Chapter XI: Front Matter (11)

I regret exceedingly that circumstances should withdraw you
from this country before the final accomplishment of that
independence and peace which the arms of our good ally has
assisted in placing before us in such an agreeable point of
view. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to accompany you
after the war in a tour through the great continent of North
America, in search of the natural curiosities with which it
abounds, and to view at the same time the foundation of a
rising empire. I have the honor, etc.,

G. Washington.

P.S.--Permit me to trouble you with the inclosed letter to the
Marquis de Lafayette.

VII.

Headquarters, Newburg,
May 10, 1783.

My Dear Chevalier: The affectionate expressions in your
farewell letter of the 8th of June from Annapolis gave a new
spring to the pleasing remembrance of our past intimacy, and
your letter of the 4th of March from Paris has convinced me
that time nor distance can eradicate the seeds of friendship
when they have taken root in a good soil and are nurtured by
philanthropy and benevolence. That I value your esteem, and
wish to retain a place in your affections, are truths of which
I hope you are convinced, as I wish you to be of my sincerity
when I assure you that it is among the first wishes of my heart
to pay the tribute of respect to your nation, to which I am
prompted by motives of public consideration and private
friendships; but how far it may be in my power to yield a
prompt obedience to my inclination is more than I can decide
upon at present.

You have, my dear Chevalier, placed before my eyes the exposed
situation of my seat on the Potomack, and warned me of the
danger which is to be apprehended from a surprise; but as I
have an entire confidence in it, and an affection for your
countrymen, I shall bid defiance to the enterprise, under a
full persuasion that, if success should attend it and I cannot
make terms for my releasement, I shall be generously treated by
my captors, and there is such a thing as a pleasing captivity.

At present both armies remain in the situation you left them,
except that all acts of hostilities have ceased in this quarter
and things have put on a more tranquil appearance than
heretofore.
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We look forward with anxious expectation for the definitive
treaty to remove the doubts and difficulties which prevail at
present, and our country of our newly acquired friends in New
York, and other places within these States, of whose company we
are heartily tired. Sir Guy, with whom I have had a meeting at
Dobb's Ferry for the purpose of ascertaining the epoch of this
event, could give me no definitive answer, but general
assurances that he was taking every preparatory measure for it;
one of which was, that, a few days previous to the interview,
he had shipped off for Nova Scotia upward of 6000 refugees or
loyalists, who, apprehending they would not be received as
citizens of these United States, he thought it his duty to
remove previous to the evacuation of the city by the king's
troops.

The Indians have recommenced hostilities on the frontiers of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, killing and scalping whole families
who had just returned to the habitations, from which they had
fled, in expectation of enjoying them in peace. These people
will be troublesome neighbors to us, unless they can be removed
to a much greater distance, and this is only to be done by
purchase or conquest. Which of the two will be adopted by
Congress, I know not. The first, I believe, would be cheapest
and perhaps most consistent with justice. The latter most
effectual.

Mrs. Washington is very sensible of your kind remembrance of
her, and presents her best respects to you, in which all the
gentleman of my family who are with me cordially and sincerely
join. Tilghman, I expect, has before this entered into the
matrimonial state with a cousin of his whom you may have seen
at Mr. Carroll's near Baltimore. My best wishes attend Baron
Montesquieu, and such other gentlemen within your circle as I
have the honor to be acquainted with. I can only repeat to you
assurances of the most perfect friendship and attachment, etc.

G. Washington.

VIII.

Princeton, October 12, 1783.

My Dear Chevalier: I have not had the honor of a letter from
you since the 4th of March last, but I will ascribe my
disappointment to any cause rather than to a decay of your
friendship.

Having the appearances, and indeed the enjoyment of peace,
without the final declaration of it, I, who am only waiting for
the ceremonials, or till the British forces shall have taken
their leave of New York, am held in an awkward and disagreeable
situation; being anxiously desirous to quit the walks of public
life, and, under my own vine and my own fig-tree, to seek those
enjoyments and that relaxation which a mind that has been
constantly upon the stretch for more than eight years stands so
much in want of.

I have fixed this epoch to the arrival of the definitive
treaty, or to the evacuation of my country by our newly
acquired friends. In the mean while, at the request of
Congress, I spend my time with them at this place; where they
came in consequence of the riots at Philadelphia, of which,
doubtless, you have been fully informed, for it is not a very
recent transaction.

They have lately determined to fix the permanent residence of
Congress near the falls of Delaware, but where they will hold
their session till they can be properly established at that
place is yet undecided.

