of honor or advantage, but personally unfortunate and injurious. Thus did this gifted woman, by claims the most irresistible, mature and perpetuate an influence and authority, that remained undiminished and undisputed, when her son had attained the pinnacle of earthly fame. Before dismissing this portion of our narrative, we cannot refrain from expressing our deep regret at an almost entire want of material for those minute details, which, when they relate to incidents of personal history, serve so much better than mere description to illustrate character and exhibit the peculiar and individualizing traits which alone can deepen and fill up, so to speak, the faint outline presented in the delineations of the general historian. CHAPTER III. He shall not dread Misfortune's angry mien, Nor feebly sink beneath her tempest rude, Whose soul hath learn'd, through many a trying scene, To smile at fate, and suffer unsubdued. METASTASIO. To solemnize this day, the glorious sun SHAKSPEARE. THE events of the disordered times immediately preceding the Revolution, were now rapidly developing. Following each other in startling and fateful succession, and finally resulting in the ever-memorable Declaration of Independence, Mrs. Washington suddenly beheld her son elevated to to a position surrounded by dangers the most imminent, and comprehending responsibilities the most solemn and portentious that can devolve upon human agency. Resting her fears, her aspirations, and her faith, upon that Support which could alone sustain the spirit of so affectionate and so discerning a parent, amid tri als thus peculiar and severe, we see this heroic woman resigning herself with the same tranquil submission, and the same unaffected cheerfulness, by which her life had hitherto been distinguished, to the decrees of an over-ruling and inscrutable Destiny. Before his departure from his native State, to assume the command of the patriots assembled at Cambridge, the Commander-in-Chief, ever mindful of his Mother's comfort and happiness, even when most burdened by public cares and obligations, assisted in effecting her removal from her country residence in its vicinity, to Fredericksburg. Mrs. Washington was remunerated for thus renouncing a home hallowed by many tender and time-honored associations, the peaceful asylum of her youthful family in the days of her early bereavement, the scene of their innocent sports, their juvenile education, and of her own strenuous exertions and self-sacrificing devotion during so many years of her life, by being placed in much nearer proximity to her friends and relatives, and in a position more secure from danger, than any precaution could have rendered an isolated, rural abode. Bestowing on him the more than ægis-shield of her blessing and her prayers, Mrs. Washington bade adieu to her son, for a period, the duration and events of which, no mortal vision could even faintly discern. Long familiar with the most effectual means of escape from the dominion of too-anxious thought, she hastened, after this painful parting, to busy herself with 66 the arrangement and care of her new home, and sought in active usefulness and industry, not only the solace of her own private griefs" and apprehensions, but the high pleasure that springs from the consciousness of doing good. Ever possessed of far too much genuine self-respect and enlightenment to regard the necessity of homely toil as degrading or unfortunate, her practical ingenuity and personal efforts now supplied, in a good degree, the many deficiencies and deprivations arising from the pressing exigiences of the times, and materially assisted, not only in providing for the wants of her own household, but in furnishing the means of that liberal charity which she had always exercised, notwithstanding her limited resources, and which was not remitted when increasing occasion had arisen for its continuance. Though long past the meridian of life, her equanimity, her healthful habits, and the sytematic uniformity of her daily existence, still gave Mrs. Washington the physical power essential for carrying into effect her plans of self-dependence and benevolent usefulness. It was, at this time, her almost daily custom, seated in an old-fashioned, open chaise, to visit her little farm in the vicinity of the town, and while there, to drive about the fields giving directions and personally superintending their execution. Mrs. Washington is said to have required from those about her a prompt and literal obedience, somewhat resembling that demanded by proper military sub ordination; a habit doubtless arising, in some degree, from a consciousness of the mental power that enabled her rightly to judge and wisely to direct. On one occasion, as we are told, she reproved an agent, who, relying upon his own judgment, had disobeyed her orders, saying, "I command you,-there is nothing left for you but to obey !" Thus, while occupied in her favorite pursuits, and preserved from all sense of loneliness by the frequent and interesting visits of her children and grand-children, who were invariably most assiduous and affectionate in their endeavors to contribute to her happiness, several years rolled away. Nor, as may well be supposed, did Mrs. Washington, in the meanwhile, look with an unobservant or unsympathizing eye, upon the changing and momentous aspect or public affairs. Her residence in Fredericsburg enabled her early to obtain the most important intelligence of the day, and we may believe the respectful attention of her son, speedily and constantly supplied her with information denied to those possessing less claim upon his confidence and regard. If not always as sanguine of the ultimate triumph of the American arms, as more youthful and ardent spectators of the Revolutionary contest, she watched the progress of national affairs, with patient and tranquil expectation. Frequently raising her thoughtful gaze from the painful contemplation of her country's struggles, towards the Omnipotent Friend who aids the sacred cause of Liberty and Right, she gained a firm and |