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Show 6o TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA: ton's birth day w h1. h was a f e\ v da' ys 'a go ' this ity was unu(ually gay.: ; 1 · · ' . ·r nuakcrs alone cxcepteJ , 01.ll c Jt ::1. every perfon of confequence m 1 ' ~· . pom t • On this clay Gcncr:tl Wafhinglon tcrmin1tcd his fixty-founh ycar; but though not an un] Jca lthy man, he fc mc<l confi krably ~!Jc.r. The 1. nnumcral,l c vc~.l. \1·0 11' he ha met wllh 111 his ,!ilfel ·nt rub]ic capacitie~ hav•: very !cnf:bly im JaircJ the vigour t fhis cnnilitUlHlll, and [',l\Cil hu. In an agc1 l appearance. 'I'll"• !. .v. i '·t very m• a-tCii. tl tiilrerencc howl·vcr, in his Jock whtn k~n jn private and when he appears in public full dr fl; in the latter cafe the hand of art makes up for the ravage of time, and he fccm> many years youn ger. Few pt-rfons lind themfelvcs for. tlw firf~ time in the prcftnec of enern l Wa!l~1ng:-on, ~_man 4o rtnn\1 n ·ti in the l rcfrnt day fo r ills wlfdnm and moJ ration, anti whofe name will be tranl~ 11 ittcd with fu ch honour to pollcrity, 11 ithout beinr: imprellcJ with a certain dcg 1ct: of' encr.ttion ~tnd a" c; nor do thLfc cmoti ns fuhfidc on a clofcr acquaintance ; on the contr <~ry , his perfan and deportment arc fuch as r;tthcr tclld to augmen t thun. T tCIT is fomcthing ve ry au:lcrc in his counu·n;tnce, and in his 1nanncr~ he is uncommonly r •kt v~J. I have heard fomc ollicers, that fen·..:,! immediately under hi; c mmand durin~ the At\\CJican 1\ar, l'.ly, th;Jt they never faw him ltnilc tluri11g a lithe time that tlwy were with him. No man has e1•c r Yl t been connctled with him by the rcciptocal and unconllraincd tic; of fri ·ndlhi['; am] but a f~w can b H even of havit~g been l•ll ;\II cafy ;:ud f:unilia r footing with him. The height of his pcdon is about live feet eleven; his chcll is full; and his limbs, though rather fl cndcr, well n1aped and mufcular. His htad i' fmall , in which refpcCl: h~ rcfcmbl~s the make of a great number nl his countrymen. His eyes arc of a light grey colonr; and, in propor. tion to the length of his face, bis nofc is long. Mr. Stewart, thconincnt portrait painter, told me, that there are fc:nu res in hi5 face totally Jiffi rent from what he ever obfervcd in that of any other hua1an be' ng; the foe l-et> ~ r the eyes, for infLtncc, arc la 1ger than 11 hat he c.:vcr met with IJcforc, and the upper part of the nofc broade1·. All his fl'a ' urcs, he obfcrvcd, were inJicative of the firongcll: and moll ungovcrnabll: paffiom, ancl h ~ d hr h en horn in tlw fo ·0\ it 11 as his opi 11 i0 11 th:\t he II OU!tl have J, •·11 t~r hclc:flm.tn amonlyflthc f.n.t;~c tribe. ln tltts Mr. St\'wart h a~ given a ptOOl f his grrat dif'ct::rnm 'Ill \lU intimatr Lnowkdgt• of the hunnn count ' ll:Jncc ; for ·1lthough GrnL···al Wnll in!:'ton ha~ l:ecn ex ~ tolled for his great modc1Jtion and c.d r IH·!~ , du 111w thr. very tryinn; iiruation~ i11 which It h u {0 of~~n bern p a~l·d, yet the ·e 11 l.o hav1~ hecn acqu ti nted with him the longcll and mol intimately fo1y, that he is h}' 1 · urc a man ol a fierce and irritable difpofi:i, n, but t: at, li ke Socrates, his jndr,mcnt and grc'll klf-cumm;tlltl have always m trlc him app ::r a m,tn of .t different call iu the eyes of the w II J. li · ljtc.tlc.s with gr·,n dilli cncl', :lnd lomct lt llcs hclit:lt s for a word; but i1 i; always to lind on· p.11·ticula rly w~ll aJaptrd to hi me:tning. IL5 ltnguage is m~nly an rxpn Hive. At levee, hi> dilcourfe with ll1an ge1> tliJ n5 principally upon the li1bjcC1: of Amcricn; rtt d it they have been throug h: any rcm:ukalt le placer, his convcrf.'l tion 1; free and p~nicu l.t~l y intercHing, as he i> intimately acquainted