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I have lately made a tour through the Lakes George and
Champlain as far as Crown Point; then, returning to
Schenectady, I proceeded up the Mohawk river to Fort Schuyler,
(formerly Fort Stanwix,) crossed over to the Wood creek, which
empties into the Oneida Lake and affords the water
communication with Ontario; I then traversed the country to the
head of the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, and arrived at
the Lake Otsego, and the portage between that lake and the
Mohawk river at Canajoharie.

Prompted by these actual observations, I could not help taking
a more contemplative and extensive view of the vast inland
navigation of these United States from maps, and the
information of others, and could not but be struck with the
immense diffusion and importance of it, and with the goodness
of that Providence which has dealt her favors to us with so
profuse a hand. Would to God we may have wisdom enough to make
a good use of them. I shall not rest contented till I have
explored the western part of this country, and traversed these
lines (or great part of them) which have given bounds to a new
empire. But when it may, if it ever should, happen, I dare not
say, as my first attention must be given to the deranged
situation of my private concerns, which are not a little
injured by almost nine years absence and total disregard of
them.

With every wish for your health and happiness, and with the
most sincere and affectionate regard, etc.,

G. Washington.

IX.

Mount Vernon, February 1, 1784.

My Dear Chevalier: I have had the honor to receive your favor
of the 23d of August from L'Orient, and hope this letter will
find you in the circle of your friends at Paris, well recovered
from the fatigues of your long inspection on the frontiers of
the kingdom.

I am, at length, become a private citizen on the banks of the
Potomack, where, under my own vine and my own fig-tree, free
from the bustle of a camp and the intrigues of a court, I shall
view the busy world with calm indifference, and with that
serenity of mind which the soldier in pursuit of glory and the
statesman of a name have not leisure to enjoy. I am not only
retired from all public employments, but am retiring within
myself, and shall lead the private walks of life with heartfelt
satisfaction. After seeing New York evacuated by the British
forces on the 25th of November, and civil government
established in the city, I repaired to Congress and surrendered
all my powers, with my commission, into their hands on the 23d
of December, and arrived at this cottage the day before
Christmas, where I have been close locked in frost and snow
ever since. Mrs. Washington thanks you for your kind
remembrance of her, and prays you to accept her best wishes in
return. With sentiments, etc.,

G. Washington.

X.

Mount Vernon, June 2, 1784.

My Dear Sir: I had the honor to receive a short letter from you
by Major l'Enfant. My official letters to the Counts d'Estaing
and Rochambeau (which, I expect, will be submitted to the
members of the Cincinnatis in France) will inform you of the
proceedings of the General Meeting, held at Philadelphia, on
the 3d ult., of the reasons which induced a departure from some
of the original principles and rules of the society.
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As these have been detailed, I will not repeat them, and as we
have no occurrences out of the common course, except the
establishment of ten new States in the western territory, and
the appointment of Mr. Jefferson (whose talents and worth are
well known to you) as one of the commissioners for forming
commercial treaties in Europe, I will only repeat to you the
assurances of my friendship, and express to you a wish that I
could see you in the shade of those trees which my hands have
planted, and which by their rapid growth at once indicate a
knowledge of my declination and their willingness to spread
their mantles over me before I go home to return no more. For
this their gratitude I will nurture them while I stay.

Before I conclude, permit me to recommend Colonel Humphreys,
who is appointed secretary to the commission, to your
countenance and civilities whilst he remains in France. He
possesses an excellent heart and a good understanding. With
every, etc.,

G. Washington.

XI.

Mount Vernon, September 5, 1785.

My Dear Sir: I am your debtor for two letters, one of the 12th
of December, the other of the 8th of April. Since the receipt
of the first I have paid my respects to you in a line or two by
a Major Swan, but, as it was introductory only of him, it
requires an apology rather than entitles me to a credit in our
epistolary correspondence.

If I had as good a knack, my dear Marquis, [Footnote 23] as you
have at saying handsome things, I would endeavor to pay you in
kind for the many flattering expressions of your letters,
having an ample field to work in; but as I am a clumsy laborer
in the manufactory of compliments, I must first profess my
unworthiness of those which you have bestowed on me, and then,
conscious of my inability of meeting you upon that ground,
confess that it is better for me not to enter the list, than to
retreat from it in disgrace.

[Footnote 23: By the death of his brother, Philippe Louis of
Chastellux, on the 26th January, 1784, the Chevalier had
taken this title. ED. C. W.]

