laying down, in peace, arms assumed for the coraraon
defence. * * *****
" Singular phenomenon ! Washington becomes a
private citizen. He exchanges supreme coraraand for the
tranquiUity of domestic life. Go, incomparable man I to
adorn no less the civic virtues, than the splendid
achievements of the field : Go, rich in the consciousness
of thy high deserts : Go, with the adrairation ofthe world,
with the plaucht of millions, and the orisons of miUions
more for thy temporal and thine eternal bliss.
" The glory of Washington seemed now complete.
While the universal voice proclaimed, that he might
dechne, with honour, every future burden, it was a wish
and an opinion almost as universal, that he would not
jeopardize the fame which he had s(3 pobly won. Had

388 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
personal considerations swayed his mind, this would
have been his own decision. But, untutored in the phi
losophy of the age, he had not learned to separate the
maxims of Avisdom from the injunctions of duty. His
Soul was not debased by that moral cowardice which
fears to risk popularity for the general good. Having
assisted in the formation of an efficient government,
which he had refused to dictate or enforce at the mouth
of his cannon, he Avas ready to contribute the weight of
his character to insure its effect. And his country re
joiced in an opportunity of testifying, that, much as she
loved and trusted others, she stiU loved and trusted him
most. HaUed, by her unanimous suffrage, the pilot of
the State, he approaches the awful helm, and grasping it
with equal firmness and ease, demonstrates that forms
of power cause no embarrassment to him.
*******
" The reappearance of Washington as a statesman,
excited the conjecture of the old world, and the anxiety
of the new. His martial fame had fixed a criterion,
however inaccurate, of his civil administration. Mili
tary genius does neither confer nor imply political ability.
Whatever merit may be attached to the faculty of ar
ranging the principles, and prosecuting the details of an
army, it must be conceded that vaster comprehensions be
long to the statesman. Ignorance, vanity, the love of
paradox, and the love of mischief, affecting to sneer at
the ' mystery of government,' have, indeed, taught that
comraon sense and common honesty are his only requi
sites. The nature of things and the experience of every
people, in every age, teach a different doctrine. America
had multitudes who possessed both those qualities, but

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 389
she had only one Washington. To adjust, in the
best comproraise, a thousand interfering views, so as to
effect the greatest good of the Avhole with the least incon
venience to the parts ; to curb the dragon of faction by
raeans which insure the safety of public hberty; to
marshal opinion and prejudice araong the auxUiaries of
the law ; in fine, to touch the main-spring of national
agency, so as to preserve the equipoise of its powers, and
to make the feeblest movements of the extremities accord
with the impulse at the centre, is only for genius of the
highest order. To excel equaUy in military and poUti-
cal science, has been the praise of a few chosen spirits,
araong Avhom, with a proud preference, we enrol the
Father of our Country.
" It was the fortune of Washington, to direct trans
actions of which the repetition is harcUy within the
limits of human possibUities. When he entered on his
first Presidency, all the interests of the continent were
vibrating through the arch of pohtical uncertainty. The
departments of the new government were to be marked
out, and tUled up : foreign relations to be regulated ; the
physical and moral strength of the nation to be organiz
ed ; and that at a time, when scepticism in politics, no
less than in religion and morals, was preparing,
throughout Europe, to spring the mine of revolution and
ruin. In discharging his first duties, that same intelh
gent, cautious, resohite procedure, which had rendered
him the bulwark of war, now exhibited him, the guar
dian of peace. Appropriation of talent to employraent,
is one of the deep results of pohtical sagacity. And in
his selection of men for office, Washington displayed a
knowledge of character and of business, a contempt
33*

390 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
of favotiritism, and a devotion to the public welfare,
which permitted the General to be rivaUed only by the
President. "Under such auspices, the fruit and the pledge of
divine blessing, America rears her head, and recovers her
Vigour. Agriculture laughs on the land : Commerce
ploughs the wave : Peace rejoices her at home ; and she
grows into respect abroad. Ah ! too happy to progress
without interruption. The explosions of Europe bring
new vexations to her, and newt rials, and ncAV glories, to
her Washington. VigUant and faithful, he hears the
tempest roar frora afar, Avarns her of its approach, and
prepares for averting its dangers. Black are the heavens
and angry the billows, and narrow and perUous the
passage. But his coraposure, dignity, and firmuess, are
equal to the peril. Unseduced by fraud ; unterrified by
threat ; unaAved by clamour, he holds on his steady
way, and again he saves his country. With less deci
sion on the part of Washington, a generous but mis
taken ardour would have plunged her into the whirlpool,
and left her till this hour, the sport of the contending ele
ments. Americans! bow to that magnanimous policy,
which protected your dearest interests at the hazard of
incurring your displeasure. It was thus that Wash
ington proved himself^ not in the cant of the day, but
in the procureraent of substantial good, the servant of the
people." Delivered in the City of New- York, Feb.
22, 1800 ; by Rev. John M. Mason, A.M.
" WhoshaU delineate a just portrait of that character)
which was perfect in all its relations — or in what lan
guage shall the story of that life be told, whose every action
was above aU praise 1

