THE natal day of the FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY has once more occurred; but it no longer brings with it the wonted joy and festivi­ty of the season. The harps are hung upon the weeping willows; the cheerful song converted into a solemn dirge. Death, by a sudden and awful stroke, has deprived our nation of its beau­ty and glory, and the world of its greatest or­nament. Prompted by our own feelings, and a conviction of duty,^‡ we delayed not to lament the eventful crisis of human frailty, by suitable tokens and expressions of sensibility and sorrow. Our temples were shrouded in black, and our pulpits were vocal in his praise. Our nation this day assembles, in obedience to the procla­mation [Page 6] of his com-patriot, our illustrious Presi­dent, to pay, in unison, the last public office of mournful respect to the memory of the man she delighted to honour. In Israel thirty days of incessant mourning were solemnly passed on the death of Moses, their lawgiver and leader; and we are told, that in Rome, badges of mourn­ing were worn^§ a whole year after the death of some of their favourite chieftains. The event we have this day assembled to deplore is not merely a death—it is the departure of a WASH­INGTON! The tear of affection and gratitude spontaneously flows. The involuntary sigh heaves the patriot breast, and pours the full tide of grief at the urn of its father and friend: and in such grief there is a luxury unknown to fordid minds.

PATRIOTISM mourns the loss of her first-born son. Our country laments the loss of so much amiableness of disposition and character—of so much might and valour, which gave strength and stability to the state. But let us not lose in unavailing sorrow the rational and moral im­provement to be derived from so afflictive a dis­pensation of Divine Providence.

To this end I have placed David at the head of this discourse, bewailing the fall of Saul and Jonathan.

[Page 7] IT will not be necessary to enquire into the connected narrative of transactions which pro­duced the event he so deeply laments, and in such pathetic language calls on the people to memorize. "The beauty of Israel is slain; how are the mighty fallen!" and dwelling on the amiableness of the one, and the valour of the other, he exclaims again and again, "How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" The terms, "beauty" and "mighty," may be considered as expressing the native good­ness of disposition, and the amiable virtues of the life; great natural energy of mind; a genius ready at acquiring knowledge, and at discerning the fittest application of it; a spirit bold, active and enterprizing; a mind capable of great and benevolent conceptions; a character formed by noble exertions and heroic deeds. To lament fallen greatness is but a natural expression of sympathy at beholding the splendid ruins of hu­man nature in her most ennobled sons; it is a dictate of philanthropy, considering the impor­tance of such characters to the happiness of society.

A FEW thoughts on the true dignity and ex­cellence of character will lead us to a just esti­mation of its great worth and importance, and to an improved view of the present occasion.

[Page 8] THE power and influence which characters, formed on the basis of real worth and excel­lence, give the possessors over the community; the virtue and order which their example sheds through society; the defence and protection which their exertions afford the state, render them pre-eminent blessings to the world, and make them the just objects of esteem and vene­ration while living, and of sincere regret, but of grateful memory, when the Supreme Ruler of the world sees fit to take them out of it. On the theatre of this world there is a field opened wide and extensive for the exercise of genius, and the exertion of all the powers of man, either in the cabinet of national councils, or in the field of national defence; in the advancement of sci­ence and the arts, or in the improvements of civilized and secular life; besides the discharge of the more private offices of friendship, and of domestic obligation.

As to the public and extensive services to which men, formed by nature to high elevation of character, are called for the good of their country, we know, and the world knows, their great importance and usefulness. Government, in the present state of things, is necessary to the existence of society; and military skill and prow­ess, with "weapons of war," are requisite for [Page 9] the establishment of civil rights, and defence of civil order. How happy that country, whose destinies, requiring the wisdom of patriotic poli­cy, and the energy of the intrepid warrior, gives birth to the paragon in whom both completely center! Highly as the circling spheres bless the natural world, by the regular operation of their established laws, does the union of these qualities reflect their blessings on the political system. It constitutes "the beauty" of our country, on ac­count of native excellence; and "the mighty," on account of pre-eminence of character among the great.

