Life and Times of Washington Part 61

Writing to Mr. McHenry, Secretary of War, from Mount Vernon, April 3, 1797, he thus describes His return home and his situation there:

"We got home without accident and found the roads dryer and better than I ever found them at that season of the year. The attentions we met with on our journey were very flattering, and, to some, whose minds are differently formed from mine, would have been highly relished; but I avoided, in every instance, where I had any previous knowledge of the intention, and could by earnest entreaties prevail, all parade and escorts. Mrs. Washington took a violent cold in Philadelphia, which hangs upon her still, but it is not as bad as it has been. [3]

"I find myself in the situation nearly of a new beginner, for, although I have not houses to build (except one, which I must erect for the accommodation and security of my military, civil, and private papers, which are voluminous, and may be interesting), yet I have scarcely anything else about me that does not require considerable repairs. In a word, I am already surrounded by joiners, masons, and painters, and, such is my anxiety to get out of their hands, that I have scarcely a room to put a friend into or to sit in myself without the music of hammers or the odoriferous scent of paint."

To Mr. Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, he writes:

"For myself, having turned aside from the broad walks of political into the narrow paths of private life, I shall leave it with those whose duty it is to consider subjects of this sort, and, as every good citizen ought to do, conform to whatsoever the ruling powers shall decide. To make and sell a little flour annually, to repair houses (going fast to ruin), to build one for the security of my papers of a public nature, and to amuse myself in agricultural and rural pursuits, will const.i.tute employment for the few years I have to remain on this terrestrial globe.

If, also, I could now and then meet the friends I esteem, it would fill the measure and add zest to my enjoyments; but, if ever this happens, it must be under my own vine and fig-tree, as I do not think it probable that I shall go beyond twenty miles from them."

To another correspondent he repeats the same interesting sentiments, in reference to his retirement and the happiness he found in it:

"Retired from noise myself, and the responsibility attached to public employment, my hours will glide smoothly on. My best wishes, however, for the prosperity of our country will always have the first place in my thoughts; while to repair buildings and to cultivate my farms, which require close attention, will occupy the few years, perhaps days, I may be a sojourner here, as I am now in the sixty-sixth year of my peregrination through life."

In a letter to Mr. McHenry, May 29th, he says: "I begin my diurnal course with the sun; if my hirelings are not in their places at that time, I send them messages of sorrow for their indisposition; having put these wheels in motion, I examine the state of things further. The more they are probed the deeper I find the wounds which my buildings have sustained by an absence and neglect of eight years; by the time I have accomplished these matters, breakfast (a little after 7 o'clock) is ready; this being over, I mount my horse and ride round my farms, which employs me until it is time to dress for dinner, at which I rarely miss seeing strange faces--come, as they say, out of respect for me. Pray, would not the word curiosity answer as well? And how different this from having a few social friends at a cheerful board! The usual time of setting at table, a walk, and tea bring me within the dawn of candle-light, previous to which, if not prevented by company, I resolve that, as soon as the glimmering taper supplies the place of the great luminary, I will retire to my writing table and acknowledge the letters I have received; but, when the lights are brought, I feel tired and disinclined to engage in this work, conceiving that the next night will do as well. The next night comes, and with it, the same causes for postponement, and so on.

"This will account for your letter remaining so long unacknowledged; and, having given you the history of a day, it will serve for a year, and I am persuaded you will not require a second edition of it. But it may strike you, that in this detail no mention is made of any portion of time allotted for reading. The remark would be just, for I have not looked into a book since I came home; nor shall I be able to do it until I have discharged my workmen, probably not before the nights grow longer, when, possibly, I may be looking in Doomsday Book. At present I shall only add, that I am always and affectionately yours."

The celebrated Mr. (afterward Lord) Erskine, having sent Washington a copy of his "View of the Causes and Consequences of the Present War with France," he acknowledged it in a letter, of which the following is a part:

"To have so conducted my steps in the intricate walks of public life, and through a long course, as to meet the approbation of my country and the esteem of good men, is, next to the consciousness of having acted in all things from my best judgment, the highest gratification of which my mind is susceptible, and will, during the remainder of a life which is hastening to an end, and in moments of retirement better adapted to calm reflection than I have hitherto experienced, alleviate the pain and soften any cares, which are yet to be encountered, though hid from me at the present.

"For me to express my sentiments with respect to the administration of the concerns of another government might incur a charge of stepping beyond the line of prudence; but the principles of humanity will justify an avowal of my regret, and I do regret exceedingly, that any causes whatever should have produced and continued until this time, a war, more b.l.o.o.d.y, more expensive, more calamitous, and more pregnant with events than modern, or perhaps any other times can furnish an example of. And I most sincerely and devoutly wish that your exertions, and those of others having the same object in view, may effect what human nature cries aloud for, a general peace." [4]

His correspondence with the Earl of Radnor shows the estimation in which he was held abroad, and also ill.u.s.trates his situation and feelings at the time.