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 391
" To confer the just meed of eulogium on this inestim
able character — to entwine the blended gloiiesof the Bero
and the Statesman — with them to mingle the inilder
radiaJice of religion and m,orals, would require an
inspiration, not only of those sentiments, which pervade
every class of men in this extensive nation, but of those
opinions, Avhich his unequaUed worth has impressed
throughout the Avorld.
" Of legislators, to Avhose labours and honours he was
associated by aU that Avas useful and dignified.
" Of armies, to whom he was endeared by every obli
gation of gratitude and glory.
" Of a people, by whom he was regarded as their father,
guide, and protector.
'¦ Of the holy ministers of religion, by Avhom he was
beloved and admired.
' Of the wise and just of all nations, of whom he Avas
the ornament and the example.
**#*»**#
" Such was the triumph of patriotism, and such the
dignified completion of his public character.
" With the accomplishments ofthe hero, and the attri
butes of the statesman, Ave are noAV to connect the interest
ing theme of domestic hfe, and the useful virtues of his
private character.
" Favoured of heaven, he Avas blest in the most en
deared relation of human society. The amiable, and
much respected partner of his happiness, enjoyed his
afl'ection and esteem, and was worthy to participate the
honours of his exalted station.
" The practice of his fihal piety, which had been dis
tinguished at an early age, was continued until the death

392 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
of his surviving parent, with unabated tenderness and
respect. '" His fraternal love was exemplary, as it was sincere ;
and the munificent provisions of his will, attest the affec
tion, Avhich he bore to his kindred, and the relatives of
his famUy.
^ " Nor was this munificence bounded by the limits of
consanguinity. The interests of freedom and science
were anxiously consulted and most generously advanced.
"Age and infirmity were the objects of his kind re
gard. And the instruction of youth, was connected with
the emancipation of the bondsman, as a means of pro
tecting his rights, and rendering hira safe and useful to
society. " The friend, and the stranger were received with cor
dial welcome at his hospitable mansion — and his bene
ficence to his neighbours was returned with the most af
fectionate attachment.
" Such Avere the outlines of his domestic life.'' Pro
nounced in the City of Philadelphia. Feb. 22,
1800, By Major William Jackson, Aid-de-camp
to Washington.
" The Providence of God over nations, has often been
remarkably apparent in the characters he has prepared
for their deliverance, their safety, and defence. The
circumstances in which God raised up Moses, mark him
pecuharly as his own ; and the talents wherewith he
was endowed, point him out as the chosen instrument
to deliver his ancient people from Egyptian bondage.
David was afterwards raised up for their glory ; and
Cyrus anointed for their restoration from the Babylonish

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 393
captivity. And is it possible not to recognize in our Ulus
trious citizen, noAV departed, the immediate hand of hea
ven? When we consider the various exigencies and
circumstances of America, for fifty years past — hardly
can we imagine talents more fitted to these, both in war
and peace, than those which distinguished and adorned
his character. ********
" Such was the man, whose death we now deplore,
that, ' take hira for all in aU, we ne'er shall look upon his
like again.' He was a professor of Christianity, and a
meraber of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He ahvays
acknoAvledged the superintendence of Divine Providence ;
and from his inimitable writings, Ave find him a warm
advocate for a sound morality, founded on the principles
of religion, the only basis on which it can stand. Nor
did 1 ever meet with the most distant insinuation, that his
private life was not a comment on his own admired
page. And from the equanimity, fortitude, and compo
sure, with which he met the stroke of death, we are led
to the consolatory conclusion, that his faith Avas more
than speculative. Delivered in Dinwiddie County,
Virginia, By Rev. Devereux Jarratt.
" In the private character of Washington, we find
the delight, the ornament, the wonder of man ! Prompt
at every call of duty, in Avhatever sphere or station, he
exhibits a uniform pattein of morahty, industry and
economy. Feelingly aliA^e to all the tender charities of
our nature, he always clothed the naked, and fiUed the
hungry with good things. He soothed affliction, com-
misserated misfortune, raised up the bowed down, dissi-