CIVIL institutions run parallel to the formation of society. Neither a sense of religion, nor a perception of moral obligation, has been found sufficiently powerful in any age, to preserve un­disturbed peace at home; much less to check the encroaching spirit of ambition or avarice from abroad. Hence arises the necessity of re­straines from civil law, to curb the licentious▪ and unprincipled; and of military force for defence. Hence also the necessity of great political and military talents, adapted to meet the exigencies of the times. Nor has Divine Providence been unmindful of this. But in every age it has raised up those whose abilities enabled them to be emi­nently useful in their day. Most oppressed na­tions [Page 10] have been favoured with some patriotic de­liverer. In Israel a Moses was raised up to de­liver, and a Joshua to lead the people; in Rome a Camillus; in Greece a Leonidas; in Sweden a Gustavus; and in England a Hampden, a Russel, a Sydney. These were successful in preserving and defending the state. But who of them, like a WASHINGTON, formed and established an empire?

THE dignity of the human character does not consist merely in the possession or exertion of great talents.

IT is not the adventitious circumstance of ci­vil distinction, military honours, or opulent conditions, that gives a title to it. There are in­stances, not a few, of commanding genius, of vast mental resource, and of great and brilliant deeds, all stained with the most pestiferous crimes: a heart black as midnight darkness, with a head luminous as the midday sun. Deeds that would do honour to the greatest, and actions that would disgrace the meanest of men, sometimes constitute the mixed shades of the same character. Can such an unhallowed mixture constitute dignity or ex­cellence of character? Surely not. We may ad­mire the hero, but we despise the man.

TRUE worth and greatness of character is formed by the union of the head and heart act­ing [Page 11] in concert; in upright principles, directing the judgment and controuling the strong arm of power; in the fear of God, ever guiding to a due regard to man. Actuated by these principles, the character will not be stained by the aspirings of unhallowed ambition; but will gather beauty and lustre from opportunities for great and bene­volent actions; and the more the motives of ac­tion are examined, the more closely the character is scanned, the fairer will they appear.

THE providence of God calls some men to act in high stations, and the circumstances of the public require all their energies, either to form or administer government, or defend the state. These are like a city placed on a hill. The light of their example, or the blackness of their charac­ter, becomes conspicuous in proportion to their elevation; and every private station becomes a post of honour, when honourably filled. The ef­fects of example are great in a private station—more so in the domestic state. How important then the duty, and how great the blessings reflect­ed on society, by the good and virtuous example of those who are rendered eminent by high sta­tions, and the atchievement of glorious deeds! Such services are peculiarly graced, and derive supreme worth from that excellence of character which perfumes the most amiable, and adds lustre to the most illustrious. Not so much could the [Page 12] d [...] of Vernon's fertile mount, descending on "the elevated lawn,"^§ enrich the plains below; not so much could the clear shining after rain refresh the tender grass, as this moral excellence of character bless the land, by extending its influ­ence from north to south.

WE are here reminded of a circumstance that damps the usual joys of this day.

"THE beauty of Israel is slain; how are the mighty fallen!" No character so good, no man so great, but he must fall by the hand of death. Prostrate in the dust all human glory must be [...]aid. Descended from the same original stock, all mankind are destined to the same end. The sentence of—"Dust to dust"—is universal upon our race. In this warfare there is no discharge; in the grave no distinction. In the repository of the dead we behold a mixed multitude, of all ages, conditions and characters; the aged and the young, the rich and the poor, the hero and the coward, the public magistrate and the private citi­zen, the pious christian and the impious offender, who have promiscuously fallen before all-conquer­ing death. Such are the ravages death is con­stantly making upon our race!

[Page 13] THE truth of these observations is verified in the afflicting instance of the fall of the glory, strength and boast of our country.

YES, the princely soul of our beloved WASH­INGTON has taken its flight! He is no longer disturbed by the concussions of our jarring ele­ments. The heavens open wide their huge por­tals to receive his pure and ennobled spirit; an­gels hail him welcome to his native seat; the im­mense temple of God becomes the place of his residence forever. He has ceased from his la­bours, but his works will long live. The in­scription on the lofty marble will for a long time inform the inquisitive traveller—Here lies the venerable chief—"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." The mo­numental inscription shall mouldering time ef­face; but his heroic and benevolent deeds are recorded on the tablet of the heart. While man lives, they will live; so long as virtue has a name, they will be admired. Yea, his justly ac­quired fame shall survive the wreck of nature; and wreaths of glory crown his head, when time shall be no more.

