upon the shelf. They were made in India, and ornamented in London. The ground is a dark blue, with delicate gilt scroll and leaf ornaments, with landscapes painted upon one side and animals upon the other. These are now at Arlington House.

Washington appears to have received other presents from Mr. Vaughan. On the 30th of November, 1785, he wrote to his London friend, saying: “I have lately received a letter from Mr. Vaughan (your son), of Jamaica, accompanied by a puncheon of rum, which he informs me was sent by your order as a present for me. Indeed, my dear sir, you overwhelm me with your favors, and lay me under too many obligations to leave a hope remaining of discharging them.” He had attempted to do so in a degree, for in the same letter, he says: "Hearing of the distress in which that island, with others in the West Indies, is involved by the late hurricane, I have taken the liberty of requesting Mr. Vaughan's acceptance, for his own use, of a few barrels of superfine flour of my own manufacturing."

Two or three months later than the date of this letter, another present for Washington reached Mount Vernon, of more intrinsic value than all that he had received since his retirement from the army. It consisted of three asses, a jack and two jennies, selected from the royal stud at Madrid, and sent to him as a compliment from the king of Spain. His "Catholic Majesty" having been informed that Washington was endeav oring to procure these animals of the best breed in Europe, for the purpose of rearing mules on his estates, made him this present, and sent over with them a person acquainted with the mode of treating them, who arrived at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, and journeyed to Mount Vernon by land.

According to a statement of the late Mr. Custis, the jack, called the Royal Gift, was sixteen hands high, of a gray color, heavily made, and of a sluggish disposition. "At the same time," says Mr. Custis, "the Marquis de Lafayette sent out a jack and jennies from the island of Malta. This jack, called the Knight of Malta, was a suberb animal, black color, with the form of a stag and the ferocity of a tiger. Washington availed himself of the best qualities of the two jacks by crossing the breeds, and hence obtained a favorite jack, called Compound, which animal united the size and strength of the Gift with the high courage and activity of the Knight. The General bred some very superior mules from his coach mares. In a few years the estate of Mount Vernon became stocked with mules of a superior order, some of them rising to the height of sixteen hands, and of great power and usefulness. One wagon team of four mules sold at the sale of the General's effects for eight hundred dollars."

Washington, through Florida Bianca, the prime minister of Spain, most sincerely thanked his majesty for a present so truly valuable, in connection with his country's industrial operations; and in answer, that functionary replied, “It will give pleasure to his majesty, that opportunities of a higher nature may offer, to prove the great esteem he entertains for your Excellency's personal merit, singular virtues, and character."

At the close of 1785, Washington had completed the enlargement of his house, and was prepared for the accommodation of the increasing number of his visitors. He found his time so much occupied with these, and his equally increasing correspondence, that he resolved to employ a secretary, who should,

at the same time, perform the duties of instructor of his adopted children. He addressed General Lincoln on the subject, who warmly recommended Tobias Lear, a young gentleman of Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, who had recently graduated at Harvard University. In reply, Washington said:

"Mr. Lear, or any other who may come into my family in the blended character of preceptor to the children and clerk or private secretary to me, will sit at my table, will live as I live, will mix with the company who resort to the house, and will be treated in every respect with civility and proper attention." A satisfactory arrangement was made, which proved a happy one. Mr. Lear went to Mount Vernon, and resided there much of the time afterward, until death removed the master. Washington became very fond of him. He married, and lost his wife there; and in his will, Washington wrote: "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." We shall meet Mr. Lear again under solemn circumstances beneath the roof of Mount Vernon mansion.

In his letter to General Lincoln respecting Mr. Lear, Washington expressed his expectation that his correspondence would decline, for he had resolved to remain strictly a private citizen. On the contrary, circumstances which speedily arose, caused his correspondence to greatly increase, and the retired soldier soon found himself borne out upon the turbulent waves of political life. He was too patriotic to shrink from duty when his country demanded his services, and therefore events soon drew him from the coveted pleasures of his quiet home.

Washington, with other sagacious men, had watched the

course of public affairs since the close of the war with the deepest solicitude, for he perceived imminent dangers on every side. The country had become impoverished by the struggle, and was burdened with an enormous debt, domestic and foreign; and the Congress possessed no executive powers adequate to a provision of means for the liquidation of those debts by direct taxation.

For a long time it had been clearly perceived that, while the Articles of Confederation entered into by the respective states, formed a sufficient constitution of government during the progress of the war, they were not adapted to the public wants in the new condition of an independent sovereignty in which the people found themselves. There appeared abundant necessity for a greater centralization of power, by which the general government could act more efficiently for the public good.

As early as the summer of 1782, the legislature of New York, on the suggestion of Alexander Hamilton, had recommended to each state "to adopt the measure of assembling a GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE STATES, specially authorized to revise and amend the Confederation;" and in the spring of 1786 a strong desire was felt in many parts of the country to have such convention.

To a great extent the people had lost all regard for the authority of Congress, and the commercial affairs of the country had become wretchedly deranged. Every thing seemed to be tending toward utter chaos; and many were the anxious councils held by Washington and others under the roof of Mount Vernon, when the buds and the birds first appeared in Virginia in the spring of 1786. His correspond

ence with his compatriots in other states on the subject became quite extended; and his letters at this time, full of the important topic, are remarkable for their words of wisdom and tone of caution.

"I often think of our situation, and view it with concern," he wrote to John Jay in May. "From the high ground we stood upon, from the plain path which invited our footsteps, to be so fallen, so lost, is really mortifying." He saw the tendency toward ruin of the fair fabric which his wisdom and prowess had helped to raise, and his faith in public men had become weakened. "My fear is," he said, "that the people are not sufficiently misled to retract from error. To be plainer, I think there is more wickedness than ignorance mixed in our councils. Under this impression I scarcely know what opinion to entertain of a general convention."

Time and circumstances work out many changes in human opinions. Washington's were modified by the logic of events, and he soon favored a convention of the states. He received letters from all parts of the country upon the subject of public affairs, and his answers, widely circulated, had a commanding influence. In his quiet home at Mount Vernon he was silently wielding the powers of a statesman, and his opinions were eagerly sought..

In 1785, commissioners appointed by Virginia and Maryland, to form a compact relative to the navigation of the waters belonging to them in' comm.on, had visited Mount Vernon to consult with the retired soldier; and suggestions were then made and discussed concerning a stronger federal government, which led to important results. It led, primarily, to a general discussion by the people of the subject of the inef