394 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
pated the dark clouds of the disconsolate, or gUded their
gloom with the calm sun-shine of peace.
******* ?*
" Great as he was in life, he was stiU more sublimely
grand and majestic in death. See him on his dying
couch — calm and dignified in his distress, he has fought
the good fight, and death to him has no terrors ! With
his own firm hand he closes his eyes — and is gone ! His
form is now no more the terror of the valiant. Dim and
feeble is the Chief, Avho traveUed in strength and bright
ness before. He rests in the dark and narrow house of
the tomb. The feeble wiU find his bow at home, but
they AviU not be able to bend it. Fallen is the arm of
battle ! Deep is the sleep of the dead ; low theh pillow
of dust ; damp and cold the couch of their repose.
When ! O ! Avhen wiU it be morn in the grave, to bid the
slumberer awake ! Farewell, thou first in every field,
farcAvell ! The field shall behold thee no more ; no more
the dark Avood be lightened with the splendour of thy
steel. Thou hast left no son ; but the song shall pre
serve thy name. Future times shaU hear of thee. The
sons of Columbia shaU be sad, and the tear of the young
virgin wUl faU ! and weU may Ave weep. —
"GLuisdesiderio sit pudor, aut modus,
" Tarn cari capitis ?" 
" But, my countrymen ! whUe we are paying this last
sad tribute of respect to the ashes of our dear departed
Chief ; Avhile Ave entomb his relics in the earth, and
inurn his memory in our hearts ; — let us not forget to
emulate his virtues in our lives. The husband, the
parent, the friend, the neighbour, the citizen, the Chris-

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 395
tian, or the man, can never deserve higher eulogy than
this ; — that his deportment, in his appropriate sphere, re
sembles that of a Washington.
" A friend to our holy religion, he was ever guided by
its pious doctrines, and had embraced the tenets of the
Episcopal church ; yet his charity, unbounded as his ira-
mortal mind, led him equally to respect every denomina
tion of the foUowers of Jesus. Meek and distrustful of
hhnself, he Avas liberal and candid to others. Superior
to the little prejudices which subsist among different sects,
— prejudices Avhich deform the beauty and destroy the
harmony of the religious world, he loved, and wept, and
prayed — for all." Pronounced at Oxford, Mass. Jan.
15, 1800. By j. Dunham, A.M. Captain Wth U. S.
Reo'inient. " It Avas to be expected that a man so capable of gov
erning others. Would be able to govern himself. We
are told, that his passions, by nature strong and irritable,
were brought by discipline, into complete subjection ; so
that he, Avhoni original constitution disposed to turbulence
and vindictiveness, appeared the pattern of equanira-
ity and forbearance. What modesty, joined with great
ness, distinguished this extraordinary man ! Alive to
character, keenly sensible to virtuous praise, the plaudits
of a nation and a world, were yet never knoAvn to ehcit
frora him one spark of vanity, or to raise one emotion of
pride. The virtues of our departed friend were crowned
by piety. He is known to have been habitually devout.
To Christian institutions he gave the countenance of
his example ; and no one could express raore fuUy his
sense of the Providence of God, and the dependehce of
man. . . . When we acknowledge God in the talents.

396 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS ANfi
virtues, and services of the departed Chief, let us not
overlook the hand of Providence in his prosperous for
tune, displayed in the many favourable incidents of his
hfe, in the constancy of the pubhc affection and confi
dence, and in his death." Delivered in Boston, Dec.
29, 1799. By Rev. J. T. Kirkland.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 397

CHAPTER XIX.
THE character OF WASHINGTON.
The various sketches contained in the foregoing chap
ter, AviU enable the attentive reader to form a conception
of the character of Washington, in the main, accurate
and just. That a strong partiality guided the pen of
the AViiters may be readily admitted. The feeling was
alike honourable to both the parties. It was a tribute
justly due, and herein freely paid, to virtue seldom
surpassed. Few persons have lived in our world, whose
endowments of every kind were more worthy of ad
miration, or Avhose services better deserved a grateful
remembrance, than those by Avhich the noble subject
of their eulogy had been distinguished and adorned.
The mental and moral constitution of Washington
Avas of the most exceUent kind. He possessed faculties
and affections in such peculiar combination, as to place
him almost alone in that respect.
His mind was of the very best order. The structure
thereof was plain, but on a scale of unusual strength
and greatness. Its basis seems to have been strong com-
m,on se?ise. To this was superadded a discernment
34

398 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
clear and penehating ; a memory of great tenacity ; and
a judgment as sound as man ever possessed. Ima
gination had but little place in his mind. His materials
of thought were first truths, together with such facts
and events in life as were worthy of attention. These
he carefully marked and compared Avith one another,
noting their relations Avith a cool and enlightened com
prehension ; viewing them in all their aspects and bear
ings, weighing them in the balances of the mind, tUl
conducted to the safest and soundest conclusions of
reason. He was ahke happy in his moral constitution. Here
the elements were raixed up in the finest and raost
admirable proportions. They were in perfect harmony
with the higher powers of the mind. The equipoise
was rare and excellent. From hence, in a great degree,
arose the force and effectiveness of his intellectual efforts.
The action of his mind encountered no hindrance from
the wayAvardness of his affections, or the turbulence of
passion. These never cast obstacles in the way of his
judgment, or embarrassed its decisions by a confiict
between inchnation and conviction. With feelings
unusuaUy healthy, his understanding, ordinarUy, had free
and uninapeded course. Unbiassed by mere emotions
of the breast, he always regarded objects presented for
his consideration, with a steady eye and serene contem
plation. No delusive vapour ascending from a selfish
bosom, shut out from his mind the bright rays of
truth. His perceptions were clear, because in hira
were united a sound head, with an honest and single
heart. The raoral qualities in hira Avere mingled and held

