CHAPTER XLI.

GLOOMY ASPECT OF AFFAIRS--WASHINGTON'S HOPEFULNESS--THE FRENCH

DIRECTORY ALARMED--NEW MISSION TO FRANCE--OPPOSITION TO

IT--WASHINGTON'S VIEWS--ENVOYS DEPART FOR FRANCE--NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

AT THE HEAD OF FRENCH AFFAIRS--RESULT OF THE MISSION--WASHINGTON AT

HOME--CORRESPONDENCE WITH YOUNG CUSTIS--MARRIAGE OF NELLY

CUSTIS--PREPARATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS--WASHINGTON MAKES HIS

WILL--LETTER TO LAWRENCE LEWIS--PLAN FOR MANAGING HIS

ESTATES--WASHINGTON'S LATEST CORRESPONDENCE.

At the opening of the year 1799, the political firmament was dark with

the portentous clouds of war. Washington yet viewed them with calmness,

for he fully believed that they would pass by and leave his country

unscathed by the lightning and the hail. Already they had begun to

break, and let the sunlight through. But these promises were discerned

by few, while they were clear and full to the mental eye of the

commander-in-chief and other sagacious men. They perceived that the

military preparations made so vigorously by the United States had

already begun to produce an effect upon the belligerent feelings of the

French Directory. The appointment of Washington to the chief command of

the American armies had filled the boastful leaders in France with

alarm; and the wily Talleyrand, with a sagacity possessed by few of his

compeers, had already turned his thoughts toward reconciliation, and

made indirect exertions to induce the United States to offer amicable

overtures. He at length wrote to the French secretary of legation at the

Hague, intimating that any minister plenipotentiary which the American

government might be pleased to send to France, to negotiate for the

settlement of existing difficulties between the two countries, would

undoubtedly be received with all due respect. A copy of this letter was

immediately communicated by the secretary to William Vans Murray, the

United States minister at the Hague, who transmitted it to his

government.

Mr. Murray's despatch gave President Adams much joy. He had been greatly

perplexed by the belligerent attitude assumed by the United States and

France toward each other. He now perceived an open door of escape from

the whole difficulty; and, apparently without considering the

impropriety, under the circumstances, of making any overtures to the

French republic, he laid the whole matter before the senate on the

eighteenth of February, at the same time nominating Mr. Murray to be

minister plenipotentiary to that republic. The president pledged himself

that Mr. Murray should not enter France without having first received

direct and unequivocal assurances from Talleyrand that he should be

received as full minister, and be treated with by an officer of equal

grade.

This nomination took the country by surprise. Much as Washington desired

peace, he was unwilling to obtain it by a sacrifice of national dignity.

To Timothy Pickering he wrote on the third of March, saying: "The

unexpectedness of the event communicated in your letter of the

twenty-first ultimo did, as you may suppose, surprise me not a little.

But far, very far indeed, was this surprise short of what I experienced

the next day, when, by a very intelligent gentleman, immediately from

Philadelphia, I was informed that there had been no _direct_ overture

from the government of France to that of the United States for a

negotiation; on the contrary, that M. Talleyrand was playing the same

loose and round-about game he had attempted the year before with our

envoys, and which, as in that case, might mean anything or nothing, as

would subserve his purposes best.

"Had we approached the ante-chamber of this gentleman when he opened the

door to us," he continued, "and there waited for a formal invitation

into the interior, the governments would have met upon equal ground, and

we might have advanced or receded according to circumstances, without

commitment. In plain words, had we said to M. Talleyrand, through the

channel of his communication, 'We still are, as we always have been,

ready to settle by fair negotiation all differences between the two

nations upon open, just, and honorable terms, and it rests with the

Directory (after the indignities with which _our_ attempts to effect

this have been treated), if they are equally sincere, to come forward in

an unequivocal manner, and prove it by their acts'--such conduct would

have shown a dignified willingness on our part to negotiate, and would

have proved their sincerity on the other. Under my present view of the

subject, this would have been the course I should have pursued, keeping

equally in view the horrors of war and the dignity of the government."

The disposition throughout the country to avoid war if possible, had

great influence upon the president and the senate; but, before the

latter made a decision on the nomination of Mr. Murray, the whole

subject was seriously considered. It was finally concluded to associate

two others with Murray. The president accordingly nominated Oliver

Wolcott and Patrick Henry. These nominations were immediately confirmed

by the unanimous vote of the senate. The latter gentleman declined the

commission, on account of his advanced age and increasing debilities,

but with the assurance that "nothing short of absolute necessity" could

induce him to withhold what little aid he could give "an administration

whose abilities, patriotism, and virtue, deserved the gratitude and

reverence of all their fellow citizens." Governor William R. Davie, of

North Carolina, was appointed in Henry's place; and Mr. Murray, still at

the Hague, was instructed to apprize Talleyrand of the appointments, but

to inform him that the envoys would not embark until the Directory

should give assurances that they would be received with courtesy due to

their rank, and treated with on terms of perfect equality. He was also

instructed not to have any further informal communications with agents

of the French republic.

It was October before the president received assurances of the proper

reception of the envoys, and they did not leave for France until

November. Meanwhile, although war between the two nations had not been

formally declared, it actually existed upon the ocean. Hostile

collisions had taken place between vessels belonging to the two

governments; and upward of three hundred private American vessels had

been armed for self-defence.

From the beginning, some of the best friends of Mr. Adams had deprecated

the new mission to France. The nominations had been made by the

president without consulting his cabinet; and both Pickering, the

secretary of state, and M'Henry, the secretary of war, lamented the

occurrence, not only because it was undignified, but because it was

likely to complicate the already perplexing relations with the French.

They remonstrated, but the president refused to listen. Hamilton,

Gouverneur Morris, and other supporters of the administration, were

equally opposed to the measure, but the president paid little heed to

their opinions. This produced a feud between the president and his

cabinet, which made Washington uneasy, for the times were too ominous of

mischief to the government to make such feud otherwise than perilous in

a degree to the commonwealth. "I have, some time past," wrote Washington

to Pickering late in November, just after the departure of the envoys,

"viewed the political concerns of the United States with an anxious and

painful eye. They appear to me to be moving by hasty strides to a

crisis; but in what it will result, that Being, who sees, foresees, and

directs all things, alone can tell. The vessel is afloat, or very nearly

so, and, considering myself as a passenger only, I shall trust to the

mariners (whose duty it is to watch) to steer it into safe port."

Fortunately for all parties concerned, when the American envoys reached

France, a change in the French government had taken place. Napoleon

Bonaparte was at the head of the civil and military affairs of the

nation, with the title of First Consul. The weak Directory had yielded

to the increasing powers of that wonderful man, and his energy and

audacity had rescued France from impending anarchy and ruin. He promptly

received the United States embassadors; and, several months afterward,

he concluded a treaty with them, and gave them such assurances of

friendship, that, on their return home, the provisional army was

disbanded. The commander-in-chief, meanwhile, had been laid in the

grave. Washington did not live to see the clouds break and disperse

according to the prophecies of his faith.

We have anticipated events, in order that a glimpse might be given of

the conclusion of the difficulties with France. Let us now turn back to

the beginning of 1799, and consider Washington personally during that

last year of his life. To his family it opened with joy, and closed in

sorrow.