"_To General Washington._

"SIR.--Though of necessity a stranger to you, I cannot deny myself the satisfaction, among the many who will, probably, even from this country, intrude upon your retirement, of offering to you my congratulations on your withdrawing yourself from the scene of public affairs, with a character which appears to be perfectly unrivalled in history. The voluntary resignation of authority, wielded, as it was, while you thought fit to yield it, for the advantage of your country, in the universal opinion of mankind, confirms the judgment I had presumed to form of your moderation, and completes the glory of your life.

"Permit me, sir, who, enlisted in no political party, have, as a public man, looked up to you with veneration; who have seen the beginning of your career against England with approbation, because I felt England was unjust; who have seen you discontinue your hostility toward England, when, in good faith, she was no longer acting as an enemy to America, by honest counsels endeavoring to be as closely connected with amity, as she is by natural and mutual interests; who have seen you the instrument, in the hand of Providence, of wresting from the British Parliament an influence destructive of the just rights of both countries and of establishing the independence of America, which, I am persuaded, will continually, if your principles and your wisdom shall actuate your successors, be the means of securing them respectively to us both; who have seen you, in adversity and prosperity alike, the good, the firm, the moderate, the disinterested patriot; permit me, I say, as an Englishman and as a man, to rejoice at the completion of such a character, and to offer my unfeigned wishes for a peaceful evening of your life and the realization (as is my sincere belief) of your posthumous fame and your eternal happiness.

"I have the honor to subscribe myself, etc.,

"RADNOR.

"LONGFORD CASTLE, _January_ 19, 1797."

The following is Washington's reply:

"MY LORD.--The sentiments which your lordship has been pleased to express, in your favor of the 19th of January last, relative to my public conduct, do me great honor, and I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgment of the unequivocal evidence, conveyed in your letter, of the favorable opinion you entertain of the principles by which it was actuated.

"For having performed duties which I conceive every country has a right to require of its citizens, I claim no merit; but no man can feel more sensibly the reward of approbation for such services than I do. Next to the consciousness of having acted faithfully in discharging the several trusts to which I have been called, the thanks of one's country and the esteem of good men are the highest gratification my mind is susceptible of.

"At the age of sixty-five, I am now recommencing my agricultural and rural pursuits, which were always more congenial to my temper and disposition than the noise and bustle of public employments, notwithstanding so small a portion of my life has been engaged in the former.

"I reciprocate, with great cordiality, the good wishes you have been pleased to bestow on me, and pray devoutly that we may both witness, and that shortly, the return of peace; for a more b.l.o.o.d.y, expensive, and eventful war is not recorded in modern, if to be found in ancient history."

Before leaving the subject of Washington's European reputation it is proper to quote the remarks made by the celebrated orator and statesman, Charles James Fox, in the British Parliament, January 31, 1794. It was in reference to Washington's communications to Congress at the opening of the session, December 3, 1793:

"And here, sir, I cannot help alluding to the President of the United States, General Washington, a character whose conduct has been so different from that which has been pursued by the ministers of this country. How infinitely wiser must appear the spirit and principles manifested in his late address to Congress than the policy of modern European courts! Ill.u.s.trious man, deriving honor less from the splendor of his situation than from the dignity of his mind; before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe (excepting the members of our own royal family) become little and contemptible. He has had no occasion to have recourse to any tricks of policy or arts of alarm; his authority has been sufficiently supported by the same means by which it was acquired, and his conduct has uniformly been characterized by wisdom, moderation, and firmness.

Feeling grat.i.tude to France for the a.s.sistance received from her in that great contest which secured the independence of America, he did not choose to give up the system of neutrality. Having once laid down that line of conduct which both grat.i.tude and policy pointed out as most proper to be pursued, not all the insults and provocation of the French minister, Genet, could turn him from his purpose. Entrusted with the welfare of a great people, he did not allow the misconduct of another, with respect to himself, for one moment to withdraw his attention from their interest. He had no fear of the Jacobins; he felt no alarm from their principles, and considered no precaution necessary in order to stop their progress.

"The people over whom he presided he knew to be acquainted with their rights and their duties. He trusted to their own good sense to defeat the effect of those arts which might be employed to inflame or mislead their minds, and was sensible that a government could be in no danger while it retained the attachment and confidence of its subjects--attachment, in this instance, not blindly adopted; confidence not implicitly given, but arising from the conviction of its excellence and the experience of its blessings. I cannot, indeed, help admiring the wisdom and fortune of this great man. By the phrase 'fortune,' I mean not in the smallest degree to derogate from his merit. But notwithstanding his extraordinary talents and exalted integrity, it must be considered as singularly fortunate that he should have experienced a lot which so seldom falls to the portion of humanity, and have pa.s.sed through such a variety of scenes without stain and without reproach.

