of 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. 
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 
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 every day a scene of 
beauty, one gaze at which stays with a 
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. 
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. 
Washingtonissaid to have loved noble 
horses and to have taken great pridein 
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. 
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 
sarcophagiof 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 isa square slab 
bearing the words: “I 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- 
On state occasions he | 
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 
61 
of cruelty to animals and of having first 
legislated for its punishment. 