At the beginning of the year, there were preparations in progress at

Mount Vernon for an event which gave pleasure to Washington--the

marriage of Lawrence Lewis, his favorite nephew, with Nelly Custis, his

adopted daughter, of whose mutual attachment we have already spoken. At

the same time, Washington was much perplexed concerning Nelly's brother

George, who was then a youth of eighteen, talented but wayward. He had

been in college for a few years, first at Princeton and then at

Annapolis; and now, on account of his unwillingness to return to the

latter place, he had been for some time pursuing his studies at home,

under the eye of his foster father, but with indifferent success. The

correspondence between them, for several years, to which allusion has

already been made, reveals the anxiety with which Washington watched the

development of his foster-son--sometimes hoping, sometimes almost

despairing, yet always kind, though firm.[130]

Nelly Custis was married at Mount Vernon on Friday, the twenty-second

of February, 1799, Washington's birthday. It was a bright and beautiful

day. "The early spring flowers were budding in the hedges, and the

blue-bird, making its way cautiously northward, gave a few joyous notes

in the garden that morning. The occasion was one of great hilarity at

Mount Vernon, for the bride was beloved by all; and Major Lewis, the

bridegroom, had ever been near to the heart of his uncle, since the

death of his mother, who so much resembled her illustrious brother, that

when, in sport, she would place a chapeau on her head, and throw a

military cloak over her shoulders, she might easily have been mistaken

for the chief."[131]

It was the wish of Nelly that her foster-father should wear, on that

occasion, the splendidly-embroidered uniform which the board of general

officers had adopted as the costume of the commander-in-chief of the

armies of the United States, but he could not be persuaded to wear a

suit bedizened with tinsel. He preferred the plain old continental blue

and buff, and the modest, black-ribbon cockade. Magnificent white

plumes, which General Pinckney had presented to him, he gave to the

bride; and to the Reverend Thomas Davis, rector of Christ church,

Alexandria, who performed the marriage ceremony, he presented an elegant

copy of Mrs. Macaulay's History of England, in eight octavo volumes,

saying, when he handed them to him: "These, sir, were written by a

remarkable lady, who visited America many years ago; and here is also

her treatise on the _Immutability of Moral Truth_, which she sent me

just before her death. Read it, and return it to me."

With characteristic modesty, Washington made no allusion to the fact

that Mrs. Macaulay (Catharine Macaulay Graham) crossed the Atlantic, in

the spring of 1785, for no other purpose, as she avowed, than to see the

great leader of the American armies, whom she revered as a second

Moses.[132]

During the spring, Washington made preparations for changes and

improvements in his estate. He appeared at times to feel that the end of

his earthly pilgrimage was near. In a letter written to Mr. M'Henry in

March, after alluding to the inconvenience of leaving home, on public

business, on account of the demands upon his attention by his private

affairs, he said: "This is not all, nor the worst; for, being the

executor, the administrator, and trustee, for others' estates, my

greatest anxiety is to leave all these concerns in such a clear and

distinct form, that no reproach may attach itself to me when I shall

have taken my departure for the land of spirits."

In April, he surveyed with his own hands, and made a chart of some lands

belonging to him near Alexandria, which he bequeathed to the late Mr.

Custis. "To complete this," he wrote, "employed nearly three days."[133]

In July, he wrote and executed his last will and testament. It was

written entirely by himself; and at the bottom of each page of the

manuscript he signed his name in full--GEORGE WASHINGTON.[134]

In September, Lawrence Lewis, who, with his wife, was still residing at

Mount Vernon, applied to Washington for a portion of his estate. Lewis

was then on a visit with his friends at Fredericksburg, and Washington

wrote to him as follows:--

"MOUNT VERNON, _20th September, 1799._

"DEAR SIR: From the moment Mrs. Washington and myself adopted the

two youngest children of the late Mr. Custis, it became my

intention (if they survived me, and conducted themselves to my

satisfaction) to consider them in my will when I was about to make

a distribution of my property. This determination has undergone no

diminution, but is strengthened by the connection one of them has

formed with my family.

"The expense at which I live, and the unproductiveness of my

estate, will not allow me to lessen my income while I remain in my

present situation. On the contrary, were it not for occasional

supplies of money in payment for lands sold within the last four or

five years, to the amount of upward of fifty thousand dollars, I

should not be able to support the former without involving myself

in debt and difficulties.

"But as it has been understood, from expressions occasionally

dropped from Nelly Custis, now your wife, that it is the wish of

you both to settle in this neighborhood, contiguous to her

friends, and as it would be inexpedient as well as expensive for

you to make a purchase of land, when a measure which is in

contemplation would place you on more eligible ground, I shall

inform you that, in the will which I have made, which I have by me,

and have no disposition to alter, that the part of my Mount Vernon

tract which lies north of the public road leading from the Gum

spring to Colchester, containing about two thousand acres, with the

Dogue-river farm, mill, and distillery, I have left you. Gray's

heights is bequeathed to you and her jointly, if you incline to

build on it; and few better sites for a house than Gray's hill and

that range, are to be found in this country or elsewhere.

"You may also have what is properly Dogue-run farm, the mill, and

distillery, on a just and equitable rent; as also the lands

belonging thereto, on a reasonable hire, either next year, or the

year following--it being necessary, in my opinion, that a young man

should have objects of employment. Idleness is disreputable under

any circumstances; productive of no good, even when unaccompanied

by vicious habits; and you might commence building as soon as you

please, during the progress of which Mount Vernon might be made

your home.

"You may conceive that building before you have an absolute title

to the land is hazardous. To obviate this, I shall only remark that

it is not likely any occurrence will happen, or any change take

place, that would alter my present intention (if the conduct of

yourself and wife is such as to merit a continuance of it); but be

this as it may, that you may proceed on sure ground with respect to

the buildings, I will agree--and this letter shall be an evidence

of it--that if hereafter I should find cause to make any other

disposition of the property _here_ mentioned, I will pay the actual

cost of such buildings to you or yours.

"Although I have not the most distant idea that any event will

happen that could effect a change in my present determination, nor

any suspicions that you or Nelly could conduct yourselves in such a

manner as to incur my serious displeasure, yet, at the same time

that I am inclined to do justice to others, it behooves me to take

care of myself, by keeping the staff in my own hands.

"That you may have a more perfect idea of the landed property I

have bequeathed to you and Nelly in my will, I transmit a plan of

it, every part of which is correctly laid down and accurately

measured, showing the number of fields, lots, meadows, &c., with

the contents and relative situation of each; all of which, except

the mill and swamp, which has never been considered as a part of

Dogue-run farm, and is retained merely for the purpose of putting

it into a better state of improvement, you may have on the terms

before-mentioned.

"With every kind wish for you and Nelly, in which your aunt, who is

still much indisposed, unites,

"I remain your affectionate uncle,

"GEO. WASHINGTON."

Little did any of the parties concerned then suppose that in less than

three months the hand that penned this letter would be paralyzed by

death; and that the Will, so lately written by that hand, would so soon

call for executors.

During the autumn, Washington digested a complete system of management

for his estate for several succeeding years, in which were tables

designating the rotation of crops. The document occupied thirty folio

pages, all written in his clear and peculiar style. It was completed

only four days before his death, and was accompanied by a letter to

James Anderson, the manager of his farms, dated on the same day

(December 10th), in which he gave him some special directions, as if the

master was about to depart on a journey. This appears the more singular,

as Washington expected to reside at home, and exercise a personal

supervision of the whole. In his letter to Anderson, Washington

remarked:--

"Economy in all things is as commendable in the manager as it is

beneficial and desirable to the employer; and, on a farm, it shows

itself in nothing more evidently or more essentially than in not

suffering any provender to be wasted, but, on the contrary, in

taking care that every atom of it be used to the best advantage;

and likewise in not permitting the ploughs, harness, and other

implements of husbandry, and the gears belonging to them, to be

unnecessarily exposed, trodden under foot, run over by carts, and

abused in other respects. More good is derived from attending to

the minutiæ of a farm than strikes people at first view; and

examining the farmyard fences, and looking into the fields to see

that nothing is there but what is allowed to be there, is

oftentimes the means of producing more good, or at least of

avoiding more evil, than can be accomplished by riding from one

working-party or overseer to another. I have mentioned these

things, not only because they have occurred to me, but because,

although apparently trifles, they prove far otherwise in the

result."

During the year, Washington had conducted the preparations of the

provisional army for the field almost wholly through the medium of

letters. These were numerous and sometimes voluminous, and exhibit his

constant watchfulness and care. One of his later letters to the

secretary of war was in reference to a plan of Hamilton's for _hutting_

the troops then in the field; and the last letter which, it is believed,

he ever wrote--having been penned on the day when he was attacked by

fatal disease--was to General Hamilton, on a topic of public interest.

