CHAPTER XV. 1784. Devotes himself to his private affairs. CHAPTER XV. He declines receiving pecuniary Compensation for his public Services. — His Habits. - First Steps Proposal for a GENERAL WASHINGTON believed his career as a public man to be now at an end. He seems indeed to have formed a resolution never again to leave his retirement, unless called out by some great exigency in the affairs of his country, which at that time he neither foresaw nor expected. However much he might have been gratified with the honors bestowed upon him by his countrymen, with the success of his long and unwearied services, and the applause of the whole civilized world, it was nevertheless with a heartfelt delight which none of these could give, that he returned to the quiet scenes and congenial employments of private life. For we may here repeat what has been said in a former part of this narrative, that no occupations interested him so much, or engaged his thoughts so constantly, as those of the practical agriculturist. He was fond of adorning and improving his grounds as an amusement, and was devoted to the culti XV. vation of his farms, upon a thorough, economical, and sys- CHAPTER tematic plan, both as a means of increasing his property, and as being suited to his tastes and early habits. His first care, after establishing himself at Mount Vernon, was to examine minutely into the state of his private affairs, which had become deranged by his long absence and the disorders of the times. His fortune was ample for a republican citizen, and a man who derived neither consequence nor pleasure from display, but it had necessarily suffered a diminution during the war. Adhering rigidly to the resolution he had formed, when he accepted the command of the army, not to receive any remuneration from the public, either in the shape of pay or other pecuniary reward, he now considered it a duty to repair the losses he had sustained, as well by economy in his style of living, as by all the usual efforts to increase the productiveness of his estates. Some of his countrymen, estimating his services to the public at their just value, and knowing the injury his private affairs had suffered in consequence of them, hoped to change his purpose of refusing pecuniary compensation. A few days before he resigned his commission, the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania sent the following instructions on this subject to the delegates in Congress from that State. "Though his Excellency General Washington proposes in a short time to retire, yet his illustrious actions and virtues render his character so splendid and venerable, that, it is highly probable, the admiration and esteem of the world may make his life in a very considerable degree public, as numbers will be desirous of seeing the great and good man, who has so eminently contributed to the happiness of a nation. His very services to his country may therefore subject him to expenses, unless he permits her gratitude to interpose. "We are perfectly acquainted with the disinterestedness and generosity of his soul. He thinks himself amply rewarded for all his labors and cares, by the love and 1784. Refuses to muneration receive re for his pub lic services. CHAPTER prosperity of his fellow citizens. XV. 1784. His feelings on being relieved from the burdens of office. It is true, no rewards they can bestow can be equal to his merits. But they ought not to suffer those merits to be burdensome to him. We are convinced that the people of Pennsylvania would regret such a consequence. "We are aware of the delicacy, with which this subject must be treated. But, relying upon the good sense of Congress, we wish it may engage their early attention." These instructions were received by the delegates, and a copy was forwarded to General Washington after he had arrived at Mount Vernon. It was not thought advisable to lay them before Congress, or take any steps in fulfilling them, without his previous knowledge and approbation. In this case, as in every other, he acted consistently Iwith his character. He promptly declined the intended favor. All proceedings on the subject were accordingly stopped. There can be no doubt, that the sentiments of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania would have been responded to by the whole nation, and that a liberal grant from Congress would everywhere have met with a cordial assent. The feelings of Washington, on being relieved from the solicitude and burdens of office, were forcibly expressed in letters to his friends. "At length," said he, February 1. in writing to Lafayette, "I am become a private citizen, on the banks of the Potomac; and, under the shadow of my own vine and my own figtree, free from the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman, whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if this globe was insufficient for us all, and the courtier, who is always watching the countenance of his prince, in hopes of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I have not only retired from all public employments, but XV. I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view CHAPTER the solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life, with a heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am deter- 1784. mined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers." Letter to General To General Knox he wrote; "I am just beginning to experience that ease and freedom from public cares, which, however desirable, takes some time to realize; for, strange February 20. as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, that it was not till lately I could get the better of my usual custom of ruminating, as soon as I waked in the morning, on the business of the ensuing day; and of my surprise at finding, after revolving many things in my mind, that I was no longer a public man, nor had any thing to do with public transactions. I feel now, however, as I conceive a wearied traveller must do, who, after treading many a painful step with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased of the latter, having reached the haven to which all the former were directed, and from his house-top is looking back, and tracing with an eager eye the meanders by which he escaped the quicksands and mires which lay in his way; and into which none but the all-powerful Guide and Dispenser of human events could have prevented his falling." at Mount Vernon. The time and thoughts of Washington were now con- Hospitality fined to his farms, and to such acts of hospitality as were demanded by the numerous visits from strangers and his acquaintances, who were drawn to Mount Vernon by motives of curiosity, admiration, and respect. However onerous these visits might be, on some occasions, his house was open to all that came, and his personal civilities were so rendered as to strengthen the affections of his friends, and win the esteem of those, who had known him only by his fame, and revered him for his public character. And it is but just to say, that in all these duties Mrs. Washington performed her part with such discretion, assiduity, and courtesy, without ostentation on the one hand XV. 1784. CHAPTER or constraint on the other, as, at the same time that it proved the goodness of her heart and her power to please, insured the comfort and enjoyment of her guests, and convinced them of the domestic harmony and happiness, that reigned in the mansion at Mount Vernon. Makes a tour to the Western country. In the month of September, 1784, Washington made a tour to the Western country, for the purpose of inspecting the lands he owned beyond the Allegany Mountains, and also of ascertaining the practicability of opening a communication between the head waters of the rivers running eastward into the Atlantic, and those that flow westward to the Ohio. The extent of this journey was six hundred and eighty miles, the whole of which he travelled on horseback, using pack-horses for the conveyance of a tent, the necessary baggage, and such supplies as could not be procured in the wild and unsettled regions through which he was to pass. He crossed the mountains by the usual route of Braddock's Road, and spent several days in surveying and inspecting his lands on the Monongahela River, a part of which was occupied by settlers. His first intention was to descend the Ohio, as he had done in the year 1770, to the Great Kenhawa, where he owned a large tract of wild land; but the hostile temper of the Indians rendering this expedition hazardous, and the motive not being strong enough to induce him to run risks, he advanced westward no farther than the Monongahela. Returning by a circuitous route, he passed through the heart of the wilderness, first ascending the Monongahela River, and thence traversing the country far to the south between the ridges of the Allegany Mountains, with the special view of deciding the question in his own mind, whether the Potomac and James Rivers could be connected by internal navigation with the western waters. He conversed on the subject with every intelligent person he met, and kept a journal in which he recorded the results of his observations and inquiries. His thoughts had been turned to this enterprise before the revolution; and, since the peace, he had used un |