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he recommitted it to the Earl by the following clause in his will:

"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 Goldsmith's 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."

The first session of the second Congress terminated on Tuesday, the 8th of May, and on the 10th Washington set out for Mount Vernon, leaving his family in Philadelphia. He remained there about four weeks, directing the affairs of his estate, inspecting the progress of the surveys and plans for the national city, and in correspondence with friends at home and abroad. He carried home with him on that occasion several copies of the Rights of Man, a work from the pen of Thomas Paine, published the year before, fifty copies of which, sent by the author to the President, reached him a day or two before he left Philadelphia. One of these he gave to Richard Henry Lee, who, after thanking him for it, remarked:

"It is a performance of which any man might be proud; and I most sincerely regret that our country could not have offered sufficient inducements to have retained as a permanent citizen, a man so thoroughly republican in sentiment, and fearless in the expression of his opinions.'

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In his letter accompanying the books, Paine remarked: "The work has had a run beyond any thing that has been published in this country on the subject of government, and the demand continues. In Ireland it has had a much greater. A letter I received from Dublin, 10th of May, mentioned that the fourth edition was then on sale. I know not what number of copies were printed at each edition, except the second, which was ten thousand. The same fate follows me here as I

at first experienced in America-strong friends and violent enemies; but as I have got the ear of the country, I shall go

on, and at least show them, what is a novelty here, that there can be a person beyond the reach of corruption."

This work was written in answer to Edmund Burke's famous letter to a French gentleman, in 1790, entitled Reflections on the Revolution in France. The government, incensed at Paine's language in the Rights of Man, instituted a prosecution against him for libel. He went to France, became a member of the National Assembly, fell into prison during the reign of the Terrorists, and becoming offended at Washington because he properly refused his official aid in procuring Paine's liberation, on the ground of his being an American citizen, he abused him most shamefully in a published letter, more remarkable for its scurrility than talent.

Washington returned to Philadelphia early in June, and toward the close of July journeyed with his family to Mount Vernon. He remained there until early in October, when he returned to Philadelphia, with his family, to prepare for the assembling of the Congress, which took place on the 5th of November. During that time he was in frequent correspondence with the heads of departments, for matters of great public interest required frequent communications between them and the chief magistrate. An Indian war in the west was then in progress, and symptoms of insurrectionary movements in Western Pennsylvania, on account of an excise law which the people deemed oppressive, began to appear.

Washington was also much engaged, during that time, with his agricultural operations; and he and Mrs. Washington were much distressed on account of the mortal sickness of his

nephew George, who had resided at Mount Vernon much of the time since his marriage several years before. Washington's anxiety concerning him is evinced by the frequent mention of his illness to his correspondents. In a letter to Lafay ctte, in June, he said:

"I am afraid my nephew George, your old aide, will never have his health perfectly re-established. He has lately been attacked with the alarming symptoms of spitting large quantities of blood; and the physicians give no hopes of restoration, unless it can be effected by a change of air, and a total dereliction from business, to which he is too anxiously attentive. He will, if he should be taken from his family and friends, leave three fine children, two sons and a daughter. To the eldest of the boys he has given the name of Fayette, and a fine looking child he is."

To General Knox, he wrote: "I thank you most sincerely for the medicine you were so obliging as to send for my nephew, and for the sympathetic feeling you express for his situation. Poor fellow! neither, I believe, will be of any avail. Present appearances indicate a speedy dissolution. He has not been able to leave his bed, except for a few moments to sit in an arm-chair, since the 14th or 15th of last month. The paroxysm of the disorder seems to be upon him, and death, or a favorable turn to it, must speedily follow."

The sufferer was then residing upon a small estate in Hanover. He lingered for several weeks, and expired; and on the 24th of February, Washington wrote to his widow:

"MY DEAR FANNY: To you, who so well know the affec tionate regard I had for our departed friend, it is unnecessary

to describe the sorrow with which I was afflicted, at the news of his death, although it was an event I had expected many weeks before it happened. To express this sorrow with the force I feel it, would answer no other purpose than to revive in your breast that poignancy of anguish, which by this time, I hope, is abated. The object of this letter is to convey to your mind the warmest assurance of my love, friendship, and disposition to serve you. These I also profess to bear, in an eminent degree, for your children."

He then invites her to make Mount Vernon the home of herself and children. "You can go to no place," he said, 66 where you will be more welcome, nor to any where you can live at less expense or trouble." He then invites her to bring his niece, Harriet Washington, with her, to Mount Vernon, of whose conduct he had heard pleasant words. Miss Harriet remained at Mount Vernon a long time, the grateful recipient of her uncle's bounty.

The young widow appears to have declined the offer of a home at Mount Vernon, preferring to keep house in Alexandria, but offering to resign the charge of her eldest son, Fayette, into Washington's keeping. In March, the President wrote to her, saying:

"The carriage which I sent to Mount Vernon, for your use, I never intended to reclaim, and now, making you a formal present of it, it may be sent for whenever it suits your convenience, and be considered as your own. I shall, when I see you, request that Fayette may be given up to me, either at that time, or as soon after as he is old enough to go to school. This will relieve you of that portion of attention, which his educa tion would otherwise call for."

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