Hamilton had communicated to the secretary of war his views concerning

the establishment of a military academy. A copy of this paper he

transmitted to the commander-in-chief, with a request that he would give

it his consideration. To this Washington replied:--

"The establishment of an institution of this kind, upon a

respectable and extensive basis, has ever been considered by me as

an object of primary importance to this country; and, while I was

in the chair of government, I omitted no proper opportunity of

recommending it, in my public speeches and otherwise, to the

attention of the legislature. But I never undertook to go into a

detail of the organization of such an academy; leaving this task to

others, whose pursuit in the path of science, and attention to the

arrangement of such institutions, had better qualified them for the

execution of it. For the same reason, I must now decline making any

observations on the details of your plan; and, as it has already

been submitted to the secretary of war, through whom it will

naturally be laid before Congress, it might be too late for

alterations, if any should be suggested. I sincerely hope that the

subject will meet with due attention, and that the reasons for its

establishment, which you have so clearly pointed out in your letter

to the secretary, will prevail upon the legislature to place it

upon a permanent and respectable footing."

FOOTNOTES:

[130] The young man alluded to was the late George Washington Parke

Custis, of Arlington House, Virginia, who lived to become the last

surviving executor of Washington's will, and who died at his seat, on

the tenth of October, 1857, when in the seventy-seventh year of his age.

Mr. Custis prepared for the press a series of articles concerning the

public and private life of his foster-father, which the present writer

arranged, annotated, and published, under the title of "Recollections

and Private Memoirs of Washington, by his Adopted Son." In that work is

given a series of letters, composing portions of a correspondence

between Washington and young Custis, during the period when the latter

was in college, first at Princeton, in New Jersey, and then at

Annapolis, in Maryland. From Washington's letters the following extracts

have been taken, to show the parental solicitude which he felt for this

talented but somewhat wayward boy, who was the idol of his grandmother,

Mrs. Washington:--

"PHILADELPHIA, _15th November, 1796._

"DEAR WASHINGTON: Yesterday's mail brought me your letter of the

twelfth instant, and under cover of this letter you will receive a

ten dollar bill, to purchase a gown, &c., if proper. But as the

classes may be distinguished by a different insignia, I advise you

not to provide these without first obtaining the approbation of

your tutors; otherwise you may be distinguished more by folly than

by the dress.

"It affords me pleasure to hear that you are agreeably fixed; and I

receive still more from the assurance you give of attending closely

to your studies. It is you yourself who is to derive immediate

benefit from these. Your country may do it hereafter. The more

knowledge you acquire, the greater will be the probability of your

succeeding in both, and the greater will be your thirst for more.

"I rejoice to hear you went through your examination with

propriety, and have no doubt but that the president has placed you

in the class which he conceived best adapted to the present state

of your improvement. The more there are above you, the greater your

exertions should be to ascend; but let your promotion result from

your own application, and from intrinsic merit, not from the labors

of others. The last would prove fallacious, and expose you to the

reproach of the daw in borrowed feathers. This would be inexcusable

in you, because there is no occasion for it, forasmuch as you need

nothing but the exertion of the talents you possess, with proper

directions, to acquire all that is necessary; and the hours

allotted for study, if properly improved, will enable you to do

this. Although the confinement may feel irksome at first, the

advantages resulting from it, to a reflecting mind, will soon

overcome it.

"Endeavor to conciliate the good will of _all_ your

fellow-students, rendering them every act of kindness in your

power. Be particularly obliging and attentive to your chamber-mate,

Mr. Forsyth; who, from the account I have of him, is an admirable

young man, and strongly impressed with the importance of a liberal

and finished education. But, above all, be obedient to your tutors,

and in a particular manner respect the president of the seminary,

who is both learned and good.

"For any particular advantages you may derive from the attention

and aid of Mr. Forsyth, I shall have a disposition to reward. One

thing more, and I will close this letter. Never let an indigent

person ask, without receiving _something_, if you have the means;

always recollecting in what light the widow's mite was viewed."

PHILADELPHIA, _Nov_. 28, 1796.

"The assurances you give me of applying diligently to your studies,

and fulfilling those obligations which are enjoined by your Creator

and due to his creatures, are highly pleasing and satisfactory to

me. I rejoice in it on two accounts: first, as it is the sure means

of laying the foundation of your own happiness, and rendering you,

if it should please God to spare your life, a useful member of

society hereafter: and, secondly, that I may, if I live to enjoy

the pleasure, reflect that I have been, in some degree,

instrumental in effecting these purposes.

"You are now extending into that stage of life when good or bad

habits are formed; when the mind will be turned to things useful

and praiseworthy, or to dissipation and vice. Fix on whichever it

may, it will stick by you; for you know it has been said, and

truly, that 'as the twig is bent so it will grow.' This, in a

strong point of view, shows the propriety of letting your

inexperience be directed by maturer advice, and in placing guard

upon the avenues which lead to idleness and vice. The latter will

approach like a thief, working upon your passions--encouraged,

perhaps, by bad examples--the propensity to which will increase in

proportion to the practice of it, and your yielding. This

admonition proceeds from the purest affection for you; but I do not

mean by it that you are to become a stoic, or to deprive yourself,

in the intervals of study, of any recreations or manly exercise

which reason approves.

"'Tis well to be on good terms with all your fellow-students, and I

am pleased to hear you are so; but while a courteous behavior is

due to all, select the most deserving only for your friendships,

and, before this becomes intimate, weigh their dispositions and

character _well_. True friendship is a plant of slow growth; to be

sincere, there must be a congeniality of temper and pursuits.

Virtue and vice can not be allied; nor can idleness and industry.

Of course, if you resolve to adhere to the two former of these

extremes, an intimacy with those who incline to the latter of them

would be extremely embarrassing to you: it would be a

stumbling-block in your way, and act like a millstone hung to your

neck, for it is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain as many

votaries as they can.

"I would guard you, too, against imbibing hasty and unfavorable

impressions of any one. Let your judgment always balance well

before you decide; and even then, where there is no occasion for

expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent, for there is

nothing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to make

enemies than friends. And besides, to speak evil of any one, unless

there are unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is an injury

for which there is no adequate reparation. For, as Shakespeare

says, 'He that robs me of my good name enriches not himself, but

renders me poor indeed,' or words to that effect. Keep in mind that

scarcely any change would be agreeable to you at _first_, from the

sudden transition, and from never having been accustomed to shift

or rough it; and, moreover, that if you meet with collegiate fare,

it will be unmanly to complain. My paper reminds me it is time to

conclude."

"MOUNT VERNON, 4_th June_, 1797.

"Your letter of the twenty-ninth ultimo came to hand by the post of

Friday, and eased my mind of many unpleasant sensations and

reflections on your account. It has, indeed, done more--it has

filled it with pleasure more easy to be conceived than expressed;

and if your sorrow and repentance for the disquietude occasioned by

the preceding letter--your resolution to abandon the ideas which

were therein expressed--are sincere, I shall not only heartily

forgive, but will forget also, and bury in oblivion all that has

passed....

"You must not suffer the resolution you have recently entered into,

to operate as the mere result of a momentary impulse, occasioned by

the letters you have received from hence. This resolution should be

founded on sober reflection, and a thorough conviction of your

error; otherwise it will be as wavering as the wind, and become the

sport of conflicting passions, which will occasion such a lassitude

in your exertions as to render your studies of little avail. To

insure permanency, think seriously of the advantages which are to

be derived, on the one hand, from the steady pursuit of a course of

study to be marked out by your preceptor, whose judgment,

experience, and acknowledged abilities, enables him to direct them;

and, on the other hand, revolve as seriously on the consequences

which would inevitably result from an indisposition to this

measure, or from an idle habit of hankering after unprofitable

amusements at your time of life, before you have acquired that

knowledge which would be found beneficial in every situation--I say

_before_, because it is not my wish that, having gone through the

essentials, you should be deprived of any rational amusement

_afterward_; or, lastly, from dissipation in such company as you

would most likely meet under such circumstances, who but too often

mistake ribaldry for wit, and rioting, swearing, intoxication, and

gambling, for manliness."

Young Custis was placed in the college at Annapolis in the spring of

1798, when Washington wrote to Mr. M'Dowell, the president, as

follows:--

"Mr. Custis possesses competent talents to fit him for any studies,

but they are counteracted by an indolence of mind which renders it

difficult to draw them into action. Doctor Stuart having been an

attentive observer of this, I shall refer you to him for the

development of the causes, while justice from me requires I should

add, that I know of no vice to which this inertness can be

attributed. From drinking and gaming he is perfectly free; and if

he has a propensity to any other impropriety, it is hidden from me.

