The House of Representatives having resolved unanimously to wait on
the President of the United States '"in condolence of this national
calamity," the Speaker, attended by the House, withdrew to the house of
the President, when the Speaker addressed the President as follows:
SIR: The House of Representatives, penetrated with a sense of the
irreparable loss sustained by the nation in the death of that great and
good man, the illustrious and beloved Washington, wait on you, sir, to
express their condolence on this melancholy and distressing event.
To which the President replied as follows:
UNITED STATES, _December 19, 1799_.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
I receive with great respect and affection the condolence of the House
of Representatives on the melancholy and affecting event in the death
of the most illustrious and beloved personage which this country ever
produced. I sympathize with you, with the nation, and with good men
through the world in this irreparable loss sustained by us all.