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 399
together in a combination so admirable, that they all
tended with the utmost harmony to the formation of a
character so remarkable. He united in himself affec
tions, dispositions and tempers, which are never looked
for in the same person, being regarded in the hght of
antagonist and contending quahties. They are often
found to exist separately, but not unitedly, proving in
their ordinary operation, destructive of each other. But
in him they appeared to exist in a concord, as com
plete, as it was marveUous. Each filled Avith energy
its own assigned sphere, whUst the whole were promptly
combined, Avhen the union Avas necessary for the effec
tuation of great and important objects.
The unequivocal developments of his character, ex
hibit him as possessed at the same time of such opposite
qualities as courage and caution ; of ardour and self-
possession ; of decision and moderation ; of self-esteem
and huraUity. He had modesty without diffidence ;
benevolence Avithout ostentation ; humanity without
weakness. In him frugality was unattended by par
simony ; temperance by austerity ; the love of praise,
by the fear of censure. He was dignified, yet con
descending ; had gravity Avithout moroseness ; serious
ness Avithout gloom. Q,uick in discerning defects in
men, he was yet kind to all ; alive to offence and
insult, he was tolerant and ready to forgive. He was
of incorruptible integrity ; had the highest and purest
sense of justice ; his truthfulness was rigid ; and his
faithfulness to principles and engagements, unwavering-
He loved peace, yet was ready for war, when duty
called. He Avas patriotic without ambition ; industrious
without coyetousness,. He >vas affectionate to his famUy

400

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

and kindred ; kind to his neighbours; obliging to friends ;
courteous to associates ; compassionate to servants, and
merciful to animals. By nature he had an excitable
temper, and a raind subject at times to fierce iUapses of
passion. When the severity of the trials to which his
patience was often exposed, is considered, the Avonder
is, not that he should have been sometimes carried away by
them, but that he should have so frequently resisted them
with success. Under many and great provocations, he was
usuaUy calm, caUing in to his aid that self-command,
of Avhich experience had taught hira the necessity, and
conscience the propriety. Few persons so constituted
as he was in this respect, have done themselves, or
others, so little injury thereby.*
The personal and domestic habits of this remarkable
man, were in perfect keeping with the rest of his life.
In them is seen the same fixed and settled principles of
conduct, which governed hira in the higher spheres of
action. So happUy do they accord with the more public
and prominent displays of his character, that they serve
to present him to the vicAV,
" Full orbed, in his whole lound of rays complete."
He usuaUy arose from his bed at 4 o'clock in the morn-
* The following occurrence will serve to furnish an example of
his habitual self-command.— Returning to his house one day, frora a
ride over his farm, on arriving at the yard-gate, he found his overseer
in the act of chastising severely one of his servants. Indignant at the
sight, as being in the mode or degree contrary to his orders, he dis
mounted hastily, and advancing towards the overseer with his horse
whip in his hand, the affrighted man retreated towards the fence,
exclaiming, "Remember your character. General; remember your cTia-
racter." The General immediately stopped, and reprimanding him
for disobeying his commands, admonished him to beware of again
correcting his people in a manner so cruel.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 401
ing, summer and winter. F'rora the charabel- he went
to his study, Avith a candle in his hand, remaining there
a longer or shorter time, according to the season As to
his employment there, no room for doubt exists. It
was certainly his time for devotional exercises. The
weather permitting, he rode out daUy upon his farm,
inspecting the agricultural operations of his managers
and servants. When enaged at home he never suffered
himself to be interrupted by visitors, except on very
special occasions. But his business being over, he gave
himself with cheerfulness to their society.
In his enjoyments, he was very temperate. His
breakfast usuaUy consisted of two or three smaU hoe
cakes, Avith honey ; and as many cups of tea. He
generaUy dined on a single dish, drinking after dinner
seldom more than two glasses of wine, and finishing the
repast Avith a few nuts, of which he was especially fond.
Business again employed him in the afternoon. He
drank his favourite beverage, tea, before sun-down,
spent the evening with his family, and retired uniformly
when he had no company, to his study at nine o'clock.
There he usually spent an hour before retiring to rest.
Mrs. Washington sometimes Avent into his study
during the day, when he Avas there. He Avoidd then lay
doAvn his book or his pen, and weU-pleased, yield himT
self to the charm of her pleasantry, or to any commu
nications of business, until she thought proper to leave
him. On Sunday mornings, as the hour for church ap
proached, he was accustomed to go into his Avife's chara-
her, and sit there tUl she was ready to go..
34*