He is generous, and regardful of truth.

"As his family, fortune, and talents (if the latter can be

improved), give him just pretensions to become a useful member of

society in the councils of his country, his friends, and none more

than myself, are extremely desirous that his education should be

liberal, polished, and suitable for this end."

Young Custis did not remain long at Annapolis. He was now eighteen years

of age, and his mind was filled with visions of military glory. He

received the appointment of cornet of horse, early in January, 1799, and

was soon afterward promoted to the position of aid-de-camp to General

Pinckney. As the army was not called to the field, he remained at Mount

Vernon, awaiting orders. Meanwhile, Washington endeavored to keep him

engaged in his studies, but with little success, as appears by the

following extract from a letter to Doctor Stuart, young Custis's

stepfather, written on the twenty-second of January, 1799, soon after

the cornet received his appointment:--

"DEAR SIR: Washington leaves this to-day on a visit to Hope Park,

which will afford you an opportunity to examine the progress he has

made in the studies he was directed to pursue.

"I can, and I believe I do, keep him in his room a certain portion

of the twenty-four hours, but it will be impossible for me to make

him attend to his books if inclination on his part is wanting; nor,

while I am out, if he chooses to be so, is it in my power to

prevent it. I will not say this is the case, nor will I run the

hazard of doing him injustice, by saying he does not apply as he

ought to what has been prescribed; but no risk will be run, and

candor requires I should declare it as my opinion that he will not

derive much benefit in any course which can be marked out for him

at this place, without an _able_ preceptor always with him. I

believe Washington means well, but has not resolution to act well."

For the entire correspondence alluded to, and a vast amount of

information concerning the private life of Washington, the reader is

referred to Custis's _Recollections and Private Memoirs_ of the Father

of his Country.

[131] Lossing's _Mount Vernon and its Associations_, page 313.

[132] Ib., page 314.

[133] The original chart of this survey, made by Washington's own hand,

is preserved by the daughter of Mr. Custis (Mrs. Colonel Robert E. Lee),

at Arlington House. A _facsimile_ of it is published in Custis's

_Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington_.

[134] The following is a true copy of Washington's will:--

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Mount Vernon, a

citizen of the United States, and lately President of the same, do make,

ordain, and declare this instrument, which is written with my own hand,

and every page thereof subscribed with my name, to be my last WILL AND

TESTAMENT, revoking all others.

_Imprimis._--All my debts, of which there are but few, and none of

magnitude, are to be punctually and speedily paid; and the legacies,

hereinafter bequeathed, are to be discharged as soon as circumstances

will permit, and in the manner directed.

_Item._--To my dearly beloved wife, _Martha Washington_, I give and

bequeath the use, profit, and benefit of my whole estate, real and

personal, for the term of her natural life, except such parts thereof as

are specially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the town of

Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Cameron streets, I give to her and her

heirs for ever; as I also do my household and kitchen furniture of every

sort and kind, with the liquors and groceries which may be on hand at

the time of my decease, to be used and disposed of as she may think

proper.

_Item._--Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire that all

the slaves whom I hold _in my own right_ shall receive their freedom. To

emancipate them during her life would, though earnestly wished by me, be

attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of their

intermixture by marriage with the dower-negroes, as to excite the most

painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences, to the latter,

while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it

not being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower-negroes are

held, to manumit them.[137] And whereas, among those who will receive

freedom according to this devise, there may be some who, from old age or

bodily infirmities, and others who, on account of their infancy, will be

unable to support themselves, it is my will and desire that all, who

come under the first and second description, shall be comfortably

clothed and fed by my heirs while they live; and that such of the latter

description as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or

unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the court until they

shall arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and, in cases where no

record can be produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the

judgment of the court, upon its own view of the subject, shall be

adequate and final. The negroes thus bound are (by their masters or

mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and to be brought up to some

useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the Commonwealth of

Virginia, providing for the support of orphan and other poor children.

And I do hereby expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of the

said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed of, under any

pretence whatsoever. And I do, moreover, most pointedly and most

solemnly enjoin it upon my executors hereafter named, or the survivors

of them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and every part

thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the epoch at which it is directed

to take place, without evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which

may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly as it respects the

aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be established

for their support, as long as there are subjects requiring it; not

trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals. And to my

mulatto man, _William_, calling himself _William Lee_, I give immediate

freedom, or, if he should prefer it (on account of the accidents which

have befallen him, and which have rendered him incapable of walking, or

of any active employment), to remain in the situation he now is, it

shall be optional in him to do so; in either case, however, I allow him

an annuity of thirty dollars, during his natural life, which shall be

independent of the victuals and clothes he has been accustomed to

receive, if he chooses the last alternative; but in full with his

freedom, if he prefers the first; and this I give him, as a testimony of

my sense of his attachment to me, and for his faithful services during

the Revolutionary War.

_Item._--To the trustees (governors, or by whatsoever other name they

may be designated) of the Academy in the town of Alexandria, I give and

bequeath, in trust, four thousand dollars, or, in other words, twenty of

the shares which I hold in the Bank of Alexandria, toward the support of

a free school, established at, and annexed to, the said Academy, for the

purpose of educating such orphan children, or the children of such other

poor and indigent persons, as are unable to accomplish it with their own

means, and who, in the judgment of the trustees of the said seminary,

are best entitled to the benefit of this donation. The aforesaid twenty

shares I give and bequeath in perpetuity; the dividends only of which

are to be drawn for and applied, by the said trustees for the time

being, for the uses above mentioned; the stock to remain entire and

untouched, unless indications of failure of the said bank should be so

apparent, or a discontinuance thereof, should render a removal of this

fund necessary. In either of these cases, the amount of the stock here

devised is to be vested in some other bank, or public institution,

whereby the interest may with regularity and certainty be drawn and

applied as above. And to prevent misconception, my meaning is, and is

hereby declared to be, that these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not

in addition to, the thousand pounds given by a missive letter some years

ago, in consequence whereof an annuity of fifty pounds has since been

paid toward the support of this institution.

_Item._--Whereas, by a law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, enacted in

the year 1785, the Legislature thereof was pleased, as an evidence of

its approbation of the services I had rendered the public during the

Revolution, and partly, I believe, in consideration of my having

suggested the vast advantages which the community would derive from the

extension of its inland navigation under legislative patronage, to

present me with one hundred shares, of one hundred dollars each, in the

incorporated Company, established for the purpose of extending the

navigation of James River from the tide-water to the mountains; and also

with fifty shares, of £100 sterling each, in the corporation of another

Company, likewise established for the similar purpose of opening the

navigation of the River Potomac from the tide-water to Fort Cumberland;

the acceptance of which, although the offer was highly honorable and

grateful to my feelings, was refused, as inconsistent with a principle

which I had adopted, and had never departed from, viz., not to receive

pecuniary compensation for any services I could render my country in its

arduous struggle with Great Britain for its rights, and because I had

evaded similar propositions from other States in the Union; adding to

this refusal, however, an intimation that, if it should be the pleasure

of the Legislature to permit me to appropriate the said shares to

_public uses_, I would receive them on those terms with due sensibility;

