THE LESSOX OF WASHINGTON'S LIFE 



211 



sible in one of his exalted station/ "Why 

 should 1.'" he writes, "expect to be exempt 

 from censure, the unfailing lot of an ele- 

 vated station? Merit and talents, with 

 which I can have no pretentions of rival- 

 ship^ have ever been subject to it. My 

 heart tells me that it has been my unre- 

 mitted aim to do the best that circum- 

 stances permit; yet I may have been very 

 often mistaken in my judgment of the 

 means^ and may in many instances deserve 

 the imputation of error." 



It is interesting to note that at this 

 time, when he was writing of himself 

 with so much humility, his fame was so 

 great that in France, in IT 78, a medal 

 was struck, under the direction of Vol- 

 taire, with the inscription, "\Yashington 

 reunit par une rare assemblage les talens 

 du guerrier et les vertus du sage." 

 ["Washington unites, by a rare combina- 

 tion, the talents of the soldier and the 

 virtues of the sage."] Of his resignation 

 of his position as commander-in-chief of 

 the army Thackeray says: 



"Which was the most splendid spectacle: 

 the opening feast of Prince George in London, 

 or the resignation of Washington? Which is 

 the noble character for after ages to admire? 

 Yon fribble dancing in lace and spangles, or 

 yonder hero who sheathes his sword after a life 

 of spotless honor, a purity unreproached, a 

 courage indomitable, and a consummate vic- 

 tory? Which of those is the true gentleman?" 



Brougham, who declared Washington 

 to be the greatest man of any age, spoke 

 of him as retiring with ^'the veneration of 

 all parties, of all nations, of all mankind, 

 in order that the rights of man might be 

 conserved, and that his example might 

 never be appealed to by the vulgar." 



He returned to his life of quiet retire- 

 ment in the country with unaffected pleas- 

 ure. He wrote to Mr. Arthur Young: 

 "The more I am acquainted with agri- 

 cultural affairs the better I am pleased 

 with them, insomuch that I can nowhere 

 find so great satisfaction as in those in- 

 nocent and useful pursuits." 



Washington was chosen to be our first 

 president because, in the language of 

 Fisher Ames, "a man was needed who 

 possessed a commanding power over the 

 popular passions, but over v^diom those 

 passions had no power." 



After filling his exalted position for 

 eight years he refused to allow himself 

 to be elected for a third term, as he felt 

 that he had done all in his power to serve 

 his country, and that his failing health 

 would no longer permit his arduous labors 

 in her behalf. "When the time for the 

 final ceremony came," says Hapgood, "the 

 outgoing president appeared to his succes- 

 sor to be as serene and unclouded as the 

 day. . . . The chamber of the house 

 of representatives was filled with a mul- 

 titude as great as it could hold, and as 

 Adams looked about him he saw scarcely 

 a dry eye but Washington's. The tears 

 were not for him, nor was the interest: 

 all thought, all affection was centered in 

 the tall, gray-haired soldier, with the pow- 

 erful frame and dignified face, who was 

 saying a solemn farewell to the nation 

 whose first and greatest pilot he had been." 



His gentleness and patience during his 

 last illness were extremely touching. 

 "Doctor," he said, "I die hard, but I am 

 not afraid to go. I believed, from my first 

 attack, that I should not survive it. My 

 breath cannot last long." 



"Gentlemen," said Napoleon to some 

 young Americans whom he met on the eve 

 of his departure for Egypt, "how fares 

 the great Washington ?" 



"He was well," eagerly replied the 

 young men, "when we left America." 



"Ah, gentlemen,'' replied N'apoleon, 

 "Washington can never be otherwise than 

 well. The measure of his fame is full. 

 Posterity will talk of him with reverence 

 as the founder of a great empire, when 

 my name shall be lost in the vortex of 

 revolutions." 



