lived, you must be convinced that a kind Providence in its beneficence raised him, and endowed him with extraordinary virtues, to be to you an instrument of great good. None but such a man could have carried you successfully through the revolutionary times which tried men's souls, and ended in the establishment of your independence. None but such a man could have braced up your government, after it had become so contemptible from the imbecility of the federal system. None but such a man could have saved your country from being plunged into war, either with the greatest naval power in Europe, or with that which is most formidable by land, in consequence of your animosity against the one, and your partiality in favour of the other. Youths of the United States! Learn from WASHINGTON what may be done by an industrious improvement of your talents, and the cultivation of your moral powers. Without any extraordinary advantages from birth, fortune, patronage, or even of education, he, by virtue and industry, attained the highest seat in the temple of fame. You cannot all be commanders of armies or chief magistrates, but all resemble him in the virtues of private and domestic life, in which he you may excelled, excelled, and in which he most delighted. Equally industrious with his plough as his sword, he esteemed idleness and inutility as the greatest disgrace of man, whose powers attain perfection only by constant and vigorous action. Washington in private life was as amiable as virtuous, and as great as he appeared sublime on the public theatre of the world. Living in the discharge of all the civil, social, and domestic offices of life; temperate in his desires, and faithful to his duties; for more than forty years of happy wedded love, his high example strengthened the tone of public manners. In the bosom of his family, he had more real enjoyment than in the pride of military command, or in the pomp of sovereign power. On the whole, his life affords the brightest model for imitation, not only to warriors and statesmen, but to private citizens; for his character was a constellation of all the talents and virtues which dignify or adorn human nature. "He was a man, take him for all in all "We shall not look upon his like again." In the name of God, Amen. I George Washington, of Mount Vernon, a citizen of the United States, and lately president of the same, do make, ordain, and declare this instrument, which is written with my own hand, and every page thereof subscribed with my name, to be my last will and testament, revoking all others. of Debts. Item.-All my debts, of which there are but Discharge few, and none of magnitude, are to be punctually and speedily paid; and the legacies hereafter bequeathed, are to be discharged as soon as circumstances will permit, and in the manner directed. to Mrs. Item. To my dearly beloved wife, Martha Bequest Washington, I give and bequeath the use, profit, Washingand benefit of my whole estate, real and personal, ton for the term of her natural life, except such parts thereof as are specially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the town of Alexandria, situated in Pitt and Cameron streets, I give to her and her heirs for ever, as also I do my house hold Mr. Wash- hold and kitchen furniture of every sort and ington's Will. Emancipa tion of and provision for Slaves. kind, with the liquors and groceries which may be on hand at the time of my decease, to be used and disposed of as she may think proper. Item.-Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire, that all the slaves which I hold in my own right shall receive their freedom. To emancipate them during her life would, though earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of their intermixture by marriages with the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences, from the latter, while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it not being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to manumit them. And whereas, among those who will receive freedom according to this demise, there may be some who from old age or bodily infirmities, and others who, on account of their infancy, will be unable to support themselves, it is my will and desire, that all who come under the first and second description, shall be comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs while they live; and that such of the latter description as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the court till they shall arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and in cases where no record can be produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the judgement of the court, upon its own view of the subject, shall be adequate and ington's final. The negroes thus bound are (by their mas- Mr. Washters or mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and to be brought up to some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the commonwealth of Virginia, providing for the support of orphan and other poor children. And I do hereby expressly forbid the sale or transportation, out of the said commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed of, under any pretence whatsoever. And I do moreover most solemnly and most pointedly enjoin. it upon my executors hereafter named, or the survivor of them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled, at the epoch at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be established for their support as long as there are subjects requiring it, not trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals. wards the a free school in Item.-To the trustees (governors, or by what- Bequest to soever name they may be designated) of the academy in the town of Alexandria, I give and bequeath (in trust) four thousand dollars, or, in Alexandria. other words, twenty of the shares which I hold in the bank of Alexandria, towards the support of a free school, established at and annexed to the said academy, for the purpose of educating such orphan children, or the children of such other poor and indigent persons as are unable to accomplish it with their own means; and who, in FF the |