his presence became indispensable;-that necessity never occurred, but before peace was restored, WASHINGTON was no more. On the night of the 13th of December, 1799, (having been exposed to a shower in the morning,) he was attacked by an inflammatory affection of the throat, and in twenty-four hours after, the first luminary of America was removed to a higher, brighter, happier sphere. The shock of this event fell upon the country with the unexpected suddenness of an earthquake; dismay and affliction suspended all business; all ages and classes united in sorrow, and in demonstrations of veneration and love. On the 18th the remains of Washington were deposited in the family vault at Mount Vernon, a spot now held sacred by the whole civilized world. Men high in rank, from every quarter of the globe, continue to visit his tomb, there to weep over the truth, that even the most eminent of the human race are mortal. A grateful country will take care that the grave of Washington shall never be neglected. Having thus sketched the chief events in the life of this extraordinary man, very little more seems to be required: the value, the importance, the results of that life, are before the world. Instead of thirteen scattered, oppressed, and degraded colonies, struggling in poverty, and united only by the resolution to be free-we have a glorious land, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, presenting already more than thirty free, rich, and independent states, and the prospect of attaining population, intelligence and wealth, far beyond what the world has ever yet seen. We close in the language applied to Washington, used by Marshall and Adams: "Favored of heaven, he departed without exhibiting the weakness of humanity; magnanimous in death, the darkness of the grave could not obscure his brightness." "For himself, he had lived long enough to life and to glory; for his fellow citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he would have been immortal." 24 |