with every part of the couJ ,try. lie is much more open and fr~c in hi~ behaviOur :It levee than in ptivate, and in the.: company of ladies Hill more fo than when fulcly with men. General WaflJington gives no public dinners or other cnt~ rtainments, except to thofe who arc in diplomatic capacitic.:s, and to a few f;1milies on lCJtns of intimacy with Mrs. Wa.lhmgwn. Strangers, with whom he wi01es to have lome converlinion rtbout agr iculture, or any fut h fu!Jjctl , arc lomcti mcs invi1cd to tea. Thi; by many is allribut J to his faving difpoliti on ; but it is more juU: to alclibe it tn his J rude1icc anti forefight; for as the falary of the pn:ftd cnt, as [ have before obferved, il very hn.tll, and totally ina· dequate by itftlf to fuppo 1t an cxpcnfivc Hylt of life, were he to "ive numerous and fp!endiJ t:ll· tcrtainments the lame lll ght pollihly be.: exrc~~cd from fubfef[ucnt prclitlntts, who, if their pri vate fortunes were not confid cmbil', would bt: unable to live in the f:t~ne !lyle, and might be cxpofcd to many ill-natured obferv:uions, Jrom the rclinquiOJmcnt of what the people had been ac-cullom.: d. .. CELEBRATION OF WASHINGTON's DIRTH-DAY. point to vifit the General on this day. As early as eleven o'clock in the morning he wa prep;ucd to re civc them, and the audience lallcd ti ll three in tl.e aft rnoon. The fociety of the Cincinnati, the ckrgy, the onlcers of the militia, and fcvcral others, who formed a diltincr body of citiz ns, came by themfelves fcparatcly. 'l he foreign minifl:ers attcna ·d in their ri chefl: drefll:s and mofi fplcnJid equipages. Two l.irf!.e padour.~ were open for the reception of the g('tHkmcn, the wimlows of one of which towards the fireet were crowded with fpcehtors on the outfi de . The fideboard was furnifl1ed with cake and win s, whereof the vifitors partook. I never obfcrved fo much cheerfulnef:· before in the countenance of Gen ral Wafl1ington; but it was impotTiblc for him to rem-1in infcnfible to the attention aud the com )limcuts paid to hinJ. on this occafion. T he ladies of th city, equally atte ntive, paid the ir rcfpc8:s to Mrs. W ail1ington, who received them in the drawin:; room up flairs. After having ifited the General, moil: of the gentlemen alfo waited upon her. .A public ball and fLtpper terminated the rejoi ings of the (by. Not one town of any importance was th ere in the whole union, where fame meeting did not take place in honour of this day;. yet fingular as it may app<.!ar, there arc people in the country, Americans t0o, foremoO: in boa!l: ing to other natio ns of that conflitution which has been raifcd for them by his v.t!our and wifdom, who arc either fo infenfiblc to his merit, or fo totally dc.:void of every generous fcntimcnt, that they , n refu(c to join in cummendations of thole talents to which they are [o much indebted ; indeed to fuch a length has this pervcrfe fpirit been carried, that I have myfclf feen numbers of men, in all other points m,...n of refpe :la bility, that h:J.ve peremptorily rcfu fl:d even to pay him the iinall compliment of clrinl ing to his health aftcr dinner; it is true in-cullomecl to; it is moll 11krly alft} tl.at Grn :tl Wa01ington has been aCl:tl:ltL·d bv thdc motives, becaufe in his private cap.tcity. at M0unt Vernon every flrangcr meets with a holpittulc 1 eception from him . Gene1al Wafhington's fclf modcmtinn is well known to the world alrt·;,tly. It is :t remark-able c ircumO:~nrc, which redou nds :o his eternal h nour, that while prelidcnt of the United States he ncvn appointed one of hi own r~lations to any Hi.:c ol ttufl or tmoluu c1,t, al thou r h liehas fcvcral th1t arc men of abilities, and wdl qualified to f.llt hc moil importa nt lbtions in the govcrnm,;:nt. deed |