and this it having consented to, in flattering terms, as will appear by

a subsequent law, and sundry resolutions, in the most ample and

honorable manner;--I proceed after this recital, for the more correct

understanding of the case, to declare; that, as it has always been a

source of serious regret with me, to see the youth of these United

States sent to foreign countries for the purpose of education, often

before their minds were formed, or they had imbibed any adequate ideas

of the happiness of their own; contracting too frequently, not only

habits of dissipation and extravagance, but principles unfriendly to

republican government, and to the true and genuine liberties of mankind,

which thereafter are rarely overcome; for these reasons it has been my

ardent wish to see a plan devised, on a liberal scale, which would have

a tendency to spread systematic ideas through all parts of this rising

empire, thereby to do away local attachments and State prejudices, as

far as the nature of things would, or indeed ought to admit, from our

national councils. Looking anxiously forward to the accomplishment of so

desirable an object as this is (in my estimation), my mind has not been

able to contemplate any plan more likely to effect the measure, than the

establishment of a University in a central part of the United States, to

which the youths of fortune and talents from all parts thereof may be

sent for the completion of their education, in all the branches of

polite literature, in arts and sciences, in acquiring knowledge in the

principles of politics and good government, and, as a matter of infinite

importance in my judgment, by associating with each other, and forming

friendships in juvenile years, be enabled to free themselves in a proper

degree from those local prejudices and habitual jealousies which have

just been mentioned, and which, when carried to excess, are

never-failing sources of disquietude to the public mind, and pregnant of

mischievous consequences to this country. Under these impressions, so

fully dilated--

_Item._--I give and bequeath, in perpetuity, the fifty shares which I

hold in the Potomac company (under the aforesaid acts of the Legislature

of Virginia), toward the endowment of a University, to be established

within the limits of the District of Columbia, under the auspices of the

general government, if that government should incline to extend a

fostering hand toward it; and, until such seminary is established, and

the funds arising on these shares shall be required for its support, my

further will and desire is, that the profit accruing therefrom shall,

whenever the dividends are made, be laid out in purchasing stock in the

Bank of Columbia, or some other bank, at the discretion of my executors,

or by the Treasurer of the United States for the time being, under the

direction of Congress, provided that honorable body should patronize the

measure; and the dividends proceeding from the purchase of such stock

are to be vested in more stock, and so on, until a sum adequate to the

accomplishment of the object is obtained; of which I have not the

smallest doubt before many years pass away, even if no aid or

encouragement is given by the legislative authority, or from any other

source.

_Item._--The hundred shares, which I hold in the James River Company, I

have given, and now confirm in perpetuity, to and for the use and

benefit of Liberty Hall Academy, in the County of Rockbridge, in the

Commonwealth of Virginia.

_Item._--I release, exonerate, and discharge the estate of my deceased

brother, _Samuel Washington_, from the payment of the money which is due

to me for the land I sold to _Philip Pendleton_ (lying in the county of

Berkeley), who assigned the same to him, the said _Samuel_, who by

agreement was to pay me therefor. And whereas, by some contract (the

purport of which was never communicated to me) between the said _Samuel_

and his son, _Thornton Washington_, the latter became possessed of the

aforesaid land, without any conveyance having passed from me, either to

the said _Pendleton_, the said _Samuel_, or the said _Thornton_, and

without any consideration having been made, by which neglect neither the

legal nor equitable title has been alienated; it rests therefore with me

to declare my intentions concerning the premises; and these are, to give

and bequeath the said land to whomsoever the said _Thornton Washington_

(who is also dead) devised the same, or to his heirs for ever, if he

died intestate; exonerating the estate of the said _Thornton_, equally

with that of the said _Samuel_, from payment of the purchase money,

which, with interest, agreeably to the original contract with the said

_Pendleton_, would amount to more than a thousand pounds. And whereas

two other sons of my said deceased brother _Samuel_, namely, _George

Steptoe Washington_ and _Lawrence Augustine Washington_, were, by the

decease of those to whose care they were committed, brought under my

protection, and, in consequence, have occasioned advances on my part,

for their education at college and other schools, for their board,

clothing, and other incidental expenses, to the amount of near five

thousand dollars, over and above the sums furnished by their estate,

which sum it may be inconvenient for them or their father's estate to

refund; I do for these reasons acquit them and the said estate from the

payment thereof, my intention being, that all accounts between them and

me, and their father's estate and me, shall stand balanced.

_Item._--The balance due to me from the estate of _Bartholomew

Dandridge_, deceased (my wife's brother), and which amounted on the

first day of October, 1795, to four hundred and twenty-five pounds (as

will appear by an account rendered by his deceased son, _John

Dandridge_, who was the acting executor of his father's will), I release

and acquit from the payment thereof. And the negroes, then thirty-three

in number, formerly belonging to the said estate, who were taken in

execution, sold, and purchased in on my account, in the year (_blank_),

and ever since have remained in the possession and to the use of _Mary_,

widow of the said _Bartholomew Dandridge_, with their increase, it is my

will and desire shall continue and be in her possession, without paying

hire, or making compensation for the same for the time past, or to come,

during her natural life; at the expiration of which, I direct that all

of them who are forty years old and upward shall receive their freedom;

and all under that age, and above sixteen, shall serve seven years and

no longer; and all under sixteen years shall serve until they are

twenty-five years of age, and then be free. And, to avoid disputes

respecting the ages of any of these negroes, they are to be taken into

the court of the county in which they reside, and the judgment thereof,

in this relation, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be

adduced as evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise

concerning the same. And I further direct, that the heirs of the said

_Bartholomew Dandridge_ shall equally share the benefits arising from

the services of the said negroes, according to the tenor of this devise,

upon the decease of their mother.

_Item._--If _Charles Carter_, who intermarried with my niece, _Betty

Lewis_, is not sufficiently secured in the title to the lots he had of

me in the town of Fredericksburg, it is my will and desire, that my

executors shall make such conveyances of them as the law requires to

render it perfect.

_Item._--To my nephew, _William Augustine Washington_, and his heirs (if

he should conceive them to be objects worth prosecuting), a lot in the

town of Manchester (opposite to Richmond), No. 265, drawn on my sole

account, and also the tenth of one or two hundred-acre lots, and two of

three half-acre lots, in the city and vicinity of Richmond, drawn in

partnership with nine others, all in the lottery of the deceased

_William Byrd_, are given; as is also a lot which I purchased of _John

Hood_, conveyed by _William Willie_ and _Samuel Gordon_, trustees of the

said _John Hood_, numbered 139, in the town of Edinburgh, in the County

of Prince George, State of Virginia.

_Item._--To my nephew, _Bushrod Washington_,[136] I give and bequeath

all the papers in my possession, which relate to my civil and military

administration of the affairs of this country. I leave to him also such

of my private papers as are worth preserving; and at the decease of my

wife, and before, if she is not inclined to retain them, I give and

bequeath my library of books and pamphlets of every kind.

_Item._--Having sold lands which I possessed in the State of

Pennsylvania, and part of a tract held in equal right with _George

Clinton_, late governor of New York, in the State of New York, my share

of land and interest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a tract of land

which I owned in the County of Gloucester,--withholding the legal titles

thereto, until the consideration money should be paid,--and having

moreover leased and conditionally sold (as will appear by the tenor of

the said leases) all my lands upon the Great Kenhawa, and a tract upon

Difficult Run, in the County of Loudoun, it is my will and direction,

that whensoever the contracts are fully and respectively complied with,

according to the spirit, true intent, and meaning thereof, on the part

of the purchasers, their heirs or assigns, that then, and in that case,

conveyances are to be made, agreeably to the terms of the said

contracts, and the money arising therefrom, when paid, to be vested in

bank stock; the dividends whereof, as of that also which is already

vested therein, are to inure to my said wife during her life; but the

stock itself is to remain and be subject to the general distribution

hereafter directed.

_Item._--To the _Earl of Buchan_ I recommit the "Box made of the Oak

that sheltered the great Sir _William Wallace_, after the battle of

Falkirk," presented to me by his Lordship, in terms too flattering for

me to repeat, with a request "to pass it, on the event of my decease, to

the man in my country, who should appear to merit it best, upon the same

conditions that have induced him to send it to me." Whether easy or not

to select the man, who might comport with his Lordship's opinion in this

respect, is not for me to say; but, conceiving that no disposition of

this valuable curiosity can be more eligible than the recommitment of it

to his own cabinet, agreeably to the original design of the Goldsmiths'

Company of Edinburgh, who presented it to him, and, at his request,

consented that it should be transferred to me, I do give and bequeath

the same to his Lordship; and, in case of his decease, to his heir, with

my grateful thanks for the distinguished honor of presenting it to me,

and more especially for the favorable sentiments with which he

accompanied it.