402 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
He was habitually grave and silent. He seldom
laughed — never aloud. When he observed a disposition
in any one to excite him by jokes or humorous stories, he
was immovable, except in very select circles.
He was habituaUy neat in his dress, but plain. He
seldom used ardent spirit. He never used tobacco in
any shape, always expressing a great averson to it.
He was kind and considerate to his servants. Nor
was he neglectful of his cattle, being ahvays careful to
proAride for the best shelter, and abundance of food.
He was pleased with an opportunity of joining with
chUdren in their innocent games. This he did, some
times, when through awe of him, the little folks were iU
at ease.*
An interesting question here occurs, and in a Avork
like this confessedly demands, a fair and impartial inves
tigation. Whilst acknowledging the rare endoAvments
and excellent virtues of this eminent man, there will,
and ought to be, an inquiry respecting the source of
those singular virtues which appeared in him, adorning
his hfe with a lustre so unusual. Whence, then, did his
many virtues proceed ? Had they ?heir origin in the
unassisted powers of nature, or in the higher energies of
* His fondness for children was a marked peculiarity in him. The
writer once heard an old gentleman mention the following simple in
stance thereof In the year 1794, when the troops were about to march
from Carlisle, Pa. against the western insurgents, he was one morning
about to review them in the streets of that town. As he passed along
on foot, amidst the busy hum of preparation, he met with a squad of
little boys huddling together, and waiting anxiously for the parade.
Conceivinj; them to be in danger where they stood, he stopped amongst
them, and patting one or two of them on the head, he told thera to go
to their homes, or they would be run over by the horses.

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 403
divine grace ? He Avas blessed beyond a doubt Avith
eminent advantages by nature. But can so many sig
nal excellencies of character be referred solely to that
barren and unkindly source? Does human nature, pro
fessedly rejecting superior aid, ever exhibit such singular
traits of goodness ? We believe that it does not. The
concession Avould be utterly at variance with the doctrine
of man's acknowledged state as a fallen creature, sinful
and depraved in all his poAvers and affections.
To suppose that such qualities spring from the unaided
sufficiency of human nature, is to contradict the testi
mony of experience, as well as of the word of God-
Their existence implies a strength of principle and power
of self-control, Avhicli never have been displayed in the
history of raankind, except as fruits of the Divine Agency
on the soul. And it is certain that the insphed Volurae
ever refers such results in the huraan character to the
poAver of Hira " from whom every good gift and every
perfect gift descends." A corresponding view is afforded
by the biographer of that valiant soldier of the cross,
Henry Martyn, when he says in reference to the virtues
of that holy man, — " As these extraordinary and seem
ingly contradictory qualities, were not imparted to him,
but by the Spirit of God, so they Avere not strengthened
and matured but in the diligent use of the ordinary raeans
of grace. Prayer and the Hol}^ Scriptures Avere those
wells of salvation out of Avhich he drew daily the hving
water  The Sabbath, also, that sacred portion of
time set apart for holy purposes in Paradise itself, was so
employed by him, as to prove frequently a Paradise to
his soul on earth, and as certainly prepared hira for an
endless state of spiritual enjoyment hereafter." Tha

404 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
pecuhar and exceUent virtues distinguishing this favoured
servant of God, coidd not be ascribed to any other source,
than the grace of the Holy Spirit — grace now freely be
stowed on him, and then in new and fresh supplies, as
he abounded in the use of the appointed means. WhUst
there was also in the Ulustrious subject of these pages,
qualities which may well be styled " extraordinary and
seemingly contradictory," the presumption as to a com
raon source in both cases, is upheld by the fact of their
concurrence in the use of the same gi-acious appoint
ments. Of Washington, the known habits of his life
justify us in saying, that — " Prayer and the Holy
Scriptures were those weUs of salvation, out of Avhich he
dreAv, daily, the hving water." Nothing is better ascer
tained than the reahty of his devotional feelings and
habits. His uniform practice of private prayer, may be
traced from an early period of his hfe, doAvn to the close
thereof With the Holy Scriptures too, did he ciUtivate a
sacred intimacy. The Bible which he owned and used, is
noAV in the hbrary of I\Iount Vernon, having his name
Avritten therein by himself Survivors have said that he
dUigently searched the Holy Volume. Nor did he fail
in a proper respect for the Lords Day ; " tiiat sacred por
tion of time set apart for holy purposes in Paradise itself"
He was always a strict observer of the Sabbath. It is
not known that he ever wantonly violated it in a single
instance. In no one duty of his life, can a more fixed
purpose of obedience be traced than in reference to this
obligation. Thus distinguished by many rare traits of exellence,
and professedly regarding religion as the means of virtue
and ground of hope to man, is there not good reason

