soldier's cloak; and again as a President, with powdered hair, lace
ruffles, and velvet coat.

Of course all these are pictures of a strong, handsome, grown-up man,
and I suppose you never happened to think that George Washington was
once a little boy.

But ever so long ago he was as small as you are now, and I am going to
tell you about his father and mother, his home and his little-boy
days.

He was born one hundred and sixty years ago in Virginia, near a great
river called the Potomac. His father's name was Augustine, his
mother's Mary, and he had several brothers and a little sister.

They all lived in the country on a farm, or a plantation, as they call
it in Virginia. The Washington house stood in the middle of green
tobacco fields and flowery meadows, and there were so many barns and
storehouses and sheds round about it that they made quite a village of
themselves. The nearest neighbors lived miles away; there were no
railroads nor stages, and if you wanted to travel, you must ride on
horseback through the thick woods, or you might sail in little boats
up and down the rivers.

City boys and girls might think, perhaps, that little George
Washington was very lonely on the great plantation, with no neighbor-
boys to play with; but you must remember that the horses and cattle
and sheep and dogs on a farm make the dearest of playmates, and that
there are all kinds of pleasant things to do in the country that city
boys know nothing about.