_Item._--To my brother, _Charles Washington_, I give and bequeath the

gold-headed cane left me by Dr. _Franklin_ in his will. I add nothing to

it, because of the ample provision I have made for his issue. To the

acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, _Lawrence Washington_

and _Robert Washington_, of Chotanck, I give my other two gold-headed

canes, having my arms engraved on them; and to each, as they will be

useful where they live, I leave one of the spyglasses, which constituted

part of my equipage during the late war. To my compatriot in arms, and

old and intimate friend, Dr. _Craik_, I give my bureau (or, as the

cabinet-makers call it, tambour secretary) and the circular chair, an

appendage of my study. To Dr. _David Stuart_ I give my large shaving and

dressing table, and my telescope. To the Reverend, now _Bryan, Lord

Fairfax_, I give a Bible, in three large folio volumes, with notes,

presented to me by the Right Reverend _Thomas Wilson_, Bishop of Sodor

and Man. To General _de Lafayette_ I give a pair of finely-wrought steel

pistols, taken from the enemy in the revolutionary war. To my

sisters-in-law, _Hannah Washington_ and _Mildred Washington_, to my

friends, _Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington_, of Fairfield, and

_Elizabeth Washington_, of Hayfield, I give each a mourning ring, of the

value of one hundred dollars. These bequests are not made for the

intrinsic value of them, but as mementoes of my esteem and regard. To

_Tobias Lear_ I give the use of the farm, which he now holds in virtue

of a lease from me to him and his deceased wife (for and during their

natural lives), free from rent during his life; at the expiration of

which, it is to be disposed of as is hereinafter directed. To _Sally B.

Haynie_ (a distant relation of mine) I give and bequeath three hundred

dollars. To _Sarah Green_, daughter of the deceased _Thomas Bishop_, and

to _Ann Walker_, daughter of _John Alton_, also deceased, I give each

one hundred dollars, in consideration of the attachment of their fathers

to me; each of whom having lived nearly forty years in my family. To

each of my nephews, _William Augustine Washington_, _George Lewis_,

_George Steptoe Washington_, _Bushrod Washington_, and _Samuel

Washington_, I give one of the swords, or couteaux, of which I may die

possessed; and they are to choose in the order they are named. These

swords are accompanied with an injunction not to unsheathe them for the

purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self-defence, or in defence

of their country and its rights: and, in the latter case, to keep them

unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their hands to the

relinquishment thereof.

And now, having gone through these specific devises, with explanations

for the more correct understanding of the meaning and design of them, I

proceed to the distribution of the more important parts of my estate, in

manner following;

FIRST.--To my nephew, _Bushrod Washington_, and his heirs (partly in

consideration of an intimation to his deceased father, while we were

bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during

my military services in the former war between Great Britain and France,

that, if I should fall therein, Mount Vernon, then less extensive in

domain than at present, should become his property), I give and bequeath

all that part thereof, which is comprehended within the following

limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue Run, near my Mill, and

extending along the road, and bounded thereby, as it now goes, and ever

has gone, since my recollection of it, to the ford of Little Hunting

Creek, at the Gum Spring, until it comes to a knoll opposite to an old

road, which formerly passed through the lower field of Muddy-Hole Farm;

at which, on the north side of the said road, are three red or Spanish

oaks, marked as a corner, and a stone placed; thence by a line of trees,

to be marked rectangular, to the back line or outer boundary of the

tract between _Thompson Mason_ and myself: thence with that line

easterly (now double ditching, with a post-and-rail fence thereon) to

the run of Little Hunting Creek; thence with that run, which is the

boundary between the lands of the late _Humphrey Peake_ and me, to the

tide water of the said creek; thence by that water to Potomac River;

thence with the river to the mouth of Dogue Creek; and thence with the

said Dogue Creek to the place of beginning at the aforesaid ford;

containing upwards of four thousand acres, be the same more or less,

together with the mansion-house, and all other buildings and

improvements thereon.

SECOND.--In consideration of the consanguinity between them and my wife,

being as nearly related to her as to myself, as on account of the

affection I had for, and the obligation I was under to, their father

when living, who from his youth had attached himself to my person, and

followed my fortunes through the vicissitudes of the late Revolution,

afterwards devoting his time to the superintendence of my private

concerns for many years, whilst my public employments rendered it

impracticable for me to do it myself, thereby affording me essential

services, and always performing them in a manner the most filial and

respectful; for these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to _George

Fayette Washington_ and _Lawrence Augustine Washington_, and their

heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting Creek, lying on the River

Potomac, including the farm of three hundred and sixty acres, leased to

_Tobias Lear_, as noticed before, and containing in the whole, by deed,

two thousand and twenty-seven acres, be it more or less; which said

estate it is my will and desire should be equitably and advantageously

divided between them, according to quantity, quality, and other

circumstances, when the youngest shall have arrived at the age of

twenty-one years, by three judicious and disinterested men; one to be

chosen by each of the brothers, and the third by these two. In the mean

time, if the termination of my wife's interest therein should have

ceased, the profits arising therefrom are to be applied for their joint

uses and benefit.

THIRD.--And whereas it has always been my intention, since my

expectation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grandchildren of

my wife in the same light as I do my own relations, and to act a

friendly part by them; more especially by the two whom we have raised

from their earliest infancy, namely, _Eleanor Parke Custis_ and _George

Washington Parke Custis_; and whereas the former of these hath lately

intermarried with _Lawrence Lewis_, a son of my deceased sister, _Betty

Lewis_, by which union the inducement to provide for them both has been

increased; wherefore I give and bequeath to the said _Lawrence Lewis_,

and _Eleanor Parke Lewis_, his wife, and their heirs, the residue of my

Mount Vernon estate, not already devised to my nephew, _Bushrod

Washington_, comprehended within the following description, viz. All the

land north of the road leading from the ford of Dogue Run to the Gum

Spring, as described in the devise of the other part of the tract to

_Bushrod Washington_, until it comes to the stone and three red or

Spanish oaks on the knoll; thence with the rectangular line to the back

line (between Mr. _Mason_ and me); thence with that line westerly along

the new double ditch to Dogue Run, by the tumbling dam of my Mill;

thence with the said run to the ford aforementioned. To which I add all

the land I possess west of the said Dogue Run and Dogue Creek, bounded

easterly and southerly thereby; together with the mill, distillery, and

all other houses and improvements on the premises, making together about

two thousand acres, be it more or less.

FOURTH.--Actuated by the principle already mentioned, I give and

bequeath to _George Washington Parke Custis_, the grandson of my wife,

and my ward, and to his heirs, the tract I hold on Four Mile Run, in the

vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand two hundred acres, more

or less, and my entire square, No. 21, in the city of Washington.

FIFTH.--All the rest and residue of my estate real and personal, not

disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever consisting, wheresoever

lying, and whensoever found (a schedule of which, as far as is

recollected, with a reasonable estimate of its value, is hereunto

annexed), I desire may be sold by my executors, at such times, in such

manner, and on such credits (if an equal, valid, and satisfactory

distribution of the specific property cannot be made without), as in

their judgment shall be most conducive to the interest of the parties

concerned; and the moneys arising therefrom to be divided into

twenty-three equal parts, and applied as follows, viz. To _William

Augustine Washington_, _Elizabeth Spotswood_, _Jane Thornton_, and the

heirs of _Ann Ashton_, sons and daughters of my deceased brother,

_Augustine Washington_, I give and bequeath four parts; that is, one

part to each of them. To _Fielding Lewis_, _George Lewis_, _Robert

Lewis_, _Howell Lewis_, and _Betty Carter_, sons and daughters of my

deceased sister, _Betty Lewis_, I give and bequeath five other parts;

one to each of them. To _George Steptoe Washington_, _Lawrence Augustine

Washington_, _Harriot Parks_, and the heirs of _Thornton Washington_,

sons and daughters of my deceased brother _Samuel Washington_, I give

and bequeath other four parts; one to each of them. To _Corbin

Washington_, and the heirs of _Jane Washington_, son and daughter of my

deceased brother, _John Augustine Washington_, I give and bequeath two

parts; one to each of them. To _Samuel Washington_, _Frances Ball_, and

_Mildred Hammond_, son and daughters of my brother _Charles Washington_,

I give and bequeath three parts; one part to each of them. And to

_George Fayette Washington_, _Charles Augustine Washington_, and _Maria

Washington_, sons and daughter of my deceased nephew, _George Augustine

Washington_, I give one other part; that is, to each a third of that

part. To _Elizabeth Parke Law_, _Martha Parke Peter_, and _Eleanor Parke

Lewis_, I give and bequeath three other parts; that is, a part to each

of them. And to my nephews, _Bushrod Washington_ and _Lawrence Lewis_,

and to my ward, the grandson of my wife, I give and bequeath one other

part; that is, a third thereof to each of them. And, if it should so

happen, that any of the persons whose names are here enumerated (unknown

to me) should now be dead, or should die before me, that in either of

these cases, the heirs of such deceased person shall, notwithstanding,

derive all the benefits of the bequest, in the same manner as if he or

she was actually living at the time. And, by way of advice, I recommend

it to my executors not to be precipitate in disposing of the landed

property (herein directed to be sold), if from temporary causes the sale

thereof should be dull; experience having fully evinced, that the price

of land, especially above the falls of the river and on the western

waters, has been progressively rising, and cannot be long checked in its

increasing value. And I particularly recommend it to such of the

legatees (under this clause of my will), as can make it convenient, to

take each a share of my stock in the Potomac Company, in preference to

the amount of what it might sell for; being thoroughly convinced myself,

that no uses to which the money can be applied, will be so productive as

the tolls arising from this navigation when in full operation (and thus,

from the nature of things, it must be, ere long), and more especially if

that of the Shenandoah is added thereto.