THE historian will attempt a display of his virtues by a detail of his great transactions; the poet will celebrate his name in polished and har­monic periods; he will assemble the worthies of [Page 14] ancient and modern times, and by all the arts of playful imagination faintly pourtray a WASHING­TON. The painter and the sculptor will employ all their art to eternize his noble form, and ma­jestic mein, but can never fully express the cha­racterestic virtues which were enthroned on his brow. The eulogist will rack his invention to bestow merited panegyric on a character whose depth it cannot fathom—language will refuse her aid, and eulogy itself grow faint upon his tongue.

BUT to record his virtues in our hearts, and transmit his name, with veneration, to your children, is the claim of gratitude; and by raising a spirit of emulation, may be useful.

EVERY thing respecting this illustrious man is now become important. The very name of WASHINGTON is dear to us. The highest eulo­gium we could possibly bestow, would be a cor­rect account of his life and transactions. Here again we must fail, and satisfy ourselves with a few of the outlines of a portrait which, if filled up with plain facts, would present it in a transcend­ent attitude.—General WASHINGTON was born of respectable parents, in Virginia, on the twenty-second day of February, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two. His education was not in the academic forums; but his native powers, [Page 15] improved by close application under a private tutor, soon gave him a respectable station among the arts and sciences; and universities of the first rank in Europe and America have long deemed it an honour to have his name enrolled in their list of literary titles. Indeed, his letters and other compositions, both political and military, afford the best comment on his literary acquirements. He appears to have early imbibed the principles of religion. That he was nurtured in the habits of virtue, appears from their attending him through all the public and private walks of life. He never lost the respect of the son,^* in the eleva­tion of the commander in chief. Nor did patri­otism diminish his connubial and domestic affec­tion. Amiable in the discharge of these duties, he never for a moment lost sight of those ties that conferred the obligation upon him.

EARLY habits of a virtuous tendency, an ear­ly acquaintance with the principles of religion, and the exercises of piety, form the strongest bar­riers against vice in youth. They lay the surest foundation for honour and usefulness in life, respect in age, and comfort in death. A life com­menced with such principles and habits, a youth of such sobriety, fidelity and filial respect, indi­cates a character to be distinguished afterwards by worthy deeds; a career of glory, supported and adorned by moral excellence, which shall [Page 16] end in an age of tranquility and comfort. In this instance we are not disappointed. We behold the happy close of a life, which had been render­ed glorious by the union of virtue and talents, shining with undiminished lustre. In whom has the virtue of the youth, the magnanimity of the soldier, the pure zeal of the patriot and the chris­tian, ever appeared with so much grace and dig­nity, as in him to whom we this day wish to assign a just tribute of respect?

IN a sound body dwelt a sounder mind; the latter improved by close application in youth; the former by athletic exercises. His judgment, ever a prominent feature in his character, ripen­ed at an immature age into the able negociator;^* and his bold and enterprizing spirit, features no less prominent, into the hardihood of the veteran soldier; and at the age of twenty he gained the meridian of ordinary life. The western tribes of Indians, the French commander at Fort Du Quesne, and the unfortunate British army in the gorges of the Monongahela, all experienced in turn his uncommon address in managing a treaty, or in covering the retreat of a shattered army in those vast wilds, ere twenty-five years had rolled over him. Already had the government of Vir­ginia committed high betrustments to him. Al­ready had he given strong proofs of his piety^‡ as [Page 17] well as of his patriotism and valour. He conti­nued to justify their confidence, and they to ex­press their full sense of it. Thus honoured in his own country; thus esteemed among kindred ci­tizens, how clear his title to that honour and esteem! What then must have been their regret, when his health, impaired by the rigour of service and severe fatigue, rendered it necessary for him to retire from the service, in seventeen hundred fifty-nine?

