About this time, the Indians inhabiting that vast region extending
from the Ohio River to the great lakes of the north, secretly
encouraged and aided by the French, began to show signs of hostility,
and threatened the western borders of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New
York, with all the dismal horrors of their bloody and wasting warfare.
The alarm spread rapidly from the frontier even to the Atlantic coast,
till the whole country was awakened to the sense of the impending
danger.
To put the Province of Virginia in a better posture of defence, the
governor thereof, Robert Dinwiddie, besides other measures, divided it
into four grand military districts. Over each of these he placed what
is called an adjutant-general, whose duty it was to organize and train
the militia, instruct the officers in matters touching the art and
science of war, to review the different companies when on parade, and
to inspect their arms and accoutrements, and see that they were kept
ready for use at a moment's warning.
The energy, fidelity, and soundness of judgment, that young Washington
had lately shown while acting as surveyor, had won for him a name in
the colony; and, becoming known to Governor Dinwiddie, he was
appointed by that gentleman adjutant-general of the Northern district;
receiving along with his commission the rank of major, which entitled
him to the salary of seven hundred and fifty dollars a year. You have
already seen what great delight he took in martial exercises when a
school-boy; and, now that he was to become a soldier in the true sense
of the term, you will not be surprised to learn that this appointment
was altogether agreeable to his present taste and inclinations. To
show his deep sense of the honor done him, and the trust and
confidence reposed in him, he determined to perform his work well and
faithfully as far as in him lay.
The better to qualify himself for the duties of his office, he placed
himself under the instruction of his brother Lawrence, and other
officers living in that part of the province, who had served under
Admiral Vernon during the late Spanish war. These gentlemen, besides
giving him the benefit of their experience and observation, placed in
his hands the best works on military science then in use; from which
he learned the various modes of training militia, the different
manoeuvres of an army on the field of battle, and their management
while on the line of march, together with the most approved plans of
building forts, throwing up intrenchments and redoubts, and the
construction of other works of defence, whether of wood or earth or
stone. At the same time, he also made himself acquainted with the
handling and design of many weapons and engines of war; and under the
instruction of Capt. Van Braam, a Dutch fencing-master, he became very
skilful in the use of the sword. Thus Mount Vernon, from being the
quiet mansion of a country gentleman, was now, in a manner, converted
into a military school; and the youth, who but a few years before, as
he strolled among its verdant retreats, had, in honor of his Lowland
Beauty, made his first and only attempt of putting his thoughts and
feelings in verse, was, at the early age of nineteen, called upon to
discharge those stern duties which men of age and experience alone are
generally thought able to perform. The district allotted to Major
Washington (for so we must now call him) consisted of several large
counties, each of which the duties of his office obliged him to visit
from time to time; and such was the energy and spirit he carried into
his work, and such ability did he display, and such was the manliness
and dignified courtesy with which he deported himself on all
occasions, that he soon completely won the confidence and affections
of both officers and men, who were inspired by his example to still
greater zeal and patriotism in the service of their country.
But these labors, so agreeable to one of his age and ardent spirit,
were now interrupted for several months. His brother Lawrence, who
had always been of a delicate constitution, was now thought to be in
the last stages of consumption, and was advised by his physicians to
betake himself to the West Indies, where he might yet, perhaps, find
some relief in the warmer suns and milder airs of those beautiful
islands. As he would have need of cheerful company and gentle and
careful nursing, he took with him his favorite brother George; and,
embarking from Alexandria, was soon out upon the shining billows of
the deep-blue sea, in quest of that health he was never again to find.
Their place of destination was the charming little Island of
Barbadoes, where, after a somewhat stormy voyage, they arrived in
safety.
While here, Major Washington had an attack of small-pox, which handled
him rather severely; and for some time he was thought to be in a
dangerous condition. But in a few weeks, by dint of careful nursing,
joined to the natural vigor of his constitution, he got the better of
this frightful malady; and, when he was completely restored, not a
disfiguring trace of it remained.
During his sojourn here, he still continued his habit of writing down
in a journal whatever of importance or interest came under his
observation; in which, among other items, we find such as the
following,--the speed of the ship in which they sailed; the direction
of the winds; some account of a storm that overtook them on their
voyage; the cities, ships, forts, and military strength of the Island
of Barbadoes; its products; manners and customs of the people, and the
laws and government under which they lived. By this means,
contributing as it did to habits of close and accurate observation, he
impressed the more strongly upon his memory such facts as might prove
of use to him at a future day.
Our two Virginians, during the three or four months of their stay on
the island, were treated with much courtesy and hospitality by the
inhabitants. But neither the genial climate of the region, nor the
kindly hospitality of the people, was enough to restore that health
and strength to the invalid for which he had come so far and hoped so
long.
Feeling that his end was drawing nigh, Lawrence Washington resolved to
hasten home, that he might have the melancholy satisfaction of
spending his last moments in the midst of his family and friends. He
had scarcely returned to Mount Vernon, and bid a fond farewell to the
loved ones there, when the angel of death summoned him to take another
and a longer voyage, in quest of immortality, to be found in the
islands of the blest, that smile in never-fading beauty on the bosom
of the eternal sea.
Thus, at the early age of thirty-four, died Lawrence Washington, one
of the most amiable and accomplished gentlemen of his day. He left
behind him an affectionate wife, a sweet little daughter, a devoted
brother, and many a loving friend, to mourn his loss. In his will, he
bequeathed his fine estate of Mount Vernon and all else that he
possessed to his brother George; on condition, however, that his wife
should have the use of it during her lifetime, and that his daughter
should die without children to inherit it. The daughter did not reach
the years of maidenhood; and, the mother surviving but a few years,
George was left in the undivided possession of a large and handsome
property; and, in a worldly point of view, his fortune was really
already made. But, for all that, he long and deeply mourned the death
of this much loved and valued brother, who had been to him father and
friend ever since that first great sorrow of his childhood, when he
became a widow's son and a widow's blessing.
And thus, my little children, I have told you the story of this great
and good man's life from his years of infancy up to those of early
manhood. I have dwelt at greater length upon this period of his life
than perhaps any other historian, and have told you some things that
you might look for elsewhere in vain. In my treatment of this part of
the subject, it has been my chief aim and earnest desire to impress
upon your opening minds this one great truth,--that, if you would be
good and wise in your manhood, you must begin, now in early youth, to
put forth all your powers, and use all the means within your reach, to
store your mind with useful knowledge, and direct your thoughts and
actions in the ways of truth and virtue, industry and sobriety. The
boy Washington did all this; and, ere we have done, you shall see the
glorious results of such a good beginning. Be like him in your
youth,--patient and diligent, loving and dutiful, truthful and
prayerful; that you may be like him in the fulness of years,--esteemed
and beloved, happy and good, useful and wise.