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 405
for ascribing the singular graces Avhich adorned him,
to that Divine Source, pointed out by the Avord of God,
and relied on by good men in every age.
'¦ There is the best ground for believing, that his reli
gious creed Avas in accordance Avith that of the universal
church of God. In his letter to the State Governours,
before quoted by us, he expressly, though incidentally,
declared his faith in Christ, as a Divine Pereon. He
there styles hira the ' Divine Author of our blessed reli
gion.' In this single tenet Ave have an important key to
his general views of cA'angelical truth. The Doctrine of
a Divine nature in Christ, involves the behef of his pre-
existence, of his incarnation, of his sacrifice, of the de
scent of the Holy Ghost — as of the fall, corruption and
helpless state of man, together with the means of his restor
ation, by repentance towards God and faith in Jesus
Christ as the Saviour of men. Where the Divinity of
the Son of God was an acknowledged principle of the
creed, it is hard to conceive how its cognate and corre
lative truths could have been denied their proper place
in the system. That Washington did not indulge the
habit af talking or writing muc hon religious subjects, is
well known ; and therefore, Ave do not readily find any
very minute account of his faith. In his peculiar situa
tion, as the man of the nation, he was contented to
avow his behef in the main truths of Revelation, and
leave others to conclude in favour of his acquiescence
in the rest. He gave also one other evidence of his
orthodoxy, which must be regarded as of peculiar weight
by those who understand correctly the laws of his char
acter. This proof is supplied by the fact of his long
and punctual attendance on the public worship of a

403

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND

Church, whose offices and devotional ser\ices abound
in the most ample and explicit references to evangehcal
principles and doctrines. AU the cardinal truths of the
gospel have so marked and prominent a place in the
formularies of that Church, as to have gained for her
an honourable distinction, on that very ground, among
the other rehgious denominations of Protestant Chiisten •
dom. On the pubhc ministrations of this Church,
did the Father of his Country attend through hfe, v.-ith a
conscientious punctuality and reverence. And did he
thus act without meaning, thought, or design? Did
he cherish no rehgious or devotional feeling in going to
the House of God ? Did he do so, AAithout a due under
standing, and fuU comprehension of the particular truths
and doctrines there recognized and inculcated ? Would
he have been thus unUorm and persevering in his atten
dance on a AVorship, Avluch was not understood, and
Avith which he felt no sympathy ? Much more may it
be asked, if he Avould have been thus constant in attend
ing on services which he not only did not approve, but
which, if objected to at all by him, must haA^e been so on
the most serious grounds ? For in an upright mind
there can be no neutrahty respecting the fundamental
verities of Christianity. Such a person must either ap-
proA'e them as true, or he must reject thera as false. If
they are false, he is in honour boimd to refuse thera ;
Avhilst on the other hand, if they are true, he is equally
bound to receive them with humUity and reverence.
And Avere they not so received in the case now under
consideration ? Did they not receive his solemn sub
scription and assent, when he gave his countenance to

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 407
public, prescribed services, with which these truths Avere
mixed up and incorporated throughout.
Notwithstanding these strong, and as avc must think,
satisfactory indications of a raind divinely taught and
guided, it is proper that we should here guard against
exaggerated, and unsuitable inferences, respecting the
degree of estimation in Avhich we would have the reli
gious character of Washington, held. It is not meant,
by any thing we have said, to imply the entire per
fection of his Christian character, or to set him up as a
pure model of Christian piety.
This is an honour Avhich belongs only to a chosen
few of our race. Whilst we are not assured of the
existence of any principle or habit in him, affecting his
title to the name of a real Christian, we do not contend
that his spiritual attainments were of the highest order,
or that he, of necessity, excelled as much here, as he
did in the other departments of life. Without in
tending to imply any singular defect^ or thinking that
there Avas in him that which requires a special apology,
it may be said that few men have been placed in cir
cumstances raore unfriendly to the cultivation of Chris
tian virtues — circumstances which, duly considered, will
render it more a matter of wonder that he should have
been what he was, rather than that he should fail
to be what he was not. Much of his life was spent
amidst the confusion of caraps and the contentions of
cabinets. He Avas, early in hfe, thrown upon his own
resources, and usually surrounded by persons having
littie regard for religion, and indeed hostile to it, as an
intruder on their beloved pleasures and chosen occupa
tions. And Ave are constrained to add that the Church