FROM this time to the year seventy-five, we may perhaps most properly view him as the American farmer, though employed in various public offices, besides a seat in the Legislature. Situated on the summit of the very high ground called Mount-Vernon, ^* he converts that beautiful spot into a prolific garden, variegated into a most enchanting scenery. The arts of peace are less splendid, but more useful than those of war. By agricultural arts and improvements he rendered an extensive plantation a source of wealth to him­self, and of instruction to others. This favour­ite spot now became more dear than ever, by a happy connubial union with the amiable and ac­complished Mrs. CUSTIS, the assiduous sharer of all his future anxieties, as well as partner of his joys. Domestic and agricultural concerns [Page 18] now unite their friendly beams to speed his way in those delightful pursuits.

IN seventy-four, we find him among the assem­bled worthies and patriots at Philadelphia. The portentous cloud hangs over the land—it is fraught with ire. Soon does the lightening slash from beneath the dark curdling carr that bears death and destruction to all hopes of reconcilia­tion with a parent country. Already possessed of the metropolis of Massachusetts, they issue forth, and on the ever-memorable nineteenth of April, seventy-five, Lexington and Concord pre­sent the malancholy visage of slaughtered citi­zens. With eagerness our patriotic yeomanry rush to the encrimsoned field. But what is a host without a head? Whither, O whither shall we turn, to find a leader whose powers shall justify the hope of successful resistance? Behold, in the midst of our patriot band one appears— ‘"Toto vertice superest."’ ‘"A whole head above the rest."’

IT is a WASHINGTON! He is unanimously elected Commander in Chief of the armies to be raised for the defence of the country. "It is per­haps his peculiar glory, that there was not a sin­gle inhabitant of these States, except himself, who did not approve the choice, and place the firmest [Page 19] confidence in his integrity and abilities." But his native modesty induced him to express deep apprehensions of his inability to perform the mo­mentous duties which such a trust devolved up­on him. Obedient to his country's call, he evin­ced the motives of his acceptance to be neither mercenary nor vain, by declining any compensa­tion for personal services.

BIDDING adieu to his compatriots in the great council of the nation, he betakes himself to the field, where his abilities are more needed. The respectful gratulations of all classes^* of people, as he passed the country; the joy and exultation of the army on his arrival at Cambridge, in July, are evincive of the instinctive confidence which his name inspired. How well qualified he was to take the command of an undisciplined, unpro­vided army, to reduce them to order, and to withstand as large and well appointed an army as perhaps was ever sent out of Europe, command­ed by able and experienced officers, the event has proved. His unimpeached conduct during an eight years war, attended with the most trying circumstances, is an eulogium that can receive no addition, unless it be from the uniform and in­vincible attachment of the officers and soldiers of his army to his person during that period.

[Page 20] THOUGH not versed in the art military, like his foes, yet they were soon taught to respect his judgment and fear his power; and what was wanting in force, was supplied by policy. His unwearied industry, his uncommon method and exactness, which gained him the respect and con­fidence of his own army, rendered him formida­ble to that of his enemies. His silent, but easy manner of doing business; his reserve, void of all haughty superciliousness; his quick discern­ment of every character, and of every subject that was presented to him; his firm and undevia­ting purpose, executed with moderation and humanity, qualified him in the best manner for the command of a republican army. How often the above qualities were usefully displayed du­ring the struggle for freedom, and how much the country is indebted for them, is best known to those veterans to whom he often expressed his thanks for their essential services, because they had the most opportunity of observing them.