The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly

situated besides, I desire that a new one of brick, and upon a larger

scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard

Enclosure, on the ground which is marked out; in which my remains, with

those of my deceased relations (now in the old vault), and such others

of my family as may choose to be entombed there, may be deposited. And

it is my express desire, that my corpse may be interred in a private

manner, without parade or funeral oration.

LASTLY, I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife, _Martha

Washington_, my nephews, _William Augustine Washington_, _Bushrod

Washington_, _George Steptoe Washington_, _Samuel Washington_, and

_Lawrence Lewis_, and my ward, _George Washington Parke Custis_ (when he

shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years), executrix and

executors of this my will and testament; in the construction of which it

will be readily perceived, that no professional character has been

consulted, or has had any agency in the draft; and that, although it has

occupied many of my leisure hours to digest, and to throw it into its

present form, it may, notwithstanding, appear crude and incorrect; but,

having endeavored to be plain and explicit in all the devises, even at

the expense of prolixity, perhaps of tautology, I hope and trust that no

disputes will arise concerning them. But if, contrary to expectation,

the case should be otherwise, from the want of legal expressions, or the

usual technical terms, or because too much or too little has been said

on any of the devises to be consonant with law, my will and direction

expressly is, that all disputes (if unhappily any should arise) shall be

decided by three impartial and intelligent men, known for their probity

and good understanding; two to be chosen by the disputants, each having

the choice of one, and the third by those two; which three men, thus

chosen, shall, unfettered by law or legal constructions, declare their

sense of the testator's intention; and such decision is, to all intents

and purposes, to be as binding on the parties as if it had been given in

the Supreme Court of the United States.

_In witness of all and of each of the things herein contained, I have

set my hand and seal, this ninth day of July, in the year one thousand

seven hundred and ninety,[135] and of the Independence of the United

States the twenty-fourth._

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

* * * * *

SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY

_Comprehended in the foregoing Will, which is directed to be sold; and

some of it conditionally is sold; with descriptive and Explanatory Notes

relative thereto._

IN VIRGINIA.

Price.

Acres. Dollars. Dollars.

Loudoun County, Difficult Run, 300 6,666 _a_

Loudoun and Fauquier, Ashby's Bent, 2481 10 24,810} _b_

Chattin's Run, 885 8 7,080} _b_

Berkeley, South Fork of Bullskin, 1600

Head of Evan's M., 453

In Wormeley's Line, 183

----

2236 20 44,720 _c_

Frederic, bought from Mercer, 571 20 11,420 _d_

Hampshire, on Potomac River, above B., 240 15 3,600 _e_

Acres. Price. Dollars.

Gloucester, on North River, 400 about 3,600 _f_

Nansemond, near Suffolk,

one third of 1119 acres, 373 8 2,984 _g_

Great Dismal Swamp, my dividend thereof, about 20,000 _h_

Ohio River, Round Bottom, 587

Little Kenhawa, 2314

Sixteen miles lower down, 2448

Opposite Big Bent, 4395

------

9744 10 97,440 _i_

Great Kenhawa,

Near the mouth, west, 10990

East side, above, 7276

Mouth of Cole River, 2000

Opposite thereto, 2950

Burning Spring, 125

---- 3075

------ 200,000 _k_

MARYLAND.

Charles County 600 6 3,600 _l_

Montgomery County, 519 12 6,228 _m_

PENNSYLVANIA.

Great Meadows 234 6 1,404 _n_

NEW YORK.

Mohawk River, about 1000 6 6,000 _o_

NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

On Little Miami, 839

Ditto, 977

Ditto, 1235

------

3051 5 15,255 _p_

KENTUCKY.

Rough Creek, 3000

Ditto, adjoining, 2000

------

5000 2 10,000 _q_

LOTS.

CITY OF WASHINGTON.

Two near the Capitol, Square 634, cost 963 dollars,

and with buildings, 15,000 _r_

Nos. 5, 12, 13, and 14, the last three water lots on

the Eastern Branch, in Square 667, containing

together 34,438 square feet, at 12 cents, 4,132 _s_

ALEXANDRIA.

Corner of Pitt and Prince streets, half an acre, laid

out into building lots, three or four of which are

let on ground rent, at three dollars per foot, 4,000 _t_

WINCHESTER.

A lot in the town, of half an acre, and another on the

common, of about six acres, supposed, 400 _u_

BATH, OR WARM SPRINGS.

Two well-situated and handsome buildings, to the amount

of £150, 800 _v_

STOCK.

Dollars.

United States 6 per cent. 3,746

Ditto, deferred, 1,873

Ditto, 3 per cent. 2,946

------ 2,500

------ 6,246 _w_

Potomac Company, 24 shares, cost each £100 sterling, 10,666 _x_

James River Company, 5 shares, each cost 100 dollars, 500 _y_

Bank of Columbia, 170 shares, 40 dollars each, 6,800} _z_

Bank of Alexandria, 1,000} _z_

Besides 20 shares in the free school,--5.

STOCK LIVING.

One covering horse, 5 carriage horses, 4 riding horses, 6 brood mares,

20 working horses and mares, 2 covering jacks and 3 young ones, 10

she-asses, 42 working mules, 15 younger ones, 329 head of horned cattle,

640 head of sheep, and a large stock of hogs, the precise number

unknown. [Symbol: Hand with pointing finger.] My manager has estimated

this live stock at £7000; but I shall set it down, in order to make a

round sum, at 15,653

--------

Aggregate amount, $530,000

* * * * *

NOTES.

(_a_) This tract, for the size of it, is valuable, more for its

situation than the quality of its soil; though that is good for farming,

with a considerable proportion of ground that might very easily be

improved into meadow. It lies on the great road from the city of

Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown, to Leesburgh and Winchester, at

Difficult Bridge, nineteen miles from Alexandria, less from the city of

Georgetown, and not more than three from Matildaville, at the Great

Falls of Potomac. There is a valuable seat on the premises, and the

whole is conditionally sold for the sum annexed in the schedule.

(_b_) What the selling prices of lands in the vicinity of these two

tracts are, I know not; but, compared with those above the Ridge, and

others below them, the value annexed will appear moderate; a less one

would not obtain them from me.

(_c_) The surrounding land, not superior in soil, situation, or

properties of any sort, sells currently at from twenty to thirty dollars

an acre. The lowest price is affixed to these.

(_d_) The observations made in the last note apply equally to this

tract; being in the vicinity of them, and of similar quality, although

it lies in another county.

(_e_) This tract, though small, is extremely valuable. It lies on

Potomac River, about twelve miles above the town of Bath, or Warm

Springs, and is in the shape of a horseshoe; the river running almost

around it. Two hundred acres of it are rich low grounds, with a great

abundance of the largest and finest walnut trees; which, with the

produce of the soil, might (by means of the improved navigation of the

Potomac) be brought to a shipping port with more ease, and at a smaller

expense, than that which is transported thirty miles only by land.

(_f_) This tract is of second-rate Gloucester low ground. It has no

improvements thereon, but lies on navigable water, abounding in fish and

oysters. It was received in payment of a debt (carrying interest), and

valued in the year 1789, by an impartial gentleman, at £800. N. B. It

has lately been sold, and there is due thereon a balance, equal to what

is annexed in the schedule.

