ot all Lincoln, clad as he was, dis- 

 mounted from his horse and released 

 the poor animal. He could not see 

 even an occupant of the pigsty suffer 

 without feelings of sympathy. 



We expect different stories of Wash- 

 ington, a different attitude toward 

 nature and animals, just as the nature 

 of the man was different. Visit Mt. 

 Vernon and at once you feel his rela- 

 tion to the natural world, a love and 

 keen appreciation of the beautiful in 

 nature, with a thorough conviction that 

 where man tampers with the rough 

 beauties of nature a severe orderliness, 

 precision, and care must be manifested. 



Seated upon his front veranda, Wash- 

 ington beheld e\ery day a scene of 

 beauty, one gaze at which stays with a 

 stranger for months and for years. 

 The green of his own lawn ending 

 abruptly not far away with the decline 

 of the bluff, the tops of a few trees 

 farther down just visible, and the blue 

 waters of the Potomac bounded in the 

 distance by the bluff of the opposite 

 bank; to the right a carefully mowed 

 lawn sloping away in natural terraces 

 to the bank of the river; to the left a 

 small sward and orchard; behind the 

 house a large green plot. It is to the 

 left of the beautiful, sunny, open space 

 behind the house that the garden is 

 found. Every visitor must spend a 

 few moments there, admiring the 

 hedges, the neatly-trimmed boxtrees, 

 the regular formal designs, and inci- 

 dentally bidding "Good-day" to the 

 saucy little squirrel who scampers about 

 the paths. It is an interesting spot as 

 revealing what Washington considered 

 the beauty of scenic gardening. 



Washington is said to have loved noble 

 horses and to have taken great pride in 

 his stables. He always drove white 

 horses with hoofs painted black. Of 

 dogs, too, he was exceedingly fond and 

 kept an accurate account of the pedi- 

 gree of every animal belonging to the 

 estate. Usually he drove in a car- 

 riage drawn by a span while his family 

 came next in a larger vehicle drawn by 

 four horses. On state occasions he 



allowed himself the luxury- of an ele- 

 gant coach and six. 



Varied are the feelings with which 

 one views the estate of our first presi- 

 dent. It is almost impossible in the 

 midst of all this beauty to realize that 

 it was the same man who enjoyed this 

 peaceful home of luxury and spent that 

 awful winter at Valley Forge or crossed 

 the Delaware amid the floating ice. 

 The quiet restfulness of Mt. Vernon 

 must have been a haven of peace to 

 the valiant soldier who faced the en- 

 emy so bravely, to the statesman who 

 toiled so assiduously for his country, 

 and to the heart of human sympathy 

 returning even from the cities of 1776. 

 At the foot of a gentle slope about 

 midway between the house and the 

 boat-landing is the tomb of the Wash- 

 ington family. The very aged, gray 

 resting-place has been exchanged for 

 one of more modern design. An open 

 vault in front with a protection of iron 

 grating and other chambers extending 

 into the earth form the tomb. It is 

 with awe that the visitor approaches 

 the open vault to gaze upon the gray 

 sarcophagi of George and Martha Wash- 

 ington standing out in bold relief 

 against the dark gray walls and back- 

 ground. Few are the letters sculptured 

 upon the stone caskets, but above in 

 the wall behind them is a square slab 

 bearing the words: 'T am the resur- 

 rection and the life; he that believeth 

 on me shall not perish but have ever- 

 lasting life." 



It is touching to see the tributes 

 which have been paid to this great 

 man, the trees planted in his honor, 

 the monuments erected to his memory, 

 but none is more touching than the un- 

 conscious tribute which nature herself 

 is giving. The tomb is silent and cold. 

 One thinks of the sterner qualities of 

 the dead, when a bit of color catches 

 the eye. There above the sarcophagi 

 in a corner of the inscribed tablet nes- 

 tle two little yellow birds, a fitting 

 tribute of Mother Nature to her love 

 and trustfulness in one of her noblest 

 sons. 



England holds the honor of having 

 first formed societies for the prevention 



of cruelty to animals and of having first 

 legislated for its punishment. 