It gives me great pleasure to find by my last letters from
France that the dark clouds which overspread your hemisphere
are yielding to the sunshine of peace. My first wish is to see
the blessings of it diffused through all countries, and among
all ranks in every country, and that we should consider
ourselves as the children of a common Parent, and be disposed
to acts of brotherly kindness toward one another. In that case
restrictions of trade would vanish: we should take your wines,
your fruits, and surplusage of such articles as our necessities
or convenience might require and in return give you our fish,
our oil, our tobacco, our naval stores, etc.; and in like
manner should exchange produce with other countries, to the
reciprocal advantage of each. And as the globe is large, why
need we wrangle for a small spot of it? If one country cannot
contain us, another should open its arms to us. But these
halcyon days (if they ever did exist) are now no more. A wise
Providence, I presume, has decreed it otherwise, and we shall
be obliged to go on in the old way, disputing and now and then
fighting, until the great globe itself dissolves.

I rarely go from home, but my friends in and out of Congress
sometimes inform me of what is on the carpet. To hand it to you
afterward would be circuitous and idle, as I am persuaded you
have correspondents at New York, who give them to you at first
hand, and can relate them with more clearness and precision.
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I give the chief of my time to rural amusements; but I have
lately been active in instituting a plan which, if success
attends it, and of which I have no doubt, may be productive of
great political as well as commercial advantages to the States
on the Atlantic, especially the Middle ones. It is the
improving and extending the land navigations of the rivers
Potomack and James, and communicating them with the western
waters by the shortest and easiest portages and good roads.
Acts have passed the assemblies of Virginia and Maryland
authorizing private adventurers to undertake the work.
Companies, in consequence, are incorporated, and that on this
river is begun. But when we come to the difficult parts of it,
we shall require an engineer of skill and practical knowledge
in this branch of business, and from that country where these
kinds of improvements have been conducted with the greatest
success. With very, etc.,

G. Washington.

XI.

Mount Vernon, August 18, 1786.

My Dear Marquis: I cannot omit to seize the earliest occasion
to acknowledge the receipt of the very affectionate letter you
did me the honor of writing to me on the 22d of May, as well as
to thank you for the present of your _Travels in America_,
and the translation of Colonel Humphreys's poem, all which came
safely to hand by the same conveyance.

Knowing as I did the candor, liberality, and philanthropy of
the Marquis de Chastellux, I was prepared to disbelieve any
imputations that might militate against those amiable
qualities, for characters and habits are not easily taken up or
suddenly laid aside. Nor does that mild species of philosophy
which aims at promoting human happiness ever belie itself by
deviating from the generous and godlike pursuit. Having,
notwithstanding, understood that some misrepresentations of the
work in question had been circulated, I was happy to learn that
you had taken the most effectual method to put a stop to their
circulation by publishing a more ample and correct edition.
Colonel Humphreys (who spent some weeks at Mount Vernon)
confirmed me in the sentiment by giving a most flattering
account of the whole performance. He has also put into my hands
the translation of that part in which you say such and so many
handsome things, that (although no sceptic on ordinary
occasions) I may, perhaps, be allowed to doubt whether your
friendship and partiality have not, in this one instance,
acquired an ascendency over your cooler judgment.

Having been thus unwarily, and I may be permitted to add,
almost unavoidably betrayed into a kind of necessity to speak
of myself, and not wishing to resume that subject, I choose to
close it for ever by observing, that as, on the one hand, I
consider it an indubitable mark of meanspiritedness and pitiful
vanity to court applause from the pen or tongue of man, so on
the other, I believe it to be a proof of false modesty or an
unworthy affectation of humility to appear altogether
insensible to the commendations of the virtuous and enlightened
part of our species. Perhaps nothing can excite more perfect
harmony in the soul than to have this string vibrate in unison
with the internal consciousness of rectitude in our intentions
and an humble hope of approbation from the supreme Disposer of
all things.

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I have communicated to Colonel Humphreys that paragraph in your
letter which announces the very favorable reception his poem
has met with in France. Upon the principles indifferent to the
applause of so enlightened a nation, nor to the suffrage of the
king and queen, who have pleased to honor it with their royal
approbation.

We have no news this side the Atlantic worth the pains of
sending across it. The country is recovering rapidly from the
ravages of war. The seeds of population are scattered far in
the wilderness; agriculture is prosecuted with industry. The
works of peace, such as opening rivers, building bridges, are
carried on with spirit. Trade is not so successful as we could
wish. Our State governments are well administered. Some objects
in our federal system might probably be altered for better. I
rely much on the good sense of my countrymen, and trust that a
superintending Providence will disappoint the hopes of our
enemies. With sentiments, etc.,

G. Washington.

XIII.