(_g_) These 373 acres are the third part of an undivided purchase made

by the deceased Fielding Lewis, Thomas Walker, and myself, on full

conviction that they would become valuable. The land lies on the road

from Suffolk and Norfolk, touches (if I am not mistaken) some part of

the navigable water of Nansemond River. The rich Dismal Swamp is capable

of great improvement, and from its situation must become extremely

valuable.

(_h_) This is an undivided interest, which I hold in the Great Dismal

Swamp Company, containing about 4000 acres, with my part of the

plantation and stock thereon, belonging to the Company in the said

swamp.

(_i_) These several tracts of land are of the first quality, on the Ohio

River, in the parts where they are situated; being almost, if not

altogether, river bottoms. The smallest of these tracts is actually sold

at ten dollars an acre, but the consideration therefor not received. The

rest are equally valuable, and sold as high; especially that which lies

just below the Little Kenhawa, and is opposite to a thick settlement on

the west side of the river. The four tracts have an aggregate breadth

upon the river of sixteen miles, and are bounded thereby for that

distance.

(_k_) These tracts are situated on the Great Kenhawa River, and the

first four are bounded thereby for more than forty miles. It is

acknowledged by all who have seen them (and of the tract containing

10,990 acres, which I have been on myself, I can assert), that there is

no richer or more valuable land in all that region. They are

conditionally sold for the sum mentioned in the schedule, that is,

200,000 dollars; and, if the terms of that sale are not complied with,

they will command considerably more. The tract, of which the 125 acres

is a moiety, was taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself, for and on

account of a bituminous spring which it contains, of so inflammable a

nature as to burn as freely as spirits, and is nearly as difficult to

extinguish.

(_l_) I am but little acquainted with this land, although I have once

been on it. It was received (many years since) in discharge of a debt to

me from Daniel Jenifer Adams, at the value annexed thereto, and must be

worth more. It is very level; lies near the river Potomac.

(_m_) This tract lies about thirty miles above the city of Washington,

not far from Kittoctan. It is good farming land; and, by those who are

well acquainted it, I am informed that it would sell at twelve or

fifteen dollars per acre.

(_n_) This land is valuable on account of its local situation, and other

properties. It affords an exceeding good stand on Braddock's Road from

Fort Cumberland to Pittsburgh, and, besides a fertile soil, possesses a

large quantity of natural meadow, fit for the scythe. It is

distinguished by the appellation of the Great Meadows, where the first

action with the French in 1754 was fought.

(_o_) This is the moiety of about 2000 acres, which remains unsold of

6071 acres on the Mohawk River (Montgomery County), in a patent granted

to Daniel Coxe, in the township of Coxborough and Carolina, as will

appear by deed from Marinus Willett and wife to George Clinton, late

governor of New York, and myself. The latter sales have been at six

dollars an acre, and what remains unsold will fetch that or more.

(_p_) The quality of these lands, and their situations, may be known by

the surveyor's certificates, which are filed along with the patents.

They lie in the vicinity of Cincinnati; one tract near the mouth of the

Little Miami; another seven, and the third ten miles up the same. I have

been informed, that they will command more than they are estimated at.

(_q_) For the description of these tracts in detail, see General

Spotswood's letters, filed with the other papers relating to them.

Besides the general good quality of the land, there is a valuable bank

of iron ore thereon, which, when the settlement becomes more populous

(and settlers are moving that way very fast), will be found very

valuable, as the Rough Creek, a branch of Green River, affords ample

water for furnaces and forges.

LOTS.

CITY OF WASHINGTON.

(_r_) The two lots near the Capitol, in square 634, cost me 963 dollars

only. But in this price I was favored, on condition that I should build

two brick houses, three stories high each. Without this reduction, the

selling prices of those lots would have cost me about 1350 dollars.

These lots, with the buildings thereon, when completed, will stand me in

15,000 dollars at least.

(_s_) Lots Nos. 5, 12, 13, and 14, on the Eastern Branch, are

advantageously situated on the water; and, although many lots, much less

convenient, have sold a great deal higher, I will rate these at 12 cents

the square foot only.

ALEXANDRIA.

(_t_) For this lot, although unimproved, I have refused 3500 dollars. It

has since been laid out into proper sized lots for building on; three or

four of which are let on ground rent for ever, at three dollars a foot

on the street, and this price is asked for both fronts on Pitt and

Prince streets.

WINCHESTER.

(_u_) As neither the lot in the town or common have any improvements on

them, it is not easy to fix a price; but, as both are well situated, it

is presumed that the price annexed to them in the schedule is a

reasonable valuation.

BATH.

(_v_) The lots in Bath (two adjoining) cost me, to the best of my

recollection, between fifty and sixty pounds, twenty years ago; and the

buildings thereon, one hundred and fifty pounds more. Whether property

there has increased or decreased in its value, and in what condition the

houses are, I am ignorant; but suppose they are not valued too high.

STOCK.

(_w_) These are the sums which are actually funded; and though no more

in the aggregate than 7566 dollars, stand me in at least ten thousand

pounds, Virginia money; being the amount of bonded and other debts due

to me, and discharged during the war, when money had depreciated in that

rate,--[symbol of hand with pointing finger] and was so settled by

public authority.

(_x_) The value annexed to these shares is what they have actually cost

me, and is the price affixed by law; and, although the present selling

price is under par, my advice to the legatees (for whose benefit they

are intended, especially those who can afford to lie out of the money)

is, that each should take and hold one; there being a moral certainty of

a great and increasing profit arising from them in the course of a few

years.

(_y_) It is supposed that the shares in the James River Company must be

productive. But of this I can give no decided opinion, for want of more

accurate information.

(_z_) These are the nominal prices of the shares in the Banks of

Alexandria and Columbia; the selling prices vary according to

circumstances; but, as the stocks usually divide from eight to ten per

cent. per annum, they must be worth the former, at least, so long as the

banks are conceived to be secure, although from circumstances they may

sometimes be below it.

The value of the live stock depends more upon the quality than quantity

of the different species of it, and this again upon the demand, and

judgment or fancy of purchasers.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

MOUNT VERNON, _July_ 9, 1799.

[135] It appears that the testator omitted the word "nine,"--Sparks.

[136] As General Washington never had any children, he gave the larger

part of his property to his nephews and nieces, and the children of Mrs.

Washington's son by her first marriage. The principal heir was Bushrod

Washington, son of his brother, John Augustine Washington.--SPARKS.

[137] This paragraph answers the question which has sometimes been

asked, with an unfriendly spirit, "Why did not Washington manumit his

slaves during his lifetime?" He was ever anxious to give them freedom,

and to see the system abolished from the republic. In 1783, he wrote to

Lafayette: "The scheme which you propose, as a precedent to encourage

the emancipation of the black people in this country, from the state of

bondage in which they are held, is a striking evidence of the

benevolence of your heart. I shall be happy to join you, in so laudable

a work."

To Robert Morris he wrote in October 1786: "There is not a man living,

who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the

abolition of slavery; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by

which it can be accomplished, and that is, by legislative authority; and

this, as far as my suffrage will go, shall never be wanting. But when

slaves, who are happy and contented with their present masters, are

tampered with and seduced to leave them; when masters are taken unawares

by these practices; when a conduct of this kind begets discontent on one

side and resentment on the other; and when it happens to fall on a man

whose purse will not measure with that of the Society [Quakers], and he

loses his property for want of means to defend it; it is oppressive in

such a case, and not humanity in any, because it introduces more evils

than it can cure."

To John F. Mercer, of Virginia, he wrote, a few months later: "I never

mean, unless some particular circumstances should compel me to it, to

possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first wishes to see

some plan adopted by which slavery in this country may be abolished by

law."

In 1794, he wrote to Tobias Lear, his private secretary, then in

England, endeavoring to negotiate the sale of some of Washington's wild

lands, that one object he had in view in making sales was to place

himself in a position to emancipate his slaves. "Another motive," he

wrote--"which is, indeed, more powerful than all the rest--is, to

liberate a certain species of property, which I possess, very

reluctantly to my own feelings, but which imperious necessity compels,"

&c.

In 1797, he wrote to his nephew, Lawrence Lewis: "I wish, from my soul

that the legislature of this state could see the policy of a gradual

abolition of slavery. It might prevent much future mischief."