403 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND
herself, did not in every instance then impart that effec
tual aid to her merabers, which the raost pious and
established of thera find necessary in every age, to their
spiritual corafort and edification. The day in which he
lived was a dark one, religiously regarded ; and by no
means distinguished for such pubhc ministrations as
prove most powerful to purify the heart and reform the
life. To these unfavourable accidents, should be added
the consideration of the closing years of his life being
spent in the midst of a triumphant and reigning infidel
ity. The French revolution had foamed out from its
boUing abysses, this, among other foul and wicked
spirits. With a seducing aspect, the demon canied in
its principles the fatal seed of crimes and miseries. Mul
titudes however were charmed Avith its beautiful exte
rior. It was held to be the offspring of PhUosophy and
hand-maid of Liberty. Whoever then would be wise and
free, must, in order to the end, eat the fruit of this tree
, of knowledge. Many of the great and lettered in Ame-
ica, had embraced its doctrines, and were loud in pro
claiming its excellence. Vain and deluded, they thought
the entertainment of its dogmas, essential as the proof
of genius, as well as of patriotism — that none but free
thinkers in religion, could be wise or patriotic.
Amidst all these disadvantages assailing him from op
posite and discordant points, Washington was sound in
faith and upright in his course. However discouraged
by foes or unaided by friends, he Avas stiU the same ;
fixed in his principles and uniform in their expression.
And so far was he from yielding to the sophistry of
the infidel phUosophy referred to, or fearing the ridicule
which attended the profession of a contrary faith, that

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 409
he never was raore decided or unequivocal in his public
declarations of belief and confidence in Christianity,
than when the evil Avas at its greatest height. It was
at this very period he gave to his views, that distinct and
audible utterance contained in his " Farewell Address,"
solemnly recording, in the face of the world, his profound
conviction ofthe necessity of religion, and the dangerous
tendency of infidelity. To what but a deep-rooted per
suasion ofthe divine source of Christianity, and to prin
ciples derived from its sacred influences, can we ascribe
so much unwavering consistency in word and deed,
amidst circumstances so calculated to shake the firmest
mind. The gaUant ship must be fast-anchored, indeed,
when even the raging tempest cannot swing her from
her moorings, or drive her from the course leading to the
haven where she would be.
Without insisting then on the claims of Washington to
an unusual piety, we may still hold hira up as one Avho
shicerely beheved in the truth of Revelation, and bore a
practical testiraony to its necessity and value. If this
end is gained, our chief object has been secured. It was
not to exalt the individual by displaying his religious ex
cellence, that the Avriter addressed hiraself to a labour
now draAving to a close. The desire, indeed, was not
absent, of adding to his weU-earned wreath of worldly
fame, the imperishable diadem of religion, sparkling with
gems of purest lustre ; but the honour of the Saviour and
the glory of his kingdom are dearer objects stiU. Now,
as of old, let the offerhigs of the wise men and the great
be brought to him, and their costly treasures spread at
his feet. If he does not need theh gifts he wiU yet kind
ly receive them, and honour those who thus honour
35

410 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS, ETC.
him. In the light of his favour they shaU shine with
no earthly splendom-, but share a deathless fame never
knoAvn to such, however exalted for a season, as hghtly
esteem and dishonour him by a denial of his gloiy, and
disobedience of his laws. These often shine with the
brUhancy of a blazing meteor — astonishing and dehght-
ing the world for a season Avith their brightness ; but they
soon go out, and leave a darker night behind them. In
their corruptions and vices were mingled the fatal ele
ments of decay ; and a speedier or later overthrow is the
sure, the incAdtable result of causes thus inseparably blend
ed with the moral constitution of man.
" Not so, when diadem'd with rays divine,
Touch'd with the flame that breaks from virtue's stirine,
Her priestless muse forbids the good to die.
And opes the temple of eternity."
In a prevaUing reverence for virtue among men, a uni
versal respect is secured to the righteous, and the superad
ded favour of God, makes their memory to flourish late,
and unborn generations to rise up and caUthem blessed.
Here have we, it is conceived, the secret of his towering
renown, whose piety and virtues wejecord ; and in seek
ing to perpetuate and exalt whose fame, by weaving
around his brow the unfading crown of genuine rehgion,
we are but adding another star to the radiant crown of
the Redeemer, reflecting another brilhant beam upon the
glory of God, to mingle with the fountain, and enhance
its immortal splendour.

APPENDIX.

