expenses, those I doubt not you will discharge. I ask no more." The
nation applauded the prudence, the wisdom, the bravery and patriotism of
Washington. Frederick the Great said, "His achievements are the most
brilliant in military annals." Napoleon directed that the standard of
the French army should be hung with crape at his death. Fox said of him
in the British Parliament, "Illustrious man, it has been reserved for
him to run the race of glory without the smallest interruption to his
course." But the noblest eulogy ever uttered were the words of Gen.
Henry Lee: "First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his
countrymen." He had hoped to retire to private life, and wrote to
Lafayette, "I am a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, under
the shadow of my own vine and fig tree. I have retired from all public
employment and tread the walks of private life with heartfelt
satisfaction." The country would not permit it. He had refused to be a
candidate for the office of president and accepted the nation's
unanimous call with a heavy heart. His last act before leaving for New
York was to visit his aged mother, then eighty-two, and in the last year
of her life. We can picture that tender farewell to one to whom he owed
under God that beautiful faith which shed glory on his life. The
journey to New York was one continued ovation. His Virginia neighbors
and friend gave him a God-speed and benediction. Baltimore outdid
itself in generous hospitality. Philadelphia crowned him with laurel,
the bells rang out their joyous peals, cannons thundered and the people
with one voice shouted "Long live the President." Marvellous as was the
enthusiasm of other cities, the people of Trenton, who remembered the
cruelties of the Hessian in 1776 and their deliverance by Washington,
outdid them all. On a triumphal arch was written "Dec. 26, 1776. The
hero who defended the mothers will defend the daughters." At Elizabeth
a committee of Congress met him, and Caesar never had so beautiful a
flotilla as that of the sea captains and pilots who bore him to New York