sees a resting place, and is bending his body to lean thereon, I now compare myself."

He was no longer president of the United States, but he was still WASHINGTON! and that loved name drew forth grateful proofs of attachment from the people, all the way as he passed. Delightful must have been his sensations when he arrived at Mount Vernon. He could enjoy its quiet comforts, and look back with thankful satisfaction at the prosperity in which he had left the concerns of his country. Abroad and at home, credit was established; the authority of the government was firmly fixed; agriculture improving,-commerce increasing,-Indian enemies persuaded, or forced to lay down the murderous hatchet,-and peace with all the world proclaimed.

Washington was ever ready to acknowledge the particular providence, and to adore the glorious character, of the Creator of heaven and of earth; and therefore when he rejoiced in the prosperity of his loved country, his heart could feel and offer the ascription, "Unto thee, O Lord, be all the glory and the praise."

CHAPTER XI.

The rest for which Washington had longed, was not idleness; and when he had examined every part of his large farm, which had been in some degree neglected during his absence, he immediately commenced the employment of improving it.

His faithful mother, in forming his first habits, had not neglected that of early rising; and through the whole of his useful life, that habit was continued; in winter, he rose usually two hours before day; and in summer, was ready to enjoy the healthful freshness and beauty of the dawn. Thus did the man, who stands highest in the admiration of the world, and whose deeds were exalted and laborious, set an example to his countrymen, which if they imitate, they will gain for themselves many a precious hour; which, if well employed, may tend to secure the Divine promise, "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store-houses, and in all that thou settest thy hand unto: and he shall bless thee in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

The habit of early rising, in connexion with the exemplary one of strict attention to order in all his employments, gave Wash

ington "time for all things," so that though he had such numerous and arduous public duties to attend to, he did not neglect any private one, but performed with ease himself, what would seem to be employment for many. He was remarkably neat in his person; but used a very short portion of time for attention to his dress.

After his return to his farm, he visited his stables every day, to be certain that his horses were well taken care of. The one on which he rode, when he was directing the siege of Yorktown, he did not use again; it was allowed to graze on the best pasture in summer, and was carefully stabled in winter, and died of old age, several years after the close of the war.

Washington was employed for several hours, each day, in visiting all parts of his large farm. He went alone, opening and shutting the gates, and pulling down and putting up the bars as he passed.

One day, Colonel Meade, a valued friend of Washington, was met by Mr. Custis, a relation 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 will meet, sir, with an old gentleman,

riding alone, in plain drab clothes, a broad brimmed white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, and carrying an umbrella, with a long staff, which is attached to his saddle-bow,that, sir, is General Washington!" The old friend of Washington replied, "Thank ye, thank ye, young gentleman; I think, if I fall in with the General, I shall be rather apt to know him."

This description of Washington, gives us some knowledge of how he looked on his farm. So many pictures of him, in different situations, have been drawn,-and young Americans have so often seen him represented on sign-posts in every part of the land, that they think they know exactly how he looked; but unless they had seen him, instead of pictures of him, they can have no correct idea of his noble appearance.

In his youth he was remarkable for the straightness and manliness of his form, which was six feet and two inches high. The expression of his countenance was serious, but very pleasing; his eyes were a mild blue, and the flush of health gave a glow to his cheeks. His step was always firm; but after the toils of the long war, his body was a little bent as he walked, and his once smooth forehead and cheeks, were marked with care-worn furrows.

The venerable Charles Wilson Peale, who was the founder of the Philadelphia Mu

seum, and lived to enter his eighty-sixth year, drew a likeness of him, when he was Colonel Washington, in the service of the king of England; and another, when he was the president of the freed and United States, The river Potomac, which flows by Mount Vernon, mingles with the Shenandoah river, at Harper's Ferry,—a scene in nature, mild and grand, and which

"Prompts with remembrance of a present God,"

all those who view it with an admiration of his "manifold works." There, the Shenandoah, after ranging from the south a hundred miles along the foot of the Blue Ridge, flows into the Potomac, and they seem to have been united for the purpose of forcing for themselves a passage through the opposing mountain, by rending it asunder, with the rushing of their waters. foaming and bubbling over the rocks which project from the bottom of the great chasm, the united streams roll calmly on towards the ocean, with the name of Potomac, and give variety to the landscape of a level country, which is seen like a distant picture, through the opening in the Blue Ridge.

After

From the lofty sides of the cleft, hang great crags of rock, many of which are decorated with long streamers of mountain vines; and in the light soil, which has