Mount Vernon, April 25, 1788.

My Dear Marquis: In reading your very friendly and acceptable
letter of the 21st of December, 1787, which came to hand by the
last mail, I was, as you may well suppose, not less delighted
than surprised to come across that plain American word, my
wife! A wife! Well, my dear Marquis, I can hardly refrain from
smiling to find you are caught at last. I saw, by the eulogium
you often made on the happiness of domestic life in America,
that you had swallowed the bait, and that you would as surely
be taken (one day or another) as you were a philosopher and a
soldier. So your day has at length come. I am glad of it with
all my heart and soul. It is quite good enough for you. Now you
are well served for coming to fight in favor of the American
rebels, all the way across the Atlantic ocean, by catching that
terrible contagion, domestic felicity, which, like the
small-pox or the plague, a man can have only once in his life,
because it commonly lasts him (at least with us in America--I
don't know how you manage these matters in France) for his
whole lifetime. And yet, after all the maledictions you so
richly merit on the subject, the worst wish which I can find it
in my heart to make against Madame de Chastellux and yourself
is, that you may neither of you ever get the better of this
same domestic felicity during the entire course of your mortal
existence.

If so wonderful an event should have occasioned me, my dear
Marquis, to have written in a strange style, you will
understand me as clearly as if I had said, (the simple truth in
plain English,) Do me the justice to believe that I take a
heart-felt interest in whatsoever concerns your happiness. And
in this view I sincerely congratulate you on your auspicious
matrimonial connection. I am happy to find that Madame de
Chastellux is so intimately connected with the Duchess of
Orleans, as I have always understood this noble lady was an
illustrious pattern of connubial love, as well as an excellent
model of virtue in general.

While you have been making love under the banner of Hymen, the
great personages of the North have been making war under the
inspiration, or rather the infatuation, of Mars.
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Now, for my part, I humbly conceive you have had much the best
and wisest of the bargain. For certainly it is more consonant
to all the principles of reason and religion (natural and
revealed) to replenish the earth with inhabitants, rather than
to depopulate it by killing those already in existence.
Besides, it is time for the age of knight-errantry and mad
heroism to be at an end. Your young military men, who want to
reap the harvest of laurels, don't care (I suppose) how many
seeds of war are sown. But for the sake of humanity it is
devoutly to be wished that the manly employment of agriculture,
and the humanizing benefits of commerce, would supersede the
waste of war and the rage of conquest. That the swords might be
turned into ploughshares, the spears into pruning-hooks, and,
as the Scripture expresses it, the nations learn war no more.

I will now give you a little news from this side of the water,
and then finish. As for us, we are plodding on in the dull road
of peace and politics. We, who live at these ends of the earth,
only hear of the rumors of war, like the roar of distant
thunder. It is to be hoped our remote local situation will
prevent us from being swept into its vortex.

The constitution which was proposed by the federal convention
has been adopted by the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia. No State has
rejected it. The convention of Maryland is now sitting and will
probably adopt it; as that of South Carolina is expected to do
in May. The other conventions will assemble early in the
summer. Hitherto there has been much greater unanimity in favor
of the proposed government than could have been reasonably
expected. Should it be adopted, (and I think it will be,)
America will lift up her head again, and in a few years become
respectable among the nations. It is a flattering and consoling
reflection that our rising republic has the good wishes of all
the philosophers, patriots, and virtuous men in all nations,
and that they look upon it as a kind of asylum for mankind. God
grant that we may not disappoint their honest expectations by
our folly or perverseness! With sentiments, etc.,

G. Washington.

P.S.--If the Duke de Lauzun is still with you, I beg you will
thank him, in my name, for his kind remembrance of me, and make
my compliments to him.

_May 1st_.--Since writing the above, I have been favored
with a duplicate of your letter in the handwriting of a lady,
and cannot close this without acknowledging my obligations for
the flattering postscript of the fair transcriber. In effect,
my dear Marquis, the characters of this interpreter of your
sentiments are so much fairer than those through which I have
been accustomed to decipher them, that I already consider
myself as no small gainer by your matrimonial connection.
Especially as I hope your amiable amanuensis will not forget at
the same time to add a few annotations of her own to your
original text.

I have just received information that the convention of
Maryland has ratified the proposed constitution by a majority
of 63 to 11.

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Aimée's Sacrifice.

A Tale.