Although the author considers it certain that Wash
ington did partake of the Lords Supper, at certain periods
of his life, yet he knows that many desire satisfactory
information and assurance on this point.
Among the aged persons residing in the neighbourhood
of Mount Vernon, and the descendants of such others as
have recently gone down to the grave, there is but one
opinion in regard to the'fact of his having been a commu
nicant in Pohick Church, previous to the revolutionary
war, The writer himself had it from a respectable lady,
that she once heard her mother unqualifiedly declare,
that General Washington was a communicant in that
Church, in the vicinity of Avhich she had her residence,
and on the services of Avhich she attended. A hving
grand-daughter of the Rca''. Lee Massey, rector of Mount
Vernon Parish, for some years after Washington's mar
riage — says, her grandfather on a specified occasion, told
her the same thing in answer to a particular inquiry on
the subject.
That he partook of the communion at Morristown,
N. Jersey, during the encampment of the army there, in
1780, has long been an accredited tradition. Some
feAV, indeed, have been doubtful, but it would seem with
out any good ground. That the account as generaUy

412 APPENDIX.
stated, is in the main correct, let the foUowhig communi
cations attest. They were written ui answer to letters
requesting information on the point to which they refer.
The high respectabUity of the writers, wiU gain for their
testimony, the utmost confidence of those who know
them. " Morristown, March 26, 1836.
" Rev. and dear Sir,
" Yom-s was duly received, and ought perhaps to have
been sooner answered ; but I have delayed a little hop
ing to make my statements the stronger by additional
testimony. " I do not learn that any living witness to the fact in
question can be found in this vicinity, though it is believed
there are such. I have caUed on Mr. Wm. Johnes, a son
of the Rev. Dr. Johnes, to Avhom you refer. By reason of
his great age, he can say nothing upon the subject, but
Mrs. Johnes, who is much younger, gives it as an un
questioned famUy traditon, that General Washington
wrote the note in question, and partook of the sacrament
as it has been commonly reported. Mrs. Johnes refers
directly to her father-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Johnes. The
famUy are stUl in possession of the orchard, and point
out the very tree under AA'hich the sacrament Avas then
administered, the church being at that time occupied as
a hospital. The fact in question is regarded as certain
by the older residents of the place, beyond all room for
doubt. "It is thought by some, that the Rev. Dr. Richards, of
Auburn Theological Seminary, NcAv-York, is in possess-

APPENDIX. 413
ion of the very note, written by General Washington to
Dr. Johnes, relative to his admission to the communion.
" RespectfuUy, Sir, I am truly yours,
"Asa S. Colton."
The foUowing is fi-om Dr. Richards, the gentleman
referred to in the foregoing letter :
" Auburn, 14th AprU, 1836.
" Dear Sir,
" Yours of the 5th has just been received. I can only
say in reply, that I never saw the note to which you
allude, — but have no doubt that such a note was address
ed by Washington to Dr. Johnes, of Morristown, on the
occasion to which you refer. I became a resident in
that toAvn in the sumraer of 1794, Avliile Dr. Johnes Avas
stiU hving — and was afterwards the regular pastor of
that congregation for about fourteen years. The report
that Washington did actually receive the communion
from the hands of Dr. Johnes, was universally current
during that period, and so far as I know, never contra
dicted. I have often heard it from the merabers of Dr.
Johnes' family, while they added that a note was address
ed by Washington to their father, requesting the privi
lege, and stating that though connected with the Epis
copal Church, he felt a freedom and desire to (ximmune
with those of another name, if acceptable to them. Very
often too have 1 heard this circumstance spoken of as
evidence of that great mans liberality, as well as piety.
" There were hundreds at Morristown duiing the time
of which I speak, who might if the fact of Washington's
receiving the communion there be true, have Avitnessed
that fact — and who would not be slow to contradict it,
on the supposition that it had not been witnessed by thera

414 APPENDIX.
or their friends. It is barely possible, that such a report
might be put in circulation through error or mistake, and
afterwards gain credit by time ; but in my judgment
in no degree probable, when aU the circumstances of the
case are duly considered. The family of Dr. Johnes,
sons and daughters, Avere of mature age, and some of
them active members of society, when this note is said
to have been written, and the fact to which it related
took place. It is scarcely possible that they should have
been deceived ; and their characters are too well known
to suppose them wUhng to deceive others.
" Very respectfully yours,
" James Richards."
The foUowing extract is from a volume of sermons
recently published by Dr. Chapman, of Portland, Maine.
It is here added, because of the authenticity and conclu
siveness of the testimony furnished by it, on the subject
befoie us.
" He (George Washington,) lived at a period when
there Avere less verbal pretensions on the subject of rehgion,
than have become exceeding fashionable in modern times,
and the consequence is, that in his hfe, we have more of
the substance than the parade of piety. StUl he was an
open and avowed folloAver of the Lord of glory. From
the hps of a lady of undoubted veracity, yet hving, and
a Avorthy communicant of the Church, I received the
interesting fact, that soon after the close of the revolu
tionary war, she saw him partake of the consecrated
symbols of the body and blood of Christ, in Trinity
Church, in the city of New- York."
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