BESIDES the great and heroic actions that came to public view, those worthy sons who followed their leader will recollect many of the innumerable virtues of the heart which transpi­red in the more private transactions. They will testify to the kind, humane and affectionate con­duct he always observed towards the army; [Page 21] how careful to cherish life, where an imposing policy did not absolutely require the contrary. They will never forget the deep impression which these qualities made on them; while the irresisti­ble majesty of his presence^* quelled the riotous, and reduced the refractory to order. His coun­try's cause is now all his own. Never for a mo­ment did he flinch from danger, or attempt to shield himself from being a conspicuous mark for his foes, though exposed to the ten thousand invisible messengers of death, from the savage am­bush which routed one British army on the Mo­nongahela, to the capture of another at York­town. Amidst all these, and from the assassin's dagger,^† Divine Providence remarkably preserv­ed him, till its high purposes were accomplished in him. On his arrival at Cambridge, he found that the zeal of the country, and not its strength in arms or amunition, held the city besieged. He applies immediately to organizing the army, and providing military stores. Heaven smiles.^‡ He succeeds in both. An anxious public ex­pect an assault upon Boston, and grow impatient for the time. But to conquer by delay, and ex­pel by circumscribing his enemies, is a more hu­mane, and a safer policy. They leave their post the ensuing March, to seek some more favoura­ble spot for offensive operations. New-York is selected for the purpose. Here again they meet [Page 22] a WASHINGTON with his army. The place is not tenable. A scene now opens that brings to the severest test all the feelings of the man, and all the resources of the general. Success is ge­nerally accounted wisdom, and the splendor of character is sought in the successful enterprizes of the warrior. But perhaps we should find the most splendid rays of General WASHINGTON'S glory beaming from beneath the dark and dread­ful clouds of defeat, misfortune and distress; at­tended by the shattered remains of a retreating army, and unsupported by an inefficient govern­ment. We know not which most to admire, his caution or his intrepidity, his moderation or his firmness, his penetration in judgment or his promptness in decision, his patience in suffer­ing or his unextinguishable zeal and persever­ance in the cause of freedom, through years of deep anxiety, and of unparelleled trials and disappointments.

THE subject is now too complex to be ana­lyzed into particulars in a single discourse. Those of you who were then on the stage, re­member the deep shades that overspread the country; and those of you who accompanied him in his hair-breadth escapes from Long-Island, York-Island and its environs, with the loss of Fort-Washington and its garrison, Fort-Lee and [Page 23] its dependencies; in his retreat through the Jer­sies, pursued like a hunted hare by a large and victorious army, while his own was constantly lessening by losses in action, by sickness, and ex­piration of enlistments, and the country too far depressed to support him.—Those can best con­ceive the true dignity of his invincible soul. We are now to view him on the western margin of the Delaware, looking back with indignant eye to his pursuers, at rest in Trenton. The inhabitants of the country desponding, say, "all is now lost." But his heroic spirit never despairs. Oppressed with the weight of a sinking empire, the attic fire of his breast enkindles afresh. He collects his little hardy band, destitute of every comfort; the same fire flies through the ranks. They re­solve to follow their leader to victory or to death. In vain does the rolling torrent hurry on the massy sheets of ice upon its turbulent bo­som; in vain the sleety tempest from the frozen north, adding new horrors to the darkness of De­cember's night, oppose the well concerted plan. Ere the morning sun had enlightened our hori­zon, twelve hundred astonished Hessians yielded to his conquering arms. The main body of the enemy at Princeton, leaving about five hundred, move on with hasty march to retrieve the lost. The Delaware in his rear, a powerful army fraught with vindictive rage in front, imposed a [Page 24] woeful dilemma. But he who could inspire the daring hardihood to resist the force of opposing elements, knew how to evade their grasp, and ex­tricate his faithful adherents from the fatal stroke. The succeeding night, leaving deceptive fires to lull the enemy, a circuitous rout of seventeen miles presented them in their rear at Princeton. A MERCER nobly dies in the contest. A WASH­INGTON placed himself on middle ground be­tween the conflicting bodies, a mark for both. His example inspired a general ardour. They rush on, and another victory ensues. An instant policy covers the handful of invincibles, who had performed such wonders, on the heights of Morristown, marking their way thither with blood, for lack of shoes: and an army of eight thousand men are cooped up in New-Brunswick during the winter, by the skeleton of his own.

