American ground, has been exemplary in every point of view, such as has gained him the esteem, affection, and confidence of all who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance. His filial affection and duty, and his ardent desire to embrace his parents and sisters in the first moments of their release, would not allow him to wait the authentic account of this muchdesired event; but, at the same time that I suggested the propriety of this, I could not withhold my assent to the gratification of his wishes to fly to the arms of those whom he holds most dear, persuaded as he is from the information he has received, that he shall find you all in Paris.

"M. Frestel has been a true Mentor to George. No parent could have been more attentive to a favorite son; and he richly merits all that can be said of his virtues, of his good sense, and of his prudence. Both your son and he carry with them the vows and regrets of this family, and all who know them. And you may be assured that yourself never stood higher in the affections of the people of this country than at the present moment."

The profile of George Washington Lafayette, given on a preceding page, was painted in crayon, by James Sharpless, an English artist, who came to this country in 1796, and visited all the principal cities and towns in the United States, carrying letters of introduction to various distinguished persons, and requesting them to sit for their portraits. These were generally painted in crayon, upon a small scale, and finished in less than three hours from the commencement of the sitting. Sharpless usually drew them in profile, and the likenesses were generally so much admired for their faithfulness, that orders would sometimes be given for whole families.

In this way he painted immense numbers of portraits, and received fifteen dollars for each commission.

Sharpless brought with him his wife and three children. He made New York his head-quarters, and generally travelled in a four-wheeled carriage, so contrived by himself as to con

vey his whole family and all of his painting apparatus, and drawn by one stout horse. He was a plain and frugal man, and amassed a competence by his profession. He was a man of science and a mechanician, and manufactured the crayons which he used in his profession. He died suddenly in New York, at the age of about sixty years, and was buried in the cemetery attached to the Roman Catholic chapel in Barclay

street. His widow and family returned to England, where they sold the portraits of the distinguished Americans whom Sharpless had painted, and settled in Bath.

While in Philadelphia Sharpless painted the profile portraits of President and Mrs. Washington; and also those of George Washington Lafayette (just mentioned) and George Washington Parke Custis. The latter was then a lad between sixteen and seventeen years of age, and he and young Lafayette became warmly attached friends. When, in 1824 and 1825, General Lafayette visited this country, as the guest of the nation, his son George accompanied him, and he and Mr. Custis were much together when opportunity allowed the privilege. The following note from George W. Lafayette to the friend of his youth, is an exhibition of the warmth of his attachment:

"WASHINGTON CITY, January the third, 1825. "MY DEAR CUSTIS: My father being able to dispose of himself on Wednesday, will do himself the pleasure of going that day to dine at Arlington. It is so long since I wished for that satisfaction myself, that I most sincerely rejoice at the anticipation of it. You know, my friend, how happy I was when we met at Baltimore. Since that day I felt every day more and more how much our two hearts were calculated to understand each other. Be pleased, my dear Custis, to present my respectful homage to the ladies, and receive for yourself the expression of my most affectionate and brotherly sentiments."

The profiles of General and Mrs. Washington, by Sharpless, have been pronounced by members of the Washington family who remembered the originals, as the best likenesses extant,

both in form and color. Sharpless made many copies from it. So also did Mrs. Sharpless, who painted miniatures in water colors most exquisitely. One of these is in the possession of

Mrs. Eliza M. Evans, a daughter of General Anthony Walton White, of New Jersey. It is somewhat smaller than the usual size of miniatures, and on the back is written, by the hand of the fair artist: "General Washington, Philadelphia, 1796. E. Sharpless."

These four originals, by Sharpless, are preserved at Arlington House. Those of Mrs. Washington, and Lafayette and Custis, when lads, have never been engraved before. They hung upon the walls at Mount Vernon from the time when Washington retired from the presidency until the death of Mrs. Washington, in 1802, when they passed into the possession of her grandson, G. W. P. Custis.

When fairly seated again in private life at Mount Vernon,

Washington appeared to revel in the luxury of quiet. He was never idle, never indifferent to the progress of current events, but he loved the peacefulness of nature away from the haunts

of men, and was delighted when working like the bee among the fruits and flowers. He was not unsocial, and yet he loved to be away from the great gathering-places of men and the tumults of public life. He was not unambitious, but he was not only indifferent but averse to the plaudits of the multitude when given in the accents of flattery. He wished to be loved as a righteous man, and he relied upon his conscience more than upon the voices of men for a knowledge of the acceptableness of his endeavors. It was his guide in all things, for he regarded it in one sense as Emanuel-God with us-the righteous judge of the thoughts and actions of men.

Washington now felt that his country had received all that