witnessed--the opening feast of Prince George in London, or the
resignation of Washington? Which is the noble character for after
ages to admire--yon fribble dancing in lace and spangles, or
yonder hero who sheathes his sword after a life of spotless
honor, a purity unreproached, a courage indomitable and a
consummate victory?"

Washington did not refuse the dictatorship, or, rather, the
opportunity to take control of the country, because he feared
heavy responsibility, but solely because, as a high-minded and
patriotic man, he did not believe in meeting the situation in
that way. He was, moreover, entirely devoid of personal ambition,
and had no vulgar longing for personal power. After resigning his
commission he returned quietly to Mount Vernon, but he did not
hold himself aloof from public affairs. On the contrary, he
watched their course with the utmost anxiety. He saw the feeble
Confederation breaking to pieces, and he soon realized that that
form of government was an utter failure. In a time when no
American statesman except Hamilton had yet freed himself from the
local feelings of the colonial days, Washington was thoroughly
national in all his views. Out of the thirteen jarring colonies
he meant that a nation should come, and he saw--what no one else
saw--the destiny of the country to the westward. He wished a
nation founded which should cross the Alleghanies, and, holding
the mouths of the Mississippi, take possession of all that vast
and then unknown region. For these reasons he stood at the head
of the national movement, and to him all men turned who desired a
better union and sought to bring order out of chaos. With him
Hamilton and Madison consulted in the preliminary stages which
were to lead to the formation of a new system. It was his vast