AGAIN, committing themselves to the bosom of the swelling ocean, they attempt to elude the penetration of our Argus with his hundred eyes; but in vain. Soon does he meet them at the Head of Elk. Nor does the unfortunate and to­tal rout of his army on the Brandywine, the vexa­tious disappointment at Germantown, the loss of Redbank and Mud-Island, after a most gallant de­sence; the distressing failure of supplies of men, provisions and cloathing, nor the faction raising its [Page 25] serpent head in Congress to displace him, nor the imbecility of their resolutions, shake the firm purpose of his energetic soul. With an army ex­hausted by fatigue, reduced by repeated actions, epidemic disease, and more dreadful sufferings, he huts them, in the month of December, in a forest at Valley-Forge, about twenty miles from Philadelphia, whither the whole British army had retired for more comfortable winter quarters. The distresses of the army at this cantonment^* had well nigh sunk his manly, his compassionate soul. We cast a mantle over this distressing scene, as too painful for reflection.

SIR HENRY CLINTON left Philadelphia on the June following; our hero pursued by a circuitous march of near one hundred and fifty miles, and overtook him on the burning plains of Monmouth. A severe battle ensued, and his victorious arms obliged him to fly and seek shelter in New-York. Such was the perilous state of the army, so defici­ent in numbers and supplies, and Congress per­ceiving that their resolutions did not contain en­ergy sufficient to draw them forth from the coun­try, that they entrusted their faithful General with the power of doing it himself. "Maturely con­sidering the crisis, and having perfect reliance in his wisdom, vigour and uprightness," they invest­ed him with powers bordering on Dictatorship, [Page 26] on the 27th of December, 1776; and similar reso­lutions were passed the two following years. This high betrustment of power was never abus­ed; but was ever used for the best purposes for which it was given. Such was the confidence of his country in him! Such his integrity in the use of it!

DURING the above gloomy period, when the boldest heart needed support from some quarter, it was oppressed by the reiterated defeats in Ca­nada, with the loss of Generals MONTGOMERY and THOMAS; the destruction of a fleet on Lake Champlain; the possession of Rhode-Island by the enemy; the evacuation of Ticonderoga, and the wanton devastations of VAUGHAN, on the North-River. Pressed by the fortuitous concussion of events on every side, he sends General GATES to retrieve the northern department. He suc­ceeds, and BURGOYNE with his army surrenders. He projects, with indefatigable attention, an at­tack on Stoney-Point, which, with Verplank's-Point, had yielded to the enemy: the deep laid plan succeeds, and the garrison laid down their arms. General LINCOLN is sent to protect Charles­ton, but surrenders to a besieging army vast­ly superior to his own. He sends General GREENE to retrieve the disaster at Cambden, who performs wonders in the South; and at length goes himself for Virginia, leaving the remainder of his army at White-Plains, with so much ad­dress [Page 27] as to cover his intentions from the enemy. The capture of Lord CORNWALLIS and his army closed the military operations, and peace ensued.

THE time for disbanding the army arrived—and now arrived the mighty trial of patriotic vir­tue. Talk not of a Caesar! He was brave, but would have enslaved his country. Say not that an Alexander conquered from Macedonia to Egypt! He never conquered himself. He delug­ed countries in blood, but saved none; and wept because his ambition was not yet satiated with conquest.—It is left for a WASHINGTON to give the noblest example of virtue, of religion,^† of greatness. He conquered for his country. He triumphed in their affections, and at their feet he laid his hard-earned laurels. Like the illustri­ous Roman, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, he ‘laid-down, in peace, arms assumed for public defence.’

NOR were the energies of his talents less fit­ted to our situation in peace, than to our exi­gencies in war: and this singular adaptation of talents to circumstances, proved an eminent blessing to the United States.

THE Hero and Deliverer of his country, hav­ing restored to it that tranquility which he so much loved himself, returns to enjoy it with a [Page 28] greater relish on his own domain. He is every where received with a tribute of applause; eve­ry heart beats high with admiration, and every tongue is vocal in his praise. The peaceful shades of domestic life were now doubly wel­come to him. In the cultivation of the earth, and various useful improvements, he made rap­id progress. Happy would he have been, if the calls of the public had suffered the remainder of his days to glide away in this repose. But when the pressure of common danger was at an end, the weakness of the federal government was more fully perceived. The rare phaenome­non of a political revolution is now to be ac­complished by deliberative assembly. The con­vention of the States for framing a new consti­tution of government, place their late Com­mander in Chief in the chair of state. His known and tried patriotism, and his eminent services to his country, gave weight to his opinion in their deliberations, and contributed in no small de­gree to the formation and adoption of the ad­mirable system of federal government we now enjoy, and greatly promoted the tranquility and the energy of its operation.