It must, indeed, create astonishment, that, placed in circ.u.mstances so critical, and filling for a series of years, a station so conspicuous, his character should never once have been called in question; that he should in no one instance have been accused either of improper insolence or mean submission in his transactions with foreign nations. For him it has been reserved to run the race of glory, without experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career."

1. Footnote: All the Cabinet officers of Washington were retained by Mr. Adams, viz.: Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State; James McHenry, Secretary of War; Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and Charles Lee, Attorney-General. The navy department was not organized till 1798.

2. Footnote: Gibbs, "Administrations of Washington and John Adams."

3. Footnote: The following extract is from a Baltimore paper, dated March 13th: "Last evening arrived in this city, on his way to Mount Vernon, the ill.u.s.trious object of veneration and grat.i.tude, George Washington. His Excellency was accompanied by his lady and Miss Custis, and by the son of the unfortunate Lafayette and his preceptor. At a distance from the city, he was met by a crowd of citizens, on horse and foot, who thronged the road to greet him, and by a detachment from Captain Hollingsworth's troop, who escorted him in through as great a concourse of people as Baltimore ever witnessed. On alighting at the Fountain Inn, the general was saluted with reiterated and thundering huzzas from the spectators. His Excellency, with the companions of his journey, leaves town, we understand, this morning."

4. Footnote: Erskine's opinion of Washington is thus expressed in his letter, dated London, March 15, 1795: "I have taken the liberty," he writes, "to introduce your august and immortal name in a short sentence, which will be found in the book I send you. I have a large acquaintance among the most valuable and exalted cla.s.ses of men; but you are the only human being for whom I ever felt an awful reverence. I sincerely pray G.o.d to grant a long and serene evening to a life so gloriously devoted to the universal happiness of the world.

"T. ERSKINE."

CHAPTER XII.

WASHINGTON APPOINTED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 1797-1798.

We have mentioned, incidentally, that George Washington Motier de Lafayette, the son of the general, with his tutor, M. Frestel, accompanied Washington on his journey from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon.

When the wife and daughters of Lafayette left France to join him in the prison of Olmutz his son came to the United States. He arrived at Boston in the summer of 1795, with his tutor, and had immediately written to Washington to apprise him of his arrival. The letter was received just as he was leaving Philadelphia for Mount Vernon. Washington would have been delighted to receive him immediately into his family, but this was forbidden by political considerations of great weight. He therefore wrote to George Cabot, of Boston, desiring him to a.s.sure the young man of his friendship and protection, and recommending that he should be entered as a student at Harvard University, Cambridge, and offering to defray the expenses of his education there. This was declined, however, on account of the different course of study which he was pursuing under the tuition of M. Frestel, and George went to take up his residence with M. Lacolombe, [1] in a country-house near New York. In November, 1795, Washington wrote to young Lafayette and his tutor, a.s.suring the former of his paternal regard and support, and desiring him to repair to Colonel Hamilton in New York. On the 18th of March, 1796, the following resolution, and order were pa.s.sed by the House of Representatives in Congress:

"Information having been given to this House that a son of General Lafayette is now within the United States;

"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the truth of the said information and report thereon, and what measures it would be proper to take, if the same be true, to evince the grateful sense entertained by this country for the services of his father.

"_Ordered_, That Mr. Livingston, Mr. Sherburne, and Mr. Murray be appointed a committee pursuant to the said resolution."

As chairman of this committee, Mr. Livingston wrote to young Lafayette as follows:

"SIR.--Actuated by motives of grat.i.tude to your father, and eager to seize every opportunity of showing their sense of his important services, the House of Representatives have pa.s.sed the resolution which I have the pleasure to communicate. The committee being directed to inquire into the fact of your arrival within the United States, permit me to advise your immediate appearance at this place, that the Legislature of America may no longer be in doubt whether the son of Lafayette is under their protection and within the reach of their grat.i.tude.

"I presume to give this advice as an individual personally attached to your father, and very solicitous to be useful to any person in whose happiness he is interested. If I should have that good fortune on this occasion, it will afford me the greatest satisfaction.

"I am, &c.,

"EDWARD LIVINGSTON."

On receiving this letter, young Lafayette wrote to Washington, enclosing the resolution and the letter of Mr. Livingston, and asking his advice relative to the course which he should pursue. The following is Washington's answer:

"Your letter of the 28th instant was received yesterday. The enclosures which accompanied it evidence much discretion, and your conduct therein meets my entire approbation.