TWICE called by the unanimous voice of his country to administer the government he had been so essential an agent in establishing, he sus­tained the high station of President of the United [Page 29] States, with unbounded applause, during eight years. The consciousness of his own integrity, like a brazen helmet, warded off the shafts of envy; and he remained stedfast in pursuit of an enlightened and pacific policy,^* amidst the surges of discontented faction and foreign influence, like a huge rock in the ocean, unmoved by the dashing of its raging billows. Having served the public forty-five years, and nature claiming repose, he expresses his earnest wish to retire from public life, in an address, which ought to form the political creed of every son and daughter of the land. Americans! how venerable this Le­gislator, Leader and Commander appears, in this valedictory address, can be perceived only by reading it again and again.

BUT his repose is not long to remain undisturb­ed. The will of his country is his own will; her exigencies impose an obligation upon him, which he cannot resist. He obeys her call, un­der the threatening prospects of war from abroad, and greatly accepts the appointment of Lieuten­ant-General of the forces to be raised for such emergencies. Happily, no such event has arriv­ed. But the morning lowrs, and rapidly brings on the important period that is to terminate his glorious career—Ah me! WASHINGTON is no more! On the 14th of December last, he met [Page 30] death with the same fortitude that had marked his life, in the sixty-eighth year of his age.

MY RESPECTED FRIENDS OF THE CINCINNATI,

To these imperfect lineaments of the character of the illustrious man who led you to victory, to glory and freedom, your knowledge can add many more. Often have you braved the dan­gers of the field, and the hardships of the camp, in obedience to his command. Your obedience was always cheerful, because imposed by duty and affection. Your dangers and sufferings were always ameliorated by the example of your Gen­eral voluntarily sharing them with you. You, Gentlemen, have a double share in the common affliction occasioned by his death. He was your beloved commander in Chief. He was your vene­rated President-General. The best evidence of your profound respect for his memory, and your best improvement of this mournful occasion, will be to preserve in your minds his amiable and ex­cellent virtues as a model for conduct in peace, as you did his example of fortitude in war. May your life, like his, be virtuous; and may its end, like his, be triumphant and happy.

MY LITTLE CHILDREN, AND YOUNG FRIENDS,

THOUGH you may never have seen the person of our beloved WASHINGTON, yet you have often heard his name, and of the good he has [Page 31] done; and you are now enjoying the fruit of his labours, in the opportunity you enjoy for in­struction.^* He was once young, as you now are; and when young he was diligent in learning, and amiable in conduct; and when old he reap­ed the fruits of sober youth. He was beloved by all; he was virtuous; he was happy. We ven­erate his memory now he is gone, because he was as good as he was great. Let his name be ever dear to you, and never speak, never think of him but with gratitude, respect and affection.

MY FRIENDS AND AFFLICTED FELLOW-CITIZENS,

THIS day has brought with it fresh testimonies of our loss—a nation in tears! It opens new sources of grief, by presenting the millions of his sons assembled around the hearse, to take the last look of their parent, to pay one more tribute of respect, to drop another tear of gratitude and af­fection for their departed WASHINGTON.

WHILE we deplore an event that has deprived our country of its greatest ornament, and of its best "weapon of war," let us offer up our most unfeigned thanks to the Supreme Disposer of all events, for the continuance of so distinguished a blessing to us for so long a time; and that he would be pleased to afford divine consolation and support to his mourning relict. While we re­count [Page 32] his virtues, let us profit by them; and as we see the highest and the lowest, the wisest and the weakest of our race, falling with equal fa­cility before the [...]ell ravager of mankind, let us pass our time usefully and profitably, that we may leave the favour of a good example behind, and that the morn of eternal day may beam un­clouded upon us.